NOTICE SHERBORN SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 11, 2014 6:30 P.M.-7:30 P.M. SHERBORN TOWN HALL SHERBORN, MA 01770 (Members of the public are welcome to attend. Sherborn School Committee members include: Mr. Frank Hess, Chair; Mr. Frank Hoek, Secretary; Mr. Greg Garland; Ms. Susan Hanlon; and Ms. Anne Hovey) AGENDA Call to order Approval of Minutes Sherborn School Committee Meeting Minutes of 2/11/2014 AR Dover Sherborn Regional School Committee Meeting Minutes of 2/4/2014 & 2/26/2014 Dover School Committee Meeting Minutes of 12/17/2013 & 1/21/2014 Community Comments Reports CSA Report – Mr. Scott Embree and Mr. Dave Welch Subcommittee Reports Pine Hill Building-Capital Committee Building Rental Revolving Account Use AR Central Office Superintendent: Mr. Bliss Donation Acceptance: Anonymous donation for Good Grief training AR Assistant Superintendent: Dr. LeDuc Finance: Ms. Tague Pine Hill Principal’s Report: Dr. Brown Special Items and New Business Special Education Reorganization AR School Choice AR Pine Hill Lease Agreement AR Proposed Sherborn School Committee Meeting Calendar 2014-15 Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Dates: Sherborn Open Hearing: Saturday, March 22 nd
Transcript
NOTICE SHERBORN SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
MARCH 11, 2014
6:30 P.M.-7:30 P.M.
SHERBORN TOWN HALL
SHERBORN, MA 01770
(Members of the public are welcome to attend. Sherborn School Committee members include:
Mr. Frank Hess, Chair; Mr. Frank Hoek, Secretary; Mr. Greg Garland;
Ms. Susan Hanlon; and Ms. Anne Hovey)
AGENDA
Call to order
Approval of Minutes
Sherborn School Committee Meeting Minutes of 2/11/2014 AR
Dover Sherborn Regional School Committee Meeting Minutes of 2/4/2014 & 2/26/2014
Dover School Committee Meeting Minutes of 12/17/2013 & 1/21/2014
Community Comments
Reports CSA Report – Mr. Scott Embree and Mr. Dave Welch
Subcommittee Reports
Pine Hill Building-Capital Committee
Building Rental Revolving Account Use AR
Central Office
Superintendent: Mr. Bliss
Donation Acceptance: Anonymous donation for Good Grief training AR
Assistant Superintendent: Dr. LeDuc
Finance: Ms. Tague
Pine Hill Principal’s Report: Dr. Brown
Special Items and New Business
Special Education Reorganization AR
School Choice AR
Pine Hill Lease Agreement AR
Proposed Sherborn School Committee Meeting Calendar 2014-15
Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Dates: Sherborn Open Hearing: Saturday, March 22nd
Routine Business Enrollment Report for March 1, 2014
Agenda items for April Sherborn School Committee meeting
Adjournment
Executive Session Session held for the purpose of contract negotiations.
(Not to return to open session)
The Dover Sherborn Public Schools do not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex/gender,
religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or homelessness.
DRAFT
Sherborn School Committee Meeting of February 11, 2014
Members Present: Frank Hess Frank Hoek Susan Hanlon Anne Hovey Greg Garland Also Present: Steven Bliss, Superintendent of Schools
Karen LeDuc, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Christine Tague, Business Manager
Barbara Brown, Principal Frank McGourty, Assistant Principal Therese Green, Director of Special Education 1) Call to order Mr. Hess called the meeting to order at 6:33 pm at the Town Hall. 2) Approval of Minutes
a) January 14, 2014 Mr. Hoek made a motion to approve the minutes of January 14, 2014. Mr. Garland seconded. 14-02 VOTE: 5- 0
b) The January 7, 2014 Regional School Committee minutes were noted. 3) Community Comments – None 4) Reports
c) CSA Report –Mr. Embree updated the Committee on recent and upcoming events:
• The Fund for Excellence campaign continues and is halfway to the fundraising goal. • The Raffle Basket drawing will be held later this week. • The Board will be voting on the spring grant awards next month. • There will be opening on the Board for next year and any interested parties should
contact Mr. Embree or Mr. Welch. d) Sawin Grant - The Sawin Fund is used annually to hold enrichment programs at Pine
Hill. This year's donation is $12,000. Ms. Hanlon made a motion to accept the $12,000 donation from the Sawin Fund. Mr. Hoek seconded.
