MONADNOCK REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Board Meeting Minutes

September 17, 2002

Monadnock Junior and Senior High School Library

 

7:00 PM CALL TO ORDER

 

Present: Don Arguin, Winston Wright, Chairman, Dixie Gurian, Patricia Smith, Stephen Mettling, Gene White, Alan Gross,  Robin Marra, Richard Thackston, Gus Lerandeau and Larry Colby. Absent: William Felton, John Morin, Jonathan Kirstein and Geordie Fifield.

Also present: C. Cardine, Supt., K. Dassau, Asst. Supt., L. Biron, Business Manager, D. Hodgdon, Director of Curriculum. Principals: K. Craig, D. Dahl, K. Carter, D. Stockwell, D. Mousette, D. Bissaccio, and Betty Tatro. Student Council Representative: Beth Dahl.

 

 

1.         CONSENT AGENDA:

Minutes of September 3, 2002 MOTION: D. Gurian  MOVED to approve  the  minutes. SECOND L. Colby Discussion: R. Marra would like to correct the minutes on page 4 under “Old Business” He states that R. Thackston stated it was his recollection that the warrant indicated the School Board did not support Article Four and that that was the reason the article was defeated. But in fact R. Marra comments that the Budget Committee and the School Board were at odds. He stated that the School Board supported the Article and the Budget Committee did not. Another correction was the citizen from Gilsum was not A. Park but A. Clark. Capital is spelled with an “a”not an “o”.  VOTE: 9.24/0/0/5.76 Motion Passes.

           

2.        CITIZENS CONCERNS: K. Sportello commented that the numbers for

 Surry regarding opening day enrollment were incorrect.  C. Cardine informed her that the numbers have since been fixed.

 

N. Moriarity from the Budget Committee informed the Board that he will not be able to attend the October 5th meeting but would like to give his opinions. N. Moriarity suggested that the architectural fees, the expansion project and the maintenance account be three separate Articles on the Warrant. He informed the Board that the reason why the Budget Committee did not support the expansion was because there was no design.

 

A parent of a student at the MC2 Program wanted to let the board know what a wonderful experience her child is having at the school.  Her son is becoming a leader. The teachers are wonderful.   Communication between the school and parents is great.  Her child looks forward to going to school and he comes home enthusiastic. She feels that this is a positive experience for her child.

 

 

3.        STUDENT COUNCIL CONCERNS: B. Dahl informed the Board that Homecoming Weekend will be the weekend of Sept. 27. The students will have a bonfire and the Football Team will be having a home game on Saturday. B. Dahl encouraged the board members presence at the events.

 

B. Dahl informed the Board that on November 10, 2002 the Student Council will be participating in Ellen’s Walk. Ellen Corindia is a former student from MRHS who suffers from A. L. S. for which there is no cure. D. Arguin commented by saying that he felt the Board should support this effort and that the funds being raised would go directly to the doctor who is treating Ellen.

 

The Student Council would like to ask the Board to include them in the passing of the expansion and renovation process. A. Gross said that he thought that was a great idea and that the students should be involved.

 

4.                  CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: C. Cardine informed the Board that last year’s yearbook has been chosen as a semi-finalist by the Taylor Publishing Company. Less than 10% are chosen.

 

Deb Crowder has received the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards of 2002.

 

Howard Robertson and Tom Warner, Dir. of Technology will be presenters at a workshop titled Ghost Buster: Reimage a Corrupted/Crashed Computer in Less than Five Minutes.

 

C. Cardine read a letter sent to him about the impact certain teachers at the Gilsum School and the district had on their children. She mentioned that even though there is lack of space, classrooms, and money, her children shined and are now attending Knox College and Hamilton College.

 

Robert M. De Jong sent a letter to Coach Pickering.  At the recent football teams event at Pilgrim Pines the students displayed manners that the school can be proud of.

 

Donna Page, AP Coordinator was recently informed that James Kahn a former MRHS student will be attending Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  James took advanced placement classes while attending MRHS and scored so well that WPI has awarded him with 9 college credits.

