Meeting Minutes of October 17, 2006

Regular Meeting of the AmherstSchool Committee

Tuesday, October 17, 2006, 7:00 p.m.

Amherst Regional High School Library

 

Present:          Andy Churchill, Chair                              Jere Hochman, Superintendent

Alisa Brewer                                           Michaela Tarr, Recorder

Elaine Brightly                                          Rob Detweiler

Tom Flittie                                               Mark Prince, Wildwood Principal

                       
Wendy
Kohler, Exec. Dir. of Prog. Development      

Paul Wiley, Crocker Farm Principal

Public

Press            

 

1.         Welcome                                                                                 7:00 p.m.

A. &  B.  Call to Order/Agenda Review—Mr. Churchill called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.  He welcomed everyone and reviewed the agenda.   

C.  Minutes of September 19, 2006—Mr. Churchill made a motion to approve the minutes of September 19^th with one correction.  The motion was approved unanimously.

 

2.  Announcements and Public Comments                                        7:02 p.m.

Mr Churchill asked if there were any public announcements or concerns.  There were none noted.

Dr. Hochman informed the school committee of an
incident in which a Marks Meadow student was confronted by an adult on
his way to school.  There will be information given to parents and
continued monitoring of the situation at the school.

 

3.  Superintendent’s Update                                                              7:03p.m.

A.  Demographic Study—Dr. Hochman
talked about demographics and how they will be applied in the schools
regarding race/ethnicity and free and reduced lunch.  He will present
additional information to the School Committee at a later date.  Mr.
Churchill asked what kinds of agencies would be used to process
demographic information.  Dr Hochman said that New England School
Development Council is a group that offers such services, and noted
that there are other agencies that might be used as well.  Mr.
Churchill asked if this demographic information is to be used for the
upcoming renovation plans to FortRiver and Wildwood.  Dr Hochman noted
that Ron Bohonowicz recently received the necessary information to
begin planning the building committee.  He also stated that other
information, such as household trends, might be useful in plans for the
renovations, but reminded the committee that the amount of money that
has been budgeted is only enough for basic renovations.  Paul Wiley,
Crocker Farm Principal, reported that the Crocker Farm school building
has been given an award recognizing the renovations made to that
school. 

 

B.  HitchcockCenter—Dr. Kohler reported
on the HitchcockCenter grant, which is a collaboration of environmental
studies and education for the elementary schools.  The primary focus of
the grant will be on the sixth grade, and grant money will be used to
pay Hitchcock staff and teachers over the next two years.  Dr. Kohler
noted that she is hoping this will help grow the partnership with the
HitchcockCenter, given the recent funding cuts.

 

C.  FY06 Budget Summary & FY07 Budget Update—Dr.
Hochman reported on the final reconciliation of the FY06 budget.  Mr.
Detweiller presented a summary of unexpected expenses that occurred
during FY06, including the facts that Hurricane Katrina caused a rise
in oil costs, electricity rates increased, and legal fees came out
above budget.  The district responded to these factors by implementing
a hiring freeze, a freeze in non-critical expenses, and a lowering of
heat settings.  As a result, there was a surplus of $13,000 at the end
of FY06.  Ms Brighty spoke of how impressed she was with the work of
Mr. Detweiller in saving money for the district.  Mr. Flittie asked
what the extra legal expenses were.  Mr. Detweiller explained that some
expenses were in Special Education and some in human resources.  Dr.
Hochman noted that it is hard to know how much money will be needed for
legal services, and that he encourages the employees of the human
resources department not talk to lawyers when legal issues arise.  That
is the responsibility of legal council.  Dr. Hochman spoke of using
other resources, such as the DOE or other agencies, whenever possible
in order to reduce the number of times in which legal council must be
consulted.

 

FY07 Update—Mr. Detweiler stated that,
as of last week, payroll is approximately $22,000 less than what was
budgeted, and that money will be put into control accounts to be used
for other needs.  In regards to utilities, he noted that oil prices
have been locked in and will cost the district $14,000 less than
anticipated.  Health insurance costs appear to be lower than before as
well.  Mr. Detweiler noted that Food Services expenses are likely to be
higher than was budgeted, and he anticipates the district will need to
pay Chartwell’s to cap their losses.  Ms Brighty asked about the health
insurance surcharge.  Mr. Detweiller stated that the surcharge has not
been identified as of yet.  Mr. Flittie wondered if these numbers are a
projection of the coming year based on the past month’s results.  Mr.
Detweiler answered yes, that is correct, it is a projection. 

