MONADNOCK REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Board Meeting Minutes

February 17, 2004

Mt. Caesar School, Swanzey, N. H.

Present: Don Arguin, Dixie Gurian, Chair Robin Marra, Sam Johnson, Winston Wright, Alan Gross, Karen Cota, John Morin, Richard Thackston, William Felton, Colline Dreyfuss and Bruce Tatro. Absent: Patricia Smith, Gus Lerandeau and Larry Colby.

Also present: C. Cardine, Supt., K. Dassau, Asst. Supt., L. Biron, Business Manager and D. Hodgdon, Curriculum Director. Principals: B. Tatro, D. Mousette, D. Dahl and D. Stockwell. Student Council Member: C. Castonguay.

R. Marra reminded the Board of our mission statement: we will strive to provide the best education for every child.

1. CONSENT AGENDA:

Minutes of February 3, 2004 Board Meeting. MOTION: D. Gurian MOVED to approve the minutes. SECOND: J. Morin. VOTE: 11.288/0/0/3.712. Motion Passes.

CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: C. Cardine corrected the number of Eagle Scouts that Monadnock has had: there have been a total of 5 over the past three years.

On March 17, 2004 the students from Monadnock will be aired on the Granite State Challenge. They made it to the quarterfinals.

The Monadnock Cheerleaders won the State Championship.

The Indoor Track Team won the State Championship.

The Math Counts Team has won the State Championship. C. Cardine is very proud that the students are accelerating in both academics and sports.

C. Cardine remembers Rob Cunningham a former student of Monadnock who recently passed away.

C. Cardine remembers Chuck Nye who lost an eye in the Iraq War who is going back to the Army as a trainer.

C. Cardine also commented on Major Brendan Frazier who commanded the Patriot Missile battery that shot down a scud missile attack aimed at troops in Saudi Arabia during Dessert Storm. C. Cardine said the district is very proud of every one of these former students.

C. Cardine passed out information on the number of voters from each town at the Deliberative Session.

R. Marra would like to reschedule the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) workshop given that there could be as many as four new board members after the March 9, 2004 elections. He would like to schedule the meeting to March 27, 2004. The morning session would be devoted to orientation for new board members as well as goal-setting for the coming year. In the afternoon D. Hodgdon would present information regarding NCLB.

On March 16, 2004 there is an important meeting in Concord in which the Supt. would encourage the Board members to attend. There is a conflict, however, in that this would be the organizational meeting for the new Board. R. Marra asked Board members to consider moving the meeting to March 15, 2004. [This will be decided at the March 2, 2004 meeting.] Another potential problem is the April 20, 2004 meeting since that date is during spring vacation.

2. STUDENT COUNCIL CONCERNS: C. Castonguay announced that tickets are on sale for the upcoming play. There is a junior high dance on March 19, 2004. The Student Council would like to volunteer during the voting process in March. The students have expressed a concern for the barrels collecting water from the roof in the hallways.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: R. Marra asked members of the public to refrain from commenting on committee decisions before they have been brought to the Board itself.

R. Bauries asked about a recent article in the paper concerning the Wilcox Building. C. Cardine briefly outlined the legal history to this point, noting that the State Supreme Court has accepted our appeal. W. Felton commented that the building was used as an elementary school at one time.

J. Carney of Richmond commented that he is in agreement with W. Felton. The building had been used for a number of years as an elementary school. Until it was changed from an elementary school there was no problem. Once the children were taken out and the purpose changed that is when the Town of Swanzey wanted the building back.

N. Moriarty said that Dr. Yen is coming down to look at the asbestos problem. He asked about the scope of the work, i.e., the number of rooms that would be involved.

MOTION: A. Gross MOVED to suspend the rules and allow the Curriculum Report to proceed at this time. SECOND: W. Wright. VOTE: 11.288/0/0/3.712

Curriculum Report: Charlotte Lesser: C. Cardine introduced C. Lesser, director of elementary library services and recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship. C. Lesser thanked the Board for giving her the opportunity to participate, noting that it was a lengthy process. [She applied for the Fellowship in December 2002 and received notice of the award in March 2003.] This past October she spent 3 weeks in Japan (with all expenses paid by the Japanese Government). C. Lesser outlined the rationale behind the Fulbright Fellowship. While over in Japan she was very busy, visiting an elementary school, a middle school, a high school and a university. C. Lesser then presented a series of slides from her trip. Some of the things she discovered included: there is no school transportation (children walk to neighborhood schools); there are no janitors, the students and the teachers take care of the buildings; and children, teachers and visitors wear slippers indoors as no shoes are permitted. She stated that the average class size is 36 students and there are very few disciplinary problems. The children start to learn English in the 2^nd grade. The students go to school from April to Feb. At the end of the day the students thank the teachers for teaching them as they bow. C. Lesser has been doing presentations at many of our elementary schools and has been asked by other districts to present to their students. She has also written articles in the Monadnock Bulletin. A. Gross congratulated C. Lesser and asked without janitors what happens when a plumbing problem arises. C. Lesser said that the schools can contract with maintenance people if needed. [Supt. Cardine commented that at the MC2 School there are no janitors.]

