Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
March 17, 2008 5:00 p.m. Approved Minutes
Board Present: - Ginger Roper – Chair, Amanda Bourque, Jeff Hance, Betsy Hart, Libby JohnsonAdministration Present: Joan Paustian – Superintendent, Penny Kraft – Principal
Public Present: Frank Kelley, Toby Treu, Janet Currier – Recording Secretary
Call to Order – Ginger Roper, Chair, called meeting to order at 5:01 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of February 28 and March 10, 2008 – Betsy made motion to approve minutes of February 28 and March 10, 2008. Penny made corrections on February 28th minutes under Assistant Principal: St. Michaels should be St. Michael’s. Jason said the handbook is ready to go to the printer. Minutes approved as corrected.
Educational Presentation – Frank Kelley said he was one of 12 chosen out of a field of 250 applicants to participate in the International Polar Trek, a huge science research project with teachers, researchers and high school students. He will be at Point Barrow, Alaska, the furthermost point in the United States and in the Artic. He will be there from July 15 to August 15, 2008, the summer time when the sun never sets. Frank talked about the different types of data they will be collecting while there; a lot of it will look at weather changes and the effect on the landscape, they will also be doing archeological digs. The kids will be able to see what they are doing while he is up there via an interactive website. The Point Barrow, Alaska area is eroding into the sea so
one of the projects will be digging holes to see if they can find burial sites so the remains can be moved to a safer location. Research involving animals will also take place. Part of the project will be for him to be a learner along with the kids involved in this project. He will be working with community people (they are “bear guards”), high school students, teachers and several scientists. The Polar Trek website is interactive so the kids here at CAES can ask questions and get answers. Frank hopes to post things to his site everyday while he is in Alaska; he and the kids are posting weekly now. The board congratulated Frank for being chosen to be part of this exciting venture. Frank said he would report back to the board in the fall after he returns from his trip.
Reports –
Superintendent –K-2 Writing Curriculum – Joan shared the K-2 Writing Curriculum with the board. The teachers worked on this with Linda Waite. They will work on higher grades in the future. NECAP Results – Joan passed out copies and said Linda Waite will come and report on the NECAP results to the board. The results will be broken down to make them easier to understand. Joan reported that they have been looking at assessment to see how we use assessment and student standards. Linda is going to the individual schools and she is looking at the test results with the teachers to see how improvements can be made. Joan talked about the different tests given throughout the school year and the time each test takes. More discussion of testing
ensued.
Joan said she, Linda Waite and Jackie McCuin have been meeting each week on strategic planning. They are looking at critical areas in curriculum and transitioning curriculum for 6th graders going to 7th grade at Green Mountain. Once they figure out a plan it will be presented to the Administrative Council for their approval and the boards will be kept informed.
Joan said she received a winter sports report and Penny said Ginger Roper had a folder with several winter sport reports in it. The following people have turned in their reports and will be paid for their services: Gary Baker, Shanique Quarrie, Suzanne Farrell, and Amy Brunner. Penny will ask the rest of the winter sports coordinators to turn their reports in.Joan said she went to Montpelier today for a Legislative meeting. The state calendar looks like it is a dead issue but it looks like there will be a regional calendar with a requirement of a 5 hour school day in order to have the day count. This will impact professional development and the ski programs. It will also impact school budgets if school has to be called off before 5 hours have been put in because it won’t count as a school day
and it will mean paying the teachers for extra days of required teaching. She said that next year the school budget can go up 1.23% without impact.
Joan told the board that Jim Spaulding has a recommendation to hire a long-term custodial substitute to fill in while Steve Sanderson is out on medical leave. Penny said the recommended person is Douglas Guy. Libby made a motion to hire Doug Guy as the temporary custodian. Board approved unanimously. Principal – Penny distributed copies of the newsletters. She thanked the voters for passing the Chester-Andover school budget. On May 8 and 9, 2008 kindergarten screening will take place. There will be no kindergarten on those days, as the screening will take place in the kindergarten rooms. Parent/Teacher Conferences were held on
Thursday, March 13th and report cards came out that day. Jason has done a lot of training with the paras. The school nurse did some training, they also received training in reporting child abuse and on the use of First Class. Several other areas of training were also given. Penny talked about training the teachers had taken in Visual Thinking Strategies at Smith College. It taught teachers new ways to journal student writing and assessing. Penny reported that the Eagle Times interviewed Jennifer Davidson the Chester-Andover Spelling Bee Champ, and that a very nice article was written about her and her accomplishments. Penny informed the board that a hiring committee will need to be set up for interviewing for the special education position for next year. Penny talked about some of the things the Leadership Team have been working on including a curriculum night to be held next year as requested by parents. She reported that she is going to be taking Classroom Walk Through training to be able to learn what to look for in the classroom for expectations of the teachers and the students. There will be follow through training on this as well. Penny said that the Arts Night will be Wednesday, March 19th at 6:30 and the student performances will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Assistant Principal – Penny said that Jason has been working on the Master Schedule and the handbook will be ready for distribution soon.
Board Reports – Ginger asked if the board would be okay if she left the committees as follows:
Negotiations – Ginger and Amanda Finance – Betsy and Ginger
Personnel – Libby and BetsyChester-Andover Board Minutes March 17, 2008 Page 3
Facilities – Betsy and JeffTransportation – JeffPolicy – Amanda and Libby The board was in agreement with leaving the committees as noted.
