DRESDEN SCHOOL BOARD
REGULAR MEETING TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2006
7:00 P.M., HANOVER HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
Minutes
Present: Board members Asmus, Carpenter, Carter, Chamberlin, Cheney, Fleischer, Pilchman, Sachsse 7:08/9:30 PM, Vitt, Williams; Council Representatives Creighton, Proom; Administrators Gersen, Brush, Finer; Gillespie; 5 members of the public and Norwich Select Board members Candon, Chapdelaine, Childs, Ptashnik, May. Recorded by R. Lohr
1. Call to order
Chair Cheney called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.
2. Athletic Fields Fundraising Report
Peter Krass submitted a written report on the Dresden Athletic Fields fundraising efforts. He requested that the Board send personal letters to thank the individuals, who participated in this successful effort. Unrestricted funds raised were $105,000 and restricted funds mostly for a scoreboard were $11,500. All but $5,000 has been collected and there are some individuals who need to be contacted regarding specific items. The Board expressed its appreciation to Mr. Krass and the fundraising group.
3. Joint Meeting with Norwich Selectboard
Members of the Dresden School Board and the Norwich Select Board were introduced. Discussion topics included school enrollment, ways for the Board to work together for efficiency and savings, ways to attract tuition and local students to attend Dresden schools, the Dresden school advantages, the status of the Route 5 Dresden property in Norwich, and establishing exit interviews to find the reasons that residents decide not to attend Dresden schools. The Boards mentioned areas where the two entities could work together, which included student community service, field maintenance in Dresden’s Norwich fields, and developing town sidewalks/bike path.
4. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Kari Asmus to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of April 25, and the nonpublic session of April 25, as submitted. The motion passed with 9 in favor and one abstention (Fleischer).
5. Communications and Reports
a) Chair Report
The Chair, Margaret Cheney announced that the next Dresden School Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 20, a week earlier than originally scheduled at the Hanover High School library. There will be an SAU meeting starting at 7:00 p.m. and the Dresden School Board meeting will follow immediately afterward.
b) Council Representative Report
Alex Creighton of the Student Council introduced Zoe Proom as the new Council Representative. The new Council will meet next week for the first time on its own. The Board thanked Alex Creighton for his participation and attendance at the Board meetings.
c) Superintendent Report
Superintendent Gersen announced the appointment of Deb Hall as Assistant Treasurer and suggested that the Articles of Agreement be amended at next year’s District meeting to reflect this new position. He also reported that the roundtables have attracted increasing participation. He indicated there will be a report on the prevalent ideas gleaned from the roundtables at the June Board meeting and that all of the results will be posted on the SAU Web site the week of May 29.
Superintendent Gersen also reported that an on–site audit of special education at Dresden schools has been completed and a written report is due in the summer. The verbal report was very positive for Richmond School and Hanover High School. The visiting team from the State Department of Education felt that Dresden has excellent staffing and class integration. There was a suggestion that time was needed for more collaboration between regular and special education teachers.
Superintendent Gersen also referenced a recent newspaper article on the special education results in the NECAP tests at the Ray School, which erroneously reported that the Ray School did not meet AYP due to poor performance by special education students. In fact, absenteeism on the day of the test was responsible for the negative rating and that report appears to be erroneous. The Superintendent also announced that the eighth graders at Richmond will take the NAEP tests (National Assessment of Educational Progress) to provide data for the National Report Card for schools, a voluntary program that compares different states’ performance in grades 4, 8, and 10.
d) Facilities Director Report
Facilities Director, Jonathan Brush reported that the hardscape plan for Hanover High School has been changed, lowering the cost from $50,000 to $23,000. He described the details, and the Board suggested that he consider less expensive alternatives to granite for some of the project to further limit the cost. The new gymnasium opened and upon seeing it, the Board expressed its appreciation of the facility. Regarding the lower field project, the district is awaiting the wetlands permits and expectations are that the project will be completed close to the schedule. In Norwich, the Vermont Army Corps of Engineers are insisting that results of an archeological investigation be complete prior to any initial work being done. There is hope that the work can begin in July and seeding can be done by early September to meet the schedule. It was reported that the high school café and kitchen are now closed and that the kitchen at the Richard W. Black Community Center is being used for cooking/baking. The high school sports lobby is now being used as a cafeteria, requiring them to offer a simpler menu.
