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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFINAL School Committee Minutes December 8 2020.pdf FINAL MINUTES MINUTEMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL DISTRICT REGULAR SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 8, 2020 6.30 P.M. VIA REMOTE PARTICIPATION Present. Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton) Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham) Alice DeLuca, Secretary(Stow) Michael Ruderman(Arlington) Steve LeDoux(Concord) Ford Spalding(Dover) Jennifer Leone (Lancaster) Judith Crocker(Lexington) Dave O'Connor(Bolton) Absent None Weighted Vote Weighted Vote present at start of meeting 92 85% Others Present Dr Edward Bouquillon,Dr Robert Gerard',Dr Amy Perreault, George Clement,Laurie Elliott, Treasurer and Julia Pisegna 1 CALL TO ORDER OPEN SESSION The Chair called the meeting to order at 6 31 p m 2 ADOPTION OF REMOTE PARTICIPATION VOTE To adopt remote participation by all members of the Minuteman School Committee pursuant to and in accordance with Sections(2)and(3)of the Executive Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law made by the Governor of Massachusetts on March 12,2020, such adoption to be effective until said Executive Order is rescinded or the Commonwealth's State of Emergency as referenced in said Executive Order, is terminated, whichever happens first ACTION 2020#121 Moved(Leone)and seconded(Crocker) To approve remote participation VOTE 8 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 92 85% Weight needed >46 42% Names of towns opposing or abstaining none Final percentage results of vote 92 85% Final status of the vote Unanimous 1 Roll Call Pam Nourse(Acton)(Yes) Michael Ruderman(Arlington) (Yes) Steve LeDoux(Concord)(Yes) Ford Spalding(Dover) (Yes) Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)(Yes) Judith Crocker(Lexington)(Yes) Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham) (Yes) Alice DeLuca, Secretary(Stow) (Yes) 3 GOOD OF THE ORGANIZATION Ms Nourse thanked the administration, staff, and the Minuteman community for coming together during this very challenging period of time (Mr O'Connor Joined the meeting at 6 .37p m) Ms DeLuca shared that she has had conversations with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education regarding admissions and that she was informed that they will be reviewing the exploratory issues,possibly in the January timeframe 4 SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT a School Building Committee Update—Ford Spalding Mr Spalding updated Committee members on the progress of the building He noted that they continue to work on some minor issues and hopes to receive the final Certificate of Occupancy in January. b Athletic Fields Proiect Budget Mr Spalding reported that Heimlich Construction has begun installing the fencing around the fields, erosion control will be the next phase, and the team is currently responding to Lincoln regarding questions they had relative to the project. Mr. Spalding noted that the 60-day notice to Towns will expire the third week of January. Dr Bouquillon reported that meetings are scheduled this week in Stow,Needham and Bolton He noted that these meetings are for informational purposes,and,to date,there have been no concerns about the project raised Dr Bouquillon noted that he received an email from Lancaster with a request to reconsider the vote to allow them to hold a Special Town Meeting and that it has little to do with the athletic fields project He shared that after the 60-day notice expires,additional paperwork will be signed with Heimlich Construction Ms Leone reiterated that the potential Lancaster Special Town Meeting, which would be held outside during the month of December,has nothing to do with Minuteman,but rather an internal and political Town issue Mr O'Connor agreed that this issue is being used as a vehicle to hold a Special Town Meeting in Lancaster Mr Ruderman noted that Arlington approved its share at its Select Board meeting 2 c Photo-Voltaic Solar Prosect Dr Bouquillon provided an overview on the solar photo-voltaic project which will support the 2 points in LEED certification and reduce annual electricity costs The 2 points equate to about$2 million He also noted that the photo-voltaic solar project will enhance the educational opportunity for students in electrical,plumbing,HVAC, science classes, and environmental technology who will monitor and analyze its operation and performance,as well as attend workshops and demonstrations during the planning,pre-construction,construction,and operation phases Beth Greenblatt is the consultant on the project Solect Energy will own, operate, maintain, and decommission the 250 kilowatts solar array, and Minuteman will have an option to purchase the equipment during the term He noted that there is no out-of-pocket cost for the system to Minuteman and it will provide a real savings for District with a guarantee of 85% of the annual expected generation Dr Bouquillon reviewed the projected timeline for construction activities beginning with a project kick-off in January and noted that the School Committee will vote to approve the Solect