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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - SC - 12/19/2018 a f„„54J. • COHAS5ETrJ w!y _ I Cohasset School Committee Meeting School Committee Minutes Wednesday, December 19, 2018 Cohasset Middle-High School Community Use Room 143 Pond Street Cohasset, MA In Attendance: Jeanne Astino, Chairman Ellen Maher Barbara Stefan Jennifer Madden Paul Kearney Also in Attendance: Louise Demas, Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan, Assistant Superintendent Michael MacMillan, Business Manager Chairman Astino called the meeting to order at 6:06 p.m. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Present- Jeanne Astino-Present, Ellen Maher-Present,Jennifer Madden-Present. Motion by Mrs. Maher to enter Executive Session for Exemption #3, strategy related to collective bargaining, CTA, seconded by Mrs.Astino. Roll Call Vote; Barbara Stefan-Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye. The Committee went into Executive Session at 6:07 p.m. The Committee came out of Executive Session at 7:19PM Pledge of Allegiance— Recited Public Comment- None Approval of Warrant Motion by Mrs. Maher to approve Warrant 19-10S,seconded by Mr. Kearney. Roll Call Vote; Paul Kearney-Aye, Barbara Stefan—Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye and Jennifer Madden -Aye. Page 1 of 4 Superintendent's Report Enrollment Update—Mrs. Demas stated there were no real changes on enrollment this month. They are staying stable. There have been some blips in 51h grade this year,which would impact 61h next year, but it's not too much of a shift. Field Trip to Quebec City—Ms. Kathleen Sanges reviewed the proposed trip to Field Trip to Quebec City. This is her 131h year accompanying students on this trip. The trip is for the eighth grade French students with proposed dates of May 3rd—5ch, 2019. Ms. Sanges stated that this has been a very successful trip in the past. They have 27 students interested. They use a tour company,lump Street Tours, a guide is always with the students when they tour via coach or on foot. After further discussion regarding the trip, Mrs. Maher moved to approve the proposed field trip to Quebec City, seconded by Mr. Kearney. Roll Call Vote; Paul Kearney-Aye, Barbara Stefan—Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye and Jennifer Madden -Aye. Mrs. Demas stated that there has been an initial meeting regarding the Start School Later initiative. There were about 10-12 people in attendance and it was a lively discussion. It's an emotional issue with people on either side of it. They plan to have another meeting in January. She has also talked with Brian Joyce and Jason Federico regarding a traffic study for all three schools to address congestion and other issues. This is coming from the Town side and will cost approximately$30,000 to conduct and will need to go through Capital Budget. She had talked to Ron Griffin in Duxbury regarding their pilot program for"Blizzard Bags'. It was a long discussion and there seems to be more questions than answers on the program and where the state is going with it. This morning Mrs. Demas met with the Superintendents of the South Shore. They discussed vaping and how concerned all of the districts are about this. Everyone is concerned about it and there are similarities in how cigarettes became popular so quickly,the same is happening with vaping. Several schools are looking to install vape detectors in bathrooms that sound off when someone vapes. They are about$1,000 each. Once installed and activated,the schools have to have a protocol in place to address what to do after the detection. The superintendent also mentioned that there is a one-day treatment center at the North River Collaborative. All of this will be addressed when they talk more about vaping. Mrs. Stefan added that Safe Harbor does a lot of programming addressing vaping. Dr. Patrick Sullivan has been working with the Safe Schools Committee and Subcommittees. They have four different groups for safe schools and they are: Social-Emotional Learning and Wellness Subcommittee (SEL), Building Security and Protective Measures Subcommittee, Providing a Safe and Inclusive Culture Subcommittee and Communication and Action Planning Subcommittee. They have had really productive meetings and have created several versions of goals and actions steps. They will define a chair for each committee and determine how they will reach out to the community, stakeholders, students and staff. For this year,they will be picking an objective. It's an exciting process, but is hard work right now. He is excited and encouraged for it and is very happy about the support they are receiving from the community. Mrs. Maher said that Dr. Sullivan runs a great meeting. Mrs. Stefan added that the communication out to the district has been great. Dr. Sullivan thanked them for their support. Their next meeting is January 10, 2019. Page 2 of 4 Finance Monthly Update—Mr. MacMillan addressed the Committee. He stated that the overall picture is generally what they would expect in most areas. The expenditures are just above last year. He is watching SPED and transportation closely; they are running about$300,000 over budget. These services can fluctuate. Everything else is about the same. Some revolving funds are in the negative,they are negative until they get through the year. The negatives can be attributed to the after-school care funds coming in and being spent and the winter fees were accounted for in November last year, but this year it will be December. Vehicle Maintenance—There were no significant changes since October. Some buses don't have any increases in mileage. They are close to signing an NOI for the new buses. Chairman Astino added that the buses were approved partly in the Capital Budget and the School Committee Budget. The buses come with 360-degree cameras, are seatbelt ready and have GPS. Mr. MacMillan said the lease covers everything on the bus and this lease includes an extra bus; they should be in by next March. Fee Review—Mr. MacMillan had circulated a list of the student fees to the Committee. It is their intention to get recommendations from the Budget Finance Sub-Committee. Mrs. Maher addressed the punitive fee for late bus fee payments. The punitive fee was not as effective as they hoped. FY20 Budget First Pass—They are in the middle of the first pass on the FY20 Budget.They do not have a final number from the Town regarding what the Schools number will be. It will be similar to what it has been in the past. The schools have to account for an increase in the SPED budget,Transportation Budget and 3.5% in step increases. Overall,these changes represent a 2% increase. There will definitely be a gap. It will not be an easy budget; their expectations have to be level funded. Chairman Astino handed out a document regarding solar panels and the total net benefits from them. The school could connect before the meter which could benefit the schools. Mr. Kearney asked if they should start a School Building Committee. Mrs. Maher stated that it was her belief that it was too early to start a building committee. She has all of the information at home. School Committee Comments Communications Review School Budget FAQ—Chairman Astino asked for this to be in the Committee's packets as an FYI. Master Plan Update and Timeline Changes (Katie Dugan)—Postponed due to illness Reading Policy EFD—Meal Charge Policy-15t Read—This is the first read for the policy. The Meal Charge Policy is so that the students are not the first point of contact for an overdue balance. FY20 Draft Budget Message—Chairman Astino asked if anyone had any questions. Mrs. Madden would really like to see everything that is listed in the draft message happen. Mr. MacMillan stated in order to do that,they have to make all of the numbers work and there will be hard decisions to make; not everything will be approved. This too is a first read. Mrs. Stefan added that this is a wish list. Reports from Subcommittees and Liaisons—Mrs. Madden said there will be more policies coming the Committee's way. Mr. Kearney attended the Winter Concert. Mrs. Maher said there was a profile in "Life on the Rocks" magazine about the Football Team and she noted how many of the team members mentioned how much their teachers supported them and wanted the best for them when asked in the Q&A section of the article. Motion by Mrs. Maher to adjourn the open meeting,seconded by Mrs.Stefan. Roll Call Vote; Paul Kearney-Aye, Barbara Stefan—Aye,Jeanne Astino-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye and Jennifer Madden-Aye. Page 3 of 4 The meeting adjourned at 8:57 pm Documents: F-1— Monthly Student Enrollment Report F-2— Memo regarding Proposed three day field trip to Quebec City G-1— School Budget Summary Report G-2 - FY 2019 Vehicle Maintenance Log G-3 - Fee Review—December 2018 H-2 - FAQ's School Operating Budget H-3 - Meal Charge Policy- EFD H-4- Cohasset School Committee Budget Message for Fiscal 2019 Page 4 of 4