NORTH KINGSTOWN SCHOOL COMMITTEE
APPROVED
4/26/06
April 12, 2006
6:00 pm
Executive Session for discussion of the Superintendent’s Evaluation/Contract
Pursuant to RIGL 42-46-4 and 42-46-5 (1 )
*The
employee has been notified that this personnel matter may be heard in public at
his/her discretion
7:00 PM Worksession
Central Administration Building 100 Fairway Drive
“Challenging Student Excellence”
Minutes
I.
Meeting
Organization
A.
Call to Order;
Pledge of Allegiance
1.
Chairperson, Don
DeFedele, called the meeting to order at 7:07pm.
B. Roll Call
Present: Chairperson, Donald DeFedele; Vice
Chairperson, Dr.
Cockerill;
Administration
Present:
Resources; Barbara Fitzsimmons, Director of
Curriculum; Maureen Buck, Director of Administrative Services and
Lee Rabbitt, Director of Technology
Absent: Daniel J.
McGregor, Ph.D., Director of Pupil Services
Legal
Representative: absent
C.
Calendars
1.
Dr. Halley went
over the important dates in April with the Committee:
a.
On April 12th report cards
will be distributed for the secondary
grades.
b. April 14th is Good Friday and
schools will be closed.
c. There will be a public hearing on the school
budget on April 17th at 7:30pm in the high school
d. Schools will be closed for Spring recess from
April 17th – April 21st.
e. There will be a public hearing on the town
budget on April 19th at 7:30pm in the high school
f. There will be a SELAC meeting on April 25th
at 7:00pm in the NK Library.
g. Kindergarten registration will be held at the
Central Administration Building from April 25 – 27.
h. There will be a School Committee Business
Meeting on April 26th at 7:00pm following an executive
session at 6:00pm.
D.
Ground Rules:
Don
DeFedele read the Ground Rules for the Committee to abide by at this meeting.
Motion to accept the Ground Rules was
made by Don DeFedele. Seconded by Barry
Martasian.
Vote: 6 to 0 to approve with Bill Mudge
abstaining
E.
Presentations:
1. Karen
vanVierssen, Director of LINKS, presented an overview of this volunteer
program, announcing that April is National volunteer Month.
LINKS
has been in operation for 35 years and continues to change each year. Currently LINKS oversees the NK Business
Education Partnership, the Mentoring Program and the Parent Teacher Resource
Center. Some of the duties that the
LINKS volunteers perform include providing background checks for all
volunteers, overseeing school activities, coordinating special requests from
teachers, providing tutors and computer helpers in all schools, coordinating
the “We Deliver” post office program and the Banking Across America
Program. Special projects in the schools
include working with the COZ Outreach screening, fluoride distribution,
suitcase and bookbag museums, mentoring which includes the lunch, breakfast and
after-school buddies, and business partnerships with 20 regional
executives. So far this year there have
been over 8,000 hours put in by volunteers.
Ms.
vanVierssen would like to see the program grow and will continue to advocate bringing
the parents and community volunteers into the schools. The offer was made to work with any School
Committee member who would like to volunteer.
Barry
Martasian stated that he has experienced being a LINKS volunteer and mentor and
praised it for being a great program.
Mr. Martasian thanked all volunteers for making this program possible.
Bill
Mudge stated that he appreciated the LINKS work and asked if there was anything
the School Committee could do to help.
He asked that Ms. vanVierssen write if there were any suggestions.
Ms.
vanVierssen stated that Dr. Halley has been very gracious to the program by including
money in the budget for LINKS. Grant
money has also been available. She would
like to see the program grow without adding a burden to the school budget.
Mrs.
Benson gave congratulations for a wonderful report and will contact the LINKS
office. She also suggested that the
LINKS volunteer poster be a subject of an article in the local papers.
2.
Andrew Feid, a 6th
grader at Davisville Middle School, addressed the Committee by reading a letter
and
submitting
a petition that students had signed to keep the current middle school Foreign
Language program as it is now, without changes.
3.
A middle school
soccer program proposal was made by Tom Miller, a soccer coach and parent of
three
children.
