MONADNOCK REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Board Meeting Minutes

                                                     November 4, 2003

                                  Sullivan Elementary School, Sullivan, N.H.

                        

 

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

Also present: C. Cardine, Supt., K. Dassau, Asst. Supt., L. Biron, Business Manager and Dir. of Curriculum, D. Hodgdon. Principals: K. Craig, D. Stockwell, B. Tatro, D. Dahl, Kim Carter and D. Mousette. Student Council Representative: C. Castonguay.

 

1.      CONSENT AGENDA:

Minutes of November 4, 2003 Board Meeting. MOTION: D. Gurian MOVED to approve the minutes. SECOND: G. Lerandeau DISCUSSION: Correction on page three. The sentence should read “He said he had explained the situation to C. Dreyfuss and she had graciously agreed to step down.  VOTE: 10.918/0/2.238/1.724. Motion Passes.

 

 

2.          CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: C. Cardine passed out an information sheet to the newest Board Members to fill out. The information will be on their email addresses and any other information needed.

 

C. Cardine informed the Board that MRHS has received a grant in the amount of $5,000.00 for Kids involved in doing service.  He will be bringing this to the finance committee

 

C. Cardine read a letter that Mr. Crotto had received on a former student Ian Burke. The letter was sent from Ian Burke’s college describing what an outstanding student he is.

 

L. Colby commented on a great job that was done on the MRSD INFORMER.

 

3.          STUDENT COUNCIL CONCERNS: C. Castonguay informed the Board that he had nothing to report. He did say that there is a football game this Saturday and everyone is invited.

 

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Stevens Goldsmith from Surry commented that he was against closing Surry School. He said that each town revolves around their school.

 

Wayne Brown commented that he agrees with S. Goldsmith but would like to hear what the Board has to say first.

 

Larry Sportello commented the he would also like to hear what the Board has to say.

 

Leslie Carlson said that she will save her comments but agrees so far with what has been said. She said that the Board needs to take the school seriously.

 

Kathy Sportello said that she would wait until the Board had discussed the issue. She commented that there was a good show of support for the Surry School. She commented on the top test scores.

 

R. Marra commented that the Surry School issue was a surprise to the Board at the last meeting. He did say that this issue was brought up by only one Board Member.

 

5.  Other School Board Business:

 

A.      Board Committee Reports:  

1. Community Relations Committee: D. Gurian passed out the minutes of the October 22, 2003 Community Relations Meeting. On that day the members had a meeting with staff from the high school. The committee administered a survey to the staff, the results were tallied and the are in the minutes.  On November 17, 2003 the Community Relations Committee will hold a meeting with the elementary staff. They hope to plan a forum for the public around the building.  The committee has decided to delink the junior high and the building project.

 

2. Facilities Committee: G. Lerandeau reported that the committee met with F. Marinace and discussed what a new high school would look like.  They discussed the best parcel of land to extend the high school onto. He said that there are safety issues that need to be addressed before the building can be added on to. G. Lerandeau informed the Board that decisions need to be made on how the building will be divided regarding the middle school.  He said that the committee would meet on Monday and possibly every Monday there after.  A new chair has been named to the committee: G. Lerandeau and Vice Chair D. Arguin. MOTION: D. Gurian. MOVED to nominate B. Tatro to the Facilities Committee. SECOND: D. Arguin. VOTE: 13.118/0/1.179/.703. Motion passes.

 

3. Finance Committee: W. Wright informed the Board that the committee met without a quorum. They could not accept the minutes. They discussed the list of ongoing projects. The next meeting will be November 14, 2003. MOTION: D. Gurian. MOVED to nominate B. Tatro to the Finance Committee. SECOND: W. Wright. VOTE: 13.118/0/1.17/.703. Motion passes.

 

The CCC Report will be given at the next meeting.  

 

 

         4. Policy Committee: MOTION: D. Arguin MOVED to accept Policy BDE

         Committee and Delegates with the changes presented. SECOND: W. Felton.

         VOTE: 14.297/0/0/.703. Motion passes.

 

New Business: Proposed Advisory Committee on School Start Times: R. Marra passed out a new sheet concerning the school start times. He is proposing that a committee be formed to look at the opening time for the high school. MOTION: A. Gross. MOVED to form an Advisory Committee to look into the School Start Times. SECOND: L. Colby. DISCUSSION: L. Colby commented that he thought it was a good idea. W. Wright was concerned of the timeline. R. Marra corrected him by saying it is August of 2005 not August 2004. In that case W. Wright said to disregard his concerns. L. Colby said that when planning a middle school you would need to consider the time as well. VOTE: 14.297/0/0/.703. Motion passes.  

