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December 14, 2004MINUTES OF THEFRANKLIN SCHOOL COMMITTEE Tuesday, December 14, 2004 Chairman Jeff Roy called the Franklin School Committee meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. in Town Council Chambers. Members Present: Mr. Cafasso, Mrs. Kelly, Mrs. Malacaria, Mrs. Mullen, Mrs. Nulton, Mr. Roy and Mrs. Scofield. Also Present: Dr. David Crisafulli, Superintendent of Schools, school administrative personnel and members of the general public. The Pledge of allegiance was recited, led by three students from Parmenter Elementary School, and a moment of silence was observed. 1. ROUTINE BUSINESS A. Citizens Comments 1. Mrs. Holly Sennett and her husband, parents of a Parmenter Elementary kindergarten student, who has peanut allergies, were present to talk about their son. Mrs. Sennett stated that her son was placed in a peanut-free classroom and put on a health care plan through Parmenter’s school nurse Susan King. Despite the school administration’s efforts to keep him from contact with peanuts, he suffered a severe allergic reaction at the end of the October 20th school day. The student’s allergic reaction included vomiting, wheezing, stomach cramps and anaphylactic shock. Thankfully, their son was successfully treated at a hospital emergency room, but Mr. and Mrs. Sennett remain concerned about their son and the possibility of a repeat incident. The Sennetts asked that the School Committee consider removing peanut butter from Franklin Public Schools since many children who have peanut allergies have reactions from airborne particles and by simply smelling peanut butter. 2. Mrs. Christine Grunner, a Franklin resident and parent of a 3-year-old son who also is allergic to peanuts spoke to the Committee. Although her son is not yet a student in the Franklin Public Schools, Mrs. Grunner does plan to send her son to a Franklin elementary school and wanted to ensure that the School Committee was aware of the rising incidence of peanut allergies and the harmful and even deadly reactions these children have if they are exposed to peanuts. Mrs. Grunner wanted to know what policies the Franklin Public Schools had in place regarding peanut allergies and state her concerns for her son and other Franklin children with peanut allergies. 3. Chairman Roy stated that the School Committee would respond to the Sennetts’ and Mrs. Grunner’s statements later in the meeting. The laws governing the meeting’s agenda do not allow any response to citizens’ comments until the discussion portion of the meeting. B. Review of Agenda 1. Dr. Crisafulli asked that the Guests/Presentation section be reordered as follows: Sullivan Middle School’s Washington, D.C. trip, Franklin High School Accreditation, and Strategic Plan. Dr. Crisafulli also added that her would speak about the Capital Plan during the Superintendent’s Report section of the meeting and also talk about the Franklin High School seniors who qualified for Adams scholarships. C. Minutes 1. Mrs. Mullen made a motion to approve the open session minutes of the November 30, 2004, School Committee Meeting, subject to revision. Mrs. Nulton seconded. All were in favor. The motion passed 7-0. D. Payment of Bills (Mrs. Kelly) 1. Mrs. Kelly reviewed warrants from 11/11/04 to 12/16/04, totaling $832,461. Mrs. Mullen made a motion to accept these warrants. Mrs. Scofield seconded. All were in favor. The motion passed 7-0. E. Payroll (Mrs. Malacaria) 1. Mrs. Malacaria reviewed payroll from 11/14/04 to 12/04/04, found it in order and recommended acceptance. F. Correspondence 1. None 2.GUESTS / PRESENTATIONS a. Sullivan Middle School’s Washington, D.C. trip 1. Mrs. Beth Witcoff, Principal of Sullivan Middle School presented her reasoning behind planning to offer a Washington, D.C. trip for her 8th grade students from Thursday, May 26 through Saturday, May 28, 2005. Mrs. Witcoff stated that she held informational meetings with parents who are very interested in the trip. To date, about 50 of the 130 8th grade students and their parents have expressed interest. Mrs. Witcoff has offered similar trips to middle school students for the past 7 years, when she was a principal in the Hopkington public schools. Mrs. Witcoff has used a reputable travel company to host these events in the past and plans to use them if the Franklin School Committee votes to allow the trip to take place. Mrs. Witcoff said that it had been her experience that the trip provides an exciting, educational and social experience for the students. 