MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, January 9, 2020 J.F.K. M iddle School Community Room, 6:4 5 p.m. Minutes The meeting was called to order at 6:45PM I. Roll Call : Present: Mayor David Narkewicz, Ms. Dina Levi, Mr. Lonnie Kaufman, Ms. Rebecca Busansky, Mr. Sean Condon, Mr. Roni Gold, Ms. Laura Fallon, Ms. Emily Serafy - Cox, Ms. Susan Voss and Ms. Kaia Goleman. Also present: Superintendent Dr. John Provost, Busines s Administrator Ms. Camie Lamica, and School Committee Clerk Ms. Annie Thompson. II. Organizational VOTES: A. Adoption of Rules of Procedure: Ms. Busansky made a motion to put the Rules of Procedure on the floor for discussion, seconded by Mr. Kaufma n. The Committee reviewed the document by sections. Ms. Busansky made a motion to eliminate ‘inauguration” in exchange for the phrase “swearing in of members” (Section 1.2), seconded by Ms. Fallon. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimousl y. Under section 1.3, Ms. Levi made a motion to eliminate the PTO position due to too many meetings to attend. Ms. Fallon made a motion to amend Section 1.3 to add a “liaison to the wellness committee,” seconded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. Ms. Fallon made a motion to eliminate the word “representative, seconded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. Mr. Kaufman made a motion to refer his recommendation of creating a new l iaison position to the Rules & Policy Subcommittee for a position that would serve on the student union, seconded by Ms. Voss. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. Ms. Fallon made a motion to update “Northampton Community Television” with its new name “Northampton Open Media,” seconded by Mr. Condon. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. Ms. Fallon made a motion under Standing Committee: Sec. 2.1, related to grammatical language, seconded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. Ms. Fallon made a motion to add to the last sentence of Section 2.2, “additionally there shall be a negotiating subcommittee comprised of three members who will meet on an as needed basis in regards to col lective bargaining on behalf of the entire committee,” seconded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion was passed unanimously. Ms. Busansky made a motion to clarify who calls the first annual meeting prior to positions being filled, seconded by Ms. Levi. A VOTE was taken and the motion passed unanimously. Mr. Condon made a motion to update the language in section 3.3 which should become 3.4 due to a missing a standing committee. Mr. Kaufman made a motion to move language from section 11 up to section 3.2 and strike it from the record in its current location, seconded by Ms. Voss. A VOTE was taken and the motion was passed unanimously. Mr. Kaufman made a motion under Section 3.3 to change the word “manages” to “evaluates” and move the amended section MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, January 9, 2020 J.F.K. M iddle School Community Room, 6:4 5 p.m. Minutes 11 language to now become 3.3 and section 3.3 will become 3.4, seconded by Mr. Condon. A VOTE was taken and the motion was passed unanimously. Mr. Kaufman made a motion to amend 3.3 and add “the superintendent's final written evaluation will consider input from all members of the school committee using a formal process to capture members' feedback.” Mr. Gold made a motion to add under Section 3.3 the negotiation s subcommittee as a short description, seconded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion was passed unanimously. Ms. Fallon made a motion under section 8 to clarify language per policy “a school committee member shall sign bill warrants,” seconded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion was passed unanimously. The members discussed the nuances of language as it relates to the subcommittee for the evaluation of the Superintendent. Mr. Kaufman suggested language that includes written feedb ack from all members. Ms. Goleman made a motion to change the language of Section 11 to read “the subcommittee for the evaluation of the superintendent shall manage and execute the school committee’s annual superintendent evaluation process based,” and add ing to Mr. Kaufman’s suggested language which shall read “the superintendent’s final written evaluation will include input from all members using a formal process to capture feedback,” seconded by Ms. Voss A VOTE was taken and the motion was passed unani mously. Ms. Voss made a motion to change the format for roll call votes such that it rotates each month as needed so it doesn’t always go alphabetically, seconded by Mr. Condon. A VOTE was taken and the motion was passed unanimously. A VOTE was taken on the main motion to approve the Rules of Procedure with amendments and the motion was approved unanimously. B. Election