Approved Minutes

MONADNOCK REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
Board Meeting Minutes

April 15, 2008

Cutler Elementary School, Swanzey, NH

 

6pm NON-PUBLIC SESSION: MOTION: P. Peterson. MOVED to enter into non-public session under RSA 91-A: II (e) litigation. SECOND: D. Lyman. Roll call vote: T. Aho, G. White, D. Lyman, K. Cota, J. Fortson, J. Carnie, P. Peterson, R. Smith and K. Goodenough. Motion passes.

 

MOTION: K. Goodenough MOVED to seal the minutes until the matter is concluded. SECOND: C. Dreyfuss. VOTE: 10.107/1.897/0/2.996. Motion passes.

 

MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to go out of non-public session. SECOND: P. Peterson. VOTE: 12.004/0/0/2.996. Motion passes.

 

7pm Present: Gene White, Phyllis Peterson, Jane Fortson, Ed Jacod, Colline Dreyfuss, Susan Oerman, Kristin Goodenough, William Felton, Tim Peloquin, Robert Smith, Doug Lyman, Karen Cota and James Carnie. Absent: Winston Wright and Tim Aho.

Also present: K. Dassau, Superintendent, D. Hodgdon, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and K. Chambers, Business Manager.  Principals: K. Craig, K. Carter, J. Smith, B. Tatro, Linda Sutton and B. Pickering.

 

 

  1. CONSENT AGENDA: MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to accept the April 1, 2008 Board Meeting Minutes as amended.  SECOND: S. Oerman. DISCUSSION: Minutes corrected on file. VOTE: 12.407/0/0.703/1.890. Motion passes. MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to accept all four April 1, 2008 Non-public Meeting Minutes as presented. SECOND: R. Smith. VOTE: 10.265/0.2.845/1.890. Motion passes.

 

  1. STUDENT GOVERNMENT REPORT: S. Dick and B. Dexter reported that the Student Government Members received Student of the Month Awards for the events that had taken place in March. They discussed MC2 joining the Student Government.

 

3.      CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: J. Smith invited the Board to Algebra One Game night on April 30, 2008.

 

MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to accept the furniture donation from Barry Sterns to the Nurse’s Health Office. SECOND: S. Oerman. VOTE: 13.110/0/0/1.890. Motion passes.  

 

4.      Public Comments: Dr. Kaplan thanked the Board for the vote on the Destination Imagination jackets for the students. There were very positive comments. He also thanked the Board for keeping the second Public Comment section. He would like to apologize to the Board, he felt that it was partly his actions that may have led to considering of the removal of the second Public Comments. He would be keeping his comments to the point.

 

M. Hoefer commented on the letter submitted to the Keene Sentinel from D. Lyman. He commented that when the Board votes the majority rules. The letter has broken trust with the Board. He commented that the Board is in their right to ask for his resignation.

 

Sherry Beteau asked the Board to look at the policy concerning teachers tutoring their own students.

 

S. Rashid commented on the Service Learning projects. The 5th graders made masks and presented them at St. Bernard’s on Earth Day. Another group is doing a service learning project with the Swanzey Police Department.

 

R. Bauries asked for the non-public minutes sealed tonight be made available to the public. He commented that there are problems with the proposed teacher contract. He said that the problems are with the early retirement, size of raise, longevity and no cap on the health care. He does not think it would pass. He does not feel that there is a need for another vote.

 

5.      NEW BUSINESS:

 

