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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - SC - 01/07/2015 School Committee Meeting 1/7/15 In attendance: Paul Ognibene Paul Schubert Mary McGoldrick Jeanne Astino Helene Lieb Mr. Ognibene called the meeting to order at 7:04 PM. He reminded the audience that the meeting recorded and televised. Roll call all present. Mr. Ognibene invited audience members to speak, but no one came forward. CEF Gift: Two members from CEF were present to present the grant in the amount of$66,045. The grants cover initiatives at all four schools. The check was presented to Mr. Ognibene who accepted it with great thanks and appreciation for all of the efforts of the CEF on the schools' behalf. Moved by Helene Lieb to accept the grant from the CEF, second from Mary McGoldrick; Roll call vote: All ayes in favor of accepting the generous gift. Both Dr. Schubert and Dr. Lieb expressed deep appreciation for the grants. PSO Grant: Gift in the amount of$1,651 for grants at Deer Hill. Moved by Jeanne Astino to accept the gift from PSO. Helene Lieb seconded the motion. Roll call all aye. Mr. Willis presented the next European Trip. It will be in 2016 for 11 days with one day only of missed school. The trip includes Portugal, Spain and one day in Morocco. If the trip is approved it would save $200 per student and provide them with ample time to finance the trip. It is open to students in Cohasset; if the trip is not filled with Cohasset students, Mr. Willis might reach out to other school districts. Introductory meeting would be tomorrow if approved. Mr. Willis feels there are a number of students who are interested. They have learned from previous trips which pitfalls can be avoided. Mr. Willis and Mrs. Connolly will work on schedule to ensure that classes in the Middle-High School are adequately covered for the Friday school day they will be gone. Moved by Paul Schubert to approve the trip and Helene Lieb seconded the motion. The vote was 5-0 in favor of approving the trip. Proposed Budget for FY 2016: Mr. DeGennaro presented an overview of the proposed budget. This first run had input provided by the staff. It is still a working document as it has been in the past. It assumes a 5.5% increase over FY 15 budget. This is not a level-funded budget. It assumes increases in out of district tuitions. With change of leadership, the state budget is assumed to be late by about six weeks, perhaps available by the end of Feb. and beginning of March. This delay will impact Circuit Breaker and Chapter 70 funding. This budget assumes the same amount we received this year for Circuit Breaker at$444,508. Leasing school buses is also assumed as an operating expense. The budget also assumes that all fees will remain the same. We budgeted$50,000 for unemployment costs. Two new sports in athletics are added; Freshman Field Hockey and Girls Ice Hockey. There is no reduction in teaching positions. We are requesting additional positions for the Middle-High School. The budget includes a School Resource Office for a cost of$68,819. We have a potential IRS issue with three contract service people, so we are bringing them in as personnel. Three technology positions are being added. Cohasset will continue to have a CTO for the entire Town. Grant funding is uncertain as we look to the future. There was a long discussion on our eligibility for many of the larger grants that are available. ,AGENDA ITEM: OCT 21 2015 Many accomplishments from previous years have enabled us to build on our assets both in terms of equipment and increased professional development of staff. Technology education has been a key focus. Consultant is working with the teachers who have been taking the technology courses to bring their expertise back to their own school and peers. Kindergarten report card has been revamped and will be sent out in January. Over the summer most classrooms were equipped with document cameras, mimeos and laptops. There was a long discussion regarding enrollment trends and what metrics make for the best estimate at what enrollment will be from one year to the next. There is a significant gap between Town Manager's number and the proposed school number. Minutes need to be updated more regularly. Warrant 15-11 S: Moved by Jeanne Astino to accept; Paul Schubert seconded the motion. All aye. Communications: The Jan. 21 st meeting will be at 7:00, with Exec Session at 6:00 PM not 7:30 as previously discussed. Feb. 4th there is a conflict with Safe Harbor kickoff event on the same evening. Recommend changing our meeting to the 11th. Governance meeting would be at 6:00 and the School Committee meeting at 7:30, and then meet again on Feb. 25th. Moved by Helene Lieb to switch meeting from 4th to 11 th, Jeanne Astino seconded the motion; 5-0 in favor moving the meeting to Feb. 11th at 7:30PM. Next Tuesday there is a SEPAC meeting at the Paul Pratt Library at 7:30. Parent to parent coffee at Diane Herth's house will be the following Wednesday. Moved by Jeanne Astino to adjourn at 9:20 Mary McGoldrick seconded the motion. 5-0 in favor of adjournment.