MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING,
PRESENT: Chairperson Anne Larner,
Vice-Chairperson Dori Zaleznik,
Gail Glick, Susan Heyman, Patricia Kellogg, Marc
Laredo, Nancy Levine, Reenie Murphy, Mayor David
Cohen, Superintendent Jeffrey Young, Charlie Heidlage
– student representative –
ABSENT: student representative –
CALL
TO ORDER
Chairperson Anne Larner called the meeting
to order at
PUBLIC
COMMENT
Cheryl Turgel,
President of the Newton Teachers Association (NTA), announced that the
membership is back again tonight in full force in order to express their
frustration that they have yet to reach a contract agreement. Representatives from other unions have joined
them as well this evening in a show of support and agreement that there is
trouble with labor management relations in the City, with so
many unions working without a contract.
The teachers want a fair cost of living increase in order to keep pace
with inflation. In the last contract
they accepted higher health care costs and a raise below the cost of living
increase for the
Tim Curry and Ernie Peltier, President and past President of the Newton
Custodians Association, addressed the Committee in support of the NTA. Both have seen the excellent work that
teachers do firsthand in the schools.
They are talented, committed and dedicated to the children and all they are
asking for is a fair raise.
Bette Lupo,
President of the Newton Secretaries Association (NESA), reinforced the previous
speakers comments.
The health care system in this country is in disastrous shape. All the unions have experienced increased co-payments
for doctors and emergency room visits, medications, and deductibles for
hospital stays. They have accepted the
fact that everyone must make sacrifices and take some responsibility for their
own health care as costs increase.
However, the increase that is being sought in the percentage of what the
unions have to pay for these costs is too much too soon. For secretaries, it practically negates any
pay increase and they are one of the few groups in the city who do not have the
opportunity to work overtime or receive stipends s. She urged the Committee to go back to the
state and federal government to enact real health care reform. In the meantime, it is their belief that they
have made enough concessions at this point.
Peter Alpert,
Lisa Unsworth,
Neil Silverstein,
David Yavin,
Alfred Wojciechowski,
Paula Rendino,
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES’
DISCUSSION
None.
RECOGNITIONS
None.
APPROVAL OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
MOTION: It was moved to approve the School Committee
regular
meeting minutes of
(Zaleznik - Heyman)
unanimous
PRESENTATION BY
Judith Malone Neville,
Assistant Superintendent of Schools, welcomed the members of the Newton
Community Education Commission (NCEC) who are present this evening and spoke of
the high quality courses this programs offers children and adults from Newton
as well as other communities. Tonight
they will give an overview and take any questions Committee members may have
about the program.
Barbara Simkowski, Director of NCEC, thanked the Committee for the
opportunity to talk about their program.
She introduced the members of her staff that are present: David Fechtor,
Adult Program Coordinator, and Commission representatives Bruce Henderson, Sue Saroki, Joanne Raymond, and Carol Greenfield.
The program began in the
late 19th century to assist foreign born citizens in learning the
English language and that tradition continues through today. There are approximately 400 English as a Second Language (ESL) registrants each year. Their programs serve approximately 7,000
adults, 600 seniors and 800 children, for a total of 7,000 – 10,000 registrants
every year. In addition, they are one of
30 sites in the State to offer the General Equivalency Diploma (GED) exam and
155 people took advantage of that this past year.
She then conducted a
Keynote presentation (Apple’s version of PowerPoint) showing some of the
specific courses, including ESL, children’s after-school programs and weekend
activities.
David Fechtor
spoke about the children’s programs and listed some examples: Mad Science, Domino Physics, Combat Sambo – a self-defense program that is also available for
adults - and chess, which is one of their most popular offerings. There are currently more offerings for
younger children, but they are trying to expand in order to attract more older students.
They are also trying to hold more classes at Newton South, as most are
currently located at Newton North. There
are a variety of camps, which take place during the summer, as well as programs
over school vacation weeks. They are
also offering driver’s education courses in conjunction with the
Barbara Simkowski stated that registration funds are placed in a
revolving account and a healthy and vibrant program has the capacity to assist
the system in difficult financial times by providing money for staffing or
equipment. They also bring people into
the buildings who may not have children in the
schools, thereby functioning as a public relations service. In order to be successful, they need to be on
the priority list in terms of space allocation.
