HANOVER SCHOOL BOARD
REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2005
7:03 P.M., BERNICE A. RAY SCHOOL MULTI
Minutes
Present: Board members Asmus, Bruce, Carter, Chamberlin, Pilchman, Slaughter; Administrators Gersen, Aubin, Weissmann, Williams; and no members of the public.
1. Call to order
Chair Chamberlin called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
2. Approval of minutes
Nancy Carter moved and Larry Pilchman seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of March 2 and the special meeting of March 9. The motion passed unanimously.
3. Communications and reports
a) Report of Chair:
1. Board Calendar - Chair Chamberlin announced that the next regular Board meeting will be Wednesday, May 11, 7:00 p.m., at the Ray School Multi.
2. Finalize committee assignments - Chair Chamberlin made the following committee assignments:
Educational/Long Range Planning Committee
Nancy Carter, Chip Fleischer, Larry Pilchman
Budget Committee
Kari Asmus, Robert Bruce, Matt Slaughter
Communications Committee
Kari Asmus, Matt Slaughter
Liaisons/Representatives:
Parent/Teacher Organization - Chip Fleischer
NHSBA Delegate - Kari Asmus
Technology Committee - Nancy Carter
Hanover Finance Committee - Kari Asmus
The Board discussed advertising for a member of the public to serve on both the Communications and Educational/Long Range Planning Committees. Principal Williams said he would put a notice in the School’s Pink Sheet and run a transaction ad in the Valley News. Superintendent Gersen reported that the League of Women Voters has also offered to assist with planning for the Annual Report, which would be a resource for the Communications Committee.
b) Reports of Administrators:
Superintendent’s report: - Superintendent Gersen reminded the Board that the week of May 2 - 6 is Staff Appreciation Week, and that the Board is responsible for some type of recognition on Thursday, May 5. Chair Chamberlin asked that members of the Board who wish to help with the recognition contact him.
Superintendent Gersen reported that the hearing for SB-45 is scheduled for April 19, 1:45 p.m. in Concord. He said the John Chamberlin, Kari Asmus, and School District Attorney David Bradley will be in attendance at the hearing.
Assistant Superintendent for Business report: Assistant Superintendent for Business John Aubin reviewed his financial report saying that, at this time, he estimates a year end deficit of $37,262, the result of special education expenditures. He said that the Board may wish to consider transferring funds from the special education reserve fund before the close of the school year to offset these overages.
Mr. Aubin also reported that the water heater is leaking and will need to be replaced. He said that Jonathan Brush, Director of Buildings and Grounds, is currently getting estimates for the new tank (in the $10,000 to $15,000 range),which will be replaced during the summer. A decision as to how to pay for this will be made by the June meeting.
Mr. Aubin then reported that the building improvements account is overspent by $35,423 in the current year as a result of having to replace an underground fuel tank. He recommended that the Board authorize spending up to $35,000 from the Building Maintenance Reserve Fund for this purpose. After discussion, the Board agreed to take this action under “business requiring action” later in the meeting.
Principal’s report: Principal Williams distributed his report, highlighting the student performances which have recently taken place and inviting the Board to “The Marvelous Toy Shop” musical play which was scheduled to take place the following day. He spoke about professional development activities and staff changes, and reported the current enrollment at 501 students.
4. Public comments
There were no members of the public in attendance.
5. Business requiring discussion
a) Email protocol - Board members and Administrators discussed guidelines for email correspondence among individual Board members and Board members with Administrators. Concerns were expressed about whether emails were a matter of public record and, therefore, should be made public; and what constitutes emails that merely clarify information versus emails that constitute a dialogue. Dr. Gersen said that he believed that emails between two Board members may not necessarily be public documents, but felt that emails between a Board member and an Administrator or member of the Administrator’s staff, and emails between two Administrators would likely be construed as public documents. He said that, based on his analysis of materials provided at the NHSBA conference, factors such as the time interval between emails and the number of Board members involved in the emailing would enter into whether the emails are considered public or private. In summary, the Superintendent and Board Chair advised Board members to assume that emails among public officials are public documents, and that anything that is written can be used for discovery.
The Board also discussed whether to formulate a policy regarding emails at this time, but decided to continue to research the question and to bring new information to the Board’s attention.
b) Regular Board meeting date - The Board discussed changing its regular meeting date for the 2005-06 school year to the third Wednesday of the month, noting that the December and April meetings would need to be scheduled on the second Wednesday due to vacation conflicts. The Board also asked Administration to build in a reorganizational meeting in March, prior to the Dresden reorganizational meeting. The Board will approve its meeting schedule at the May meeting.
c) Availability of playground, fields at Ray School for recreational programs - Chair Chamberlin opened the discussion saying that a sub committee of the Dresden Athletic Fields Committee is working on ways to make better use of the existing playing fields by transferring some of the smaller children from the bigger playing fields to small ones such as the ones at the Ray School. Mr. Williams explained that the two soccer fields are not regulation size, but work very well for the younger children as practice fields. These fields are approximately 30 feet by 50 feet and are not well sodded. A question of liability was discussed as was the use of the fields by the Hanover After School Program. Consensus of the Board was that the Ray School fields could be an option and that the Sharing Subcommittee or Dresden Athletic Fields Committee was welcomed to come back with a proposal for Board consideration.
6. Business requiring action
a. Resolution to transfer funds
Nancy Carter moved and Kari Asmus seconded a resolution that the Board hereby authorizes the transfer of up to $35,000 from the District’s Building Maintenance Reserve fund for the purpose of paying the expense of replacing the underground fuel tank at the Ray School. The motion passed unanimously.
b. Rescind nomination
Kari Asmus moved and Larry Pilchman seconded a motion to rescind the nomination and election of Mary Grondin for the 2005-06 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
7. Consent Agenda
a. Acceptance of Resignations
Margaret Taylor
Larry Pilchman moved and Nancy Carter seconded a motion to accept the resignation of Margaret Taylor effective June 30, 2005, with regret. The motion passed unanimously.
Sandra Frost
Larry Pilchman moved and Nancy Carter seconded a motion to accept the resignation of Sandra Frost effective June 30, 2005, with regret. The motion passed unanimously.
Meg O’Leary
Larry Pilchman moved and Nancy Carter seconded a motion to accept the resignation of Meg O’Leary effective June 30, 2005, with regret. The motion passed unanimously.
Paula Ceranowicz
Larry Pilchman moved and Nancy Carter seconded a motion to accept the resignation of Paula Ceranowicz effective June 30, 2005, with regret. The motion passed unanimously.
b. Acceptance of Friends Grants
Larry Pilchman moved and Nancy Carter seconded a motion to accept the Friends Grants as proposed and attached to the original minutes of the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
c. Acceptance of PTO Grants
Larry Pilchman moved and Nancy Carter seconded a motion to accept the PTO Grants as proposed and attached to the original minutes of the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
8. Adjournment
Larry Pilchman moved and Matt Slaughter seconded a motion to adjourn at 8:16 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary B. Davis
Recording Secretary
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