As the district administers the PARCC exam this month and next, superintendent David Aderhold clarified the standardized test’s relation to graduation requirements at the April 12 board meeting.
Currently it is “one of multiple measures as a qualifier for graduation,” Aderhold said. However, the state department of education is currently considering a new set of graduation requirements, one of which would eventually require students to take PARCC. If adopted they would only apply to students currently in grade seven and below.
While some parents may disagree, Aderhold said the district has the responsibility to administer the PARCC exam. Parents can have their children opt out of taking PARCC, though Aderhold adds parents should be mindful of the state’s proposed graduation requirements.
At the same time, Aderhold said the proposed guidelines are incomplete.
“What happens if you take Algebra I in eighth grade, pass the course, but don’t pass the PARCC test? You only take PARCC if you’re in the class roster, it’s a subject-based assessment, but what if you take the course over the summer? There is no clarification for option II. It’s an example of a department rolling out changes without vetting the impact on current students.”
The board approved the agenda 8-0. Member Taylor Zhong was absent.
Board vice president and Administration & Facilities committee chair Michele Kaish provided an update on the district’s ongoing exploration of videotaping board meetings. The administration videotaped a board meeting in March as part of a one-time trial run. As part of the analysis of videotaping implementation, the district is also reassessing bylaws pertaining to board meeting conduct and public participation.
“The bylaws have not been updated in a while and videotaping impacts those bylaws. This is an opportunity to consider changing how board meetings are held,” said Kaish. The district’s legal counsel is expected to present updates at the A&F committee’s next meeting in May.
Added Kaish: “I want to make sure that decorum is a priority at our meetings. We want to put structures in place that we can have a productive meeting. The meeting is public, but the board meeting is for the board to conduct its business. The public is invited to watch us conduct the meeting. It’s not a town hall; it’s not an opportunity for Q&A. We want to know what members of the public are thinking and feeling about different issues. But at the end of the day, our board meets twice a month to do business. The priority is to make sure the board can do our job.”
Board secretary Larry Shanok presented a short budget presentation on upcoming capital projects. The public hearing for the 2016-’17 budget is on April 26. The proposed local tax levy is $155.48 million, a 2.33 percent increase from the current year, and $5.68 million is allocated from the Capital Reserve Account for capital projects.
New projects include: basketball court replacement at South; roof restoration and track resurfacing at North; parking area restoration at Grover; parking lot improvements at Village and Millstone; playground improvements at Millstone; roof trough upgrades at Dutch Neck and roof replacement at Maurice Hawk.