Energy contract in January He also reviewed the negotiations with Solect Energy, Minuteman Special Counsel, Jessica Wall from Anderson&Kreiger, and Beth Greenblatt of Beacon Integrated Solutions Minuteman's general counsel have provided comments to the draft documents The contract provides protections for safety, reliability, and performance. He shared that he expects approval from the Town of Lincoln and mentioned that they are doing a similar project with the same company They are working out a possible payment in lieu of taxes with Solect He reviewed the key milestone activities achieved, including the utility interconnection and the SMART Program Minuteman would be in Block 4 of the SMART program Jennifer Leone inquired about the $26,000 savings, and Dr Bouquillon noted it is a reduction in the electric bill. Pam Nourse asked about the solar array being on the roof Dr Bouquillon reminded Committee members that the photo-voltaic will be on the roof, as opposed to the parking lot, because it was too small for the previous partner to have a financial interest in it Dr Bouquillon noted that the canopy design was not eye appealing and blocked areas of vision D He noted that the roof location is more accessible to students, less apt to get damaged, will not be visible from the street, and will make for an overall cleaner project Mr Ruderman asked if this is the maximum output that could be expected,and whether all available roof space will be utilized Dr Bouquillon confirmed that due to the photo-voltaic system bylaw of the Town of Lincoln, we are only allowed a 250-kilowatt size project and,therefore,not allowed to use all the roof space Due to the presence of the Treasurer, Laurie Elliott, who attended the meeting only to give her report, the Committee took the following vote to revise the order of the agenda ACTION 2020#122 Moved(Leone)and seconded(Spalding) To approve the Treasurer's Report to be taken out of order VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed > 50% Names of towns opposing or abstaining none Final percentage results of vote• 100% Final status of the vote Unanimous 3 Roll Call Pam Nourse(Acton)(Yes) Michael Ruderman(Arlington) (Yes) Dave O'Connor(Bolton) (Yes) Steve LeDoux(Concord)(Yes) Ford Spalding(Dover) (Yes) Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)(Yes) Judith Crocker(Lexington)(Yes) Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham) (Yes) Alice DeLuca, Secretary(Stow) (Yes) 5 DIRECTOR OF FINANCE REPORT,Dr Robert Gerardi a Report of the Treasurer—Laurie Elliott Ms Elliott thanked Committee members for the opportunity to speak before the School Committee and introduced herself as the Treasurer for Minuteman since 2013 She reported that she is a trustee of Middlesex Community College, appointed by Governor Baker She shared that her responsibility for managing the District's accounts with Eastern Bank, Massachusetts Municipal Depository Trust, Cambridge Savings Bank, Unibank, and Vanguard Her role includes working with the Business office making all weekly deposits and initiating transfers to fund all school warrants and entering those transfers onto the general ledger, as well as maintaining the cash book, reconciling all bank accounts to the banking module in Infinite Visions general ledger system, and working with the Assistant Business Manager on any items that need to be posted, such as interest income and wires directly into bank accounts She noted that there has been a noticeable slowing of receipts from the school to be deposited in the various accounts each week Assessments to communities are steadily flowing into the school and deposited She highlighted the balance in the MMDT investment account, which is where the State wires in all school related funds, is somewhat less than it was in the prior October, and that monies from this account have been transferred over to Eastern bank to fund current operations She noted there is currently about$4 million in Eastern Bank She highlighted the FY20 and FY21 bank balance sheets and noted that the School currently has an adequate cash balance on hand to handle immediate cash flow requirements The Fundraising efforts by the students has been impacted since events have been cancelled The account with Unibank is used to segregate bond proceeds from operating funds, and that school building warrant to be paid are transferred from Unibank to the Eastern bank accounts payable checking account She noted the most challenging account to manage is the Vanguard OPEB account, as investing at this level is a specialized area of finance In the past,the School Committee has voted to have the Treasurer manage the School's OPEB funds and directed the balance in the MMDT Bond portfolio be transferred to Vanguard Brokerage services,which she did. The funds were transferred in 2019 into the Vanguard Index Funds designated by the Committee As Treasurer, Ms. Elliott also follows the investment policy set forth by the School Committee that allows investments in the following 4 Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund; Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund, Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund, and Admiral or Investor shares are allowed in each category Ms Elliott confirmed for Mr Ruderman that she oversees the District funds on deposit at the Massachusetts Municipal Deposit Trust and that she is satisfied with the performance of this account due to its size, and because the State backs that up Except for the main account, they are smaller accounts that are mostly scholarship accounts, and that smaller accounts do not have high earnings Committee members thanked Ms Elliott for her presentation The Committee returned to the regular agenda order. