February 27, 2007

Wellesley Public Schools
School Committee Meeting - Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Wellesley High School Library

The meeting was called to order by the Chairman at 7:30 pm. Mr. Young, Ms. Allen, Ms. Jablonski, Ms. Littlefield, and Ms. Newman were present. Also present were Dr. King and Ms. Wong. Representing the Student Congress was John McDermott.

PERSONNEL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Retirement
Bonnie Cole, Middle School Special Educator, effective June 30, 2007

CONSENT AGENDA
Upon motion made by Ms. Littlefield, seconded by Ms. Jablonski, it was unanimously VOTED:
Minutes
To approve minutes of Regular School Committee Meetings dated February 13 and February 16, 2007
Acceptance of Gifts
To accept
• Office furniture (estimated value $150), from Danforth Associates
• Contribution ($5,000) for math development, Schofield School, from Vanguard Charitable Endowment
• Contribution ($1,150) for Robotics at Wellesley High School, from WHS PTSO
Salary Lane Change
Brian Kelly - Master’s, effective February 13, 2007

RECOGNITIONS
Dr. King expressed “tremendous joy” upon the appointment of Bella Wong as superintendent, effective July 1, 2007. He looks forward to working with her in the upcoming months as she transitions into her new role in the system. School committee added their congratulations. Ms. Wong thanked the school committee for having confidence in her, and she thanked the many people who conveyed support as she was proceeding through search processes in several communities. “I am happy to have landed here,” she concluded. The committee also thanked Wellesley College for the use of facilities in which to conduct interviews and the League of Women Voters for assisting as hosts and escorts during the candidates’ finalist days.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE’S REPORT
The recent meeting with Advisory in anticipation of the opening of Town Meeting proceeded well. The first meeting of the School Building Committee occurred on February 15. The Playing Fields Task Force requests formal approval from all participating PFTF boards to invoke a new fee structure for field usage, contingent upon Town Meeting approval of an article to fund installation of synthetic turf at Sprague. The revised fee structure will not impact the school budget, but Ms. Littlefield reiterated that all youth sports leagues in Wellesley, even those who will not use the synthetic turf fields, have expressed support for the proposal. Student Congress Report: Seminar Day 2007 is fully arranged and will include more than fifty presentations of tremendous variety ranging from “Invisible Children” to the landing of an Apache attack helicopter on the Hunnewell Field. Mr. McDermott thanked the PTSO for supporting expenses related to travel and speaker expenses for Seminar Day.

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

ACTION ITEM
High School Project: School Committee revisited the considerations of its November 7, 2006 vote regarding space allocations for cost estimating purposes for the high school project. The unanimously approved motion then was “to accept the space allocation schedule as the basis for cost estimating feasibility concept analysis as we proceed in the program as amended.” The committee allowed that it might revisit its vote as conditions warrant, particularly with regard to the auditorium, gym with track, enrollment, core academic learning experiences, elective program, target number, flexibility of curriciulum and spaces, and shift of the middle school. Ms. Littlefield noted that a subsequent conversation around program space needs in mid-November referenced an auditorium with 750 seats, a field house with three basketball courts, lined track, and 12 labs.

Upon motion made by Ms. Littlefield, seconded by Ms. Jablonski, it was unanimously

VOTED: To affirm the school committee vote of November 7, 2006, regarding the high school
program as described.

The motion CARRIED (5 - 0).

School committee discussed the status of its work to develop position papers and the final program report from DeJong, Inc. It was agreed that the School Building Committee should receive as much formally developed information about the project as exists, even that which may not yet be in final form, and it was further agreed to bring the position papers forward for formal approval at the next meeting.

DISCUSSION ITEM
FY07 Quarterly Budget Report: The committee discussed the status of the FY07 budget at the end of the second quarter. Business manager Ruth Quinn Berdell described the reasons why accounts such as the instructional account and the heating account currently show a surplus while others, including the operations personal services and special education transportation accounts, show a deficit. At this juncture in the fiscal year there is a projected surplus in the budget of $980.

CITIZEN SPEAK
KC KATO, Moderator of Central Council: In behalf of the PTO’s Ms. Kato acknowledged and thanked Ms. Jablonski for five years of service to the town as a member of the School Committee.

FAREWELL TO SUSAN JABLONSKI
On this, her final formal meeting as a member of the committee, members thanked Ms. Jablonski for her commitment to the town and its children.

ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm

Executive Secretary