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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFINAL OS SC Minutes 1.23.14.pdf FINAL Approved 2 11 14 OPEN SESSION MINUTES MINUTEMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET HEARING AND REGULAR SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING JANUARY 23,2014 7 00 PM PAUL REVERE ROOM,MINUTEMAN HIGH SCHOOL Present: Alice DeLuca,Chair(Stow) Jack Weis(Belmont) Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham) Dave Horton(Lexington) Came Flood, Secretary(Concord) Ford Spalding(Dover) Cheryl Mahoney(Boxborough) Judy Taylor(Carlisle) Nancy Banks(Acton) David O'Connor(Bolton) Absent Kemon Taschioglou(Lincoln),Laura Morrissette(Arlington),Mary Ellen Castagno(Wayland) ,Daniel Mazzola(Lancaster),Doug Gillespie(Weston),David Manjarrez(Sudbury),Dr Bouquillon Others Present Elizabeth Rozan, Ernie Houle,Kevin Mahoney, Solomon Rubin,Marjorie Daggett,Bill Blake, Diane Dempsey, Sheila Nagle,Eugene DiPaolo,Bill Rubin,Kevin Lynn,AnnaMaria Schnmpf BUDGET HEARING ON PROPOSED FY 15 BUDGET 1. CALL TO ORDER. OPEN SESSION At 7 04 PM,the Chair called the meeting to order and opened the budget hearing,noting that the meeting had been postponed from Tuesday,due to the weather She noted that Dr Bouquillon was not present,as he was presenting to the Board of Selectmen in Bolton a. Presentation on Proposed FY 15 Budget,Kevin Mahoney The Assistant Superintendent expressed appreciation to all who participated in the development of the budget,and pointed out that staff contributed this year in a more hands-on way He gave an overall view of the proposed budget, and outlined the budget considerations of enrollment, SPED enrollment,and direct support He presented detail on total enrollment and%change, freshman in-district enrollment over 10 years,the budget considerations of unfunded mandates, collective bargaining,health insurance,building capacity,and capital needs He detailed needs in the professional development and curriculum and assessment areas,and emphasized the budgetary impact of staffing to support the needs of incoming students testing below grade level in Math, of class size,and of Special Education and related services The presentation also included detail on career and technical education, educational technology,and operations support,and outlined the FY 15 proposed budget by state Function Code Detail on the estimated revenue plan and capital expenditures was also provided (The presentation material can be found as Attachment A) b Public Comment on Proposed FY 15 Budget There was no Public Comment on the proposed FY 15 Budget 2 ADJOURNMENT The following vote was taken at 7 30 PM ACTION 2014#8 Moved(Spalding)and seconded(Mahoney) To close the Budget Hearing and begin the regular meeting at 7 30 PM Vote: Unanimous REGULAR MEETING OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE 1. CALL TO ORDER: OPEN SESSION At 7 30 PM,the Chair called the regular meeting session to order,noting again that the meeting had been rescheduled from Tuesday,due to the weather 2. PUBLIC COMMENT There was no Public Comment 3. STUDENT REPORT,Solomon Rubin, Student Representative Mr Rubin gave his report,which highlighted sports,the Christmas Concert,Student Government Spirit Day in April,the annual election,the blood drive,the creation of"Safe Zones",the announcement of the upcoming play in the Drama Department,and the recent theatrical workshop in Framingham He concluded by distributing thank you notes from Skills USA students 4. CHAIR'S REPORT,Alice DeLuca, Chair The Chair announced two upcoming School Committee Meetings,a special meeting scheduled for February 4 related to the Building Project,and the regular meeting scheduled for February 11 She called attention to the packet of materials at the table,which included a July,2013 Attorney opinion,a letter from the Attorney General's office from December,2013, another letter from the Attorney General's office from January,2014, the July 9,2013 vote taken by the School Committee related to email discussion among members, and emails that appear to disregard that vote She read the July vote,noted below From July 9,2013: ACTION 2013#92 Moved(Stulin)and seconded(Flood) To direct the Chair to send the response letters to the Attorney General and the complainant,and to pass the following resolution about email discussion among members With the exception of emails from a single member of the Committee directed solely to the Chair of the Committee and emails from the chair of the Committee solely to a single member of the Committee,to encourage Committee members to refrain from sending emails to other Committee members regarding matters other than distribution of meeting agendas and scheduling meetings and similar administrative communications specifically sanctioned under the Open Meeting Law Vote. 10 in favor,with 2 abstentions She urged that members be mindful not to write opinions in emails to other members of the School Committee, as it is a violation of the Open Meeting Law,and outlined the correct protocol A member suggested that when such emails occur,the Committee could,as a routine practice, write a letter to the appointing authority of the town, who has the responsibility of providing