14-03 VOTE: 5 - 0 e) Superintendent Update - Mr. Bliss highlighted recent and upcoming events in the
District:
• There are 4 students that are currently participating in the China Exchange Program. • Over 30 students will be leaving for the Galápagos Islands on Saturday February 15th. • Ms. Merriam and Mr. O'Halloran will be retiring in June. • The TEC Newsletter was provided for the Committee. • Edvocate Food Services Program Assessment - Mr. Bliss provided a sample
assessment provided by Edvocate and requested consensus approval for him to hire Edvocate to assess the Dover-Sherborn District. The assessment will cover staffing, funding and equipment recommendations as well as provide an objective look at the food service program. The cost of the consultation is $9,000 and will be funded from the Superintendent Reserve account. The Committee was in favor of the proposal.
f) Assistant Superintendent Update - Dr. LeDuc provided highlights of her work with implementing District Determined Measures (DDM), creating curriculum units in the
Understanding by Design format and Science, and Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) programming.
g) Finance Report
• Status of Appropriations - There are no significant changes to the report from last month.
• OOD Tuition and Transportation for both the Region and Pine Hill are within $54,892 of budget which is down from $99,567 last month.
• The window replacement project is out to bid. h) Principal’s Report - Dr. Brown discussed recent and upcoming events at Pine Hill.
• A new Grade 2 Teaching Assistant has been hired to replace Ms. Bertschmann who got a teaching job in Medfield.
• The Kindergarten parent mailing has been sent. • Dr. Brown and Mr. McGourty gave an update on the mid-year formative evaluation
meetings the are required by the DS Professtional Growth and Evaluation System. 5) Special Items and New Business
a) Special Education Trends - will be discussed at the Joint meeting later this month. b) Draft 2014-15 School Year Calendar - will be discussed at the Joint meeting later this
month. c) Draft 2014-15 School Committee Meeting Calendar - Mr. Hoek made a suggestion to
change the spring meeting schedule to once every 5 weeks instead of the 2nd Tuesday. The schedule will be further discussed at next month’s meeting.
d) Grades 3 & 5 has an Art Exhibit is at the Sherborn Town Library through February 28th. 5) Routine Business
i) Enrollments as of February 1, 2014 j) Agenda items for March meeting - School Committee meeting schedule, Budget Hearing
6) Adjourn at 7:42 pm.
Respectfully submitted, Amy Davis
APPROVED 3/4/14
Dover-Sherborn Regional School Committee Meeting of February 4, 2014
Members Present: Richard Robinson, Chair Dana White, Vice Chair Shelley Poulsen Michael Lee
Lauren Balk Clare Graham
Also Present: Steve Bliss, Superintendent Karen LeDuc, Assistant Superintendent Christine Tague, Business Administrator John Smith, Headmaster, DS Regional High School Scott Kellett, Headmaster, DS Regional Middle School Brian Merringer, Assistant Headmaster, DS Regional Middle School Ellen Chagnon, Interim Guidance Director Ms. McCabe and Ms. Handler, Student Council Representatives 1) Call to Order Mr. Robinson called the meeting to order at 6:36 pm in the High School Library. 2) Community Comments – None 3) Reports
a) Student Council Report – Emme McCabe updated the Committee on upcoming events for the high school student council. Rachel Handler updated the Committee on the upcoming events for the middle school student council.
b) Superintendent - Mr. Bliss • The Administration mid-cycle evaluations are complete. • There are 4 students that are currently participating in the China Exchange Program. • Over 30 students will be leaving for the Galapagos Islands on Saturday February 15th. • An IT infrastructure assessment was provided and will be discussed at the Joint
meeting with Mr. Ritacco, Interim IT Director. • The Wellness Committee and the Administration would like to use Edvocate to provide
a comprehensive, objective review of the food service program. Mr. Bliss proposes using the Superintendent’s Reserve account to pay for the cost of the evaluation.
Mr. Robinson made a motion to support the Superintendent’s decision to use $9,900 ($3,300 for each District) from the Superintendent’s Reserve account to contract Edvocate to conduct a review of the food service program. Ms. White seconded. 14-06 VOTE: 6 - 0
• FY15 Capital Budget - after discussion and clarification from Ms. Tague it was agreed to remove the purchase of a handicapped accessible van from the capital requests and to leave it in the FY15 operating budget.