Facilities Update – Penny said she received bills today for the snow removal. She said the engineer said the snow had to come of the roof immediately and the person they usually use was not available so they started calling other people. The bill for the structural engineer is $414.00; Gurney Brothers for snow removal and heavy equipment - $14,230.00; and the bill from All Seasons Construction for repairing the beams has not yet been received. Penny said they try to use local people and companies. They used a local photographer for school pictures last year and they used the Misty Valley Book Store for their book sale.
First Read Policies – E-12 – Hot Lunch Program – Amanda said she will add a sentence to this policy and will get it to the central office to go with the next agenda for board approval at the next meeting. Purchasing Policy – Amanda said they feel that until a problem arises with teacher purchasing, then they will leave the CAES purchasing procedure as is. Amanda will call Meredith and discuss this with her. CAES does not have a purchasing policy.
Public Discussion – None.
Other Business – None.
New Agenda Items – Approval of the Hot Lunch Program Policy. Penny said the last day of school is the 17th of June pending no more snow days. The 6th grade graduation is usually the evening before the last day. The board has a regular board meeting scheduled for the 16th so they are going to have to decide whether or not to cancel this meeting if graduation is going to be held the evening of the 16th.
Executive Session – Betsy made motion to enter Executive Session at 6:40 p.m. to discuss personnel. Board approved. Libby moved to come out of Executive Session at 7:04 p.m. Board approved.
Betsy made motion to allow Hannah Tobey to finish the 6th grade year at Chester-Andover. Board approved.
Adjournment - Board adjourned at 7:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Currier
Recording Secretary
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
February 28, 2008 6:00 p.m.
Present
Board: Ginger Roper-Chair, Betsy Hart-Vice Chair, Amanda Bourque, and Jeff Hance
Administration: Joan Paustian-Superintendent, Penny Kraft-Principal and Jason Morse-Assistant Principal
Public/Staff: Bruce Johnson-SAPA TV, Meredith Austin-Business Manager, Jack Carroll-Food Service Director
Call to Order:
Ginger called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of February 4, 2008:
Amanda made a motion to approve the minutes of February 4, 2008. Correction: Penny shared Jason’s report. Minutes approved as amended.
Reports:
a) Superintendent: Joan reported the Green Mountain Board is moving forward with acquiring the Armory. It will not be available until 2011. Act 82 has been voted on and repealed in the last session of the legislature. The final vote will be tomorrow. She feels the repeal is written better than the original. The NECAP results are in and Linda Waite will come and explain the results to the Board. Joan discussed the scores. Joan apologized for not putting the teacher contracts on the agenda. There will need to be another meeting to approve contracts before March 15th. Joan asked the board for permission to agree to allow Linda Morton to have her retirement dollars be given in January instead of July each year. Betsy made
a motion to approve Linda MortonÕs request to have her retirement dollars be given on January 15th of each year. Motion approved. The board agreed to have the next meeting on March 10th.
b) Principal:
Penny thanked Suzanne Farrell for doing a great job as the Long Term Substitute Art Teacher. Elaine is returning back to work.
Read across America is next week with activities planned. Penny congratulated Jennifer Davidson on winning the spelling bee. Jason and Penny worked with Jackie McCuin last week regarding the special ed issues in the building. Penny went over some of the professional development they had this afternoon. The 5th and 6th grade students went up to Green Mountain to see the science fair. Mr. Kelly was selected to participate in the polar project and will do an educational presentation when he returns. Penny said the government beef that was given to them has been destroyed.
c) Assistant Principal:
Jason said 30 students participated in the spelling bee and Jennifer will participate in the State Bee on March 19th at St. Michaels. Katie Bourque came in second and Claire Pennell came in third. Jason said the handbook is ready.
d) Board:
None
Discussion of Food Service Policy:
Penny said they have looked at policies that other schools are using. She said the policy we have says students canÕt charge food and we donÕt enforce it. Discussion ensued. Ginger asked about staff not being able to charge food. Penny said that will be procedure. Ginger said she thought this should go into the policy. Jack clarified that staff can still pay in advance. They agree there will be an alternative lunch for students who donÕt have money for lunch. Discussion ensued. The policy committee will draft a new policy. Jack said each time he sends a bill home he also includes a free and reduced lunch application. Discussion ensued. There will be a first read of the policy on March 17th. The board feels there should
be a charge for a reduced meal. Jack said he supports that. Ginger asked about bills. Jack said bills are going home with students every Friday. There are 85 bills going out tomorrow. He said they range from $1.00 to $200.00. Discussion ensued.
Public Discussion:
None
Other Business:
Penny said there is a board policy not allowing particular animals in classrooms. A teacher is able to get genetically engineered tadpoles to study life cycles. The board discussed it and approved allowing the tadpoles in the classroom.
New Agenda Items:
Reorganization of the board and approval of teacher contracts at the March 10th meeting.
Executive Session Student Issues:Amanda made a motion to go into executive session at 6:35 p.m. All approved. Betsy made a motion to come out of executive session at 6:50 p.m. All approved. No action taken.
Adjournment:
Amanda made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m.
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Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Monday, February 4, 2008 5:00pm
Present
Board: Ginger Roper-Chair, Betsy Hart-Vice Chair, Amanda Bourque, Jeff Hance, Libby Johnson (5:55 p.m.)
Administration: Joan Paustian-Superintendent and Penny Kraft-Principal
Public/Staff: SAPA TV, Angela Hutchins, Leigh Dakin and Anne Lamb
Call to Order Ginger called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of January 7 and 11, 2008
Betsy made a motion to approve the minutes of January 7, 2008 and January 11, 2008 as presented. Motion approved unanimously.