 

Old Business: NHSBA Delegate Assembly: D. Arguin explained that because of prior commitments he will not be able to attend the assembly. MOTION: D. Gurian. MOVED to nominate B. Tatro as the representative to the NHSBA Delegate Assembly. SECOND: G. Lerandeau. VOTE: 14.297/0/0/.703. Motion passes.

 

         MRHS Security Plan: C. Cardine explained to the Board the policies that are for

         the safety of the district. Policy EB Safety Program, Policy EBCB Fire Drills and

         Policy EBCC Bomb threats are the three policies in use. He explained that the

Safety Committee last met on Feb.19, 2003 and is scheduled to meet in November. L. Biron explained that shortly after his

arrival to the District they changed insurance companies. The new insurance company had a Loss Prevention Specialist visit each school and report at each school. They are up to speed on all issues.

 

P. Smith arrives at 7:40 PM.

The next District wide committee will meet on Nov. 12, 2003 at 3:00 PM at the high school library. L. Biron explained what is being done to the staff and by the staff to make the schools a safer environment. He reported that MRHS was on probation because of an incident safety summary had not been done. The summary was completed and the re-inspection was okay. C. Cardine added that all the schools have crisis plans and evacuation plans. There have been reports on the response of the staff on the last four incidents. W. Kassotis read a review, a four page summary, of crisis situations in the district and the response by different people as well as what the district is doing to update the safety issues at the district. D. Stockwell added that he has a radio in his office and no matter how small the situation at least 3 people will respond to the issue. He said that the building is secure but could be better. He has a concern for three doors that must be kept unlocked incase of a fire. C. Cardine explained that three years ago the Board budgeted for cameras but took them out because they did not want to create that kind of atmosphere for the children. K. Cota thanked W. Kassotis for his report and suggested that the main entrance be reconstructed when the building renovations begin. She feels that it is important to have the main office the first office you see when entering the school. A. Gross would like to look again at the security video issue.

 

Surry School: R. Marra informed the audience that at the last meeting a motion was made concerning the Surry School and he ruled it out of order. It is now on the agenda. MOTION: W. Felton MOVED to refer the issue to the Finance which he passed out to the Board Members. The letter contained his objections to R. Thackston’s motion. MOTION: G. Lerandeau MOVED to amend the motion by including the superintendent, the administrative team and the Facilities Committee and to report back in a timely manner of a month. SECOND: B. Tatro. DISCUSSION: G. White commented that he would vote against the motion as well as the amendment because there have been times when he has sat in the audience and the Board has sent it to committee. The people need to speak and know how the Board feels.  D. Gurian feels that a sub committee could speak on this issue. K. Cota asked for a clarification on the timing. She commented that having a committee study this in a month is not realistic. We need to look at all the schools in the district. The three Northern Schools are the most expensive and should be looked at but can not be rushed in a month’s time. G. Lerandeau said that the amendment is meant for a timely fashion, not a month. W. Wright does not think that this should go to the Finance Committee. He said that this issue has not come from the selectmen of Surry and he will resign from the Finance Committee before this issue goes to committee, if that is what is decided. R. Thackston commented that he does agree with some of the comments. It is his understanding that the people of Surry believe that the Board has a secret plan to close their school. This is not so. He explained that this topic comes up every so often. The students are being sent to Surry to get the enrollment up. He said that he would like to know the number of students that are sent to Surry School to increase the enrollment. He commented that 50% of that budget is driven by wages. He feels that it is absurd that you can not bring up a proposal under “New Business”. He said that it is not unreasonable and merits looking at it. He said that the Northern Schools have always had the best scores. It is clear that he did attend the Selectmen’s meeting but never said that they support this. R. Marra explained how a new item is placed under “New Business”. He said that you could contact the Supt. or the Board Chair to have it on the agenda. One can have it go on the agenda 2 days before the meeting. D. Arguin feels that this should go to committee but should not be priority. There are other pressing issues that the Board needs to deal with. P. Smith commented that it might have to go to committee and suggest that perhaps turn to the Town of Surry. She commented that it is an expensive school to run. It would be the best interest of the Town of Surry to attend the Finance and the Facilities Committee meetings. S. Johnson said that W. Felton had made some appropriate remarks. He said that coming from Troy we have been hit hard. He said that we all have a funding issue. He said that he is not voting to close Surry School. L. Colby will vote to support the motion. He agrees with W. Felton in the process. B. Tatro will support the motion. He would like to have the committee look at this issue district wide. MOTION: B. Tatro MOVED to amend the main motion by having the committee look at the utilization of the District. NO SECOND. R. Thackston feels that it is completely appropriate to send this to committee. It needs to be looked at. He does disagree with K. Cota. He commented, “We are building a budget now. The time to study is now and dealing with the reality of the tax situation.”  D. Gurian is in favor of the motion and agrees with R. Thackston. We need to look at this and not drag it out. A long event is painful and difficult. K. Cota commented that by sending it to committee we are not inviting the public. R. Marra commented that he can not speak for the Committee Chairs but he would encourage them to advertise and invite the public to these meetings concerning the Surry School. G. Lerandeau commented that as Chair of the Facilities Committee he would want to invite everyone possible. A. Gross asked what happens if the motion is defeated. R. Marra responded that nothing happens and we prepare the budget. R. Marra commented to the people of Surry that he felt that sending the issue to committee is like a life preserver. VOTE: 10.507/4.493/0/0.W. Wright informed R. Marra that he is resigning from the Finance Committee. R. Marra commented to W. Wright that he thought W. Wright would resign if they voted to close Surry School. W. Wright also commented on the fact that the Board has not discussed the SAU Budget and he would also resign from that committee as well.

