Quincy Public Schools

A meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday, December 7, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. in the School Committee Room at the Coddington Building.  Superintendent Kevin Mulvey called the roll and present were Mayor Thomas P. Koch, School Committee Chair, and School Committee Members Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mrs. Tina Cahill, Mr. Douglas Gutro, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Mrs. Emily Lebo, and Mr. Frank Santoro, Vice Chair.

Also present were:  Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Assistant Superintendent Erin Perkins, Mr. Robert Cavallo, Ms. Kim Connolly, Ms. Allison Cox, Ms. Julie Graham, Mr. James Mullaney, Mr. Daniel Pacho, Ms. Maura Papile, Ms. Kelly Powers, Mr. Keith Segalla; Quincy Education Association President Gayle Carvalho; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.

A moment of silence was observed in memory of the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and in honor of the men and women serving in the armed forces at home and overseas.

Mr. Santoro read the following statement into the record:  Pursuant to the Open Meeting Law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium.  Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unperceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.

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Regular Meeting

Vice-Chair Presiding

Mrs. Hubley made a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting for November 16, 2022.  Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Mr. Gutro made a motion to approve the minutes of the Executive Session for November 16, 2022.  Mrs. Cahill seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Approval of Minutes

Mayor Koch made a motion for School Committee to take the Agenda out of order.  The motion was seconded by Mr. Bregoli and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it 7-0.

Mrs. Hubley made a motion for School Committee to move to Executive Session at 6:32 for the purposes of Hearing Level 3 Grievances and Contract Negotiations.  The motion was seconded by Mr. Bregoli and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it 7-0.

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Agenda Out of Order

School Committee returned from Executive Session at 7:50 pm and resumed the Regular Meeting Agenda.

Members of the Quincy community urged the Quincy School Committee to negotiate a fair and equitable contract, specifically focused on supporting teachers, providing parental leave, longevity pay, and caseload caps for related service providers:  Kate Campbell, Gina Favata, Jennifer Chen, Amy Bacchieri, Melissa Ricci, Maureen Maderos, Liz Speakman, and Tere Rodriguez.

Ms. Owens read letters submitted through the Open Forum email address urging School Committee to negotiate a fair and equitable contract from the following:  Joe Herosy, Maggie McKee, Jennifer Freeling, Martha Sheridan, Lindsay Robertson, Audra Makuch, Rishi Tandon, Christina Duncan, and the EDI Subcommittee of the Citywide PTO co-signed by Heather McDuffus, Shivpreet Singh, Veronica Bertrand & Susan Cullen, Valerie Doherty-Stuart, Kate Campbell, Matthew & Conevery Valencius, Anthony & Ginger McGill, Joe Herosy, Liz Speakman, Christina Duncan, Tere Rodriguez, Maureen & Matthew Maderos, Nicole Doyle, Katherine Evitts, Susan Bill, Grace Young-Jae, Amy Sorensen-Alwad, Gina Favata, Katelyn Guimaraes, Mihaela Rusu, Beverly Garcia, Truc Lai, Luciana Triplett, Scott Alessandro, and Alisa Bokulich.

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Open Forum

Superintendent Mulvey addressed the issues raised during Open Forum, specifically to inform the public that the School Committee has bargained in good faith for ten sessions and the ground rules agreed to with the Quincy Education Association was to keep the negotiations respectful and private.  Superintendent Mulvey said that some of the information being shared with the public is simply incorrect, starting with class size, where elementary schools have an average of 20 students with many being lower than that.  The School Committee has class size limits that are the envy of districts across the state.  Quincy Public Schools has parental leave and unlimited use of sick time with appropriate medical documentation.  All of the School Committee members want to settle the contract as quickly as possible and will continue to negotiate in good faith and are hopeful of settling the contract on December 21.

