Board Meeting Minutes
YMCA’s
Camp Takodah, Richmond, NH
Present: Robin Marra, Richard Thackston, Colline Dreyfuss, Bruce Tatro, Alan Gross, Karen Cota, Bruce McCulley, Jonathan Kenyon, Jeff Friedman, Charles Johnson, Jason Hill, Tim Aho and James Carnie. Absent: John Morin and Gene White.
Also present: K. Dassau, Interim Supt., D. Hodgdon, Dir. of Curriculum, and L. Biron, Business Manager. Principals: D. Mousette, K. Craig, D. Dahl, K. Carter and B. Tatro, and Vice Principal Joe Smith.
1 CONSENT AGENDA:
Minutes of
2. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENT: R. Thackston informed the Board that the Northern Schools Committee has requested a change on the agenda. MOTION: A. Gross. MOVED to change the agenda by allowing the Northern Schools Committee Report to come after the first Public Comment Section. VOTE: 10.349/0/1.114/3.537. Motion passes.
3. STUDENT COUNCIL CONCERNS: No representative present.
4. PUBLIC COMMENTS: N. Moriarty commented on the possible Spec. Ed. overrun for 2005-2006. He said that everything should be in the budget when being prepared. He said that there was no mention of this in C. Cardine’s Report.
G. Bednarski commented that after the chair election R. Thackston stated that he
would listen to the citizens. He said that since then R. Thackston has been dragging his feet to allow citizens on the agenda and now finding out that the Board changed the petitioned article to allow the selectmen to fill the Board vacancies. R. Thackston commented that the Policy Committee reviewed the RSAs and made a recommendation to the Board. G. Bednarski would encourage the Board to fix the situation or they will hire a lawyer and bring the Board to Superior Court because the Board is breaking the law. He would like an answer from either the Chair or Vice Chair. T. Aho commented that he had no objections to the change in the amount of days and felt it was sufficient time for the selectmen to nominate. G. Bednarski said that he was concerned with the fact that the Board changed the wording from “appoint to nominate “. G. Bednarski was concerned that the Board changed the whole purpose of the article. B. Tatro commented that the committee reviewed the RSAs and they give the Board authority to appoint. The committee did take the information into consideration. He said that the Board could not give up the responsibility as elected officials. R. Thackston said that the Board did review it and there was a discussion before it was accepted. G. Bednarski commented that the state allows the communities to make their own decisions. B. McCulley commented that the Board is doing the best they can and would like to get back to the business of the district. J. Carnie commented that he did not vote to accept the policy. He said that the RSAs are conflicting. The public offered a different method. The Board wants to go back to the old fashion way. He said that the policy was amended and took a different prospective than the voters wanted. G. Bednarski would like the policy brought up again. J. Kenyon agreed that the towns should be able to appoint their representatives. MOTION: B. McCulley MOVED to send this issue back to the Policy Committee for review. SECOND: B. Tatro. VOTE: 10.349/1.114/1.179/2.358. Motion passes. J. Carnie asked N. Moriarty to comment on the article since he wrote the article. N. Moriarty commented that all the towns would be appointed by their selectmen.
D. Connell commented that the Board
should have gotten an opinion from an attorney before voting on the petitioned
article to fill the School Board vacancy.
5. SCHOOL
BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Board Committee
Reports:
1. Northern School Committee: B. McCulley as chair of the committee
presented the Board with a power point presentation. He also handed out
information to the Board so they could follow along. He explained the charge
the committee accepted from the School Board 5 months ago. He explained the
committee composition, the 11 meetings which they held and their locations. He
mentioned that a major part of the committee’s work comprised of a survey which
they distributed to the 3 communities. He reviewed the committee’s expectations
for immediate, short-term and long-term solutions. The committee came up with
many scenarios and came up with a recommendation to the Board. They agreed to
recommend that the Board have single classrooms in two schools. Gilsum would
house the 4, 5, 6 and K and either Surry or Sullivan would house 1, 2, and 3
grades. The third school would be used for other things. The committee would
ask that the Board act by the next meeting in order that the students would
know where they will be attending school. They ask that a new committee be
formed to explore options of use for the third school. The committee explained
the reasons for the recommendation. Caroll Lothrop was a member of the
committee and commented on the hard work in which the Board does. She said that
the members had an open and honest discussion during the meetings. She thanked
L. Biron, the administration and D. Mousette for all the support and additional
information they supplied when requested. She said that she was very proud that
the committee did what was best for the children. B. McCulley added that L.
Biron did a fantastic job providing information and D. Hodgdon provided a lot
of support and T. Stepenuck helped in the posting and the minutes. He said that
they were not members of the committee but deserve recognition. R. Thackston
commented that the committee did a tremendous job on a difficult task. He said
that because there is no educational committee perhaps this recommendation
should go to a particular committee. MOTION:
K. Cota MOVED to accept the
recommendation of the Northern Schools Committee then set up additional
meetings on which of the two schools Surry or Sullivan would be used. R.
