Minutes - Wayland School Committee
Regular Session  October 12, 2010  

A Regular Session of the Wayland School Committee was held on Tuesday, October 12, 2010, at 7:00 P.M. in the School Committee Room of the Wayland Town Building.

Present were:
Dr. Louis Jurist, Chair (Dr. Jurist arrived late)
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

Vice Chair Barb Fletcher convened the regular meeting at 7:05 P.M.

1. Comments or Written Statements from the Public:
There were no public comments or written statement.

2. Approval of Middle School Trips:
• Grade 8 Geology Trip to New York
• Grade 8 Washington, D.C. Trip

Upon a motion duly made by Dr. Kinney, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School Committee voted unanimously (4-0) to approve the Grade 8 Geology trip to New York on October 28 and 29, 2010 and the Grade 8 Washington D.C. trip in April 2011.

3. FY12 Budget Needs/Guidelines:
Dr. Burton sought instruction/guidance from the School Committee for FY12 budget development. The School Committee reviewed the Budget Principles. The guidelines have been given to the town departments by the Finance Committee. School Committee budget guidelines will increase for steps and lanes and special education transportation only; everything else remains consistent with the FY11 budget. The amount for COLAs will be budgeted outside of the school budget because negotiations are ongoing. The Finance Committee must know of the School Committee’s acceptance of guidelines by December 1. The FY12 school budget will be presented to the Finance Committee by January 18, 2011.

During discussion, the School Committee identified new budget items that may be needed: K-12 Health & Wellness coordinator and the introduction of Chinese. All attempts will be made to stay within the guideline provided by the Finance Committee. If new initiatives are needed or cuts made in the past need to be reconsidered, staying within the guidelines should still be attempted. If not possible, more information should be provided for consideration.

Schedule for Budget Process:
• 10/17 Give General Capital to FinCom
• 11/22 School Committee Fall Forum
• 12/1 Decision to accept FinCom guidelines
• 12/20 Budget Presentation from Dr. Burton
• 1/3, 1/6, 1/10, 1/13 (if necessary) Budget Work Sessions
• 1/6 Budget Forum
• 1/18 Budget to FinCom
• 1/24 Meeting with FinCom

4. Capital Budget:
Recommended items for the Building Capital Budget will be provided by Mr. John Moynihan. The Technology requested amount will be provided with backup information and an explanation. The format will be provided by the FinCom and the Technology Director. A general sense of the amount of the capital request will be discussed at the next School Committee meeting and provided to the FinCom.

Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Dr. Kinney, the School Committee voted unanimously (4-0) to approve the FY12 Budget Principles.

5. Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee:
This Committee, appointed by the Selectmen, and represented by Ms. Anne Harris and Mr. Tom Sciacca, presented their work on receiving “Green Community Designation” in order to become eligible for some services. There is a warrant article this fall to adopt the Stretch Building Code at Town Meeting, which would impact any new schools/renovations provided they meet the new energy code. The High School project is already designed to meet or exceed this code.

Requirements must be met by November 13 in order to apply for next round of awarding “Green Community Designation.” This will enable Wayland to apply for some grants in January 2011.

Those representatives also discussed two items that require School Committee approval, a plan to reduce energy consumption by 20% over 5 years for buildings and vehicles and a commitment to purchase energy efficient vehicles. These two items will most likely come before the School Committee in early November.

6. Approval of Superintendent’s Goals 2010-2011:
Dr. Burton reviewed his revised goals. A request was made to have specific assigned administrators to determine the impact of initiatives on student learning outcomes. Dr. Burton will provide a written plan on opportunities for accelerated learners.

Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Mrs. Butler, the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve Dr. Burton’s 2010-2011 goals.

7. Discussion re: School Committee Secretary:
The School Committee discussed the need for a note taker. Notes currently meet Open Meeting Law requirement. The School Committee agreed to maintain the current practice at this point in time.

8. Approval of Accounts Payables and Payroll Warrants:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Butler, the School Committee voted (4-0-1) (Dr. Kinney abstained) to approve payment of the following:
• School Department Payroll warrant, dated 10/7/2010, in the amount of $1,054,604.82
• School Department Accounts Payable warrant, dated 10/12/2010, in the amount of $585,183.95
• School Department Accounts Payable warrant, dated 10/12/2010, in the amount of $43,009.00 (High School Building Project-NStar)

9. Approval of Minutes:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr. Kinney, the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the following minutes as amended:

• Regular Session of August 9, 2010
• Regular Session of August 30, 2010
• Regular Session of September 13, 2010

10. Superintendent’s Report:
(a) Special Education Report:
Dr. Marlene Dodyk presented the Special Education Program Report for 2009-2010. Questions were posed by the School Committee and their discussion was focused on next steps.

(b) Enrollment Update:
Dr. Burton reviewed the enrollment numbers to date.

(c) School Committee Meeting Protocol:
A draft of school committee meeting protocol was reviewed. The School Committee agreed upon one version with a link to the WSC website.

11. Follow-up Items:
(a) Discussion re: the School Committee Website:
The School Committee discussed maintaining their website as well as the public school website. The School Committee agreed to merge both sites. Mrs. Fletcher will work with Leisha Simon to achieve this goal.

(b) Special Education Stabilization Fund:
Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to remove the Special Education Stabilization Fund from the town warrant, due to the need to examine it further.

(c) Superintendent Search:
The Committee reviewed a draft of a communication regarding the timeline of the search process and the focus groups and telephone interviews. The Committee also discussed the composition and process for how the Search Committee would be formed and decided to ask anyone who was interested in serving on the Search Committee to submit an application. Ms. Butler agreed to develop a communication and application to be submitted to the Crier, as well as to be distributed through the School Committee’s distribution list.

12. Comments from the Public:
A resident recommended course offerings on study skills, as it might be useful.

13. Executive Session:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr. Kinney, the Committee voted unanimously
(5-0) in a roll call vote to convene in Executive Session at10:00 P.M. for the purpose of matters pertaining to Collective Bargaining with the WTA, as set forth in Section 23B of G.L. Ch. 39. The School Committee agreed that discussion regarding union contracts with the WTA would be in Executive Session, as conducting these discussions in open session will have a detrimental effect on the School Committee’s negotiating position.

The Chair announced that the Committee would reconvene in Open Session immediately following the adjournment of the Executive Session for adjournment purposes only.

For the purpose of inviting Mrs. Cherry Karlson to participate in Executive Session, another roll call vote was taken.

14. Adjournment:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr. Astley, the Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to adjourn the Regular Session at 10:45 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Gary A. Burton, Clerk
Wayland School Committee

Observers:
Tom Sciacca, Energy Committee
Cynthia Lavenson, Wayland

Corresponding Documents:
1. Approval Form for Grade 8 New York Geology Extended Day Trip
2. Approval Form for Grade 8 Washington D.C. Trip
3. FY2011 WSC Budget Principles
4. Superintendent’s Goals 2010-2011
5. Special Education Program Report FY10
6. 2 Drafts of School Committee Meeting Protocol
7. Monthly Enrollment Report