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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-06-15-MMTECH-min.pdf a 183 MINUTES OF THE MINUTEMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL COMMITTEE June 15,• ;1976 at the Minuteinn School PRESENT Bilodeau, Cormier, Courtright, Cron, Hall , Heinrich, Kelsey, Merluzzo, Smith, Shimkus, Wales, Zeoli STAFF Included Fitzgerald, Ricciuti , Easton, Whitney, DellaPenna, Hayward, Wallace, Lydiard, Callahan , Gibson, Rose, Graham, Robitaille, Mar, Curt VISITORS Included James Isenberg, President of the Parent Organization, Jason Kroell of the Minute Man, Bill Churchill of the Carlisle Mosquito, Linda Hall of the South Middlesex News, John Putnam, Acton Town Moderator, Mrs Smallman, Mrs Powers, Mrs White, and about 20 other parents plus student representatives Bruce Williams and Fred Corazzini and several other students including Colin Chisholm and Sally Smallman The meeting was called to order by Chairman Cron at 7 47 p m BUDGET REALLOcATIONS Dr Fitzgerald went over suggested votes to be considered at the meeting Student representative, Bruce Williams and various members of the committee discussed the size of the athletic budget Bruce felt it was inadequate The school committee pointed out that the superintendent was free to reallocate the amounts spent for the various sports as long as the amount spent did not exceed the $40,000 budgeted The school committee also pointed out that the only way the total athletic budget could be increased would be to take money away from some other school program, since the total amount of the 1976-77 school budget had already been set by the school committee earlier in the year and the district towns assessed their shares of this budget It was suggested that if the student representatives want to contribute their ideas to the budgetary process they attend the sessions at which the 1977-78 budget is drawn up and discussed, beginning in September Mrs Powers asked if two coaches were being dropped , Dr Fitzgerald said that no coaching positions have been eliminated However, he went on to say that two physical education aide positions have been dropped for budgetary reasons and that these aides had been informed that they were eligible to apply for the remaining aide positions which were to be filled It was MOVED by Mrs Wales and SECONDED, that the reallocation of amounts i,1 the budget for 1976-77 as submitted by the superintendent be approved and that the management plan presented by the superintendent, including restorations as outlined in this plan also be approved VOTED UNANIMOUSLY 1 184 EXCESS AND DEFICIENCY ACCOUNT It was MOVED by Mr Hall and SECONDED, that there is hereby established pn Excess and Deficiency Account to include all funds received by the District in the nature of a general unrestricted receipt, other than the proceeds of assessments on the member towns and other anticipated revenues voted by the School Committee in its determination of the revenues to be applied to the annual operating and maintenance budget Except as may otherwise be directed by vote of the Committee, all unexpended and unencumbered revenues on hand at the close,of each fiscal year shall be transferred to the Excess and Deficiency Account No sums in the Excess and Deficiency Account shall be encumbered or expended except by vote of the School Committee VOTED UNANIMOUSLY APPROPRIATIONS FROM ESD ACCOUNT It was MOVED by Mr Hall and SECONDED, that $7,994 04 be appropriated from the Excess and Deficiency Account and applied against the 1976-77 budget VOTED UNANIMOUSLY It was MOVED by Mr Hall and SECONDED, that $113,138 00 be transferred from the Excess and Deficiency Account to the Construction Account for movable equipment VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TUITION REVENUE Dr Fitzgerald announced that under the terms of the regionalization agreement tuition revenue has to be used to reduce the following year's budget and cannot be applied to programs However, he went on to say that indirectly, tuition students can help make programs possible by increasing the number of students enrolled in them to a size which makes operation of the programs financially feasible STUDENT/PARENT COMMENTS Parent Organization president, James Isenberg commented again on the small budget the school had to work with next year, particularly the athletics budget He said the school committee should take a long, hard look at this in making up the 1977-78 budget In reply to a question from a parent, Dr Fitzgerald said the Adult Education income this past year just about balanced out teacher salaries In reply to another question form a parent, Dr Fitzgerald explained that the relatively high per pupil costs for vocational education are due to the more expensive equipment and supplies as well as the greater amount of 'shop space needed He also pointed out that the start-up costs of a new school make these expenses higher until the school is operating at capacity with four classes of students Dr Fitzgerald said that Minuteman 's $2500 per pupil operating cost for next year will be in the middle range for vocational -technical schools 185 Acton Town Moderator John Putnam introduced himself and said he had heard good things about the school from several students Student