PRESENT: Tom Haley, Mona Kraus, Deb Bulkley, Michael Reardon, Gerry Fleury, Clint Hanson, Ry Weisiger, Tom Serafin, Rick Mitchell, Sandy Valine (recording secretary), Jonathan Burnham, Sue Hutchinson, Sally Hyland, Mr. Moore
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Clint Hanson called the meeting to order at
2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
A motion to approve the minutes of the
ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
3. IMMEDIATE BUSINESS
A. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS None at this time
B. SKI PROGRAM REVIEW
There was snow this winter and the Pembroke Team did ski. The Board received a copy of the letter sent by Mr. Moore in their packet.
Mr. Moore reported on the ski program. They have been recruiting kids for the
program. Kids have commented that they
haven’t had a lot of recognition at
Families pay for participation on the team. There were 4 boys and 7 girls on the team last year. $2200 and then race day entry fees per season are approximately $150 per person, coaches ski for free; Some fees depend on the mountain. Most teams sponsor an event- host a race somewhere. The Pembroke Team has run into issues due to not having the money to sponsor a race. It costs $4100 without transportation and coach. The kids fundraise to help defer costs to families.
Training is done at Pat’s Peak due to location and expense. Try to get kids home early. Races could be anywhere, and the team would like to use other mountains. Gunstock is slightly further, but has more limited training days.
Sue Hutchinson reported that they have completed their 3rd season. The bulk of the work being done by the team and coaches. They have worked hard on transportation. Numbers have remained consistent. With support from the school, numbers may be slightly larger. This is an individual sport, and often individual sports have fewer kids. Ms. Hutchinson reported that the first three bullets in letter could easily be incorporated into the school program.
Is there a limit to the number of participants? Ideally the team would be looking for 7-8 girls and 7-8 boys. Exceeding that maximum number could lead to try outs. Some events only allow 6 racers to be entered.
Budget voted on last March doesn’t include anything for the ski program, unless you are asking for funds to be allocated for it from other parts of the budget or lines. This means full support of the program would have to wait until March of 2007 to be part of the budget. Mr. Moore stated that they are looking for token sponsorship. Transportation is biggest fee. If sport has sustained itself after time, it should be put out an advisory warrant at the school district meeting. This was done with football and hockey. Including it as an advisory warrant wouldn’t be an issue for March of 2007.
If funds were available, the board would do what they could to help to support the program. At this point, doesn’t seem likely.
Time frame that this would need to be accomplished was discussed. The budget process was outlined by the board.
As an officially recognized sport, there are other financial considerations ie. Collective bargaining impact for coaches.
The team should have everything ready for possible funding process steps by
September.
Mr. Reardon stated that the school should be able to fund the sponsoring of a race.
A motion to allow the continuation of the ski program was made by Mr. Serafin and seconded by Mr. Weisiger.
ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARREID
C. RECYCLING
Sally Hyland solid waste committee and working with Troy Brown. This is a relative new committee. They are looking at the efficiency of solid waste, services, and future growth of the town.
There are limited options for residents.
No curbside collection of recycling at this point. She would like to look at options for school
recycling.
There has been a history of recycling in the district. There may be some occurring now. The program would like to include the staff, administration and students of schools and SAU. It would be helpful in evaluating the issues- safety, fire marshal approval, and best practices. Ms. Hyland stated that the committee is just starting the process and would address the concerns of the school board. She would like to encourage staff to participate in the survey.
Is there funding available?
You might be able to use some of the monies from rubbish. Mr. Burnham set up something similar in
Change in prospective. Suffer from success. There was discussion about the costs of the program and buy in by the population. Saving money and helping the environment are possible benefits. Future for trash collection for Pembroke may change. Refuse collection vehicles may be different in the future. The town may be using a compartmentalized vehicle which may have different personnel needs and costs in the future. This would have an impact on the school if our practices don’t change. The direction is there and this makes sense for the district.
Additional numbers are needed to effectively do this in 06-07. A historical sample from PA was also presented. This needs to done by the custodians but it needs to be supported by the community and schools.
Check into other schools that are currently doing recycling
programs.
Is this a worth while undertaking? It works on two levels. Education is key. Biggest generator in town sorts cans, bottles and paper etc. Learn and develop practices to implement this in Pembroke. The credibility of recycling sources and of what happens to the materials afterwards is very important.
Start with Paper. Industry is looking at co-mingling recycling. This may be an option in the near future.
Mixed paper recycling is used to make things such as game boards, match books, box board, etc. An advantage is that it doesn’t have to be separated. This is a lower grade project but it does not make as much money. It is however used for good products. There is a need for recycled materials for paper mills. Lots of products are made from recycled paper.
Long term school board commitment with the community in this area will be important.
A lot of work is being done at the Middle School with support by Ruth Engle, such as paper and ink cartridges.
D. MUSIC PROGRAM UPDATE
Program reports and an update on the music program was requested by the board.
There have been many changes and activities at K-4.
Sarah Grasso has been with us for 2 years. This is the first time in many years that full time music is in place. Winter Concerts have been held. She helps classroom teachers incorporate music in the classroom. Friday sing-alongs at the Village occur and allows parents to visit and participate with their children.
Sarah has been a member of the
Invitations to the Wizard of Oz production were presented in the board packet. Over 100 students K-4 are participating. Sarah has been instrumental with that project.
She’s excited. She is continuing to create curriculum as she is going through each year and works with the other district Music Teachers. We are very fortunate to have her!
One program that we hope we’ll never lose again.
Jen Blackman has been at TRS for 8 years and at PA for 1 year. Mike Blakesly has 6 years at PA and 1 at TRS
Jen Blackman and Mike Blakesly reported that Sarah has been a wonderful addition to our group. We fought to get music fulltime for many years. Seeing kids enthused about music has had a very positive effect on their programs. It’s hard to choose instruments for kids when they have limited exposure and musical training.
There are 29 in TRS band. It often has more kids at the end of the year and has become much more of a consistent program. The staff would like to see that enthusiasm spread. The kids already know more than any fifth grade prior to Sarah’s start in the district.
Sarah has astounding enthusiasm! Students look up to her and it is carried over to other music programs.
Almost all band members in fifth grade are continuing into sixth grade band. Currently there are 4 band members in sixth grade.
The struggling music program is not a reflection on the music staff. We needed to improve the program at all levels.
The High School has the highest visibility; however the other sending districts
do not have a music program or a strong program. So 60% of the kids do not have a music
background. Would there be funding for
transportation for kids from other districts who were interested in music
programs to be sent over to our schools for the music program?
Reconfiguring scheduling to focus on chorus and band rather than general music appreciation and allow for more sophisticated instruction in music is being discussed. Band camp and/or further skill development in musical areas is being planned.
Publicity and education with parents and students is important. We are at a critical juncture: Not having the numbers to make the program
successful. Elementary program is vital
to success, but so are feeder programs.
Board recommends that this topic be brought up at the AREA meetings.
Transportation could be a joint venture and ultimately be a successful venture. This might be do-able.
What about the classical pianist? They
are also important and we probably can’t be doing both. Kids who see other kids excel, they will want
to be a part of that. They don’t see it
as a possibility. Focus on particular
areas and do it well rather than many general focuses.
Let’s be realistic about school bands. Popular music was used at the time when bands were big. Kids were playing Sousa when Sousa was pop! Changing the focus of what instruments are being pushed might be a possibility. A screaming guitar solo will probably have much more of an impact that a screaming clarinet solo no matter how technically accurate and challenging.
There was a concern about the music appreciation being taken out of the curriculum. You would be losing something in order to gain something else. What are the trade offs and are they worth it? The other courses offered at PA have been adapted to meet the music needs of many students including theory and practical knowledge. Depth of the education may be different. A survey was used to develop the program and class offerings and it has increased the participation and interest in the program. There are some who want to learn music but not interested in performing. World music is a component of the elective.
The board would appreciate a summary of what is offered, number of students involved, and performance based schedule of interest. Would help to conceptualize what’s happening now and what’s in the future. Board is not really interested in micro-managing the curriculum. K-12 outline of curriculum with additional changes proposed and offerings would also be helpful.
It’s time to “fine tune the curriculum” (pun intended and appreciated). This topic will be
brought up at goal setting meetings throughout the SAU.
Time on task- is it enough? What’s the status? Creating a feeder system and building a sense of group and whet the appetite of the students is a focus. Need to start with a k-12 curriculum and then work through the additional practices.
Summer program would have a cost involved and may be too late for the summer of 2006, but would be good to consider for the 2007 year and beyond. Encouraging that there is a lot of discussion about the music program and what we’re doing to improve the program. With this type of commitment and enthusiasm, the music program is bound to improve.
Thank you for the presentation. The music program will be on the agenda in the future as well.
E. CONSENT AGENDA
Moving teacher day from 3/16 to 3/13 to resolve the Election Day issues at the Village.
