Board
Meeting Minutes
Present: Chair Robin Marra,
Richard Thackston, Winston Wright, Colline Dreyfuss, Tim Aho, Bruce Tatro, Alan
Gross, Gene White, Bruce McCulley, Karen Cota, John Morin, Marianne Mathis and
Jeff Friedman. Absent: William Felton and
Also present: C. Cardine, Supt., K. Dassau, Asst. Supt., T. Warner, Dir. of Technology, D. Hodgdon, Dir. of Curriculum and L. Biron, Business Manager. Principals: D. Mousette, K. Craig, Betty Tatro, D. Dahl & L. Bleier.
R. Marra reminded the Board they are here to strive for the best education of every child.
1. CONSENT AGENDA:
Minutes of December 21, 2004 Board
Minutes and December 21, 2004 Non-Public Minutes. MOTION: B. Tatro MOVED
to approve all the minutes. SECOND: W. Wright. VOTE: 7.244/0/1.056/6.7.
Motion passes.
2. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENT: C.
Cardine reported to the Board that six students from Monadnock have qualified
for the AP Scholar Award. The following students have received the
recognition: P. Babonis, K. Butterfield,
N. Gorbet, I.
C. Cardine reported to the Board
that the staff has been working with the seniors on colleges and military
service upon graduation. . C. Cardine read a list of schools that the seniors
have applied to. The impressive list of schools included Harvard,
D. Mousette passed out information
to the Board regarding a new climbing wall at the
C. Cardine informed the Board that more donations have come into the SAU for the MRHS gym floor. He will present this information to the Finance Committee.
C. Cardine informed the Board that parents from Sullivan have requested that their students be bussed to Gilsum to use the gymnasium. C. Cardine would like the Board to think over the request. A. Gross commented that perhaps the Board should have a public hearing with the parents from Sullivan to make sure that this is what every one wants. C. Cardine said that it was a good idea. D. Mousette will report at the next meeting
R. Marra informed the Board of the seats that will
be open for the upcoming election. He will send an e-mail to the Board Members
to let them know. The filing period for the election is
3. STUDENT COUNCIL CONCERNS: No report.
4. School
Board Committee Reports:
Board Committee Reports:
1. Community Relations Committee: A. Gross informed the Board that the committee met weeks ago without a quorum. They have not established a date for the next meeting.
C. Cardine distributed to the Board a draft of a brochure to inform the public about the building project. He would like the Board to review the information and bring any comments to the next meeting.
2. Facilities
Committee: B. Tatro reported that the committee has not met but will be
meeting with the Finance Committee on
3. Finance Committee: W. Wright reported that the Finance Committee would be meeting on Friday with the Facilities Committee.
4. Policy Committee: No report.
5.
6. Ad Hoc Advisory Committee: R. Marra reported that the committee was to meet on January 24, 2005 but three of the chairs were not able to attend. He will contact the chairs to schedule a new meeting.
5. PUBLIC COMMENTS: M. Imon read a letter she had written with concerns about the middle school and the overcrowded school. She said that it is time for a change.
W. Imon informed the Board that he has prepared a petition to change the Budget Committee to an advisory committee. He read the petition to the Board.
R. Bauries asked about the Jan. 11, 2005 meeting. The meeting is scheduled on the second page of the agenda. He commented on the hard work that the Budget Committee did all year and the fact that the Budget Committee added 4% to last year’s budget. R. Marra commented that he had asked the School Board Members to keep Jan. 11, 2005 open in case they were to schedule a meeting. The Board will decide tonight if they will have a joint meeting on Jan. 11, 2005 with the Budget Committee.
6. OTHER SCHOOL BOARD BUSINESS
A. New Business: No new business.
B. Old
Business: Budget 2005-2006: L. Biron handed out a packet to the Board and
copies to the audience. The packets contained samples of the warrant articles
and the MS27. Warrant Article One is for the Bond in the amount of
$3,500,000.00 for the construction and renovation to the MRHS. The Bond Hearing
and the Public Hearings will be on Jan. 13, 2005 and will be posted. C. Dreyfuss
questioned the terms “renovate and repair”. L. Biron explained that it covers
the connection of the new building to the existing building. G. White asked if
the Article should read up to $3,500,000.00. T. Aho asked about the equipment.