Sally Smallman thanked school, committee members for coming to the production of "Oliver" and expressed her hope that the committtee would continue to support the music/drama program next year A parent complimented the students, teachers and coaches on the athletic banquet and the "Oliver" production This praise was also repeated by Mrs Wales and Mr Heinrich METCO Dr Easton presented a proposal that the total number of METCO students be increased from 9 to 30 for the 1976-77 school year He explained that the new admissions would be carefully regulated so that no slots in the shops would be taken away from the regular students and that the net gain to the school district from METCO funds would not be less than the tuition cost for each student In response to a question from General Zeoli , Dr Fitzgerald stated that if METCO funding should be withdrawn at some future time, Minuteman would try to arrange for tuition admission of the students from the city of Boston METCO Director Jean McGuire added that one of the realities of the METCO program is that if it is not funded, the students would have to return to school in Boston Mr Courtright questioned the need for a METCO Coordinator and Dr Fitzgerald stated he felt that with 30 METCO students at Minuteman, a full-time METCO Coordinator would be needed and that the coordinator ' s salary would be paid by METCO funds at no expense to the district It was MOVED by Mrs Wales and SECONDED that the school administration prepare a METCO proposal for a maximum of 30 students at no incremental cost to the district and in accordance with the guidelines presented by the superintendent VOTING IN FAVOR - 10, ABSTAINING - Courtright and Merluzzo CRIMINAL Dr Easton presented a recommendation for the establishment JUSTICE of a Criminal Justice program in the Technology cluster, PROGRAM stating that if the program were approved, Minuteman would be the only secondary school in the United States with such a program and as such, would be the focus for possible federal funding He stated that 850 of the occupations for which the program would begin preparing students would require additional schooling after graduation and 15% of the occupations would not Dr Easton also stated that the program might provide in-service training for adults Dr Fitzgerald stated that there was a wide spectrum of opportunities available to students in this field and that a great many Minuteman students dolan to continue their education following g graduation 186 It was MOVED by Mrs Wales and SECONDED that Robert J Roth and William L McDonald be retained for 20 man days in July and August at $100 per day to assist the Minuteman staff to develop a ninth, tenth and eleventh grade curriculum in Criminal Justice, assist the Criminal Justice instructor to gather appropriate instructional resources and identify and initiate an appropriate advisory council ; and to provide a labor market projection for the various career areas within the Criminal Justice system VOTED UNANIMOUSLY AUTO AWARD Dr Ricciuti announced that Marie Hakal.a had been named Minuteman ' s outstanding student for the 1975-76 school year and had been awarded an automobile which had been donated to the school and rebuilt and repainted by the Auto Body shop EQUIPMENT BIDS It was MOVED by General Zeoli and SECONDED that contracts be awarded for movable equipment to the successful bidders as listed in the report of Tavares Design Associates and that copy of the report be attached to the minutes VOTED UNANIMOUSLY BUILDING Dr Ricciuti presented slides showing proposed changes IMPROVEMENT inside the building , most of which would be carried out by PROJECTS in-house labor with students in the Building Trades cluster It was MOVED by Mr Hall and SECONDED that a Building Improvement Fund be established at the level of $17,500 through a transfer of that amount from the Excess and Deficiency Account and that the administration be authorized to proceed in obtaining bids on the relocation of the Dean ' s Office, the Business Office, the Special Education offices, additional relocations and improvements including telephone reallocation, creation of a P A system, installation of a tool crib and relocation of machines in the machine shop, and the relocation of the light switching board in the TV studio VOTED UNANIMOUSLY It was MOVED by Mr Hall and SECONDED that the school committee authorize the administration and the chairman or his designee to determine the feasibility of hiring an architect to serve as consultant to review certain items in the building improvement proposals and to report back to the school committee VOTING IN FAVOR - 11 ABSTAINING Cron CLERK OF It was MOVED by Mr Courtright and SEOCNDED THE WORKS. that the school committee, using construction account funds hire a Clerk of the Works at the rate of $9600 per year with benefits for one year or less starting August 1 , 1976, to act as equipment receiving officer, facilities control officer, and at the discretion of the superintendent, as a floor cash manager for receiving payments for school services rendered by vocational departments VOTED UNANIMOUSLY 187 .y JULY MEETING SCHEDULE It was MOVED by Mr Hall and SECONDED that the first regular meeting in July be deleted and that the Business Office be open from 8 a m until 