Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - SC - 01/27/2916 T CQ%ASSET O Cohasset School Committee Meeting School Committee Minutes Wednesday,January 27, 2016 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 the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Vote; Katie Dugan-Present,Jeanne Astino-Present, Mary McGoldrick-Present, Ellen Maher-Present. Chairman Astino asked for a motion to go into executive session for exemption#2-strategy related to contract negotiations with nonunion personnel. The Committee will reconvene in open session. Motion moved by Mrs. McGoldrick, seconded by Ellen Maher. Roll Call Vote; Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Mary McGoldrick-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye. Barbara Stefan arrived at 7:03 p.m. The Committee went into executive session at 7:03 p.m. The Committee came out of executive session and back into public session at 7:44 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance-Recited Invitation to Speak- Bianca Bersani-40 Forest Avenue asked if the decision on Kindergarten enrollments is set in stone. She feels that waiting until 3/14 and 3/15 is late. It is in everyone's best interest to have real time data. The way the registration is now it limits the school's knowledge of capacity and ability to plan. Chairman Astino advised the audience that tonight's budget presentation is a preliminary look at the budget. It is a living document that will be changed over the next couple of months. Erin Cash of 735 Jerusalem Road stated she currently has a child in full day Kindergarten and she loves it. However, she has 3 younger children and has concerns with the integrity of the% day Kindergarten experience. She is glad to hear that they are considering half day classes in addition to full day. The few children that are now in a full day class but leave at half day is less than optimal. She encourages the Committee to keep separate half day classes. Mrs. Dugan stated she encourages people to think about what they are offering this year; 7 sections including 5 full day and 2 half day. This is in response to the community members concerns. This is the first year of trying to do this and they will learn from this and it will enable them to gather data and make decisions going forward. Allison Corbett-30 Windy Hill Road stated there is anxiety around the process. Most private schools have a deadline at the beginning of February. Another resident shared concerns with missing the deadline for private schools. She fully supports expediting the registration process. Amanda Kennedy-31 Ledgewood Drive asked if Cohasset has a population boom how the Town will balance it. Chairman Astino explained how the money for Kindergarten tuition goes into a revolving fund and cannot be used to pay teachers' salaries. Final Ratification of MOA Chairman Astino stated the School Committee and Cohasset Teachers Association have come to an agreement after months of negotiating and mediation. Motion by Mrs. McGoldrick to ratify the final MOA on successor agreement between the Cohasset School Committee and Cohasset Teachers Association, including side letter of agreement between Cohasset School Committee and Cohasset Teachers Association,seconded by Mrs. Dugan. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye, Jeanne Astino-Aye, Mary McGoldrick-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye. Motion by Mrs. Maher to move the business manager discussion to later in the agenda, seconded by Mrs. Dugan and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Superintendent Report MCAS Presentation Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Louise Demas presented a power point presentation of the MCAS results. She explained the Progress and Performance Index. She discussed how Cohasset does not qualify for Extra Points. She stated that there are "potholes" due to common core requirements in Math that were implemented 2 years ago and the students need time to catch up. The ELA test consists of questions that the student has to rely on analysis and comparative thought. She discussed the data analysis and identifying student needs. She spoke of the next steps in helping students and how the parents can help. Mrs. Stefan asked about accommodations for special needs students. Ms. Demas stated Mary Buchanan could answer those types of questions at another meeting as she was unable to be present tonight. Mrs. Dugan commented that the trends in Science over the last few years has been up and down. Ms. Demas explained different ways in which each grade level teachers are being proactive. SEPAC President Helane Childs-73 Pond Street thanked Ms. Demas for the great wealth of information. She asked if the state restrictions conflict with the right of the student's educational plans by Federal Law. Ms. Demas referred the question to Ms. Buchanan as she has the expertise to answer. Ms. Childs asked when they looked at the analysis if the students with Individual