MINUTES OF
MEETING
PRESENT: John Harrington,
Bonnie Beaubien, Kevin Barry, Kevin Webber, Don Gorman, Gigi Klipa, Peter
Warburton,
1. Call To Order-Mr.
Harrington
The
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
All In Favor
Motion Carried
4. Immediate
Business
A. Agenda Review
No Changes
B. Citizens’/ Staff Comments
Mrs. Heath stated that she was
present to encourage funding for high school transportation.
Mr. Harrington stated that this
issue is a priority for the board and will be discussed in length as part of
the 08-09 budget process.
Mr. Godbois introduced himself to
the members of the board and stated that even though his children were no
longer attending DCS he was attending as a concerned resident and taxpayer.
Several others in the audience
discussed the transportation issue and concerns were brought to the attention
of the board such as how parents/students received information about sign-ups.
Ms. Klipa stated that current high
school students received their letters as they got on the bus in the
afternoon. If you weren’t on the bus you
got it the next morning or the next time you rode the bus. For DCS 8th grade students letters
were to be mailed.
Mr. Harrington stated that the DCS
board is responsible for high school concerns but transportation is a little
disjointed because it is a private contract between parents and the
transportation company.
Mr. Godbois asked if the
Ms. Klipa replied that DCS did not
due to a sub-category concerning special ed.
Mr. Warburton shared with the board information about NH schools meeting
AYP. He stated that there were 191
schools in NH that did not make AYP. Mr.
Warburton also stated that there is a small school in NH with approx. 29
students. They did not make AYP because
of one student in the Special Ed. category.
Schools that have not met AYP Mr. Warburton stated are now in the
process of meeting with a consultant and working on a Root Cause Analysis.
C. High School Agreement –Mr.
Harrington
The members of the board reviewed
the Letter of Agreement between the Concord School Board and the Deerfield
School Board as written
The
exception is limited to siblings of students currently attending a high school
other than
The
The
This
agreement will remain in place through the 2014-15 school year.
Mr. Haley had been asked by the
board to confirm that the agreement ensures that all siblings of those
attending school other than
Mr. Webber stated that the board
agreed to make a decision tonight due to time constraints.
Mr. Barry stated that he agreed to
support the sibling issue because it was a short-term solution.
Mr. Webber stated that there are
11 students in total that have siblings at a high school other than
A motion was made by Kevin
Webber, to accept the language of the Concord/Deerfield Letter of Agreement,
seconded by Bonnie Beaubien.
Kevin Webber-Yes
Bonnie
Beaubien-Yes
John Harrington-No
Kevin Barry-No
Don Gorman (not present)
The Motion Failed
Mr. Webber stated that by not
accepting the language of the Concord/Deerfield Letter of Agreement it left
open only a few options. He stated that
the DCS board could
go back to the Concord board and ask them to reconsider removing the part that
states that the Deerfield School District and
Concord School District will share equally the Concord High School tuition cost
that would be lost to the Concord School District when the number of students
attending other high schools exceeds the 5%.
It was Mr. Webber’s opinion that
there was not enough time to do this. As
the policy stands currently the open slots that are available will go to
siblings first and then if there are any remaining slots open others can be
considered. Mr. Webber also stated that
by all 2008-09 current calculations there would be 4 siblings, 1 sibling over
the allotted 5%. In 2009-10 (2
siblings), 2010-11 (2 siblings), 2011-12 (1 sibling), 2012-13 (0 siblings),
2013-14 (1 sibling), 2014-15 (1 sibling).
School 09-10 was the only year that
there was one sibling over the 5%.
The majority of the board members
agreed with Mr. Webber that there was not enough to go back to
D. NCLB Update-Ms. Klipa
Ms. Klipa informed the board that
Mr.Warburton stated that Mr.
Yergeau, a team of teachers, and a consultant have been set in place to do a Root Cause Analysis, which is mandated by NCLB if you are
a school that did not meet AYP standards.
E. Modular Update-Mr.
Warburton, Mr. Gorman
Mr. Gorman stated that he was
concerned about the continued reliance on modulars to solve space issues. He stated that they are not getting any
younger and will require more and more maintenance. If they are replaced they will have to be
equipped with water and sewerage.
Mr. Warburton noted that the lease
will be up in July of 2008 and that Schiavi has come and made repairs to the
dry rot and roof.
