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School Committee Minutes 9/22/11
                                                                Southern Berkshire Regional School Committee
Mt. Everett Regional School
                                                                Sheffield, MA
                                                                September 22, 2011
                                                                Meeting #1,434

School Committee Members: Mr. Abelow, Mr. Willig, Mr. Valentini, Mr. Flynn, Mr. McSpiritt, Ms. Miller, Mr. Stewart, Ms. Mielke

Absent: Mr. Sears, Mr. Fetterhoff

Administration: Dr. Singleton, Mr. Turner, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Woodsome

Press: Berkshire Record

Others: Mr. Andrew Rapport; Ms. Kari Giordano; Ms. Cathy Willig; Ms. Linda Higgins

1.      Call to Order:  Chairman Abelow called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

2.      Approval of Minutes: Hearing no objections or corrections, Chairman Abelow declared the minutes of the School Committee Meeting #1,433 accepted as presented.

3.      Communications from the Audience Pertaining to This Evening’s Agenda:  

  • Student Representatives: There were no student representatives in attendance.
  • There were no communications from the public.
4.      Presentations/Updates:  Mr. David Hastings reported on the 2010 Grades 7-12 MCAS results.  He shared a mailer that will be sent home to parents announcing that last year’s 10th graders ranked 1st in Berkshire County and 13th of 290 schools in the state in English/Language Arts; ranked 1st in Berkshire County and 9th of 290 schools in the state in Math; and ranked 2nd in Berkshire County and 77th in the state in Science.  He also reviewed the scores of grades 7 and 8, which also showed improvement over 2009 scores.

        Dr. Singleton then introduced Erin Woodsome, Elementary Principal, who reviewed scores in grades 3, 4, 5, and 6, pointing out areas of strength and weakness. She said that a structured support period in math had been added in grades 5&6 to address weaknesses in math. Also, further work will be done to align to MA standards.

        Following questions/answers, Committee members thanked Ms. Woodsome and Mr. Hastings for their presentations, and they commended the staff for the excellent results.

5.      Business:

A.      Superintendent’s Report:
        Dr. Singleton:
  • Reported on the Summer Special Education Program;
  • Reported on the District’s Environmental Education Plan;
  • Updated the Committee re: the South Berkshire Educational Collaborative Executive Director search;
  • Presented information regarding NISL (National Institute of School Leadership) Program. He explained that he would be requesting a transfer of funds later in the meeting to cover the enrollment of six administrators in the next cohort.
  • Explained that he and Mr. Turner are seeking to find funding for two after school busses, two days per week, in order to allow children who would benefit by being able to stay after school to do so.
  • Updated the Committee regarding the 5 year contract with Time Warner. He and Mr. Turner reported that they are working with counsel and with Time Warner to move forward on this issue. They said that it is the opinion of District counsel that the 5-year contract is not enforceable, as any contract that goes longer than three years must be approved by School Committee (and this one was not).  Mr. Turner said that he is also working with other schools to see how they had bid the service out.  He added that he is also contacting those schools that have contracts with Time Warner to see what terms each of them has. Dr. Singleton said that given that Time Warner had laid fiber optic cable right up to the telephone pole outside of the Central Office, and then hooked it up when the contract was signed, there was some doubt as to whether the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) would provide service to the main campus when they come to Western Massachusetts in 2013. He said that he had spoken with Jason Whittit, the Deputy Director of MBI, and had asked him to put in writing whether MBI would provide service to the Sheffield campus, should the campus have a contract with Time Warner when MBI arrives. He presented copies of an e-mail from Mr. Whittit stating that “If it is the intention of the SBRSD to use the MassBroadband 123 network, then the MBI will complete the connections.”  Mr. Flynn reported that he had also spoken with Mr. Whittit and had been told that the District must not have a contract that would preclude MBI from providing service when it becomes available, as federal rules will apply, and money is getting short.  Dr. Singleton said that although some state money is involved, the majority is federal. He added that he and Mr. Turner will continue to work on the issue to try to get a firm commitment from MBI and also maintain connectivity in the meantime through Time Warner.  Mr. Flynn suggested negotiating with Time Warner to be the Internet Service Provider once MBI services become available.
  • Reported that Mr. Hastings has arranged an undergraduate college course in sociology through Westfield State University to be offered to students.  Mr. Hastings said that he had arranged the course in order to give kids a feeling of what college is really like.  Support staff will also be invited to take the course.
  • Announced that International Peace Day was celebrated throughout the District on September 21.
  • Informed the Committee that an open house and health fair will take place on October 6.
  • Announced that the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office will sponsor a Leaders and Mentors Day on October 12.  Follow-up activities will take place approximately six weeks later.  This program is geared toward middle school students.
  • Presented the Committee with a draft of a budget calendar for 2011-12. He noted that if approved, the October 20 School Committee meeting would begin at 7:00 p.m.
        B.      Salary Adjustment:  Mr. Abelow explained that when the Committee hired the Director of Student Services, there had been an agreement that she would obtain proper certification within a specified amount of time and that when she fulfilled this commitment, the Committee would adjust her salary accordingly. He noted that Ms. Hubbard has done a good job for the District, and he said that after looking at salaries for similar positions in nearby Districts, he and Dr. Singleton recommended that Ms. Hubbard’s salary be set at $85,000 per annum for the current year. Mr. Willig moved, seconded by Mr. Flynn, to approve the adjustment, as recommended.  It was so voted, unanimously.

