NORTH KINGSTOWN SCHOOL COMMITTEE

Wednesday, December 3, 2003

6:00 PM Executive Session for a Level III Grievance

Pursuant to RIGL 42-46-4 and 42-46-5 (1) and (2)

7:00 PM Worksession

Central Administration Building 100 Fairway Drive, North Kingstown

“Challenging Student Excellence”

Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM. Don DeFedele made a motion to move to executive session for the purpose of discussing a Level III Grievance. The motion was seconded by Carol Hueston. The vote was unanimous.

The meeting was moved to open session at 7:05 PM.

I. Pledge of Allegiance

II. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:15 pm

Roll Call Present: Chairperson Don DeFedele; Vice Chairperson Dr. Denise Coppa; Carol Hueston, Barry

Martasian, Bill Mudge, Kevin Mulvey, Cathy Kaiser, Jamestown School Committee Representative

Absent: Pat Watkins

Administration Present: James M. Halley, Ed.D, Superintendent of Schools; William J. Daly, Director of Human Resources; Joseph F. Quinn, Jr., Director of Administrative Services joined the meeting at 7:45 pm

III. Presentation High School Colors Power Point Presentation: North Kingstown High School Senior Class

Officers

· Kim Beauman spoke for the Senior Class Officers and mentioned the following facts:

v Brown University donated their old jerseys to the NK football team during the 1930’s

v Because of votes taken by the students and the community, when the new high school opened in 2001, all of the sports uniforms were changed to black white and Vegas gold.

v In the past, when the teams had to order new uniforms the brown fabric had to be custom ordered and therefore was more expensive. Both black and Vegas gold are usually in stock and therefore are less expensive and easier to acquire.

v The concert choir is hoping to purchase new robes for their performance at the dedication of the new WWII Memorial in Washington, DC in May. Because brown robes have to be custom ordered they will not arrive in time for this trip.

v A new survey was conducted of the population at the high school which revealed, that of those responding, 87% would like the graduation gowns to also be black, white and Vegas gold; while 13% would like to keep the gowns as they are.

v The Senior Class also proposed to honor the alumni by wearing brown and white neck cords, displaying an alumni flag, painting the field brown and white, and having the Skipper mascot present at graduation.

· Barry Martasian said that he was very impressed with the student’s presentation and the number of students who came this evening. His only concern is that the School Committee requested that the public had a voice in the process and he doesn’t see it.

· Teacher Ms. Sara Boyd stated that a press release was put out advertising the meeting that the students held, and phone calls were made. One person that she was aware of who was interested in attending the meeting was unable to because she was going to be out of town, but the meeting was poorly attended by members of the community.

· Dr. Halley stated that the School Committee could put the item on a future agenda and hope to get more involvement from the community.

· Bill Mudge affirmed that he felt that the students did a good job, but “we are making decisions for a new millennium”, and “I have concerns about the process.” He felt that “the decision was made without consultation with anyone in town.”

· Don DeFedele held that last year the seniors were charged by the School Committee to come forth with this presentation and to include the views of the community. The School Committee did not feel that the students managed to convey the views of the alumni, so Mr. DeFedele suggested that they return to the January Worksession with this new information. He stated that if they neglect to return to the School Committee with what is requested then “they are in brown robes at graduation this year.”

Concert Choir also requested to be heard:

· Choir Director, Norma Caiazza, stated that the North Kingstown High School Concert Choir is the only group from Rhode Island invited to represent the state at the dedication of the new WWII memorial, in May, in Washington, DC. She also mentioned that the memorial was designed by a Rhode Islander.

· Two choir members, Jim Grasick and Morgan Morone, spoke to the School Committee about the need that the choir has for new robes. The dilemma they have is color. The brown robes that they currently have are not holding up well and will eventually need to be replaced. The choir would prefer to replace them with another color other than brown because the brown fabric is difficult to obtain and does not clean well. They currently have 50-55 robes that are useable but 127 members in the choir. 38 of these members will be going to Washington. They would like to have 40 new robes. The robes that they are looking to buy are white and have a corresponding sash with black and gold trim. These would cost approximately $2,645.00. The concert choir is requesting full funding from the School Committee

· Denise Coppa suggested that this item be placed on the December 17, 2003, Business Meeting agenda for vote.

