HANOVER SCHOOL BOARD
BUDGET DELIBERATIONS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2008
7:00 PM, RAY SCHOOL MULTI ROOM
Minutes
Present: Board members Asmus, Carpenter, Carter, Chamberlin, Fleischer, Rose; Administrators: Gersen, Williams, Aubin, Molloy; 12 members of the public. Recorded by R. Lohr
1. Call to Order – Chair Kari Asmus called the meeting to order at 7:06 PM.
2. Report of Chair
The Board discussed the resignation of Board member Robert Bruce and expressed appreciation for his three and a half years of service to the Hanover and Dresden School Districts. While an board seat would normally be advertised, given the election in six weeks, the Board decided to put the remaining two years of the three year term directly on the ballot.
Nancy Carter moved and John Chamberlin seconded a motion to accept Robert Bruce’s resignation as Board member effective immediately and put a two (2) year term for a Board position on the ballot. The motion was passed unanimously.
Chair Asmus also announced that the teacher ratification of the contract settlement is expected shortly. The next regular Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 16, 7:00 PM at the Ray School Multiroom. This meeting will also be a public hearing on the budget and budget adoption.
Chair Asmus announced that the Hanover School District Meeting will be held on Saturday, March 1, 1:00 PM at the Hanover High School Gymnasium. This will be the discussion phase of the meeting and no voting will take place at the meeting. The voting phase of the meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 4, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, at the Hanover High School Gymnasium.
The Chair also announced that the filing period for five available Hanover School Board seats is Wednesday, January 16 through Friday, January 25 at 5 PM at the SAU office located at Hanover High School at 41 Lebanon Street, Suite 2. Filings can also be done with the School District Clerk, Anne Chamberlin. A one dollar fee or specified number of signatures is required to file. These Board seats include three (3) three year terms (Carpenter, Carter, Fleischer), one two (2) year position (Bruce), and one one (1) year position (Rose), which will complete the three year term of Larry Pilchman and return to a three year term in 2009. Other positions open are District Moderator, Clerk, and Treasurer, all one year terms.
Chip Fleischer reminded the public that there are no Dresden School Board openings because that Board is filled with members of the Hanover School Board and the Norwich School Board. Additionally, he encouraged people to serve as School Board members. He felt it was a good way to get involved in the community and found it to be an educational, informative, and rewarding undertaking.
The Dresden School District has filing dates from Tuesday, January 15 through 5:00 PM, Monday, February 4. Filing for School District Officers can be done with either the School District Clerk, Deborah Carter or at the SAU Office located at Hanover High School at 41 Lebanon Street, Suite 2. Positions open are: Moderator, Clerk, Treasurer for one (1) year terms; two Auditor positions, one for a two (2) year term, and one for a three (3) year term.
Petitions for inclusion in the Hanover School District Warrant must be received by 4:30 PM on Thursday, January 31. Petitions may be presented to any member of the Hanover School Board or delivered to the SAU Office located at Hanover High School at 41 Lebanon Street, Suite 2.
3. Business Requiring Discussion
2008-09 proposed budget
Assistant Superintendent for Business, John Aubin reviewed some issues related to the Hanover School District presentation of the proposed budget in response to questions raised at the last Board meeting. He reported two additional new retirees which added $14,000 per person noting that one of them was not accounted for in the proposed budget. The Hanover tax rate was also in error and should be lowered to $11.98, a figure that will be changed after the contract settlement costs are applied.
The Board explained enrollment projections to the public after a question about students that might enroll as the Gile Tract housing units become available this summer. Board members indicated that when the River Crest project completion approaches, enrollment projections might account for a possible influx of students.
Principal Williams reviewed a document that outlined the class sizes for 2008-2009 that showed projected class size for 25 sections in 2008-09 at 18.84 students while recognizing that the 471 enrollment projection is one of the lowest in recent years.
John Aubin distributed documents showing the general fund Budget Variance Report. Tuition income will be $21,507 more than expected and special education accounts will be overspent by $86,843. The fund balance variances will result in a year-end fund balance estimate of $55,366. Additionally, the school’s food service fund is expected to net nearly $10,000.
Mr. Aubin reviewed a variety of methods and scenarios to flatten out the annual special education expense influence on the school budget as the Board considered whether to continue using the special education reserve fund. Dr. Gersen suggested that the Board use the balance of the fund and budget the amount needed in 2008-09 without adding back to the reserve account. If the forecasted amount was not spent due to a decline in special education costs, the unspent funds could be transferred to the special education reserve fund at the end of the 2008-09 fiscal year. This would bolster this reserve fund for future years and could provide a way for the Board to implement its original strategy to flatten out the annual influence of special education costs.
John Aubin explained that the special education budget is up $58,000 or 3.7 percent and the special education tuition is up 142 percent to $317,000. These tuition costs are influenced by Dresden’s out-of-district placement costs, which include the additional charges for special ed services for 6th grade students. As the originating district, the Hanover School District is responsible for these costs in the same way Norwich School District and Lyme School District cover these costs for Dresden students residing in those respective towns. IEP students that need contracted services above usual services may also be the originating district’s responsibility.
There are an unusually large number of 6th grade students who require these contracted services in the proposed budget. Additional revenue can be expected from the state (Catastrophic Aid) for some of these students. In Vermont, this aid covers a higher percentage of the costs and pays in the same year that they are expended. New Hampshire provide a lower level of funding and pays the expenses incurred a year later. These costs and reimbursement are a very unpredictable. Dr. Gersen also noted that the budget is created in October while IEPs are signed off in May. As a result, actual costs may change, because Ray School’s 5th grade had 27 special ed students, the Ray School would experience a 2.9 FTE reduction in special education teachers in 2008-09. Increase in staff in the middle school in response to this large contingent of IEP students graduating from fifth grade is the primary reason the excess costs are increasing by $236,000.
RTI – Response to Intervention
Bruce Williams provided an overview of a proposal he developed with a team of special educators to introduce Response to Intervention (RtI) to the Ray School. The RtI program, a potential pilot program, requires the development and implementation of a comprehensive assessment system that is used by regular classroom teachers to determine the effectiveness of various intervention strategies. This data and analysis is used by the Child Study Team to help them determine if students need for IEP services. Such a program would require training and support for classroom teachers and educational assistants. The proposal also called for the continuation of the Social Thinking Center, a behavioral resource that consults on emotional, behavioral, and academic needs of students experiencing loss, trauma, or cultural disorientation.
A proposal for adding 1 FTE staffing for an additional resource teacher to support this proposal was estimated to cost $65,000.
Other Issues
The Board listed some issues that it would like to address prior to voting on the budget.
1. Continuance use of the special education reserve fund;
2. Whether grant funding can be secured for RtI proposal?
3. Whether funds for the RtI proposal can be secured by making further budget cuts;
4. Contingency fund for $20,000.
4. Nonpublic Session
Nancy Carter moved and Chip Fleischer seconded a motion to enter nonpublic session in accordance with RSA 91-A:3 (ll.a) for discussion of a personnel matter. The motion passed unanimously. Following the motion, the Roll Call was conducted and the Board went into nonpublic session at 10:05 PM.
5. Adjournment
John Chamberlin moved and Robin Carpenter seconded a motion to adjourn at 10:08 PM. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:08 PM.
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