Regular Meeting of the RegionalSchool Committee
Tuesday, August 29, 2006, 7:15 p.m.
High School Library
Present: Marianne Jorgensen Jere Hochman, Superintendent
Elaine Brighty, Chair Robert Detweiler, Dir. of Finance & Operations
Andy Churchill Wendy Kohler, Exec. Director of Program Dev.
Alisa Brewer Debbie Westmoreland, Recorder
Michael Hussin
Maureen Ecclestone
Absent: Tom Flittie, Sonia Correa Pope, Michael Katz
1. Welcome 8:45 p.m.
A. & B. Call to Order/Agenda Review—By roll call vote, the Regional School Committee voted to enter Executive Session for the purpose of collective bargaining at 7:15 p.m. At 8:45 p.m., Ms. Jorgensen reopened the regular session.
C. Reorganization—Dr. Hochman noted that a reorganization of the School Committee is necessary since Ms. Jorgensen announced at the last meeting that she will not serve as chair during the 2006-2007 school year. He asked for nominations for chair of the Regional School Committee. Ms. Brewer nominated Elaine Brighty. Mr. Hussin seconded. The vote was unanimous. Dr. Hochman thanked Ms. Jorgensen for her many years of service in leading the committee. Ms. Brighty asked for nominations for vice-chair. Ms. Jorgensen nominated Mr. Hussin. Ms. Brewer seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Ms. Brighty asked for nominations for secretary. Ms. Jorgensen nominated Alisa Brewer. Mr. Hussin seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Ms. Brighty then reviewed the agenda.
D. Minutes—None
2. Announcements and Public Comments None
3. Superintendent’s Update 8:55 p.m.
Dr. Hochman asked Mr. Detweiler to report on the RegionalSchool District’s bond rating review by Standard and Poor’s. Mr. Detweiler distributed an analysis by the financial auditor, noting that the district received a rating of A+. Dr. Hochman stated that a number of meetings occurred over the past few weeks in preparation for the opening of school. He noted that tomorrow morning is the back to school assembly for all staff and faculty at 8:30 and the students return on Thursday morning.
4. Unfinished/Continuing Business 9:05 p.m.
A. FY07 Budget Vote—Mr. Detweiler reviewed the memo explaining that a vote is required to accept the new FY07 budget amount to reflect the additional Chapter 70 and transportation reimbursement funding that was received in the amount of $216,348. Ms. Jorgensen made a motion that the operating budget for FY07 for the Amherst-PelhamRegionalSchool District shall be amended to $26,688,485, which does not effect any assessment to any member town. Mr. Churchill seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
B. District Goals/Organization—This item was tabled for a future meeting.
C. Policies for Approval—Wellness Policy: Dr. Hochman reviewed the edits he is proposing to the draft of the Wellness Policy submitted by the Wellness Committee. He noted that he kept wording that refers to state or federal guidelines in the language of the policy. Ms. Ecclestone asked that the acronyms contained in the policy be spelled out in the final version. Mr. Churchill suggested adding back the bullet point regarding interdisciplinary nutritional education to read “Work to provide sequential, interdisciplinary nutrition education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating” and deleting the bullet point reading “Promote and plan to provide interdisciplinary coordination and cooperation across school districts…” Ms. Jorgensen asked that “Seek opportunities to offer physical activities and/or nutrition services or programs designed to benefit staff health” be edited to read “Promote physical activities…” Mr. Churchill requested that “Provide sequential physical education in each grade from preK to 12 consistent with National professional (NASPE/AAHPERD) and state standards” be amended to read “Provide sequential physical education in each grade from preK to 12 consistent with National professional (NASPE/AAHPERD) and state standards to foster lifelong habits of physical education.” Ms. Jorgensen made a motion to adopt the wellness policy with the amendments made at this meeting. Ms. Ecclestone seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Ms. Jorgensen made a motion to make the wellness policy as voted effective on September 1, 2006. Ms. Ecclestone seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Ms. Brighty expressed the thanks of the committee to Mr. Flittie and the Wellness Committee for their work on this policy.
