HANOVER SCHOOL BOARD
REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2006
7:00 PM, RAY SCHOOL MULTI-ROOM
Minutes
Present: Board members Asmus, Bruce, Carpenter, Carter, Chamberlin, Fleischer; Superintendent Gersen, Assistant Superintendent Aubin, Principal Williams; 2 public; Recorded by R. Lohr
1. Call to Order – Chair Fleischer called the meeting to order at 7:14 p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes
John Chamberlin moved and Robin Carpenter seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of May 17, as submitted. The motion passed with 5 in favor and one abstention (Carter).
3. Public Hearing
This hearing is held in accordance with RSA 198:20b, for acceptance of a restricted gift from Kevin and Punam Keller. The Kellers contributed a gift to the Ray School for special education needs. A list of options will be prioritized by the staff involved with special education. Principal Williams will send a thank you to the Kellers and will initiate a follow up report to the Board for all such gifts. The public hearing was closed.
4. Reorder of the Agenda - Communications and Reports
a) Principal’s Report – Principal Williams reported that the Dragons concert was a great success with 1,400 people attending. DVD’s of the concert will be made available and a copy will also be donated to the public library. A grant was awarded to the Upper Valley Support Group called Partners in Health to install playground equipment with improved accessibility for mobility-challenged students at the Ray School. The Board expressed its appreciation for the group’s efforts to seek a grant to get playground equipment for the school.
Food Service
An ad hoc committee led by Jim Rubens met with a consultant from the Brattleboro, VT area regarding the Ray School cafeteria offerings. The consultant offered ideas on ways to provide students with healthier food within the existing budget. The consultant suggested surveying the students to find out the foods they liked best; involving students in the design of meal programs; meeting with local food producers and other districts to purchase local foods all school year; changing the menu incrementally; and making the menu changes part of the educational process. Jim Rubens suggested that the UNH Office of Sustainability could offer assistance and indicated that there may be alternative revenue streams that could help keep school lunch prices low. The Board suggested that the committee investigate these alternatives.
Rassias Foundation
Helene Rassias Miles, a representative from the Rassias Foundation, proposed that as part of an early language learning partnership with Dartmouth College the Board consider lowering the cost of room rentals at the Ray School for the program. There are presently only 13 students registered for the program scheduled for the next school year. Rassias requires a minimum of 12 students for a language to be offered, and they hope to offer French, Spanish, and Chinese. The program costs $825 for three 8-week terms that include three weekly half-hour sessions before school. The Principal offered four price options for the room rentals, ranging from full cost to not cost. After deliberating on the various options and their possible impact on other programs at the school, the Board decided to offer the rooms at no charge because of the program’s compatibility with academics and because the District will not incur any additional costs for this useage.
Nancy Carter moved and John Chamberlin seconded a motion to allow the Rassias Foundation to use rooms in the Ray School at no charge for the 2006-07 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
b) Report of Chair
Chair Chip Fleischer announced that the next Board meeting was scheduled for August 16, 7:00 p.m. in the Ray School Multi-room. There will be no meeting in July. The Board discussed the idea of holding a retreat. Such a meeting has not been held in many years but it was thought that it could be a good opportunity to meet with teachers, discuss special education, or the results of the roundtables and parent survey. Principal Williams suggested that the teachers in the Network Group be asked to participate at such a meeting. He and Dr. Gersen will propose some dates to hold the retreat in September.
c) Committee & Liaison Reports
The Communication Committee met and the minutes from the meeting were discussed with the Board. The committee discussed a concept of using a content management system to integrate the SAU Web site with school Web sites. The committee also discussed media contact guidelines for the Board. It was suggested that the parent survey revealed that the Web sites could be marketed to increase awareness and improve communication with the residents.
The Budget Committee met and the minutes from the meeting were included in the Board packet. An outline of the annual budget management schedule was reviewed. The next Budget Committee meeting is scheduled for August 7. Kari Asmus suggested that the Board appoint an alternate liaison to the Finance Committee to cover for her in the event she is unable to attend meetings. Bob Bruce volunteered.