R. Thackston arrives at 7:43 PM.

K. Cota asked about the school schedule. C. Lesser explained that the children go to school for 6 weeks at a time and then get a week off. The elementary school day is ½ hour longer than ours, and they no longer go to school on Saturdays.

R. Marra commented on the special education situation in Japan. C. Lesser said that they do not consider a child Spec. Ed. The only “special needs” students are deaf, blind or physically handicapped.

Tour of Mt. Caesar: B. Tatro: B. Tatro gave a group a tour of the library and computer lab. The computers were paid for by a grant from the Greatbatch Family. The counters on which they sit were built by Ken Greatbatch. R. Marra asked if there were any problem areas. B. Tatro said the multipurpose room is very small for 400 children. She explained that every single inch of the building was being used. There are items in which she would have like to have asked for but because she knew the situation across the street at the high school she would wait. W. Wright asked how long the trailers have been temporary. B. Tatro said about 10 or 12 years. A. Gross asked about the book storage room that leaked. B. Tatro said that there were books that were damaged. She pointed out the fact that the nurse's office is extremely small only enough room for one student at a time.

R. Marra announced a correction in the Monadnock Bulletin. He said that Mr. Aho is running for the open Sullivan seat, not one of the Swanzey seats.

5. Other School Board Business:

A. Board Committee Reports:

1. Community Relations Committee: D. Gurian reported that the committee met last week. On Feb. 18, 2004 they will host a public meeting at MRHS in order to provide information on the warrant articles that will appear on the March ballot. On March 3, 2004 they will hold a similar meeting in Gilsum. Letters have gone out to people, a notice in the paper and information sent with the students has gone home. D. Gurian reported that business cards are being made and will be passed out at these meetings with the voting dates and places written on them.

2. Facilities Committee: D. Arguin reported that the committee met on Feb. 9, 2004. He said that Dr. Yen would be coming on March 3, 2004 to inspect the asbestos situation. He also told C. Castonguay that the committee discussed the roof situation. Maintenance has some work to do. The next meeting will be on Feb. 23, 2004 at 8:30 a.m. in the Maintenance Building.

3. Finance Committee: R. Marra reported that the committee met on Feb. 13, 2004. The committee would be bringing a proposal to the next Board meeting regarding services from Frank Marinace on the expansion of the cafeteria. If needed, the committee will meet on Feb. 27, 2004 even though L. Biron will not be available. Otherwise, the next meeting will be on March 5, 2004 at 8:45 AM in the Maintenance Building.

4. Policy Committee: D. Arguin reported that the committee met on Feb. 16, 2004 and voted on the minutes from the Jan. 27, 2004 and Feb. 5, 2004 meetings. The committee is reviewing at Title I and the sexual harassment policies. They are discussing advertising on the ball fields and the cost of the food service program. The committee is still working on Section I. The next meeting will be on March 1, 2004 at 5:45 PM in the MRHS conference room.

New Business: Request from LaCrosse Club: J. Magee, the school psychologist, was asked by a group of students to help establish a Lacrosse Club. C. Cardine had received a request from the group on what the club would look like. The group is not asking for any financial backing. The students pay dues and supply their own equipment. They would like to belong to the American Lacrosse Assoc. in order for the students to receive insurance. There are 27 boys and 10 girls that are involved so far. [R. Marra informed the Board that they are not taking action today.] E. Cronin commented that when J. Magee came to her there was no room for games on the fields, but she felt that they could use the football practice fields. D. Gurian asked if there would be home games. E. Cronin said that the football practice fields would be ready in a few years. J. Morin commented that the hockey team had plans of being a school team sport and asked whether there were plans for lacrosse to become a team sport. J. McGee said that the students came to him and said that they wanted to be a club, though some day they may need assistance for transportation. D. Arguin asked for the by-laws for the group. S. Johnson asked for the cost of the program. He feels that this would eliminate problems down the road. R. Marra said that this would be on the March 2, 2004 agenda. W. Felton asked as far as traveling is concerned who is allowed to drive. R. Marra asked that the Lacrosse Club answer some of the questions being addressed and have something to go in the Board packets. D. Stockwell commented that the Hockey Team pays for their ice time and the Swim Team pays for their pool time.