Ms. Klipa stated that it is not
just about numbers but about programming when reviewing space needs and in
order to determine what to do with the modulars the Administration needs look
at programming, enrollment numbers, etc.
The board agreed to review the
situation at the November 1st board meeting. This should give everyone enough time to get
the necessary information so that a decision can be made.
F. Negotiations with
Surrounding Towns-Mr. Gorman
Mr. Gorman informed the board
members that he met with Mr. Haley and Mr. Warburton to discuss how to proceed
in gathering information from other towns concerning high school agreements and
needs. Mr. Gorman stated he is now
working on a priority list and will continue gathering information.
G.
Action Items-Mr. Webber
The board reviewed Action Items.
5. Old/Unfinished
Business
A.
Policy Review- Mr. Barry
Second
review of the current Hiring of New Staff
policy, with amendments
Amendment Reads: 2] This freeze includes all new hires
including Special Education positions, teaching staff, and all other staff
positions (without board approval), but does not include the direct replacement
of existing non-certified staff.
A motion was made by Kevin
Barry to affirm the Deerfield District’s Hiring of New Staff Policy with
amendments, seconded by Kevin Webber.
All In Favor
Motion
Carried
See
Attachment A for first review of the current Alternative
High School Enrollment policy, with amendments.
The board reviewed the Alternative
High School Enrollment policy. Mr.
Harrington stated that in the past he has not supported the policy and that
even though he understands the needs of the families present it was his belief
that there are others who feel that their child should attend elsewhere for
reasons that are just as important.
A motion was made by Kevin
Webber to affirm the
3 In Favor
2 Against
Motion Carried
The board reviewed the process for
Alternative High School Enrollment.
See Attach. A for details of the
policy.
The board determined that letters
should be completed and received by the board on November 15th. At that time the board would review each
letter making sure the criteria set in the Alternative High School Enrollment
Policy was met. There would be two
separate piles (siblings, non-siblings). Names would be placed in a hat
(Siblings would be drawn first, non-siblings second). Each drawing would be numbered as they were
pulled out of the hat until the process was finished.
Mr. Harrington stated that by
current calculations there would be a lottery for the 4 candidates in which
three would be chosen. The 4th
sibling would have to wait to see if an opening would occur. After siblings
have gone through the acceptance process if there were still openings other
students would be given an opportunity to fill the vacancies according to their
lottery placement.
See Attachment B for first review
of proposed amendments to the Non-resident Enrollment policy.
See
Attachment C for first review of the proposed Summer Learning Activities
Policy.
First
review of proposed amendments to the Use of Facilities policy.
The board will review this policy
at a later date.
B.
Well Issues-Mr. Harrington
Mr. Gorman stated that the board
should get to the bottom of the well situation.
Mr. Warburton informed the members
of the board that he has contacted a person who specializes in water issues to
come and review the situation at DCS.
The board decided to:
*Hold off on invoice
*Meet
with the company
*Determine
state involvement/assistance
A committee of the following members: Mr. Aubrey, Mr. Fowler, Mr. Warburton, Kevin
Barry, Don Gorman, and a representative from Policy Well and Pump will meet at
C.
Parking/Drop-off Issues-Mr. Gorman
Mr. Gorman stated that after
observing the morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up it was his opinion that it
was working well. Mr. Gorman stated that
people are backing into the parking spaces and using the cross walk. It was noted that the lines should be repainted.
Mr. Gorman also noted that it was all over in 10 min.
Mr. Gorman informed the members of
the board that he walked the property to see how DCS could expand their parking
spaces. He stated that as you drive into
DCS the property to the left of the driveway drops off quickly and would
require a lot of fill to level off. Mr.
Gorman stated that there are other areas that could be used and it would be
prudent for the board to walk the property.
Some of the areas Mr. Gorman mentioned were: right side of the driveway
as you drive into DCS (the lawn area near the large rock), near the driveway
that leads to the back of the upper field.
It was Mr. Gorman’s opinion that DCS could gain at least 25 more parking
spaces. He agreed to mark the areas with
surveying tape and board members could walk the property at their convenience.
D.
Paraprofessional Negotiations Negotiations-Ms. Beaubien, Mr. Webber
Mr. Webber stated that the DPA
could not meet with the board representatives on the suggested dates of October
11th or the 16th.
They will contact Ms. Martha Smith directly for new dates.
6. New
Business
A.
