Deerfield School Board

Deerfield Community School

Deerfield, New Hampshire

Thursday, February 1, 2007 

 

MINUTES OF MEETING 

 

PRESENT: John Harrington, Bonnie Beaubien, Kevin Barry, Kevin Webber, Don Gorman, Tom Haley, Paul Yergeau, Peter Warburton, Kandy Davitt

 

1.  Call To Order-Mr. Harrington  

 

The February 1, 2007 DCS Board meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM by Chair John Harrington.  

 

2. Pledge of Allegiance 

 

Mr. Harrington led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.  

 

3.  Minutes of Previous Meetings   

 

A motion was made by Kevin Webber to accept the minutes of January 18, 2007 seconded, by Bonnie Beaubien.   

 

All In Favor

  Motion Carried  

 

     

4.  Immediate Business 

 

A.  Agenda Review

 

      No Changes

 

B.  Citizens’/ Staff Comments

 

Bonnie McPherson the Athletic Director for DCS was present to ask the board for clarification on the use of bats and balls in the gym.  Ms. McPherson asked if the board would review and discuss the use of bats and increda-balls used only by coaches in a controlled environment.

Ms. McPherson also asked the members of the board to address baseball and softball teams and the no-cuts policy.

Mr. Harrington stated that they would put both items on the agenda for their next meeting.

Mr. Barnes asked the board what the current status was with the high school lottery.

Mr. Harrington stated that out of the three openings #1 was attending Manchester, #2 Concord, #3 Concord, #4 Coe Brown, #5 Concord and #6 was in the 3rd open spot and was deciding about Coe Brown.

 

 

5.  Old/Unfinished Business 

 

A.  Policy Review – Mr. Barry

 

A motion was made by Kevin Barry to accept the following policies as written, Policy JI, (Student Rights and Responsibilities), Policy JICD-Appendix A (Reinstatement of Expelled Students), Policy JICFA (Hazing), Policy JICH (Drug and Alcohol Use by Students), Policy JLD (School Guidance Programs and Services, Policy KA (School, Community, and Home Relations), Policy DFA (Investment Policy) seconded by Kevin Webber.

 

All In Favor

Motion Carried

 

A motion was made by Kevin Barry to accept the following Policy, DFA (Investment Policy) seconded by Kevin Webber.

 

All In Favor

Motion Carried

 

B.      Deliberative Session Planning

 

Jack Hutchinson the moderator for the Deerfield District Deliberative Session was present to review the agenda for the February 9th Deliberative Session.  Mr. Hutchinson informed the members that he would not be there on the 9th and that Doug Leavitt would be the acting moderator.   The members of the board discussed who would move each item.

 

6.  Other Business 

 

A.  Staffing Projections – Mr. Yergeau

 

Mr. Yergeau stated that there would be one teacher returning from a one year sabbatical.  At the moment he is not sure how many teachers would not be returning for the 07-08 school year.

 

See #Attach A: for the 07-08 Enrollment Projections

 

B.  Informational Items-Administrators and board Members

 

Paul Yergeau- Mr. Yergeau shared with the board a letter from Brendan O’Donnell a teaching assistant as DCS requesting to take a second day off without pay.  Mr. O’Donnell has been invited to attend a tournament held in Geneva, Switzerland and only has one personal day.

Mr. Yergeau stated that the school would be able to find coverage.

 

A motion was made by Kevin Webber to accept Mr. O’Donnell’s request for 1 additional day without pay, seconded by Don Gorman.

 

All In Favor

Motion Carried

 

Mr. Yergeau informed the members of the board that the National School Reform Conf. that several of the members of the staff attended was a real success.  The staff that attended has a lot of good ideas to share with DCS staff.

Kevin Webber- stated that the No Parking signs work during school hours but do not work after hours.  Mr. Webber would like this topic to be discussed at the next board meeting.

John Harrington-brought forward a letter from Sue Griffiths requesting a change to be made in the dates concerning her resignation.  She would like to change it from the 2nd of March to the 6th.

 

A motion was made by Kevin Webber to accept March 6th 2007 as Sue Griffiths last day of employment at DCS, seconded by Kevin Barry.

 

All In Favor

Motion Carried

 

Peter Warburton-passed out a letter to the board members from M. Morgan the Supt. of Schools for the Barrington School District.

 

The letter was in reference to an invitation to the members of the Deerfield Community School Board to meet at the Barrington Middle School to view the site and the conceptual plans for the construction of a high school in Barrington.  This would be an informal discussion, which may lead to future high school discussions.

 

Tom Haley-reviewed with the members of the board the current Deerfield High School Summary Sheet for the 06-07 school year.

See Attachment:   # B

 

C.     Agenda Preparation-Mr. Harrington

Ø      Mission Statement

Ø      Facility Use

Ø      Size of baseball teams

Ø      Use of balls and bats in the gym

 

D.     Citizens’/Staff Comments

 

 Mr. Yurek asked for clarification on the Concord contract concerning what was meant by extraordinary educational needs and what the criteria would be to meet the conditions to be considered as extraordinary educational needs.

Mr. Haley stated that this section of the contract referred to Spec. Ed. students.  If it was determined by the “Team” that Concord could not meet a certain child’s educational needs then Deerfield would be able to send that child elsewhere.

       

 

E.      Personnel Matter

 

At 7:52 P.M., a motion to enter non-public session under RSA 91-A:3II(c) to discuss personnel matters was made by Kevin Barry, seconded by Kevin Webber.  On a roll call, the board voted:

 

                                                John Harrington      YES

                                                Kevin Barry            YES

                                                Bonnie Beaubien     YES

                                                Donald Gorman      YES

                                                Kevin Webber        YES

 

                   THE MOTION CARRIED

 

Present:  John Harrington, Kevin Barry, Bonnie Beaubien, Donald Gorman, Kevin Webber, Paul Yergeau, Peter Warburton, Tom Haley.

 

      The board discussed personnel matters.

 

At 9:24 P.M. a motion to end the non-public session was made by Bonnie Beaubien, seconded by Kevin Webber.  On a roll call, the board voted:

 

                                                 John Harrington     YES

                                                 Kevin Barry           YES

                                                 Bonnie Beaubien    YES

                                                 Donald Gorman     YES

                                                 Kevin Webber YES

 

                                           THE MOTION CARRIED

 

      Chair John Harrington noted that no action had been taken in non-public session.

A motion was made by Don Gorman, seconded by Kevin Webber, to resume the previously tabled matter of Kathy Matthews’ request to retain employment.

 

ALL IN FAVOR

THE MOTION CARRIED

 

A motion was made by Bonnie Beaubien, seconded by Don Gorman, to accept Kathy Matthews' intention to return as a staff member at Deerfield Community School for the 2007/08 academic year.

 

ALL IN FAVOR

THE MOTION CARRIED

 

The board requested that Tom Haley correspond with the Deerfield Education Association regarding establishing a meeting as described in Article VIII-C of the master agreement.

7. Adjournment

 

At 9:25 P.M. a motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Kevin Barry, seconded by Bonnie Beaubien.

 

ALL IN FAVOR

THE MOTION CARRIED

 

     

The next Deerfield School Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 6:00 P.M.