L. Biron said that it is for the science labs and possibly furnishings. K. Cota
commented that they could not spend over the $3,500,000.00 and L. Biron replied
that it was correct. Enclosed in the packet is a notification form for J.
Gomarlo to sign as chair of the Budget Committee. L. Biron explained that DRA
and the attorney would review the drafts. C. Cardine reviewed each of the
Warrant Articles. Article One is for the $3,500,000.00 for the bond. Article
Two is for the budget. There are no numbers as of yet. R. Marra asked that the
$970,000.00 for Food Service and Grants be as clear as possible. Article Three
is a 15-year lease to update the mechanical and electrical equipment in the 10
schools. C. Cardine explained that representatives from Honeywell should be at
the Deliberative Session to give a presentation. Article Four is the SAU Budget
including K. Dassau’s office. K. Cota commented that the Article is not clear
enough. Monadnock is paying 2/3 of the amount and
B. McCulley
arrives.
MOTION: K.Cota MOVED to accept Article Five and Article Seven as written but would like the order of the Articles reversed. SECOND: M. Mathis. DISCUSSION: K. Cota commented that reversing the order was a good thing because Spec. Ed. is the higher risk. T. Aho asked if Article Five was new. L. Biron said that it was new to this Board but was done in the past. R. Marra explained that the remainder of the money would go to taxes after these Articles. B. McCulley asked the sources of the expendable trust. L. Biron commented that last year it was excess revenue. VOTE: 8.703/1.797/0/4.5. Motion passes. MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to accept Article Four as written. SECOND: T. Aho. VOTE: 9.479/0/1.021/4.5. Motion passes. MOTION: A. Gross MOVED to accept Article Six, Article Eight and Article Nine as written. SECOND: B. McCulley. DISCUSSION: R. Marra explained that the $385,000.00 figure could change. VOTE: 10.5/0/0/4.5. Motion passes. MOTION: G. White MOVED to accept Article One as written. SECOND: T. Aho. DISCUSSION: T. Aho asked if the figure included all of the financing, and are the old desks being used again. L. Biron said that there is a mixture of the old and new and $100,000.00 for new furniture. T. Aho asked about hiring more teachers. L. Biron said there is no new staff. The teachers without classrooms now will have one. C. Cardine commented that the administration recommended a science teacher but the Budget Committee did not. A. Gross asked if the modulars would be removed. R. Marra said that the two in the back will be removed and the others will eventually go to the SAU. VOTE: 10.5/0/0/4.5. Motion passes. MOTION: A. Gross MOVED to accept Article Three as written. SECOND: B. McCulley DISCUSSION: A. Gross commented that this will save in the long run. It is money well spent. R. Marra commented that the Finance and Facilities Committees had a presentation.
R. Thackston arrives.
R. Marra asked for L. Biron to discuss the escape clause. L. Biron said that it is a 15-year lease, which is a long time. The company is willing to work out the agreement. For instance if the District is having a hard time they are willing to extend the lease. K. Cota asked if there would be immediate results. L. Biron said it would be a savings of $90,000.00 a year. K. Cota asked about actual true savings. L. Biron said that the company guarantees it. VOTE: 11.521/0/0/3.479. Motion passes. MOTION: B. Tatro MOVED to adopt Article Two as proposed by the administration in the amount of $29,403,486.00. SECOND: G. White. DISCUSSION: G. White asked what the percentage was. The percentage is 4.2% depending on Honeywell it is 7.1%. R. Marra commented that is about 8%.