In addition, in order to keep their tuition costs down, the system needs
to protect them from increased costs for rental of use of school buildings to
the extent possible. The poor economic
climate in
Marc Laredo thanked them
for servicing all the various constituencies in the community. He asked if there were certain instances in
which they were not able to conduct a program because of lack of space or
competing interests with another program for the use of that space.
Barbara Simkowski would prefer to speak about the general
situations vs. specific instances. There
is constantly competition for the limited amount of space systemwide
from both inside and outside groups.
When the new
Susie Heyman
complimented them on the quality of their brochure and their programs, of which
her family has partaken of many.
REPORTS
SUPERINTENDENT’S PERSONNEL
REPORT
There were no questions on
the report.
FY05 BUDGET UPATE
Jeff Young noted that this
month’s report shows a $28,000 year-end surplus. However, it should be noted that they have
some concerns about the volatility of the utilities accounts. With regard to the special education tuition
area, in which a concern was raised at the previous meeting, they are not anticipating
deficits in this account. However,
special education transportation costs are exceeding budget and that will be
further discussed under the special education report. Finally, he reported that they have
implemented an improved monitoring system for the transportation fee.
Marc Laredo asked about
the causes for the increased utilities budget.
Sandra Guryan,
Assistant Superintendent for Business, Finance & Planning, explained that
the problem with projecting utilities is that the budget is prepared prior to
knowing the year-to-date actual costs.
Attempts are made to make adjustments on the base at the beginning of
each year when this information becomes available. The increased square footage at Newton South
was factored into the original estimates.
They also increased the oil account based on what they anticipated might
be forthcoming, but the large increase in the cost of natural gas was a
surprise.
Dori Zaleznik asked what
costs are involved in switching between gas and oil in the schools where they
have that ability.
Michael Cronin, Chief of
Operations, replied that there are some minor startup costs associated with the
conversion around cleaning and adjustments.
Reenie Murphy asked if the new School Dude software program will help them
better track utilities for the next budget cycle.
Sandy Guryan
replied in the affirmative. They are in
the process of obtaining electronic transmissions of utility usage, which will
help them provide reports with more specific data. For instance, they will be able to delineate
how both price changes and weather impact on costs.
Susie Heyman
asked about the water issue that occurred today at
Mike Cronin reported on a
water main break accident by a contractor and they are working on the problem,
which apparently impacted four buildings.
It is difficult at this point to determine the extent of the damages or
its impact on the timeframe of work.
Anne Larner
mentioned that there was discussion around commissioning of the building at
last week’s meeting of the Public Facilities Committee of the Board of Aldermen
and the six members were unanimous in their support of the project. The Mayor and Building Commissioner also
support the plan, but the timing and cost are unclear, as it would require an
additional appropriation.
Patty Kellogg asked about
the temperature problems in the band room.
Mike Cronin explained that
there are various places in the building that are experiencing fluctuations in
temperature, so there is an ongoing process of troubleshooting.
Michael Welch, Principal
of Newton South High School, added that there was a roof unit that needed a
part that was on back-order, which has just been installed. The majority of the system is working
excellently and unfortunately it is the few areas that are experiencing some
problems that people hear about.
OPERATIONS STATUS REPORT
Jeff Young noted that the
report indicates 100 HVAC work orders in December; 39 at North and 6 at
South. This is more evidence of the need
for replacement of North’s system.
Mike Cronin agreed. Until the system is replaced they will
continue to have to take these patching measures.
Jeff Young added that it
also shows that they continue to address the needs at North in the interim.
Reenie Murphy stated that the material indicates the
number of work orders currently in the system but not the total completed.
Mike Cronin will
cross-reference that piece into the next report and represent the information
graphically.
SPECIAL EDUCATION
Jeff Young pointed out
that they are 7.1 full time equivalencies (FTEs) over budget in the special
education aides account. While this sounds like a large number, when
reviewing each individual school the changes are actually quite insignificant
and gives it somewhat of a different perspective.
Marc Laredo remains
concerned about the increase in the special education transportation account
and asked if steps are being implemented to attempt to reduce costs in this
area.
