DRESDEN SCHOOL BOARD
REGULAR MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2006
7:00 P.M., HANOVER HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
Minutes
Present: Board members Asmus, Bruce, Carpenter, Carter, Chamberlin, Cheney, Gray, Pilchman, Sachsse, Vitt, Williams; Council Representative Creighton; Administrators Gersen, Aubin, Brush, Finer; Gillespie; and 10 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 John Chamberlin and seconded by Linda Gray to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of March 28, the re-organizational meeting of March 14, and the nonpublic session of March 28, as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.
3. Public Hearing in accordance with RSA 198:2b, for acceptance of gifts from the Byrne Foundation
In accordance with New Hampshire RSA regulations, a public hearing was held regarding gifts from the Byrne Foundation, which included $20,000 for a crew shell and $10,000 for the Student Enrichment at Dartmouth Program (SEAD). The SEAD program involves students that are applying to college. The public hearing was closed at 7:09 p.m.
4. Social Studies Curriculum Scope and Sequence Presentation
A presentation of the social studies curriculum scope and sequence was given by Celeste Wilhelm and other representatives from the Dresden social studies departments at Dresden schools. The presentation referenced a document, which outlines the K-12 social studies curriculum. The document took five years to complete and 27 Dresden teachers served on the K-12 Committee that prepared the final document. The detailed curriculum document incorporates state standards and is intended to be used in every elementary and social studies classroom and updated as needed. The Board asked about embedded subcategories such as economics and recommended that such topics be incorporated and itemized in the document.
5. Agenda Review
The discussion about the NECAP test results was moved to an earlier time in the meeting agenda.
6. Communications and Reports
a) Chair Report
The Chair announced that the next Dresden School Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 23, 7:00 PM, at the Hanover High School library. Chair Cheney cited the finalized Board committee roster for 2006-2007. John Chamberlin is heading the Staff Appreciation Week activities set for May 11. Chair Cheney announced that the Norwich Select Board has requested a joint meeting with the Dresden School Board regarding declining enrollments and a mutually agreed date and time will be arranged.
b) Council Representative Report
Alex Creighton of the Student Council reported on recent Council activity. The students had new council elections and there was strong student participation. The council would like to survey the students regarding the parking situation at the school and then meet with the town parking officials. The schedule for the Spring Fling is presently under consideration with a desire to incorporate more structure so students remain on site during the activities.
7. Business Requiring Discussion – NECAP Results
Richmond Middle School Counselors Donna Largent and John Lacrosse gave a presentation about the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) test results at the Richmond Middle School in math, reading and writing. They reported that students were given pretests to help them become familiar with the test format and parents were sent a letter in October explaining the tests and a letter following the release of test results describing their child’s performance. The teachers compared individual test results to regular student work and plan to use the results as they consider remedial action for each child and to help improve student performance on the tests in the future. Statistics from Vermont testing were not incorporated into the presentation. The Board was interested in a comparison of students from the two elementary schools. The Board also inquired about the gender disparity in the reading and writing test results. The Counselors suggested that child development issues may contribute to the disparity and that more years of administering the test were necessary to draw more meaningful conclusions.
8. Communications and Reports Continued
c) Superintendent Report
Superintendent Gersen spoke about the agreement with the Hanover Planning Board about the field use regulations. While the Planning Board adopted guidelines that closely mirrored those submitted by the staff, it requested that the field lights be turned off by eight o’clock, whenever possible. The Planning Board’s approval is good through November 2007, after which the Planning Board will assess the need to retain the same parameters.
Superintendent Gersen reported that the Central Staff Development Committee approved enrichment Grants of $44,000 this year, as well as a sabbatical request. All of the grants are tied to either the curriculum or Board goals, can not exceed $5,000 each, and are paid in full after the activity is completed.
He reported that Peter Krass has raised $91,000 of unrestricted funds and $20,000 of restricted funds for the fields projects. A fundraiser for the fields is planned to feature Russ Francis (Super Bowl football star)scheduled for May 20 at the Richmond Middle School.
The Superintendent noted that a Technical Advisory announcement regarding informational technology competency standards for ninth graders. The technology teachers and staff are discussing these requirements and what needs to be done in our district in order to meet this new standard.
d) Assistant Superintendent Report
Assistant Superintendent John Aubin summarized the Dresden financial situation and budget. He reported that the building aid revenue in New Hampshire will be less than expected this year but it will be made up next year. Teacher and educational assistant salaries are lower than projected because teachers were hired at lower salary levels than projected and there is often a time lag in hiring replacement instructional assistants. The inability to implement a new teacher contract will reduce district assessments to Hanover and Norwich in 2006-07.
