Meeting Minutes of March 4, 2008

Regular Meeting of
the Regional School Committee

Tuesday, March 4, 2008 7:00 p.m.

High School Library

 

Present:            Elaine Brighty, Chair                                Jere Hochman,
Superintendent

                        Andy Churchill                                         Rob Detweiler, Director of
Finance & Operations

                        Kathleen Anderson                                  Tim Sheehan, APEA President

                        Chrystel Romero (arrived at 7:10)            Press

                        Michael Hussin (arrived at 7:13)               Public

                        Marianne Jorgensen (arrived at 7:40)       Debbie Westmoreland, Recorder

                        Michael Katz (arrived at
7:47)

                       

Absent:             Sonia Correa-Pope, Maureen
Ecclestone, Gabriella Booth (student representative)

 

1.  Welcome                                                                                                    7:06 p.m.

A. & B.  Call to Order/Agenda Review—Ms. Brighty
called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. without quorum.  She then welcomed everyone to the meeting,
noting that no business requiring a vote will be conducted until quorum is
reached.  Ms. Brighty reviewed the norms
for the meeting and reviewed the agenda.

C.   Minutes—None

 

2.  Announcements and Public Comments                                       
           7:10 p.m.

Ms. Brighty read a statement regarding the cafeteria workers,
noting that they have notified the district that they are looking into joining
a union.  As a result, employment issues
are now part of negotiations and can only be discussed by the School Committee
in Executive Session.  She stated that
the issue has been in discussion for months and was a very painful decision to
make, noting that the School Committee is very grateful for and respectful of
all district employees.  Ms. Brighty then
recognized Ross Kiley, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1959 representative.
Mr. Kiley noted that UFCW is looking into representing the 20 cafeteria workers
employed by the Amherst Schools.  He
thanked the community members who have offered steadfast support and stated
that he wished to make three points. 
First, he requested that any successful RFP proposal mandate that the 20
food service workers be offered positions equivalent to the positions they
currently hold with the town. Second, he asked that the employees’ current
wages, benefits and working conditions be the minimum standard by which they
are offered employment if privatization should occur.  Third, he requested that the “silliness” stop
and that the School Committee begin negotiating a new contract with the 20 cafeteria
workers.  Ms. Brighty recognized Tim
Sheehan, APEA President.  Mr. Sheehan
noted that members of the school community continue to be concerned about the
cafeteria workers and that, at the request of some members, a letter was
circulated under the guise of the APEA. 
Mr. Sheehan read the letter aloud and presented the original to the
school committee, noting that it has more than 200 signatures from employees
and community members.  Mr. Sheehan also
presented the School Committee with copies of letters from students.  David Keenan, parent, stated that the food
service workers are members of the community and long-term employees.  He encouraged the school committee to look to
the future with regard to this issue and to think of a way to resolve the issue
swiftly in honor of these employees. 
Nurah Jaradat, Marks Meadow fourth grade student, read a letter
expressing concern about the food service employees who may lose their
jobs.  She submitted the letter and an
attached student petition to the School Committee.  Lila Feingold, ARHS employee, stated that the
amount estimated to be saved is less than ½% of the entire budget, but it is
the entire livelihood of the cafeteria workers. 
Bob Ackermann, community member, made a narrative of events of recent
months from his point of view. He stated that he believes the only reason
privatization has worked up until now is because the long-term, loyal employees
of the district have put in the extra effort necessary to make it work.  Laura Quinn, parent, stated that she heard
that the principal’s secretary had to run the cash register at Crocker Farm
because a Chartwell’s employee did not show up for work, so these cuts spread
out over other sectors.  Stuart Kinsman, Amherst custodian, stated
that he believes we need to go back to grass roots to save money by doing things
as simple as shutting off more lights. 
Mr. Churchill stated that he felt it was important to respond to the
concerns brought before the School Committee by outlining the process that has
been followed in the course of making the food services decision.  He read a written statement, which also
responded to issues brought up in an Amherst
Bulletin column written by Laura Quinn. 
Donna White, food service employee, noted that most of the employees
affected are not eligible to retire so they do not realize that benefit.  She also stated that they have been affected
by cuts in recent years by having their hours cut.  Ms. Brighty noted that the School Committee
appreciates everyone for coming out and making their views known.  She stated that there will not be a lot of
comment or conversation in public meetings now that this is a union issue
because bargaining issues are discussed in executive session. 

 

3.  Superintendent’s Update                         
                                               7:47
p.m.

Dr. Hochman distributed a number of handouts and updated the
committee on a number of things the district is currently working on.

 

2008-2009 School
Calendar—Dr. Hochman distributed a draft of a proposed 2008-2009 School
Calendar.  He explained that a group of
teachers met with Wendy Kohler to review the proposed calendars and provide
their input.  He then reviewed the
calendar developed by the group for recommendation to the School Committee,
noting particularly that the group agreed unanimously that a pre-Labor Day
start is preferable.  Dr. Hochman
requested that the School Committee consider approving the opening day of
school at tonight’s meeting, and take a vote on the remainder of the calendar
at their next meeting.  After brief
discussion, Mr. Churchill made a motion to approve August 28, 2008 as the first
day of school for the 2008-2009 school year. Michael Hussin seconded and the
motion passed unanimously.

