HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-11-17-SC-minLSC Meeting Minutes of 11.17.15 – Approved by School Committee 2.2.16 1
LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Lexington Town Office Building, Selectmen’s Meeting Room
1605 Massachusetts Avenue
Present:
Chair Jessie Steigerwald, Vice Chair William Hurley, Margaret Coppe, Alessandro Alessandrini,
Judy Crocker, Superintendent Dr.Czajkowski
Student Representative Abigail Schwartz was not present
ALSO PRESENT:
Carol Pilarski (Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction), Pat Goddard (Director
of Facilities), Ian Dailey (Interim Director of Finance and Operations); Ellen Sugita (Director of
Special Education), Anna Monaco (Principal); Anne Carothers (Principal); Louise Lipsitz
(Principal)
The Minutes were taken by Ana Paula McDonough, Executive Assistant to the School
Committee.
The meeting convened at 7:00 p.m.
Call to Order and Welcome: Chair Jessie Steigerwald called the meeting to order, and
introduced committee members.
Public Comments:
Jennifer Ray – 6 Fulton Road requested clarification on the process for developing capital
projects and asked about Fiske
Meghan Kilpatrick (Clarke teacher) – opposes moving the ILP to Diamond
Laureen, Shant, Hayk Arakelian – 42 Lawrence Lane - supports ILP at Clarke
Samar Fayad (Clarke Speech and Language Pathologist) - supports ILP at Clarke
Erin Moss – 492 Marrett Road - supports ILP at Clarke
Carolyn Sheild (Clarke teacher) - supports ILP at Clarke
Justine Neely - 19 Bellflower St. - supports ILP at Diamond
Joan Struddle (Hastings Speech and Language Pathologist & parent)– 3 Lillian Road – supports
moving ILP to Diamond and sees value in building capacity at both middle schools
Anna Monaco; Anne Carothers; Louise Lipsitz (Principals) – thanked parents and expressed their
respect for staff at all three schools.
School Committee Member Announcements:
Steigerwald:
Acknowledged receipt of emails from parents and teacher regarding the ILP Program.
Congratulations to Judy Crocker, Alessandro Alessandrini, Margaret Coppe who represented the
School Committee at the LEF Trivia Bee. Thanked Miriam Sousa for organizing the reservations
for the MASC Retreat. Thanked Val Viscosi for participation in Coalition Steering Committee
LSC Meeting Minutes of 11.17.15 – Approved by School Committee 2.2.16 2
Hurley:
Thanked parents, students & staff for their input on the ILP Program. Asked Superintendent to
prepare a collective recommendation and share it with the School Committee.
Alessandrini:
ILP Program is on the agenda; School Committee is determining if 1.3 million will be spent to
move the ILP Program to create space at Diamond.
Crocker:
At the November 4 Mass in Motion conference, two Lexington High School students were
among those honored for their work producing public service announcements. The topic was
Safe Routes To School Smart Trips and the work was completed as part of the Honors Marketing
class taught by Ms. Pappas.
Thank you to the Town Celebrations Committee along with the LHS marching band led by Jeff
Leonard for a wonderful Veteran's Day ceremony. Former Lexington High principal and navy
veteran Van Seasholes was honored as Grand Marshall.
Thank you to Dr. Czajkowski for meeting with PTA/PTO's and other groups to receive input on
the Homework Policy.
Superintendent’s Announcements:
• Requested World Language discussion on the next school committee meeting agenda.
Impacts operating budget for FY’17.
• US Secretary of Education visiting Lexington Friday to meet with students, staff, parents,
administrators’ and school committee to discuss the successes of the METCO program.
• Harrington Principal Search Committee Process for a new principal includes survey to
teachers, parents, administrators and coordinators. A meeting with Harrington PTA on
Thursday will discuss the search process and timeline. Bob Harris will chair the search.
• Meeting Wednesday night with the Chinese American Association of Lexington.
• Meeting with K-12 Technology department staff to begin discussions of roles and
responsiblitiies and the transition for a new Director of Educational Technology.
Consent Agenda:
Vote to Approve Lexington High School Community Service Field Trip to Golfito,
Costa Rica, February 16-25, 2016
Vote to Approve and Not Release School Committee Executive Session Minutes of
September 15, 2015
Vote to Approve and Not Release School Committee Executive Session Minutes of
October 20, 2015
Vote to Approve School Committee Minutes of September 29, 2015
Vote to Approve School Committee Minutes of October 13, 2015
MOTION to approve consent agenda (Coppe/Crocker)
The Motion was approved (5-0).
