Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts - January 21, 2009
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Regular Meeting
A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday,
January 21, 2009 in the City Council Chambers, City Hall. Present were Mr. Ron
Mariano, Mrs. Jo-Ann Bragg, Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Mrs. Elaine Dwyer, Mr.
Nicholas Puleo, Mr. Dave McCarthy, and Mayor Tom Koch, Chairman.
Chairman
Presiding
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The Superintendent called the roll and all members were present. Also present
were: Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Mrs. Tefta Burrelli, Clerk. Messrs.
O’Brien, Mullaney, Mulvey, Draicchio, Keith Segalla, Ms. Roberts and Hughes,
and Dr. Sylvia Pattavina. Ms. Tracey Christello, Citywide, Ms. Linda Perry, QPAC,
and Mr. Paul Phillips, QEA. The Committee observed a moment of silence for
Andy Taylor, a long time Maintenance Department worker who died in an accident
while at work.
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Reg. Mins.Approved 1/7/2009
On a motion by Mrs. Bragg, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, the Committee approved
the regular session minutes for January 7, 2009. The ayes have it.
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Supts. Report
The Quincy High School Building Committee will host an opening ceremony
for the Science, Mathematics and Technology Academy at the new Quincy
High School on Sunday, February 22 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Invitations
will be going out soon.
Homeland Security
Mr. Michael Draicchio introduced Police Lt. Don Greenwood, Director of Homeland
Security for the Quincy Police who has been working on initiatives with the
School Department. Homeland Security is establishing a city wide camera
system that will monitor the critical and key areas of the City. Based on the
need to use the roofs of some of our public buildings, Lt. Greenwood has met
with the Superintendent. His recommendation was that Lt. Greenwood come
before the Committee to explain the camera system and why they need a school
roof. This project has been approved by Mayor Koch. Quincy is in a partnership
with eight other cities and towns. (The Urban Area Security Initiative) All the
cities and towns have accepted this camera system. A camera will be located
on a school roof that would pose no damage to the roof. It has small visibility,
which would pan/telescope up and down and be monitored at the Quincy
Police Station. Its purpose is to detect and assist in the apprehension of
any terrorist activities that could occur and to prevent any damage to
infrastructure. It can also be used to monitor Quincy Square.
Mrs. Bragg inquired about the privacy rights of individuals. Lt. Greenwood
answered that the cameras will be monitored 24-7 by the Sergeant in
charge of communications. There are strict guidelines for use of the
camera. The camera will be zooming in on public space, and there is no
expectation of privacy in a public area. As part of the partnership, every
municipality is guided by these guidelines. The camera will only be
used to monitor the infrastructure and if it can assist in the solving of
a crime, the Police will use it. There is no cost to the School Department.
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The members received the Library Links, Credit for Life brochures. Mr.
Keith Segalla gave an overview of the Career Connections Newsletter.
Atlantic Middle School will celebrate their 50th year on Tuesday, February
16 at 7:00 pm in the auditorium.
Grade Configurations
The Superintendent has informed the members of his intent to consolidate
the services now being offered in the Children’s Developmental Center
and relocate those programs to the Amelio Della Chiesa Early Childhood
Center. In order to have appropriate space at Della Chiesa, he is proposing
Kindergartens move up to the Lincoln Hancock Community School. The fifth
graders at Lincoln Hancock will move up to Sterling. Sterling will become
a grade five to eight. This will mirror the educational design of Point Webster
and Marshall Schools.
The Superintendent has met with some parents, spoken with staff, and he
thinks this is an excellent opportunity to consolidate building usage. As
well, to provide some collaboration and integration for both staff and
students of the CDC.
Mrs. Bragg said she would consider this a policy change and she would
like to hear from the parents, staff and anyone involved. She would like
to have a Policy Subcommittee meeting in the evening for those involved.
Mr. McCarthy recommends they speak to the faculty and staff that were
involved with the move to Point Webster to check for any bumps along
the way.
Mr. Mariano asked that they be a separate entity to these students at
Sterling. The fifth graders need to be isolated. He is anxious to hear
what the parents have to say. He would be in favor as long as there
is some protection for the fifth graders. The Superintendent said Ms.
Barrett has a plan that would allow the fifth graders to be their own
entity--not only for the classrooms, but for lunch.
