Quincy Public Schools

A meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. in the School Committee Room at the Coddington Building.  Superintendent Kevin Mulvey called the roll and present were Mayor Thomas P. Koch, School Committee Chair, and School Committee Members Mrs. Tina Cahill, Mr. Douglas Gutro, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Mrs. Emily Lebo, and Mr. Frank Santoro, Vice Chair.   School Committee Member Mr. Paul Bregoli was absent.

Also present were:  Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins, Ms. Kim Connolly, Ms. Allison Cox, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Ms. Sarah Dufour, Ms. Julie Graham, Ms. Jane Minton, Mr. James Mullaney, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.

A moment of silence was observed in memory of a retired Quincy Public Schools employee who recently passed away:  Susan Devlin, teacher at Atherton Hough Elementary School for 29 years.

Mr. Santoro read the following statement into the record:  Pursuant to the Open Meeting Law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium.  Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unperceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.

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Regular Meeting

Vice-Chair Presiding

Mrs. Hubley made a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting for March 8, 2023.  Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Mrs. Cahill made a motion to approve the minutes of the Executive Session for March 8, 2023.  Mr. Gutro seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Approval of Minutes

Ms. Owens read a letter submitted to the Open Forum email from Quincy High School student Helena Middleton in support of girls being allowed to play Baseball if they prefer over Softball.

Ms. Linda Monaco, retired teacher and Quincy Public Schools grandparent, spoke in favor of expanding parental leave and financial recognitions for the Quincy Education Association membership.

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Open Forum

Superintendent Mulvey recognized the following Quincy Public Schools students:  On Thursday, March 2, the Quincy-North Quincy Jazz Ensemble attended the Massachusetts Association for Jazz Educators-sponsored competition at Canton High School and earned a silver medal. Students Ethan Earnest, Kenneth Reale, and Jesse Bollinger were recognized for outstanding musicianship. 

On Saturday, March 11, Quincy High School's History Bowl team won the state championship for the first time ever.  History Bowl is a highly competitive academic sport in which pairs of teams go head-to-head answering challenging questions about a variety of historical eras. Quincy High School's winning team consists of seniors Yu Fan Mei, Dheeraj Prakash, and Liam McCoy and freshman Eddie Giza, who earned an additional honor by winning first place in the junior varsity History Bee.  The team's victory qualifies them for the national championship, which will be held in Washington, D.C. in late April.

Congratulations to North Quincy High School Grade 11 students Nichole Chen and Jialin Yu for winning the CGI I.T. Girl Challenge. In this competition, the students competed against other local high school teams to innovate, design, and pitch an app of their own. They developed Ascend, a networking app for high school students, which was awarded first place and a $20,000 prize.  In addition, both students recently received a scholarship from Delta Airlines and Junior Achievement to attend the National Flight Academy in Florida.  

Congratulations to the following Quincy Public Schools students who were recipients of the 2023 Boston Globe/Scholastic Art Awards:  Ryan Setow, Gold Key; Ira Habiba, Silver Key and 3 Honorable Mentions; Leo He, Honorable Mention; and Adeline Sun, Honorable Mention.  Gold Key artwork is on display at Breeds Hall on the Tufts University Medford campus through March 25.

On Friday, March 31, students from both North Quincy and Quincy High School will participate in the annual Student Government Day at the Massachusetts State House.  The program provides students with the opportunity to learn about state government, participate in the legislative process through simulated committee hearings and House and Senate formal sessions, and engage in debates with peers from around the state on statewide issues.

On Tuesday, March 7, over 150 Grade 8 students from all five middle schools spent the morning at Quincy High School for the Performing Arts Flyup Day, learning about the options available at both high schools for music, art, and drama courses and extracurricular activities.  The course selection process began on Friday, March 10, so this assisted students to make informed choices for their freshman year.

Thanks to the support of local business partners, over 200 seniors from North Quincy and Quincy High School will attend the 15th Annual Credit for Life Fair on Thursday, March 30 at the Tirrell Room.  Over twenty local businesses will engage with students in modeling how to budget, manage expenses, and build a solid financial future.

Mrs. Lebo noted that Quincy High School teacher James Ikeda is raising funds to assist with travel expenses for the History Bowl Championship trip.

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Superintendent’s

Report

There was no Old Business on the agenda.

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Old Business

Director Sara Dufour and Assistant Director Jane Minton presented an update on the Quincy Public Schools School Nutrition program, starting by sharing samples of a school lunch with School Committee.  Menu and recipe information is shared with families on the School Nutrition website and linked on the Quincy Public Schools website.  Through a Fellowship Grant from Project Bread, the School Nutrition staff received professional development in menu diversity and creativity and culinary skills and consultation from a culinary chef.  New recipes are taste-tested with students at selected schools before being rolled out district-wide.  Plant-based proteins, homemade hummus, ancient grains, and consistent use of salad bars have all been highlights of the 2022-2023 school year.

