Minutes - Wayland School Committee
Regular Session February 17, 2011
A Regular Session of the Wayland School
Committee was held on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 7:00 P.M. in the
School Committee Room of the Wayland Town Building.
Present were:
Dr. Louis Jurist, Chair
Mrs. Barb Fletcher, Vice Chair
Dr. Malcolm Astley
Ms. Beth Butler
Dr. Shawn Kinney (by phone; not part of the quorum and will not vote on any action items)
Also:
Dr. Gary A. Burton
Superintendent of Schools
Mr. Geoffrey S. MacDonald
Business Administrator
Chair Louis Jurist convened the regular meeting at 7:10 P.M.
1. Comments and Written Statements from the Public:
None
2. Discussion re: Open Meeting Law Ruling:
The Committee discussed the February 9, 2011 findings of the
Attorney General regarding Mr. George Harris’s OML complaint of May 26,
2010. Dr. Jurist reviewed the history of this complaint and
acknowledged that the first two violations of the OML have been
addressed and corrected. The recommendation of the Attorney General
involves amending the minutes of the 25 meetings in question accurately
to reflect the manner in which the School Committee went into
Executive Session at each of these meetings.
A discussion ensued as to how this would
occur, and it was agreed that copies of the minutes would be distributed
in sets of five, one set to each member for editing purposes. These
minutes will be available at the February 28 School Committee meeting.
As the minutes of these 25 meetings are amended, they will be presented
to the entire Committee for proper action and reassurance. This
corrective action will take place over the next month.
3. Discussion re: Public Information Requests:
Dr. Jurist led a discussion of how the Committee and
administrators will respond to requests for public information. It was
noted that requests come in a variety of forms, some for readily
available records or documents, others as questions that involve
research. The Committee is sensitive to the staff’s time needed to
respond and agreed that if the questions are relatively easy to answer,
the administrators should answer them directly. However, if they are
not relatively easy to answer or if in totality they will consume a lot
of time, then the requests should come back before the Committee.
As for the pending questions before the
Committee, it was agreed that Dr. Burton and Mr. MacDonald would answer
each verbally at the meeting, if possible, and Mr. MacDonald would
follow up with written answers as agreed upon by the Committee. The
Committee proceeded to go through eight specific questions raised by
Donna Bouchard. They then addressed two sets of questions raised by
Kim Cook.
There was a free exchange of information
between the administration and the Committee as they progressed through
the written questions before them. A discussion ensued as to whether
all questions and answers should be posted online for all citizens to
see. It was agreed that this would be considered later and after the
Committee has seen the written responses generated from tonight’s
discussion.
4. Discussion re: Article 8: Restatement of FY11 School Department Budget:
The Committee discussed the proposed Article 8, but there was a
lack of understanding as to what was intended by the petitioner. The
petitioner will meet with the FinCom next week and Ms. Butler will
attend on behalf of the School Committee.
5. Discussion re: Budget Book Preparation:
Dr. Burton presented the dates and plans to have this year’s
budget book posted online by February 25. Postcards will be sent to
all residents in place of budget books also on that date. Copies of the
budget book in paper form may be requested through the
Superintendent’s office.
6. Follow-up and Future Agenda Items:
(a) WayCAM Broadcasts:
Dr. Jurist informed the School Committee that WayCAM would like to
live wire the School Committee Conference Room as part of their
efforts to upgrade and improve their ability to cover and report on
community events and programs. The School Committee agreed with this
upgrade.
(b) Request from Dr. Burton:
Dr. Burton requested approval to send administrative
representatives to a dinner sponsored by The Human Relations
Services, Inc. honoring Mrs. Lea Anderson as the Chair of the High
School Building Committee. This is a distinct honor for Mrs.
Anderson. The cost of each ticket is $250 and funds will be drawn from
administrative conference and travel accounts.
(c) New Soccer Fields at Middle School:
Dr. Burton informed the School Committee of the DPW and Recreation
Department’s plans to construct two new soccer fields on the Middle
School grounds this coming summer. After discussion, it was agreed that
representatives from these two departments would be invited to
attend the February 28 meeting to discuss these plans.
(d) Rental of Loker:
Dr. Burton informed the Committee that he had been approached by a
pre-school bilingual program to rent the Loker facility either on a
short-term or long-term basis. It was thought that it would generate
less than $5,000. There was no support on the part of the School
Committee to pursue such rental opportunity.
(e) Modular Classrooms at High School:
Dr. Burton informed the Committee that the two modular classrooms
located at the High School will be relocated elsewhere in the district
sometime next year. Planning for this is just underway, and a
presentation of this topic will be scheduled for a future meeting.
10. Approval of Accounts Payable & Payroll Warrants:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Ms.
Butler, the School Committee voted unanimously (4-0) to approve payment
of the following:
• School Department Accounts Payable warrant, dated 2/22/2011, in the amount of $2,413,117.61 (High School Project)
11. Superintendent’s Employment Contract:
Dr. Jurist led a discussion of the proposed Superintendent’s
employment contract. Attorney Gini Tate returned an edited copy late
on Thursday and not all members had reviewed it. Upon Attorney Tate’s
advice, the Committee should (1) approve the contract; (2) authorize
Dr. Jurist to sign it; and (3) appoint Paul Stein as the next
superintendent.
12. Executive Session:
At 9:37 P.M., Ms. Butler requested that the School Committee enter
into Executive Session to discuss Superintendent contract
negotiations.
Dr. Jurist informed the audience that he would
allow public comment at this time, as it was uncertain whether the
Committee would reconvene in Regular Session following the Executive
Session.
13. Comments from the Public:
Mr. John Flaherty asked a question about the history of the
principals’ discretionary accounts, which was answered by Mr. MacDonald
and Dr. Jurist.
14. Executive Session:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr. Astley,
the School Committee voted unanimously (4-0) to convene in Executive
Session at 9:39 P.M. to discuss matters pertaining to Superintendent
contract negotiations, as set forth in Section 23B of G.L. Ch. 39. The
School Committee agreed that discussion regarding Superintendent
negotiations would be in Executive Session, as conducting these
discussions in open session will have a detrimental effect on the
School Committee’s negotiating position.
A roll call vote was taken as follows:
Roll Call
Dr. Louis M. Jurist, Chair
Mrs. Barb Fletcher, Vice Chair
Dr. Malcolm Astley
Ms. Beth Butler
|
Yes
X
X
X
X
|
No
|
Dr. Burton and Mr. MacDonald, including observers, left the meeting.
15. Adjournment:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Butler, the School Committee voted unanimously
(4-0) to adjourn Regular Session at 10:15 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Gary A. Burton, Clerk
Wayland School Committee
Observers:
John Flaherty, Wayland
Alexia Obar, 18 Dean Road
Ellen Greco, 90 Old Connecticut Path
Corresponding Documentation:
1. Letter dated February 9, 2011 from Attorney General re: Open Meeting Law Complaint of May 26, 2010
2. Warrant Article 8