e) Facilities Director Report
Facilities Director, Jonathan Brush reported that the lower field project will probably be delayed because he is still seeking to procure more fill and gravel, which are needed for drainage. Additionally, the district is awaiting a wetlands determination from the State of New Hampshire. The Norwich fields project is awaiting approval by the Vermont Army Corps of Engineers in Vermont where an archeological review may also be required. It was reported that the high school café and kitchen will be closed in May and that the kitchen at the Richard W. Black Community Center will be used to prepare food. The high school sports lobby will be used to sell the food.
f) Principals Reports
Principal Gillespie reported that Julie Stevenson has been nominated for a Longfellow Award from Bowdoin College for one of her student recommendation letters. The teachers write such letters to support student college applications. Ms. Gillespie also reported on several successful club trips during the spring break and expressed appreciation to Dartmouth for providing a location for students to take tests during the renovations.
Principal Finer commented that the Richmond School is now seeing spring for the first time at the new school and the bulbs planted by parents in Fall are emerging. There are some items that need repair or replacement at the school that should be handled by the builder and landscaper.
g) Committee Reports
Quality of Education Committee – Robert Bruce reported that the committee invited several teachers to its April 13 meeting to discuss a survey to ask parents for educational feedback. Topics included what information should be gathered and how it should be used.
9. Business Requiring Discussion
School Construction Update
John Aubin reported that more than half of the contingency remains at the High School, which means the project is $2.4 million ahead of budget. He indicated that interest income is expected to be about $300,000 above the budget. Superintendent Gersen emphasized that the District does not intend to apply unspent funds to any items beyond the original scope of the project, but it may revisit some of the money-saving efforts that have had negative consequences such as overheated offices that lack sun shades and the lack of air circulation that resulted in the Middle School lobby where ceiling fans were cut from the budget. John Aubin reported that the death of Greg Hemberger resulted in some complicating in tracking project finances but things are improving. The Board expressed its thoughts about the building and landscaping companies’ responsibilities for repair and replacement within a year from the building of the Richmond Middle School.
10. Business Requiring Action
a. A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by Larry Pilchman to name the Hanover High School theater for Greg Hemberger. The motion passed unanimously.
b. A motion was made by Mary Sachsse and seconded by Linda Gray to appoint Deb Hall as Assistant District Treasurer until the March School District meeting for a salary of $50. The motion was defeated in a 5-5 vote. (Chamberlin, Cheney, Gray, Sachsse, Vitt voting in support. Asmus, Bruce, Carpenter, Carter, and Pilchman voting in opposition.)
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Robin Carpenter to establish the post of Assistant District Treasurer for a salary of $50. The motion passed with 8 in favor and 2 opposed (Pilchman and Vitt). After some discussion, Board members authorized Dr. Gersen to appoint an Assistant District Treasurer.
Assistant Superintendent Aubin summarized the computation of the Hanover High School tuition rates for Lyme residents and other non-district residents.
c. A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by John Chamberlin to set the Hanover High School tuition amount for Lyme students at $15,418 and for all other students at $15,586 for the 2006-07 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Kari Asmus and seconded by Larry Pilchman to set the Richmond Middle School tuition amount for the 2006-07 school year at $16,595. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Kari Asmus and seconded by Larry Pilchman to set the Hanover sixth grader tuition amount for the 2006-07 school year at $13,633 per student plus a lump sum of $227,325 as the capital contribution as per the Dresden Hanover Agreement. The motion passed unanimously.
d. Several questions were raised about how the non-union salaries are set. Superintendent Gersen said that the $32,000 for “Building Administrator” should be removed from the list.
A motion was made by Mary Sachsse and seconded by John Chamberlin to approve the Dresden nonunion salaries for the 2006-07 school year as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed with 8 in favor, one opposed (Asmus), and one abstention (Carpenter).
e. A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by Larry Pilchman to accept with gratitude the Byrne Foundation gift of $20,000 to be used for crew shells and $10,000 to be used for the SEAD program. The motion passed unanimously.
f. A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Kari Asmus to accept with regret the resignation of Kay Litten effective June 30, 2006. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Larry Pilchman to accept with regret the resignation of Gene Kadish effective June 30, 2006. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Larry Pilchman to accept with regret the resignation of Chris Cheney effective June 30, 2006. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Larry Pilchman to accept with regret the resignation of Lisa DiOrio effective June 30, 2006. The motion passed unanimously.
11. Nonpublic Session
The Board voted to go into nonpublic session at 10:28 P.M.
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Kari Asmus to enter nonpublic session in accordance with RSA 91-A:3 for discussion of personnel matters. The motion passed unanimously. The roll call of the Board was conducted. The public session was reopened at 10:50 P.M.
12. Adjournment
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Kari Asmus to adjourn the meeting at 10:51 P.M.
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