• IMA Update - Both Dover and Sherborn’s respective Town Counsels have provided their recommended changes to the IMA which have been incorporated by the Region’s attorney. The Administration is awaiting final approval from both town’s Town Counsels and expects to receive that soon.
• FY15 Budget - Mr. Bliss covered questions that were asked by the Sherborn Advisory Committee. Ms. Tague provided the assessment breakdown for Dover and Sherborn. Dover’s assessment would increase $453,480 given the proposed FY15 budget. Sherborn’s assessment would increase $463,186 or $194,279 over Sherborn Advisory’s guidance.
• Ms. Lorraine Witzburg will be retiring this June after 41 years of teaching.
APPROVED 3/4/14
• Donation - A family has made an anonymous donation of $5,000 to support the social norming campaign.
Ms. Poulsen made a motion to accept the donation of $5,000 for the social norming campaign. Ms. Graham seconded. 14-07 VOTE: 6 - 0
• Obsolescence - Mr. Ritacco provided a list of obsolete equipment. Ms. Poulsen made a motion to declare the equipment listed on the January 29, 2014 memo obsolete. Ms. Graham seconded. 14-08 VOTE: 6 - 0
• Regional Director of Guidance Appointment - Mr. Bliss introduced Ms. Chagnon as the Regional Director of Guidance for the District.
c) Assistant Superintendent - Dr. LeDuc updated the Committee on the implementation of DDM and UbD and the corresponding evaluations of student progress. • International Students Program - Dr. LeDuc outlined the process of getting Dover
Sherborn High School SEVIS approved to allow international students to attend the high school. The process takes about 18 months to complete. There was discussion about the logistics of the program and the impact on the high school.
Mr. Robinson made a motion to approve the expenditures for the SEVIS application and site visit in the amount of $2,355. Ms. Poulsen seconded. 14-09 VOTE: 6 - 0
d) Business Manager
• Status of Appropriations - The salary variance increased from $144K to $172K as the result of the resignation of the IT Director.
• Facilities - Four of the six boilers in the middle and high school failed recently. Mr. Kelley was able to secure the total replacement of all four boilers despite an expired warranty. The labor costs of installing the replacement boilers is estimated to be $9-12K per boiler. The Administration recommends installing two of the boilers in FY14 and two in FY15 to spread the costs.
• School Lunch Participation - the lunch program has $40K more in revenues over FY13 to date. Analysis has shown that $10K of the increase is due to the price change and the remainder is due to increased participation.
e) High School - Mr. Smith spoke of recent and upcoming events at the high school.
• Examples of Social Norming posters were shown. The posters are placed in numerous locations in the high school and middle school.
• Assistant Headmaster Search - A search committee is being formed. • NEASC is scheduled to visit the high school in 2016. There was discussion about the
cost/benefit of the accreditation. There was consensus to request a delay of the visit due to administration changes within the district and to allow for further research into the consequences of not participating in the accreditation process.
• Chinese IV - Ms. Li addressed the Committee about the importance of the addition of Chinese IV to the continued studies of interested students and also thanked the faculty, staff and students for their support.
• Donation Acceptance - The DS Boys’ Basketball Team has fundraised and donated $1,700 to compensate an Assistant Coach.
Mr. Robinson made a motion to accept the donation of $1,700 for the Boy’s Basketball Assistance Coach. Ms. White seconded. 14-10 VOTE: 6 - 0
• Donation Acceptance - The Dover Cultural Council has donated $400 and the Sherborn Cultural Council has donated $200 to support the Robotics Club.
Mr. Robinson made a motion to accept the donations from the Dover and Sherborn Cultural Councils for the Robotics Club. Mr. Lee seconded.
APPROVED 3/4/14
14-11 VOTE: 6 - 0
• Overnight Field Trip - The Tufts Inquiry simulation will take place at Tufts University on April 4-5, 2014. This years topic is Democracy and Sectarianism in the Middle East and North Africa: Iraq 2014: Elections and Beyond. Twenty seven sophomores are planning to participate.
