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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-10-12-SC-min Page 174 October 12, 1976 Oc Tuesday evening October 12, 1976, the Lexington School Committee met at 8:00 p.m. at the Muzzey Junior High School. School Committee members present were Mrs. Swanson, Messrs. Brown, Rotberg, Michelman, Wadsworth. Also present were Messrs. Lawson, Monderer, Pierson, Mac- Innes, Barnes. Mr. Stanley Lyman of 285 Dorchester Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, PUBLIC Vice-President of N.A.G.E. the National Assoication of Government Employ- PARTICIPATION ees, and negotiator for school custodians said that he had attempted to appear before the school committee over the past few months, but was re- buffed by the school committee negotiator Mr. Mitchell J. Spiris . He said he had been trying to resolve the impasse in the negotiations with the school committee's negotiator, which focused on three major items. These items are: three additional sick days, "buy-back" sick leave, and longevity payments. He said these were items that had been given to other town employees and would not affect the tax rate in the Town of Lexington by more than 5c. Also speaking on behalf of the custodians were Mr. Nicholas Delfino, President of the custodians association and Mr. Robert Martin, custodians at the Franklin School. Mrs. Swanson thanked Mr. Lyman for his remarks, but emphasized that no formal request to appear before the school committee has ever been received. She also said the school committee was disappointed in the manner in which the presentation was being made that evening, emphasizing that the picketing of the meeting was not the manner in which to bring up issues. She said that if they did want to check the line of communication, they could have contacted the school committee directly. She reiterated that they had never received any formal request to meet. Mr. Lyman and the custodians reiterated their stance that they had been rebuffed in their attempts. In conclusion Mr. Delfino, speaking for "the custodians, said that there were other town employees that had received clothing allowance, extra fees for coming back during storms, and agency fee recognition. He added the Lexington Schools were not in line with other community va- cation allotments. He stated that sixteen of twenty other towns had im- proved their vacation periods. Mrs. Swanson again thanked the members of the association for their remarks and said their remarks would be forwarded to the negotiator. Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools it was MINUTES SEPT. 27, 1976 VOTED: to accept the minutes of September 27, 1976 as amended. (Swanson, Michelman, Unanimous) The Financial Statement was presented and discussed briefly. FINANCIAL STATEMENT Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools it was SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS VOTED: to accept the following Schedule of Payments. (Michelman, Brown, Unanimous) Page 175 October 12, 1976 SCHOOL DEPARTMENT BUDGETS Personal Services October 1, 1976 Classified Payroll #7NC $ 70,034.15 October 1, 1976 Professional Payroll #SC 469.70 October 8, 1976 Professional Payroll #9C 422,762.83 Expenses October 1, 1976 Bill Schedule #42 2,874.03 October 1, 1976 #43 6,088.45 October 1, 1976 #44 9,659.96 October 8, 1976 #45 6,647.43 October 8, 1976 #46 9,015.66 October 8, 1976 #47 57,205.14 Expenses (1976 Carryover) October 1, 1976 Bill Schedule #201 173.92 October 8, 1976 #202 2,058.03 Out-of-State Travel October 8, 1976 Bill Schedule #5 29.00 SPECIAL PROGRAMS (Non-Lexington Funds) Metco Program October 1, 1976 Classified Payroll #2 1,366.75 October 8, 1976 Professional Payroll 3,098.89 October 8, 1976 Bill Schedule #1 60.00 TITLE III ADMINISTRATIVE GRANT October 1, 1976 Classified Payroll #1 120.00 LEADS PROGRAM October 1, 1976 Classified Payroll #2 730.53 ADULT EDUCATION October 8, 1976 Professional Payroll 1,723.60 DRIVER EDUCATION-ADULT EDUCATION October 8, 1976 Professional Payroll 126.56 CHANGE IN RESPONSIBILITY PERSONNEL CHANGES MEDICAL LEAVE Robert E. Ames Change from Medical Leave to Retirement - Effective June 30, 1976 Page 176 October 12, 1976 Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools it was PERSONNEL CHANGES VOTED: to accept the following Personnel Changes (Classified) (Brown, (CLASSIFIEr` Rotberg, Unanimous) RETIREMENT RESIGNATION CHANGE OF HOURS NEW PERSONNEL Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools it was SPECIAL CLASS ASSISTANTS VOTED: to accept the Wage Guide for Special Class Assistants, (Michelman, WAGE GUIDE Brown, Unanimous) Step 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hourly Rate 1976-77 $4.66 $4.91 $5.16 $5.43 $5.70 $6.05 " 1977-78 $4.92 $5.18 $5.44 $5.73 $6.01 $6.38 Dr. Pierson commented on the successful learning centers held on ADMINISTRATIVE October 7, for elementary teachers in the areas of mathematics and REPORTS language arts. He presented a sheet explaining the centers. He also Learning presented the school committee with materials that were developed by Centers the language arts summer curriculum committee. In conclusion he said that the workshops were successful because they had tried to incorpor- ate characteristics that tended to make the workshops responsive. He outlined the successful characteristics as follows: 1. Choices were offered to professional staff. 2. Coffee was served. 3. Topics were focused. 