NORTH KINGSTOWN SCHOOL COMMITTEE
APPROVED
1/25/06
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
6:00 pm Executive Session for Negotiations
with the Principals’ Association
Pursuant
to RIGL 42-46-4 and 42-46-5 (2)
Executive Session for Continuation of
the Superintendent’s Evaluation
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 7:08 pm.
B. Roll Call:
Present: Chairperson, Donald DeFedele; Vice
Chairperson,
Absent: Janice DeFrances
Administration
Present:
Absent: Daniel J. McGregor, Ph.D., Director of Pupil
Services; Barbara Fitzsimmons, Director of Curriculum; Maureen Buck, Director
of Administrative Services
C.
Calendars:
Dr.
Halley went over the important dates in January with the Committee and
announced a meeting sponsored by SORICO with South County legislators, school
committee members and superintendents on January 30th that was not
on the calendar.
D.
Ground Rules:
Don DeFedele referred to the list of ground rules for
the Committee to approve and abide by at the meeting.
Motion to approve the Ground Rules was
made by Barry Martasian. Seconded by Melvoid
Benson.
Vote: Don
DeFedele Yes Bill Mudge Abstain
Denise
Coppa Yes
Renee
Cockerill Yes
Barry
Martasian Yes
Melvoid
Benson Yes
Motion passes 5 to 0, 1 abstain.
E. Presentations: Cancelled
II.
Routine Items
A. Correspondence:
1. The Committee received a letter from the
auditing firm of Prescott, Chatellier, Fontaine and Wilkinson that was sent to
the Town Council concerning their audit for FY05.
2. A letter from school
department attorney, David Reilly, to Lynda Avanzato requesting a signed copy
of an affidavit was provided to the Committee.
3. Dr. Halley read a letter from
Don DeFedele concerning placing the topic of forensic audit on this meeting’s
agenda. After consulting with attorney
David Reilly, based on the fact that there is an affidavit involved that
accuses employees of criminal acts that could come up in discussion, this item
has been scheduled for an executive session on
February 1, 2006 at 6:30pm.
a. Mr. Mudge felt that the affidavit was a
separate item from the forensic audit.
He previously submitted a list of audit topics that were not part of an
affidavit. He felt Committee members
should have been contacted about removing this topic from tonight’s agenda.
b. Don DeFedele stated that in his capacity as
Chairperson, he has to make decisions.
Legal counsel was consulted and it was felt necessary to hold this topic
in executive session. The Committee can
vote to overrule this decision if they disagree.
c. Mel Benson felt that it was
the consensus of the Committee to have the topic of forensic audit on this
meeting’s agenda.
Motion for a
vote of no confidence against the chairperson in his arbitrary decision to
remove the item of forensic audit from the agenda was made by Melvoid
Benson. Seconded by Bill Mudge.
*Denise Coppa called a point of order because the
topic of forensic audit was not on the agenda.
Performance of
personnel has
to be held in executive session and she called to terminate the discussion.
*Don DeFedele stated that he had no problem with the
motion and asked Dr. Coppa to take the position of chairperson for
this item.
*Mr. DeFedele also stated that the item of forensic
audit is on an agenda scheduled for February 1st.
*Bill Mudge stated that there are things going on that
the Committee is not aware of. He has a
letter from Lynda
Avanzato that
refers to a meeting that Don DeFedele and Denise Coppa attended with the State
Police.
* Mrs. Benson called a point of order that the motion
was on the forensic audit.
*Renee Cockerill stated that regardless of support for
an audit she felt it is the chairperson’s job to be concerned with legal
situations and
she was glad that Mr. DeFedele talked with an attorney in this matter.
*Barry Martasian agreed with Mrs. Cockerill. The chairperson is in control of the agenda
and a vote was not taken by the
Committee to
put this item on the agenda. The chairperson
has the ability and the right to look back on what happened at
a meeting.
*Mel Benson stated that the question is not whether
the chairperson should protect the Committee but whether to put an
item on the
agenda. The audit topic has been requested
since September.
