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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-09-29-SC-minLEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, September 29, 2015 Lexington Town Office Building, Selectmen’s Meeting Room 1625 Massachusetts Avenue PRESENT: Superintendent Dr. Mary Czajkowski, Chair Jessie Steigerwald, Alessandro Alessandrini, Margaret Coppe, Judy Crocker, Bill Hurley, Student Representative Abby Swartz ALSO PRESENT: Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Development Carol Pilarski, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Bob Harris, Interim Finance Director Ian Dailey, Director of Facilities (DPF) Pat Goddard, Director of Guidance Valerie Viscosi, Director of Planning and Assessment Maureen Kavanaugh, DiNisco Design Partnership Ken DiNisco, Hastings principal Louise Lipsitz The minutes were taken by Judy Crocker. At 7:03pm, the Chair called the meeting to order. At 7:08pm, Committee member Margaret Coppe arrived. Public Comment: Andrew Baker, President of the Lexington Education Association, reminded the Committee that numerous Lexington High School teachers spoke at the January public hearing about their workload. Now that the Committee is discussing the next budget cycle, the topic needs to be revisited. He explained how the current teacher workload promotes low morale, fatigue, and a culture of stress. A lower workload would allow more time for 1:1 student advising, planning, professional collaboration and a shift in culture. While he understands that there are a number of meaty financial expenditures are on the budget agenda, he spoke to how sustainable cultures outlast sustainable buildings. Wendy Cordero, LHS teacher, read the same statement that she had read to the Committee last February. The English Department teaches four classes but Social Studies, Mathematics, and World Language teach five. She read the recommendations from the 2009 LHS Course Load Committee and asked the Committee to return to 2005-2006 teacher loads. Erin Barrett, LHS Social Studies teacher, who also has children at LHS and Diamond Middle School. She requested that the Committee read past records that include many passionate statements. Last winter Dr. Ash said it would be too much work to include these changes in the FY16 budget and that it could not be done. She spoke of how teachers are worth the investment. The Committee agreed to put this topic on the next agenda. Superintendent’s Announcements: • DiNisco Design will be presenting a community forum on the multi-school capital projects on October 15 at 7pm at Clarke Middle School. • School Enrollment Update: o Grade K Overmax Aides – Fiske and bridge have 4 each effective September 1. Contractually, need to have overmax aides in place by October 1 but thought it important to add immediately. o Enrollment: FY16 projections v FY16 actual  Elementary projected 3029 v 3052 actual  Middle School projected 1657 v 1646 actual  HS projected 2170 v 2171 actual  Using the Cohort Survival Method, individual school projections were made. The greatest variation occurred at: • Bridge projected 591 v 569 actual (decrease) • Estabrook projected 488 v 511 actual (increase) • Diamond projected 805 v 782 actual (decrease) o Fiske Kindergarten – Mr. Baker is wiling to work with contractual language to make adjustments if the Fiske kindergarten triggers 24 students/classroom. The Superintendent proposed she work with any new families moving into Lexington for other possible building options. She is willing to give parents a choice and provide transportation. • Attended the Hastings PTA meeting where she reviewed the recent MSBA site visit and Pelham property information. She assured the gathering that LPS continues to move forward with plans for a new Hastings. • On October 1 she will attend a school safety event at Bentley College. • Reviewed her upcoming Superintendent House Calls and thanked the LexFun community for a wonderful conversation at the previous gathering. o October 6 hosted by the Barrantines o October 22 hosted by Ms. Steigerwald for Korean Association of Lexington o October 26 Ms. Crocker and Mr. Hurley for precincts 1 and 5 Town Meeting members • The first joint council of the school year was held and she thanked Ms. Pilarski for her help in organizing the successful meeting. There was a good dialogue on supervision and evaluation process and particularly on the exemplary rating with Mr. Baker. • Thru Director of Special Education Ms. Sugita, the Language Learning Program and Therapeutic Learning Program are being evaluated for reading instruction through the Director of Special Education, Ellen Sugita. • Mr. Goddard gave a report on the July PCB numbers from Clarke. In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) produced PCB air quality guidelines. LPS performed a screening and determined Clarke and Estabrook contain PCBs. Estabrook exceeded the threshold