There would be a total of four teams – one boys’ team and one girls’ team at
each school. There are 72 positions
available for students who are interested in playing soccer for the middle
schools. There is community support as
well as the NK Athletic Director’s support for this proposal. The program would not require any money from
the school department. All expenses
would be raised each year by the soccer teams.
No additional field space would be required as the middle school fields
are already being used. Preferably, a
faculty or staff member from the middle schools would be involved in this
effort.
Denise
Coppa was concerned with not all children being able to play. Mr. Miller stated that these teams would not
be at the highest level of competition and if a child has been playing
competitive soccer, he or she should be able to get on the team.
Dr.
Coppa was also concerned that the program, as with other sports, would require
financing in the future. Mr. Miller
explained that some sports require a great deal of equipment, but soccer
requirements are minimal and could be covered by fundraising.
Barry Martasian
asked if an employee was involved in coaching, would they be coming to the
School Committee
for a stipend
as in other sports. Mr. Miller stated that
the program would include a stipend for coaches in their own
budget after
the first year.
Bill Mudge
expressed support for the program but asked about liabilities and the
difference in this team from a
competition
standpoint. Mr. Miller explained that
the format would be the same as it is now but the kids would just
be playing for
a middle school team. Ocean State Soccer
is also very willing to work with this new program.
Renee Cockerill
fully supports the soccer program and felt that the issue of exclusion of some
children was no
different than in the baseball or basketball
teams. She felt that the students would
have pride in playing for their
school.
Bucky Brennan stated that Jamestown has a middle
school soccer program that has been very successful. Parent
coaches do not get paid and the faculty member who is
involved receives a small stipend. Mr.
Brennan disagrees
that this might limit some students from playing.
Mr. Mudge recommended
having a memo of understanding such as a 5 year contract. There was no consensus of
the Committee to require that as a condition of
approval.
This item will be added to the next meeting agenda for
approval.
4.
SELAC
Sharon
Schubert, co-chair of the SELAC, submitted a letter to the Committee (Appendix
A). This letter refers to the Bacon and
Edge updated report to the Town concerning the special education buses getting
to school late. Mrs. Schubert stated
that this is a serious situation and asked that this topic be put on the next
agenda.
Don
DeFedele replied that he will look at the agenda in order to fit in this issue.
Mrs.
Schubert stated that if this was not addressed, she would find it necessary to
take this issue to RIDE or the Office for Civil Rights. Mr. DeFedele repeated
that he would look at the agenda.
Motion was made by Melvoid Benson to put
the issue of special education buses on the next agenda for consideration. Seconded by Bill Mudge.
Renee
Cockerill stated that administration could start working on this issue before
the next meeting.
Dr.
Halley noted that this report was written several months ago and he believes
that this issue has been resolved.
Mr.
DeFedele noted that he would be glad to hear SELAC’s comments but this could
not be discussed as a specific item tonight due to this issue not being on
tonight’s agenda.
Motion was made by Denise Coppa to end
debate on this subject. Seconded by
Barry Martasian.
Vote:
5 to 2 to approve. Melvoid Benson
and Bill Mudge voting no.
Amendment to the main motion was made by
Bill Mudge requesting that Dr. Halley provide a report on the special ed buses
at the next meeting. Seconded by Don
DeFedele.
Vote:
unanimous to approve.
Vote on motion to put special ed buses
on the next agenda: Unanimous to
approve.
5.
InSite
Presentation:
Maureen
Buck reported that the state has been looking for a way to unify all reports
that are submitted by the school districts.
Ten years ago they founded InSite.
Recess
was taken at 8:22pm
Meeting
resumed at 8:32pm
Mrs.
Buck continued that InSite overlaps our accounting system and has become a
universal reporting system. This report
does not include revenue and is only an expense report. Federal grants, state grants, enterprise
funds, restricted funds and regular fund accounts are included in this report
and are reviewed each year by our auditors.
The state also provides quality assurance on places where information is
entered.
Mrs.
Buck referred to page 5 as to how North Kingstown reported information. This provides a general oversight of the
district.
