Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts - October 27, 2010
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Regular
A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday,
October 27, 2010 in the City Council Chambers, City Hall. Present were: Mr.
Dave McCarthy, Mrs. Emily Lebo, Ms. Barbara Isola, Mrs. Jo-Ann Bragg,
Mrs. Elaine Dwyer, Mayor Thomas P. Koch, and Anne Mahoney, Vice
Chairman.
Vice Chairman
Presiding
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The Superintendent called the roll and all members were present. Also present
were: Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Mrs. Tefta Burrelli, Clerk; Messrs.
Mullaney, Draicchio, Mulvey, Murphy and Keith Segalla; Ms. Roberts, Tenaglia,
Todd, and Hughes. Ms. Allison Cox, QEA President and Ms. Tracey Christello,
Citywide. Associate Members John Kozlowski (QHS) and Winifred Akoury (NQHS).
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Reg. Meeting . Mins. Approved
10/13/2010
On a motion by Mrs. Bragg, seconded by Ms. Isola, the Committee approved
the regular session minutes for October 13, 2010. The ayes have it.
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Student Recognition
Principal Earl Metzler presented the students on the North Quincy High School
Service Learning Project. These students told the members of their experiences at
Children’s Hospital in Boston. They are working to get donations for the hospital.
Their art work will be displayed at North Quincy High School next Thursday evening
and everyone is invited to purchase the art work. They are also printing a catalog of
their art work. Proceeds will go to the Children’s Hospital in Boston. Over 200
students are involved in the project. The Committee was very proud of their work
and thanked them very much.
Sheriff Bellotti Recognized
Mr. Mike Draicchio introduced Norfolk Country Sheriff Michael G. Bellotti who
was recognized by the School Committee for the work he and his office does for
the Quincy Public Schools. Among other services, Mr. Bellotti’s office was instrumental in the installation of surveillance cameras at North Quincy High School.
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Supts. Report
American Education Week will be on our November 17 School Committee
agenda. John and Abigail Adams Scholarships were given to top 25% of
our high school students who passed on the MCAS. This year, 194 scholarships
were given to Quincy students. The National Honor Society students will be
at the Church of the Presidents this Friday.
Gifts – Music Dept.
Quincy received a check for $10,000 for our music program. The money came
from the estate of Randy California. The Superintendent met with Rich Kenneally,
Music Department, on how the money should be best spent. This is a great thing
for our Music Department. Secretary of Education, Paul Reville, was in Quincy
and visited the Atherton Hough and Beechwood Knoll Schools to congratulate the
students and teachers for their accomplishments in student achievement and for
being named Commendation Schools.
The Special Olympics will be held October 29 at Squantum Elementary School.
The Superintendent thanked Mr. and Mrs. Guarino for helping with the event.
They will be talking to staff on how to use the money. The Superintendent was
invited to speak at the Citywide meeting. He spoke to them about bullying and
what the school system is doing to prevent it.
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Open Forum
Mrs. Tracey Christello thanked the Superintendent for spending the evening
with them at Citywide. She spoke of the High School Department Chairs
taking on more classroom time. At middle schools, technology and reading
programs are lacking. Everyone, she said, is stretched to the limit.
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Bldg. Update
The Maintenance Department completed the last of their five construction
projects at North Quincy High School which they began this summer –new
Science, Math, Social Studies and English, Technology labs
Plumbers installed a new condensation receiving tank for a heating system
at Coddington Hall. A meeting was held with Kevin Segalla, Sr. custodial
staff, and Dennis McGillvray. They discussed the start up of boilers, making
sure all exhaust fans are working, maintenance responsibilities and building
inspection forms for our schools. They discussed a system for custodians,
maintenance and administrative staff to make sure schedules are being implemented.
Mrs. Bragg asked if all of the staff has been trained by Honeywell to work
on new equipment. Mr. Murphy said no, he is working on that. Mrs. Bragg
said it was her understanding that it was part of the agreement that all of the
staff would be trained.
The Superintendent added there are a lot of issues going on especially with
Quincy High School. We are focusing on Quincy High School training that
we will need and the City may look at contractual services. We are working
with the building committee, Mr. Timmins and Mayor Koch. The other
training has been off and on and comes from the city side. We’re working
with Mr. Cunniff and it has not gone as smoothly as we would like. Mr.
