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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - SC - 12/16/2015 T CQ%ASSET O Cohasset School Committee Meeting School Committee Minutes Wednesday, December 16, 2015 Cohasset Middle-High School Community Use Room 143 Pond Street Cohasset, MA In Attendance: Jeanne Astino, Chairman Mary McGoldrick Ellen Maher Katie Dugan Barbara Stefan Also in Attendance: Barbara Cataldo, Superintendent Dave DeGennaro, Business Manager Call to Order and Roll Call Chairman Astino called to the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Present, Katie Dugan-Present,Jeanne Astino-Present, Mary McGoldrick-Present, Ellen Maher-Present. Pledge-Recited Invitation to speak-Amanda Zani-38 Forest Avenue& Bianca Bersani-40 Forest Avenue asked the Committee when they will meet to discuss a letter they submitted on 12/2. The School Committee will meet with Kindergarten parents on January 7, 2016 @ 7 p.m. to discuss. Superintendent Barbara Cataldo stated they are currently searching for more ESP's in Kindergarten. Jenny Milanoski-171 South Main Street asked if the ESP's are just for this year or permanent. Chairman Astino responded they are working on this year's budget at this point, they are not sure what next year's budget will be. Chairman Astino stated the teacher's contract is very close to being completed. They hope to have it settled after vacation and signed. Superintendent's Report Special Education Presentation Director of Student Services Mary Buchanan was present to discuss the results of the Walker Partnership Preschool Evaluation by Sally Smith. Ms. Buchanan gave a power point presentation of the results featuring the specific commendations, specific findings and recommendations. Jenny Milanoski-171 South Main St. Asked if the evaluation recommended decreasing the number of Preschool teachers from 3 to 2. Ms. Buchanan responded that the evaluation did recommend that however, it needs to be further investigated and discussed. Helane Childs-73 Pond Street suggested that since there are mix age groups in the classes that they are sure to keep the work new and fresh for the second year students. The Committee had a lengthy discussion and will continue to review the evaluation. MCAS Decision Superintendent Cataldo advised the Committee they need to vote to administer PARCC or MCAS for spring testing. Motion by Mrs. McGoldrick to accept MCAS as the test of choice in Cohasset, seconded by Mrs. Stefan. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Mary McGoldrick-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye. Extended Leave of Absence Approval Superintendent Cataldo presented a request from Beverly Herb to extend her maternity leave until the 2017-2018 school year. Motion by Mrs. McGoldrick to approve leave by Beverly Herb,seconded by Mrs. Maher and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Policy JKAA-Physical Restraint of Students 2"d Read Superintendent Cataldo stated the Physical Restraint policy will go into effect on January 1, 2016 and manuals will be updated. Mrs. McGoldrick suggested the changes be highlighted on the school website to make parents aware. Superintendent Cataldo will notify parents that policy will now be in effect. She clarified that everyone is trained on the procedures not the actual restraining. Mrs. Stefan asked if there would be a body check by the nurse after restraint as she believes it is a requirement. Superintendent Cataldo will check with counsel to review. The Committee discussed when parents would be notified of a restraint. Chairman Astino stated the parents would be notified immediately if possible. Motion by Mrs. McGoldrick to accept the JKAA policy for Physical Restraint of Students, seconded by Mrs. Dugan and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Bus Maintenance Update Superintendent Cataldo stated she has an interview scheduled tomorrow for a part time mechanic. The DOT inspections are scheduled for January. New England Transportation will come and check buses before the inspections and will be present the day of inspections as well. Superintendent Cataldo has contacted Cummins for any issues with cold weather starts so that they can go to Dedham instead of Tyngsboro. Mrs. Dugan asked about the SPED buses budget. Mr. DeGennaro will look into the projections. FY17 Budget Review Superintendent Cataldo and Mr. DeGennaro presented the Committee with a preview of the FY17 Budget. The Committee briefly discussed budget priorities, long term enrollment history, forecast by cost center and 5-year forecast. Mr. DeGennaro advised that the budgets are built by building, starting at zero. Mrs. Dugan requested information on the sections at Middle School and if Mrs. Connelly could provide Student/Class size information as she had last year. The Committee took a brief recess from 9:43 p.m. -9:46 p.m. Finance Warrant 16-12S Motion by Mrs. McGoldrick to approve Warrant 16-125, seconded by Mrs. Stefan. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Mary McGoldrick-Aye. Ellen Maher abstained from the vote. Monthly Update Mr. DeGennaro gave an update of the FY16 budget. He is closely watching the unemployment line item. The Committee had a lengthy discussion of budget line items specifically; salaries, special education, buildings and water bills. Building Utilization Fee Schedule Mrs. McGoldrick, Mrs. Dugan and Mr. DeGennaro have researched fee schedules in surrounding towns. They presented a draft fee schedule for the Committee's review. Mr. DeGennaro will contact anyone that uses the fields. He will make edits the Committee discussed and bring back to the 1/6 meeting. School Committee Comments and Communications Mrs. Dugan attended the Safe Harbor meeting 12/9 and the next meeting is on 1/13/16. They are currently working on developing goals& objectives and applying for a grant. She stated there was concern at the meeting that the Community That Cares survey was not shared broadly enough. Superintendent Cataldo will reach out to Torin Sweeney& Brian Scott and get back to the Committee. The Finance subcommittee is meeting Friday to talk about the bus lease budget. The Deer Hill School Council met and discussed security. The parents would welcome periodic updates on security. Mrs. McGoldrick was unable to attend the leadership meeting however; Superintendent Cataldo did. She attended the Digital Learning Committee meeting and they are working on the vision statement. They got an update from Bart Riley. The Kindergarten through 5 t h Grade roll out is coming soon. Superintendent Cataldo added that the teacher devices are on order and they hope to have them by next week. Mrs. McGoldrick attended the subcommittee for security meeting in which they discussed all policies on safety and security. They met with Sgt. Lopes and Detective Lennon and gave them all of the policies. The police have started the hot wash and will be writing up a summary. They hope to have an update on 1/20/15. Mrs. Maher will be attending the emergency management meeting on Friday. Mrs. Stefan attended the Deer Hill School Council meeting last week and the Osgood PSO meeting. Approval of Minutes Motion by Mrs. McGoldrick to approve the minutes as written for 12/2/15, seconded by Mrs. Stefan and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Follow up and Updates None Topics not reasonably anticipated by the Chairman 48 hours in advance of meeting. None Chairman Astino asked for a motion to go into executive session for exemption#2-strategy re; bargaining with nonunion personnel. The Committee will come out of executive session for the purpose of adjourning. Motion moved by Mrs. McGoldrick and seconded by Mrs. Maher. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Mary McGoldrick-Aye, Ellen Maher- Aye. The Committee went into executive session at 10:45 p.m. The Committee came out of executive session at 11:58 p.m. Motion by Mrs. McGoldrick to adjourn, seconded by Mrs. Maher and the vote was unanimous (5-0). List of Documents used at Meeting D-1 Special Ed Presentation D-2 MCAS Decision D-3 Extended Leave of Absence Request D-4 JKAA Physical Restraint of Students D-5 Bus Maintenance Update D-6 FY17 Budget Update E-1 Monthly Budget Update E-2 Building Utilization Fee Schedule G-1 Minutes 12/2/15