HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-04-06-MMTECH-min.pdf (148)
MINUTES OF THE MINUTEMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL COMMITTEE
April 6 , 1976 , at the Minuteman School
PRESENT Bllodeau , Cormier, Cron Courtright , Hall , Heinrich , Kelsey ,
Merluzzo, Shimkus , Smith , Wales , Moll
Lombardo
STAFF Fitzgerald, Whitney, DellaPenna
VISITORS Mr Isenberg of the Parents Organizat on, a representative of
the press , several parents
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Cron at 7 50 p m
ELECTION Mr Cron announced that this meeting marked the end of terms
p”;Th.
OF for officers and termination of sub committees with the. ex"'
OFFICERS ception of Ways and Means and Policy , and that By-Laws req Erre, "'
election of chairman and vice-chairman, and appointment of
secretary and treasurer Nominations tor Chairman were asked
Mr Cror. was NOMINATED by Mr Hall , SECONDED by Dr Smith
Mr Me; iuzzo was MOMINATED by Mr Courtright , and SECONDED
Mr Shimkus Votes cast by ballot were counted by the
Secrete ry Mrs Wales Mr Cron was ELECTED CHAIRMAN Ltiy. a
vote of 6 to A (lissrs Cormier and Merluzzo were still `bseht
at this time)
For the office of Vice Chairman , Mr ,Kelsey was IIOMtNA;`ED
by Dr Smith , SECONDED by Mr Hall ; Mr ('ir`rluzzo was NOMINATED
by Mr 'Leol1 , SECONDED by Mr Courtright ;.'' Mr Merluzzo was
ELECTED VICE CHAIRMAN, by a vote of 7 to 3
Mrs Smith MOVED, and Mr Zeal ' SECONDED, that Ruth Wales be
appointed as Secretary VOTED UNANIMOUSLY
Mrs Smith MOVED, and Mr Zeoli SECONDED, that Mr Lombardo N_t , I
be appointed as Treasurer Mr Lombardo requested a review 0. I
of salary, and Dr Fitzgerald added that the work load of the
Treasurer's office has increased substantially it was AGREED
that the Treasurer's salary would be acted upon in July when
the salaries of administrators are considered , and that any
increase would be made retroactive to April The appointment
of Mr Lombardo as Treasurer was then VOTED UNANIMOUSLY
BUS Dr Fitzgerald reported that a bus returning students to Arling-
DAMAGE ton that afternoon had been damaged by students to the extent
of perhaps $1 ,000; students involved would be subject to police
Investigation and possibly asked to make restitution
(149)
TRAILER Dr Fitzgerald reported that the school would acquire two
surplus house trailers at no cost other than transporting
them to the school from Pennsylvania One trailer could be
used as a dispatch headquarters in the bus parking lot The
preferred site, however, for this purpose is in Lincoln , where
the zoning law requires a variance or permit to use a trailer`
Mrs Wales said she had been questioned as to why a vocational
school could not construct a more suitable structure than a
house trailer Dr Fitzgerald noted that the trailer could
be placed in Lexington , if the Lincoln Board of Appeals
denies the application for a variance which is scheduled for
hearing on April 7
It was suggested that any school business involving one town
in particular be brought to the attention of the member from
that town
GRADUATION Dr Fitzgerald said there would be an OPD meeting on April 13 I
REQUIREMENT.` to discuss graduation requirements ; meanwhile a memo on the
subject was distributed to the committee and members, were
asked to study it and make comments fhe question was raised:
whether a school committee can establish any requirements
beyond those required by law (apparently it can, judging by
a recent action in Arlington, where 28 seniors were refused
gr.duation on academic grounds , Mr Merluzzo reported) --
Dr Fitzgerald added that the entrance requirements of higher
ns itutions are being carefully studied
Lij
There we some question whether stricter requirements .Evoui;d
penalize the students who are incapable of t}asterinOome
skills , whether academic or vocational The ,originalrgoal, ohs
member pointed out, was simply to "take each student as tar as
he could go " Dr Fitzgerald replied that all students would
be able to graduate, but that some, might 'be quite mature before
they fulfilled the requirement's
MAINTENANCE The superintendent-director reported a request from the Mainten-
ance Department for an additional pei;son, and the committee
AGREED by CONSENSUS that one could be hired as soon as finances
permit a,
REPAIRS Dr Fitzgerald announced that stair facings would have to be
replaced, since the loose carpeting at the top edges presents a
hazard This would cost over $2 ,000 and must therefore be put
out to bid He offered a choice between steel reinforced vinyl ,
which would last five years at least and could be easily re-
placed by school staff, and epoxy as used in the tower stairs
ADVISORY It was MOVED by Mrs Wales , SECONDED by Mr Zeoli , that the
COMMITTEES membership for all Advisory Committees be approved as submitted
(List filed with the minutes) VOTED UNANIMOUSLY Mr Merluzzo
suggested a term of office be specified and that attendance
N ix I
(150)
be required - after a given number of absences a committee
member should be asked to resign
POLICY It was MOVED by Mr Kelsey , SECONDED by Dr Smith , to approve
CHANGES all policy changes as proposed by the Policy Sub Committee
An AMENDMENT to the Organization Chart was APPROVED by CONSENSUS ,