Mayor Koch appreciated the input from the members of the public, it is disheartening that there is an agreed-upon negotiation process and then incorrect information is leaked.  The City’s budget supports the school system directly through the budget appropriation and there are contributions from other departments such as Natural Resources (Parks), Public Buildings, and the Police Department.  Mayor Koch noted that the Quincy Education Association contract expired September 1, not two years ago as one letter stated.  Mayor Koch clarified that there are two longevity options, Option B allows teachers to be paid $5,500.00 per year for the last three years of their contract. 

Mrs. Cahill appreciates the parents for standing in solidarity with the teachers, very proud of the work of the teachers do every day.  Mrs. Cahill is very concerned about the false, inaccurate information being shared on social media, School Committee cannot comment on the specifics of negotiations, nor should the QEA. 

Mrs. Lebo reiterated the valuable work of our educators, it is discouraging to hear that School Committee is perceived as not compromising.  School Committee is in a difficult position in wanting to respect the rules of negotiations.

Mr. Bregoli said the Quincy School Committee is unique because of the number of former educators currently serving.  Was a member of the QPS staff for 34 years, a QEA representative for 10 years, and has served 11 years on School Committee, very upset by the letters shared tonight.

Mr. Santoro asked if there is a trend of educators leaving Quincy, Superintendent Mulvey said he will provide details, but we are not seeing a trend.  There is currently one open professional position, an IT instructor for the CVTE program that is also open in five local towns.  We are in need of substitutes and paraprofessionals, as are school districts nationwide.  Mr. Santoro asked about IEP compliance, Superintendent Mulvey said we are compliant with all IEP and 504 Plans.  There was a recent Occupational Therapy opening, multiple qualified candidates applied and one was hired. 

Mayor Koch said the city has spent hundreds of millions of dollars outside the school budget on school buildings, including building three new schools and refurbishing older buildings.  With the Special Education Learning Center under construction and the new Squantum school on the horizon, the City will continue to invest in the physical plants of the schools.

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Superintendent’s

Report

Superintendent Mulvey recognized the winners of the annual Christmas Poster contest sponsored by Quincy Access Television. The following Quincy Public Schools students received 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in their grade level categories: Reyansh Kadri, Grade 3, Montclair; Lexine Zou, Grade 2, Beechwood Knoll; Jocelyn Wu, Grade 5, Beechwood Knoll; Anna Maloney, Grade 5, South~West.  These students were invited to ride in the Christmas Parade and the winning posters are on display in the windows of the Quincy Sun throughout the holiday season. In addition, there were a number of students who received honorable mention: Jack Bligh, Grade 3, Squantum; Nina Lin, Grade 1, Beechwood Knoll; Alexander Lee, Grade 3, Lincoln Hancock; Conan Ng, Grade 4, Lincoln Hancock; Jack Meyers, Grade 4, Bernazzani; and Eason Chen, Grade 5, Atherton Hough.

At the invitation of the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, Senior Director of Student Support Services Maura Papile recently presented to districts across Massachusetts on promising practices for dropout prevention and re-engagement.  Quincy Public Schools’ initiatives in this area were funded in part by the Social-Emotional and Mental Health Wellness grant monies provided for last school year and continued into this year.  In the 15 years that DESE has published this data, Quincy Public Schools has had the 2nd lowest dropout rate of the 15 largest school districts in Massachusetts (behind Newton Public Schools each year) and has consistently been below the state average.

The first event of the Middle School Robotics season is a qualifying event being held at Revere High School on Saturday, December 10.  Quincy Public Schools will be represented by teams from Atlantic and Central (2 teams from each school) and Point Webster.  Teams from Broad Meadows and South~West are just getting up and running and will enter their first competitions in the new year. 

