MONADNOCK REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Board Meeting Minutes

                                                October 3, 2006

                               Monadnock Community Connections, Surry, NH.

                      

 

Present: Colline Dreyfuss, Jonathan Kenyon, Gene White, Karen Cota, Bruce Tatro, Tim Peloquin, Bruce McCulley, Phyllis Peterson, James Carnie, William Felton and Charles Johnson. Absent: Kenneth Colby, Tim Aho and Jason Hill.

Also present: K. Dassau, Superintendent, D. Hodgdon, Assistant Superintendent, T. Warner, Dir. of Technology, K. Chambers, Business Manager.  Principals: K. Carter, K. Craig, J. Smith, D. Mousette, D. Dahl and M. Young.

 

C. Dreyfuss called the meeting to order at 7:18 PM.

 

1.      CONSENT AGENDA: MOTION: J. Kenyon MOVED to accept the September 19, 2006 Board Meeting Minutes as presented.  SECOND: W. Felton.  DISCUSSION: J. Carnie questioned the motion made in public session after coming out of non-public. He said that was not on the agenda and a vote should have been taken to bring up the issue. K. Dassau informed the Board that the chair could make the recommendation. C. Dreyfuss said that she was present. She said that a majority of the Board agreed and she does not feel that there needs to be a vote. VOTE: 6.475/1.121/3.314/4.090. Motion passes.

 

CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: K. Dassau informed the Board that Betty Tatro was attending the meeting for the jail. K. Dassau reported that Mt. Caesar had a back to school night with an emphasis on math. It was well attended. The MAP Testing has been completed. Mt. Caesar has approved their school goals for this year.

 

K. Dassau reported that Emerson has completed that MAP Testing and is now working on the state testing. He asked that the Board read over the Emerson News and Notes. All classes will be visiting the Fitzwilliam Fire Department on Oct. 12, 2006. October 18, 2006 is the annual Harvest Night at Emerson.

 

K. Dassau informed the Board of an editorial in the Keene Sentinel criticizing the operation of the Board. He brought copies for the Board.

 

3.      STUDENT GOVERNMENT REPORT: Tabby Ball, an MC2 representative, reported that the Governance Council reviewed the policies to fit the new school. They also reviewed the fundraising policy. At the next meeting the committee will discuss respect issues.

 

 

4.      Public Comments: N. Moriarty encouraged the Board to follow Warrant Article Eleven on the Reverse 911.

 

Jan Ray Thompson, a parent of an MC2 graduate, commented to the Board on how prepared her son was when he went to Westfield State College.

 

5.      Curriculum Report: J. Smith reported that the NEASC Team left on Wednesday. He said that he had received emails thanking the staff from the team. The Team gave a review on Wednesday afternoon to the staff, which lasted about 5 minutes. They made a recommendation and a commendation in each of the seven standard areas. The final report will be sent in March. It was a good visit. The staff gave a tremendous effort.

 

J. Smith handed out a list of 5 new courses of study that he would like to add. He asked to discuss it at the next meeting. 

 

MC2 Presentation: K. Carter gave a power point presentation on the First Amendment Schools. S. Benedict, a parent, who attended the FAS Conference asked students and teachers to speak about their experiences at MC2 and the FAS Conference. T. Ball attended the FAS Conference and wrote a reflection in which she earned credit. She read parts of the reflection to the Board. Adam a student at MC2 commented on how MC2 works for him opposed to a traditional school. E. Marceau a teacher at MC2 who attended that FAS Conference commented on his experience at MC2. He said that when he first came to this school they would vote on everything. He said after attending the conference it made sense. S. Benedict read her thoughts in support of the MC2 School. J. Kenyon who attended the conference said that he was a very critical eye. He watched the children at the conference and how comfortable they were in their skin. They talked about their schools. They disagreed but respected each others opinions. They are very aware of government, business and the environment. He was surprised when he walked into a workshop that was using K. Carter’s rubrics. He said that the NEASC complimented the MC2, the state recognizes them and it is nationally recognized. He said that everyone is saying it works. He would endorse MC2. 

 

6.      Old Business: NH Community College Lease: J. Smith informed the Board that he is not prepared to report tonight. He has a meeting on Oct. 10, 2006 with the president of the college.

 

Reverse 911: T. Warner reported to the Board that this article has been very difficult to implement with both the schools and the towns. He reported that he looked at 5 different companies. He chose AlertNow, which he felt was the best for the schools and the towns. He said that the schools have unlimited calls and the towns have 2 emergency calls. MOTION: C. Johnson MOVED to add the Reverse 911 issue to the agenda. SECOND: B. McCulley. VOTE: 10.910/0/0/4.090. Motion passes. C. Dreyfuss asked if it was one system. T. Warner said yes. C. Dreyfuss asked if T. Warner received other bids. T. Warner explained the bids that he received. K. Cota asked when this would start. T. Warner said that it could start tomorrow but the towns do not have complete lists. T. Warner commented that the article is trying to implement something that the towns have not agreed on. They like it but did not really know about it. He said that he would help but not manage the towns. C. Johnson asked if the concerns from the principals have been addressed. T. Warner explained that they might use the program and then call manually. It is up to the individual school on how they will use the system in an emergency. J. Carnie commented that he would like to hear from N. Moriarty. K. Dassau asked if there was an urgency to make a decision tonight. T. Warner said that he has a contract and does not know how long it is for the set rate. N. Moriarty asked if there was one contract to sign. T. Warner said yes. N. Moriarty said that it sounds great. He said that it took him an hour to explain this to Gilsum. C. Dreyfuss asked N. Moriarty if he agreed. N. Moriarty said he would agree with the one contract. N. Moriarty said that no town has refused. It was asked what happens if the towns make more than the two phone calls. T. Warner said that this is a school contract. B. McCulley suggested a memorandum of understanding with the towns. MOTION: B. Tatro MOVED to accept the bid from AlertNow for Reverse 911 as presented. SECOND: C. Johnson. VOTE: 8.710/0/2.200/4.090. Motion passes. C. Dreyfuss commented that she would like an agreement with the towns.

