NEWTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
MINUTES
OF REGULAR & BUDGET MEETING – MARCH 10, 2003
EDUCATION
CENTER, FRAZIER ROOM, 7:30 P.M.
PRESENT: Chairperson
Anne Larner, Vice-Chairperson Susan Albright, Gail Glick, Patricia Kellogg,
Marc Laredo, Nancy Levine, Leslie Schneider, Dori Zaleznik
ABSENT: Mayor
David Cohen and student representatives
Chairperson Anne Larner
called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Charlotte Brewer, 42
Sheldon Rd., spoke about a personal experience where her son missed the first
week of school as a freshman due to illness.
What could have been a disastrous beginning of school was handled
impeccably by his guidance counselor.
If it were not for the counselor, there would not have been such good communication with teachers and staff
and a smooth transition upon his return.
As a result of that positive experience, this year she is serving on the
Guidance Counselors Advisory Committee.
The Superintendent's budget proposal, while maintaining class size,
increases the guidance counselor ratio to 180:1. Counselors deal with a great many issues and increased workload
is a major concern. This year they have
seen more students on 504 plans, as well as an increase in the number of
college applications. She thanked the
School Committee for its support in past years in lowering the guidance
counselor ratio and hopes they will continue this effort.
Karen Davis, 45 Lafayette
Rd., Newton Lower Falls, community representative to the Newton South High
School Council, asked that the Committee reconsider the recommendation to
increase the guidance counselor ratio, particularly in a year where
redistricting is involved. The guidance
counselors play many important roles to ensure a positive high school
experience for students. This year the
counselors will have the added responsibility of integrating the redistricted
students into the Newton South community.
Manageable caseloads are key ingredients in the success of this
transition.
Xiandong Zhao, 24 Chandler
Pl., Newton Upper Falls, addressed the Committee on behalf of the Chinese
After-school Program, which rents space at Countryside Elementary School. She provided a brief history of the program
and mentioned the support they have received from the community. Their issue has to do with the increase in
use of school buildings fees and the impact on their program. They would like the Committee to reconsider
the category in which their group
has been placed. Since all of their students attend
Countryside, they do not understand why they are being categorized as an
outside group.
Jane Frantz, 20 Trowbridge
Ave., Chairperson of the Newton North High School Council, and Deena David, 60
Rokeby Rd., Waban, Copresidents of the Newton South Parents, Teachers, Students
Organization (PTSO), applauded the Superintendent for developing a budget that
maintains the high quality of the classroom experience in these very difficult
fiscal times. However, parents are very
concerned about the increase in the guidance counselor ratio. The pressures and demands on students, staff,
and families are constantly increasing in today's world. The need for an advocate/advisor is critical. Parents have appreciated the work the
Committee has done in this area and hope they can maintain these efforts.
Betsy Hewitt, 1 Winter
Street, Countryside parent, spoke in support of lowering the fees for the
Chinese After-school Program. This is a
grassroots organization that was coordinated by parents. They help organize performances for the
multi-cultural festival and Chinese celebrations held at the school. The children are learning to speak and write
Mandarin. The program is interwoven into the fabric of the school
community. There are various other
organizations that utilize the building for a cheaper rate and they would like
to be included in this category.
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES' DISCUSSION
None.
RECOGNITIONS
None.
APPROVAL OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
Nancy Levine noted a
correction to the minutes of 2/10/03:
page #5, paragraph #5, FY03 Budget Update, "concerned" should
read "considered."
MOTION: It was moved to approve the School Committee
meeting minutes of 2/10/03, with
correction.
(Levine
- Schneider)
8
- 0 - 1
Mayor Cohen: absent
REPORTS
NEWTON NORTH HIGH SCHOOL TASK FORCE UPDATE
Susan Albright provided an
update on the work of the task force.
