Regular Meeting of the Regional School Committee

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 7:00 p.m.

High School Library

 

Present:            Elaine Brighty, Chair                                Jere Hochman, Superintendent

                        Maureen Ecclestone (left at 9:41)             Rob Detweiler, Director of Finance & Operations

                        Marianne Jorgensen                                 Wendy Kohler, Exec. Dir. of Program Dev.

                        Sonia Correa-Pope (left at 9:42)              Mike Hayes, Middle School Principal

                        Michael Hussin                                        Public

                        Kathleen Anderson (arrived at 7:11)        Press

                        Gabriella Booth (arrived at 7:13)              Debbie Westmoreland, Recorder

                        Michael Katz (arrived at 7:14)                

                        Andy Churchill (arrived at 7:14)

                        Chrystel Romero (arrived at 8:14)

 

1.  Welcome                                                                                                    7:06 p.m. (A)/7:28 p.m. (B)

A. & B.  Call to Order/Agenda Review—Ms. Brighty called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m.  She welcomed everyone to the meeting, reviewed the norms for the meeting, and reviewed the agenda.

C.   Minutes—Ms. Anderson made a motion to approve the minutes of March 11, 2008. Ms. Correa Pope seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

2.  Announcements and Public Comments                                                   7:29 p.m.

Bill Shane, Amherst parent, spoke regarding Constitutional questions. He suggested that the floor for Constitutional questions should be of little concern to Amherst and students should be given more rights regarding the First Amendment than are in the Constitution.  Ross Kiley, representative for the Food Services Union, stated that the school department has dropped its objections to the union.  He noted that on face value the food services vendor awarded the contract tonight sounds like a fantastic company, but his understanding is that the goal is to save $150,000 and the contract being awarded is for a break-even budget.  He asked what happened to the $150,000.  Mr. Detweiler explained that the $150,000 was an estimated savings. The estimate was based on health insurance costs which appear in the General Fund, and salary costs which appear in the Food Service Fund.  They chose to go with a vendor that pays higher wages because, in balance, it is fairer to everyone. The goal is to have the Food Service Fund break even and to realize significant savings in the General Fund.  Ms. Brighty noted that these are questions that the school committee and the business office have to deal with over time. She noted that even with the current contractor we have been running in a deficit. Dr. Hochman stated that the School Committee has heard every word that has been said regarding the food services issue, and they have been walking a fine line between how much they truly care about the employees who have been here for a very long time and their responsibility to watch the bottom line. He believes the School Committee has done a noble job in a no-win situation.  Ms. Brighty stated that at no time was the district or school committee fighting the cafeteria workers right to unionize.  They were simply making certain that the details regarding three separate district employers were handled legally.

 

3.  Superintendent’s Update                                                                         7:33 p.m.

Legislative Action Committee—Dr. Hochman reviewed the changes that were made in the Legislative Action Statement after the School Committee reviewed it at their last meeting.  Ms. Jorgensen made a motion to endorse the Legislative Action Statement on state funding.  Mr. Hussin seconded and the motion passed unanimously.  Ms. Brighty asked Dr. Hochman to convey the committee’s thanks to the Legislative Action Committee for their work on this statement.

 

ARHS Students’ Success—Dr. Hochman reported on the success of 71 ARHS students who competed in two math competitions: the 44th Annual Massachusetts Mathematics Olympiad Level I competition and the American Mathematics Competitions.  He also reported that the ARHS JETS Team was the first ever High School team to be featured in The Pre-Engineering Times, a new publication of JETS, in recognition of the school’s 20 years of participating in JETS competitions.

 

Dr. Hochman noted that Dr. Kenneth Talan will be at Amherst Regional Middle School tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. to make a presentation entitled “Help Your Child or Teen Get Back on Track.”  Parents and community members are encouraged to attend the free event.

