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Home My WebLink About2020-01-28 Finance Committee Minutes r v TOWN OF NORTH ANDOVER FINANCE COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes Meeting Date January 28, 2020 Meeting Location: School Administration Building Sasha Weinreich, SW Chairman X Ed MacMillian EM, Vice Chair Timothy Tschirhart, TT X Divya Bhatnagar, DB X Charles Trafton, CT X Jennifer Luz, JL X Thomas Ringler, TR X Kevin Foley, KF Christine Allen, CA X Angela Ciofolo, AC X Note: All FINCOM votes are subject to a re-vote upon receipt of new information. Note: Documents used in this meeting are listed in Document Table, herein. Non Finance Committee Members in attendance Gregg Gilligan(GG), School Superintendent Lyne Savage (LS), Finance Director/Town Accountant James Mealey(JM). Asst. School Superintendent, Finance&Operations Pledge of Allegiance Discussion starts on or about 7:00 pm/0:00 on video time Call to Order Discussion starts on or about 7:00 pm/ 0:00 on video time Presentation of Superintendent's recommended FY21 Budget Discussion starts on or about 7:01 pm/01:00 on video time Reference North Andover School District FY21 Budget (superintendent's recommended budget) and North Andover School Department 5-year Budget Plan SW: Since there is no public comments at this time, we will move right into the presentation. Welcome GG and JM. GG and JM introduced themselves to the Committee and viewers at home. GG: stated we will give you a little bit of an overview and we will cover the following tonight; -Strategic Plan and Budget Directives from the School Committee -Overall Financial Picture January 28, 2020 Page 1 -Proposed Needs -Justification -Special Education —Other Changes -Looking ahead GG: In my first year as a superintendent I met and talked with many people either online or in person. As a result with meeting with these people (either online or in person) I developed a Strategic Plan that consisted of Equity for All Students, Consistent and Rigorous Curriculum and Targeted Professional Practice. We also took into consideration, the School Committee Budget Directives. JM: Stated what you are seeing tonight is the presentation that we made to the School Committee and also questions that SW submitted to us. So we added these questions to our presentation. JM: spoke of the proposed financial picture for the FY21 budget and that it is just under 53 million dollars at a 4.52% increase. GG: Spoke of the challenges they face, expanding course offerings, reducing class size, giving support to students and staff, English Learners, Special Education, Challenging those students that excel academically, etc. JM: Commented on the educational spending, the 5 year plan, and how we compare with the State average. We are extremely lean on our spending and it is starting to impact how we provide services to our students and that is what we are trying to address with our 5- year plan. JM: Presented graphs and comparisons to the Committee. GG: Spoke of the amazing partnerships in this community,proposed needs, also commented on hiring candidates that may be bilingual, and how that would be a plus. We need someone that is able to connect with parents and students, in order to reach out to those that do not speak English. JM: Spoke of keeping students in district regarding those students in need of special education. GG: Stated that we are looking for the best and brightest to best serve these kids. GG: Then spoke of the Bradstreet School, and commented that when it was first opened, we did this without increasing the operating budget. GG: Also spoke of the high school special education teachers and how each student has different needs. JM: Spoke of circuit breaker, and circuit breaker reimbursements (sometimes between 65% to 75%reimbursement).Transportation maybe included as part of circuit breaker reimbursement. Also spoke of out of district expenses. Sometimes we have to make hard choices because of the need to better address unexpected expenses. January 28, 2020 Page 2 GG: Spoke of the school nurse and how we best meet the needs of various challenges, such as students with medical conditions, students with prescribed medications, students with emotional challenges and needs etc. JM: Commented on working to identify ways to positively impact Town's OPEB liability. Some of the committee members expressed their own concerns with regards to OPEB. GG: Spoke of looking at the 5 year plan, and how they are going to meet their needs, and how they plan to do it. JM: Showed the 5-year summary plan slide and went over it in detail to the Committee. JM: Commented that he will forward the presentation along with the graphs and charts to the committee. The committee asked questions and expressed concerns regarding adding teacher positions, freeing up spaces, class size, meeting state average, spending per student, more high school programs and courses offered to students, OPEB was also a concern with regards to how we plan to fund this. GG: Commented on the importance that a 3rd grader read at grade level SW and the Committee all agreed that they are all grateful to see that both GG and JM put together a 5-year plan. GG: spoke of how all of this raises conversation, such as what are our values, expectations, and who are we as a community, as it relates to educating our students. CA: Expressed and wanted to know from GG and JM what do they want or need for the schools and students. If nobody knows what you need, there will not be any conversation. GG: Spoke that he is so proud of the support and various donations that are given from parents, the PTO, merchants,NAMA (music association), Terry Holland, etc., it is incredible. We are very appreciative of all of it. I am very well aware of what people and groups do. GG: We are advocating for this increase, to best meet the needs for today and for the next few years. LS: Addressed some concerns on the proposed recommendations for the school budget increase. GG and JM: Returned back to their presentation, slides, graphs and questions. JM: Spoke of projections, from school enrollments from PK-K12. It is not always easy to see a definite pattern or to make a projection. January 28, 2020 Page 3 JM: Went on to say, we are seeing a birth increase, and we need to have capacity in place before it gets here. SW and the Committee thanked GG and JM for coming tonight, it was very helpful. Vote on proposed FY21 Capital Improvement Plan Discussion starts on or about 8:55 pm/01:55 on video time TT: Made a motion to approve the FY2021 Capital Improvement Plan budget for$6,516,069.00 as detailed in the Capital improvement Plan Budget CA: Second the motion All were in favor to approve the CIP that is before us Thank you LS Approval of Minutes January 7, 2020 Discussion starts on or about 8:57 Pm/01:57 on video time TT: Made a motion to approve the minutes for January 7, 2020 JL: Second the motion All were in favor to approve the January 7th, 2020 Minutes Old Business Discussion starts on or about 8:58 Pm/01:58 on video time SW: Commented that JL will give us a recap on the Stevens Estate. JL: We continue to meet every 2 weeks. We are planning on going on a very extensive tour of the facility this Friday night. We are still talking to facilities that are similar to ours, to see what works and what does not. We are also looking into any potentials partnerships. Also, be on the lookout for a public survey that will be going out soon with regards to the Stevens Estate. There was opportunity for public comments at tonight's meeting, but no public comments were given. 9:05 PM Adjourn CA: Made a motion to adjourn the meeting JL Second the motion All were in favor to adjourn Document Table -Agenda Finance Committee Meeting for January 28,2020 -Minutes from January 7,2020 -Capital Improvement Plan General Fund 2021-2025 -FY21 Budget January 91"from Melissa Rodrigues Esq. (Town Manager). Sent electronically dated 01-09-2020 -North Andover School District FY21 Budget Presentation (presented by GG and JM) -North Andover School Department 5-year Budget Plan(charts) January 28, 2020 Page 4