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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinal MinutesApproved as Amended 11.1.11.pdf MINUTEMAN A REVOLUTION IN LEARNING Final Approved 11/15/11 MINUTES MINUTEMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING NOVEMBER 1,2011 7.00 PM TRAINING ROOM, MINUTEMAN HIGH SCHOOL PRESENT School Committee Members Alice DeLuca Stow (Chair) Ford Spalding Dover (Vice Chair) David Horton Lexington (Secretary) Dore Hunter Acton Jack Weis Belmont (arrived at 7 04 PM) Cheryl Mahoney Boxborough John McGarity Lancaster Kemon Taschioglou Lincoln Jeffrey Stulin Needham Absent Laura Morrissette Arlington Hannes Klein Bolton David Bearg Concord Donald Rober Carlisle David Maniarrez Sudbury Mary Ellen Castagno Wayland John Blyzinskyj Weston Staff Dr Edward Bouquillon Superintendent Camie Lamica Director of Business&Operations Elizabeth Rozan School Committee Administrative Assistant Student Henry Maynard Acton Others Edward DeLuca Marjorie Daggett I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7 04 PM II. PUBLIC COMMENT There was no Public Comment III. CHAIR'S REPORT The Chair welcomed Henry Maynard as the student representative Henry described himself as a senior majoring in Computer Programming and Web Design,from the town of Acton Ms DeLuca noted that Henry will be a full participant at our meetings She extended thanks to all for coming,commended Mr Houle's Community Education newsletter,and extended thanks to Ms Mahoney for sharing the newsletter in her community of Boxborough She pointed out evidence of Minuteman's visibility from a donation request to Stow's Council on Aging's interest in bake sale items from the bakery Referring to 758 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421 T 781 861 6500 F 781 863 1747 TDD 781 861 2922 minuteman org Serving Acton Arlington Belmont Bolton Boxborough Carlisle Concord Dover Lancaster Lexington Lincoln Needham Stow Sudbury, Wayland and Weston the self-evaluation instrument the School Committee has been using since August,she reported that from the past three meetings, 100%of the respondents commented positively on the receipt of materials received in advance of the meeting, and extended thanks to Ms Rozan The Chair noted that while she herself has been accused of "scrubbing"the minutes,she clarified that,in fact,the only amendments to the October 18`h minutes that she recommended were to correct a mathematical error and add a name that had been omitted in the draft She then reported on the many activities Dr Bouquillon is involved in outside of the school,while he maintains connection to the students and the school,including October 11,2011 Olin College Needham October 14 MAVA October 17 Needham October 19 Lexington Chamber of Commerce October 26 Shire(Pharmaceuticals) October 27 Middle Skills Legislative Hearing at State House November 3 Workforce Development System Visioning Session with Secretary Goldstein at Lahey Chmc She also noted that Senator Donnelly is a"friend"of Minuteman IV. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT 1 Proposed Revision to the Regional Agreement Capital Apportionment Model E Dr Bouquillon presented an updated,simplified spreadsheet describing financials related to Model E,as shown in Attachment A He called attention to the column listing the annual impact on the total tax bill of a single-family home He pointed out that while the goal is consensus among the 16 towns,questions raised by the Town of Arlington will be addressed soon in a meeting with Arlington representatives He then opened the discussion Reconsideration of the allocation model to focus more on education than on enrollment,fixed charges,or wealth was raised Competition for funds,funds allocated to charter schools and traditional public schools and the towns' consideration of distribution for various programs and services were raised Capital limits,operating budgets and overrides were discussed,as was the need for analysis of these factors in advance Dr Bouquillon suggested having Lisa Dickinson on the agenda for a future meeting to clarify the options The timing of the project to be able to take advantage of the greater share from MSBA,and the comparison of this tax impact to a$500/year for another project in Stow were also mentioned Dr Bouquillon referred to a discussion draft from Rick Manley on a suggested form of a Town Meeting article and motion relative to amending the Regional Agreement, shown as Attachment B Discussion centered around the timing, whether it was better to rush it through for Spring 2012 Town Meeting or to delay it by a year Bringing the towns up to speed with a complete picture was suggested by Mr Weis as a way to mitigate anxiety and help build support Solving the issue of how out-of-district towns can contribute to the capital costs,going through the steps in a logical sequence, clarifying when the 270 day period begins,and that the process of building consensus takes time were points expressed Dr Bouquillon emphasized that while he sees the value in delaying,there are expectations that have been put forth by the MSBA He recounted his recent conversation with Diane Sullivan at MSBA,and called attention to the MSBA project timelines,MSBA Building Process,and the MSBA Modules,as shown in Attachment C He emphasized the points from that conversation that the Minuteman District has completed much of the prerequisite steps,that the 270 days begin at the end of the Town Meeting period,and that changing the Regional Agreement is self-imposed The concerns raised by Arlington and Belmont and the importance of developing strategies to address the concerns were discussed Mr Spalding emphasized that the focus needs to be on Model E,increasing the percentage with MSBA,the cost of the project,and reviewing the Regional Agreement In response to Ms Mahoney's request for clarification,Dr Bouquillon explained that the focus of MAVA's legislative action in House Bill 1082 related to assigning a MAVA representative to the licensing boards,changing the definition of career and technical education,and establishing a study committee to look at offering Associate Degrees Page 2 of 5 Mr Taschioglou noted that an enrollment basis for towns sets up competition,and suggested shifting the focus to a more equitable approach that would create opportunities for sharing resources He emphasized the importance of being unified on the issue of non-member towns Mr Stulin summarized that the size of the school is related to expected services,and to maintain a certain level requires inclusion of