PEMBROKE SCHOOL BOARD

THREE RIVERS SCHOOL

PEMBROKE, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

PRESENT: Tom Haley, Clint Hanson, Gerry Fleury, Ry Weisiger, Tom Serafin, Rick Mitchell, Michael Reardon, Susanne Whitbeck, Mona Kraus, Deb Bulkley, Sandy Valine (recording secretary), AnnaMarie Varsalone, Margaret Poznanski, Grace Forest, Lucille Constantine,

1. CALL TO ORDER

Chair Clint Hanson called the meeting to order in the TRS Library at 7:03 PM.

2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING- January 10, 2006

A motion to approve the minutes of the January 10, 2006 meeting was made by Mr. Fleury and seconded by Mr. Mitchell.

ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED

3. IMMEDIATE BUSINESS

A. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS None at this time

B. EAP REPORT

Margie Poznanski (President of the EAP) presented information on a couple of tiopics: HQT and the recent EAP Health Care Vote.

Mrs. Poznanski wanted to bring to the board’s attention, and acknowledge the work that has been done at the elementary level by the administration in regards to HQT (Highly Qualified Teachers). She also commented on how much work Mr. Haley had done in regards to this topic with the NEA-NH. She wanted the Board to know how much their efforts were appreciated.

Mrs. Poznanski reviewed the steps that had been taken by the EAP in response to Mr. Haley’s December request of the Association to discuss a possible change in Health Care Coverage Providers. A meeting was held with the Executive Board with all buildings represented.

Meetings were scheduled (and publicized) with representatives from both Health Care Coverage Providers (School Care and Local Government).

The Executive Board discussed taking an “official stand” and decided to leave the decision with the membership and allow the membership to make their own personal decisions based on their own families and needs.

A vote was held. The Association voted to stay with School Care. With the vote, an optional survey was requested to let the EAP know why they voted the way they did. Multiple comments were made. About 50% of the voters who responded like the current plan, experiences, etc. 50% felt that it should be a part of negotiations. There wee miscellaneous comments as well.

C. BUDGET DEVELOPMENT

A listing of items prior to the vote was discussed. Mr. Haley has met with the Principals regarding the prioritized list.

Having non-certified staff and administrative staff switch to Local Government would yield approximately a $41,000 savings.

There was discussion about the principal’s recommendations.

Revision of the priorities is based on the vote of the EAP regarding the Health Care.

NWEA Testing- Monies that we wanted to go back in the budget involved additional training for staff. We have had some training in the district already, this would be for advanced training following the use of the test for a couple of years.

A motion to approve the amended budget information was made by Mr. Fleury and seconded by Mr. Weisiger. This amended information recognizes the endorsement of the health care carrier switch for non-certified and administrative staff.

Mr. Fleury stated that he had no idea what the MBC is going to do with the overall budget. The Town has reserves that they can utilize which the school district does not have the ability to do. The Town is asking for a zero increase on the tax rate. County tax increase is up as well. School District is going to get the lion’s share of the liability for the increased tax rate. The fundamental difference is that they can’t come back to say “cut X”. They have to identify the lines to cut.

Mr. Fleury would like a sense of direction for the process to present to the MBC.

ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED

We’ve provided the information to present a rationale budget and the information that supports the request. There is significant thought and process that goes into the budget preparation and recommendation. It is well considered process. The MBC’s cut doesn’t have to have the same level of background with the budget. The flaw in the logic is present in these types of cases.

There will be at least a 25 day window from the published MBC recommendation for the board to make any final decisions on the budget preparation to the School District Meeting.

4. NEW BUSINESS

A. SCHOOL CALENDAR

The Model NH calendar and Concord’s (approved) calendar are different.

Mr. Haley is looking for information regarding up-front information regarding dates.

The impact to not follow Concord’s calendar is big in terms of the voc program.

We appear to be at the mercy of the Concord schedule as long as we are involved in the voc program. Every year we have this same discussion. It appears that the majority of schools follow the Concord vacation weeks rather than the state model.

There was interest in discussing Martin Luther King Civil Rights Day.

B. LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY NETWORK

NHSBA is putting together a grass roots effort which will provide access to school boards to the legislature. There is interest in having an individual on each board be the contact for the representative at the House/Senate.

Mr. Hanson presented information for the Pembroke Board. A rapid response system is the goal for when there is information associated with the SBA.

HB 664- Open Enrollment Bill- Any kid from NH can go to any school in NH at any time.

It is up for a vote tomorrow 2/1/06. Deanna Rush sits on the Education Committee and frequently asks for information regarding the local board’s position.

Charter school movement is gaining strength. Funding of charter schools is going to come up. Any school that is going to take public money should have to play by the same rules.

Having a representative set up for the Legislative Action Network will probably come up in the next meeting or two.

5. OTHER BUSINESS

A. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION REPORT

Provide information to the public regarding electronic communications. It’s subject to the Open Information/ Right to Know Policy. This report is in the commission stage at this point.

Develop a policy for the district whereby copies of emails will be attached to the minutes and recorded on the agenda. Not required to do this at point in order to be in the “spirit of the law”.

The alternative would be to prohibit communication between members of the board outside of meetings including phone, email, private meetings without having individual and/or group notes of the meetings or conversations.

B. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS None at this time

C. COMCAST UPDATE

Mr. Fleury updated the board regarding the status of the franchise negotiations with Comcast. Dan Crean has done a good job in representing Pembroke.

Changes probably won’t happen in the near future. There has been discussion related to the bundling ability of the various forms of technology controlled by the network.

Comcast has until August 2006 to renegotiate the terms, including the Local Govt. Channel.

There may be some interest in housing some type of “home” connection for the “network”.

Board asked to determine interest in continuing the possibility of this pursuit. Is the former Library building a possibility? What are the costs? Mr. Fleury suggested having some additional information gathered regarding this type of proposal.

Mr. Fleury is hoping that PA might become interested in this type of program which could work in conjunction with the cable access programs/equipment to provide another option for the students of Pembroke Academy while also benefiting the town.

There are board members who are supportive in theory. Gathering of additional information is recommended. Perhaps discussing the data needs with the Library Trustees would be good as they would have more longitudinal data regarding the utilities costs and usage.

Great Northern Video to meet with Maintenance Head to schedule a visit.

6. ADJOURNMENT

NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING Tuesday, February 14, 2006 at Pembroke Academy

7. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS

Student Wellness regarding federal regulations and plans for nutritional and health needs.

Wellness Issues for students and staff. This also might be a collective bargaining item- in order to possibly reduce health care costs.

“Follow the Child” as a response to “No Child Left Behind”. Could make significant changes to how the documentation is collected and used to gather information related to the individual’s progress as well as district. Does NH’s Follow the Child program meet all of the federal govt. requirements? Should be coming down the pike in the near future.

At 8:55 PM a motion to enter Non public session under RSA 91-A:3II(c) was made by Mr. Fleury and seconded by Mr. Weisiger.

On a roll call, the board voted:

Mr. Hanson YES

Mr. Fleury YES

Mr. Weisiger YES

Mr. Serafin YES

Mr. Mitchell YES

ALL IN FAVOR

THE MOTION CARRIED

Present in the non-public session: Clint Hanson, Gerry Fleury, Rick Mitchell, Tom Serafin,

Ry Weisiger, Mike Reardon, and Tom Haley.

At 9:05 PM a motion to end the non-public session was made by Mr. Mitchell and

seconded by Mr. Weisiger. On a roll call, the board voted: