NORWICH BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
7:00 P.M., MARION CROSS SCHOOL LIBRARY
Minutes
Present: Board members Cheney, Gray, Kaplan, Sachsse; Administrators Gersen, Aubin, Weissmann, Edson; and four 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 meetings of March 3 and April 6, and the executive session of March 3, as submitted. The motion was unanimously approved.
3. Communications and Reports
a) Report of Chair:
(1) Calendar - Chair Sachsse announced that the next regular Board meeting will be Wednesday, June 1, 7:00 p.m., at the Marion Cross School Library. She also announced that the committee assignments were decided and listed on a document that was emailed earlier in the week.
b) Reports of Administrators:
Superintendent’s Report - Superintendent Gersen alerted the Board to a letter that he wrote to a Norwich resident relative to a Dresden matter regarding the fields issue.
Assistant Superintendent’s Report – Assistant Superintendent Aubin reported that he had no new information regarding legislation related to Vermont construction aid, which appears to still be on track.
Principal - Principal Edson reviewed his written report, highlighting a national conference he attended in Baltimore, Maryland. He reported that he invited an author specializing in differentiated classrooms to attend an inservice workshop at Marion Cross. He reviewed the Enrichment Grants which he felt provided four good opportunities that will help the school improve. He expressed his belief that there is a need to standardize the grant proposal process. Mary Sachsse noted that Dresden has already done this and urged Rob to review the Dresden grant process.
Local Action Planning Committee - Rob Edson reported that the proposed plan for 2005-06 will focus on two areas: Math and Writing. The Committee plans to survey parents next year on these two areas, in addition to the biennial survey, done this year and planned for 2006-07. The Local Action Plan will be brought to the Board for its approval at the June meeting.
4. Norwich Energy Committee – The Committee invited Jonathan Sturgess from the Vermont Superintendents Association Office for School Energy Management to the Board meeting. He distributed a document outlining his recommendation that MCS acquire new lighting and a photo voltaic electric generation system. The funds for the recommendation would include 30 percent state aid on the lights and 90 percent state aid on the electric system. Annual electric expense savings would be about $4,800 and the net cost to the school district would be between $27-28,000. John Aubin and Rob Edson both suggested the Board move forward with the idea after considering the amount available in the school building maintenance fund. Sturgess offered assistance with the RFP. Public approval for the project is required by the state. The Administration was asked to identify the appropriate sequence for action and voter approval.
Ames Byrd of the commission spoke to the Board about a proposal to consider heating the school with a wood chip boiler. The school is too small for such a system but it may be able to combine with the town offices so that benefits are shared. The portion of the project related to the school could receive 90 percent state aid and there could be approximately a fifty cent per gallon savings compared to heating with oil. A meeting with town officials and technical advisors would be scheduled if the School Board may be interested. There are presently 25 schools in Vermont that use wood chip boiler systems. The Biomass Energy Resource Center would act as technical advisor for the project. The Board indicated that it is interested in the project, asked the Administration to pursue discussions with Town officials, and wants more information about the project’s viability.
5. PTO Report- PTO Chair, Cinny Bensen thanked the 60 parents that contributed pies for staff appreciation week. Additionally, the teachers’ office was painted. The community garden project is underway and the PTO is calling for donations and volunteers for the summer project. The deadline for new award requests is May 13. The next PTO meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 9 at 8:30 a.m. in the Art Room. The Board recognized and expressed its appreciation for the job that Cinny has done with the PTO.
6. Business requiring discussion
a) The Board discussed the education goals, which are used to help teachers plan and maintain the K-12 curriculum process and the Local Action Plan process. There was a discussion about blending the LAP and the education goals. The principal and administration will meet to consider this issue and bring it back to the Board.
7. Business requiring action
Dr. Gersen placed in nomination, Jennifer Martin as an elementary school teacher.
a) Deb Kaplan moved and Linda Gray seconded a motion to elect Jennifer Martin as an elementary teacher at track 4, step 5 salary $45,244, for the 2005-2006 school year. The motion passed unanimously.
John Aubin reviewed a document about non-union position salaries and the budgeted 3.5 percent salary increase.
b) Linda Gray moved and Margaret Cheney seconded a motion approve Norwich nonunion salaries as proposed and attached to the original minutes of the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
c) Deb Kaplan moved and Margaret Cheney 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 2006. The motion passed unanimously.
d) Margaret Cheney moved and Deb Kaplan seconded a motion to appoint Dr. Virginia Brack as School Physician for the 2005-2006 school year at an annual stipend of $300. The motion passed unanimously.
e) Linda Gray moved and Deb Kaplan seconded a motion to authorize the Administration to fill teacher vacancies between now and the regular meeting of September 7 by offering a one (1) week period to obtain telephone or email votes from Board members and that three (3) affirmative votes must be obtained before a contract is issued. The motion passed unanimously.
f) Deb Kaplan moved and Margaret Cheney seconded a motion to approve the Board meeting calendar for 2005-2006 as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.
8. Adjournment
Margaret Cheney moved and Deb Kaplan seconded a motion to adjourn at 8:44 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 8:44 p.m. |
