Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts - March 7, 2012
Regular Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Regular Meeting
A regular meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on Wednesday,
March 7, 2012 in the Temporary City Council Chambers in City Hall. Present
were: Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Mayor Thomas Koch,
Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Mr. Dave McCarthy, and Ms. Barbara Isola, Vice Chair.
Vice-Chair
Presiding
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There was a moment of silence for the Smith, Opanesets, and Houlihan families, all
of whom recently lost family members. In addition, Dr. DeCristofaro noted the
recent passings of John Walsh, who taught foreign languages and was principal of
North Quincy High School for a total of thirty-one years; Arthur Foster, a teacher in
the Quincy Public Schools for 40 years; and Dr. Carol Lee Griffin, a thirty year
veteran of Quincy Public Schools as the Director of Pupil Personnel Services and
Assistant Superintendent.
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The Superintendent called the roll and Mrs. Lebo was absent. Also present were:
Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, Secretary; Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk; Messrs. Boss, Chella,
Draicchio, Mullaney, Mulvey, Murphy, Keith Segalla, Taglieri; Mrs. Papile, Roberts;
Ms. Maureen MacNeil, Riggs, Todd; Ms. Allison Cox, President, QEA, and Mrs.
Tracey Christello, Citywide Parents’ Council Representative.
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Regular Meeting Minutes Approved
2/8/2012
Mayor Koch made a motion, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, to approve the regular
session minutes for February 8, 2012. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
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Open Forum
As no one wished to be heard in Open Forum, the Committee went on with the
business at hand.
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Superintendent’s Report
The Superintendent opened his remarks by mentioning the upcoming Leadership
in Action Conference on March 13 at Curry College. Fifty female sophomore
and junior students from both high schools will be attending the all-day event,
sponsored by the Women’s Business Connection of the South Shore Chamber
of Commerce. Recent Quincy Public Schools events include last week’s
well-attended high school information nights held on March 5, 2012 at
North Quincy High School and March 6, 2012 at Quincy High School.
560 students registered for Kindergarten on the first day of registration on March 6.
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges concluded their visit to
Quincy High School on Wednesday, March 7. Special thanks to Ellen Murray,
Assistant Principal and Frank Santoro, Principal for their leadership and all the
hard work that led up to this visit. Lt. Governor Murray, a Career and Technical
Education proponent also recently visited Quincy High School and toured the
facility and classrooms.
Other items of note include Alex Pitkin of Symmes Maini & McKee Associates,
architect for Quincy High School, recently received a citation from the National
School Board Association for the school’s design and an invitation to have a display
at the upcoming 2012 NSBA Exhibition of School Architecture on April 21 and 22,
2012 in Boston. For the recently concluded winter sports season, both the North
Quincy High School boys’ hockey and basketball teams were league championships.
Four teams had berths in the MIAA tournaments, including the two North Quincy
High School boys’ hockey and basketball teams and the Quincy High School boys’
and girls’ basketball teams. Dr. DeCristofaro thanked Athletic Director Jim Rendle,
all of the coaches, and especially the student athletes.
Dr. DeCristofaro concluded his report by mentioning the elementary schools’ recent
celebration of Dr. Suess’s birthday on March 2, 2012 and Read Across America. The
Mayor, members of the School Committee, the Superintendent and Assistant
Superintendent, and members of the Quincy Retired Teachers Association read aloud
to students at various elementary schools as part of the celebration.
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New Business
Partnership Recognition
The Superintendent introduced Mrs. Maura Papile, Director of Student Support
Services, who began with recognizing two important partners to the Quincy Public
Schools: the Quincy Rotary Club and the Rural Lodge of Masons. She noted that
building school culture is a goal for all schools in Quincy and that both the Rotary
Club and the Rural Lodge of Masons have been supportive of these goals in many
ways. The Quincy Rotary Club has made donations to bring the Rachel’s
Challenge program to Grade 7 students across the city, contributed to the costs for the
John Morello presentation, and provided funds to support curriculum initiatives
at the middle school level. The Rural Lodge of Masons also contributed to the cost of
the John Morello presentation, sponsored the Chris Herren presentations at both high
schools, provided first aid bags and Epi-pens for each school, and helped children in
need throughout the year, especially during the holiday season. Both the Quincy Rotary
Club and the Rural Lodge of Masons were presented with certificates of appreciation
from the Quincy School Committee.
