Thursday, September 6, 2007
MINUTES OF MEETING
PRESENT: John Harrington, Bonnie Beaubien, Kevin Barry,
Kevin Webber, Don Gorman, Gigi Klipa, Tom Haley, Peter Warburton,
1. Call To Order-Mr.
Harrington
The September 6th, 2007 DCS Board meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM by Chairman 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 Barry to accept the minutes of August 16th, 2007 as corrected, seconded by Bonnie Beaubien.
All In Favor
Motion Carried
4. Immediate
Business
A. Agenda Review
B. Citizens’/ Staff Comments
Jill Heath came to tonight’s meeting as a parent who is concerned about high school transportation and asked how she can become more informed and more involved in making sure all high school students from Deerfield are able to have access to transportation to and from Concord.
Mr. Harrington thanked Ms. Heath for coming and stated that there
is a parent group that has formed to discuss and assist in forming solutions
concerning transportation. Mr.
Harrington will contact Ms. Heath concerning information about the group.
Mrs. Hanson stated that the PTO has assisted the school in
purchasing plants, trees, playground material in the past. Mrs. Hanson asked the board to review their
budget to see if funds could be set aside to better maintain these items.
Kathy Matthews a DCS teacher was also present . She stated that 17 years ago there was a
Master Plan developed with the participation of parents, teachers, and
community members concerning the landscaping of the DCS property. Since that time the school has
planted lilac bushes that have been donated, trees, bulbs,
etc. Currently Mrs. Matthews stated that
brambles have overtaken the hillside, and the trees and bushes and not been
maintained and some are dying due to lack of watering etc.
It was the hope of those in attendance that the board look at the
budget to cover landscaping costs.
Ms. Klipa stated that Averall Landscaping was coming to review the
needs of the DCS grounds the week of
Sept. 10 th.
Mr. Fowler stated to the board that the dragon that was painted on
the gym wall had been painted over. He
further stated that this had been a class gift to the school and was concerned
about it being painted over.
The board members were not aware of the action and asked Ms. Klipa
to look into the situation.
C. Communication Efforts-Ms. Clark, Mr.
Webber
Mr. Webber introduced MaryAnn Clark to the board members. The members reviewed with Mrs. Clark what the
expectations were and how to communicate to community members. Mrs. Clark suggested that she would choose one or two items from the
board meeting and write an article for the Communicator, Forum, etc. It was
noted that Sept 14th was the deadline for the October Communicator
and the next deadline would be October 12th for the December
Communicator. Mrs. Clark suggested that budget initiatives and high school
transportation would be priorities.
Pellet use, thermostat settings, windows, etc were a few of the suggestions the board members made.
The
board thanked Mrs. O’Donnell for coming forth with the information and the
idea.
E. Emergency Planning-Ms. Beaubien
F. Opening of School Report –Paul Yergeau
Mr. Yergeau was not present, Ms. Klipa did the Opening School
Report.
Ms. Klipa informed the board that the first day of school went
very smoothly. There were no transportation
issues. Ms. Klipa stated that it was a
very enjoyable day for all.
G. Action Items-Mr. Webber
The board reviewed each Action Item.
Mr. Webber asked if Action Items could be e-mailed to each member. Mr. Haley stated that it could be done.
5. Old/Unfinished Business
A. Middle Village Charter
School-Mr. Harrington
Mr. Webber asked what steps had to be taken to place the Middle
Villiage Charter school on the ballot.
Mr. Warburton, Mr. Aubrey, and Mr. Haley will review the steps needed to
be taken and bring back information to the board.
Mr. Warburton stated that the district would be responsible for
busing.
B. Wetlands Proposal-Mr.
Gorman, Mr. Harrington
Mr. Gorman stated that it was his opinion that the wetlands next
to the school serve no purpose but to breed mosquitoes and would benefit the
school by being filled in for parking and for a future building addition.
Mr. Harrington stated that part of the application process asked
that a purpose be stated.
Mr. Gorman stated that the initial purpose stated on the
application should be parking but the wetlands should be filled with materials
that could support a structure. Mr.
Webber stated that it would be important in the application process to show
that there would be no other alternatives.
Kevin Barry stated that several teachers have come forward stating
that the wetland area being discussed was used as an outdoor classroom and by
filling it in that use would be eliminated.
Ms. Klipa stated that at certain times during the day parking can
be very difficult to find. The board
discussed other ways to construct additional parking spaces.
The cost for the permit would be approximately $1,500 with other
additional costs up to $2,500.
A motion was made by Don Gorman to spend up to $2,500 to fill out the application to fill in the wetlands, Seconded by Kevin Webber.
3 In Favor
2 Against
Motion Carried
C. High School
Agreement-Mr. Harrington
Mr. Webber stated that no dates have been set to meet with the
Concord High School board. Mr. Webber
stated that Concord board members know that DCS has changed its’ policy to give
siblings first choice. Mr. Webber stated
that the Concord Board has replied that they would allow all other siblings
that are above the allowed number to attend another high school if the
Deerfield District pays 50% of the
Concord tuition for the student who would be going elsewhere, however the
Deerfield School Board has not agreed to this stipulation.