 

4.  Unfinished/Continuing Business                                                              8:27 p.m.

 

A.  School Choice Vote—Dr. Hochman reviewed the recommendation for the Regional schools’ participation in School Choice in the 2008-2009 school year.  Ms. Ecclestone made a motion that the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District remain a school choice district for the 2008-2009 school year, opening 5 seats in grade 7, 5 seats in grade 9, 2 seats in grade 10 and 1 seat in grade 11. Ms. Correa Pope seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

B.  FY09 Budget—Mr. Detweiler distributed the FY09 Proposed Budget for the Amherst Regional School District.  Dr. Hochman noted that there are only two changes from the Executive Level budget previously submitted to the school committee.  The town has reduced the recommended percentage increase for health insurance to only 6%.  As a result of that change, Dr. Hochman can now recommend adding 7.4 FTE teachers to the high school, which is an increase over the recommendation in the Executive Level budget.  Mr. Churchill made a motion to approve the FY2009 proposed budget in the amount of $28,587,639.00.  Ms. Jorgensen seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

C.  Regional Agreement Vote—Ms. Jorgensen distributed and reviewed a summary of the work of the Regional Agreement Sub-Committee.  She also reviewed the recommendations of the committee, which include increasing the E & D cap to 5% and moving elementary transportation costs from the Region to the elementary schools.  Ms. Brighty noted that the Regional School Committee and all four towns must approve the amendments before the Regional Agreement can be amended.  After brief discussion, Ms. Anderson made a motion to amend section X of the Regional Agreement related to transportation, as referenced (attached). Ms. Romero seconded and the motion passed unanimously.  Ms. Ecclestone made a motion to amend Section VI of the Regional Agreement, as referenced (attached). Mr. Churchill seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

D.  Town Meeting Warrant Language—Mr. Detweiler distributed and reviewed the proposed warrant language that will go to all towns, including the specific language that will go before each town.  The first warrant item is to use the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District Regional Agreement as the alternative assessment method. Ms. Jorgensen made a motion to approve use of the Amherst-Pelham Regional Agreement as the alternative assessment method. Ms. Romero seconded and the motion passed unanimously.  The other warrants include approval of the amendments to the Regional Agreement, articles to approve the Regional budget by each of the four towns, an article to fund the FY09 Amherst School budget, an article to fund the FY09 Pelham School budget, and an article to make Medicaid reimbursements available to Pelham School. 

 

5.  New Business                                                                                7:10 p.m. (added)/ 9:08 (A-B)

Food Service Vendor Award Recommendation—Mr. Detweiler distributed a memo outlining the recommendation of the Food Services Sub-Committee for awarding a new food service management contract.  He reviewed the process that was followed in developing the RFP and deciding which management company to recommend to the School Committee.  Mr. Detweiler reported that two vendors submitted RFPs, and it is his recommendation that the contract be awarded to Whitson’s Food Services, with a one year contract, renewable automatically on a yearly basis for four years.  Ms. Brighty introduced members of the sub-committee who were in attendance including Mindy Sauner, her daughter Jasmine, Deb Leonard, Diana Spurgin, Marianne Jorgensen, and Rob Detweiler.  She also noted that Joan Chamberland, Susan Waite and Jean Swinney served on the committee but could not attend the meeting tonight. Ms. Brighty stated that the Food Services Sub-Committee enthusiastically recommends Whitson’s and she thanked the committee for their many hours of hard work. Ms. Anderson asked if the food selection in the vending machines will change with the new contractor.  Mr. Detweiler stated that they have not gotten to that level of detail at this point. Ms. Brighty pointed out that the RFP did include language regarding snack foods and ala carte choices.  Ms. Brighty also noted that one of the impressive things about Whitson’s was their attitude regarding staff, especially line staff, and their emphasis on making sure all staff members are part of the team. Ms. Jorgensen made a motion to approve Whitson’s as the food services vendor.  Mr. Hussin asked about Whitson’s commitment to honor the school committee’s requirements for employing current district employees.  Ms. Brighty reported that the RFP included the requirement that all employees be hired by the vendor at an equal or higher-level position.  In addition, Whitson’s has stated that they will pay the current salary or higher.  After brief discussion, the motion passed unanimously.  Dr. Hochman then distributed a press release regarding the contract award.  He noted that Kathryn Mazur will be meeting with food service employees tomorrow to update them on the decision, and representatives of Whitson’s will be asked to meet with the employees as soon as possible.

 

A.  Policies

600.05 Instruction: Academic Challenge and Differentiation—Dr. Hochman noted that this policy has been looked at a few times. He read and reviewed the current draft of the policy, noting that he wants to be certain that it reflects the school committee’s beliefs.  Ms. Ecclestone stated that the second paragraph is written as a statement rather than policy.  She also noted that the first paragraph needs a statement about meeting state mandates in addition to the “needs, interests and talents of students.”  Ms. Romero stated that she would like the policy to include the concept of students feeling “safe” to take a risk in the process of learning.  Ms. Anderson expressed concern that the idea that some students are academically gifted and need challenge is conflated with privilege.  She wants to ensure that academic challenge really applies to all students.  After further discussion, Dr. Hochman noted that the policy will be revised and brought back for another reading.   

 

600.08 Instruction: Homework—Dr. Kohler reviewed the changes that have been made to the original policy. Ms. Ecclestone suggested two minor wording changes. Ms. Anderson suggested that this policy include differentiation. This policy will be brought back for a second reading and approval.

 

600.13 Instruction: Controversial Issues in School—This policy was tabled.

 

B.  Accept Gifts Totaling $1,571.93 form Regional Schools—Ms. Anderson made a motion to accept the gifts to the Regional Schools totaling $1,571.93. Ms. Romero seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

6.  Reports                                                                                          7:45 p.m. (A)/9:45 p.m.

A.  Response to Mathematics Recommendations—Dr. Hochman noted that Wendy Kohler and Mike Hayes are in attendance to report on the results of the districts’ K-12 mathematics program evaluation, to present a timeline of the work, and to report on action steps being taken based on the program review.  Mr. Hayes gave a brief synopsis of the work done in reviewing the mathematics program, which included surveys of students, parents, faculty and administrators at both the elementary and secondary level.  Dr. Hochman then reviewed his plan for three major categories of action steps based on the committee’s recommendations.  These include development of a Mathematics Curriculum Council, which will include teacher leaders, college and University professors, parents, students, and administrators; establishing a Mathematics Curriculum and Instruction Committee; and developing a comprehensive Mathematics Professional Development Plan.  Dr. Kohler distributed and reviewed a timeline for work on the action steps, including those that are already underway and those planned for the near future.   Lise Halpern, Middle School parent, asked if the work will look at benchmarks other than MCAS.  Dr. Kohler said that the benchmarks have already been set and include much more than MCAS. Ms. Anderson stated that a group of educators have put in a significant amount of time working on the social justice commitment and asked how the math program review incorporates that social justice commitment.  Mr. Hayes noted that participation in High School honors courses and MCAS data show that there is still work to be done in closing the achievement gap.  Ms. Anderson asked how the work of people of color will be introduced in the daily math curriculum and where this program is going in terms of the social justice commitment.  Dr. Hochman explained that our social justice commitment comes in three categories: adult work, student work, and achievement.  He stated that one of the things the Mathematics Curriculum and Instruction Committee is charged to do is to look at the K-12 written curriculum to determine where concepts should be taught, including the social justice concepts.  He noted that seeing success in student achievement is another component of the social justice commitment.  Ms. Correa Pope stated that she encourages the group to make sure that we work very heavily at the elementary level to make sure all students know that they can achieve at a high level in Middle School and High School.  Mr. Churchill asked about the sequencing of professional development, textbook selection, and curriculum revisions.  He asked if there is concern about selecting a textbook before all curriculum revisions are complete.  Dr. Hochman stated that it is a risk but he believes strongly that we need to go full speed ahead to see if there is enough alignment to select a textbook at this stage.  He feels a sense of urgency because questions about the textbook have been consistently brought forward by parents.  Ms. Anderson asked what may have been drawn from Bob Moses’ Algebra Project for the mathematics planning. Mr. Hayes said that one of the questions that has come up consistently throughout the review process is whether we will require algebra in eighth grade for all students.  He stated that he believes it will be part of the work of the Mathematics Curriculum Council to make that recommendation.  Ms. Brighty thanked the Mathematics Program Review Committee for their work.

 

7.  Sub-Committee Reports                                                               None

 

8.  School Committee Planning                                                          None

 

9.  Adjournment                                                                                  9:45 p.m.

The Regional meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m. 

 

                                                                        Respectfully submitted,

                                                                        Debbie Westmoreland

 

Approved 4/8/08