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT(continued) d. Enrollment Taskforce Update—Jeff Stulin i Applications Update ii Virtual Tour Video in Proposed Goals of the Enrollment Taskforce VOTE To approve the goals of the Enrollment Taskforce, as presented Dr Bouquillon provided an update to Committee members on the number of member Town applications received at this time of 180 versus 167 applications received this at this time last year,with equal or an increase in applications from all Towns,except for Lexington He noted that targeted mailings will be sent to Lexmgton during the month of January and highlighted an increase in applications in Concord (8) and Needham (5), as those three Towns have been identified as locations where we need to see more applications from He noted that there has been a decrease in non-member Towns applications but noted that Mr Chiareillo has reached out to Belmont and Watertown To date,Mr Chiareillo has scheduled 76 applicants for interviews,all of which has been done with no Open House or Showcase Day In Lexington,the school will be working with a new restaurant in Lexington, opened by a Minuteman grad,to show videos about the school Mr. Stulin gave a 12-minute presentation on the proposed goals of the Enrollment Taskforce which had been provided to members in their packet He described each one and the processes being undertaken dunng the enrollment period,the aspirational goals of capacity and potential benefits of Minuteman, as well as the efforts to increase diversity He reviewed the history of the enrollment for the District and member Towns relative to the new building and the new enrollment picture He noted that the school size had been constrained to 628 students due to discussions and compromises with towns and the MSBA during the early phase of the building project He shared that the school does have the capacity for 800 students, because the career tech space is sufficient It is only the academic space that is not sufficient, and there is another building that could be used for academics The cost of adding additional classrooms to accommodate this capacity would be relatively inexpensive He noted that the current member towns are learning that without the out of district students,member town assessments are going up He reiterated that there are a lot of ways to increase diversity Mr Stulin asked members to approve the goals submitted for the Enrollment Taskforce, and noted that if approved, the Enrollment Taskforce will become an official subcommittee which will further define the more permanent role of the group, and the name of the group would change 5 ACTION 2020#123 Moved(Leone)and seconded(DeLuca) To approve the goals of the Enrollment Taskforce VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed > 50% Names of towns opposing or abstaining none Final percentage results of vote 100% Final status of the vote. Unanimous Roll Call Pam Nourse(Acton)(Yes) Michael Ruderman(Arlington) (Yes) Dave O'Connor(Bolton)(Yes) Steve LeDoux(Concord)(Yes) Ford Spalding(Dover) (Yes) Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)(Yes) Judith Crocker(Lexington)(Yes) Jeff Stuhn,Vice-Chair(Needham) (Yes) Alice DeLuca, Secretary(Stow) (Yes) Mr. Spalding shared that the group is moving in the nght direction, and he encourages and supports their mission He believes admissions needs to continually grow and change, whether it is in-district or out-of- distnct He added that there is an amazing campus including the athletic complex, and that other parts of the campus can be developed including the existing building up the hill The campus environment is very exciting Ms Crocker thanked the team for all their work and strategic vision in moving the school forward Dr Bouquillon then presented to Committee members the virtual tour video of Minuteman High School Dan O'Brien,Communications Director,noted that the video has reached 16,000 users and that social media is a successful outreach tool Mr Spalding encouraged members to send it out to everyone they know and spread the word about career technical education. He wants people to know this is a great pathway to a real future. 