Last week's meeting consisted of a comprehensive and informative
presentation by Sandy Pooler, Chief Budget Officer, on the financing of the
high school projects. The group also
toured Newton South. At tonight's
meeting, it was agreed to obtain a second opinion from the Environmental Health
& Engineering Co. regarding the construction company's opinion that the
building needs to be unoccupied during renovation. The company will report their results by April 7th. There was also a presentation by Alderman Paul
Coletti on his plan for renovating and phasing the project. Next week will involve a presentation of
options by the architects. The meeting
concluded with questions and answers on Sandy Pooler's presentation from last
week.
ACTION ITEMS
REQUEST FOR WAIVER OF USE OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS
FEES
It was agreed to move this
item up on the agenda since there were members of the public waiting to hear
this discussion.
Nancy Levine presented the
recommendation of the Use of School Buildings Subcommittee, to deny this group
the request for a reduction in the use of school buildings fees. This group does not fit neatly into any
category. They do not meet the
definition of a school-related group, so the Permit A rate does not apply. They have been assigned to the municipal
group status and receive the lowest rate available in this category. Unfortunately, they do not have a city-sponsored
umbrella organization, which would help defray the cost. Therefore, they would suggest that the group
seek to become part of another group in the city that falls into another fee
category. However, this would require
that they open their membership to all children in the city.
Dori Zaleznik asked if
there are other groups in the city using the buildings before 6:00 p.m. that
pay as high an aggregate fee yearly.
Michael Cronin, Chief of
Operations, replied that while other groups have the same fee structure, they
may not be paying as much because they do not use the building for the same
number of days.
Dori Zaleznik is familiar
with this group, which is pivotal in terms of the multicultural community at
Countryside. She wondered if they could
delay
voting on this tonight,
while pursuing further discussion with the group about their options and fee affordability.
Marc Laredo has no doubt
that this group performs laudable services for the Countryside School, but that
is not the issue. While he has no problem
sending it back to the Subcommittee for further exploration of options, he
wants to be sure they put it in a framework that will provide a mechanism for
any similar future requests, in order to maintain consistency.
Patty Kellogg is not certain
that it is the role of the Subcommittee to assist a group in getting into an
umbrella organization. Obviously this
is a wonderful organization, but the same argument can be made for many other groups. There is an equity issue involved in allowing
one group special rates when the entire community cannot participate in that
benefit.
Marc Laredo respectfully
disagrees and does not see any problem with the Subcommittee assisting the
group in joining an umbrella organization.
Susan Albright noted that
half the year has already passed without a decision on this issue. She would recommend sending it back to the Subcommittee
to see if there is any possibility for negotiation.
Anne Larner commented that
numerous policy changes over the years in the use of school buildings rates and
categories have resulted in some ambiguities.
The administration has done a laudable job in attempting to sort through
the intent of the various changes. She supports
returning this to the Subcommittee.
MOTION: It was moved to send
the request for a waiver
of use of school buildings fees for the Chinese
After School Program back to the Use of School
Buildings Fees Subcommittee.
(Laredo
- Zaleznik)
8
- 0 - 1
Absent: Mayor Cohen
SUPERINTENDENT'S PERSONNEL REPORT
There were no questions on
the report.
FY03 BUDGET UPDATE
Superintendent Jeffrey
Young noted that the budget forecast remains consistent, with a $69,341
year-end balance. Attached to the
forecast is an analysis of unemployment expenses, as requested by the
Committee.
Marc Laredo asked about
the variance in the "work by other departments" category.
Sandra Guryan, Assistant
Superintendent for Business, Finance & Planning, explained that this
account represents charges from other City departments. Part of the charter maintenance falls into
this category which, if extracted, is essentially in balance.
SPECIAL EDUCATION UPDATE
Jeff Young stated that the
special education monthly status report remains consistent. The report also contains information on
preschool referrals.
REPORT ON PROGRESS OF CLASS OF 2003 RE: DECEMBER RETEST OF THE MASSACHUSETTS
COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM (MCAS)
Jeff Young announced that
of the 882 seniors at both high schools, 14 have not yet passed MCAS. By current mandates, they are not eligible to
graduate with their class.