Thackston added that the Board would need a method and if it should be sent to
a committee. SECOND: A. Gross. DISCUSSION:
J. Carnie asked why the committee decided to house the Kindergarten with
the 4, 5, and 6 grades in Gilsum. D. Mousette passed out additional information
to the Board. He said that the Kindergarten requirement is to have an area of
1200 sq. ft and to have the older students as mentors to the Kindergarten.
Gilsum has sufficient amount of space for the requirement. He said that at no
time would the older children and the Kindergarten be together. This is also a
central area for the outlining towns. J. Carnie said that he understands the
reasoning for the Kindergarten but considers 1, 2 and 3 for the same reasons.
D. Mousette said that the facility at Gilsum is for the higher level kids.
Monadnock Schools mimic it and it gives more opportunities for extra curriculum
activities. B. Tatro asked about the child’s process of learning. Two teachers
spoke and assured the Board that the Kindergarten teacher and the first grade
teachers are in close contact. R. Bauries asked if the budget would be cut
$308,000.00 if this plan was implemented. D. Mousette explained that two
teachers have already been cut. The savings would be cutting one additional
teacher. C. Johnson asked if it would be possible to speak to the
administration. R. Thackston added to ask the administration for a
recommendation. MOTION: C. Johnson MOVED to request a plan of action from
the administration. SECOND: J.
Kenyon. DISCUSSION: R. Marra commented that K. Cota already had a
motion on the floor. R. Thackston explained that C. Johnson’s motion was
invalid and asked if there was anymore discussion on K. Cota’s motion. VOTE: 10.825/0/1.817/2.358. Motion passes. MOTION: C. Johnson. MOVED to
request that the administration go back to the Board to implement a plan. SECOND: J. Kenyon. DISCUSSION: K. Cota said that it is important to see any facility
changes that may occur. A. Gross explained that when the members talked about
the amount of money saved on closing it was minimal base on what is best for
the students not the funds. C. Dreyfuss asked which of the Schools, Surry or
Sullivan, was most current and up to date. L. Biron said that they are equal.
J. Carnie asked that the request from the administration be done by the next
meeting. VOTE: 12.642/0/0/2.358. Motion passes.
2. Community Relations
Committee: A. Gross reported that the committee has not met but will be
meeting on
3. Facilities Committee: C.
Dreyfuss reported that the committee met on
4. Facilities Committee: B. McCulley asked if the Facilities Committee could spend money. R. Thackston explained that they could not. B. McCulley commented that the Facilities Committee never took an official vote. L. Biron suggested that the committee continue up to $2000.00. T. Aho said that the committee would need to find out what they need for a design. L. Biron informed the Board that he could take the funds out of the Maintenance Repair Fund.
5. Finance Committee: B. McCulley
reported that the committee met at
6. Policy Committee: Representative not present. Report will be given later in the meeting.
7. The
8. Negotiations: C. Dreyfuss was informed that she should set up a meeting with C. Kahn to begin the negotiations.
6.OTHER
SCHOOL BOARD BUSINESS:
A. Action on the Manifest: MOTION: K.
Cota MOVED the manifest in the
amount of $1,897,654.54. SECOND: C.
Johnson. DISCUSSION: K. Cota asked
about the $5000.00 to
B. New Business: It was asked why C.
Cardine was still receiving expense checks from the District and why he was
visiting the schools and identifying himself as the Superintendent. K. Dassau
explained that he has not retired yet. His retirement date is
1. Setting the Board Summer Dates-July and August: K. Dassau wanted to ask if it is the will of the Board to meet on the dates set or did they want to add any more. No discussion was had.
2. Summer Health Course: J. Smith informed the Board that 14 students are looking to take a required health course in which they were unable to because of their schedules during the school year. The cost will be $1200.00. This process was allowed last year. MOTION: T. Aho MOVED to fund the Health Course in the amount of $1200.00 for the 14 students which will take place this summer. SECOND: J. Kenyon. VOTE: 12.642/0/0/2.358. Motion passes.
C.
Old
Business:
1. Superintendent Search Committee: R. Thackston reported that he had received a report from the secretary of the committee. He announced that W. Wright had been appointed chair of the Search Committee. The committee met twice and discussed the procedures of the search. The committee will place an ad for the new superintendent in three newspapers. The chair authorized M. Sullivan to have K. Dassau place the ads. The committee is moving forward with the charge from the Board. T. Aho asked who was on the committee. R. Thackston informed him who was on the committee.
2. Discussion on the position of the Dir. of Facilities: This discussion was done under the Facilities Committee Report.
D. Curriculum Report: D. Hodgdon informed the Board that he had included a report in the Board packets. He said that work would take place over the summer for teacher training and mentoring. R. Thackston asked if measuring the testing with the number of kids in the Northern Schools is good or bad. D. Hodgdon said that when the committee discussed that they were talking about the results. They help if improvement is needed but the downside is that the results are in the paper.
