Minutes
Quincy School Committee
Budget & Finance Subcommittee Meeting
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
A meeting of the Budget and Finance Subcommittee was held on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 at 5:00 pm
in the 2
nd Floor Conference Room at the NAGE Building. Present were Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mr. Noel
DiBona, Ms. Barbara Isola, Mr. David McCarthy, and Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Chair. Also attending were
Superintendent DeCristofaro, Deputy Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Mrs. Kathryn Clancy, Mr.
Michael Draicchio, Mrs. Mary Fredrickson, Ms. Beth Hallett, Mrs. Jane Kisielius, Mr. James Mullaney,
Mrs. Maura Papile, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla, Mr. Kevin Segalla, Ms. Judy Todd; Ms. Allison
Cox, Quincy Education Association President; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.
Mrs. Hubley called the meeting to order at 5:05 pm. Mr. Mullaney reviewed the appropriation for a
level services budget that funds all contractual obligations and then summarized the
recommendations for additional positions across the areas of Academic Classroom Teachers,
Academic Programs, Academic Support, and Non-Academic Support.
The primary focus of this meeting is a review of the four areas of Subsidized Services: Food Services,
Transportation, Building Rentals, and Athletics.
Food Services provides funding for the school meals program; Food Services is self-funded. School
lunch revenues are up considerably over previous years. The only Food Services line item in the
Quincy Public Schools budget is for Lunch Attendants, which cannot be funded out of revolving
account by law. The Federal Bureau of Nutrition sets guidelines for pricing and reimbursement that
School Committee adopts as policy. This year, school lunch prices must go up by $.05 for elementary
and middle school lunches to meet the new guidelines.
For School Building Rentals, rates are established by School Committee and the funds can be used for
salaries, building upkeep, and utilities. Cash balances can be carried from year to year. Mr. Mullaney
explained that this account had a surplus of $206,000 at the beginning of the year. $250,000 of utility
costs are being covered by the surplus; at year's end, it is projected there will be a $71,000
surplus. Mr. Bregoli asked why Central Middle School has not been used as a rental to date; Dr.
DeCristofaro said that since punchlist work was ongoing, the building has not been available for
rental, but it should be available for rentals in the fall.
Mr. Bregoli asked about the lights at Central Middle School. Custodians are on duty until 7:00 pm and
the lights are timed to go off then. McCarthy asked about Quincy High School, are the lights also
similarly timed. Mr. Bregoli asked about stressing energy conservation with staff, turning off lights on
sunny days. Mr. Mullaney said that many new light fixtures are more energy efficient and the new
window installation at schools should also help. The Superintendent’s Leadership Team is
recommending no change to the rental rates. Mr. McCarthy asked if we have a consistent rental
pool, Mr. Kevin Segalla said that youth and adult in-Quincy rentals are continuing to rise. Mrs. Hubley
asked if the rental pool is consistent and there are many repeat rentals. Mr. Bregoli asked for and
received confirmation that the Nike Basketball camps pay the outside rate.
For the Transportation Revolving Account, revenue consists of fees from students transported within
two miles of school and bus rentals for field trips. Driver salaries and bus supplies and repairs are
paid from this account. A minor deficit will be made up from available cash for FY2014. The
Superintendent’s Leadership Team recommends retaining the current fee structure. The number of
students paying for transportation has continued to decline. The majority of revenue is from bus
rental. Mr. McCarthy asked for clarification that transportation fees are being collected, and Mrs.
Anastasi has a 100% rate of collection.
The Athletic Revolving Account revenue consists of user fees and gate receipts. Kathryn Clancy works
with the new Athletic Directors and they were conservative about expenses this year, purchasing
some new equipment purchased this year and deferring additional purchases to next year. The
Superintendent’s Leadership Team is recommending no changes to Athletic User Fees. Athletic
Participation demographics were broken out by individual seasons, with 1,051 student athletes
participated in at least one sport. 270 students participated in two sports and 105 students
participated in three sports. Mr. DiBona asked about the user fees and whether we can reduce the
fees for three-sport athletes or perhaps a sport like track should have a lower athletic fee. Mr.