Mr. Robinson made a motion approve the Tufts Inquiry field trip April 4-5, 2014. Ms. White seconded. 14-12 VOTE: 6 - 0
• Gymnastics insurance regulations - One of the practice venues for the gymnastics team increased it’s insurance requirements and would not allow the team to practice if the policy was not changed. In the interest of allowing the athletes to finish the season the District’s policy was temporarily adjusted.
• 2014-15 Program of Studies - Ms. Chagnon reviewed the proposed changes. Mr. Robinson made a motion to approve the changes to the 2014-15 Program of Studies. Ms. White seconded. 14-13 VOTE: 6 - 0
f) Middle School - Mr. Kellett spoke of recent and upcoming events at the middle school. • Overnight Field Trip - The Washington DC overnight field trip will take place on June
11-13, 2014. Mr. Robinson made a motion to approve the Washington DC trip June 11-13, 2014. Ms. White seconded. 14-14 VOTE: 6 - 0
4) Special Items and New Business a) Special Education Trends - The report was provided by Mr. Lee and will be discussed at
the March meeting. b) Proposed RSC 2014-15 meeting calendar - Mr. Bliss proposed moving the RSC
meetings to the third Tuesday of the month (instead of the first Tuesday) to allow more information gathering in September and avoid the Graduation conflict in June. The Committee did not feel the change of meeting date was necessary.
c) Cell Tower - There is a proposal to put a 93’ mono-pine cell tower on a parcel of private land off Evergreen Lane in Medfield that abuts the school campus. Ms. White and Mr. Bliss have met with the cell tower company and the Town of Dover to investigate the possibility of of using school property for the cell tower so the school would receive the revenue. There will be more information at future meetings.
d) Agenda items for February 13th - Warrant article language, FY15 Budget, SPED costs for Dover and Sherborn, OOD savings realized by return of students to District
e) Ms. Poulsen will not be able to fulfill the remainder of her term so anyone interested in serving the 2 years of her term should contact Dover Town Hall. Ms. Balk will be running for another 3 year term this spring.
5) Approval of Minutes a) January 7, 2014 Mr. Robinson made a motion to approve the minutes of January 7, 2014. Ms. White seconded. Add names of student representatives to “Also Present”, correct numbering of sections and in section 3h change interest rate to 6.9% from 6.5%. 14-15 VOTE: 6 - 0 b) The Sherborn School Committee minutes of December 10, 2013 were noted.
6) Routine Business a) Enrollments as of February 1, 2014
7) Adjournment Motion to adjourn at 9:26 pm.
APPROVED 3/4/14
Respectfully submitted, Amy Davis
APPROVED 3/5/14
Dover-Sherborn Regional School Committee Meeting of February 26, 2014
Members Present: Richard Robinson, Chair Dana White, Vice Chair Shelley Poulsen Michael Lee
Lauren Balk Clare Graham
Also Present: Steve Bliss, Superintendent Karen LeDuc, Assistant Superintendent Christine Tague, Business Manager Heidi Perkins, Assistant Business Manager John Smith, Headmaster, DS Regional High School Scott Kellett, Headmaster, DS Regional Middle School Brian Merringer, Assistant Headmaster, DS Regional Middle School Dover Warrant - John Cone, James Stuart, Kathy Gill-Body, Robert
Cocks, Geoffrey Merrill, Brooks Gernerd Sherborn Advisory - Mary Wolff 1) Call to Order Mr. Robinson called the meeting to order at 9:00 am in the Middle School Conference Room. 2) FY15 Budget
a) Intermunicipal Agreement (IMA) - The IMA has been approved by the Board of Selectmen in both Dover and Sherborn. If approved at the Annual Town Meeting of both Dover and Sherborn the $315,000 in capital requests will be funded through the IMA at a rate of 54.45% to Dover and 45.53% to Sherborn. Mr. Robinson made a motion to approve the IMA as presented and previously approved by Dover and Sherborn. Ms. White seconded. 14-16 VOTE: 6 - 0 Mr. Manley, Bond Counsel, has recommended the following motions for the appropriating of capital costs and approving the IMA: That the Dover-Sherborn Regional School District (the "District") hereby approves the Intermunicipal Agreement among the District and the Towns of Dover and Sherborn (the "Member Towns"), in substantially the form presented to this meeting (the "Intermunicipal Agreement"), and incorporated herein by reference, with such changes as the Chair of the Regional District School Committee shall approve; and That the District hereby appropriates the amount of $315,000 for the purpose of paying costs of various capital equipment/or improvements including the payment of all costs incidental and related thereto (the "Project"). This appropriation is to be met solely through funds to be received by the District from the Member Towns pursuant to the terms of the Intermunicipal Agreement. No funds shall be expended or encumbered to meet this appropriation unless and until (i) the Boards of Selectmen of the Member Towns have voted to approve the Intermunicipal Agreement relating to this appropriation, and (ii) the town meeting of each of the Member Towns shall have appropriated their respective shares of the capital costs set forth in the Intermunicipal Agreement. In the even that the approximate amount corresponding with each item/improvement set forth above is greater than necessary to pay the complete cost of such item or improvement, then any surplus amount may be applied to pay costs of any of the other capital items/improvements set forth above.
