MONADNOCK REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Board Meeting Minutes

                                              November 1, 2005

                                             Sullivan School, Sullivan, NH

                      

 

Present: Richard Thackston, Colline Dreyfuss, Alan Gross, Bruce McCulley, Jonathan Kenyon, Gene White, Bruce Tatro, Charles Johnson, Jeff Friedman, Tim Aho, Karen Cota, Robin Marra and James Carnie. Absent: John Morin and Jason Hill.  

Also present: K. Dassau, Superintendent, D. Hodgdon, Dir. of Curriculum, and L. Biron, Business Manager.  Principals: D. Mousette, D. Dahl, B. Tatro and D. Gagne.  Alison Dreyfuss, Student Government Rep.

 

J. Carnie called the meeting to order at 7:08 PM. 

 

1          CONSENT AGENDA:

Minutes of Oct. 17, 2005 Board Meeting. MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to approve the Oct. 17, 2005 minutes. SECOND: J. Kenyon VOTE: 8.775/0/2.911/3.314. Motion passes. Minutes of the Oct. 18, 2005 Board Meeting. MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to approve the Oct. 18, 2005 minutes. SECOND: C. Johnson. VOTE: 9.549/0/2.137/3.314. Motion passes. 

 

2.        CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: K. Dassau informed the Board that he had received an opinion from the attorney regarding Warrant Article Ten on the 2005 Ballot. He would explain the opinion under “Old Business”.

 

3.                  STUDENT GOVERNMENT REPORT: A. Dreyfuss reported the results of the Student Government Election. The list of names for each grade was handed to the Board Members. The Student Government had their first meeting on Oct. 28, 2005 and discussed many items. A full report is not available as of yet. The group did a community service project and carved pumpkins with the kids. Everyone enjoyed it.  

 

4.      Public Comments: None.

 

5.      Old Business:

a.      Discussion on Accreditation-Mr. Butterfield: J. Butterfield reported to the Board that he is the Chair of the Steering Committee for the Self-Study. He explained that MRHS is a member of the NEASC and every 10 years will be evaluated. He said that there are 7 standards that the school is measured on. He explained that the process began 3 years ago with the Mission Statement, which the School Board approved in December. The staff is divided into standard teams (about 120 to 130 people). There are also members on a School Climate Committee and a Civic and Social Group Committee. During the self-study this year, staff members are focusing on the school’s level of compliance on each standard, writing reports, and collecting data. In the spring the faculty will review and approve the reports and then send the information to the visiting team. The group will be preparing panel discussions, meals, and hotels for 15 people while the team is present beginning on September 24. The team will visit the administration, School Board Members, and parents, as well as staff members. They will interview people, walk through the school, and write reports. The report back to the school from the team should arrive sometime in January of 2007 and then the school will receive their status. The report will include the strengths and the areas of improvement.

 

R. Thackston arrives.

 

K. Cota asked about the letter due from R. Thackston. R. Thackston said that it was his intention to share the letter with the Board during the current meeting. K. Cota asked about the designations such as probation for a high school. J. Butterfield explained that schools are assessed on the standards and receive a designation of exemplary, acceptable, limited, or deficient. K. Cota asked if the space issue could result in a designation of “deficient.” J. Butterfield said that it was possible to receive “deficient” on Standard 7, but, although such a designation could result in the high school receiving probation, it is very unlikely for just one standard. He said that there are various degrees of accreditation - currently on warning status. The NEASC organization does not want to withdraw accreditation. K. Dassau commented that the NEASC board would review the Board Chair’s letter telling the Accreditation Team what will be happening with the space issue. J. Butterfield noted that the school will be viewed more favorably if it and district are in the process of addressing an issue like space and have developed plan to deal with it. C. Dreyfuss asked if the teachers are expected to live up to the expectations in Standard 1. J. Butterfield said that there are specific means of measuring such as by supervising and assessing. K. Dassau explained that all teachers need to have staff development plans and are part of a new supervision/ evaluation model. T. Aho asked if Standard 3 was the quality of teachers. J. Butterfield explained that it is the quality of the instruction. A. Gross commented on J. Butterfield doing a good presentation on a most important issue. He said that a lot of work is being done and said that he had participated in some of the meetings. He thanked J. Butterfield.