LSC Meeting Minutes of 11.17.15 – Approved by School Committee 2.2.16 3
Agenda:
LEXINGTON EDUCATION FOUNDATION – TRIVIA BEE, 2015 SUMMER GRANTS,
COMMUNITY GRANTS FOR 2015-2016 (PK.11.17.15.1)
LEF Trivia Bee: The Trivia Bee took place November 10th before a full house in the LHS
auditorium. Attendance is free and revenue derives from team registrations ($375) and corporate
and individual sponsorships and donations. Anticipated net revenue is $13,500.
Notable summer LEF grants: At LEF’s annual Grantee Reception on October 10, dozens of
current Program, Fellowship, and School Community Grant recipients described their projects
and the ways LEF support has strengthened their teaching, enriched their students’ learning, and
helped build a strong and nurturing educational and social environment. Several teachers were
highlighted.
2015-2016 School Community Grants: Every school receives a School Community Grant (SCG)
each year. In the fall, each principal submits a proposal for one or several activities – to be
undertaken during the current school year – to address interests and needs shared by the school’s
entire professional community.
Bill Meade Memorial Fund for Special Education. William J. Meade, Jr., a dedicated teacher of
special education at Lexington High School for more than 30 years until his retirement in 2000,
died this year at the age of 77. Bill Meade’s wife and three children have chosen to honor Bill’s
commitment to and leadership in special education by establishing a memorial fund in his name
at LEF. The Fund will support projects that advance special education at LHS and across the
LPS system. We have attached an announcement about the Fund.
Upcoming events
• LEF’s Alumni Reunion will take place on November 19.
• LEF’s first STAR Award campaign of the school year will take place this fall.
• LEF’s annual spring gala, A Celebration for Education, will take place on April 2, 2016
at the Nashawtuc Country Club. The event will have a Bollywood theme
FINANCE OFFICE STAFFING (PK.11.17.15.3)
Ian Dailey (Interim Director of Finance and Operations) presented a memo regarding Finance
and Operations Staffing, dated November 12, 2015.
• Accounts Payable Requisition Totals by Year
• Finance Data Specialist Job Description (draft to be finalized with Human Resources)
The scale of the Finance and Operations Office continues to expand as the District grows due to
enrollment. Expanding enrollment triggers a number of expanding impacts on:
• Accounts Payable - Purchasing
• Payroll
• Hiring/On-boarding of employees
• Transportation
LSC Meeting Minutes of 11.17.15 – Approved by School Committee 2.2.16 4
School Committee asked the following questions:
• Does the 6½ hours represent the total for both positions or for each position? Answer:
Each.
• Is the 6 ½ hours to extend current employees time? Answer: Yes.
• Is the new position being posted? Answer: Yes.
• Is this for the FY16 Budget? Answer: For this year.
• What is the salary differential? Answer: When people leave system, a new person may
be hired at a lower salary. This makes funds available in FY15.
Motion to establish a Finance Data Specialist position in the Finance and Operations
Office and that funds be appropriated through the salary differential in the FY16 Budget.
(Crocker/Hurley)
The Motion was approved (5-0).
FY17 CAPITAL UPDATE – HASTINGS WINDOW AIR CONDITIONING
ASSESSMENT- Pat Goddard (Director of Facilities) (PK.11.17.15.2)
Mr. Goddard asked Shawn Newell (Asst. Director Department of Public Facilities) for an update
on the potential to add air conditioning at Hastings. Currently there is enough electrical capacity
and sub panel space to create 38 new dedicated circuits to provide air conditioning to each of the
19 classrooms on the 1st, ground and wing area. To complete the project the cost would be
$74,650. Both the gym and cafeterias could not be air conditioned by the means of window units
due to the size and volume of space.
School Committee members asked Mr. Goddard the following questions:
• Can the A/C units be moved to other schools after the 3-year plan. Answer: Unlikely.
• Temperature control questions. Answer: Controlled manually in each room.
School Committee reached consensus to have administration include the Hastings window air
conditioners in the FY17 capital project list for further review by the administration. This will
again come to School Committee for final approval.
ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT: FINANCE UPDATE / PAYROLL
Steigerwald noted that she meant to provide an additional announcement at start of the meeting.
School Committee attorney Colby Brunt has advised that a school committee member should be
signing off on payroll. This has not been the practice in Lexington and Colby said she was going
to speak to Ian Dailey to put this in place. Steigerwald will place it on another agenda. Dr.
Czajkowski noted that in Barnstable the payroll was signed at a School Committee meeting.
CAPITAL PLAN – SCHEDULING TOWN MEETINGS MEMBERS ASSOCIATION
(TMMA) INFORMATION SESSION – Tabled.
