The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1975-11-03-SC-min Page 211 November 3, 1975 A regular meeting of the Lexington School Committee came to order at 8:00 p.m. at the School Administration Building. Present were Mesdames Berchtold, Swanson; Messrs. Brown, Rotberg, Wachman and Wads- worth. Also present were Ms. Quinn, Messrs. Barnes, Maclnnes, Dr. Monderer, Mr. Spiris and Mrs. Cummings. Mr. Frank Sarno said he was looking forward to participating in the PUBLIC Ch 766 Workshop which will be held on November 10. Mrs. Swanson noted PARTICIPATION that all teachers are planning to attend. It is unclear at this time how the programs will be presented. Hopefully, in the future, programs will be scheduled for Thursday afternoons. Mr. Sarno replied that Thursday afternoons have been set aside for pupil assistance and adding to this schedule might create an additional burden. Louise Rankin, Dorothy Dooley and Jacqueline Ward made brief com- ments in support of the Ch 766 Workshop. Kay Dugdale commented on the Outdoors as Teachers Program (OATS) which was discussed at two previous meetings. Mrs. Dugdale felt that a program such as OATS should have School Committee approval. She asked the Committee to follow Alan Wachman's suggestion and establish clear guidelines for programs such as this one. Mr. Sarno asked Mr. Rotberg to clarify his comment, made at a pre- vious meeting, about the junior high schools being a weak link in the educational chain. Mr. Rotberg replied with the following statement: "Criticism of the "weak link" statement may have been taken out of con- text. The immediate context was support for an innovative program at Diamond Junior High School. The broader context was and is the immense problem of educating junior high school children nationally. 'It is an unfortunate grouping together of children who are having normal, but new problems of personal, as well as educational transition. What to do about these years is accepted as an educational problem nationally. 'Despite the stress of these junior high years, school systems through- out the nation typically devote proportionally fewer resources and atten- tion to the junior high school level. The personnel of junior highs may be as dedicated everywhere as they are in Lexington. Yet, they usually have to make do with fewer resources than those devoted to elementary and senior high education. In this sense--but not in terms of the quality on the effort of teachers--junior high schools everywhere may be considered a "weak link". It is possible that the junior highs are doing more for children but are recognized too little because these years, emotionally and educationally, are especially difficult ones. I am arguing that we should devote more attention to, and provide more resources for junior high school education." Page 212 November 3, 1975 The minutes of 10/20/75 were reviewed and it was MINUTES 10/20/75 VOTED: to accept these minutes as amended (Berchtold, Wadsworth, Unanimous) Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools it was SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS VOTED: to accept the Schedule of Payments as presented (Brown, Wadsworth, Unanimous) Personal Services October 31, 1975 Classified Payroll #9 NC $68,433.79 Expenses October 31, 1975 Bill Schedules #57 4,119.66 October 31, 1975 #58 34,034.19 Expenses (Carryover Account) October 31, 1975 Bill Schedule #179 71.65 Out-of-State Travel October 31, 1975 Bill Schedule #2 OS 468.31 Athletics October 31, 1975 Bill Schedule #9 855.14 #4 72.00 ( Vocational Education October 31, 1975 Transportation #3-V 126.00 (SPECIAL PROGRAMS (Non-Lexington Funds) Adult Education October 31, 1975 Bill Schedule #2 60.68 METCO Program October 31, 1975 Classified Payroll #3 1,497.11 Teacher Training Program II October 31, 1975 Classified Payroll #4 86.40 Title III-Administrative Grant October 31, 1975 Classified Payroll #6 105.00 LAB. Pre-Vocational Life Care Program October 31, 1975 Classified Payroll #5 1,182.75 LEADS Project October 31, 1975 Classified Payroll #4 408.66 Autistic Program (Lexington) October 31, 1975 Classified Payroll #4 475.20 Autistic Program (Arlington) October 31, 1975 Classified Payroll #5 153.60 November 3, 1975 Page 213 Multi-Handicapped (Burlington) October 31, 1975 Classified Payroll #4 216.00 SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS Pre-School Program (Burlington) (CONTINUED) October 31, 1975 Classified Payroll #3 432.00 Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools it was NEW PERSONNEL VOTED: Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools it was TUITION RATES VOTED: to establish the following tuition rates for the Lexington 1975-1976 Public Schools for 1975-1976. (Brown,Wadsworth, Unanimous) REGULAR & SPECIAL Senior High School $1,540 CLASSES Junior High School 1,476 Elementary 1,259 Special Education 6,835 Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools it was FOOTBALL EQUIPMENT VOTED: to award the bid for football reconditioning to Paul Dunne, Inc. RECONDITIONING and Phil Murray, Inc. , as the low bidders meeting specifications. (BIDS) (Brown, Wadsworth, Unanimous) Phil Murray Co. , Inc. Unit. Price Total Price Helmets, Reconditioning, Cleaning & Sterilize $2.95 $590.00 Specific replacement parts-17 items .05 to $9.00 777.80 Paul Dunne, Inc. Shoulder pads clean & sterilize 2.70 472.50 Thigh Guards - clean .10 20.00 Knee pads-clean .10 20.00 -Girdle inserts-clean .10 20.00 Hand, forearm & Elbow guards-clean NC Mr. James Lape, Head of the English Department at Lexington High DISCUSSION OF School, and Nancy Ridill, Chairman of the same department at Clarke ENGLISH Junior High School, appeared before the Committee to briefly explain SYLLABUS the origin and purpose of a revised syllabus for the junior high. The Committee reacted favorably to the general outline. A dis- cussion was held on the general outline rather than on specific parts of the syllabus. Mr. Lape pointed out that the revision was the product of continuous staff sessions in the junior high schools over the past few years and reflected the feeling of teachers that the 1965 Goals and Sequences doc- ument was not as usable as it should be and in need of updating. November 3, 1975 Page 214 Miss Ridill explained that the staff felt the need for a "specific DISCUSSION OF document" to use as a guide in teaching basic skills, and felt that hav- ENGLISH (.-,, ing a "standard" was a good idea. Miss Ridill, replying to questioning SYLLABUS from Mrs. Berchtold, said that a checklist is being used already. She (CONTINUED) added that there is a need to have level groupings for English instruc- tion. Mr. Rotberg said it was- puzzling to have four overall goals stated at the beginning of the syllabus, since the contents reflect much more practical emphasis. He felt there was a need to cut down on verbiage and get down to specifics. He also stressed the need for a sound writ- ing program. Mr. Lape replied that the philosophy covers most of the specifics included in the syllabus, but that it should certainly be "restated and reconsidered" as times change. Mrs. Berchtold felt that the general statement of philosophy which begins the syllabus "puts in a nutshell what the schools are trying to achieve." Mrs. Swanson agreed with Mrs. Berchtold and thanked Mr. Lape and Miss Ridill for appearing this evening. The School Committee examined class size lists in what Mr. Spiris CLASS SIZE called "the first step" in the budget process. The lists showed a median class size of 17.5 students in the kindergarten classes and 23 students in grades one through six. t - Median figures were not given for the secondary schools, but the report included a breakdown of all classes in each of the junior high schools and the senior high school. Mr. Spiris said that the class size figures showed a larger proportion of classes with 24 and more students than he had hoped, and urged the Committee to "help the classroom tea- cher" by lowering class size. He said this is important in view of Ch. 766 legislation for special needs students. He also recommended that the budget be worked out by examining each school situation inde- pendently, rather than by examining the average class size system-wide when determining staff sizes. Mrs. Swanson reminded the Committee that they must also set a schedule shortly for deciding whether or not to close an elementary school since the question has considerable budgetary implications. There was need for an Executive Session at 10:00 p.m. to discuss personnel matters. It was VOTED: to adjourn the meeting at 12: 00 midnight. (Wadsworth, Brown, Unanimous) Respectfully submitted, Isabelle J. Cummings Recording Secretary