NORWICH BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 2007
7:00 P.M., MARION CROSS SCHOOL LIBRARY
Minutes
Present: Board members Callaghan, Gray, Sachsse, Vitt, Williams; Administrators Gersen, Aubin, Brush, Edson; and eight members of the public. Recorded by R. Lohr
1. Call to order –Chair Sachsse called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. Approval of minutes
Linda Gray moved and Cary Callaghan seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 4, and the executive session of April 4, as submitted with changes. The motion passed unanimously.
The change in item 4 was the spelling of the word “water.”
3. Communications and Reports
a) Report of Chair
Chair Sachsse announced that the next regular Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 6, 7:00 p.m., at the Marion Cross School Library.
She announced the Board Retreat was set for Thursday, May 10 at 4 - 10 p.m. in the conference room at Hanover High School. The Chair also announced that a joint meeting with the Norwich Select Board would be scheduled later in the calendar year.
Chair Sachsse recognized communications to the Board about a child walking away from the school and procedures involved with recess and indicated the Board’s response to these items would be discussed later in the meeting.
b) Reports of Administrators
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Gersen distributed the Board meeting schedule for the next school year, which continued to schedule Norwich Board meetings on the first Wednesday of the month. The Board members accepted this format. He also announced a public forum to be held at Richmond Middle School on May 17 which would deal with alternative faculty compensation systems. The forum will open with a 45 minute presentation by Professor James Stronge and be followed by a question/answer period.
The Board discussed pending legislation in Vermont regarding setting a cap on school budget spending. The bill is now in a joint House-Senate conference committee and it and decisive legislation on the matter will be monitored by the staff and the Board.
Assistant Superintendent Aubin asked that the MS22’s be signed by the Board.
Principal’s Report
Principal Edson reviewed his report, noting that 90 students participated in the Walk to School Day that occurred on April 27. He noted that a Bike-to-School Day is set for May 22 indicating that the school has developed a system to track and encourage students to walk and bike to school. He hoped that Norwich could obtain Safe Routes to School grant funds to help improve the access to school. The Principal also announced he planned to propose the lease-purchase of a mobile laptop lab for the school, a proposal that will require Board action in June.
4. PTO Report
Deb Kaplan announced the PTO awards given to faculty members and distributed a newsletter about PTO sponsored Earth stewardship efforts. She expressed gratitude to the individual volunteers who helped make the Spelling Bee a success. She announced that the next PTO meeting was scheduled for May 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the Marion Cross Library noting it would feature special presentations about how to encourage students to write during the summer and a new fund raising idea.
5. Public Input
There was no public input unrelated to the agenda topics.
6. Business Requiring Discussion
Environmental Issues
Jonathan Brush, Dresden Director of Facilities, reviewed a recent energy audit of the school conducted by Foam Tech and outlined options the staff will consider in order to close some substantial air leaks in the art wing and the staff room wing. The options are estimated to cost from $20,000 to 50,000. The Board supported hiring a consultant to develop an RFP to seek bids for the various options. John Aubin expected that Vermont Building Aid would reimburse 30 percent of such a project, but was uncertain when the funds would be available.
Jonathan Brush also announced that the staff awarded contracts for the solar and electrical work at a total cost of $62,000. This price is under budget and will be reimbursed at 90 percent by the State.
Ames Byrd of the Norwich Energy Committee updated the Board on the biodiesel fuel conversion in the school busses. He appreciated the School Board’s willingness to post magnetic signs on the busses about the biodiesel. Mr. Byrd also announced that, as part of its bus replacement plan, First Student bus company will replace Norwich busses with new busses that have improved pollution control components which are expected to reduce the emissions by 85%. He proposed that the school Board consider tracking school carbon emissions to benchmark the school’s carbon reduction.
Mr. Byrd also reviewed the cost of monitoring air quality in Norwich in an effort to establish the feasibility of installing the wood chip burner. The Board decided that the air quality monitoring in Norwich should be within the town jurisdiction and responsibility.
Student Safety
The Board discussed the Superintendent’s action plan to address safety concerns in response to a student who walked away from her class during school hours. Jonathan Brush gave an overview of a door alarm system, reporting that the estimated cost for a system to install eight alarms and cameras was $17,000. Principal Edson reported that he used the Vermont Principals Association List Serv to query schools across the State as to how they handle similar safety concerns and had a limited response. The Board emphasized protocols of the school staff and suggested the faculty participate in the discussion about procedural changes, prospective alarm systems, and related aspects of the concerns around this issue. The Superintendent reported that Principal Edson would have a more detailed update on this issue by the next Board meeting.
Board Retreat Topics
The Board Retreat topic suggestions included a review of the draft LAP goals, an update on last year’s Board goals, teacher evaluation, and networking with other Boards. Chair Sachsse agreed to work with the administrators to develop an agenda for the Retreat.
Additional Staff
Principal Edson reviewed a document about enrollments in the second and third grades and proposed that a teacher be added to create smaller classes next year in anticipation of growing enrollment for 2007-08 and continuing growth in the following years. The budget impact of the proposal was about $52,000 additional spending.
Carey Callaghan moved and Linda Gray seconded a motion to approve the additional faculty position for the 2007-08 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
7. Business Requiring Action
Stan Williams moved and Carey Callaghan seconded a motion to set the Marion Cross School tuition rate for the 2007-08 school year for grades 1-6 at $11,382 and for kindergarten at $5,691. The motion passed unanimously.
Carey Callaghan moved and Stan Williams seconded a motion to approve Policy DFA-1, Investment Policy, as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
Carey Callaghan moved and Linda Gray seconded a motion to approve the provisions of the Local Education Agency Plan (LEAP) for the Norwich School District (Supervisory Union 55) for Fiscal Year 2008. The motion passed unanimously.
Stan Williams moved and Carey Callaghan seconded a motion to appoint Dr. Virginia Brack as School Physician for the 2007-08 school year at an annual stipend of $300. The motion passed unanimously.
Linda Gray moved and Carey Callaghan seconded a motion to authorize t he Administration to fill teacher vacancies between now and the regular meeting of September 5 by offering a one (1) week period to obtain telephone or e-mail votes from Board members and that three (3) affirmative votes must be obtained before a contract is issued. The motion passed unanimously.
8. Executive Session
Carey Callaghan moved and Linda Gray 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 9:06 p.m.
9. Adjournment
Linda Gray moved and Stan Williams seconded a motion to adjourn at 10:05 p.m.
The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:05 p.m.
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