SCHOOL BOARD
AGENDA
March 4,
2008
Monadnock
Regional Middle/High School,
Present: Jonathan Kenyon, Gene White, Jane Fortson, Colline
Dreyfuss, Karen Cota, Ed Jacod, Phyllis Peterson, Winston Wright, Doug Lyman,
William Felton, Susan Oerman, James Carnie and Ken Colby. Absent: Tim Aho and Tim Peloquin.
Also Present: K. Dassau, Superintendent, D. Hodgdon, Assistant
Superintendent, Katie Chambers, Business Manager and C. Boyle, Director of Technology.
Principals: J. Smith, S. Rashid, B. Tatro and K. Carter.
1.
�AGENDA:
MOTION: K. Colby MOVED to accept
the February 12, 2008 Board Meeting Minutes as presented.� SECOND:
K. Cota. VOTE: 12.400/0/0/2.600. (J.
Carnie missing from vote) Motion passes.
�MOTION:
K. Colby MOVED to accept the
February 19, 2008 Board Meeting Minutes as presented. SECOND: J. Kenyon. VOTE: 11.379/0/2.142/1.479.
Motion passes.
2.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT REPORT: There was no student rep. present. J. Smith reported
that the Student Government is working on the Peer Mediation. There would be a
school wide meeting next Tuesday to discuss this issue.
C.
Dreyfuss informed the Board that the Keene Sentinel and MC� are recording the
meeting.
3.
CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: K. Dassau reported that the annual report has been
printed and distributed.
B. Tatro explained that there was an election at
K. Dassau reported that the front cover of the town of
K. Dassau reported that the Director of the NEASC is in attendance,
Pamela Gray Bennett.
4.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: N. Moriarty thanked the Director of the NEASC for being present. N.
Moriarty commented on information that he got off the Internet. He said the per
pupil cost of the high school has increased 47% since 1997. He also asked what
happened to the 11th graders with the NECAP Testing. He said that
the teacher’s salary and the drop out rate at Monadnock are the 2nd
highest compared to area schools. He said that we have 15 months to help the 11th
graders before they graduate.
S. Rashid thanked the Board for their kind words at
the last meeting. He said leaving Cutler was a very hard decision. He has
always felt that at the end of his career it would be at a high school. He said
that it has been a positive experience in Monadnock. He said that there is
still a lot of hard work that has to be completed. Everyone needs to work
together and put their differences aside. Do the right thing for our children.
Take care of the business for our children.
5.
CURRICULUM REPORT: NEASC Update: Pamela Gray Bennett explained that she has been
asked to speak about the NEASC Process and who the NEASC is. They are one of 6
regional accreditation associations. It is a membership organization. They
identify standards of effective practice. People choose to join us. The process
begins with a self-study then a visiting team of volunteers make an assessment
and a report is written. They have approximately 655 members. All the member
schools have strengths and needs. Our purpose is school improvement. Our
expectation is that the school would resolve the issues in a matter of time.
The amount of time would depend on the issue. She explained that she is the
director and does not make any decisions. There are 26 people that are elected
to do that job. Monadnock was placed on warning after the self-study and then
placed on probation after the teams visit. She commented that there is no
surprise, nothing unusual. The building is old. NEASC has identified the
concerns but have never said build “new”. NEASC is saying that it is in the
best interest of the children and community that these items get fixed. She
said that they commend the District for the hiring of the architect and 1
million-dollars for health and safety and addressing the roof repair concerns.
In her judgement the District is making good progress. Correcting the concerns
the NEASC have identified should be done in the best interest of the students.
She explained that the cost of the membership into the NEASC is between
$2000.00 and $2800.00 a year. There are 8 paid staff members. K. Cota asked
about the expectations and the huge difference between each state. P. Bennett
explained that the standards reflect research supporting teaching and learning.
Accreditation is about adult, teacher
and community performance. At any one time there are at least 25 schools that
are on probation. The standards are not just about teaching and learning but
about the facilities. When you join you agree to address the needs. P. Peterson
commented that the funding in NH is a big problem. P. Bennett explained that
the NEASC is not asking for the concerns to be addressed tomorrow but in a
timely manner. D. Lyman asked if the economics of the area is taken into
account. P. Bennett commented that it is based on the NEASC standards. They do
look at the school and the community to meet the needs of the students. It was
asked if there was any way to meet the standards with some short cuts. P.
