Administration: gets lively

O'Connell starts by asking about vacancies: budget director, quadrant manager (contracts have been offered already), manager of staff development (currently open to applications until July 21), director of supplemental services (advertised).
O'Connell recommending vacant positions not be filled: $400,000 in admin, $120,000 in grant account
five different kinds of administrators, lists O'Connell
he says it isn't that these positions aren't important..."can we truly afford to have these positions this year..or can we hold them open for one year...suggest that for one year without these positions, we will survive"
wants to transfer these funds directly
"to make a significant positive step...our priorities do not lie in the Durkin Administration Building...our goal is first and foremost the wellbeing of children"
"attention grabbing"

Novick walks through the open positions: only Manager of Staff Development position is open. Manger of Supplemental Services has been filled; we've issued contracts for the other two previously open positions.

O'Connell scales back his proposal to just the Manager of Staff Development, which is grant funded. Thus it can only be moved within whatever grant funds it. We're wending our way to a question as to which grant funds this and what we can do with this.

Mullaney "we're proposing getting rid of the head of staff development...so we're going to take a year off staff development" (O'Connell is shaking his head) "What school system of this size doesn't have a director of staff development?" Moves approval

Mayor O'Brien reviews motions on the floor.
It is funded largely out of Title II grants (which is staff development), and also Title I
(Title II thus limits what we could reallocate the funds for...)

Motion to move money carries 4-3


Mullaney speaks of this "as penny-wise and pound-foolish"
the "suggestion that these people offer nothing"
we'd be down to one quadrant manager
"it takes the vision of seeing the big picture, to see those people...the skeleton of this school system"
"how you could you possible think that we're going to move this forward....like having a bunch of sailors, and no ensigns, no" officers

Boone "going back to the comments you made on the accountability system" (to O'Connell)
doesn't exist in a vacuum
"we need to be very clear around the statements of what we've been able to accomplish in this budget"
zero based budget; grant and finance office joined; continued to make admin reductions
"very very clear...whether we agree with the principles or not...we have two Level 4 schools...very specific roles for central office for the support of those schools...at the end of the day we have to decide if we are going to be a school system that is aligned"
"at the end of the day we exist because teaching and learning" is our focus
"if the EPA...were here saying we had missed opportunities to be in complience"
"we can't continue to allow achievement of our students to be allowed to be left to happenstance"

Foley disagrees with O'Connell
"there are greater accountability out there"
"arbitrary position cuts"

Mayor O'Brien asks which positions are systems administration and education administration: Allen lays them out (nine are systems).

Monfredo asks if the PD position can be moved over the accountability officer position
Boone "that's linked to the data of school improvement"