Board in Brief
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
This is "Board in Brief," issued at the request of Commissioner David P. Driscoll to bring you up to date on Board of Education matters. This is a report on the regular meeting held on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.
Comments from the Commissioner
Commissioner Driscoll opened the meeting by updating the Board on the work of the Council on Early Education and Care. An outside section to the FY 04 state budget created the Council to coordinate resources and public funding streams for early education and care. The Council has scheduled five forums that will be held across the state in October and November to hear suggestions from the field on ways to coordinate, integrate and streamline state administration of publicly-funded early education and care. The Council will then take the comments into consideration as it develops recommendations for a February 2004 report to the Governor, the Legislature and other interested parties.
Reports from Educational Management Audit Council (EMAC) and District Responses to EMAC Reports
The Board heard a presentation from South Middlesex/Joseph P. Keefe Vocational Technical School District Superintendent Peter Dewar and Director of Guidance Jonathan Evans on their response to the Tier II report that was prepared by the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA) and transmitted last month to the Board by the Educational Management Audit Council (EMAC).
The Board also discussed a Tier II report on the Winchendon Public Schools prepared by the EQA, which the EMAC transmitted to the Board this month. Under the Regulations on Under-Performing Schools and School Districts, the Board is responsible for reviewing any reports from EQA that "uncover serious or widespread deficiencies" which "are likely to have a substantial negative effect on the educational achievement of the students attending the district's schools." Joe Rappa, the director of EQA, presented an overview of the report's findings. Winchendon School Superintendent Robert O'Meara, School Committee Chairman Michael Niles, and Valorie Miller, Director of MCAS Remediation, Professional Development and Grants, presented the school district's response to the EMAC Tier II report.
As of this month's meeting, the Board has received and discussed four Tier II reports from the EMAC, on Holyoke, North Adams, Keefe Vocational Technical and Winchendon, and has heard from representatives of each district. After reviewing all of the information available, the Commissioner plans to make a recommendation to the Board about next steps, in accordance with the Board's Regulations on Under-Performing Schools and School Districts, at the November 25th Board meeting.
Commissioner's Update on Under-Performing Schools
Commissioner Driscoll began the discussion on under-performing schools, noting that accountability is the next stage of education reform, following funding, standards and assessment. The school and district accountability system is now a major focus for the Board and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as well as for local school officials.
In the winter of 2000, the Department designated four schools as under-performing: the Arlington School in Lawrence, the Roosevelt Middle School in New Bedford, the John J. Lynch Middle School in Holyoke and the Matthew J. Kuss Middle School in Fall River. The schools adopted improvement plans that were accepted by the Board in 2001, and they have been implementing the improvement plans for the past two years. The Department conducted follow-up reviews in May 2003. Commissioner Driscoll and Associate Commissioner Juliane Dow reported that all four schools made progress in the first year, in terms of developing and implementing improvement plans based on data, strengthening teaching and learning, and demonstrating higher student achievement. However, the schools have not all sustained their progress.
The Commissioner will direct all four schools to continue their improvement efforts and will notify them that the Board will revisit the question of chronic under-performance after the Cycle III results are reported in the summer. If the Board determines that any under-performing school is "chronically under-performing" because it has failed to demonstrate significant improvement, the law authorizes several possible consequences, including appointment of a new school principal by the superintendent where warranted, and additional authority for the school principal to select or remove teachers.
Board of Education Budget Proposal for FY 05
The Board had an initial discussion of its FY 05 budget proposal. The Board's budget committee met once in September and had a preliminary discussion of the budget proposal for FY 05. Chairman Peyser noted that the proposed numbers for Chapter 70 and special education reimbursement under the new "circuit-breaker" program are on hold, pending collection and analysis of additional data from school districts. The committee is recommending additional investment in assessment, school and district intervention, professional development in the areas of mathematics and English language acquisition, and Department administration. The Board will discuss and vote on its budget proposal at the November meeting.
Board of Education Legislative Proposals
The Board had an initial discussion of legislative proposals that it may submit later this year through a member of the Legislature. These would be in addition to the four pending bills that the Board filed in 2002 concerning school finance (amending the Chapter 70 formula), school construction reforms, a retained revenue account for educator license fees, and professional teacher status. The Commissioner presented proposals to streamline the educator licensure (certification) statute, and to authorize school committees to establish an educational stabilization fund. Board member Roberta Schaefer suggested in addition that the Board consider filing proposals to remove assistant principals from collective bargaining, and to increase the share that school employees pay for health insurance benefits on a par with what state employees pay. Commissioner Driscoll will bring the legislative proposals back to the Board in November or at a later meeting for a vote.
Charter Schools
The Board voted to approve requests from the South Shore Charter School and the Edward Brooke Charter School to enter into loan agreements that would extend beyond the term of each school's current charter. Under the charter school statute, a charter school may incur temporary debt in anticipation of receipt of funds but requires approval of the Board of Education if it wishes to agree to repayment terms that exceed the duration of the school's charter. The Commonwealth, including the Board and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, has no liability for any portion of the loans, and the Board's approval has no impact on any action the Board might take in the future with respect to either school's charter.
Approval of Grants
The Board approved $900,000 in grants under the state-funded Parent-Child Home Program and $2.6 million in grants under the following federal programs: Early Childhood Mental Health Project, Career Resources Network, Charter School Dissemination, McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Program, Community Service Learning School-Based Program, and Refugee Children School Impact Program.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, November 25, 2003 at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.
last updated: October 30, 2003
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