Minutes - Wayland School Committee
Regular Session  September 13, 2010  

A Regular Session of the Wayland School Committee was held on Monday, September 13, 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
Dr. Shawn Kinney (arrived at 7:15 p.m.)

Also:
Dr. Gary A. Burton
Superintendent of Schools

Mr. Brad J. Crozier
Assistant Superintendent

Mr. Geoffrey MacDonald
Business Administrator

Dr. Marlene M. Dodyk
Director of Student Services

Chair Louis Jurist convened the regular meeting at 7:10 P.M.

1. Comments or Written Statements from the Public:
There were no public comments or written statement.

2. Review of WAYCam Article:
Mrs. Lea Anderson and Mrs. Dianne Bladon of the HSBC updated the School Committee on the recent information and the best options for possibly housing WayCAM on the high school site. Currently being considered is the existing weight room as the “vanilla box option”, which is usable space at a low cost and could possibly be used as WayCAM space at a future date.

Upon a motion duly made by Dr. Astley, seconded by Mrs. Fletcher, the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the warrant article as a placeholder for Special Town Meeting on November 16, 2010 with some minor clarifications to specify purpose and completed by Thursday, September 16.

The School Committee discussed the request to support a second warrant article to turn over the space to the Board of Selectmen. The place holder article will be subject to review by town council and will be contingent on WayCam’s ability to get funding commitments before a vote at Town Meeting.

Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Dr. Kinney, the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the language and to authorize the Chair to work with town council on similar language to submit a warrant article to turn over the space currently designated as the field house weight room to the Board of Selectmen for lease.

3. Discussion re: Board of Health Initiative at Wayland High School:
Ms. Ruth Mori (BOH), Ms. Amy Schoeff (WHS nurse), and Mr. Pat Tutwiler (Principal) discussed creating a working group jointly with the Board of Health to study the possibility of providing information, education, and condoms to high school students to protect them from sexually transmitted infections.

Upon a motion duly made by Ms. Butler, seconded by Mrs. Fletcher, the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to create a joint working group with the Board of Health to study the initiative and make recommendations to the Committee for their approval. Ms. Butler will serve as the School Committee rep.

4. Review of the 2010 Annual Town Report:
The School Committee reviewed a template for the 2010 Annual Town Report. Members will send the Chair suggestions for language for the annual report.

5. Review of the Current FY11 Budget:
This agenda item was postponed until a later time.

6. Warrant Articles for Special Town Meeting:
Dr. Burton recommended creating a Special Education Stabilization Fund to mitigate unanticipated special education costs. He supported the reason for creating the fund with several points, but mainly because circuit breaker funds from the State have been drastically reduced.

Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr. Astley, the Committee voted (4-1) to authorize Dr. Burton to work with Mr. Fred Turkington and the town counsel to place a warrant article as a place holder to enable more time for research on establishing a Special Education Stabilization Fund.

7. Discussion re: Superintendent’s 2010-2011 Goals:
Dr. Burton and the School Committee had a preliminary discussion regarding his goals for this school year. Several members gave input, but all members will send Dr. Burton input directly before the next meeting.

8. Approval of Accounts Payables and Payroll Warrants:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr. Astley, the School Committee voted (4-0) (Dr. Kinney abstained) to approve payment of the following:
• School Department Payroll warrant, dated 8/26/2010, in the amount of $241,827.13
• School Department Payroll warrant, dated 9/9/2010, in the amount of $1,046,965.39
• School Department Payroll warrant, dated 9/9/2010, in the amount of $5,159.75
• School Department Accounts Payable warrant, dated 9/13/2010, in the amount of $429,160.33
• School Department Accounts Payable warrant, dated 9/13/2010, in the amount of $588,874.64 (High School Building)

9. Approval of Minutes:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Ms. Butler, the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the following minutes as amended:

• Regular Session of August 3, 2010

10. Superintendent’s Report:
(a) Opening Day and Enrollment Update:
Dr. Burton reported on the opening of school and current enrollment.

(b) Transportation Update:
Dr. Burton described the overall busing status for the start of the year. He described several challenges, including a bus breakdown and a significant number of late enrollees.

(c) G-4 Update:
Dr. Burton reported that the G-4 group will issue a report this fall and requested a School Committee member attend future meetings. Dr. Kinney will attend.

(d) TEC Update:
Dr. Astley reported that as a consultant for TEC as a supervisor of new teachers and new administrators, he may have a conflict as the School Committee representative to TEC. He will remain cautious and attentive to make sure he is not placed in a situation that becomes a conflict of interest. He will also discuss the matter with the State Ethics Commission.

(e) Middle School Compost Pile Fire:
Dr. Burton reported on the fire that may have been set, which burned a portion of the Middle School compost pile.

(f) WTA Job Action:
Dr. Burton reported on a WTA job action on the opening day for staff.

(g) Boston Magazine’s 50 Best High Schools:
Dr. Burton reviewed several handouts, including Boston Magazine’s 50 Best High Schools.

Dr. Kinney asked questions related to CAPA’s Instrument Rental Night as expressed by Spencer Brooks Strings.

11. Follow-up Items:
The calendar for the year and School Committee secretary will be on the agenda at a future meeting.

The School Committee will hold a public special meeting on Monday, September 20 at 6:30 p.m. with Future Management Systems regarding agreement on the formation of the search group and process.

12. Comments from the Public:
There were no public comments.

13. Executive Session:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr. Astley, the Committee voted unanimously
(5-0) in a roll call vote to convene in Executive Session at 10:30 P.M. for the purpose of matters pertaining to 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.

14. Adjournment:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Dr. Astley, the Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to adjourn the Regular Session at 10:58 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Gary A. Burton, Clerk
Wayland School Committee

Observers:
Dianne Bladon, HSBC
Amy Schoeff, WHS nurse
Lea Anderson, HSBC
Susan Koffman, WayCAM
Richard Turner, WayCAM
Ken Isaacson, WayCAM

Corresponding Documents:
1. Proposed Warrant Article for WHS Weight Room Code Upgrade for WAYCam and Future Needs
2. 2009 Annual Town Report
3. September Enrollment Report
4. Boston Magazine’s 50 Best High Schools