Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutFINAL OS minutes 9.3.13.pdf FINAL Approved 9 17 13 OPEN SESSION MINUTES MINUTEMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL DISTRICT SPECIAL MEETING OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING SEPTEMBER 3,2013 5 00 PM PAUL REVERE ROOM,MINUTEMAN HIGH SCHOOL Present: Alice DeLuca,Chair(Stow) Laura Morrissette(Arlington) Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham) Jack Weis(Belmont) Came Flood, Secretary(Concord) Mary Ellen Castagno(Wayland) Cheryl Mahoney(Boxborough) David Horton(Lexington) Judy Taylor(Carlisle) Dave Manjarrez(Sudbury) Nancy Banks(Acton) Absent.David O'Connor(Bolton),Dan Mazzola(Lancaster),Ford Spalding(Dover),Doug Gillespie(Weston), Kemon Taschioglou(Lincoln) Others Present Ed Bouquillon,Elizabeth Rozan,Ernie Houle,Kevin Mahoney, Sheila Nagle,John Pelletier, Terry Regan 1. CALL TO ORDER. OPEN SESSION The Chair called the meeting to order at 5 00 PM She extended appreciation to those present for coming to the meeting on short notice She acknowledged that Mr Manjarrez was recording the meeting,and asked that members assist her by pointing out any errors or omissions in her conduct of the meeting 2. CHAIR'S REPORT,Alice DeLuca a Welcome to New Members The Chair welcomed 2 new members present Nancy Banks(Acton)and Judy Taylor(Carlisle) There was no objection to her suggestion to take the Superintendent's Report out of order 3 SUPERINTENDENT REPORT,Ed Bouquillon a Approval of Overnight Field Trip A motion was made(Castagno)and seconded(Momssette)to approve the Environmental Technology Program's overnight trip to the NEED Building in Eastham,MA September 10-13,2013 Terry Regan extended his appreciation to the Committee for calling a meeting on short notice for this item,and he explained the circumstances that necessitated it He gave an overview and history of the trip,noting that it combines the science education with 21st Century skills,such as collaboration and teamwork He noted that everyone,students and teachers alike,have enjoyed this trip in the past,and it is a great deal of fun It was confirmed that this trip has been planned in compliance with the School Committee's rules,regulations,and policies ACTION 2013#109 Moved(Castagno)and seconded(Morrissette) To approve the Environmental Technology Program's overnight field trip to the NEED Building,National Park Service,Cape Cod National Seashore,Eastham,MA September 10-13,2013 Vote. Unanimous 4 CHAIR'S REPORT(Continued) b. Follow-up from 7.9.13: regarding letter of Cheryl Mahoney sent to Sudbury Town Moderator, including discussion and possible response to informal Open Meeting Law issue raised by David Manjarrez regarding electronic correspondence transmitted by another committee member 1 The Chair explained the possible OML violation,and the remedy of reading Ms Mahoney's letter into the record She inquired of Mr Manjarrez if he was asking for this letter to be in the record,and he said no She then noted that the School Committee can vote to only read Ms Mahoney's email into the record A motion was made(Stulm) and seconded(Flood)to enter Ms Mahoney's email into the record It was pointed out by the member from Wayland that this made no sense to have the email,but not the letter read into the record She then offered an amendment to the motion,which was seconded(Stuhn),to include the letter with the email The sequence of events was clarified Ms Mahoney had a concern,she sent the letter,personally,to the Sudbury Moderator,copying Mr Manjarrez She did not send it to School Committee members Subsequently,Mr Manjarrez had requested that everyone on the School Committee get a copy,and Ms Mahoney sent it out to everyone via email Because the email was sent to all members,and it contained the letter,which contained Ms Mahoney's opinion,the means by which it was transmitted(not the letter itself)could be a violation of OML The Chair stated that she has been advised that formally introducing the letter in a public meeting would remedy any potential violations Mr Manjarrez indicated that he did not want the letter included,but that it was the Chair's decision The Chair clarified that it was not her decision,but rather that of the entire School Committee Because this issue related to a question of tape recording a meeting,it was clarified that any member of the audience,including the press,must also announce if they are recording the meeting A motion was made(Manjarrez)and seconded(Stulin) to move the question,and the following vote was taken ACTION 2013#110 Moved(Manjarrez)and seconded(Stulm) To move the question and end debate Vote 10 in favor,1 opposed The following vote was taken on the amendment to the main motion ACTION 2013#111 Moved(Castagno)and seconded(Stuhn) To include the letter with the email Vote• 10 in favor,1 abstention The following vote was taken on the main motion as amended ACTION 2013#112 Moved(Stulin)and seconded(Flood) To read the email and letter into the record Vote- 10 in favor,1 opposed Ms Mahoney then read her email and letter into the record as follows 2 Email and Letter From: Cheryl A. Mahoney [mailto:Cheryl.Mahoney@town.boxborough.ma.us] Sent: Monday, July 15, 2013 9 42 AM To: Elizabeth Rozan; 'Arlington, Laura Morrissette'; 'Belmont, Jack Weis'; 'Bolton, David O'Connor'; 'Carlisle, Donald Rober', 'Concord, Carrie Flood', 'Dover, Ford Spalding', 'Lancaster, Daniel Mazzola', 'Lexington, David Horton'; 'Lincoln, Kemon Taschioglou'; 'Needham, Jeffrey Stulin'; 'Stow, Alice Deluca'; 'Sudbury, David Manjarrez', 'Sudbury, David Manjarrez', 'Wayland, Mary Ellen Castagno', 'Weston, Bella Wong' Cc: Ed Bouquillon; Elizabeth Rozan; SC Subject: Letter to Sudbury Moderator Sudbury mod FoxM ay21_20130609 pdf Pursuant to Mr Manjarrez's request, (made during our July 9th meeting) attached please find the letter I sent to Sudbury's Town Moderator concerning the incident of May 21st Cheryl A Mahoney Boxborough Representative Minuteman School Committee cell 781-405-7372 3 Cheryl Mahoney 188 Liberty Square Road Boxborough, MA 01719 978-263-8058 June 9,2013 Moderator Myron J Fox Town of Sudbury Flynn Building 278 Old Sudbury Road Sudbury,MA 01776 Dear Mr Fox, I serve as Boxborough's representative on the Minuteman School District School Committee along with Sudbury's representative, David Manjarrez I am writing this letter after much thought and introspection, however, I feel I must relate an incident that occurred at our May 21, 2013, School Committee meeting Mr Manjarrez has been in the practice of recording our regular session meetings with his own personnel audio recording device He has consistently announced, at the commencement of the meeting, that he would be recording, in full compliance of the Open Meeting Law However, on May 21, 2013, approximately 1 — 1 %2 hours into our meeting I noticed that he had an audio recording device in front of him on the table When discussion of the agenda item ended I asked the Chair for a "Point of Order" I advised the Chair that I thought that a possible OML violation may have occurred—and asked if Mr Mangy arrez could be asked if he was recording the meeting At that point Mr. Manjarrez stated he was not recording and threw the device exclaiming, "Here, see for yourself1" He and I are seated on the same side of the table with two committee members seated between our positions (approximately 8 feet). The device landed on the table in front of me After a significant pause in activity, Mr Manjarrez stated he had meant to slide the device There were approximately twenty people present at this meeting. I am sure that the name of those individuals can be provided to you if you need to corroborate my statement When I first came on to the Committee Mr Manjarrez was very considerate and helpful, providing me with much appreciated insights into the workings of this group. However, over the last year — year and half there has been a dramatic change in his demeanor Again, I write this with a heavy heart,hoping that something positive can come from my reaching out to you. F a you, Chery ,i y' one 4 cc Boxborough Town Moderator, John Fallon Minuteman School Committee Chair, Alice Deluca David Manjarrez 4 Mr Manjarrez asked if there had been any reply from Mr Fox Ms Mahoney noted that Mr Fox has never contacted her c. Follow-up from 7.9.13: regarding District Email Security Report The Chair confirmed that in response to the discussion of 7 9 13,Ms Schnmpf prepared a report,and that this was included in the packet She asked for a motion to accept the report,and this motion was made(Stulm)and seconded(Horton) Ms Castagno noted that she is still uncomfortable,and that her questions were not answered to her satisfaction She was concerned about point#7 of the report,that no email account searches of her email were made by the administration at that time She wondered about before that time,why they were opened and by whom Referring to materials dated 3 31 11 and 12 15 11 possibly from the Finance Subcommittee,she noted that in 2011,a consultant was engaged to look at the server,and the School Committee never got a copy of the report The Superintendent noted that he would investigate for a Scope of Work for further clarification Concern was raised that Ms Schnmpf was not present to defend her report The Superintendent pointed out that it is not a matter of defending the report Ms Shnmpf had been asked to report on the email security concerns,and she did so to the best of her ability A motion was made(Weis)and seconded(Mani arrez)to table the report and ask Ms Schnmpf to be present at the next meeting to clarify questions The Superintendent pointed out that she can plan to address areas that were lacking in the report,but if there is a discussion that involves security this must be done in Executive Session Ms Castagno urged that the School Committee not lose sight of the dynamics here,that a School Committee member's email was opened It was pointed out that the Committee has heard that the email was opened and why, and this can be further clarified with Ms Schrimpf It was pointed out again that any email is a public document Ms Castagno noted her view that the disrespect on the School Committee is loud and clear The following vote was then taken ACTION 2013#113 Moved(Weis)and seconded(Manjarrez) To table the report and ask Ms Schrimpf to be present at the next meeting(September,or October if she is not available in September) to clarify questions Vote 10 in favor,1 opposed 5 SECRETARY'S REPORT,Carrie Flood a Review of Minutes The Secretary entertained a motion made(Stulin)and seconded(Weis)to accept the minutes of 7 9 13 as presented Amendments were offered and discussed,and the following votes were taken ACTION 2013#114 Moved(Horton)and seconded(Manjarrez) To accept the amendments on page 13,line 25 and page 14,line 16,as noted Vote- 9 in favor,1 abstention(with one member out of the room) ACTION 2013#115 Moved(Castagno)and seconded(Manjarrez) To accept the amendment on page 10, line 50,as noted Vote- 9 in favor,1 opposed, 1 abstention Another amendment was offered,moved(Manjarrez)and seconded(Weis),adding some words to page 10,line 29 Some members expressed that they didn't recall the words being spoken,others expressed concerns that the Committee might be held liable as the words could be construed to be an unconfirmed accusation of wrong-doing Mr Manjarrez noted that if the DVD was reviewed,it would be clear that the words were part of his comments He pointed out that he had been speaking as a member of the public, so he did not believe that potential liability of the School Committee was a concern,and that the issue he had commented on had come before the School 5 Committee in a public meeting He noted that he felt bullied,and that he was not willing to change his proposed amendment A member raised a concern about setting a precedent It was suggested that in the case of discrepancy, the exact wording from the DVD could be used It was also pointed out that the School Committee's intention is not to write a transcript of the meetings,and that the Secretary has suggested that proposed amendments to draft minutes be submitted to her in advance of the meeting The following votes were then taken ACTION 2013#116 Moved(Manjarrez)and seconded(Weis) To accept the amendment offered on page 10,line 29,subject to a review of the DVD Vote: 6 in favor,5 opposed ACTION 2013#117 Moved(Stulm)and seconded(Weis) To approve the minutes of 7 9 13 as amended Vote: 7 in favor,2 opposed,2 abstentions 6. POSSIBLE EXECUTIVE SESSION At 6 10 PM,the Chair read the reasons for the possible Executive Session as follows,noting that Ms Rozan would remain and the Committee would not return to Open Session a. Consideration of Public Records Request for Past Executive Session Minutes Pursuant to MGL c 30A,s 22(f)to consider past minutes from Executive Sessions of the Committee to determine whether continued non-disclosure of such minutes is appropriate,and not to return to Open Session b. Approval of Executive Session Minutes Pursuant to MGL c 30A,s 22(0 to review,amend,finalize,and approve minutes from Executive Session of the Committee held on 4 8 13,4 9 13,5 21 13, 6 18 13, and 7 9 13,and to determine whether continued non-disclosure of such minutes is appropriate The roll call vote was taken as follows ACTION 2013#118 Moved(Mahoney)and seconded(Stulm) To enter into Executive Session for the purposes noted,with Ms Rozan remaining and the Committee not returning to Open Session Horton yes DeLuca yes Castagno no Mahoney yes Weis yes Taylor abstain Mornssette yes Manjarrez no Flood yes Banks abstain Stuhn yes Vote• 7 in favor,2 opposed,2 abstentions 7 ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned from the Executive Session at 6 50 PM Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth Rozan Came Flood District School Committee Assistant Secretary 6