Sept. 5, 2007 School Committee Meeting

Agenda

Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
September 5, 2007

City Council Chambers
 7:00 p.m. Regular Meeting

I. Approval of Minutes: Regular Session minutes for June 20, 2007, meeting minutes for June 22, 2007 and meeting minutes for August 13, 2007.  

II. Superintendent’s Report:

A. Opening Day Packet (Patriot Ledger/Quincy Sun)
B. Summer Programs - 2007
C. Administrative Changes
D. District Improvement Plan
E. School Improvement Plan Meetings
F. Quincy School Community Partnerships
G. Professional Staff Development - August 20007
H. New Teacher Orientation
I. Fall Extended Day Programs

III. Open Forum: An opportunity for community input regarding the Quincy Public Schools. After giving his or her name and address, each speaker may make a presentation of no more than four minutes to the School Committee.

IV. Old Business

A. Update on building projects, renovations, and construction: Mr. Canavan to report.
B. Update on the New Quincy High School: Mr. Ryan to report.
C. Update on Central and Sterling: Mr. Ryan to report.
D. Energy Management Initiative (Honeywell): Mr. Ryan to report.

V. New Business:

A. Gift: A gift of $1,675.60 donated by the Alliance for Respiratory Care to assist children in Quincy Public Schools with their health needs. See Attachment A.

B. Gift: A gift of $700.00 raised through the Beechwood Knoll School’s “Read-A-Thon” to benefit Quincy Public Schools “Project Access: Educational Services to Homeless Children. See Attachment B.

C. Gift: A gift of $8,030.76 donated by the Quincy and South Shore Plumbing Community from a golf tournament held to benefit of our Plumbing Program. See Attachment C .

D. Gift A gift of a new Plasma Arc Cutter (valued at $2,500) from the James F. Stearns Company and Airgas East to the Quincy High School Metal Fabrication Program. See Attachment D.

E. Gift: A gift of steel (valued at $2,800) donated by the Northeast Industrial Technologies to the Quincy High School Metal Fabrication Program. See Attachment E.

F. Approval of School Nurses: Ed Reform requires a vote of appointment from the School Committee for school nurses. See Attachment F

VI. Additional Business:

VII. Communications:

VIII. Hearings: - none

IX. Reports of Special Committees:

X. Executive Session:

XI. Adjournment:

Subcommittees of the School Committee

Subcommittee Date Referred Business Pending
Budget & Finance
McCarthy/Stice/Mahoney 11/19/2003 Vending Machines in Schools
  1/7/2004 Marshall Remedial Action Plan
  5/27/2004 (Subcommittee) Transportation Fees
  4/11/2007 HS Health Curriculum
Building Needs    
Dwyer/McCarthy/Timmins Major Building Projects  
  3/4/98 QHS/Central/Sterling Building Plans
  10/20/2004 ADA Report
  9/7/2005 Alternative Plans for Central Middle School
  1/25/2006 Fire Extinguishers
  1/25/2006 Outdoor Lighting
  2/8/2006 Conservation
Health, Safety & Security    
Mahoney/Dwyer/Timmins 10/18/2006 NQHS Traffic & Drop off
  4/11/2007 HS Health Curriculum
School Policy    
Stice/Mahoney/Mulvey 1/10/2001 Policy Manual
  1/9/2002 Early Childhood Ed.
  1/9/2002 Common Goals
  11/19/2003 Vending Machines in Schools
  9/6/2006 Dress Code
  10/18/2006 Sliding Scale for Student Fees
  12/13/2006 DIP
  3/21/2007 Elementary Report Cards
  3/21/2007 Student Records/Transfers, etc.
  3/21/2007 Elementary Report Cards
  5/2/2007 Bullying
Special Education    
Timmins/McCarthy/Mulvey 1/17/2007 Emergency Information Form
  1/17/2007 Substitute Teachers for SPED
  3/21/2007 Implementation of IEPs
Rules, Post Audit & Oversight    
Mulvey/Stice/Dwyer    

 

Minutes

Quincy, Massachusetts - September 5, 2007
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee

Regular Meeting

A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, Regular September 5, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, City Hall. Present Meeting were Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Mr. Kevin Mulvey, Ms. Linda Stice, Mr. Jim Timmins, Mr. Dave McCarthy, Mayor Phelan and Ms. Elaine Dwyer, 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, and Mrs. Tefta Burrelli, Clerk; Dr. Pattavina. Messrs. O’Brien, Ryan, Walsh, McPhee, Canavan and Keith Segalla, Ms. Powell, Lebo, Hughes, and Roberts. Mr. Paul Phillips, QEA President, was also present.