        C.      Lateral Movements on the Unit A Salary Schedule: Ms. Miller moved, seconded by Mr. Flynn, to approve the lateral movements on the Unit A Salary Schedule, as per the amended list of September 22, 2011.  It was so voted.

D.      Subcommittee/Representative Reports

1.  South Berkshire Educational Collaborative: Mr. Willig reported that the Collaborative has been reorganizing in order to function without its executive director. He said that the Adult Basic Education Program is up and running, as well as the Virtual High School (VHS) program, and physical therapy and occupational therapy services are being provided to member districts. He also reported that Mt. Greylock had joined with the collaborative to receive VHS services.
2.  Policy: Ms. Miller reported that the Policy Subcommittee is on track to complete the review of the Policy Manual with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees by December 31, 2011. She said that she will schedule one or two working sessions with the School Committee to review their work and anticipates putting the Policy Manual on line for review prior to those working sessions.  Ms. Miller stated that she is hopeful that the Manual will be completely done and voted by June, 2012.

E.      Financial Updates/Transfer Requests: Per the conversation earlier in the evening, Mr. Turner requested the transfer of $24,000 for six people (Sandra Hubbard, Director of Student Services; Erin Woodsome, Elementary Principal; Thomas Nadolny, Elementary Assistant Principal; Bruce Turner, Business Administrator; David Hastings, Curriculum & Professional Development Coordinator; Christopher Thompson, Technology Coordinator) to attend training through the National Institute for School Leadership.  He said that the money would cover the full two-year program for each administrator and would be transferred from the professional salary accounts (i.e., funds saved when new teachers were hired in under the amount budgeted for those positions).  Dr. Singleton explained that the elementary principal, the secondary principal, the dean of students, and, and himself had completed the first year of the course and that he and Mr. Devoti and Mr. DeGrenier had now begun the 2nd year.  He said that they had found the training very worthwhile, and he recommended having all administrators complete it.  Mr. Flynn moved, seconded by Mr. Willig to approve the request for transfer for funds. Following a brief question and answer session, it was so voted, 7-1 (Mr. McSpiritt voted in opposition.)

5.      Communication from the Public:
        A.      Mr. Flynn reported that he had attended the Harvest Supper at New Marlborough Central School.  He said that it was well attended and received lots of great feedback.

        B.      Mr. Valentini reported that the Mt. Everett Band will be marching in a parade in Lee on September 24.

                On a motion by Ms. Miller, seconded by Mr. Flynn, the meeting adjourned at 7:22 p.m.


Documents presented for this meeting:
  • Agenda – School Committee Meeting #1,434
  • Minutes –School Committee Meeting #1,433
  • Spring, 2011 MCAS Results Report
  • SBRSD Environmental Program, 2011-12
  • Course Description for “Introduction to Sociology”
  • National Institute for School Leadership Program Course Schedule / Sample Materials
  • Minutes of Policy Subcommittee Meeting of September 20, 2011
  • Amended Listing of Professional Staff Lateral Movements on the Unit A Salary Schedule, Effective 9/1/11
  • DRAFT – FY 2013 Budget Development Calendar
  • E-mail to Dr. Singleton from Jason Whittet, Deputy Director, Massachusetts Broadband Initiative, with attachment entitled, “Connecting your K-12 School to the MassBroadband 123 Fiber Optic Network