NORWICH BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2006
7:00 P.M., MARION CROSS SCHOOL LIBRARY
Minutes
Present: Board members Cheney, Gray, Kaplan, Sachsse, Vitt (8:25); Administrators Gersen, Aubin, Edson; and 2 members of the public. Recorded by R. Lohr
1. Call to order - Chair Sachsse called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
2. Approval of minutes
Linda Gray moved and Deb Kaplan seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 5, the budget meetings of January 12 and 19, and the executive sessions of January 5, 12, and 19, as submitted with changes. The motion was unanimously approved except Mary Sachsse abstained from voting on the January 19 meeting minutes. The changes: on January 5 regular meeting, item 3 in the Principal’s Report, the third sentence should end after the word “year.” In the last paragraph of the same section, include the words “from the state” in the first sentence. In item 5, second paragraph, the second sentence should be the “school tax” situation rather than the “school budget” situation.
On the January 12 budget deliberations, on item 4a, the second sentence should include the sentence: “There is an additional $18,700 in revenue for facilities rental for the town recreation program, as discussed at the last Board meeting and with the Select Board. Additionally, it was announced that the Norwich School spending is now just $12,183 above the tax-penalty threshold.” On item 4c the date “2004” should be inserted before the word “letter” and the name of the organization cited in the second paragraph is the Biomass Energy Resource Center.
On the January 19 regular meeting, a sentence should be added noting that there was mention of the Marion Cross School presentation of past Olympic competitors and a short video was shown about Hannah Kearney in a regional competition where she earned an Olympic team birth. On item 4 the threshold referred to relates to 125 percent of the statewide spending average.
3. Communications and Reports
a) Report of Chair
Chair Sachsse announced that the next regular Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 1, 7:00 p.m., at the Marion Cross School Library.
The Dresden School District has filing dates from Tuesday, January 17 through 5:00 p.m., to Monday, February 6. Filing for School District Officers can be done with either the School District Clerk, Deborah Carter, or at the SAU Office, 45 Lyme Road, Room 27 in Hanover. Open positions include Moderator – one year; Clerk- one year; Treasurer-one year; Auditor – three years.
Communications to the Board
Chair Sachsse reported that she received an email stating that it appeared that the Board is not interested in public input. Chair Sachsse assured the writer that the board is very interested in public input and indicated the Board will make extra efforts to make certain that people in the community understand this.
b) Reports of Administrators
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Gersen referenced the Vermont School Boards Association Legislative Bulletin noting the Town Meeting article opposing use of the Education Fund to help other parts of the state government. Chair Sachsse indicated she would follow up with the Select Board on the presentation of this article at the Town Meeting discussion. There was also a discussion about legislation regarding creating a uniform school year calendar across the state. Principal Edson reported that the Principal’s Association feels that this will happen with a 175-day school year and it will effect scheduling in-service days.
Assistant Superintendent’s Report
Assistant Superintendent John Aubin reported that, due to a recent directive from the State, the Norwich School District had to recalculate the projected tax rate and, as a result, the District now exceeded the spending limit threshold of average state spending. The recalculation resulted from a determination that the vocational center grant is not to be included in school budget revenues but must be included in the expenditures. This resulted in an $11,728 excess above the threshold, which would increase the town tax rate by a penny. Even with this change, the Town’s tax rate remains below last year. The Board discussed the issue and questioned the state ruling. Mr. Aubin will continue to request confirmation of this ruling and look into the specifics of the relevant part of Act 68 (section 18) that was the basis for this determination.
Principal’s Report
Principal Edson reviewed his written report, highlighting two instructional assistant vacancies that he expects to fill within the next week. He reported that the NECAP results are not available yet. They were expected earlier in the school year so that the results could be reviewed while the students were in the same grade as when they took the tests, but the latest word is that they may not be available until late March.
4. PTO Report
PTO Chair, Cinny Bensen, announced that the next PTO meeting is scheduled for Monday, at 3:30 p.m. in the Art Room. The family ice skating night has been cancelled due to warm weather. The PTO thanked Deb Kaplan for her help coordinating the display at the Norwich Library. It shows student work and all grades are represented. The PTO is considering hosting a community spelling bee as a fundraiser. March 1 is the deadline for new PTO gift award requests. The Dan & Whit school display project is still being considered as a long term objective.
5. Public Input
There were no comments.
6. Business Requiring Discussion
a) The Board discussed the assignment of presenters at the annual meeting. The Board decided that Margaret Cheney and Linda Gray will handle the budget articles; Deb Kaplan will cover the energy project; and Mary Sachsse and Geoffrey Vitt will split the other articles.
b) The Board discussed the draft of JGDB, a proposed Policy and Procedure related to Harassment and Bullying. Principal Edson explained that the definition of “bullying” includes the key concept of something happening over time compared to “behavioral misconduct.” The Board suggested that the principal and the PTO communicate to the parents and community about the issues included in this policy and procedures so everyone is aware of the forthcoming changes. Rob Edson emphasized that the Marion Cross School has been adhering to the policy and procedure on harassment and bullying, but the written policy needed to be updated to reflect changes in the law and to assure parents that bullying was unacceptable.
7. Business Requiring Action
Margaret Cheney moved and Deb Kaplan seconded a motion to approve revised Regulation EBH, Facility Use Categories & Rental Schedule, as proposed and attached to the original meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
Deb Kaplan moved and Margaret Cheney seconded a motion to approve the tuition request for Gavin Ratliff to attend fourth grade at the Marion Cross School for the 2006-07 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
8. Future Agenda Items
It was suggested that future agenda items would include the policies under review and the NECAP assessment reports when they become available. Board reorganization would occur at the April meeting.
9. Executive Session
Linda Gray moved and Deb Kaplan seconded a motion to go into Executive Session in accordance with Title 1, Section 313 for discussion of personnel matters. The motion passed unanimously. The Board went into Executive Session at 8:23 p.m. The Board closed Executive Session at 9:01 p.m. and re-entered public session at 9:02 p.m.
10. Adjournment
Linda Gray moved and Margaret Cheney seconded a motion to adjourn at 9:02 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 9:02 p.m. |
