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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - SC - 07/13/2016 (2) a \ T CQ%ASSET� Cohasset School Committee Meeting School Committee Minutes Wednesday, July 13, 2016 Cohasset Middle-High School Community Use Room 143 Pond Street Cohasset, MA In Attendance: Jeanne Astino, Chairman Katie Dugan Ellen Maher Barbara Stefan Amanda Zani Also in Attendance: Louise Demas, Interim Superintendent John Tuffy, Interim Business Manager Call to order and Roll Call-Chairman Astino called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Present, Katie Dugan-Present,Jeanne Astino-Present, Ellen Maher-Present,Amanda Zani-Present. Pledge of Allegiance-Recited. Invitation to Speak-Paul Schubert-155 Sohier Street updated the Committee on the Governor's budget. The money for the School Resource Officers has been cut by the Governor. Mr. Schubert stated he would encourage everyone to contact their State Representatives and officials. Mrs. Dugan wanted to clarify that even though funding has been cut by the State the SC has the money budgeted for this year for the SRO. She agreed it is still a good idea to reach out to officials and fight for it to be reinstated. Finance-Warrant 16S& 16-29S-Motion by Mrs. Dugan to approve Warrant 16-28S& 16-29S,seconded by Mrs. Stefan. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye,Amanda Zani-Aye. Mrs. Maher abstained from the vote. Lunch Program-Mrs. Demas advised the Committee they had their audit by the DOE. According to the audit they need to raise the cost of lunches at Osgood and Deer Hill schools to meet the state mandate. Food Service Director Marilyn Haraden explained they will implement the changes in two phases. This year there will be an increase at Osgood of$0.25 for lunch and next year there will be an additional increase of$0.25 at both Osgood and Deer Hill. Motion by Mrs. Maher to approve the $0.25 increase to lunches at the Joseph Osgood School,seconded by Mrs. Stefan. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Amanda Zani-Aye. Ms. Haraden will send a notice to parents about the increase. Gifts-Mrs. Demas stated they have received 3 donations. They received $5000 for the Summer Fitness program from the South Shore Playhouse Associates to the Chatterton Fund who has donated it back to Cohasset Schools, $2000 from Pilgrim Bank to the Friends of Cohasset Football and $6610 from Cohasset Hockey Boosters for coaching and ice time. Motion by Mrs. Dugan to accept the gift of$5000 for the Summer Fitness program from S.S. Playhouse to Chatterton Fund, seconded by Mrs. Stefan. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Amanda Zani-Aye. Motion by Mrs. Dugan to accept the gift of$2000 from Pilgrim Bank, seconded by Mrs. Maher. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Amanda Zani- Aye. Motion by Mrs. Dugan to accept the gift of$6610 from Cohasset Hockey Boosters,seconded by Mrs.Zani. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye, Amanda Zani-Aye. Bus Maintenance Report-Interim Business ManagerJohn Tuffy reviewed this month's report. He advised the Committee that there were a couple of issues with the new leased buses that came up that were not covered by warranty. Mr.Tuffy stated he has spoken with Missy and they do have a schedule to get all buses ready for inspections in August and they will have a NET mechanic on site. All maintenance will be completed over the summer. Mrs. Dugan asked about the transitions with the Special Education drivers to North River Collaborative. Mrs. Demas stated that everyone is happy and the transition went smoothly. FY16 Budget Transfers-Approvals-Mr.Tuffy and Ms. Foster met and discussed the final FY16 budget transfers. There is a surplus of$397,815.11 as of today.The final warrants are done. Mr.Tuffy stated the anticipated number to turn back to the Town is$140,690.96. Motion by Mrs. Maher to approve the transfers for finalization of the books, seconded by Mrs. Stefan. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan- Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Amanda Zani-Aye. Superintendents Report-Faculty Hiring Update-Mrs. Demas gave the Committee an update on all of the new hires. She introduced Lisa Farrell,the new principal for the Joseph Osgood School. Mrs. Demas advised the Committee that she received a resignation letter today from Beth Marat-World Language Department. All hiring is almost complete and within budget. There are some great exciting new hires. She noted this year is the smallest number of new hires in years. Mrs. Demas will get the details of the new hires and the impact on the budget and share with the budget subcommittee at the next meeting. Mrs. Zani asked Mrs. Demas for an updated spreadsheet of the Kindergarten enrollment. Mrs. Demas will send updated info to the SC tomorrow. Technology Update-Schedule of Summer Projects-Mrs. Demas presented the SC with a project status report from Ron Menard. They are working feverishly and determined to get everything up and running