Margie Daniels, Assistant
Superintendent for Special Education, noted that her staff is researching every
student’s transportation needs in order to examine the situation. As she explained at the last meeting, there
are several reasons for this increase, a major one being that there are more
students in the 18-22 age range who require transportation to job and community
sites. They are discussing the
consolidation of runs, as well as trying to develop job sites where they can
cluster students .
She is also working on making sure that this area is budgeted correctly
for FY06.
Anne Larner
asked if they can factor this cost per student into the circuit breaker funding.
Margie Daniels replied
that they are not allowed to factor transportation into that legislation in any
form.
Anne Larner
suggested the Committee have a conversation about this with the Department of
Education, particularly since transportation to a job site is program
related.
CLASS SIZE REPORT
Anne Larner
began by mentioning that she has put together some materials regarding class
size policy, along with some charts depicting different factors relating to the
history of class size over the past 20 years, which might be helpful in
tonight’s discussion.
Sandy Guryan
gave a general overview of the Class Size Report. The average class size in the elementary
schools is 20.3, increased from 19.8 last year; middle schools are at 21.5,
increased from 21.4; high schools are at 21.7, increased from 21.3. At the middle schools, the average team size
is 89. Last year 43.8% of elementary
school students were in class sizes of less than 20 and this year it is 36.5%;
middle schools were 21.6% and this year 20.7%; and high schools were 29.3% and
this year 29.2%. As for class sizes at
25 or above, the percentages are as follows:
elementary 3.7% (down from 4.4% last year); middle 15.4% (up from 14.0%
last year) and high schools29.7% (up from 19.8% last year).
Michael Welch, Principal
of Newton South High School, stated that one of their goals is to preserve an
articulated sequence for all levels. It
becomes difficult when trying to meet all students’ needs, particularly as the
cohorts become smaller. Also, if there
are 60 students signed up for a particular class, in fiscally difficult times
they opt for two sections of 30 rather than three of 20. He talked about how the addition of small
increments can produce very good results.
As an example, adding one section to sophomore biology (.25 FTE)
impacted over 300 students and brought the average class size from 28 down to
24. A number of issues made things
difficult this year at South, including greater enrollment than anticipated
along with a slight staffing cut. In
addition, they do not benefit from having career & technical education
programs and associated staffing. The
percentage of students in math classes above 25 is somewhere in the vicinity of
62% and the majority of those are freshmen and sophomores.
Susie Heyman
asked if these situations inform how he will approach the experience for next
year.
Mike Welch stated that
next year they are anticipating an additional 100 students, so it will be a
difficult challenge and there are not a lot of efficiencies. He will continue to look for the best way to
utilize scheduling and staffing to get the most for their efforts.
Dori Zaleznik noted that
while the averages may look reassuring, the individual classes depict the
seriousness of the problem. She commented
that the numbers are very different between the two high schools and wondered
if they are planning any rebalancing.
Judy Malone-Neville
mentioned that the redistricting will require them to look carefully at
staffing.
Jeff Young added that they
are studying the career & technical education piece to see how that impacts
on the ability of the school to offer electives and its impact on class
size. They want to staff the ratios in a
similar manner at both schools but have to be sure they are comparing “apples
to apples.” He can assure people that
while they may have success in balancing the ratio,
the numbers will not be what they ultimately would prefer.
Dori Zaleznik commented that
they need to be mindful of the impact that past cuts have had on the high
schools. As they go forward, any information on the impacts that cuts are
likely to have on specific areas will be helpful.
Mike Welch commented that
classes of fewer than 15 have essentially been eliminated unless there are some
very compelling reasons for their purpose.
They have become far more efficient over the years but it is catching up
to them at this point.
Marc Laredo noted that
from a fiscal standpoint they have done some good management, but the result
has been fewer opportunities for students to experience the intimate classroom
setting. What struck him is that they
are at the third highest point in terms of number of classes over 24 and second
highest in average class size over the past 20 years. This is startling compared to the elementary
and middle schools, where they seem to have done a better job at keeping the
numbers down. He asked if they have
given thought to offering larger lecture type classes for upperclassmen coupled
with smaller discussion groups.