Educational Presentation – Leigh Dakin Leigh gave the board an overview of her duties at Chester-Andover as the school Nurse. She explained how her job has changed. She sits on student related committees at school. She tries to educate students and parents; she said communication with families is important to her. She gives the kids strategies on how to stay healthy. Discussion ensued. The board thanked Leigh for coming.
Reports
Superintendent
Joan gave the board a memo from Commissioner Cate giving data on Quality Counts grading six different aspects across the country. She said the three year comparison in the town report is not comparing the same information because of the changes from the state. The tuition rate for CAES is $8,210.00. They had the “secure the building” drill with law enforcement last week. The police checked all of the classrooms to make sure students were in a secure place. She felt the drill went very well. Green Mountain is looking at purchasing the armory but it will not be available until 2011. It would house the Early Education Program, the Opportunities Program and the WSWSU offices. Betsy asked if CAES would be interested. Joan said she didn’t think so.
Discussion ensued.
Principal
Penny said Andrew Dent won the Geo Bee for the third year in a row. Frank Kelley is a finalist in the Polartrec program which is a program in which teachers go with scientists to the polar region to do research. There have been a total of 3 snow days and 2 delayed openings. Penny commended the students for their respectful behavior during the lock down drill. The staff have been doing professional development during the winter sports program. She said the teachers say it is invaluable time for them.
Assistant Principal
Jason reported the talent show was a great success. He thanked staff members for coming to watch the show. There is a Celebration of Student Success assembly tomorrow. He is working with the staff to set up the master schedule for next year. Board
None
Approval of Action Plan
Amanda made a motion to approve the Action Plan as presented. Discussion ensued. Motion approved unanimously.
Teacher Request for Child Attendance at CAES
Joan said Angela Hutchins is requesting that her Daughter attend CAES for the 2008-2009 school year as per the school policy. Amanda made a motion to approve allowing Angela’s daughter Alexandra to attend Kindergarten at CAES for the 2008-2009 school year. Motion approved unanimously.
Prepare for CAES Annual Meeting
Amanda said she wants to make sure the whole board is knowledgeable on the action plan and the budget. The meeting is February 28th at 7:00 p.m. The board agreed to have their next meeting at 6:00 p.m. on the 28th. Discussion ensued.
Discussion of CAES Hot Lunch Accounts
On January 25th Joan met with Jack about student accounts. She said there are quite a few outstanding accounts. Discussion ensued. Joan said she will contact Jack and ask him to send weekly reminders for outstanding bills.
Family Medical Leave Notification
Joan said Steve Sanderson will be on medical leave for a few weeks.
Public Discussion
Anne Lamb asked if the second grade will have three classes next year. Penny said they are anticipating on having a third second grade with the current enrollment. Anne asked about a curriculum night. Penny said the individual teachers do their own on Back to School Night and some teachers do theme nights for parents. Anne said she would like to see something consistent in the grades. Anne asked if there has been a climate survey for students and family. The board said they haven’t talked about it. Penny said they did a survey three years ago and they didn’t get a large response. Last year they had a bullying survey that went home to parents. Discussion ensued. Libby said she would work on this.
Other Business
Ginger received a letter from Michael Saul informing the board of his resignation from the budget committee. The board regretfully accepts his resignation.
New Agenda Items
None
Executive Session – Negotiations Amanda made a motion to go into executive session at 6:16 p.m. Motion approved unanimously. Libby made a motion to come out of executive session at 6:58 p.m. Motion approved unanimously. Amanda made a motion to create a bus assistant position to accompany special education students as necessary at an hourly rate of $15.00. Motion approved unanimously.
Adjournment Betsy made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:04 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
December 10, 2007 8:00 a.m.
Present
Board - Ginger Roper-Chair, Betsy Hart-Vice Chair, Amanda Bourque, Libby Johnson, and Jeff Hance
Administration - Joan Paustian-Superintendent, Penny Kraft-Principal and Jason Morse-Assistant Principal
Public/Staff - Gary Baker and Steve Seitz-Vermont Journal
Call to Order - Ginger called the meeting to order at 8:03 a.m.
Educational Presentation - None
Approval of Minutes of November 19, 2007 - Amanda made a motion to approve the minutes of November 19, 2007 as presented. Corrections: Under Assistant Principal it should read, Jason said he attended a S.U.P.P.OR.T. Conference today. Approved as amended.
Reports -
Superintendent - None
Principal - Joan read the report from the CAES Circus Directors.
Assistant Principal – None
Board - Betsy said the Facilities committee met and talked about a sinking fund which is a separate account solely for capitol improvement. Joan said it would be part of a warning voted on separately. Discussion ensued. The parking lot was discussed. Betsy said they may be able to extend the parking lot for now to create more space.
2008-2009 Budget Review - Penny said the finance committee hasn’t had an opportunity to meet and go over the first draft of the budget. Penny talked to Meredith and gave Diana a list of some changes to the budget. She went over the suggested changes. Discussion ensued. The finance committee will meet again on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 8:00 a.m. The budget finance committee will meet on December 17, 2007 at 4:00 p.m.
Public Discussion - None
Other Business - New Hire: Joan asked the board for approval to hire Joan Binder as a full time special education teacher at a salary of $40,100.00 for the remainder of the 2007-2008 school year. Amanda made a motion to approve hiring Joan Binder as a special education teacher at a salary of $40,100.00 for the remainder of the 2007-2008 school year. Discussion ensued. All approved.
