PEMBROKE SCHOOL BOARD
TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2006
PRESENT: Clint Hanson, Ry Weisiger, Gerry Fleury, Rick Mitchell, Tom Serafin, Tom Haley, Mike Reardon, Susanne Whitbeck, Deb Bulkley, Mona Kraus, Sandy Valine (recording secretary), Susan Kinney, June Adinah,
1.
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Clint Hanson called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM in
the library at PA.
2.
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING December 13, 2005
A motion to approve the minutes of the December 13, 2005 meeting was made by Mr. Fleury and seconded by Mr. Weisiger.
ALL
IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
3.
IMMEDIATE BUSINESS
A. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS None at this time
B. REPORT- LIBRARY PROGRAMS
Board has requested a review of the Library Programs as part of their program presentations.
Mrs. Whitbeck reported that this is the first time there is a certified person in the library in a number of years. Although Ms. Adinah is new to the position, she is not new to the district. She is currently 2 days per week speech and language, 3 days in the library program.
Ms. Adinah distributed the brochure for the School-Home Reading Program- Oh, the places you’ll go! This year long project is to have each building “read” enough to paint footsteps to the Pembroke Town Library. We have achieved 8, 813 footsteps toward the library. 60 minutes = a footstep.
Fourth graders have the opportunity to come to the library for “Literary Lunch” on a six week cycle. During this time there is usually a Read Aloud and/or a discussion. She has contacted consultants to School Librarians, and invited them to review the collection. Addressing curriculum areas, the collection needs to be weeded. The consultant was impressed with the science collections, needs/wants lists are being reviewed, and new shelves are needed at the Village.
New circulation program has been uploaded and is “ready to go”. Will be great addition, 2 computers for children to use, and she will provide instruction in that area.
The elementary library program is a work in progress.
Susan Kinney- Librarian Assistant, but is a certified teacher at TRS. Consultations with many other librarians. Mrs. Bulkley reported that TRS has not missed any quality programs due to her dedication and Ms. Kinney’s interest in running a quality program.
Mrs. Kinney reported on a variety of activities that she has been involved with at TRS. Book Fair- supervising with volunteers and Reading Specialist. Purchased books for library and classrooms. They are looking at an Accelerated Reading Program at TRS. This is a computer generated quizzes to promote reading.
Children’s’ Choice Award Contest: introduced last year and expanded this year to include all grade levels. NH statewide voting on a favorite book that was read by students.
She has been working on classifying collections according to genres. Color coding is currently used. This is an on going project, as time allows.
Mr. Reardon introduced Cristy Smith. She is in her fourth year at PA. Overview of the collection and equipment available and on line subscriptions was distributed in a flyer.
Internet resources: several new programs/tools this year. Web Feet Internet Guide is database with subject approved website, search engine designed for high school students and teachers.
She works in business classes to teach the students how and what to use in the library and on line sources. She also participates in the Freshmen orientation.
The Flume: NH Teen Readers’ Choice has been implemented at the Academy. Recommended Reads are suggested by having short book reviews written by teachers and students available. ,
Computer check outs equals 60% of circulation; this tracks who and how computers are the computers are used. In terms of the collection there has been a huge jump in fiction circulation, attributed to SSR. Relevant titles, as well as what kids like to read. Information will be used for future purchasing.
Fines: Are no fines, just want the books back. Grades and promotional constraints were used.
Why just teaching in the business classes? It’s a computer lab set up. Learning various computer programs to enhance internet use skills is one of the goals. Actually instruction is limited to business classes rather than the whole school population.
How do we weed out books and/or analyze which books are available? Fiction collections are weeded based on a usage issue.
Research is a key component of the individual courses. Getting kids to OPEN books rather than Google
a topic is important. On going struggle,
but we are working on it.
C. CONSENT AGENDA
A motion to approve the request for the day trip to
THE MOTION CARRIED
This may be the last year that people will be able to travel
to
New Morning asked if a vacation program could be a viable option. Is there a market for this type of program in our community? The board is being approached to see if there is interest in allowing the organization to pursue this type of offering.