 

ACE Response—Dr.
Hochman stated that he, Elaine Brighty and Andy Churchill met recently with
several members of the ACE group.  He
distributed a copy of the document he shared with them and will email to their
full group, which provides his bulleted responses to each of the group’s stated
priorities.  Ms. Jorgensen asked for more
information about the purpose of the meeting. 
Mr. Churchill said that the meeting was mostly an opportunity for the
group to hear what the schools are doing and to have conversations about their
concerns, rather than dialoging mainly through email.  Dr. Hochman stated that he felt it was
important for the ACE group to know some of the background of steps that have
been taken in recent years.  He stated
that the meeting was informative for both the district and the ACE group.

 

Mathematics Update—Dr.
Hochman reviewed a document outlining priorities and major projects currently
being worked on in the district, noting that he wanted to keep the committee
updated on this work.  As part of the
review, he distributed a memo outlining the work of the Mathematics Committee
and recommendations that came out of their work.  Ms. Jorgensen asked if Shutesbury and
Leverett had representation in this work. Dr. Hochman said they did and they
will also be involved in the Mathematics Council that will be developed as a
result of this work.

 

Principal Searches—Dr.
Hochman reported on the principal interview processes that have occurred over
the past few weeks.  He announced that he
appointed Michael Morris as Principal of Crocker Farm Elementary today, noting
that Mr. Morris received a rousing ovation from the Crocker Farm staff when the
announcement was made.  Ms. Brighty asked
Dr. Hochman to congratulate Mr. Morris on behalf of the School Committee.  Dr. Hochman noted that he will be moving
forward with the other appointments within the next few days.

 

EQA Visit—Dr.
Hochman noted that we have received our report from the EQA review.  He explained that we have submitted appeals
on those standards that were not rated “satisfactory” and the districts will be
receiving a final report once the appeals have been reviewed.

 

Dismantling Racism—Dr.
Hochman distributed a brochure outlining the dismantling racism programs
offered by Education Equity Consultants. 
He noted that one of the programs they provide would be a retreat format
that can accommodate 28 individuals, including community leaders and school
personnel. Dr. Hochman reminded the committee that he has been eager to have
this training opportunity for quite some time, and he is going forward with
trying to set it up for this year.  He
reported that he has spoken with Dr. Marx and the Amherst College Treasurer about
the possibility of using Amherst
College facilities for
the retreat. Additionally, he is also scheduled to meet with the Associate
Provost for Faculty Development at UMass to talk about professional development
and this retreat, in particular.

 

Legislative Position
Statement—Dr. Hochman distributed a statement drafted by the Legislative
Action Committee regarding state funding for schools and special education.  He noted that he hopes the Committee will be
willing to discuss, and possibly endorse, the statement at the Regional meeting
next week.    

 

Ms. Anderson noted that on April 2-6 the Ninth Annual White Privilege
Conference is being held in Springfield.  She encouraged those interested in social
justice issues to attend.  Dr. Hochman
noted that he is attending, along with several other district staff members.

 

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

A.  FY09 Executive Level Budget—Dr. Hochman noted
that the Regional budget being presented tonight is the Executive Level budget,
which reflects his work with the District administrators and staff.  He also noted that the format is new, and was
developed by Rob Detweiler at the request of Mr. Churchill and Ms.
Brighty.  Mr. Detweiler then reviewed the
FY09 Executive Level Regional budget in detail. 
Dr. Hochman reviewed the budget additions that are being
recommended.  He noted that they include
1 FTE for the Middle School, which will allow the Middle School to maintain the
extra period of math support, and 2 FTE for the High School, which will
maintain what is currently in place and begin adding back some of the classes
that have been cut.  Dr. Hochman also
noted that he is recommending that 1 assistant principal position be added back
at the High School.  He stated that the
position is essential in order to effectively implement the supervision and evaluation
program currently being developed.  Mr.
Detweiler reviewed the effect to the Regional assessments if the Regional
School Committee and the four towns vote to approve the amendment to the
Regional Agreement.  If approved, the
amendment will shift elementary transportation costs from the Regional budget
to the elementary budgets. Dr. Hochman reminded the committee that this budget
document will be posted on the district website.  Ms. Jorgensen stated that she believes it
will be helpful to have a list of positions that have been lost over the past
several years.  Mr. Churchill also
requested a list of other cuts that have been made over the past several
years.  Ms. Jorgensen noted that she
would like for the School Committee to recognize the work of Kathy Mazur and
the Human Resources department on the four principal searches.

 

5.  New Business                                                                                None

6.  Reports                                                                                          None

7.  Sub-Committee Reports                                                               None

8.  School Committee Planning                                                          None

 

9.  Adjournment                                                                                  9:02 p.m.

The Regional meeting adjourned at 9:02 p.m. 

 

                                                                        Respectfully
submitted,

                                                                        Debbie
Westmoreland

 

Approved 3/11/08