HANOVER SCHOOL BOARD
REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2005
7:03 P.M., RAY SCHOOL MULTI-ROOM
Present: Board members Asmus, Carter, Chamberlin, Fleischer, Slaughter; Administrators Gersen, Aubin, Williams. One member of the public attended. Recorded by R. Lohr
1. Call to order – Chair Chamberlin called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
2. Approval of minutes
Nancy Carter moved and Matt Slaughter seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of May 11, as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.
3. Communications and reports
a) Report of Chair:
Chair Chamberlin announced that the next Board meeting was scheduled for August 17, 7:00 p.m. in the Ray School Multi-room. Chamberlin commented that if a Board Retreat is found to be necessary in July or August that it would be decided and arranged via email communication with the Board. Chamberlin also reported about a letter from the School Board Association calling for resolutions for the 2005 assembly, which was forwarded to Superintendent Gersen.
b) Reports of Administrators
Assistant Superintendent’s Report – Assistant Superintendent John Aubin reported that the staff received a quote for an irrigation system in the Ray School yard, which was estimated at $9,500. The town charge for a water hook up could cost another $3,000. It was estimated that sodding the area would cost about $10,000. The Board suggested that the grass problem be diagnosed before any more funds are spent to mitigate it. Mr. Aubin said he would bring further details about the grass to the Hanover Board prior to the Dresden meeting scheduled for June 21.
John Aubin updated the Board on the Apple Computer lease, which needs to be renewed at this time if it is to be extended to fulfill computer needs for three more years. He reported that the majority of funds would be allocated toward portable computers. The Board discussed the proposal.
Nancy Carter moved and Chip Fleischer seconded a motion for a resolution for the Hanover School Board to authorize the administration to enter into a lease purchase arrangement of not more than three years with Apple Corporation for the purpose of acquiring computer equipment in a principal amount of approximately $120,000 and an annual payment of approximately $40,000. The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. Aubin reported that there will be approximately a $25,000 budget deficit related to special education. He indicated that the Board had two alternatives to address the projected deficit: using the $20,000 budget contingency and/or the Special Education Reserve Fund (which presently has an estimated balance of $180,000). The Board discussed the options and decided to apply all of the Contingency Fund and use the Special Education Reserve Fund to offset the remainder.
Chip Fleischer moved and Matt Slaughter seconded a motion for a resolution for the Hanover School Board to authorize the use of the budgeted $20,000 contingency for the purpose of paying unanticipated special education purposes. The motion passed unanimously.
Chip Fleischer moved and Nancy Carter seconded a motion for a resolution for the Hanover School Board to authorize the transfer of such funds as necessary from the Special Education Reserve Fund so as to avoid an anticipated $25,000-$30,000 general fund deficit at year end. The motion passed unanimously.
Principal’s Report – Ray School Principal Williams submitted his written inspirational message to the Ray School fifth graders that are graduating on June 21 to the Board as his Principal’s report. He reported that there will be two fifth grade productions (Odyssey and Shakespeare) in the last week of school and then a short graduation ceremony on the last day.
The Assistant Principal and guidance counselors attended a meeting regarding the standardized NECAP tests and they reported that the October tests will require six or eight sessions of up to 90 minutes each for students in third through fifth grades. This requires much more time than previous testing at the Ray School and it now involves each class rather than only the third graders. Principal Williams felt the NECAP tests should help align the Ray School curriculum with the Marion Cross Elementary School in Norwich and help provide common terminology among all of the Dresden schools. He cautioned that it might take a few years for Ray School to adjust the respective grade curriculum to match the annual tests.
Reports of Committees
Education Committee - Bruce Williams updated the Board on the formation of the Education Planning Committee, which now has 7-10 members. He hoped to schedule a meeting between June 15-26. Board Members will be requested to submit dates when they are unable to attend a meeting within that time period.
Budget Committee - Kari Asmus reported that the Budget Committees met in late May and expressed a desire to initiate budget guideline discussions in August and adopt the guidelines in September so that the guidelines were in place earlier in the school year. The Finance Committee is scheduled to meet on June 20 in Norwich at 4 p.m. to discuss the negotiation process with the teachers. The committee members will receive a copy of the existing teacher contract to review prior to the meeting. John Aubin communicated with the committee chairs regarding the Finance Committee meeting schedule for 2005-06 and they accepted his proposed time frames for meetings.
4. Business Requiring Discussion
Hanover District Meeting - The Board considered the calendar change necessitated by the change in the annual district meeting process. It was agreed that Saturday, March 4 at 1:00 p.m. was the best date and time for the discussion phase of the Hanover District Meeting. This will be adopted at the August meeting.
Bridgman Trust - The Board discussed the parameters of the Bridgman Trust grants as outlined in a letter from Wayne Gersen to Betsy McClain. They also discussed the possibility of establishing a multi-year use of funds with the understanding that the funds would benefit all of the students and did not reduce staff’s daily time requirements.
5. Public Comments
Bill Mlacek asked the Board to make its agenda and minutes available to the public in a faster time frame. He asked that the meeting agenda be posted on the SAU Web site prior the meeting so the public would be aware of up coming issues. He also requested that a draft of the meeting minutes be posted on the Web site prior to final Board approval because sometimes there is an extensive delay between the meetings and such final Board approval. There was a Board consensus to post the agenda on the SAU Web site at the beginning of the week prior to each meeting. There was also a consensus for the draft of the meeting minutes to be posted on the SAU Web site within reasonable time after the meeting in a locked PDF file, which would have a boilerplate disclaimer regarding the draft nature of the posting. Mr. Mlacek expressed appreciation for the Board consensus on this issue.
6. Business requiring action:
Ray School Handbook
Principal Williams discussed the final changes to the Ray School Handbook, which involved language regarding permission to use photographs of the children.
Nancy Carter moved and Matt Slaughter seconded a motion to approve the 2005-06 Ray School Handbook as submitted and amended. The motion passed unanimously.
Board Educational Goals
The Board reviewed the goals as submitted and discussed the fourth goal regarding encouragement for innovations. This goal might involve budgeting from staff development funds or enrichment funds. The check/balance intended is that the goal is associated with the core academic areas.
Chip Fleischer moved and Matt Slaughter seconded a motion to approve the 2005-06 Board Educational Goals as amended and attached to the original minutes of the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
Bridgman Trust
Matt Slaughter moved and Nancy Carter seconded a motion toapprove the Bridgman Trust Fund grants as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
7. Adjournment
Nancy Carter moved and Matt Slaughter seconded a motion to adjourn at
9:09 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 9:09 p.m.
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