1.      District Reorganization Proposal: MOTION: W. Felton. MOVED that a committee be set up with the sole agenda item of looking into what is possible in terms of dissolving the Monadnock School District and what steps must be taken to achieve this objective. SECOND: C. Dreyfuss. DISCUSSION: W. Felton commented that he would not like to see the next five years repeat the last five years in regards to the teachers contract, accreditation and buildings. He would suggest divide and conquer. Swanzey and Roxbury voted yes on the budget and the contracts, no one else. We continue to go down hill. He would ask that the Board to take this into consideration and think outside the box. K. Cota thanked W. Felton and commented that something has to happen and she would like to be on the committee with W. Felton. D. Lyman commented that this should be done the same way Surry did to withdraw. E. Jacod commented on the cost per student and the fact that the average person in this region can not have the school they want to have from the dollar point of view. We need a committee to see what we are doing wrong compared to our sister schools. C. Dreyfuss commented that the Board should investigate this. Swanzey is running against some walls, they support education but not the surrounding towns. J. Carnie commented that this is the most ludicrous proposal in 20 years. We were discussing how we should work together. He said that just because you do not want to spend does not mean you do not support education. He said that W. Felton knows the procedure to withdraw. He should file a petition for Swanzey to withdraw. This is another effort to take the situation away from education. This is a ludicrous waste of time. E. Jacod said that he is very sympathetic to the teacher and wish we could do better. We need to spend money more wisely. VOTE: 4.963/7.444/0.703/1.890. Motion fails.  

 

6.      OLD BUSINESS:

 

1.      Surry Transition Committee-J. Fortson: J. Fortson reported that the committee met on April 7, 2008 and discussed the Surry Tuition and the return of Surry School. MOTION: T. Peloquin MOVED that the Surry School District ask the MRSD to set the rate of tuition for the Surry Students at $14,000.00. SECOND: J. Fortson. DISCUSSION: P. Peterson commented that the Board should let the students stay and that they cooperate with Surry. T. Peloquin commented that Surry has decided to only send a certain amount of students. VOTE: 12.407/0/0.703/1.890. Motion passes. MOTION: T. Peloquin MOVED that the MRSD accept the $130,000.00 offer for the Surry School Building. SECOND: R. Smith. DISCUSSION: J. Carnie commented that T. Peloquin is correct in the statute. He said that he would be voting against the motion because he feels the building is worth more. The Board discussed what would be staying within the building concerning the kitchen. VOTE: 11.286/1.121/0.703/1.890. Motion passes. T. Peloquin commented that this concludes Surry’s business with Monadnock and the next battle is with the SAU. He thanked the Board and commented that Surry has a very difficult road ahead.

 

2.      Default Budget: K. Chambers explained that the Finance Committee is still discussing it.

 

 

3.      Education Committee: MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to establish an Education Committee. SECOND: D. Lyman. DISCUSSION: K. Cota commented that it sounds good just as long as it is not a witch-hunt. She would suggest that the committee look at program changes that would effect the accreditation. Overall it is a positive committee. G. White commented that he is a little uneasy. It seems like a lot of duplication. He would suggest the Policy/Education committee not two separate committees. C. Dreyfuss agrees that the Policy Committee does hit a lot of education issues. An Education Committee should set goals and guidelines. S. Oerman would not want to see duplicate work for the administrators. K. Goodenough asked the structure of the group. C. Dreyfuss suggested like any other sub committee 5 people with administration participation. J. Carnie commented that the set up of the committee is up to G. White. We need to do this. Not negative. Involve the administration as well as input from teachers and staff. The main focus dealing with education. K. Dassau commented that 60% of the Policy work is around instruction. The Education Committee should look at Section J. VOTE: 11.228/0/1.882/1.890. Motion passes. MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to nominate J. Carnie, C. Dreyfuss, P. Peterson, J. Fortson and W. Wright to the Education Committee. SECOND: S. Oerman. VOTE: 12.407/0/1.1179/2.593. Motion passes. G. White explained that J. Fortson would organize the committee for a meeting.

 

The Board breaks for 5 minutes.

 

7.      CURRICULUM REPORT:

 

1.      NEASC Update-J. Smith: J. Smith explained that the member of the NEASC would be reviewing the High School Health Office Plan. She has agreed to look at it but only to give an opinion not a stamp of approval. On Friday Molly Kelly and Governor Lynch would be touring the school. K. Dassau commented that it is not open to the public and it is a limited invitation. B. Pickering reported that he met with the principal of KHS and discussed the NEASC. He shared his experiences. It was a beneficial 2-hour discussion. B. Pickering would like to continue the open relationship. J. Smith commented that the lists that were passed out at the last meeting are not a complete list. They are only the recommendations that the Commission wants us to address.  

 

2.      AYP Report-D. Hodgdon: D. Hodgdon reported that all schools and the District plans have been approved. J. Smith has been working on the evaluations of their school of improvement plan.

