WAKEFIELD SCHOOL COMMITTEE Wakefield, Ma Minutes of June 24, 2014 Meeting Present: Chairman Callanan, Vice-Chairman Morgan, Ms. Cook, Mr. Liakos, Mr. Kenney, Mr. Markham, Business Admin. Pfifferling, Clerk Majeski. Dr. Zrike, who was attending the Gr. 8 Graduation, will arrive after Item #3. 1. 2.

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Call to Order – Chairman Callanan called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Reading of Mission Statement – Chairman Callanan read the Mission Statement: It is the mission of the Wakefield Public Schools to educate and inspire every student to live a life of engaged learning, personal responsibility and positive contribution through: 1) safe and healthy learning environments; 2) diverse learning opportunities; 3) high quality teachers and staff; 4) community involvement and partnerships; and 5) 21st Century tools and skills. General Public Comment – None Chairman’s Remarks, Reports, Recommendations a. Waive Class Size Policy (held until Dr. Zrike’s arrival) Mr. Markham asked the likelihood of the waiver. Dr. Zrike noted it would be very unlikely based on projections he has seen. There are some tight spots, particularly in the Walton School area. The policy affords the administration the flexibility of letting families remain in their home schools. He will continually provide enrollment updates to the committee throughout the summer. Mr. Liakos noted it is a policy with no meaning, and the committee is being asked to waive it based on no information. He suggested the policy should go to the Policy Subcommittee level each year after reviewing class sizes, and they would come in with a recommendation. Mr. Kenney asked what would happen if the committee left the policy the way it is and not act on it? Mr. Callanan noted that if the committee does not do it and a family moves into a district and the classrooms are filled, they would be told they have to go to a different school. Mr. Markham felt that enrollment projections are a good planning exercise. The teacher should be able to plan for a specific number of students. It is not good to routinely waive the class size policy. Mr. Liakos though it could be waived in the early fall, once the numbers are in. He asked the superintendent if he would feel comfortable with having to come before the SC for a specific waiver. Dr. Zrike did not expect to have the conversation this evening, but the intent is to adhere to the class size policy. Students should not be taken out of their home schools. Mr. Callanan suggested they refer policy to policy subcommittee for review. Mr. Morgan moved, seconded by Ms. Cook that the School Committee waives Class Size Policy 902-E for the 2014-2015 school year. Vote on motion to waive the policy. In favor: Mr. Callanan, Ms. Morgan and Ms. Cook. Opposed: Mr. Markham, Mr. Liakos and Mr. Kenney. Motion did not pass. Mr. Kenney moved to refer SC Policy 902(E) to Policy Subcommittee for review, seconded by Mr. Liakos. Voted Unanimously. b. School Committee Goals – Mr. Callanan advised that he will take the goals received by the members and attempt to find common themes and then present to the committee at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Mr. Kenney asked that the committee receive all the goals submitted by members. Educational Spotlight – Dr. Zrike introduced Jack Berinato, Dolbeare Gr. 4 student. Dr. Zrike noted that Jack’s teacher Ms. Uva told him a story about Jack. In Jack’s class there was a tie between he and another student, and the class could not decide who would represent them at the Spelling Bee. So as of Friday, before the Spelling Bee, Jack went up to the other student and asked her to represent the class and he would be the alternate. She won the Spelling Bee and won the trophy. Dr. Zrike thanked Jack for being a model for selflessness, kindness, respectfulness for all students will become. Jack was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for Kindness and Thoughtfulness. Superintendent’s Remarks, Reports, Recommendations a. Superintendent’s Comments/Communications 1. Commend the staff on the various ceremonies at each of the schools and congratulations students,

parents and teachers for their hard work. 2. Commend the staff who worked hard this year. A lot of changes and new faces. Also the Central Office staff. Looking forward to the 2014-2015 school year. 3. Alice Update – Response Training – Had a team of Wakefield educators trained, and Wakefield Police Dept. was also trained. We will share information with school admin and do a mini presentation to all staff. Will host a community meeting in Sept/Oct. to all families re. what it is. The WHS is first site of staff training and drill prior to the end of December, then onto the middle school. Thank you to Lieutenant Calabrese 4. BOYB Rental Fees – talked to legal team at MASS and was told students cannot be charged for regular curricular day supplies/etc. We can encourage, but if a parent is not able to provide then we own the cost of the items. School Supplies – we will put out a consistent list to all schools with a $35-$50 dollar range. The lists are up on the new website by grade level. Schools are funded at the same level and well positioned for the new school year. 5. Website is up and running. Old website will come down on July 1 st. 6. Gr. 1 @ Walton – need 1st grade teacher. Presently 60 students are enrolled. 