A motion to approve the Vacation Camp “Experiment” was made by Mr. Fleury and seconded by Mr. Mitchell.
Fees in the program would cover the costs associated with operating this camp. There may be custodial costs involved. New Morning’s current contract includes some custodial and energy expenses, it is assumed that this would be included. There are some budgetary impacts that need to be considered.
ALL
IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
A motion to approve the request was made by Mr. Weisiger and seconded by Mr. Serafin.
There were four requests for Early Retirement this year. The Master Agreement allows for three Early
Retirements. In the Master Agreement,
the wording states that eligibility is from age 55 up to age 62. The one-time only benefit payment is part of
the package. The cost is in the
neighborhood of $20,000. This is
currently an unbudgeted cost.
Financially this is problematic.
There is precedent on both sides of this issue.
At 7:49 PM a motion to enter non-public session under RSA 91:III(c) was made by Mr. Fleury and seconded by Mr. Weisiger. On a roll call vote, the board voted:
Mr. Fleury YES
Mr. Mitchell YES
Mr. Serafin YES
Mr. Weisiger YES
Mr. Hanson YES
Present in the Non-public session: Mr. Haley, Mr. Hanson, Mr. Serafin, Mr. Fleury, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Weisiger, Mr. Reardon.
At 8:01 PM a motion to end the non-public session was made by Mr. Fleury and seconded by Mr. Weisiger. On a roll call vote, the board voted:
Mr. Fleury YES
Mr. Mitchell YES
Mr. Serafin YES
Mr. Weisiger YES
Mr. Hanson YES
Chair Clint Hanson stated that no action had been taken in the non public session.
NONE IN FAVOR
ALL IN OPPOSITION
THE MOTION FAILED
4.
OLD/UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A. BUDGET DEVELOPMENT
Board members were present for the Municipal Budget Committee. The principals’ presentations were well-done, and the committee had a good understanding of what is happening at the schools and the impact on the budget. County tax estimated to go up approximately 1%.
It is still early in the process. Now the committee can focus on the numbers in the budget and what impact recommendations will have on the program.
The technology lines have taken a great deal of hits due to the budget constraints. There are many districts that are able to fund their technology plans. The Pembroke
Taxpayers have not really had much of a responsibility to pay for the technology that is currently in place throughout the district. We have been VERY fortunate that we have been as successful with grant funding and utilizing other sources. The taxpayers do have some responsibility to pay for technology for the district and our children.
The town has been able to keep their budgets fairly flat with some of the options that may no longer be available. Sooner or later, their sources of revenue may be impacted and there will be a big struggle to keep their budgets as flat.
The budget committee has requested some additional information. Projection Update was made available to the school board members. A summary of the information will be available for the committee. The MBC also asked for Revenue Trends which Mr. Haley has prepared. Our revenue is not decreasing in major areas or increments. The FM systems being installed at Hill and the AREA potential break up were factors that were also areas that information was requested.
B. DISTRICT MEETING PLANNING
The draft of the warrant was distributed to the board members.
Mr. Haley will invite Mr. Petit and Ms. Lewis to attend the February 14th meeting.
A public hearing might be scheduled for February 21st. This meeting will be a joint public hearing with the Town as has occurred in the last few years.
C. POLICY REVIEW
· Investment Policy
The chair entertains a motion to waive our policy on policies. This motion was made by Mr. Weisiger and seconded by Mr. Mitchell.
ALL
IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
A motion to approve the policy as presented was made by Mr.
Mitchell and seconded by Mr. Fleury. ALL
IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
There were some comments regarding the mechanics of the policy. The board is voting on this topic because the RSA requires the adoption of an Investment Policy.
5.
NEW BUSINESS
CITIZENS’ COMMENTS None at this time
6.
ADJOURNMENT
NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING Tuesday,
January 24 7 PM
7.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
Gregg Brighenti was named Assistant Principal of the Year by the NH Principal’s Association. The board should recognize this honor.
A motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 was made by Mr.
Weisiger and seconded by Mr. Mitchell. ALL IN FAVOR THE MOTION CARRIED