DRESDEN SCHOOL BOARD
REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, MAY 21, 2007
7:00 P.M., HANOVER HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
Minutes
Present: Board members Asmus, Bruce, Callaghan, Carpenter, Carter, Chamberlin, Gray; Council members Proom, Jovine; Administrators Gersen, Aubin, Gillespie, Finer; 8 members of the public. Recorded by R. Lohr
1. Call to order
Chair Bruce called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Cary Callaghan to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of April 24, and the nonpublic session of April 24, as submitted with changes. The motion passed unanimously. The changes included on item 3C the issue at hand was the Board meeting announcement requirements and on item 3D, the $220,000 was an expected net deficit.
3. Communications and Reports
a. Chair Report
Chair Bruce announced that the next regular Dresden Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 26, 7:00 p.m. in the Hanover High School Library. The Dresden School Board Retreat will take place on Tuesday, May 22, at the Hanover High School Library from 4 – 10 PM, however the public portion of the Retreat will not begin until 7 PM.
The Board discussed and accepted the Board calendar for the coming year. Chair Bruce announced that all opening ceremonies for the high school facility will be deferred until the opening of school in September.
b. Council Representative Report
Zoe Proom introduced Olivia Jovine as the new Council representative to serve on the Dresden Board in the coming year. She reported that the Council passed a budget and discussed a code of conduct for non-athletic activities and a proposal to track carbon emissions related to school activities.
c. Superintendent Report
Superintendent Gersen expressed appreciation for the high school’s warm welcome of the SAU office staff who recently moved into the new facilities at the school. He announced that a public gathering will be held at Richmond School on Wednesday, June 13 at 5:00 PM for Susan Finer, who is retiring as the school’s principal. A formal presentation will be held in the auditorium during the event.
Dr. Gersen also noted the recent public forum discussing alternative teacher compensation featuring James Stronge which attracted 75-100 attendees.
The Superintendent reviewed the enrichment grants awarded to Dresden teachers. The Board encouraged teachers to submit grant requests and felt that if teachers pursued more local opportunities for grants it might be possible to fund more proposals.
Dr. Gersen reported that the third Dresden Auditor position was not filled during the last election and indicated that if the Board wants to fill this position, the best approach might be to advertise to find a volunteer. The Board discussed a proposal from the Upper Valley Trails organization regarding constructing and maintaining a trail on school district land adjacent to the Norwich fields, which are now under construction. John Chamberlin volunteered to speak with UVTA representatives regarding specifics of an agreement for the development of this proposed trail and to ensure that the ultimate location would not affect the athletic fields.
d. Assistant Superintendent Report
Assistant Superintendent for Business, John Aubin reported that the School District learned about bond refinancing at the State level that will yield an additional $298,000 in revenue for the District as a result of the investment of capital project funds. The Board briefly discussed how the windfall might be used, including a possible means of off setting the expected loss of the Dartmouth payments, and/or covering the high school cafeteria deficit, and/or field cost overruns.
e. Principals’ Reports
Principal Gillespie reported about the James Holley tragedy and how the high school is coping with it. She also recognized a Valley News article about Dick Guyer, who recently passed away. Principal Gillespie thanked the Lebanon Opera House for hosting a successful student production of “The Boyfriend. “
Principal Finer reported that the middle school 1924 bell has been refurbished in honor of Terry Thompson and is now in working order. The “Children Helping Children” effort has raised about $2,900 to fund a well in an African community. Finally, the Mega Concert, a performance of all school musical groups is set for next week.
f. Committee Reports
Nancy Carter reported about that the Committee On Instruction has put the ninth grade curriculum revisions on hold pending the reulsts of the Dresden Board’s goal setting. COI meetings are set for May 24 and June 7. Each subject department is developing two goals and collaborative efforts are emphasized in the goal setting process. She indicated that the COI is considering the timing of a high school senior survey.
Kari Asmus reported that the Dresden Budget Committee met on May 14 and reviewed finance policies and the current and longer term budget cycle strategies. After a search process, the Committee concurred with John Aubin’s recommendations that the School District will remain with the existing auditor firm since its bid was roughly half of the other firms.
Robert Bruce reported that the Dresden Finance Committee discussed the status of the Quality of Education Committee and Negotiations Committee work. He reported a sense of urgency for progress on the issue of alternative compensation with the Finance Committee expressing a hope that the next teacher contract would include changes to the current step and track.