f) Principals Reports
Principal Gillespie reported on the recent successful productions of Footloose and the Senior concert. She also reported that the school prom was held and there were about 200 attendees. She briefly reviewed a survey document in the Board packet that queried seniors at Hanover High School. The results indicated wide satisfaction by the graduates. Ms. Gillespie felt the results would be useful for the new Guidance Director.
Principal Finer commented that the Richmond School is now conducting transition orientations for incoming students and their families. She noted the recent drama show in the auditorium, and the installation of new gardens and picnic tables. She mentioned that the “Kendal Connection” is a successful new program that has established ties between members of the Kendal community and the Richmond School. She also reported that the Children Helping Children program has raised funds for various international causes.
g) Committee Reports
Quality of Education Committee – Kari Asmus of this committee reported that the committee is developing a survey to ask parents for feedback.
There will be a COI report at the June board meeting.
8. Business Requiring Discussion
Evaluation Policy
The Board discussed the evaluation policy with the Superintendent and the Principals. The existing procedure at the Middle School ties evaluations to focused objectives for each teacher once every three years. The proposed policy to changed the evaluation template so that goals were tied to the Standards of Best Practices and required the Administrators to complete a written report for each teacher annually. The Principals felt this annual report would be difficult to accomplish due to existing administration workloads. It was suggested that advancements in the step program be stated as one of the purposes of the evaluation process and that the policy include a notification to the Board sating which teachers will be considered for continuing contract in the coming year. After considerable discussion, the Board felt that the Superintendent needed to meet with the Principals and return to the Board with a revised policy that would address Board concerns without overtaking the Administrators. The policy would be discussed again by the Board in June and voted on in August. The superintendent requested that more Board suggestions about the evaluation policy and Standards of Best Practices be emailed to him.
Wellness Policy
The Board decided that the Superintendent would simplify the drafted and proposed Wellness Policy EEB. Board members observed that residents in the Dresden School District have not voiced much concern about this issue and noted that wellness is a much broader issue than is addressed by the proposed policy language.
The Board had a reading of the Policy EEA that is slated for rescission, and the Policy JGDB about Pupil Harassment and Bullying that, if adopted, would need to be incorporated into the student handbooks. The Board expressed concern that the parts of Policy JGDB that seemed unreasonable were mandated by the legislature. Robin Carpenter reported that he was preparing a resolution for the NHSBA to consider and would bring it to the next Dresden meeting.
9. Business Requiring Action
A motion was made by Chip Fleischer and seconded by John Chamberlin to authorize the Administration to fill vacancies between now and the regular meeting of September 26 by offering a one (1) week period to obtain telephone or e-mail votes from Board members and that six (6) affirmative votes must be obtained before a contract is issued. It was clarified that Board members would receive information on the candidates via email prior to voting. The motion passed unanimously.
Superintendent Gersen nominated John McCracking as Guidance Director at Hanover High School for the 2006-07 school year.
A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by Kari Asmus to elect John McCracking as Guidance Director at Hanover High School at Track 6, Step 14 ($69,636), plus 29 days ($10,916) salary $80,552, for 2006-07 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
Superintendent Gersen nominated Erin Madory as a Spanish teacher at Richmond School for the 2006-07 school year.
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Larry Pilchman to elect Erin Madory as Spanish teacher at Richmond School at Track 4, Step 1, salary $39,843, for 2006-07 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Kari Asmus and seconded by Larry Pilchman to approve the Board calendar for 2006-07 as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
10. Nonpublic Session
The Board voted to go into nonpublic session at 10:22 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 10:45 p.m.
11. Adjournment
A motion was made by John Chamberlin and seconded by Kari Asmus to adjourn the meeting at 10:45 p.m.
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