SAU #70 - Hanover School Board

2. Minutes Approval
John Chamberlin moved and Robin Carpenter seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of January 16, and the budget meeting minutes of January 9, as submitted with changes. The motion passed unanimously. The changes on the January 9 regular meeting minutes included in item 2 that the Board recognized Robert Bruce’s service on both the Dresden and Hanover Boards, and the open board seat would be advertised. On the January 16 Budget Meeting minutes in item 4, “the RtI program was seen as a potential pilot program” should be inserted.

3. Communications and Reports

a) Report of Chair
Chair Kari Asmus announced that the next Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19, 7:00 PM. at the Ray School Multiroom. There are enough candidates that have filed for the Board seats and voters interested in absentee ballots should contact the SAU office. Ms. Asmus also mentioned the additional warrant articles that had recently been added. As of the meeting, there has not been any filing for the position of treasurer. Anyone interested in the position should contact John Aubin, Assistant Superintendent at the SAU office.

John Chamberlin stated that the Valley News had a mistake regarding the open Board seats, indicating that two (2) year seats were open instead of indicating that one 1 year seat and one 2 year seat were open.

The Annual 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.

b) Committee Report
Robin Carpenter reported on the January 24 meeting of the Finance Committee. The committee commended the Board for its work with the school district budget with the exception of a caveat regarding the sustainability of the school budget in the future, the Hanover Finance Committee approved the proposed budget with a vote of 7 in favor and none opposed. The teacher contract was approved with 6 in favor and one opposed. There was concern voiced that the 3 year duration was too long and there was continued support for considering alternative compensation. The support staff contract was approved with 7 in favor and none opposed.

c) Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Gersen cited a document from the Hanover Planning Department regarding proposed housing developments in Hanover. The largest among the developments is Rivercrest where it is expected that about half of the 273 dwelling units will be built in the next few years.
The Superintendent also discussed a plan for the Board members that are leaving the Board to comment on the things that they wish they knew when their Board service began, and what they would have liked to accomplish had they continued as Board members. There will also be a two-hour orientation with the new incoming Board members. A Board training session will be incorporated into the next Board retreat.

d) Assistant Superintendent’s Report
John Aubin, Assistant Superintendent for Business reviewed the annual audit report including the auditors’ opinion that the district meets generally accepted accounting principles, Exhibit E (Schedule of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in the Fund Balance) and the Management Discussion and Analysis. According to the auditors, there are no areas of concern. The report will be sent to the Finance Committee. Mr. Aubin will look into the particulars of the $11,216 in the Permanent Fund. The reasons for the late audit arrival date, the need for frequent exchanges of information and attorney’s opinions, were also discussed.

e) Principal Report
Principal Williams reviewed his report. The Faculty Survey was presented to the teachers at the Ray School and the Faculty Committees will review the findings. The Board can email questions to the principal, which he will forward to the committees. The Board would also like to know how the faculty viewed the value of the survey. The Board discussed the protocol for visiting classes. Mr. Williams suggested that the Board members be specifically invited to visit the classrooms and suggested each Board member have a “new parent” tour of the school which is led by fifth graders.

Mr. Williams indicated that the Parent Survey would be piloted to assure confidentiality and clarity of instructions. It was stated that there is a glitch for parents with multiple students in the school district.

He noted that the NECAP results are roughly the same as the previous year in everything except the writing tests, which are presently under scrutiny. The school had a larger number of students that were proficient with distinction and there were fewer schools that were above Hanover by about 25 percent. It was suggested that the Board contact Doug Steigar to help with the interpretation of assessment statistics.

4. Business Requiring Action
The Board discussed the entrance age for kindergarten and first grade. It was decided that for students entering grades 1-5, that the policy should give the principal discretion to place students, who have previous documented schooling experience.

Robin Carpenter moved and John Chamberlin seconded a motion to adopt revised Policy
JBCAA-3 as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes with amendments. The motion passed unanimously.

John Chamberlin moved and Marjorie Rose seconded a motion to adopt revised Policy JBB as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed with 4 in favor and one opposed (Carpenter).

5. Adjournment
On behalf of the Board, Chair Asmus expressed appreciation to outgoing Board members Chip Fleischer and Marjorie Rose for their service to the school district and the community.
Chip Fleischer moved and Marjorie Rose seconded a motion to adjourn at 5:24 PM. The motion passed unanimously.

The meeting adjourned at 5:24 PM.