Regular Meeting of the RegionalSchool Committee
Tuesday, November 7, 2006, 7:00 p.m.
High School Library
Present: Elaine Brighty, Chair Jere Hochman, Superintendent
Tom Flittie Rob Detweiler, Dir. of Finance & Oper.
Andy Churchill Rebecca Trietley, Dir. of Food Services
Maureen Ecclestone (arrived at 7:18 p.m.) Alvin Morton, SS Administrator
Alisa Brewer (arrived at 7:07 p.m.) Jeanne White, SS Administrator
Sonia Correa Pope David Slovin, SS Administrator
Michael Hussin JoAnn Smith, SS Administrator
Maria Geryk, PPS Director
Margaret Collins, HEC
Cecelia Buckley, HEC
Tracy Farnham, PelhamSchool Committee
Press
Debbie Westmoreland, Recorder
Absent: Michael Katz, Marianne Jorgensen
1. Welcome 7:04 p.m.
A. & B. Call to Order/Agenda Review—Ms. Brighty called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. She then reviewed the agenda and welcomed everyone to the meeting.
C. Minutes—Mr. Hussin made a motion to approve the minutes of October 24, 2006 . Mr. Churchill seconded and the motion passed with two abstaining. Mr. Churchill made a motion to approve the minutes of October 30. Mr. Flittie seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
2. Announcements and Public Comments None
3. Superintendent’s Update None
4. Unfinished/Continuing Business 7:10 p.m. (B)/9:27 p.m. (A & C)
A. Policies for Approval—
Policy 410.03 Enrollment: School Admissions—Ms. Brighty reviewed the minor change that was made to this policy based on the last review. Mr. Churchill made a motion to approve this policy. Mr. Hussin seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Policy 410.04 Non –Resident Students—Ms. Brighty reviewed the changes that were made to this policy based on the last review. After some discussion, Mr. Flittie made a motion to approve this policy. Mr. Hussin seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Policy 420.05 Interrogation and Searches —Ms. Brighty reviewed the changes that were made to this policy based on the last review. Mr. Hussin made a motion to approve this policy. Ms. Brewer seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Policies for First Review—
Policy 120.08 Public Complaints about Curriculum and Instructional Material —Mr. Churchill stated that he feels the district needs a policy that implements a clear process for community members to use in lodging complaints or suggestions. He would like to see this and policy 120.09 for personnel complaints broadened to be a way of dealing with and respecting public input rather than just a complaint policy.
Policy 120.09 Public Complaints about Personnel—Ms. Brewer suggested adding the requirement that people cannot speak about particular personnel at school committee open sessions.
Policy 600.04 Curriculum Development and Modification—Ms. Brighty noted that two existing policies have been combined (600.04 and 600.05) to make them one clear policy. Dr. Hochman noted that he will have some suggestions for this policy prior to the next reading.
Policy 600.05 Curriculum Adjustment and Modification—Ms. Brighty noted that this policy needs to be deleted if the combined policy reviewed above is approved.
Policy 420.08 Physical Restraint Policy—Ms. Brighty noted that state law requires a policy on physical restraint and the district has not had one.
B. Budget Timeline—Mr. Detweiler distributed and reviewed the timeline for FY08 budget development for each of the three districts: Amherst, Pelham and Region. The outline includes dates for all School Committee budget presentations. He noted that the timeline is a work in progress and is being refined on an almost daily basis. Dr. Hochman noted that he and Mr. Detweiler have been meeting with Town Manager Larry Shaffer and Town Business Manager John Musante to discuss and define what is meant by level services budget in this year’s process.
C. Adequate Yearly Progress—Dr. Hochman reported briefly on the AYP/MCAS data that was presented in the School Committee agenda packet, reviewing particularly the sub-groups in which the Regional District did not make AYP. He noted that the schools are doing a success plan on every student who did not perform at the proficient level and he will report more at a future meeting. Ms. Brighty noted that the schools as a whole are performing beautifully, and she appreciates that the district will now be looking more closely at the sub-groups.
5. New Business 7:48 p.m./9:27 p.m. (B)
A. Hampshire Educational Collaborative—Dr. Hochman introduced Cecelia Buckley and Margaret Collins from HEC who came to address the School Committee. Ms. Buckley noted that Amherst was a founding member of Hampshire Educational Collaborative 33 years ago so she understands that the decision to possibly withdraw membership is not being made lightly. Ms. Buckley also explained that the Governor’s Board is meeting in November and is planning to drop the member assessment fees significantly and expressed hope that the School Committee will take that into consideration in making a decision. She expressed that the Collaborative has great respect for the financial constraints faced by the district and stated that HEC can provide any data reports the Committee may want in making their decision. Dr. Hochman then reviewed the information he presented to the School Committee in their agenda packet regarding the cost/benefit analysis of membership in HEC. Mr. Churchill asked Ms. Buckley what the Collaborative’s expectation is with regard to a change in the dues structure. She stated that the new structure will be presented on November 15; therefore, she cannot be specific at this time. She said that hypothetically if a member district can provide one or two rooms for special education use they may see no cash payment required to HEC. Ms. Buckley noted that another service of HEC is grant writing. Ms. Brewer made a motion to notify Hampshire Educational Collaborative of the intent to withdraw membership for a two-year period and/or full withdrawal of membership and to include language in the notice requesting an opportunity to reinstate membership pending satisfactory revision of the dues structure. Mr. Flittie seconded. There was brief discussion in which Mr. Churchill noted that this decision saddens him due to the long history with the Collaborative. He expressed the hope that the dues structure will be changed in a way that will allow the district to maintain membership. The motion then passed unanimously. Ms. Brighty turned the floor over to Ms. Ecclestone at 8:10 p.m. to allow the Pelham School Committee to meet and take a vote on the HEC agenda item. Ms. Ecclestone adjourned the Pelham meeting at 8:11 p.m. Ms. Brighty then thanked Ms. Buckley and Ms. Collins for coming.
