DRESDEN SCHOOL BOARD
REGULAR MEETING TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2005
7:00 P.M., RICHMOND SCHOOL LUNCH ROOM
Approved Minutes
Present: Board members Asmus, Bruce, Carter, Chamberlin, Cheney, Fleischer, Gray, Pilchman, Sachsse; Council Representative Creighton; Administrators Gersen, Aubin, Brush, Finer; Gillespie; and 2 members of the public. Recorded by R. Lohr
1. Call to order
Chair Cheney called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by John Chamberlin to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 22, the special meetings of November 14, and the nonpublic meetings of November 14 and 22, as submitted, with changes. The motion passed unanimously. The change to the November 22 regular meeting minutes is on item 7: “After the motion was passed, Kari Asmus stated that she voted against the contract because not enough information had been presented for her to be able to judge whether or not this was a good settlement. In particular, she wanted to see a wage schedule and information on what other local employers pay.” In the November 22 nonpublic meeting minutes the following phrase needed to be added: “Members of the negotiating team briefed the Board on the tentative agreement with the service staff. Provisions include: a four year contract; pay increases of CPI plus 1 percent in each year of the contract; increases in “incentive pay” of 5 cents per level in years two, three, and four of the contract; health insurance Co-Pay based on HMO rate only; and increase in Employee Co-Pay from 12 percent to 15 percent over years one, two and three of the contract.”
3. Communications and Reports
a) Chair Report
The Chair announced that the next School Board meeting is scheduled for January 10, at the Richmond Middle School library, and that this meeting is the first of three budget meetings. The second meeting on January 17 devoted to budget deliberations will also be held in the Richmond Middle School library and the third meeting on January 24 will be a regular Board meeting, public hearing on the budget, and budget adoption tentatively scheduled at the Hanover High School library. If the newly renovated library is ready on January 24, we are hoping to hold an open house for the newly renovated part of Hanover High School prior to the meeting. Some members of the Board suggested holding the January 17 meeting in Norwich. The Chair agreed to discuss the site of the January 17 meeting on January 10.
b) Council Representative Report
Alex Creighton of the Student Council reported that the Council supported a plan to limit the use of the public address system for a trial period after which Council will evaluate the change. Additionally, The Council discussed the idea of allowing students to sit in the halls or go to open (unused) classrooms to spend their spare time. This issue was raised because most of the common areas in the building will be lost due to renovations. The administration has not discussed this issue but intends to offer feedback in the near future.
c) Superintendent Report
Superintendent Gersen reported that he had spoken with Jamie Hess of the Upper Valley Trails Alliance regarding building trails and paths to the new fields in Norwich. In the course of his discussion, he learned about “Safe Route to Schools,” a Federal transportation grant program that might be a source for funds to construct the trails/paths. He met last week with Jamie Hess, Steve Soares, and Julia Griffin to discuss the possibilities of seeking grant funds under this Federal program. It will be late spring before details will be available regarding the proposed idea.
d) Assistant Superintendent Report
Assistant Superintendent John Aubin briefed the Board on GASB 45 and the new reporting requirements regarding retirement responsibilities of state and local governments and school districts. The new computations may require the staff to seek actuarial consultants to estimate the annual value of potential future obligations. Mr. Aubin believed these obligations would need to be calculated starting in 2008. He reported that the impact on the district would likely be minimal since only 10-15 retirees receive district health insurance coverage, which ends when the retiree turns 65 years old. Dr. Gersen expressed his concern that State retirement plans might not be shielded from the negative effects of GASB 45, which could shift some costs to local school boards or reduce State funds for education.
e) Facilities Director Report
Architect Greg Hemberger distributed a spreadsheet updating the Construction Project costs for both the Middle School and the High School. His analysis indicated that the Richmond Middle School project has a remaining contingency of more than $264,000,. assuming the district would be required to cover the costs of the steel overrun of $531,000. Dr. Gersen reported that the costs associated with the overrun would be negotiated after the completion of the projects. Greg Hemberger noted that with 27 percent of the Hanover High School project completed, only 5 percent of its contingency had been applied. John Aubin noted that the Board has only borrowed 4 million of the 5.5 million supplemental bond authorized by the voters and that he hoped to avoid any further bond sales.
Greg Hemberger reported that soil conditions at the High School were better than expected in some places and worse than expected in other places, but believed the district came out ahead on this issue. Jonathan Brush noted that the Dartmouth drainpipe was the biggest challenge to date. Mr. Hemberger and Mr. Brush indicated the next phase of renovation is in the 1934 building. The asbestos removal in that portion of the building will begin on January 3 and take about 30 days. An airtight barrier will be installed and air quality in the school will be tested regularly by an environmental company.
The unfinished work at the Middle School is mostly cosmetic with the exception of a vent in the guidance area and the lunch room acoustics. Many incomplete items can be covered by the remaining contingency or the Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment account.
