January 24, 2006

Wellesley Public Schools
School Committee Meeting - Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Wellesley High School Library

The meeting was called to order by the Chairman at 7:33 pm. Ms. Jablonski, Ms. Littlefield, Mr. Murphy, Ms. Newman, and Ms. Sereiko were present. Also present were Dr. King and Ms. Wong. Representing the Student Congress was Ryan Speers.

PERSONNEL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Retirement
Judith Boroschek, K-12 Director of Curriculum and Instruction, effective June 30, 2006
Resignations (effective June 30, 2006)
Sally Heerde, Middle School Speech and Language Pathologist on leave of absence
Kristen Klabin, Middle School Guidance Counselor on leave of absence
Maureen Reen, Middle School Special Educator on leave of absence
Leave of Absence
Pam Chevalier, Elementary Teacher, 1.0FTE leave of absence for the 2006-07 school year
Kathryn Comstock, Elementary Teacher, 1.0FTE leave of absence for the 2006-07 school year
Irene Gruenfeld, Elementary Teacher, 1.0FTE leave of absence April 24 - June 30, 2006
Elizabeth Scanlon, Director of Performing Arts, 1.0FTE leave of absence January 19 - March 1, 2006; 0.5FTE leave of absence March 2 - April 24, 2006
Renee Silva, 0.5FTE Elementary Teacher, 0.5FTE leave of absence for the 2006-07 school year
Amy Squillante, Elementary Art Specialist, 1.0FTE leave of absence for the 2006-07 school year
Appointment
Elizabeth Steele, 1.0FTE Elementary Teacher, Master’s, Step 1, effective January 30, 2006
Increase in Teaching Time
Sheri Landers, Special Educator, increase from 0.5FTE to 1.0FTE, effective January 30, 2006
Maria Olohan, Middle School Music Specialist, increase from 0.8FTE to 0.9FTE for the period January 19 - April 21, 2006
Julie Verret, Music Specialist, increase from 0.2FTE to 0.3FTE for the period January 19 - April 21, 2006
Appendix A Appointments
Jeffrey Cincotta, Assistant Coach, High School Wrestling, Group II-B, Step 2
Henry Platt, Middle School Auditorium Manager
Stephen Wrobleski, High School Auditorium Manager/Technical Director

CONSENT AGENDA
Upon motion made by Ms. Littlefield, seconded by Mr. Murphy, it was unanimously VOTED:
Minutes
To approve minutes of Regular School Committee Meetings dated January 3 and January 4, 2006
Acceptance of Gifts
iBook (700 MHz) for use as repair parts by Technology Department, from Rufus and Elizabeth King
Salary Lane Change
Lisa Giaquinta - Master’s Plus 30, effective December 23, 2005
Megan Kamm - Master’s, effective January 9, 2006
Playing Fields Policy
Approve Town of Wellesley Playing fields Policy administered by the Recreation Department, as amended November 8, 2005

RECOGNITIONS
Wellesley High School Wind Ensemble, the only high school ensemble accepted to participate in concert at the Massachusetts Music Educators Association conference, to be held in Boston March 17, 2006.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Wellesley High School, in partnership with Babson College and Needham High School will present a two-part forum February 7 and 15 especially for parents of students in grades 8, 9, and 10 addressing challenges facing the millennial generation: transitions to high school; the process of college admission; and shaping their future expectations. Other presenters will come from Wellesley College and Boston College. The Recreation Department will begin to offer a program this winter for the community at the high school fitness center.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE’S REPORT
At the invitation of Hardy School, Mr. Murphy visited recently when work was underway on the “roof art” project. Parents and students together are creating an impressive mural painting in the corridors of the school. Progress continues on the middle school renovations. Work in the first phase area is nearly totally complete, including installation of new lockers, and work has begun on the second phase. It is expected that installation of the new gym floor will be complete in February. The committee briefly discussed students’ use of lockers. New initiatives at TEC include usage of iPods to download material to help students practice languages they are studying. The newly adopted TEC budget calls for a lower assessment of member communities. Ms. Sereiko called the committee’s attention to the latest MSBA regulations, which were distributed recently. School Committee presented its budget to Advisory on January 18 and participated in a budget forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters on Sunday, January 22. A second forum will occur on January 25. School Committee is continuing its work with other boards to address the Town’s anticipated $6.1 million revenue shortfall for FY07. Student Congress Representative Ryan Speers noted that the high school student community is pleased with the new schedule that eliminated mid year exams at this juncture in the calendar.

CITIZEN SPEAK
There were no citizens present who wished to speak.

DISCUSSION ITEMS
High School Project Michael Humphrys presented the report of the high school facilities advisory committee, which has studied the several options for addressing space needs and renovations at the high school developed earlier this year by architects SMMA. The entire facilities advisory committee was present. Concluding that the education program should drive the project design, the report recommends consideration of a project that will retain the original 1938 wing in preference to building a new school. The facilities advisory committee also spoke to the issue of the “at risk” construction model as a means to achieve project budget management. The school committee noted that its series of high school information forums during the fall of 2005 surfaced support within the greater community for building a new school, but the facilities advisory committee responded that it did not support the new building option because the 1938 wing is structurally sound and has architectural significance to the town. The two committees also discussed the challenges and costs of renovating an occupied building.

Upon motion made by Ms. Sereiko, seconded by Ms. Littlefield, it was

VOTED: To receive and accept the report of the Facilities Advisory Committee as presented regarding Wellesley High School, and to disband the committee, with great thanks and appreciation.

The motion carried unanimously (5 - 0).

FY07 Budget Follow Up Ms. Jablonski opened a discussion of the school committee’s operating budget request for FY07 in the context of the town’s overall budget deficit, which is estimated at $6.1 million. The school committee and all other boards in town have been asked to consider revising their budget requests in an effort to reduce the deficit. A planning group to address this matter was convened following the mid-January inter departmental meeting. In the ensuing discussion each individual school committee member expressed reluctance to reduce the FY07 budget request, including the line items that are restorations of cuts from previous years. School Committee also spoke of the importance of allowing Town Meeting Members to vote on the budget and the community, who may affirm or deny the town’s budget through the override process.

CITIZEN SPEAK
Linda Buffum, Precinct F: As chairman of the Wellesley Historical Commission, Ms. Buffum expressed its support for the recommendation of the Facilities Advisory Committee regarding the high school, urging favorable action upon it by the School Committee.

David Wright, Precinct F: He urged a well organized, systematic process so that students, faculty and staff of the high school can submit and share insights, a “wish list” for the high school project. Development of a science center at Swarthmore College recently was very successful because there was a well organized process to collect information and suggestions from users at a very early stage of the project. Ms. Sereiko noted that the the SMMA report was conceptual and for purposes of comparing options. During the schematic design phase, faculty and staff will be involved, as it was when the Sprague, Bates, and middle school projects were in development. Mr. Murphy noted that students should be involved also.

Alissa Keene, Committee 21: The board of Committee 21 urges maintenance of the current standard of education, in which class size and program are the supporting elements. Any decision to reduce the standard of education in Wellesley should be made by the voters. It is critical to keep information flowing. She asked the school committee to continue to advise the community of decisions as they are made and thanked the committee for its continued support of academic excellence.

ADJOURNMENT

The public session was adjourned at 9:22 pm.

Executive Secretary