Draft: Subject to Board Approval
WINCHESTER SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
WINCHESTER SCHOOL LIBRARY
MAY 15, 2008
Board Members Present: C. Duquette, B. Moser, G. O'Neal, W. Hildreth, V. Cole
Administration Present: D. Crisafulli, D. Funkhouser, P. Bigelow, T. O'Connor
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm by Chair, C. Duquette.
MINUTES:
V. Cole MOVED to approve the minutes of the May 1, 2008 Board meeting as printed; SECONDED by: G. O'Neal, VOTED: 3-1-1 (B. Moser - no, C. Duquette - abstained), MOTION PASSED.
BOARD BUSINESS:
Approval of Policies AA-AE:
V. Cole MOVED to approve the School District Legal Status policy as a final reading; SECONDED by: G. O'Neal, VOTED: 4-1, (B. Moser - no), MOTION PASSED.
G. O'Neal MOVED to approve the Volunteer Involvement policy as a final reading; SECONDED by. Cole, VOTED: 4-1 (B. Moser - no), MOTION PASSED.
G. O'Neal MOVED to approve the Non-Discrimination policy as a final reading; SECONDED by: V. Cole, VOTED: 4-1, (B. Moser - no), MOTION PASSED.
G. O'Neal MOVED to approve the Procedural Safeguards Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Handicap/Disability policy as a final reading; SECONDED by: W. Hildreth, VOTED: 4-1, (B. Moser - no), MOTION PASSED.
G. O'Neal MOVED to approve the Philosophy of the School District policy as a final reading; SECONDED by: V. Cole, C. Duquette asked that the Mission Statement be added to the next packet, VOTED: 4-1, ( B. Moser - no), MOTION PASSED.
B. Moser advised he will vote no on everything until he is extended the same courtesy as other Board members and the issues he requests are put on the agenda. C. Duquette advised it was just an oversight; she has added his request to the agenda.
G. O'Neal MOVED to approve the Drug-Free Workplace policy as a final reading; SECONDED by: W. Hildreth, VOTED: 4-1, (B. Moser - no), MOTION PASSED.
G. O'Neal MOVED to approve the Tobacco Products Ban: Use and Possession In and On School Facilities and Grounds as a final reading; SECONDED by: W. Hildreth, VOTED: 4-1 (B. Moser - no), MOTION PASSED.
G. O'Neal MOVED to approve the Safe Schools policy as a final reading; SECONDED by: W. Hildreth, VOTED: 4-1, (B. Moser - no), MOTION PASSED.
G. O'Neal MOVED to approve the Accountability policy as a final reading; SECONDED by: V. Cole, VOTED: 4-1, (B. Moser - no), MOTION PASSED.
Health Insurance Approval:
D. Crisafulli distributed information regarding the health insurance and reviewed it with the Board. He is requesting a vote by the Board to accept the bid by LGC.
V. Cole MOVED to approve LGC's bid for insurance for the 2008/2009 school year; SECONDED by: G. O'Neal, VOTED: 4-1, (B. Moser - no), MOTION PASSED.
D. Funkhouser distributed a copy of the letter sent to the Crossing Guard and advised he has followed up with him. D. Funkhouser feels G. Parks will proceed ahead as outlined in the letter.
BOARD BUSINESS:
Budget Cuts:
The Board received a list of proposed budget cuts in their packets and reviewed it with Dr. Crisafulli.
D. Crisafulli advised there is a possible $108,000 on the plus side at the moment; need to watch that. Advised might need to look at other items in the 2008/09 budget.
J. Bischoff spoke to Special Ed and bringing children back that could be taught here in an appropriate facility. She answered questions of the Board. D. Crisafulli wants the Board to be on notice that we need to craft a program; need to look in a couple of weeks, at available funds that can be set aside. C. Duquette would like to see something in writing and where monies would come from. Crisafulli will try to craft something to bring back to the Board with the cost information. Rhonda Taylor spoke regarding dealing with Special Ed students, would support the recommendation to get a program going. Thinks it will give students the help they need to make them academically successful. G. O'Neal asked if the program could start by Summer school. J. Bischoff advised that is doubtful. Explained if they do it quickly and don't figure out all the pieces, they will have a program that is difficult to sell to teachers, feels looking at possibly November.