out-of-district students That they don't contribute to the capital cost is viewed by some member towns as unfair He suggested that member towns should be responsible to help solve this problem,and can do so by deciding which of several paths for allowing non-member towns to contribute makes sense He suggested that the School Committee lay this out in a letter that articulates the issues,that they need to be solved,and that all towns should participate,as it is a shared responsibility Mr Taschioglou was not comfortable with the use of the word"should" Mr Weis clarified that the issue for Belmont was the size and scope of the project,and the non-member towns' cost share, and that he personally was skeptical about convincing MSBA to give a higher percentage He also questioned the harm in charging non-member towns Ms DeLuca raised that it could be perceived as an issue of taxation without representation Mr McGarity suggested that keeping the focus on the fact that the physical plant is deteriorating is important in reaching consensus by all member towns He emphasized the options as either increasing the number of students from member towns,or making it practical for non-member towns to become members He noted that Minuteman's educational value is on the rise,given the economic conditions,and urged articulating clear,simple reasons for towns to change the agreement 2 Stabilization Fund Warrant Article Dr Bouquillon referred to materials at the table,as shown in Attachment D,which included information on the process of creating a stabilization fund,the draft language for a School Committee vote to be considered at the next meeting,and a proposed form for a warrant article and motion for the towns Because of the recent Trades Hall problem,he explained that he is also pursuing statements of interest related to green energy,repair programs,and science labs He emphasized that the Town Managers are supportive of establishing a stabilization fund Mr Hunter wondered if it was premature,and if it would be better to clarify the use of the fund,given the uncertainty over the start of the 270 days Dr Bouquillon explained his understanding that the days would begin after Town Meetings,around July 1,2012 He noted that the list of the Town Meeting dates is being compiled Mr Spalding noted that necessary work on the building can be completed through a building project with some reimbursement,or piece meal,with the school paying 100%on the dollar He suggested that a stabilization fund is necessary,as is a good,quality list of anticipated capital improvements over a 5-10 year period Clarification was made related to statutory requirements and how the fund would be established Ms Mahoney emphasized the importance of having this information to rebut opposition on the floor of Town Meeting She expressed concern that some Boards of Selectmen don't seem to be listening to or following the recommendation of their Town Managers,and are not willing to avail themselves of the spirit of open communication The Chair suggested that if more information is needed beyond what Dr Bouquillon has provided,to please email him with the request 3 Tuitions Dr Bouquillon called attention to the material in the packet,the Minuteman Per Student Amounts,and the FY12 Post- Graduate Tuition(sic),as shown in Attachment E He pointed out that these are basic facts of what is being charged,and that this year it is the maximum allowable by law He was disappointed that Mr Manjarrez,who had requested the discussion,was not present Mr Spalding extended thanks to Dr Bouquillon for addressing the topic He informed the Committee that Mr Maniarrez just sent an email to the entire Committee while we were in session related to his enrollment concerns Materials fees,revenue generation,the number of postgraduates,cost comparisons between the 9-12 students and the postgraduates,that postgraduates do not have academics,transportation and Special Education Service costs,and what postgraduates pay as individuals were discussed Dr Bouquillon emphasized that MSBA doesn't count postgraduates in the numbers,and explained that there is a distinction between"postgraduate"and"postsecondary"programs for Page 3 of 5 reimbursement He noted that this reimbursement rate discussion changes the nature of what Minuteman does, particularly in terms of moving towards offering Associate Degrees 4 Quarterly Meeting with Town Officials -Reminder Dr Bouquillon summarized the count for the November 3rd meeting, agreed to send out the list of who is planning to attend,and urged members to contact and encourage attendance by officials of their towns V SECRETARY'S REPORT Mr Horton presented minutes from the October 18,2011 School Committee meeting He read a list of five housekeeping amendments to these minutes suggested by Ms Mahoney There was no discussion,and the School Committee took the following votes ACTION 11-12#45 On a motion of Mr Horton and seconded by Mr Spalding,the School Committee VOTED UNANIMOUSLY to approve the amendments to the minutes of the October 18,2011 School Committee Meeting,as presented ACTION 11-12#46 On a motion of Mr Horton and seconded by Mr Spalding,the School Committee VOTED UNANIMOUSLY to approve the minutes of the October 18,2011 meeting,as amended In response to Ms Mahoney's inquiry,Mr Horton confirmed that there were no other amendments submitted to him, other than those noted by the Chair in her report earlier Ms DeLuca agreed to include a section to comment on minutes in her School Committee self-evaluation survey VI. ADJOURNMENT Mr Stuhn expressed concern that the continued lengthy emails could be a violation of Open Meeting Law,and requested that the Chair get a legal opmion on the matter Ms DeLuca voiced that she was pleased with the high level of discussion on matters of importance to the students of Minuteman Mr Weis concurred ACTION 11-12#47 On a motion of Mr Spalding and seconded by Ms Mahoney,the School Committee VOTED UNANIMOUSLY to adjourn the meeting at 8 55 PM Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth Rozan David Horton, School Committee Administrative Assistant Secretary Page 4 of 5 MINUTEMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING NOVEMBER 1,2011 ATTACHMENTS TO THE MINUTES A Model E with Tax Rate Implications(11/1/11) B Discussion Draft Suggested Form of Article and Motion to amend Regional Agreement C MSBA Project Timeline,MSBA Building Process,Module Overview D Stabilization Fund Creation, Suggested SC Motion,Proposed Form of Article and Motion E Minuteman Per Student Amounts,Post Graduate Tuition FY12(sic) Page 5 of 5