New Agenda Items - None
Executive Session – Personnel: Betsy made a motion to go into executive session at 8:43 a.m. All approved. Betsy made a motion to come out of executive session at 9:35 a.m. Amanda made a motion to offer an early retirement package to the person who expressed interest in retirement for an amount agreed to by the board in executive session. All approved.
Adjournment - Betsy made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 9:37a.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh MackRecording Secretary
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
November 5, 2007 5:00 p.m.
Board Present- Ginger Roper-Chair, Betsy Hart-Vice Chair, Amanda Bourque, and Jeff Hance
Administration Present- Joan Paustian-Superintendent, Penny Kraft-Principal, Jason Morse-Assistant Principal and Jackie McCuin- Special Education Coordinator
Public/Staff Present- -SAPA TV, Michelle Robidoux, Becky Tobey, Jean Merritt, Steve Sikes-Vermont Journal, Nancy Martin, Kathy Martens, Tonia Fleming and Anne Lamb
Call to Order: Ginger called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of October 1, 2007- Amanda made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Corrections: 1st page center, “fund raising is conducted”. Principals report; Penny said 78 students. There was not a second “flood”. The plumbing will be looked at this year. All approved as amended. Reports -
Superintendent- Joan said Wendell Rice is doing a subdivision off Pot Ash Brook Road and he thinks there will be 4 students coming into the district. Joan doesn’t think this will have a negative impact. Bill Talbot will be at the Green Mountain board meeting Thursday, November 8th at 6:00 p.m. to discuss school finance and the budget process. Discussion ensued. It will be televised. Joan attended the Superintendents conference last week and school technology was discussed. She said it was very exciting. She passed out information and discussed the current student enrollment.
Principal- Penny wanted to invite everyone to the Keewaydin Spaghetti Supper, Thursday November 8th from 5-7 p.m. The cost is $5.00. She encourages everyone to come. They are also looking for vendors for the Keewaydin Bazaar which is on December 5th from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at CAES. Over three days all classrooms K-6 had Visual Thinking Strategies presented by staff of the Brattleboro Museum and Arts Center to prepare them for visits to the museum and model for their classroom teachers VTS facilitation. The students will be visiting the Brattleboro museum and arts center twice. The Spanish club is in the process of getting underway. All budget requests have been sent to the central office and Penny has invited all interested staff to be part of the budget process. They have had a school and a bus evacuation and they both went well.
Assistant Principal- Jason said they participated in a team spelling competition this past weekend in Brattleboro and the girls did very well. The student success assemblies are going to shift to a more classroom focus and Cindi Austin and Jason are working on a Variety Show for K-12 students at Green Mountain. Jeanie Philips suggested “the revealers”, a book about bullying and how it affects students should be a read allowed in the 5th and 6th grades. Because of some content in the book they are getting permission slips from parents. They have also invited the author to visit.
Board- Jeff said they had a facilities committee meeting and Joan suggested they move money into a capitol improvement fund. Discussion ensued. Jeff will check to see if the fire department has portable generators in case of an emergency.
Ratify Support Staff Contract- Amanda made a motion to ratify the support staff agreement between Green Mountain Union High School, District 35, Chester-Andover Union School, District #29 and Chester Education Association, Vermont – NEA/ NEA from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2010. Joan said there are typos that will be fixed. All approved.
Special Education Staffing- Jackie said she has met with Penny and Jason regarding recommendations for special education. Jackie is going to amend the IDEIA-B grant to try and get some funding for these recommendations. She gave the recommendations as follows:
For the current year:
Increase in the Special Education professional staff by 1 FTE.
Contract for SLP services for 1-2 days per week, Pay for additional time provided by current SLP up to one day per week as needed., Continue with 15 hours a week from clerical staff,
Closely examine our usage of paraprofessional staffing (SPED, IAs and regular education) in the building. For the 08-09 school year they are recommending the following:
Continue with 3 special educators,
Continue with .6 SLP and add 1 FTE SLPA/Speech Assistant,
Continue with 15 hours Secretary,
Consider some level of paraprofessional support specifically assigned to the Resource Room. Jackie discussed these recommendations. Discussion ensued. Amanda asked what the cost would be. Jackie said it will depend on the candidates and where they would fall on the salary schedule. She could possibly pay for 1/3 of a position with IDEIA-B funds. Jackie said the IEP requirements are too much for the two special educators. Penny said the services are mandated. Discussion ensued. Joan said they will get some costs together and bring it back to the board. Amanda said it is important to get some kind of idea what the cost will be even though these requirements are mandated. Discussion ensued. Michelle asked about the intensive needs
person. Jackie said this person will not be able to provide direct special needs services because there are too many special needs students in the district. Anne Lamb said she thinks it will be more cost effective to hire a SLP instead of a SLPA for next year. Jackie said there is a shortage of SLPs and that is why they went with the SLPA model. Anne said they should look at graduate students. Ginger said she thinks they should go ahead with this so the interview process can go forward. Amanda made a motion to continue to extend the additional hours for the Special Ed Secretary until the break in December, authorize hiring a 1 FTE Special Educator and add one to two days per week as needed for SLP services. All approved.
Public Discussion- Anne Lamb requested a curriculum night be mandated. Penny said they already do, but it is not mandatory. Anne said she didn’t think it happened this year. She asked about the MAPS testing and why they are given when they are. Joan explained they give it when they do to see a child’s progress for a year. There is MAPS training for teachers on the 19th. Anne asked about looking into a mission statement. Penny said they have one and it is in the student handbook. Discussion ensued. Anne asked if there was an Action Plan. Penny said we have one and there are copies available. Penny welcomed parent involvement with the Action Plan. Discussion ensued.
