HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-03-02-MMTECH-min.pdf (129)
MINUTES OF THE MINUTEMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL DISTRICT SCHOOL COMMITTEE
March 2, 1976, at the Minuteman School
PRESENT Bllodeau, Cormier, Courtright, Hall , Heinrich, Kelsey, Merluzzo,
Smith, Wales , Zeoli
Lombardo
ABSENT Cron, Shimkus
STAFF Fitzgerald, Ricciuttl , Whitney, DellaPenna, Gibson, Hayward,
Less, O'Reilly
VISITORS Mr Isenberg of the Parents Organization, Mr Solito of
Minuteman° Publications, parents, LWV observers , and others a, k•,„,�`'.:a
The meeting was called to order at 7 45 by Mr Merluzzo, Acting Chairman ".kJn>.
ADMISSIONS A printed listing by name and town of 337 9th grade appl'i;cants •
was presented As previously agreed, all these applicants
could be accepted without concern for quotas or a ldtterx;
since the total number was less than 450 The discussion
that followed focused on two aspects, special needs and
budget reduction
A member asked if the list included some students with special.
needs beyond the capability of Minuteman to serve, and , if so,. ,,
would Minuteman be incurring liability under Chapter '.766? --
Acceptance is necessarily conditional- at the time of core
evaluation , any students with needs for which MinuteMatt ,f011,1;! I
ties are Inadequate would be asked to withdraw ;If1,nece.55i:)i,;, :a
such a request could be carried to a court of appeals yil
Dr Fitzgerald and several committee members expressed deep i
concern over the effect of the agreement with the Regional. + F.;. ''
Finance Committee (to reduce the budget by $1 ,694 for every a 4c'"`,'4 .+^' ' ,..t ,
student under 1200 as of March 16) Since the reduction-Must' V"
be primarily in the 2000 (instruction) account, all dther.' cds%G,: :, ';`'.;�; 4i
being relatively fixed, it will almost surely be necessaryto?.+'. `I;��.
cut programs This would have a damaging effect on what can ,W%
be offered to students already enrolled, and make it difficuLt.,•<`”
If not impossible, to provide for any students applying after
March 16
Suggestions for alleviating this problem included the follow-
ing 1) renegotiating the agreement with the Regional Finances
Committee (this appears impossible because of time) ; 2) coon- i
centrating on efforts to attract students from outside the
district, who would pay tuition; 3) concentrating on other
financially supportive programs; 4) establishing a contingency
(130)
account; 5) an absolute cut-off of applications on March 16
and total concentration on providing the best possible F
program, with the money available, for those accepted by
that time
It was noted that the building was initially planned for 1500
students, that only later did it appear that 1800 could be
accommodated, and that in terms of the original projections
y'.
the enrollment Is only down by 50 students
Discussion of the reasons for not reaching the enrollment goal
brought out that I.) enrollment is declining everywhere, and
some member high schools see Minuteman as competition, and ' "1
2) in many cases where students would choose to attend Minute
man, the parents are unsympathetic Members again expressed.,
their thanks for the excellent work of the recruiting teams
Mr Kelsey reported that the Weston schools had been mostz ,
cooperative, and had "emptied their 8th grade classrooms" in
order to send 300 students to visit Minuteman
r id
Dr Fitzgerald noted that there 1s, and will be, an increasing
interest on the part of 10th , 11th, and 12th graders , post=
graduates (one application is in hand) and adults, who,' find
,alie't,, ! `!'