IV. Open Forum No one requested to speak

V. Routine Items

A. Correspondence and Good News

· Barry Martasian received a couple of emails regarding the elementary school roofs. He also received an invitation from Coach Keith Kenyon for the dedication ceremony honoring Lenore Cranston on December 16^th. Also, at the last meeting, he commented on an article in the North Kingstown Villager magazine regarding a couple of North Kingstown third grade teachers, and this most recent copy has an article regarding middle school students collecting food for the needy. Mr. Martasian feels this is a great magazine with positive articles and he hopes the community reads it.

· Bill Mudge has handouts he would like listed in minutes:

Þ Chapter 16-2 School Committees and Superintendents

Þ Email from Cindy Olobri to Bill Mudge re Transferred $913,275 from the Debt Service Fund

Þ Memo from Maureen Buck to Bill Mudge re Request for All Available In$ite Reports

Þ Letter from Bill Mudge to Office of Municipal Affairs

Þ Letter from Bill Mudge to Rhode Island Board of Regents

Þ Letter from Roof Maintenance and Repair Specialist to Phil Bergeron

· Dr. Halley wanted the record to state that these documents are solely presented by one School Committee member, and are not supported by the entire committee.

· Mr. Mudge wanted the committee to know that he had filed charges with the State Police regarding a question of potential fraud or graft in connection with the elementary school roofs.

· Carol Hueston stated that she had received as many pro School Committee and administration emails as she did con concerning the elementary school roof matter.

· Kevin Mulvey concurred; and also stated that Davisville Middle School is having its Career Day on December 11 from 8:30 am to 10:15. He also mentioned the email that the School Committee received from a parent regarding the Jewish Holidays, and thinks that they should consider discussing it. Mr. DeFedele said that he spoke with the writer and asked that she make a presentation to the School Committee. Mr. Mulvey also had a question from a parent regarding the age change for Kindergarten and if the school department is considering grandfathering. He told the parent that he viewed this as a parent appeal.

· Dr. Halley mentioned that there is a School Committee policy that has been brought to this parent’s attention.

· Denise Coppa said that she received as many emails in support of the School Committee and administration as against regarding the roofing matter.

· Don DeFedele agreed; he then went on to mention that there were new course proposals at the High School which the School Committee needed to take home and look at as they need to be agreed to and voted on at the next Business Meeting which is slated for December 17, 2003.

· Bill Mudge questioned as to whether or not the community was involved in the choices as dictated by policy.

· Curriculum Director, Barbara Fitzsimmons, stated that yes, the public is allowed to suggest courses; however, these 5 new courses did not come from the community.

· Mr. DeFedele questioned whether or not these 5 new courses would be replacing anything in the curriculum.

· High School Principal Gerry Foley responded that this would be determined when the students choose their courses for the following year.

· Dr. Halley would like to mention that there are three letters he would like to bring to the School Committee’s attention:

1. A letter from the Office of Civil Rights stating that all identified issues at the High School pertaining to the complaint of inaccessibility to persons with disabilities had been resolved. (Appendix A)

2. A letter dated November 10, 2003 from Joan Crothers, Principal of Stony Lane School, to the parents of her students regarding the event which occurred on Friday, November 7.

(Appendix B)

3. A letter to James Larisa, Assistant Administrator RI Dept. of Labor and Training Division of Occupational Safety (Appendix C)

B. Calendars – Dr. Halley and Mr. DeFedele went over the calendar for the next two weeks with the School Committee

C. Personnel Items – none

D. Financial Reports – none

E. Bids and Awards – Bill Mudge questioned if any modifications had been made to the original elementary school roofing contract. Joe Quinn, Director of Administrative Services, stated that approximately $39,000 was added for contingency purposes. Bill Mudge then questioned if any change orders had been put through. Mr. Quinn responded negatively.

VI. New Business

A. Emergency Evacuation Procedures

· Dr. Halley opened the discussion by stating that the school department uses two distinctly separate emergency evacuation procedures:

1. Early dismissal - usually weather related

2. Emergency

Þ Evacuation

Þ Lock down

Þ Crisis management

Þ Counseling

· These procedures have been honed recently because of activities which have taken place in the country recently. If students cannot be returned to school, the school then goes into the dismissal procedure. There needs to be a review of the procedures and a tie made between the two, and establish a committee to have the community to help with the decisions.