Student Success Plan and Educational Proficiency Plans were already identified as Tier 1 or Tier 2. Ms. Demas responded that some were while others were a surprise. Laura Soderberg-16 Black Horse Lane asked about the growth for 3rd grade. Ms. Demas responded there is no growth because it is the first year they have taken the test and they do not compare last year's 3rd grade tests to this years. Bianca Bersani-40 Forest Avenue asked if the results have been compared to other districts to see what the lag time is for catching up in Math. She asked what the projection of time before improvements are seen is. Dr. deChiara agreed that the math scores are concerning. They did go back and research and found it was an anomaly. The short answer and open response questions requires the student to hold an amazing amount of data in their short term memory. This is also the first year for these kids to take this type of tests and they are 8 and 9 year olds that are vulnerable. There is concern and they are recommending increasing math specialist time and professional development for teachers. Dr. deChiara did point out that the amount of students in the advanced category increased while there were less in the proficient category. Amanda Zani-38 Forest Avenue expressed her concern with the class sizes for 3rd grade next year. FY17 Budget Presentation Chairman Astino advised everyone the will listen to the presentation and have the school committee comment on. After that the public is encouraged to ask questions. Business Manager Dave DeGennaro gave a presentation of the first draft of the proposed FY17 budget. He explained that it is a working document. The budget will not be voted on until March. Superintendent Cataldo stated the proposed budget is not a level funded budget and it is 6.55%increase or$1.145.889 over last year's budget. Mr. DeGennaro reviewed the Town Manager's 5 year fiscal forecast,the 5 year fiscal forecast including meals tax revenue and enrollment history and projections. Mr. DeGennaro went through the district wide summary. Chief Operations Officer Ron Menard and Deputy CIO Bart Riley were present to discuss the district wide technology budget. Principal Dr.Jennifer deChiara discussed the Deer Hill budget. She spoke about enrollment and projected class sizes. She believes a max of 24 students per class in 3rd grade is acceptable. She has confidence that with specialists and ESP's no one will fall through the cracks. Mrs. Maher stated they Committee has talked about keeping a close eye on enrollment and it would help to know grade by grade enrollment. Middle/High School Principal Carolyn Connolly discussed what additional teachers she needs. She distributed a packet to the Committee. The most critical need right now is a Science teacher. The next teacher, in order of importance, requested would be Social Studies. They could possibly get a History/Special Education teacher that is qualified for both. She would like to offer Latin again but it is not critical. Ms. Connolly spoke of the large number of students who are diagnosed as concussed students. There are also students that may miss several weeks of school for support or rehab. For this she would like a person that would have a caseload and would help with catching up, communicating with parents and providing confidence for the student. Athletic Director Ron Ford was present and discussed the School Athletics budget. Motion by Mrs. McGoldrick to move the order of the agenda, seconded by Mrs.Stefan and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Gifts Motion by Mrs. McGoldrick to accept the gift of$500 from ExxonMobil for the new sign at the Deer Hill Library, seconded by Mrs. Maher. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Mary McGoldrick-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye. Warrant 16-155 Motion by Mrs. McGoldrick to approve Warrant 16-155, seconded by Mrs. Dugan. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Mary McGoldrick-Aye. Ellen Maher abstained from the vote. Business Manager-Next Steps Superintendent Cataldo stated the job descriptions for both interim and permanent are completed and she would like to post both. Chairman Astino asked her to post the interim but doesn't feel the permanent is ready to post. The Committee agreed to hold off on posting the permanent position and to discuss at the next meeting on 2/3/16. Debra Kenealy-84 Old Pasture Road asked what the School Committees goals are for the budget process. Mrs. McGoldrick responded that the School Committee has a budget priority document. Chairman Astino added that school improvement plans encompass what the Committee refers to. The improvement plans are put together by the experts in every building. Motion by Mrs. McGoldrick to adjourn, seconded by Mrs. Maher and the vote was unanimous(5-0). The meeting adjourned at 12:11 a.m. List of Documents Used at Meeting F-1 MCAS Presentation F-2 Business Manager Job Descriptions F-3 FY17 Budget Presentation F-4 Gift-ExxonMobil