2. Members of the School Committee asked for Mrs. Witcoff to come to this meeting to speak because many of them had some concerns, including: a. concern that the trip is planned to occur during two school days when traditionally, Franklin schools plan out-of-state trips during vacation times in order that students do not miss class time. Mr. Roy considers the trip part of the curriculum, since it is held during school time, and feels that all students should be able to partake in it regardless of financial ability. b. concern that many students may like to go but their families may be financially unable to fund the trip (as it is entirely paid for by the family-$530.00 per person) c. concern that students who do not go to Washington, D.C. have comparable instruction planned during the time that the others are away. 3. Mrs. Witcoff responded to each concern as follows: a. Mrs. Witcoff planned the trip for late May to give students an opportunity to learn in a more relaxed atmosphere following their rigorous MCAS testing schedule. She hopes that the trip will become an end of the year tradition for 8th grade students, and that families who wish to participate will financially plan for it. Mrs. Witcoff also noted that the trip requires many chaperones and many of them are History teachers and other teachers from school. She does not feel comfortable asking staff to take away from their own vacation time to chaperone and educational trip. b. In response to the financial aspect of the trip, Mrs. Witcoff said that she has never turned a student who was interested in going on the trip away due to financial hardship. She hopes to hold a fundraiser to support the trip to address this issue. c. In response to the comparable instruction concern, Mrs. Witcoff said that she hoped to plan a trip to Boston for students who are not going to Washington, D.C. Students may travel the Freedom Trail or take a Boston Harbor boat cruise and trip to the aquarium. d. Mrs. Witcoff acknowledged Chairman's Roy request to cancel the trip if in fact more than a majority of the 8th grade students would be unable to participate. 4. Following the discussion, Mrs. Malacaria made a motion to waive policy in order to allow a vote on the trip. Mrs. Mullen seconded. All we in favor. 5. Mrs. Malacaria made a motion to approve the Sullivan Middle School’s 8th grade student’s trip to Washington, D.C. from May 26-28, 2005. Mrs. Scofield seconded. Mrs. Nulton, Mrs. Scofield, Mr. Roy, Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Malacaria were in favor. Mrs. Mullen and Mr. Cafasso were opposed. The motion passed 5-2. b. Franklin High School Accreditation Update 1. Franklin High School Principal, John Lucas stated that seventeen members of an accreditation team from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges would be at the high school on April 3, 2005. Mr. Lucas provided the School Committee with a document that outlined the goals that were developed as a result of the last accreditation visit. The document showed which goals had been reached and those that are still being worked on. Mr. Lucas said that the faculty has been working well together towards reaching all the goals. 2. Mrs. Malacaria asked Mr. Lucas if he had any areas that remain a concern. Mr. Lucas said that most of the concerns were financially related. Mr. Lucas said that the failure to provide adequate study materials had indeed affected instruction. Another concern is the physical condition of some areas of the high school building. Mr. Lucas said staffing could be an issue if enrollment continues to increase. Some of the science labs need updating and the technology is nearing the seven-year-old mark—which is outdated by high tech standards. 3. Mrs. Malacaria asked if the recommendations that the accreditation team may make are “recommendations” or “must dos.” Mr. Lucas said they will be “must dos.” Mrs. Malacaria made the point that, considering the financial situation of the town, the School Committee may have to go back to the town for funds in order that the high school meet accreditation standards. 4. Mrs. Scofield thanked Mr. Lucas for the document he had prepared for the Committee’s review. 5. Mr. Roy asked if Mr. Lucas could provide the Committee with an outline of what may be expected of them during the accreditation process. 6. Mr. Lucas said that he would be attending a meeting regarding the accreditation procedures soon and would let them know what to expect. c. Strategic Plan 1. Dr. Crisafulli stated that he had spoken with Phil Devaux (the consultant working with Franklin Public Schools to develop a Strategic Plan). Dr. Crisafulli said that the administration needs to identify resources—committees, professional development—and look at each goal and identify the resources necessary to complete these goals. The resources aren’t necessarily dollars and cents. Dr. Crisafulli and Assistant Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski are working to streamline the document. Dr. Crisafulli described it as a “living document.” 