APPROVED 3/5/14
Ms. Graham made a motion to approve the motions as indicated in the memo dated February 5, 2014 from Mr. Manley in the amount of $315,000. Ms. Poulsen seconded. 14-17 VOTE: 6 - 0
b) Equipment/Vehicle Capital Requests - a memo detailing the cost and reasoning behind the capital requests for equipment/vehicles was provided.
c) Special Education Cost-savings and Strategies - Ms. Tague provided a breakdown of FY14 OOD and Transportation costs (by town) as well as FY14 Special Education program savings to date. The Language-based Program has saved $96,186 by bringing several students back to the District. The Administration will be discussing the next steps for the Language-based Program at a meeting tomorrow. There was a request to continue providing the tracking these costs going forward (it will be).
d) FY15 Operating Budget - Since the presentation of the budget at the February 4th meeting there have been a few adjustments based on new information: 1) attrition due to a retirement ($30,000), 2) healthcare increase above budget estimate $21,523 and 3) increase for purchase of handicapped van above amount budgeted for lease payments $14,955 for a total increase of $6,478. The total increase in the Operating Assessment over FY14 is $923,144 or $456,951 for Dover and $466,193 for Sherborn. There has been guidance from the State Legislature that the Region can expect approximately $200,000 in additional State Aid in FY15. The Regional School Committee will discuss whether to include this potential revenue into the assessment at their meeting next week. There was discussion about how to best reach Sherborn Advisory's allowed increase over FY14 and whether there would be additional funds allotted to the Region by Advisory.
3) Special Items and New Business a) Agenda items for March 4th - FY15 Budget Hearing
4) Adjournment Motion to adjourn at 10:02 am. Respectfully submitted, Amy Davis
APPROVED 3/6/2014
Dover School Committee
Meeting of December 17, 2013
Members Present: Dawn Fattore
Kristen Dennison
Tim Caffrey
Lauren Doherty
Adrian Hill
Also Present: Steve Bliss, Superintendent of Schools
Karen LeDuc, Assistant Superintendent
Christine Tague, Business Manager
Laura Dayal, Principal
Maria Colarusso, Administrator of Special Education
Bob Cocks, James Stuart, Dover Warrant
Nancy Powers, DSEA Building Representative
1) Call to order
Ms. Fattore called the meeting to order at 8:30 am at Chickering.
2) Community Comments – none
3) FY15 Budget
a) Capital Requests - There was discussion of the proposed capital requests.
Ms. Dennison made a motion to approve the capital budget requests for FY15. Mr. Hill seconded.
13-44 VOTE: 5 - 0
b) Operating - Mr. Bliss presented the draft FY15 operating budget for discussion. He stated that the
proposed budget represents a 1.76% or $118,021 increase over FY14 and is responsibly
constructed to provide level services following Dover Warrant Committee guidance. The budget
also: includes an undisclosed amount for contract negotiations for all bargaining units (teachers,
administrators, support staff, secretarial, food service and plant/facilities); reduces classroom
sections from 27 to 25 reflecting declining enrollment (kindergarten and grade 3 will have one
less section); reflects the matriculation of 19 special education students in grade 5 to the middle
school; includes expansion of the FLES program to include seven sections (kindergarten and
grade 1); includes a .1 reduction in the area of visual arts; includes a .2 reduction in music;
includes the reduction of a library aide; includes the non-replacement of a retiring custodian;
includes the elimination of the part-time nurse’s aide; and allows for $51,000 for major building
maintenance (in addition to the capital requests).
