Minutes
Quincy, Massachusetts – January 10, 2018
Organizational Meeting of the Quincy School Committee
Organizational Meeting
An Organizational Meeting of the Quincy School Committee was held on
January 10, 2018, at 6:00 p.m. at the Coddington Building. The following members
and members-elect were present: Mr. Anthony Andronico, Mr. Paul Bregoli,
Mr. James DeAmicis, Mr. Douglas Gutro, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Mrs. Emily Lebo, and
Mayor Thomas P. Koch, Chairman. Also present were Dr. Richard DeCristofaro,
Secretary and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk; State Representative Bruce Ayers; City
Councillors Brad Croall, Noel DiBona, William Harris, Nina Liang, and David McCarthy;
Deputy Superintendent Kevin Mulvey; Quincy College President Peter Tsaffaras;
Ms. Rita Bailey, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Dr. Beth Hallett, Mr. James Mullaney, Ms. Maura
Papile, Ms. Erin Perkins, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla, Mr. Edward Smith,
Ms. Bridget Vaughan; North Quincy High School Student Representative Luke Molloy,
Quincy High School Student Representative Timothy Nguyen; Quincy Citywide Parent
Council Co-Presidents Scott Alessandro and Courtney Perdios; Quincy Parent Advisory
Council to Special Education President Cassandra Beck; and Quincy Education Association
President Allison Cox.
Chairman Presiding
School Committee Members Sworn In
Mayor Koch proceeded to swear in Mr. Anthony Andronico, Mr. Douglas Gutro, and
Mrs. Emily Lebo for the 2018-2021 term of office.
§
Mayor Koch then opened the Organizational Meeting of the Quincy School Committee.
Vice Chair Elected
Mayor Koch asked for nominations for the Office of Vice Chair of the School
Committee for 2018-2019. Mr. Bregoli nominated Mrs. Emily Lebo for the Office of
Vice Chair for 2018-2019. Mr. Gutro seconded the motion.
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to close the nominations for the Office of Vice
Chair and Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
On a roll call vote, Mrs. Lebo was unanimously elected School Committee Vice
Chair by a vote of 7-0.
§
Mrs. Lebo’s Address
Mrs. Lebo began by thanking her colleagues for the honor of their vote as
Vice-Chair. As the grandparent of six Quincy Public Schools students, she is
appreciative of the tremendous opportunities available to our students. The Mayor’s
budget appropriations including the Capital Improvement Plan and MSBA projects
allow for School Committee to focus on the education of students. School Committee
has an important role to advocate for additional opportunities for curriculum
enhancement, look into space challenges in our buildings, and promote
communication through meeting with Student Advisory Council.
§
Secretary Appointed
Mayor Koch asked for nominations for the Office of Secretary to the School
Committee for 2018-2019. Mrs. Hubley nominated Dr. Richard DeCristofaro as
Secretary to the School Committee for 2018-2019. Mr. Gutro seconded the motion.
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to close the nominations for the Secretary to the School
Committee and Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
On a roll call vote, Dr. DeCristofaro was unanimously appointed Secretary to the School
Committee by a vote of 7-0.
§
Clerk Appointed
Mayor Koch asked for nominations for the Office of Clerk to the SchoolCommittee
for 2018-2019. Mr. DeAmicis nominated Ms. Laura Owens as Clerk to the School
Committee for 2018-2019. Mr. Andronico seconded the motion.
Mr. Gutro made a motion to close the nominations for the Clerk to the School Committee
and Mr. DeAmicis seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
On a roll call vote, Ms. Owens was unanimously appointed Clerk to the School Committee
by a vote of 7-0.
§
Mayor Koch thanked the City Council for their continued support of the City’s educational
goals and Representative Ayers and the state delegation for their work in securing
educational funding at the state level.
Approval of School Committee
Policy
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the School Committee Policy, which was seconded
by Mr. Bregoli. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
§
Approval of Subcommittee
Chairs & Members
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to approve the Subcommittee Chairs and Membership for
2018-2019, which was seconded by Mr. DeAmicis. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
§
Approval of Revised School
Committee Calendar
Mr. DeAmicis made a motion to approve the Revised School Committee Calendar for
2017- 2018, which was seconded by Mrs. Hubley. On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
§
2018-2019 Calendars to Policy
Subcommittee
Mrs. Hubley made a motion to move the draft School Committee and School Year
Calendars for 2018- 2019 the Policy Subcommittee, which was seconded by Mrs. Lebo.
On a voice vote, the ayes have it.
§
Affirmation in Support of Land Purchase Former St Mary’s School Site
Mayor Koch then reviewed the opportunity for the City of Quincy to purchase the land
containing the former St. Mary’s School in West Quincy. Purchasing this land would
make it possible to build a school in West Quincy and would address the lack of an
elementary school in the neighborhood since the Gridley Bryant School was closed in
the early 1980s. Similar to the City’s purchase of St. Ann’s School site for the new Central
Middle School location, this would not be a new use for the neighborhood.
The Bond authorization to purchase the property was approved by City Council. Mayor
Koch asked for questions from School Committee, as he is requesting a vote to affirm
the City Council’s vote to support the bond issue. The vote does not bind School Committee
to build a school on the site, but affirms the purchase of land for educational purposes.
Mr. Gutro asked for clarification on what the vote would mean and requested the issue be
discussed further in subcommittee. Mayor Koch said the affirmation is that School
Committee understands that the land purchased could be used for educational purposes
in the future based on the prior use as an educational site.
Mrs. Lebo is comfortable taking the vote tonight as an affirmation of the City Council’s vote
to acquire the site for potential use for educational purposes. Mr. Bregoli agreed, saying
there has been an impact on the West Quincy community. This purchase could potentially
alleviate space issues in other QPS school districts.
Mr. Gutro asked if there was a vote previously by School Committee on this issue. Mr. Gutro
requested information on whether other potential sites were analyzed and eliminated and looks
forward to additional information being provided.
Mayor Koch said there has been some previous discussion at School Committee but no previous
vote. This is the first step in a long process of analysis.
Mrs. Lebo made a motion to affirm the vote of City Council to purchase the land containing
the former St. Mary’s School. The motion was seconded by Mr. DeAmicis. On a roll call vote,
the ayes have it, 7-0.
§
Adjournment
On a motion by Mrs. Hubley, seconded by Mr. Bregoli, the Organizational
Meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m. The ayes have it.