Bregoli reminded the School Committee that students who receive free and reduced lunch have their
athletic fees waived; Mrs. Clancy said $63,000 in fees were waived this school year. Mr. McCarthy
asked about gate receipts and who makes the call on whether we collect to view a game. The recent
North-Quincy High School baseball game had over 100 viewers. In last year's budget discussions, it
was reviewed that only football, basketball, and hockey have gate staff. Mrs. Hubley asked if
transportation is involved for every sport and all teams have away events. Home games require
officials, which is often more expensive than transportation. Mr. DiBona said maybe scheduling more
track and field tri-meets would assist with costs and feels that lowering the participation fee would
help to grow the program.
Mr. Mullaney reviewed the recommendations for Academic and Non-Academic Expenses. In
summary, the additional funding is allocated 10% for Academic Classroom Teachers, 22% for
Academic Programs, 29% for Academic Support, 2% for Non-Academic Support, 19% for Academic
Expenses, 18% Non-Academic Expenses. Mr. DiBona asked for clarification that the Foreign Language
positions were for Grade 8 French and they are.
Mr. McCarthy asked for a review of the Athletic revolving account coaching line. In 2010, over
$200,000 was cut from the Athletic budget along with increased user fees and cutting Freshman
sports. Over the next several years, utilizing the revolving account surplus supported JV sports and
subsidized the varsity coach salaries as well. In FY2013, $200,000 was moved from revolving account
to pay coaches’ salaries. In FY2014, only $25,000 was used to subsidize coaches salaries. Mr. Bregoli
asked about transportation for freshman sports and those are included in the budget. Freshman, JV,
and Varsity teams all have full schedules and this will carry forward into FY2015. There is a healthy
surplus in this account now and the pressure is off families and boosters in terms of fundraising. Mr.
Bregoli asked if new football helmets are preventing concussions; pads and helmets have to be
reviewed annually by the manufacturer. Mr. McCarthy asked about athletic coaching stipends
(contractual); Mr. Mullaney estimated these at $325,000, but will provide a definite number. Mr.
Bregoli asked about middle school coaches stipends and how they compare to a freshman coach
stipend. Mr. Mullaney said middle school programs are 6 week programs and high school seasons
are longer. Mr. Bregoli said there is a difficulty attracting young coaches into the freshman coaching
positions, given the demands.
Mrs. Hubley asked about PTO field trips and the average cost for trips; is looking to see if there is any
way to limit transportation costs for local field trips. Ms. Isola said these are individual school
decisions, and Mrs. Hubley clarified that most PTOs try to support the classes through funding a
certain amount for field trips. Mr. DiBona asked about asbestos in school buildings. Public Buildings
has just completed the recertification process and any costs associated with mitigation are in their
budget.
Mr. Bregoli mentioned that CPR certification as a graduation requirement item is currently in the
Policy Subcommittee. He asked about Health teachers and Health Interventionists becoming
certified; and also would like funding to allow the Community Service Coordinators to have half-time
teaching responsibilities. Dr. DeCristofaro said that there have been discussions about CPR training
becoming a Grade 8 Health curriculum topic. Dr. DeCristofaro suggested that this adjusted
Community Service Coordinators schedule could be accommodated without adding positions, and
will discuss with the high school principals. Further discussion will occur at the June 10 Policy
Subcommittee meeting.
Ms. Owens shared research on the breakdown of students studying Foreign Language classes at Gr. 9
and 12 in response to Ms. Isola’s request for information from the May 15, 2014 Budget and Finance
Subcommittee Meeting. Most Grade 9 students who choose to continue studying Spanish are placed
in Spanish 2 and in Grade 12, 40% of students are continuing to study a foreign language, sometimes
a 4th or 5th year course or even a 1st year course of a different language.
Ms. Isola made a motion to adjourn the Budget and Finance Subcommittee meeting at 6:05 pm.
Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.