Kevin Webber stated that he is waiting for Concord to put the
language together. Mr. Gorman stated
that he noticed whenever policy was discussed at the Concord board meetings the
Finance Committee always reviewed the boards actions and that more often than
not it was the recommendations of the Finance Committee that was followed. Mr. Gorman stated that the Deerfield District
should have Peter Aubrey review the changes to the Concord contract and ask him
to become a part of the negotiating team.
D. Negotiations
Mr. Gorman stated that the modulars are falling apart. They have rot, they smell, are crowded and
lack facilities. Ms. Klipa stated that
she was aware of the dry rot as of July. It was suggested that the company who
is renting the modulars to the school be contacted to inspect the structural
integrity of the buildings.
Mr. Gorman questioned the members of the board as to when, how and
if a solution of removing the modulars and putting those grades back into the
school was still being reviewed because it had not been discussed for sometime.
Mr. Webber stated that the proposed Middle Charter school could
very well address the modular situation.
The board will continue to review the situation with the modulars
at their next meeting.
6. Other Business
A. Board Meeting Schedule –
Mr. Harrington
Mr. Haley stated that due to a class Mr. Yergeau was taking he
would be missing the second meeting in September, the second meeting in
October, and the second meeting in November.
The board members discussed changing the meeting dates but asked if Ms.
Klipa could come if Mr. Yergeau was not available. Ms. Klipa was able to attend the second
meeting in each month therefore the board members did not feel the need to
change any meeting dates.
B. Staff Request – Mr.
Harrington
Mrs. Matthews will be retiring at the
end of the 07-08 school year and requested that she be able to have her exit
interview without administration.
It was the consensus of the board to
honor Mrs. Matthews request.
A letter was read by Mr. Harrington by a
parent living on Pleasant Hill Rd. In
the letter the parent requested that another two stops be made on Pleasant Hill
Rd. instead of dropping the students off at the base of Rt. 107. There are more than 10 students from grades
K-3 getting off at the stop and it requires a number of the students to walk 20
min.
to their home.
Kevin Barry stated that Pleasant Hill
can be icy in the winter and be very difficult for the bus to make it up the
hill.
A motion was made by Don Gorman to inform Dail that the board would approve additional stops on Pleasant Hill Rd. and to adjust the route to due so, seconded by Bonnie Beaubien.
All In Favor
Motion Carried
C. Informational Items –
Administrators and Board Members
Bonnie Beaubien-informed the members that the 1st MBC
meeting would be September 11th.
Kevin Webber stated that the board should determine which upcoming
meetings should be dedicated to preparing the budget.
Ms. Klipa informed the board that Mrs. McGovern a 7th
grade teacher at DCS unexpectedly went into labor early. Mother and baby are doing fine and a long
term sub is already in place.
Next week Mr. Yergeau, Ms. Klipa, Mr. Fowler, and Mr. Averall
(Averall Landscaping) will be walking the grounds to review additional
landscaping needs.
Ms. Klipa stated that the crisis team has met and are in the
process of reviewing the modulars, and Kindergarten, Preschool pickup and
drop-off.
Ms. Klipa reviewed with the members of the board the NECAP test
results. She stated that DCS has made
substantial gains in every sub-category except in Educational Disability and
because there was no gain in this category for a second year in a row DCS is
now listed as a school in need of improvement.
The ramifications of this is that some Title 1’s monies will have to be
set aside for Professional Dev. in this area.
Mr. Gorman stated that he is seeing a change in education and that
schools are teaching to the test, therefore not leaving a lot of time to teach
anything else. It was Mr. Gorman’s
opinion that this qualifies as a “Good Education?”
Mr. Haley stated that the State is reviewing how Special Education
students are evaluated and how those evaluations effect school districts.
D. Agenda Preparation – Mr.
Harrington
Mr. Yergeau & Ms. Klipa – report to the board as to why and
who removed the dragon from the gym wall.
Modulars
Concord Contract
Use of Facility Policy
D. Citizens’/Staff Comments
Robin LeMauk stated that it has been 1 year since she brought
forward her request that siblings be allowed to attend the same high school and
urged the board to act quickly in wrapping up the negotiations with Concord.
Kevin Webber stated that there is a general agreement but the
details are now being discussed and worked out between districts.
Mr. Rothmich informed the board that the afternoon pick-up is
dangerous and requested that the board review the situation. Mr. Gorman was asked by the members of the
board to look into the traffic issue caused by afternoon pick-up.
Mrs. Hanson asked that the board seriously consider their
application to fill in the wetland area before they bring it forward to the
voters.
7. Adjournment
At 9:10 P.M., a motion to enter non-public session under RSA
91-A:3II(c) to discuss a student-specific matter was made by Bonnie Beaubien,
seconded by Don Gorman. On a roll call,
the board voted:
John
Harrington YES
Kevin
Barry YES
Bonnie
Beaubien YES
Don
Gorman YES
Kevin
Webber YES
THE MOTION CARRIED
Present: John Harrington, Kevin Barry, Bonnie
Beaubien, Don Gorman, Kevin Webber, Gigi Klipa, Peter Warburton, Tom Haley.
The board discussed a student specific matter.
At 9:37 P.M. a motion to end the
non-public session 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
Chair John Harrington noted that no
action had been taken in non-public session.
7. Adjournment
At 9:39 P.M., a motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Kevin
Webber, seconded by Bonnie Beaubien.
ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION
CARRIED