Minuteman offers programs not available elsewhere (State law ste
requires that services be offered to all regardless of .age) , +. d r ,y'
It was MOVED by Mrs Wales, SECONDED by Mr Heinrich, AMENDED: , , Y
by a vote of 9 in favor, 1 opposed, and then VOTED
That all 9th grade applications received to date be
accepted, in accordance with admissions policy, •a0' 1X
that the superintendent-director be authorized 'to .so
notify the applicants by means of a letter is the
following form: S'
"I am pleased to report that you have been accepted as
a student for September, 1976, at Minuteman Regional t ;,
Vocational Technical School , subject to a review-of '', ",k,.l,:
your school records to ensure that your educational "`'
'i,) ) N{, 71
plan may be adequately served at Minuteman In the t ,4 '4�'4 T
meantime, please be sure to read and complete the
enclosed form and to return it to us as soon as
possible before the deadline indicated Once you
confirm your plans to attend, additional information
will be mailed to you
Minuteman will be an exciting experience for you Our
new building and equipment and our staffing have been
designed' to provide you with the most comprehensive;
career exploration programs in the nation We look
forward to helping you to pursue your career interests "
VOTED UNANIMOUSLY ,
(131)
DEAN OF After some discussion, and on reconanendation of the Superinten-
STUDENTS dent-Director, it was MOVED by Mrs Wales, SECONDED by Mr
Bilodeau,
That Dean of Students be added to the list of Adminis-
trative and Management personnel , inrSection 3 4 1 3
of the Policy Manual
VOTED UNANIMOUSLY
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Also upon recommendation of the Superintendent-Director, x"
It was MOVED by Mrs Wales, SECONDED by Dr Smith,
That George Gibson and James O'ReiIly be appointed
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to perform the duties of the Dean of Students in
addition to their regular duties, effective March i ,
and that they receive 5% salary differentials while .,r ;,% '424.2'44;;,'
performing these duties "` ' ,
+ 4444 £r'
VOTED UNANIMOUSLY 1r 'bi h q'
RESIGNATION At the recommendation of Dr Fitzgerald, it was MOVED by
Gen Zeoii , SECONDED by Mr Kelsey,
nw
To accept the resignation
Office, of from' Lhe; Bu ide i ,
VOTED UNANIMOUSLY VA s) ,44a
POST- Dr Fitzgerald reported an application received from a s't4del#.t.'
GRADUATE graduating from Lexington High this April , who wants; ttd, dd, li
post-graduate work at Minuteman There may well',be an in4'
creasing number of such applicants, Dr Fitzgerald predicted
Mrs Wales suggested that Minuteman might offer a full-time, .
exploratory program for seniors in member high schools, many s ,'^tit
of whom have completed basic diploma requirements by then
'(1:
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41 M•'Py'i'
FACILITIES Dr Fitzgerald announced that outside use of Minuteman fat-114,
ties is bein encouraced Ali town recreation directors, 'rn' " "
the district have been notified of the availability of these
facilities, the conditions, responsibilities, and liabilities
involved He is also proposing that certain policy changes * ��; §' '� te
�
be made in this area, and is asking the policy committee tot
review these proposals There was no disagreement with a. 44a '
proposed CONSENSUS
that public use of the facilities be encouraged,
provided that there is no incremental cost to the
district, and with the understanding that school
uses take priority
A
n�y; a:,
(132)
Members did suggest that a) no one group be permitted to
use a particular facility for more than a given number of
weeks, b) careful thought be given to use of the tennis
courts, for which maintenance is a constant concern
STORAGE There was some discussion concerning the future of the
BUILDING student-built structure in the Trades Hall area; it
could be used as a storage house and teaching aid, with
appropriate fireproofing
qp
Committee members noted that an ad hoc committee had been
established to consider all permanent additions to the
school building; it was desired that students consistently
see that function can be esthetically pleasing Admittedly,
no thought was given to esthetics at the time of construct-
ing this building (which was a demonstration of many }
varied building techniques) , yet the results are considered
bysome to be attractive anyway It was noted that changes I• '
Y Y � ,se ;
and improvements can certainly be made, and probably will' x�£`
be if the Building Trades Department knows the building .is
43?
theirs to keep, use and manage It was therefore MOVED by
Mr Courtright and SECONDED by Mr Hall ,
,r
To fireproof the building in the Trades Hall for
1 ' .aid , r!.
