Julie Dobrow nominated Dennis Picker to be Chair. In support of that nomination Ms. Dobrow cited Mr. Picker’s effective service on the School Committee and many other Town committees, his close attention to details, and his great integrity.
Mr. Peery seconded the motion.
Ms. Hessler expressed her support of the nomination by citing Mr. Picker’s exceptional organizational skills.
Mr. Peery expressed his appreciation for the many contributions Mr. Picker has made during his months on the School Committee.
The motion was unanimously approved.
Mr. Picker assumed the Chair’s responsibilities. He explained that as Chair he has the option of appointing a Vice Chair. Mr. Picker remarked that being relatively new to the Committee, he is sensitive to what he does not know and understand and therefore would welcome the contributions that a Vice Chair could make. Mr. Picker asked Mr. Peery if he would agree to remain as Vice Chair. Mr. Peery agreed.
Mr. Picker then offered some observations and ideas about how the School Committee operates. He explained that he has heard about the need for the School Committee to make its operations and the operations of the School District more visible to the community. He announced that as Chair he hoped to “level that (concern) out” and he hoped that goal would be apparent as the Committee proceeds with its work.
He proposed that as the Committee considers the many tasks that lie ahead, it might make sense for specific members to take ownership of particular initiatives.
Mr. Picker also expressed his intention to make School Committee meetings more effective. He observed that sometimes discussion occurs about an agenda item without clarity about what is to be done concerning the topic. He believes there are ways to improve the “mechanics of agenda setting.”
Mr. Picker also announced that he is committed to helping the School Committee as an institution earn the trust of the community. He acknowledged that there are many well intentioned requests competing for the attention of the School Department, and that efforts to address them all may cause a “chaotic gridlock.” He is interested in giving administrators and faculty the space they need to do their jobs.
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Ms. Dobrow commended Mickey Brandmeyer, who will be honored later in the month by the Asperger’s Association of New England for his leadership in developing the Lincoln Public Schools summer program.
Mr. Naso also summarized the status of the work of the Lincoln School Principal Search Committee which had completed its interviews and made recommendations to the Superintendent.
Mr. Brandmeyer thanked Sherice Horton, who had been the METCO Representative to the School Committee, for her service. He proposed that with the consent of the Committee he would send Ms. Horton a letter of appreciation. The Committee consented. Mr. Brandmeyer reported that he expected to hear soon from the METCO Parent Group about their new Representative.
Mr. Brandmeyer also reported an announcement from earlier in the day of the legislature’s intention to level fund Chapter 70. He also mentioned that there are proposals to increase circuit breaker funding by 60% and to provide an additional $2,000,000 in funding for METCO.
John Petty suggested that the School Committee reconsider its table arrangement for its meetings. Mr. Petty observed that the current arrangement seems to him to be very formal and gives the appearance that members of the Committee are addressing each other instead of working together. Mr. Picker responded by acknowledging the limitations of the arrangement but added that the Committee’s open table configuration is also a result of not wanting to shut out the audience.
Mr. Brandmeyer also expressed appreciation and recommended that the Committee vote to accept the grants.
Ms. Hessler asked about the compatibility of the grants with curriculum. Ms. Robinson and Mr. Naso spoke about how the Administrative Council offered their views on the proposals.
In response to a question from the audience about the mission of the Foundation, Nancy Fleming explained that the three target areas are professional development, efforts to augment the curriculum and community collaboration.
Mr. Peery thanked the Foundation and thanked the teachers who showed the initiative to prepare proposals.
Ms. Dobrow moved that the Committee accept the grants. Mr. Peery seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously accepted.
They also accepted a gift for the Hanscom campus from the Environmental Air Group. The gift will fund plantings and field trips.
Mr. Peery moved that the Committee accept the gifts. Mr. Dobrow seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously accepted.
Mr. Picker first asked the Committee what they think they heard in the Town’s discussions.
Ms. Dobrow considered the remarks at Town Meeting to be mostly in the affirmative. She heard two speakers who did not have a positive view about the program, and she found what they had to say to be very important. She also heard from those who support the continuation of the program that the district needs to find better ways to track the program’s effectiveness.
Mr. Picker observed that more people voted to make the program smaller than to make it bigger.
Mr. Peery mentioned that he understood that there were other people with concerns who chose not to speak publicly and that their concerns were mostly financial concerns. He added that the School Committee has been appropriately quiet in listening to this discussion. He urged the Committee to be vigilant in ascertaining that there is indeed value for the community.
Ms. Hessler urged that the Committee make known publicly that there is a possibility of increased funding for the program according to the proposals in the legislature.
Ms. Dobrow referred to the positive tone at the School Committee meeting held recently in Boston and how Boston parents are energized by the recent developments.
Mr. Picker paraphrased what he was hearing from members of the Committee. On the basis of the Town Meeting and the Ballot Question, the Committee feels strong support for continuing the METCO program in Lincoln. The Committee recognizes interest among some within the community for increasing the program as well as some voices supporting a reduction in the program. The Committee’s sense is that it is best to maintain the METCO program at its current level.
Mr. Picker invited the public to comment on this matter. There was some discussion about the impact of the program on students and the need to listen carefully to the students’ perspectives. Mr. Peery offered a note of caution about inviting the children to be the arbiters of this matter. He suggested that the community not heighten the separateness of the population groups. Mr. Brandmeyer observed that students might benefit from less conversation at this point.
Ms. Koning inquired about whether there is an annual review of the METCO program and whether it might be possible to tap the diversity available through Hanscom.
Mr. Picker shifted attention to the policy discussion. The proposed edits, he explained, clear up some ambiguity in the existing wording. He proposed two additional edits concerning enrollment decisions. These edits would be incorporated into the Policy for the next reading.
Ms. Dobrow distributed copies of a letter from Susan Pope concerning the restoration of METCO funding. The Committee briefly discussed the next steps to take to continue the advocacy campaign. Mr. Picker stressed that the message to be communicated is that METCO is a core part of the program and that the School Committee is committed to realizing the benefits of the program and that those efforts need the funding.
Ms. Hessler asked if there were ideas about what might be added if additional funding came in. There was general discussion about returning things that have been previously cut.
Mr. Peery confirmed that the budget is in the black. There was some discussion then about how salary reserve funds are held in the budget.
Mr. Brandmeyer inquired about whether the Committee intended to hold a summer meeting and suggested that they establish a date soon if that would be the case. Mr. Picker said that a meeting would be necessary if urgent business came up. He suggested that members send available dates to Mr. Brandmeyer.
Ms. Dobrow suggested that Mr. Brandmeyer include an item about the status of personnel issues.
Mr. Birney suggested adding a report about the procedures and communication for the transition of students between Hanscom Middle School and Bedford High School.
Others remarked that they thought the agenda was a great tool.
The Committee agreed to post the proposed agenda in draft form on the website.
The School Committee unanimously approved the motion to form a Communications Subcommittee.
There was discussion about the goals for such a sub-committee.
Mr. Picker gave an update on the creation of School Committee and Superintendent email lists and his expectation that they will soon be ready to be utilized. There was also discussion about ways to make Hanscom and Lincoln families aware of these communication options.
Mr. Picker expressed interest in inquiring about appropriate use of email by the School Committee for communication between the members. He believes there is a need for guidelines and/or clarification. He volunteered to draft such guidelines for consideration by the School Committee.
The Committee ended its regular meeting at 9:25 p.m. for the purpose of entering Executive Session.
Respectfully submitted by
Paul Naso, Assistant Superintendent