D. Crisafulli is looking for approval from the Board to explore the possibility of forming an EH program and come back to the Board with a recommendation.
After discussion, V. Cole MOVED to approve a Committee to explore the possibility of forming an EH program; SECONDED by: G. O'Neal, VOTED: 4-1, (B. Moser - no), MOTION PASSED.
V. Cole advised the Board discussed this issue three to four years ago; there are always road blocks. Hopes this time will get somewhere. Advised she is a little frustrated with this discussion. D. Funkhouser is hoping students can eventually go out of the EH classroom and into other classrooms. Numbers change; kids go in and out. At this point in time, have two students that are real possibilities that would spend most of the time in there with a one-on-one aide and then go back into the classroom.
Scholarships:
Ted Whippie came before the Board with a concern about scholarships available to the graduating high school class. Explained this year out of a class of 47, have only seven students applying for scholarships. T. Whippie explained he sent applications to all graduating seniors from Winchester to allow them to apply for his scholarship. C. Duquette advised we have a scholarship Committee now. G. O'Neal received a list of scholarships and many are exclusively for Winchester students. Some Winchester scholarships are not on the list; maybe students are not aware of them. D. Crisafulli thinks the problem is they might get lost in transition. He thinks having a scholarship night here in Winchester might be an opportunity to form a sense of community. G. O'Neal advised he would be happy to work with D. Crisafulli on this.
V. Cole feels by being part of Keene, students are eligible for thousands of dollars that they couldn't get here; feels there needs to be a happy medium C. Duquette asked for criteria for scholarships that are not on the list given to students. Asked G. O'Neal and V. Cole if they could work as a committee and get other members to look at it further suggested they talk with Marlborough regarding what they have in place.
After discussion, the Board advised they will take the information from T. Whippie into consideration and work on this further. P. Bigelow feels we need to find out how to reach out to seniors that are not going to Keene. O'Neal advised will start with sending letters to each student and then follow up a week later; will take the fast track. C. Duquette asked to add the Scholarship Committee to Board Committee Rep. Reports for monthly updates.
Tape Recording Meetings:
B. Moser feels the Board meetings should be recorded. Advised the Town Hall has been doing it for four years and it works well. Feels it is a worthwhile thing to do. C. Duquette advised the minutes by RSA need to cover the Motion, general topic and who spoke to it. Feels our minutes are very in-depth. Doesn't feel should spend money it would cost for equipment? C. Duquette advised by RSA our minutes are more than adequate.
B. Moser MOVED to propose that $2,000 be spent for cost of equipment to record minutes; SECONDED by: W. Hildreth, VOTED: 1-2-2 (C. Duquette - no, V. Cole - no, W. Hildreth - abstained, G. O'Neal - abstained), MOTION FAILED.
FINANCIAL REPORT:
The Board received a copy of the Revenue and Expense Reports in their packets.
C. Duquette asked T. O'Connor where he thinks we are regarding year-end. T. O'Connor deferred that question to D. Crisafulli. D. Crisafulli advised will have something for the Board at the next meeting, wants to review at the next two meetings. T. O'Connor explained the year-end does not look as good as when we were talking about it with the Budget Committee, but not bad. B. Moser - If encumbrances are figured in throughout the report, then we have $2,000,000 in surplus. T. O'Connor explained payroll accounts only are encumbered, will see another $1,000,000 in Keene High tuition. B. Moser doesn't agree with how it is reported. Would like to see report done with everything either encumbered or not. C. Duquette advised it is possible that is something the Financial Committee could look at. T. O'Connor explained with vendors such as PSNH, etc. cannot always give an exact number to encumber in the budget. C. Duquette asked about catastrophic aid. T. O. Connor explained there were some changes in what qualified and what was not reimbursable, has been a change in personnel. Also reviewed revenue estimates. Met with DOE and decided to set at 60% of estimated claims. T. O’ Connor has received final distribution for this year, about $53,000 less than expected, looks like there is close to $100,000 left over in health insurance.