 

8.      SCHOOL BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS:  

 

1.      Community Relations Committee: C. Dreyfuss reported that she was elected chair of the committee. The committee would be setting goals. They would be contacting the newspaper for prices. They would like to start sending the radio and newspapers information. MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to spend up to $1000.00 on a luncheon for the teachers in the District for teacher appreciation week. SECOND: K. Goodenough. DISCUSSION: K. Chambers said the funds would come out of the School Board Special Events Account. C. Dreyfuss explained that she has discussed this with the Food Service Director and that is a good number. Friendly amendment: R. Smith suggested up to $1500.00. C. Dreyfuss and K. Goodenough agreed. J. Smith suggested May 8, 2008. W. Felton would like the 48-hour notification. VOTE: 11.228/0/1.179/2.593. Motion passes.

 

2.      Facilities Committee: K. Cota reported that the Committee met on April 9, 2008 with J. Mangiagli and T. Jokubaitus and discussed the educational needs of a three grade Middle School. B. Pickering presented the weight room proposal, which includes new equipment and refurbishing the weight room. There are no bids because the Wood family is asking for certain types of equipment. MOTION: K. Cota. MOVED for the School Board to suspend the bidding policy and approve the recommendation of the weight room project for $65,676.68. SECOND: R. Smith. DISCUSSION: K. Cota explained that the remaining money would be used to maintain and supplies. They also discussed community involvement and use of the room. VOTE: 11.228/0/1.179/2.593. Motion passes. K. Cota commented that Kaestle Boos would be looking at the Middle School 2 grades and 3 grades. The public said that they did not want their 6th graders going to the existing facility. It would be a new facility. MOTION: K. Cota. MOVED for the School Board to accept the recommendation of B. Mitchell to extend the Project Manager, Beliveau Consulting and Construction LLC for 6 months. SECOND: C. Dreyfuss. DISCUSSION: K. Chambers explained that the funds would come from a budget transfer. K. Chambers would ask the Board for support. The Director for Building and Grounds has been here a month. If there is no Project Manager the Director can not do both things. The summer projects would not get done. K. Chambers explained that it is $30,000.00 to extend. C. Dreyfuss commented that she is in favor of this motion. K. Goodenough would support the motion. R. Smith commented that B. Mitchell never said he could not do the job but he would be swamped. K. Cota commented that things would fall through the cracks. K. Cota explained the history and the projects that fell behind and over budget. The Facilities did a tremendous amount of work. B. Mitchell would be analyzing the Facilities Department to make it more efficient. VOTE: 7.907/4.500/0/2.593. Motion passes. The Committee also discussed the gym floor and the nurse’s station at the High School. The next meeting would be on 4/30/08 at 7:00PM.

 

3.      Finance Committee: D. Lyman reported that he was elected chair, J. Fortson V. Chair and P. Peterson recording secretary. The default budget would be discussed at the next meeting. The draft of the Annual Budget Schedule was passed out. MOTION: D. Lyman MOVED to approve the MRSD 2009-10 Annual School Budget Schedule. SECOND: J. Fortson. VOTE: 11.228/0/1.179/2.593. Motion passes. The next meeting would be on April 17, 2008 at 5:30 PM. 

 

4.      Policy Committee: G. White reported that the Policy Committee would be meeting on May 5, 2008 at 6:00 PM. 

 

5.      Budget Committee: The next meeting is on April 22, 2008 in Gilsum.

 

6.      Cheshire Community Center:

 