Bennett said that there are other communities that have the same situation.
E.Jacod commented that it is his personal opinion that the quality and
commitment of the parent to get a better education for the student. In southern
NH we are expected to compete with other states that have more adequate
funding. He said that there is lack of consideration for the community. We are
not high rollers. We do not have the money to support the lavish ideas that you
have. We have worked on some of these issues. We do not have the parent support
for the children. K. Dassau commented that participation is a voluntary process.
We are accepting the accreditation criteria. C. Dreyfuss commented that we are
in the right direction. J.Kenyon commented that there are a number of districts
that have built or brought buildings up to par and they have a tax base less
than our district. We might do it. It was asked if being accredited buys us
anything. P. Bennett commented that when people buy a house they ask about the
schools. The accreditation is an assurance. If a school looses their
accreditation that is alarming to parents. Then there are some colleges that
are alarmed if a school is not accredited. Some grants and loans are connected
to accreditation. There is a connection between accreditation and colleges.
Fewer lab experiments due to the condition of the science labs could affect the
competitive colleges. NEASC is about the student. We want the facility to
support and enhance instruction. J. Carnie asked how many team members were
from NH and Mass. P. Bennett did not have that information at hand but could
get it. She explained that the team is made up of volunteers. The District pays
for the hotels and the food for the team members. J. Carnie commented on the
comment about the lack of maintenance. He said that 9 or 10 of the maintenance
warrant articles have passed in previous years. The District has supported
them. P. Bennett explained that the list of concerns might have been addressed.
J. Carnie commented that the passing of the warrants goes back a lot further.
He has concern about the misinformation. J.Carnie asked where the air quality
information came from. He stated that OSHA has never been in the building. P.
Bennett could not answer the question at this time. P. Bennett did say that any
concerns that were identified the school had the opportunity to respond. P.
Bennett told J. Carnie that she could speak to him after the discussion. J.
Carnie commented that a great facility does not mean better education. The
funding should be considered. C. Dreyfuss thanked P. Bennett for her
explanation. C. Dreyfuss commented that the community has supported maintenance
and we are going in the right direction. J. Fortson commented on the repeated
default budget. She commented that this year again we might have additional
funds coming back. We are giving our schools what they say they need. If not
someone else is not stepping up to the plate.
AYP Report: D. Hodgdon commented on the amount of testing results
and to emphasize that the teachers and the staff is working towards an
effective education for the students. There are results from other tests
besides the NECAP that are showing that the students are learning. There are so
many factors on how our testing results. There is little to gloss over. The
State Test results are also low. This is the first time administering the NECAP
to the high school. The high school curriculum may not be lined up to the grade
span expectations from the State. Another factor is that the students may not
take the test seriously. K.Dassau, D. Hodgdon, B. Pickering and J. Smith met.
J. Smith met with the dept. heads to examine the results. They need to
determine why the students did poorly. K.
Dassau suggested that the board wait for J.Smith to return to answer some of
the questions. The discussion on the NECAP has to be done soon. D. Hodgdon
commented that is exactly what we are doing. We need to look at what the
reasons are for the low test scores.
6.
NEW BUSINESS:
1.
Letter from the Assistant Attorney General: K. Dassau explained that the letter was in the Board’s
packet and an informational item. J. Carnie corrected part of the letter and
said that
2.
Budget Transfer (Student Management System Software): C. Boyle explained that there was a savings at
3.
Budget Transfer (MC2 Action 1Form): MOTION: J. Fortson. MOVED
to accept the budget transfer in the amount of $3250.00 from the Regular
Ed. Purchased Services Account to the Regular Ed. Teacher’ Salaries Account SECOND: D.Lyman. DISCUSSION: K. Carter explained that the transfer was for two
Wilderness Trek leaders. K. Chambers commented that this would realign the
budget accounts. VOTE: 10.570/0/2.951/1.479.
Motion passes.
4.