The Committee observed a moment of silence for Mr. Vin Moscardelli, a former Quincy Public School teacher and principal who passed away this summer.

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Reg Mins. for 6/20, 6/22 and 8/13/2007 Approved

On a motion by Ms. Stice, seconded by Mr. Mulvey, the Committee approved the regular session minutes for June 20, 2007, meeting minutes for June 22, 2007, and meeting minutes for August 13, 2007. The ayes have it.

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Supt’s Report

The Superintendent welcomed everyone back. He congratulated this year’s high school graduates and retirees. He spoke to the District Improvement Plan (DIP). Over the past five years, we have focused on class size, increasing over 30 staff, we have full day kindergarten; we have enhanced and increased our literacy staff. There is one full time literacy teacher in every elementary site. We have the re-teach model at middle schools which focuses on at-risk students who drop out. We increased our paraprofessionals for SPED. There is additional security staff, classroom supplies have increased, especially textbooks. He thanked the Mayor and members for their continued support. In October, he will present a plan for staff professional development. The Committee will get copies of the School Improvement Plans. Meeting dates are scheduled for the last week in September. The new teachers had an orientation and the new administrators had their orientation to welcome them and inform them of policy and plans.

New Principals

New appointments over the summer are: Ms. Renee Lalumiere, Montclair Principal; Ms. Ruth Witmer, Lincoln Hancock and Della Chiesa Principal; Ms. Christine Barrett, Sterling Acting Principal; Mr. Dan Gilbert, Assistant Principal Lincoln Hancock; Robin Moreira, Assistant Principal Montclair; and Mr. Nicholas Ahearn, Acting Assistant Principal Sterling.

Occupational Ed.

Mr. Keith Segalla will fill in for Ms. Emily Lebo who has resigned as Director of Occupational Education, and Ms. Janice Erler will fill in for Keith Segalla on a temporary basis.

Asst. Supt. position

Mrs. Powell, Mrs. Roberts and Mr. O’Brien will share tasks and responsebilities for Dr. Carmen Mariano, Assistant Superintendent who resigned. Dr. DeCristofaro will submit a draft for an Assistant Superintendent job description at the next meeting.

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Summer Programs

Summer Scene serviced 2,800 K-12 students, 285 staff and 75 support staff. A successful summer initiative for middle school students was held at eight elementary schools. Fall Institute and Saturday morning has been scheduled for K-5 students.

Dr. DeCristofaro thanked the custodians, maintenance staff, and Honeywell for so many hours of hard work getting schools ready for opening day.

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Open Forum

At the Open Forum, Mr. Paul Phillips, QEA Presidents, welcomed everyone back and said that the first day of school was a successful day.

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Buildings & Grounds

Mr. Joe Canavan reported that during the summer the Maintenance Department relocated the administrative offices to the NAGE building, painted Parker Media Center, replaced floor tiles at the ECC, a new counter at Merrymount, relocated 22 classrooms from Quincy High School to Coddington Hall. They also did some renovations at Coddington Hall. He thanked the men and especially Dennis McGillvray for his direction with the move.

The floor at the North Quincy High gym has been replaced due to a water leak. The Committee expressed concern with some of the exit doors closed off at Quincy High School during the renovations. However, Mr. Ryan said the Quincy Fire Department has walked through and checked it out.

Mr. Canavan will give the Committee a list this October of upcoming projects planned for over the Christmas break.

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New QHS

Mr. Mike Ryan updated the Committee on the construction progress of the new Quincy High School. He showed an overview of the layout of the new high school and especially highlighted the court yard. The members chose the wide courtyard. To date, they have closed off Woodward Ave. and relocated utilities that ran down that street. On August 15 demolition to the administrative section began. We are three weeks ahead of schedule on the demolition. During the demolition there will be no access for certain areas which he pointed out around the old building.