*Don DeFedele stated that Mrs. Benson did request the
audit to be put on the agenda in September, it was put on the
agenda and
voted on by the Committee. It failed
because of a tie vote. He understood that
there was a request to put it
back on the
agenda, he consulted with an attorney and made a prudent decision to hold this
topic in execution session.
*Bill Mudge stated that it was the Committee’s intent
to have a discussion. He previously
submitted a list of audit topics
that does not require
naming a specific person in order to talk about them.
Vote: Melvoid Benson Yes Barry
Martasian No
Bill Mudge Yes Renee Cockerill No
Denise
Coppa No
Donald
DeFedele No
Motion fails
4 to 2.
Don DeFedele resumed as chairperson of the Committee.
Correspondence continued:
4. Bill Mudge submitted the following items for
correspondence:
a. E-mail from Lynda
Avanzato concerning a meeting with State Police (Appendix A) and a request for
this topic to
be put on an agenda
for a vote.
b. Letter to Dr.
Halley requesting the current contract for legal counsel (Appendix B).
c. Letter to the Town
Council concerning the Wickford Middle School Modernization Bond (Appendix C).
d. Expanded list of
audit topics (Appendix D).
e. E-mails
requesting information from the school department (Appendix E) and request for
this item to be placed on
an agenda.
Don DeFedele denied the request and instructed Mr. Mudge to make a
motion for an item to be added
to an agenda for
the Committee to vote on.
f. E-mail requesting
information on the expenditure of the $50,000 that was restored to the athletic
budget
(Appendix F).
g. Letter from the
Attorney General regarding responding to audience members on non-agenda items
(Appendix G)
and a request
that Kelly Fracassa provide an opinion in writing on this topic.
*Mr. Fracassa
stated that the Attorney General advised that a discussion of items not on the
agenda by less than a
quorum is
allowed. He stated that the opinions of
the Attorney General are not law, but are due respect because
they deal with
these issues everyday. It is Mr.
Fracassa’s opinion that when the public wants to discuss an item not
on the agenda,
the entire Committee can discuss it without being in violation of the Open
Meeting Law. He
stressed
that this is his own opinion.
B. Disclosure of Executive Session Votes – no
votes to disclose
CONSENT AGENDA
Approved
items on the consent agenda
are marked with * on a
motion by Denise Coppa/Barry Martasian with a vote of 6 to 0.
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*
D. Approval
of Minutes of Prior Meetings:
1. December 21, 2005 Executive Session*
2. December 21, 2005 School Committee Business
Meeting**
a. Renee Cockerill requested that she be removed
from the vote on Ground Rules as she entered the meeting after that vote.
Motion to amend the minutes to reflect
Mrs. Cockerill did not vote on the Ground Rules was made by Barry
Martasian. Seconded by Melvoid Benson.
Vote: Unanimous to approve 6 to 0.
b. Bill Mudge stated that he made a comment that
a representative of the school department who has the authority to implement
the IEP plan should be present and participate in IEP meetings and requested
that it be added to the minutes under the Special Education presentation.
Motion to add Bill Mudge’s comments concerning IEP participation under
the Special Ed presentation was made by Bill Mudge. Seconded by Melvoid Benson
Vote: 5
to 0 to approve – Renee Cockerill abstained.
c. Motion
to approve the December 21, 2005 minutes was made by Denise Coppa. Seconded by Barry Martasian.
Vote:
Unanimous to approve 6 to 0.
d. Mr. Mudge misunderstood the vote to approve
the remainder of the minutes.
Motion to rescind the approval of the
December 21, 2005 minutes was made by Denise Coppa. Seconded by Barry Martasian.
Vote:
Unanimous to approve 6 to 0.
e. Bill Mudge questioned the item “List of
Wickford Elementary School funding for FY06” that was under correspondence and
wanted documentation of that list which was included in the last packet of
December 21, 2005.
Don
DeFedele requested that the list again be included in this meeting’s minutes
(Appendix H).
Motion to include the list of Wickford
Elementary School Funding for FY06 in this meeting’s minutes was made by Denise
Coppa. Seconded by Melvoid Benson.
Vote:
Unanimous to approve 6 to 0.
f. Bill Mudge requested that his comments be
included in the minutes concerning the article in the Providence Journal
regarding answering the public on non-agenda items.