· Don DeFedele stated that it was perfectly appropriate that these procedures be looked at. He also said that he checked with local school systems around the state, and systems around the New England area, and all had emergency evacuation procedures similar to the North Kingstown School Department’s.

· Barry Martasian recalled that there was an Emergency Evacuation Presentation scheduled during the spring which had been cancelled. He wondered if that could be rescheduled.

· Don DeFedele replied that he would like that particular presentation available to the new committee.

· Bill Mudge stated that he felt that Dr. Halley should come up with a better plan in two weeks. “It is the superintendent’s responsibility; let him perform it.”

· Carol Hueston disagreed and stated that “we certainly do need community involvement.”

· Kevin Mulvey held that there is a policy that needs to be looked at and he also wanted the community’s participation. He also felt that it was important to get the School community involved in the process.

· Don DeFedele stated that it was the School Committee’s job to write policy while the superintendent can offer recommendations. Mr. DeFedele said that he spoke with Dr. Halley about this subject and that he thought that it was very important to involve the SACs and the community on the committee. Mr. DeFedele stated that it was certainly within the purview of the superintendent to write this recommendation (Appendix D), and thanked him for doing so.

· Denise Coppa said that Mr. DeFedele is correct, the policies are written by the School Committee and the superintendent writes regulations. She would like to add that the community should be made aware that the schools are safe. The School Committee should find out what the problems are with the policies, get the experts involved, and formulate a new policy if need be.

· Bill Mudge questioned if that were not Dr. Halley’s responsibility.

· Bill Daly stated that individual school manuals have been updated to reflect the emergency procedures that are outlined in the school department handbook.

· Dr. Halley informed the School Committee that the schools have also been working on setting up telephone trees and updating their list serves.

· Don DeFedele said that he received plenty of ideas from the community about centralizing the list serves.

· Parent Brad Hammond stated that he was not opposed to a committee to look into the matter; however he is “opposed to being run by the current policy if there is an emergency tomorrow.” He does not feel that children should be released to strangers in the streets by their bus drivers. It would be preferable for them to be transferred to another school.

· Mr. DeFedele replied that it was necessary to keep in mind the bus routes, time of day of the situation, as well as how many children are in one building.

· Barry Martasian commiserated with Mr. Hammond and said that perhaps a committee to look at each scenario would be the best thing.

· Denise Coppa stated that the Policy Subcommittee was slated to meet tomorrow, December 4, and could look at the regulations at that time.

· Kevin Mulvey stated that everyone should look at them and if anyone has any ideas they should bring them forward and email them to the superintendent with a cc to Mr. DeFedele.

· Bill Mudge again insisted that Dr. Halley should be the one to come up with the ideas and submit them to the school committee.

· Lori Viner held that it appeared that some were mixing up policy and procedure. The School Committee creates policy while the administration implements the policy and creates procedure. There seems to be a problem with communicating to parents with the two student handbooks.

· Kathy Brown questioned if it would be the SAC member on the committee or a representative nominated by them.

· Don DeFedele responded that it could be either or.

· Dr. Halley wanted more information regarding the children who were dropped off by their bus driver and were left unsupervised as mentioned by Mr. Hammond. He stated he wanted to investigate as it was a breakdown in the current procedure. He also asked if anyone else knew of any similar situations if they could please email the information to him he would appreciate it.

· Chris Pratt does not understand how administration can expect bus drivers to take care of all the children beyond making sure that they are left at their proper stop. Bus the children to the High School Auditorium where there is room for them to wait.

VII. Unfinished Business

A. Full Day Kindergarten

· Dr. Halley opened the topic by stating that 2004 Kindergarten enrollments will be less because of changes in the 5^th grade. There will, however, be the same staffing. No additional staffing will be needed.

· Barry Martasian wanted to know if there would be a need for additional busses, and Dr. Halley stated that no, in fact less busses would be required.

· Kevin Mulvey questioned the cost savings, and Dr. Halley responded that there would probably be the cost of a bus, or $55,000.

· Denise Coppa was curious if there would be any impact on start times. Dr. Halley responded negatively.

· Kevin Mulvey questioned if there would be art and music every week. Dr. Halley answered no, but there would be library every week. He stated that the desire was to “make the experience a better experience rather than a packed experience.” It would be the same curriculum used at the full day kindergarten at Davisville Elementary School.