Request from the Health Insurance Study Committee: K.Dassau explained that the committee would like to
make recommendations to the Boards and then the SAU Board. MOTION: D. Lyman MOVED to
give the SAU Health Insurance Study Committee the authority to make
recommendations to the
Continued discussion on AYP: J.Smith explained that he has had 2
and ½ days to look at the results of the testing. The English teachers were
really surprised by how horribly the students did. The teachers in Algebra
College 2 looked at the test results. Eleven out of the fifteen students in
that class that scored below proficient scored 20% or better on their PSATs.
The students do have the math skills but performed really bad. Some students do
not care because there is no impact to them. Administrators plan on meeting
with students to see if they can find out what happened. J. Fortson said that
she is angry and wants to know what happened. J. Smith said that he would like
to know..
7.
OLD BUSINESS: :
1.
Letter from Paul Apple to the Assistant Attorney
General: K. Dassau explained that the
letter is for informational purposes. J. Carnie asked if there would be a
non-public session. K. Dassau explained that there would not be a non-public.
J.Carnie asked to add a non-public under RSA 91 A: litigation for the next
agenda. MOTION: J.Carnie. MOVED to add a non-public session under
RSA 91:litigation on the next meeting agenda. SECOND: E. Jacod. DISCUSSION:
G. White asked what the issue was about. J. Carnie explained to discuss the
letter from Attorney Apple and to see if it was appropriate. VOTE: 5.244/6.077/2.200/1.479. Motion fails.
2.
Surry Transition: The committee members are J. Fortson, J. Carnie and W.Wright. the next
meeting is March 6,2008. The committee would be discussing the request from the
Surry board to tuition the 9th, 10th and 11th
grade students. The committee would be looking at the weighted vote. J.Carnie
commented that the Board as a whole should take a vote on the cost of the
3.
Potential Unfunded Litigation: K. Chambers explained that there was discussion in the
Finance Committee but no movement. D. Lyman reported that there was no new
information. The local government center will be hosting the informational
dinners to give updates. He commented that Bill 1645 with the amendment is the
way to go. To protect the employees and the retirees. C. Dreyfuss suggested
that the Legislative Rep. D. Lyman and the K. Chambers meet to make a
recommendation to the Board. W. Felton reminded the Board of the 48 hour
notification. The amount of money in question is roughly $3000.00.
8.
SCHOOL BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS:
1.
Community Relations Committee: K.Colby reported that the committee has not met and
he would commend all the members for staying within the budget. C. Dreyfuss
explained that she, K. Dassau and K. Chambers were on the Cynthia Georgina
Show, a radio show promoting the scool board and budget committee
recommendations..
2.
Facilities Committee: K. Cota reported that the maintenance staff has
prepared for the snow and rain situation if one was to arise concerning the
buildings. She thanked all the members of the Facilities Committee for a wonderful
job this past year. They have dedicated many hours to the district facilities
needs. On Feb. 2, 2008 the committee met to discuss the location of MC2. MOTION: K. Cota MOVED to relocate the MC2 program to the
3.
Finance Committee: J. Carnie reported that the committee met earlier tonight. The action
from this committee had been discussed already. He asked if he could respond to
the Facilities Chair. He commented that the statement he made is exactly
correct. He said that the Finance Committee had debit financing on their agenda
for months. The Finance Committee had requested from the Facilities Committee
an accurate number and they could not get one. They heard 15 or 16
million-dollars and they were surprised to get a 37 million-dollar number. He
was told that was not the number. C. Dreyfuss commented that was not the
proposal on the table. J. Carnie commented that the figure was brought up
deliberately after the Budget Committee met. C. Dreyfuss said that the Board
voted on the architectural drawings for a middle school. J Carnie commented
that the 37 million-dollars were not told until after the Budget Committee. It
was a deliberate attempt not to discuss it around the teacher and support staff
contracts. He commented that he supports and backs the article in the Richmond
Rooster.
4. Policy
Committee: MOTION: K. Colby MOVED to accept Policy IJOC Volunteers
as presented dated 2-24-08. SECOND: S.
Oerman. DISCUSSION: G. White
explained that the intent of the policy is to prevent criminals and sex
offenders from working closely with children in our schools. Criminal checks
are being done on volunteers now. VOTE: 12.465/0/1.056/1.479.
