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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - SC - 12/18/2019 r 1_ • COFiASSST Cohasset School Committee Meeting School Committee Minutes Wednesday, December 18, 2019 Cohasset Middle-High School Community Use Room 143 Pond Street Cohasset, MA In Attendance: Ellen Maher, Chairman Jen Madden Paul Kearney Craig MacLellan Ashley Colleary Also in Attendance: Dr. Patrick Sullivan, Superintendent Michael MacMillan, Director of Finance& Operations Dr. Leslie Scollins,Assistant Superintendent Margaret Curley, Student Advisory Member Call to Order and Roll Call-Chairman Maher called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Vote: Paul Kearney-Present;Ashley Colleary-Present; Ellen Maher-Present,Jennifer Madden-Present, Craig MacLellan-Present. Pledge-Recited. Chairman Maher stated the meetings are televised and recorded. Public Comment-None. Superintendent's Report-Student Advisory Member, Ms. Curley, updated the Committee members on various school activities. Ms. Curley recognized the band and chorus holiday concerts. Ms. Curley stated the Joseph Osgood School participated in fill a cruiser to benefit Toys for Tots. She stated winter sports are off to a great start-the Girls Hockey team is preparing for their home opener tonight against Pembroke and the Boys Basketball had a great win over Atlantis Charter last. On Friday, December 201n the 71"grade students will be presenting their projects on the novel "Hidden Figures". Ms. Curley stated 1 the Superintendent's Student Advisory Council met last week to discuss their mission to improve the connectivity between students,therefore helping them academically and socially; and to work with the district administration to help inform the student body of administrative changes in an efficient and intuitive way. She stated the council is eager to invite the elementary school students to their next meeting. Ms. Curley stated the Safe Harbors Youth Ambassadors have been working on "Sticker Shock" in conjunction with Curtis Liquors where stickers are placed on alcohol to help discourage underage drinking and purchasing for minors. Ms. Curley stated the Youth Ambassadors continued to rehearse their performance of"Samantha Skunk", a story written for children in grades K-4 with the intention to teach children to only take medication with their parents' permission. The performance will take place in January at the Osgood School. Supt. Dr. Sullivan praised Ms. Curley's work with Safe Harbors. Chairman Maher asked Ms. Curley to discuss her internship with Safe Harbors. Ms. Curley stated she worked on two projects which including working with Drug Story Theater on humanizing recovery through an art project. Donation of Benches for Eagle Scout Project-Sean Thornton, a junior at Cohasset High School, is working towards his Eagle Scout Project and reviewed his proposed donation of three benches which are made of recycled plastic water bottles and would be placed in the grassy area between the auditorium and main office doors. Chairman Maher asked if the benches are going to be permanently affixed to the ground. Mr.Thornton stated they would be cemented to the ground. Motion by Mr. MacLellan to accept the donation of three benches from Sean Thornton, seconded by Mrs. Madden. Roll Call Vote; Paul Kearney-Aye,Ashley Colleary-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye,Craig MacLellan-Aye. Supt. Dr. Sullivan presented Principal Scott and Assistant Principal Noyes with a certificate from the College Board for placement on the College Board's 19th Annual AP District Honor Roll for Significant Gains in Student Access and Success. Cohasset is one of 250 districts in the United States and Canada to be honored by the College Board and one out of 12 districts in Massachusetts to receive the honor. Supt. Dr. Sullivan stated to be honored, CPS, since 2017 had to increase the number of students participating in AP while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher. Field Trip to Quebec City-Ms. Kathleen Sanges presented her proposal for the FY21 Quebec City trip. The trip is for the eighth grade French students with proposed dates of May 1-3, 2020. Ms. Sanges stated that this has been a very successful trip in the past.They have 27 students interested.They use a tour company and a guide is always with the students when they tour via coach or on foot. After further discussion regarding the trip, Mr. MacLellan moved to approve the proposed field trip to Quebec City, seconded by Mr. Kearney. Roll Call Vote; Paul Kearney-Aye,Ashley Colleary-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye, Jennifer Madden-Aye, Craig MacLellan-Aye. Adams Scholars-Asst. Superintendent Dr. Scollins recognized the 2019-2020 John &Abigail Adams recipients. Asst. Supt. Dr. Scollins stated the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship is a merit-based program that provides a credit toward tuition for up to eight semesters of undergraduate education at a Massachusetts state college or university. For this scholarship, merit is based on student scores on the 2 10th grade Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS)test. Principal Scott read the list of 33 students who were recipients of the 2019-2020 John &Abigail Adams Recipients. Chairman Maher discussed the launch of"RESPECTfully" a statewide public health awareness and prevention campaign to promote healthy relationships among middle and high school students. The campaign is being led by Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and is asking all School Committees to consider supporting this campaign with a resolution. After further discussion regarding the campaign, Mr. MacLellan moved to resolve Cohasset Public Schools declares itself a "RESPECTfull" District, seconded by Mr. Kearney. Roll Call Vote; Paul Kearney-Aye,Ashley Colleary-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye, Craig MacLellan-Aye. Food Service Presentation-Marilyn Haraden, Director of Food Services, presented her FY20 Food Presentation. Mrs. Haraden stated her mission of balancing taste, nutrition and cost whole increasing participation rates in the CPS school lunch program. She reviewed the foods services legal duties and standards. Mrs. Haraden stated the meals must meet standards set by the USDA, staff must meet the minimum hours of professional development which includes topics such as training on allergy awareness, CPR, sanitizing, using an EpiPen, choke savers, administering Narcan, knife skill training and slips and trips training. Mrs. Haraden stated DESE oversees the compliance of her program with state and federal guidelines. Mrs. Haraden discussed the Federal procurement laws and stated Mr. MacMillan is the District's Massachusetts Certified Public Purchasing Officer. She stated CPS is part of a multi-school collaborative that makes a bid each year on food and paper vendors. As part of the collaborative the District must accept the lowest-priced bid offered by all vendors and is then required to purchase from these vendors for the following school year. Mrs. Haraden presented data on participation. She stated the program does not refuse any student a lunch. Mrs. Haraden stated she must purchase from a domestic;the food can't be purchased from outside the USA. Mrs. Haraden stated the program is self-funded and relies on profit. There is no budget for the program so it's important for her to run the program well and earn a profit. She stated the profits go back into the program and has allowed her to upgrade kitchen equipment. She stated Deer Hill is getting new stoves and ovens. Mrs. Haraden highlighted some of the menu offerings including fresh caught fish provided from Red's best and the produce grown at the Osgood and Deer Hill gardens. Mrs. Haraden stated the students are surveyed on what they are looking for in food selection. She stated the survey is done annually and she receives great feedback. Mrs. Haraden stated her FY20 goal is to have staff from the John Stalker Institute come to the school and provide workshops. She stated additional goals include expanding the breakfast program and constructing a greenhouse to allow for all year fresh vegetable offerings. Mrs. Haraden stated the federal government is pushing to make breakfast mandatory. The Committee members had a lengthy discussion about the length of the lunch period, ways to make the lines move faster to allow more time to eat and possibly adjusting recess times to allow more time for students to eat their lunch. Mr. Kearney stated he would like to see better ingredients including purchasing organic milk and produce. Mrs. Haraden stated the clean label movement is the trend and Mr. MacMillan is looking into adding more organic items. MCAS Report-Asst. Supt. Dr. Scollins presented an overview of the 2019 MCAS results and how the District is using the dated to inform the District's teaching and learning. She stated the school report card comes out in January. Mrs. Madden expressed her concerns with the results and the slow decline. 3 She had several questions for Asst. Supt. Dr. Scollins. After a lengthy discussion by the Committee members, Chairman Maher suggested that Asst. Supt. Dr. Scollins come back and do a presentation on RTI. She suggested Mrs. Madden work with Asst.Supt. Dr. Scollins so questions are answered and Asst. Supt. Dr. Scollins can provide a comprehensive understanding on RTI. Supt. Dr. Sullivan stated growth has always been an issue. He stated Asst. Supt. Dr. Scollins came from one of the 65 distinguished schools and believes Asst.Supt. Dr. Scollins is going to do marked work. Chairman Maher stated the district has had three superintendents,four assistant superintendents and four business managers in the last four years and it's hard for a district to sustain systematic approach, but she has hope and faith in where the District is going. She feels stability is an important factor in achieving growth percentages. Approval of Warrant-Motion by Mrs. Madden to approve Warrant 20-11S, seconded by Mrs. Colleary. Roll Call Vote; Paul Kearney-Nay, Ashley Colleary-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye; Craig MacLellan-Aye. Finance-Gift-Mr. MacMillan stated they received a gift from the Cohasset PSO in the amount of$69,739 for the construction of the new playground at Joseph Osgood School. Motion by Mr. MacLellan to approve the gift of$69,739 from the Cohasset PSO, seconded by Mr. Kearney. Roll Call Vote; Paul Kearney-Aye,Ashley Colleary-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Jennifer Madden-Aye, Craig MacLellan-Aye. FY21 Budget First Pass-Mr. MacMillan stated there is a budget workshop scheduled for January 6, 2020 from 4pm-6pm. The building principals will discuss their budget requests at the workshop. Mr. MacMillan reviewed the Town budget process and presented the first pass on the FY21 Budget. Mr. MacMillan stated the goal is for the budget to increase by 3%. The budget increase is driven by level services, additional requirements needs and all budget priorities requests. Chairman Maher asked if the budget pass made any assumptions on teacher retirements. Mr. MacMillan stated that number could have a significant impact on the budget. Mr. MacMillan stated the Fiscal Forum presentation is included in tonight's packet and the documents are also available on the website. Chairman Maher stated there would be finance meetings after the holidays to discuss the Fiscal Forum presentation. School Committee Comments&Communications-Reports from Sub-Committee& Liaisons-Mr. Kearney stated he attended today, along with Mrs. Maher, Dr.Sullivan, Mr. MacMillan and each building principal,the school walk-through with the Town Manager, Selectman McCarthy and members of the Planning Board and Capital Budget. He stated he attended the Fiscal Forum presented by Mr. MacMillan and he brought some friends who were impressed with the presentation. Ms. Colleary stated the Diversity Committee met last week and they have some events coming up including MLK Breakfast on January 20, 2020 from 9am-11am at St. Stephens Church. She stated the South Shore Unity Council is working to become a 501c (3) nonprofit organization. Ms. Colleary stated Safe Harbors had a parent coffee this morning and Principal Mills will be attending their next meeting on January 22, 2020. Ms. Colleary also stated at the Safe Harbor meeting they brainstormed on the best way to use the $7,500 from the Town. She stated the grant is limited to students ages 12-17. She also stated that she recently learned from a survey that 13%of high school students said their parents allow their children and friends to drink. Ms. Colleary stated she is encouraging parents to read up on the Social Host Law. Chairman Maher stated the Social Host Law came about due to an incident in Cohasset. Supt. Dr. Sullivan stated the Social Host Law was recently discussed and reviewed at Sports Night. Ms. Colleary stated at the Sheriff's Task Force meeting,the Sheriff asked if he could attend Safe Harbor's March 3, 4 2020 meeting. Chairman Maher stated she received a note from Ms. Colleary indicating she will be unable to fulfill her role in the High School Council. Chairman Maher asked if anyone else was interested in filling the role. Chairman Maher stated she could tackle some of the meetings but could not commit. Mr. Kearney suggested they share the role. Chairman Maher stated she and Mrs. Madden could tag team and cover the meetings. Mrs. Madden stated her Deer Hill School Council meeting was cancelled so she had nothing to share. Chairman Maher wished everyone a great holiday season with family and friends. She stated she feels blessed to be working with the group and is confident about the district moving forward. Approval of Minutes- None. Follow-up and Updates-None. Motion by Mr. MacLellan to go into Executive Session for Exemption#4-Safety and Security, seconded by Mr. Kearney. Roll Call Vote; Paul Kearney-Aye,Ashley Colleary-Aye, Ellen Maher-Aye,Jennifer Maher-Aye,Craig MacLellan-Aye. The School Committee went into Executive Session at 10:14 p.m. The School Committee exited Executive Session at 10:59 p.m. The School Committee adjourned the regular meeting at 11:00 p.m. on a motion by Mr. MacLellan , seconded by Mrs. Colleary,All -Aye. Documents Used at the Meeting Gift—Donation of Benches D-1 Quebec City D-2 Adams Scholars D-3 Food Service Presentation D-4 MCAS Report D-5 Gift F-1 FY21 Budget First Pass F-2 5