* Enrollments in the district were presented (by grade and school as well as over time) as well as middle school and high school class sizes by course. There are a few larger classes (30+) and some classes at the high school (particularly special education and foreign language) that are on the small side.
* The Lincoln School principal search will commence shortly with the expectation of an appointment in mid-March.
* The federal government's Office of Civil Rights has issued new guidelines related to equal educational access for all students. This ruling is being reviewed by the Supt. and our City Solicitor, and there may be an impact on our 2016 budget.
* The MHS girls hockey team was granted another waiver to accept middle school students.
* Director of Finance Jay Picone presented information on required financial reporting to the Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Ed. called the End-of-Year report. He explained that all expenses are coded for reporting and all revenues are also reported in order to get a standardized picture of the district's financial situation that can be compared to prior years. Every district in the state submits these reports by October 1st (or later if a waiver is granted).
* The Committee will conduct its annual self-evaluation and discuss it at the 11/18 meeting with a summary report presented on 12/9.
* Policies related to students were discussed and voted. They will come before the Committee for a second vote on 11/18.
* School Choice (accepting out-of-district students who pay to attend an in-district school) for the 2016 school year was approved and includes a limited number of seats at MHS.
* Jessica Dugan presented her proposal on the development of a communication plan.
As always, you can access all packet documents on the melroseschools web site under School Committee and IQM2, and/or you can watch the meeting from the MMTV web site.