Motion passes. MOTION: J. Kenyon MOVED to accept Policy GBCD as amended
by the Policy Committee dated 2-24-08. SECOND:
K. Colby. DISCUSSION: G. White
explained that the committee added “volunteers not categorized as “Designated
Volunteers” per Policy IJOC” and the committee crossed out that the criminal
check is the responsibility of any person the Board requires to have one. VOTE: 12.712/0/0.809/1.479. Motion passes. G. White thanked the
Policy Committee Members for their part this past year on the Policy
Committee.
5. Budget
Committee: The Budget Committee has
not met since the Deliberative Session.
6.
7.
Legislative Committee: D. Lyman reported that Senate Bill 539 would increase
the school district aid to Monadnock from a 1.9 million-dollar decrease to over
$500,000.00. He handed out a spread sheet of all the towns to the Board. He
explained that next month the items on the agenda are a Bill for collective
bargaining mandates, the evergreen clause in every contract and fewer than 10 employees
to form a bargaining unit. He is asking the Board permission to write a letter
to kill the three Bills. D. Lyman passed out a copy of his statement that he
read regarding the state aid and the per pupil cost. J. Fortson thanked D.
Lyman for his efforts.
8.
Action on the Manifest: MOTION: S. Oerman MOVED
to accept the manifest in the amount of $2,960,930.21. SECOND: K. Colby. VOTE: 12.500/0/1.021/1.479.
Motion passes.
10.
Superintendent’s Report: K. Dassau
informed the Board that the meeting with the Troy Selectmen was very beneficial
and productive.
K. Dassau asked for clarification on the 2 million-dollar
surplus from J. Fortson who served on the Default budget. J. Fortson explained
that there were 1.2 million-dollars in under expenditures which included over
$200,000. in health insurance savings. About $900,000. was in additional
revenues J. Carnie commented that the
Board is saying that there is a 2.9% increase in the budget but it is really
27% increase that the voters need to raise. The Board is misleading the public.
You can not tell a Board Member that he can not have an opposing view.
11. BOARD CHAIR REPORT: C. Dreyfuss commented on the fact that the Board
spent 2 hours discussing education. C. Dreyfuss commented on her position as
the Chair. She said that she contacted K. Dassau and asked what the position
involved and he played down the position. She said that she learned a lot about
politics and people. Some people like conflict. This Board needed time to reach
a solution. She said that G. White and K. Cota have done a great job. S.
Oerman, J. Fortson and K. Chambers are the number crunchers. W. Wright and W.
Felton when discussing an educational issue would push you back on track. We
all work hard. She thanked the Board for the many opportunities. K. Dassau
commented that Board Chair is not an easy job.
12.SETTING
NEXT MEETING AGENDA:
1.
New Members/swearing
in
2.
Board Election
3.
Review Warrant
Results
4.
Retention Policy
5.
AYP Update – High
School
6.
NEASC Summary
Sheets
13.SECOND
PUBLIC COMMENTS: E. Kaplan thanked C.
Dreyfuss and the Board for their efforts. E. Kaplan commented on parts of the
article in the Richmond Rooster. He commented on the fact that OSHA states that
the doors of a room that house chemicals are to open out. That is the law and
the rules.
M. Hoeffer would encourage the Board to be on the
positive route and make progress with the NEASC issues.
K. Cota thanked C. Dreyfuss and the School Board
Members. She said that C.Dreyfuss raised the standards as a chair and how the
School Board should be run. She was a person to be proud of. She thanked C.
Dreyfuss.
W. Wright thanked K. Colby for his time on the School
Board. K. Colby thanked the School Board and the administration.
G. White commented that being elected the Vice Chair
usually you do not do anything except in this case. C. Dreyfuss gave him a lot.
She communicate to him, showed the importance of his job and he tried to respond.
She inspired him to be a better School Board Member. He enjoyed working with
her. She has a lot of energy. He was thrilled to sit beside her for the last
two years. She did a great job.
15.
Adjournment: MOTION: K. Colby MOVED to
adjourn the meeting at 10:35 PM. SECOND:
D. Lyman VOTE: Unanimous for
those present. Motion passes.
Respectfully submitted,
Laura L. Aivaliotis
MRSD Recording Secretary