A motion to approve Mr. Mitchell and seconded by Mr. Weisiger
ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
A motion to approve the requests was made by Mr. Weisiger and seconded by Mr. Mitchell
ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
A motion to approve the Health Insurance request was made by Mr. Weisiger and seconded by Mr. Mitchell
There was concern about the language in the letter from the EAP regarding setting precedence. The board would like it in writing as a guarantee.
The motion was tabled until end of meeting and the Non Public Session.
(continued) At
enter non-public sessions under RSA 91-A:3II(c) to discuss a staff issue. On a roll call,
the school board voted: Clint Hanson YES
Gerry Fleury YES
Rick Mitchell YES
Tom Serafin YES
Ry Weisiger YES
THE MOTION CARRIED
Present in the non-public session were: Clint Hanson, Gerry Fleury, Rick Mitchell, Tom
Serafin, Ry Weisiger, Mike Reardon, Tom Haley.
The board discussed a specific employee issue.
At
by Rick Mitchell. On a roll call, the school board voted:
Clint Hanson YES
Gerry Fleury YES
Rick Mitchell YES
Tom Serafin YES
Ry Weisiger YES
THE MOTION CARRIED
Chair Clint Hanson noted that no action had been taken in the non-public session.
A motion was made by Ry Weisiger, seconded by Rick Mitchell, to approve continued 80% payment of health insurance premiums for Anne Marie Morse for May and June, 2006.
4 IN FAVOR
1 OPPOSED
THE MOTION CARRIED
A motion to approve the request for non-resident continued enrollment including the usual language regarding transportation was made by Mr. Mitchell and seconded by Mr. Serafin.
ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
A motion to approve the acceptance of gifts was made by Mr. Weisiger and seconded by Mr. Serafin.
ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
4. OLD/UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A. POLICY DEVELOPMENT
Wellness Policy
A motion to adopt the Wellness Policy was made by Mr. Mitchell and seconded by Mr. Serafin.
This Wellness policy seems to be lacking substantial detail regarding what is occurring in other districts. It does meet the compliance to the law, but appears to be “light”. Donna Roy would probably agree. It was presented as a beginning volley to get the policy developed with committee and community assistance and work. Would it be appropriate to have a school board member represent on the board? Tom Serafin will represent the board.
Mr. Haley stated that the board should be anticipating a revision in the future
ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
For a number of years we’ve been obligated to survey families to determine if ESOL services are needed. This has become an active Federal law.
Additional questions need to be asked in order to be in compliance. There is a need to get initial information in registration packet and then get the additional Federal based questions answered if appropriate for each family.
This is not a new policy, but actually a change in format. Basically it’s a procedural change in
obtaining the information as required by law.
A motion to waive the first reading of the policy was made by Mr. Weisiger and
seconded by Mr. Mitchell
ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
A motion to approve the policy including the procedural change was made by Mr. Serafin and seconded by Mr. Mitchell.
The phrasing of questions was discussed.
ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
A copy of the CIP Request was included in the packet. Information that Jonathan Burnham has been gathering may make some changes necessary. He would be prepared to present to the board at the next meeting which is scheduled for May 23 at Hill.
5. NEW BUSINESS
A. NHSBA RESOLUTIONS
Call for resolutions has been sent out. Rick Mitchell is one of the representatives. Clint Hanson will also be in attendance. Resolutions must be in by July 7th and should be discussed at the goal setting meeting.
There will probably be a resolution that any school that receives public funds be accountable by RSAs. This would impact charter schools and is related in part to testing. Clint Hanson will continue to flush this out and report back to the board. The premise is that if you receive public funds you should have to play by the same rules.
B. NOMINATION/ELECTION OF STAFF
Mr. Haley presented three nominees for consideration as staff. Principals have been working on hiring staff members for open candidates. There will be more to come.
Lansing Adams PA retiree Charles Powell
Amy Trembly TRS retiree Pat Gaynor
Lisa Johnson TRS part time Sp. Ed. New position as created at prior board meeting.
A motion to elect was made by Mr. Serafin and seconded by Mr. Mitchell.
ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
C. END OF YEAR SCHEDULE
Principals provided information about schedules for activities for the remainder of the year.
May 22 SAU Dinner
May 23 Board Meeting Hill School 7
June 13 Board Meeting PA 7
June 26 Goal Setting Email Tom if that date does NOT work 9AM TBA
The board has not met in July unless needed
August 15 Board Meeting PA 7
September 12 Board Meeting PA 7
September 26 Board Meeting TRS 7
6. OTHER BUSINESS
A. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS None at this time
B. NON-PUBLIC SESSION
7. ADJOURNMENT
At
meeting.
ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED
The next scheduled school board meeting is
8. INFORMATIONAL
ITEMS None at this time.