2. The Strategic Plan has been tabled for further consideration in later months. Mrs. Sabolinski welcomed feedback on the document from the School Committee. 3. DISCUSSION ONLY ITEMS a. Facilities Restructuring 1. Dr. Crisafulli presented the School Committee with a diagram that detailed how the School facilities department would be combined with the Town’s facilities department. Dr. Crisafulli said that the combined department would make for a more efficient department at no extra expense to the Franklin School Department. b. First Reading of Federal Funds Policy DJ 1. The School Committee reviewed the Federal Funds Policy known as “DJ” which basically states that federal funds are to be used for what they are intended for. 2. Mrs. Scofield made a motion to move to a second reading of the policy. Mr. Cafasso seconded. All were in favor. The motion passed 7-0. 4. ACTION ITEMS a. Mrs. Scofield made a motion to accept a check for $1,000.00 from Steve Duplessie, President of Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. to be used toward Jefferson School’s anti-drug initiative. Mrs. Nulton seconded. All were in favor. The motion passed 7-0. b. Mrs. Kelly made a motion to accept a check for $883.00 from parents for the Horace Mann Gift Account for math resources for parents. Mrs. Scofield seconded. All were in favor. The motion passed 7-0. c. Mrs. Kelly made a motion to accept a check for $600.00 from the Home Depot for supplies for the “Square One Art” project at the Keller Elementary School. Mrs. Malacaria seconded. All were in favor. The motion passed 7-0. d. Mrs. Kelly made a motion to accept a check for $3,000.00 from the Parmenter PCC to cover field trip expenses for Parmenter students. Mrs. Malacaria seconded. All were in favor. The motion passed 7-0. e. Mrs. Kelly made a motion to accept the donation of 6 choral risers from the Music Boosters Club to Franklin High School at a cost of $3,746.00. Mrs. Malacaria seconded. All were in favor. The motion passed 7-0. f. Mrs. Scofield made a motion to accept a check for $1,900.00 each from the Girls’ and Boys’ Booster Clubs for the purchase of new shot clocks for the Franklin High School. Mrs. Malacaria seconded. All were in favor. The motion passed 7-0. 5. INFORMATION MATTERS A. Superintendent’s Report 1. TetraData a. Dr. Crisafulli stated that TetraData is a data warehouse that cleanses educational data and makes it useable to provide information for educational administrators and teachers to make better, more powerful decisions and impact student achievement. b. TetraData is being investigated by 7 area school districts as part of the ACCEPT Collaborative. The states of Connecticut and Vermont have already signed with TetraData. c. Dr. Crisafulli said that TetraData’s CEO would be meeting with Franklin again on January 25. Dr. Crisafulli invited School Committee members to attend the meeting to meet the CEO and learn more about what TetraData has to offer. 2. Capital Plan a. Dr. Crisafulli listed some of the items on the Capital Plan: an architect has to look at the possibility of an elevator at Davis Thayer Elementary, the replacement of the gym floor at Kennedy Elementary, rug replacement at Parmenter Elementary, and updating the 260 computers at the high school. b. Mrs. Nulton asked Dr. Crisafulli when the Town Council would be making decisions regarding funding. Dr. Crisafulli said that the meeting that had been planned for this week had been postponed until further notice. He said that there is indecision from the town councilors regarding funding. c. Mrs. Nulton requested a breakdown of what the schools would be requesting from Dr. Crisafulli for the first School Committee meeting in January. d. Mr. Roy would like Mike D’Angelo to come to the first School Committee meeting in January to discuss plans for the high school. e. Mr. Cafasso stressed the money available from the Town Council will be much fought after and the School Committee needs to set some priorities and have several different scenarios prepared, based on what the Council decides. 