March 23, 2011 School Committee Meeting

Agenda

Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
March 23, 2011

7:00 p.m.
City Council Chambers, City Hall

I. Approval of Minutes: Regular Session minutes for March 9, 2011.

II. Superintendent’s Report:

A. Lions Club, Student Recognition
B. Career and Technical Education, Student Recognition
C. Middle School Science Fairs
D. School Parent Newsletters
E. Principal Induction Celebration, March 24
F. State Advisory (CVTE) Board Meeting

III. Open Forum: (7:15 p.m.) 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. Murphy to report.

B. Update on the New Quincy High School: Mrs. Dwyer to report.

C. Update on Central: Mrs. Bragg and Mrs. Mahoney to report.

V. New Business:

A. Career and Technical Education Program Improvement Plan: Mr. Segalla to report.

B. Gifts: Quirk Auto Dealership to Career and Technical Education Automotive Program: (A)

C. Gift: Donation of $4,470.00 in memory of James Zupkofska to the Career and Technical Education Legal and Protective Services Program. (B)

D. School Choice: Superintendent recommends that the Quincy School Committee withdraws from the obligation to enroll non-resident students in the Quincy Public Schools for the 2011-2012 academic year for the following reasons:

1. Continued projected enrollment conditions at the elementary and middle schools based on current and projected enrollments

2. Policy of the Quincy School Committee to adhere to class size guidelines.

VI. Additional Business:

VII. Communications:

VIII. Hearings:

IX. Reports of Special Committees:

A. Special Education Subcommittee: Mrs. Lebo to report.

B. Budget & Finance Subcommittee: Mrs. Mahoney to report.

X. Executive Session:

XI. Adjournment:

Subcommittees of the School Committee

Subcommittee Date Referred Business Pending
Budget & Finance
Mahoney/Bragg/Lebo 10/7/2009 Half Time Teachers
  9/15/2010 Full Day Kindergarten
  9/15/2010 Opportunities & Challenges
  9/15/2010 Free & Reduced Lunch
  9/15/2010 Short & Long Term Goals
School Facilities Management    
Dwyer/Lebo/McCarthy 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
  2/8/2006 Conservation
  4/9/2008 Track
  3/3/2010, 9/29/2010 Coddington Hall
Health, Safety, Security & Transportation    
McCarthy/Isola/Dwyer 3/17/2010 North Quincy Traffic Intersection
  3/26/2008 Increase School Breakfast Participation
School Policy    
Bragg/Isola/Dwyer 3/11/2009 MS Interim Letters
  9/15/2010 CPR/ADE Training
  10/2010 Harassment Policy
  11/17/2010 Polling Places
  11/17/2010 Internet/Technology Policy re: Social Networks
  1/5/2011 CTE Admissions Policy
Special Education    
Lebo/McCarthy/Mahoney 1/17/2007 Substitute Teachers for SPED
  3/21/2007 Implementation of IEPs
  9/24/2008 INSPIRE Initiative
Rules, Post Audit & Oversight    
Isola/Mahoney/Bragg 10/29/2008 Faxon Field
     
AD HOC COMMITTEES:    
Channel 22    
Mahoney/McCarthy 10/17/2007 Encourage greater use of

 

Minutes

Quincy, Massachusetts - March 23, 2011
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee

Regular Mtg.

A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 in the City Council Chambers, City Hall. Present were: Mr. Dave McCarthy, Ms. Barbara Isola, Mrs. Jo-Ann Bragg, Mrs. Elaine Dwyer, Mrs. Emily Lebo, and Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Vice Chairman

Vice Chairman Presiding

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The Superintendent called the roll and Mayor Koch was absent. Also present were: Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Mrs. Tefta Burrelli, Clerk; Messrs. Mulvey, Mullaney, Draicchio, Murphy and Segalla. Ms. Roberts, Tenaglia, Hughes and Todd. Ms. Allison Cox, QEA President, and Tracey Christello, Citywide.

