OPEN SESSION
SHARON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
School Committee Meeting
Administration Building
One School Street
Sharon, MA 02067
Present: Mr.
Glenn Allen, Mr. Mitchell Blaustein, Ms. Linda Callan, Mr. Donald Gilligan,
Mr. Sam Liao and Ms.
Alison Rutley
Also Present: Dr. Barbara Dunham, Dr. Judy Levin-Charns, Jose
Libano, Mary Trahan, two senior class officers, members of the community and a
member of the press
Mr. Liao called the
meeting to order at 8:07 p.m.
ADMINISTRATIVE/REGULAR
ITEMS
Correspondence
There was no
correspondence to come before the Committee at this time.
Approve Minutes
Minutes from the Open
Session meeting of April 1, 2008 were submitted to the Committee via e-mail for
corrections/review. Mr. Liao asked for a motion to approve the minutes as
revised and submitted.
MOTION: (Blaustein/Allen) Moved to approve the Open
Session minutes from the meeting of April 1, 2008 as revised and submitted to
the Committee. Vote was five in
the affirmative. Mr. Allen abstained.
Minutes from the
Executive and Open Session meeting of April 9, 2008 were submitted to the
Committee via e-mail for corrections/review. Mr. Liao asked for a motion to
approve the minutes as revised and submitted.
MOTION: (Blaustein/Allen) Moved to approve the Executive
and Open Session minutes from the meeting of April 9, 2008 as revised and
submitted to the Committee. Vote
was six in the affirmative.
Announcements
Dr. Dunham made the
following announcements:
¥ Congratulations to the
following students who are winners of a National Merit Scholarship Award:
Daniel G. Glaun, David J.
Herrig, Benjamin A. Mattocks and Alvin J. Kerber, a former SHS student who is
currently attending Brown Unversity.
¥ The ÒTeen Speak OutÓ
Program was held today, April 30th at the High School. A heartfelt
thank-you goes to Peter Applebee for donating $5,000 towards the Teen Speak Out
Program as well as various programs pertaining to suicide and depression.
¥ 489 students will be
taking AP exams starting in May
¥ Congratulations is
extended to Joan LaCroix, Science Coordinator (grades 6-12) who applied for and
was awarded a $15,000 grant from the MA Bio-Education Foundation. Funds will be
used for supplies & materials, training staff, professional development and
lab consumables.
¥ Congratulations is
extended to Sharon HighÕs Math Team for such a successful year:
#1 overall Southeastern
MA Math League
#1 Medium School Greater
Boston Math League
#1 Medium School MA State
Championships
#2 Medium School New
England Championships
¥ 35 of Sharon HighÕs
students in partnership with Lexington High School traveled to Paris over the
spring break
Student Representative
Ashley Dewji, student representative, was not present at the meeting.
Mr. Libano reported on the recent happenings at Sharon High School:
¥ Students participated
in a dodge ball tournament. Special congratulations to Jeff Sonis, mathematics
teacher, who single-handedly defeated the entire senior class.
¥ A Battle of the Bands
fund-raiser was sponsored by Sharon HighÕs Euphony literary publication.
¥ A talent show, in
partnership with surrounding high schoolÕs will be held at Oliver Ames High
School in Easton on May 7th at 7:00 p.m. Proceeds from the event
will be donated to the Dana Farber Hospital and the Jimmy Fund.
¥ A free band concert
will be held at Sharon High School on May 7th at 7:00 p.m.
¥ The Junior Drama
Program will be performing the production of Willie Wonka on May 16th and 17th.
Performances will take place at each of the elementary schools.
¥ Junior Class Prom will
be held at the Holiday Inn in Mansfield on May 3rd.
¥ School elections for
all student offices will be held in May.
SUPERINTENDENTÕS ITEMS
FY 07 End of Year
Audit
Dr. Dunham summarized her
April 16th memo, which summarized the FY07 End of Year Report Audit.
Three areas were cited: 1) The function code for Cafeteria Salaries End of Year
Payout account was incorrectly coded. 2) The function code for Tech.
Repair/Replacement account was incorrectly coded. 3) The revenue for Rental
Revolving was reported on the wrong line. Amendments were filed to correct
these minor findings.
Update on MSBA/Middle
School Project – Next Steps
Dr. Dunham received a
letter from the MSBA dated April 14th, authorizing the Sharon Public Schools to proceed with the
schematic design of the Middle School, which will be presented to the Town
Meeting in May. Dr. Dunham stated that the Sharon Public Schools has been
fast-tracked. The next step is to review the drawings and then discuss possible
changes that would reflect energy saving steps. MSBA would review the proposed
changes. Dr. Dunham will schedule another meeting with MSBA to clarify the
procedure to be followed going forward with the project. Dr. Dunham will
continue to update the Committee as information becomes available.
Update on Progress
Toward Achieving SC/Supt. Goals for 2007-2008
This item was tabled
until the May 7th meeting.
DECISION ITEMS
VOTE TO REALLOCATE
BUDGET FOR FY 09
Director of Curriculum
– Increase from .8 to 1.0
School Resource Officer
SPED Team Reorganization
Mr. Liao suggested that
the Committee discuss the Director of Curriculum and SPED Team reorganization
and hold discussion on the School Resource Officer.
SPED Reorganization: Dr.
Dunham summarized the information on a spreadsheet, which was included in the
School Committee packets.
Director of Curriculum:
Advertisements for this position were posted as full-time not a .8 position.
There was a discussion regarding salaries for proposed positions. The
Superintendent has authorization to hire staff. A vote of the School Committee
is not necessary. A vote by the Committee is required for the position of
Business Manager.