training to the appointee,and point out that the member is not in compliance It was decided that this suggestion be referred to the next Officers Meeting for consideration on process The Chair pointed out that these emails and this issue of violating the Open Meeting Law are distractive and take a lot of time away from the real goals of the District She also pointed out that she had received two requests for agenda items,which will also be considered at the next Officers Meeting The Chair of the Regional Agreement Amendment Subcommittee explained a process she used in communicating to four members of the School Committee in her request to get their editorial review of the revised draft agreement, and wondered if this had been an appropriate administrative communication The Chair asked her to detail her concerns in an email to Ms Rozan,and it will be forwarded to the Attorneys for an opinion 5. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT,Kevin Mahoney for Ed Bouquillon a. Minuteman High School 2014-15 School Calendar The Assistant Superintendent presented the draft 2014-15 School Calendar,and pointed out that the only change is that instead of a'h day off on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving,the proposal is for a full day off Questions were raised on total number of days,the details of the scholarship night,staff/parent input,and Thanksgiving sports events The following vote was then taken ACTION 2014#9 Moved(Spalding)and seconded(O'Connor) To approve the Minuteman High School 2014-15 School Calendar as presented Voted. Unanimous The approved 2014-15 Calendar can be found as Attachment B 6 ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT,Kevin Mahoney a. FY 15 Budget The Chair pointed out that approval of the budget requires an affirmative vote by 2/3 of all of the members(11) Since there were only 10 members present,it was suggested to hold the discussion and continue the meeting,in the hopes that another member would come in late It was also explained that if no one else shows up,the vote could be considered at the Special Meeting of February 4,as it must be approved 45 days prior to the 1st Town Meeting (March 29 this year) b. Draft Letter regarding the Out-of-District Tuition Rate The Assistant Superintendent noted that the Commissioner of Education intends to reduce the tuition rate by 8% over the next 3 years, that a letter,signed by the Chair and Superintendent, was sent in September voicing concern and disagreement,and there has been no response to date He called attention to the draft letter at the table, directed toward Town Managers and asking for their help in reaching out to the Commissioner on this matter A number of comments were raised,including that it would be better politically to suggest boiler plate language and let the towns decide what to do, that there was a meeting between the legislators and the Commissioner on December 3, as an educational session,led by the Commissioner, that some communities that have taken action on this matter,and this should be acknowledged in any follow-up correspondence,and that perhaps some collective action could be determined at the municipal breakfast coming up on Feb 13 The general consensus was that this letter should not be sent It was suggested that the Legislative Subcommittee could explore the issue and actions taken to date, target specific towns,and that if anyone has specific thoughts on the matter,to send them to Ms Rozan 7 SECRETARY'S REPORT, Carrie Flood a Approval of Past Open Session Minutes 12 19 13 There were no changes to the Open Session minutes of 12 19 13,and the following vote was taken ACTION 2014#10 Moved(Banks)and seconded(Weis) To approve the Open Session Minutes of 12 19 13 as presented Vote. 9 in favor,1 abstention 8 EXECUTIVE SESSION a. Approval of Past Executive Session Minutes The Chair explained that there was a need for and Executive Session,for the following reason Pursuant to MGL c 30A,s 22(f)to review,amend,finalize,and approve minutes from Executive Session of the Committee held on 10 29 13 and 12 19 13,and to determine whether continued non- disclosure of such minutes is appropriate,to allow Ms Rozan to be present,and that the Committee will return to Open Session A roll call vote was taken as follows ACTION 2014#11 Moved(Stulin)and seconded(Horton) To enter Executive Session as described at 8 06 PM Horton yes Spalding yes Weis yes Mahoney yes Flood yes Taylor yes Stulin yes Banks yes DeLuca yes O'Connor yes Vote: Unanimous 9. RESUME OPEN SESSION The Committee resumed Open Session at 8 20 PM Given that no additional School Committee member had arrived,they discussed the best action,and they took the following vote related to the FY 15 Proposed Budget ACTION 2014#12 Moved(Flood)and seconded(Stulin) To postpone the discussion and vote on the FY 15 Budget until a subsequent meeting,no later than February 4,2014 Vote. Unanimous 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8 28 PM Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth Rozan Carrie Flood District School Committee Assistant Secretary ATTACHMENTS TO THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 23,2014 A Power Point Presentation on FY 15 Proposed Budget B 2014-15 School Calendar