Town of Carver, MA - SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES

Mike Riordan, President, introduced Connie Kaufman as the new EAPC Vice President for Carver. Also noted this year is the last of the current contract and it will be time to arrange negotiation meetings. Mr. Riordan will attend both the New Teachers Orientation and address the staff at Opening Day ceremonies on August 27, 2007.

Minutes of June 11, 2007 – budget vote were approved with one abstention. Motion by Mary Kaminski, second by Randy Webster. Regular and Executive Session Minutes of June 19, 2007 were also approved. Motion by Mary Kaminski, second by Al Spicer. Randy Webster abstained. July 10, 2007 executive session minutes were approved unanimously. Al Spicer made the motion, second by Mary Kaminski.

The school committee was pleased to announce Randall Webster is the recipient of a MASC Lifetime Achievement award. The committee nominated Mr. Webster in the fall and received notification he would be presented with the award at the MASC/MASS Joint Conference in Hyannis on November 16, 2007. This honor recognizes his contributions to the children of the Carver school district both through his years of service on the School Committee and through he many activities he has participated in as an advocate for children.

A. Zoning Board of Appeals – a petition filed by Helen Bradbury for the purpose of opening a small private school at 88 Main Street, Carver was discussed. This school, Christopher Donovan Center, Inc., will service students ages 14-19 years old. Our district can add this school to our list of options for our out of district placements for students requiring special accommodations. This school has been approved by the Department of Education. As a result of this school opening in Carver, we will be required to share a portion of grant money with this school on a per pupil allotment basis.

B. Mass School Building Authority – a statement of interest to prioritize our building projects was sent to this agency on August 7, 2007. The first priority is the Governor John Carver Elementary School.

C. Argus Construction Corporation – Updates on the tennis and basketball courts were presented by Matthew Gillis. Argus Construction was the low bidder and both jobs have been started with an anticipated completion date of September 30, 2007. The fence around the tennis court has been removed, some trees taken down and the area will be leveled and a 5^th court added. The superintendent extended a public thank you to the Carver Preservation Commission for their financial contribution without which these projects could not happen. Mary Kaminski suggested for the future, the courts get very windy and perhaps evergreen trees could be planted there to help with the weather conditions and also be a great natural divider.

A. Recognitions – Newly hired staff members were introduced to committee and public. Laura Tilton, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Technology was introduced. She will attend all committee meetings and will bring updates throughout the school year on curriculum initiatives. New teachers: Elizabeth Lombard, Middle School English – grade 6; Emily Holmes, High School Social Studies; and Roger Shores, High School Chemistry.

Jonathan Evans, High School Mathematics has resigned to accept an administrative position – Assistant Principal at Dighton-Rehoboth High School. In addition to teaching Mr. Evans was the varsity girls soccer coach and the Drama Coach. We wish him well; he will be missed by faculty, staff and students. The mathematics teaching position has been advertised along with Speech Language Pathologist and Athletic Trainer positions.

B. Personnel Updates – an expansive list of all personnel hired, transferred, and resigned were distributed to the committee for the 2007-2008 school year to date. Coaching openings are: Middle School Cross Country, Middle School Boys Soccer, Wrestling and High School Girls Soccer.

C. Summer Professional Development – a summary of six different professional development courses and trainings were presented including the number of participants at each. The courses were offered for graduate credit which assists faculty in attaining their goals for recertification and licensure. Curriculum mapping was reviewed and updated through the work of grade level mathematics study groups. Agile Mind, an on-line integrated math program, will be attended by the middle school math department including the new math lab faculty to support student achievement in mathematics.

D. Updates on CPC Projects – Michael Schultz, Director of Athletics re-iterated the information from Matt Gillis regarding the tennis and basketball courts. Colors for the tennis court need to be decided for the new surface.

E. Update of Fitness Room – the Weight Room is about 70-80% complete. The 30x30 room will be available shortly after the opening of school for student use. Mr. Schultz expressed his thanks to the Boosters Club and all the volunteers who gave of their time, energy and talents to make this Weight Room a reality.

F. Opening of School Information – The superintendent’s welcome back letter and schedule of opening day were distributed. Parents/guardians of new students to Carver were encouraged to contact the appropriate building to register their children before the first day of school which is August 28, 2007. Also, bus and lunch forms are available on www.carver.org. Opening day for teachers is Monday, August 27, 2007. If there is any information that is not readily available through out web, please contact the superintendent’s office and we will follow through on the request.

A. District Improvement Plan – A draft version was submitted for review and suggestions. The plan will be maintained and reported on by building administrators throughout the school year. No action is necessary tonight as a few additions/revisions are being made. A final product will be brought to the committee for the September meeting.

Work was done on the DIP at the ALT retreat. The ALT retreat was over two days at a conference center on the Cape. Work was concentrated on two areas: our school attorney, Rebecca Bryant, presented on student school records updates, legal issues and review of 51A information. The other area was Response to Intervention presented by Chris Parker, the New England authority on this topic. This will be implemented throughout the district over a 3 year roll out. This is a 3-tier process which when applied fewer children are in the hardest to serve category.

B. Disposal of Computers – A request to dispose/recycle of non-functioning computers and parts was presented on behalf of the Technology Department. Randy Webster made a motion to approve, Al Spicer second. All in favor.

Also noted, through suggestions made from a technology audit performed by LCN, Inc., the server room at the high school has been remodeled and organized and parts/equipment which we will not be using have been donated to the police and fire departments.

C. General Secretary Position – the addition of a .49 clerk was approved for the Middle School through this year’s budget. The Athletic Director and Middle School Principal recommended combining the existing Athletic Secretary job to create a 220 day position. It is an opportunity to share resources within school buildings. Consensus of approval from the committee.

D. Position letter regarding Middleboro Casino – a copy of the press release the superintendent sent to the local newspapers regarding the consequences of the Middleboro casino was shared and discussed. A position paper from the town is being coordinated and Jack Hunter is Carver’s representative. Several information forums have been held both in Carver and in neighboring towns. Randy Webster voiced a concern that a member of the school committee should be available to speak at these forums as to the consensus of the committee which is the school department is opposed to the building of the casino due to the tremendous negative impact to the town. Kay Spencer spoke about the need to tighten up our zoning regulations. Liz Sorrell will contact Jack Hunter to coordinate the development of a fact sheet. The committee was in agreement to the importance of sending a letter to the governor, senators and representatives regarding the effect to our town if the casino is built.

D. Sexual Misconduct Policy – A draft of this new policy was distributed for a first reading. The policy has been sent to our school attorney for their legal advice. The revisions will be brought to the September meeting for adoption. Information will be share with teachers, custodial union and support groups.

Mary Kaminski shared she had been at the Farmers Market in Shurtleff Park during the last two Sundays and has learned there are free tables/canopy tents reserved for use by the community. This would be a great forum for gathering interest and membership for PTO, boosters clubs, etc. as well as various school fundraising efforts. Dick Ward, retired faculty member of our school department and current selectman is the contact. The market is open until October.