Regular Meeting of the Amherst-Regional School Committee
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 6:30 p.m.
High School Library
Present: Elaine Brighty, Chair Jere Hochman, Superintendent
Tom Flittie Rob Detweiler, Dir. of Finance/Operations
Marianne Jorgensen Kathy Mazur, Dir. of Human Resources
Michael Hussin Wendy Kohler, Exec. Dir. of Prog. Dev.
Maureen Ecclestone Mark Jackson, High School Principal
Michael Katz Bill Werhli, High School Asst. Principal
Sok Kiming Chham (left at 8:40 p.m.) Debbie Westmoreland, Recorder
Andy Churchill (arrived at 9:20 p.m.) Public
Press
Absent: Andy Churchill, Alisa Brewer, Sonia Correa Pope
1. Welcome 7:09 p.m.
A. & B. Call to Order/Agenda Review—Ms. Brighty called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. She then reviewed the agenda and welcomed everyone to the meeting.
C. Minutes—Mr. Katz made a motion to approve the minutes of January 9, 2007. Ms. Jorgensen seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
2. Announcements and Public Comments 7:11 p.m.
There were no announcements or public comments.
3. Superintendent’s Update 7:12 p.m.
Dr. Hochman reported that he submitted the districts’ AYP Improvement Plan to the Department of Education last week. Copies will be sent to the School Committee. Ms. Brighty noted that Mr. Churchill attended the MS Partners in Math night and reported that it went very well and parents were given an opportunity to share their input.
4. Unfinished/Continuing Business 7:15 p.m. for B/9:32 p.m. for A
A. Policy 400.04 Students: Student Records—Ms. Brighty reviewed this policy which was presented for first read. Mr. Flittie asked if parents are notified when student’s records are given to other agencies. Ms. Brighty said parents are notified and that information is included in all school handbooks. This policy will be brought back at the next meeting.
B. Budget Meeting #3
Dr. Hochman noted that he has held budget meetings for all faculty, staff and community members throughout the month of January in order to get input regarding the FY08 budget. He then reviewed the guiding principles that the district is following in building the budget. Mr. Detweiler then distributed and reviewed an outline of the budget figures based on revenue and expense assumptions for FY08. He noted that to meet the Finance Committee guideline of a 1% increase, the base budget will require cuts of $1.4 million.
Update on Budget Assumptions/School Choice—Dr. Hochman distributed and reviewed the Regional portions of an updated version of the Meeting 2: Assumptions document, noting that it will be updated routinely as information regarding the FY08 budget is clarified. He noted that the detailed list of cuts will be finalized within a week to 10 days. In reviewing the issue of School Choice, Mr. Werhli reported that he believes that the High School can maintain the same number of choice students in FY08 as there are this year. That would mean opening 12 new choice slots for FY08. Dr. Hochman noted that there is no recommendation at this time regarding School Choice at the Middle School because Mr. Hayes and Ms. Ziperstein are still reviewing the configuration of teams and potential effects on class sizes if choice students are added. Ms. Jorgensen said she wants to make it clear that the district is accepting choice students because we need the revenue, not because of a need to fill classes. For example, the district is not taking exchange students because we do not receive revenue to support those students.