 

C. Cardine commented on the junior/senior high school ceremony that took place on September 11, 2002 out on the football field. Over 1300 students were in attendance. During the 45 minute ceremony speeches were made by staff and local fire and law officials, the chorus sang, and bagpipes were played. He was very impressed with the respect shown by the students.

 

C. Cardine commented on the behavior of the students in the lunch room. There are  between 520 and 540 students in the lunch room and how well behaved they are.

 

5.         OTHER SCHOOL BOARD BUSINESS:

A.  Board Committee Reports:

1.      Policy Committee: D. Arguin asked that the Board review the NHSBA Resolutions further into the meeting agenda in case the audience does not want to sit through all of them. The Board agreed.

 

Policy JICA Student Dress Code, D. Arguin mentioned that he understood that the Board felt that this policy was vague. The Policy Committee had talked about having the building dress code in the policy. This discussion has not been resolved as of yet. A. Gross thought that this policy should be vague and to let the building principals decide. MOTION: R. Thackston MOVED to accept Policy JICA Student Dress Code as presented at the last meeting as a second reading. SECOND: A. Gross VOTE: Unanimous.

 

Policy GBAA Anti-Harassment and Sexual Violence:  D. Arguin asked K. Dassau to explain the reasoning by the attorney for deleting the statement in the old policy. K. Dassau explained that attorney Irwin deleted the legal reference for sexual harassment because the policy was broadened to include other types of harassment. A. Gross would like to know how the staff will be reviewing this policy. C. Cardine explained that the building principals will review the policy with staff. MOTION: R. Thackston MOVED to accept Policy GBAA Anti-Harassment and Sexual Violence as presented at the last meeting as a second reading. SECOND: L. Colby VOTE: Unanimous.

 

Policy EDC Appropriate Use of Technology and Privacy Policy. MOTION: R. Thackston MOVED to accept Policy EDC Appropriate Use of Technology and Privacy Policy as presented as a second reading. SECOND: G. Lerandeau. VOTE: Unanimous.

 

 

2.   Communications Committee.  D. Gurian thought that the Board could update their binders later in the meeting so that the audience would not have to sit through the process.

 

D. Gurian explained that the Communications Committee has been looking at efforts to inform the public about the Feb. 1, 2002 meeting and the March 11, 2002 meeting. Business cards will be picked up tomorrow and handed out at the student conferences. The committee will be receiving free banners informing the public about the upcoming meetings. Announcements will be made prior to events letting the people in attendance know about the two important upcoming dates. N. Morriatti commented that the Board should inform the public that the Saturday meetings have been short and are no longer 8 hours long.

 

      3.   Facilities Committee: R. Thackston reported that the committee met but there were not enough members in attendance so it was an informational meeting with not action taken. Next meeting will be Sept.23, 2002 at 8:30 AM at the Thackston Office on Main Street. 

 

B.  New Business:  See NHSBA Resolutions  and Board binders below.

 

C.  Old Business: None

 

D.  Curriculum Report: D. Hodgdon introduced Jerry Babonis who is the aquatic biology teacher at the high school. J. Babonis then introduced two of his former students, Joe Budreau and Eli Dunham. The two students did a power point presentation on a water quality study done by students on the south branch of the Ashuelot River. The class in which they were members worked closely with the NH Fish and Game. The students brought tools in which they obtained the water samples as well as material from the river. They passed out the results of their work and samples of water from the river to the Board. J. Babonis thanked the School to Career Program for supporting the program in order to purchase the equipment used in this study. A. Gross commented  the presentation was excellent. He asked if the students would bring this presentation to the elementary schools. J. Babonis said that was a great idea.

 

E.   21st Century Report: K. Carter, director of the Monadnock Community Connection School  read letters written by students at the MC2 program. One student wrote that she loved the school. Another student wrote they he is having a great time with the outdoor projects, every student plays a part and every student is heard. This student writes that this school has made a great difference in his life.

 

      D. Stockwell visited the program at the Stonewall Farm and said that the students were enthusiastic, eager and paid attention. K. Carter explained to the Board that the students all take part in the project at hand which is to construct a shed. Each student will have a job. Some might work on the plans, some might help with the clearing of trees, some will help with the delivery of materials, and so on. She explained that the program works closely with the parents and the students to create a mission and come up with a learning plan. On Oct 30, 2002 Stonewall Farm will create a Creature Trail Event and every student will help. One parent explained that her child would not stop talking about his day at school.