Other Business- None
New Agenda Items- None
Executive Session – Personnel- Amanda made a motion to go into executive session at 6:33 p.m. to discuss personnel. Amanda made a motion to come out of executive session at 7:05 p.m. No further action taken.
Adjournment- Meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
October 15, 2007 5:00 p.m.
Board Present: - Ginger Roper – Chair, Betsy Hart -Vice-Chair, Amanda Bourque, Libby Johnson, , Jeff Hance Administration Present: Joan Paustian – Superintendent, Penny Kraft – Principal
Public Present: Marita Johnson– SAPA TV, Steve Seitz – Vermont Journal, Rebecca Tobey, Brenda Sheere, Maddie Bodin, Debbie Davidson, Josh Bodin, Hannah Sheere, Sarah Davidson, Benjamin Hart, Judy Verespy, Michelle Robidoux, Janet Currier – Recording Secretary
Call to Order – Ginger Roper, Chair, called meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of October 1, 1007 – Amanda made motion to approve minutes. Ginger remembered a change under Other Business: Amanda made motion to approve numbers “1, 2 and 4” suggestions for special education not numbers “1, 3 and 4”. Minutes approved as amended.
Ginger asked to move to #4 at this time. Educational Presentation – Keewaydin - Students from Mrs. Gutierrez’s room presented posters they made of their favorite things at Keewaydin, i.e., food, counselors, investigations and things they learned about. Other students talked about what they did and saw in the outdoors. The students did a re-enactment of a typical day and evening at Keewaydin. The board thanked the students for their great presentation.Amanda reviewed things coming up for Keewaydin such as an informational meeting and fund raisers that will be happening. Fundraising is done to fund Keewaydin because it is not in the Chester-Andover budget. Penny said she thought that 87 5th and 6th graders attended Keewaydin from Chester-Andover this year.
Reports –
Superintendent – Joan said that Jackie McCuin finished the special education service plan and it was sent to the State today. On October 3rd all the Principals and Jason Morse met with the Vermont State Police, Chester and Winhall Police Chiefs and 2 Sheriffs from Windham County to discuss school safety and crisis plans. They also talked about concerns that the Principal’s have and how response would be made at the schools for certain issues. The police will come and observe an evacuation and will also come as a group to visit each of the schools. They will review the crisis plans for each school. The school officials will also receive training through NIMS (National Information Management System) to learn how to handle certain crisis situations. Joan said
she felt it was a very good and worthwhile meeting. The Chester Police are in the Chester-Andover school quite often doing different things such as the D.A.R.E. Program. Joan talked about procedures that will be followed to keep students safe in case of an emergency. She reported that the K-2 teachers have been working on a writing program to be used throughout the supervisory union. Joan presented several co-curricular contracts for the board to approve and authorize her to sign:
Becky Plunkard – Respect Club - $554.00
Cindi Austin – Chorus Director - $291.00
Nicole DeTore – Student Council - $554.00
Sarah Fonseca – Flags Squad - $524.00
Angela Hutchins – Yearbook - $582.00
Libby made motion to approve co-curricular contracts as stated. Board approved.
Principal – Penny said the staff has been working on Arts and Education mini grants to meet the deadline. They have also been working on budget requests to be turned in prior to the start of work on the 2008-2009 Budget. NECAP testing make-ups are being done, other then that the NECAP testing is about finished. A laptop was stolen at CAES at around 2:50 p.m. while the teacher was out of the room and several groups were in the building for meetings. This is a security issue and it is going to be difficult to enforce because people are used to having the school be an open community building. They are looking at ways to tighten security. Penny said they have designated handicapped and visitor spaces in the parking lot. If a parent or visitor leaves a car in one of
these spots then a staff member will not have a spot to park, as parking is tight. A Kurn Hattin Fall Conference was attended by a team from CAES last week regarding how to handle poverty issues in the school. Discussion of how to keep computers in the building safe took place.
Assistant Principal – None.
Board – None.
Review of Budget Timeline – Penny said the Leadership Team has been involved in budget development in the past. She wants to offer this to any staff members who would like to give input on the budget this year.
Approval for Signing Co-Curricular Accounts – Penny said there is a stage curtain account, people want to start putting money in the account to replace the curtains as they are over 25 years old. There is around $600.00 in this account. Jim Spaulding has been directed to look into the cost of cleaning the curtains if possible.A Keewaydin account and an account for Student Activities also exist. They need the board to approve taking Libby off the accounts and have signature cards signed by Kim Leonard and Jason Morse. Amanda made motion to approve signature cards to be signed by Kim Leonard and Jason Morse. Board approved. Betsy made motion to close the stage curtain account and move the money to the Student Activity account. Board approved.
Facilities Committee – Update on Water Pipe Breakage – Penny said there was a pipe break in a kindergarten classroom, then a pipe broke in the second grade classroom and both breaks caused flooding in the school. When a check was done to find the reason for the breaks it was found there was a failure in the water regulator. This has been replaced so there won’t be any more broken pipes. The new regulator cost $1,000.00. Penny said they want to have all the plumbing looked at next year.
Policy Committee Update – Penny said that information from the VSBA and VSA states that new policy manuals will be distributed at the VSBA conference on November 1st and 2nd. Once these new required and recommended policies come out, work on the CAES policies will begin.
