Minutes - Wayland School Committee
Regular Session January 10, 2011
A Public Forum/Regular Session of the Wayland
School Committee was held on Monday, January 10, 2011 at 7:00 P.M. in
the Large Hearing 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
Also:
Dr. Gary A. Burton
Superintendent of Schools
Mr. Brad J. Crozier
Assistant Superintendent
Mr. Geoffrey S. MacDonald
Business Administrator
Dr. Marlene M. Dodyk
Director of Student Services
Mrs. Leisha Simon
Technology Director
Chair Louis Jurist convened the regular meeting
at 7:08 P.M. In remembrance of Bob Steele, a school employee, who
tragically died as a result of an accident near his home, the School
Committee asked for a moment of silence.
1. Public Forum and Comments and Written Statements from the Public:
Dr. Kinney began the budget forum with a presentation giving the
public an overview of the Superintendent’s recommended budget and the
FY12 Capital Budget.
• Betsy Meindel asked if the half time health and wellness teacher
that was on the “Admin Council Wish list” was in the budget.
• Donna Bouchard asked how the two math intervention/coaches would be
used and if the 2.0 Middle School request is a higher priority than the
elementary math teachers.
• Stacey Adleman commented that many of our neighboring districts have
a similar approach to having math intervention/coach teachers.
• Bob Meindel asked if the School Committee was recommending a
separate item for technology capital than the operational budget.
• Donna Bouchard asked if the School Committee would take a data
driven approach to survey the high school students and parents to see if
the high school guidance secretary cut has impacted the students.
• Betsy Meindel commented that her experience is that the Guidance Department has been very well run and adequately staffed.
• John Flaherty asked if the School Committee was going to discuss the
technology capital request. He specifically wondered about the 1 to 1
laptop initiative.
The School Committee thanked the members of the community for attending and asking questions related to the budget.
2. Meeting with the Finance Committee (FY12 Capital Request):
• Mrs. Fletcher and Leisha Simon presented the changes to the
FY12 Technology Capital request. They answered questions from the
School Committee.
• The School Committee and Leisha Simon discussed the plans for presentation with the FinCom later in the meeting.
Upon a motion duly made by Dr. Astley, seconded
by Ms. Butler, the School Committee voted 4-1 (Dr. Kinney opposed) to
recommend the FY12 Technology Capital request as outlined by Leisha
Simon and the Technology Task Force.
The School Committee joined the FinCom in the Council on Aging at 8:28 P.M. to discuss the School Committee capital requests.
Leisha Simon reviewed the FY12 Technology
Capital request with the FinCom, including major changes that have been
made to the proposal since the FinCom was given the draft capital
request.
3. Budget Work Session:
Dr. Burton provided several handouts related to the budget.
The School Committee asked several questions of the administrators related to the Superintendent’s proposed budget.
The Committee discussed several of the
additional positions and would like to have a clear understanding of the
plans for the Health and Wellness Coordinator and lunchroom supervisor
by having several building principals submit narratives or attending a
future meeting.
4. Approval of Minutes:
Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Mrs.
Fletcher, the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the
following minutes, as amended:
• Regular Session of January 3, 2011
• Executive Session of January 3, 2011
• Regular Session of January 6, 2011
• Executive Session of January 6, 2011
5. Follow-up and Future Agenda Items:
(a) Superintendent Search Update:
The School Committee reviewed the questions prepared for the Superintendent candidate interviews.
(b) Operations Review Committee Update:
Mrs. Fletcher reported that the Operations Review Committee will
provide a draft of Phase II before the end of the budget process.
She also reported that Phase I was given to the Committee and
administration. They will discuss the report at a future meeting.
6. Comments from the Public:
John Flaherty commented that leasing would be a better option for student 1:1.
7. Adjournment:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Ms.
Butler, the Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to adjourn the Regular
Session at 11:03 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Gary A. Burton, Clerk
Wayland School Committee
Observers:
Stacey Adelman, 9 Linn Lane
Betsy Meindel, Wayland
Bob Meindel, Wayland
John Flaherty, Wayland
Donna Bouchard, Wayland