Mike Welch actually made
that proposal pre-Override and it sparked an incredible debate. Many of their advanced placement courses
already function in a lecture type of class and this is where he would suggest
placing those type of situations if necessary. He would not recommend this for students who
need a more supportive and structured type atmosphere in which to learn. A lot of communities are facing this very
same dilemma and discussing similar ideas.
Jeff Young believes that
the lecture model is an interesting concept but they are often taught by
graduate students, which
Todd Harrison, Interim
Principal at
Gail Glick commented that
large classes in 7th grade accelerated math also put pressure on the
teachers because they are covering a broad range of students’ abilities.
John Jordan, Principal of
Brown Middle School, stated that they are using a 12-day rotation cycle in
which students break out into homogeneous and heterogeneous math groups and are
covering basic skills as well as learning to communicate and write about
math. This allows them to approach this
subject in a similar fashion to other disciplines. They are also looking at a variety of new
materials and different standards based approaches for the 7th grade
for next year that will help students transition from the heterogeneous 6th
grade. At the same time, they are
studying mathematics from grades 5 through 9 to be more aware of the importance
of the transitional stages.
Dori Zaleznik noted the
variances in class sizes among the middle schools and asked if there was going
to be any attempt for standardization similar to the high schools.
Judy Malone Neville stated
that the school that has the most problems in terms of staffing is Bigelow
because it is the smallest building.
They have talked about having programs that look more similar from
school to school in order that it be more equitable,
but each school has its own unique individual offerings.
Dori Zaleznik understands
that the team structure provides consistency, but wondered if there may be
areas in which having smaller classes and sacrificing the team model slightly
might improve the situation.
Judy Malone Neville
responded that the principals have had to make these type
of decisions from year-to-year around whether some classes will be cross-team
or off-team.
John
Jordan explained that heterogeneous grouping in 6th grade makes it
easier to balance the numbers, but homogeneous grouping in 7th grade
skews not only the math classes, but across the board to other
disciplines. Each level has a unique
challenge and at the middle school it is determining whether or not they can
support a full team approach, of which all principals agree is a great
benefit. Adding to the difficulty are
the regulations around teacher qualifications when teaching out of subject and
the No Child Left Behind Act mandates. At one point they would use combination
classes of different grade levels for both philosophical and fiscal reasons,
but as the demands on staff increased the ability to utilize that approach has
disappeared.
Marc Laredo asked if
having a teacher teach more than one subject at the
middle school means an increase in workload.
Judy Malone Neville
replied in the affirmative because it requires more preparation and
planning. She also added that enrollment
fluctuations have resulted in utilizing a variety of models, such as three,
five and six person teams, in order to have students and teachers working as a
common group. While they feel that the
team model is the best method of providing students with the attention they
require in terms of their intellectual and social/emotional growth, it comes
with a price. A junior high model would
result in more equitable class size but would go against their philosophy.
Gina Healy, Interim
Principal,
Dori Zaleznik asked if there
is any correlation between large class sizes at the elementary level and the
physical size of the buildings.
Joseph Russo, Principal of
Horace Mann Elementary School, explained that there is somewhat more
flexibility in a larger school. At one
point there was also the ability to have mixed grades, but with all the new
standards and curriculum constraints that has become too challenging.
Dori Zaleznik noted that in
looking at the system as a whole, this is the level where they have had the
most success in keeping class sizes down.
However, she is sympathetic to the parents whose children are in the
large classes, as they have a legitimate concern, particularly if these cohorts
continue to experience that over several years.
She wondered if they have given any thought to addressing that problem,
so that students experiencing large classes in a given year would not have that
situation continue to follow them through successive years.
Patricia Kelly, Principal
of Bowen Elementary School, suggested that reviewing the districts where
parents are allowed to make a choice and perhaps limiting those choices might
be one avenue to explore. Also,
obtaining more accurate numbers at an earlier timeframe from the preschools
could help in planning.
Marc Laredo mentioned the
importance of reserve positions and how those helped alleviate some of the
problem areas.
Judy Malone Neville agreed. Two years ago Underwood had 12 more students
in the first grade than anticipated because of people moving into the district
over the summer and the reserve allowed them to staff another teacher.