6 PRINCIPAL'S REPORT—George Clement a Planning and Parent Engagement for Full In-Person Learning Mr Clement shared that the administration is looking into putting together a survey to gauge parent perspectives on full in-person learning. He has been in discussion with the Minuteman Parent Association to possibly schedule a morning coffee meeting for a question/answer session Dr Bouquillon added that the full in-person learning is something that the District is aspiring to He has had many conversations with parents and shared that the foundation for students returning for full in-person learning will be COVID-10 testing He is looking into Phase 2 of the rapid testing developed by Abbott Labs which provides results in 15 minutes with 95%accuracy,and shared that it is vital to get more students in the building as soon as it is safe He may propose that we buy the tests He is both desperate to get the kids back in school but also desperate to keep them safe He says it is vital to get more kids in the building as soon as it is safe He hopes to have a proposal to discuss in January 6 Ms DeLuca asked if the school could do daily to 3-day rapid antibody tests for the whole school, because if two different types of tests are used, the accuracy is extremely high Dr Bouquillon said he does not know if professionals would be needed to administer the tests, possibly licensed or certified, and that the District will look at all those things Mr Ruderman noted that he had a conversation with a parent asking for specifics, and Dr Bouquillon shared that no specifics are available yet Mr Stuhn said that Newton is considering a testing program with voluntary testing and only once per month He is concerned about hospital capacity, and how long the surge is going to go on for Ms Leone asked parent-approval for testing, and how would policy address the situation where parents did not approve their child being tested Mr Clement shared that there have been some students who have recently opted for all remote learning and that is one way which parents are expressing their concern and that communication has been sent to parents regarding the timing of switching to remote Ms Nourse summed up that she anticipates further reporting on this in January b Skills USA Leadership Conference Report The Skills USA Leadership Conference held virtually at Minuteman resulted in five out of six Minuteman students receiving awards The kids performed well and were happy Minuteman was a good host as well c. School Climate and Outlook Mr Clement noted that the school schedule change has been adopted very well He reported that Diane Dempsey, Lead Scheduler noted that the facilitated learning block has been beneficial and could be continued Due to the pandemic, some of the students have never met their academic teachers in person He has witnessed some positive vibes happening in the school with students and teachers As always,we continue to do Candy Cane Grams and we began an Elf on the Shelf gift swap between staff members for a positive distraction, but he noted that people are ready for a vacation Mr Clement reported that MCAS has been postponed and we will see what happens in the Spnng, and shared he was very relieved to hear that news DESE did not provide any dates,or test formats Mr Stulin sympathizes with the faculty about the stresses associated with remote learning Mr O'Connor shared that he has observed his daughter's class while she is home learning remotely He noted that the teachers are doing an amazing job engaging students He thanked the faculty for their hard work and commitment 6 DIRECTOR OF FINANCE REPORT,Dr Robert Gerardi (continued) b Finance Committee Preliminary FY22 Budget Update—Steve Ledoux Mr Ledoux shared that the Finance Committee met and reviewed the preliminary budget requests and noted that the staff had done a comprehensive review of the wants and needs of the District He reported that the total budget request for FY22 as presented was just over $28M, which reflects a 7 45% increase over the current fiscal year, and a total assessment to the Towns of$19 6M,which reflects an increase of 13 45% 7 He shared the importance of noting that FY22 is the apex of the bond payments on the school and is one of the factors in some of the increases He also noted additional operational drivers such as salaries, cost of living, movement on the lanes in the contract, increase in utilities for the first full year of the building, as well as property insurance due to it being a new building He shared that he gained much knowledge surrounding the needs and drivers for the staff He reiterated that this is a preliminary review of the budget and that Dr Bouquillon will now continue his work and make final recommendations for the School Committee vote Mr Stulm requested a future discussion on how close the District came to the previous projections made regarding the cost to member Towns for the new building and comparisons of the actual costs of the new building Mr LeDoux said that the realities have shifted because of Covid-19, but they will definitely look at this c Surplus Equipment Dr Gerardi presented to the Committee a listing of surplus equipment School Committee policy requires a majority vote of the Committee VOTE• To determine that the item and the individual parts as described on this document are surplus, as presented ACTION 2020#124 Moved(Ledoux)and seconded(Ruderman) To approve the list of surplus items VOTE. 