Meeting Minutes of November 14, 2006

Regular Meeting of the AMHERSTSchool Committee

Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 7:00 p.m.

High School Library

 

Present:            Andy Churchill, Chair                               Jere Hochman, Superintendent

Tom Flittie (left at 7:52 p.m.)                     Susan Kennedy Marx, CF Asst. Principal

Elaine Brighty                                          Russ Vernon-Jones, FR Principal

Sonia Correa Pope                                   Rebecca Trietley, Food Services Director

Alisa Brewer (arrived at 7:17 p.m./            Mark Prince, WW Principal

left at 8:23 p.m.)                                       Nick Yaffe, MM Principal

Public

Press

Debbie Westmoreland, Recorder        

 

1.  Welcome                                                                                        7:00 p.m.

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

C.   Minutes—Mr. Flittie made a motion to approve the minutes of October 17, 2006.  Ms. Brighty seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

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

James McCudden, Crocker Farm School Governance
Council member, announced that they are organizing a forum at Crocker
Farm on November 29^th
at 7:00 p.m. to discuss MCAS issues.  It will serve as an informational
forum to help parents understand the AYP issues.  He stated that the
Superintendent and school committee members are invited. 

 

3.  Superintendent’s Update                                                              7:07 p.m.

Dr. Hochman reported on the events that took place at the High School on Thursday, November 9^th related
to information received about a student possibly bringing a weapon to
school.  He recapped the entire chain of events, noting that the
Amherst police and school administrators were very comfortable opening
school on Thursday based on the investigation that occurred on
Wednesday night. Mr. Churchill asked about the tabletop simulations
that the schools have been participating in.  Dr. Hochman explained
that the district office and each school has established a Crisis
Response Team (CRT).  Administrators, faculty and CRT members have been
participating in tabletops during the last two years. 

 

Mr. Churchill noted that Wildwood and FortRiver
are due for upgrades, which is included on the JCPC agenda.  In order
to proceed, the Town Moderator had to nominate a building committee.
The Moderator has reported that the Committee will be set by
Thanksgiving.  Dr. Hochman reported that the process for going forward
with building projects has changed over the past year.  He explained
that it is now required that the Building Committee write a narrative
regarding the project needs to be submitted to the Massachusetts
Building Authority by July 1^st. 
The Authority then reviews all narratives and prioritizes the projects
for reimbursement.  Ron Bohonowicz, Director of Facilities, will be
facilitating these projects.  Dr. Hochman noted that the Governor has
decided to cut the FY07 state budget.  There is one grant-funded
project in the district that may be affected by this cut.  Once the
full impact of potential cuts is determined, he may be asking for a
letter writing/phone call campaign.  

 

4.  Unfinished/Continuing Business                                                   7:42 p.m.

A.  Policies for Approval—Mr. Flittie made a motion to approve the following policies as a block: 

• Policy 110.07 Additional Guideline—Minor Changes to Policy
• Policy 110.13 School Committee Communication with Staff
• Policy 110.17 School Committee Electronic Communication
• Policy 400.14 Non-Custodial Parent’s Rights
• Policy 410.03  Enrollment: School Admissions
• Policy 410.04 Non–Resident Students
• Policy 410.17 Hazing
• Policy 410.19 Student-to-Student Harassment
• Policy 420.05 Interrogation and Searches

Ms. Correa Pope seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

A.  Policy for First Read—

410.02 Enrollment Attendance Age—Ms.
Brighty reviewed the changes made to this policy, noting that the new
wording is intended to make the kindergarten/first grade enrollment
ages more clear.  Ms. Brewer asked if parents are given consistent
answers regarding first grade enrollment at each of the schools.  Dr.
Hochman stated that the principals discuss issues on a regular basis to
ensure consistency, and this will be included in an upcoming
discussion.  This policy will be brought before the committee again at
their December meeting.

 

5.  New Business                                                                                7:52 p.m.

A. Hampshire Educational Collaborative—Dr.
Hochman reviewed his recommendation regarding withdrawal from Hampshire
Educational Collaborative, which was discussed in-depth at the Regional
School Committee meeting on November 7^th.  He noted that
there is a joint meeting of the HEC Steering Committee and the
Governance Committee regarding the restructuring of dues, which he and
Mr. Churchill will attend. He noted that unless there is a substantial
change in the dues, he will continue to recommend withdrawal from HEC.
Ms. Brighty 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.  Ms. Brewer seconded and
the motion passed unanimously. 

