School Committee

LOWELL SCHOOL COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, December 16, 2015 TIME 6:36 PM SALUTE TO FLAG: 1. - SALUTE TO FLAG: ROLL CALL: 2. - ROLL CALL: On a roll call at 6:36 p.m., all members were present, namely: Mr. Leary, Ms. Martin, Ms. Ross- Sitcawich, Ms. Scott, Mr. Conway, Mayor/Chairman Elliott and Mr. Gendron. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS: 3. 2015 / 462 - Spotlight on Excellence: Lowell High School; Cheerleading, Crew Team, Boys’ Cross Country, Girls’ Cross Country, Boys’ Soccer The Spotlight on Excellence presentation recognized the Lowell High School Girls’ Cross Country Team, Cheerleading, Crew Team, Boys’ Cross Country Team, and Soccer as well as their individual and team accomplishments. Mr. DeProfio, the Athletic Director at Lowell High School recognized the coaches and athletes. The coaches then shared the highlights and accomplishments of their season. Each individual athlete introduced themselves to the Committee. The report was accepted as a report of progress. Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 2 of 15) 4. 2015 / 468 - Appreciation for the Service of School Committee Members; Rodney Elliott Mayor & Chairman, David J. Conway, James D. Leary, Kimberly A. Scott and Kristin Ross-Sitcawich. 5. 2015 / 481 - Introduction of Rolan Boucher, Kathryn Philbin Stoklosa Middle School Interim Principal. Interim Stoklosa Principal Rolan Boucher introduced himself to the Committee and said that he is very excited for this opportunity and is eager to start. MINUTES: 6. 2015 / 469 - Approval of the Minutes of the Regularly Scheduled School Committee Meeting of Wednesday, December 2, 2015 VOTING Motion by: David Conway Second by: Stephen Gendron Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 3 of 15) 7. - A motion was made to vote separately on the Community Teamwork, Inc. (CTI) contract in the amount of $127,389. Mayor Elliott publicly disclosed that he presently is a non-salaried board member of Community Teamwork, Inc. (CTI). VOTING Motion by: Connie Martin Second by: Kristin Ross-Sitcawich Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x 7.1. - A motion was made to approve the contract for Community Teamwork, Inc. (CTI) in the amount of $127,389. Mayor Elliott publicly disclosed that he presently is a non-salaried board member of Community Teamwork, Inc. (CTI). VOTING Motion by: James Leary Second by: Stephen Gendron Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 4 of 15) Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x PERMISSION TO ENTER: 7.1.1. 2015 / 487 - Permission to Enter: December 16, 2015 VOTING Motion by: Kimberly Scott Second by: David Conway Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 5 of 15) MEMORIALS: 8. 2015 / 467 - Marian Shotter McFadden, mother of Ann Brady, Behavior Modification Specialist at the LHS Career Academy. MOTIONS: 9. 2015 / 500 - [by Steve Gendron]: Requests the Superintendent obtain a report on participation numbers for all high school sports programs and deliver to the Athletic subcommittee. VOTING Motion by: Stephen Gendron Second by: David Conway Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x 10. 2015 / 501 - [by Kimberly Scott]: Request the Superintendent develop a plan to immediately notify the parents or guardians of any Lowell Public School student that has been bullied, physically assaulted, or verbally insulted during the school day. Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 6 of 15) VOTING Motion by: Kimberly Scott Second by: Kristin Ross-Sitcawich Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x SUBCOMMITTEES: 11. 2015 / 458 - Policy Subcommittee: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting on Tuesday, December 1, 2015 [Kimberly Scott, Chair] Ms. Scott, Chairperson of the Policy Subcommittee moved to accept the report. Ms. Scott previously reported out on this Subcommittee at the December 2, 2015 School Committee Meeting. The report was accepted as a report of progress. VOTING Motion by: Kristin Ross-Sitcawich Second by: Connie Martin Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 7 of 15) 12. 2015 / 457 - Personnel: Approval of the Minutes of the Personnel Subcommittee Meeting of Tuesday, December 1, 2015 [Connie Martin, Chair] Ms. Martin, Chairperson of the Personnel Subcommittee moved to accept the report. Ms. Martin previously reported out on this Subcommittee at the December 2, 2015 School Committee Meeting. The report was accepted as a report of progress. VOTING Motion by: James Leary Second by: Stephen Gendron Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x 13. 2015 / 484 - Personnel: Report of the Personnel Subcommittee Meeting of Wednesday, December 16, 2015 [Connie Martin, Chair] This meeting was never posted. Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 8 of 15) 14. - A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. VOTING Motion by: James Leary Second by: Connie Martin Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x REPORTS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT: 14.1. 2015 / 459 - Update on response to Kimberly Scott's Motion of 02/18/15 regarding Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA) Additional Stops A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. 15. 2015 / 466 - Steering Committee A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 9 of 15) 16. - A motion was made to refer Item # 2015/456 to the Facilities Subcommittee for further discussion. VOTING Motion by: James Leary Second by: Stephen Gendron Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x 16.1. 2015 / 456 - Response to Steve Gendron's and James Leary's Motion of 04/16/14 regarding a contingency plan to accommodate the increase in middle school population. A motion was made to refer Item # 2015/456 to the Facilities Subcommittee for further discussion. The motion passed. Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 10 of 15) 17. 2015 / 483 - Inversant Report A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. 18. 2015 / 485 - SWEAR Program Follow-up A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. 19. 2015 / 486 - Waiting List System Online Update A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. 20. 2015 / 489 - Response to James Leary's Motion of 10/01/14 regarding Communication with Greater Lowell Technical High School A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. The Committee did discuss this motion briefly on the floor and spoke about further communication with the Greater Lowell Technical High School. Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 11 of 15) 21. 2015 / 490 - Response to Kimberly Scott's Motion of 05/16/14 regarding Foreign Language A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. 22. 2015 / 491 - Response to Steve Gendron's Motion of 04/01/15 regarding Refugee Receiving Districts A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. 23. 2015 / 492 - Response to David Conway's Motion of 11/04/15 regarding Alignment Between our Curriculum and Common Core Standards A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. 24. 2015 / 493 - Response to Kimberly Scott's Motion of 11/19/14 regarding Middle School Lyceum Program A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 12 of 15) 25. 2015 / 494 - Response to Kimberly Scott's Motion of 09/02/15 regarding Middle Schools Health Curriculum A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. 26. 2015 / 495 - Response to Kimberly Scott's Motion of 10/21/15 regarding School Lunch Services A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. The Committee did discuss this report briefly on the floor regarding concerns they’ve received from parents. 27. 2015 / 496 - Response to Kristin Ross-Sitcawich's Motion of 10/07/15 regarding District Wide Safety Assessment A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. 28. 2015 / 499 - Response to Kimberly Scott's Motion of 09/02/15 regarding Program Changes After the 2015-2016 Budget Sessions A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 13 of 15) 29. 2015 / 465 - Quarterly Report on Motions A motion was made to take all seventeen (17) Reports of the Superintendent together. The motion passed. NEW BUSINESS: 30. 2015 / 463 - Appointment to the Lowell Telecommunication Board VOTING Motion by: James Leary Second by: David Conway Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x 31. 2015 / 488 - Vote to Accept a Donation of $450.00 from Andy Descoteaux. VOTING Motion by: Kristin Ross-Sitcawich Second by: Connie Martin Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 14 of 15) Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x CONVENTION/CONFERENCE REQUESTS: 32. 2015 / 498 - Lowell High School Boys' and Girls' Indoor Track and Field Teams and coaches; Timothy Patterson, Philip Maia, David Casey and Scott Ouellette to travel to the Dartmouth Relays at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire on January 8th and 9th 2016 with one overnight stay at the Days Inn. A $250.00 entry fees will be paid by the Athletic Department budget. All other expenses associated with the trip of approximately $1.000.00, will be paid by the Friends of Lowell High School Track Committee and the student-athletes. VOTING Motion by: Kristin Ross-Sitcawich Second by: Kimberly Scott Committee Member YES NO ABSTAIN RECUSE Elliott, Rodney M. x Conway, David x Gendron, Stephen x Leary, James x Martin, Connie x Ross-Sitcawich, Kristin x Scott, Kimberly x Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 15 of 15) ADJOURNMENT: 33. - ADJOURNMENT: Motion to adjourn at 8:11 p.m. by Mr. Conway; seconded by Ms. Scott 7 yeas Respectfully submitted, Dr. Salah E. Khelfaoui, Superintendent and Secretary to the Lowell School Committee SEK/mes Lowell Public Schools • 43 Highland Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us