by the end of August. Mrs. Dugan asked if they would need additional funds for any of the projects. She suggested if they did they should start thinking about the process of meeting with Capital Budget as they would have to meet a few times before Special Town Meeting. Joseph Osgood and Deer Hill Playground Safety-Mrs. Demas stated there is concern with the Osgood playground but she doesn't have all the details yet. She will keep the SC informed. They have received a complaint about the Deer Hill playground regarding accessible routes to the playground equipment. Mrs. Demas reported that Recreation Director Ted Carroll spoke with contractor John LaRue. Mr. LaRue indicated the playground met regulations. Mrs. Demas has since learned that the MA regulations are different from the Federal Regulations. The issue is with the wood chip foundation. She viewed the playground with Ted Carroll and Building Commissioner Bob Egan. She will follow up with a conference call with MA Architectural Access Board executive Tom Hopkins to discuss the regulation for the playground. She will update the Committee. Studio 143-Mrs. Demas met with the Program Director of Cohasset 143-TV Don Roine and Principal Carolyn Connolly about the contract agreement for Studio 143. Mrs. Demas discussed the activities Mr. Roine has done for the district. Both her and Ms. Connolly shared great accolades about Don and his work and are in agreement to continue the contract. The lease will be continued and there were no changes. School Committee Comments&Communications-Long Range Planning Group-Vote-Chairman Astino advised the Committee that they need to designate 2 members from the SC to the Long Range Planning Group for 2 years. Mrs. Dugan stated she would like to be one of the members. Chairman Astino was also interested. After a brief discussion the SC agreed to appoint Chairman Astino and Mrs. Dugan. Special Education Stabilization Fund-Mrs. Dugan gave the Committee an informational update. Mrs. Dugan and Mrs. Stefan have met and have a first draft of information from Rockport and North Andover. They are in the process of getting more information from other towns. They have started a chart to compare key aspects. They will reach out to Falmouth, Hanover and Lexington since they have already adopted a policy and get ideas on how they manage the reserve. They plan to bring a packet to the SC at the 8/10/16 meeting. Assistant Superintendent Hire-Chairman Astino stated Susan Skeiber has been working with Mrs. Demas handling Assistant Superintendent responsibilities and the SC needs to approve the hiring. Ms. Skeiber could not be present tonight as she is in Oregon for a family wedding. She will be working as Assistant Superintendent for 135 days. Motion by Mrs. Dugan to approve the hiring of Susan Skeiber as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction &Assessment, seconded by Mrs. Zani. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Amanda Zani-Aye. Report from sub-committees of School Committee-Mrs. Stefan will meet again next week with Mrs. Zani as policy sub-committee. Mrs. Maher has worked with Mrs. Zani on projects and they would like to present it to the Committee at the next meeting. This will recap the SC goals. Topics not reasonably anticipated by the Chairman 48 hours in advance of meeting-Chairman Astino stated she received an inventory list from Mr. Tuffy this afternoon. Mr.Tuffy stated the equipment has no commercial value as it is either not working or at the end of its useful life. He went over the list with CTO Ron Menard and he said the Town does not have any use for the inventory listed. He has made some calls to recycling distributors to see how they can get rid of the surplus. He is requesting approval from the SC to dispose of the inventory. Mrs. Maher stated it was mentioned at a previous meeting about having a policy or procedure in place for ongoing disposal so they don't end up with a roomful of inventory again. Mrs. Stefan and Mrs. Zani will look into a policy. Motion by Mrs. Maher to allow Mr. Tuffy to dispose of surplus technology inventory, seconded by Mrs. Zani. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Amanda Zani-Aye. Approval of Minutes-Motion by Mrs. Maher to approve the minutes of June 1,2016 as amended, seconded by Mrs. Dugan and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Motion by Mrs. Maher to approve the minutes of June 15, 2016 as amended, seconded by Mrs.Zani and the vote was unanimous(5-0). Motion by Mrs. Maher to approve the minutes of June 22,2016 as amended, seconded by Mrs. Zani and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Follow ups and Updates-The Committee reviewed Mrs. Maher's list. Mrs. Dugan had some updates. Motion by Mrs. Maher to adjourn, seconded by Mrs. Zani and the vote was unanimous (5-0). Meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m. Documents used at the Meeting Gifts D-1 FY16 Trans. Maintenance Log D-2 Resignation Letter E-1 Minutes 6/1/16 G-1 Minutes 6/15/16 G-2 Minutes 6/22/16 G-3