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TELLs Survey
Ms. Colleen Roberts and Paul Phillips attended an educational survey
meeting of the TELLs. This is a staff developmental program that was
jointly offered by the MTA, AFT, MASS and MASC and funded by the
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Teachers and principals
were asked to complete the survey regarding the teaching and learning
conditions in their district. They gave a quick overview and shared some
of the data. Forty seven percent of the staff in Quincy responded. Some of
the strengths in Quincy are the small class size, teachers feel trusted to make
decisions, our weakness is technology. Ms. Roberts will forward information
about the time on task to members
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Open Forum
Mr. Ernie Ariente, Dominic Venturelli, Steve Moynihan, Jay McGilicuddy
and Paul Phillips spoke to the issue of the GIC which was brought up at the
last meeting. One thing was very clear to them that to get into the GIC
approval is needed from the unions, Mayor and School Committee. The issue
is with the law and GIC commission. The Public Employees Committee (PEC)
worked very hard to enter into a tentative agreement to enter the GIC on July 2009.
If there was a legality issue with this agreement they thought the Commission
would send it back. Instead they accepted it. The School Committee should
have been well aware of the fact that these negotiations were going on
because Tom Walsh attended these meetings. Instead of finding fault, they
should thank them for saving the taxpayers $4.2 million this coming year
and in the future. They urged the Committee to vote down Mrs. Dwyer’s
motion for a legal opinion so that the city can move forward. If the Committee
chooses not to approve this deal, that will invalidate the QEA vote for going to
the GIC.
Ms. Linda Perry, QPAC, addressed the Committee about a preschool
student who was left on a Quincy Public School bus. QPAC wants to hear
what is being done to prevent such a mistake from happening again. Does
bus driver training need to be reassessed? Do “empty” or “full” signs need to
be purchased? Is it time to re-evaluate the need for bus monitors for preschool
students? There is a Health, Safety & Security Subcommittee meeting
January 28. They want a full update on a resolution and the corrective action.
Ms. Erin Bradley, Atherton Hough parent, spoke to the issue
of recess in cold weather. She complained that her daughter came
home from school with wet sneakers. She didn’t put boots on her
daughter because she didn’t think the school would have recess
in such extreme cold. The temperature was 14º that day. She called
and found out there was no policy on recess. She asked that there be
a policy prohibiting recess when the chill factor is below 20º.
Mr. Bob Haley spoke regarding the statements from people on the GIC.
He feels that the end does not justify the means. He said that the Mayor
has no authority in statute to negotiation any type of pay salary for the
school committee, nor do his representatives have that authority. There
is no way they should have reopened contracts within the School
Department. The School Committee has not signed off for the nine
school unions. He thinks the way this issue was handled may jeopardize
the City’s ability to join the plan. Also, there are a number of line items
that appear to have an excess of money that can be cut. He believes the
Mayor’s transfer of the $850,000 Comcast money to cover school debt was
inappropriate.
Mr. Karl Roos applauded the efforts of Budget Subcommittee to make
the meetings more available to the public. He asked that the School
Committee’s meetings be posted on the webpage.
Mr. Malik Gulister, whose son is in tenth grade at Quincy High School
was shot with a BB gun. He said he has called everybody and would
like his son transferred to another school. He is missing school time.
The Superintendent stopped Mr. Gulister and said that this incident
happened outside the school system. Mrs. Powell is working with Mr.
Gulister. This incident is under investigation and has nothing to do
with the school day itself. However, Mr. Gulister wants his son to remain
in the same school and have the other boy transferred The Superintendent
told Mr. Gulister to come to his office tomorrow and he will speak with
him. Mrs. Powell is away this week.
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Grants Update
Mr. Mullaney presented the Grants Booklet and gave a quick overview
of the highlights. The total funding received this year is $7.1 million.
That money is used to service our students who total 9,154, as well as
1,200 students who are in private schools in Quincy. They’re helped out
by Title One, Teacher Quality Grants. There are 106 positions that are
instructional paid for with grants. The largest grants are the No Child
Left Behind, Title I, Title 3 and Title 4, Safe and Drug Free Schools.
Those are direct funds from the Federal Government. Another large
grant is the Special Ed Allocation Grant. The 21st Century Grant, provides
enrichment programs, and Full Day Kindergarten. The money has been
decreasing. The majority that decreases is the Title I grant. We have been
obtaining more grants that do require additional spending to go forward
because we have to match the grant. We have to be aware that a lot of these
grants don’t keep up with the funding. He thanked Cindy Lally who acts
as the Grant Manager in his office. We’ve had a large drop off of half
million dollars this year.
