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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-03-15-SC-min SC Meeting 3/15/11 page # 1 LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, March 15, 2011 Lexington Town Office Building, Selectmen’s Meeting Room 1625 Massachusetts Avenue Present: Superintendent Paul Ash, School Committee Chair Mary Ann Stewart, School Committee Members Sandro Alessandrini, Bonnie Brodner, Margaret Coppe and Jessie Steigerwald and student representative Noah Coolidge. Minutes were taken by Leora Tec. The meeting was convened at 7:33 p.m. I. Election of Officers The first order of business was the election of officers for the School Committee. Motion to nominate Mary Ann Stewart as School Committee Chair (Coppe, Brodner). The motion passed 5-0. Motion to nominate Alessandro Alessandrini as School Committee Vice-Chair (Coppe, Brodner). The motion passed 4-0-1 (Steigerwald). II. Call to Order and Welcome (Mary Ann Stewart). Welcome to Bonnie Brodner, new School Committee member. III. Superintendent’s Announcements 1. Congratulations to Joann McMahon, nurse at the Fiske School. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced that she has been selected as the 2011 recipient of the William P. Doran Excellence in School Nursing Award. 2. Update on enrollment report. Dr. Ash met with Ruth Berdell, enrollment consultant, and Town Clerk Donna Hooper as a follow up to the meeting they previously had with Rod Cole. They will look at the unexpected kindergarten students who enrolled this year— were they already living here but just not on the census, or did they in fact recently move in? We are considering that, as part of the process of school registration, parents be required to go to Town Hall to register as well. There they will swear that they are indeed living in town. The database is being scanned to identify the students who are enrolled but do not appear on the census. SC Meeting 3/15/11 page # 2 IV. Members’ Reports / Members’ Concerns Jessie Steigerwald: There will be a dinner in support of the METCO Scholarship Fund. Tickets can be purchased through the METCO office. Ms. Steigerwald requested an update on the RFP situation from Dr. Ash. Paul Ash: Town Counsel has told us that it is absolutely required that municipalities go out to bid for after school programs. The intention to go out to bid is to find out which company provides the standard we are looking for the lowest price. The provision allowing the School Committee to extend a program for an additional year is for situations in which we really need to do that for a compelling reason. The bid criterion that states that we would like to award the contract to someone who can run the program for all six schools—this is to ensure that a company running the programs be strong enough to cover a program that may get into financial trouble. We could set up a time for a public meeting about the bids. We received six bids from the four existing Boards and two bids from outside companies. What is contained in the documents is not public until a recommendation is made to the School Committee. Mary Ellen Dunn: The criteria are relatively extensive, we can make the link to the documents available on the Business and Finance page of the website. There are both quality based criteria and legal form function criteria. The RFP Review Team consists of elementary principals and additional educators. An interview process may be part of the evaluation process. Then we look at the price components. There were some questions from the Committee. Mary Ann Stewart: There was a meeting at the Central Office on March 11 regarding Robinson Road access and improvements as they relate to building a new Estabrook Elementary School. There was a strong desire to meet with residents of the surrounding area, as they will be affected by construction. Next Tuesday night there will be a meeting for the Estabrook community at Cary Hall, primarily regarding Robinson Road improvements. There is no plan to ask for construction dollars at this time. Article 13 of the 2011 Town Warrant addresses Estabrook design feasibility and the Bridge and Bowman renovation expansion. I am interested in presenting the Bridge and Bowman projects on behalf of the School Committee at Town Meeting and Sandro Alessandrini would like to do so regarding Estabrook. SC Meeting 3/15/11 page # 3 V. Action Items 1. Vote to Approve a Request from the Cotting School for the Establishment of HOPEhouse at Cotting School, a New Five-Day Residential Program Serving up to 12 Young Adults Ages 17 to 22. Introduced by Paul Ash. The President and the Chief Operating Officer from the Cotting School were present and answered questions. Motion to approve a request from the Cotting School for the establishment of HOPEhouse at Cotting School (Steigerwald, Alessandrini). The motion passed 5-0. 2. Vote to Accept Donations of $1,000 Each from the Boys and Girls Basketball Booster Clubs toward the Purchase of an Upright Exercise Bicycle for the Lexington High School Fitness Center. Motion to accept with gratitude donations of $1,000 each from the Boys and Girls Basketball Booster Clubs toward the purchase of an upright exercise bicycle for the Lexington High School Fitness Center (Steigerwald, Coppe). The motion passed 5-0. 3. Vote to Approve School Committee Minutes of January 25, 2011. There were no amendments to the School Committee Minutes of January 25, 2011 and they were adopted by unanimous consent. 4. Vote to Approve School Committee Minutes of February 15, 2011 There were no amendments to the School Committee Minutes of February 15, 2011 and they were adopted by unanimous consent. VI. Motion to go into executive session for the purpose of collective bargaining not to return to open session (Brodner, Alessandrini). Alessandrini-aye; Brodner-aye; Coppe-aye; Steigerwald-aye and Stewart-aye. The meeting went into Executive Session at 8:25 p.m. Documents: School Committee Meeting Agenda; letter from David Manzo, Cotting School President to Superintendent Paul Ash re: seeking approval for a 5-day residential program serving up to young adults ages 17-22; Cotting School Flyer; letter from Eamon Sheehan, Coordinator, Physical Education and Wellness to Superintendent Paul Ash, re: donation of $1000 each from the LHS boys’ and girls’ basketball programs in order to purchase an upright bicycle for the LHS fitness center; School Committee minutes 1/25/11; School Committee Minutes 2/15/11.