use as a storage shed and teaching aid { v '4,4y `p
VOTED UNANIMOUSLY e°
COLLECTIVE At the suggestion of the Superintendent-Director, the
BARGAINING committee agreed by CONSENSUS that they would by interested''`s
SERVICE in finding out more about the Collective Bargaining Service,
being developed by the Institute for Educational Services
and MITRE Corporation (to provide data, management informer
tion and analysis useful to school committees and super-
intendents in collective bargaining) , but that no commitment
would be made at this time
i' ;�i t
`'`� -44' p
EVALUATION Committee members received copies of evaluation forms for ;Y.,*.>?; r 'r• }
secretaries and administrators (forms for faculty evaluatjon
had been given out at an earlier meeting) Starting Monday,
Dr Fitzgerald said , the process would begin of "evaluating 0.•; w. ,
t}'
the process of evaluation " The -staff has been very Support- ' ,;. u ;=.;?l'•„,+,�
ive, he said, and they see the forms as constructive and
helpful tools rather than as vehicles for criticism. Dr, ,t, 44..112
Fitzgerald added that at the next meeting he would present !
an MBO form for his own position Committee members were 1t .".x
very impressed by the clarity and detail in all evaluation`s
forms they had seen so far
t d'
(133)
TREASURER'S Mr Lombardo reported a balance in the Operating and Payroll
REPORT Account of $44,557 Ii , and in the Site and Construction
Account of $4,451 59 Mr Lombardo also reported that the
reimbursement check from the state had come through 10 days
early, and that as a consequence 31600 in Interest had been
gained
MINUTES It was MOVED by Mrs Wales, SECONDED by Mr Hall ,
t�• Y
� 41+
to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of
February 17, 1976, as submitted
VOTED UNANIMOUSLY
OTHER SCHOOL COMMITTEE BUSINESS "• ^.
Mr Kelsey announced that a meeting of the Policy Sub-
Committee would be held in the Seminar Room 32 on March
9 at 7.30 p.m.
a, 1,y,
Mrs Wales and General Zeal' commented on the highly success- 1C
ful Open House February 28, attended by an estimated 1 ,000. a. :K = '
persons, and they extended thanks to all involved in the
preparations
It was suggested by Mrs Wales that the committee members'-
might wish to support a bill (reported on in a MASC bulletin)'
which would modify the present tenure law and institute. a '
5-year renewable contract ,. .;.
Mrs Wales also directed the committee 's attent-{oh 'to 114
voluminous Route 2 Environmental Impact Report: The Route a
2 to 2A connector, on which Minuteman had counted for a
second access (40 buses using one entry and exit would
create a real problem) is included in only some of the alter / ,• , v dm,;
'r.k„th
natives discussed; there Is no District statement on the
Route 2 question on record There will be a local hearing '''
in late April , and Mrs Wales strongly recommended that the �Ny<-ah+
Minuteman position be presented and recorded Acting .t' •" x.�.
Chairman Merluzzo then suggested, and the committee AGREED,
That an ad hoc committee, consisting of the members 44
from Lexington , Lincoln, Concord, and Acton, prepare
;,
a statement on the Route 2 plan for the approval of
the committee as a whole, and subsequent submission'
to the DPW Gen Zeoli was appointed as Chairman
pro tem of this committee
Adult Education courses, it was reported, are pver-subscribed s".,7.;
in some areas, under-subscribed in others t, Lombardo, �.
suggested that the adult education program beNiven coral:46od$ . - ''`'
°+T'e 4FI•
(134)
publicity -- In Concord 4200 persons enroll in adult education
courses, but Minuteman can offer programs that are not
possible there
It was MOVED by Mrs Smith, SECONDED by Mr. Nall
To adjourn the meeting to reconvene in executive
session to consider negotiations with employees bUti' ''� . ;tF,
and negotiations on litigation g'4
VOTED UNANIMOUSLY by ROLL CALL VOTE
The meeting was adjourned at 10.20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
at\Sdac .
Recording Secretary
441.7•
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Approved IS ,
Ruth 4! Wales, 'Secretary,
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SUMMARY OF MINUTEMAN SCHOOL COMMITTEE VOTES
March 2, 1976
Executive Session (10 present)
Ws-.1
MINUTES Approved and made public UNANIMOUS
, .
WORKWEEK Work week for clerical support personnel
established at 97# hrs exclusive of lunch
VOTED 9 in favor, I opposed ' 411(“ :IFFF'
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