J. Morin arrives at 8:50 PM.
K. Cota
commented that the Board has not addressed the budget with the Budget Committee
and would like to amend the motion and fill in the number at a joint
meeting. MOTION: K. Cota MOVED
to postpone consideration on Article Two until a joint meeting with the
Budget Committee. SECOND: T. Aho. DISCUSSION: C. Dreyfuss asked
what number the Board would be recommending to the Budget Committee because she
does not remember any discussion. R. Thackston commented that having a meeting
with the Budget Committee is a good idea. The number from the Budget Committee
will be the number that will go on the ballot. B. Tatro commented that the
Board should have their own number in order to have a discussion. B. McCulley
would feel more comfortable with a meeting. He feels that the Board needs to
have a position. T. Aho said that the Budget Committee wants to discuss the
budget. B. McCulley would like to hear the explanations of the Budget Committee
and the explanation of the administration. W. Wright said that if we need to
meet the committees should meet before the Jan. 18, 2005 meeting. R. Marra said
that the Public Hearing is on Jan. 13, 2005 and then the Board will take
position on Jan. 18, 2005 to recommend. R. Thackston commented that the School
Board would accept their numbers or disagree. K. Cota passed out a handout to
the Board regarding cuts that she would like to discuss. R. Marra explained
that the vice principal position would become the principal for the middle
school. K. Cota explained that she was not taking out the middle school principal
but a high school vice principal. W. Wright asked about the travel that she
proposed to take out. C. Cardine commented that you have to pay people for
their travel. T. Aho had concerns that the School Board was not aware when
items in the budget are moved. K. Dassau explained that they do ask the board
for approval. B. McCulley asked what equipment would be lost if the items are
reduced. T. Warner commented on the 4-year cycle warrantees and the new
equipment for the labs in the middle school. C. Dreyfuss commented that the
space is needed. The Board needs to choose what is more important and she
chooses the new addition. K. Cota asked why they need new equipment when the
new equipment line last year was not spent. C. Cardine explained that last year
there was an overage in Spec. Ed. of over $450,000.00. As a result of the
shortage the principals were directed to freeze the budgets. K. Cota said that
they should take one year off of buying anything new and get the building done.
T. Aho commented that there has to be tight strings in order to get the
building. B. Tatro commented that if you take everything out and end up with a
default budget the following year you would not be in a great position. M.
Mathis said that in order to get these warrants passed both the Budget
Committee and the School Board need to agree. B. McCulley commented that the
budget has to be sufficient in case the classrooms do not pass. R. Thackston
commented that we have a long-term building program and health and safety
issues in
C. Curriculum Report: No report.
D. 21st
Century Report: No report.
E. Action on the Manifest: MOTION: A. Gross MOVED the manifest in the amount of $2,645,434.58. SECOND: B. Tatro. VOTE: 10.5/0/2.2/2.3. Motion passes.
T. Aho asked R. Marra about the Northern Schools Committee. R. Marra commented that he had just received a list of names and would like to contact the members before he announces it to the Board.
7. Superintendent’s Report: C. Cardine informed the Board that training has taken place on the new Every Day math books. This is the second round and he is very impressed. He would like to thank the Board for supporting the books.
8. PUBLIC COMMENTS: R. Bauries informed the Board that no information was given to the Budget Committee on the 22-classroom addition and the Honeywell Lease.
J. Gomarlo commented that the Budget Committee ran out of time. The Honeywell Lease and the building are on the table until we can find a good time to meet. R. Marra asked if the Budget Committee had asked for a presentation.
W. Imon said it is strange to observe the Board deliberate when they have no power until they meet with the Budget Committee.
J. Carnie said that a $35,000,000.00 is a very expensive budget. The School Board should be held accountable. The Budget Committee did their work.
W. Wright commented on the motion made by the Budget Committee. J. Gomarlo said that the Budget Committee would vote after the Public Hearing on the budget. J. Gomarlo said that she does not want to take responsibility for what was said in the Fitzwilliam paper.
K. Cota commented on the clarity of the building warrant. L. Biron said that this is from a template from DRA. B. McCulley asked at what point is the language finalized. L. Biron said at the Budget Hearing. R. Marra would like to ask Terry to post the meetings the Board will meet after the joint meeting.
9. Board Chair Report: No
report.
10. SETTING UP THE NEXT MEETING’S AGENDA:
1. Committees
2. Sullivan parents request – D. Mousette
3. Public Hearing
4. Preparation for Deliberative Session
5. State Board of Education
A. Gross informed the Board of the Public Hearing of the State Minimum Standards on Jan. 19, 2005. The Board Members are invited to attend. He feels that there are some important items to be discussed. R. Marra said that the highlights of the changes would be presented to the Board Members.
11. NON PUBLIC SESSION - No non public session.
12. MOTION TO ADJOURN:
Respectfully submitted,
Laura L. Aivaliotis
MRSD Secretary