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Home My WebLink About2018-04-24-SC-min 1 LSC Meeting 4/24/2018 Minutes Approved – 9/11/18 LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, April 24, 2018 Lexington Town Office Building, Selectmen’s Meeting Room 1625 Massachusetts Avenue Present: Chair, Eileen Jay; Vice Chair, Kate Colburn; Kathleen Lenihan; Deepika Sawhney; Alessandro Alessandrini, Superintendent, Dr. Czajkowski Not Present: Student Representative, Rosanna Jiang The minutes were taken by Kristen Cronin, Executive Assistant to the School Committee and Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent The meeting convened at 7:00 pm Call to Order and Welcome: Chair Eileen Jay called the meeting to order and introduced committee members. Public Comments: Many community members and students expressed concerns over not having a swimming pool for the High School Swim Team since the Minuteman Tech will no longer have a pool for them to practice. Superintendent’s Announcement: Dr. Czajkowski gave a brief follow up on the Special Education meetings she recently attended with the Co-Chairs of SEPAC. Discussion was had on the LHS ILP 3 program, the DLP program and the HRC Survey. In a separate meeting, the Harrington DLP Program was discussed with both upper and lower DLP teachers to talk about how parent concerns are being addressed in the recommendations of the DLP Program Findings. Also discussed was the Transition Program Evaluation. Ellen Sugita, Director of Special Education, has contracted with a consultant, Dr. Maria Paiewonsky, who will conduct an evaluation of the high school transition program servicing students ages 14-22. Dr. Czajkowski will provide more information regarding a timeline for this program evaluation. LHS will be undergoing the NEASC Accreditation process. They are currently engaged in the self-study process and a collaborative Conference Visit on October 30 and 31, 2018. Interviews for the elementary principal searches are taking place on May 3 and May 4. Dr. Julie Hackett will be participating in these interviews. School Committee Member Announcements: Kate Colburn: Town voted recently to approve funding for the LCP (Lexington Children’s Place) project and Town Meeting voted to appropriate construction funds for LCP. We are all very excited to be moving ahead with this project. Also attended the first meeting for the LGBTQ Sub-Committee of the Student Health Advisory Council. Meeting was focused on a referendum that will be coming before us in November that seeks to severely limit the civil rights of transgender people. The important thing for us to be aware of is the effect this 2 LSC Meeting 4/24/2018 Minutes Approved – 9/11/18 campaign might have on our students. Also important to know that if this campaign is successful and affects the rights of LGBTQ students in public places within Massachusetts, it does not affect their rights in schools, that is covered under a separate legislation. Kate will continue to keep the committee updated. Eileen Jay: The Lexington Community Coalition in conjunction with LPS and Cary Memorial Library will host a book talk by author Katherine Reynolds Lewis. Ms. Lewis will be speaking to school staff in the afternoon of May 2 and at an evening book talk that is open to the community at 7:00 p.m. at Cary Library. Consent Agenda: 1. Approval of School Department Payroll Warrant dated April 13, 2018 Move to approve the School Department’s payroll warrant dated April 13, 2018 in the amount of $3,667,815.80 – Approved (5-0) 2. Approval of School Department Accounts Payable Warrant dated April 20, 2018 Move to approve the School Department’s accounts payable warrant dated March 20, 2018 in the amount of $288,453.92 – Approved (5-0) Move to approve the School Department’s US Bank reconciliations in the amount of $47,486.48 – Approved (5-0) 3. Vote to Approve School Committee Minutes of February 6, 2018 – Approved (5-0) 4. Vote to Approve School Committee Minutes of February 27, 2018 - Tabled Agenda Public Hearing School Choice : Per the Massachusetts General Law, the School Committee is required to vote annually as to whether the school district will participate in the School Choice Program. This vote is required to be submitted to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Move the Lexington Public School will not participate in the School Choice program for the 2018-2019 school year-Approved (5-0) Discussion of Swimming Pool Facility Options Dr. Czajkowski led the discussion regarding the need for a swimming pool for the High School swim team. Lexington High School currently rents the pool at Minuteman Technical High School for the Fall Girls Swim Season and Winter Boys Swim Season. When the new Minuteman Technical High School opens in 2019-2020, Lexington High School will no longer have pool access and will need to find a new facility to rent for the fall and spring season. Tonight’s presentation includes current and past swim team numbers for the fall and winter seasons, as well as facilities that have been identified as potential rental options for 2019-2020. Relevant factors include the potential need for transportation to and from practice, outside pool availability, and potential changes to school start times in the 2019-2020 season which could impact pool availability. 