April 8, 2021 Meetings

Weymouth School Committee

ZOOM Meeting
April 8, 2021
MEETING MINUTES
(approved 4/29/21)

Members In Attendance: Lisa Belmarsh, Chair; Tracey Nardone, Vice Chair; John Sullivan, Secretary; Kathy Curran; Rebecca Sherlock-Shangraw; Carrie Palazzo

Members Absent: Mayor Hedlund

Also Present: Kathleen Smith, Superintendent; Brian Smith, Assistant Superintendent; Robert Wargo, Assistant Superintendent

The Meeting Came to Order At 7:00pm.

Chair Belmarsh led in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Consent Agenda:
The Consent agenda included:

• Warrant 40-2021 in the amount of $1,094,170.33. Dated April 5, 2021.
• Regular Minutes: 3/25/21
• Executive Session Minutes: 3/24/21
• Budget Sub-Committee Minutes: 3/24/21

Motion by Mrs. Nardone to accept the consent agenda. Seconded by Dr. Sullivan. Roll Call vote. Motion passed unanimously.

Student Advisory
Due to student schedule conflicts, motion by Mrs. Nardone to table Student Advisory. Seconded by Dr. Sullivan. Roll Call vote. Motion passed unanimously.

Public Comment
The Chair reminded that public comment be in accordance with Policy BED, items on the agenda and kept to 3 minutes; if members wish to speak-name and address should be added in the chat.

There was none

Report of the Superintendent:
Superintendent Smith’s presentation included a video of the opening first day of return to 5 days of in person learning for primary schools. The Mayor, Superintendent and the Weymouth Wildcat welcomed students. The Superintendent shared that the asynchronous learning on Monday afternoons can be done after the school day and that DESE standards of 25 hours per week of in person learning are being met.

There was a beam raising ceremony at the New Chapman. The beam was displayed at town hall for community members to sign for posterity. After the ceremony, Speaker of the House Romano, Senator O’Connor, Representative Murphy and School Administrators and Committee members met at Chard Street to talk about the district, equity, collaboration and importance of funding.

The Superintendent thanked Assistant Superintendent Smith and John MacLeod for securing tents and permits for WHS, Adams, and Seach.

Excused and unexcused absences were reviewed. The protocol is to ensure quality instruction continues for students. There are a lot of moving pieces and that buildings will continue to work with families. Safety is at the forefront and Superintendent Smith reiterated mask wearing, sanitizing and hand washing continue through April break. End of year celebration discussions are underway and information will be forthcoming.

All questions asked by the committee were addressed. The Superintendent will include Covid health and testing guidelines in her Memo before April vacation. The presentation is attached to these minutes.

WHS Return to School Presentation-Principal Alan Strauss, Associate Principal
Karen Monahan
Principal Strauss, Associate Principal Monahan and Associate Principal Paulhus gave an overview of the return to in person school plan commencing April 26, 2021 which meets the DESE guideline of April 28, 2021. Principal Strauss thanked the RTS members, Ms. Monahan, Ms. Paulus, WHS Deans, Lt. St. Croix, Chief Myers, The Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent’s Smith and Wargo, HR Director Foley, Mike Murphy, Tina Conte and the WEA, and SEIU for their help and assistance. There will be a virtual Q&A on April 14 and limited tours over April vacation for 8th and 9th grade students.

In person DESE guideline for high school is 27.5 hours. Survey responses and in person numbers were reviewed. To accommodate the additional 8th grade class and 6’ social distancing, there will be 10 lunches (5 in each cafeteria in addition to tents) for 2 blocks. Using tents for alternate class spaces is being discussed.

Transportation traffic patterns and existing bus routes at WHS were reviewed as well as parking at St. Francis and student drivers. The WHS payrider fee is $40 for the remainder of the year and there will not be a student parking fee. Thanks was expressed to Robin Howard and her team as well as Headmaster Robert Murphy of St. Francis. The parking lot will be closed to student pickup at 1:55pm. There will be a trial run for transportation dismissal next week.

Due to increased students in the building and to help ensure guidelines there will be 21 stipend positions ($2100each ) for coverage of high traffic areas during the day.

All questions by the committee regarding absence and doctors note, use of tents, dismissal, quarantining, and stipends were addressed. A copy of the presentation is attached to these minutes. Discussion of absences will continue.

The committee thanked Principal Strauss, Associate Principals Monahan and Paulus for the detailed presentation and the conversations it generated.

NEW BUSINESS
Motion by Mrs.Nardone to take out of order Approval of contract for Robert Wargo, Superintendent of Schools effective July 1, 2021. Seconded by Dr. Sullivan. Roll call vote. Passed unanimously.

Approval of contract for Robert Wargo, Superintendent of Schools effective July 1, 2021. (Action requested).

