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2014-12-03BEVERLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Regular School Committee Meeting Wednesday, December 3, 2014 Beverly City Hall Beverly, Massachusetts A regular meeting of the Beverly School Committee was held on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 in Council Chambers at City Hall, Beverly, MA. Members Present: David Manzi, Annemarie Cesa, Kris Silverstein, Paul Manzo, Matthew Kavanagh and Lorinda Visnick Mayor Cahill not in attendance Also in Attendance: Dr. Steven A. Hiersche, Superintendent of Schools, Suzanne Charochak, Assistant Superintendent, Jean Sherburne, Director of Finance and Operations, Oliver Muise, Student Representative to the School Committee, Sean Gallagher, Beverly High School Principal and Athletic Director James Coffey Call to Order: Mr. Manzo called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance: Ms. Visnick led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance. /±Tt1=1Ll 117±1 Recognition of Students, Employees and Community Members Mr. Manzo, Dr. Hiersche and Mr. Gallagher recognized Jason King and Katie Ryder, Beverly High School seniors, who were being awarded the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents' Award for Academic Excellence. Open Forum for Citizen Input into Non - Agenda - Related Items None. Open Forum for Citizen Concerns or Citizen Input into Agenda - Related Items None Approval of Meeting Records A motion was made by Ms. Cesa to approve the minutes from the November 12, 2014 School Committee meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Manzi and approved with one correction by a vote of 6:0. Report from Student Representative to the School Committee Oliver Muise reported on the following events at the Beverly High School: December 4 thru 7, 2014 — BHS Fine Arts Department will present "The Odyssey" December 11 th — Black & White Formal Dance, 7 to 10p.m. in the cafeteria. December 11 th — Progress reports December 15 — Parent's Afternoon Back at 2:45 p.m. December 15 — Winter Concert, 7:00 p.m. Communications from Committee Members Mr. Manzi — had a communication with a constituent regarding crosswalk safety at Kernwood Heights/Woodland Avenue. Mr. Manzi discussed this with Dr. Hiersche and Director of Transportation Bill Burke for further monitoring. Ms. Visnick stated several people have called her regarding parking and student pick -up at Centerville School and she stated that is an ongoing conversation with city councilors and the principal. She stated she received feedback both positive and negative on the news article that Dr. Hiersche was interviewed for regarding spending of money around technology and she had a question on enrollment: where is a child allowed to go to school based on where they are formally registered to live or where they are sleeping more than half the time for whatever reason. Ms. Visnick referred them to Dr. Hiersche who sent it to Emily Rockwell. Ms. Silverstein had nothing to report. Regular Meeting December 3, 2014 Page 2 of 4 Mr. Kavanagh reported a communication regarding the Hale Street to Eisenhower crossing and he referred it to Dr. Hiersche and City of Beverly Public Safety. He also received a communication from a constituent on PARCC and technology expenditures. Ms. Cesa also received communication on technology money and sports parent. Mr. Manzo had a communication regarding a pedestrian safety issue. Report from Superintendent Dr. Hiersche 1. FY16 Budget Dr. Hiersche reported that he is working with building principals and directors on the FY16 Budget looking at the next three to five years. He said they've looked at what revenue streams actually are and what the core budget is, discussed the difference between entitlement grants versus non - entitlement grants. He said he has emphasized, with the building administration, that what the core /operating budget pays for are things we are committed to. Dr. Hiersche noted that the 21 Century partnership has changed and the focus is now on the 'A C Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Creativity and said that's what we will be looking at when building programs. He said the next new thing is the "3 R's" Rigor, Relevance and Relationships and being truly committed to a robust professional learning community for all. Lastly, Dr. Hiersche said going back to the budget brainstorming priorities from the school committee the top focus areas are technology, opportunities for efficiency, investigating full -day kindergarten and to take a look at fees. Dr. Hiersche said in focusing on the next three to five years he's asked the principals to prepare a list of important things they need for their buildings and to look at when the budget may support some of these things. He said he also asked them to attend last night's joint council meeting to see the presentation and understand the revenue source and to track things as we move forward. 2. Global Child Dr. Hiersche talked about the Global Child after school Spanish program that took place this fall in four of our five elementary schools. He noted a copy of the fall semester summary and schedule was included in their packets. 3. Unit A Contract Dr. Hiersche stated the Unit A Contract, which is included, has been ratified but needs the School Committee formal vote of approval. Dr. Hiersche noted the changes to the contract including the 3rd year melded salary schedule. A motion was made by Mr. Kavanagh to approve the Unit A Contract (9- 1 -14 thru 8- 31 -17). The motion was seconded by Mr. Manzi. A roll call vote was taken and resulted in the following: Mr. Kavanagh Yes Mayor Cahill Absent Ms. Cesa Yes Ms. Silverstein Yes Mr. Manzo Yes Mr. Manzi Yes Ms. Visnick Yes Motion passed 6:0. Report from School Committee Chair, Paul Manzo 1. Middle School Building Project Update Mr. Manzo gave a review of the Middle School Building Project stating we continue to work with our Owner's Project Manager (OPR) Heery International and our design team Ai3 noting the submission of the Preliminary Design Program (PDP) last Tuesday, November 25 th to MSBA. Mr. Manzo reported that the District continues to gather information and develop educational programming specifications for the proposed Grade 5 -8 middle school. He said that over the next few months we will identify the preferred alternative project then begin the development of a schematic design for this building. Mr. Manzo said the feasibility study phase of this project is expected to be completed in early 2015 moving forward with a more detailed design in order to open the middle school in Spring 2018. Mr. Manzo said there are two groups that meet; a small working group who meets weekly and a larger Middle School Building Committee that meets monthly. He said the next scheduled meeting is on Tuesday January 13 2015 and this will be followed by a meeting 2 weeks later on the 27 th . Mr. Manzo said that the School Committee is invited to attend and therefore this needs to be posted as a school committee meeting as well. After the meeting on the 27 th we will be forwarding the preferred design to MSBA. He Regular Meeting December 3, 2014 Page 3 of 4 said he would like all members to attend and the time and location is still to be determined. 