 

      The ground breaking for the addition at Antioch will be Friday at 5:30 PM on Avon Street. All the students and their parents in the program will be in attendance. The Board is welcome to attend. G. White asked if all the students are participating in activities at Stonewall Farm or at other locations. K. Carter explained that some students may go to other sites such as an apprenticeship and some students are involved in chorus and yearbook and return to MRHS. W. Wright asked if the students were involved in sports. K. Carter said she has one in soccer, one student in field hockey and on student in football.

 

      L. Colby asked if there were any areas of concern. K. Carter said that some parents were complaining of no homework. K. Carter explained that what might not seem like traditional homework to a parent is homework. Another concern is that the program would like each student to have a laptop. Parents may be concerned about that. The parent meeting is October 1, 2002.

 

      G. White asked about foreign language. K. Carter explained that she is looking into ways for this to occur such  as compact discs and tapes.

 

      K. Kenney asked if the students are covered by insurance that are working in forestry. L. Biron explained that the students are covered under the district insurance. K. Carter explained that the students are not using dangerous machinery.

 

F.   Action on the Manifest: P. Smith MOVED to approve the manifest in the amount of $1,135,295.84 SECOND: G. Lerandeau VOTE: Unanimous.

 

 

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT: C. Cardine informed the Board that he will be talking to Baybutt Construction about the expansion and renovations for the Monadnock Regional Junior and Senior High School.

 

C. Cardine and L. Biron have a meeting with Clukay Management on Sept. 30, 2002

 

A former MRHS student will be making a video on the overcrowding conditions at the high school.

 

C. Cardine informed the Board that the MC2 Program will be receiving $70,000.00 from a federal grant for technology. The district had applied for a construction piece of that grant but was denied because it is at Antioch. K. Carter did the bulk of the work on the grant.

 

Saturday will be planting day at the MRHS with help from the Scouts. The MRHS Maintenance staff is doing a great job on the outside of the buildings.

 

Tuesday the 24th of Sept. the Board will have a meeting with the Budget Committee at 7:00 PM at the Wilcox Building.

 

C. Cardine informed the Board that he will e-mail any information he receives prior to the board meetings.

 

Saturday, October. 5, 2002 the Board will meet at the MRHS Library to discuss the facilities and a way to solve the space problem. The meeting will start at 9:00 AM and is scheduled until 4:00 PM.

 

November 2, 2002 will be a budget session for the principals and Board.

 

NHSBA Resolutions D. Arguin sought feedback from the Board on the Resolutions. D. Arguin would like to discuss #6, and #12. R. Marra would like to discuss #9. R. Thackston would like D. Arguin and J. Morin to use their own judgment when they vote on the resolutions. Approved by consensus. Any concerns see D. Arguin or J. Morin before the Delegate Assembly.

 

Binders. D. Gurian updated the board members informational binders. D. Gurian informed the Board that the 21st Century Report is included and should be placed in the front of the binder. The full audit and collective bargaining agreement is included. D. Gurian would like to thank Terry at the SAU office and Curt for their help on the binders.  The SAU Policy Book should be out in November.

 

7.   SETTING UP THE NEXT MEETING’S AGENDA:

1.      Grant Writing Position

2.      Policy Committee

3.      Finance Committee

4.      Facilities Committee

5.      Communications

 

9:00 PM Chair Wright declares a recess.

 

8. NON-PUBLIC SESSION

9:05 PM G. Lerandeau MOVED to enter into non-public session for the purpose of discussing personnel. SECOND: L. Colby. VOTE: Unanimous.

9:30 PM G. Lerandeau MOVED to return to public session and to seal this portion of the non-public minutes indefinitely. SECOND: R. Marra. VOTE: Unanimous.

 

9.  Motion to Adjourn.

9:30 PM L. Colby MOVED to adjourn. SECOND: R. Marra. VOTE: Unanimous.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Laura Aivaliotis

MRSD Board Secretary