Page
6 shows our initial breakdown. Most of our money is spent on instruction and
instruction support. North Kingstown is
ranked 21st out of 36 districts on expenditures. Mrs. Buck stated that this shows that
whatever we are doing, we are doing well and economically.
Mr.
Mudge stated that In Site is an excellent report and we should use it for the
basis for our budget practices, especially to compare to last year’s
expenditures.
Mrs.
Buck pointed out that we do use this report in our budget. Pages 42 – 45 in the budget are directly from
InSite.
Dr.
DeFrances noted that the report does not provide qualitative notes regarding
the amount of expenses that are put into leadership or legal issues. It gives state averages, but it does not list
districts with high performing schools.
Dr.
Halley stated that sometime this summer we will be implementing a data
warehouse and will be able to cross reference expenses with programs to see if
programs are related to achievement.
North Kingstown spends less than the state average on instruction, which
is face to face teaching, and more on instructional support which is
professional development, curriculum development and program management, yet we
have high performing schools. A good question to ask is are we spending our money
better than other districts and are we spending money that yields better
results. Dr. Halley stated that this is
a good discussion of what makes the difference in education.
New
Business – Item A, Wellness Committee
Policy Requirement – was moved to this point in the agenda.
Denise
Coppa reported that the Health and Wellness Committee has been meeting in
reaction to a new law that was enacted in July, 2005. They are charged with
establishing guidelines to develop a policy that addresses nutrition and
physical activity of the North Kingstown schools. This policy will also be entered into the
North Kingstown strategic plan.
Dr.
Coppa read a draft of the suggested policy which includes language from federal
and state laws. The policy should be in
effect by May 1st and the program must be in place by the beginning
of the school year. This will change
some practices now being followed in schools.
It will bar such items as candy, donuts in high school advisory class,
soda machines and birthday cakes in schools. All foods will be required to be
nutrient dense which might mean a change in the food service menu to
accommodate the nutrition standards.
Physical
activity will also be affected. The high
school currently offers only 4 weeks of physical education per year. There could be an incentive program
established in which students receive points for physical activity such as the
YMCA program or intramural sports.
Bill
Mudge questioned what these new requirements would cost the district, such as if
there would have to be gym teachers added, and felt we should not have to bare
additional costs. Dr. Coppa explained
that the law does not say physical education, just physical activity.
It
was recommended that we include a sleep policy under this wellness policy.
Dr.
DeFrances felt that the sentence in the policy that states an increase in
physical education to a full year program should be deleted as this is not
appropriate to be at a policy level.
Dr.
Halley agreed that increasing physical education to a full year was too
specific for a policy. Physical activity
could be provided through after school activities. Dr. Halley felt there should not be a
significant amount of additional costs to implement this policy, but other
possible effects could be a loss of revenue in
food services and the impact of extra curricular activities such as
selling candy bars.
Melvoid
Benson suggested looking for grants to help.
The Wellness Committee is already looking into this.
Dr.
Coppa requested that the Committee e-mail any suggestions that they have for
the policy to her NKSD account.
Public
Comment:
April
Brunnelle stated that she is on the Wellness Committee and she would be
concerned about adding anything about sleep time. A Wellness Policy is a state law and does not
include sleep issues. The charge is
wellness which includes physical activity and nutrition.
Dr.
Coppa felt that as long as we address what the law requires, then we can add
whatever other items we want to include.
The sub-committee is an advisory to the School Committee, and the School
Committee then acts.
Timothy
Cappalli is a student at North Kingstown High School and asked why sleep
wouldn’t be put together with wellness. He stated that he would rather not eat
breakfast than get up early. He also felt
that if the food program is changed at school, kids will just bring food from
home.
Paul
Dion asked if this policy would affect PTO activities such as ice cream socials
and pizza parties.
Dr.
Coppa felt it would affect these things.
Dr.
Halley stated that the school department could not give support to do these
types of things, but we need to define this issue further. He felt there is nothing inherently wrong
with ice cream or pizza if they are done correctly.
II.
