HWRSD School Committee

HAMPDEN-WILBRAHAM REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
School Committee Meeting
Tuesday, January 9, 2007 @ 7:00 p.m.
Thornton W. Burgess Middle School

Present:
School Committee Members: Scott Chapman, William Bickley (arr 7:20), Marianne Desmond, D. John McCarthy, Lisa Morace, Peter Salerno, Gilles Turcotte and Student Representatives Doug Moore and Nicole Sawyer.
Administrators: Paul Gagliarducci, Donna Scanlon and Beth Regulbuto
Guests: John D. Flynn, Hampden Selectman; John Lovejoy, MRHS Building Committee; Bob Page and Allen Kinney, CCW Members; Douglas Farmer, Wilbraham Hampden Times; Suzanne McLaughlin, The Republican; Levon Kinney, Intern at The Reminder; and Ed Gorski, Hampden resident.
Absent: None

Chairman Chapman opened the meeting at 7:05 p.m. and congratulated Ms. Morace again on the birth of her daughter and welcomed her back to the School Committee meetings.

  1. General (see attached)
    1. Public Comment
      Mr. Kinney read a prepared statement questioning why the District has not submitted a “Statement of Interest” to the State for repairs at Memorial Elementary School, the oldest school in the District. At the discretion of the Chair, Dr. Gagliarducci explained that the School Committee recommended to the Wilbraham Major Projects Committee that they conduct a feasibility study of Memorial, which should be done prior to the “Statement of Interest”. He needs to meet with Lance Trevallion, Town Building Inspector, to draft an RFP for that feasibility study and is hoping to do so within the next month.
    2. Minutes
      • Regular Meeting – December 11, 2006
        Once Mr. Bickley arrived and the necessary quorum was present, the Minutes of the December 11th meeting were reviewed. Mrs. Desmond made a motion to accept the Minutes as written. Mr. Salerno seconded and it was approved. Mr. McCarthy, Ms. Morace, and Mr. Turcotte abstained.
      • Executive Session – December 11, 2006
        The Minutes of the December 11th Executive Session were reviewed. Mr. Salerno made a motion to accept the Minutes as written. Mrs. Desmond seconded and it was approved. Mr. McCarthy, Ms. Morace, and Mr. Turcotte abstained.
    3. Student Representatives
      The Committee congratulated Douglas Moore on his acceptance to Brandeis University! Student Representatives Nicole Sawyer and Douglas Moore then reported on some recent and upcoming events at the high school including the winter concert, drama club plays, finals next week, and Media Fest on January 18th from 2 to 7.
  2. Financial Issues (see attached)
    1. Review Status of Budget
      Dr. Gagliarducci wanted to discuss the status of the current budget, as well as the progress on next year’s budget. He distributed information on both budgets and reviewed the information, including the approximately $305,000 budget cuts taken to date, but there’s currently a projected deficit of $600,000. We hope some of the projections do not come to pass, and the good weather is helping the budget situation. The revenue is better than the operating budget picture. As mentioned before, there are three main problems areas – costs for retiree health insurance, SPED expenses, and utility costs. He further reported that once Ms. Regulbuto starts full time, monthly budget updates will be available and in March we’ll know better how the winter affected the district, what the staffing situation is, and other updated budget information.
    2. Approve Warrants
      The warrants were approved.