8 p m on July 6 so that the committee members may sign warrants VOTING IN FAVOR - 11 , OPPOSED - Merluzzo SENATE BILL Dr Easton reported that Senate Bill 272 was not reported 272 favorably out of committee and is now back in Ways and Means OPEN MEETING Mr Hall reported that the House had killed without debate LAW AMENDMENT the proposed amendment of the Open Meeting Law TREASURER'S The Treasurer, Mr Lombardo, reported a balance in the i REPORT Operating and Payroll Account of $30,688 68 and in the Site and Construction Account of $2,905 07 MINUTES It was MOVED by Mrs Wales and SECONDED to approve the mintues of the regular meeting of June 1 , 1976 VOTED UNANIMOUSLY COMMENTS FROM On the occasion of his final committee meeting, Mr Kelsey COMMITTEE suggested that the future meetings be carried on in a more MEMBERS formal manner with discussions limited He complimented the Superintendent for the fine leadership he has brought to the I district and voiced his optimism about the capacity of the district to work together as a region He also expressed the hope that the school would eventually be operating 24 hours a day, 12 months a year bringing services to the district Mr Cron, also attending his last meeting , introduced his successor, Dr Lawrence Ovian as an able replacement Dr Fitzgerald thanked both Mr Kelsey and Mr Cron on behalf of the staff and the taxpayers Mr Hall then offered the following resolutions and requested that copies be sent to Mr Cron and Mr Kelsey RESOLVED that the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District hereby expresses its appreciation and acknowledges its debt of gratitude to ALFRED C CRON, who has served as the original member of the School Committee from Sudbury since the organization of the District on April 22, 1971 until his resignation on June 16, 1976 Al Cron has been one of the most faithful and hard-working members of the School Committee and its predecessor, Regional School District Planning Board, throughout his tenure The District 's magnificent school building serves as a tribute to the dedication and skills of Al Cron, the first and only Chairman of the Minuteman Builidng Committee As Vice- Chairman of the School Committee from January, 1974, until April , 1975, and as Chairman of the Committee from April 1975 to June 1976, Al has made further significant contributions I to the achievements pf the District The members of the 188 School Committee wish Al all the best in his new endeavors in Washington, D C His energies and considerable talents will be sorely missed by Minuteman RESOLVED that the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technicsl School District hereby express its appreciation to ALBERT V B KELSEY, who has served as the member of the School Committee from Weston from May 16, 1972 until his resignation on June 16, 1976 Kerck Kelsey has been a dedicated and faithful member of the School Committee throughout his term of service Kerck has served as a member of the Education and Curriculum, Policies and Ways and Means subcommittees and was a strong member of the Superintendent-Director Search Committee, whose efforts culminated in the selection of;our present Superintendent-Director, Ron Fitzgerald Kerck' s knowledge of the education business , his dedication, his good judgement and his balanced viewpoint have contributed greatly to the development of a school in the full sense of the word The members of the School Committee wish Kerck and his family happiness and success in their new home in Iowa City, Iowa His wisdom and common sense will be sorely missed VOTED UNANIMOUSLY In response to a question from Mr Cormier, Dr Fitzgerald said that admissions notices to upper class students would be sent out as soon as the scheduling of current Minuteman students has been completed Mrs Wales noted that James Isenberg is the new president of the Parent Organization and that the discussion of scheduling had been very well handled by Dr Fitzgerald at the Parent Organization meeting She also noted that Jean Turkington had contributed her time serving as the accompanist for the production of "Oliver" and should be thanked Mrs Smith called the committee' s attention to the school 's new literary magazine, "Outlet" as well as to the success of the "01iver"production General Zeoli and Mr Bilodeau also offered their commendations to the staff and students for these accomplishments In response to questions from the committee, Dr Fitzgerald said the opening of the Tennis and Swim Club has been delayed until July 6 in an effort to find our whether or not enough people are interested in joining to make the program self- supporting 1 4 189 ELECTION OF OFFICERS General Zeoli nominated Rico Merluzzo to serve as Chairman of the Committee the nominations were then closed General Zeoli then nominated Ruth Wales to serve as Vice- Chairman The nominations were closed and the secretary was directed to cast one ballot for each nominee VOTED UNANIMOUSLY At 11 35 p m it was MOVED to adjourn to excutive Sessie to discuss personnel matters affecting the personal reputations of those being discussed VOTED UNANIMOUSLY by a roll call vote Respectfully submitted, `4. i. I Lf (4 11 it Beverly W ;Lydiard j Recording Secretary pro-temt_ Approved 7.43170 i (Q7 eAS1A LJ, (wake Ruth W Wales, Secretary