Policy 420.01 Conduct of Students: Student Conduct: Ms. Brighty reviewed the changes that were made to this policy based on discussions at the last school committee meeting. It was agreed that a reference must be made at the bottom to explain the numbers in parenthesis. Mr. Churchill expressed concern about the wording “We aspire to high standards of compliance with authority” noting that he feels there is no context for such compliance. Ms. Jorgensen made a motion to adopt policy 420.01 as amended. Ms. Ecclestone seconded and the motion passed with Mr. Churchill abstaining.
410.12 Students: Student Suspension: Ms. Brighty reviewed the changes that were made to this policy based on discussions at the last school committee meeting. She noted that it now matches the language in the High School student handbook. Mr. Churchill made a motion to approve policy 410.12 as amended. Mr. Hussin seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
410.13 Students: Student Expulsion: Ms. Brighty reviewed the changes that were made to this policy based on discussions at the last school committee meeting. Ms. Ecclestone made a motion to adopt policy 410.13 as amended. Ms. Brewer seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Policy 410.15 Students: Sexual Harassment of Students: Ms. Brighty reviewed the changes that were made to this policy based on discussions at the last school committee meeting. Ms. Brewer suggested changing the second bullet point to read “Sexual epithets, jokes, written or oral references to an individual’s sexual conduct, sexual orientation, or gender identity…” Ms. Hussin made a motion to approve policy 410.15 as amended. Ms. Brewer seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Policy 420.02 Conduct of Students: Guide to Dress and Grooming: Ms. Brighty reviewed the changes that were made to this policy based on discussions at the last school committee meeting. Ms. Jorgensen asked if there is policy regarding staff/faculty dress and grooming. Dr. Hochman stated that Kathy Mazur is currently working to develop a draft of such a policy. After some discussion, Mr. Churchill made a motion to approve policy 420.02 as amended. Ms. Ecclestone seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Policy 420.04 Conduct of Students: Corporal Punishment: Ms. Brighty reviewed the changes that were made to this policy based on discussions at the last school committee meeting. Ms. Ecclestone made a motion to approve policy 420.04 with the contingency that it will be brought back to the committee when the physical restraint policy number is added. Ms. Jorgensen seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
D. Policies: First Read—Ms. Ecclestone pointed out that the policy on Non-Custodial Parents Rights is based on law, including all of the wording. She requested that the School Committee vote on this policy tonight. Ms. Jorgensen made a motion to approve new policy 400.14 Non-Custodial Parents Rights as written. Ms. Ecclestone seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The other three policies presented for first read were tabled until the next meeting.
5. New Business 9:48 p.m.
A. Meeting Date for Long-Term Debt Approval—It was decided that the committee will meet at 9:00 a.m. on September 5th in the Superintendent’s Office to vote on the long-term debt approval.
B. The Common Application for College—Dr. Hochman distributed copies of the current and new common college application. He noted that currently students are asked to self-report on discipline issues on their college applications, and the High School has never given discipline information as a matter of record. The new common application asks that the schools now report discipline information. He stated that due to the nature of schools there is great inconsistency in discipline issues from district-to-district, school-to-school which makes it inequitable for schools to report this data. Dr. Hochman then distributed a memo including two draft versions of a proposed statement regarding why the school will not report discipline data. The approved statement would be included as a sticker on the college common application. He noted that the drafts have been given to Regina Tate, district counsel, for review. Ms. Jorgensen asked if any other school districts are choosing not to comply with this portion of the common application and whether it will adversely affect our students. Dr. Hochman said he has emailed superintendents and the responses have all been that they have never given discipline information. He stated that this issue is not yet on the radar screen for most schools, and he anticipates hearing more from other districts once school is back in session.
6. Reports None
7. School Committee Planning None
A. Sub-Committee Reports
B. Calendar Review
C. Items for Upcoming Meetings
8. Adjournment 10:00 p.m.
Mr. Churchill made a motion to adjourn at 10:00 p.m. Mr. Hussin seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Westmoreland
Approved 9-12-06