Minutes - Wayland School Committee
Regular Session    September 29, 2009  

A Regular Session of the Wayland School Committee was held on Tuesday, September 29, 2009, at 7:00 P.M. in the School Committee Room of the Wayland Town Building.

Present were:
Dr. Louis Jurist, Chair
Mr. Jeff R. Dieffenbach, Vice Chair
Mr. Malcolm Astley
Ms. Deb Cohen, Esq.
Mrs. Barb Fletcher

Also:
Dr. Gary A. Burton
Superintendent of Schools

Ms. Joy E. Buhler
Business Administrator

Dr. Marlene M. Dodyk
Director of Student Services

Chair Louis Jurist convened the regular meeting at 7:05 p.m.

1. Comments and Written Statements from the Public:
There were no comments or written statements.

2. Special Matter – Closing the Achievement Gap:
Mr. Pat Tutwiler defined the race-based achievement gap and summarized educators’ efforts to close the gap in Wayland. Participating in the presentation and following discussion were Keith Woods, Mark Liddell and Mabel Reid-Wallace.

3. Review of New Policy – Observations of Special Education Programs (IHBAA):
Dr. Dodyk explained the purpose of having such a policy in place, noting that the policy was developed and recommended by MASC. A period of discussion regarding the general tenor of policies followed. Suggestions for changes were made by several committee members. A revised draft of the policy will be developed for a subsequent meeting.

4. Approval of 8th Grade Trip to Washington, D.C.:
The School Committee discussed the rising cost of the trip. Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Dieffenbach, and seconded by Mrs. Fletcher, the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C. in 2010.

5. Review of 2009 Annual Town Report:
The School Committee discussed the draft of their report for the 2009 Annual Town Report, providing Dr. Jurist with suggested changes and edits.

6. Review of Current FY10 Budget Situation:
The School Committee discussed the current FY10 budget situation.

7. Approval of Accounts Payable & Payroll Warrants:
Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Dieffenbach, seconded by Mrs. Fletcher, the Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the following accounts payable and payroll warrants.

• School Department Payroll warrant, dated 9/24/2009, in the amount of $1,149,044.47
• School Department Accounts Payable warrant, dated 9/29/2009, in the amount of $423,350.42

8. HSBC Update:
Dr. Burton informed the School Committee that the Massachusetts School Building Authority will be voting on the Wayland High School project on September 30th, with a total project cost of $70,800,000. He stated that the HSBC, during Thursday night’s meeting, will discuss using construction manager at risk (CM-R) for the High School project. Using CM-R will enable fast-tracking of the project to take advantage of the current economy and to minimize the length of time the project is under construction.

9. Approval of Minutes:
Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Dieffenbach, and seconded by Mr. Astley, the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the following minutes as amended:

• Regular Session of September 21, 2009

10. Other Matters:
a) Mrs. Fletcher requested that the School Committee vote on their policy for late night/overnight trips and take up for consideration the new field trip policy at their next meeting.
b) Mr. Dieffenbach reported that he had updated the cost-savings information for the elementary school reconfiguration.
c) Mr. Dieffenbach noted the number of upcoming meetings related to the High School project. Individual School Committee members volunteered to attend one or more of these meetings.
d) Mr. Astley asked the School Committee members for their input for upcoming Suburban Coalition meetings. Suggested topics for legislative work were controlling the cost of health insurance, state aid for special education mandates, and changing the reliance on real estate values for local tax revenues to income.

11. Comments from the Public:
FinCom member Mr. Grasso asked what the cost would be on operating and capital basis if the vote failed for the high school project.

12. Executive Session:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Mr. Dieffenbach, the Committee voted unanimously (5-0) in a roll call vote to convene in Executive Session at 9:16 P.M. for the purpose of matters pertaining to Collective Bargaining, as set forth in Section 23B of G.L. Ch. 39.

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

13. Adjournment:
Upon a motion by Mr. Dieffenbach, seconded by Mrs. Fletcher, the Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to adjourn the Regular Session at 10:35 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Gary A. Burton, Clerk
Wayland School Committee

Observers: Molly Upton, WVN and Paul Grasso, FinCom