The PTO liaison thanked the PTO for help with the parent survey. The PTO subcommittees are working very well but there is a need to get more participation on the PTO Board. Principal Williams usually helps recruit parents for this Board.
The Education Planning Committee will set up meeting dates to be announced on the SAU Web site.
d) Superintendent’s Report – Superintendent Gersen will be reviewing the parent survey findings with the principals and the Quality of Education Committee. The results of the open-ended survey questions will be shared but they will not show the comments that include specific references to teachers or students.
Dr. Gersen reported that the NH Department of Education is planning to release updated reports on Annual Yearly Progress in late August. At that time, Dresden will consider if it should appeal the findings.
e) Assistant Superintendent’s Report
John Aubin, Assistant Superintendent distributed and reviewed an updated budget document showing financial details through the end of May. He reported that special education expenses were lower than expected and there were savings in medical insurance and bus transportation.
5. Business Requiring Discussion
Facilities Review – Principal Williams led the Board on a walk-through of the Ray School prior to the meeting. The typical summer maintenance projects will be discussed with Jonathan Brush in the coming weeks. The principal also thought the Board might want to use the modular classrooms that are presently at the high school when the renovations there have been completed.
Roundtable Findings – The Board will be looking closely at the issues raised at the roundtables. One such issue is to more effectively communicate curriculum for each grade level in an easy way for parents to understand. Other findings will be used to formulate Board goals in the coming months.
Over Enrollment in the Second Grade –Bruce Williams reported that there are 83 students going into the second grade, which will result in class sizes of roughly 22 students. Principal Williams recommended adding a fifth teacher for the second grade. Various sources of funding for another teacher were discussed.
John Chamberlin moved and Robert Bruce seconded a motion to authorize a fifth teacher for the second grade for the 2006-07 school year The administration is asked to find savings in other areas to cover the cost. The motion passed with 5 in favor and one abstention (Fleischer).
6. Business Requiring Action
Robin Carpenter moved and John Chamberlin seconded a motion to join the Dresden School Board in submission of a resolution with regard to harassment and bullying statutory policy, to urge the legislature to reconsider the statue and help school boards address the issue. The motion passed unanimously.
John Chamberlin moved and Nancy Carter seconded a motion to approve Policy GBI, Evaluation of Certified Staff as proposed, amended, and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed with 5 in favor and one opposed (Carpenter).
John Chamberlin moved and Nancy Carter seconded a motion to approve Policy GBI-R, School Evaluation and Support System as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed with 5 in favor and one opposed (Carpenter).
John Chamberlin moved and Robin Carpenter seconded a motion to approve Policy EEB, Wellness as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
John Chamberlin moved and Robin Carpenter seconded a motion to rescind Policy EEA, Food Services and Nutrition as attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
Nancy Carter moved and John Chamberlin seconded a motion to approve Policy JGDB, Pupil Harassment/Bullying as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed with 4 in favor and two opposed (Carter, Carpenter).
John Chamberlin moved and Robert Bruce seconded a motion to accept the $5,000 restricted grant from Kevin and Punam Keller for use in the special education program at the Ray School. The motion passed unanimously.
John Chamberlin moved and Kari Asmus seconded a motion to approve changes to the 2006-07 Student Handbook as proposed. The motion passed unanimously.
John Chamberlin moved and Nancy Carter seconded a motion to set the Bernice A. Ray School tuition rate for the 2006-07 school year for grades 1-5 at $13,425, and $6,713 for kindergarten. The motion passed unanimously.
Nancy Carter moved and John Chamberlin seconded a motion to accept Isabella Barrington as a tuition student for the 2006-07 school year at the Ray School. The motion passed unanimously.
Nancy Carter moved and John Chamberlin seconded a motion to accept the one year leave of absence of Laurie MacGregor, effective June 30, 2006. The motion passed unanimously.
Nancy Carter moved and John Chamberlin seconded a motion to accept the one year unpaid leave of absence for Joanne Roberts for the 2006-07 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
7. Adjournment
John Chamberlinmoved and Kari Asmus seconded a motion to adjourn at 10:44 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 10:44 p.m.
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