Minutes - Wayland School Committee
Regular Session  October 25, 2010  

A Regular Session of the Wayland School Committee was held on Monday, October 25, 2010, 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

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

Chair Louis Jurist convened the regular meeting at 7:05 P.M.

1. Comments or Written Statements from the Public:
Mr. Tom Sciacca observed several benefits of online learning and asked the School Committee to take the lead in this area and raise that student to teacher ratio. He also asked the School Committee to take the lead on cost savings.

2. Summer Curriculum Work Report:
Mr. Crozier presented the report on 2010 summer curriculum work. He answered questions posed by the School Committee.

3. Capital Equipment Needs – Technology and Maintenance:
Ms. Leisha Simon, Director of Technology, presented the information on the FY12 technology capital equipment needs. She provided background, including input from the teachers, Technology Task Force, and she described the Wayland RISES professional development program. She answered questions posed by the Committee members.

Dr. Burton reviewed the maintenance items that were presented by Mr. John Moynihan. The School Committee asked Dr. Burton several questions related to the CIP summaries. School Committee members will send questions to Dr. Burton related to the CIP. Overall, the School Committee is comfortable with the plans presented at this point to give to the FinCom as a placeholder for Technology and Maintenance Capital.

4. Planning for November 22 Public Forum & Communication:
The School Committee discussed the plan for the November 22 public forum, including location, format and topics for presentation.

5. Approval of Accounts Payables and Payroll Warrants:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School Committee voted unanimously (4-0) to approve payment of the following:
• School Department Payroll warrant, dated 10/20/2010, in the amount of $1,033,107.89
• School Department Accounts Payable warrant, dated 10/25/2010, in the amount of $309,419.61
• School Department Accounts Payable warrant, dated 10/25/2010, in the amount of $1,823,608.83 (High School Building Project-NStar)

6. Acceptance of Gifts:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Butler, the School Committee voted unanimously (4-0), in accord with Policy KCD, to accept with gratitude the following gift to the Wayland Public Schools:
• A Juniper Internet Controller 6000 from Mr. Jeremy Behrle of Wayland and Juniper Networks of Westford, MA. Thie equipment allows our students and teachers to bring their own computers from home and access Wayland Public Schools’ network resources.

7. Approval of Minutes:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School Committee voted unanimously (3-0-1) to approve the following minutes as amended:
• Regular Session of August 24, 2010

Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School Committee voted unanimously (4-0) to approve the following minutes as amended:
• Regular Session of September 20, 2010

Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School Committee voted unanimously (4-0) to approve the following minutes as amended:
• Regular Session of October 12, 2010

Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Mrs. Fletcher, the School Committee voted unanimously (4-0) to approve the following minutes as amended:
• Executive Session of September 20, 2010

Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Butler, the School Committee voted unanimously (4-0) to approve the following minutes as amended:
• Executive Session of October 12, 2010

The Executive Session minutes of August 24, 2010 were tabled.

8. Superintendent’s Report:
(a) October 1 Enrollment Report and FY12 Projections:
Dr. Burton reported on the 2010-2011 Enrollment Report. He reviewed FY11 projections vs. actual, historical enrollment and FY12 projections. He proposed asking for voluntary transfers from Happy Hollow 3rd grade for FY12 to Claypit Hill. He answered questions from Committee members.

9. Follow-up Items:
(a) Superintendent Search Update:
Mr. Bill Garr of Future Management Systems updated the School Committee on the superintendent search. He described the focus groups, community survey, current applications, and the community forum. He worked with the School Committee on the composition of the Search Committee.

(b) Operational Review Committee Update:
Mrs. Fletcher updated the Committee on the current status of the Operational Review Committee.

10. Comments from the Public:
Mrs. Alexia Obar commented on the large class size at Happy Hollow School and specifically to the FY12 3rd grade and the imbalance of equal treatment between the schools.

Mr. Tom Sciacca commented on the housing turnover in his neighborhood, as several families have pre- school aged children. He also commented on the Capital Plan as it is related to the Energy Conservation Committee. He also described how children can use technology to understand abstract concepts more easily.

11. Executive Session:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Butler, the Committee voted unanimously
(4-0) in a roll call vote to convene in Executive Session at 9:41 P.M. for the purpose of matters pertaining to Personnel and Collective Bargaining with the WTA, as set forth in Section 23B of G.L. Ch. 39. The School Committee agreed that discussion regarding union contracts with the WTA would be in Executive Session, as conducting these discussions in open session will have a detrimental effect on the School Committee’s negotiating position.

The Chair announced that the Committee would reconvene in Open Session immediately following the adjournment of the Executive Session for adjournment purposes only.

12. Adjournment:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Butler, the Committee voted unanimously (4-0) to adjourn the Regular Session at 10:25 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Gary A. Burton, Clerk
Wayland School Committee

Observers:
Tom Sciacca, Energy Committee
Alexia Obar, Wayland

Corresponding Documents:
1. 2010 Summer Curriculum Work Report
2. Capital Improvement Program – Capital Appropriation Request FY12-FY16
• Technology
• Maintenance
3. 2010-2011 Enrollment Report & Projections