MONADNOCK REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Board Meeting Minutes

                                                 September 6, 2005

                              Monadnock Community Connection School (MC2), Keene, NH

                      

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

Also present: K. Dassau, Superintendent, D. Hodgdon, Dir. of Curriculum and L. Biron, Business Manager.  Principals: J. Smith, S. Rashid, K. Craig, K. Carter, D. Mousette and B. Tatro.

 

R. Thackston called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

 

1          CONSENT AGENDA:

Minutes of August 16, 2005 Board Meeting. MOTION: B. Tatro MOVED to approve the minutes.  SECOND: C. Dreyfuss. DISCUSSION: K. Cota said that she stated DRA had accepted this and that the only thing needed is the Board’s approval. T. Aho said that he mentioned Lounder and Cushing because he did not see any bids. He said that the bidding process had not been followed in the past.   VOTE: 9.698/0/1.988/3.314. Motion passes. T. Aho asked if the non-public minutes needed to be approved. The minutes and non-public were approved together. J. Smith explained the follow up to the non-public minutes. He explained the reassigning of the positions but with no new positions.

 

2.                  CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: K. Dassau mentioned to

The Board that K. Carter and D. Gurian would be speaking.

 

K. Dassau mentioned the all Board Workshop being held on Sept. 17, 2005. The workshop is sponsored by the Choice Grant.

 

K. Dassau informed the Board that there are two non-public sessions.

 

R. Thackston informed the Board that on the Frank Conroy vs. the MRSD the District prevailed. R. Thackston read the cover sheet from D. Hatfield to the Board.

 

R. Thackston had received a letter from Rob Hitchcock about the poor condition of the leechfield, which he recommended should not be used.

 

 

3.            STUDENT COUNCIL CONCERNS: No representative present.

 

4.        PUBLIC COMMENTS: R. Bauries commented on the budget, and the money proposed to be used for HL Turner.  He questioned the legality of moving money within the MS22.

 

5.        SCHOOL BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS:

             Board Committee Reports:

1.      Community Relations Report: A. Gross passed out the committee minutes to the Board. He commented on the charge to the committee by the School Board. He expressed the need for the whole Board to be involved with the work of promoting a facilities proposal. A. Gross and J. Smith talked about the Huskies Hoopla scheduled for Saturday, September 17.  J. Smith said that there will be fund raising booths, a parade and activities for the kids. Information has gone home with the elementary school children. A. Gross handed out the first draft of their publicity plan.  He said that it would be important for the Board to be at different events to keep the people informed.

 

2.      Facilities Report: C. Dreyfuss passed out the Facilities Committee Update to the Full Board dated Sept. 6, 2005. The minutes were for the August 17, 2005 and August 31, 2005 meetings. MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to hire HL Turner as the architect for phase one which is to finalize needs for an addition onto MSHS. SECOND: C. Johnson. DISCUSSION: C. Dreyfuss explained that the architect would help come up with a plan. J. Carnie asked where the $5,000.00 would come from. C. Dreyfuss said that the committee prioritized the maintenance projects to secure the funds from $80,000 under renovations.  Because of the projected deficit J. Carnie said that the board should consider where the money is coming from.

 

B. McCulley arrives at 7:40 PM.

 

R. Thackston said that the motion did not have a dollar amount attached to it. VOTE: 9.862/2.845/0/2.293. Motion passes. MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to pay HL Turner once they are hired $75.00 per hour not to exceed a total of $5,000.00 for work on Phase One. SECOND: K. Cota. DISCUSSION: C. Dreyfuss expressed concern about R. Bauries’ comment on the legality of moving the funds in the budget. K. Cota stated that they had asked the administration and they acted in good faith. K. Cota said that this discussion happened awhile ago and she was surprised by the public comment. R. Bauries said that, as a Budget Committee Member, he is concerned for the potential $600,000.00 deficit and does not believe that the committee will get much for $5,000.00. K Dassau commented that the one area of the shortfall is Special Education. C. Dreyfuss said that H.L. Turner could spend no more than $5,000.00. It is not for conceptual drawings. It is for the next plan. She said a portion of the money for maintenance and renovations for the high school was reassigned for this purpose. R. Thackston commented that the intent of the motion is to keep within the same maintenance. Five Thousand Dollars is to work with the existing facilities and the high school budget would be the logical place to find these funds. VOTE: 11.586/1.121/0/2.293. Motion passes.     

