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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - SC - 08/23/2017 O r 21 T CO%ASSET O Cohasset School Committee Meeting School Committee Minutes Wednesday,August 23, 2017 Cohasset Middle-High School Community Use Room 143 Pond Street Cohasset, MA In Attendance: Jeanne Astino, Chairman Katie Dugan Barbara Stefan Jennifer Madden Absent: Ellen Maher Also in Attendance: Louise Demas, Superintendent John Tuffy, Interim Business Manager Patrick Sullivan, Assistant Superintendent Call to Order and Roll Call-Chairman Astino called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Present, Katie Dugan-Present,Jeanne Astino-Present,Jennifer Madden-Present. Pledge-Recited Invitation to Speak-None Motion by Mrs. Dugan to move the Educator Spotlight to the top of the agenda, seconded by Mrs. Madden and the vote was unanimous(4-0). Educator Spotlight-Summer Curriculum Update-Superintendent Demas spoke of how many programs teachers have participated in over the summer. Special Education teacher Lisa Capobianco discussed the mentor workshop she participated in. It is a great support for new teachers. They learned new ways to teach students to learn in the classroom. They learned ways for a student to approach reading. History Teacher Mike Welch was present and discussed a program he and Mr.Willis had the opportunity to attend in New Jersey. It was a wonderful opportunity for Social Studies teachers. It was a game camp for teachers and they were able to share ideas with other teachers. They learned how to use games to instruct in the classroom. They learned games that use methods of building and ensuring children will learn from the games. The program was fully paid by a grant. Mrs. Demas stated Principal Carolyn Connolly taught a 3-day course on good practices for teaching which 12 teachers attended. There will be two more courses in the fall. These courses and programs are all on teacher's time and expense. Approval of Warrant-Motion by Mrs. Dugan to approve Warrant 18-03S,seconded by Mrs. Madden. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye. Municipal Modernization Act-Approval of Bills/Warrant-Mr.Tuffy explained the reason this part of the act was established is to allow bills/warrants to be processed in the event the SC cannot meet to sign off in a timely matter. After discussion of who should be designated to perform this task, School Committee members suggested it should be Mrs. Astino this year. Chairman Astino asked for a motion that the Committee, in accordance with Massachusetts General Law Chapter 41 Section 56, designate Jeanne Astino to review and approve bills and warrants with a report provided to the Committee at the next meeting. Motion moved by Mrs. Dugan,seconded by Mrs. Stefan. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye, Katie Dugan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye. Finance-Monthly Update-Mr.Tuffy stated the budget year to date is at 2%. No emerging trends. Mr. Tuffy reviewed the Revolving &Grants summary. Bus Maintenance Report-Mr. Tuffy stated a few buses got some use over the summer. Some were sent in for maintenance. There were no major expenses, problems or repairs. The inspections are set for two days next week. He has received paperwork for the lease extension and it is pretty straight forward. FY17 Final Year End Financials-Mr.Tuffy received the final closeout. The revolving funds didn't have any negative numbers. All the grants will be entered before the year is finished. Actual expenditure was 99.48%. The total of$95,046.37 was turned back to the town. The year ended where they thought it would. Mr. Tuffy stated the total grants are not reflected in the report but have since been received in full. They received more money than last year and more than expected. They received a new grant for Student Support for$3092.00. Draft FY19 Capital Budget Items-Mrs. Demas, Mr.Tuffy and the Budget and Finance Sub-Committee (Mrs. Dugan and Mrs. Maher) met on August 17, 2017, and reviewed a list of Capital Budget items. There are 4 or 5 requests. Some are re-occurring such as leases for digital learning devices and offsetting bus leases. They need to have a discussion about the bus leases and how many should be in the fleet for the next few years. There is the general replacement of laptops and desktops for labs and teaching staff,facilities safety repairs at the Osgood School. There was also a request to replacement teacher's desks. Update on Plan for Middle School Study-Mrs. Demas stated Mr. Sullivan has been working on teacher induction. Mr. Sullivan stated he, Superintendent Demas, Carolyn Connolly and Kerri Sandler met with Jerry Frew from New England League of Middle Schools. They went over the possibilities they could work with and come up with an action plan to make the middle school as great as it can be. They will do a self-study, visit and work with the steering committee and meet with teachers. They will partner with NELMS in the fall on developing and implementing the plan. The NELMS program looks at other districts for ideas that have been successful. Superintendent Demas added that one change that has already been made is a lunchroom that was changed into a three person office for Ms. Connolly, Ms. Sandler and the METCO instructor to have office hours. Business Manager Search Process-Mrs. Demas stated this position has been posted since May. They received 14 applications. Four of the applicants currently hold a business manager's license. That is where they are at this point. SC Comments and Communications-The Committee reviewed the draft annual SC agenda. Mrs. Dugan made minor edits based on the conversation at the last meeting. Report on Sub-committee of SC-Mrs. Dugan reported Master Plan Committee met last week. Long Range Planning Group met on Monday and discussed their goals. Mrs. Madden attended AEC meeting on Monday. They discussed funding for phase 2 of the Green Communities grant. They discussed 3 different kinds of lights they will display to get feedback from the community. They are making progress on the solar array at the landfill. They are looking for ways to work with the SC to enhance learning about renewable energy in the schools. Mrs. Stefan stated she and Mrs. Maher met as the evaluation sub-committee about the superintendent's evaluation. Approval of Minutes-8/9/17-Motion by Mrs. Stefan to approve the minutes of 8/9/17 as amended, seconded by Mrs. Dugan and the vote was unanimous (4-0). Motion by Mrs. Dugan to adjourn, seconded by Mrs. Madden and the vote was unanimous (4-0). The meeting adjourned at 9:08 p.m. Documents used at the meeting Monthly Update E-1 Bus Maintenance Log E-2 FY17 Final Year End E-3 MMA-Warrant Approval F-1 Draft SC Annual Agenda G-1 Minutes 8/9/17