 

B.      Curriculum Report: MC2 Report: C. Cardine asked that the people from Surry wait because he has information that they may be interested in at the Supt. Report.

 

MC2 Report: K. Carter passed out the first official version of the graduation expectations for the MC2 Program. She explained that the competency time is not seat time. She also said that a student might not be in one grade a full year. Each phase has requirements and when those are met the student can move on to the next grade. She would like to have feed back from the Board and the administration.  R. Marra announced that a Board Member is needed to serve on the MC2 Advisory Committee.  The meeting is Nov. 20, 2003 at 6:00 PM. K. Carter explained that the expectations and the curriculum go beyond the state and MRHS requirements but how you get there looks different. W. Felton asked how you establish that a student has fulfilled a certain course. K. Carter commented that his question is a great one. She explained that there are concepts that need to be completed.

 

C.      21^st Century Report: Sullivan School Tour: Board Members will tour the building on their own.

 

D.      Action on the Manifest: W. Wright MOVED to approve the manifest in the amount of $1,651,081.03 SECOND: J. Morin.  VOTE: 13.818/0/1.179/0. Motion passes.

 

6.  Superintendent’s Report: C. Cardine asked Dan Gearino from the Sentinel to do a follow up on the financial situation. He said that there are some things that the Board can not control as examples he cited the article to increase the Board to a fifteen member board and the 50/50 formula. C. Cardine explained that the MRSD has the lowest per student cost of any of the area schools. He told the people of Surry that they would be a net contributor to the district this year.  C. Cardine explained that there is a surplus, from excess revenue which will be going back to reduce taxes. He said that he hopes that the District works together and not against each other. The Northern Schools have always cost more per student throughout the history of the district.

 

7.  PUBLIC COMMENTS: S. Goldsmith warned the Board that if they close the Surry School the students would go to the Keene District. The education of the students is a priority. The school is the center point of the community. Make rational decisions that will affect everyone.

 

W. Brown commented that the people in Surry that have children are moving because of what is going on. The people of Surry did not want the children bused to another school maybe those students can return. Maybe a teacher can teach the one first grader and both grades two and three.

 

D. Lane said that if the Surry School was eliminated it would never resurface. There are needs of change in the state funding. When a school leaves a community the community will become a retirement town. Once it is gone it is gone.

 

K. Castonguay said that he sat and listened to the comments of C. Cardine, L. Biron and W. Kassotis regarding the security plan. He said that a draft of a plan had not been done. He said that until last week a fire drill had not been done. He commented that by saying there is a draft on the table is ludicrous. C. Cardine replied that he spoke to K. Castonguay on the phone while he was working on the budget. He explained that they are working on a new plan, the current plan, which works is in place.

 

L. Carlson would like the people that speak to be accurate. C. Cardine said that Surry has 38 students and R. Thackston said it is only 20 students.

 

K. Sportello commented that R. Thackston said that this issue had not been discussed but that is not true, when she was part of the staff it was discussed.

 

K. Richardson said that the longer you wait the more people will leave the area.

 

R. Marra thanked everyone for attending and invited them to the next Board Meeting at MRHS.

 

8. SETTING UP THE NEXT MEETING’S AGENDA:

 

1.      Committee Reports

2.      CCC Report

3.      Update Security Tour

4.      SAU Report

 

9.  NON-PUBLIC SESSION

9:50 PM D. Thackston MOVED to enter into non-public session for the purpose of approving the minutes of the non-public session on October 21, 2003 and student personnel. SECOND: L. Colby  VOTE : 10.671/0/4.082/.247 Motion Passes.

10 :00 PM G. Lerandeau MOVED to return to public session and to seal this portion of the non-public minutes indefinitely. SECOND: L. Colby. VOTE: Unanimous for those present.

 

10. Adjournment

10:01 PM G. Lerandeau  MOVED to return to adjourn. SECOND: L. Colby

VOTE: Unanimous for those present.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Laura Aivaliotis

MRSD Board Secretary