NORTH KINGSTOWN SCHOOL
COMMITTEE
Wednesday,
May 1, 2002 7:00 PM
Worksession on Reconfiguration of Schools
Central
Administration Building 100 Fairway Drive, North Kingstown
“Challenging Student Excellence” |
I.
Pledge of Allegiance
I. Call To Order The meeting was called to order at 7:23 PM.
A. Roll Call Present: Chairperson Lynne Haft, Vice Chairperson Karin L. Forbes, Dr. Denise Coppa, Dr. Janice DeFrances, and Michael R. Northup
Absent: Carol H. Hueston, Patricia E. Watkins, and Cathy Kaiser, Jamestown School Committee
Administration Present: Daniel J. McGregor, Ph.D., Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Barbara A. Fitzsimmons, Ed.D., Curriculum Director, William J. Daly, Director of Human Resources and Karin Pierson, Supervisor of Transportation
Absent: James M. Halley, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools and Joseph F. Quinn, Jr., Director of Administrative Services
II.
Reconfiguration of
Schools
The school committee established a timeline, issues, values, and criteria to evaluate proposals on the topic of reconfiguration.
Timeline*
May 6 & 8 Examine every plan and idea that was bought forward. Have an open discussion on material with criteria in mind.
May 13 School Committee Make-up Subcommittee meeting to review past meetings. No new information will be discussed.
May 13 Finish discussion/review of plans and formulate school committee plans.
May 15 Finish formulating school committee plans from ideas.
May 20 Full open forum.
May 22 Special business meeting to vote on Reconfiguration with open forum beforehand. The regular business meeting will follow.
*All of these meetings are open to the public and are scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm except for the May 13 Make-up meeting that will start at 5:00 pm. Meetings are located in the Central Administration Building unless posted otherwise.
Issues
1. Overcrowding at Davisville Elementary School.
2. Delivery of services to pre-school children with special needs.
3. Kindergarten center.
4. Access to all school buildings by parents, disabled parents, students, staff etc.
5. Chronic redistricting.
6. Half day versus full day kindergarten.
7. Neighborhood schools versus pairing in terms of student achievement.
8. Short-term to long-term.
Values
1. Equity in terms of facilities and educational program.
Criteria
to Evaluate Proposals
1. Fewest children moved (short-term/long-term).
2. $
3. Best for children.
4. Transportation (Time, Route, $).
5. No reduction of programs or services to children.
6. Safety
7. Educational research based decision.
8. Growth/Population Distribution.
9. School Capacity (students/school; classrooms/school).
10. Pre-school program (where?; impact)
11. Legal
12. Facility Capacity (Gym, Art, Music, Food Services, Playground, Restroom etc.)
13. Feasibility (short-term/long-term).
14. Longevity
15. Evaluation Criteria
There was some interest in having a discussion on SALT Reports.
Backup information was requested from Administration.
A
recess was taken at 8:40 PM, clock counter 1:19:09. The meeting resumed at 8:47 PM.
III.
Open Forum
The following topics and concerns were voiced during the meeting’s open forum.
Ø Offered research on pairing in terms of timeline, questioned enrollment projection figures, and offered information on the cost of modular classrooms.
Ø Commented regarding the general consensus of the Focus Groups, a middle school annex, loss of land ramifications, reasons for closing Wickford Elementary, Dr. Halley’s contract, and the preparedness of the school committee.
Ø Offered information on Order of Precedence, Fact Based, Systematic Process, and Decision Guidance.
Ø Asked the committee to take care of Davisville Elementary as the immediate problem.
Ø Commented regarding the turnover of principals at Fishing Cove School.
Ø Asked for cost information on converting Fishing Cove to a middle or elementary school.
Ø Asked the committee to slow this process down and to obtain professional information regarding pairing/neighborhood school from independent people.
Ø Would like to hear from the Wickford Middle principal; also asked about full-day kindergarten increase in staff and budget impact, population shifts and the need to spot redistrict under proposal one, and commented on Historic Commission Law.
Ø Went over capacity figures from various reports.
Ø Said the proposals aren’t very detailed.
Ø Commented regarding accessibility at Wicford Elementary, “walkers” designation, out of district students, and Title I figures and threshold.
Ø Commented regarding the reconfiguration timeline.
IV.
Comments
Ø Dr. Coppa said that the two proposals are a
starting point and everyone’s opinion will be considered as the committee goes
through a process.
Ø Lynne Haft received a memo from the
Davisville Elementary School staff regarding equity for all students, and an
invitation to a Davisville Elementary Concerned Citizens meeting regarding
building use of space. Ms. Haft read an
excerpt from a letter that a parent who attended a Focus Group meeting
wrote. The chairperson thanked the
audience for the nice change of tone at the worksession. “We, as a school committee, advocate for
children.”
Ø Dr. Fitzsimmons asked that anyone who may
have found research on the negatives of pairing to please bring it forward.
V.
Adjourn A
motion to recess to Monday, May 6 at 7:00 PM was made by Mike Northup/Karin Forbes,
(5/0) at 10:01 PM, clock counter 2:33:15.
Respectfully
submitted,
_______________________________________
Donna
F. Keough
School
Committee Secretary