Murphy will get back to the Committee with a schedule. However, all of
our heating systems are ready to go. This is an on line problem. The training
piece is still outstanding. We do have some people trained. Our goal is to
have everybody trained.
Mr. McCarthy said that the front overhangs at Broad Meadows and Atlantic
need to be painted. There are birds nests there and light timers are off. There
is a small storage shed at the Quincy High School tennis courts that has
graffiti on it. The North Quincy High gym floor is chipped. Some of the
boards are broken. He asked Mr. Murphy to look at these issues.
Mr. Murphy told the Committee that the electrician has checked and there
are plenty of lights at the rear of Lincoln Hancock. The custodian changed
the bulbs and reported that some of them didn’t light up, but the majority of
lights are now working. The electrician will go again and check to see if we
have an electrical problem.
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New QHS Mrs. Dwyer reports
Mrs. Dwyer spoke to Tishman about the roof leaks at the Quincy High School
gym. Everything has been repaired and the roof is under warranty for one year.
Mr. McCarthy asked about the punch list for the Science and Technology wings.
He asked if they are they finished in Building A. Mrs. Dwyer will inquire.
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Central Middle School Supts. Reports
Mtg. with Ai3
The Superintendent and staff met with Ai3 architects. They looked at the drawings
of the Lynnfield Middle School and how it would fit in the new Central space. The
architects were very excited about the project and many more meetings will be
planned.
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Former QHS Land Disposition
The School Facilities Subcommittee met to discuss the former Quincy High
School building earlier this evening at 6:30 p.m. and to discuss the Committee’s
concern with what would happen to the land once the old building was torn
down.
Vote to turn former QHS to City
On a motion by Mrs. Dwyer, seconded by Mrs. Lebo, the Committee voted
on the following motion:
WHEREAS the City of Quincy has recently opened the newly constructed
Quincy High School building, and in doing so, discontinued the use of the
building that formerly served as home to Quincy High School; and
WHEREAS, the School Committee has reviewed options for the use of the
old high school building and the costs for same, and thereupon concluded
that the building does not allow for financially-feasible reuse options, but the
land on which it sits will serve as an important part of the grounds and campus
of the new Quincy High School.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE CITY OF QUINCY that, in accordance with the provisions of Section
33 of the Charter of the City of Quincy, the School Committee discontinue
the use of the building that formerly served as Quincy High School, but retain
the land on which the building now sits and the grounds surrounding it to
serve as an integral part of the campus of the newly constructed Quincy High
School.
The members wanted to know if they vote in the affirmative, does the City
have to do anything else to guarantee that the land stays with the School Committee.
The Mayor stated he would go to the City Council for funding for demolition of
the old Quincy High School. There is no interest on the city side but to make
it part of the campus. The only role the City Council will have is to approve
the money. Mr. Timmins added that “the Committee didn’t need to go further
after this vote. The Committee considers this land to be an integral part of the
Quincy High School campus. That is contained within the motion.
The City doesn’t need to take any action. You are saying you want to keep this
as part of the campus. By doing that, you maintain control over the buildings and
grounds. This will remain part of the grounds of Quincy high School by virtue
of this vote and that should end it. The School Committee will maintain
control of the land. It will come down in the summer.” Mrs. Mahoney asked if
we don’t have the City Council bond, what will happen to the building? The
Mayor said he suspected that the City Council will approve it. The City Council
cannot take the land and sell it.
Motion passes to turn
former QHS to City
On a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously 7-0.
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Bullying Presentation
Ms. Maura Tenaglia and her staff gave a presentation on anti bullying. They
showed where we were last year, where we are now and where we are going
with our classes, policies and procedures. All levels of the Student Support
team were present and spoke. All teachers and principals are very supportive
of the initiative. Everyone is united in addressing this issue. On September 7
Ms. Tenaglia and staff did a presentation on how to report and recognize bullying.