Student Support Services Presentation
After a brief recess, Guidance Counselor Joseph Boss and four Grade 7 Peer Leaders
from Broad Meadows Middle School shared some of the initiatives the school’s
students developed based on Rachel’s Challenge, including taking part in the five
challenges: make a difference in your life, make other people feel like they belong,
start your own chain reaction, treat other people how you want to be treated and treat
people right. Guidance Counselor Lauren Riggs and four students from Atlantic
Middle School told of how students at Atlantic are working on being kinder and more
positive. They also spoke about the recent visit by the Secretary of Education Paul
Reville on Blackout Bullying Day, January 25, 2012 who observed the peer leaders
interacting with students during classroom discussions.
Mayor Koch thanked Mrs. Papile for her leadership and mentioned the Kiwanis’
Junior Hero Award presentations that were held last Saturday. Ms. Isola thanked the
Quincy Rotary Club and the Rural Lodge of Masons for their many years of support
and all the students who presented this evening, their parents, the school’s principals,
administrators, and support staff. Dr. DeCristofaro concluded by complimenting the
students present and all the middle school students for having this competition of
caring and thanked the Student Support Services staff across all schools citywide.
Out of State Travel
After a brief recess, Mr. McCarthy made a motion to approve the Out of State Travel
of North Quincy High School Juniors to Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI
on April 27, 2012. Mrs. Hubley seconded the motion, and on a voice vote, the ayes
have it.
Overnight Travel
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to approve the Overnight Travel of Quincy High School
to the Skills USA Conference in Marlboro, MA April 26 through April 28, 2012 and
Quincy High School Youth in Government to Boston, MA for the State Conference
March 29 through March 31, 2012. Mr. McCarthy seconded the motion, and on a
voice vote, the ayes have it.
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Additional Business
Mr. McCarthy asked Mr. Keith Segalla to speak about the recent incident involving
a student from a high school in another city and Facebook. Quincy Public Schools
received information from the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office that a local student
had been “friended” on Facebook by someone pretending to be a student and after
messages containing personal information had been exchanged, the student was then
threatened with extortion. Reminders about social networking safe practices were
shared with the middle and high school students citywide and posted on the Quincy
Public Schools website.
Mr. McCarthy then spoke about an alert the Quincy Public Schools had received from
the Massachusetts Health and Homeland Security agency about suspicious letters
recently received in schools in Massachusetts. The alert was shared with school
principals and administrators citywide.
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Reports of Special Committees
The report of the Teaching and Learning Subcommittee meeting of February 13,
2012 was tabled until the March 21, 2012 School Committee meeting due to
Mrs. Lebo’s absence.
School Facilities and Security Subcommittee
Mr. McCarthy reported on the School Facilities and Security Subcommittee meeting
that was held on February 15, 2012. Mr. Gary Cunniff and Mr. Walter MacDonald
from the Public Buildings department were present at the meeting. For Quincy High
School, the items discussed related to heating and air conditioning, remaining
punchlist items, and new issues that may be covered by warranty. The Public
Buildings Department will be assisting in pursuing these items with the
manufacturers as the Gilbane contract is closed out. Mr. Cunniff reported on the
status of the heating and electrical issues systemwide, noting that these are related to
the Honeywell contract now in litigation. Once the litigation is settled, there is a
priority list of issues to be resolved. For Coddington Hall, Mr. Cunniff reported that
the design phase is underway by Wessling Architects. The houses on Saville Avenue
are occupied by the School Maintenance and Public Building Departments until the
renovations at Coddington Hall are complete. The outdoor lighting audit is ongoing,
the negotiations with the Army Corps of Engineers about the demolition of old
Quincy High School are also ongoing, and a follow up meeting is to be scheduled
with Quincy College about the idea of renting the Coddington Hall parking lot.