 

3.      Finance Committee: B. McCulley reported that the last meeting was not properly posted so the members did not meet.

 

4.       Policy Committee: G. White informed the Board that the committee has not met.

 

5.      The Special Committee to Study the use of Surry School: J. Carnie informed the Board that the committee would be meeting on Sept. 7, 2005 at 7:00 PM. C. Dreyfuss informed J. Carnie that she would be at another meeting and will not be able to attend.  She would like the minutes of the meeting to go to herself and J. Kenyon. She would also like advance notice of the meetings and different date options. J. Carnie commented that some members said that they could make it. He would like to see where the first meeting goes. 

 

6.      Finance Continued: B. McCulley reported that the committee met on Aug. 30, 2005. D. Hodgdon gave an overview of the MRPSOC Grant. He explained that Monadnock pays many of the bills for services and programs covered in the grant and the federal government repays it. B. McCulley said that it was a very useful discussion about the grant. K. Cota asked if the Finance Committee had the results of the charge from the Board on the financial option of the building project. B. McCulley commented that the committee was distracted by other issues.

 

            6.OTHER SCHOOL BOARD BUSINESS:

A. Action on the Manifest: The manifest had not been fully circulated to all board members.  L. Biron explained the expenditures from Aug. 16, 2005. L. Biron explained the $.03 check, Cushing for the water system, and Lounder was a retainer.

 

B. New Business: The Monadnock Regional Public School of Choice MRPSOC) program descriptions-D. Gurian, Project Director: D. Gurian and J. Gruber gave the presentation to the Board. They handed out notebooks to the Board. D. Gurian explained the process of her presentation. She would discuss the numbers and some of the programs. She would focus on some of the programs and ask board members to write down any questions for her about the MRPSOC Grant. She explained that the grant is for a total of five years and federally funded. This grant provides public school of choice. While looking to get the MC2 started, they looked for grant funding and came across this grant. D. Gurian went through each of the work areas and explained briefly. D. Gurian passed out information to the Board about the upcoming workshop for all Boards. C. Dreyfuss asked D. Gurian when the students are notified of the deadline for the VHS courses. D. Gurian explained about the parent training classes that will take place in October. J. Carnie felt that it would be beneficial for D. Gurian and J. Gruber to come back and follow up. R. Thackston thanked D. Gurian and J. Gruber for their presentation.

 

A. Gross commented that the manifest had been later on the agenda in the past and he would like to see it placed near the end of the agenda, so that the Board Members would have enough time to see it before the vote. R. Thackston said that it would be placed before the Superintendent’s Report.

       

C.  Old Business: Sewer and Septic Update: B. Tatro had received a letter from the Town of Swanzey about the sewer system. He read part of the letter to the Board. He explained the cost to the District would be about $400,000.00 to $500,000.00 and R. Thackston went to the next agenda item.

 

J. Carnie commented on a letter from D. Hatfield responding to K. Dassau’s inquiry concerning the Board vacancy. He said that the issue was not stated in the letter. He said that the voters voted to change the policy and that should be done.

 

D.       Curriculum Report: Monadnock Community Connection School (MC2)-K. Carter, Director: K. Carter passed out information to the Board about the curriculum piece of the MC2 School. J. Carnie asked K. Carter how many students attended from Monadnock. K. Carter said that there are 44 students, 21 of whom are from Monadnock. Last year there were 39 students and 21 from Monadnock. Last year’s budget was $381,591.00 and this year it is $460,000.00. It was asked about the additional cost for the buses. J. Smith commented that the bus drops off students at the CCC and it would be one additional stop. K. Carter was asked about financial information and she said that she does not have the breakdown with her. A. Gross thanked K. Carter for her presentation and encouraged others to visit the school. He commented on the success of students who were less successful in other school settings. R. Thackston asked the Board if they would like to have K. Carter and D. Gurian come back on separate nights. The response was positive.  K. Carter asked to receive the questions in advance. She explained that she did not do the budget part because she understood the purpose of her school board presentation to be an explanation of the curriculum. R. Thackston asked the Board to give the questions to him and he would pass them on the K. Carter.