Greg Hemberger announced that the wood chip boiler system at Richmond Middle School has started and about $1,300 worth of chips (80 tons) were used though the middle of December, which compared to the equivalent of $4,700 of oil.
Jonathan Brush reported that Vermont Act 250 filings on the Norwich fields project are awaiting state department responses. He believed that district will be presenting their proposed changes to athletic fields at the Lebanon Street site to the Hanover Zoning Board in early January. He promised to inform the Board about the date and time of those meetings.
f) Principals Reports
Principal Gillespie reported that the packing has gone smoothly and expressed her appreciation for the support from the community. A message about new locker locations will be sent to homes shortly.
Recently, the High School hosted a foreign language poetry event and conducted Shakespeare presentations in English classes.
Ms. Gillespie thanked Dartmouth for allowing Hanover High School to use its indoor track and its field house for its basketball game with Lebanon.
Principal Finer commented that the new Richmond Middle School is becoming more deinstitutionalized as students get comfortable in their new building separate from the high school environment. She reported that twelve hundred gift bags were sent to a middle school in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to show our community’s support after their hurricane ordeal. Ms. Finer also noted that Kendal residents have requested a tour of the new facility and she is making arrangements.
g) Committee Reports
Dresden Finance Committee – Kari Asmus, the Dresden Representative on this committee, reported that the Committee requests that the budget packet be distributed in the last week of December to Dresden Finance Committee members as it is to Board members. There was Board consensus for this. She noted that Norwich may have particular challenges because of declining enrollment. Noting that the calculation for how each town shares Dresden costs is based on enrollment data that lags a year behind, Norwich’s Finance Committee members would like to consider in 2006 alternatives to the current framework for calculating the Dresden Assessment. The finance committees are scheduled to meet on Wednesday, January 10 in the SAU office with Norwich convening at 8:30 a.m., Dresden at 9:15 a.m. and Hanover at 10:00 a.m.
4. Business Requiring Discussion
The Board discussed revised policies that are required under new regulations in New Hampshire.
Instructional Materials Policy IJ
The Board recommended limiting the scope of the Board’s review to approving recommendations from the administration regarding curriculum. The Board wanted to retain the notion that each curriculum is reviewed at least every five years.
Facility Use Categories and Fees Regulation EBH.
The Superintendent reported that after a thorough review of these procedures with the Administrative Council, he met with Julia Griffin, Hanover Town Manager, and Hank Tenney, Hanover Recreation Department Administrator, to discuss this policy in detail. He expect to have a mutually acceptable resolution between the Town and the District by the next Board meeting. The Board suggested that setting rental rates for the fields be deferred pending a review by the Alternative Funding Committee.
The Board also reviewed policies ILBA and ILBBF, Student Assessment and Curriculum Evaluation, which were presented in a first reading as two separate policies instead of the one policy presented in November.
5. Business Requiring Action
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Kari Asmus to accept the restricted gift of $2,000 from the Speak America for the Hanover High School Debate Club, to be used to defray transportation and hotel accommodation expenses at the upcoming debate tournaments in Lexington, Massachusetts, and Newark, New Jersey, in accordance with the provisions of Policy KHE, Gifts to the School, as submitted and attached to the original minutes of the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
A sentence was added to the revised Policy IHF that the graduation requirements would go into effect beginning with the class of 2009.
A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by John Chamberlin to approve revised Policy IHF, High School Graduation Policy, as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes with amendments. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by John Chamberlin to rescind revised Policy IHF-1, Graduation Requirements (Summer School & Other Courses for Credit), as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes with amendments. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Kari Asmus to approve revised Policy IJO, Community Resources, as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by John Chamberlin to approve revised Policy IF, Instructional Approach, as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Larry Pilchman to approve revised Policy IHCD, College Courses, as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
Assistant Superintendent John Aubin reported that David White had begun developing plans for the fields project and the required Town and State permits so that work on the fields in both Norwich and Hanover could begin in the spring. He indicated that the contract required that the synthetic turf field be ready for September and the track be ready by the following spring in 2007. The plans and contract documents will be reviewed and discussed by the Design Build Committee.
A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by John Chamberlin to approve David White as the Design Build contractor for the completion of the athletic fields, as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Larry Pilchman and seconded by John Chamberlin to accept the Friends Grants for the Richmond School, as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Larry Pilchman and seconded by John Chamberlin to adopt the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 Amendment Resolution, as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Larry Pilchman and seconded by John Chamberlin to approve the Vermont Construction Aid Resolution, as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
6. Nonpublic Session
The Board voted to go into nonpublic session at 8:58 p.m.
A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by John Chamberlin to enter nonpublic session in accordance with RSA 91-A:2 (i.b.) for discussion of negotiations. The motion passed unanimously. The roll call of the Board was conducted. The public session was reopened at 9:30 p.m.
7. Adjournment
A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by Kari Asmus to adjourn the meeting at 9:30 p.m.
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