Mr. McCarthy made a motion to approve the School Facilities and Security
Subcommittee Meeting minutes from the February 15, 2012 meeting. The motion
was seconded by Mr. Bregoli and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.
Mrs. Mahoney requested clarification for the timeline of the Coddington Hall
renovation and whether the parking lot rental would conflict with the project. She
also queried the length of the current lease for the QPS Administrative offices at the
NAGE building; both are to be followed up on. Mrs. Mahoney asked whether the
locations for additional cameras at schools had been determined and Mr. McCarthy
replied that as part of the lighting audit, maps are being updated to note lighting and
current camera locations to assist in finalizing these new camera placements.
Budget and Finance Subcommittee
Ms. Isola reported on the Budget and Finance Subcommittee meeting that was held
on February 27, 2012. Mr. Jim Mullaney reported that as of January 31, 2012 all
accounts for Academics, Academic Support, and Non-Academic Support are in line
with budget projections. Deficits and surpluses in individual line items balance out
with a small net deficit. Potentials for variances are the Special Education Tuition
and Transportation accounts. The next item on the agenda was a review of Revolving
Accounts for School Lunches, Athletics, Transportation, and Building Rentals;
School Lunches and Building Rental accounts have surpluses that will be used for
planned upgrades and to cover possible deficits in utilities. Athletics and
Transportation have small deficits that will be covered as well. Mrs. Isola then
suggested moving the Professional Development Quarterly review to the Teaching
and Learning Subcommittee. The last item discussed at the meeting was the
expansion of the Budget and Finance Subcommittee to include all School Committee
members. Mrs. Lebo made the motion, Mrs. Hubley seconded it, and on a roll call
vote, it was approved 6-0. Mayor Koch was not present for the vote.
Mrs. Mahoney made a motion to approve the Budget and Finance Subcommittee
Meeting minutes from the February 27, 2012 meeting. The motion was seconded by
Mr. McCarthy and on a roll call vote, the ayes have it 6-0. Mrs. Lebo was absent.
Health, Transportation, and Safety Subcommittee
Mrs. Hubley reported on the Health, Transportation, and Safety Subcommittee meeting
that was held held on March 6, 2012. The Subcommittee reviewed the two items
that were in subcommittee (increasing breakfast program participation and the traffic
intersection near North Quincy High School) and a motion was made to remove both
of these items from the subcommittee. Suggested improvements to signage to
establish a dropoff zone and limit parking at Quincy High School during morning
dropoff were filed with the City Council for a vote at the March 12, 2012 meeting.
Mid-Year Program Improvement Plan goal reviews were held for Food Services,
Health Services, Student Support Services, and Transportation and all programs are
on track towards accomplishing their 2011-2012 school year goals.
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to amend the Health, Transportation, and Safety
Subcommittee Meeting minutes from the March 6, 2012 meeting to add “breakfast”
between “increasing” and “participation” in the second sentence of the third
paragraph and to add “to go to Communications. The item will be voted on at the
March 12, 2012 City Council Meeting.” in place of “there.” in the second to last
sentence of the fourth paragraph, and to approve the minutes as amended. The
motion was seconded by Mr. McCarthy and on a voice vote.
Mr. Bregoli requested the removal of two items from the School Policy
Subcommittee: the 2012-2013 School Year Calendar and the School Committee
Meetings for 2012-2013 as both these items have been completed. Mr. Bregoli also
announced that there will be a School Policy Subcommittee meeting on Monday,
March 19, 2012 at 4:30 pm in the 2nd floor Conference Room of the NAGE Building.
Agenda items will include Substitute Teacher Interviews and Evaluations and the
High School Community Service pilot.
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Resignation
The School Committee noted the following teacher resignation:
Teacher Jennifer Rosenthal
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Adjournment
On a motion by Mr. McCarthy, seconded by Mayor Koch, the School Committee
went into Executive Session at 8:20 p.m. for Collective Bargaining. On a roll call vote,
the ayes have it 6-0. Mrs. Lebo was absent. The School Committee did not return to
Open Session.