Joan suggested adopting the policies as they are recommended without tweaking the wording. She wants to bring the policies to the Executive Board and once they adopt them she will take them to all the school boards to be adopted so all the policies will be the same across the supervisory union. Amanda told those present about a conference on “How Are The Children” that will be in Montpelier. Penny said the Commissioner sent out several different pieces of information on this. Joan talked about the new challenges of the new statewide school calendar that will take effect in 2010. One thing is there will be a mandatory 5 hour school day to have it count.
Public Discussion – None.
Other Business – None
New Agenda Items – Special Education staffing, Support Staff Contract Ratification.
Executive Session – Libby made motion to enter Executive Session at 6:00 p.m. to discuss negotiations and personnel. Board came out of Executive Session at 6:41 p.m.
No further motions were made.
Adjournment - Board adjourned at 6:41 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Currier
Recording Secretary Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
September 17, 2007 5:00 p.m.
Present
Board: Ginger Roper-Chair, Betsy Hart-Vice Chair, Amanda Bourque, Libby Johnson, and Jeff Hance
Administration: Joan Paustian-Superintendent and Penny Kraft-Principal
Public/Staff: Bruce Johnson-SAPA TV, Michelle Robidoux and Steve Seitz-Vermont Journal
1. Call to Order: Ginger called the meeting to order at 5:04p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes of August 20, 2007: Amanda made a motion to approve the minutes of August 20, 2007 as presented. Correction: Under the Discipline Plan: replace "at lest" with "at least"; Betsy Hart is the Vice Chair. All approved as amended.
3. Reports:
a) Superintendent: Joan attended the Back to School Night and said it was very successful, She is continuing to visit classrooms. Medicaid funds may be decreased by October 2008. Discussion ensued. Ginger asked what would be affected here at CAES. Penny said the summer program, Becky's position, the homework club. Joan read a letter from Peter Welch regarding No Child Left Behind.
b) Principal: Penny said Back to School Night was very well attended. She thanked the community for supporting it. There was mentor training for the teachers mentoring new teachers. This Wednesday will be an in-service day for all of southern Vermont so our teachers will be all over. The school was broken into last week. The only thing stolen was food. Penny said the food shelves in the area are empty. 79 students went to Keewayden this morning. Penny and Jason will be there Wednesday and Penny will stay until Thursday. The winter sports request to change from Thursday to Tuesday was denied by Okemo. 75 students brought in reading logs. School photographs are being taken by a local photographer outside this year. Homework club begins September 25th. It will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The MAPS testing is taking place in reading math and language arts. Penny is visiting the classrooms everyday. The administrators have given Joan their goals and Penny has
asked the teachers to do the same for her. Penny implemented a Principal's Newsletter last year and she gave the board a copy. She said it goes out once a week and she will include the board. They have revamped the committees and consolidated them. She gave the board the breakdown.
c) Assistant Principal: None
d) Board: None
4. Review of Administrative Salary Adjustments: Ginger said they need to vote on an adjustment to the salary of those who are not under a negotiated agreement. Past practice has been for these employees to follow the teacher's negotiated agreement with regards to salary increases and the percentage the employee contributes to their health insurance premium. They are already paying the increase in the health insurance contribution. Discussion ensued. Amanda made a motion to adjust the salaries for staff not covered under a negotiated agreement from 4 to 4.6% for the 07 08 school year as discussed. All approved.
5. Budget Report: Ginger went over the report for the year ending June 30, 2007. There was a surplus of $34,351.00 before the audit. Discussion ensued. Ginger said Meredith said there is a fund balance that would possibly pay for the lighting project. Discussion ensued. Amanda suggested a timeline for the FY09 budget. Ginger said Meredith will send out a suggested timeline to begin in October. Discussion ensued. Penny discussed some of the overages. Discussion ensued. Steve Seitz asked for the surplus amount.
6. Emergency Plans: Penny said Jason worked on emergency plans this summer and put together a notebook with all of the plans in it. Penny brought a copy for the Board Chair. Joan said on Oct 3rd at 10:00 a.m. all administrators are meeting with the state police to work together on a plan to be followed in an emergency situation. Discussion ensued.
7. Public Discussion: The board introduced themselves to Steve Seitz.
8. Other Business: Ginger asked about the final decision on the student directory. Joan said as long as the parent gives permission they will go into the directory.
9. New Agenda Items: Ginger asked the Board to let her know of any agenda items they want for the next meeting.
10. Executive Session - Negotiations: Betsy made a motion to go into executive session at 5:49 p.m. All approved. Libby made a motion to come out of executive session at 6:08 p.m. All approved. No action taken.
11. Adjournment: Libby made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:08 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
July 23, 2007 5:00 p.m.
Board Present: Ginger Roper- Chair, Betsy Hart, Jeff Hance
Public: Linda Limoges - SAPA-TV, Maggie Roper, Janet Currier - Recording Secretary.
Call to Order: Ginger Roper - Chair called meeting to order at 5:06 p.m. Ginger welcomed Joan Paustian, Superintendent to her first Chester-Andover Board meeting.
Approval of Minutes of June 14th and 18th, 2007: Betsy moved approval of June 14th and 18th minutes. She had correction on Item #7 on June 18th minutes - it should be Rowell Inn not Raoul Inn. Penny said there should be a slash or hyphen in # 9 between the 2007/2008. Jason said in #4 there is only one "m" in Hemenway. Minutes were approved as corrected.