Anne Larner
added that the Circuit Breaker funding also helped this past year in adding
some additional staffing at this level, but not enough. Under different fiscal circumstances they
would have liked to address the Bowen and Horace-Mann situations and they are
heading into yet another difficult budget cycle.
Joe Russo commented that
pieces of FTEs are not as helpful at the elementary level as they are at the
secondary schools.
Gail Glick asked if dual
certification of staff at the elementary level provides any flexibility.
Pat Kelly responded that
most of her new hires have dual certification in elementary and special
education. While it does not offer help
in terms of being able to move them around, it does assist in terms of their
ability to work better with children coming into the system with special needs.
Eva Thompson, Principal of
Peirce Elementary School, added that other teachers
have certification in reading, which has been helpful with the literacy
initiative and have shared those skills with colleagues.
Dori Zaleznik wondered if
there would be any advantage in holding off on delivering class assignments at
the beginning of the summer, so that they are not committing reserves until the
entire picture becomes clearer.
Judy Malone Neville stated
that the elementary school principals will be exploring this notion as a group.
Eva Thompson stated that
they discussed this last year at her school when there was some uncertainty
about fifth grade assignments and were planning to hold off on sending class
assignments until they had more staffing information. However, they received the additional .5 and
did not need to wait. The sooner they
can make decisions the better.
Pat Kelly agreed that
timing is key because they can better plan
staffing.
Joe Russo echoed the
importance of early information being helpful.
The unknown causes a lot of anxiety for staff and parents.
Judy Malone Neville stated
that she agreed that the earlier they can provide schools with the information
the better, but that is not always possible.
The principals were very patient and flexible and had more than one plan
in place last year, which is the direction they may need to take in the
future.
Patty Kellogg asked if the
increase in number of students on Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) is going to require rethinking class size or if staff
can handle this as they learn to differentiate instruction.
Eva Thompson replied that
classroom teachers have developed a repertoire of skills in understanding how
to work with children who have a variety of needs. There is also a lot of support through the
integration of services, the learning center teacher, special education aides,
and the inclusion facilitator.
Joe Russo commented that
problems arise when there is a large class and a large percentage of children
in the class with IEPs and the teacher cannot devote
specific time to the individual needs.
Pat Kelly mentioned the
English language learners population, which also must
be factored into the mix.
Marc Laredo would like to
have a full discussion about the educational pros and cons of alternative
staffing patterns, such as adding aides or pieces of FTEs, as they proceed with
the budget process. There has been a lot
of discussion in the community around how decisions are made and he feels it is
important to educate people around how the process evolves.
Jeff Young will be happy
to discuss this because it is going to be an important subject this year as
they approach very difficult financial times.
Dori Zaleznik believes this
might be the year to create two budgets -- one that gets closer to meeting some
class size goals and then the more realistic one, so that people can see the
funding gap.
Anne Larner
stated that the Committee will need a fuller discussion in this regard at a
subsequent meeting.
Reenie Murphy pointed out that this report clearly states
that it is not intended as a staffing plan for next year, but rather a
theoretical representation of class size.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
UPDATE ON PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
GOAL
Susie Heyman
updated the public on the status of the School Committee goal of better
interaction with parents. They have
begun school tours and meetings with various PTOs. Two members are liaisons to the state
delegation to keep open communication about
ACTION ITEMS
CONTINUED DISCUSSION/VOTE ON
USE OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS FEES
Postponed
until next meeting.
VOTE TO ACCEPT DONATIONS
MOTION: It was moved to accept the donations of a
piano to Day Middle School from Mr. & Mrs.
Victor Gulotta, $100
to the Newton Public schools from Lueders
Environmental, Inc., and $500 from John &
Kristen Norman (
(Levine
– Kellogg)
8 – 0 – 1
Absent for vote: Mayor Cohen
VOTE TO APPROVE GRANTS
MOTION: It was
moved to accept the $1,500.00 grant (MCAS Alternate Assessment) from the
Massachusetts Department of
Education, totaling $1,500, as outlined in the memorandum
of
(Murphy
– Levine)
8 – 0 – 1
Absent
for vote: Mayor Cohen
COMMUNICATIONS
None.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Andrew Gottlieb,
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned
at