7.      Legislative Committee Report: MOTION: D. Lyman MOVED to prepare a letter opposing HB 1330 and SB 374 to the House Members and the Senate Members from the Board. SECOND: E. Jacod. DISCUSSION: C. Dreyfuss explained that she was emailed the information but did not read the 100 plus pages. There was no indication of what was to be voted on. D. Lyman explained that he was asked by the School Board to review the NHSBA information. K.Cota thought that the letter was supposed to go to the CRC and then to the Board. D. Lyman explained that he would be asking the CRC to write the letter. C. Dreyfuss explained that she would be voting no and that she did not read the first 2 pages. She commented that there should be a 48-hour notice. D. Lyman commented that he asked M. Braley to inform the Board to read the first two pages when she sent out the Board packets. MOTION to amend: D. Lyman MOVED to amend to state that the CRC compose a letter to the NH House and Senate Members opposing the HB 1330 and Senate Bill 374. SECOND: E. Jacod. DISCUSSION: K. Cota commented that the Board never made a motion on the process. She does not want to tie up the CRC. W. Felton would like a brief description, rational, D. Lyman’s thoughts and why the Board should not support the items. J. Carnie commented that the Board is making this so complex. He would suggest getting a list of the proposed bills and than vote on them. This is a lot of wasted time. K. Goodenough agreed with J. Carnie but her trust in this committee due to the letter to the paper, she is furious. She never said that she is in favor of marijuana. VOTE on the amendment: 5.244/4.805/2.358/2.593.Amendment passes. MOTION as amended: 6.423/4.805/1.179/2.593. Motion passes. MOTION: K. Goodenough MOVED to suspend the current Legislative Rep. Committee until the Policy Committee can review the responsibilities of the committee. SECOND: K. Cota. DISCUSSION: D. Lyman explained that the letters need to get out within the next 3 months. If the motion passes he would withdraw from the committee. J. Carnie commented that the letter could be a form letter agreeing or not. It is much simpler than what we are making it. P.Peterson commented that she did not want to see her vote publish in the paper. A lot of people were offended. We all have difference of opinions. E. Jacod commented that we are wasting a lot of time. D. Lyman commented that those are not his recommendations but the recommendations of the NHSBA. VOTE: 6.7931/4.593/1.021/2.593. Motion passes.  

 

9.      Action on the Manifest: MOTION: S. Oerman MOVED to accept the manifest in the amount of $1,727,715.16. SECOND: C. Dreyfuss. DISCUSSION:  VOTE: 11.386/0/1.021/2.593. Motion passes.

 

10.  Superintendent’s Report: MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to accept the resignation of Carol Sheff on June 30,2008. SECOND: W. Felton. DISCUSSION: K. Dassau explained that she is not eligible for any sort of retirement. VOTE: 11.386/0/1.021/2.593. Motion passes. MOTION: R. Smith MOVED to accept the resignation of Cindy Melhorn. SECOND: P. Peterson. VOTE: 11.386/0/1.021/2.593. Motion passes. MOTION: P. Peterson. MOVED to rescind the request of retirement from Linda Jacovawitz. SECOND: S. Oerman. VOTE: 10.577/0/1.830/2.593. Motion passes. MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to accept the retirement of Linda Jacovawitz for June 30, 2010. SECOND: S. Oerman. Motion passes.

 

11.  BOARD CHAIR REPORT:

 

12.  SETTING NEXT MEETINGS AGENDA:

 

1.      Goal Setting.

 

13.  SECOND PUBLIC COMMENTS: C. Kahn asked the School Board to realize that they are in a state of emergency. She would ask the Board to consider a Special Meeting for the contract vote.

 

E. Jacod commented that it is important that we reach some kind of agreement before next Spring. We need to make good timely judgements.

 

14.  NON-PUBLIC SESSION: MOTION: J. Fortson MOVED to enter non-public session under RSA 91-A:3 II(b) Hiring of an employee: SECOND: P. Peterson. Roll call vote: E. Jacod, P. Peterson, J. Carnie, K. Cota, K. Goodenough, W. Felton, R. Smith, J. Fortson, D. Lyman, S. Oerman and G. White. Motion passes.

 

15.  Non-Meeting: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to enter into a non-meeting for the purpose of negotiation discussion. SECOND: D. Lyman. VOTE: 12.286/0/1.121/2.593. Motion passes.

 

16.  Public Session: During non-public session the Board MOVED to accept the proposal of the Negotiating Team dated April 8, 2008. The VOTE was 9.456/1.830/0/2.593. Motion passed.

 

17.  Adjournment: MOTION: C. Dreyfuss MOVED to adjourn the meeting at 11:20 PM. SECOND: K. Cota VOTE: Unanimous for those present. Motion passes.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Laura L. Aivaliotis

MRSD Recording Secretary