School Committee

LOWELL SCHOOL COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Date: July 15, 2020 Time: 6:30PM Location: City Council Chamber, 375 Merrimack Street, 2nd Floor, Lowell, MA 01852 Members Of The Public May View The Meeting Via LTC And Those Wishing To Speak Regarding A Specific Agenda Item Shall Register To Speak In Advance Of The Meeting By Sending Email To the Superintendent Indicating The Agenda Item And A Phone Number To Call So That You May Be Tele- Conferenced In To The Meeting. Email Address Is mpalazzo@lowell.k12.ma.us If No Access To Email You May Contact At 978-674-4324. 1. SALUTE TO FLAG 2. ROLL CALL On a roll call at 6:33 p.m., members present were, namely: Mayor Leahy, Ms. Clark, Mr. Descoteaux, Mr. Dillon, Ms. Doherty and Mr. Hoey. Ms. Martin was absent. 3. MINUTES 3.1. Approval of the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of Wednesday, June 17, 2020 Ms. Doherty made a motion to approve and place on file the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 17, 2020, Minutes of the Regularly Scheduled Lowell School Committee Meeting of Wednesday, June 17, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 25, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 29, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of July 1, 2020 and Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of July 9, 2020; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED 3.2. Approval of the Minutes of the Regularly Scheduled Lowell School Committee Meeting of Wednesday, June 17, 2020 Ms. Doherty made a motion to approve and place on file the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 17, 2020, Minutes of the Regularly Scheduled Lowell School Committee Meeting of Wednesday, June 17, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 25, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 29, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of July 1, 2020 and Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of July 9, 2020; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED Lowell Public Schools • 155 Merrimack Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 2 of 6) 3.3. Approval of the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of Thursday, June 25, 2020 Ms. Doherty made a motion to approve and place on file the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 17, 2020, Minutes of the Regularly Scheduled Lowell School Committee Meeting of Wednesday, June 17, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 25, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 29, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of July 1, 2020 and Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of July 9, 2020; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED 3.4. Approval of the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of Monday, June 29, 2020 Ms. Doherty made a motion to approve and place on file the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 17, 2020, Minutes of the Regularly Scheduled Lowell School Committee Meeting of Wednesday, June 17, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 25, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 29, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of July 1, 2020 and Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of July 9, 2020; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED 3.5. Approval of the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of Wednesday, July 1, 2020 Ms. Doherty made a motion to approve and place on file the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 17, 2020, Minutes of the Regularly Scheduled Lowell School Committee Meeting of Wednesday, June 17, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 25, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 29, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of July 1, 2020 and Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of July 9, 2020; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED 3.6. Approval of the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of Thursday, July 9, 2020 Ms. Doherty made a motion to approve and place on file the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 17, 2020, Minutes of the Regularly Scheduled Lowell School Committee Meeting of Wednesday, June 17, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 25, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of June 29, 2020, Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of July 1, 2020 and Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Lowell School Committee of July 9, 2020; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED Lowell Public Schools • 155 Merrimack Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 3 of 6) 4. PERMISSION TO ENTER 4.1. Permission to Enter: July 15, 2020 Mr. Hoey made a motion to approve all items on the Permission to Enter with the exception of Dattzo in the amount of $2,610,000; seconded by Mr. Descoteaux. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED 5. MOTIONS 5.1. [By Hilary Clark]: Mandate school committee members participate in anti-racism, unconscious attitudes and implicit bias training provided to district level administrators. The following people registered and spoke on the above motion: Monica Lundberg Olu Ibrahim Phitsamay S. Uy Andres Lopez Darcie Boyer The maker of the motion amended the motion the read as follows: Mandate school committee members participate in anti-racism, unconscious attitudes and awareness of implicit bias training provided to district level administrators. Ms. Clark made a motion to approve; seconded by Ms. Doherty. 5 yeas, 1 nay (Mr. Dillon), 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED 6. REPORTS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 6.1. Budget Update Superintendent Boyd and Ms. Turner, Chief Financial Officer provided an update to the Committee on the budget. The following areas were addressed and discussed:  FY21 Revenue  Important Benchmarks  Next Steps  Recommendations Ms. Doherty made a motion to accept the following Reports of the Superintendent 6.1 through 6.4 as reports of progress; seconded by Mr. Dillon. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED Lowell Public Schools • 155 Merrimack Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 4 of 6) 6.2. COVID-19 Response Update and Planning for School Re-Opening Ms. Desmond, Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Guillory, Chief Schools Officer and Ms. Phillips provided a COVID-19 Response Update and Planning for School Re-Opening report to the Committee. The report included the following:  Student Enrollment  Building Capacity and Social Distancing  Transportation and Social Distancing  Summer Remediation & Curriculum Realignment  Scenario-Based Planning for Re-Opening  School Opening Dashboard  Next Steps The following people registered and spoke on the report: Monica Lundberg Molly Kelly-Muon Paul Georges David Grenier Ms. Doherty made a motion to accept the following Reports of the Superintendent 6.1 through 6.4 as reports of progress; seconded by Mr. Dillon. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED 6.3. Report on Motions Superintendent Boyd provided the Committee with an updated report on the status of outstanding motions and asked the Committee if they had any concerns or questions. Ms. Doherty made a motion to accept the following Reports of the Superintendent 6.1 through 6.4 as reports of progress; seconded by Mr. Dillon. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED 6.3.1. Response to Motions 3.CFO of 04/01/20 By Bob Hoey [By Bob Hoey]: That the superintendent produce a report by April 1, 2020 meet with the following information charting out spend expenditures by year for the last 15 years (or as far as back as possible)  Number of total special education budget; l Percentage of kids receiving special location services;  Amount of money spent on out of district services; l Percentages of children utilizing out of district services;  Number of employees working in Special Education (please also provide their job descriptions);  Total of number of employees within the district per year. Lowell Public Schools • 155 Merrimack Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 5 of 6) Ms. Turner, Chief Financial Officer provided a report to the Committee that included nine (9) years of data and have disclosed the following:  Total Special Education spending has increased from $22.6 million in 2011 to $43.3 million in 2019.  Special Education spending has increased from 15% of total budget in 2011 to 21.9% in 2019.  Special Education spending totals includes approximately 70% on in district spending and 30% out of district spending year to year.  Special Education out of district spending rose from $7.9 million in 2011 to $13 million in 2018. This amount decreased to $11.8 million in 2019 due to the opening of the Janice Adie Day School.  Students receiving out of district Special Education services rose from 98 in 2011 to 140 in 2018. This amount decreased from 140 to 114 in 2019.  Total enrollment has increased from 13,708 in 2011 to 14,663 in 2019.  2105 students in 2011 received Special Education services which represents 15% of total enrollment. In 2019, 2543 students received Special Education services which represent 17% of total enrollment.  Special Education staff increased from 324 in 2011 to 493 in 2019. In 2011, Special Education staff represented 18.8% of total staff (1723). This rose to 23.4% of total staff (2110) in 2019. Ms. Doherty made a motion to accept the following Reports of the Superintendent 6.1 through 6.4 as reports of progress; seconded by Mr. Dillon. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED 6.4. Enrollment Report The district enrollment report provided to the Committee showed the breakdown by school and grade through July 9, 2020. Ms. Doherty made a motion to accept the following Reports of the Superintendent 6.1 through 6.4 as reports of progress; seconded by Mr. Dillon. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED Lowell Public Schools • 155 Merrimack Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us  (Page 6 of 6) 7. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Clark made a motion to adjourn at 9:46 p.m.; seconded by Ms. Doherty. 6 yeas, 1 absent (Ms. Martin) APPROVED Respectfully submitted, Joel D. Boyd, Ed.D., Superintendent and Secretary to the Lowell School Committee JDB/mes Lowell Public Schools • 155 Merrimack Street • Lowell, MA 01852 • http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us