Request from Treasurer for Accelerated Payment Schedule: N. Carlson reported that she would like to ask the towns in the district to pay on a different schedule. The payments would be over 10 months starting in July and ending in April (as opposed to the current 12-month schedule). N. Carlson said that according to the RSA the Board could ask for the full amount in one payment, though we would never do so. L. Biron reported that this has been a long-standing issue. At times the district has to hold back checks. The district should not be put in that position. R. Marra asked N. Carlson if the proposed letter outlined the fact that the district has a cash flow problem at the end of the fiscal year. N. Carlson said that this situation has been explained many times. She said that the 4 largest towns pay regularly and another town has paid ½ of the entire balance. The towns do work with us at times but it is up to the school district to decide when they need the money. D. Gurian asked if the letter stated the end of the year problem. N. Carlson said that it did explain the situation and she worked with the towns to be sure every penny was accounted for. K. Cota asked if a late charge or interest charge was added for payments that are late. N. Carlson said that the RSA does not say anything about a late charge. R. Marra asked that if anyone has suggestions on the language of the letter please have them ready for action at the next meeting.

Old Business: Update on Fitzwilliam Bus Accident from January C. Cardine reported that he received the accident report from the police dept. He also spoke to K. Craig the principal of the school. There were 6 children involved. The other driver was a parent picking up her child. The children involved in the accident were pick up by their parents. W. Wright asked why the parent was not asked to give a report. The police and the bus driver gave a report but the parent involved never gave one. C. Cardine would be contacting the Fitzwilliam Police on that issue.

Board Evaluation: R. Marra distributed a packet of materials concerning the annual Board Evaluation. He would like Board members to review the packet and respond to the questions. That information would be gathered and distributed for discussion at the next Board meeting.

Curriculum Report: Report given at an earlier time on the agenda.

E. 21^st Century Report: No report.

F. Action on the Manifest: MOTION: D. Gurian MOVED the manifest in the amount of $1,277,785.18. SECOND: W. Felton. VOTE: 12.309/0/0/2.291. Motion passes.

6. Superintendent’s Report: C. Cardine reported that he would be bringing the audit to the Finance Committee. He said that it is the first time ever for a perfect audit. They did not receive one write-up. He sent the towns the ADM list to check the attendance with the schools.

C. Cardine passed out information on the two legislative plans that would affect the adequacy money that each town receives. He explained that the two plans are the Committee Plan and the Fair Plan, and that while that both plans bring less money to the district each helps out the individual towns.

7. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Brenda Breen from Fitzwilliam read a letter that she wrote concerning proposed budget cuts and the fact that a teaching staff position at the Troy Elementary School might be lost. She commented on the great education that her children are receiving and would like the administration to avoid any staff reductions.

R. Bauries commented that after listening to the ladies speak about a position being cut, he did not feel that given the student enrollment and the budgeted amount that they should worry.

MOTION: R. Thackston MOVED to allow Amy Hill a resident of Winchester the opportunity to speak. (She is an employee of the district). SECOND: B. Tatro. VOTE: 12.309/0/0/2.691. Motion passes. Amy Hill explained that she is an employee at the Troy Elementary School whose position may be cut. She said that she has 23 children in her classroom and it is said to be the most difficult class yet. There are 8 students with IEPs. She said that she can always find a job but is concerned for the larger classrooms and that the children would not be receiving the attention needed. C. Gielar of Troy explained that she was a volunteer at the Troy Elementary School and now is on the payroll. She feels that the teachers need to be the voice for the children.

8. Board Chair Report: R. Marra commented on the fact that individual Budget Committee and School Board members have made considerable demands for information from the Superintendent, Business Manager, etc. In turn, much administrative time is spent acceding to these requests. Consistent with Board policy, in the future such requests will have to come through the Chair. On a related note, every effort will be made to ensure that sufficient copies of any information distributed at Board meetings will be available for interested members of the public.

9. SETTING UP THE NEXT MEETING’S AGENDA:

1. Committee Reports

2. Board Self-Evaluation

3. Lacrosse Club

4. Action on Treasurer’s Request

5. Transportation Issues

6. Decision regarding Second Meeting in March

10. NON PUBLIC SESSION

9:25 PM C. Dreyfuss MOVED to enter into non-public session for the purpose of approving the minutes of the non-public session on February 3, 2004, and a legal issue. SECOND: S. Johnson VOTE: Unanimous for those present.

9:40 MOTION: R. Thackston MOVED to return to public session and to seal this portion of the non-public minutes indefinitely. SECOND: D. Gurian. VOTE: Unanimous for those present. Motion Passes

11. Adjournment

9:41 PM S. Johnson MOVED to adjourn. SECOND: D. Arguin. VOTE: Unanimous for those present. Motion Passes

Respectfully submitted,

Laura L. Aivaliotis

MRSD Secretary