 

b.      Matrix for Per Student Cost Calculation: J. Carnie reminded the Board about a motion In Roxbury to meet as a group (along with K. Carter) to development per-pupil cost criteria. R. Thackston commented that he thought it should be more universal than MC2. R. Thackston proposed the options of forming a special committee or sending the topic to Finance. K. Cota suggested that the administration arrive at a proposed per-pupil cost and work through the Finance Committee. R. Thackston reminded the Board about C. Cardine’s cost breakdown. C. Dreyfuss proposed a Saturday meeting to figure out the formula. After a discussion about the need for a clear understanding about what is trying to be accomplished, the challenge of getting a consensus, and the value of having models, J. Carnie suggested that the Administration, the Board, the Budget Committee, and K. Carter attend a special Saturday board meeting to establish the criteria. B. McCulley requested any pertinent RSA’s be available prior at the meeting. R. Thackston proposed December 3, 2005 at 9:30 a.m. - to last about 2 and a ˝ hours. MOTION: C. Dreyfuss. MOVED to hold a meeting on December 3, 2005 at 9:30 a.m. in the MRMS/HS Library to discuss and develop a matrix for per student cost calculation to be applied universally in the district. SECOND: J. Kenyon. DISCUSSION: C. Johnson asked what the Board is going to accomplish. R. Thackston said that it would be the ability to do comparison-shopping and determine how to allocate the district’s resources. C. Dreyfuss commented that the conversation about grants and their value need to accompany the discussion about per-pupil costs. J. Carnie said that K. Carter had asked about applying for grants and the Board would need to know the cost per pupil in order to answer her question. R. Thackston said that the ultimate issue is that we have never had a consistent model to calculate the cost. K. Dassau said that it is consistently done by the State Dept. of Ed. VOTE: 9.763/1.830/1.114/2.293. Motion passes. MOTION: J. Kenyon MOVED to amend the agenda and have the grants and grant writer discussion after the December 3, 2005 meeting. SECOND: J. Kenyon. DISCUSSION: B. McCulley commented that it was appropriate to have the discussion on grants and grant writing, even though the cost per pupil has not taken place. VOTE: 9.804/2.2/.703/2.293. Motion passes.

c.       MRPSOC Update-Ms. Gurian: D. Gurian reported to the Board that the grant is in the 4th year. She asked that the Board give ideas to ensure that all people have information about the grant. After distributing information to the Board, she informed the board that the cost per pupil from the grant is $8000.00 for a non-special-education student with the possibility of an increase in tuition being discussed. A. Gross commented on the quality of the School Board Training sessions and D. Gurian said that Fred Bramante will be invited again to speak about the new state standards. J. Carnie asked when the steering committee meets. D. Gurian said on the second Monday of the month at 8:30 AM in the Antioch Conference Room. R. Thackston asked if it was a public meeting or a non-public meeting. D. Gurian said that a lawyer they consulted indicated that the meetings were not public. R. Thackston asked D. Gurian to explain the function of the steering committee. D. Gurian explained that the steering committee consists of a representative from each of the partners. D. Gurian said that the School Board does not have a member, although it is confusing since R. Marra serves on the steering committee as a parent. J. Carnie asked how the original membership was formed. D. Gurian said that the Superintendents suggested parents. D. Gurian said that parent representatives receive a stipend of $500.00. R. Marra commented that he had received it the first year and has refused it since. D. Hall, the independent evaluator, is on the steering committee, but needs to keep a distance because of his role in the evaluation process. R. Thackston thanked D. Gurian for her report.

d.      Opinion on Warrant Article Ten: K. Dassau reported that he had received a two-page opinion from the attorney at 4:38 p.m. today. The opinion, he explained, is that a petitioned article can be amended at the Deliberative Session. Petitioned articles are also advisory and, thus, the Board does not have to adhere to them. 

  

6.        SCHOOL BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS:

             Board Committee Reports:

               1.   Community Relations Committee: A. Gross handed out a survey that the committee gave to the building principals. The next meeting will be on November 17, 2005 at 7:15 a.m. 

 

2.      Facilities Committee: C. Dreyfuss informed the Board that the committee met on October 25, 2005 and prioritized the maintenance projects for the warrant articles in March. The next meeting will be on November 3, 2005 at 6:30 p.m. An update on the flood damage in Fitzwilliam was reported to the Board. G. White asked if there was going to be a building program for a warrant article. C. Dreyfuss explained that H.L. Turner would be coming back on November 16, 2005, at which time the Facilities Committee will decide whether or not to bring forth a proposal.