and Clarke was below. The limit for middle schools is 450 ng/m and Clarke measured 40 ng/m. The 2015 measurement gave the same result. The new threshold has been raised to 500ng/m and Clarke’s July reading was 62 ng/m. In contrast, the EPA guideline in solids is a regulatory matter and Clarke exceeded the guideline of 50 parts/million. Readings are typically higher during the summer months. Potential corrections are included in the Clarke renovation project so LPS is in compliance with EPA solid guidelines. School Committee Announcements: Ms. Crocker thanked Kelly Cutone, Lisa McGuire, and all those who work in the Town Clerk’s office for posting the agendas and minutes for many Town Committees. Comments can still be sent to the Planning Board on residential policies if anyone was unable to attend their Thursday workshop. A reminder that the Community Center will have its ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday October 17 at 10 am followed by a full schedule of planned activities. All are welcome. Ms. Coppe asked a few questions regarding MCAS. She would like to learn all tenth grade scores and to see the percentage growth in different subgroups. She also distributed a space and demographic study via email completed by the Arlington school system. Mr. Hurley thanked the following for the long but thorough interview process of the three Construction Manager finalists who were considered for Clarke, Diamond or both school projects: Pat Goddard, Ken DiNisco, Jill Hai, Hill Associates, and Jon Himmel. Ms. Steigerwald reminded the Committee that the October 13 meeting takes place in Boston and that the bus leaves Central Administration at 4:45 pm. The public is welcome to join us and is asked to ride the bus. The LEF Trivia Bee team contribution will be $75/member and will consist of Ms. Coppe, Mr. Alessandrini, and is in need of a third member. The date is November 10 at 7pm at LHS. The LEF Grantee Reception is October 15 at 3:30 pm at Central Administration and its annual Spring Gala is April 2, 2016. She thanked the town staff members who organized the ethics training held last week as well as Sheila Butts of the Community Center for opening early to accommodate the Committee meeting on October 5. A reminder that PBC letters of interest due date has been extended until October 9. She will ask members to submit input after she distributes the list of names of those who have expressed interest. MASC positions are included in our packet. Please note the resolution involving high school start times. The Finance working group has met once with Mr. Dailey. There will be an update at our next meeting. She asked if someone could please attend a morning meeting on October 5 involving Minuteman Tech. No one was available. Lastly, Summit dates are October 8 and November 12. Consent Agenda: On a motion from Coppe and seconded by Alessandrini, the Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the Consent Agenda, including: 1. Vote to Approve School Committee minutes of September 8, 2015. Agenda: 1. Vote to Approve School Committee Norms 2015-2016 There has been new language on appointments added to the August 20 drafted norms. Mr. Hurley made the motion to approve the Lexington School Committee Norms 2015-2016 as amended. Ms. Crocker seconded and the vote was unanimous (5-0). 2. Vote to Appoint School Committee Clerk Seeing as the Committee has not had a secretary in place since July, the Chair has been taking minutes. The current pace of meetings has made it difficult to complete the minutes in a timely fashion. Timely minutes are essential to good governance. Ms. Crocker and Mr. Hurley have helped and it is understood that other members would prefer not to take minutes. The Clerk will not be needed for recording minutes if the Committee administrative assistant is present. Rather than continue with uncertainty at each meeting, policy BDB School Committee Officers allows for a position of Clerk. The Clerk will keep a journal of all Committee meetings; will comply with state law and Committee policy regarding notification of meetings; and will render such reports as may be required by the state or the Town. Miriam Sousa has been and will continue to manage postings and other town reports at this time. The Clerk will take draft meeting minutes and distribute them to members for edits. The Chair will manage the final draft version that will be brought back to the Committee for approval. Mr. Hurley made the motion to appoint Ms. Crocker as the Lexington School Committee Clerk. Ms. Coppe seconded and the vote was unanimous (5-0). 