School Subcommittees

GARDNER PUBLIC SCHOOLS Policy Subcommittee Meeting Minutes Thursday, March 2, 2023 3:00 PM Superintendent’s Conference Room 70 Waterford Street, Gardner, MA 01440 In Attendance: Mrs. Anne Hurst, Chair; Mrs. Rachel Cormier, Member; Mrs. Shannon Ward- Leighton, Member Absent: Also in Attendance: Dr. Catherine Goguen, Chief Academic Officer; Ms. Courtney Dunn, Grants, Communications, & Compliance Coordinator; Mr. Mark Hawke, Director of Finance and Operations; Ms. Brenda Smith, Assistant to the Superintendent Mrs. Hurst called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. A motion was made by Mrs. Cormier and seconded by Mrs. Ward-Leighton to approve the minutes of the February 2, 2023 Policy Meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The following policies were reviewed and determined that no changes were required. Therefore, the policies will be updated as “Reviewed March, 2023”: • BHC – School Committee – Staff Communications • BIBA – School Committee Conferences, Conventions, and Workshops • CH – Policy Implementation • DGA – Authorized Signatures Policy BEDH – Public Participation at School Committee Meetings was reviewed and discussed. The Subcommittee recommended that the policy title be changed from “Public Participation at School Committee Meetings” to “Public Comment at School Committee Meetings” to reflect the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) recommended Policy BEDH title. A motion was made by Mrs. Cormier and seconded by Mrs. Ward-Leighton to send Policy BEDH with the recommended changes to the March full School Committee Meeting for a first read. The motion passed unanimously. Policy BID – School Committee Member Compensation was reviewed and discussed. Dr. Goguen presented updates to legal references and the addition of language from the MASC policy BID that provides more detailed guidance regarding compensation of School Committee Members. A motion was made by Mrs. Cormier and seconded by Mrs. Ward-Leighton to send policy BID with the recommended changes to the March full School Committee Meeting for a first read. The motion passed unanimously. Policy CA – Administration Goals and Objectives was reviewed and discussed. Dr. Goguen presented updates to the policy including the removal of “and Objectives” from the title to match the MASC Policy CA title, and removal of all current policy language replaced with the language from the MASC recommended Policy CA. She also presented updates to legal references. A motion was made by Mrs. Ward-Leighton and seconded by Mrs. Cormier to send Policy CA with the recommended changes to the March full School Committee Meeting for a first read. The motion passed unanimously. Policy CE – School Superintendent was reviewed and discussed. Dr. Goguen stated that the MASC file name for this policy is “CB”. She presented updates to this policy including a file name change to “CB” to match the MASC recommended policy, and removal of all current policy language replaced with the language from the MASC recommended Policy CA. A motion was made by Mrs. Cormier and seconded by Mrs. Ward-Leighton to send Policy CE with the recommended changes to the March full School Committee Meeting for a first read. The motion passed unanimously. Policy CFA – School Building Administrative Coverage was reviewed and discussed. Dr. Goguen stated that the MASC does not have a recommended policy for this topic and that as currently written is very procedural in nature. The Subcommittee recommended updated language for the policy and also recommended that the District create a procedure document to accompany the policy for specific guidance on providing needed coverage to buildings. The Subcommittee asked that this policy be added to the April agenda with the recommended changes for further review and discussion. Policy DH – Bonded Employees and Officers was reviewed and discussed. Dr. Goguen presented updates to legal references. A motion was made by Mrs. Ward-Leighton and seconded by Mrs. Cormier to send Policy DH with the recommended changes to the March full School Committee Meeting for a first read. The motion passed unanimously. Policy DI – Bonded Employees and Officers was reviewed and discussed. Dr. Goguen presented updates to the policy including the addition of language from the MASC recommended Policy DI regarding responsibility for receiving and accounting for all funds of the District. She also presented updates to legal references. A motion was made by Mrs. Ward-Leighton and seconded by Mrs. Cormier to send Policy DI with the recommended changes to the March full School Committee Meeting for a first read. The motion passed unanimously. Policy DIE – Audits was reviewed and discussed. Mr. Hawke recommended the addition of language from the MASC recommended Policy DIE regarding the frequency and compliance of audits, and the ability of the School Committee to request audits at their discretion. He also presented updates to legal references. A motion was made by Mrs. Cormier and seconded by Mrs. Ward-Leighton to send Policy DIE with the recommended changes to the March full School Committee Meeting for a first read. The motion passed unanimously. The next Policy Subcommittee meeting will occur on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Conference Room. A motion was made by Mrs. Cormier and seconded by Mrs. Ward-Leighton to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 3:34 p.m.