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Bldg. Update
The Metals Shop, Robotics, Auto Body Shop, are all out of the CTE
building. The Kindergarten at Squantum has been moved to the
Early Childhood Center. Maintenance repainted the teachers lounge
at Central and repaired a steam leak at Center. Carpenters are putting
up divider walls at the Early Childhood Center. Electricians
are almost finished wiring the new freezer at Broad Meadows. Staff
is working on the “no heat” issues. They are making great progress
with Honeywell.
Mr. McCarthy asked if Maintenance could get some heat into the gym
at Quincy High School without spending any money.
Mrs. Dwyer is compiling a list of the maintenance issues from the
School Improvement Plans. She will schedule a subcommittee meeting
with Mr. Murphy. The principals are very happy with the conditions
of their buildings.
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New QHS Bldg.
Mrs. Dwyer Reports
There is a New Quincy High School Building Committee meeting scheduled
for January 30. Opening Ceremonies will be February 22 for invited guests
only. Students are moving in February 23.
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Central Bldg. Comm. Mrs. Bragg reports asked
Mrs. Bragg said that there have been no Central Building Committee meetings
since August. At the last meeting they discussed touring other schools. Mayor
Koch expects to have an appraisal on some of the properties they are considering,
and he will get an update on the MSBA and schedule some tours. Mr. Jack Buckley,
a retired Quincy Public Schools teacher has been added to the Central Building
Committee.
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Single Warrant Policy Approved (4.11.1)
A motion was made by Mrs. Bragg, seconded by Mr. Mariano, to approve
the Superintendent’s recommendation of a policy (4.11.1) for the single warrant
system. On a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously 7-0.
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GIC Update
At Mayor Koch’s request, Mr. McGrath and Mr. Madden were present to
review the GIC again and make a formal request to go to the Budget Subcommittee
for deliberation.
Mr. McGrath said the GIC was a wise thing for the administration and the
PEC to entertain successfully. The Mayor told them to settle the
contracts that had not been settled and a RFP on the health care. They met
extensively through t the summer. They accomplished having the GIC passed
which will save the City $4 million and the employees $4.2 to $4.3. Part of the
negotiations, in a separate document, was a payment to all the City employees
of the sum of $300 added to their salary as of July 1, 2009 when they enter into
the GIC. At the time of the signing, most of the unions have signed that document
The school department remains unsigned.
Mr. McGrath passed out copies of correspondence requested by Mrs. Dwyer
from the GIC, an acknowledge receipt that Quincy is going to join the GIC,
and copies of the contracts to be considered by the school committee.
A question has arisen about the authority of the Mayor to enter into negotiations.
Section 19 of the statute indicates that a community can join the GIC and
the section shall take effect in a polical subdivision upon its acceptance
in a city by majority vote of the City Council and approval by the Mayor.
This statute foresaw the fact that cities and towns would have to get into
contract reopening as part of the joining of the GIC. The matter is before
the Committee now for their consideration on the contractual piece.
Mrs. Dwyer stated that there is a lot of misinformation now and two years
ago. The School Committee completely supports the GIC. They had been
trying to negotiate this in contracts for the last two years. The Committee
is not going to do anything to jeopardize this. They are effectively in the
GIC and it will become effective July 1 regardless of any comments.
Mrs. Dwyer said all they are trying to do by sending a letter to the MASC
is to get an official, independent opinion about the way this happened. She
is challenging the fact that the city negotiated contracts that they didn’t have
the authority to negotiate.
Mr. McGrath said he thought that the court would say that the Mayor
does have that authority.
Mrs. Dwyer said she didn’t agree and that’s why they want an independent
opinion. She stated that the Committee has every right to ask for the
opinion. She expects an answer very quickly, if it comes back favorably
than this committee will then talk about the $300 which comes to $570,000
applied to the budget effective July 1, 2009. It is a budgetary problem for
the school department.
Mr. McCarthy said he is also 110% for the GIC. He knows that the Mayor
has apologized but the members did not know about that $300 until it
was over. People are getting bonuses and the committee will have
to take out custodians, maintenance, all the way up to the teachers.
Mr. McGrath said the Mayor had to give up $800,000 but emphasized
that Quincy will save $5.2 million. In the absence of the agreement, the
increase in health costs would have been $6-7 million.
Mr. Mariano said they heard from folks that were at the table and had
numerous meetings and wanted to make sure that they did what was
best for the city. Then they heard from two folks on the Committee that
want to send a letter that admittedly doesn’t mean anything. He didn’t
understand the logic of that. The issue becomes the authority of the School
Committee and where that line is. Does the chief executive have the
authority to negotiate. Mr. Mariano said the law was written to give
the chief executive extraordinary powers to make this happen. He thought
this is a good deal for the City. He does not support the letter.