Superintendent Report: Joan Paustian said it has been a busy few weeks as she has been learning about Windsor Southwest. She met with all four Principals individually and has been reviewing documents and trying to get some loose ends tied up. She has met with some Town Clerks and has scheduled appointments with several people she needs to meet, i.e., Police Chief, Town Managers and Fire Chief. Green Mountain held their Board Retreat on July 16th at Jackson Gore. A Formative Assessment workshop is being held at Green Mountain all this week. The Administrators will be holding their Retreat on August 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. She talked about the presenters and the agenda.
Principal's Report: Penny said she had good news as Jodi Peebles, CAES Kindergarten Assistant had a baby boy on July 11th. She also had bad news as Elaine Reed CAES Art teacher fell and broke her left wrist and it was a very severe break. The custodians are working on the building getting it ready for school to start. The lighting upgrade is in process. Summer Camp is going very well. Kim Leonard has been revising enrollment forms to streamline them. Cindy Cole is working on a letter stating which teacher's students will have when they return in August. Cindy also did an unexpected mailing of the 2007-2008 school Calendar as it was not ready before school let out for the summer. Penny explained that CAES pulled out of the Formative Assessment
workshop as many of the CAES teachers are already taking assessment courses this summer. CAES received a request to be on a Reality TV show but it is being filmed in Bradford, Vermont and it was decided that we are too far away.
Assistant Principal Report: Jason said he has been working on a school wide discipline plan and he will present it to the Board on August 15th. He attended the BEST Institute at Killington which dealt with school discipline. He finished the Crisis Response binder and copies will be given to all CAES teachers, Chester Police and Fire Department as well. He said we have a bumper crop of vegetables in the CAES garden and the summer program will try to use them.
Board Report: None
Facilities Update: Betsy reported that the lighting project is on schedule. Jim Spaulding made many calls and saved CAES a lot of money on removal of fluorescent bulbs. Instead of paying $1.00 per bulb he got disposable containers free and can get rid of all the bulbs for less than $200.00. Betsy said an Architect needs to be hired for the big projects.
Technology Plan: Penny said this was included with the agenda but then passed out updated copies to the Board. This is for Board information, the Superintendent has to submit this to the State with her signature. Penny suggested the Board review the document and approve it at the next meeting. Discussion ensued regarding using computers for testing.
Summer Staff Services: a) Library Set Up - Penny said the Library had to be totally taken apart to put new carpet in. The Librarian asked to have a couple of days to put the Library back together before school. Penny said there is money in the budget to cover this. Joan said the S.U. Business Manager and Bookkeeper need to know how much money a person is going to be paid and they need to have the Board approve the rates to be paid. The either need a Board motion or something in writing. Penny said teachers generally receive their per diem rate during the summer. Betsy made motion to approve paying Jeanie Phillips up to 2 days for Library Work. Board approved. B) Summer Substitute - Penny said the summer substitute has a lot of
responsibility as summer school was going on, both the Principal and Assistant Principal were out of the building and there was no Superintendent at that time. This sub worked as a Title I sub for $15/hour and asked for the same amount to work as office sub. Penny asked the Board to approve a recognition stipend of $300.00 for Deb Smith. She also asked the Board to give the office sub (Deb Smith) a standard rate of $12.50/hour instead of $10.00/hour for all future times that she subs. Penny said Deb knows how to do everything in the office; knows how the school operates and can enter data on the computer as well. Penny said the Summer Camp Assistants receive $13.00/hour. Discussion ensued. Penny said they typically always use the same person in the office when a sub is needed. She said this person is just not covering the office, she is covering the school. Deb covered for 7 days in June and was paid $10.00/hour. Penny is
requesting an additional $300.00 stipend for her. Ginger questioned whether or not we would be setting a precedent with other staff that substitute. Penny said Deb was alone with all the responsibility and no administrators, secretaries or Superintendent on board. The $300.00 would be an additional $5.30/hour. Betsy made motion to approve paying Deb Smith an additional stipend of $300.00 for the additional responsibility she had while working in June. Motion passed. Betsy made motion to pay Deb Smith $12.50/hour for future subbing in the office. Approved. c) Power School Training - Penny said that Kim Leonard was asked to attend the Power School but on one approved paying for this. She is not a year-round employee. Kim turned in time sheets for 4 days at 6 hours per day. Kim has this as one of her primary responsibilities in her job so she needed the training. Penny asked the Board to approve
payment of Kim's time sheet. She said that Kim also does the testing administration here at CAES, it is a very detailed job and must be correct. Joan asked Penny to write letters stating what people will be receiving for services and to send a copy to her at the central office. Joan said she wants to try to have any changes in services the Board needs to approve done before the services are. Jeff made motion to pay Kim Leonard for 24 hours at the Power School Institute. Board approved.
Topics for August 15, 2007 Board Work Session: Ginger said she will email the agenda to everyone and she is also going to contact Winton Goodrich as he will be the facilitator. She will get everything to Janet to be warned and mailed. Some items that have been discussed for the agenda are:
6th grade at high school
Foreign Language Program
Discipline Program
Teacher/Administration Evaluations
Wish List for CAES
Policy Review
Joan said she would like some uniformity with the four schools in the S.U. especially with policies.
Ginger will email the menu out and will need a head count for the meal.
Public Discussion: None.
Other Business: None.
New Agenda Items: Technology Plan. Jason will make presentation on Discipline Plan either at August 15th Board Workshop or August 20th Board meeting.