Course Proposals—Dr. Hochman asked Mr. Werhli and Mr. Jackson to review the new course proposals for the High School. Mr. Werhli reviewed the two new course proposals that were included in the School Committee agenda packet: Chinese AP and MSAN Leadership Seminar. He noted that the MSAN course is currently being offered through grant funding from the Commonwealth Corporation. The reason the proposal is included is so the course can continue if grant funding ends. Jackie Wolf, community member, asked how students are selected for this course and what grade level of students can participate. Mr. Werhli noted that it is mostly juniors and seniors since part of the course is working with younger students. Currently, students participating in the seminar are those who have participated in the MSAN student council. The goal is to add the course to the Program of Studies so any student can choose it. The course proposals will be brought back to the School Committee for a vote at the next Regional meeting. Mr. Werhli then reviewed the proposal to modify the requirements for PE and Health. He noted that one of the reasons for changing the requirement is to ease the scheduling constraints that the current PE and health requirement creates. PE would become an elective choice at the junior and senior level rather than a requirement. Ms. Jorgensen said she does not understand how this proposed change will save money or make it easier for students to take other elective courses. She feels decreasing the requirement for PE is the wrong thing to do with the current issues this country faces with regard to health and wellness. Mr. Werhli noted that one way to ensure that students might continue to take PE is to look at existing PE classes to determine how to frame them as attractive elective courses. Mr. Werhli pointed out that there were no cuts at all in PE last year because of graduation requirements. Ms. Brighty noted that the impact of the budget cuts will be students having two required study halls instead of one. Ms. Ecclestone asked if the HS is considering exempting JV and Varsity athletes from the PE requirement in order to reduce class sizes. Mr. Werhli said he can look into that possibility to see how classes would be affected by such a change. Ms. Brighty stated that it is critical for people to understand that having students sitting in study halls is the effect of these cuts. Reverend Clyde Talley, community member, stated that he would err on the side of caution in changing the PE requirements because part of having a good education is having an opportunity to get exercise. PE classes also help students learn teamwork and cooperation. Reverend Talley also suggested that corporate sponsorship be looked into in the area of technology. Ms. Brighty noted that she feels sure Ms. Jorgensen spoke for the entire committee in expressing her concern about cutting the PE requirement.
Senior Option Proposal—Mr. Jackson explained the senior option proposal which was included in the School Committee agenda packet, noting it is an effort to build on something that is already in place for a small number of students each year. He stated that there are a number of ways in which students’ talents can be tapped into, for example allowing Seniors to work as TAs with particular students or teachers. The program would be overseen by two people in grant-funded positions so there would be no cost associated with implementing it. Ms. Brighty asked if this would be a move toward a community service requirement or if it would be voluntary. Mr. Jackson said it would definitely be voluntary. Ms. Brighty asked Ms. Chham her opinion of this proposal as a student. Ms. Chham stated that she has worked as a tutor throughout her four years of High School and found it very rewarding. She said she has no problem with this proposal. Ms. Jorgensen asked if students will be required to complete a report on their experience at the end of the trimester. Mr. Werhli stated that the reality is that the district is looking for ways to give students meaningful experiences that cost less than offering a class. The program would not have the same level of requirements as a community service class. Lee Larcheveque, HS teacher, stated that he has worked with ALPs students every year. It’s a wonderful experience and he encouraged the School Committee to support this experience.
Russian—Dr. Hochman asked if the School Committee is still in support of requiring a minimum enrollment of 15 rather than 10 in order to offer elective courses. Ms. Brighty stated that while the committee would like to support the lower requirement, budget constraints will not allow it. Mr. Werhli then reviewed the enrollments in the Russian program. The proposal would be to have no Middle School Russian classes and an intermediate and advanced class in the High School for 07-08. Three students who have completed advanced classes will need to take a college class. Ms. Jorgensen asked if students are required to pay to attend classes at AmherstCollege or UMass. Mr. Werhli explained that students are required to pay for any classes at UMass. AmherstCollege provides AmherstHigh School with 15 total slots per semester for which students can apply. Mr. Werhli said he wants to be clear that, with the exception of Russian, enrollments in world language classes are very solid.
5. New Business 9:17 p.m.
A. District Calendar Drafts—Dr. Hochman noted that the calendar drafts presented are based on the trimester schedule and the vacation schedules the committee is used to seeing. APEA and district administrators are currently reviewing the calendar and providing input. Dr. Hochman noted, however, that district administrators are also looking at the calendar for creative ways in which the calendar might be tweaked to realize budgetary savings. For example, the proposed calendar has students returning from the winter holiday break on Wednesday, January 2nd. Research is being done to see if there would be significant energy savings if the schools were closed for a full two week break and students returned to school on January 7th. Other areas are also being looked at such as whether there should be a March break that coincides with the local colleges. Mr. Hussin asked when the School Committee needs to vote on the calendar. Dr. Hochman said it could be brought back for a vote at one of the February meetings. Mr. Hussin asked if a major shift such as having a March break instead of February and April would be planned for 2007-2008. Dr. Hochman said that a change such as that would require a great deal of input from faculty and community that could not be adequately gathered in time for the School Committee to vote on next year’s calendar. That type of change would be researched now for possible implementation in 2008-2009.
