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[Accessed 22-Apr-2009 from the District Web Site Minutes link (see above), with minor formatting changes.]

WESTBOROUGH SCHOOL COMMITTEE

WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS

MINUTES

Wednesday March 11, 2009

The Westborough School Committee meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chairman, Craig Harris.  Committee members present included Mr. Bruce Tretter, Mr. Stephen Doret, Mrs. Ilyse Levine-Kanji and Mrs. Karen Henderson. Administrators present included Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Anne Towle, Assistant Superintendent Mrs. Marianne O’Connor, Director of Finance and Administration, Mr. Daniel Hendricks; Student Representative, Katherine McManus; Principals John Smith, Elaine Halford; Director of Technology, Kathy Martin; Director of Facilities, Brian Schlegel.  

The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

MINUTES

Upon a motion by Mr. Tretter and a second by Mrs. Henderson, the Committee voted 5-0 to approve the minutes of February 25, 2009, as amended.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT AND HIGHLIGHTS

Superintendent Towle introduced WHS senior, Joseph Covino, who has been awarded the rank of Eagle Scout by the Boys Scout of America, and presented him with a Certificate of Achievement.  He was congratulated for his project at the Westborough Housing Authority that involved 400 volunteer hours.

Dr. Towle recognized Matt Schoen and Jessica Bready who are Mid Wach B Basketball All-Scholastic Award winners.  They received their awards at the All Star game March 5^th.  Also recognized was the joint Westborough-Northborough Robotics team for its success at the Boston University Robotics Competition.  The team competed against 52 teams from theUnited States and Canada, and took second place.  Superintendent Towle announced the Westborough Computer Team of Bianca Homberg, David Lamont and Paul Min, placed third out of twenty-five teams at the WPI Computer Science contest. 

Superintendent Towle thanked all the teachers and parents who participated in the principal search.  There will be one more meeting of the candidates with the Armstrong staff on March 12.  The final decision will be announced March 13.

Mrs. O’Connor reported the kindergarten registration process is on schedule and only two candidates according to the town census report are not accounted for.  It will be announced after March 20 whether a lottery will be needed for the full day program. 

Dr. Seuss Day was a success and all participants were thanked for their involvement.  The Professional Development planning team has met and is making plans for the summer program and next year. 

Mrs. O’Connor attended the World Religions Symposium at the Mill Pond School and extended thanks to the Westborough Educational Foundation for its continued support.  Its committee is reviewing the grant applications for next year. 

Members of the high school Student Council left for a conference in Hyannis today.

COMMITTEE REQUESTS AND REPORTS

Katherine extended congratulations to the cast and crew of “Bye Bye Birdie” as well as Mr. and Mrs. Morelli and Mr. Stillano for the outstanding production. School Committee members, and Mr. Cliff Watts, also added their praise and congratulations on the production.   Spring sports begin next week.  There are over 200 athletes that have reported for spring track.  A volleyball tournament was held at the high school last weekend, sponsored by WABA. On March 20 a fundraiser, sponsored by TRI M, will be held with the proceeds going to the senior citizen fuel fund.

Mr. Harris extended a welcome to Finance Committee member liaisons, Judy Lucas and Cliff Watts.  Mrs. Henderson extended thanks to them for their volunteer time to the community.

Mr. Tretter reported he has met with Mr. Hendricks regarding an upcoming meeting to inspect facilities.  Mrs. Levine-Kanji stated the Community Education brochure is available for the April vacation schedule.  A family bowling fundraiser has been scheduled April 4 with the proceeds going to Kathy Swanson, fifth grade teacher at Mill Pond, whose husband is ill.  Mrs. Henderson reported the Policy Sub Committee has met and will be releasing the Student Relations section soon.

Mr. Doret informed the Committee the recent Energy Bill out of Washington contains a 30% tax credit or grant for solar and hydro power that the district should investigate and take advantage of. 

ACTION ITEMS

MOTION

Mrs. Henderson made a motion to schedule an additional School Committee meeting, April 1, for budget discussion and review and a public hearing.  The Committee voted 5-0 in favor of the motion.

REPORTS

A joint meeting with the Finance Committee will be held April 9 at 7:00 p.m.  Town Meeting is May 16, 2009.

