Lincoln School Committee
Minutes of January 30, 2003
Hartwell Building, Lincoln MA

  1. Greetings and Call to Order
    The meeting was called to order by Sue Hollingsworth, Chair, at 7:09 p.m.
    Members present included: Sue Hollingsworth, Chair, Ashton Peery, Vice Chair, Jan Nyquist, Anne Doyle, Mark Masterson, and Sherice Horton, METCO Representative.
    Also present were Michael Brandmeyer, Superintendent, Jeanne Whitten, Assistant Superintendent, and Dave Jack, School Business Administrator.
    Members absent: Michelle Gardner Ince, and Mark Smith, Hanscom Representatives.

  2. Public Comments
    Mary Pappas read a letter on behalf of the Instructional Assistants regarding the decision to utilize the assistants for supervising students arriving at school at 8:00 a.m. Several assistants in the audience expressed their feelings to the Superintendent and the School Committee about this issue.

    A decision was made to discuss the issue under �Time Scheduled Appointments�.

  3. Chairperson�s and Members� Report
    Sue Hollingsworth attended the Maynard School Committee Meeting on January 23, 2003 and complimented Mark Masterson on how well he ran the meeting.

    Ashton Peery, Jan Nyquist and Sue Hollingsworth along with the Superintendent met with the Grades 6-8 teachers regarding the middle school model. Mr. Brandmeyer will update the School Committee further at the February 6th meeting

  4. Superintendent�s Report
    Mr. Brandmeyer announced that he attended the Metco Student Achievers luncheon where 80% of the fifth through eight graders qualified to attend. He said that the students were very proud of their achievements and told him about their future goals.

    The Superintendent also attended the Gr 4/5 Winter Concert on the 29th of January. He congratulated the students and Pam Roberts for a very entertaining evening.

    Mr. Brandmeyer also mentioned that out of 17 of Howard Worona�s students that tried out for the Northeastern Music Festival, 11 were accepted at the district level and will be performing at the festival to be held in Lowell this April.

    Dr. Jeanne Whitten along with members of surrounding school districts and towns attended a meeting with Lt. Governor Healey last week. Some items of discussion that the Lt. Governor will be studying further include: Special Education, residential placement for special education students and the budget impact, Metco support and affordable housing issues.

  5. Time Scheduled Appointments
    1. Old Business - Opening School Buildings at 8:00 a.m.
      Further discussion ensued regarding the feedback from the instructional assistants regarding the supervisory coverage expected of them when the school building opens at 8:00 a.m.

      Mr. Brandmeyer spoke to the issues of liability regarding supervising and disciplining students and stated that we need school employees for this coverage rather than volunteers.

      Some audience members gave a historical perspective as to how this same issue had been handled in the past when the building was opened earlier than the scheduled start of school.

    2. Accept gift in the amount of $10,000
      Julie Dubrow, PTA President, presented the gift of $10,000 donated by a Lincoln resident. This gift is eligible for a matching grant from the resident�s employer. This donation is intended to provide staff training, consultation services, support for curriculum development, and supplies and materials for the summer school program for students on the autism spectrum.

      Anne Doyle asked about how the donations would be expended. The Lincoln Administration will bring a plan or recommendation to the School Committee.

      Jan Nyquist mentioned that it would be a good idea to send a thank you letter to the resident that donated this gift and to also send some follow up documentation to let them know how the money they donated was spent. Mr. Brandmeyer said he will draft a thank you letter.

      Anne Doyle moved that the School Committee accept this gift. Ashton Peery seconded.
      Approved 5-0. Sherice Horton, Metco Representative concurred.

    3. Accept gift in the amount of $16,000
      Julie Dubrow also presented a gift of $16,000 donated by a Lincoln resident. The purpose of this gift is to fund classroom teachers or instructional aides, exclusive of special education staff.

      Anne Doyle moved that the School Committee accept this gift. Ashton Peery seconded.

      Approved 5-0. Sherice Horton, Metco Representative concurred.

    4. Proposed Calendar for School Year 2003-04
      Mr. Brandmeyer presented the proposed 2003-2004 calendar that the School Committee will be voting on at the February 6, 2003 meeting. The LTA voted two to one to approve the proposed calendar which asks them to return to work on August 27th, 2003. Jan Nyquist asked if the parent teacher conferences could be listed on the school year calendar.

    5. Responding to the Task Force Report: Initial Discussion
      Suggestions were made to build working committees to process the findings and recommendations in the Task Force Report. Mark Masterson suggested that the School Committee treat the report very much like an accreditation process. Anne Doyle proposed that the structure of the committees include faculty, staff and community.

      Mr. Brandmeyer would like to see the committees first focus on the areas of the Middle School Model , the Metco Program, and the District Technology Plan; making the Metco Program a first priority. Jan Nyquist mentioned that the community could have a broad level discussion regarding its diversity goals such as housing needs and bringing more diversity to the community at large. This could be a springboard discussion prior to discussing the Metco Program.

  6. Curriculum
    1. Report on Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2002
      Dr. Jeanne Whitten along with Jerry Schultz, Judy Glassman, Ilene Spiro, Ann Phillips, Melissa Nordstrom and Barbara Moynihan presented the results of the Youth Risk Survey that was administered to 6th, 7th and 8th grade students in the spring of 2002.

      The group at large shared with the School Committee the programs that are currently in place at each campus that address the issues of safety, alcohol and tobacco use, violence, suicide and sexual behavior. The results of the survey will be shared with the parents of the students that answered the survey.

    Sherice Horton, Metco Representative left the meeting at 9:30 p.m.

  7. Policy
    1. Enrollment of Non-Resident Students: First Reading
      The draft of the policy on enrolling non-resident students was read and discussed.

      Eric Harris, a member of the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee, was encouraged to hear from Mr. Brandmeyer that the intent of the revised policy is to be more teacher/employee friendly and to be more collaborative with Lincoln�Sudbury Regional High School and the Town of Lincoln.

      This revised policy proposal will be reviewed with the Superintendents in Sudbury and L-SRHS, prior to a vote of the School Committee.

  8. Budget and Financial
    1. Quarterly Budget Update: FY2003
      Sue Hollingsworth asked that the quarterly budget update be moved to the February 6th meeting in the interest of time.

    2. Warrant Approval
      Ashton Peery moved to approve the warrants totaling $ 843,062.65
      This consisted of three Accounts Payable and one Payroll.
      Jan Nyquist, seconded
      Approved 5-0

  9. Old Business
    1. Opening School Buildings at 8:00 AM
      Discussed during Time Scheduled Appointments

  10. New Business
    No discussion

  11. Approval of Minutes
    Ashton Peery moved to approve the amended minutes of January 8, 2003. Anne Doyle, seconded. Approved 5-0

  12. Information Enclosures
    No Discussion

  13. Adjournment
    Sue Hollingsworth moved to adjourn the open meeting to convene in Executive Session for the purpose of negotiations and review of minutes from prior Executive Sessions..
    Mark Masterson, seconded. Approved on a roll call vote: Sue Hollingsworth, Yes, Ashton Peery, Yes, Anne Doyle, Yes, Jan Nyquist, Yes, and Mark Masterson, Yes. .
    The meeting adjourned at 10:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by
Stephanie Brown