4. Classroom activities were developed, 5. Materials were developed that teachers could use. 6. Workshop leaders were effectively trained. Dr. Lawson presented the school committee with the October 1, en- October 1 rollments and enrollment projections, as well as class sizes at the ele- Enrollments & mentary schools. It was noted that the official October 1, enrollment Enrollment for 1976 was 7,561 students. The budgeted figure was 7,542 students. Projections He noted the increases being at the secondary level- and the decrease at the elementary level. He said further information was being collected in relation to the issue of school closings. Dr. Wadsworth said that the school committee should be very aware of the critical situation of declining enrollments and plan before budgets are made. Mr. Brown supported that concept. He said that he supported complete analysis of the enrollments in relation to availability of space, staff ratios, etc. Dr. Rotberg said that there was a caution to be taken into account because there is a possibility that the national birthrate in 1983 and 1984 will increase and future enrollments may stabilize at 7 Page 177 October 12, 1976 the 1974-1975 level and may even show a slight increase. He said Lex- ington may be subject to more births than expected. He also said that Lexington might be wise to look at the benefits of students in small size classes. He noted that last spring the committee was very concerned that some kindergarten classes were as high as 18 yet he noted that some were at 20 now. Mrs. Swanson expressed concern about the uneveness of class enrollments. (low and high enrollments) . Mr. Wadsworth suggested redistribution of students via buses could result in a more even distri- bution of class sizes. Mr. Michelman said that it would be wise to look at space, figures, rates, etc. , and that it would be tremendously help- ful to receive any information that Dr. Lawson might have to assist the committee in making decisions. Mrs. Swanson said the enrollment projec- tions indicated that we were supporting a costly operation noting we had some classes of 15 or less. She emphasized that planning should start and complimented the administration for the accuracy of the projections. Dr. Lawson said that he would be looking at other options regarding utilization of space, redistribution of pupils, etc. He would give a summary of thoughts, observations and indications by December 1. Dr. Lawson stated that Lexington High School had 24 merit semi- NATIONAL MERI finalists in the class of 1977 while 37 other students received letters of commendation. Compliments were given to the students and staff for their efforts. It was noted that Lexington High School had the highest number of merit semi-finalists of any public high school in New England. This has been true for several years. Current Metco enrollments for 1976-1977 were presented to the METCO ENROLL- school committee. Distribution of Metco students by grade level was MENTS also given. The Lexington enrollment for 1976 as of October 1, was 280 students. A summary of 1975-1976 partial Core referrals for evaluation and CORE full Core referrals for evaluation were given to the committee. Ques- EVALUATIONS tions were raised as to the composition of the Core evaluation team, the high referral rate at some schools for partial Cores and the lack of re- ferrals for partial Cores at some schools. Dr. Lawson said he would re- view the reasons for the differences in the schools and report at a later date to the school committee. A letter from Town Counsel was received regarding the transports- PRIVATE SCHO0; tion of students attending private schools. The letter addressed to TRANSPORTATIOI Mr. Barnes stated the conclusion of the Town Counsel was the Lexington School Committee may choose, but was not required to provide transporta- tion for students attending private school located outside of Lexington. The Superintendent agreed to notify parents who had petitioned for this service. A question re: Labb staff and their benefits has recently been the LABB COLLABORAT. subject of review due to concerns that have risen regarding tenure, BOARD OF DIRECT( sick leave, and other contractural benefits. The towns participating in a collaborative have experienced problems due to the law. The Ar- lington, Lexington, Burlington, Bedford collaborative personnel have met and made recommendations to address the problems. Page 178 °` October 12, 1976 Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools it was VOTED: to accept the recommendations of the board of directors of LABB. (Michelman, Brown, Unanimous) a) Tuition system would remain the same. Tuition payments will be sent to Arlington as the fiscal agent. b) Each local system would treat collaborative staff members within their jurisdiction on the same basis as any other teacher within their system and be responsible for all local benefits. All contractural benefits would accrue to each staff member. These are: 1. Tenure and all rights of tenured status. 2. Salary according to each district's salary schedule. 3. Insurance (Health and Life) according to each district's insur- ance plan. 4. Dues checkoff privilege. 5. Credit Union deductions if desired by staff member. 6. Accumulated sick leave benefits. 7. Retirement system. 8. All other items covered by the negotiated contract in each district. c) Checks to cover the exact salary and benefit costs will be sent to each town by the treasurer of the Collaborative and local (district) checks will be issued to staff members. Mrs. Swanson asked Dr. Lawson if the schools were in compliance with SCHOOL the "moment of silence". Dr. Lawson said that he doubted that the schools COMMITTEE were, but would investigate the matter and report to the School Committee. REPORTS Mr. Michelman commented on his attendance at the EDCO Board of EDCO Directors meeting and said minutes would be distributed to the committee as well as a resume of projects being coordinated or funded by or through EDCO. Mr. Michelman passed out a memorandum regarding guidelines and a EXECUTIVE proposal for a mechanism for executive session minutes. After discus- SESSION MINUTES sion it was agreed that executive session minutes should contain items PROPOSAL that would be needed for the record and that the committee would review each one in executive session in order to arrange for prompt availability of as much material as possible without compromising the intentions which the statuory provisions for executive sessions are intended to protect. The committee agreed to work with. Mr. Michelman's suggested guidelines . and procedures with a view to eventual adoption of these or modified pro- cedures in the light of experience. It was VOTED: to go into Executive Session at 10:18 p.m. to discuss a matter of negotiations and a grievance. It was announced that the school committee would not be coming out of executive session. (Brown, yes; Michelman, yes; Rotberg, yes; Swanson, yes; Wadsworth, yes) Respectfully submitted,7Ric? .._ 13' es, W4 ✓ Ber_nrding S1cref ry