2. Joint Council Meeting Review Mr. Manzo stated that the annual Joint Council had met last night, Tuesday December 2 nd and they reviewed the following: Updates on the bldg. project from Mark Lydon from Heery International discussed the timeline for the middle school building project. Dr. Hiersche summarized ongoing discussions with faculty staff and design team regarding the current and proposed education programming. Bryant Ayles, City Finance Director provided an update of the current municipal fiscal health and revenues and expenses over the next five years. Lorinda Visnick and co- presenters summarized the substantial efforts to reduce waste in our district schools. Committee Reports Standing Committee on Finance & Facilities - David Manzi, Chairperson Mr. Manzi stated that the Finance and Facilities Committee last met on October 14, 2014 and this meeting was reported on at the November 12 th meeting. Our next Finance and Facilities meeting will be on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. in the Memorial Building. Standing Committee on Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Life - Kris Silverstein, Chairperson Ms. Visnick provided the report for the Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life Committee and stated that they have not met since the last School Committee meeting. She said that she is bringing forward the following policies for approval: 1. Upon the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life a motion was made by Ms. Visnick to approve the attached policy on "Evaluation of Instructional Programs" (Section I: Instruction). The motion was seconded by Ms. Cesa and passed by a vote of 6:0. 2. Upon the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life a motion was made by Ms. Visnick to approve the attached policy on "Homebound Instruction" (Section I: Instruction). The motion was seconded by Mr. Manzi and approved by a vote of 6:0. 3. Upon the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life a motion was made by Ms. Visnick to approve the attached policy on "Home Schooling" (Section I: Instruction). The motion was seconded by Ms. Cesa and approved by a vote of 6:0. The next meeting of the Standing Committee on Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life is December 10 at 7:00 p.m. in the Memorial Building, Room 164. Negotiations Subcommittee - Matthew Kavanagh, Chairperson Mr. Kavanagh reported that negotiations are still underway with several units and will continue into the new year. Because some of the issues that need to be addressed it will take longer than expected. Mr. Kavanagh said he will keep everyone apprised as things occur. Policy Review Subcommittee - Annemarie Cesa, Chairperson Ms. Cesa had nothing to report at this time from the Policy Review Subcommittee. Community Engagement Ms. Cesa reported attending the Chapter 70 Funding Meeting commenting that it would be nice to have time to network with the other attendees and she said she attended the Hannah PTO commenting on the large number of people in attendance. Mr. Kavanagh stated he went to his first Electronic Recycling sponsored by BMPPA at the high school and attended the Cove PTO meeting noting that there were many questions around the safety of our students. Ms. Silverstein said that she was happy to speak before the Commission regarding the Chapter 70 funding and commented on the effects it has had on some communities. She also reported attending the open house at the Beverly Children's Learning Center saying that they have a new space on Cabot Street that they will be renovating and commented on the drawings they had showing the plans for the new site. She said they were interested in having School Committee members in attendance and talked about the Regular Meeting December 3, 2014 Page 4 of 4 possibility of partnering and also aligning their curriculum more with ours. Ms. Silverstein said she attended a computer coding presentation put on by MassCan. Ms. Visnick stated that she too attended the computer coding presentation stating that Massachusetts is the bio hub. She reported that MassCan is working with the Department of Education in setting the standards and what should the standards be around computer coding and the logic for it. She said they talked about how it cuts across almost every industry. She also attended the Bridging the Gap, Centerville's Holiday Craft fair, and is helping Briscoe with their composting efforts. She said she also walked in the Santa parade and attended a two day conference on STEM. Mr. Manzi attended the Middle School Building meeting, Thanksgiving Day football game, Holiday Parade and Joint Council Meeting. Mr. Manzo reported attending a couple of PTO meetings, the high school PTSO, the Ayers PTO meeting which they combined with a craft show, Chapter 70 meeting, lunch at Centerville on the Thursday before Thanksgiving, Bridging the Gap, Adams Scholarship Breakfast, Ward 2 Civic Association meeting and the Pedestrian Safety meeting. New Business Opportunity for Questions from the Press — none Consider Executive Session Motion to Adjourn Ms. Cesa made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Mr. Manzi and approved by a vote of 6:0. The meeting adjourned at 8:09 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Annemarie Cesa, Secretary Beverly School Committee Documents Reviewed at the meeting: Draft of the November 12, 2014 School Committee Minutes Unit A Contract Global Child Summary Polices: Evaluation of Instructional Programs (Section I: Instruction) Homebound Instruction (Section I: Instruction) Home Schooling (Section I: Instruction)