Chief Bernstein and
Lieutenant Kaufman met with the Committee to discuss and answer any questions
regarding the proposed position of Resource Officer. The Resource Officer would
be assigned to the schools (system-wide). Training would be from the Police
Department. Salary would be partially borne by the School Department ($60,000)
and the balance by the Police Department. After a lengthy discussion, which
encompassed resources, financing, duties and responsibilities, training, etc.,
the Committee felt they needed more information and would like to review a
memorandum of understanding before making a decision to fund the position.
Chief Bernstein stated the Police Department is prepared to make a serious
commitment to the position.
Chief Bernstein thanked
the School Department, in particular Dr. Dunham, for assisting the Police
Department in sending out important information to the townspeople through the
School DepartmentÕs Connect Ed.
Chief Bernstein and
Lieutenant Kaufman left the meeting at this time (10:00 p.m.).
Dr. Dunham distributed
the proposed pay scales for the Business Manager and Human Resources. There was
a discussion on the duties and responsibilities of the respective positions as
well as the salary schedule.
MOTION: (Gilligan/Allen) Moved to reallocate $170,000 as
outlined in Dr. DunhamÕs memorandum of April 30, 2008.
Following additional
discussion, Mr. Gilligan withdrew the motion.
MOTION: (Gilligan/Rutley) Moved to reallocate $170,000 as
outlined in Dr. DunhamÕs April 30th memorandum, $60,000 of which
would be reallocated to Professional Development for the FY09 fiscal year. Vote
was five in the affirmative. Mr. Blaustein voted in the negative. Motion
carried.
Vote District-wide
Student Suspension Policy
Discussion on this Policy
was a previous agenda item and has been fully discussed/vetted at previous
meetings. The Policy presented at this eveningÕs meeting includes the language
changes requested by the School Committee. By implementing a SPED Coordinator
at each level (elementary, middle, high school), school psychologists would be
released from the task of running and scheduling team meetings and completing
IEP paperwork. The Coordinators would assume those responsibilities.
MOTION: (Gilligan/Allen) Moved that the School Committee
approve the District-wide Student Suspension Policy as presented and
recommended by Dr. Dunham. Vote was six in the affirmative.
Vote Student
Government Elections Policy – High School
Discussion on this Policy
was a previous agenda item and has been fully discussed/vetted at previous
meetings. Dr. Dunham explained that by the Committee voting the list of
elective offices as Policy, it becomes a safeguard that in future years the
school administrators would have specific guidance on how student elections
would be administered. As to the Middle School, elections pertain to Student
Council. As to the High School, students may hold office in these areas:
Regional Student Advisory Council; Class Officers; Student Council; Student
Advisory Committee.
MOTION: (Allen/Callan) Moved that the School Committee
approve the Policy on Student Elections as presented and recommended by Dr.
Dunham. Vote was five in the affirmative. Ms. Rutley was not present at the
time the vote was taken.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Discuss/Vote Senior
Privilege
Mr. Libano, accompanied
by two senior class officers, summarized Mr. LibanoÕs April 17th
memorandum, which outlined the request for a senior privilege to give seniors
an opportunity to have an extended lunch opportunity off of the schoolÕ s
campus. The proposed date is Monday, May 19th.
There was a lengthy
discussion regarding how the privilege would be implemented/monitored. After
all questions and concerns were fully vetted, Mr. Liao asked for a motion to
approve the senior privilege.
MOTION: (Rutley/Callan) Moved that the senior privilege of
an extended lunch opportunity be granted with the proposed changes (two total
excused tardies instead of three) for Monday, May 19, 2008. Vote was six in
the affirmative.
Consider Breathalyzer
Policy
Mr. Libano, Ms. Trahan,
accompanied by two senior class officers, presented the proposal for the use of
Breathalyzers at school dances/proms with the hope that the School Committee
would adopt a Breathalyzer Policy. Committee members received a memorandum from
Mr. Libano, which was in their packets, that outlined the specifics of how
parameters for the use of a Breathalyzer.
There was a lengthy
discussion regarding student rights, safety of students, legal issues
surrounding implementation, appropriate discipline should a student fail the
Breathalyzer, etc. The discussion ended at 9:30 p.m. without a resolution to
the request to implement Breathalyzer testing at the senior prom. This will be
an agenda item for the May 14th meeting.
Consider
Non-affiliated Salaries for FY 09
Dr. Dunham distributed
the proposed pay scale for non-affiliated personnel. There was a lengthy
discussion regarding Dr. DunhamÕs proposal.
Consider Horizons for
Youth Admin. Building for School Use
Mr. Allen will update the
Committee at a future meeting. This item was tabled due to the lateness of the
hour.
Report on Priorities
Meeting
Mr. Gilligan updated the
Committee on the latest Priorities Committee meeting and the progress of the
Sharon Commons and Brickstone projects. The town will not be requesting a vote
on their portion of the over-ride for fire/police at Town Meeting.
Review Town Meeting
Articles
Mr. Liao asked the
Committee to review the articles and contact him if there are any questions
regarding the Articles.
Initiate
Superintendent Evaluation Process for 2007-2008
Dr. Dunham distributed a
spreadsheet, which outlined each goal and the progress achieved to reaching the
goals. The Committee was asked to review the spreadsheet for discussion at the
May 7th meeting.
Update on Standing
Building Committee Nominating Committee
Due to the lateness of
the hour, this item was tabled for a future meeting.
OTHER BUSINESS
There was no further
business to come before the Committee at this time.
Mr. Liao asked for a
motion to adjourn Open Session.
MOTION: (Allen/Callan) Moved to adjourn Open Session. Vote
was six in the affirmative.
Open Session was
adjourned at 11:23 p.m.
Submitted on behalf of
the School Committee by: Helen Campanario, Recording Secretary to the
School Committee