Routine Items
A. Correspondence:
1. Don DeFedele congratulated Coralie Wilcox as
a first place winner in the kindergarten to grade 2 division of this year’s
Providence Journal’s Reading Week Statewide Contest.
2. Additional congratulations
were given to the Superintendent for attaining a gold metal status with
Expansion Management. The school
department has been named one of the top public school districts in the country
by this company.
3. Bill Mudge introduced two
letters from the Attorney General dated March 30, 2006 which answered a
complaint concerning an Open Meetings Act violation (Appendix B) and April 7,
2006 which answered an Access to Public Records Act complaint (Appendix C).
4. Mr. Mudge also submitted a
letter from Mr. Richard Pastore concerning a complaint filed by Lynda Avanzato
and Bill Mudge. (Appendix D).
5. Bucky Brennan stated that he
was very impressed by the level of response given by the high school guidance
staff in regard to student’s schedules for next year.
6. Mrs. Benson stated that
tomorrow she will deliver to Dr. Halley some correspondence that she received
regarding a problem at one of the schools.
B. Disclosure of Executive Session Votes – none
to disclose.
CONSENT AGENDA
Approved
items on the consent agenda
are marked with * on a
motion by Denise Coppa/Janice DeFrances with a vote of 6 to 0 with Bill Mudge
abstaining.
Approved items that were exempted or amended within the consent agenda are marked with ** as
indicated immediately following the item.
Withdrawn or Tabled Items
from the consent agenda are marked with *** as indicated immediately following
the item.
C. Home
Schooling Requests - none submitted.
D. Approval
of Minutes of Prior Meetings:
1.
March 22, 2006 Business Meeting*
2. March 8, 2006 Executive Session*
3. March 22, 2006 Executive Session*
E. Bids and
Awards:
1. Consultant for Needs Assessment Survey**
(Moved to next agenda)
2. Repair and Resurfacing of High School Track**
(Moved to next agenda)
3. Floor Tile Installation at Davisville
Elementary School** (Moved to next agenda)
4. Football Equipment Reconditioning*
5. Seal Coating for DE, SL, FP, QE, FC and HE** (Moved
to next agenda)
F. Personnel
Items*
1.
Appointment,
Non-Certificated Staff - budgeted
a)
Sandra Smith,
Food Service Worker at Stony Lane Elementary School, 2 hours per day, 5 days a
week for a total of 10 hours per week, Step 1 @ $8.44 per hour, effective March
27, 2006.
2.
Approval of
Request for Unpaid Parental Leave of Absence, Certificated Staff:- per the NEA
Contract
a)
Susan Schwab, 1.0
FTE Special Educator at Wickford Middle School, from April10, 2006 through May
31, 2006.
3.
Approval of
Advanced Degree Increment Awards (effective for ˝ of the 2005/2006 school year
only) – budgeted per NEA/NK Contract - budgeted
a)
Michelle Rosen,
.6 FTE English Teacher at the North Kingstown High School, Bachelors + 15
credits, salary $637.
b)
Stephanie Griffin
1.0 FTE Special Education Teacher at Davisville Middle School, Bachelor‘s + 15
credits, salary $1062.
c)
Susan Vogel, 1.0
FTE Mathematics Teacher at Davisville Middle School, Bachelor’s + 15 credits,
salary $1062.
d)
Lynn Plotkin, 1.0
FTE 6th Grade Teacher at Davisville Middle School, Bachelor’s + 15
credits, salary $1062
e)
John Walsh, 1.0
FTE Social Studies Teacher at the North Kingstown High School, Bachelor’s + 30
credits, salary $1670.
f)
Emily Bell, 1.0
FTE Language Arts Teacher at Davisville Middle School, Bachelor’s Degree + 30 credits,
salary $1670.
g)
Marianne Kirby,
1.0 FTE Language Arts Teacher at the North Kingstown High School, Bachelor’s +
30 credits, salary $1670.
h)
Susan Jay, 1.0
FTE School Nurse Teacher at Hamilton Elementary School, Master’s Degree, salary
$2887.
