NORWICH BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY MARCH 7, 2007
7:00 P.M., MARION CROSS SCHOOL LIBRARY
Minutes
Present: Board members Callaghan, Gray, Sachsse, Vitt, Williams; Administrators Gersen, Aubin, Edson; and 5 members of the public. Recorded by R. Lohr
1. Call to order – Superintendent Gersen called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM. He welcomed Carey Callaghan as a new member of the Board and elections were conducted for board officers. Nominations for the position of Board Chair were open and Mary Sachsse was nominated by Linda Gray and seconded by Stan Williams. The nomination was passed unanimously.
Chair Sachsse then opened nominations for Board Vice Chair and Stan Williams was nominated for the position of Vice Chair by Linda Gray and seconded by Carey Callaghan. The nomination was passed unanimously. Nominations for Board Secretary were opened and Carey Callaghan was nominated for the position of Secretary by Linda Gray and seconded by Stan Williams. The nomination was passed unanimously.
2. Approval of minutes
Linda Gray moved and Stan Williams seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 7, and the executive session of February 7, as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.
3. Communications and Reports
a) Report of Chair
Chair Sachsse announced that the next regular Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 4, 7:00 p.m., at the Marion Cross School Library. The public was also invited to meet the three finalists for the open Richmond Middle School principal position on the evenings of Tuesday, March 13, Wednesday, March 14, and Monday, March 19. The public can find background information about the finalists and the meetings at the SAU70.org Web site. The public is also welcome to attend the Quality of Education Committee meetings and can get more details about it on the Web site.
b) Reports of Administrators
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Gersen thanked the public for approving the school district budget and expressed appreciation on behalf of the Board and community to Assistant Superintendent John Aubin for his work on the budget and communicating it to the public. The Finance Committees were also recognized for their participation in the budget process and Principal Edson was cited for his ability to keep the budget in control while improving the instructional program by adding another teacher and expanding the kindergarten program.
On another matter, the Superintendent reported that the calendar for Board goal-setting has been modified to improve the timing of goal-setting. The Board will meet to discuss goals in May so that the administrators and teachers could base their annual goals on the Board goals.
4. PTO Report
Deb Kaplan of the PTO reported about the “Meet the Principal” evening that was held for parents of prospective kindergarteners; the Science Enrichment Committee meeting scheduled for March 16 at 7:00 p.m.; the Gift Awards that are presently under review and will be announced next month and the Spelling Bee, which is open to 36 teams. She announced that applications are now being accepted for the March 30 event that will be held in the Marion Cross gym. Registration for the Spelling Bee is at the school or Tracy Hall.
Ms. Kaplan described “Norwich Unplugged,” a month for residents to turnoff their electronics, and reviewed a calendar of events the PTO is considering, one of which is a town-wide scavenger hunt. She also described “Bulb-Squared,” a fundraiser for Environmental Stewardship where flower bulbs and CFL light bulbs will be sold. The committee sponsoring this event is developing its mission. The next PTO meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 2 at 8:30 a.m. in the Art Room.
5. Public Input
Linda Gray discussed the possibility of formulating a Board response to be sent to Norwich state representatives regarding the state’s consideration of school budgets. John Aubin suggested that Vermont’s school health insurance market be more open to new companies which could increase competition and therefore lower prices. Additionally, the Board agreed to suggest adjustments to income sensitivity guidelines before considering a lowering of the 125 percent budget excess threshold.
6. Business Requiring Discussion
NECAP Report
Before giving the NECAP report, Principal Edson asked the Board to add agenda items to accept two student tuition requests and the resignation of Marion Abowitz, who amended her plan to resign at the end of the school year.
The Principal gave a brief presentation about his recent trip to Salikenni in The Gambia and shared information about the NECAP results at Marion Cross School. His presentation compared the results to “like” schools (i.e. schools with similar demographics in terms of free and reduced lunch) and to the top six schools (out of 284) in the State. He reviewed a sample item analysis and showed how the school identified some issues of weakness that were identified by the tests and how these deficiencies could be addressed by teachers’ professional development. The NECAP results will be posted on the SAU70.org Web site.
The Board expressed an interest in seeing a wider array of reportable assessments of students at Marion Cross.
Investment Policy
The Superintendent reviewed the changes made to the Investment Policy since the Dresden meeting asked for more Board feedback on the policy semantics. It will be brought to the Dresden Budget Committee for further review and then the Dresden and Norwich Boards will ratify the policy in April and May.
7. Future Agenda Items
The Board will make committee assignments at the next meeting and the Principal was asked to provide various spotlights on Marion Cross student assessments.
8. Business Requiring Action
Carey Callaghan volunteered to work on the Mini Grant Committee.
Carey Callaghan moved and Linda Gray seconded a motion to accept David Krimmel as a fourth grade tuition student effective March 26, 2007 pending parental agreement signing. The motion passed unanimously.
Carey Callaghan moved and Linda Gray seconded a motion to accept Hannah Weintraub as a kindergarten tuition student for the 2007-08 school year pending parental agreement signing. The motion passed unanimously.
Linda Gray moved and Carey Callaghan seconded a motion to accept the resignation of Marion Abowitz with regret effective at the end of the school year. The motion passed unanimously.
9. Future Agenda Items: how to distribute Vermont State construction aid in future years, in consultation with the Norwich Finance Committee.
10. Executive Session
Carey Callaghan moved and Stan Williams seconded a motion to enter executivesession in accordance with Title 1, Section 313 for discussion of a personnel matter. The motion passed unanimously. The Board entered executive session at 8:40 p.m.
11. Return to public session
The Board returned to public session at 10:40 p.m.
Carey Callaghan moved and Linda Gray seconded a motion to grant Lisa Holley paid emergency leave for the balance of the 2006-07 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
12. Adjournment
Linda Gray moved and Stan Williams seconded a motion to adjourn at 10:41 p.m.
The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:41 p.m. |