3. Recognition of Adams Scholars A. Dr. Crisafulli noted that 13,000 Massachusetts students have qualified for free tuition at state colleges. Of Franklin’s 316 seniors, 79 are eligible for the scholarships. In order to qualify, students must earn an Advanced score in either English Language Arts or Mathematics and at least earn a Proficient score in the other area during their Junior year. The students must also score in the top 25% of the school district. B. School Committee Sub Committee Reports 1) Mrs. Nulton stated that the Policy subcommittee had met and discussed stipends for extracurricular activates and outside parties funding such positions. While there is no policy regarding stipends per se, there is policy that prohibits booster clubs from funding coaches and advisors. The current stipend positions are delineated in the teacher's contract and funding for them are provided by the FY05 budget. Depending on the fiscal situation for FY06, the committee might consider allowing alternate funding mechanisms. We ask that the administration conduct a feasibility study of having Life Long Learning oversee the organization of extracurricular activities in the event the fees are instituted for participating in such activities. Maureen Sabolinski said that she is working on giving the PCCs some guideline on donation of gifts. Mr. Roy asked to see any policy guidebook before it is circulated. 2) Mrs. Scofield said that the Policy subcommittee is also working on how an athletic team becomes a club based on the Title 9 suit that the Franklin Public Schools were threatened with regarding the Girls’ Hockey team. The high school has hired 2 additional hockey coaches to coach the team. 3) Mr. Cafasso reported that the Community Relations subcommittee met on Tuesday, December 7th and reviewed ways to promote an informed community and maintain a broad-based support for schools within the community. The group will determine what improvements can be made and come up with a series of action steps. 4) Mr. Roy reported that the Building and Grounds subcommittee met on December 7th to work on finalizing the building use policy. Once it circulates through the committee it will go to the Policy Subcommittee and then to the School Committee, hopefully by January. Mr. Roy said that there has been some misapplications of the current policy and a new fee structure needs to be created. 5) Mrs. Malacaria reported that the Budget Subcommittee had met with members of FinComm to discuss concerns about projections for next year’s budget. Much time was spent explaining the 1 ½ salary increase for teachers and the lanes and step structure for teachers. Mrs. Malacaria also stated that FinComm had some questions regarding some of the School Department’s sub accounts like teachers’ salary, Sped and utilities. The FinComm needs a better understanding of our biggest accounts. Time was spent discussing a new $100,000 expense for the out-placement of a Special Needs student. The FinComm needed to understand that the School Department often has many unexpected expenses. Rather than making adjustments to their own budget, the FinComm would prefer if the School Department would come back to the Town Council for an adjustment. Mrs. Malacaria said that they never discussed the adjustment of the bottom line for the circuit breaker. They plan to meet again next week to discuss this issue. She hopes to have a best estimate of the sub accounts in time for the next School Committee meeting. C. School Committee Liaison Reports 1. None 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Mrs. Scofield asked for a presentation from school nurses regarding the peanut allergy issue in all schools. b. Mrs. Scofield would like to meet with administration to see what their priorities are in light of the budget process. c. Mrs. Scofield inquired again about a high school representative to be present at the School Committee meetings. Dr. Crisafulli said he would talk to Jack Lucas regarding this again. d. Mrs. Kelly asked if Clair Doyle, manager of food services, could give the School Committee some numbers regarding the consumption of peanut butter as part of the school lunch program to determine whether it is feasible to remove peanut butter from all schools as requested by Mr. and Mrs. Sennett earlier in the meeting. Dr. Crisafulli stated that they could not guarantee a totally safe environment but that the School department could have policies in place. e. Mrs. Malacaria would like to talk further about the Capital Plan. f. Mrs. Nulton would also like to meet with administration to talk about philosophy and priorities. Dr. Crisafulli said he would set up some dates for meetings. g. Mrs. Nulton requested the Policy Subcommittee draft policy regarding guidelines for extracurricular school trips, as opposed to field trips. 7. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Committee did not hold an Executive Session. 8. ADJOURN On a motion by Mrs. Scofield, seconded by Mrs. Mullen, the Committee adjourned at 9:30 p.m. The next School Committee meeting is scheduled for January 11, 2005 at 7:00 P.M. in Town Council Chambers. Respectfully submitted, Mrs. Michelle D. Gallo |
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