School Committee

Lowell Public School Committee Regular Meeting Minutes Date: February 1, 2017 Time: 6:30PM Location: City Council Chamber, 375 Merrimack Street, 2nd Floor, Lowell, MA 01852 2/1/2017 - Minutes 1. ROLL CALL On a roll call at 6:40 p.m., members present were, namely: Mayor Kennedy, Ms. Martin, Mr. Descoteaux, Ms. Doherty, Mr Giganc and Mr. Hoey. Mr. Gendron was absent. Onotse Omoyeni, LHS Student Representative was also present. 2. SALUTE TO FLAG 3. MINUTES 3.I. Approval Of The Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled Lowell School Committee Meeting Of Wednesday, January 18, 2017 Ms. Martin made a motion to accept the January 18, 2017 Lowell School Committee minutes and to place them on file; seconded by Mr. Hoey. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 4. PERMISSION TO ENTER 4.I. Permission To Enter: February 1, 2017 Mr. Hoey made a motion to approve the Permission to Enter; seconded by Ms. Martin. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 5. MEMORIALS 5.I. Memorial- McOsker Mary E. (Murray) McOsker, step mother of Fred McOsker, Assistant Principal at the Morey School.  5.I. Memorial- McOsker Mary E. (Murray) McOsker, step mother of Fred McOsker, Assistant Principal at the Morey School. 6. MOTIONS 6.I. [By Mayor Edward Kennedy]: Request that the Superintendent and Administration at Lowell High School provide information regarding how many students walk to Lowell High School and how many students participate in athletic events. Mayor Kennedy made a motion to approve; seconded by Ms. Martin. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 6.II. [By Mayor Edward Kennedy]: Request that the Superintendent and Administration at Lowell High School provide an update on the proposal to institute a STEM curriculum or STEM Academy at Lowell High School. Mayor Kennedy made a motion to approve; seconded by Mr. Hoey. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 6.III. [By Mayor Edward Kennedy]: Request to either postpone or cancel the School Committee meeting scheduled for April 19th, which falls during April school vacation. Mayor Kennedy made a motion to cancel the regularly scheduled Lowell School Committee meeting on April 19, 2017; seconded by Mr. Gignac. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 6.IV. [By Mayor Edward Kennedy]: Request the Superintendent provide a report and update on the school department’s efforts towards recruitment designed to bring diversity to the Lowell High School faculty. Mayor Kennedy made a motion to approve; seconded by Mr. Hoey. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED A request was made to also include efforts districtwide in the report. 6.V. [By Mayor Edward Kennedy]: Request that the Superintendent direct the Lowell High School Administration to take advantage of the free tutoring services offered at the Dharma Center on Merrimack Street. Mayor Kennedy made a motion to approve; seconded by Ms. Doherty. 6 yeas,  Request that the Superintendent direct the Lowell High School Administration to take advantage of the free tutoring services offered at the Dharma Center on Merrimack Street. Mayor Kennedy made a motion to approve; seconded by Ms. Doherty. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 6.VI. [By Robert Gignac]: Request the Superintendent develop and distribute an Organizational Health Survey to all staff and parents throughout the district. Mr. Gignac made a motion to approve; seconded by Ms. Martin. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED Tim Blake was registered to speak on this motion and shared a sample of a School Site Council Survey with the Committee. 6.VII. [By Robert Hoey]: Request that the Superintendent send a letter of appreciation to Coach George Bossi, on behalf of the Lowell Public Schools and the Lowell School Committee, in recognition of Coach Bossi's holiday wrestling tournament, held at the Paul Tsongas Arena annually, and known to bring large crowds into the city. Mr. Hoey made a motion to approve; seconded by Mr. Gignac. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 6.VIII. [By Robert Hoey]: Request that the Superintendent send a letter of congratulations to Coach Tom Cassidy, on behalf of the Lowell Public Schools and the Lowell School Committee, on Greater Lowell Technical High School Gryphons wrestling team's recent win over Lowell High School. Mr. Hoey made a motion to approve; seconded by Ms. Martin. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 6.IX. [By Andy Descoteaux]: Have the Superintendent work with the Lowell High School administration to look into adding the IB (International Baccalaureate) program to offer our advanced HS students another opportunity in addition to AP course work. Mr. Descoteaux made a motion to approve; seconded by Ms. Doherty. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 7. SUBCOMMITTEES 7.I. Finance Subcommittee: Report and Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of Tuesday, January 24, 2017 [Robert Gignac, Chair] 7.I. Finance Subcommittee: Report and Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of Tuesday, January 24, 2017 [Robert Gignac, Chair] Mr. Gignac, Chairperson of the Finance Subcommittee spoke to the the Committee about establishing a SPED reserve fund. This would be an additional fund that can accumulate monies from one year to the next year so the district has money for unbudgeted Special Education or transportation expenses. The SPED reserve fund was signed into law in 2016 and it allows school districts by a majority vote of the School Committee and City Council to establish and appropriate or transfer money to a reserve fund to be used in the upcoming fiscal years to pay without further appropriation for unexpected or unbudgeted Special Education costs, out of district tuition or transportation. The balance in the SPED reserve fund can’t exceed 2 % of the annual net school spending of the school district. In order for the district to have the SPED reserve fund the School Committee would have to approve establishing it by a majority vote and City Council would also have to approve it by a majority vote. Currently, our Circuit Breaker account has a cap of 1 years’ worth of revenues. Mr. Gignac made a motion to establish the SPED Reserve Fund; seconded by Ms. Doherty. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED Mr. Gignac then spoke to the Committee about the year to date expenditures report as of December 31, 2016 that was discussed at the Subcommittee meeting. The report highlighted ten (10) accounts with budgetary actions needed. The Subcommittee addressed how often transfers will be made and if the Committee can receive an update on the transfers more regularly and if the monthly report can include showing the balances from the beginning of the year as well as year to date. The Assistant Superintendent of Finance will be adding another column to the monthly report to show the balance from the beginning of the year. Mr. Gignac made a motion to accept the report as a report of progress; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 7.II. Joint Facilities And Lowell High School Subcommittee Meeting A request was made to take the agenda out of order to discuss the Joint Facilities and Lowell High School Subcommittee Meeting by general consent. Report and Approval of the Minutes of the Joint Facilities and Lowell High School Subcommittee Meeting of Tuesday, January 24, 2017 [Steve Gendron, Chairperson and Robert Gignac, Chairperson] Mr. Gignac, Chairperson of the Lowell High Subcommittee asked Mr. Martin, Head of School to address the Committee. Mr. Martin thanked the School Committee, the City Manager and his staff and the City Council for choosing Lowell High School and for supporting the high school during this process. Mr. Martin and other staff members from Lowell High School presented an overview of the PowerPoint presentation that was provided at the Subcommittee meeting of the overall design process. Designing a school this size takes about 3 years and currently Lowell High is in the feasibility study. The MSBA’s study is defined in three major efforts that will occur over 17 months. Mr. Gignac made a motion accept the Education Plan for the New LHS Project as presented; seconded by Ms. Doherty; 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED  study. The MSBA’s study is defined in three major efforts that will occur over 17 months. Mr. Gignac made a motion accept the Education Plan for the New LHS Project as presented; seconded by Ms. Doherty; 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED Mr. Gignac made a motion accept the report as a report of progress; seconded by Mr. Hoey; 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 8. REPORTS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 8.I. Online Community Resource Guide Deputy Superintendent Jeannine Durkin announced the launching of the Lowell Public Schools Online Community Resource Guide. The Resource Guide is designed to assist students, parents and school personnel in easily locating and accessing resources that are available in and around Lowell. Deputy Superintendent Durkin briefly showed the Committee how to access this site via the web. Mr. Hoey made a