WESTFIELD – Monday’s School Committee meeting, which normally would have been held on the first Monday of the month but was bumped due to New Year’s Day, also lost its normal location in City Council chambers and was held in Room 315A. The meeting was therefore not broadcast live on Channel 15 or streamed live on www.westfieldtv.org, a new option for watching City Council and School Committee meetings from now on. Mark St. Jean, coordinator of Video Production & Television Operations for Westfield State University taped the meeting, which will be available on Channel 15 via the city’s website at www.cityofwestfield.org.
The School Committee was bumped to Room 315A at City Hall on Monday. (Photo by Amy Porter)
The first order of business was to elect new officers for the School Committee. Ramon Diaz stepped down as vice chair, having completed his two-year term. Nominations for vice chair were opened, with Cynthia Sullivan and Jeffrey Gosselin nominated. Cynthia Sullivan was elected with a vote of 6-1. Diane Mayhew was nominated and voted unanimously as secretary, replacing Cynthia Sullivan. Brian P. Sullivan remains the chair of the School Committee by the nature of his role as Mayor.
In a new state ruling which allows one School Committee member and one alternate to sign payroll, Kevin Sullivan was elected, and Diane Mayhew elected as alternate.
The School Committee also voted to accept a new Scholarship account in the name of Thalia D. Cady. The new account will allow the district to accept a donation of $36,849 from her estate to graduating seniors from Westfield High School. The scholarship will be awarded at $5,000 annually to a senior student of Polish descent who exhibits artistic excellence, personal integrity, and has been accepted by a secondary school.
“This is a very generous scholarship,” Kevin Sullivan said. Cady, a resident of Westfield who passed away in 2013 was a published poet and a religion and spirituality columnist for BlogHer, one of the leading women’s social media blogs. She also worked as a digital marketing consultant for many years.
Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski then gave a presentation on technology in the district that he also gave to employees earlier in the day. He related findings from an anonymous survey sent before the holidays to all district employees. Questions on technology revealed a wide range in perceived ability, but widespread agreement that more technology and training is needed for personnel to do their jobs. Many commented on outdated or shortages of equipment.
Czaporowski said he has formed a Technology Committee which will meet later this month. His goals include integrating digital learning into the classroom, ensuring that appropriate technology is utilized, and making sure the district is prepared to give online MCAS 2.0 in the spring.
Survey questions on finance also revealed a range of opinions as to how well and fairly the money is allocated. Comments ranged from satisfaction with the system, to feelings that staffing is uneven in the various schools, and the administration is top heavy.
Westfield Public Schools Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski speaking to School Committee on Monday. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Czaporowski broke down the budget for the School Committee, noting that 50% of the revenue comes from the state, and 37% from local contributions. He said the city spends 10% more than they are required to spend locally by the state NSS (Net School Spending). Rix said Westfield has been pretty consistently at 10% over for the last ten years.
Diaz noted that there are districts with fewer students spending significantly more than Westfield. Czaporowski responded that 15% of Westfield’s spending is on utilities, and some of those districts may have new buildings and be spending only 5% on utilities. He cited Abner Gibbs elementary school in particular, which is 100 years old and costly to run.
Diaz also said that transportation is higher in Westfield, which is more spread out and has more roads than many cities.
Czaporowski pointed to the many grants received by Westfield in the last two years, including the SKILLS Capital grant of $500,000 to Westfield Technical Academy. He said that grants coordinator Shannon Barry does a “phenomenal” job.
He said his goals are more transparency, resolving some of the inequities in the middle schools in particular, establishing the technology committee, expanding Wi-Fi capacity to enact a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy as soon as possible, implementing a responsible use policy and 24/7 access to digital learning by students and staff.
In other business, Czaporowski reported that the roof leaks in the gymnasium at Westfield High School were patched in 15 places last week as a temporary solution.
He also announced that he has appointed Kevin Zdroykowski as interim vice principal at Westfield High, replacing Jack Dougherty who retired January 1. He said he would introduce Zdroykowski to the School Committee at a future meeting.
The next School Committee meeting on January 23 will be the annual joint meeting with the Westfield Technical Academy’s Advisory Committee at the school.