Motion to review the tapes of the
meeting in regard to Mr. Mudge’s comments on the article in the Providence
Journal was made by Bill Mudge. Seconded
by Barry Martasian.
Don DeFedele amended the motion to have
it refer to the e-mail on that subject, not the Providence Journal.
Seconded by Denise Coppa.
Vote on amendment: Unanimous to approve 6 to 0.
Vote on main motion: Unanimous to approve 6 to 0.
g. Bill Mudge requested that “FY05-06” be added
to clarify his comment that requested a discussion about the budget adoption.
Motion to add “FY05-06” to the comment
on budget adoption was made by Don DeFedele.
Seconded by Barry Martasian.
Vote: Unanimous
to approve 6 to 0.
h. Kathy Brown stated that the date of the
Educational Summit was listed as February 3rd.
Motion to change the date of the
Educational Summit to December 3rd was made by Barry Martasian. Seconded by Melvoid Benson.
Vote:
Unanimous to approve 6 to 0.
i. Kathy Brown would like included under new
business that she asked to speak on the budget standards and was denied the opportunity to discuss the
standards.
Motion to have the minutes reflect that
Kathy Brown asked to speak on the budget standards and was denied the
opportunity was made by Don DeFedele.
Seconded by Melvoid Benson.
Amendment to the motion to state that
Mrs. Brown was encouraged to make her comments at the end of the meeting was
made by Denise Coppa. Seconded by Barry
Martasian.
Vote on amendment: Denise Coppa Yes Melvoid
Benson - No Don DeFedele - abstain
Barry Martasian Yes
Renee
Cockerill Yes
Bill
Mudge Yes
Amendment passes 4 to 1, 1 abstain.
Vote on main motion: Approved 5 to 0, Don DeFedele abstained.
j. In regard to how the $50,000 restored to the
athletic budget would be spent, Bill Mudge wanted the minutes to reflect he
requested that this topic be put on the next agenda.
Motion for the minutes to reflect Mr.
Mudge’s request for the expenditure of $50,000 restored to the athletic budget
be put on the next agenda was made by Bill Mudge. Seconded by Denise Coppa.
Vote:
Unanimous to approve 6 to 0.
k. Bill
Mudge stated that he asked why the School Committee was not informed in
September that the Wickford Middle School project submitted to the Town Council
was split funded and wanted the minutes to reflect his comment.
Motion for the minutes to reflect Mr.
Mudge’s question concerning the Wickford Middle School project’s split funding
was made by Denise Coppa. Seconded by
Renee Cockerill.
Vote:
Unanimous to approve 6 to 0.
l. Bill Mudge commented that Mrs. Buck stated
that the School Committee approved the split project for Wickford Middle School
and wanted the minutes to reflect that comment.
Several Committee members said that this was not a true statement.
Motion to review the tape concerning the
approval of a split project for Wickford Middle School was made by Bill
Mudge. Seconded by Renee Cockerill.
Vote:
Unanimous to approve 6 to 0.
m. Mr. Mudge stated that on page four Dr. Coppa
stated that the audit would be on the next agenda and requested that the words
“need to” be stricken from the statement.
Motion to strike the words “need to” in
Dr. Coppa’s statement concerning forensic audit was made by Bill Mudge. Seconded by Barry Martasian.
Vote:
Unanimous to approve 6 to 0.
Dr.
Halley stated that individual comments made at meetings are not relevant to the
business of the School Committee. What
is important is the action and votes taken by the Committee, not the individual
items that one person says. These
statements are only opinions of individuals and not necessarily agreed on by
the whole Committee. This is just
wasting time.
Bill
Mudge stated that he is in an elected position and it is his duty to inform the
public with documentation.
Motion to approve the minutes of
December 21, 2005 with corrections was made by Denise Coppa. Seconded by Barry Martasian.
Vote to approve 5 to 1 with Bill Mudge
voting no.
Don
DeFedele suggested that the topic of United Health Contract be moved to this
point in the agenda because there were representatives of the company in
attendance to answer questions of the Committee and they had waited a long
time.
