Minutes - Wayland School Committee
Regular Session   January 14, 2010  

A Regular Session of the Wayland School Committee was held on Thursday, January 14, 2010, at 7:00 P.M. in the School Committee Room of the Wayland Town Building.

Present were:
Dr. Louis Jurist, Chair
Mr. Jeff Dieffenbach, Vice Chair
Mr. Malcolm Astley
Ms. Deb Cohen, Esq.
Mrs. Barb Fletcher

Also:
Dr. Gary A. Burton
Superintendent of Schools
Ms. Joy E. Buhler
Business Administrator

Dr. Marlene M. Dodyk
Director of Student Services

Also present for the budget discussion:
Mr. Patrick Tutwiler, WHS Principal
Mr. John Kavaleski, WMS Principal
Ms. Debbie Bearse, Claypit Hill Principal
Mr. James Lee, Happy Hollow/Loker Principal

Chair Louis Jurist convened the regular meeting at 7:08 P.M.

1. Special Matter – HSBC Approval of KVA Contract as OPM:
Lea Anderson, Chair of the High School Building Committee, requested the Committee’s approval of the extension of the contract with KV Associates as Owner’s Project Manager for the High School Project, noting that Town Counsel Mark Lanza had reviewed and approved the contract.

Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Dieffenbach and seconded by Mr. Astley, the Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the extension of the OPM contract with KV Associates and to authorize School Committee Chair Louis Jurist to sign the contract on behalf of the Town of Wayland.

Mrs. Anderson noted that the Project Scope and Budget Agreement had been fully executed by the MSBA. In addition, the Project Funding Agreement has also been sent to the Town by MSBA, and is under final review by Town Counsel Mark Lanza.

Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Dieffenbach and seconded by Mrs. Fletcher, the Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the Project Funding Agreement, subject to final approval by Town Counsel Mark Lanza and the High School Building Committee, and to authorize School Committee Chair Louis Jurist to sign the Funding Agreement on behalf of the Town of Wayland.

2. Statement from the School Committee Chair:
Dr. Jurist read a statement regarding an email he had sent out earlier in the week.

3. Comments from the Public:
• A resident presented a public records request for the email sent by Dr. Jurist on Tuesday, January 12, 2009 and addressed the Committee regarding her budget concerns.
• A parent read a statement from several Claypit Hill volunteers regarding the proposed elimination of the elementary librarian in the FY’11 budget.
• A parent addressed the Committee regarding the proposed elimination of the elementary librarian in the FY’11 budget.
• A resident addressed the Committee regarding the per pupil costs of Wayland and the need for the School Committee to look for efficiencies to control costs.
• A parent addressed the Committee regarding the proposed elimination of arts sections at the High School.
• Mr. Dieffenbach addressed the audience regarding the capital request for technology, including plans for implementing a one-to-one laptop initiative.

4. Continued FY’11 Budget Review and Preparation:
Dr. Burton reported on the Administrative Council’s meeting on Tuesday regarding the Finance Committee’s additional $210,000 in funds and the School Committee’s increased offset of $9,000, noting that the administrators recommended that the following items be restored to the FY’11 budget: .5 FTE HS guidance counselor; 1.0 FTE MS world language teacher; .2 FTE HS art teacher; 1.0 FTE elementary librarian (with concomitant elimination of library assistant); .5 FTE MS librarian; .2 FTE HS world language teacher; 0.4 FTE English teacher; and restore as much as possible of the reduction in professional development training (non- personnel) with the remaining balance.

A period of questions and answers with the building principals followed and included a discussion of alternative reductions and restorations, particularly focusing on administrative clerical staff. The Committee agreed to pursue an audit or study of appropriate administrative staffing.

A brief discussion of school choice followed.

After a recess, the School Committee continued their discussion of the FY’11 budget.

The School Committee signed disclosure statements to be filed with the Town Clerk regarding their respective financial interest in school fees, as required by MGL c. 268A, § 19 and 930 CMR § 5.07.

Upon a motion duly made (Mr. Dieffenbach) and seconded (Ms. Fletcher), the School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to present to the Finance Committee a recommended operating budget of $30,596,713 to be appropriated by the Town, to be augmented by offsets of $786,000, for a total operating budget of $31,382,713.

The Committee discussed preparations for the Finance Committee meeting on January 25 as well as a “communications piece” for the public.

5. Superintendent’s Report:
The School Committee scheduled their meeting with the Boston Parents for April 5 in Boston.

6. Comments from the Public:
A resident stated that he was happy that professional development funds were restored and that the environmental science class would not be eliminated. He also commented on Dr. Jurist’s “assumption” that there would be overrides in the future. He also said that he agreed with a resident who spoke in the early public comment period that the School Committee should be looking at other towns that get similar results for lower costs.

7. Executive Session:
Upon a motion duly made by Mr. Dieffenbach, seconded by Mrs. Cohen, the Committee voted unanimously
(5-0) in a roll call vote to convene in Executive Session at 10:20 P.M. for the purpose of matters pertaining to Litigation, as set forth in Section 23B of G.L. Ch. 39.

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

8. Adjournment:
Upon a motion duly made by Mrs. Fletcher, seconded by Mr. Dieffenbach, the Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to adjourn the Regular Session at 10:30 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Gary A. Burton, Clerk
Wayland School Committee