Regular Meeting of the Regional School Committee

Tuesday, December 18, 2007 7:00 p.m.

High School Library

 

Present:            Elaine Brighty, Chair                                Jere Hochman, Superintendent

                        Kathleen Anderson                                  Wendy Kohler, Exc. Dir. of Prog. Dev.

                        Maureen Ecclestone                                Mark Jackson, HS Principal

                        Michael Hussin                                        ARHS Teachers       

                        Marianne Jorgensen                                 Public

                        Andy Churchill                                         Press

                        Chrystel Romero

 

Absent:             Michael Katz, Sonia Correa-Pope

 

1.  Welcome

A. & B.  Call to Order/Agenda Review—Ms. Brighty called the meeting to order.  She then reviewed the procedure for the audience to speak, reviewed the agenda, and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

C.   Minutes—The minutes of November 20 were approved unanimously with minor corrections.  The minutes of December 4 were approved unanimously as written.

 

2.  Announcements and Public Comments   

There were no announcements or public comments.

 

3.  Superintendent’s Update 

Dr. Hochman reported that a small group met at the first Legislative Action Committee meeting on December 14th.  He noted that Ellen Story attended and recommended developing a platform identifying only one or two factors common to all districts:  circuit breaker funding and special education.  Dr. Hochman stated that we will move quickly to rally other Western Massachusetts districts.

 

Ninth Grade Science Proposal

Dr. Hochman stated that, in retrospect, he believes the science proposal should have been made in a more formal way.  He noted that some of the science teachers are in attendance to make statements about the proposal and a formal presentation will be made at the January 8th Regional School Committee meeting.  Science teacher Nick Shaw distributed and reviewed additional materials about the proposed course.  Jim Fownes, professor and eighth grade parent, noted that he was invited by the ARHS science department to work with them in developing the new course.  He stated that the department took a long, hard, careful look at standards and the relevance of the curriculum as this course proposal was developed.  After additional discussion, Dr. Hochman noted that the science handouts will be posted on the district and high school websites.

 

4.  Unfinished/Continuing Business

A.  State of the District

Dr. Hochman distributed and briefly reviewed a draft of the State of the District report that is currently being developed for 2007-2008.  He noted that the final report will be presented more formally at community forums, stating that the district is making a shift from autonomy to alignment.

 

B.  Budget

Dr. Hochman made available copies of the Meeting 1: Data and Direction packet that was first distributed at the last Regional School Committee meeting.  He briefly reviewed the data, noting that the emphasis in budget development will be on our mission, vision and what is the optimum budget to move the district forward and allow us to deliver on the promise of high status knowledge for every student.  He stated that projecting what is optimum for 2011 will be part of our work in budget development over the next few months.  Dr. Hochman noted that the public engagement process in budget development will begin immediately as the community works together to define our mission.

 

C.  ACE Discussion

Catherine Sanderson, parent, distributed a handout from the ACE group which outlines their three priorities for the Amherst Schools.  Along with ACE members Peter Siegelman, Janet Kannel, Michele Chandler and Nate Whitaker, Ms. Sanderson read and reviewed the document.  Ms. Sanderson stated that the intention of the group is to start a dialogue regarding the issues they have raised.  Mr. Churchill expressed appreciation for the document.  Joel Wolf, parent, stated that the frustration parents’ feel is due to the disconnect between what the School Committee says and what parents and students experience.  Dr. Hochman stated that he will provide a response to the three points raised by ACE at the January 8th School Committee meeting.  He also noted that he plans to begin a community engagement process to establish a mission statement for the districts.  Ms. Brighty stated that among other things, this is a budget issue.  After extensive discussion, Dr. Hochman closed this portion of the agenda with comments about public education.  He pledged again to respond to the points made in the ACE document and to engage in a public discourse that will include some difficult conversations. Dr. Hochman stated that all conversations should focus on the positive and looking forward to the future.

 

C.  Policies

This agenda item was tabled.

 

5.  New Business

A.  Accept Gifts

The School Committee voted unanimously to accept $1,130 in donations for the Larry Crouse Memorial Scholarship and a $25 donation to the Ronald Shepard Memorial Scholarship.

 

B.  Other

Dr. Hochman distributed a memo from Kathryn Mazur, Director of Human Resources, to the Amherst-Pelham Administrators Association (APAA) regarding a possible reduction in force.  He noted that it is a requirement of the APAA that the School Committee receive this report annually.

 

6.  Reports

 

7.  Sub-Committee Reports

There were no sub-committee reports.

 

8.  School Committee Planning

There was no school committee planning.

 

9.  Adjournment

The School Committee voted unanimously to adjourn at approximately 9:40 p.m.                                              

 

Respectfully submitted,

            Wendy Kohler, Executive Director for Program Development and Curriculum

 

Approved 1/22/08