United
Health Contract:
a. Dr. Halley stated that the school department
has been in discussions since last September looking for an alternative for
health care. The contract was put out to
bid and responses were received from United Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
United
Health submitted a proposal for a 0% increase for the cost of the contract.
Unions
have been involved in health care contract talks. There are requirements in the union contracts
that state that changes to health coverage must be equivalent to the current
coverage.
Dr.
Halley recommended moving to the United Health contract.
After
reviewing the issues, there is a major savings to the town and schools of
approximately $600,000.
The
Town Council has delayed approval of this change for sixty days, but the school
department can move independently.
b. Bill Mudge stated that the School Committee
has never reviewed the contract and requested a copy of both proposed contracts
and all of Dr. Halley’s recommendations documented as to why he feels it is
appropriate to change health coverage.
Mr. Mudge requested that a lawyer review the teachers’ contract to
determine if a change could be made to health care without the union’s
approval.
c. Mel Benson would like to hear the union’s
opinion and doesn’t want to judge just on money.
d. Eric Swain and Mike Holt of United Health
answered questions from the Committee.
Mr. Swain explained that United Health submitted the bid broken down
into three proposals - Town only, School only and a combined Town/School contract.
Duplicating
all of the major provisions, there would be a 0% increase in premiums for a
combined contract with the Town, and a 5% increase if adopted by the School
Department only. All co-pays,
co-insurance and deductibles would remain the same; ninety-nine out of one
hundred providers (doctors and hospitals and pharmacies) are the same; the top
twenty-five drugs were compared and decided equivalent.
d. Don DeFedele requested to see the spreadsheet
comparing both companies. Bill Daly will
provide the information to the Committee.
Break was taken at 9:10pm
Meeting
resumed at 9:20pm
e. Both United Health and Blue Cross submitted
bids for one year only. Provisions will
be made for those employees
currently being treated by doctors not in network. Employees can buy into coverage when they
retire, at group rates, up to the age of 65.
f. Mark Gagnon of Blue Cross Blue Shield
answered Committee questions about our current coverage. The Blue Cross rate increase would be 7 ½%
over this year regardless if the town and school combine or contract
separately. This increase is based on
past experience with our group. Mr.
Gagnon suggested that the school department also look at the underlying issues
such as physical, occupational and speech therapies when conducting
comparisons. Prescriptions also have
different formularies and could be priced differently.
g. Don DeFedele requested that Bill Daly provide
the Committee with the consultant’s report.
h. Barry McPeake, president of the Teachers
Association, stated that this is a very important issue and the teachers
realize and appreciate the decision that has to be made. They have met with both health care
providers, but feel more questions need to be answered in order to decide which
is the best plan. They were originally
told that the
United
Health plan was all or nothing with regard to the town contract. Now they would like to have more information
and would like to plan a forum at the high school for both providers to be able
to answer questions for
the
entire Association. The teachers’
contract states that there will be no change to coverage without the
Association’s approval. Don DeFedele
stated that we are only changing providers, not coverage. Mr. DeFedele asked if it was the union’s
position that if we changed providers, it would need to be bargained for and
re-open the contract? Mr. McPeake
answered yes, that this was a bargained item.
Kelly Fracassa was asked to give a legal opinion of the language in the
contract.
h. Mel Benson would like to see a survey from
the Association members with signatures that would state what the members want.
i. Barry Martasian requested a list of the
members concerns about the change in coverage.
Mr. McPeake has asked for a confidential list from each building to generate
questions for the providers. Don
DeFedele asked that the list and answers from the providers to be submitted to
the School Committee.
j. Barry McPeake was requested to check with the
rest of the Association leadership to confirm that all School Committee members
would be invited to attend the forum.
Mrs. Benson felt the Committee should not attend a union sponsored
forum.
k. There was discussion concerning the monetary
difference in premiums between Blue Cross at 7 ½% increase and Untied Health at
5% increase (if the Town does not adopt the plan). The 2 ½% difference would amount to
approximately $125,000 in cost avoidance to the school department.
Public
Comment:
Muriel
Cammara stated that we are making a mountain out of a molehill. She suggested making a list of what
coverage we have now and what we will
get if a change is made. There needs to
be give and take and she doesn’t feel that the Committee should go to the
forum.