of Vice Chair. Ms. Busansky made a motion to nominate Mr. Kaufman as the Vice - Chair of the School Committee. Mr. Gold made a motion to nominate Ms. Fallon for the position of Vice - Chair to the School Committee. Each nominee accepted the nomination and gave a brief statement. A roll call VOTE was taken: Ms. Voss (Kaufman), Mr. Condon (Fallon), Mr. Narkewicz (Fallon), Mr. Gold (Fallon ), Ms. Busansky (Kaufman), Ms. Fallon (Fallon), Ms. Levi (Kaufman), Mr. Kaufman (Kaufman), Ms. Hennessey (Kaufman). Mr. Kaufman elected Vice - Chair (6/4). C. Election of Executive Secretary . Ms. Voss made a motion to elect Dr. Provost as Executive Secr etary, seconded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion was passed unanimously. D. Set Annual Meeting Schedule . Ms. Busansky made a motion to change the April 9 th meeting to April 7 th , seconded by Ms. Serafy - Cox. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. Ms. Voss made a motion to move the April 23 rd meeting MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, January 9, 2020 J.F.K. M iddle School Community Room, 6:4 5 p.m. Minutes date to April 30 th , seconded by Ms. Goleman. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. I III. Public Comment Period II 1. Hanna h Kristik, 5th grade teacher at Leeds read a statement written by the Leeds school psychologist expressing concerns about last year’s contract negotiations and hope that improvements can be made. III 2. Andrea Egitto, Teacher at Ryan Road and Unit A Chapter C oordinator for NASE, congratulated new members and had comments and concerns about the contracts still pending. Encouraged school visits. IV 3. Cynthia Swopis of 120 Coles Meadow Road serves on the City's Board of Health and spoke of her concerns around the use of the pesticide Round - Up on the JFK and NHS athletic grounds. V 4. Amy Martin, NHS parent, spoke of her concerns around pesticide use on s chool grounds. I IV. Announcements II ▪ Ms. Fallon announced the Collaborative will host an all - day conference titled “Transforming Education for Social Justice” on March 15th III ▪ Ms. Voss announced the next SEPAC listening session hosted by the Superinten dent and Director of Special Education will be Jan 14th at 6:30pm IV ▪ The Mayor released a schedule of seven town hall meetings to discuss the Proposition 2.5 Override vote. Posted on the city website, please share. V. Recommended Actions A. (VOTE by Consent Agenda) 1) Approval of Minutes ▪ Minutes of the December 12, 2019 School Committee Meeting 2) Budget Transfer Approvals ▪ FY20 Contract Salary Transfers 3) Field Trip Requests ▪ Bridge Street School Grade 5, Nature’s Classroom, Colebrook, CT, March 30 - April 2, 2020 ▪ NHS Band, Washington D.C., April 2 - 5, 2020 The mayor noted that the minutes are not yet available. Ms. Busansky made a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented, seconded by Mr. Kaufman. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. VI. Reports and Recommendations MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, January 9, 2020 J.F.K. M iddle School Community Room, 6:4 5 p.m. Minutes A. Student Representative: Eleanor Harden introduced herself to the new School Comm ittee Members. She briefly spoke about recent work the Student Union is doing with Ananda Lenox regarding the vaping issue and how it affects high school students and the work they are doing around this important health issue. B. VOTE: Approval of 20 20 School Calendar : Dr. Provost presented the proposed 2020 - 21 district wide school calendar highlighting critical dates as well as those who provided input. Ms. Busansky made a motion to approve the calendar, seconded by Ms. Serafy - Cox. A discussion foll owed regarding half days and concerns around religious holidays. Dr. Provost explained the rationale around how religious holidays are considered each year based on the absenteeism on those days. On Election day the schools are closed due to safety concer ns around the large number of visitors. A VOTE was taken and the motion passed unanimously. C. Report: Make up Day for JSS & JFK: Dr. Provost presented the proposal for a make - up day on January 17th (full day for teachers and half day for students) fo r only Jackson Street and JFK due to two interruptions (loss of power/ burst water pipe). This has been vetted with the executive board of NASE. A waiver from the Commissioner was requested and subsequently denied. D. Report: JFK Turnaround Grant $20,0 00.000 : Mr. Wilson and Mr. Messing presented the grand. Ms. Wilson discussed targeted support for middle school English Language Learners. The plan was approved in the fall of 2019. The grant will pay for professional development, parent and community enga gement activities, coaching, after school small group tutoring, and increased staffing to two full time ESL teachers. There is more