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Reg. Meeting Mins. Approved 3/9/2011

On a motion by Mr. McCarthy, seconded by Mrs. Bragg, the Committee approved the regular session minutes for March 9, 2011. The ayes have it.

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Student Recognition Kevin Ung

The Committee recognized Kevin Ung, a Quincy High School senior, who was voted Vocational Technical Outstanding Student of the Year. Kevin is an Engineering student and in the top 10% of the senior class. He is captain of the track team, on the Robotics Team, and assists students and teachers with their computer equipment in school. He will be recognized at the 25th Outstanding Vocational Students Awards Banquet. Kevin will spend four months in Shanghai doing an Engineering internship.

Supts. Report

The State Advisory (CVTE) will hold its board meeting on April 6 at Quincy High School. The Third Annual “Credit for Life” Fair will be held on March 31 at the Boston Marriott Quincy. The Principal Induction Ceremony will be held on March 24 at 4:00 p.m. It will feature our new principals, Nick Ahearn and Jim Hennessey. The members received a schedule of the Emergency Procedures Lockdown drills. Parents are notified before a drill occurs so they know this is a practice drill.

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Open Forum

As no one wished to be heard at the Open Forum, the Committee went on with the business at hand.

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Student Recognition Meaghan Peterson

Ms. Loretta McTiernan, President of the Quincy Lions Club, received a Certificate of Appreciation from the School Committee for all the work the Lions Club does with/for the schools. She introduced Meaghen Peterson, Quincy High School Senior, who was the winner of the Lions Club local contest. Meaghen went on to the regionals and she won there also. There were 47 district clubs that participated. Meaghen read her award winning speech “If I Were President, the Three Things I Would Work For” to the Committee. The Committee presented her with a Certificate of Excellence.

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Bldg. Update

The Maintenance Department has been busy responding to many heating calls. They have replaced two make up tank pumps and re-piped a return line at Montclair, repaired a steam leak and plugged leaking tubes to the boilers at Central. They have removed and installed two new 120 gallon domestic hot water storage tanks at Broad Meadows, installed new blow-down drains at Merrymount, replaced floor tiles in many areas at North Quincy High School and have made several moves. Veterans Stadium is now officially open, and all the plumbing and electrical components are up and running. Maintenance continues to address daily work orders.

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Gift CTE Automotive Program

On a motion by Mrs. Dwyer, seconded by Ms. Isola, the Committee accepted the donation of a 2003 Mazda MPV from Quirk Auto Dealership to the Career and Technical Education Automotive Program. The ayes have it. Mrs. Dwyer thanked Mr. Dan Quirk who continuously donates to the CTE programs. The Committee is very grateful to him.

Gift CTE Legal & Protective Services Program

On a motion by Mrs. Dwyer, seconded by Mrs. Lebo, the Committee accepted a donation of $4,470 in memory of James Zupkofska to the Career and Technical Education Legal and Protective Services Program. The ayes have it.

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School Choice Withdraws from

On a motion by Mrs. McCarthy, seconded by Mrs. Bragg, the School Committee accepted the Superintendent’s recommendation to withdraw from the obligation to enroll non-resident students in the Quincy Public Schools for the 2011-2012 academic year for the following reasons:

Continued projected enrollment conditions at the elementary and middle schools based on current and projected enrollments, and Policy of the Quincy School Committee to adhere to class size guidelines.

On a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously 6-0. Mayor Koch was absent.

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Quincy High School Mrs. Dwyer reports

The Quincy High Building Committee has been briefed by Gilbane and Tishman members. The Committee will receive the punch list in a new format via e-mail. There are not many items left. They are waiting for the weather to get a little warmer to do repairs outside in the parking lot and landscaping.

Tishman/Gilbane will come to the April 6 School Committee meeting and give an update of anything that is still pending. This will be the final wrap up. Mrs. Dwyer told the members to be prepared to ask any questions regarding the entire school project.