 

3.      Finance Committee: B. McCulley reported that the committee met earlier that evening. The information on the financial status was passed out to the Board. The committee requested that they have information on the status of the cash balance after the manifest. L. Biron explained that the manifest would need to be closed earlier. The Finance Committee said that would be an orderly way to do things and have designated Friday noon as manifest closing time. He explained that the over-expenditures are at $585,992.00 and the revenues are at $851,539.00. The next meeting would be on November 15, 2005 at 6:00 p.m.

 

4.      Policy Committee Report: G. White informed the Board that they have not met. The next meeting would be on November 29, 2005 at 5:30 p.m.

 

5.      Use of Surry School Study Committee: J. Carnie asked for a sense from the Board about continuing the Surry School meetings. R. Thackston suggested that the meetings be suspended until Surry approaches the School Board about the request to withdraw. B. McCulley commented on the need to use the facility during the interim. K. Dassau said that the building is being utilized for meetings and workshops and that he did receive a voice mail from R. Todd, the attorney for the Surry group. A. Gross asked if the building was available to the town. R. Thackston commented that the town could use the facilities by following the school board policy. R. Thackston asked that the scheduled Surry School Study Committee meeting be posted as canceled. 

 

6.      Budget Committee: K. Cota reported that the Budget Committee met on October 25, 2005 at Troy Elementary School. J. Smith and M. Young presented their budgets to the Committee and responded to questions. The oversight committee and the default budget committee reported as well. The next budget meeting will be on November 10, 2005 at MRMS/HS and the topic will be the Maintenance, Special Ed., and SAU budgets. K. Dassau would like to extend an invitation to the Board to attend. K. Dassau informed the Board that the Budget Committee’s Oversight Committee would be meeting on November 3, 2005 at 9:30 a.m.

 

C. Dreyfuss leaves.    

 

7.      The Cheshire Career Center: A. Gross reported that the horticulture numbers are up and the culinary arts numbers are down. A. Gross suggested that the Board have a discussion about the agreement with W. Cotton. B. Tatro commented about the need to consider CCC while building the cost per pupil. The agreement will be expiring at the end of this year. 

 

8.      Steering Committee from MRPSOC Grant-Dr. Marra: R. Marra reported that the committee has been meeting when he has been in class. He said that he would help with the lottery for the students.

 

9.      MC2 Advisory Committee-John Morin: R. Thackston asked about the difference between the Steering Committee and the MC2 Advisory Committee. K. Dassau explained that the Steering Committee is connected to Public Choice Grant. Betty Tatro, who is a member of the MC2 advisory committee, explained that it is advisory to the Director of MC2. Each month a topic is brought to the committee and they brainstorm about it.

 

10.  Negotiation Committee: R. Thackston reported on negotiations, reporting that the teachers and the district would go to mediation on December 12, 2005. He reminded every Board Member that it is important not to discuss negotiations outside the meetings. 

 

7.       New Business:

a.      Board Policy on continuing meetings past 10:00 PM: MOTION: J. Kenyon MOVED to rescind the requirement that the Board be required vote to continue a Board Meeting after 10 p.m. SECOND: C. Johnson. DISCUSSION: R. Thackston explained that it was not a RSA policy. VOTE: 8.149/3.379/0/3.472. Motion passes.

b.      Warrant Articles (draft) - L. Biron: L. Biron informed the Board that the Budget Committee has said that the deadline for Warrant Articles from the School Board was November 28, 2005. R. Thackston asked if the Board would like to discuss this topic at the current meeting or devote one segment of the next Board meeting to it. G. White asked when the cut off for petitioned articles was. L. Biron said in January. There were concerns about the deadline. K. Dassau explained that it would be helpful if the Board and the Budget Committee could agree on the warrant articles. K. Cota commented that the Board has not taken the time to discuss the budget nor listen to the presentations from the principals. It was mentioned that the warrants and the budget should be handled at the next meeting. R. Thackston suggested that, at the next Board meeting, the Board reports be suspended, W. Cotton be scheduled for the December meeting, Mr. Majoy provide an abbreviated presentation, and than the warrants and the budget be addressed.

 

8.     Curriculum Report: Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)-Dr. Hodgdon: D. Hodgdon reported to the Board that MRHS did not make AYP and explained what that means. The goal is for all students to be at 100% proficient by 2014. If a subgroup of students does not make the proficiency level, the entire school does not make AYP. The rationale for this requirement in the federal legislation is to ensure that all groups of students are going to be successful. Monadnock did well overall, but not as well in the special education subgroup. He explained the consequences of becoming a school in need of improvement after not making AYP for two years in a row.  It would include an improvement plan for the school. K. Dassau and D. Hodgdon will be working proactively with the principals to develop improvement plans for schools before being in this status. The Board discussed the various assessments (such as the MAP and state tests).            

