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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-09-22-SC-minSC Meeting 9/22/08 page # 1 LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Monday, September 22, 2008 Lexington Town Office Building, Selectmen’s Meeting Room 1625 Massachusetts Avenue Present: Superintendent Paul Ash, School Committee Chair Helen Cohen, School Committee members Rod Cole, Margaret Coppe, Tom Diaz, Ravi Sakhuja and student representative Gloria Park. The minutes were taken by Leora Tec. The Meeting was convened at 7:33 p.m. I. Call to Order and Welcome (Helen Cohen) II. Superintendent’s Announcements A. Hiring someone for the K-12 master plan: update. Design Partnership’s bid on this project has been accepted. Their report will be ready in January. The report will also include Central Office space. B. High school flood update. III. Members’ Reports / Members’ Concerns Tom Diaz: The Library trustees are investigating alternative uses for the Stone building (where the East Lexington branch of the library is housed). IV. Discussion Items 1. Security Systems — Clarke, Fiske, and Harrington. Presented by Police Chief Casey, Director of Facilities Pat Goddard and Sergio DeMango, facility engineer, who requested preliminary approval for security cameras at Clarke Middle School.. Security cameras were put in place as part of the Fiske and Harrington construction. Motion to have the project move forward at Clarke. (Cole, Diaz). The motion passed 5-0. 2. Summer Curriculum Work: Presented by Dr. Lynne Sarasin, Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development. SC Meeting 9/22/08 page # 2 3. Superintendent's Recommended 2008-2009 System Goals: Presented by Superintendent Paul Ash. There were questions and comments from the Committee. There will be a vote to approve these goals at the October 14 meeting, and then they will be placed on the LPS website. 4. 2008-2009 School Committee Meeting Calendar and Possible Agenda Items New School Committee Dates: Nov 3rd, Dec 10th (budget discussion) Rod Cole and other members of the Committee suggested the possibility of carrying out an evaluation by students and parents after graduation regarding the quality of the education they got here. Dr. Ash said that there is a company that does this work, and he will look into it later in the year when we know more about actual budget expenses. 5. FY10 Budget Calendar, Including Capital Motion to approve the FY 10 budget calendar (Diaz, Sakhuja). The motion passed 5-0. 6. FY10 Budget Guidelines: Dr. Ash presented proposed budget guidelines for a level service budget. These guidelines were discussed by the Committee. Motion to approve the guidelines with the omission of item number 2, which allowed for a small increase in programs (Diaz, Sakhuja). The motion passed 5-0. 7. Special Town Meeting Budget Transfer of Telephone Service. Presented by Mary Ellen Dunn, Assistant Superintendent. V. Action Items: 1. Vote to Approve Lexington High School Field Trip to Germany and Austria. Motion to approve Lexington High School Field Trip to Germany and Austria (Diaz, Cole). The Motion passed 5-0. 2. Vote to Authorize Submission of U.S. State Department Grant Proposal. Presented by Kathryn DeWitt and Jacquelyn Ruback. Motion to authorize submission of U.S. State Department grant proposal (Diaz, Coppe). The motion passed 5-0. 3. Vote to Accept Donation of Dictionaries from the Lexington Chapter of the Elks Organization. Motion to Accept with gratitude, the donation of dictionaries from the Lexington Chapter of the Elks Organization to all Lexington third graders (Diaz, Cole). The motion passed 5-0. SC Meeting 9/22/08 page # 3 4. Vote to Approve School Committee Liaison Assignments for the 2008-2009 School Year Motion to Approve School Committee Liaison Assignments for the 2008-2009 School Year (Diaz, Cole). The motion passed 5-0. (The liaison assignments will be posted on the LPS website.) 5. Vote to Appoint Board Member to the Munroe Center for the Arts Motion to Appoint Tom Griffiths Board member pro-tem to the Munroe Center for the Arts (Cole, Coppe). In the discussion, the Committee decided that it should look into whether, in the long term, the School Committee needs to have a liaison to the Arts Center. VI. Motion to Adjourn (Sakhuja, Coppe). The motion passed 5-0.