There were some serious leaks from elbow pipes at Quincy High School. There are over 200 elbow pipes in the building. Not all of them came from the same batch. The 12 that leaked are from the same batch. Substantial testing was done over the February school vacation on the first floor where the principal’s office is. More focus will be done over the April school vacation. The next Building Committee meeting is April 1.

Mr. McCarthy will give his list of concerns in the Science and Technology wing to Mrs. Dwyer.

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Central Middle School Mrs. Bragg reports

80% Reimbursement rate for new Central

Mrs. Bragg read the following letter from Mayor Koch into the minutes:

Dear Members,

I wish to share with you a wonderful development concerning the Central Middle School Project.

As our team continues to work toward the March 30, 2011 MSBA Board Meeting, at which it is our hope and expectation that our Project Scope and Budget Agreement will be approved, we have been working and re-working our numbers and other submissions, in concert with staff at the MSBA. We have been notified that upon consideration of our final income, population and wealth factor numbers, the MSBA has calculated our final reimburse- ment rate calculation to be 80%. This is a dramatic increase over the initial projected rate, and I am delighted to execute the certification form – together with the superintendent – locking in this rate. This is the maximum reimburse- ment that a municipality can receive under the MSBA’s regulations – and I cannot express enough how delighted I am at this outcome.

We should all be grateful for the hard work of the superintendent, the city solicitor, our Building Committee and the rest of our project team, without which we could not have achieved this great outcome. I am also very grateful for the work of Katherine Craven and her staff at MSBA—while they have been demanding, they have always provided us with the assistance we have required along the way.

This is a major accomplishment that will result in substantial savings to the taxpayers of the City of Quincy, all while we continue to work toward con- structing what will most certainly be one of the premier middle schools in the Commonwealth. Thank you for your efforts and support to date.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Koch

Mayor

A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 29 at 4:00 p.m. City Hall, second floor conference room.

Mrs. Bragg asked the if Tishman could give the Central project presentation at the next School Committee meeting. The Superintendent will check on that.

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CTE PIP tabled

The Career and Technical Education Program Improvement Plan was tabled by Mrs. Lebo until the next meeting. She has questions on the plan which is posted on the website but was not distributed before this meeting. She did not want to ask questions without the members being able to look at the documents.

CTE PIP to Subcommittee

Mrs. Bragg made a friendly amendment and moved this into the Policy Subcommittee. Since the CTE Admissions policy is in the subcommittee, it would be a good time to discuss both of them. She requested that this information be given out to everybody before the meeting.

Mrs. Dwyer asked why it had to go to subcommittee and why it couldn’t be at a regular meeting. Mrs. Bragg answered that she is asking to discuss it at subcommittee and then at a full meeting.

Mrs. Lebo suggested that in the future, the PIPs come to them for approval like the SIPs because the process with the SIPs is so clear and easy to understand. While going through the PIPs she found the format is not the same--some show goals, some show benchmarks. She asked that formalizing the presentation go into the Policy Subcommittee

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Faxon Field

Mrs. Bragg reported that a letter was given to the Committee this evening from Mr. Jim Timmins, City Solicitor, answering questions that were posed in February about Faxon Field.

Response from City Solicitor

The soil that has been stockpiled at Faxon Field was taken from the Quincy High School site. It was placed there by contractors working on the project, and, therefore has been subject of testing by Wheatstone Engineering. We kept the soil onsite for re-use, as we are allowed to do so because it is in the category of “Urban Fill.” That is, it is fill (or soil) taken from an urban site, and is therefore presumed to contain contaminants, but not at a level that is hazardous to humans. When we excavated around the area of the old Vocational Technical School and excavated the area that was formerly Woodward Avenue, we unearthed a substantial amount of urban fill, all of which was tested by Wheatstone. Any fill that was found to contain contaminants below regulated level was kept onsite for re-use. Any that contained contaminants beyond acceptable levels, was shipped off and properly disposed of, all under the supervision of Wheatstone.