W. Hildreth MOVED to approve the manifest in the amount of $572,266.67; SECONDED by: G. O'Neal, VOTED: 4-1, (B. Moser - no), MOTION PASSED.
PRINCIPAL'S REPORT:
The Board received D. Funkhouser's report in their packets.
* There are several upcoming retirements; some have had many years of service. D. Funkhouser will let the Board know when events are planned.
* B. Moser asked how many teachers there are in grades seven and eight. D. Funkhouser advised five regular teachers.
ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT:
*Dr. Crisafulli distributed information to the Board regarding a transportation fuel surcharge from Laidlaw.
*Ads went out; would like to have done in three weeks.
*Dr. Crisafulli will add AYP information to the Board packet and bring additional information for review at the next meeting.
*As far as the State is concerned, Winchester is now an approved school. C. Duquette thanked D. Funkhouser for his work in doing that.
*D. Crisafulli distributed information to the Board regarding blinds and shades vs. window film and discussed with the Board B. Moser feels the intent was to put shades in the classrooms for security, i.e., lockdown, not for library, etc. Feels would work for that purpose. Doesn't feel intent was to keep the sun out. D. Chamberlain advised shades here now have lasted about 20 years. Are on hold now, waiting for the Board. Cost does not include the hallway. W. Hildreth advised the doors don't lock from the inside.
D. Crisafulli advised regulations regarding locking the doors is set by the Fire Department. Each teacher will need a key for their door. They do lock from the outside. W. Hildreth feels instead of shades in the very small windows, black poster Board could be put up.
W. Hildreth MOVED to exclude the 4"x2' windows, no shades in those, but to purchase the other shades; SECONDED by: C. Duquette, VOTED: 3-0-2 (V. Cole, G. O'Neal - abstained), MOTION PASSED.
G. O'Neal did research and found most schools doing with small money are doing as projects by classroom teachers, etc. Feels many other things out there need to be done. Feels in about a year would have more options. Doesn't think we need to do today.
BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Facilities/Joint Loss Committee:
B. Moser advised the Committee is recommending purchasing two AED's, one for the gym and one for the Elementary School area. Presently the cost is $703.00 each. There would be some minor expenses for pads and training. C. Duquette advised would need to have a policy in place. B. Moser is asking the Board for approval; there is a set amount of time that they can get the AED's for this price.
B. Moser MOVED to purchase two AED's for a cost of under $2,000; SECONDED by: G. O'Neal, VOTED: 5-0, MOTION PASSED.
B. Moser advised State law requires on field trips to have someone who is CPR and first aid certified. Doesn't think the bus driver should be that person. The Board discussed a stipend for a qualified trained person in CPR/first aid. D. Funkhouser will put some feelers out.
Legislative Action Committee:
Funding still up in the air; nothing is happening on that.
Budget Committee:
T. O'Connor will check to see if the quarterly report was sent out.
Keene School Board:
C. Duquette is hoping to go to the next Board of Education meeting.
SAU Board:
V. Cole and C. Duquette went to last week's meeting. Approved Superintendent's contract and discussed Surry. C. Duquette advised the next Surry Transition meeting is next week. They are not asking for a lot; doing things on their own. B. Moser is concerned that the Towns are looking to withdraw from the SAU; need to think about other options for Winchester. If Monadnock breaks apart there will be separate districts in our SAU.
B. Moser MOVED to go into non-public Session at 8:25 pm; SECONDED by: G. O'Neal, V. Cole - yes, W. Hildreth - yes, C. Duquette - yes, G. O'Neal - yes, B. Moser - yes.
V. Cole MOVED to leave non-public session at 8:42 pm; SECONDED by: G. O'Neal, V. Cole - yes, W. Hildreth - yes, C. Duquette - yes, G. O'Neal - yes, B. Moser - yes.
The next Board meeting will cover budget and AYP only.
V. Cole MOVED to adjourn the meeting at 8:43 pm; SECONDED by: B. Moser VOTED: 5-0, MOTION PASSED.
Respectfully submitted,
Peggy Higgins