B. Truck Donation—Ms. Ecclestone made a motion to donate a 1984 GMC truck, VIN#2GTHK34MXE1510735, to the Amherst Fire Department with the understanding that the Amherst-PelhamRegionalSchool District shall be relieved of any responsibility for its condition and therefore held harmless of any future liability in connection to this truck. Mr. Churchill seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
6. Reports 7:16 p.m. (A)/ 8:12 p.m. (B)
A. Food Services Annual Update—Dr. Hochman introduced Rebecca Trietley, Food Services Director, noting that she is presenting an overview of the food services department. Ms. Trietley reviewed information on the Balanced Choice program; USDA nutritional guidelines, USDA government commodities, variety of foods offered, ala carte food offerings, the universal free breakfast program that was established by Chartwells, the point-of-sale system, the percentage of students who receive free or reduced-price lunch, participation statistics, composting and the staffing at the middle school and high school. Ms. Brewer asked if a routine presentation can be made that includes the data charts outlining participation rates. Dr. Hochman said such data can be included in an end-of-year report to the School Committee. Ms. Brewer asked if Ms. Trietley has worked with Nutrition Advisory Committees in the past. She said she has and is working to establish a working committee here to implement components of the Wellness Policy. Mr. Churchill asked if Chartwells is experiencing any financial loss by offering the free breakfast program. Ms. Trietley said that there have not been any losses due to the program because they receive governmental reimbursement for those meals. Mr. Flittie asked if there is a target date for implementation of healthier ala carte choices. Ms. Trietley explained that the goal is to make these changes within two years, while taking financial considerations into account.
Mr. Detweiler then reported on the Chartwells contract and the business model upon which it was premised, noting that this year the district agreed to limit Chartwells’ loss to the management fee only. He noted that the district had to own the economic loss of changing the mix in the vending machines since it was a district decision to make those changes. Mr. Detweiler will provide more specific financial/trend data in the upcoming budget reports.
B. Student Services Annual Update—Dr. Hochman introduced Maria Geryk, Director of Student Services. Ms. Geryk then introduced Student Services administrators Jeanne White, JoAnn Smith, David Slovin and Alvin Morton. She then reviewed the services structure of the department and the types of professional development training the department is offering. Mr. Slovin then reported on the PRISM model for discipline and the district safety manual. Mr. Morton briefly reported on his role in the department, which includes review and revision of forms and policies to ensure consistency across the three districts. He also serves as the compliance administrator for the district, including oversight of 504 plans, home schooling, and school choice. Jeanne White reported on the ELL program, including programming for ELL students. Ms. White noted that the restructuring of the ELL program includes coordinators within the schools who will work with her, including Joan Snowdon at the High School level, Carol Kaneta at the Middle School level and a person yet to be hired at the elementary level. JoAnn Smith reported on the special education data for the current school year. Ms. Ecclestone asked why Mr. Morton thinks the percentage of students on 504 plans in Amherst is so low in comparison to Pelham and the Region. Mr. Morton said that there was no real consistency in the eligibility process across the districts when he came in. He believes that the consistency that is now being implemented, along with the implementation of DECAP, will make those numbers more consistent. After further discussion and clarification of some specific data points, Ms. Brighty thanked Ms. Geryk and the Student Services administrators for their presentation.
7. Sub-Committee Reports 7:05 p.m.
A. Budget Coordinating Group (BCG)—Dr. Hochman reported that the charge of the group is to coordinate the budget planning process for the Amherst town departments, AmherstSchool District and the RegionalSchool District. He noted that the budget calendar is now set. Ms. Brighty stated that most of the budget information that has been set by BCG is now posted on the Town website. Mr. Flittie complimented Mr. Detweiler for setting up the budget calendar that served as the model for the town timeline, as well.
School Committee Planning None
A. Calendar Review
B. Items for Upcoming Meetings
8. Adjournment 10:04 p.m.
Mr. Hussin made a motion to adjourn at 10:04 p.m. Mr. Churchill seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Westmoreland
Approved 11/21/06