Mrs. Bragg added that the piles at Faxon have been tested, monitored, and are properly stored at the site. So, the soil that is on Faxon Field is not contaminated above the regulated level that is out there and apparently the City has been working with the DEP and the DEP is satisfied that this matter has been settled.

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Additional Business

Mrs. Lebo requests

Mrs. Lebo brought up the following items under Additional Business:

  1. She responded to a February 18 news article reporting that “open enrollment was going to be allowed but capped.” If a student in the City wants to attend a CTE program, be it at North or Quincy High, they have the right to do that, and the cap should not hold them up. They have a legal right to take those courses. Mrs. Lebo asked the Superintendent to find out what the process is for the students to make that choice in the eighth or ninth grade because it doesn’t show up on the course selection sheet.

  2. The CTE Admissions policy that is posted on the website has not been approved by the School Committee and the DESE so that policy should say that it is a DRAFT, and the old policy should still be in place unless another has been approved.


    CORIs to Subcommittee

  3. What is our policy on hiring substitute teachers, how do they apply, do they receive a CORI? Mrs. Bragg moved this into the Policy Subcommittee.

  4. Mrs. Lebo gave the members a copy of Pathway to Prosperity Project report. Quincy does a phenomenal job for our students as Kevin and Meghan have shown. Project Lead the Way is in that report.

  5. A report from both the City side and Mr. Segalla on the e-mail situation. Explain the difficulties that some schools experience with e-mails and the difficulty that we sometimes experience e-mailing in the Quincy Public Schools.

Mrs. Bragg asked that the “Bragg fund” be on the next Budget Subcommittee agenda. Mrs. Mahoney will place that on the subcommittee when they do the quarterly report.

Communications

Under Communications, Mrs. Lebo reported that QPAC is hosting a presentation of Transitional 101 High School to Adulthood, on April 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Quincy High School.

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Special Ed Subcommittee Mrs. Lebo reports

The Special Education Subcommittee met on March 16. Mr. Mullvey gave an overview of the Open Meeting Law. Ms. Todd and her team gave an overview of the Individual Transitional Plans. The substitute teacher sheet needs more work and will stay in Subcommittee. First Responder and contact cards will be combined into one form. Ms. Todd gave a report on how IEPs are implemented. Ms. Todd has corrected the miscommunication about Progress reports at Quincy High School. Progress reports will go home with students and it is up to the parents to ask for it. QPAC has asked for a policy on CORIs. There are some issues at one of our schools on QPS e-mail. Teachers had asked parents to use GMAIL because our e-mail was not safe. We think that is a mistake also. We’re asking for the IT Department at the City side and Mr. Segalla to talk about what information is going out to the teachers about using e-mails and to make sure that the information going out from the teachers is not contrary to our policy about how we communicate to our parents about confidential information. The next Special Education subcommittee meeting is at May 11 at QHS at 7:00 p.m. On a motion by Mrs. Lebo, seconded by Mrs. Isola, the Special Education Subcommittee minutes were approved. The ayes have it.

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Budget & Finance Mrs. Mahoney reports

On March 8, the Budget & Finance Subcommittee reviewed full day Kindergarten. They went through all of the parameters and in the end took a vote to maintain full day kindergarten. On a motion by Ms. Isola, seconded by Mrs.Dwyer the Budget & Finance Subcommittee minutes were approved. The ayes have it.

On March 9, the Budget & Finance Subcommittee met to talk about the Literacy Program and the budget. They went through the Literacy program and tied it to different tiers. They received some additional information for tier instructions by different grades. The Literacy Team went through from start to the finish and showed how many students we administer to. On a motion by Mrs. Bragg, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, the Budget & Finance Subcommittee minutes were approved. The ayes have it.

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Executive Session

On a motion by Mrs. Dwyer, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, the Committee voted to go into Executive Session at 8:07 p.m. to discuss collective bargaining for the Clerical Union. On a roll call vote, the motion passed 6-0. Mayor Koch was absent. They did not return to open session.