Superintendent Mulvey concluded his report by sharing information about upcoming events.  The Quincy Public Schools Winter Concert schedule was shared with School Committee in their packet.  Calendar invitations have also been sent via email so School Committee members can plan to attend their schedules permit.  North Quincy High School Drama is presenting The Importance of Being Earnest on Friday, December 9 and Saturday, December 10 at 7:00 pm in the Chrisom Auditorium.  The Quincy Parent Advisory Council to Special Education is once again hosting the annual Gingerbread Decorating events in the Quincy High School cafeteria on Friday, December 9 for students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 and Saturday, December 10 for students in Grades 6 and up.  The Quincy High School Girls Basketball team is hosting a holiday shopping event with local vendors and artisans on Sunday, December 11.

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Superintendent’s

Report

Mr. Bregoli made a motion to accept the proposed revision of School Committee Policy 9.7.12 Service Animals.  Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0.

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Old Business

Service Animals Policy

(VOTE)

Mayor Koch made a motion to approve naming the new field at Point Webster Middle School in honor of Private John Mariano. 

On the motion, Mayor Koch thanked House Speaker Ronald Mariano for the state appropriation to make this improvement at Point Webster Middle School.

Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0.

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Old Business

Naming PWMS Field

(VOTE)

Mr. Bregoli reviewed that the Policy Subcommittee has been discussing creating a Policy on student use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices at several meetings this fall.  The Policy Subcommittee consulted with the high school principals and developed and administered a survey to professional staff members.  A draft Policy is now before School Committee for review and discussion and eligible for vote at the January 11, 2023 School Committee meeting.  The draft Policy will be posted online for public comment.

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Old Business

Establishing Policy

Section 9.15

(Discussion)

Executive Director Keith Segalla and Coordinators Robert Cavallo, Daniel Pacho, and Kelly Powers presented the Technology & Training Program Improvement Plan. Under the direction of Coordinator Daniel Pacho, Information Technology staff support state and federal data reporting for students and staff and Aspen user functionality for students, staff, and school and district administrators, including scheduling and grading across all of the grade levels and Special Education IEPs.  Coordinator Robert Cavallo highlighted the technology priorities for the 2022-2023 school year.  Ninety-five projectors were ordered to retrofit classrooms without this equipment and replace non-functioning units; 120 new desktops have been installed to replace equipment more than eight years old; 25 laptops were purchased for new employees.  Hardware and software purchases were funded by the Quincy Public Schools budget and supplemented by the ESSER funding.  Mr. Cavallo also shared the technology device breakdown by type and age, over 10,000 devices.  The majority are the student Chromebooks and staff laptops purchased within the last two years.

Digital Communications & Website Specialist Kelly Powers reviewed her efforts in upgrading the Quincy Public Schools website by meeting with school administrators and enhancing accessibility and updating content.  Ms. Powers is working school by school, revitalized news feeds and calendars, upgrading photo images and staff directories, and performing general housekeeping for broken links and outdated information.  Looking ahead, Ms. Powers would like to add content about curriculum and extended day, standardize school newsletter platform delivery, build a photo library, optimizing website calendars, and updating training materials to retrain users.  For social media, looking to celebrate achievements and engage with the community and committing to accessibility.  The QPS website and social media provide first impressions for the school district.

Mr. Gutro thanked the team, they are very responsive to staff and families.  Mr. Gutro asked about Aspen daily usage:  attendance, checking assignments and grades.  Mr. Gutro welcomed Ms. Powers and thanked her for her efforts revitalizing the QPS website.

Mrs. Hubley complimented Ms. Powers efforts, such a difference in having her here, a great addition to the IT team. 

Mrs. Lebo complimented the website upgrades, notes there are five IT Technician openings in the department, two were new for this school year.

Mrs. Cahill thanked Ms. Powers for her efforts, a strong school system needs a strong IT department.

Mr. Santoro thanked Mr. Pacho for his efforts in building schedules with high school.

Mrs. Lebo made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Hubley to approve the Technology & Training Program Improvement Plan.  On a roll call vote, the ayes have it, 7-0.

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New Business

Technology & Training

Program Improvement

Plan and QPS Website

Update Presentation

Superintendent Mulvey shared his goals for the 2022-2023 School Year with School Committee.