Carolyn Wyatt, Assistant
Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, stated that the Department of
Education (DOE) is offering several options.
The first has to do with an appeal process. Newton has submitted five appeals to date and has heard back on
three. The second option is a retest in
May. The third option is a certificate
of attainment for students who do not pass MCAS but meet local graduation
requirements. These students will be
eligible to participate in graduation exercises. The fourth option is summer school, which is an academic support
program. The fifth option is
summer/work learning, which is a combination of summer school in the morning
and work in the afternoon. The sixth
option involves one stop career centers at various locations around the State,
which will provide advice on additional pathways. A program involving community colleges is also being considered,
where students would take remedial
courses in order to earn
the competency. Students who fail MCAS
are still eligible to enter the military provided they agree to work toward the
competency in their first year of service.
It is their belief that a majority of the 14 students will pass the May
retest given the appropriate support.
Gail Glick noted that
participation in the retest is not mandatory, but to become eligible for an
appeal process students must have taken all of the retest opportunities.
Carolyn Wyatt stated that
while they are required to offer the retest, families are not mandated to
accept.
Carol Palmer, Research
Assistant, noted that there are a few cases in which students have elected to
opt out of the process.
Patty Kellogg asked if
there is any additional information with regard to the structure of the
community college participation, particularly with regard to financial aid.
Carol Palmer responded
that students who have failed MCAS but who wish to attend a community college
utilizing financial aide, must take the MCAS prep/ remedial college courses, as
well as a separate placement exam. She
does not believe financial aid is available if they fail these exams, but will
attempt to clarify this piece.
Leslie Schneider asked how
many of the 14 students will retest in May.
Carol Palmer believes that
10 will be retesting.
Carolyn Wyatt noted that
some of the 10 will be taking the exam for the first time. While she cannot guaranty that all 10 will
be successful, she reiterated that she is confident that a majority will pass.
Dori Zaleznik noted that
the results of the retesting will not be available until after graduation. She asked if the administration might
inquire, without breaching confidentiality, as to what the students view as a
satisfactory conclusion to their high school career. This might be helpful to the Committee in their discussions about
alternative certificates and participation in graduation ceremonies.
Jeff Young responded that
they will attempt to gather this information.
Susan Albright asked if
any of the students might continue their education at the high school.
Carol Daynard replied that,
by law, they are obligated to continue to work with students on Individual
Education Plans (IEPs) until they reach the age of 22.
Nancy Levine asked if it
is expected that the 14 students will meet local requirements.
Carolyn Wyatt stated that
it is their expectation that they will meet local requirements, but she would
have to verify this information with the principals.
FYO4 BUDGET DISCUSSION
Anne Larner announced that,
due to the changing situation at the State level, the Mayor's allocation to the
schools has been reduced by $976,717.
In addition, more accurate projections on health care costs will result
in an increase of $400,000 - $500,000.
She would propose that the Committee request the Superintendent to identify
possible areas for cuts in the $1.5 - $2 million range.
Marc Laredo would go even
further in the dollar amount up to $2.5 million, as he does not see the
situation at the State getting any better.
He also needs to see what the tradeoffs will be in various areas, as
they are going to be faced with some very difficult decisions.
Dori Zaleznik wants to
maintain the classroom experience to the extent possible, but realizes that this
is unlikely given the magnitude of what they face. However, she would not want to go any higher than $2
million. She asked about the process
for voting on a bottom line given that there are so many unanswered questions
around funding levels.
Anne Larner explained that
past school committees have voted a bottom line with the caveat that it may
have to be revisited as additional information becomes available. However, there is a cost associated with
that in terms of hiring issues. The
decision around a cut list and the bottom line are related but separate issues.
Nancy Levine is not very
optimistic about State funding and noted that psychologically it is easier to
add items back into a budget.
Jeff Young commented that
in addition to the Mayor's lowering of the allocation and the increase in
health care costs, the elimination of the quality full-day kindergarten grant
and a loss of $400,000 in transportation reimbursements puts them in a worse
situation than what was described at the last meeting.