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed. >50% Names of towns opposing or abstaining none Final percentage results of vote 100% Final status of the vote Unanimous Roll Call Pam Nourse(Acton)(Yes) Michael Ruderman(Arlington) (Yes) Dave O'Connor(Bolton)(Yes) Steve LeDoux(Concord)(Yes) Ford Spalding(Dover) (Yes) Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)(Yes) Judith Crocker(Lexington)(Yes) Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham) (Yes) Alice DeLuca, Secretary(Stow) (Yes) 7 SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS a School Committee Policy Archiving Update—Alice DeLuca Dan O'Bnen, Communications Director, discussed the process put in place to properly streamline and archive the School Committee and subcommittees meeting minutes and agendas,and shared that the District's attorney 8 was contacted to ensure that we meet all Open Meeting Law requirements All subcommittees and task forces must post agendas The website has been enhanced to be more organized,user friendly,and that all files have been moved onto the OneDrive system The minutes are easier to find and have been organized by year There is also a new website vendor since the summer Ms DeLuca asked about the archiving of the School Committee policies so that they are kept up to date Mr O'Brien stated that the idea is to have the website more user friendly and that someone looking to view a particular policy will have the ability to simply click right on the policy and be able to view it Ms DeLuca asked for a schedule of when the updated manual will be on the website and shared that in order to approve more policies,the website needs to be updated Dr Bouquillon has requested the scope of work in order to have that process completed He is looking for the resources needed to get this done in the next few weeks b Committee for Review of Executive Session Minutes VOTE To approve Dr Amy Perreault,Dan O'Brien and Julia Pisegna as Committee members to review Executive Session Minutes from past meetings to determine if they warrant continued non-disclosure in accordance with M.G.L.c.30A, §22(g)(1) ACTION 2020#125 Moved(Leone)and seconded(Spalding), To approve Dr Amy Perreault,Dan O'Brien and Julia Pisegna as Committee members to review Executive Session minutes from past meetings to determine if they warrant continued non-disclosure in accordance with MGL c 30A, §22(g)(1), as presented VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed > 50% Names of towns opposing or abstaining Final percentage results of vote. 100% Final status of the vote Unanimous Roll Call Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton)(Yes) Michael Ruderman(Arlington) (Yes) Dave O'Connor(Bolton)(Yes) Steve LeDoux(Concord)(Yes) Ford Spalding(Dover) (Yes) Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)(Yes) Judith Crocker(Lexington)(Yes) Jeff Stulin(Needham)(Yes) Alice DeLuca(Stow) (Yes) 9 8 SECRETARY'S REPORT,Alice DeLuca a Approval of Draft Minutes of November 17,2020 There were 2 corrections—the spelling of Ms Crocker's name,and a correction by Mr Stulm to the paragraph expressing his opinion "Mr Stulm expressed that he is pleased to have this motion before the Committee and thanked all those for their hard work in making the Committee and member Towns comfortable with this vote, despite the pandemic environment The clarity of the presentation, expertise that was brought in,and the conversations that the administration held with the member Towns contributed to this comfort Mr Stulm shared that for those reasons,he feels very comfortable in voting to approving this item" VOTE. To amend the draft minutes of November 17,2020,to include these two corrections ACTION 2020#126 Moved(Leone)and seconded(Crocker), To approve the draft minutes of November 17,2020, as amended VOTE. 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed > 50% Names of towns opposing or abstaining Final percentage results of vote 100% Final status of the vote Unanimous Roll Call. Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton) (Yes) Michael Ruderman(Arlington) (Yes) Dave O'Connor(Bolton)(Abstained) Steve LeDoux(Concord)(Yes) Ford Spalding(Dover) (Yes) Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)(Yes) Judith Crocker(Lexington)(Yes) Jeff Stulm(Needham)(Yes) Alice DeLuca(Stow) (Yes) 9 EXECUTIVE SESSION VOTE• To enter Executive Session as follows and not return to Open Session 1) To approve the Executive Session minutes from November 17,2020 2) To conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel,namely the Supenntendent-Director, Dr Edward Bouquillon Ms Nourse noted that only School Committee members will attend the Executive Session The Committee would not be returning to open session following the Executive Session 10 ACTION 2020#127 Moved(Stulin)and seconded(Leone), To enter into Executive Session and not return to Open Session, VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed > 50% Names of towns opposing or abstaining Final percentage results of vote 100% Final status of the vote.. Unanimous Roll Call Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton) (Yes) Michael Ruderman(Arlington) (Yes) Dave O'Connor(Bolton) (Yes) Steve LeDoux(Concord)(Yes) Ford Spalding(Dover) (Yes) Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)(Yes) Judith Crocker(Lexington)(Yes) Jeff Stulm(Needham)(Yes) Alice DeLuca(Stow) (Yes) Respectfully submitted, Julia Pisegna Alice DeLuca District Assistant Secretary 11