Mr. Puleo added that mistakes were made. The law was made so that
cities and towns would have to negotiate. It is a collective bargaining
right. The $300 issue was their right to negotiate. This gives the executive
of the city or town more executive power to negotiate. From a face value,
it seemed him like an issue of hard feelings or politics.
Mrs. Dwyer said the PEC had the right to negotiate. Her question is
why was it not decided to write a check for $300, but to go back into
the contracts and add the $300 to salaries. This is where she has a
problem.
Mr. McGrath read the law and where he feels it applies. However, Mrs.
Dwyer did not agree. Mr. McGrath and Mr. Madden said that pending
before the Committee are eight or nine agreements for the School
Committee to sign.
Mayor Koch said if he had to do it again, he would have brought the
School Committee into the loop, however, he doesn’t apologize for
saving the City millions of dollars. He respectively requested that
the School Committee put this into Subcommittee and discuss it one
more time, act favorably and sign the agreement and go forward.
GIC into Budget Subcommittee
Mrs. Bragg made a motion, seconded by Mr. Mariano, to move the
GIC into the Budget Subcommittee. The ayes have it.
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Recess to Policy Subcommittee
Mrs. Bragg made a motion, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, to move recess
into Policy Subcommittee. The ayes have it.
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GIC/Track
Mrs. Dwyer presented the letter to the MASC regarding the GIC and the
track on Faxon Field. Her motion is to authorize the Vice Chair to sign
and send this letter to the attorney at the MASC for his free legal opinion
on the track and the GIC. The motion was seconded by Mr. McCarthy.
Mrs. Bragg said she shared concerns on the GIC being part of this letter
and asked that it be separated out. She did want to know the answer to the
question of who can negotiate with the unions, but felt it should be separated
from the track. She did not support the GIC portion at this time. She did
support the portion on the track.
Motion to send letter re. GIC & Track Fails
Mr. McCarthy moved the question. On a roll call vote, the motion to send
a letter regarding the GIC and track failed 4-3. MRS DWYER, MRS.
MAHONEY AND MR. MCCARTHY voted YES, MRS. BRAGG, MR.
PULEO, MR. MARIANO, and MAYOR KOCH voted NO.
Motion to send letter re. Track only Passes
Mrs. Dwyer will rewrite the letter. On a roll call vote, the motion to
support the letter on the track passed 6-1. MAYOR KOCH voted NO.
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Comcast Money
Mrs. Dwyer passed out copies of another letter to Mayor Koch regarding
the Comcast contract. The Comcast money was already earmarked for
technology in the schools. It is now going for a different purpose.
Mayor Koch explained that the money was never transferred by the
former Mayor and former Auditor.
Mr. Timmins explained that she was referencing an order from Mayor
Phelan to Mr. Fitzpatrick last year. That year is closed. It is a transfer
request by a former mayor to a former auditor in a prior fiscal year. It is
not something the current mayor should address. You can’t go back in
a prior fiscal year and undo something.
Mr. Mullaney said the vote was to deficit spend the circuit breaker money
and move those funds into the district technology line. The $1.4 million
from the cable funds wasn’t voted on by the School Committee. It was
going to be coming from a direct appropriation through City Council.
This was a directive by the Mayor to move this over to the Technology
line. We get about two payments every year of $450,000 totals around
$1 million. Nothing has been turned over to the school side in all of
2008. Mr. Mullaney said it is a city side account.
Mrs. Dwyer said that the directive was made and she thought this transfer
had been done. This is money that should have come to the schools in
December. Instead, it went to Debt Services.
Mrs. Bragg said she saw the Council vote and didn’t understand how
the money could go to Debt Services. She asked the Mayor to get
back to the Committee with an explanation.
Mayor Koch said a great part of debt services is contributed to schools.
The technology closet money is coming out of there. The publication
for the schools is coming out of there. The Mayor will get an accounting
and an explanation for everybody.
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Additional Business
Mrs. Mahoney is having a Special Education Subcommittee meeting at
7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28.
The Health, Safety and Security Subcommittee has a meeting tomorrow
night at 7:00 p.m. to discuss school bus safety procedures in the 2nd Floor
Conference room, City Hall.
Subcommittee meetings On webpage
Mrs. Bragg asked that the subcommittee meetings be posted on our website.
Mr. O’Brien will take care of it.
The Quincy Teen Mothers are having an open house at the Bethany Church
on March 25 at 3:00 p.m. to celebrate their 30th anniversary. This is open
to the public.
