John Chamberlin moved and Nancy Carter seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of June 9 and the nonpublic session of June 9, as submitted. The nonpublic minutes were corrected to include Bruce Williams as being present for the meeting. The motion passed 5 yes, 1 abstention (Bruce).

3. Agenda review/additional items

The Chair added one item for discussion, a report on the Upper Valley Trails meeting.

4. Communications and reports

a) Report of Chair:

1. Board Calendar - The Chair announced that the next regular Board meeting will be Wednesday, September 8, 7:00 p.m., at the Ray School Multi.

b) Reports of Administrators:

Superintendent’s report: - The Superintendent’s items were covered in other places in the agenda. Assistant Superintendent for Business report - Assistant Superintendent for Business John Aubin reported an end of the year fund balance of $3,777. He said the District ended the year better than expected and did not have to transfer any moneys from the Special Ed Trust Fund. The District did have to use some of the contingency budgeted to offset expenses, thus ending with a contingency appropriation balance of less than $20,000.

Stabilization Fund - Mr. Aubin reported that the NH Department of Revenue is disallowing the stabilization fund as being a constitutionally illegal debt retirement fund. He said that he had appealed the first decision and has been turned down on the appeal. Mr. Aubin suggested that the Board formally appeal the decision. After discussion, consensus of the Board was to consult with Attorney Bradley for a legal opinion before filing an appeal. (The motion to appeal follows under business requiring action.)

Assistant Superintendent for Special Services report - Assistant Superintendent for Special Services, Jane Weissmann reported that the District had an unanticipated court ordered placement in the spring, which accounted for some of the special ed overage in the 03-04 school year. She said she expects there will be some program changes for one or two students for 04-05, which were not anticipated when the 04-05 budget was made and approved.

Title IIA funds - Ms. Weissmann said that due to a mixup with paperwork, Title IIA funds for the 02-03 school year, approximately $21,000, will be incoming in the next school year.

5. Public comments

None

6. Business requiring discussion

a) Revised Policy BCAB-1, Regular Meetings - The Board reviewed the proposed revisions to the policy and discussed possibly changing the regular monthly meeting date of the Board. Administration will review the school calendars for conflicts and report back at the September meeting. The draft policy will be brought back to the September meeting for adoption.

b) Revised Policy BCAC, Special and Emergency Meetings - The Board reviewed the policy and made revisions to the wording. The draft policy will be brought back to the September meeting for adoption.

c) Board retreat - After a brief discussion, the consensus of the Board was that a retreat was not needed at this time. However, the Board may consider a spring retreat before setting goals for the 05-06 school year.

d) How to communicate information regarding SB 418, Australian Balloting - Mr. Chamberlin proposed that the Board begin an information campaign in the fall, once the Dresden bond vote has taken place. Board members made suggestions as to how to proceed. Chair Segal asked Mr. Chamberlin to reconvene the Committee in order to discuss a procedure for presenting information to the public and to meet with the Board at the September 8 meeting, during which time the Board may recharge the Committee.

e) Upper Valley Trails meeting - John Chamberlin reported that he, Kari Asmus, and Bob Bruce attended the Upper Valley Trails meeting. Among the topics discussed were traffic patterns in the proposed Dresden Village area, a connector between the Ray School and the Richmond School, a review of the old traffic study, and overall changes to the proposed Dresden Village as a result of additions to Rivercrest and other housing developments. He said that discussions are in the very early stages. Mr. Chamberlin, Ms. Asmus, and Mr. Bruce will continue to monitor the progress of the discussions.

7. Business requiring action

a) Review Ray School Handbook - Board members reviewed the Handbook and discussed putting it on line.

Larry Pilchman moved and John Chamberlin seconded a motion to approve the 2004-05 Ray School Handbook as proposed. The motion passed unanimously.

b) Appeal of DRA decision - Nancy Carter moved and John Chamberlin seconded a motion to submit an appeal to the NH Department of Revenue Administration decision to disallow Warrant Article #4 of the 2004 Hanover Warrant. The motion passed unanimously.

8. Adjournment

Nancy Carter moved and John Chamberlin seconded a motion to adjourn at 8:33 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.The meeting adjourned at 8:33 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary B. Davis
Recording Secretary