The next step is removal of rubble from the foundation, old oil tanks, and to complete the mechanical room. All equipment installed is energy efficient.

The Committee inquired about the traffic which seems to be confusing. The traffic engineer will be out there every day.

Mr. McCarthy asked about the pathway to Coddington St. and the Committee was concerned with the marsh side. They asked that Mr. Ryan take a look at the lighting. Mr. Ryan said that they began to clean up that area. Gilbane walks the site three times a day.

As for egresses, the will be a fire drill on Friday. All exists are proper. There is a new handicap ramp.

Mr. McCarthy asked for a weekly update for the neighbors. Mr. Ryan said they are going to do a literature drop. Mr. Ryan will also put information/updates on channel 22.

Mrs. Mahoney inquired about the mechanical room. Mr. Ryan answered that there is one for the old building and the new science and tech rooms, and one across the street from the new high school. Mrs. Mahoney asked about the noise and how it would affect the classrooms. Mr. Ryan has presented the testing schedules to Gilbane so they can plan around it.

As for the proposed windmill, the Superintendent said there were no plans to put it on the roof. They are working with Monica Conyngham to see if they could do something in the marsh.

Mayor Phelan suggested there be a phone number for neighbors to call day or night. As for the traffic on Woodward, Rizzo Associate is working at that. Mr. Ryan will keep the Mayor informed.

The old gymnasium at Quincy High School will have the paneling taken off and some natural lighting put in there. The Mayor asked Mr. Ryan to make sure they power wash behind the gymnasium and cut back the brush, triple the lighting.

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Central & Sterling

The MSBA came out to do a study of Central and Sterling. They did a quick tour of both schools. They agree that our priorities are accurate. They will present a written report and make a decision in at least two months.

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Honeywell

Regarding Honeywell, Mr. Ryan presented a list of the work done to date at all the school buildings by Honeywell. There will be ongoing training for our staff on every piece of equipment.

Mr. Ryan was very excited and very enthusiastic about the whole program. Mr. McCarthy asked that Honeywell look at the atrium roof at North Quincy as there are some leaks. Honeywell is installing the computerized program whereby we can access alarm systems. The new high school will be on the program.

Honeywell wants to be a partner. We are looking towards an instant alert system. Mr. O’Brien is working with Honeywell and will present this to the Committee. They also discussed a security system to improve the security at all our schools. They have educational programs for middle school students. They will be bringing educational events to us.

The Committee was very excited about the Honeywell program and thanked the Mayor for his insight.

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Gifts

On a motion by Mr. Timmins, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, the Committee accepted the following gifts:

A gift of $1,675.60 donated by the Alliance for Respiratory Care to assist children in Quincy Public Schools with their health needs.

A gift of $700.00 raised through the Beechwood Knoll School’s “Read-AThon” to benefit Quincy Public Schools “Project Access: Educational Services to Homeless Children.

A gift of $8,030.76 donated by the Quincy and South Shore Plumbing Community from a golf tournament held to benefit of our Plumbing Program.

A gift of a new Plasma Arc Cutter (valued at $2,500) from the James F. Stearns Company and Airgas East to the Quincy High School Metal Fabrication Program.

A gift of steel (valued at $2,800) donated by the Northeast Industrial Technologies to the Quincy High School Metal Fabrication Program.

The ayes have it.

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Appointments

On a motion by Ms. Stice, seconded by Mr. Mulvey, the Committee approved the following school nurse appointments:

Nurses: Christine Flynn, Lorraine Kelly, Sheila McGrath

The ayes have it.

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Mr. McCarthy thanked Kevin Segalla, Ken McPhee and the Quincy Police for their assistance on the first day of school.

Mr. Timmins asked what was the status of the retro checks for the teachers and why there is a delay. Mr. Mullaney answered that the teachers received their last pay check last Friday. In order to calculate the amount, we had to get the last month’s figures. Their checks will go out this Friday.

Supt’s Evaluation

Mr. Timmins inquired as to evaluation of the Superintendent and asked that this be on the next meeting’s agenda.

Staff Licensing

Mr. Timmins asked for a report on licensing of staff or teachers. What’s going on with those who are not--school by school.