BUDGET REVIEW SCHEDULE

March 11   Budget Overview

                    Enrollments

                    Technology

                    Facilities

                    Utilities

                    Transportation

March 18    Review of Budget to Date

                    Curriculum and Professional Development

                     Armstrong School

                     Fales School

                     Hastings School

                     Mill Pond School

March 25    Review of Budget to Date

                     Special Education

                     Fine Arts

                     Middle School

                     High School

                     Athletics

April 1         Review of Budget to Date

                     Revolving Funds

                     Administration Recommendations

                     Public Hearing

April 8        Review of Budget to Date

                     Budget Adoption by School Committee

BUDGET OVERVIEW

Mr. Hendricks stated the enrollment projection for 2009-10 is 3505, 83 less than this year.  The Circuit Breaker aid shows an increase to 70%, which is less than this year, but more than was anticipated in December.  This aid goes directly to the school district and is based on out of district student placement costs.  At this time it is anticipated the Federal Stimulus program will increase IDEA Aid by $400,000.  The town manager has announced he will allocate an additional $500,000 to the school department’s budget.

Mr. Hendricks pointed out there are several items that the district does not know.  It does not know the details of the Federal Stimulus program and how it will be delivered through the state.  There is also the unknown of the impact of working with town officials on cost savings measures, the impact of energy conservation initiative (National Grid and Northern Energy) and the impact of other revenue sources.  The proposed budget expenditure is $38,259,898, which is an increase of $504,370, or 1.34%.  Energy costs are the largest contribution to the increase.  Mr. Hendricks reported at this time the proposed budget contains a staffing reduction of 33.10 FTE positions (41 people). That will include 21 teacher positions, 4.25 para professionals, 4 job coaches, 3 from the facilities area and .8 nurses.  If the anticipated $400,000 from the Stimulus package does not come through, the result would be an additional reduction of 8 or 9 positions. 

Mr. Doret stated his position is the School Committee determines what is needed for the educational program and it then finds out where the finances will come from. Through further deliberation the Committee will find out where the money is and fit it to the programs the district wants to offer.  If needed, an additional Committee meeting can always be scheduled.  He is also awaiting further information on the impact of other revenue sources. 

The Committee reiterated several times during the meeting that all budget information and discussion is in a preliminary stage.  Final budget decisions will be made in April after receiving all available information from all sources. 

TECHNOLOGY BUDGET

Mrs. Martin extended thanks to her staff and presented detailed information to the Committee for its review.  There are more than 4000 users of technology equipment preparing students for 21^st century skills.  The proposed Technology budget is $726,775; $117,505 less than this year, or -13.9%.  Of this total amount, it was noted $245,000 could be considered a capital expense for the continuation of hardware purchase.  Mrs. Martin reviewed the goals of the budget and detailed the line items. She also reviewed the distribution of funds this year.   Mrs. Martin reported the Gibbons School will be converted to the first wireless building during the April vacation. 

The administration announced it recommends the department be reduced by one teacher and the technicians be reduced by 14% through a reduction in hours in the elementary schools. 

FACILITIES BUDGET

Mr. Schlegel reported a budget increase of 13.5% due entirely to energy costs, which are up 100%.  He is continuing to work with National Grid and Northern Energy on cost reductions. General materials shows an increase of 3%, and repairs are decreased.  The department will reduce three positions, one maintenance and two custodial.  There will be a change in the maintenance schedule of the buildings due to the personnel reductions and new cleaning schedules will be developed. 

Mr. Doret cautioned about reducing candle power at Mill Pond and the High School.  The Building Committee worked extremely hard to make sure it was at the proper levels in those schools.  He would like the Committee to be made aware of any forthcoming recommendations.

The Committee directed the Superintendent to place a hold on the Warrant for capital projects. 

Mr. Tretter wished to emphasize the need to establish a list of Committee priorities before making budget decisions. He felt the Committee should look at the core teachers in the classrooms and support services and then make decisions.  The Superintendent will prepare a memo on personnel issues and priorities for the next meeting.  Each principal will then speak to individual staffing issues during their prepared statements. 

Mr. Doret requested a list department by department on the basic staffing budget for this year and next.  He felt the Committee, administration and unions should be trying to save jobs. He would like to see a copy of the staffing changes and the impact of the changes. 

TRANSPORTATION BUDGET

Mr. Hendricks reported the Collaborative transportation cost shows an increase of 3% next year.; the Out of District SPED transportation will increase $25,000 or 5%, for a total of $525,000. First Student’s regular education transportation contract expires in 2010.  Currently there are 18 buses in the district at a cost of $230 each per day.  The noon kindergarten bus will be reduced from 6 to 3 next year. 

The Committee requested further investigation of transportation savings.  It suggested looking at reducing the number of buses and at the student data base to develop further transportation changes.  Mr. Doret suggested researching the staggering of school start times to reduce the number of buses.

The Committee signed bills.

At 8:25 p.m.  Mr. Tretter made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Mrs. Henderson.  The Committee voted 5-0 in favor of the motion.  

                                                                                                Respectfully submitted

                                                                                                Karen Henderson

                                                                                                Secretary

These minutes are as recorded by the secretary to the school committee and do not become an official part of the record until so noted in a subsequent record.