THE ARLINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
REGULAR MEETING
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2002
7:30 PM
Present: David McKenna, Chair Barbara Goodman
Suzanne Owayda, Vice-Chair Joani LaMachia
Paul Schlichtman, Secretary Martin Thrope
Superintendent: Kay Donovan
Chief Financial Officer: David Kale
Special Education Director: Marilyn Bisbicos
Absent: Joanne Gurry
Denis Sullivan
Call to order: 7:35 pm
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Dallin parent voiced concern relative to the Full Day Kindergarten Program, the fee increase and the fact that it is “in facto mandated” in order for students to be prepared for the curriculum in first grade.
SECRETARY’S REPORT
¨ Mr. Schlichtman reviewed correspondence.
On a motion by Mr. Schlichtman and seconded by Ms. Owayda it was unanimously
Voted to approve the regular meeting minutes of November 12, 2002.
On a motion by Mr. Schlichtman and seconded by Ms. LaMachia it was unanimously
Voted to approve the Executive Session minutes of November 12, 2002
Ms. Goodman referred to correspondence received from school counsel Stoneman, Chandler & Miller relative to the taping of executive sessions; Ms. Goodman made the motion to receive the letter, seconded by Mr. Schlichtman, and voted unanimously by the Committee.
Ms. Goodman speaking on the subject of executive session requested the letter from school counsel, Alan Miller and also spoke to Glenn Koocher, Executive Director of the MASC; both of whom advised against the taping of executive session meetings.
APPROVAL OF WARRANT
On a motion by Ms. Goodman and seconded by Ms. Owayda it was
Voted to approve warrant number 03075 in the amount of $370,966.29. RC: Unanimous (with abstentions by Mr. Schlichtman on payment to MASC and by Mr. McKenna on the payment to Simons uniform).
REPORT ON JOINT MEETING
Supt. Donovan reported on the meeting with the Board of Selectmen and the Permanent Town Building Committee relative to pursuing the designs of the Dallin School. A recommendation was made by the Selectmen to the PTBC to be prudent and vigilant in their actions proceeding with the design of the Dallin School. The PTBC will address the issue at their next meeting (December 17th).
Mr. Schlichtman emphasized that the School Committee took the correct action in attempting to give firm direction to the PTBC by asking the PTBC to wait until more information is obtained from the DOR
JURISDICTION OF GIBBS SCHOOL
On a motion by Ms. Goodman, seconded by Mr. Schlichtman, and amended by Mr. Thrope it was unanimously:
Voted that the Gibbs Schools is no longer needed for education purposes and recommended on that the property be offered for sale and that the proceeds be used in part to fund any portion of the elementary renovation project not funded by the previous debt exclusions and in part to finance reconstruction of other public buildings.
On a motion by Mr. Schlichtman, seconded by Ms. Goodman, and amended by Mr. Thrope it was unanimously
Voted to request from the Redevelopment Board the status of the Crosby and Parmenter Schools, in terms of the fiscal implications of future decisions along with timelines; in addition to request a report on the current leases at the Gibbs School.
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND/GOALS
Supt. Donovan gave an update on the ‘No Child Left Behind’ Act 2001, Effective Date of Implementation July 1, 2002. Mrs. Donovan reviewed some of the guidelines of the Act:
¨ National Context
¨ National Strategy
¨ Performance Goals
¨ Financial Impact of NCLB in Massachusetts
¨ NCLB Testing Requirements
¨ NCLB Accountability Provisions
The Superintendent reviewed the Proposed Actions on District and NCLB Goals. Mrs. Donovan explained that the goal is to try aligning Federal and District goals together.
Mr. Schlichtman requested that the Superintendent investigate the possibility of filing for a Supplemental Service provider grant and also to look carefully at non-residents attending non-public schools to ensure that we are not providing funding for them.
INDICATORS OF SUCCESS
Supt. Donovan requested that this agenda item be tabled.
Break
SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT
¨ Budget Subcommittee
The Finance Committee has requested that the School Committee submit a preliminary budget by February 1st 2003 looking at a possible 4 million dollar reduction.
Ms. LaMachia reported that the budget subcommittee would hold a budget workshop on January 4th and 5th from 1:00 pm to 4:00pm to go over in detail the working budget. All school committee members are invited to attend and Joani requests that members submit questions or requests for information in writing beforehand.
She would like to use the 2-hour allotment at the 1/28 meeting to report back on the workshop as well as to go over the budget for the full Committee
¨ Budget Transfers
Supt. Donovan requested approval of budget transfers with the School General Fund Budget; The budget transfer requests are based on the October 2002 financial projection and the FY02-03 Working Budget.
On a motion by Ms. LaMachia and seconded by Ms. Owayda it was
Voted that the School Committee approve the following transfer of appropriation within the School General Fund Budget FY2002-2003. Roll Call: Unanimous
Mr. Thrope requested that back up information on budget transfers be included in the packet.
PTBC UPDATE
Ms. Owayda reported that at its meeting on December 17th the PTBC will make a decision on whether or not to move forward with the final design of the Dallin School. The SBAB visited the Dallin School and rated it a
category six. Suzanne also reported that Design Partnership of Cambridge Inc., the architects for the Stratton and Thompson Schools will plan on attending PTBC on a regular basis. Supt. Donovan informed the Committee that APS has applied for a Green School Grant for the Thompson School.
PEIRCE TILE PROJECT
Supt. Donovan reported that once the School Committee receives the Peirce School and possess an occupancy permit the tiles could be installed.
Peirce parents Chris Lockery and Sharon Stafford presented a proposal to the School Committee highlighting different options for the placement and design of the tiles; included in the packet was a letter of qualification from the installer, a Peirce parent, who has volunteered his services for the installation of the tiles.
On a motion by Mr. Thrope and Seconded by Mr. Schlichtman it was unanimously
Voted to accept the Peirce Tile Project with the details and installation to be worked out between the Peirce PTO and the Administration.
REPORT ON SUPT. EVALUATION
Chairman David McKenna reported out that Supt. Donovan rated Exemplary or Exceeds Expectations in most all categories, consisting of over 280 questions. Mr. McKenna met with the Superintendent to review her evaluation and addressed the concerns stated in the evaluation. The Committee applauded Kay Donovan as a recognized leader for the schools and in the Town of Arlington.
NEW BUSINESS
¨ On a motion by Mr. Thrope and seconded by Ms. Goodman it was unanimously
Voted to send a letter of congratulations to Thompson School teacher Evelyn DeRosa for her candidacy on
¨ On a motion by Ms. Owayda and seconded by Ms. LaMachia it was unanimously
Voted to invite the Audit Committee to meet and discuss the policy on the Kindergarten Fee, how we make collections and what our collection rate is.
Ms. Owayda explained that at a meeting with the Audit Committee this morning there was significant discussion on how kindergarten fees were managed. Mr. McKenna added that the Town Treasurer made a statement that there was a $500,000.00 deficit. Since Supt. Donovan and CFO David Kale were not at the meeting The Chairman would like to meet with the same participants to discuss the issue.
On a motion by Ms. Goodman and seconded by Ms. Owayda it was
Voted to enter Executive Session for the purpose of Negotiations and a Legal Issue with no further business to be conducted upon return to open session except to adjourn. RC: Unanimous
Executive Session 10:00 – 10:45 pm
On a motion by Mr. Thrope and seconded by Ms. LaMachia it was unanimously
Voted to adjourn @ 10:45 pm.
Submitted by
Karen Tassone
Committee Secretary
| 