Mrs. Lebo made a motion to refer the Superintendent’s Goals for 2022-2023 to the Teaching & Learning Subcommittee.  Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Superintendent’s

2022-2023 Goals

Superintendent Mulvey thanked the Uncle Sam Rounseville and Jean Kenney for their donation to Atlantic Middle School of 51 tickets to a performance of “A Christmas Carol” at the North Shore Music Theater on December 16th, valued at $2,550.00.

Mayor Koch made a motion to accept the donation of theater tickets valued at $2,550.00.  Mrs. Lebo seconded the motion and on voice vote, the ayes have it.

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The Quincy Public Schools Music Program recently received a donation of $14,000 from the Randy C. Wolfe Trust.  This annual donation is funded by the royalties from Mr. Wolfe’s music publishing catalog and is greatly appreciated by our instrumental and choral music programs.

Mr. Gutro made a motion to accept the donation of $14,000.00 from the Randy C. Wolfe Music Trust to benefit the Quincy Public Schools Music Department.  Mr. Gutro seconded the motion and on voice vote, the ayes have it.

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The City Realty Group recently made a donation of $3,000.00 to support Quincy Public Schools students through their City Kids foundation.  The donation will support the work of Leslie Bridson with teenage students struggling with homelessness.

Mrs. Cahill made a motion to accept the donation of $3,000.00 to benefit Quincy Public Schools homeless students.  Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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New Business

Donations

Mrs. Lebo made a motion to refer School & Progran Improvement Plan Development to the Teaching & Learning Subcommittee for review.  Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it. 

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New Business

Referral to Teaching

& Learning

Subcommittee

Mrs. Hubley made a motion to refer Year-Long School Committee Agenda to Policy Subcommittee for discussion.  Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Mr. Bregoli made a motion to refer the 2023-2024 School Committee Meeting Calendar to the Policy Subcommittee.  Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Mr. Bregoli made a motion to refer the 2023-2024 Quincy Public Schools School Year Calendar to the Policy Subcommittee.  Mr. Gutro seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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New Business

Referral to Policy

Subcommittee

Mayor Koch made a motion to approve the In-State/Overnight Travel of the Quincy High School Student Council to the Massachusetts Association of Student Councils Conference in Hyannis Massachusetts, March 8-10, 2023.  Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Student Travel: In-State/

Overnight

Mrs. Hubley made a motion to approve the Out of State/Overnight Travel of the North Quincy High School AFJROTC to the Valley Forge Encampment in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, April 7-11, 2023.  Mayor Koch seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

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Student Travel: Out of

State/Overnight

There was no Additional Business.

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Additional Business

Mr. Santoro noted that Regular School Committee meetings are scheduled for January 11 & 25, 2023; and February 8, 2023 at 6:30 pm at the Coddington Building.  Upcoming Subcommittee meetings include the Policy; Equity, Diversity & Inclusion; and Athletics & Wellness Subcommittees on December 14, 2022 beginning at 6:00 pm.

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Communications

Mr. Santoro noted that the Subcommittee Minutes are posted on the School Committee page of the Quincy Public Schools website.

Mrs. Lebo reviewed the Teaching & Learning Subcommittee meetings held on November 28, 2022; November 29, 2022; and November 30, 2022.  Eleven elementary and one middle School Improvement Plans were presented and approved.

Mr. Bregoli reviewed the Policy Subcommittee meeting held on November 30, 2022.  The Policy Subcommittee approved a draft Policy on Student Use of Personal Electronic Devices, discussed earlier in the meeting under Old Business.

As there were no corrections, the minutes of the November 30, 2022 Policy and November 28, 2022; November 29, 2022; and November 30, 2022 Teaching & Learning Subcommittees were accepted.

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Reports of

Subcommittees

Mayor Koch made a motion to adjourn at 9:40 pm.  Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it. 

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Adjournment