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Home My WebLink About1978-01-17-SC-min Page 17 January 17, 1978 A regular meeting of the Lexington School Committee was held on January 17, 1978, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at Clarke Junior High School. Those in attendance were Swanson, Brown, Michelman, Hoffman and student representative Miller. Also present were Lawson, Spiris, Pierson, Mac- Innes and Monderer. It was MINUTES 12/13/77 VOTED: to approve the minutes of December 13, 1977, as amended. (Michel- man, Hoffman, Unanimous) VOTED: to approve the minutes of December 20, 1977, as amended. (Michel- MINUTES man, Hoffman, Unanimous) 12/20/77 Upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools it was SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS VOTED: to approve the schedule of payments. (Michelman, Gaudet, Unani- mous) SCHOOL DEPARTMENT BUDGETS Personal Services January 6, 1978 Classified Payroll #15-C $59,387.40 Expenses January 13, 1978 Bill Schedule #106 4,695.62 January 13, 1978 #107 5,153.05 January 13, 1978 #108 20,115.47 January 13, 1978 #109 13,509.69 January 13, 1978 #110 318.62 Athletics January 13, 1978 Bill Schedule #18 2,126.66 SPECIAL PROGRAMS - Non-Lexington Funds METCO January 6, 1978 Classified Payroll 549.96 January 13, 1978 Bill Schedule #6 12,482.14 LEADS January 6, 1978 Classified Payroll 901.45 January 13, 1978 Bill Schedule #29 1,265.63 PL. 94-142 Grant - Transition to Employment January 6, 1978 Classified Payroll 179.03 January 13, 1978 Bill Schedule 1,433.04 ESEA Library January 13, 1978 Bill Schedule #5 1,724.59 Mr. Maclnnes presented percentage expenditure picture for this and FINANCIAL the last two years by category. He noted that the percentage expendi- STATEMENT ture under personal services might look alarming, but was not; it simply reflected three professional pay days in December because of the Decem- ber calendar. He further noted that differences in other accounts have to do with when those bills are paid. Page 18 January 17, 1978 Dr. Lawson presented a letter from Palmer and Dodge, noting that LETTER FROM Mr. Cohen had been working on behalf of the school committee with re- PALMER & DODGE - spect to the 1973-1974 audit to determine if re-examination would re- SPECIAL EDUCATIOS veal some allowable expenses. The letter, he said, indicates that the REIMBURSEMENTS State is willing to re-instate $47,678, plus smaller possible reimburse- ments amounting to five or six thousand dollars. Mrs. Gaudet asked if there were other towns who had computed re- quests as had Lexington, and whether all requests and subsequent denials were based on misinterpretation. Dr. Monderer responded that the guidelines had not been clear, and that the town had wished to be reimbursed every possible dollar under a fair claim. He said that the major area of dispute is the claim made for reimbursement for services provided by non-special ed professional staff who worked with special needs students. Mr. Michelman asked if the Superintendents of Massachusetts were discussing the problem with the Commissioner of Education. Dr. Lawson indicated that such dialogue is taking place, but that it was fairly clear that, while State officials were sympathetic with the dilemma, they would need a much larger budget to provide any further reimbursements. Dr. Hoffman asked about the comment that Lexington could not ade- quately document its basis for billing. Dr. Monderer responded that Lexington had documented its figures through a staff questionnaire at the end of the year in question, and that the State had subsequently ruled that such documentation was in- valid, that time sheets should have been filed as the year progressed. He added that he felt that the State had decided after the program (Chapter 766) had begun that there was not enough money to fund it, and had made retroactive changes in the guidelines to accommodate the deficit. It was VOTED: to authorize Town Counsel to accept the proposed reimbursement on the part of the Town of Lexington. (Michelman, Gaudet, Unanimous) Upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools it was NEW PERSONNEL VOTED: to accept the following new personnel (professional) . (Michelman, Gaudet, Unanimous) Page 19 January 17, 1978 Upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools it was PERSONNEL CHANGE (PROFESSIONAL) VOTED: to accept the following personnel