 

7.  SCHOOL BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS:

1.      Community Relations Committee: G. White reported that the next meeting of the committee would be Oct. 10, 2006 at 5:30 PM.

2.      Facilities Committee: K. Cota reported that the committee met on Sept. 27, 06. The committee discussed the problem with getting bids when there are no design specs. The committee approved the design work on the domestic hot water system, the dishwasher system for a total of $3700.00 because of the immediate need. The committee approved the cleaning of the grease traps, which have not been done since the building was built. MOTION: K. Cota MOVED to accept the bid from Keating Plumbing and Heating for $10,593, which includes a $2118.00 contingency for unexpected expenses.  DISCUSSION: J. Carnie asked which article this was from. K. Cota answered. C. Dreyfuss was not present during this vote. VOTE: 9.731/0/0/5.269. Motion passes. The group discussed the 07/08 Project List. Top priority is the roof at MRHS. The committee may have a separate warrant article for this issue and also part of the CIP plan. J. Carnie asked the amount for the roof. K. Cota said $196,490.00, which was for the yellow area she showed the Board. B. Tatro has requested two extra rooms due to the increase in enrollment at Mt. Caesar. Ron will be bringing more information to the committee. The committee has voted to have electrical drops installed for MC2. These will be used to plug their computers in. The committee also agreed on placing a fence around the dumpster at MC2. J. Kenyon commented that the committee discussed the structural crack in the walls of the gym. He also said that the gym is moving away from the main building. The next meeting will be on Oct. 12, 06 at 6:00PM.

    

3.      Finance Committee: B. Tatro reported that the committee met tonight at 5:30PM. They reviewed the monthly expense reports. They did discuss the NH Community College lease. The committee discussed the mileage reimbursement procedure implemented by the administration. This would limit each Administrator to $2500.00 for mileage per fiscal year except in an emergency, and that no Board action is required on this issue. K. Chambers informed the Board that this would conform to the IRS rules and regulations.  

 

4.      Policy Committee: G. White informed the Board of the change on the Competencies and Competency-Based Assessment Policy. MOTION: G. White MOVED to accept the Competencies and Competency-Based Assessment Policy as presented. SECOND: W. Felton. VOTE: 10.910/0/0/4.090. Motion passes. The next meeting will be on Oct. 16, 06 at 5:45 PM.

 

5.      Budget Committee: J. Kenyon reported that the Budget Committee met at Emerson on Sept. 26, 06. The committee reviewed the breakout of grants and the maintenance lists. The committee disbanded the Budget Oversight Committee. There were questions on the budget schedule. The committee is interested in the bottom line. They asked if possible to have Union Representatives present at the January meeting. C. Dreyfuss commented that she would appreciate Board members to be present at the up coming meetings. 

 

6.      The Cheshire Career Center: No report.

 

7.      Surry Withdrawal Committee: T. Peloquin reported that L. Bergevin (Surry) and J. Fortson (Swanzey) have been added to the committee.

 

8.      OLD BUSINESS:

 

9. Action on the Manifest: MOTION: G. White MOVED the manifest in the amount of $1,945,427.08. SECOND: C. Johnson. VOTE: 9.731/0/1.179/4.090. Motion passes.

 

10. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT: K. Dassau reported that the Troy selectmen have two candidates for the Board position but they have not made a decision yet. W. Felton asked why the two candidates couldn’t come before the Board. K. Dassau explained that was policy.

 

     K. Dassau also informed the Board about the SAU Board Meeting on Oct. 12, 06.

 

     K. Chambers suggested that the Board members pick up their budgets on Friday prior to the Board work session.

 

     K. Dassau reported that there would be two non-public sessions tonight. 

 

11. BOARD CHAIR REPORT: C. Dreyfuss received comments from T. Ball on what the MC2 students had to say about MC2 and handed them out to the Board.  

 

 

12. SETTING NEXT MEETINGS AGENDA:

1.      NH Community College.

2.      Course offerings

3.      Health Ins. Negotiate

4.      Budget

 

13. SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS:

 

5 Minute recess.

 

14. 9:43 PM NON-PUBLIC SESSION: RSA 91-A:3 II (e): Approval of non-public sealed minutes: MOTION: J. Kenyon MOVED to go into non-public session under RSA 91-A:3 II e- approval of non-public sealed minutes. SECOND: P. Peterson Roll call vote: C. Dreyfuss, J. Kenyon, G. White, K. Cota, B. Tatro, T. Peloquin, J. Carnie, W. Felton, C. Johnson, B. McCulley and P. Peterson. VOTE: 8.768/1.121/1.021/4.090 Motion passes.

 

15. 9:56 PM NON-PUBLIC SESSION: RSA 91-A: 3 II ©: Personnel Request: MOTION: C. Johnson MOVED to go into non-public session under RSA 91-A:3II c-Personnel Request. SECOND: J. Kenyon.  Roll call Vote: C. Dreyfuss, J. Kenyon, G. White, K. Cota, B. Tatro, T. Peloquin, J. Carnie, W. Felton, C. Johnson, B. McCulley and P. Peterson VOTE: 10.910/0/0/4.090.  Motion passes.

 

17. Adjournment: MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to adjourn the meeting at 10:56 PM. SECOND: J. Kenyon. VOTE: 10.910/0/0/4.090. Motion passes.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Laura L. Aivaliotis

MRSD Recording Secretary