Minutes from May 12, 2008
Broad Meadows Middle School
Attending: Sandy Verhault (Atlantic), Deirdre Durkin (Broad Meadows & QPAC), Tracey Christello (Beechwood Knoll), Marybeth Dooling (Bernazzani), Michelle Harty(Bernazzani), Sue Bill (Central AP) Fiona Canavan (Broad Meadows & Central), Carol Dumas (Central and QPAC), Ann Mariano (Montclair), Sue Sheridan (NQHS), Linda Kelly (NQHS), Barbara Isola (NQHS), Karen Chretien (Wollaston),Mary Rose Bohone(Lincoln Hancock),Corinne Kimmell(Lincoln Hancock), Kathy Bell(Merrymount), and Paula Smith (Point Webster).
The meeting was called to order at 7:08 pm, with Co-President Fiona Canavan presiding.
The minutes from the April 14, 2008 meeting were passed around. Fiona asked for any changes and since there were none, a motion was made to accept the minutes. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
Treasurer, Marybeth Dooling presented the Treasurer’s Report for the periods ending April 14, 2008 and May 12, 2008. There are three schools with dues still outstanding. Marybeth noted that the Council usually votes to approve $100 to purchase a gift for Grace Buscher in recognition of her work on the Council’s website. A motion was made to purchase a $100 gift for Grace. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
Tracey Christello, Citywide representative to the School Committee meetings reported on the recent meetings. She said that at the Open Form, many people spoke about the siting of the track. The issue was referred to the Building and Maintenance subcommittee. Construction of Quincy High School is slightly behind schedule. There may be some picketing by some unions in the future at the QHS construction site. The middle school principals proposed changing the number of grading periods in middle school from 4 to 3. Each term will now have approximately 60 days in it, just like the high schools. The committee approved the proposal. A discussion took place about the city taking over the maintenance of the schools. An antibullying policy was approved and Tracey has requested a copy. Tracey noted that there is much work conducted in subcommittee and that she would try to attend the upcoming budget subcommittee. Fiona said she was requested that the School Committee secretary send her notices of all the subcommittee meetings. A parent noted that Citywide has historically attended School Committee meetings and budget subcommittee meetings and she believes this is important to continue. Tracey agreed to continue as the representative to the School Committee meetings next year.
Old Business:
Officers for the 2008-2009 School Year: Fiona announced nominations for officers for next year. The membership unanimously elected officers as follows: Linda Kelley as President, Susan Bill as Vice-President, Deirdre Small as Secretary, and Sandy Verhault as Treasurer.
New Business:
Schedule of Meetings for Next Year: Fiona presented a draft schedule of Citywide meetings for next year: 9/8, 10/20, 11/10, 12/8, 1/12, 2/9, 3/9, 4/13, and 5/11. She asked if there were any conflicts with holidays and there were none noted. Meeting dates for next year were approved.
Upcoming Interviews: Fiona announced several upcoming interviews for open positions in the school department and noted the Citywide representative who would participate in each. She will continue to notify the membership throughout the summer about interviews and ask for representatives to attend.
Lockdown Procedure: Tracey Christello reported that she observed a lockdown procedure at NQHS and was impressed with the efficiency of it. A discussion followed about students who may not be able to comply with all the lockdown procedures and how they would receive assistance, also of procedures at QHS during contraction.
Mayor Tom Koch: Fiona introduced Mayor Tom Koch who had just arrived. She asked him to comment on the budget for the upcoming year. The Mayor said that he presented his budget to the City Council. It is a level-funded budget except for contractual obligations. There are no new programs. To fund the budget, he will have to go to the maximum tax levy, which will result in a tax increase. He noted that there were items not funded in the current budget that will affect this coming year’s budget including debt service on the Honeywell project energy improvements, some new fire trucks, and raises for employees. He also noted that there are some line items that are school-related but which are funded by the city, including the Honeywell project improvements of which 70% were on school buildings. He noted that the City Council can cut the budget, but cannot add to it.
Fiona asked if the budget is level-funded then that means there will be no job losses? Mayor Koch reported that as of today, there are no job losses, but a lot can change before June 30th. Fiona said that the schools couldn’t lose any programs. The Mayor said that there is very little room to work with and that he would not support an override of Proposition 2 ½ .
A parent asked the Mayor to speak about the siting of the track. He said that a regulation track would not have fit in the stadium without filling in some of Black’s Creek. A list of possible sites was developed and Faxon Field was #1 on the list, but the high school issue had not been resolved. He was told that a track could be built on the site without pilings. It would need some soil strengthening. He said the cost figures presented at that time by the previous administration for Faxon Field and for Pageant were not accurate. The track at Faxon Field will have a 6-8 lane straightaway, but some field events will have to take place at the YMCA field across the street. He said the YMCA is open to this. He noted that Faxon Field is in the center of the city and track meets are after school so parking will not be an issue. He said the final report from the engineering firm would be ready in a couple of weeks.
There is a flooding problem in that neighborhood but the track will not make it worse and may even help. Football, lacrosse, and gym classes could use the inside of the track. A parent suggested that everyone involved needs to attend a track event at the Cavanaugh Field to observe the need for parking at a track event.
A parent asked about the billboard in West Quincy. The Mayor said that the Zoning Board approved the billboard last June.
Fiona thanked the Mayor for attending the meeting.
Thefts in School: Fiona said that the reporting of thefts in school is handled differently in different schools. She said that some principals do not want to report thefts to the parent community. She suggested that parents should ask their principals to report thefts so that all parents are aware of the issue.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved. Meeting was adjourned at 8:16 pm.