Salem School Committee
Minutes
Monday, January 11, 2010
7:30 p.m.
Collins Middle School
Finance Report
Mr. Sheehan reported that he is working and submitted the second quarter FY10 financial report and will submit it to the Superintendent next week. He explained that the report will identify areas of favorable and unfavorable variances in the budget so far this year.
Mr. Sheehan reported that he is working on the FY11 budget and in the coming weeks he will have more information on that process.
Mr. Sheehan reported that the district has submitted the second quarter spending report to DESE for ARRA funding which is a considerable portion of the Salem Public Schools budget. He noted that it was a time consuming process.
Mr. Sheehan reported that the State financial picture seems to be improving and he is less anxious about the SFSF grant being reduced.
Mr. Sheehan reported that the ARRA grant is not expected to be released until the second week of March 2010. He also reported that he has confirmation that the effective date of the grant will July 1, 2009 which is good news.
Deliberation on the School Department Warrant
The following warrants were presented for approval.
December 22, 2009 in the amount of $607,977.51
December 31, 2009 in the amount of $749,857.34
January 7, 2010 in the amount of $ 68,669.54
Dr. Walsh moved approval of the warrants in the amounts listed. Dr. Crane seconded the motion. The motion carried.
Action Items
- Deliberation on the request of the Salem High School Camber Choir to attend the Gold Choral Concert at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire on January 23, 2010
Dr. Crane moved approval, seconded by Dr. Walsh. The motion carried.
- Deliberation on the approval of the Collins Middle School 8th Grade day trip to New York City on June 14, 2010
Dr. Crane moved approval, seconded by Mr. Bryant. The motion carried.
- Deliberation on the approval of the Memorandum of Understanding for The Race To The Top
Dr. Crane moved approval, seconded by Dr. Walsh.
Discussion:
Dr. Cameron reported that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is among the states competing for the Federal initiative Race to the Top which is $4.3 million dollars earmarked for the improvement of student learning through improved teaching and making more efficient use of student data. He explained that the Memorandum of Understanding signifies a willingness on the part of the School District to participate in the development of a plan to conform to the general scope of the state plan. He noted that the MOU is a commitment by the Salem Public Schools to move forward with the process of planning that will be beneficial to the students and the teachers.
Dr. Walsh stated that he attended a RTTT workshop a Worcester State College last week and explained that the district has the option of opting out of this if we find that it is not in the best interest of the school district. He expressed concern about the required signatures for the MOU noting that it require the signature of the Mayor, Superintendent and the President of the Salem Teachers Union. He noted that although he has concerns about this he will vote to approve this.
Dr. Crane stated that she also has concerns but will vote in favor of this because there is the option of opting out of it if we feel it is not in the best interest of the district.
Mayor Driscoll stated that the goals of the program are laudable to improve student achievement and she looks at this as a grant opportunity and down the road we will need all of the resources that we can get.
Dr. Cameron referred to page 3 of the MOU and noted that the state strongly encourages the participating LEA to commit to participating in Massachusetts’ plan to roll out statewide Pre K -12 Teaching and Learning System. He explained that the MOU states that LEA’s are encouraged to partner with the state to develop and implement a new P-12 Teaching and Learning System aligned to the Common Core of standards including:
Summative, benchmark, formative assessments and curriculum-embedded performance tasks
Exemplar curricular and instructional units
Educator professional development
Innovative technology solutions
Dr. Cameron further noted that the MOU calls for an increase in college and career readiness. He explained that LEA’s are encouraged to partner with the state to develop and implement new programs, supports or incentives (such as International Baccalaureate middle and high schools, early college enrollment programs, and an enhanced Adams Scholarship) to improve students’ preparation for college and careers. He noted that these are areas that would be beneficial to the district.
Dr. Walsh noted that the Salem Public Schools are probably ahead of the curve with the Parent Child Home Program and our Pre-School programs.
There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter, Mayor Driscoll called for a vote on the motion made by Dr. Crane and seconded by Dr. Walsh to approve the MOU for the Race to the Top. A vote was taken and the motion carried.
- Deliberation on the approval of the Memorandum of Agreement with the Salem Teachers Union for The Race To The Top
Mayor Driscoll reported that it has been determined that approval of a Memorandum of Agreement with the Teachers Union is not needed. No action was taken on this action item.
e. Deliberation on the approval of the Superintendent’s recommendation to hire a full time Special Education 1-1 Paraprofessional at the Nathaniel Bowditch Elementary – 6 hours per day/ 5 days per week at a rate of $13.37 per hour.
Dr. Walsh moved approval, seconded by Dr. Crane. The motion carried.
School Committee Reports
Personnel
Mr. Bryant reported that a Personnel Subcommittee Meeting was held this evening and the Committee met with representatives of the Salem Teachers Union to discuss collective bargaining issues regarding the Race to the Top.
Mr. Bryant also reported that the Personnel Subcommittee reviewed the Mass Math and Science Initiative and recommends to the School Committee that the Superintendent be directed to submit the application and that prior to the acceptance of the grant that any collecting bargaining issues be addressed through impact bargaining with the Salem Teachers Union.
Dr. Cameron explained that the Mass Math and Science Initiative grant will enable us to promote AP courses at Salem High School and provide Professional Development for teachers to increase the numbers of students participating in AP courses. He noted that the grant is a bit controversial in that teachers have the opportunity to benefit financially from the achievement of their students. He further noted that there have been some serious problems with the approach that has been taken in other communities and he would like to avoid that and proposes meeting with the Salem Teachers Union to try and solve some of the problems that other districts have not been able to solve.
Mr. Bryant moved that the Superintendent be directed to submit the application and that prior to the acceptance of the grant that any collecting bargaining issues be addressed through impact bargaining with the Salem Teachers Union. Dr. Walsh seconded the motion. The motion carried.
Dr. Walsh reported that the Curriculum Subcommittee met this evening and recommend that the School Committee approve the Program of Studies for Salem High School with three new classes: Norman H. Read Internship, Computer Programming 2, and Intro to Computer Animation.
Dr. Walsh moved to approve the Program of Studies for Salem High School with three new classes: Norman H. Read Internship, Computer Programming II, and Intro to Computer Animation. Dr. Crane seconded the motion. The motion carried.
School Committee Concerns and Resolutions
Dr. Crane moved that the matter of the Superintendent’s contract be referred to the Personnel Subcommittee for negotiation. Dr. Walsh seconded the motion. The motion carried.
Dr. Walsh thanked the Salem Community for their support of the Salem Children’s Charity. He noted that a great time was had by all and through the generosity of donors they raised over $18,000.
Mayor Driscoll thanked Dr. Walsh and the Walsh Family for their efforts and support of the Salem Children’s Charity.
Questions and Comments from the Audience Regarding the December 21, 2009 Agenda
Collins Middle School Principal Mary Manning addressed the School Committee and reported that this a lot of collaboration among the three middle schools. She explained that there is quite a bit of communication between the schools as well as the sharing of materials and there has been a significant improvement. She also noted that the counselors at CMS spent the first quarter of the school year at Salem High School monitoring the transition of freshman students and the grades for the first marking period were encouraging.
Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the School Committee this evening, Mr. Bryant moved to adjourn the meeting. Dr. Walsh seconded the motion. The motion carried.
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
_________________________
Eileen M. Sacco, Secretary
Salem School Committee
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