SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT #70 BOARD
Regular Meeting
Monday, December 12, 2005
7:16 P.M., Hanover High School Library
Minutes
Present: Board members Asmus, Bruce, Carter, Chamberlin, Cheney, Fleischer, Gray, Kaplan, Pilchman, Sachsse, Vitt; Administrators Gersen, Aubin; and seven members of the public.
1. Call to order
Chair Gray called the meeting to order at 7:16 p.m.
2. Recognition of the Dresden Athletic Fields Committee
Prior to calling the meeting to order, the Board recognized members of the Dresden Athletic Fields Committee with words of praise and thanks, fleece vests, and refreshments.
3. Approval of Minutes
John Chamberlin moved and Margaret Cheney seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of November 14 and the nonpublic session of November 14, as submitted. Corrections to the minutes were offered: (1) change “Special Meeting” to “Regular Meeting” in title; (2) amend Mr. Aubin’s report deleting the sentence in 3A 2004-05 beginning “Mr. Aubin reported a year end... Insert “With revenues totaling $1,004,109 and expenses totaling $935,870 the SAU ended the year with a fund balance of $56,668;” (3) in 3A 2006-07, change Dresden’s share from 55.07% to 55.41% to read 59.43% to 60.64%. The amended motion passed unanimously.
4. Receiving of public input
No public input was offered.
5. Review/Discussion of the 2006-07 SAU Budget
Assistant Superintendent for Business, John Aubin, distributed a revised budget then reviewed the significant changes to the proposed budget. He said that the largest increase is the result of the new student information system lease, which is being purchased at the SAU level rather than the district level as was done in the past. Other areas of increase are in Administrative salaries, office support salaries, and medical insurance. He noted decreases in administrative support salaries and retiree wages. The total proposed budget is $ 1,050,628, which is an increase of $35,061 or 3.5% budget to budget. The breakout of assessments to the various district is as follows:
Dresden’s assessment increases by $49,059 (share up from 59.43% to 60.64%)
Hanover’s assessment increases by $2,938 (share down from 25.81% to 24.52%)
Norwich’s assessment increases by $9,860 (share up from 14.76% to 14.84%)
Board members asked questions about the recruitment process and whether candidates are polled in order to track the effectiveness of the District’s advertising, and how the moneys allocated for Assistant Superintendent/Administrative Help would be spent.
6. Public Hearing on Proposed 2006-07 SAU Budget in accordance with RSA 194c:10
The Chair then called the Public Hearing to order saying, “I open the public hearing on the budget for SAU #70 School District in accordance with NH RSA 194c:10. Included in the public packets is a line item budget which contains all purposes and amounts of appropriations to be included for proposed 2006-07 expenditures. A notice for this public hearing was published in the Valley News on Thursday, December 1.”
Mr. Aubin then reviewed all purposes and amounts of appropriations included in the proposed budget. No public comments were offered.
7. Business requiring action
a. Approval of SAU 2006-07 budget
John Chamberlin moved and Mary Sachsse seconded a motion to approve the SAU budget appropriation of $1,050,628. The motion passed unanimously.
b. Change in SAU calendar - Chair Gray discussed adding an additional meeting in March. She said that the meeting would be an organizational meeting and could be piggybacked with the Dresden organizational meeting. Board members agreed to the change without a formal motion.
8. Business requiring discussion
a. Proposed Foreign Language Immersion Program - Dr. Gersen began his report by saying that, in response to the discussion at the Board’s November meeting, he lead a five member group (Norwich Principal Rob Edson, Hanover Principal Bruce Williams, Board members John Chamberlin, Mary Sachsse, and himself) on a visit to two Massachusetts schools that have immersion programs, in order to get a sense of the setup and challenges of the programs. He reviewed the conclusions reached by the group which included concerns about limiting enrollment, space, staffing, budget, long range effects on secondary foreign language instruction, logistical and legal issues, and curriculum impact. He also posed the question, “If we have one more dollar to spend to improve the schools in SAU 70, how would you spend that dollar?” Dr. Gersen offered his recommendations which included forming a Board improvement subcommittee to gather information from the schools and community, prioritize the initiatives the participants think the SAU should consider, and make recommendations to the Administration before the start of the next budget cycle.
The Board discussed at length Dr. Gersen’s recommendations, whether the focus should be on other areas such as math and science rather than a foreign language, and the original request from a group of parents that foreign language be taught at an earlier grade level. Members of the public spoke about the advantages of early foreign language instruction and urged the Board not to lose focus on early foreign language instruction in its broader discussions.
At the conclusion of the discussion, the Board asked Dr. Gersen to investigate (1) how the districts could introduce foreign language at an earlier age and (2) what would be the consequences for staffing, curriculum, and budgets; and to report his findings at the May Board meeting. The Board also decided to go forward with an Ad Hoc Committee to gather input from the schools and the community to formulate a long range plan for broader improvements to the schools. Board members interested in serving on the committee were asked to email Wayne Gersen as soon as possible.
9. Consent Agenda
John Chamberlin asked that item “b” be removed from the Consent Agenda. The Chair decided to remove both items from the Consent Agenda.
a. Confirmation of Policy BCAC, Special and Emergency Meetings
Nancy Carter moved and Kari Asmus seconded a motion to confirm Policy BCAC, Special and Emergency Meetings, as proposed and attached to the original minutes of the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
b. Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 Amendment Resolution
Mr. Aubin explained the purpose for this resolution saying that it would allow participants in the Section 125 program more time in which to access their tax free contributions made to the plan.
John Chamberlin moved and Mary Sachsse seconded a motion to adopt the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 Amendment Resolution as proposed and attached to the original minutes of the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
10. Adjournment
Nancy Carter moved and John Chamberlin seconded a motion to adjourn at 9:21 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 9:21 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary B. Davis
Recording Secretary
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