 

9.     Action on the Manifest: MOTION: T. Aho MOVED the manifest in the amount of $1,364,271.08. SECOND: J. Kenyon. VOTE: 8.307/0/3.221/2.293. Motion passes.  

 

10.   SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT: K. Dassau explained that there would be a non-public session tonight for a student issue. L. Biron reported that there was a great deal of water from flooding in the Emerson basement, which includes the library and classrooms. The insurance company had Sterling come to help dry the carpet. Sheet rock will need to be replaced 4 feet from the floor. The insurance company had a man from SVE come and walk the site. The problem is the landscape and drainage. The insurance company will pay for any ruined tiles under the carpet, but not the carpet itself. The repair should be a project issue in the future.

 

              K. Dassau reported that the SAU would be meeting on Wednesday, November 2, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. in Winchester.

 

              K. Dassau explained that Mr. Fleming had submitted his early retirement last year and would like to rescind it and submit his early retirement request for June of 2007. MOTION: C. Johnson MOVED to rescind the motion of November 5, 2004 to accept Mr. Fleming’s motion to retire early in June of 2006. SECOND: A. Gross. VOTE: 9.384/0/2.144/3.472. Motion passes.

              MOTION: C. Johnson MOVED to accept Mr. Fleming’s request for early retirement in June of 2007. SECOND: G. White. DISCUSSION: K. Cota asked if the Board could know the reason for the change or if there would be a pay raise. K. Dassau explained negotiations would have an impact on salaries for the 2006-07 school year. R. Thackston asked if anyone was unable to receive early retirement because of Mr. Fleming. K. Dassau said no. VOTE: 11.528/0/0/3.472. Motion passes.

 

              MOTION: J. Kenyon MOVED to accept the resignation of A. Cunningham from the MC2 as of December 2, 2005. SECOND: B. Tatro. VOTE: 11.528/0/0/3.472. Motion passes.    

 

8.    BOARD CHAIR REPORT: R. Thackston explained that he was asked by J. Smith to write a letter the NEASC Accrediting Committee.  He explained to the Board that it is a draft and would like the Board to read it.  He was open to input via email. He then read his letter to the Board.  K. Cota commented that his letter doesn’t mention the problem with the building, as requested by NEASC. Based on the district’s history, R. Thackston was not optimistic about the building warrant articles and wanted to focus in the letter on other issues. K. Cota asked that the word “steep” be omitted in describing declining enrollment in the district. R. Thackston said that he would take it under advisement. A. Gross corrected the letter to say CCC, not CVC, in referring to the Cheshire Career Center.  R. Thackston explained that NEASC asked for a letter about what he thought was going on with the high school building and indicated that he believed the district had made strides forward, even if a building proposal hadn’t passed. B. McCulley commented on the good presentation of the positive aspects.

 

12.    SETTING NEXT MEETINGS AGENDA:

1.      Minutes

2.      Correspondence-Mr. Majoy

3.      Student Government

4.      Public Comments

5.      Review Warrants

6.      Review proposed budget

              K. Cota asked about the final day to approve articles for the warrant. L. Biron explained that the last day would be on January 28, 2006 for petitioned articles. L. Biron suggested that the Board have a warrant article prepared by November 28 and fill in the dollar amount later.

 

13.  SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.

 

14. 10:12 PM Non Public Session. MOTION: C. Johnson MOVED to enter into non-public session for the purpose of discussing a student issue under RSA 91 A:3©. SECOND: A. Gross. Roll call: A. Gross, C. Johnson, J. Carnie, B. McCulley, J. Kenyon, G. White, K. Cota, J. Friedman, B. Tatro, R. Marra, and R. Thackston. DISCUSSION: It was asked if the student requested the meeting. K. Dassau explained what the parents requested. J. Carnie asked if the parents are aware of this discussion. K. Dassau said no. J. Carnie asked if they have an option and K. Dassau explained that the motion could be tabled.  VOTE: 7.660/3.092/0/4.248. Motion passes.

 

        12. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: C. Johnson MOVED to adjourn at 10:24 PM.     SECOND: G. White. VOTE: Unanimous for those present. Motion passes.

         Respectfully submitted,

 

Laura L. Aivaliotis

         MRSD Secretary