SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT #70 BOARD
REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2007
7:00 P.M., HANOVER HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
Minutes
Present: Board members Asmus, Bruce, Carpenter, Carter, Chamberlin, Gray, Rose, Sachsse, Vitt, and Williams; Administrators Gersen, Aubin, Gillespie, Edson and 9 members of the public. Recorded by R. Lohr
1. Call to order
Board Chair John Chamberlin called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Linda Gray and Nancy Carter to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of December 11, the special meetings of February 27, March 12, March 22, March 27, April 4, April 24, and the nonpublic session of March 22, as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.
3. Music Curriculum Presentation
Representatives from each of the music departments in Ray School, Marion Cross School, Richmond Middle School, and Hanover High School provided an overview of the K-12 curriculum for music. Music education involves general music, band, chorus, strings, song writing, and more. The use of technology is integrated in the music curriculum and the elementary schools are communicating well among their respective music departments. The Board suggested that a regular report about the educational value of music, how it embellishes student life, and the interdisciplinary elements of music be provided to the Board and the community.
4 Reports and Communications
a) Chair Report – Chair John Chamberlin announced that future SAU meetings are scheduled for Mondays on November 19, December 17, and May 19. It was also announced that there would be an SAU meeting prior to the next Dresden Board June meeting.
b) Superintendent Report – Superintendent Gersen reported that the search for a Technology Supervisor is underway and interviews with candidates are scheduled this week. A nomination is expected at the next SAU meeting in June. The Superintendent also announced that Jeannie Kornfeld would receive an award at the Montshire Museum on Saturday, June 9 at 11 AM for excellence in education contributing to cleaner waters in Vermont. The award will be presented by Governor Douglas and the ceremony will also include Senator Sanders and Congressman Welch.
The Superintendent reported that the Hanover Selectboard chair, Brian Walsh has communicated his position about education funding in the state of New Hampshire legislature. While he may have spoken on his own behalf, he has not discussed his position on the issue with the school board.
5. Business Requiring Discussion
Quality of Education Interim Report
The Quality of Education Committee (QEC) steering committee members gave an overview of the Committee’s Interim Report. This committee has been split into three subcommittees and a cross section of board members, staff, parents, taxpayers, and students are serving on the sub-committees. The subcommittee reports include the Governance Report, the Qualitative Information Report, and the Quantitative Information Report.
The Governance Sub-Committee will report on structures in place in each school and the district, organizational charts for each school, and the latest Staff Development Master Plan.
The Qualitative Sub-Committee will analyze the ways that the district measures quality of life in the schools. Measures would include the NEASC standards, survey data, and qualitative assessments at the schools.
The Quantitative Sub-Committee will provide an inventory of existing data that is in place including a grade-by-grade catalog of student assessments at each school.
The Board recommended that the K-12 assessment grids and glossary be updated regularly. The committees should focus on school climate, computerizing the NECAP results, examining the value-added approach to track student progress, and identifying an efficient way to move forward. Further, the Board recognized the challenge to get the faculty more engaged in the QEC process, the amount of time necessary to undertake the QEC work, and that some of the work will need to be outsourced to professional consultants. It was recommended that team building will be necessary to encourage the teachers to participate in the process.
An action plan for the QEC would develop a faculty survey that would be vetted with the teachers. Additionally, the faculty would be involved with the development of the Parent Survey and the SAU Board rather than QEC will conduct this survey. The Board supported moving forward with the faculty survey and the various QEC Sub-Committee plans.
SDC Plan
The Staff Development Master Plan was presented and discussed in advance of its adoption at the next SAU Board meeting. The plan had to be revised as per state conformance and much of the content is necessary for state approval. It was suggested that the focal point of staff development could be more oriented to skills rather than focused only on teacher recertification. Some of the plan was intended to be used as a handbook and a tool for interaction among teachers, department leaders, and school administrators. The document’s multiple application and goals of the SDC Committee include teacher enrichment; recertification; teacher evaluation; and the encouragement of innovation.
Audit Report
John Aubin, Assistant Superintendent for Business reviewed the audit report for the Board. The report meets governmental accounting standards and is more user-friendly. Mr. Aubin highlighted the report balance sheet, the general fund with regard to revenues (budget and actual) and expenses (budget and actual), and the management letter, which stated that no action on internal controls were necessary.
Mr. Aubin also reviewed the SAU Financial Statement dated May 30 and reported that there were no large variances in revenues. The expense variances that were under budget included medical insurance and the computer lease, while the overage was reported in the copier expense. The fund balance was reported as $17,861.
6. Business Requiring Action
The Superintendent announced that the contract for the Assistant Superintendent for Business was not ready for a Board motion and would be dealt with at the next SAU meeting.
A motion was made by Kari Asmus and seconded by Robert Bruce to approve the 2007-2010 contract for Wayne Gersen as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion was passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Kari Asmus and seconded by Robert Bruce to approve SAU salaries as proposed at the June 4 SAU Board meeting. The motion was passed unanimously.
7. Adjournment
A motion was made by Nancy Carter and seconded by Linda Gray to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The SAU # 70 Board meeting was adjourned at 9:58 p.m.
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