The Chair congratulated Assistant Superintendent Wargo again advised that a contract has been agreed upon. The contract has standard clauses and is for a term of 3 years beginning July 1, 2021 at a salary of $210K per year. The contract will be made public after it is signed.

Superintendent Elect Wargo thanked the school committee, community, Assistant Superintendent Smith, former Superintendent Curtis-Whipple, and Interim Superintendent Smith as well as Dr.’s Brackett and Gotgart from the Collins Center and expressed his excitement in leading Weymouth.

Mr. Gotgart from the Collins Center congratulated Mr. Wargo and the district as well as the community for their involved outreach. He shared his esteem for the high school students also.

Superintendent Smith expressed her pleasure working alongside Mr. Wargo advising that he is the right person for the job.

Motion by Mrs. Nardone to accept the contract for Robert Wargo, Superintendent of Schools effective July 1, 2021. Seconded by Dr. Sullivan. Roll call vote. Passed unanimously.

Chapman School Building Update, Adams Renovation and Transportation Building Update (Town Measure 20 072 - Amend Measure 19 017)

Motion by Mrs.Nardone to take out of order Chapman School Building Update, Adams Renovation and Transportation Building Update (Town Measure 20 072 - Amend Measure 19 017). Seconded by Dr. Sullivan. Roll call vote. Passed unanimously.

Mr. MacLeod gave an update on the transportation building, Adams renovation and the amended measure.

The transportation building engineering and design is complete and specs and site work for ramp work have been reviewed. There were drainage challenges at Mitchell Field and collaborating with DPW has rectified the situation. A contract will be publicized in May and awarded in early June.

Work on a field/bath house at Libbey Field will be underway. Safety and traffic was discussed. The engineering and design firm will present at a future meeting.

A contract is being executed for the security and ramp entrance at Abigail Adams’ Academy Ave. entrance. Additional money is needed so the measure has been amended from $3M to $4.525M. This fits with the spending timeline and staggered service debt. The timeline of work has not changed.

a. 2021-2022 School Calendar (Action Requested)

Assistant Superintendent Wargo advised that the dates for parent teacher conferences are incorrect. As this is the first reading, the calendar will be placed on the next agenda.

b. Budget Sub-Committee Report: 4/7/21 (Action Requested)

Dr. Sullivan gave an overview of his report. Topics included: FY22 Update and Schedule with FY23 budget preparation, transportation 5 year contract award to First Student, state finances, as well as CTE and Weycare fee cycle. 

Motion by Mrs. Curran to accept the Budget Sub-committee report. Seconded by Mrs. Nardone. Roll call vote. Passed unanimously.

c. Policy sub-Committee Report (Action Requested)

Mrs. Nardone reviewed the 4/5/21 meeting. An overview of policy JB-Equal Opportunity, JBAA-Sexual Harassment, and policy JJF-student accounts was given. Homeless status will be added to policies regarding equal opportunities for student education. Student activity accounts and guidelines were surveyed. Minutes were tabled until the next meeting.

Motion by Dr. Sullivan to accept the report of the policy subcommittee. Seconded by Mrs. Nardone. Roll call vote. Passed unanimously.

d. Policy JJF-Student Activity Accounts-First Reading

The policy has been updated and will be posted for review and discussion at the next meeting.

Thanks was expressed to Alyssa Johsnon for her capstone on student activity accounts.

e. Policy Manual Section J-First Reading

The policy is centered around students and is posted for the public on the website, changes are in red. Discussion and comment will be had at the next meeting.

OLD BUSINESS

Policy JBAA-Sexual Harassment-Third Reading

The policy has been updated to meet changes in the law. Thanks was expressed to Mr. Hardy from MASC and Assistant Superintendent Wargo.

Motion by Dr. Sullivan to accept policy JBAA. Seconded by Mrs. Curran. Roll call vote. Passed unanimously.

Joint Committee on Community Host Agreement between Weymouth and Algonquin Gas Transmission regarding North Weymouth Compressor Station

The committee filed the brief with FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) as did 150 other parties. The brief will be posted on the blog.

Announcements:
Weymouth Market-May 5, 2021-3:30pm-WHS Gold Cafeteria in a drive thru manner
Town Wide Parent Council-April 13, 2021, 7:00pm-ZOOM
SEPAC-April 27, 2021-6:30pm-ZOOM
School Committee Retreat, April 10, 2021, 10:15am, Humanities Center as well as Zoom

Next School Committee Meeting:
Regular Meeting: Thursday, April 29, 2021 - 7:00pm

The Meeting adjourned at 9:26pm on the motion of Mrs. Nardone, seconded by Dr. Sullivan. Roll call vote - passed unanimously.

Documents Attached to These Minutes:

• Superintendent Presentation
• WHS RTS Presentation
• Town Measures 20 072 - Amend Measure 19 017

Respectfully Submitted,

John Sullivan
Secretary

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