Massachusetts provided free meals for all school children for the 2022-2023 school year and it is proposed in the FY2024 state budget.  The benefits of universal free meals include increased participation and program revenue, and no unpaid meal debt.  Share table carts have been introduced at schools for students to put unwanted packaged foods in a location that other students can take from.  New refrigeration units have been added at Beechwood Knoll, Lincoln Hancock, Squantum, Atlantic, Point Webster, and North Quincy and food warming units were added at Atlantic and North Quincy.  A new serving line will be installed at Atlantic and a deli station at Quincy High School, both during April vacation.  With the goal of creating kitchens at elementary schools, design work is underway at Lincoln Hancock and Wollaston.

The Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) audit was completed last week, Quincy Public Schools received compliments on the implementation of lunch at elementary schools on early release Wednesdays.  DESE noted that Quincy Public Schools has an organized program with excellent safety and sanitation, excellent administrative oversite of free & reduced meal applications, and a significant increase in overall meal service due to universal free meal status. 

The Food Waste Diversion Pilot program is underway at Quincy High School, collecting 400 lbs of food waste and generating ½ ton of recycling per week.  Mayor Koch asked about the contamination in the food waste collection.  Mrs. Lebo said that there are volunteer monitors to assist with this and they also recruit student participation.  Members of the group supporting the food waste diversion program are:  Ruth Davis, Shelly Dein, Sara Dufour, Finbar Heaslip, Tom Henry, and Emily Lebo.

Mr. Gutro praised the diversity of the menu offerings and the expansion of salad bars to elementary schools.  Mr. Gutro asked about packaging.  Ms. Dufour said the trays and napkins are compostable, looking to bring in compostable utensils next.  Ms. Dufour said that Styrofoam has completely been eliminated. 

Mrs. Hubley thanked the presenters and was glad to hear about the share table option being implemented.

Mrs. Lebo said all of the food options are delicious.  Mrs. Lebo said the share table is popular at the high schools.  For the composting pilot,  Mrs. Lebo said there will be an assessment and further meeting with the Task Force to determine the next steps.

Superintendent Mulvey said that the DESE Auditors were full of praise for the School Nutrition program, the elementary school lunch program is a model for other districts.

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New Business

School Nutrition

Program Update

Mrs. Hubley made a motion to refer Middle School Athletics Fees to the Budget & Finance Subcommittee for review.  Mrs. Cahill seconded the motion, and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Mrs. Lebo made a motion to refer an Overview of the Warrant Process to the Budget & Finance Subcommittee.  Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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New Business

Referral to Budget &

Finance Subcommittee

Mr. Gutro made a motion to approve the Out of State/Overnight Travel of the Quincy High School History Bowl Team to the National Championship in Washington, D.C. on April 27-30, 2023.

On the motion, Mayor Koch said that he will work with Superintendent Mulvey to ensure the History Bowl team has the funding needed to make the trip to Washington D.C. 

Mrs. Cahill seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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New Business

Out of State Travel/

Overnight

There was no Additional Business.

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Additional Business

Mr. Santoro noted that Regular School Committee meetings are scheduled for April 5, 2023; May 3 & 17, 2023; and June 14, 2023 at 6:30 pm at the Coddington Building.  Upcoming Subcommittee meetings include the Facilities, Security & Transportation Subcommittee on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 6:00 pm, followed by Teaching & Learning and Policy.  

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Communications

Mrs. Cahill reviewed the Athletics & Wellness Subcommittee meeting held on March 1, 2023, where Athletic Director Kevin Mahoney presented an update on Fall and Winter Athletics, a preview of Spring Athletics, a review of Middle School Athletics, and a discussion of helmets for Girls Lacrosse.

Mrs. Lebo reviewed the Teaching & Learning Subcommittee meeting held on March 1, 2023, where Senior Director of Student Support Services Maura Papile presented a review of the Social-Emotional Learning initiatives in Quincy Public Schools.

As there were no corrections, the minutes of the March 1, 2023 Athletics & Wellness and Teaching & Learning Subcommittee meetings were accepted as presented.

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Reports of

Subcommittees

Mayor Koch made a motion to adjourn to Executive Session for the purposes of Contract Negotiations at 7:20 pm.  Mrs. Cahill seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0.  Mr. Bregoli was absent. 

School Committee will return to Regular Session.

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Executive Session

School Committee returned to the Regular Meeting at 7:40 pm.

Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the Memorandum of Agreement between the Quincy School Committee and the Local 888 SEIU Food Service Workers Chapter.  Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0.  Mr. Bregoli was absent.

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MOA Approval:

Local 888 SEIU Food

Service Workers

Mayor Koch made a motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 7:45 p.m., which was seconded by Mrs. Hubley.  On a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 6-0.  Mr. Bregoli was absent. 

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Adjournment