PEMBROKE SCHOOL BOARD

PEMBROKE HILL SCHOOL

PEMBROKE, NEW HAMSPHIRE

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

 

PRESENT:  Peter Warburton, Clint Hanson, Rick Mitchell, Tom Serafin, Tammy Boucher, Ry Weisiger, Susanne Whitbeck, Mona Sandberg, Mike Reardon, Deb Bulkley, Sandy Valine (recording secretary), Larry Moberly, Jim Plourde, Jennifer Plourde, Sebastian Noto, Tina Newberry, Kerstin Dumas,

 

1.       CALL TO ORDER

Chair Clint Hanson called the meeting to order at 7PM in the library at Hill School.

 

2.       MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

A motion to accept the minutes of the previous meeting was made by Mr. Weisiger and seconded by Mr. Serafin.

ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED

 

3.       IMMEDIATE BUSINESS

          A.      CITIZENS’ COMMENTS                    None at this time

          B.       STAFF REQUEST

Mr. Moberly provided the board, via Mr. Haley, an enclosure relative to a request for a stipend for the Washington, DC trip.

Mr. Moberly updated the board.  This trip has been in existence for 5 years.         59-75 students take part in this five day trip to our Nation’s Capital.  This activity requires a lot of fund raising, time, effort and organization.  This is a self-sustaining program.  The DC trip is considered an “Institution” in the community.  Kids are talking it up.  Mr. Moberly is asking for stipend due to amount of work involved in making the trip such a success.

 

A small package of information was presented to the board.  Information includes itinerary, fundraising efforts, and highlights of the program.  The students are already starting to work on 2007-08 fundraising.  Mr. Moberly would like to keep the current itinerary, but there are concerns about the costs and ability to keep it reachable for the kids.  It may need some adjustments.  Gettysburg is probably first to go.  Almost 1/3 to ¼ of the costs are covered through these various fundraisers.  All kids who want to go can participate, although there are some eligibility requirements.  These requirements are reviewed on a case by case basis when needed.

 

Mr. Serafin asked what percent of the class participates in the trip.  This year 76/89 eligible; 60 signed up.  Some families choose not to go due to conflicts with vacations, family circumstances, costs, and lots of reasons. There are an increasing number of kids who have never been away from home without parents. 

 

Are there other similar programs/activities available in the district?  Outing Club is somewhat similar, and that activity does already have a stipend.

 

The discussion was tabled, until further information from the Superintendent is received.  It is anticipated that the item will be back for the June 12th mtg.  There was a concern that this could have an impact on collective bargaining.  Other requests may also a possibility.  Further data is necessary.  The board will take specific action at the meeting.  Mr. Moberly made himself available if the board or Mr. Haley needed additional information.

 

          C.       CONSENT AGENDA
The consent agenda included multiple items.

  • A motion to accept a gift to the district was made by Mr. Mitchell and seconded by

Mr. Serafin.         

ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED

 

  • A non-resident enrollment request.

This request comes from a non-resident of Pembroke.  This is kind of a new situation.

Mr. Weisiger expressed concerns about opening enrollment up to people who do not live in Pembroke.

 

Ms. Whitbeck expressed concerns about the tone of letter, the family’s home town program, and the possibility that there was more of an interest because of our full day vs. half day program.

 

A motion to approve the request for non-resident enrollment was made by Mr. Weisiger and seconded by Ms. Boucher.

 

Ms. Boucher stated that the request speaks highly of our program.

Mr. Hanson mentioned that it was nice to be wanted.

 

Mr. Serafin asked if Kindergarten numbers were at capacity.  If we are under capacity, we could figure out what tuition might be and make it an option to parents to pay.  His personal opinion was to consider looking at this as a possible source of revenue.  If the request is based on full day, we might have had more requests by now.

 

Ms. Sandberg stated that we are not at capacity.  74 students are expected at this point.  She reminded the board that there are a significant number of registrations that come in during the summer.

Mr. Warburton stated that we have no additional information or background on this student.  There could be issues/costs related to Special Education as well.

 

Mr. Serafin wanted to be sure that there are no hard feelings about anyone making a request.  We should feel good about our program.  It will be interesting to see what happens when No Child Left Behind comes down to the Kindergarten level. 

Mr. Hanson stated that there is an indication of Pre-K in the No Child Left Behind law.  If the board votes in favor of the motion, the Pembroke District would assume the financial responsibility for the education of this child for at least the year.

 

TWO IN FAVOR

THREE IN OPPOSITION

THE MOTION FAILED

 

4.       OLD/UNFINISHED BUSINESS

          A.      PEMBROKE ACADEMY STAFFING

Mr. Reardon shared the revised job description based on the information presented at a previous meeting.  This position will make a huge difference in the lives of some of our at-risk students.  He mentioned several schools in the area that also have a similar position.  They include Merrimack Valley with a social worker, Concord, Dover, Portsmouth, and Spaulding High School.

 

Some schools have a social worker and a Drug and Alcohol worker.  He recommends that the board adopt this as good practice.  It would also be a good tool to help address and work successfully with the students.  The new position would work in conjunction with School Resource Officer and At Risk Coordinator.