motion to accept the following Reports of the Superintendent as reports of progress: 8.I., 8.II. and 8.III.; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 8.II. Chapter 70 State Aid Assistant Superintendent Frisch/CFO informed the Committee that according to the DESE the Lowell Public Schools net school spending requirement calculation increased by $6,107,324 from $183,238,362 to $189,345,686 or a 3.3 % increase. The $6,107,324 increase is made up of a state share component of $4,932,022 (80.75%) and a local share component of $1,175,302 (19.25%). The required local contribution is paid in two parts: 1) cash and 2) in-kind costs paid by the City on behalf of the Lowell Public Schools. Mr. Hoey made a motion to accept the following Reports of the Superintendent as reports of progress: 8.I., 8.II. and 8.III.; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 8.III. Proposed 2018 Budget Calendar Mr. Gignac made a motion to make the following changes to the proposed 2018 Budget Calendar; seconded by Ms. Doherty. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED l Wednesday, April 12, 2017 - Public Session - The Superintendent to present the FY18 recommended budget. - City Hall Council Chambers l Wednesday, April 26, 2017 - changed to a Finance Subcommittee - Rogers School - TV Studio l Wednesday, May 3, 2017 -- Budget Hearing - asked to be changed to the City Hall Council Chambers l Wednesday, May 10, 2017 - Budget Hearing & Adoption - asked to be changed to the City Hall Council Chambers Mr. Hoey made a motion to accept the following Reports of the Superintendent as reports of progress: 8.I., 8.II. and 8.III.; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED  l Wednesday, May 10, 2017 - Budget Hearing & Adoption - asked to be changed to the City Hall Council Chambers Mr. Hoey made a motion to accept the following Reports of the Superintendent as reports of progress: 8.I., 8.II. and 8.III.; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 9. NEW BUSINESS 9.I. Budget Transfer Mr. Gignac made a motion to approve the following budget transfer; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED From: 1400 531800 Printing & Binding $500 To: 2400 541500 Choral Supplies $500 The purpose of this transfer is to add a choral supply account at the Moody School. 9.II. Disposal Of Surplus Supplies On December 7, 2016 the Business Office presented a list of textbooks deemed to be surplus by the Currriculum Office to the School Committee. At this time, there is no vendor who is willing to take the textbooks on assignment or willing to take the textbooks for "trade-in" for future purchases. With the support of the School Committee the Business Office is requesting disposing and removing all textbooks listed in said list from school premises. The textbooks will be offerred "free" to staff and students and then the remaining books would be recycled throught the school's recycling program over a period of time. Ms. Doherty made a motion to approve the Disposal of Surplus Supplies; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 9.III. SPED Reserve Fund - New Legislation The SPED Reserve Fund - New Legislation was discussed and voted on during the Finance Subcommittee portion of the agenda. 10. CONVENTION/CONFERENCE REQUESTS 10.I. LHS - Business Professionals Of America Framingham, MA Head of School Brian Martin, request permission for Lowell High School Business Professional Advisor, Jill McNamara along with 15 members of the Lowell Chapter of the Business Professionals of America to attend the National Leadership Conference in Framingham, MA from Saturday, March 4, 2017 through Monday, March 6, 2017 at the Sheraton Tara Hotel & Conference Center. Students will be absent from school on Monday, March 6, 2017. The only cost will be $100 for a substitute teacher for 1 day and will be paid by Lowell High School Individual School account. The cost of the conference will be paid for through The 1826 School Store for students and staff. Students have been raising funds to defray the cost of the trip and each student will pay $200 of the $250 per student. This will include all meals and 2 nights at the Sheraton Tara. There will be no additional cost to the Lowell School Department budget.  