(Reminder: official minutes of the Melrose
School Committee can be found on the melroseschools.com web site following
approval by the Committee. My notes are below, and edits and errors are mine
alone.)
The public session of our
meeting kicked off with a ceremonial oath-taking of our newest member Jaime
McAllister-Grande by Mayor Dolan. Welcome Jaime!
Supt. Taymore spoke to the
recommendation of Middlesex League cities and towns to move start times for
high school students to sometime between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. in the FY18-19
school year. For Melrose, she recommended moving the secondary (both middle and
high school) start time to 8:15 a.m. and the elementary start time to 8:03 a.m.
beginning in the FY17-18 school year, and the Committee approved that
recommendation. (Note: this item will appear on the 4/12 agenda for a vote of
re-affirmation in order for the community to provide any additional comment.) Supt.
Taymore provided two additional announcements; first, that the MVMMS and MHS
PTO’s are partnering to bring a mental health expert to the district on Monday,
April 4th at 6:30 p.m. at MVMMS to talk about “the impact of stress
and the importance of emotional well-being” in the context of supporting our
teens and their friends; and second, that based on Kindergarten enrollments,
she recommends adding classrooms this year at Hoover and Horace Mann schools
which means that with the current 15 K’s becoming 15 Grade One classes, instead
of housing a fourth K at Lincoln and Roosevelt as this year, those two
buildings would return to three K classrooms, but a third K (compared with two
this year) would be housed at Hoover and Horace Mann.
Asst. Supt. of Teaching
and Learning Margaret Adams along with Science, Technology, and Engineering
Director Jon Morris presented the state’s new science frameworks for Kindergarten-Gr.
12. The presenters provided a lengthy chart detailing “disciplinary core ideas
by grade,” along with a Powerpoint summarizing essential questions, background
information, recommendations, and examples of student work.
Budget deliberations
continued with a lengthy discussion of ECC fees (continued from the 3/8
meeting) with ECC Director Donna Rosso responding to queries. After significant
discussion and debate, the Committee agreed to an 8% increase in annual tuition
for ECC students. There was also substantive discussion around elementary music
fees with Fine and Performing Arts Director Deb DiFruschia. Supt. Taymore
introduced discussion of secondary activity fees, providing a chart listing
practices of other local districts.
Athletic Director Pat Ruggiero reviewed proposed athletic fees,
commenting that the increase in transportation, football/lacrosse helmet
reconditioning, and venue expenses led to her recommendations. Supt. Taymore
suggested that guidance, transcript, and photo class fees remain the same for
next year.
The Policy and Planning
agenda included a report from Supt. Taymore regarding OCR policies. She
provided a chart relative to activities needed to meet the requirements along with the completion status of those requirements. The policies were submitted to OCR for their review and revisions/approval by
1/15 (on-time) but she did not receive a response. Another request for response
was sent with no guidance forthcoming. Since there are competing deadlines and
trainings must be held, OCR has given permission to use the old protocols in
order to continue the district’s work. (Once the new policies are received,
future trainings will be held to those standards.)
New subcommittee and
liaison positions were announced, and a revised Rolling Agenda was presented
(with legislators now scheduled for 6/28 from the original date of 4/26).
Finally, a formal
announcement was made regarding the MA Association of School Superintendents’
conferring of the 2016 Women’s Educational Leadership Network Bobbie
D’Alessandro Leadership Award to Supt. Taymore. Members provided praise and
support for her work in the district.
Next meeting is Tuesday, April 12th at
7:00 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber of Melrose City Hall. The agenda is
expected to include the following topics: proposed FY17 MS & HS Code of
Conduct, proposed FY17 MS Program of Studies, re-affirmation of start time
changes for FY18, and budget discussions including proposed FY17 Education
Stations fees and school lunch prices.