3. Vote to Appoint School Committee Secretary Ms. Steigerwald thanked Dr. Czajkowski and Ms. Sousa for participating in multiple days of interviews. Ms. Steigerwald, Mr. Hurley, Dr. Czajkowski and Ms. Sousa held semi-finalist second interviews for 5 applicants yesterday, including writing samples. There has been a strong candidate pool, with 8 candidates being interviewed out of the 45 who applied. The Superintendent cited the finalist’s experience of multi-tasking in a fast paced environment. Mr. Hurley made the motion to appoint Paula McDonough as the School Committee Administrative Assistant subject to 1) a satisfactory reference check with her current employer and 2) successful contract negotiations. Mr. Alessandrini seconded and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Mr. Hurley made the motion to authorize the Chair and Vice-Chair to conduct the negotiations with Ms. McDonough and sign a contract of employment with her. Ms. Crocker seconded and the vote was unanimous (5-0). 4. Community Coalition – Youth Initiative: Update and Vote to Authorize Expenditures of up to $8,250 for 2015-2016 This housekeeping item originated from a finance working group discussion between Mr. Dailey, Ms. Steigerwald and Ms. Crocker. The amount of money currently assigned to the School Committee line item budget was done so arbitrarily and without actual input from the Committee. Now that the 2015-2016 goals and initiatives have been approved, a better estimate can be made. Now that the Coalition has selected the facilitator Anne Weiss, a clearer estimate of expenses can be determined relating to this initiative. Expenses include: $7,500 for Anne Weiss, $250 for rental of St. Brigid’s Church for the October 17 Coalition Community meeting, and its related office supplies. Ms. Steigerwald made the motion to authorize expenditures of up to $8,250 for the 2015-2016 Lexington Community Coalition – Youth Initiative. Mr. Hurley seconded and the vote was unanimous (5-0). A motion to authorize executing a contract between the Chair and facilitator was not needed. 5. Vote to Approve Name Change from “K-12 Guidance Department “ to “K-12 Counseling Department” and from “Guidance Counselor” to “School Counselor” This topic is a follow-up from the spring presentation as part of the Guidance Department’s second year of review. Ms. Viscosi reviewed how the 13 social workers and 17 counselors department name would change in order to better align with the work of the department. She explained how the term counselor is more global and inclusive title. Ms. Swartz questioned the need for the change as she believes it would be confusing for students as school counselor sounds like college counselor. Ms. Valcosi explained that the new name is globally accepted and reinforces the professional connotation in a larger context. Announcements will be made in student homerooms and via student email. The Common App has already changed the title designation and counselors feel more inclusive with the name change. The value of the change is that it encompasses the spectrum of services offered by the department. Mr. Alesssandrini made the motion to amend Policy ACAB on page 2, to change “Director of Guidance” to “Director of Counseling,” and to change any other instances in our current policies to reflect the new department title. Ms. Coppe seconded and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Ms. Viscosi will work with the Policy annual Subcommittee on Policy JLD. 6. Association of Lexington Administrators (ALA) Memorandum of Agreement Ratification Vote Mr. Harris reviewed that a tentative agreement has been reached with the ALA on a two-year successor agreement. Ms. Crocker made the motion to ratify the “Memorandum of Agreement by and between the Association of Lexington Administrators (ALA) and the Lexington School Committee (LSC), covering July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2017. Mr. Hurley seconded and the vote was unanimous (5-0). 7. Summer Work on Curriculum Development and Professional Learning Ms. Pilarski described the array of 151 summer workshops (740 participants) and 19 courses offered (257 participants). The foundation of all coursework lies in the four elements of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and intervention. She also shared the summer and fall catalogues with the Committee. The second annual Lexington Learns Together is scheduled for October 9 at 8:30 at LHS. Last year’s program was a great success. This year, all staff are included. She invited Committee members to participate. Registration deadline is October 2. 8. Transportation Report Mr. Daily reported that the district is experiencing more than a 10% growth in bus ridership from the prior year. There are currently 3,413 riders registered utilizing 27 buses over 71 routes. Three additional buses are needed to meet demand for Bowman, Clarke, Estabrook and Fiske. The additional costs incurred by adding three buses would be absorbed by the revolving fund portion of the Transportation budget, and thusly not impact the general fund. In addition to School Committee support, approval will be needed by the Appropriations Committee and the Board of Selectmen to amend the original $850,000 FY2015-16 Transportation Revolving Fund cap placed on the account at Town Meeting. The amended Transportation Revolving Fund Account cap would be $1,250,000 for FY2015-16. 