m April 25, 2011

Minutes - Wayland School Committee
Regular Session  April 25, 2011  

A Regular Session of the Wayland School Committee was held on Monday, April 25, 2011 at 7:00 P.M. in the School Committee Room of the Wayland Town Building.

Present were:
Mrs. Barb Fletcher, Acting Chair
Dr. Malcolm Astley
Ms. Beth Butler
Mrs. Ellen Grieco
Dr. Shawn Kinney (by phone)

Also:
Dr. Gary A. Burton
Superintendent of Schools

Mr. Brad J. Crozier
Assistant Superintendent

Mr. Geoffrey S. MacDonald
Business Administrator

Vice Chair Barb Fletcher convened the regular meeting at 7:06 P.M. and reviewed the agenda.

1. Comments and Written Statements from the Public:
Sheila Carel read a letter that she provided to the School Committee regarding the proposed Middle School soccer fields and concerns expressed by the abutters. The letter asked for the reconsideration of the placement of new soccer fields at the Middle School.

Edwin Miller expressed concerns about parking for the proposed fields.

Tom Sciacca commented on the process by which the School Committee approves proposals like the Middle School soccer fields. He also noted that adequate time is necessary.

2. Discussion re: School Bus Fees:
Geoff MacDonald presented several recommendations (also in an email dated 4/11/2011) for FY12 bus fees and the proposed bid spec changes for transportation. He answered questions posed by committee members. The School Committee will also look at the transportation fees for FY13 at a future meeting.

The School Committee supported Geoff’s recommendations by consensus.

3. Continued Discussion re: Alumni Association:
Dr. Astley provided the School Committee with an update on actions to date and a recommendation to establish a WHS Alumni/nae Association. Dr. Astley answered questions posed by committee members. The Committee would like Dr. Astley to continue with the organizing and establish a working group to create a formal plan for next steps. Dr. Kinney will assist work with the subcommittee.

4. Review of Town Election and Town Meeting Matters:
The School Committee reviewed committee assignments, articles from Annual Town Meeting, date for reorganizing the School Committee, reviewing Executive Session minutes from the past, and logistics for the School Committee Retreat.

5. Superintendent’s Report:
(a) Continued Discussion re: Full Day Kindergarten:
Dr. Burton reviewed a memo he authored to the School Committee and dated April 22, 2011 regarding his recommendation for FDK in September 2011. Brad Crozier, Brian Jones, and Dr. Burton answered questions posed by the School Committee members.

• Diane Liu asked about the future of FDK in the district
• Laura Swank asked what will happen to FDK when the pilot is finished
• Sheila Carel asked if the state plans to mandate FDK
• Cecily Kiefer asked if the district had done research as a follow up from the FDK regarding districts who had fees or whether they moved to a town-funded program.

Upon a motion duly made by Dr. Astley, seconded by Ms. Butler, the School Committee voted (4-0) (Dr. Kinney abstained, as he was attending the meeting by phone) to approve 6 sections of FDK and 3 sections of Wayland traditional.

6. Approval of Accounts Payable and Payroll Warrants:
Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School Committee voted (3-0) (Dr. Kinney abstained, as he was attending the meeting by phone and Mrs. Grieco also abstained) to approve payment of the following:
• Wayland Public Schools Payroll warrant, dated 4/21/2011, in the amount of $1,125,557.27
• Wayland Public Schools Accounts Payable warrant, dated 4/25/2011, in the amount of $175,946.73
• Wayland Public Schools Payroll warrant, dated 4/25/2011, in the amount of $4,831,108.82 (High School Project)

7. Acceptance of Gifts:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Grieco, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School voted (4-0) (Dr. Kinney abstained) to accept the following gift with gratitude to the Wayland Public Schools:
• A donation in the amount of $250.00 from Mr. Ted Henning of Wayland to the Middle School Sandwich Program

8. Approval of Minutes:
Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School Committee voted (3-0) (Dr. Kinney abstained as well as Mrs. Grieco) to approve the following minutes:
• Executive Session of March 21, 2011 (as written)
• Regular Session of April 4, 2011 (as amended)
• Special Session of April 10, 2011 (as written)
• Special Session of April 11, 2011 (as amended)

At 9:15 the Committee lost contact with Dr. Kinney via the telephone.

9. Superintendent’s Report continued:
(a) Custodial Grievance:
The School Committee will hear the custodial grievance on May 9, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. in Executive Session.

(b) Overnight Trip Request:
Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Mrs. Grieco, the School Committee voted (4-0) to approve the upcoming Wayland/Weston crew team trips: 1) Saratoga, NY, April 30 – May 1; Oak Ridge, TN, June 10-12, subject to Mr. Pat Tutwiler’s approval.

(c) Letter from Paul Stein:
The School Committee will respond to Dr. Stein’s letter and the Committee will discuss the details at a future meeting.

10. Follow-up and Future Agenda Items:
The School Committee reviewed the follow-up items and will create a rough draft for the next four meetings. Members gave input for future agenda items.

The School Committee will also send out a communication to inform the school community regarding transportation fees.

11. Comments from the Public:
• Betsy Brigham commented on the bus fees and capacity of each bus. She asked if counts are tallied for ridership. She also expressed concern for the precedent that this may be setting for other groups, such as softball.
• Tom Sciacca commented on cost per pupil for Wayland Public Schools compared to Holliston Public Schools.

12. Executive Session:
Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School Committee voted unanimously (4-0) to convene in Executive Session at 9:57 P.M. to discuss matters pertaining to WESA, Custodial, Food Service, and non-union negotiations, as set forth in Section 23B of G.L. Ch. 39. The School Committee agreed that discussion regarding the WESA and custodial union negotiations would be in Executive Session, as conducting these discussions in open session will have a detrimental effect on the School Committee’s negotiating position.

A roll call vote was taken as follows:

Roll Call

Mrs. Barb Fletcher, Vice Chair

Dr. Malcolm Astley

Ms. Beth Butler

Mrs. Ellen Grieco

Yes

X

X

X

X

No

 

The Vice Chair announced that they would reconvene in Regular Session following the adjournment of the Executive Session.

13. Ratification of WESA MOA:
Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School Committee voted (3-0) (Mrs. Grieco abstained) to ratify the WESA MOA.

14. Adjournment:
Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Mrs. Grieco, the School Committee voted unanimously
(4-0) to adjourn the Regular Session at 10:30 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Gary A. Burton, Clerk
Wayland School Committee

Corresponding Documentation:
1. Committee Member Information and Organization Assignments
2. Superintendent’s Recommendation for September 2011 Kindergarten Classes
3. Recommendation of Research Article, “Full Day Kindergarten Effectiveness: Preserve the Investment”
4. Wayland-Weston Crew Trip Request
5. Handout from Dr. Astley – “Feasibility Work re: Wayland Alumni/nae Association”

 

 

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