Mayor Koch asked the Committee to allow him to have discussions with
the various school unions to consider alternative funding come July 1, 2009.
He will come back to the committee to approve or disapprove any recommendations.
Mrs. Bragg made a motion, seconded by Mr. Puleo, to authorize the
Mayor to enter into negotiations, but before anything is done, he’s to
come before the School Committee.
Mrs. Dwyer said she won’t support the motion when we’re adding
$570,000 to the budget.
On a roll call vote, the motion passed 5-2. MRS. DWYER AND MR.
MCCARTHY voted NO.
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Oversight & Rules Mrs. Dwyer Reports
Mrs. Dwyer said the Oversight and Rules Committee met on Thursday,
January 15 to get information about the track at Faxon Field. There has
been a lot of communication and she felt it was a good time to discuss
what’s going on without the Committee’s knowledge. She noted that
the Mayor did not come to the meeting but sent the City Solicitor instead.
They discussed the letter to MASC to get clarification on who has
jurisdiction of Faxon Field. They discussed the letter the Parents for
Pageant have submitted to the Inspector General and they discussed
the Memorandum of Agreement given to the neighbors back in 2006
as to what could and could not go on the land and what the
implications would be. The Parents for Pageant went in front of the
Conservation Commission to discuss this. The Committee did find out
on January 15 that the City Solicitor has filed a Notice of Intent. Mrs.
Dwyer said she didn’t want to jeopardize the new high school. She has
asked for a copy from the City Solicitor’s office but hasn’t received it yet.
This was an informational meeting. Mrs. Dwyer will rewrite the letter
and submit the letter.
Mrs. Mahoney asked why they didn’t have a copy of the Notice
of Intent yet. Mr. Timmins said his office was going to put it into
a PDF format and then he would email copies to everyone.
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Budget Subcommittee Mr. Mariano Reports
Mr. Mariano reported that not much was resolved in the Budget
Subcommittee meeting tonight. They are requesting an opinion of the
Department of Revenue as to the ability to spend the QEA settlement
money. The Budget Subcommittee will meet again on February 11
to do the Quarterly Report and to dispose of the $100,000 and the cuts
they need to make to balance the budget.
Mr. Puleo was concerned because the City Council did cut $150,000
from the budget and the Committee has delayed the implementation of
this decision. There are a number of risks by delaying this action.
Letter to Mass Dept. of Revenue Approved
Mrs. Bragg made a motion, seconded by Mr. Mariano, to ask for
an opinion from the Mass Department of Revenue Local Services
Division if the School Committee has the authority to spend the
money in the contract that was recently settled with the QEA dealing
with the strike and if it can be spent this fiscal year. The Superintendent
will ask those questions and depending on the answers the
Superintendent will come back with a recommendation of $50,000
instead of $150,000. On a roll call vote, the motion pass 5-2. Mr. Puleo
and Mayor Koch voted NO.
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Elementary SIPs Approved
On a motion by Mrs. Bragg, seconded by Mr. Mariano, the Committee
moved approval of the School Improvement Plans for the elementary
schools. The ayes have it.
Title I Policy Mrs. Bragg reports
As part of the last year’s audit the Quincy was asked to expand their
policy and clarify the existing Title I programs. Dr. Pattavina put
together a suggestion on the policy. We changed existing language
to drop “an additional teacher” and add in its place “additional staff”
in line three. We determined most of the document was procedures
not policy. Based on the Superintendent’s recommendation we adopted
the first paragraph to be added to existing language in the policy manual.
“Title 1 funds may not take place of (supplant) public education services
that are to be provided to all students. The school system in demonstrating
that it uses Title 1 funds only to supplement, and to the extent practical,
increase the level of funds that would, in the absence of Title 1 funds, be
made available from non-Federal sources for the education of children
participating in Title 1 programs.” We also added, “Students Served:
Central Administration Personnel will visit and review schools to ensure
that students being served by Title 1 funds are those who have been
identified to be served based on the student selection criteria.”
Policy Approved
Mrs. Bragg made the motion, seconded by Mr. Mariano, to adopt the
changes to the Title I policy. The ayes have it. This will remain on the
agenda.
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Appointments
The Committee noted the following appointments:
Teacher: Kristen Boyle
ROTC Instructor: SMSgt. Teresa Holmes
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Adjournment
On a motion by Mrs. Dwyer, seconded by Mr. Puleo, the Committee
adjourned at 10:30 p.m. for the evening. There was no executive session.
On a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously 7-0.