Susan Albright commented
that this budget proposes a variety of changes, such as transportation
fees. The Committee will need to
discuss these issues, along with alternatives should they decide not to support
certain proposals. A higher
dollar amount on the cut
list might bring some reality to the choices that will have to be made,
particularly with the additional reductions that the Superintendent just
addressed.
Leslie Schneider commented
that it might be better to go with the higher dollar amount so that they are
not forced to make last minute decisions.
Jeff Young stated that
whether the cut list is $1.5 million or $2.5 million, anything on the list is
going to directly impact the classroom.
There is no way to hold sacred the areas outlined in the Budget
Guidelines at this level of reduction.
Pupil Services
Special Education
Jeff
Young outlined the Committee's directive around the area of special
education. Newton is committed to a
model inclusion program, but understands that spending has outpaced other
instructional areas. The Committee has
asked him to look for systematic ways to reduce the rate of growth, while continuing
to plan for students within the system and to have some reserve to meet
unanticipated needs.
Carol Daynard, Assistant
Superintendent for Pupil Services, stated that Newton's special education
budget has been growing at a rate of approximately 10% on average per
year. This year's budget maintains
program at a 2% growth. There are numerous
initiatives being put in place to meet the Committee's request.
The first area is a
consolidation of services for some children with autism, by housing them in a
central location at Countryside Elementary school. This allows for less travel time and provides the after-school
and home-training aspects all in one building.
They feel this can both reduce costs and focus services for
families. She reassured people that
this is not backing away from their commitment to inclusion and it will only
impact a small number of students. The
children will still be mainstreamed into regular classes, with the opportunity
for separate programming. If this is successful,
they can replicate this model in future years at different locations.
The second area of focus
is the language-based learning disabilities program at Franklin Elementary
School, which is currently housed in two classes. Given the enrollment, they feel this can be consolidated into one
class.
The third area of change
is the elimination of a first grade prevention pilot program at Cabot
Elementary School, co-taught by two teachers.
A similar situation exists in the second grade at Burr Elementary
School, where they will eliminate a co-teacher and return to using aides or
other staffing.
The fourth area has to do
with the issue of caseload, where they
will be eliminating one learning-center teacher at Lincoln-Eliot Elementary
School, which will bring them in line with the ratios at other schools.
The next area eliminates
the internship program, which they have traditionally run with Simmons College,
Lesley University, and Boston University.
They will replace the interns with student teachers and move from a paid
to an unpaid model.
The next area consolidates
aides at the elementary level districtwide, by deploying them in a different
fashion and using a combination of inclusion facilitators and learning center
teachers as supervisors to these individuals. This is more of a management
issue vs. a reduction of services and involves 14 individuals. The exact model is still being reviewed and
has to be flexible and dependent upon enrollment.
Staffing of the Bridge
Program at Day Middle School will change from two teachers and one aide to one
teacher and two aides. This is a program for students who typically would have
been in a substantially separate program or an outside placement. The students require significant clinical,
behavioral, and academic support. The
teacher will utilize other supports in the school to carry out the
program.
There is a language-based
learning disabilities program at Brown Middle School with low enrollment, where
they will eliminate a special education and learning center teacher and will
utilize staff differently.
At the high schools, there
will be two students left this year in the Life Skills program at Newton
South. They are proposing that all new
students attend a similar inclusion program at Newton North and move the
teaching position to that building.
This will provide students with access to vocational programs. This was also a recommendation in the 1995
reorganizational plan, which they opted not to do because of the number of
students in the program at that time.
At the Education Center,
she is proposing a consolidation of medical services. Currently there is a part-time administrator, part-time nurse,
and part-time health aide. She is
recommending the elimination of the administrator and deploying that
supervision to the schools, as well as eliminating the aide position and
creating a full-time nursing position, which would move to the City's
budget.
Other cuts involve
contracted services and equipment costs.
It is their intention to return some of the contract services to an in-house
model.