Executive Session: Negotiations/Grievance - Betsy made motion to go into Executive Session at 6:10 p.m. Board approved.
Betsy made motion to come out of Executive Session at 6:50 p.m. Board Approved.
Jeff made motion to hire Suzanne Farrell as long-term substitute for Art at the contracted rate. Board voted in the affirmative.
Betsy made motion to pay for Loretta Murphy's professional development in the amount of $_______________. Board approved.
Adjournment: Jeff made motion to adjourn at 6:52 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Currier
Recording Secretary
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
June 4, 2007 5:00 p.m.
Board Present: - Ginger Roper - Chair, Amanda Bourque - Vice-Chair, Libby Johnson, Betsy Hart
Administration Present: Ed Brown - Superintendent, Penny Kraft - Principal, Jason Morse-Assistant Principal
Public Present: Linda Limoges - SAPA TV, Arne Jonynas, Linda Morton, Angela Hutchins, Maggie Arlund, Shanna McCarthy, Michelle Robidoux, Kathy Martens,
Call to Order : Ginger Roper, Chair, called meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of May 21, 2007 - Amanda made motion to approve minutes of May 21st. Ginger asked to have wording under Reports state: "The Negotiations Committee has a Mediation process tomorrow". Board approved as amended.
Reports - Finance - None.
Superintendent - Ed said that there will be a meeting on June 8th at Lake Morey for an update on Legislative actions. The Early Education Program financing will be done by the ADM. The calendar will be 175 days plus in-service days. In the year 2010 the Commissioner is supposed to put out a State wide calendar. Mediation was held on May 22nd, an agreement was reached. The Board will be briefed on this during Executive Session. He is waiting for a contract from Norm Bartlett and then he and Alison will review it word by word and the it will be brought to the Boards for ratification.
Principal - Penny said this is a very busy time. She thanked Doris Eddy and Leigh Dakin who brought the Health Fair to Chester-Andover, it was very successful. Chester-Andover 6th grade Graduation will be Monday, June 11th at 6:30 p.m. A field day is planned for this Friday, the 8th. Cost to replace the hot water heater is $4,452.00 and it uses both propane and electricity. EPSDT funds were approved to cover summer school for this year and she wants to look into busing for the students. There will be an orientation for staff on the new report cards. There are some 504 meetings scheduled for the last week. Houghton Mifflin Representative is going to come to CAES. Ed said we don't know yet if the February vacation will be the
3rd or 4th week yet, but it will be the same as the Technical Center. Penny said the CAES band and flags participate in the Chester Memorial Day Parade. She feels that unless the town re-routes traffic around the Green during the service it is not a safe event for the kids to take part in. Penny reported that there have been a lot of interviews (7) and they observed 5 candidates teach for the 3rd grade position. Ed proposed hiring Meghan Kane for the 3rd grade position at a salary of $35,767.00. Amanda made motion to hire Meghan Kane as the new 3rd grade teacher. Board approved. Penny said Meghan currently works at Flood Brook as a special education teacher. She is certified as an elementary teacher as well. Penny praised Meghan's teaching that she did as part of her application process. The Interview Committee all felt the same way about her presentation.
Assistant Principal - Jason said they had evacuation drill today and they hope to do it again at the beginning of the school year. The kids went to the First Baptist Church. He has a notice in the Beating Drum that the Student Council garden is growing and he hopes to have volunteers for July and August to weed and water it.
Board -No report at this time.
Facilities - Betsy talked to Meredith who said for big projects we need to get an Architect involved. We will use the Architect we had a couple of years ago. We now have a committee to make a list of the things we want to do so the Architect can price them out. Ed said there is a moratorium on all State aid so anything that is done for improvements, we are on our own, we will not get the 30%. Arne suggested having a Capital Funds account to help convert these items that have to be done. It will be checked on by Ed to see if replacing the windows are still part of the original bond and could be covered by 30%. The parking lot will be on the priority list too.
Policy - First Read - F-14 - Enrollment of Children of Non-Resident Teachers. Ed reviewed the policy. This will be on next agenda for adoption. This policy is being requested because of the new Master Contract. The Policy Committee can meet and bring back changes prior to the next meeting. Penny suggested adding a notification date to the policy.
Public Discussion - None.
Other Business - Ed had a contract for Jack Carroll for $16,966.00 for Chester-Andover's share. Libby made motion to hire Jack Carroll. Board approved.
New Agenda Items - Policy.
Ginger said this is Ed's last board meeting and she recognized and thanked him for all his wonderful work in our district. He received a round of applause. Ed said he has enjoyed working with everyone.
Executive Session - Amanda made motion to enter Executive Session at 5:35 p.m. Board approved. Betsy made motion was made to come out of Executive Session at 6:05 p.m.
No further motions were made.
Adjournment - Board adjourned at 6:06 p.m.
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
May 7, 2007 6:30 p.m.
Present
Board: Ginger Roper-Chair, Betsy Hart -Vice Chair, Amanda Bourque, Libby Johnson, and Jeff Hance,
Administration: Ed Brown-Superintendent, Penny Kraft-Principal
Public/Staff: Linda Limoges, Meredith Austin, Linda Morton.
1. Call to Order: Ginger called the meeting to order at 6:36 p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes of April 23, 2007: Amanda made a motion to approve the minutes of April 23, 2007 as presented. Corrections: Principals Report: 2nd to last sentence should say student health day, the breakfast was a Teaching Assistant breakfast, Parking lot safety: the drawings were redesigns of the parking lot. Minutes approved as amended.
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