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2001-04-11 with City CouncilBEVERLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS Apdl 11, 2001 A Joint Meeting of the Beverly School Committee and the Beverly City Council was held on Wednesday, April 11, 2001 in the Beverly High School Library, Beverly, MA. School Committee Ms. Bell, Ms. Brusil, Mr. Cahill, Ms. Coburn, Members Present: Ms. Norris, Mayor Scanlon School Committee Members Absent: Mr. McHugh City Council: Mr. Flaherty, Mr. Guanci, Mr. Martin, Ms. McGlynn, Members Present: Mr. Murray, Mr. Smith, Ms. Troubetaris City Council Members Absent: Mr. Costa, Ms. McMahon Also in Attendance: William Lupini, Superintendent of Schools, Fred Berry, State Senator Michael Cahill, State Representative Steven Cottle, School Committee Student Rep. School Committee President Bill Cahill called the meeting to order at 7:14PM. Steve Cottle, Student Representative to the School Committee, presented information about a proposed change to the City Charter which he is planning to bring before the City Council. It recommends an increase in the area that is covered by the non-smoking on school grounds policy. Under Education Reform all school buildings are designated no smoking areas. The Students want the no smoking area to include buildings and school grounds. They are also recommending an increase in the fines that are charged to violators of the no smoking policy. Mr. Jack Murray inquired about Hurd Stadium.. He said that Hurd would be included in this as it is considered school property. Dr. Lupini concurred that it would. Mr. Murray asked who would be responsible for enforcing the policy and fines at Hurd Stadium. Dr. Lupini stated that Education Reform states that the Principal or his designee(s) are responsible for its enforcement and that at Hurd this would probably involve the Police. Ray Bouchard, Chairperson of the Planning and Construction Committee, reported. on the status of the feasibility study for the Beverly High School. He stated that the Request for Proposal (RFP) solicited returns for March 15, 2001 and that there were 12 applicants. On April 4, 2001 the 12 were short listed to four finalists. At the Planning and Construction Committee meeting scheduled for April 25, 2001 which will take place at the Beverly Public IJbrary at 6:15PM, a firm will be selected. Following that, a contract will be negotiated and sent to the Mayor. It is hoped that the study will include an overview of the entire Beverly High School facility as well as the site itself with the major focus being in the area of geo technical. Mayor Scanlon offered that the state has modified is reimbursement rate and that we will likely not see the amount of reimbursement that was available when the elementary building renovations were submitted. Dr. Lupini concurred with the Mayor's statements. Mr. Michael Cahill said that the Mayor's and the Superintendent's impressions about reimbursement are correct. He said that it is likely that there will be less reimbursement from the state than in the past. Mr. John Dunn, the City Finance Director presented information regarding the Increasing cost of health Insurance. He stated that the City is self insured which means we pay as the costs are incurred. He provided a hand out which outlines the costs of the seven different health insurance plans that the city offers its employees and retirees. He said that because Blue Cross recently began paying doctors back faster than it had done in the past, we will end up having paid 13 months worth of bills in a 12 month period this year. In response to questions about why the city offers so many different health insurance plans and whether or not it would be cheaper for the city to discontinue offering Blue Cross as a plan, Mr. Dunn explained that contracts would have to be renegotiated and that it would likely be very difficult to negotiate that kind of change. Dr. Lupini mentioned that Blue Cross is specifically mentioned in some school employee's contract. Katherine Griffin, the city's budget analyst, who was in the audience at the meeting, stated that the health insurance costs are something that we must stay on top of. She further stated that her firm will be presenting a report shortly about the status of health insurance contracts. Mayor Scanlon stated that we have obligations to employees and retirees and we will meet those obligations. Mike Cahill said that state officials are not going to vote state employees a pay cut and that he doesn't advise that the city do that for city employees either. · Senator Berry stated that we are truly in a crisis with regard to health insurance and that rising premiums are only a part of the problem. Dr. Lupini sated that the major effect of the rising health insurance costs will be seen in next year's budget. He said that there is no way we will be able to present a school budget that will not result in staff cuts. In'the end, we'll be cutting teachers. The Beverly Education Foundation represented by Doug Walker, Anna Green and Debbie Feldman presented next. They stated that they are committed to enhancing education in Bevedy. Their group hopes to offset the budget challenges that the school system faces each year. The Mother's Softball Game was their first fund-raiser, organized by Eileen Moffett. They hope to build an endowment over time. This spring, they ara offering a way for people to tell their teachers how valuable they are by making a donation in the teacher's name to the Beverly Education Foundation. Anna Green spoke about Eastern Telephone. They offer a 1% discount off Verizon rates and 4% of what is spent goes to the Foundation. They don't have voice mail but they do offer answering machines in lieu of it. Beverly Education Foundation is a non-profit group. According to Doug Walker, they are seeking to create a culture of giving in which is typical in private schools but has yet to be established in the public schools. Donations are tax deductible. Ms.. Judy Mulligan, School Business Manager, spoke about the use of the renovated school buildings. She stated that all three renovated schools, Ayers, McKeown and Hannah ara being used nightly by groups such as Pop Warner cheerleaders, after school programs, youth basketball, etc. Thera is no fee for Beverly based groups. Ms. Mulligan explained that the cost of utilities for these evening activities is under $10.00. Tim Flaherty mentioned the school fields and previous discussions about having Department of Public Works take over the maintenance of them. He lamented about the condition of the grounds of the high school. Mr. Flaherty pointed out that the condition of the high school fields in not only a safety factor, but that it is also a source of pride for our community when Beverly hosts athletic competitions. Dr. Lupini stated that, although there is no excuse for the bad condition of the school grounds, thera are two custodial positions that have been left vacant due to budget constraints. Mr. Flaherty reiterated that the high school is a community center and he would like to see the discussions about better utilizing our maintenance resources kept on the table. Mr. Bill Cahill thanked all the members of both councils for coming to this important collaborative meeting. The meeting was adjoumed at 8:51PM. Respectfully submitted, Janet A. Norris, Secretary