Steigerwald presented an overview of the FY17 Capital Update.
• Enrollment projections continue to rise.
• Funds from Town Meeting allowed us to develop a Master Plan with SMMA
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• Spring Special Town Meeting additional funds to hire DiNisco design to further develop
plans. Request to the Selectmen to support leasing space for relief of overcrowding and
provide additional space.
• Recommend pre-fabricated modular with a life span of 20 years a higher quality and long
investment versus leasing space.
• Mix of pre-fabs and brick and mortar construction evaluated by a cost estimator.
• Debt exclusion.
• Town issues.
BUDGET PLANNING-DISCUSSIONS FOLLOWING NOVEMBER 12, 2015 SUMMIT
(HO.11.17.15.1)
a. Review cost estimates for school projects
b. Options for Pelham property
Dr. Czajkowski and Mr. Goddard presented the administration’s current
recommendations and included comments on the updated cost estimates and Pelham
within their presentation.
c. Reconsider options for multiple projects
Dr. Czajkowski and Pat Goddard presented a power point presentation on the Multiple School
Construction Project.
November 12th Budget Summit members expressed concerns on the multiple school
projects, totaling $172.5 million, requiring a substantial increase to the taxpayer and the
consequences of not doing the projects were not clearly understood.
November 13th representatives from the Summit participants requested that staff provide
a prioritization of projects and staff worked on a proposal to show what could be
achieved with $100 million, with an emphasis on capacity for projected growing
enrollment through September 2019.
Superintendent and the Director of Facilities collaborated with the designers on Monday
the 16th. Recommendation of $100 million and the educational shortfalls with reduced
project scope.
Middle School Overview:
• 2009 – average number of students per team has increased from 83 to 89
• Enrollment is projected to increase to 1830 by September 2019. No capacity
increases, team size increases to 99 students.
• Current $58M plan, with additions at both schools would add capacity and reduce
team size back down to 85.
• 1st option – remove scope from the $58M plan to retain capacity for an average
team size of 85.
• 2nd option is to revisit all growth at Diamond option, reduce scope (and cost) and
determine the educational impact, including the ILP Program at Diamond.
LSC Meeting Minutes of 11.17.15 – Approved by School Committee 2.2.16 6
Middle School Option 1 – Reduce Scope to $52 -54M Clarke Plan & Diamond Plan
Middle School Option 2 – All Growth @Diamond - $43-45M
Middle School Comparison:
• Option 1 – reduces $58M to $52M-54M
Clarke – Enrollment (894) Teams (10.5) Ave Team Size (85)
Diamond - Enrollment (936) Teams (11) Ave Team Size (85)
• Option 2 – reduces $58M to $43-45M
Clarke – Enrollment (850) Teams (9.5) Ave Team Size (89)
Diamond - Enrollment (980) Teams (11) Ave Team Size (89)
Elementary School Overview:
• Since 2009, average number of students per section has been maintained at an average of
21.5, other educational programs have become compressed.
• Enrollment is projected to increase to 3188 students by September 2019. The new
Hastings School, with 30 sections, is the primary means to provide capacity for growing
enrollment.
• Effective September 2016 and until the new Hastings opens in September 2018/2019, the
elementary art curriculum will be delivered to the classrooms, freeing up 6 art classrooms
for enrollment growth.
• With 2 art classrooms, 1 reading room, and 3 open classrooms, Estabrook School has 6
classrooms for redistricting for September of 2016.
• LCP Program will continue to operate on the Harrington campus, eliminating over $500K
in increasing operating expense.
• Defer renovation at Pelham, if acquired, until after Hastings opens.
• Other capacity additions should be modular classrooms available for lease, from 3/10
years.
Cost Prioritization | Hastings (w/out MSBA)
• Savings is anticipated to be $5-7M, a reduced project cost of $53-55M, cost review
scheduled for Tuesday, November 24.
Cost Prioritization | Hastings w/MSBA
• Total Project Cost - $60M
• Reimbursed by MSBA (30%) - $18M
Total Lexington Burden - $42M
Elementary Enrollment and Capacity chart 9/2014 – 9/2019 presented and reviewed.
Summary:
1. High (w/out MSBA)
Clarke and Diamond $54M
Hasting w/out MSBA $55M
Total $109M
LSC Meeting Minutes of 11.17.15 – Approved by School Committee 2.2.16 7
2. Low (with MSBA)
Clarke and Diamond $45M
Hasting w MSBA $42M
Total $87M
School Committee members asked questions:
• Was Minuteman Tech aware of the possibility of declining the lease?
• What was the cost per classroom at Clarke and Diamond?