Staff Evaluations

The Mayor asked for a report on where we have come since the audit with regard to evaluations and minority hiring, to include what the policies are, why teachers and administrators are not being properly evaluated on a regular basis, what was going on that resulted in the unsatisfactory report.

Asst. Supt. Position

Ms. Stice asked what is the role of the School Committee with regard to appointments. The Superintendent answered that the Assistant Superintendent is appointed by the School Committee and his/her salary decided by the Superintendent. He will present a draft of a job description for an Assistant Superintendent. The Committee will review that job description. He will publicize the position.

The Superintendent has taken a look at the Assistant Superintendent role as Carmen did it and wants to restructure the role whereby he will suggest a different direction. He would continue with one Assistant Superintendent but a different organization to give more strength to our directors.

Mr. Timmins read the law, however, Mayor Phelan asked for a legal ruling on that --who appoints, who selects. He thinks the Committee should develop a process, take a lead on how that selection is going to be made. The Mayor feels they should determine the process in order to locate, interview, and select the person.

The Committee decided that the City Solicitor should look at the law.

Mr. McCarthy asked for a copy of the current job description.

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Additional Business

Mrs. Mahoney asked for a presentation of the programs we do regarding substance abuse.

Ms. Stice congratulated Keith Segella for Summer Scene. There is wonderful leadership and incredible teachers who work in summer and after schools.

The NEASC sent North Quincy their five year Progress report. North Quincy had a glowing report.

Ms. Stice also complimented the QPS Website. It is extremely user friendly.

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Policy Subcommittee

Ms. Stice took off the Policy Subcommittee

1/9/2002 Early Childhood Education
1/9/2002 Common Goals
9/6/2006 Dress Code
2/13/2006` DIP
3/12/2007 Elementary Report Cards

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Retirements

The Committee noted the following retirements:

Teachers: Barbara Arnold, Linda Beck, Karen Dwyer, Susan Farrell, Helen Flaherty, James Flahive, Constance Graham, Mary Gralton, Dr. Richard Harrington, Steve Joyce, Patricia Landi, Linda Monaco, Gail Nogueira, Pamela Paulsen, Dorothy Ryan, Nancy Sheehan-Melzack, Linda Sheridan, Barbara Tyminski, Stephen Verenis, Cynthia Wilson

Instructor: Glen Thompson

Guidance: Sherry Curns, Diane Merrill

Dept. Chairs: Maria D’Arcangelo, Sydney Lally, Sean Mulready, Catherine Princiotto

Principals: Dennis Carini, Kevin Marks, Louis Ioanilli

Media Specialist: Mary Lou Petrelli

Speech Pathologist: Kathleen Tringale

Sr. Custodian: George DePaulo

Resignations

The Committee noted the following resignations:

Director: Emily Lebo

Asst. Supt.: Dr. Carmen Mariano

Teachers: Stephanie Aubin, Susan Bill, Susan Buccini, Kathleen Crowley, Kimberly Dunfey, Athenia Elie, Rebecca Moje, Colleen Monahan, Deanna Murphy, John Pye, Sharon Smith, Christina Stuart, Erin Trumble

Speech Pathologist: Lisa Berry

Literacy Specialist: Jenny Sperounis

Paraprofessional: Kelee Flynn, Erin Leary, Precious Lopez-Waldron, Colleen Nichol, Karen Pratt

Lunch Attendant: Nicole Perry-Gore, Lorraine Wright

Leaves of Absence

The Committee noted the following leaves of absence:

Teachers: Andrea Bomar, Sara Cady, Julie Cantelli, Katherine Ell, Stephanie Fortuna, Patrick Lane, Lee Anne Maki, Patricia Pattison, Daniel Reynolds, Carolyn Ronchinsky

Appointments

The Committee noted the following appointments:

Paraprofessional: Melissa Blackburn, Mary Burke, Judi Ann Gaine, Denise Lynch, Colleen McCarthy, Jean McGinnis, Kathleen Narbonne, Maria Pagnani, Elena Papile, Rosaria Tortomasi

Lunch Attendant: Sandra Bouffard

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Adjournment

On a motion by Mr. McCarthy, seconded by Ms. Stice, the Committee voted to go into Executive Session at 9:25 p.m. for the purpose of negotiations. On a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously 7-0. They did not return to open session.