i)
Kelly Harrington,
.2 FTE Spanish Teacher at Wickford Middle School, Bachelor’s + 15 credits,
salary $212.
j)
Hermes Leal, 1.0
FTE Spanish Teacher at the North Kingstown High School, Master’s Degree, salary
$2887.
k)
Paula Macdonald,
1.0 FTE Business Teacher at the North Kingstown High School, Master’s + 15
credits, salary $3340.
l)
Patricia
Atkinson-Santos, 1.0 FTE Guidance Counselor at the North Kingstown High School,
Master’s + 15 credits, salary $3340.
m)
Savas Synodi, 1.0
FTE Foreign Language Teacher at Davisville Middle School, Master’s + 30
credits, salary $3795
n)
Erin Winthrop,
1.0 FTE Guidance Counselor at the North Kingstown High School, Master’s + 30
credits, salary $3795.
o)
Bridget White,
1.0 FTE 6th Grade Teacher at Davisville Middle School, Master’s + 30
credits, salary $3795.
p)
Adrian Poland,
1.0 FTE Literacy Coordinator, Master’s Degree, salary $2887.
q)
Sarah Rawlinson,
1.0 FTE Social Studies Teacher at the North Kingstown High School, Bachelor’s +
30 credits, salary $1670.
4.
Appointment,
2005/2006 Interscholastic Coach: (Remove from School Committee Meeting,
3/8/2006, Agenda Item II.F.7)
North Kingstown High School
Jonathan
Quinn Assistant Softball Coach $2546
5.
Approval of
Salary (correction from School Committee Meeting October 26, 2006, Agenda Item,
III.G.2) - budgeted
a)
Karen Nutini,
Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent of Schools, including
responsibilities for school committee meetings, salary $58,014, effective
October 3, 2005.
6.
Appointment,
2005/2006 Interscholastic Coach - budgeted
North Kingstown High School
Raymond
Tanguay Assistant Softball
Coach $2787
Wickford Middle School
Jonathan
Quinn Volunteer Track & Field Coach $0
7.
Retirement,
Certificated Staff:
a)
Linda Martin, 1.0
FTE Mentoring/Resource Coordinator, effective at the end of the 2005/2006
school year.
b)
Joan Reuter, 1.0
FTE Elementary Teacher at Hamilton Elementary School, effective at the end of
the 2005/2006 school year.
c)
Kathryn Falvey,
1.0 FTE Physical Education Teacher at Fishing Cove School, effective at the end
of the 2005/2006 school year.
d)
Diane Wunsch, 1.0
FTE Social Studies Teacher at the North Kingstown High School, effective at the
end of the 2005/2006 school year.
e)
Janice Nickelson,
1.0 FTE Elementary Teacher at Hamilton Elementary School, effective at the end
of the 2005/2006 school year.
8.
Resignation,
Certificated Staff:
a)
Susan Alexander,
1.0 FTE Elementary Teacher (currently on an unpaid Leave of Absence for the
2005/2006 school year), effective at the end of the 2005/2006 school year.
G.
Principal’s Policy #GCB-2**
· Bill Mudge announced that he has filed a complaint
with the Attorney General’s Office on this matter.
· There was a discussion that there have been meetings
with the School Committee on this policy and revisions have been
made as a result of those meetings. The public is getting a chance to have input
tonight.
· Dr. Halley presented a recommendation to the School
Committee to accept the changes to this policy.
Motion was made by Denise Coppa to end
debate on this subject. Seconded by
Janice DeFrances.
Vote: 6 to 1 to approve with Bill Mudge
voting no.
Public
Comment:
· Kathleen Brown stated that again this is an item that
was listed on the consent agenda. At two
meetings she was denied to
speak on an item. She only saw this policy for the first time
tonight, so she was not prepared to talk on a 15 page policy and
there is nothing in which to compare it Mrs.
Brown felt that new business should not be on the consent agenda and the
regular agenda can handle it.
Don DeFedele stated that this
item was moved up on the agenda so that the issue could be finished and not
carried over
another time.