      Although not on the agenda, Mr. Chapman wanted to formally vote on hiring Ms. Beth Regulbuto as the new Director of Financial Operations. Mr. Salerno so moved, Mr. McCarthy seconded, and it was unanimously approved.
  3. Other Business (see attached)
    1. MRHS Building Project Update
      Information regarding the MRHS Building Project was previously distributed. In December, Mr. Chapman, Mr. Lovejoy and others met with Katherine Craven, Executive Director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority, and had many of their questions answered. The MSBA is looking favorably upon much of the work done by the District to date, including the appointment of the MRHS Building Committee, the Feasibility Study and the recommendations for both Owners Project Manager and Architect. The District has been informed that the MRHS project has been selected from the initial applicants to be reviewed by the engineering firm hired to validate all statements of interest submitted. It is expected that this will be completed no later than mid-February. The report to the School Committee also provided some analysis of the CCW “Plan B” and Mr. Salerno read excerpts from a recent letter from Christopher Fontaine, Executive Vice President of Fontaine Bros, Inc. analyzing the “Plan B” document. It was noted that the new MSBA process is much different than the previous one and that the State is in control of the development of the solution for MRHS. The State will tell us what they would support (renovation or new) and their reimbursement rate.
    2. School Safety & Security
      A memo from Ed Cenedella regarding the status of some of the security measures undertaken in the district was previously distributed. All our schools have new sign-in procedures and identification badges for staff and visitors. At Minnechaug, additional doors had mag locks installed, monitoring equipment has been upgraded and a security company has been conducting security checks at random times during the night. Soon there will be security personnel at the school from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Officer Dennis LaPlante will be the security coordinator. Mr. Chapman thanked Dr. Gagliarducci and his staff for being very responsive to the Committee’s concerns. It was noted that the School Committee will be meeting in Executive Session at the next meeting with police and fire chiefs, as well as town officials, regarding school safety and security.
    3. Policy Subcommittee Discussion
      Mr. Salerno noted that the plan is to review each and every current policy. Mr. Page volunteered to work with the subcommittee on the Policy Manual, but Mr. Salerno is still seeking volunteers from teachers, students, and parents. The first meeting will be in February.
  4. Correspondence/Written Reports Received (see attached)
    1. Superintendent’s Report
      In addition to his report, Dr. Gagliarducci announced that the School Committee meeting agenda is now posted on the website prior to the meeting. He also made special note of all the college acceptance signs appearing on the Guidance Department windows!
    2. District Wide Improvement Plan 2006-2007
      The District Wide Improvement Plan was previously distributed. This plan is a consolidation of all the goals in the district with links to the HWRSD Strategic Plan.
    3. DARE Curriculum Review
      Dr. Scanlon had previously distributed information regarding “Drug, Alcohol, and Violence Presentation Education Curriculum Review”. She reviewed the information, which recommended that the new DARE Program would be a valued component of the HWRSD prevention program, and the superintendent provided some history on the DARE Program in the District.
    4. Student Services Update
      Mr. Philpott’s “Student Services Update” was previously distributed. If the Committee has any questions or needs additional information, Mr. Philpott could be asked to attend a future meeting.
    5. Enrollment Report
      The current enrollment as of January 1, 2007, is 3788 students.
    6. Misc. Correspondence (green folders)
      No further discussion.
  5. Personnel
    The School Committee noted the following appointments, resignations, leaves of absence, and retirements:
    1. Appointments (replacements unless noted otherwise*)
      • Irene Castonguay, Lunch Monitor @ MT, eff 12-11-06
      • Paul DeRose, Lunch Monitor @ MT, eff 12-11-06
      • Ashley Ingalls, LT 4th Gr Sub @ SHS, eff 11-27-06
      • George Mitrolka, Athletic Trainer @ MRHS , eff 1-2-07
    2. Resignations
      • Debra Clarke, Autism Specialist, eff 1-2-07
      • Nezy Khosrowjerdi, Instructional Tech Support, eff 1-1-07
    3. Leaves of Absence
      • Keridwyn Pitcher, History/SS Teacher @ MRHS, eff 4-13-07 (childbear)
    4. Retirements
      • Janina Luczek, Gr 5 Teacher @ MEM, eff 6-30-07
      • Carol Sibilia, Admin Secretary @ MRHS, eff 7-4-07
  6. New Agenda Items (for upcoming meetings)
    1. Convene Audit Committee (Jan)
    2. Developmental Guidance Report (Jan)
    3. Initial Budget Review (Jan)
    4. Enrollment Update (Jan)
    5. Choice Vote (Jan)
    6. School Safety (Jan)
    7. Budget Capital Projects Review
    8. Policy Subcommittee

As there was no need for Executive Session, Mr. Chapman asked for a motion to adjourn. Mr. McCarthy so moved. Mrs. Desmond seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Karen W. Belsky
Recording Secretary

Next Meeting Scheduled For:
Tuesday, January 23, 2007, @ 7:00 p.m.
at Soule Road Elementary School

Important Note:
Executive Session to discuss school safety and security with town officials is scheduled
to be held prior to the regular meeting from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Soule Road School