conference will be paid for through The 1826 School Store for students and staff. Students have been raising funds to defray the cost of the trip and each student will pay $200 of the $250 per student. This will include all meals and 2 nights at the Sheraton Tara. There will be no additional cost to the Lowell School Department budget. Ms. Doherty made a motion to take and approve all six (6) field trip requests together for approval; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 10.II. LHS - New England Wrestling Championship Head of School Brian Martin, request permission for a one night over night stay on March 3 and 4, 2017 for LHS Wrestlers to attend the New England Wrestling Championship to be held at the Providence Career and Technical Academy in Providnece, RI. The Students will be under the supervision of Head Coach George Bossi, and assistant coaches James Dillon, Michael Dillon, and George Gilbride. Transportation will be via private vehicle provided by the Lowell High School Wrestling Coaches with written parental permission. The cost of the trip will not exceed $2000.00 paid by the Lowell High Athletic Department. Ms. Doherty made a motion to take and approve all six (6) field trip requests together for approval; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 10.III. LHS- Outdoor Adventures Russell, MA Head of School Brian Martin, request permission for Outdoor Adventures Advisor, Kendra Bauer and Donna Newcomb, both employees of Lowell School Department, to participate in an overnight winter adventure excursion supported by the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Youth Opportunity Program with 10 – 14 club members. They will be traveling to Noble View Outdoor Center in Russell, Massachusetts from Monday, February 20 – Wednesday, February 22, 2017 (school vacation week). No substitutes are required. The club will travel via school bus, which will be paid for by the students and subsidized by the club’s funds. Ms. Doherty made a motion to take and approve all six (6) field trip requests together for approval; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 10.IV. LHS Trip To Greece April 2018 Lowell High School staff Jill McNamara, Wayne Taylor and Danielle Lessard, along with chaperone Jo Ann LaBranche who is CORI and 24 students, to travel to Greece, Athens, and Islands during April 2018 school vacation. The total cost of $3,335 will be paid by each student traveling. The cost of $200 for two substitute teacher will be paid by the LHS Individual School Budget. Ms. Doherty made a motion to take and approve all six (6) field trip requests together for approval; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 10.V. Thomas Thornton Student Council Workshop Hyannis, MA. Permission for eleven (11) Student Council Representatives as well as Student Council  APPROVED 10.V. Thomas Thornton Student Council Workshop Hyannis, MA. Permission for eleven (11) Student Council Representatives as well as Student Council Advisor, Thomas Thornton to attend the 2017 Massachusetts Association of Student Council Workshop on Wednesday, March 8 through Friday, March 10, 2017 held at the Resort & Conference Center at Hyannis, in Hyannis, MA. Students will miss three (3) days of school. No substitutes will be needed and all expenses will be paid through the Office of Student Activities at LHS funds not to exceed $2,100. There is no cost to the Lowell School Department. Ms. Doherty made a motion to take and approve all six (6) field trip requests together for approval; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 10.VI. Bartlett School Music Teacher - Albany, NY Bartlett School Music teacher, Rachel Crawford to attend an out of state conference as part of an National Science Foundation. The conference will be held in Albany, NY on April 7th and 8th 2017. The total cost of $726.00, including the daily substitute will be paid by UML the National Science Foundation Grant. There is no cost to the Lowell Public Schools. Ms. Doherty made a motion to take and approve all six (6) field trip requests together for approval; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 11. COMMUNICATIONS 11.I. Letter Of Appreciation To William Haddad, Executive Director Of On The Move Mr. Hoey made a motion to accept the communication and place it on file; seconded by Mr. Gignac. 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED 12. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Martin made a motion to adjourn at 8:20 p.m.; seconded by Mr. Gignac 6 yeas, 1 absent APPROVED Respectfully submitted, Dr. Salah E. Khelfaoui, Superintendent and Secretary to the Lowell School Committee SEK/mes Lowell Public Schools • 155 Merrimack Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • P: 978.674.4324 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us Lowell Public Schools • 155 Merrimack Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • P: 978.674.4324 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us