adding a solid line (representing reporting responsibility) from
the Treasurer to the School Committee It was then VOTED
UNANIMOUSLY that all the policy change recommendations , includ
ing the chart as amended , he APPROVED (Copy filed with the
minutes)
The Policy sub-comm ttee asked if they were to continue, Mr Cron
said he would be discussing committee reorganization with
Dr Fitzgerald
TREASURER' S Mr Lombardo reported a balance in the Operating and Payroll
REPORT Account of $56 ,871 08 and in the Site and Construction,Account
of $88 25
MINUTES The 'e were no minutes submitted for approval
OTHER SCHOOL COMMITTEE BUSINESS
Sm th reiterated her Concern that women are not Tepee;
sented at the administrative level or among 'the senior teerghets
"This teaches the students something The girls looka,rognt'
and say , ' I can see there 's no place for me in this .f'ield' s'
She proposed that a more concentrated effort shoul,d,'be made in
the future to find women for this level , even if they required
a degree of extra training In response. it was pointed out
that very few, if any, women ore sufficiently qualified in
vocational areas to be certified '.by the state And the school
cannot practice reverse discrimination
Dr Fitzgerald reported briefly on the. progress of the Fiscal
Management project The Construction Account final report
would be ready April 15 ; $160 ,000 in equipment account in-
voices have yet to be verified ; the consultants ' report will
include recommendations for the future
Gen Zeoli spoke for the ad hoc committee on Route 2 Of four
routes envisioned currently, three provide a connection between
2 and 2A, one does not He proposed that committee members
try to attend forthcoming hearings in Concord and Lincoln At
Gen 7.eoli 's further recommendation , the committee AGREED by
CONSENSUS that a letter be drafted by General Zeoli , supporting
(151)
an alternative which would include the connector This
letter would be signed by Gen Zeoli and sent to the Lexington
Planning Board A similar letter signed by Mr Cron would
be submitted to the DPW at the hearing in Concord on the
28th of April
-Gen Zeoli also asked for action on the request of the
Lexington Tennis Association to reserve the courts From
10 to 12 on five Sundays beginning April 13 In the past, •
a member noted, there have been difficulties over court reser-
vations ; since outside use must be at no cost to the school ,
it is impossible to hire supervisory personnel It was then
PROPOSED that approval be given to the LTA's request, on con-
dition that Gen Zeoli be responsible (as he volunteered to
be) , and this was AGREED with one member abstaining
Mrs Wales suggested that notice of the reservations be posted
at the courts at least a week in advance
Mr Shlmkus inquired about enrollment figures , Mr Cron reported
the current figure as 1149 Dr Fitzgerald said further re-
cruiting efforts would be postponed until graduation require-
ments had been established Mr Hall , Mr Courtright, and Mr
Merluzzo requested up-to-date figures for their respective
town meetings
CTAFF Dr Fitzgerald outlined the
progress of the evaluation p,r'deass,
EVALUATION foams for which had been given to members some weeks earlier
He felt it necessary, he said to base evaluations on the
period beginning January 5 , rather than going back to prior
periods for which there are no records and no adequate means
of judging the context Failure to do a, job well, 'hq;;noEd,,
is not always a sign of incompetence or insubordina0on:},tit
can be a result of impossible conditions He, emphasiNedthat
the real purpose of evaluation is to "promote success in
teaching kids "
Dr Fitzgerald then presented evaluations and recommendations
on reappointment for members of the administrative and teaching
staff Individials were identified by code letter and number
rather than by name so that these recommendations could be °;;,`4
discussed in open meeting
The senior teachers had been evaluated by the administrators,
and in turn they evaluated those teachers reporting to them
All teachers were given copies of their evaluations , a few
had filed statements in response
With regard to hiring for next year, the question was raised
as to whether enough study had been made of the viability of
particular programs -- if there is no job market in a field,
perhaps the program should be cut , and fewer personnel hired
(152)
After review, it was MOVED by Mir /Hall , SECONDED by Mrs Wales ,
to adopt the Superintendent-Director's recommendations
for rehiring and salary on personnel in areas 13 thrpugh
P with the exception of area L, the latter to be con-
sidered in Executive Session
VOTED UNANIMOUSLY (Copy filed with the minutes)
The committee expressed its appreciation to Dr Fitzgerald
for the clarity and completeness of these evaluations
It was MOVED by Mr Zeoli , SECONDED by Mr Heinrich, to
adjourn the meeting to reconvene in Executive Session for
the purpose of considering items involving professional
reputations of individuals , and to negotiate specific
contracts VOTED UNANIMOUSLY
The meeting adjourned at 11 30 p m
Respectfully submitted,
1` I1I
�1-
Recording Secretary ' '
Approved:a) A }'1.1_.� .7KML
Etta_1,0 N.1 64_0120
Ruth W Wales , Secretary