Approved  minutes

MONADNOCK REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Board Meeting Minutes

October 7, 2003

Surry Elementary School, Surry, N.H.

 

7:00 PM CALL TO ORDER. D. Arguin opened the meeting in R. Marra’s absence.

 

Present: Don Arguin, Dixie Gurian, Gene White, Chair Robin Marra, Sam Johnson, Winston Wright, Patricia Smith, Alan Gross, Larry Colby, John Morin, Karen Cota, Richard Thackston, Gus Lerandeau and William Felton Absent: none

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

 

1.         CONSENT AGENDA:

Minutes of September 16, 2003 Board Meeting. MOTION: D. Gurian MOVED to approve the minutes. SECOND: R. Thackston DISCUSSION: J. Morin commented that he did not make any motions; instead it was W. Wright. VOTE: 7.353/0/2.358/5.289. Motion Passes. MOTION: L. Colby MOVED to correct the Minutes of Sept. 2, 2003 to read “OBM form 1,3,4 instead of DOE form 1,2 and 3.” SECOND: D. Gurian. VOTE: 9.464/0/.247/5.289. Motion passes.

 

2.       CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: C. Cardine received a letter

from Delta Kappa Gamma congratulating B. Kuhn as an outstanding educator.

 

            (R. Marra, W. Wright, P. Smith and L. Aivaliotis arrive at 7:05 PM.)

 

C. Cardine informed the Board that radio announcements concerning events and meetings at the school have begun.

 

C. Cardine reported that 15 teachers from three districts will be taking advantage of the MRPSOC grant and receive full scholarships for post-graduate study.

 

C. Cardine commented on the letter that was published in the Keene Sentinel regarding the behavior of the band during the football game with Hanover.  He said he was present and that the band never meant to insult the other team.

 

C. Cardine sent a list of the month’s high school and junior high events in the packet.

 

C. Cardine reported that Sikander Rashid had received thank you letters from parents thanking him and the staff for a smooth transition for their children. C. Cardine commented on the fine job being done at Cutler.

 

R. Marra noted that he sent an email to the Board members informing them of G. Fifield’s resignation. The position will be posted and interviews will take place at the October 21st Board meeting.

 

3.          STUDENT COUNCIL REPORT: C. Castonguay reported that some of the students have safety concerns at the school and would like to know what policies and procedures have been implemented. W. Kassotis explained that an emergency plan is almost complete.  C. Cardine added that a full report would be presented at the November 18th Board meeting.  D. Arguin asked if the concerns were from the recent articles in the paper or something at the school. C. Castonguay said they are concerns in the school (e.g., lack of supervision).  C. Cardine asked that these concerns be written down and given to him.

 

R. Marra commented that the Jr. High has a student council and as soon as a representative to the Board can be appointed that person will be joining the table. 

 

4.          PUBLIC COMMENTS: Jeannine Leclerc, a teacher at Surry Elementary School, welcomed everyone.  She said she realizes it is the budget season and would like to explain why it is important that the three Northern communities have their own schools. She explained that they work hand and hand and do so much for each other. She said she enjoys the small class size and the closeness of the student-teacher relationships. She then talked about the types of events that take place at the Surry School. 

R. Bauries stated that he attended the most recent Facilities Committee meeting and that they did not have a quorum. He said that the group spoke for about an hour and fifteen minutes discussing new items that will be recommended by L. Biron for the upcoming budget session (in the amount of $2.1 million). He also said that he was at a meeting where 6 selectmen asked C. Cardine about the 2004-2005 budget. C. Cardine told them that the increase would be about 9%. With both issues the total increase will be $6.5 million.  

 

5.  Other School Board Business

A.      Board Committee Reports:  

1.  Community Relations Committee: D. Gurian reported that the committee was not able to meet due to an emergency situation. The next meeting will be on Oct. 14, 2003 at 5:30 PM at MRHS.

 

2. Facilities Committee: P. Smith reported that the committee did not have a quorum.  [R. Marra asked if the Policy Committee would like to review the policy on committee quorums (more than 50%).]  P. Smith said that they discussed possible upcoming projects presented by L. Biron. She noted that the $2.1 million is not for this year only, but would be spread out over the next few years. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 14, at 8:45 AM in the maintenance building.

 

3. Finance Committee: W. Wright reported that his committee met and did have a quorum. The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 31, at 8:45 AM in the maintenance building. The committee discussed proposed increases in school breakfast/lunch costs given to them by the Food Service. The committee will bring a recommendation to the Board at the November 4 meeting.  W. Wright told the Board that the committee has had a first look at the 2004-05 budgets and is happy to receive this information at such an early date.

 

4. Policy Committee: D. Arguin informed the Board that the next meeting will be on October 8 at 5:45 PM in the maintenance building.  D. Arguin reported that the committee has a few policies in the works and these will be presented shortly. D. Arguin commented that the Policy Committee would be happy to review the policy on quorums.  D. Arguin commented on the changes being presented by the committee concerning Policy IHA Basic Instructional Program. He said that the letter designation change would be in line with the NHSBA and the other change was to omit the words “Because education is a lifelong process.” MOTION: D. Arguin MOVED to accept the changes to Policy IHA Basic Instructional Program as presented. SECOND: W. Felton. DISCUSSION: K. Cota asked why the committee would omit the phrase “Because education is a lifelong process.” D. Arguin responded that the committee would like to simplify the policies.  VOTE: 13.818/0/0/1.182. Motion passes. P. Smith commented on the importance of making sure that spelling is corrected in all classes.

 

B.     New Business: School Leadership Institute: J. Calhoun, from the Antioch New England Institute, invited Board members to a series of workshops. The first session will begin on October 25, 2003. He commented that space is available and everyone is welcome. W. Felton asked whether it was necessary for someone to attend all of the sessions.  J. Calhoun commented that if you miss one that is okay, the meetings do not have linking topics.  R. Marra informed the Board that the $50.00 registration fee would be covered by the District.