support in all content areas as well as directed language acquisition instruction. There have been remarkable improvements already this year and we have exceeded our targets. This is year one of a 5 - year long effort. Mr. Messing, Associate Director of Special Education provided additional information around building capacity for teachers and staff more adapted to English Langu age instruction, as well as how to improve MCAS scores. Our plan was to merge current processes around professional development and curriculum units that support content for ELL. We’ve made efforts regarding instructional materials to support literacy for grade level work. Stipend funding has allowed us to use existing staff to support the program. Progress monitoring is a key component. E. VOTE: Donation: NHS PTO $1,440.00 : Ms. Lamica presented the donation which is t fund travel for the Washington DC trip. Mr. Condon made a motion to accept the MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, January 9, 2020 J.F.K. M iddle School Community Room, 6:4 5 p.m. Minutes donation, seconded by Ms. Serafy - Cox. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. F. VOTE: Donation: Leeds PTO $1,495 : Ms. Lamica presented the donation. Mr. Condon made a motion to accept the donation, seconded by Ms. Serafy - Cox. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. G. VOTE: to approve 7.D Van Driver job description: Ms. Lamica presented the description explaining the need to purchase vans rather tha n buses. There is a school bus driver shortage and it’s easier to find 7D licensed drivers. These vans will be used to transport students including those in foster care and or under the McKinney - Vento Law. Ms. Busansky made a motion to approve the job de scription, seconded by Mr. Kaufman. A VOTE was taken and the motion passed unanimously. H. Report: Fiscal 2020 McKinney - Vento appropriation: Ms. Lamica presented the report. The Mayor recommended and put forward a supplemental budget amount of $19,298 for McKinney - Vento transportation. The money goes to the city as free cash which the mayor recommended be appropriated back to the school budget. I. Report: Teacher Response to Late Start Time Ms. Heather Brown created a survey to poll Northampton Ass ociation of School Employees (NASE) members about their response to a possible later start time. There was a low response. They only received about 40% return on the surveys within a total NASE membership of 500. There was no clear conclusion regarding te acher preference. High School students continue to be in favor of a later start time. J. Discussion & Possible VOTE: Late Start Time : Dr. Provost summarized the data thus far. Overall, the parents and students are both in support of a later start, the teachers continue to be split. The committee discussed issues related to the matter including the length of the school day for all levels, the many different late start proposals that have been considered by different school committees throughout the year s, how to gather more information, and how best to talk with teachers, parents and other stakeholder. Ms. Busansky made a motion to postpone consideration of the item until the next School Committee meeting, seconded by Ms. Voss. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. K. VOTE: To refer Select Committee on Pesticide Reduction Report to the Budget & Property Subcommittee Ms. Fallon made a motion to refer the report , seconded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion was pa ssed unanimously MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, January 9, 2020 J.F.K. M iddle School Community Room, 6:4 5 p.m. Minutes L . Report: Rules & Policies Subcommittee : First Reading: Policy DM (JJF) (Student Activity Accounts) Second Reading & Vote: BEDB (Agenda Format) and BDB (School Committee Officers). Mayor Narkewicz explained that subcommittees have not been assigned with this newly elected committee and therefore this item will need to wait for a future meeting. M. Business Administrator’ s Report: Ms. Lamica presented the Business Administrator’s Report (see document in file). N. Superintendent’s Report : Dr. Provost presented the Superintendent’s Report (see document in file). Dr. Provost discussed the work being done as it relates to the start of the budget season. A total of 297 employees responded to a survey regarding budget needs. The first view budget will have two budget scenarios due to the pending proposition 2 ½ override vote. Doing two side - by - side budgets is an enormous amount of extra work but a strategic instrument to address our strengths and weaknesses. VII. Dr. Voss made a motion f or a request for an Executive Session in JFK Library under Massachusetts General Law Open Meeting Chapter 30A Sec 21(a)(3) to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the barga ining or litigating position of the public body and the chair so declares and Chapter 30A Sec 21(a)(2) to hold grievance hearings, whereas an open session would have a detrimental effect on the school committee’s negotiating position, seconded by Ms. Busan sky. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. Mayor Narkewicz requested School Committee members respond to his request for their subcommittee preferences. VIII. Future Business and Meeting Dates ▪ School Committee Retreat “Norms,” Thursday, January 23, 2020, 6:30pm, JFK Community Room. ▪ Joint City Council / School Committee Meeting, Thursday, January 30, 2020, JFK Community Room ▪ School Committee Meeting with Student Advisory Council, Thursday , February 13, 2020 at 6:15p.m. MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, January 9, 2020 J.F.K. M iddle School Community Room, 6:4 5 p.m. Minutes IX Adjourn: Mr. Condon made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 10:43PM MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, February 13, 2020 Minutes School Committee Clerk: Annie Thompson • (413) 587 - 1327 • anniethompson@northampton - k12.us The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items lis ted may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to t he extent permitted by law. Mayor David Narkewicz Ms. Dina Levi Ms. Laura Fallon Mr. Roni Gold Mr. Lonnie Kaufman, Vice Chair Ms. Rebecca Busansky Ms. Kaia Goleman Ms. Susan Voss Mr. Sean Condon Ms. Emily Serafy - Cox The meeting was called to order at 6:4 6 PM I. Roll Call Present: Mayor David Narkewicz, Ms. Rebecca Busansky, Ms. Laura Fallon, Ms. Emily Serafy - Cox, Mr. Sean Condon, Ms. Dina Levi, Ms. Kaia Goleman, Ms. Susan Voss, Mr. Roni Gold. Also present: Superintendent Dr. John Provost, Business Administrator Ms. Camie Lamica, a nd Ms. Annie Thompson, Clerk. II. Public Comment Period : There was no public comment III. Announcements : Ms. Busansky announced that the Second Annual Farm - To - School Summit has been scheduled for Saturday March 21 st from 9 :00AM - 1 :00PM at Smith College. The ev ent registration is on the scrolling banner on the NPS website. Ms. Fallon announced that she will be hosting a Division V meeting for MASC members on Monday, March 9 th in the JFK Community Room. MASC regional field representative Ms. Tracy Novik will p resent “70 Questions on Chapter 70 ; How It Works, How It Doesn’t, and What’s Being Done to Change It. ” Senator Jo Comerford will be attending the event. A light dinner will be served at 6:30PM, and the presentation begins at 7:00PM. Mayor Narkewicz anno unced that he held the seventh Proposition 2.5 override meeting last night at Ryan Road Elementary. The eight and final Proposition 2.5 override meeting will be held Monday, February 24 th (after February vacation) at Leeds Elementary School in the cafeteria at 7: 00PM. IV. Recommended Actions A. (VOTE by Consent Agenda) 1) Field Trip Requests NHS, Madrid, Spain, April 15 - 22, 2021 Mr. Condon made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda, seconded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. V. Reports and Recommendations A. Student Representative : Student Union Representative Ms. Eleanor Harden presented the student report. She and Student Union President Willa met with Ms. Fallon to discuss t he proposed School Committee liaison. The students shared their opinions on the matter. A few members of the Student Union have recently met administrators about the recent death at the high school. The school MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, February 13, 2020 Minutes School Committee Clerk: Annie Thompson • (413) 587 - 1327 • anniethompson@northampton - k12.us The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items lis ted may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to t he extent permitted by law. Mayor David Narkewicz Ms. Dina Levi Ms. Laura Fallon Mr. Roni Gold Mr. Lonnie Kaufman, Vice Chair Ms. Rebecca Busansky Ms. Kaia Goleman Ms. Susan Voss Mr. Sean Condon Ms. Emily Serafy - Cox is looking forward to celebrating social j ustice week and spring sports starting. Seniors are looking forward to getting to the end of the year. B. VOTE: To accept NEF SOS Book Fund : Mayor Narkewicz presented the donation. The funds were collected as part of the census and from this year’s p lant sale. The amount of the gift is $19,502.00. Ms. Busansky made a motion to approve the donation, seconded by Mr. Condon. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. C. VOTE: To approve NHS Program of Studies : NHS Principal Vaillancourt presented the changes to the Program of Studies (see document in file). The Committed discussed matters relating to the Program of Studies including the changes to physical and wellness education, the requirements for hours, budg eting for field trips, the changes to physical and wellness education graduation requirements, options available for students who are behind in credits including summer school, the Twilight program, and online classes, Project Lead The Way, new opportuniti es in computer science, Smith classes counting for enrichment credit but not toward graduation, the courses on offer, changes to history classes in accordance with DESE guidelines, planned re - teaching in the fall to address summer learning loss, performing arts classes, and changing “pass / fail” to “credit / no credit.” Ms. Vaillancourt and Mr. Dave Messing explained the mechanism for assessing credit in classes that are largely service provisions and have no state curriculum standards. Ms. Vaillancourt invited school committee members to meet with herself and department heads about the structure of the math curriculum. Ms. Fallon made a motion to approve the NHS Program of Studies, seconded by Ms. Levi. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unan imously D. Report: NPS Curriculum : Curriculum Director Dr. Nancy Cheevers presented the Northampton Public School s Curriculum (see document in file). Dr. Cheevers started by recognizing with pride and gratitude the Curriculum Teacher Leaders who have worke d to create this curriculum for NPS. The NPS Curriculum has 173 courses collectively with more than 600 hundred units taught by specially trained teachers. All courses are in compliance with Massachusetts C urriculum F rameworks standards. The curriculum h as been recognized by the state twice , has been featured in the Massachusetts DESE newsletter, and has led to greater success in winning several grants. The work of the curriculum team has been done outside of school hours including, nights, vacations, and snow days over the MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, February 13, 2020 Minutes School Committee Clerk: Annie Thompson • (413) 587 - 1327 • anniethompson@northampton - k12.us The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items lis ted may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to t he extent permitted by law. Mayor David Narkewicz Ms. Dina Levi Ms. Laura Fallon Mr. Roni Gold Mr. Lonnie Kaufman, Vice Chair Ms. Rebecca Busansky Ms. Kaia Goleman Ms. Susan Voss Mr. Sean Condon Ms. Emily Serafy - Cox course of five years . Dr. Cheevers presented the NPS Curriculum on the website ( https://northamptonk12 - public.rubiconatlas.org/Atlas/Browse/ View/Calendars ). The Committee thanked Dr. Cheevers and the Curriculum Team for their years of hard work and dedication and congratulated them on this important and impactful achievement. The Committee discussed issue s related to the curriculum includin g information such as assessment not being made publicly available on the website, the structure of the team, the implementation of the technology, teachers including the links to class curriculum in the course syllabi, and the detailed sharing plan that w ill go out to families in the fall. Dr. Provost shared that when he came to the district the last district review had found extraordinarily little curriculum structure in the district. Dr. Cheevers and her team have built this amazing achievement from ze ro. Dr. Provost thanked Dr. Cheevers for her leadership in helping move the district so far forward. E. Report: Power Math Program: JFK Math Interventionist Ms. Diana Smith presented the Power Math Program which delivers individualized and differentiated instruction and intervention for a small group of students. Ms. Smith explained that the program is more for students who need an intervention of self - perception more than of understanding. They do not need basic skills; they need freedom of math thoug ht. Students are selected for the intervention based on MCAS expectations measurements. At the middle school, this intervention is chosen for students who have the most reasonable chance of success. The program takes them through a process of steps to lea d them to a point where they can solve problems, they believed they could not solve. The Committee thanked Ms. Smith and discussed matters related to the program including MCAS student growth data, the size of the group, standards - based grading, math anxi ety and the racial and gender demographics of the group. F. Donation : National Grid $ 5,000 for the NPS Robotics Club : Ms. Lamica presented the donation. Ms. Busansky made a motion to accept the donation, seconded by Ms. Serafy - Cox. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. G. Donation: Leeds Elementary PTO, $2,074.48 for water bottles . Ms. Lamica presented the donation. Ms. Busansky made a motion to accept the donation, seconded by Mr. Condon. A VOTE was taken and the m otion was approved unanimously. MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, February 13, 2020 Minutes School Committee Clerk: Annie Thompson • (413) 587 - 1327 • anniethompson@northampton - k12.us The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items lis ted may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to t he extent permitted by law. Mayor David Narkewicz Ms. Dina Levi Ms. Laura Fallon Mr. Roni Gold Mr. Lonnie Kaufman, Vice Chair Ms. Rebecca Busansky Ms. Kaia Goleman Ms. Susan Voss Mr. Sean Condon Ms. Emily Serafy - Cox H. VOTE to accept the gift of a new digital display and presentation system for the J.F.K. Middle School Community Room from D.A. Sullivan & Sons, Inc. valued at approximately $10,000 : Mayor Narkewicz presented the gift which is being donated by Mr. Mark Sullivan , an NPS alum , NPS parent and former Chair of the City Planning Board Over time Mr. Sullivan has been generously and strategically making gifts to the City and the School s and has offered to provide the installation of a more modern digital display system in the JFK Community Room. The display will be the same as the City Council digital display and will allow for Northampton Open Media to run presentation slides directly o n the video. Once the School Committee accepts the gift, then it will be brought to the City Council to accept the gift and appropriate the funds. Mayor Narkewicz expressed his appreciation to Mr. Sullivan and to D.A.Sullivan & Sons, Inc. for their generos ity. Ms. Goleman made a motion to accept the generous gift, seconded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. I. VOTE to d elegate to authorize to n egotiate MOU re: extended d ay nurse for one student : Dr. Provost reported that the d istrict is about to enroll a student who is extremely medically fragile and may require lifesaving procedures at any time of the day from transportation both to and from the school and throughout the school day. When the mo rning and afternoon transportation is added to the day it would be in violation of Article IV (hours) but it would be beneficial to have this work done by one person rather than splitting it through out the day with two part - time nurses. Dr. Provost would like to work with the union to try to find an accommodation that is not meant to create any kind of precedence for nurses across the district but would make sense for one employee to provide this very specific service. Ms. Voss made a motion to delegate th e authority to negotiate the MOU, seconded by Ms. Fallon. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. J. VOTE: to request authorization to negotiate an MOU to adjust the preschool schedule by 3 days for staff to attend training Dr. Provo st reported that as he noted in his earlier email, he believes the district has another solution to this situation so a vote to authorize the negotiation of an MOU is no longer needed. K. VOTE: to approve Foster Care transportation Reimbursement : M ayor Narkewicz reported that the reimbursement is for transporting foster care children. The Mayor presented this to the City Council authorizing the School District to enter into a memorandum of agreement between DCF, HHS and MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, February 13, 2020 Minutes School Committee Clerk: Annie Thompson • (413) 587 - 1327 • anniethompson@northampton - k12.us The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items lis ted may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to t he extent permitted by law. Mayor David Narkewicz Ms. Dina Levi Ms. Laura Fallon Mr. Roni Gold Mr. Lonnie Kaufman, Vice Chair Ms. Rebecca Busansky Ms. Kaia Goleman Ms. Susan Voss Mr. Sean Condon Ms. Emily Serafy - Cox DESE. School Committee appr oval is also required to accept this partial reimbursement of those transportation costs. Ms. Fallon made a motion to approve the reimbursement for foster care transportation, seconded by Ms. Voss. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. L. VOTE: to delegate authority to sign bill warrants : Mayor Narkewicz reported that this was a practice that began last year to streamline the district’s ability to pay its bills on time. Rather than hav ing most of the Committee sign these warrants, it has been delegated to two School Committee members who act as principal and back - up signers to sign the warrants on a weekly basis. The Mayor’s recommendation is to delegate the authority to Member Fallon, with Mayor Narkewicz as the back - up. Member Fallon has agreed to take the task on. Ms. Voss made a motion to delegate authority to Member Fallon and Mayor Narkewicz to serve as co - signers of the bill warrants, seconded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion was approved unanimously. M. Discussion and possible VOTE: Late start time Dr. Provost reported that this is a plan that would move the start and end times of all schools a half an hour later. Mayor Narkewicz reported that the Committee had asked the Superintendent