Lincoln School Committee
Minutes of October 23, 2003
Hartwell Building, Lincoln MA

  1. Greetings and Call to Order
    The meeting was called to order by Sue Hollingsworth, Chair, at 7:03 p.m.
    Members present included Ashton Peery, Vice Chair; Jan Nyquist, Julie Dobrow, Dennis Picker; Ron Deak, Hanscom Representative; and Sherice Horton, METCO Representative.
    Also present were Michael Brandmeyer, Superintendent; Paul Naso, Assistant Superintendent; and Dave Jack, Business Administrator.

  2. Chairperson�s and Member�s report
    Ron Deak gave an update on the Privatization Housing project at Hanscom. The deadline for bids is November 9th. The project is expected to take three years to complete 784 housing units. The target date for construction to start is March 15, 2004. Some discussion followed regarding the Town being contacted by the contractors prior to the November 9th deadline to seek information on the financial structure of the Town�s tax base.

    Mr. Deak left the meeting at 7:15 p.m.

  3. Superintendent�s Report
    Mr. Brandmeyer gave an update on the mold testing results and reports that all the teachers at the Lincoln School are back in the classroom. Hanscom Primary School classrooms will be re-occupied by early next week. Hanscom Middle School should have all work completed and all teachers back in the classrooms by November 10th. Sue Hollingsworth inquired as to the total cost for the clean up. Mr. Brandmeyer referred to Mr. Jack�s report from the last School Committee meeting that insurance will cover the majority of the cost for clean up and abatement at the Lincoln School and the costs associated with clean up at Hanscom will come from carry-over funds from the Hanscom Contract.

  4. Public Comments
    No Comments

  5. Time Scheduled Appointments
    1. FY05 Budget Presentation
      Mr. Brandmeyer along with the Central Administration presented an overview of the FY05 Budget Proposal. The Superintendent thanked all the teachers, Department Leaders and Administrators at the schools for all their efforts in putting together a needs - based budget along with some program improvements addressed in modest ways. The District request for FY05 is $17,350,379.

      The request for Lincoln is $8,177,324 which represents an increase of 5.3%, and Hanscom is $9,173,055 which represents an increase of 8.6 % that is offset by a 4% increase from the federal contract.

      The Finance Committee�s guideline for Lincoln�s FY05 budget is to provide a base budget representing a 0% increase with the opportunity to also submit a �Recommended Budget� with an override option.

      Mr. Brandmeyer reported that there continues to be a downward trend in the State�s economy and expects a potential reduction in Chapter 70 and other state aid.

      Mr. Jack gave an overview of the District Expenditures and the Revenue Projection for FY�05. Mr. Jack stated that 80% of the FY05 expenditures are spent on salaries. Other significant increases are in the following areas: Special Education, Curriculum Renewal, Professional Development, Utilities, Transportation at Lincoln, and Health Insurance and Benefits at Hanscom.

      Sue Hollingsworth asked for the Pre-School and Sped non- salary costs to be broken down. Mr. Jack will expand more on the SPED specifics at the next scheduled School Committee Meeting.

      Mr. Naso reported that the SPED increases are seen in three areas:
      Collaborative Costs, Contract Services and Curriculum Renewal/Professional Renewal.

      The Superintendent reviewed the strategies the Administration will use to close the gap in the Hanscom and Lincoln budgets some of which are:

      • Continue to seek additional revenue
      • Seek further efficiency within the budget
      • Review effects of possible reductions
      • Advocate for sufficient funding.

      The following School Committee dates are scheduled for the remainder of the budget discussions prior to presenting the Proposed Budget to the Finance Committee on December 11th: Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. except for December 11th which will begin at 6:00 p.m.
      October 30, 2003- Hartwell Building Multi-Use room
      November 6, 2003 - (Meeting in Boston- Franklin Park Golf Clubhouse)
      November 20, 2003 � Budget - Phase I Reductions
      December 1, 2003 � Budget - Phase II Reductions
      December 4, 2003 � Vote on Base Budget
      The School Committee presentation to the Finance Committee will take place on December 11, 2003, along with all Town departments. This meeting will be held in the multi-use room in the Hartwell Building.

      Ashton Peery expressed that it is critical to let the community know the School Committee is discussing the FY05 budget. Julie Dobrow replied that the most effective way to communicate this information is to send a letter home in the children�s backpack and to submit the same letter to the Lincoln Journal outlining the meeting dates.

      A member of the audience requested that the dates also be posted on the Lincoln School�s web page.

      Mr. Schultz presented the FY05 budget for the Lincoln School.

      This budget recommends five sections of grade two and five sections of grade K with an additional 26 hours of teaching assistant time. $5,000 is in the budget to add to the collection started for the K-3 Reading Book Room. In addition, Mr. Schultz requested replacing nine cafeteria tables for the Smith Cafeteria. Other items for review were the non - employee related budgets for consumables and other line items.

      Ms. Randy Davis presented the FY05 budget for the Hanscom Primary School.

      This budget recommends four sections of grade three for FY05 based on current enrollment numbers. The current area of focus for Hanscom Primary is on mathematics instruction. Requested is a teacher position for mathematics enrichment, remediation and professional development. A .5 FTE teacher would be used at the Primary School and this position would be shared with Hanscom Middle School for the remainder .5FTE.

      Ms. Davis also outlined some thoughts on moving to wireless technology in the future budget planning beyond FY05, and the planning for building maintenance and facilities upkeep.

      Mr. Barry Hopping presented the budget for Hanscom Middle School.

      This budget recommends adding a section in grade five for FY05. Also requested is a .5 Library Aide position to be placed back in the budget that had been taken out for FY04. Mr. Hopping also mentioned the .5 FTE shared mathematics teacher for enrichment and remediation. Mr. Hopping is requesting that the field trip budget be re-instated along with funding for transportation for athletics at the Middle School. Some discussion ensued about the age of the middle school (oldest in the district) and the maintenance of this facility.

    2. Coordinated Program Review Report
      Ms. Teresa Watts presented a report on the Department of Education�s Coordinated Program Review of the Lincoln Public Schools from 2001. Lincoln is scheduled for a mid-cycle review in either late winter or early spring of 2004.

      Each school district must comply with the Massachusetts Department of Education Program Quality Assurance requests for documentation and program review to meet the federal requirements and to ensure the uninterrupted access to special education funds.

  6. Curriculum
    1. MCAS Report- Initial Findings
      Paul Naso will review the results at the next scheduled School Committee meeting.

  7. Policy
    No Discussion.

  8. Budget and Financial

  9. Old Business

  10. New Business

  11. Approval of Minutes
    Ashton Peery moved to approve the minutes of September 4th. Dennis Picker seconded. Approved 5-0. Hanscom Representative concurred.
    Ashton Peery moved to approve the minutes of September 18th. Jan Nyquist seconded. Approved 5-0. Hanscom Representative concurred.
    Ashton Peery moved to approve the minutes of October 2nd. Sue Hollingsworth seconded. Approved 5-0. Hanscom Representative concurred.

  12. Information Enclosures
    None

  13. Adjournment
    Ashton Peery moved to adjourn the meeting.
    Sue Hollingsworth seconded.
    Approved 5-0. Hanscom Representative concurred.
    The meeting adjourned at 11:13 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by
Stephanie Brown