7. North Suburban Childhood Network @ Woodville – Met with PTO at Woodville and they expressed concerns re. security. We decided to shift the plan and now North Suburban will not offer programming during school day, but after school hours. For a fee they will be allowed to use the Woodville School for their program. 8. Tree planting a very moving ceremony led by the teachers at the Woodville. Ella Biggio, Woodville student who passed, had a memorable and important impact on the staff. The family also donated books to the Woodville Library. 9. Information on Mobilization in Support of Common Core Standards 10. Galvin parking lot unavailable as of July 1st. Also Summer Reading Initiative to get students excited about reading. b. Curriculum Review & Adoption Cycle – Dr. Zrike commented that the district’s curriculum is outdated and needs to be upgraded, event though Common Core Standards play a role in the need to upgrade. Ms. Milligan and I determined in the fall that Wakefield had to have a plan in place. Most districts have a very clear plan for turning over curriculum. This is the beginning of a plan. It will require an investment in the system and the town to overhaul curriculum. Ms. Milligan reported on the curriculum review cycle which is conducted on a rotating basis to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum resources in relation to student needs and student achievement. The Curriculum Review Cycle proposes a five-phase process to evaluate, improve, and implement resources for reflective teaching and learning. The five-phase process includes Research and Review; Appropriate Materials and Instruction; Implementation and Assessment and Evaluation of Improvements. Each phase was projected from 2013-2022. Also reported on the projections of curriculum expenses which include professional development and training. The committee thanked Ms. Milligan for her presentation and wished her well in her new position. The committee was supportive of the proposed curriculum review cycle. Mr. Liakos noted that the Curriculum Subcommittee would be looking the proposal. He asked if there are staff resources to see the program through. Ms. Milligan noted that the stake holders have to be brought together to monitor the program. Dr. Zrike noted that Dr. Smith will be overseeing this. Now there are coordinators, department heads and coaches which give an infrastructure to help make this successful. Dr. Zrike noted that he will miss Ms. Milligan. She has made a significant impact on Wakefield. Ms. Milligan thanked the committee and working in Wakefield has given her the opportunity to grow professionally. c. Approval of Handbooks – They need further revisions and alignment work has to be done to line up with the newly revised policies. Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Markham that the School Committee accepts the 2014-2015 Wakefield Memorial High School Student Handbook as presented. Voted Unan. Mr. Liakos asked if

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accepted as presented will it have to be accepted as it is changed. Dr. Zrike noted that revisions will have to be made now, especially at the high school. It will have to go to the Policy Subcommittee. The committee is accepting what they will be, acknowledging that they have viewed the handbook. Mr. Callanan noted that if the Policy Subcommittee can update the handbooks, and they can come back and voted anytime and then posted on the website. Mr. Markham did not think the SC should be amending or revising the handbooks. The administration has to update to comply with the policies. There are policies of the schools and not within the policies of the School Committee. Is it the building principal or School Committee. Want to vote them tonight. Mr. Liakos agreed with Mr. Markham’s comments. Voted Unan. Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Markham that the School Committee accepts the 2014-2015 Galvin Middle School Student Handbook as presented. Voted Unan. Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Markham that the School Committee accepts the 2014-2015 Elementary School Student Handbook as presented. Voted Unan. d. Approval of Wakefield Academy Job Descriptions – Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Kenney that the School Committee supports the recommendation of Superintendent Zrike pertaining to Wakefield Academy, as presented. Ms. Cook was not supportive of the $4000 fee which includes various charges for copies, heat, rubbish, etc. The $4000 should go back into the program. A member of the audience asked to speak on the process. Mr. Kenney moved, seconded by Ms. Cook to suspend rules regarding allowing a resident to speak, for ten minutes. Unan. Ms. Susan Beer wanted to make sure money is spent on the program and not anywhere else. There needs to be transparency. The In favor: Markham, Kenney, Morgan, Callinan and Liakos. Mr. Callanan