3 LSC Meeting 4/24/2018 Minutes Approved – 9/11/18 There were further questions and discussion between members and the superintendent as well as Naomi Martin, K-12 Director of Athletics, regarding rental space (possibly use Hanscom Air Force Base) and transportation for students. It was suggested to email any questions to Dr. Czajkowski and she would share with Ed Bouquillon, Superintendent at Minuteman Tech. She will have follow up conversations with Ms. Martin, Mr. Bouquillon, and Mike Cronin, Director of Facilities. There will be an opportunity for continued discussion and feedback on an upcoming agenda. District and School Enrollment Update Dr. Czajkowski and Maureen Kavanaugh gave a brief enrollment update presentation, including current enrollment (as of 4/1/18). Enrollment from the previous year was provided as context. Also discussed were enrollment counts leading into the FY19 school year (compared projections) and initial staffing plans. Members had further discussion and questions for Maureen Kavanaugh, and expressed concern for overcrowding in the middle schools. The feeder pattern needs to be looked at closely. Third Quarter Financial Report Ian Dailey, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Administration, provided a brief update on the third quarter FY2018 financial report. The School Department currently projects a surplus of $1,414,498 from the approved Fiscal Year 2018 Budget. This represents a surplus of approximately 1.39% of the total School Department budget. $417,474 of the total projected surplus resides in the Salary & Wages portion of the budget and a surplus of $997,024 resides in the Expense portion of the budget. Items Reviewed: ● Description of Activities - Salaries & Wages ● Salary Differential ● Vacancies ● Leaves of Absence ● General Budgetary Management/Budget to Actual Variances ● Description of Activities ● Special Education Out-of-District Tuition ● Transportation: Special Education ● Transportation: Homeless ● Special Education Consultants ● Transportation: Regular Education ● Legal Services ● Teacher Substitutes ● Description of Activities – Transfers ● Description of Activities – Grants Move that the School Committee approve the transfers outlined in Table 8 of the Fiscal Year 2018 Third Quarter Financial Report, per School Committee Policy DBJ. (Jay/Sawhney) Approved (5-0) 4 LSC Meeting 4/24/2018 Minutes Approved – 9/11/18 Discussion of School Start Time Options Ian Dailey, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Administration, provided an initial School Start Times presentation outlining the work of the School Start Times Task Force. He presented five start time options. The Full presentation can be found on the District’s Start Times website: https://lps.lexingtonma.org/Page/10330 The administration provided the School Committee and public with a detailed timeline of events, including a public hearing tentatively scheduled for May 22, 2018. Tonight’s discussion is a follow-up to the April 11th presentation, providing the School Committee an opportunity to ask questions of the School Administration on the options presented. ● Option 1: Status Quo ● Option 2: The Flip ● Option 3: All together ● Option 4: Shared buses There will be follow up at the May 8 meeting to focus on narrowing down options and discuss the budget impact prior to the open public forum on start times on May 22. Vote on School Master Planning Committee Kate Colburn gave a brief background on the need for the School Master Planning Advisory Committee and, along with members, reviewed the “Draft Charge” for the School Master Planning Advisory Committee. Committee members along with the superintendent provided input on the goals for the Advisory Committee. Motion to adjourn was made and seconded: Meeting adjourned at 10:30 p.m. Meeting Materials: Agenda; A.1- A.2- A.3- Enrollment Snapshot for FY18 by Grade; Enrollment Snapshot for FY18 by Team/Sections; Previous Year Enrollment Snapshot for FY17 by Grade; Previous Year Enrollment Snapshot for FY17 by Team/Sections; Monthly Enrollment Summary; Initial Staffing Plans for FY19 (Elementary & Middle School) A.4- Second Quarter Salaries & Wages Budget; Second Quarter Expenses Budget