Minutes - Wayland School Committee
Regular Session April 4, 2011
A Regular Session of the Wayland School
Committee was held on Monday, April 4, 2011 at 7:00 P.M. in the School
Committee Room of the Wayland Town Building.
Present were:
Dr. Louis Jurist, Chair
Mrs. Barb Fletcher, Vice Chair
Dr. Malcolm Astley
Ms. Beth Butler
Dr. Shawn Kinney
Also:
Dr. Gary A. Burton
Superintendent of Schools
Mr. Brad J. Crozier
Assistant Superintendent
Mr. Geoffrey S. MacDonald
Business Administrator
Dr. Marlene M. Dodyk
Director of Student Services
Chair Louis Jurist convened the regular meeting at 7:02 P.M. and reviewed the agenda.
1. Special Matter – Safe Schools and Healthy Students Grant:
Mrs. Heidi Heilman informed the School Committee about a grant
opportunity by partnering with Weston and asked for a School Committee
member to participate in the conceptual planning of this grant with
other Town municipal administrators. This grant is funded through the
U.S. Department of Education and will be awarded to local education
agencies (LEA’s) that meet the eligibility criteria and submit the
strongest proposals. The award would be one million dollars per year
for four years. Mrs. Heilman answered questions from School Committee
members.
2. Comments from the Public:
Tom Sciacca discussed a video link from Khan Academy he provided
to the School Committee that had three main points: 1) it inverts the
lecture and practice; 2) software provides structured learning with
ongoing measures; and
3) there is constant monitoring by teachers.
3. Annual Review of School Choice:
The Education Reform Act (ERA) of 1993 mandates participation in “School Choice” unless a school district opts out.
…Effective September 1994, every city, town, or regional school district is required to enroll
non-resident students under the choice program, unless the school committee votes prior to
June 1 not to participate. The section of the law states in part, “…this obligation to enroll
non-resident students shall not apply to a district for a school year in which its school committee,
prior to June 1, after a public hearing, adopts a resolution withdrawing from said obligation, for
the school year beginning the following September. Any such resolution with said reasons shall be
filed with the Department of Education, provided, however, that said department shall have no
Power to review any such decision by a school committee…”
In the past, the School Committee has opposed School Choice for the following reasons:
• It takes money away from other school districts and gives it to the receiving school district.
• Wayland’s per pupil cost is in excess of
$10,000, while the highest reimbursement allowed is just over $8,000;
thus, Wayland’s taxpayers would be subsidizing each choice student by a
factor of more than
2,000 per pupil.
• There is no control over whom we take in;
choice is a non-selective program. Thus, we could find ourselves with
several very difficult and even trouble-making pupils who could be very
disruptive to our schools.
• Once we accept a pupil, we must keep that
pupil through high school graduation. Thus, as our enrollment numbers
increase upwardly, we cannot discharge the choice pupils to make room
for increased numbers of Wayland resident pupils.
• Other districts that have had choice for the
past few years are experiencing financial problems as students they had
counted on have returned to their districts, other students have not
materialized, etc.
For these and other reasons, it does not seem prudent to accept the choice program.
The School Committee agreed to hold a special public hearing at their May 9th meeting.
4. Continued Discussion re: New Fields at the Middle School:
Bob Verizi and Brud Wright joined the School Committee to review
questions submitted by the School Committee. The Committee continued
their discussion regarding the need for and their support of the
construction of two all purpose athletic fields at the Middle School,
as called for in the Town’s Capital Budget Request.
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher,
seconded by Ms. Butler, the School Committee voted 4-1 (Dr. Kinney
opposed) to support the debt exclusion for all purpose athletic fields
at Wayland Middle School.
The School Committee would like Dr. Astley to continue to work with the petitioners.
5. Continued Discussion re: Principals’ Discretionary Accounts:
The School Committee will discuss the discretionary accounts after
the Operations Review Committee submits final report in collaboration
with the PTOs. Geoff MacDonald discussed procedures for student
activity accounts in the future.
The Committee discussed the document titled,
“Talking Points for School Committee Process Review.” The School
Committee plans to review and discuss current code of conduct, MASC
guidelines, and Massachusetts State Law related to member behavior to
provide further clarification as the Committee moves forward.
6. Superintendent’s Report:
(a) Full Day Kindergarten:
Dr. Burton reviewed the current kindergarten enrollment and the
breakdown between Wayland Traditional Program and the full-day
program. The School Committee listened to parent input (comments listed
below) and asked Dr. Burton to research several of the concerns
expressed by the parents and the Committee members.
• Brian Scott asked about the cost structure for FDK. He also
commented that the School Committee could charge slightly more as a fee
to provide scholarship to those who are in need.
• A parent asked about current district data for academic performance.
She also asked what the harm would be in opening more sections.
• Heidi Webster commented on the flexibility and mental health
benefits in the full-day program. She urged the School Committee to
open as many sections as possible.
• Sara commented that clear guidelines for evaluating the pilot should be established.
• Julie Rainsville commented that the School Committee is in a great
position because they have created a great program that is being
embraced by the parents.
• Eric Knapp commented that increasing the sections to six sections
will strengthen the pilot by involving more students. He also urged
the Committee to keep the positive momentum that the program has
generated. He stressed that the School Committee should consider
providing choice for parents.
• Jessica Green commented that the length of time students spend with
the curriculum creates a different experience for students.
• Tom Sciacca asked the School Committee to prioritize and support great programs such as FDK.
7. Final Review of Town Meeting Preparations:
The School Committee reviewed a draft of a communication to
support the debt exclusion vote, materials, and logistics for the
Annual Town Meeting.
8. Approval of Accounts Payable and Payroll Warrants:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr.
Astley, the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve payment
of the following:
• Wayland Public Schools Payroll warrant, dated 3/24/2011, in the amount of $1,043,436.03
• Wayland Public Schools Accounts Payable warrant, dated 4/4/2011, in the amount of $303,401.01
9. Approval of Minutes:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr.
Astley, the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the
following minutes, as amended:
• Regular Session of March 21, 2011, with possible attachment from Rebecca Chasen
10. Follow-up and Future Agenda Items:
• The School Committee will revisit the topic of an Alumni Association at the April 25 meeting.
• The School Committee would like Dr. Burton to attempt to schedule the Boston METCO meeting.
• Reminder that there is the Suburban Coalition Annual Legislative Breakfast on April 26, 2011.
• The Committee discussed a retreat topic: School Committee’s response to RTN
11. Superintendent’s Report:
(a) Destination Imagination Award:
Dr. Burton spoke to the Committee regarding the Claypit Techno
Team who recently won the DI State Award and will be going on to
compete nationwide.
(b) NStar Community Initiative:
Dr. Burton reported that the new high school building will qualify for the NStar Community Initiative.
12. Comments from the Public:
• Tom Sciacca asked if Leisha Simon would be attending the Annual Town Meeting.
13. Executive Session:
There was no executive session.
14. Adjournment:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School Committee voted unanimously
(5-0) to adjourn the Regular Session at 10:00 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Gary A. Burton, Clerk
Wayland School Committee
Observers:
Tom Sciacca, WVN
Ellen Grieco, Wayland
Tracy Scheidemantel, OCP
Diana Lien, 24 Rolling Lane
Heidi Webster, 26 Three Ponds Road
Corresponding Documentation:
1. Information re: the Safe Schools and Healthy Students Grant
2. Letter to NStar from BOS and SC Chairs