 

Mr. Serafin asked how similar the job description is to other schools.  He liked the job title.  Mr. Reardon responded that he would be surprised if the other schools didn’t have a similar job description. 

Ms. Boucher clarified that this position would replace a PA guidance counselor.

 

A motion to approve the job description as presented was made by Mr. Mitchell and seconded by Mr. Weisiger.  

ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED

 

A Status report regarding the various open positions in the district was provided.

          B.       POLICY REVIEW

□       Conference/Volunteer Policy   (KI)     

□       Individual Teacher Meetings and Volunteering/Observing Classrooms or Programs  (KI)

A motion to approve the policies above was made by Mr. Serafin and seconded by Ms. Boucher.

ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED

 

□       Field Trip Policy     (IJOA)                          

A motion to approve the revised Field Trip Policy was made by Ms. Boucher, and seconded by Mr. Mitchell.  

ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED

 

The following policies were presented for the first review. Action will be taken at a later date.

□       Enrollment Policy    (JEA)                   

□       Enrollment of Teachers’   Children       (GCBD)                 

 

5.       NEW BUSINESS

A. NOMINATION/ELECTION OF STAFF

Mr. Haley presented a list of nominees to the board.

 

A motion to elect the following nominees was made by Mr. Serafin and seconded by Mr. Weisiger.  

 

          Renee Callison                           Hill/Village   grade 2                  retirement

          Amy Bartoli                              PA Special Education                 replacement

Aaron Brochu                            TRS Special Education               replacement

John Viatkunas                         PA Chemistry                           replacement

David Weilbrenner                    TRS Grade 6                            replacement

Rachel Berger                           PA English                                 replacement

 

ALL IN FAVOR
THE MOTION CARRIED

 

There was discussion about the PA music opening and the curriculum/needs of the program. 

 

B.       NHSBA  (NH School Board Association)

 

Draft resolutions were included for board members.  If there are ideas that board members would like to have included in the resolutions, let Rick know as he is the board’s representative. 

Mr. Hanson discussed the impact No Child Left Behind may have and the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  It appears that there might be concentration related to any amendments regarding the reauthorization.  There will be an expansion of areas to be included in the testing.  There will be discussion regarding Multi-year testing, annual progress, and about the payment of the testing.  There was information related to the level of funding.

 

This topic will be discussed further at the June 12th board meeting.

 

6.       OTHER BUSINESS

 

          A.      CITIZENS’ COMMENTS

 

Jim Plourde spoke regarding Mr. Moberly’s presentation to the board.  He has been a parent who was allowed to participate in the trip.  He wanted to let the board know that Mr. Moberly made light of his participation in the trip.  Mr. Moberly is very involved. 

 

Mr. Plourde noticed that at 3AM, Mr. Moberly was reading in the hall.  He was still awake and reading at 5.  Mr. Moberly has not asked for anything in the past regarding this trip.  Many of the children would never have the opportunity for this type of learning experience.  Mr. Plourde stated that Gettysburg was amazing and he would hate to see it be cut.

 

The Washington trip provides an invaluable opportunity for the community.  There are not enough people stepping up to provide these opportunities for kids in Pembroke. Lots of benefits are provided, and he recommends that the board strongly consider a stipend for the work that occurs to make this trip a possibility.

 

Mr. Hanson stated that he felt the timing is a little off as we have recently settled a collective bargaining agreement.  He has to be concerned that we follow the process to be sure that this does not go against the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

 

Tina Newberry- PALS President spoke on behalf of Mr. Moberly and the trip as well.  He comes to PALS, and we helped contribute to the funding.  The kids and the group really WORKED to raise funds to make this affordable!  She appreciates the fact that the board is not taking this lightly.  If PALS can provide information, please contact them. 

 

Mr. Haley will contact PALS if necessary.

 

          B.       PEER RECOGNITION AWARD

 

A motion to enter non-public session was made at 7:49 PM under RSA 91-A:3II(c) to discuss a staff issue was made by Mr. Serafin and seconded by Mr. Mitchell. 

 

On a roll call vote, the board voted:                            

   Ms. Boucher        YES

Mr. Mitchell       YES

Mr. Serafin        YES

Mr. Weisiger       YES

Mr. Hanson         YES

 

Present in the Non-public session was Mr. Warburton, Mr. Hanson, Mr. Weisiger, Mr. Serafin, Mr. Mitchell and Ms. Boucher.

 

A motion to exit the Non public session was made at 8:30 PM by Mr. Serafin and seconded by Mr. Mitchell. 

On a roll call vote, the board voted:                            

   Ms. Boucher        YES

Mr. Mitchell       YES

Mr. Serafin        YES

Mr. Weisiger       YES

Mr. Hanson         YES

 

Chair Clint Hanson reported that no action had been taken in the non-public session.

 

7.       ADJOURNMENT

Next Scheduled Meeting           June 12        PA               7PM

 

At 8:40 PM a motion to adjourn the meeting was made without objection.

 

8.       INFORMATIONAL ITEMS

 

None at this time