At
this time the Committee returned to the Consent Agenda.
E. Bids and
Awards - none submitted.
F. Personnel
Items:
1.
Appointment, Certificated Staff -
budgeted
a)
Carol McCormick,
1.0 FTE Itinerant Guidance Counselor (WMS/DMS), Step 10 plus a Master’s + 15
credits, pro-rated for days 197 in the 2005/2006 school year with a total
salary of $39,112.20, effective January 3, 2006.**
Bill
Mudge questioned why this position was being hired at a step 10 instead of a
middle step as policy states.
Don
DeFedele stated that we try to hire at a middle step but it is not a policy.
Bill
Daly requested that the days stated be changed to l08 instead of 197.
Motion to approve item F1A as amended
was made by Denise Coppa. Seconded by Barry Martasian.
Vote:
Unanimous to approve 6 to 0.
2.
Appointment,
Non-Certificated Staff - budgeted
a)
Dawn Jordan, Food
Service Worker, 3 hours per day, Breakfast Supervisor, 1 hour per day, at
Fishing Cove School for a total of 4 hours per day, 5 days a week for a total
of 20 hours per week, Step 2 @ $8.69 per hour, effective January 3, 2006.*
3.
Request for
Unpaid Leave of Absence, Certificated Staff:
a)
Keith Kenyon,
Director of Athletics, personal leave for professional development from March
22, 2006 through March 30, 2007.**
Barry
Martasian asked if this position would be filled if Mr. Kenyon is granted a
leave of absence.
Dr.
Halley replied that we would look for a temporary replacement until the end of
this year and then a permanent replacement for next year. Mr. Kenyon has done a good job and the
department is in good shape for someone to take over.
There
was discussion concerning what defined professional development and concerns
about setting precedent with granting these leaves of absences.
Dr.
Halley explained that Mr. Kenyon would be working on a recruiting system for
schools and colleges in which students get ratings to apply for athletics. He stated that Mr. Kenyon has been here for
21 years and run an excellent program.
We should allow him the opportunity to try something different.
Don
DeFedele stated that if we allow this request we have the opportunity of having
him return to the district.
Mel
Benson stated he has done a very good job, but this item should have stated
what he is going to do.
Barry
Martasian felt that this is not a precedent since we have allowed a principal
to go on sabbatical in the past who has not returned.
Renee
Cockerill felt that the description was slightly misleading and should state that
the leave is for personal reasons.
Bucky
Brennan stated that when the reason is professional development, the Committee
deserves information. He felt there are
aspects of professional development in this request.
Public
Comment:
Muriel
Cammara felt there is a benefit to the school department in granting this
request. Her son was in a similar
position which allowed him to place students in colleges after he had the
professional development.
Chris
Prata felt it could have been presented in a more complete manner and this
comes down to how we do business. The agenda should be about forthrightness.
Motion to end debate was made by Denise
Coppa. Seconded by Barry Martasian.
Bill
Mudge felt he should be able to comment and stated he was the only one who
didn’t get a chance to speak.
Don
DeFedele ruled Mr. Mudge out of order because there was a motion to end debate.
Mr.
Mudge persisted that he be allowed to comment.
Mr.
DeFedele stated that Mr. Mudge must stop or he would be asked to leave the
meeting.
Vote: Unanimous
to approve 6 to 0.
Motion to approve a leave of absence for
Keith Kenyon was made by Denise Coppa.
Seconded by Barry Martasian.
Vote: Unanimous
to approve 7 to 0 with William Brennan voting.
Resignation,
Certificated Staff:
a)
Marcia Voccio,
1.0 FTE 6th Grade Teacher at Wickford Middle School, resignation
effective at the end of the 2005/2006 school year.*
4.
Resignation,
Non-Certificated Staff:
a)
Rose
Crandall, Food Service Worker at Davisville Middle School, 3 hours per day, 5
days a week for a total of 15 hours per week, effective January 13, 2006. *
END OF CONSENT AGENDA
Motion to adjourn after comments was made by Denise Coppa. Seconded by Barry Martasian.