 

B. Budget Timeline—Dr. Hochman briefly
reviewed the timeline for FY08 budget planning meetings for the Amherst
School Committee.  Ms. Brighty reported that the timeline calendar from
the Amherst Budget Coordinating Group, along with the charge to the
committee and Finance Committee guidelines (1% increase) have been
posted on the Town of Amherst website.  She noted that BCG
representatives have been asked to bring comments from their respective
boards back to the BCG meeting.  Mr. Churchill noted that costs such as
health care and energy are higher than the budget increase level being
recommended by the Finance Committee so something is going to have to
give.  He noted that factors such as having a new governor will have to
be taken into consideration.  Ms. Brewer stated that she hopes that a
final decision about whether to request an override will be made as
soon as possible so it can be pulled together in the most efficient
way.  Ms. Brighty noted that it is important to understand that the BCG
is discussing various sources of revenue, not just the pros and cons of
an override. 

 

C.  ACTV Committee Representative—Ms.
Brighty noted that the ACTV contract requires that a school committee
representative serve as one of the ACTV board members.  She reported
that Vladimir Morales has volunteered to serve in that capacity for one
year if the school committee agrees.  Ms. Brewer asked what the
expectations will be for Mr. Morales to report back to the committee. 
After discussion, it was decided that Mr. Churchill will discuss the
issue with Mr. Morales to agree upon guidelines and reporting
expectations for his volunteer work on behalf of the committee.   Ms.
Brighty made a motion to appoint Vladimir Morales to serve as the
Amherst School Committee representative to the ACTV Board.  Ms. Correa
Pope seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

D. AYP— Dr. Hochman reported on the
district AYP/MCAS data that was presented in the School Committee
agenda packet, reviewing particularly the sub-groups in which the
Amherst District did not make AYP.  Dr. Hochman then distributed and
reviewed an MCAS Improvement Planning abstract draft.  Mr. Churchill
asked how teachers and principals can fit the analytic data analysis
into their already busy weeks.  Dr. Hochman stated that half of the
upcoming curriculum day will be devoted to data analysis, but there are
not many opportunities for this work.  He noted that finding time is a
real issue.  Mr. Rodgers, Crocker Farm School Governance Council
member, stated that Crocker Farm is in a different situation since it
did not make AYP for two years.  He noted that the School Governance
Council is concerned about what happens to a school that continues not
to make AYP if the state becomes involved.  Mr. Rodgers then presented
a packet of information to Mr. Churchill to be shared with the
committee.  Ms. Bertrand, Crocker Farm School Governance Council
member, stated that the SGC hopes the school committee sees them as
partners in this work at Crocker Farm.  Mr. Rodgers stated that the SGC
sees the forum they are presenting as a way to be proactive in getting
information out to parents in a positive way.  Ms. Correa Pope asked if
the Crocker Farm community has considered having Saturday academies to
work with students to become more comfortable with MCAS.  Dr. Hochman
said the idea has come up as a recommendation along with some other
measures, but there has not yet been formal discussion about
implementing Saturday academies.  Mr. Vernon-Jones noted that at
FortRiver analysis of data is done by splitting tasks up among various
people, including classroom teachers, support teachers, the
Vice-Principal and himself.  Even so, he stated that there is not
really enough time to do the analysis and orchestrate appropriate
responses to the data.  Mr. Churchill stated that the School Committee
is looking forward to the Crocker Farm forum and that they appreciate
the School Governance Council’s initiative in this issue. 

 

6.  Reports                                                                                          7:28 p.m.

A.  Food Services—Dr. Hochman
introduced Rebecca Trietley, Director of Food Services.  Ms. Trietley
noted that she presented a full food service report at the last
Regional School Committee meeting.  She then reviewed the portions of
the report that are specific to the elementary schools.  Mr. Flittie
asked if all trans fats are out of foods at the elementary schools. Ms.
Trietley said that Chartwells is moving toward eliminating them
completely, but there are still some trans fats in the elementary
schools.  She noted that the law requires less than 10% trans fat and
all meals do fall within those guidelines.  Mr. Flittie asked about the
status of the Wellness Committee.  Ms. Trietley stated that she will be
working with Dr. Hochman to establish the committee and hopes to have
it underway in the near future.  Ms. Brighty noted that the lunch
numbers are staying pretty steady and asked if they are where Ms.
Trietley would expect them to be.  Ms. Trietley said that she would
like to see the numbers increase but she believes that some students
choose not to stand in line to purchase lunch because they have a very
short time period for lunch.  Mr. Churchill asked if the lunch prices
can be raised and when they were last increased.  Ms. Trietley stated
that the rates can be increased at any time; however, she does not know
when they were last increased.  The rate has been $2.00 for students
since Chartwells contracted with the district.

 

7.  School Committee Planning                                                          9:12 p.m.

A.  Sub-Committee Reports—None

B.  Calendar Review—Executive Session at 6:30 p.m. on November 24^th.

C.  Items for Upcoming Meetings

 

8.  Adjournment                                                                                  9:14 p.m.

Ms. Brighty made a motion to adjourn at 9:14 p.m.  Ms. Correa Pope seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie Westmoreland

 

Approved 12/12/06