7. Interim Superintendent’s Report: K. Dassau thanked J. E. F. Craig and staff for their hospitality.
He reported that P. Swingle has received the Bank of America Minor League Neighbor Award.
He reported that D. Snyder has been nominated to the “Who’s Who in American Teachers.” She was nominated by a student.
He also reported that M. Morrison and his students have been thanked by the Fish and Game for their help in assisting of the stocking of the salmon.
He passed out two copies of the MRS of Choice pamphlets to the Board.
He informed the
Board that the resolutions are on the next agenda of the NHSBA. The Board might
want to draft some resolutions. The NHSBA meeting will take place on
K. Dassau passed out a list of graduation dates for the elementary schools.
K. Cota asked if there was any recognition of D. Stockwell. K. Dassau informed the Board that it took place two weeks ago.
R. Marra suggested that the Board invite D. Stockwell to the next Board meeting in June to recognize him for his years of service. K. Dassau will let him know.
9. Board Chair Report: MOTION: C. Johnson MOVED to accept the resignation of A. Noel. SECOND: B. McCulley. VOTE: 12.642/0/0/2.358.
Motion passes.
R. Thackston asked that if anyone on the Board is interested in attending any of the graduations to let the chair and the principal of the particular school know.
N. Carlson has asked the chair to attend the Selectmens meetings with him.
10. SETTING UP THE NEXT MEETING’S AGENDA:
1. Committees
2. Facilities Director
3. Northern Schools
4. MRPSOC Grant information
J. Carnie commented that the manifest once again was one big number under the MRPSOC. He said that he has asked 5 or 6 times at least. He hopes that the format gets straightened out.
Policy
Report: C. Dreyfuss said that she did not attend the meeting. The next
meeting will be on
11. SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS: R. Bauries asked if the Board was going to make the decision on where the funds would come from to cover the Facilities Director, the modular transport and set up, and the septic or is K. Dassau going to do that. R. Thackston said that the School Board is responsible for the resources. The School Board will make the decisions.
R. Thackston would like to invite M. Sullivan and W. Temmen to give the presentation that they did at the SAU Board meeting concerning their plan of action and PR for their building project.
A. Gross commented on the amazing job that the Troy Band did. He said that there were about 120 kids from the 4th, 5th and 6th grades.
The Service Learning Fair was held with a lot of excellent projects.
K. Cota commented on the Spring Concert and the Band Concert. She said they were awesome. She informed the Board that C. Dreyfuss spearheaded the chorus for the Spring Concert.
12. 9:49 PM Non Public Session. RSA 91-A3 II B-nominations: A.
Gross MOVED to enter into non-public
session for the purpose of nominations. SECOND:
C. Johnson Roll call: T. Aho, C.
Johnson, J. Kenyon, C. Dreyfuss, A.
Gross, J. Carnie, B. McCulley, K. Cota, B. Tatro, J. Friedman, J. Hill, R.
Marra and R. Thackston. VOTE: 12.642/0/0/2.358.
Motion passes.
13. 10:03 PM MOTION: R. Marra MOVED
to extend the Board Meeting past
14. 10:04PM Non Public Session: RSA 91-A3 II B-nominations: A. Gross MOVED to enter into non-public session for the purpose of nominations. SECOND: J. Kenyon. Roll call: T. Aho, C. Johnson, J. Kenyon, C. Dreyfuss, A. Gross, J. Carnie, B. McCulley, K. Cota, B. Tatro, J. Friedman, J. Hill, R. Marra, and R. Thackston. VOTE: 12.642/0/0/2.358. Motion passes.
15. 10:07 PM Non-Public Session: RSA 91-A3 II e-grievances J. Kenyon MOVED to enter non-public session for the purpose of grievances. SECOND: T. Aho. Roll call: T. Aho, C. Johnson, J. Kenyon, C. Dreyfuss, A. Gross, J. Carnie, B. McCulley, K. Cota, B. Tatro, J. Friedman, J. Hill, R. Marra and R. Thackston. VOTE: 12.642/0/0/2.358. Motion passes.
16. 10:12 PM Non-public Session: RSA 91-A3 II a-compensation: A.
Gross MOVED to enter non-public
session for the purpose of compensation. SECOND:
J. Kenyon. Roll call: T. Aho, C.
Johnson, J. Kenyon, C. Dreyfuss, A. Gross, J. Carnie, B. McCulley, K. Cota, B.
Tatro, J. Friedman, J. Hill, R. Marra, and R. Thackston. VOTE: 12.642/0/0/2.358. Motion
passes.
17. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: J. Carnie MOVED to adjourn at
Respectfully submitted,
Laura L. Aivaliotis
MRSD Secretary