November 1, 2006 School Committee Minutes

Minutes

Quincy, Massachusetts - November 1, 2006
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee

Regular Meeting

A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, November 1, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. in the Montclair Elementary School. Present were Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Mr. Kevin Mulvey, Mr. Dave McCarthy, Mr. James Timmins, Mayor Phelan and Ms. Linda Stice, Chair Pro Tem.

Chairman Pro Tem Presiding

The Superintendent called the roll and Mrs. Dwyer was absent. Also present were: Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary, and Mrs. Tefta Burrelli, Clerk; Drs. Mariano and Pattavina. Messrs. O’Brien, Ryan, Walsh, McPhee, Keith and Kevin Segalla, Canavan, and Mr. Mullaney; Ms. Todd, Lebo, Hughes, Powell, and Roberts. Mr. Paul Phillips, QEA President; Mr. Henry Brawley represented Citywide; and Tara McFarland, NQHS Associate member.

Reg. Mins. Approved 10/18/06

On a motion by Mr. Timmins, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, the Committee approved the regular session minutes for October 18, 2006. The ayes have it.

Principal’s Welcome

Mr. Kevin Marks, Montclair Principal, welcomed the Committee and thanked. them for their financial support. The school stresses giving back to their community. Each month they select a project to aid the needs of others. Some of their projects are: a food drive for a shelter, beautification of gardens, maintaining a veterans memorial, concerts in the community and Stop and Shop, Toys for Tots Drive, a May Festival. The students are also learning about voting. Under the direction of Ms. Janice Ronayne, the entire fifth grade class did a performance on voting and the constitution.

Colleen Roberts introduced Ms. Maria D’Angelo, NQHS, who gave an overview of the QPS Renaissance Creative Arts Program. Students from North Quincy High were present and sang a cappella.

Supts. Report

After a brief recess, the Superintendent congratulated teachers who received Professional Teacher Status this year. The Quincy Parent Advisory will have a guest speaker Tuesday, November 14 at Broad Meadows. He thanked Judy Todd, Don Houghton and for hosting a mini Special Olympics at Squantum Gym.

Dr. Mariano reported on the Teacher Mentor Program. This group meets four times a year. On October 16 over 130 teachers and counselors met at Point Webster. Their next meeting is on December 5.

Open Forum

At the Open Forum Paul Phillips, QEA President, reported that it is now 62 days that the teachers are working without a contract. The Department of Ed will raise the MCAS cut off score to 240 and that will be the graduation requirement. The Board of Education also passed a new district accountability standards.

Bldg. Update

Joe Canavan reported that the work order tracking system is working in all schools. He would like to do a presentation on this at a future Subcommittee meeting. A new computer lab was installed at the GOALS Program. The stage at North Quincy High was painted. The City Council Finance Committee approved the new bond of $3 million which includes a new roof for Atherton Hough, new roof over the locker room at Central, and building overhauls at Atlantic and Broad Meadows.

Mr. McCarthy asked Mr. Canavan to get a copy of Atlantic’s list in their School Improvement Plan and see what items he can take care of right away. Mr. Mulvey inquired about Montclair issues--leaks within the school, masonry work, flashing. He asked for a review of where we stand with those repairs.

Mrs. Mahoney asked for an update on where we are and what’s been done on the schedule. She asked how do major improvements get onto the Building Capitol Improvement Plan. Mr. Canavan said that all these issues are prioritized. Safety comes first. Mrs. Mahoney asked how he prioritizes repairs. Montclair had issues today with the flashing and pointing which is a major issue. That would be on a bigger scale of things.

Mr. Canavan said he can’t do re-pointing until budget time. We need to get the funds available. This is one of those issues that may have to be put out for bid. The Mayor said there is a 5 year Capital Improvement Plan.

Mrs. Mahoney asked if Montclair is on the Plan? If not, how does it get on? Mr. Ryan had listed all the building needs, but they change. The Mayor said they can check on that.

The Mayor said there is an Energy Conservation Initiative, a new law that allows cities and towns to identify savings created by various improvements to buildings, and we are in the process to take advantage of this. Within a month, we hope to conduct an energy audit. We have an energy project with Honeywell whereby they will go through each school and identify needs that each building has and develop almost a second capital improvement plan that will be as extensive as the one in place. That plan is $3 million for the next five years. We will be able to update the School Committee within three month on all the needs relative to that program and we can update the Capital Improvement Plan on a regular basis. The School Committee should take a look at those items that are priority and weigh in on what they think would be a priority. Next year we will have a second round and we will be adding different improvements. We will get copies to the School Committee and have a Subcommittee meeting. It is a work in progress. We will be able to cross reference with Honeywell.

New QHS

Mr. Ryan updated the Committee on the new High School. During the last Building Committee meeting, architects SMMA showed what the exterior of the new QHS would look like. Work continues on that. The next Building Committee will be on November 13. They are hoping to bring back the schematic designs at a School Committee meeting. The Building Committee is reviewing that. At this time, they are talking to Quincy High School staff to determine what equipment will be put into the new school. They are also discussing with the staff what they need. The results of the test borings are not back yet.