Mr. Hill made a motion to approve the draft FY15 Operating Budget in the amount of
$9,647,534. Ms. Doherty seconded.
13-45 VOTE: 5 - 0
4) Special Items/New Business a) Donation Acceptance: PTO - The PTO has donated $710 to fund the cost of professional
development for Chickering Teaching Assistants related to the Trouble-free Playground program.
Mr. Hill made a motion to accept the donation of $710 from the PTO to fund professional
developments costs for Teaching Assistants related to the Trouble-free Playground program. Mr.
Caffrey seconded.
13-46 VOTE: 5 - 0
b) Dover Town Report due January 10, 2014
4) Approval of Minutes
a) October 29, 2013
Mr. Hill made a motion to accept the minutes of October 29, 2013. Mr. Caffrey seconded. Under
“Members Present” correct the spelling of Ms. Dennison’s name to Kristen.
13-47 VOTE (as amended): 5 - 0
b) Sherborn School Committee minutes of October 8, November 12 and November 20, 2013 and
Regional School Committee minutes of October 1 and November 5, 2013 were noted.
10) Adjournment at 10:00 am
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Davis
APPROVED MARCH 6, 2014
Dover School Committee
Meeting of January 21, 2014
Members Present: Dawn Fattore Kristen Dennison Tim Caffrey Lauren Doherty Adrian Hill Also Present: Steve Bliss, Superintendent of Schools
Christine Tague, Business Manager Laura Dayal, Principal Bob Cocks, James Stuart, Dover Warrant Nancy Powers, DSEA Building Representative
1) Call to order
Ms. Fattore called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM at Chickering.
2) Community Comments – none
3) FY15 Budget
Ms. Tague presented the revised numbers for the FY15 budget. After adjustments the proposed budget
represents a 0.29% or $19,251 decrease over FY14. Classroom teachers will decrease by 3.5 FTE or
$190,213 (one teacher retirement, one teacher RIF and 1.5 teaching assistants due to aid redeployment).
There were no changes to the OOD budget.
Ms. Dennison made a motion to approve the draft FY15 Budget in the amount of $9,510,262. Ms.
Doherty seconded.
14-01 VOTE: 5 - 0
4) Superintendent Report - Mr. Bliss highlighted a few items in his report.
5) Special Items/New Business a) Draft 2014-15 School Calendar - the calendar was provided for review and will be discussed at
the next Joint meeting.
b) March 6th meeting - reports and items not covered due to the snow-shortened meeting.
4) Adjournment at 6:51 PM
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Davis
PINE HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
FISCAL YEAR 2015
CAPITAL BUDGET REQUEST
Project Amount RFP (Yes or No) Funding Source(s) Notes
Roof Top Units $36,095 Yes ATM02, ATM12, ATM14 Costs: $31,095 + RFP-related costs of $5K for a total of $36,095. Funding: $13K from ATM12, $17K ATM02, and $6,095 from ATM14
Auditorium Windows $19,510 No ATM14
Septic Work (Inspection Phase) $1,850 No General Fund FY13 Sanitation
Septic Work (Repair/Replace Box D Phase) $2,450 No ATM13 Use surplus funds approved at ATM13 for windows
Window Treatments (for A&C Wings) $6,559 No ATM13 Use surplus funds approved at ATM13 for windows
Flooring 1 $27,000 Yes ATM14 (8) "Library" Classrooms @ approx. $2,500/classroom (no asbestos abatement needed), art room (flooring only) of $3K, and RFP-related costs of $500
Insulation $33,056 Yes ATM14 Hallways A, B, & C (above ceiling tiles). Cost of job is $32,056 plus $1K RFP-related costs
Tractor $17,700 No ATM14 Quote of $24,200 less trade-in allowance of $6,500 for current tractor for a total of $17,700
Assistive Technology for Auditorium $3,266 No ATM14
Playground Updates $0 No ATM14
Sub-Total $155,886
Less Prior ATM or alternative sources $39,009
Less FY13 General Fund $1,850
Less Private Donation $3,266 Private donation to cover costs related to the assistive technology system slated for installation in the Pine Hill auditorium (pending SSC approval on 11/20/2013)
TOTAL ATM14 REQUEST $111,761
November 19, 2013
1
The Public Schools of Dover and Sherborn
157 Farm Street
Dover, MA 02030
Phone: 508-785-0036 Fax :508-785-2239
URL: www.doversherborn.org
Mr. Steven B. Bliss, Superintendent
Dr. Karen L. LeDuc, Assistant Superintendent
Ms. Christine Tague, Business Manager
Central Office Report to the Sherborn School Committee
March, 2014
Superintendent’s Updates
Educators’ Agreement Team Recognition
As the negotiation process for the Educators’ Agreement draws to a close, it is appropriate to
thank the following members of the School Committee Negotiating Team for a job very well
done. The Committee began meeting during the summer, and of course their work continued
through the fall and most of the winter. We especially recognize Ms. Clare Graham, SCNT
Chair, and Ms. Shelley Poulsen, SCNT Co-chair, for their unwavering commitment to what
was a fair, respect-filled, and responsible negotiation process.