9. Security Update – A.L.I.C.E. Mr. Daily reported on recent and upcoming school security events. LHS is currently examining its security and is developing a proposed project to move forward as part of the FY2016-17 Capital Budget. FY2015-16 events include: • August 19, 2015 district-wide Incident Command Structure Training • May 12, 2016 ALICE training • Additional ALICE trainings will be scheduled. 10. Vote to Approve Lextended Day Lease Agreement With a special thank you to Mr. Daily, Ms. Garvey, Ms. Trach, Mr. Leonard, and Ms. Maguire, Lextended Day will be able to open a location at the Bridge School beginning in October. The vendor has received a pro-rated rental rate for Oct 2015-June 2016. Lextended Day is completing its permitting process in order to open at this new location. In order to implement this change, the contract requires an amendment, adding Bridge as a location. This document has been reviewed by Town Counsel and Lextended Day. Mr. Alessandrini made the motion to approve Lextended Day lease Agreement entitled “Second Amendment to Lease of Space between the Town of Lexington and Lextended Day Inc. As of October 5, 2015 through June 30, 2016,” and to authorize Chair Jessie Steigerwald to sign on behalf of the Lexington School Committee. Ms. Crocker seconded and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Elaine Ashton, 32 Cliffe Ave., thanked the Committee and Superintendent for responding in a timely manner to this request. 11. Vote to Approve Superintendent’s 2015-2016 Goals The Superintendent met with the School Committee Superintendent Evaluation Group to formulate her year-long goals and mid-year evaluation plan. They agreed upon some minor language revisions in Standard III: Family and Community Engagement. Mr. Alessandrini made the motion to approve Superintendent Czajkowski’s 2015-2016 goals. Ms. Coppe seconded and the vote was unanimous (5-0). 12. MSBA Site Visit – Hastings School Dr. Czajkowski shared that MSBA completed a site visit to Hastings on September 22. The visit consisted of one hour reviewing documents and a one-hour tour. MSBA will visit 40 of the 97 applicant schools with 15-19 receiving final approval for state funding. Decisions will be made public by mid-January. Hastings principal Louise Lipsitz reported that this is the second year Hastings has applied and this year have included the results from the Enrollment Working Group final report. The 2016 Town Meeting warrant article is appropriately timed for the feasibility study and schematic design. With MSBA support, occupancy will be 2019 and 2018 without support. The construction process is expected to take 18 months. Completing the feasibility study is the preliminary work where the MSBA process involves selecting an OPM and designer. If there is no MSBA funding, then to maintain the current timeline schematic design funding is needed for November so work can be completed January-March. Kate Colburn, Forest St as a member of Appropriations Committee, asks in terms of the master planning process, what size school would MSBA approve? Mr. Goddard responded that the consensus details how Hastings is critical component for the Town to deal with our growing enrollment. Regarding the odor in the Hastings modular, Facilities has aggressively maintained the building envelope in order to meet our needs for educational programming. Due to water infiltration, the community has concerns about smells. The Town is actively working with a mitigation firm. There is no roof ventilation so that snowfall and ice dams need to be monitored closely. The air quality control is an issue. The central core has been worked on to remove excess heat and the electrical system is not designed for air conditioning – even window units. Ms. Steigerwald asked about the cost for window air conditioner units as the heat has been a concern for several years and a renovation or replacement will take at least three to four years. 13. Formulate Recommendations for Board of Selectmen Regarding Permanent Building Committee (PBC) Mr. Himmel provided an overview of the intent of the policy change. • 1970-2006: PBC • 2007: Department of Public Facilities created where it used the PBC as a resource Some projects in the last two years did not involve PBC (Cary Hall, Community Center, LHS modulars). Moving forward, the amended charge hopes to marry the expertise of PBC volunteers and staff by proposing that PBC be involved in all projects more than 3 million dollars. Conversely, DPF spoke of how it is harder for its staff to make communication work well with a volunteer committee. Mr. Alessandrini made the motion to approve the amended PBC charge that the PBC shall be included to participate in all Town projects in concert with DPF that are in excess of 3 million dollars. Mr. Hurley seconded and the vote was unanimous (5-0). 