6. Reports 8:28 p.m.
A. Human Resources Update and Affirmative Action Report—Dr. Hochman noted that every district department has made a presentation about their work over the past three months. He introduced Kathryn Mazur, Human Resources Director, who made a brief report on the current work of the Human Resources department, which includes implementation of the Kronos software and the mandated collection of EPIMS data. The report also includes break-downs of students and staff in regular and special programs. Ms. Brighty thanked Ms. Mazur, noting that she appreciates the new ways in which the data has been broken down. Mr. Flittie asked what CORI checks cost the district each year. Ms. Mazur said the state CORI check is free. The national checks cost $55 per person. Ms. Brighty asked if the number of substitutes this year represents a dramatic increase over past years. Ms. Mazur stated that she has not carefully tracked substitute use by building; however, the principals all closely monitor the use of substitutes in their buildings. Ms. Mazur then briefly reviewed the data included in the Affirmative Action report. She noted that the 63 federal race categories have been collapsed into eight categories for the purposes of this report. Ms. Ecclestone stated that she fears that some of the deep budget cuts will cause the districts to lose some of the faculty or staff of color that we have worked so hard to attract. Dr. Hochman stated that there are some impediments that the district must find a way to overcome in meeting our affirmative action goals. One challenge is that local teachers who might be recruited from surrounding districts are reluctant to give up tenured positions to come to Amherst when they see two years of drastic budget cuts. They see there is a danger of losing their job to budget cuts in the future. In addition, the number of candidates of color graduating from the UMass Education program in the past year was in the single digits, so competition to woo those candidates is fierce. Ms. Brighty thanked Ms. Mazur for the report, noting that it is much more thorough than the affirmative action reports the School Committee received in past years. Joanne James, Amherst resident, stated that there seems to be a big difference in the percentage of teachers of color between the buildings. She asked why the data would be so different. Dr. Hochman stated that the number of vacancies each school has to fill based on retirements or attrition impacts the principal’s ability to work on increasing their staff of color. Jackie Wolf said she wondered how many of the teachers of color who have been hired are being lost. She stated she believes it should be taken as an assignment to do an exit interview with every person who leaves the district to determine why they are leaving. Ms. Mazur stated said that there were 26 staff of color who left last year, including 6 teachers, 17 paras, 2 clerical and one custodial. Of those, she knows that nine moved out of state, one moved to Boston, one was a temporary assignment, and two retired. Ms. Mazur noted that one of the Human Resources staff members has developed the unique idea of inviting pre-practicum students to Amherst as is outlined in the affirmative action report. Mr. Hussin asked what possibilities exist with regard to doing exit interviews. Ms. Mazur said that it might be manageable for the human resources staff to do exit interviews with only the staff of color. She distributed a sample of the exit interview form that all departing staff members are asked to complete voluntarily. Ms. Mazur noted that, of the forms returned in the past year, the two words most commonly circled as best describing the district were “friendly” and “supportive.”
B. Program Development Report—Dr. Hochman introduced Wendy Kohler, Executive Director of Program Development, noting that her report on the Program Development office will round out all of the district department reports. Dr. Kohler briefly reviewed the major tasks and accomplishments currently handled through her department. Mr. Katz asked about the grants that are decreasing for FY08. Dr. Kohler said that the decrease in grant funds is a trend that has been ongoing for several years.
7. Sub-Committee Reports None
8. School Committee Planning 9:34 p.m.
A. Calendar Review—January 30 Town Budget Forum; February 1 Save our Schools Rally sponsored by parents; School walk-throughs in February
B. Items for Upcoming Meetings
9. Adjournment 9:37 p.m.
By roll call vote at 9:37 p.m., the committee voted to enter executive session for the purpose of contract negotiations. Ms. Brighty noted that they will not return to open session.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Westmoreland
Approved 2/6/07