Ms. Clare Graham, SCNT Chair; Member, DS Regional School Committee
Ms. Shelley Poulsen, SCNT Secretary; Member, DS Regional School Committee
Mr. Tim Caffrey, Member, Dover School Committee
Mr. Peter Carusso, Chair, Sherborn Board of Selectmen
Ms. Dawn Fattore, Chair, Dover School Committee
Mr. Greg Garland, Member, Sherborn School Committee
Mr. Frank Hess, Chair, Sherborn School Committee
Ms. Carol Lisbon, Member, Dover Board of Selectmen
Non-teaching Unit Contract Negotiations
We are communicating with the designated individuals representing each of the non-teaching
subgroups, as the units are anxious to begin contract negotiations. Given that none of the
units’ contracts has been truly reviewed in years, we are obtaining sample contracts from
school districts that have recently negotiated and revised their non-teaching contracts. We
hope to have all non-teaching contracts solidified by early May.
Elementary Classroom Rental
As will be discussed the Sherborn School Committee meeting on March 11h, we seek to rent
one classroom at Pine Hill School to the ACCEPT Collaborative for the 2014-15 school year.
PARCC
Approximately 15 percent of students in grades 3-11 from 347 school districts across the state
will take a PARCC field test this spring. The purpose of the field test is to try out PARCC test
questions a year before they count and ensure that the questions are aligned to the content
area they cover. The field test is the first step in the two-year "test drive" of PARCC to
determine whether to adopt PARCC as the state's new student testing program and sunset
MCAS tests in English language arts and mathematics.
In an effort to build awareness of PARCC and in the interest of delivering clear and accurate
information about the assessment’s alignment with the 2011 Massachusetts Curriculum
Frameworks in English language arts and mathematics, which incorporate the Common Core
State Standards, we have posted a number of resources on the DS website at
Note: The proposed reorganization may result in one additional benefits package at the Region. The elementary schools’ exposure for additional benefits remains
unchanged. * The estimated savings of $25,242 at the Region will likely be $7,242 in FY15 as we estimate needing to hire one additional aide.
LOOKING AHEAD
7
As the transition occurs, other efficiencies could be
realized through a reconsideration of system-wide:
Secretarial support staff needs
Contracted services
Staff allocations and assignments
Out-of-district case management
7 7
CONCLUSION
8
Thank you for your continued support of the mission and
philosophy of our school system…
to inspire, challenge, and support all students as they
discover and pursue their full potential.
8 8
The Public Schools of Dover and Sherborn
157 Farm Street
Dover, MA 02030
Phone: 508-785-0036 Fax :508-785-2239
URL: www.doversherborn.org
Mr. Steven B. Bliss, Superintendent
Dr. Karen L. LeDuc, Assistant Superintendent
Ms. Christine Tague, Business Manager
MEMORANDUM
TO: Dover School Committee
Dover-Sherborn Regional School Committee
Sherborn School Committee
FROM: Steven Bliss, Superintendent
RE: School Choice
DATE: February 27, 2013
Massachusetts General Law Chapter 76, Section 12 requires local school committees to vote
annually as to whether or not the district will participate in School Choice.
Our school committees have historically voted not to participate in School Choice.
Should a committee decide not to participate, the recommended motion is:
Move to not have the Dover Public School/Dover-Sherborn Regional Schools/Sherborn
Public School participate in School Choice program for the 2014-2015 school year.