There are also additions
to the budget to address increased enrollments in the preschool, including
speech, occupational and behavioral therapists, and some teaching time. Staffing will be required for the 4th grade
program at Memorial-Spaulding Elementary School, which is expanding to the 5th
grade. Staffing will also be required
for the integrated programs at Oak Hill and Brown Middle Schools, which will be
transitioning to Newton South.
Marc Laredo thanked Ms.
Daynard for approaching this task with sensitivity to the needs of students,
while at the same time keeping in mind associated costs. He hopes that in future years they continue
with these efforts to be creative in the management of the program, so that
they can deliver necessary services in as cost-effective a manner as
possible.
Anne Larner asked if the
staff of the Health Department could talk about the nursing situation.
David Naparstek, Health
Commissioner, thanked the Committee for the opportunity to talk about the
nursing program. Ironically, this is
the first year they have had a nurse in every school. Unfortunately, because of the financial situation and loss of
grant funding, they will be forced to cut three positions next year and are in
the process of developing a contingency plan that will involve sharing
coverage. He then passed out some data
around the medical needs of students, procedures that nurses have to perform,
and information regarding number of office visits and dismissals.
Linda Walsh, Director of
Clinical Services, spoke about the services that nurses provide including, but
not limited to, blood glucose testing, medication distribution, nebulizer
treatments, blood pressure, wound and cast care, feeding/gastric tubes, and
suction care. Life-threatening
allergies are also on the rise. In addition to the known factors, there are
daily situations that nurses address from first aide to nausea, headaches, and
general sickness. They have been very
successful in decreasing the number of dismissals by attempting to address
children's problems in school. Unfortunately,
they expect these numbers to rise with the lack of consistent nursing staff to
assess whether or not a situation warrants dismissal. There is an amendment in the legislature that would provide some
tobacco settlement money and they are lobbying hard for this to restore some of
the lost funding.
Nancy Levine asked about
scenarios where a child who requires services as part of an IEP is going on a
field trip without being accompanied by a parent.
Carol Daynard explained
that three nurses are assigned to cases where children have medical needs that
cannot be addressed by the school nurse.
These would be the people called upon to accompany a child in such a
situation. However, with less staff
this will be more difficult to cover.
David Naparstek agreed and
noted that resources are going to be limited and priorities will have to be
determined. They will be forced to
focus services on the whole school vs. individual cases.
Linda Walsh added that
they have always prided themselves on the full inclusion model, but agreed that
difficult decisions will have to be made around field trips.
Patty Kellogg asked about
backup coverage when a nurse is not available.
Linda Walsh explained
that, by law, teachers and secretaries are allowed to perform certain
procedures, but there are others that cannot be delegated. In an emergency, staff would have to use
their best judgement and should always resort to 911.
Marc Laredo asked about
turnover with special education aides and the associated hiring and training
costs.
Carol Daynard admitted
that turnover costs are quite high, because the operations occur through both
the special education and human resources offices. Not a week goes by that there is not one or two resignations or
replacements for a variety of reasons.
However, this year there was less turnover, which was most likely a result of the economy.
Marc Laredo requested that
this issue be a goal for planning next year.
Carol Daynard noted that
they have been attempting to retain staff by improving the training
programs. She would welcome any
additional suggestions.
Anne Larner added that a
major restructuring of the aides' salaries was approved in the last round of
negotiations, which should help with retention.
Marc Laredo questioned the
increase in the number of aides between '02 and '04.
Carol Daynard attributes
this to better accounting practices. In
her first year in Newton, there was funding from turnover savings to hire 30
aides, but this never appeared on the base.
This has since been corrected, which is the jump that he is referring to
in the data.
Marc Laredo questioned a
similar increase in inclusion facilitators.
Carol Daynard replied that
this is a result of increased numbers of students requiring services and the transition
to the high schools. They anticipate stabilization
in this area.
Nancy Levine asked about
the impact of eliminating 14 inclusion aides.
Carol Daynard responded
that they have to look at the needs of the student population, but do not
expect it will be one at each school.