· Kevin Mulvey then questioned if it would be possible to designate one school for those students who have elected to go for ½ day. Barbara Fitzsimmons stated that there was no need, “The younger the students are the more room there is for individualization.”

· Kevin Mulvey requested measurement of the pilot full day kindergarten program.

· Barbara Fitzsimmons replied that 68% of first graders tested achieved the reading standard, whereas in the past it was a mere 30% who achieved the standard

· Bill Mudge asked if Fishing Cove Elementary School had the capacity to house full day kindergarten for the entire district.

· Dr. Halley responded in the affirmative.

· Parent Jill Johnen is curious about what is going to be added to round out the day if art and music are not going to be offered every week.

· Dr. Fitzsimmons suggested that Ms. Johnen visit a ½ day class and then compare it to a full day class at DES. She would see that in a ½ day class students are pulled out for specials, trips to the bathroom are field trips, a two-and-a-half hour day is a very busy day. The full day program allows students to expand in the afternoon on what they were exposed to in the morning.

· Kevin Mulvey/Denise Coppa motioned to place full day kindergarten on the December 17, 2003, Business Meeting Agenda. Vote 5/1, Bill Mudge voting “No” because he would like the financial cost data to reopen Fishing Cove Elementary School as a Kindergarten Center.

· Denise Coppa stated that she was not interested in revisiting the redistricting that would be involved in that scenario.

· Bill Mudge then changed topics and suggested that he would like to have Jim Larisa of OSHA come to the next meeting “to discuss what is perplexing us and tell us what direction” the school department should be taking regarding the elementary school roofs. “We need to know first hand what happened.”

· Don DeFedele replied that as Dr. Halley mentioned at the opening of the meeting, a letter has gone to Mr. Larisa and the school department awaits his reply.

· Mr. Mudge then stated that he would like to make a motion because he felt that parents would also like to have Mr. Larisa come to the meeting and be heard. Mr. Mudge made the motion to have Mr. Larisa attend the next School Committee meeting, but he did not receive a second, and therefore the motion died.

B. NEA/NK Contract – Nothing in writing as of yet. To be carried on agenda until signed.

C. School Modernization Implementation

· Don DeFedele informed the School Committee that Liz Dolan has contacted Dave Burnham and requested that he chair the new School Modernization Committee. Mr. Burnham has graciously accepted.

· Barry Martasian/Carol Hueston motioned to accept Liz Dolan’s recommendation of Dave Burnham as chair for the new School Modernization Committee. Vote: 7/0.

D. 2004-05 School Budget – none

E. 2003-04 School Budget – none

F. 2003-04 School Department Goals and Objectives – Next KeyWorks meeting scheduled for December 10, 2003.

VII. Comments

· Carol Hueston quoted from an article written by Ernest C. Torres in defense of US District Judge Mary M. Lisi:

“However, once again, a judge is duty bound not to allow the prospect of criticism to deter her or him from making a decision that she or he believes to be consistent with the applicable evidence and law. If that happens, one of the cornerstones of our judicial system will be destroyed, and all of us will have lost something important.” Ms. Hueston stated that she felt this applied to all public officials.

· Kathy Brown questioned whether or not Glen Stinson was still working on gathering names to present to the Town Council for the new School Modernization Committee. Don DeFedele replied that indeed Mr. Stinson was working with the School Committee to put together names for presentation to the Town Council.

· Mrs. Brown then wanted to know if there will be a new charge for the committee. Mr. DeFedele replied in the affirmative.

· Mrs. Brown then counseled the School Committee and administration that perhaps when it comes to the safety of our students it is “not always necessary to have things in writing. If orders are given verbally they should still be followed.”

· Mrs. Brown then questioned the cost of the removal of the blinds at Davisville Elementary School and wanted to know when they would be removed. Dr. Halley informed her that they would be removed during the Christmas recess.

IX. Adjourn: Motion to adjourn was made by Pat Watkins and seconded by Denise Coppa at 9:33 pm, clock counter 2:33:53. There were no home schooling, negotiations, or personnel matters for School Committee members to attend to so they did not adjourn to Executive Session.

Respectfully submitted,

________________________

Konnie M. Mazur

School Committee Secretary

Approved March 24, 2004