Motion was made by Melvoid Benson to
adjourn after public comment. Seconded
by Bill Mudge.
Vote:
Melvoid Benson yes Barry
Martasian no
Bill Mudge yes Donald DeFedele no
Denise Coppa yes Renee Cockerill no
Janice
DeFrances no
Motions fails 4 to 2.
· Muriel Cammara stated that she was looking at the
policy for the first time tonight and requested that the changes should
include the cost that the change
would incur. She had no argument with
what was in the policy but felt that the public should
know what it will cost.
Dr.
Halley replied that the costs are in the budget. The salaries were $94,000 that have now been
spread over two years. There is now a cost of $47,205 for principal’s salaries
for next year.
Mrs.
Cammara asked about the cost of the five days that are allowed for bereavement.
Dr.
Halley explained that the principals do not have substitutes when they are out,
so there is not cost to this item.
Mrs.
Cammara reiterated that the cost should be known even if they are very small.
She
stated that the Town Council does not present an item and vote at the same
time.
· Paul Dion stated that this was his first time seeing
this policy. He referred to page 11 that
lists principals working a full
calendar year with 20 days vacation
and asked if this was currently in the budget.
Dr. Halley replied that when
employees move to a full year, the annual leave is part of the increase.
Mr. Dion asked about the separation
of employment and the time accrued.
Dr. Halley explained that it is paid
at the time of separation.
Mr. Dion felt that this is creating
an unfunded liability and the school department needs to start accruing this
expense now.
Dr. Halley stated that the accrual
will be budgeted in the year after next year.
Mr. Dion referred to page 12 which
list 18 sick days and asked about the maximum sick days that are accrued now.
Dr. Halley answered that there is no
payout for sick days.
Recess was taken at 10:32pm in order
for the video tape to be changed.
Meeting resumed at 10:36pm.
Mr. Dion felt that money should be
set aside for payouts when employees leave and felt the costs are understated.
Motion
was made by Don DeFedele to approve the principal’s policy as presented. Seconded by Janice DeFrances.
Vote: Barry Martasian yes Bill
Mudge no Melvoid Benson -
passed on voting
Don DeFedele yes Renee Cockerill no
Janice DeFrances yes
Denise Coppa yes
Motion
passes 4 to 2.
END OF CONSENT AGENDA
Motion was made by Denise Coppa to
adjourn without comments. Seconded by
Janice DeFrances.
Vote: 5 to 0 to approve with Bill
Mudge and Melvoid Benson not voting.
III. Unfinished Business - NO DISCUSSION OR ACTION TAKEN
(For Discussion and Possible Action)
A. Exemption for Spending Cap of School Capital Reserve
Fund
B.
2006-2007 School
Budget
C.
Wickford Middle
School Bond Issue Update
D.
Discussion of
Issues Pertaining to the Physical Limitations of WMS as Related to Current
Middle School Programs
E.
2005-2006 School
Budget
F.
2005-2006
School Committee Goals and Objectives
New
Business – NO DISCUSSION OR ACTION TAKEN
(For Discussion and Possible Action)
A. Wellness Committee – Policy Requirement
B. New Policy #GBEB Standards of Employee
Conduct
C. Bus Monitors’ Salary Proposal
D. Strategic Plan
E. Southern RI Legislative Coalition
A.
Building Code Feasibility Study of Wickford
Elementary School by RGB
B.
Return of Wickford Elementary School to the
Town of NK
C.
Governing Style Policy/Committee
Self-Assessment Policy
D.
Consider Letter to Town Regarding High School
Band Room Repair
E. Consider School Committee Policies on Website
Reports – NO
DISCUSSION OR ACTION TAKEN
(For
Discussion and Possible Action)
A.
Special Reports:
1.
Middle School Foreign Language Program
B.
Standing/Sub
Committee Reports
C. Ad hoc Committee Reports
Committee Member/Citizen’s Comments
– NO COMMENTS
Adjourn
Meeting adjourned at 10:40pm.
Respectfully
submitted,
_______________________________________
Karen
A. Nutini
Administrative
Assistant
to
the Superintendent/School Committee