They have given training for bus drivers, senior custodians, and café works. In
January Quincy will file a curriculum review for teachers. Ms. Tenaglia has to
submit a plan to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The members inquired about the new incident report form for bullying. This
new form is already in use. The schools automatically notify parents if they
see bullying. The members asked that the form be posted on our website for parents.
The Policy Subcommittee is still working on the Bullying Policy and will
get back to the full Committee when it’s finished.
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Out of State Travel CMS to Lake George
On a motion by Mayor Koch, seconded by Ms. Isola, the Committee approved
the request by Central Middle School to go to Lake George, New York from
June 1-June 2, 2011. The ayes have it.
NQHS auditorium named after Chrisom
On a motion by Mayor Koch, seconded by Ms. Isola, the Committee put into
the Policy Subcommittee a request to name the auditorium at North Quincy
High School after Peter J. Chrisom, the former principal of North Quincy High
School. The ayes have it.
Gift to Music Dept.
On a motion by Mrs. Bragg. seconded by Mr. McCarthy, the Committee approved
the gift of $10,000 from the estate of the late musician Randy California ne Wolfe’s
estate “to the Quincy Public Schools to enlighten the students on the music and
works of Randy California.” The ayes have it.
The Committee remembered Ms. Doris Dooner, a long time teacher at Quincy,
who passed away recently.
Mrs. Bragg asked if the listing of members requests that School Committee
previously received be reinstated.
The Mayor’s Golf Tournament raised $53,000 which is going to various charities.
Mrs. Mahoney asked the Mayor if the School Department could get some of
that money. Mayor Koch stated that the money received from the Mayor’s Golf
Tournament will go through a process where they identify some local non profit
organizations. They will be making a contribution to the Quincy Educational Fund.
Mrs. Lebo attended a fundraiser in a Brookline home for “Future Chefs.” She
was pleasantly surprised to see Quincy alumni and current Quincy students there.
Over 500 people attended the fundraiser.
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Budget Subcommittee Mrs. Mahoney reports
Mrs. Mahoney reported that we’re keeping an eye on some line items –
security, drivers and overtime. There was some discussion in regard to
requests for short term and long term goals from the Superintendent with regard
to what we have identified as approximately $5 million shortfall for next year’s
budget and we have approximately $1.4 million worth of ARRA money that
can be spent over the next couple of years. The Committee is being very
cautious how they use that money because of the shortfall. Mrs. Mahoney stated
that their hands are tied because we do not know where we’re going in regards
to budgets for next year. Until we have that we are not going to be able to
make any decisions. We will have a Budget Subcommittee meeting at 6:00 p.m.
on November 17 at Quincy High School prior to our regularly scheduled meeting
to begin discussion on full-day Kindergarten and implementing a tuition
based full day Kindergarten.
Full Day K Discussion
Mrs. Dwyer asked for information regarding full day Kindergarten. She asked
the Superintendent to see what our surrounding towns are doing for full day
kindergarten. See what other towns are charging. Have the information updated
to see if any other towns have increased their fees, the status, and see what their
success is for those towns that have instituted a fee. Take a look at what we
know currently for the free and reduced to see what the impact will be with
regards to going forward with a fee based full day Kindergarten.
The Budget Subcommittee will meet on Wednesday, November 17 prior to the
next School Committee meeting at Quincy High School @ 6:00 p.m. to begin
discussion on implementing a tuition based full day Kindergarten.
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To Exec. Session
At 8:48 p.m. and on a motion by Mayor Koch, seconded by Mr. McCarthy,
the Committee voted to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing
the Superintendent’s. contract. On a roll call vote, the motion passed
unanimously 7.0. The Committee will return to Open Session. Minutes for
the Executive Session will be taken by Mr. Timmins.
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Committee returns
Supts. contract extended to 12/31/2010
At 10:48 p.m. the Committee returned to Open Session. On a motion by
Mrs. Dwyer seconded by Mrs. Mahoney, the committee voted to extend
the Superintendent’s contract to December 31, 2010. On a roll call vote,
the motion passed unanimously 7-0.
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Adjournment
At 10:40 p.m. on a motion by Ms. Dwyer, seconded by Mrs. Lebo, the
Committee voted to adjourn for the evening. On a roll call vote, the motion
passed unanimously 7-0.