read a statement from Ms. Danehy supports the charges for the Academy. Supports fees being competitive to market rate and surplus should go into enrichment programs. Ms. Danehy also is supportive of a reserve. Dr. Zrike noted that the purpose behind the facility fee is above board; we are not looking to make a profit. Anything we make will go back into the program and the quality of the program. The program will be a robust after school experience. Mr. Callanan noted that using funds for anything other than the Academy is illegal. Revolving account rolls forward. Mr. Markham thanked Mr. Randall for the extraordinary amount of work he has done this year. He has appeared before the Budget Subcommittee on many occasions. The program was well received and well supported in the past. It was invaluable. The cost is reasonable and a beginning to have a budget for Wakefield Academy. Vote on motion to accept recommendations of Wakefield Academy. In favor – Markham, Liakos, Callanan, Morgan and Kenney. Ms. Cook opposed Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Markham, that the School Committee approves the creation of a Wakefield Academy Group Leader position, and the revised job description as presented. Voted Unan. e. Summer Projects – Dr. Zrike presented the summer projects schedule as prepared by Peter Evangelista, Facilities Director. Some are long overdue and will provide update throughout the summer. f. Creation of Coordinator of Food Services Position & Job Description (hold until next meeting) Business Items a. Transfers of Funds – Mr. Pfifferling reviewed the Fiscal Year End 2014 Budget Transfers: Transfer Funds from Cost Center: $526,535 Transfer Funds to Cost Center: $526,535 Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Markham that the School Committee approves the transfer of funds as recommended by the administration. Ms. Cook questioned the amount of money being transferred from the Cost Center for textbooks and wanted to know how much money was spent on textbooks & instructional supplies during the fiscal year. Mr. Pfifferling advised that as of May $404,000 was spent in instructional supplies and $86,000 in textbooks. Mr. Markham advised that the Budget Subcommittee asked the same question to Supt. Zike and Mr. Pfifferling. There was a decision not to buy some of the textbooks that have not been fully vetted. A decision was made to come up with a plan for the schools pertaining to textbooks. Mr. Kenney commended the administration for the transparency of the transfers. It is done in good faith. Voted Unan.

b. Summary of Gifts & Donations – Mr. Pfifferling reviewed the list of gifts and donations for the 20132014 school year totaling $48,480.90. The committee and administration expressed their appreciation to the many businesses, organizations and private donors. c. Acceptance of Gift – Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Markham that the School Committee accepts with gratitude a $250 (in total value) donation of a trumpet and trumpet mutes for the Music Department, from The Mohla Family in memory of Ben Mohla. Voted Unan. 8. Consent Agenda a. Approval of Minutes – Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Liakos that the School Committee approves the minutes of June 10, 2014 as presented. Voted Unan. 9. Subcommittee Reports a. Budget – Mr. Markham reports that at their last meeting discussed the transfer of funds and Wakefield Academy follow up. b. Policy – Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Markham, that the School Committee takes off the table and approve Policy 103-R CORI Background Checks. Mr. Kenney took issue with charging staff for finger printing. Unfair to teachers to take fingerprints, and also to pay to have it done. The state should commit funding for fingerprinting. Mr. Liakos supports it because of the legal implications. If something happened and we did not vote the policy, we would be subject to significant legal liability. Mr. Markham pointed out that background checks are nothing new. Finger printing will help break down the boundaries, which is the purpose of fingerprinting. The cost should not be borne by the taxpayers. Dr. Zrike recommended that the School Committee adopt the policy. It is important to make sure the students areas are safe, and go to great lengths to protect the children. Vote: In favor: Morgan, Liakos, Cook, Markham and Callanan. Opposed: Kenney c. Labor Relations – Ms. Morgan reported they met with Cafeteria Unit last week and will report in executive session. d. Communications – Mr. Kenney reported they will be meeting before the July 22nd meeting. 10. Future Dates & Agenda Items – Next meeting Tuesday, July 22, 2014 11. School Committee Comments – The committee congratulated Dr. Zrike on a great year. 12. Executive Session - Ms. Morgan moved, seconded by Mr. Markham that the committee goes into executive session for the purpose of receiving an update on the progress of negotiations with the cafeteria union. Roll Call Vote: In favor – Cook, Kenney, Liakos, Markham, Morgan, Callanan. 13. Adjournment – On a motion by Mr. Morgan and seconded by Mr. Markham, the committee adjourned their meeting at