 

D.  Chinese Language Charter School—Dr
Hochman noted that there are three topics to review. The first topic is
the implementation of new facilities fees and whether the district is
charging the right amounts for building use.  He noted that by
following the facilities guidelines strictly, the ChineseLanguageSchool
that meets at the Middle School on Sundays would have had to pay a
large amount to use the facilities, which it is unaccustomed to.  He
noted that the issue has been worked out by bringing the Chinese
Language school back under the district’s umbrella.  The second topic
is regarding a dual language program in the school system and whether
it is feasible to have Spanish and/or Chinese dual language programs. 
The third topic Dr Hochman addressed is the
ChineseLanguageCharterSchool which was proposed by a group of
citizens.  He reviewed the next steps for the Charter School Process
and noted that one concern is losing students to the charter school,
should it receive final approval.  Losing more than 5 or 6 students to
a charter school makes a significant impact on the budget.  Rob Detweil
er then presented information regarding how charter school funding
works. He reported that the district is reimbursed at 100% only for
students who are “new” to a charter school (in their first year
there).  For each year after that the student attends at a charter
school, the state reimburses progressively less money.  Mr. Churchill
wondered if schools could consolidate teachers if students are lost to
the charter school, since not all of the students would be coming out
of the same school.  Mr. Detweiler stated that as the numbers increase
for each school that could be the case. 

 

4.  Reports                                                                                          7:51p.m.

A.  Chinese Language (FLAP) Grant— Dr.
Kohler highlighted the features of the FLAP grant.  She noted that the
first goal of the grant is to introduce foreign language, specifically
Chinese, into WildwoodSchool.  Before the end of the year there would
be a staff person there to design programs at that school, and he or
she will be a part of the Foreign Language Committee.  This program
would be integrated as content in the curriculum.  In the next 3 years
or so, the program would be moved through all the grades at Wildwood. 
Another goal this year is to purchase distance learning equipment for
the High School during the first year of the grant.  Dr. Kohler
explained that David Brule, Foreign Language department head, Wildwood
teachers, GreenfieldCommunity College faculty, community families that
support the project, and administrators in the other elementary schools
will all be participants in this work.  She is hopeful that by the
third year of the grant there will be more understanding in the
elementary schools of other cultures and communities, and all students
will be better informed when deciding which language to study at the
secondary level.  Mark Prince, Wildwood Principal, noted that there are
some aspects of the program that could be implemented tomorrow, while
other parts will take time and training.  Ms Brewer asked whether the
grant funds are enough to take care of all expenses, or whether there
will be additional expenses beyond the grant funds.  Dr. Kohler
responded that she hopes that the grant funds will take care of all
expenses.  Ms. Brewer asked if the district will have to wait until the
end of the grant to know how much the program is going to cost.  Dr.
Kohler answered that there will be an ongoing evaluation of costs
throughout the length of the grant.  Ms. Brighty questioned whether
parents will consider open enrollment to Wildwood once this program is
implemented.  Dr. Hochman replied that he does not want to make
assumptions or presume what will happen in the next few years.  Ms
Brighty asked how this program will fit in the school day.  Dr. Kohler
responded by reporting on a grant proposal that has been submitted for
expanded time in learning.  In the proposal, new ways were proposed to
organize time in the school day.  Dr. Kohler noted that in the third
year, all the elementary schools would be able to use this program, but
noted that Wildwood is the obvious choice since it already has a
Chinese program.  Mr. Prince noted that he has talked to some other
schools regarding what some of the pitfalls of the program might be. 
It was suggested that they begin the pilot program in K or first grade,
and then plan for a roll out to the upper grades.  Ms. Brighty noted
that this is a big curricular change, even though it is a grant, and
that at some point the school committee needs to formally vote to
accept the grant in order to show their support of it.  Mr. Churchill
recommended not taking a vote at this meeting, but including it on a
future agenda.  He encouraged the district to keep pushing for more
languages and for more schools being involved.  He also said he would
like to offer high demand, not just for high need, languages.  Mr.
Churchill thanked Dr. Kohler for her work on the grant and the
presentation. 

 

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

A.  Policies for Approval—Votes were taken on the following policies:

110.07G Additional Guidelines for Making Policies

110.13  School Committee: Staff Communication and School Visits

110.17 School Committees: Email Policy

400.14  Non-Custodial Parents’ Rights

410.17 Hazing

410.19 Student-to-Student Harassment

 

Mr Flittie made a motion to approve these policies as a block.  Ms Brewer seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

B.  Welcome Letter—Ms. Brighty made a motion to approve the welcome letter as written.  Mr Flittie seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

 

6.  New Business                                                                                8:30 p.m.

 

A. Common School Application Approval— 

Dr. Hochman recommended approval of the Common
School application.  Mr. Flittie made a motion to approve the Common
School application for a period of three years.  Ms Brewer seconded and
the motion was approved unanimously. 

 

7.  School Committee Planning                                                          8:32p.m.

A.  Sub-Committee Reports— 

B.  Calendar Review & Items for Upcoming Meetings—Executive session next week at 5:45 p.m. and School Committee Retreat on October 30 from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

 

8.  Adjournment                                                                                  8:38p.m.

Mr. Churchill made a motion to adjourn at 8:38 p.m.  Ms. Brewer seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

Approved 11/14/06                                                      Respectfully Submitted,

Michaela Tarr