changes (professional) (Michel- man, Gaudet, Unanimous) Resignations Date Reason Leave of Absence Maternity Leave Upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools it was PERSONNEL CHANGE (CLASSIFIED) VOTED: to accept the following personnel changes (classified) (Michelman, Gaudet, Unanimous) New Employees CETA Transfer Resignation - CETA EMPLOYEE Dr. Lawson asked the Committee to agree upon a date at which time ADMINISTRATIVE the school budget could be presented at a public information meeting REPORT for citizens and town meeting members. The date of March 16, was se- lected. A brief discussion was held about last year' s school committee de- 65 DEGREE vision to set school building thermostats at 65 degrees. Several members THERMOSTAT expressed concern that at this setting, some rooms, or sections of some SETTING rooms were too cold. Mr. Maclnnes said that he had checked with building principals and they had agreed that 65 degrees was acceptable. He admitted that, es- pecially on cold, windy days, some rooms in some buildings were cold. He said that regular checking and re-setting was provided by maintenance staff in all areas. He said that it was important to remember that ex- perts agreed that a 3% saving was realized per degree downward, and that this year' s budget had been set accordingly. Page 20 January 17, 1978 Discussion resumed on the Personal Services Budget. PERSONAL SERVICES Mr. Michelman questioned the reduction of two teachers at Adams BUDGET School, comparing it to no staff reduction at Fiske, though pupil de- cline was (2) at Adams and (43) at Fiske, and noting the projected class size at Adams. Mr. Spiris explained that the reduction was consistent with, and tied to, the grade level at which students appeared. The possibility of shifting planned staffing was available. Mr. Micheiman asked if in the light of this year's difficulties, the situation in the science department at the high school had been con- sidered in the proposed staffing allocations. Mr. Spiris responded that the matter was under consideration, and that final departmental staff allocation would be made after students had signed up for courses in the spring. Mrs. Swanson expressed the hope that changes in the 2300 budget, resulting from the Parker closing would be made as soon as possible. Dr. Lawson indicated that they would be forthcoming. In discussing the 2300-1A (Substitute) account, Dr. Lawson pointed out the decrease of 15K, despite an increase of $2.00 per day in substi- tute pay request which will be recommended to the school committee at a later date. Mr. Spiris noted that this reduction was the result of a study of substitute need based on staff attendance, and praised the pro- fessional staff for having a low absence rate when compared to other sys- tems. He said that the Lexington staff average was 6, and that the next lowest of the systems compared was 9. Mr. Michelman referred to the 2300-2A (Aides) account and questioned the reduction in funds for EDCO tutoring. Dr. Pierson responded that par- ticipation had dropped from five to one elementary school. He noted that the tutoring responsibilities had been replaced partly by maintenance of reading staffing levels, and that declining enrollment accounted for oth- er decreases in the program. In discussing the 2300-IC account (Atypical Education) , Dr. Monderer noted that the 15K decrease reflects rigorous, diligent application of last year's guidelines by principals and their staffs. He assured the Committee that services are maintained at the necessary levels, and made special mention of the fact that the budgeted amount reflects not only a. decrease, but encompasses a $1 per hour increase in tutoring rates which will be recommended to the school committee. Mr. Hoffman praised this saving. Mr. Michelman asked that a sheet comparing next year's tu- toring cost, loads and services with this year's be prepared. Dr. Mon- derer said that such information would be forthcoming. Page 21 January 17, 1978 It was VOTED: to go into Executive Session at 9:25 p.m. for the purposes of discussing collective bargaining strategy, and the character and reputation of an individual. (Hoffman, yes; Gaudet, yes; Swanson, yes; Michelman, yes) It was announced that the school committee would not return to open public session. Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth A. Quinn_-N /k Recording Secretary, Pr' tem