The Staff Development Committee held a retreat meeting to develop a new plan for 2007-2010. Teacher representatives from the central SDC will take the draft plan back to the respective school staffs for their feedback. The plan is targeted to be ready for the next SAU Board meeting so the final document would be sent to the State Department by the end of the school year.
As reported by John Chamberlin, the Negotiations Committee is conferring with teachers on alternative compensation systems and faculty evaluations. Articles with background information about teacher quality and alternative compensation are posted on the SAU70 Web site. He also reported that the HEA agreed with the committee to shop for a new lower cost health care plan.
4. Business Requiring Discussion
Middle School NECAP
Richmond School guidance counselors Donna Largent and John LaCrosse gave an overview of the NECAP tests to the Board. They reported that the staff has not spent much time investigating the school’s overall results because the school has done well for several years. Teacher teams do review individual student’s scores to see if the student test results met expectations and parents are contacted, if warranted. The Counselors also noted that the individual test results help justify further evaluation or consideration for possible remediation and also used to reinforce the math placement process. Susan Finer noted that the eighth graders spend too much of the school year with standardized tests including the NECAP, NAEP, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, subject placement tests, and now a NECAP science pilot.
March Intensive proposal
A team of students and teachers briefed the Board on the March Intensive concept, which is designed to provide four day meaningful learning experience for all students at Hanover High School that incorporates the faculty and community. Faculty members Bill Murphy and Julie Stevenson outlined the this proposed hands-on individualized learning program that is conducted at only a couple of other schools in New Hampshire. The initial March Intensive is planned for March 17-20, 2008. The goal is to place all of the students in four day seminars or work experiences ranging from quilting class to trips to other countries. The March Intensive leadership group and the Committee on Instruction will screen the various courses. The leadership team created benchmarks to develop the March Intensive program, which included having 300 placements by June 1, 75 percent of the needed placements by September 21, and the entire student body ready to select options by the end of October. The Board expressed support for the March Intensive concept and said it would vote on a related motion at the next Board meeting.
On behalf of the Hanover High School Crew Team, Julie Stevenson recognized and expressed her appreciation for the support of Board member Nancy Carter, who has helped one of the largest teams at the school in many ways.
Athletic Fields
John Aubin reviewed a document regarding the fields projects and cost overruns caused by various project complications. He indicated that several negotiation issues with the contractor would be discussed in nonpublic session. The Board discussed various options to cover the cost overruns on the fields, including raising athletic team participation fees, using the additional bond revenues mentioned earlier in the meeting, and transferring from the general fund surplus, which is projected to be $257,000. Mr. Aubin has not been able follow-up on the issue of Vermont Construction Aid and he is doubtful that anything can be expected for the fields projects from Vermont given its moratorium on funding.
The Board also discussed Policy IHF regarding equal opportunity for all the students to take courses of required subjects leading to a diploma.
5. Business Requiring Action
A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by John Chamberlin to set the Hanover High School tuition amount for Lyme students at $16,472 and for all other students at $16,633, for the 2007-08 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by John Chamberlin to set the Richmond School tuition for the sixth grade in the amount of $13,486 per student plus a lump sum debt service surcharge of $209,855 for the 2007-08 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by Cary Callaghan to set the non-Hanover sixth grade Richmond School tuition in the amount of $16,570 for the 2007-08 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
The Board discussed the salary levels of administrative and other nonunion salaries.
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Cary Callaghan to approve
Dresden nonunion salaries as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Cary Callaghan and seconded by John Chamberlin to authorize the Administration to fill teacher vacancies between now and the regular meeting of August 28 by offering a one (1) week period to obtain telephone or email votes from the Board members and that six (6) affirmative votes must be obtained before a contract is issued. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Kari Asmus and seconded by John Chamberlin to accept the letter of retirement/resignation from Alayne Kelley effective June 30, 2007. The motion passed unanimously.
The Superintendent nominated David Holloway as Technology teacher 2007-2008 school year. The Board again discussed getting more background information about nominations prior to voting on the motion.
A motion was made by Kari Asmus and seconded by John Chamberlin to elect David Holloway as a 60% Technology Teacher at track 4, step 14, salary $40,978.20 for the 2007-08 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
6. Nonpublic Session
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Cary Callaghan to enter nonpublic session in accordance with RSA 91-A:3 for discussion of financial matters. The motion passed unanimously. Roll call was conducted and the Board entered nonpublic session at 10:15 p.m.
7. Adjournment
A motion was made by Linda Gray and seconded by Kari Asmus to adjourn the meeting at 10:55 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 10:55 p.m.
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