14. Multi-School Capital Plan: Preparation for Special Town Meeting a. Plans for Pre-K, Elementary, and Middle School Projects Mr. Goddard reviewed LCP transition dates, staff dialogue, and that the department is now advertising for a CM separate for Pelham due to a state ruling. Pelham is at the study level regarding site improvements and mechanicals. The middle schools are in design development and have met with Conservation Commission. Committee discussion included: LCP, elementary growth, standard modular would be need to be ordered by March 1 if Pelham is not available (fall STM 2016 for September 2016 occupancy), use available capacity at Estabrook and Harrington for fall 2016, how Pelham in fall 2017 meets our needs, need for comprehensive redistricting, when will we know when we can occupy Pelham, new LCP at Harrington costs were discussed at the July Summit. b. Request funds to prepare Pelham Road presentation Regarding Pelham, Mr. Goddard reported that tasks have to be identified of what we need to accomplish given that materials were known to be used in 1961 era, renovate building use over a 5-year window, keep its steam system and ventilators but add on and evaluate on how far we should proceed to update to current standards, November STM 2015 then designer on board to implement educational program thru study, comfortable with building ready for occupancy for fall 2017, building is in good shape – move-in ready, conservative time frame. The Superintendent and Director of Business and Finance are meeting to determine impact enrollment will have on operating budget. c. Formulate Warrant Requests Proposed articles include: Article 2 – Continuing Hastings, Clarke, Diamond, Harrington, and possibly Fiske design work Article 3 – Hastings funding (responsive to MSBA) Article 4 – Pelham land acquisition and site improvements Article 5 – engineering study for Pelham (how site communicates with Community Center site) Mr. Himmel reported that there have been 3 CM interviews. Through the reconciliation process, CM’s and architects can determine where the differences lie and discuss them. Also discussed is what it will take to get the work done on the SC timeline. It takes one month to complete these estimates and it will be ready for December 2. Mr. Alessandrini made a motion to requesting that monies be appropriated for two standard modular each at Bowman, Bridge, and Fiske for September 2015. Ms. Coppe seconded but the motion failed (2-3). At the Board of Selectmen meeting on October 5, the Committee will ask for additional work at Pelham to support the plan for September 2016 occupancy from the budget. Sandy Bebee, 10 Paige Rd, requested that plans not leave Harrington and Estabrook short changed by using these schools empty rooms for town growth versus individual school growth. The core space at Harrington cannot support a larger population. A straw vote was taken to understand if the committee would favor standard modular as an alternative to Pelham for Fall 2017 (3-2). Michelle Oldershaw,10 Keeler Farm Way, advocated for using standard modular. While there is an excitement over the Pelham property, she is hesitant because of the size of the building and renovation cost for a relatively short amount of time. She prefers to build a new school on the site. Mr. Goddard said a new building would cost $40-60 million. Kate Colburn, 49 Forest St, questioned the value received for the money spent on Pelham. 15. Policy Manual Subcommittee Update – 2015-2016 Tabled due to lateness of the hour. 16. Schedule School Committee Retreat The October 1 date has been cancelled by the facilitator. 11:09pm Adjourn: On a motion made by Steigerwald and seconded by Hurley, the School Committee voted unanimously to adjourn at 11:09pm. Materials: On-line packet Updated DiNisco PowerPoint presentation School Committee Officers File: BDB Memo from Bob Harris and Carol Pilarski to Dr. Czajkowski, September 18, 2015 “Name Change of Guidance Department and Guidance Counselors” Memo from Valerie Viscosi to Bob Harris and Carol Pilarski, September 17, 2015, “Name Change for Guidance Department and Guidance Counselors.” Memo from Ian Dailey to Dr. Czajkowski, September 24, 2015, “School Bus Transportation Update” Memo from Ian Dailey to Dr. Czajkowski, September 24, 2015, “School Security Update” Memo from Ian Dailey to Dr. Czajkowski, September 24, 2015, “Lextended Day Lease Amendment” Second Amendment to Lease of Space, Between Town of Lexington and Lextended Day, Inc., Draft Dated 9/4/15 Email from Kathryn DeCristofaro, MSBA to Dr. Czajkowski, “MSBA/ Town of Lexington – Maria Hastings Elementary School”, September 16, 2015 Memo from Permanent Building Committee to Carl Valente, April 29, 2015 Lexington School Committee Norms – Draft Discussed at August 20, 2015 Retreat Voted approved by the School Committee November 17, 2015.