to do outreach and research on the plan resulting in reports and survey results from students, from NASE, and from parents. Ms. Voss made a motion that the Committee feels that it is important to find a way to start our high s chool later, recognizing that several years ago a former School Committee recommended starting the high school between 8:00AM and 8:30AM and collectively we feel we need to consider a wider range of options in order to best serve all K - 12 students and a pa th forward to commit to identifying three scenarios by September, 2020 and voting on the one we feel is best recognizing that there will be pros and cons of any scenario that comes up but acknowledging that we are committed to doing that work by September, perhaps having some public comment and voting by October so that by fall of 2021 there would be a later start time, seconded by Ms. Fallon. Ms. Fallon expressed a reluctance to commit to a timeline without knowing the result of a vote . Ms. Levi made a m otion to amend the motion presented by Ms. Voss to say that the Committee universally agrees that we need a later start time for the high school, making it clear to the public that the committee’s voting no on this current proposal that pushes all school s tart times a half hour later does not mean the committee is not committed to pushing the high school start time later, it just means that the committee wants to find a solution that doesn’t also then move the elementary schools start time later and in addi tion , acknowledg in g the recent email to the MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, February 13, 2020 Minutes School Committee Clerk: Annie Thompson • (413) 587 - 1327 • anniethompson@northampton - k12.us The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items lis ted may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to t he extent permitted by law. Mayor David Narkewicz Ms. Dina Levi Ms. Laura Fallon Mr. Roni Gold Mr. Lonnie Kaufman, Vice Chair Ms. Rebecca Busansky Ms. Kaia Goleman Ms. Susan Voss Mr. Sean Condon Ms. Emily Serafy - Cox committee from a community member urging the committee to consider the very long history of the start time issue and to not start from scratch , asking the Budget & Property Subcommittee to do the work of engaging the community in the historic research that’s been done to ensure that the work is not starting over but finding the solution that best meets the needs of the community. The Committee d iscussed matters relating to the later start time issue including keeping the public trust, committing to making a decision, developing three proposals, possible ring choice voting, making the decision with enough time to implement the changes in fall of 2 021, running the risk of upsetting some sections of the public in order to make a decision, finding creative solutions, and the difficulties for families and teachers of moving the elementary schools start time later. In the interest of clarity Dr. Provos t suggested the following motion: “ To consider three options for achieving a high school start time between 8:00AM and 8:30AM and to vote to approve one of them by October 2020.” The Committee discussed the suggestion and agreed to amend it to state “at least 8:00AM or later.” Mayor Narckewicz suggested building into the motion that the Budget & Property Subcommittee will take the lead to do the work on this initiative. Ms. Voss expressed that she is okay with keeping the motion as simple as possible. Mr. Condon asked whether an October vote is enough time for the administration to implement these changes. Dr. Provost stated that October is probably as late as we would want to go because there would be some costs i nvolved with changing the contract tha t we would need to be able to build into the budget. Starting as late as November or December not knowing the increased cost of the contract while starting the budget process would be problematic. Ms. Lamica agreed stating that the negotiations with both NASE and the bussing contracts would need to be completed by January or February in order to know what those costs might be before developing the budget. The Committee further discussed matters related to the start time issue including the fact that the current plan of 30 minutes later in the start and end times of all schools not involving any changes to the bus contract, voting in September giving the Committee a month to discuss before a vote in October, the importance of building in time to get commun ity support, feedback, and buy - in, providing opportunities for the full committee to weigh in on the process as the subcommittee is working on it, double posting the Budget & Property Subcommittee meetings so that all School Committee members can attend, having the subcommittee reporting back periodically to the full committee throughout the