Agawam Public Schools - S.C. Meeting Minutes January 22, 2008

· Announcement that the school counseling department will conduct an 8^th grade Parent Orientation to the High School Curriculum Night on Thursday, February 7^th from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. in the AJHS auditorium. Curriculum specialists will be available to answer questions pertaining to their content area.

· Announcement that the November MCAS results are in and all students in the Class of 2008 have passed both the Math and ELA MCAS tests. In the Class of 2009, 5 students have not passed the MCAS tests and will be tutored after school.

· Reminder that all administrators will be participating in an Incident Command Training on January 28, 2008, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Agawam Public Library Community Room.

Next, under Highlights on Education, A. Bonavita announced that the PBIS Update has been postponed to the Committee’s March 11, 2008, meeting.

Under Unfinished Business, on a motion made by R. Doering, 2^nd by D. Juzba, the Committee voted to approve SCR-08-01, Approval of Use of the AHS Auditorium by the Mary Ann Studio of Dance on June 16 & 19, 2008.

Vote: 6 – 0 – 1 absent

Under Business Meeting, on a motion made by S. Reed, 2^nd by D. Juzba, the Committee voted to approve the January 8, 2008, regular meeting minutes.

Vote: 6 – 0 – 1 absent

Next, on a motion made by R. Doering, 2^nd by D. Juzba, the Committee voted to approve the January 8, 2008, Executive Session minutes.

Vote: 6 – 0 – 1 absent

Then, on a motion made by D. Juzba, 2^nd by R. Doering, the Committee voted to approve the January 8, 2008, workshop minutes.

Vote: 6 – 0 – 1 absent

Under Calendar/Correspondence, R. Doering said she had not received any correspondence.

Next, on a motion made by R. Doering, 2^nd by D. Juzba, the Committee approved, via roll call vote, the following warrants as read: SW-08-33 in the amount of $67,611.11, SW-08-34 in the amount of $223,384.71, and SW-08-35 in the amount of $77,911.04.

Vote: 6 – 0 – 1 absent

Under Reports, the first report of the evening was an EQA Audit Update as presented by Dr. Albert Argenziano from the State’s Office of Education Quality Assurance. Dr. Argenziano began by noting that the EQA office was formed in 2001 as an independent audit from the Mass. Department of Education. He went on to say that EQA looks for two basic components during their audit. The first is if the district’s curriculum is aligned with the State’s Curriculum Frameworks. The second is whether evaluations are performed annually on new employees. Dr. Argenziano said Agawam Public Schools meets both of these criteria. Some of the highlights of his report included the following:

Outstanding District Plan
Outstanding Budget Plan

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Extremely excellent website that is up-to-date and relevant
Strong Professional Development program
Outstanding Special Education Inclusion Program that could be the model for the entire state
Outstanding School Safety Plan that is in the top 10% of the state
High quality leadership that begins with the Superintendent and her administrative team

At the conclusion of his remarks, a question and answer session took place. During discussion, Dr. Argenziano made the following two recommendations:

Develop a Capital Improvement Plan – although the schools are well-maintained, the Superintendent and Committee should create a long-range plan that includes building maintenance and covers the next 3, 5, & 10 years.
Place multiple curriculum documents into one document.

The Committee thanked Dr. Argenziano for his preliminary EQA Audit report and asked that he return to give his report during a televised meeting once the final draft is received. Dr. Argenziano said he would be happy to do so.

On a motion made by J. Burns, 2^nd by L. Galarneau, the Committee took a brief 5-minute recess so they could express their gratitude to Dr. Argenziano who traveled from Salem, MA, to attend the evening’s meeting.

Vote: 6 – 0 – 1 absent

Time: 7:42 p.m.

A. Bonavita reconvened the meeting at 7:47 p.m.

The second report of the evening was a Financial/Personnel Update as presented by J. Kane, Assistant Superintendent for Business/HR. In his Personnel Report, Mr. Kane explained that the following new staff had been hired since his last report: 2 new teachers; 1 new school psychologist, 1 new occupational therapist; and 3 new teacher assistants. He also noted that, to date, 3 additional teachers had notified him of their intent to retire in June 2008; 1 teacher had rescinded her intent to retire in June 2008, and 10 teachers had notified the district of their intent to retire in June 2009. In his Financial Report, Mr. Kane estimated an FY’08 Budget Surplus in the amount of $252,028, as of January 22, 2008. Of this amount, $50,000.00 has been earmarked to purchase the new Rediker Student Information System software.

Next, under Subcommittee Updates, A. Bonavita noted that subcommittee assignments for 2008 - 2010 had been placed at each members place.

Next, under Student Representative's Comments, Kaitlyn Weyant said she had nothing to report this evening.

Under New Business, there was none on the agenda.

Under Items, J. Burns said that A. Bonavita’s son, who works for a law firm that specializes in product liability, had visited the Rosie Robotics team and talked to them about that subject. He also announced that the Rosie Robotics Ziti Dinner would take place on Friday, January 25^th. D. Juzba asked when the next PAC meeting would take place. Dr. Czajkowski said she would inquire about their meeting schedule. She also noted that the junior high school students and staff are now wearing school I.D. lanyards. However, some students are wearing their own lanyards, which may or may not breakaway when pulled. Consequently, she suggested a possible policy for the student handbook, which would require students to wear school-issued lanyards that breakaway and are the same color. R. Doering said she was saddened to hear that students no longer feel they have an incentive to join Renaissance now that the grade average has been raised to 90. She also spoke about trying to get students to ride the school bus two or three times a week, thereby helping to reduce the traffic flow around the high school. L. Galarneau asked when the next DWST meeting would be held, and Dr. Czajkowski informed her it would be at 7:30 a.m. on February 8, 2008, at the high school. She also said that grade restructuring should be placed on the front burner especially as space needs are critical in our schools. S. Reed applauded the administration for an excellent EQA Audit report and hopes those results will be published. She also asked as to the status of the termination letter to Attorney John J. Teahan and whether another school attorney has been found to replace him. Dr. Czajkowski said she was still researching viable school attorneys and seeking input from her colleagues in surrounding communities. Dr. Czajkowski said she will also look to the Committee for criteria before hiring a new attorney. A. Bonavita asked if

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any Committee member would be willing to serve on the elementary school principal’s search committee. R. Doering volunteered her services. He then asked about the Director of Early Childhood’s search committee. D. Juzba said she would be willing to serve on that committee.

Prior to adjournment, J. Kane announced that the teacher assistants had met and ratified their new 3-year contract on January 16, 2008. There being no further business, on a motion made by R. Doering, 2^nd by D. Juzba, the Committee voted to adjourn.

Vote: 6 – 0 -1 absent

Time: 8:19 p.m.

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Alexis Ferioli, Committee Stenographer Roberta G. Doering, Committee Secretary