NORWICH BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
REGULAR MEETING & BUDGET PRESENTATION
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 3, 2008
7:00 PM, MARION CROSS SCHOOL
Minutes
Present: Board members Callaghan, Gray, Sachsse, Vitt, Williams; Administrators Gersen, Aubin, Edson; and 7 members of the public. Recorded by R. Lohr
1. Call to order –Chair Mary Sachsse called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
2. Approval of minutes
Linda Gray moved and Carey Callaghan seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of December 5, as submitted with changes. The motion passed unanimously. The changes were on item 6 that Linda Gray would be an alternate on the Principal Search Committee. On item 6, third paragraph the teacher decline was one against the actual number of teachers.
3. Communications and Reports
a) Report of Chair
Chair Mary Sachsse announced that the next regular Board meeting is scheduled for THURSDAY, January 10, 7:00 PM at the Marion Cross School Library. This is the second of three budget meetings in January and this meeting will be the budget deliberations.
There are three (3) Board seats that are open in March, two (2) for three year terms (Linda Gray and Geoffrey Vitt) and one (1) for a two year term (Stan Williams). Filings take place any time from now until January 28, 2008. Candidates must present a petition with 35 signatures to the Norwich Town Clerk.
The Dresden School District has filing dates from Tuesday, January 15 through 5:00 PM, Monday, February 4. Filing for School District Officers can be done with either the School District Clerk, Deborah Carter, or at the SAU Office, 41 Lebanon Street, Suite 2, Hanover. Open positions are: Moderator, Clerk, Treasurer for one (1) year terms; two Auditor positions, one for a two (2) year term, and one for a three (3) year term.
b) Reports of Administrators
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Gersen updated the Board on the search process for the elementary school principal. Public forums will be held on January 9 at 8:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. to get resident input on the skills and background that are desired in the principal. The Search Committee will review candidate applications and select 6-10 potential candidates on January 23. The committee will then narrow the selection to 3 final candidates and arrange for candidate visits to the school during the week of February 11. The current Board members would be able to appoint the new principal at the March 3 meeting. It was suggested that evaluation sheets be available for residents to use during the interview process. Mary Sachsse also suggested the Committee ask parents and Norwich residents to consider the direction they want the principal to take within the next 5 years.
Principal’s Report
Principal Edson reviewed his report and announced that two new students in kindergarten and fourth grade were added to the enrollment, which is now at 303. The principal read a letter to the editor in Gourmet Magazine about Marion Cross School.
Treasurer’s Report
The Board discussed the investment of school budget funds and felt that a higher rate of return was possible if a different strategy was used. It was estimated $6-10,000 additional interest could be earned annually. Mary Sachsse will contact Treasurer Lindberg and ask her to attend the next Board meeting to discuss the investments strategy.
4. PTO Report
There was no PTO report but it was announced that Becky French was working on a brochure about the Marion Cross School that would be used by real estate brokers and potential private school enrollees in town.
5. Business Requiring Discussion
2008-09 Budget Presentation
John Aubin, Assistant Superintendent of Business reported on the proposed 2008-09
Budget which is projected to increase by 4.2 percent. He noted in his overview that once the reduction in the Dresden assessment to the Norwich district, the projected increase to taxpayers would be 0.9 percent. Mr. Aubin cautioned that this draft did not include the contract settlement costs, which have not been finalized. He reported that due to a change in the state’s weighting of high school, elementary school, and preschool students, the estimated number of equalized pupils is 654.13 for 2008-09, which is advantageous to Norwich. The Marion Cross enrollment projection is expected to be down by 15 students from this year’s actual enrollment. Staffing is proposed to equal this year’s budgeted staffing, but it will be one less than this year’s actual staffing since one teacher was funded with grant money.
Mr. Aubin reviewed suggested building improvements which include a new boiler that is needed at $50,000, insulation in the art wing, replacement of 23 windows, new door locks, and phased exterior painting. The improvements, with the exception of the boiler, are discretionary but the staff believed that this year would be a good time to consider these projects because of the relatively low increase in spending. The administration felt that using the school budget to cover these projects was advantageous to Norwich compared to using the Building Reserve Fund.
Mr. Aubin reviewed the significant budget changes from last year’s budget. The increases include teacher salaries, medical insurance, transportation, the SAU assessment, and the building improvements, which are discretionary. Special education spending is declining.
The Tax Rate Calculation was reviewed and it showed a preliminary estimated nominal tax rate of $1.4526, which is a small decline from last year.
Principal Edson reviewed the proposed increase in the physical education schedule for grades 4-6. He stated that time scheduled in PE needs to be increased to meet Vermont School Quality standards and he recommended an increase from 0.8 FTE to 1 FTE in that department. This would allow each student to have two PE classes weekly. This increase is not presently in the proposed budget.
Mr. Aubin also reviewed documents that showed electric consumption decreases associated with the lighting upgrade project, allowable tuition comparison with other Vermont school districts, and a comparison of Norwich teacher salaries with the state average.
School District Warning
The Board discussed whether it would need an article to allocate money from the Building Fund to purchase the boiler. It was decided that the fund would not be used for the purchase unless necessary and that the Board could consider using the potential surplus balance for the boiler at the end of the school year. It was also stated that the Special Education Reserve does not need to be increased because the state reimburses the costs associated with special education.
Parent Survey
The Board reviewed the Parent Survey and Superintendent Gersen informed them that it has been recommended that they have the project consultant provide a synopsis of the responses to the open ended questions that are on the survey. The consultant will look for patterns in the responses and provide feedback that encourages Board and school district actions. Keeping the responses confidential is important to increase the teachers’ trust of the survey. The survey is expected to be released in February so that the Board can discuss results in March and at scheduled retreats.
7. Business Requiring Action
The Frye Fund was recognized as the organization that donated money to cover the Hulbert field trip and the Board expressed its appreciation for the donation.
Stan Williams moved and Carey Callaghan seconded a motion to accept a restricted donation for $2,432 for the 5th grade Hulbert field trip, as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
Carey Callaghan moved and Linda Gray seconded a motion to approve Luke Ratliff as a fourth grade tuition student at the Marion Cross School for the 2008-09 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
8. Executive Session
Linda Gray moved and Carey Callaghan seconded a motion to enter executive session in accordance with Title 1, Section 313 for discussion of negotiations.
The motion passed unanimously. The Board entered executive session at 9:04PM.
9. Adjournment
Linda Gray moved and Carey Callaghan seconded a motion to adjourn at 9:15 PM.
The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM. |