• What was the impact of reducing classroom size or gym size at Hastings?
• How long would it take to have leased standard modular in place?
• What is the quality of a standard modular? Are there more and less expensive versions?
• How many rooms are available for fall 2016 redistricting?
• What are the different HVAC systems?
Mr. Goddard asked the School Committee for direction regarding HVAC for Lexington High
School. Members asked what Permanent Building Committee had reviewed or recommended.
Mr. Goddard felt this was a policy discussion for the School Committee. Members asked
questions and expressed preference for the PBC to recommend a system with some temperature
control and partial cooling comparable to Bridge and Bowman.
The Chair guided members through each aspect of the proposal and after reaching consensus on
the separate elements (though there were aspects that individual members did not want), asked
for a motion to recommend a proposal to the Board of Selectmen including the following:
SCHOOL COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED PROPOSAL:
I believe a motion was made and should be indicated here using the word “motion”
• Pre-Kindergarten Program “Lexington Children’s Place”: To revoke authority for the Superintendent to enter into a 3-year lease with Minuteman Tech, and to retain the Lexington Children’s Place pre-Kindergarten program at Harrington for short-term only, with over-capacity accommodated at Central Office, and to identify a permanent location for the program. • Middle Schools: Undertake renovation, site-work, and new brick and mortar construction at Diamond to relieve current overcrowding and to increase capacity for future enrollment growth as presented in 11/17/15 Option One plus $1.5 million for 2 additional classrooms • Undertake renovation, site-work, and new brick and mortar construction at Clarke to relieve current overcrowding and to increase capacity for future enrollment growth as presented in 11/17/15 Option One plus $1.5 million for 2 additional classrooms, and not relocate tennis courts (but add parking). • Elementary Schools: New Brick and Mortar Construction for 30 CR Hastings, (with or without support of Massachusetts School Building Authority) with a project goal of $55 million. [Note: School Committee considers additional 9 classrooms critical.] • To implement a phased redistricting plan with recommendations from an independent consultant, that relieves overcrowding at Bridge, Bowman and Fiske elementary schools beginning in fall 2016, and continues when new capacity becomes available upon the opening of a newly constructed 30 classroom replacement facility at Hastings. [Note: redistricting for fall 2016 anticipates using 4 classrooms at Estabrook and 1 classroom at Hastings.]
LSC Meeting Minutes of 11.17.15 – Approved by School Committee 2.2.16 8
• To lease standard modular, 2 at Bridge, 2 at Bowman, and 2 at Fiske for use beginning fall 2016. • High School: To recommend future renovations and a phased project at Lexington High School to add capacity to relieve current overcrowding and anticipated enrollment increases. • Capital Projects to Replace Mechanical Systems That Have Reached/Surpassed Lifespan: approx. Recommend replacement of both Diamond boiler and the LHS HVAC as soon as possible, and to ask the Permanent Building Committee for a system recommendation with some temperature control and partial cooling comparable to Bridge and Bowman systems.
Future Planning / Pre-Kindergarten Program / Central Office / Future Elementary Growth:
Recommend Board of Selectmen pursue purchase of Pelham for potential future use to meet
needs of Lexington Public Schools, possibly for LCP pre-kindergarten program, Central Office,
future elementary use or other school purposes.
(Hurley moved, Alessandini seconded, 5-0)
SUMMARY 90 DAY PLAN – SUPERINTENDED MARY CZAJKOWSKI
Tabled
MEMBER DISCUSSION REGARDING NOVEMBER MASSACHUSETTS
ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES (MASC) RETREAT
Steigerwald shared that in the Superintendent Evaluation session she attended (lead by
Dorothy Presser), it was considered a best practice to give superintendents an opportunity
to amend any goals prior to the mid-year evaluation as systems and timelines may change
for reasons beyond the superintendent’s control.
Due to the late hour, other members asked to share their updates at a future meeting.
11:19 p.m. Adjourn: On a motion made by Steigerwald and seconded by Alessandrini, the
School Committee voted unanimously 5-0 to adjourn at 11:19 pm.
Meeting Materials: Agenda; Lexington Education Foundation Update – (PK.11.17.15.1); Hastings window Air Conditioning Assessment – memo from Shawn Newell to Pat Goddard dated 11/3/15 – (PK.11.17.15.2); Finance and Operations Staffing – memo from Ian Dailey dated 11/12/15 - (PK.11.17.15.3); Lexington School Committee Meeting – Multiple Schools Construction Project; present by Dr. Czajkowski and Pat Goddard - (HO.11.17.15.1)
Voted Approved by the School Committee 2.2.16