NORWICH BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
JOINT MEETING WITH NORWICH SELECT BOARD AND REGULAR MEETING
THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2005
6:02 P.M., MARION CROSS SCHOOL LIBRARY
Minutes
Present: Board members Cheney, Gray, Sachsse, Kaplan, Vitt. Administrators Gersen, Weissmann, Aubin, Edson. Norwich Selectmen members May, Ptashnik, Childs, Chapdelaine, Candon and nine members of the public. Recorded by R. Lohr and Deb Kaplan
1. Call to order
School Board Chair Mary Sachsse called the joint meeting of Norwich Select Board and Norwich Board of School Directors to order at 6:02 p.m. Members of both boards, the town finance committee and the school and town administrators were introduced.
2. The group discussed three areas: school/community relations; the excess school spending cap; and opportunities to share resources. Principal Edson discussed the Marion Cross School’s communication efforts that are already under way such as the distribution of the school newsletter to town officials, coffees he has scheduled, and display boxes in town. The Selectboard suggested that the School Board and administrators can effectively increase communication with the town through use of the town’s email database. The Selectboard offered to share the town’s “world list,” which includes many residents who do not have children enrolled in school.
Assistant Superintendent John Aubin gave an overview of the state school funding, indicating it will be challenging to stay under the state penalty threshold in fiscal year 2006-07 because of the fixed expenses. He described how Norwich’s declining Dresden enrollment would affect the per-pupil costs. Marion Cross enrollment is expected to increase and Dresden costs per pupil to Norwich will remain flat because of Norwich’s declining Dresden enrollment will offset any increases in the per pupil assessment. He also emphasized that the threshold is a moving target, based on school budgets around the state.
The Boards discussed sharing resources in terms of facility space and revenues. The town is considering changing fees for use of Tracy Hall. Rob Edson noted that school facilities have increasingly been used for community activities. It may be preferable tax-wise for the town to pay the school to use school facilities and consider other ways to shift costs to favorably influence the school budget. The Board and Selectboard asked Rob Edson for a list of current school facility use. It was suggested that both the town and the school consider increasing funds in new ways such as corporate sponsorships.
The Selectboard left at 7:00 p.m., after which the Norwich Board of School Directors convened the regular meeting.
3. Kindergarten Program Report
The Agenda was reordered so that the Board could hear about the MCS kindergarten program with the kindergarten teachers available to respond to questions. Principal Edson defined the program for the Board and reviewed documents that were included in the Board packet. He discussed the educational learning process for the typical 5 year old and how the teachers use differentiated instruction methods. He emphasized that kindergarten activities prepare students for first grade and beyond. Some members of the public questioned the length of the kindergarten day and whether the curriculum could be more advanced. The Board also briefly discussed full day kindergarten. Rob Edson and the kindergarten teachers noted that factors that need to be considered in the institution of full day kindergarten include teacher quality, class size, student stamina and behavior. Principal Edson will look into the current kindergarten schedule to see if a half-hour would be added, review the transition to first grade, and find out some details on the Lyme School Board’s study of full day kindergarten. He will bring the additional information to the Board at a future meeting.
4. PTO Report
The Agenda was reordered so that the Board could receive the PTO Report by Cinny Bensen. She reviewed various PTO school activities and announced that the PTO’s latest award request deadline is set for May 13. The Ad Hoc Committee on Partnership with the Community has scheduled a welcome meeting and invitations have been sent to various town organizations. The next meeting of this committee is scheduled for May 25 at 8:30 a.m. She announced that display boxes have been placed at Dan & Whit’s and the town library. Cinny Bensen reported that the pizza day went smoothly, and indicated May 2 will be the PTO Staff Appreciation Day that will include all of the staff. She also announced that the PTO will pay for planning and preparation for flower/shrub beds along the school driveway and it will seek donations for the plants. The next PTO meeting is scheduled for May 9 at 8:30 a.m., which will feature a presentation by representatives of the Dresden Fields Committee.
5. The Agenda was reordered so that the Board could go into executive session. Deb Kaplan moved and Linda Gray seconded a motion to enter executive session in accordance with Title 1, Section 313 for discussion of personal matters at 8:06 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
The Board returned to public session at 9:05 p.m.
6. Communications and Reports
a) Report of Chair:
(1) Calendar - Chair Sachsse announced that the next regular Board meeting will be Wednesday, May 4, 7:00 p.m., at the Marion Cross School Library.
(2) In another matter, Sachsse reported that the Board committee assignments will be decided and a list will be available at the next meeting.
(3) Linda Gray distributed information to update the Board about funding for the Dresden building project. The bill on school construction that would ensure that Norwich receives state construction aid funding in FY 05-06 is currently in the House Appropriations Committee but still must go through the state Senate.
b) Reports of Administrators:
Superintendent’s Report - Dr. Gersen reported that staff appreciation week is scheduled for May 2-6. The Board is responsible for its staff recognition on Thursday, May 5. Deb Kaplan volunteered to organize this effort.
Assistant Superintendent’s Report – John Aubin presented the quarterly report indicating that revenues, expenses and estimate of the year-end fund balance are all on predicted track.
Principal’s Report - Principal Edson submitted a written report highlighting that enrollment was stable. Interviews are underway for next year’s new grade four teacher and it is hoped that a candidate can be presented to the Board at the next meeting. Rob Edson recognized teachers including: Ruth Hall who spoke to the Congress in Washington D.C. regarding the National Writing Project; Marguerite Ames who is featured in a video series with the Vermont Social Studies Project; and Carolyn Keck who was profiled in a recent issue of Music Education highlighting the Vermont MIDI Project with a photo of MCS students and Carolyn and a mention of Eva Sachsse’s accomplishment last year.
Committee Reports –
LAP: Principal Edson provided the LAP survey results. He reported that the LAP is developing goals for next year based on those results. The goals will tentatively be presented to the Board in the May or June meeting.
7. Business requiring action
- Deb Kaplan moved and Linda Gray seconded a motion to approve the Norwich Lion’s Club request to use the Green on the weekend of July 9-10 for a scaled down version of its annual fair working closely with Rob Edson and Jonathan Brush. The motion passed unanimously.
- Linda Gray moved and Deb Kaplan seconded a motion to elect Lisa Holley to the staff for the 2005-06 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
8. The future agenda items suggested included the Norwich Energy Commission at the May 4 meeting and a longer term view of the budget.
9. Adjournment
Deb Kaplan moved and Linda Gray seconded a motion to adjourn at 9:15 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
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