 

Action on the manifest: MOTION: A. Gross MOVED the manifest in the amount of $1,473,406.21. SECOND: T. Aho. DISCUSSION: K. Cota asked about the 2 checks to the Town of Swanzey. L. Biron explained that was for the School Resource Officer, Carolina Biological is for the science dept. and Family Glass was for replacement windows in the principal’s office. C. Dreyfuss asked about Time Warner Cable payment, which is for the internet; Catamount, which was to remove asbestos; and GA Bell for the pumping of the septic systems. T. Aho asked about the payment to Allison Paving, which was the 2^nd payment and Cheshire Medical Center for Special Ed. costs. C. Dreyfuss asked if GA Bell was always used. L. Biron explained that he contacts M. Pratt and then he will find the least expensive company. VOTE: 9.486/0/3.221/2.293. Motion passes.

 

7. Superintendent’s Report: K. Dassau informed the Board that the Budget Committee would have a presentation on the MC2 Finances and the MRPSOC Finances. The Board is welcome to attend. K. Dassau asked the principals to give a brief presentation on the opening day at their school. J. Smith spoke for M. Young. K. Carter, D. Mousette, K. Craig, B. Tatro and S. Rashid reported to the Board. K. Cota commented on the PBIS program at Cutler and would like to see it in all the schools.

 

8.  Board Chair Report: R. Thackston commented that the Board runs a fine school District; however, the public and the selectmen feel that the committees are ignoring their charge and the Board is ignoring the vote from the public. He said it is the responsibility of the Board to advance education in the district. The selectmen and the voters are telling us what they want us to do. The voters have sent a clear message on the issue of a vacancy and the Board argued the legal points. He said that it is the Board’s responsibility to build credibility and get something done.  B. McCulley commented on R. Thackston’s comments and R. Thackston said that he would not have a one on one debate.

 

T. Aho leaves the meeting.  

 

         9. SETTING UP THE NEXT MEETING’S AGENDA:

1.      Committee Reports

2.      Negotiation Report every two weeks(non-public)

3.      CCC

4.      Accreditation Report from J. Smith

5.      K. Carter questions from Board

 

        10. Action on the Manifest: Motion done under New Business. 

 

11. SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS: J. Fortson informed the Board about the Budget Meeting on Sept. 27, 2004 and thought that some of the Board’s questions about MC2 and the MRPSOC grant could be answered at that meeting. R. Thackston would encourage the Board to attend.

 

N. Moriarty commented on the plan for the expansion. He thanked C. Dreyfuss for asking the Board for the approval on the $5,000.00. He commented that under the old “regime” they would have spent it.

 

Jan Ray Thompson commented on the fact that she had two students, one at Monadnock and one at MC2. She said that she saw value in both schools for her children.  She thanked K. Carter for her presentation. She would like to see a compromise and find a less expensive way to offer public school choice for students.

 

R. Bauries asked if there was any word on the charter school. R. Thackston explained that he receives 3 or 4 emails a week. L. Biron explained that the grant from the state to initiate a charter school had arrived last week.

 

C. Dreyfuss commented on the fact that she was upset with the schedules coming out the day before school starts. She said that it is not fair to the students. She said that one of the lunch blocks continues to be a problem.

 

MOTION: C. Johnson. MOVED to extend the meeting past 10:00 PM. SECOND: J. Kenyon. VOTE: 11.91/0/0/3.069. Motion passes.  

 

T. Parker commented that members should be involved in the upcoming budget and should attend Budget Committee meetings.

 

K. Cota commented on the schedules for the middle and high school. She said that the Board needs to send a clear message that this will no longer be tolerated.

 

12. 10:15 PM Non Public Session. MOTION: J. Kenyon MOVED to enter into non-public session for the purpose of litigation against the Board under RSA 91-A:3 II(e). SECOND: C. Dreyfuss. Roll call: C. Johnson, J. Kenyon, C. Dreyfuss, A. Gross, J. Carnie, B. McCulley, G. White, K. Cota, B. Tatro, R. Marra and R. Thackston. VOTE: 11.228/0/0/3.772. Motion passes.

 

13. 10:31 PM Non-public Session. MOTION: J. Kenyon MOVED to enter into non-public session for the purpose of student issue under RSA 91 A:3 II ©. SECOND: B. McCulley. Roll call: C. Johnson, J. Kenyon, C. Dreyfuss, A. Gross, J. Carnie, B. McCulley, G. White, K. Cota, J. Friedman, B. Tatro, R. Marra and R. Thackston.  VOTE: 13.012/0/0/1.988. Motion passes.

 

        14. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: J. Kenyon MOVED to adjourn at 10:55 PM.     SECOND: B. McCulley. VOTE: 11.931/0/0/3.069. Motion passes.

         Respectfully submitted,

 

Laura L. Aivaliotis

         MRSD Secretary