Staff Request-Mr. Harrington
The board received a letter from
Mrs. McGovern the 7th grade Literacy teacher at DCS. Mrs. McGovern stated in her letter that her
son was seven weeks and four day pre-mature and was requesting maternity leave,
which could begin on the September 6th. She stated that after discussing the
situation with her doctor it was in her best interest to take a 12-week
maternity leave. The board also reviewed
Mr. Haley’s response to Mrs. McGovern’s request. He stated that maternity leave, with use of
accumulated sick leave is and should be determined by her physician. Any additional time requested would be
considered child- rearing leave, which is unpaid. Mr. Haley asked that Mrs. McGovern forward
her physician’s order regarding necessary maternity leave as soon as possible
so that the board can apportion her total leave appropriately.
Mr.
Webber noted that a letter from Mrs. McGovern’s doctor had not yet been
received as of tonight’s meeting. No
Action was taken.
7. Other Business
A. Informational Items-Administrators and Board
Members
Ms. Beaubein informed the board that
the MBC has been given the dates as to when the DCS board can meet. She is still waiting for a reply.
Kevin Barry informed the board that
the NHSBA is currently recommending merging Current Resolution #35 and Current
Resolution #36. The new resolution would
read:
The New Hampshire School boards Association (NHSBA) supports and applauds the stated objectives of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. While welcoming the interest of the federal government in joining school boards in the effort to improve public education, NHSBA objects to several key provisions in NCLB that are unworkable, too costly and inconsistent with effective efforts to raise student achievement. Specifically NHSBA supports amendments to NCLB and revisions to Dept. of Ed. regulations that will provide full funding as well as flexibility in order to address the barriers facing local educational agencies (LEAs) in the successful and effective implementation of NCLB, including:
*provide federal funding consistent with the levels
authorized for education programs and the
expanded information systems that are needed;
*permit alternative methodology for determining AYP targets
and process for students with disabilities, and for students with limited
English proficiency;
*authorize alternative assessments for students with limited English proficiency and for students
with disabilities beyond that of “significant cognitive disability”, and
provide flexibility to states as to the number of students whose alternative
assessments may be counted for AYP purposes;
provide states more
flexibility in measuring AYP in smaller districts with small subgroups. In
calculating AYP, students identified in more than one group may be represented
in the count for each group as an equal fraction totaling one student, ensuring
that a small number of students are not over represented.
*provide states flexibility to adopt gain score or
value-added measures for determine AYP;
*provide for waiver and extensions for LEAs in meeting the
qualification requirements for teachers and paraprofessionals;
*when public funds under Title II, Part A are provided by
LEAs to private school children, teachers, and other educational personnel for
educational services on an equitable basis and in a timely manner, those
private schools should be held to the same
accountability standards that apply to public schools;
*ensure that the current law and subsequent revisions
recognize that education is primarily a state and local responsibility.
If the Congress and the Dept. of Ed.
do not make the proposed revisions to NCLB and its regulation, then Congress
should suspend implementation of the relevant aspects of the law until the
changes are made. (2003)
Mr. Warburton stated that the
Individual Growth Model supported by the Governor and the Educational
Commissioner Tracy has initially rejected by the federal government. The state is pressing forward trying to gain
support for proposal.
B. Agenda Preparation-Mr. Harrington
Transportation
Budget
Modulars
Well- (Meeting at 6:00 pm)
NCLB
Negotiations with other towns
C. Citizens’/Staff
Comments
Robin Lemauk asked the board to
clarify what would happen to the 4th sibling that is projected in
the 2008-09 school year. Mr. Harrington
stated that the 4th sibling would have to wait to see if an opening
would occur.
Mrs. Lemauk stated that it was a
shame not to at least try to re-approach Concord concerning the issue
especially since it would only be one year where this situation would occur.
Kevin Webber stated that it was
unlikely that Concord would change its’ approach. Mrs. Beaubien stated that it would not hurt
to ask the question for one child.
Mr. Gorman reminded the board that
it is the finance committee that needs to be convinced and that Mr. Aubrey
should be involved. The finance
committee, Mr. Gorman stated is interested in the bottom line not the child.
A motion was made by Bonnie
Beaubien that Mr. Haley go forward in asking Concord if they would consider
wavering the 4th child from the 5 %, seconded by Kevin Webber.
4 In Favor
1 Against
Motion Carried
7. Adjournment
At 8:37
P.M., a motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Kevin Barry, seconded by
Bonnie Beaubien.
All In Favor
Motion Carried