Jamestown Schools: A School-Community Partnership
"SCAN," issued by the Superintendent’s Office in conjunction with the School Committee, is designed to inform staff members and interested others of matters discussed and actions taken by the Jamestown School Committee at its most recent meeting. SCAN does not represent meeting minutes.
Letters received:
• From the RI Dept. of Labor and Training, informing the school department that charges made in error (unemployment payments disputed by the district) will be removed from the Jamestown account.
Consent Agenda: The committee approved the minutes of November 6 and 20; and payment of bills. The committee approved the appointments of Polly Beth Yoder Alfonso as part-time speech/language pathologist; Christopher Swistak as part-time math tutor; and Margaret Gorden as part-time reading tutor.
Food Service Update: Sodexho provided the committee with the monthly report on meal sales and an update on the Nutrikids point of sale system. Sodexho has introduced new menu items suggested by students. On Nov. 19, 85 parents joined their Melrose students for a Thanksgiving lunch.
Liaison to the North Kingstown School Committee: NK Chair Larry Ceresi reported to Ms. Kaiser that the NK School Committee does not object to Jamestown’s proposal to appoint an alternate liaison to the NKSC. The Jamestown committee agreed that when Mr. Brennan is unable to attend NKSC meetings, Ms. Held will serve as representative.
Teacher Seniority Lottery: Union member Cynthia Cherney drew names from an envelope to establish seniority order for three teachers with the same hire date. The first name drawn was Tara Higgins; second, Jennifer Caswell; and third, Tara Toolan.
Timeline for FY10 Budget Process: The superintendent shared the timeline with committee members.
Transfer of Unrestricted Funds: The auditor recommended that the school committee formalize with a motion the transfer of unrestricted funds to the town. The committee discussed whether to transfer $170,000, as agreed upon during March-April budget discussions, or $280,000, using a 5% cap on the unreserved fund. Ms. Kallfelz and Ms. Kaiser voted to approve the previously agreed-upon amount, citing the current economic uncertainty as a reason to defer a commitment to a 5% cap; Mr. Whitehouse favored returning the larger amount. The committee voted 2-1 to transfer $170,000 to the town.
Discussion of Economic Outlook, State and Local: Ms. Kaiser reported on the quarterly chairs meeting at which Gary Sasse, Director of the Department of Revenue, briefed the group on the status of the economy. At 9% unemployment, RI is tied with Michigan for the highest unemployment rate in the nation. The Dept. of Revenue projects that the rate will not retreat below 8% until late 2012. Mr. Sasse identified the recession as the cause of 2/3 of the state’s economic problems, while the remaining third is due to the state’s failure to make structural changes in response to the shift from a goods-centered economy to a services-centered economy. This shift impacts education because of the unmet need for a higher skilled labor force. Mr. Sasse emphasized the need to abandon a triage approach to the economic crisis and instead ask what we can do to position ourselves to emerge from this crisis as economically competitive. The key factor, he reiterated, is a skilled workforce; the key question is how we can realign resources to achieve that. Mr. Sasse asked the chairs what tools school districts would need to cope with possible mid-year cuts in state aid as well as anticipated future reductions. The chairs identified the following “tools” to be proposed for inclusion in the governor’s supplemental budget:
A legislative change to allow school districts to lay-off teachers mid-year;
A legislative change to require school districts to bus to regional private and parochial schools only on days when the district’s schools are in session;
A regulation change from the 180-day school year requirement to an hourly requirement, allowing school districts to opt for a 4-day week;
A codification of the case law of the last three months concerning management rights;
A repeal of legislation requiring teacher salary “steps”; and
A legislative requirement that contract negotiations be conducted independent of previous contract language (i.e., zero-based contract negotiating).
Mr. Sasse reported that the governor is expected to recommend a consolidation of functions, not districts. Target functions could include administration, transportation, purchasing, and health insurance. He asked chairs to consider as a model the state of New Jersey, which created a municipal realignment commission to specify how to realign municipal functions. The commission’s recommendation had to be approved by the legislature; and could be approved or rejected (with penalties in state aid) by municipalities. Mr. Sasse ended by informing chairs that President-elect Obama has outlined a potential stimulus package for school and highway renovation, designed to address unemployment in the construction sector. Although details are not yet known, it is anticipated that successful school district proposals will have to show that the renovation project can be completed within 180 days upon receipt of the award.
Information and Proposals:
Superintendent’s Report: Dr. Lukon updated the committee on the Dec. 19 school cancellation. She also reported that Sergeant Alan Garcia, an expert in school emergency procedures (and Jamestown parent), will meet with the administrative team to address concerns about communication procedures in the event of a real emergency. Dr. Lukon informed the committee that the district has implemented SchoolSpring, an online job posting and application system that will allow the school to improve its efficiency in the hiring process and realize savings in advertising. Dr. Lukon also reported that the visiting team of Chinese educators will be in Jamestown at the beginning of March and will attend a March 3 joint budget session of the school committee and town council.
Principals’ Report: Principal Carole Melucci reported on parent conferences, lockdown emergency drills, a presentation to the fifth grade on fair housing law, the jazz band’s presentation at the state house, the annual winter band and chorus concerts at Lawn, the 2nd grade’s Thanksgiving Musical, the kindergarten’s upcoming musical, the preschool’s upcoming After Dark event, and the upcoming 8th grade visit to NKHS to learn about visual and performing arts opportunities at the high school. She also congratulated 7th grader Emma Vogel on being chosen as a member of the Rhode Island All-State Band; 7th graders Mady Brown, Christina Evans, Dana Larkin and Jan Trousilek on being selected as members of the Rhode Island Honors Chorus; and Nick Delmonico on being selected as a member of the Rhode Island Honors Band.
Director of Student Services’ Report: Dr. Fricklas reported on the administrative team interviews phase of the RIDE School Support System (SSS); upcoming training by CompuClaim on the use of the program MaxCapture (for Medicaid reimbursements); participation by a Jamestown team at upcoming IEP Training of Trainers workshops; submission of the Title III ELL Services Desk Audit to RIDE; and completion of a special education manual. Dr. Fricklas also shared that Melrose has been awarded a grant to be a school-wide demonstration site for the Lexia Reading Program. As a demonstration site, Melrose will receive a license for all K-4 students to participate in the online reading program.
Committee Reports:
Melrose School Improvement Team: Melrose SIT discussed quarterly common assessments; lockdown procedures; funding for professional development; and the results of a parent survey on foreign language instruction at the elementary school level.
Lawn School Improvement Team: No report.
SELAC: The group discussed space issues at Lawn; and formed an extended school year committee to make recommendations to the school committee.
Facilities Committee: No report.
North Kingstown School Committee: Ms. Kaiser shared that Mr. Brennan reported that at the most recent NKSC meeting, the committee discussed adding electives in accounting, French, and PE (a wellness class), conditional on meeting minimum course enrollment numbers; and approved a policy requiring students to keep their cellphones in the lockers. Mr. Brennan attended the NK superintendent candidate interviews.
SORICO: The Dec. 1 Keywork session was well attended and the group generated recommendations for changes to RI law/regulations to enable school districts to better cope with reduced funding. The group will meet with South County legislators in early January.
Policy: Mr. Whitehouse requested that the hiring policy and tobacco policy be placed on the January workshop meeting agenda.
Wellness: No meeting.
The next workshop meeting of the Jamestown School Committee will be on January 8. All meetings are held at 7 p.m. in the Lawn library.