MINUTES FOR THE LINCOLN SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING OF
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
7:00 Open Session
Hartwell multi-purpose room

Present: Julie Dobrow (Chair), Laurie Manos, Dennis Picker, Cathy Rogers, Pam Borgert (Hanscom Representative).
Also present: Mickey Brandmeyer (Superintendent), Paul Naso (Assistant Superintendent), Susan Bottan (Administrator for Business and Finance).
Absent: Sandy Hessler (Vice-Chair), Corie Cruise (Hanscom Representative), Leta Allen (Boston Representative).
  1. Greetings and Call to Order
    Ms. Dobrow called the meeting to order at 7:03 P.M.

  2. Chairperson�s and Members� Reports
    Ms. Borgert said she attended the first grade breakfast at the Hanscom Primary School. She said it was well organized by Jane Ward, the school nurse, and well attended. Ms. Rogers said she went to the presentation by author Lois Lowry. She said the presentation was excellent and well attended. Ms. Manos said she attended the MCAS presentation at the Lincoln School. She said there was a modest turnout and that the presentation was well done. Ms. Manos said she attended the forum last night in which candidates for principal for grades 5-8 appeared before about 30 community members. She said it was very exciting to see the quality of the applicants.

    Ms. Dobrow said that this would be the last meeting in which Mr. Picker and Ms. Rogers will be sitting as members of the School Committee. Ms. Dobrow honored each of them with remarks about their service on the School Committee and presented them each with a gift. She said Ms. Rogers would be missed and noted that her background as a teacher and her volunteer work in the school gave her credibility and an eagle eye. She said that Mr. Picker has consistently worked hard on behalf of the District and he cares deeply about the District. She thanked them each for their service.

  3. Public Comments
    None.

  4. Consent Agenda
    1. Field Trip Proposal for Lincoln School Grade 5 to Cape Cod
      Documents: Field Trip Proposal for Lincoln School Grade 5 to Cape Cod and Supporting Documentation
    2. Field Trip Proposal for Hanscom Middle School Grade 6 to Ferry Beach
      Documents: Field Trip Proposal for Hanscom Middle School Grade 6 to Ferry Beach and Supporting Documentation
    3. Accept Gift of Podium
      Document: Letter, Lincoln School Music Teacher, February 2, 2006

    Ms. Dobrow asked whether there were any matters on the Consent Agenda which members wanted taken out for discussion and no Consent Agenda items were identified for discussion. Mr. Picker moved that the School Committee accept the consent agenda. Ms. Rogers seconded the motion. All elected members voted in favor, with Ms. Borgert concurring.

  5. Time Scheduled Appointments
    1. Finalize and Vote to Approve Superintendent�s Evaluation
      Ms. Dobrow said that there were no changes to the Superintendent�s evaluation discussed at the March 2 meeting. She moved that the School Committee vote to accept the Superintendent�s evaluation. Ms. Manos seconded the motion. All elected members voted in favor, with Ms. Borgert concurring.

  6. Superintendent�s Report
    Mr. Brandmeyer reported on the search for two Lincoln School principals. He said about 30 Lincoln parents attended the forum held last night with three finalists to be principal of Lincoln grades 5-8. He said that there are also three finalists for the grades K-4 position and the community forum for that position will be held on March 20. He said five of the six finalists have visited the school for a day and that all candidates have done a good job. Site visits to the finalists� schools are underway. Mr. Brandmeyer said he expects to be able to announce the selections at the end of March or early in April.

  7. Curriculum
    Mr. Naso said a copy of the program for Institute Day was included in the School Committee�s information packet. In response to a question from Ms. Manos about topic selection, Mr. Naso said that Institute Day topics are developed from a survey of teachers and talk with the Institute Day Planning Committee.

  8. Policy
    1. Policy Subcommittee Update
      Ms. Rogers said policy work has been of three types. First, she has worked with the Central Office which has had legal counsel review four policies (Non-discrimination, Discipline Code, Physical Restraint, and Harassment) which have been reviewed and adopted by the School Committee.

      Second, she is working with Mr. Naso on a policy on student wellness. She said that the District is required to have a policy in place prior to the start of the 2006-07 academic year addressing childhood obesity. Mr. Naso has put something together which will be brought before the School Committee on May 4 allowing three meetings for discussion. Mr. Naso said that there are many resources available to develop this policy. He also noted that it is not a comprehensive wellness policy. Ms. Rogers said that she has also started working on policies on home-schooling and animals in the classroom with Mr. Naso.

      Third, Ms. Rogers and Mr. Jewett have been going through the policy book. She said that the School Committee has considered section G. She said between now and the end of the year the Subcommittee will try to work up a discussion packet for the School Committee to provide something for the Committee to start with next year. Ms. Rogers said she thinks that the School Committee can expect to go through a section or two of the policy book each year.

  9. Budget and Financial
    1. Warrant Approval
      Ms. Manos said that she has reviewed the warrants and that they appear to be in order. She moved that the School Committee vote warrants in the amount of $662,275.28. Ms. Dobrow seconded the motion. All elected members voted in favor, with Ms. Borgert concurring.

  10. Old Business
    1. Review and Adopt School Committee Materials for Town Meeting
      Document: Draft Slide Presentation for Town Meeting

      Ms. Manos and Mr. Picker presented a new draft of the presentation for town meeting which responded to suggestions made by Committee members at the last meeting. Ms. Manos will be adding pictures. School Committee members suggested changes in the slides and talking points for the presentation. The School Committee was in agreement as to the content of the presentation. Ms. Manos said that she would make the changes to the presentation and would email the slide presentation to Mr. Brandmeyer for data updating. Ms. Dobrow will work on the talking points. When the slide presentation is complete, it will be emailed to the appropriate person to be loaded on the town computer and the Central Office will burn a CD as a back- up.

    2. Review and Adopt Facilities Subcommittee Presentation for Town Meeting
      Document: Draft Facilities Subcommittee Slide Presentation for Town Meeting

      Ms. Dobrow said she incorporated the Committee members� feedback from the last meeting, she and Mr. Schmertzler discussed changes, and the Subcommittee met last week and made a few more changes. She presented the revised presentation. Committee members suggested changes and discussed talking points. Ms. Manos suggested that the building project should presented as relating not just to the condition of the buildings but also as relating to the core mission of the school. She said that up-to-date, attractive, well-maintained buildings are essential to maintaining educational excellence. Ms. Dobrow suggested that this could be discussed as a talking point. Mr. Brandmeyer said that this may be part of the message for the later presentation on the recommended project.

  11. New Business
    None.

  12. Approval of Minutes
    Ms. Dobrow moved that the School Committee approve the March 2, 2006 minutes as amended. Mr. Picker seconded the motion. All elected members voted in favor, with Ms. Borgert concurring.

  13. Information Enclosures
  14. Adjournment
    Ms. Dobrow moved that the School Committee adjourn to executive session not to return to open session for the purpose of discussing contract negotiations. Ms. Rogers seconded the motion. The motion was approved by the following roll call:
    Ms. Dobrow � yes
    Ms. Manos � yes
    Mr. Picker � yes
    Ms. Rogers � yes
    Ms. Borgert � concur
    The Committee adjourned to executive session at 8:40 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,
Sara Rolley, School Committee Recording Secretary