process, changing the motion to state not “three proposals” but “multiple proposals,” and bringing the agreed - upon proposals to open houses in September. Ms. Lamica s uggested developing options by September , present them to the full committee and the public no later than November giving a 60 - day MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, February 13, 2020 Minutes School Committee Clerk: Annie Thompson • (413) 587 - 1327 • anniethompson@northampton - k12.us The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items lis ted may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to t he extent permitted by law. Mayor David Narkewicz Ms. Dina Levi Ms. Laura Fallon Mr. Roni Gold Mr. Lonnie Kaufman, Vice Chair Ms. Rebecca Busansky Ms. Kaia Goleman Ms. Susan Voss Mr. Sean Condon Ms. Emily Serafy - Cox window to collect feedback and deliberate. Dr. Provost suggested changing the motion to state “ Recognizing the importance of a later high school start time the School Committee will consider multiple options of achieving a later high school start time of at least 8:00AM or later by September 2020 with a School Committee vote to approve one of them by November 2020 for a Septemb er 2021 start time.” The Committee further discussed matters relating to the issue including language that the Committee is committed to a later school start time that meets the needs of all the students in the district, the possibility that no proposal will be accepted by the committee, school committees all over the state and country who is committed to this issue but has not been able to get it done, being realistic about monetary issues and this issue being important to the public. Mr. Gold made a mo tion to change the word “approve” in the motion to the word “on,” seconded by Ms. Busansky The committee further discussed matters related to the issue including not being able to vote to approve a proposal that hasn’t been seen yet, the possibility of it being illegal to vote to approve a plan that hasn’t been developed yet, and the School Committee Code of Ethics language that states that “statements or promises should not be made regarding how she or he will vote on matters that come before the Committe e,” and that committee members should “make decisions only after all facts on a question have been presented and discussed.” A VOTE was taken on the motion to change the word “approve” to the word “on” and the motion was passed 9 - 1 (Goleman). A VOTE was taken on the original motion put forward by Ms. Voss now amended to state : “Recognizing the importance of a later high school start time the School Committee will consider multiple options for achieving a later high school start time of at least 8:00AM or later by September 2020 with a School Committee vote on one of them by November 2020 for a September 2021 start time,” and the motion was approved unanimously. Ms. Levi made a motion to vote on the current proposal to move the start time by 30 minutes, s econded by Ms. Busansky. A VOTE was taken and the motion failed unanimously. Ms. Serafy - Cox made a motion to refer the potential options of late start time to the Budget & Property Subcommittee, seconded by Ms. Fallon. The Committee discussed matters re lating to the proposed motion including ensuring full School Committee participation in the Budget & Property meetings and the timeline for the Budget & Property work on the issue. Ms. Lamica stated that Dr. Provost, Transportation Director Ms. Tammy Lieb er and herself will have to do a tremendous amount of work and planning on this issue during a time when the work on the budget will continue into April depending on what happens with the override taking into consideration the Transportation Department’s t ime - consuming task of scheduling, routing busses, and administering bus passes for MEETING OF THE NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE Thursday, February 13, 2020 Minutes School Committee Clerk: Annie Thompson • (413) 587 - 1327 • anniethompson@northampton - k12.us The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items lis ted may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to t he extent permitted by law. Mayor David Narkewicz Ms. Dina Levi Ms. Laura Fallon Mr. Roni Gold Mr. Lonnie Kaufman, Vice Chair Ms. Rebecca Busansky Ms. Kaia Goleman Ms. Susan Voss Mr. Sean Condon Ms. Emily Serafy - Cox six weeks in August and September. Dr. Provost agreed and stated that the subcommittee work will have to be completed between May and July. The Committee discussed matters relating to the timeline including not wanting the bussing to drive the decision and the possible development of an ad hoc committee that can do some legwork before the Budget & Property subcommittee takes up the issue. Dr. Provost suggested as an altern ative to an ad hoc committee, having School Committee mem