They are looking at ways to cluster students in classrooms and deploy
aides in a different fashion.
English Language Learners (ELL)
Anne Larner asked about
the plans for transitioning to the new state mandate.
Carol
Daynard stated that the State mandate calls for a year of sheltered English
immersion. For systems with separate
bilingual programs, this means converting those to focus on English. This is not the case in Newton and they have
actually been cited as a community where instruction has been effective. They anticipate using a similar model to
what is already in place, while enhancing teaching strategies for classroom
teachers, to help facilitate access to the curriculum. They
have
several proposals for summer professional development activities in this
regard.
Teresita Tzikas, ELL
Coordinator, stated that they currently have programs at 11 of the elementary
schools and all the middle and high schools.
The DOE has been slow in providing clear direction on what constitutes
an appropriate English immersion program, but they are fairly confident that
their model will be accepted. She also
suspects they will be focusing on results more than a specific model. Part of the mandate requires students to be
actively engaged in learning 90-100% of the time in English, which will require
professional development to train classroom teachers on strategies that will
make the curriculum accessible to all students. They will also continue to utilize services of the ELL department
and native language aides and increase the level of collaboration between
classroom teachers and ELL staff. At
the elementary level, students are mainstreamed from the day they enter the
school, with support of either pullout programs or directly in the classroom
with an ELL teacher. At the secondary
level, students receive their English language arts and social studies in a
structured English classroom At Newton North, this is true in math and science
as well. The rest of the time they are
in mainstreamed classes. There will
also be a similar need for professional development for classroom teachers at
this level. They are hoping to be able
to accomplish this without an increase in the budget.
Carol Daynard noted that
students coming from non-literate backgrounds, especially at the secondary
schools, are more challenging to mainstream because
their needs are academic
as well as linguistic. If there were
an area where they would look for some additional staffing as the year
progresses, it would be for this population.
Dori Zaleznik asked if the
English immersion program prohibits having other sources in place and if there
is an expectation of diminishing services over time.
Carol Daynard replied that
the issue of greatest consternation was the one year limit of instruction in
the native language. This has since
been modified and parents of children over 10 can now apply for a waiver. However, a lot of what they do in the
classroom already is English language support and instruction. The No Child Left Behind legislation and
other mandates make it imperative to provide support for these students since
they will be required to pass MCAS in order to graduate. They want to be sure the students are up to
par and prepared for these requirements, particularly if they enter the system
at the secondary level.
Susan Albright commented
on the amount of professional development that teachers need for their myriad
of responsibilities. At some point she
would like to discuss how they incorporate everything into one package.
Career & Technical Education
Marc Laredo commented on
the increase in teachers from '02 to '03 and wondered if this was just a
movement of staffing.
Sandy Guryan explained
that this was an attempt to clearly capture the costs associated with this
program, in order to properly report to the DOE. Staff teaching family
& consumer science, culinary arts, and child studies courses were
being counted in the regular secondary education budget. Therefore, the increase is a shift to
properly record staffing.
Dori Zaleznik commented
that there is only a modest increase in this area of the budget. She asked if the number of offerings will
remain constant and, if so, how they will provide the same program.
Yvonne Spicer, Career
& Technical Education Director, replied that she is going to have to think
"out of the box." She does
not want to limit opportunities and so may have to combine levels of classes
and be creative.
Susan Albright asked if
the A+ N+ course will only be offered at Newton South.
Yvonne Spicer stated that
Newton North will be offering it as a potential pilot and she is eagerly
awaiting to see how many students will enroll.
She invited everyone to attend their Open House tomorrow evening to see
all the wonderful programs they have to offer.
Anne Larner concluded the
discussion by requesting that the Superintendent prepare a cut list up to $2.5
million. While this is not going to be
an easy task, it is important to understand the tradeoffs of their decisions and
to be clear to the public.
COMMUNICATIONS
None.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no members of
the public who wished to address the Committee at this time.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned
at 10:00 p.m.