 

Committee Appointments: R. Marra informed the Board that no one has volunteered to be on the MC2 Advisory Board. The next meeting would be on Oct. 16, 2003 at 6:00 PM.  R. Marra said that he would like to appoint K. Cota to the Community Relations Committee and to the Facilities Committee. MOTION: A. Gross MOVED to appoint K. Cota to the Community Relations Committee and to the Facilities Committee. SECOND: P. Smith. VOTE: 13.818/0/0/1.182. Motion passes.

 

C. Old Business: Architect’s Report: Middle School Concept Presentation: D. Hodgdon distributed information regarding the differences between a junior high vs. a middle school model. He then gave a PowerPoint presentation that, among other things, explained the evolution of the middle school concept.

 

(R. Thackston leaves at 8:30 PM.)

 

R. Marra thanked D. Hodgdon and noted that plans are underway to conduct informational sessions at each school in the District. C. Cardine commented that if the decision is made to go with a middle school concept this would be a project that is 3 years out. Space, planning and training of the staff would first need to be in place.  K. Cota asked if this could be done within the current budget situation. D. Hodgdon replied that it would be very difficult without additional space.  L. Colby asked what the numbers would be for students attending a middle school. C. Cardine commented that it would depend on the grade configuration adopted (e.g., 6-7-8, 7-8-9, or possibly 7-8).

 

L. Colby asked about the staff for the middle school (in the context of “highly qualified teachers” required under the No Child Left Behind legislation). D. Hodgdon passed out a Parents Right-To-Know brochure and explained what was meant by highly qualified teachers.  If a teacher is not highly qualified the federal government requires that the district inform parents.

 

A. Gross said he hoped there was a way to move ahead with some aspects of the middle school concept (e.g., advisories) and not have to wait the three years. D. Hodgdon said that homerooms were discussed but have not been implemented.  C. Cardine said that this could possibly happen in January, but would require negotiations with the teachers since this is a contract issue. He did say that the 7th and 8th graders have, for the most part, been separated from the high school students.

 

K. Cota asked about the time frame for such a decision (regarding the middle school concept) with respect to the architect. She asked if he is still moving forward. L. Biron explained that utilization studies and soil analyses are underway. F. Marinace has the blueprints and the Board should hear from him within a week or so.

 

NHSBA Delegate Assembly Resolutions: R. Marra pointed out that the resolutions that were sent in the Board packets were those that had previously been approved and that the new ones were being distributed.  This will be taken up at the next meeting.

 

NSBA Annual Conference: R. Marra stated that the cost of sending a representative to this conference could easily exceed $1500.  He asked if anyone felt strongly that the Board should be represented there.  R. Marra observed that unless there was a motion forthcoming we should move on. L. Colby commented that the issue should not be closed in case we decide at a later date that it would be important to attend this conference.

 

9/30 Meeting with Committee Chairs: R. Marra reported that he, D. Arguin (Policy), G. Lerandeau (Facilities, Vice Chair), D. Gurian (Community Relations), W. Wright (Finance), and W. Felton attended an ad hoc meeting of committee chairs.  [Supt. Cardine, L. Biron and D. Hodgdon were in attendance as well.] The discussions centered on committee responsibilities and how to better communicate with each other and our external constituencies.  The Chair also raised issues regarding the: formation of a committee to study switching the start times between the elementary schools and MRHS; establishment of a continuing adult education program; introduction of foreign languages in our elementary schools; move to all-day kindergarten; and creation of a public school foundation.  The next meeting of this group will be on October 29 at 6:00 PM at MRHS. 

 

D.      Curriculum Report: No additional report given.

 

E.     21st Century Report: Surry School Tour: D. Mousette has arranged a tour of the Surry School at the break.

 

F.      Action on the Manifest: J. Morin MOVED to approve the manifest in the amount of $1,075,210.83 SECOND: A. Gross. DISCUSSION: K. Cota noted that the payment to Ted’s Shoes on the last manifest was for track uniforms. VOTE: 11.618/0/1.179/2.203. Motion passes.

 

6.      Superintendent’s Report: C. Cardine noted that he previously had distributed data on student population projections. The information he is handing out now deals with estimates of the number of children (newborn to age 4) in the 3 Northern school areas. [D. Mousette gathered this information.]  It appears as though the Kindergarten numbers for the next few years are returning to their previous levels.  This suggests that the wisest choice would be to keep all three schools going.  W. Felton asked if Surry would be the permanent place for the Kindergarten. C. Cardine said that, while he would like to keep it in Surry, the administrative team is open to doing what makes the most sense for the District.

 

7.        PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.

 

 

8.        SETTING UP THE NEXT MEETING’S AGENDA:

1.       Committee Reports

2.       Report on Special Ed. at Wilcox and Gilsum : D. Lafleur

3.       NHSBA Delegate Assembly Resolutions

4.       School to Career Presentation : S. Kessler

5.       State Testing Results : D. Hodgdon

 

9.         NON-PUBLIC SESSION

9:30 PM W. Felton MOVED to enter into non-public session for the purpose of approving the minutes of the non-public session on September 16, 2003, and student issue. SECOND: L. Colby  VOTE : Unanimous for those present.

10:48 PM D. Gurian MOVED to return to public session and to seal this portion of the non-public minutes indefinitely. SECOND: D. Arguin. VOTE: Unanimous for those present.

 

10.       Adjournment

10:50 PM W. Wright MOVED to return to adjourn. SECOND: D. Gurian. VOTE: Unanimous for those present.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Laura Aivaliotis

MRSD Board Secretary