Mr. Timmins asked him to set up a mechanism where any handouts can get to to those members who can’t make the meetings.

Mrs. Mahoney said that the City Council requested a previous borings report on the field for the track. The Committee would like a copy of that also. This is a report on the field that states the track can’t be there. Mr. Mulvey also inquired about the borings taken at Faxon. Mr. Ryan said that only borings for the new high school were done. He knows there is data available from previous work done there. Mrs. Mahoney asked that the City Council be provided results of the borings from the previous company and she would like those reports given to the School Committee also.

Trophies Program

Ms. Colleen Roberts, Ms. Ann Pegg, Mr. Phil Connolly, Ms. Janet Bagilione and Ms. Edie Hughes gave an overview of the Trophies Program. The Three Tier Reading Model is a preventative model designed to meet the instructional needs of all young readers. It is aimed at identifying struggling readers before they fall behind. It provides struggling readers with support through the first four years of schooling.

Ms. Hughes explained the difference between the three tiers. Ms. Pegg spoke to the assessment procedures. The Integrated Learning Team collects and organize school wide assessment data. They meet with classroom teachers to help analyze the assessment data to inform Tier I instruction, identify students performing below certain benchmarks. It monitors the progress on Tier II and Tier III students. It provides information to parents, classroom teachers, and others involved in student learning. Ms. Janet Baglione described the supplemental programs. Ms. Colleen Roberts spoke to the professional development programs available to the teachers. The Mayor and members asked a number of questions about the program and were very pleased with Trophies.

Gift Health Dept.

On a motion by Mr. Timmins, seconded by Mayor Phelan, the Committee accepted the gift of $14,550 from the Rural Masonic Lodge A.F. & A.M. to the school Health Services Dept. for the purchase of AEDs for our schools. The ayes have it.

Additional Business

Mrs. Mahoney attended an Advisory Board Meeting at Quincy High School and then took a tour of the building. There are some exciting new programs coming out in the next year. A new program she spoke to is the Protective Services Program where students can get EMT certification in different services that they can utilize when they get out of school. She was happy to learn that not only do the Advanced Placement students get to take credits on to college but our also our CTE students have the opportunity to take credits for ongoing studies.

Mr. Timmins said on Friday he attended a Middle School Cross Country meet at Pageant Field. There were over 230 students participating. Each of the schools had a strong showing. It was very well run and he commended Jeff Hennessey for his work with the Track Team.

MASS/MASC

The Committee then reviewed the MASC Resolution and voted on each. Mrs. Mahoney, the voting delegate to the MASC meeting, will vote on these resolutions as this Committee decides.

#1 Support

Resolution #1: Including Transitory Student Enrollment in the Calculation of Aid under Chapter 70: On a motion by Mr. Timmins, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, the Committee voted to support Resolution #1 as presented. On a roll call vote the motion to support passed 6-0. Mrs. Dwyer was absent.

#2 Failed Resolution

#2: Protection of Individual Committee Member Performance Evaluation Comments: On a motion by Mr. Timmins, seconded by Mr. Mulvey, the motion to support failed 5-l. Mrs. Mahoney, Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Mulvey, Mr. Timmins and Mayor Phelan voted NO and Mrs. Stice voted YES, and Mrs. Dwyer was absent.

#3 Failed Resolution

#3: Adequate Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 Public Education Funding: On a motion by Mr. Timmins, seconded by Mr. Mulvey, the motion to support Resolution #3 failed 6-0. Mrs. Dwyer was absent.

#4 Support

Resolution #4: Reinstatement of the Legislature’s Funding Local School Transportation Costs at 100%. On a motion by Mr. Timmins, seconded by Mrs. Mahoney, the motion to support Resolution #4 passed 5-1. Mrs. Mahoney, Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Mulvey, Ms. Stice and Mr. Timmins voted YES Mayor Phelan voted NO, and Mrs. Dwyer was absent.

#5 Failed Resolution

#5: Funding for Unbudgeted Transportation, Fuel, and Electrical Costs. On a motion by Mr. Timmins, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, the motion to support Resolution #5 failed 3-3. Mrs. Mahoney, Mr. Timmins, and Mayor Phelan voted NO, and Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Mulvey and Ms. Stice voted YES and Mrs. Dwyer was absent.

Retirements

The Committee noted the following retirements:

Teachers: Nancy McGrory, Eileen Rowbotham

Custodian Nicholas Zannis

Resignations

The Committee noted the following resignations:

Lunch Attendants: Cindy Anglehart, Marguerite Barry, Anna Harris, Jean Manning

Appointments

The Committee noted the following appointments:

Lunch Attendants: Paula Capobianchi, Denise Devane, Susan Gillespie

Adjournment

On a motion by Mr. Mulvey, seconded by Mrs. Mahoney , the Committee voted to adjourn for the evening at 10:00 p.m. There was no executive session. On a roll call vote, the motion passed 5-2, Mr. Timmins and Mayor Phelan voted NO and Mrs. Dwyer was absent.