Vote: Unanimous to approve 6 to
0.
III. Unfinished Business - No discussion or action taken
A.
School
Modernization Implementation for Wickford Middle School, Davisville Elementary,
Fishing Cove Elementary and Forest Park Elementary
B.
Budget/Personnel
Standards
C.
Discussion of
Issues Pertaining to the Physical Limitations of WMS as Related to Current
Middle School Programs
D.
2005-2006 School
Budget
E.
2004-2005 School
Budget
F.
2005-2006 School
Committee Goals and Objectives
IV. New Business – No discussion or
action taken
A. Policy DBC – Annual Budget
B.
Building Code
Feasibility Study of Wickford Elementary School by RGB; Return of Wickford
Elementary to the Town of North Kingstown; Disposition of Contents of Wickford
Elementary
C.
Governing
Style Policy/Committee Self-Assessment Policy
D.
Consider
Sending Letter to Town Regarding High School Band Room Repairs
E.
United
Health Contract
F.
Strategic
Plan
G.
Energy
Guidelines
H.
Fraud
Policy
I.
Dissemination
of School Department Information to School Committee Members
V. Reports
– No discussion or action taken
A. Special Reports – Drug/Alcohol Report
B. Standing Committee Reports
C. Ad hoc Committee Reports
VI. Committee Member/Citizen’s Comments:
* David Wrenn
suggested that the Committee reconsider putting the forensic audit on the
agenda in open forum and having
the affidavit items in
private. Don DeFedele explained that he
was extremely concerned with the Committee’s ability to
separate the two items, and
it would be up to the Committee to decide if they could separate them.
Mr. Wrenn
referred to the RGB report on Wickford Middle School an asked if an engineering
study of the septic system
had been done. Don DeFedele stated that it had been done and
it supported renovations to the building.
Mr. Wrenn felt
there needed to be an
environmental study done.
Mr. Wrenn
stated that parents had received a form to opt out of information being
released to military recruiters and
colleges. He stated that there wasn’t a choice for
options and thought it should be discussed by the Committee. Mr.
DeFedele stated that it would be put
on an agenda for discussion.
Mr. Wrenn
was disappointed in the way a consent item was presented and would like to see
information be truthful. Dr.
Halley stated that it was
not untruthful.
*Chris Prata
stated that the Committee voted to videotape the meetings for the public and
now it is being cut off at 11:00pm.
Mr. Prata requested the
Committee to ask the attorney if there was a problem if an individual member
talks to the public
and not each other.
Denise
Coppa left the meeting at 11:55pm.
Committee
Comments:
*Bucky
Brennan stated that at the beginning of the meeting there was a vote of
no-confidence taken against the chairperson
of the Committee. He felt that it should have been taken
against the whole committee. Mr. Brennan
felt that all of this
minutia is a waste of time. The minutes should not be a verbatim
account. It shouldn’t go to that depth
and doesn’t
benefit the school
department or serve the people. He
suggested notes from the Superintendent explaining agenda items
and finding a way to work
together better. The Committee is not
focusing on business that needs to get done.
*Mel Benson agreed with
Bucky. There are important things that
the Committee should have discussed. She
asked that
more members be consulted
about agendas.
*Bill Mudge
stated that he is proud of what he as done for the town and schools. He is looking for open government and
he saw distrust
tonight. He is not looking to make his
name look good, but wants clarity of information.
*Barry
Martasian suggested a coding system to track documents.
*Don DeFedele thanked the
Committee for a vote of confidence. It
is a daunting task to be chairperson and he tries to do
the job to the best of his
ability. Mr. DeFedele appreciated the
support of the Committee.
*Dr. Halley stated that
there is an attempt to differentiate an affidavit from a forensic audit. Mr. Mudge’s previous six
audit topics are now ten
items of criminal behavior. There needs
to be evidence of criminal behavior that is being aimed
at people in the school
department. The School Committee needs
information from Mr. Mudge as to what the criminal
behavior is and what
evidence there is to support it. He
needs to stop accusations or provide specific information.
VII.
Meeting
adjourned at 12:05am.
_______________________________________
Karen
A. Nutini
Administrative
Assistant
to the Superintendent