Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, May 6, 2013, 6:00 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
Minutes
Present
Board: Marilyn Mahusky-Chair, Tonia Fleming-Vice chair, Jeff Hance and Jake Arace,
Administration: Jean Michaels, Linda Waite-Superintendent
Public: SAPA-TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Polly Westcott, Chris Myer, Jack Carroll, Frank Kelley, Maggie Arlund, Michelle Robidoux, Jeremy Kelloway, Carrie King and four members of the community.
Call to Order
Marilyn called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of March 15th & April 1st, 2013
Tonia made a motion to approve the minutes of March 15th and April 1st, 2013 as presented. Motion approved.
Appoint Supervisory Union Representative
Linda said the board needs a representative to the WSWSU executive committee board. Marilyn will attend these meetings as the board chair.
Camp Keewaydin Fundraising Appreciation
Frank Kelley expressed appreciation for the support of the board and community of the Keewaydin fund. Frank read a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Hance thanking them for their support of the program.
Finance
Financial Report
Chris reported the revenue is coming in right where expected. Expenditures are under slightly. Chris feels on June 30th CAES will be on budget.
Facilities
Playground Project
Chris Myer, the PTG president, feels the playground is a good project for the PTG to work on. Chris is supporting a community outreach to replace the playground. The structure would be made of composite and metal instead of the pressure treated wood. Chris has received information regarding grants that will be available and fundraising events. They are shooting for approximately $70,000.00. There is no need for excavation. The board thanked Chris for his efforts.
Food Service
Farm to School Program – (Presentation)
Jack Carroll, Food Service Director of CAES and GMUHS introduced himself. Linda asked about how the new federal dietary guidelines were implemented. Jack explained more fruits and vegetables, less red meat and carbohydrates. The salad bar is now included with all meals. The regulations require he use 50% whole grains; Jack has been doing 100% whole grain for the last five years. He said they have been implementing a lot of the guidelines for a long time. He is maintaining the guidelines the best he can. Menus and portions have been revamped. Sugar, fat, and salt, have strict guidelines. Jack received a grant for fruits and vegetables to be available to students not during lunch but before lunch after lunch and before the students go home. He said it was a huge
success. Chris Myer offered some help from the PTG if needed. Jack also offers local beef and Stoneyfield organic yogurt is now being used.
Jack introduced Abby Nelson from VT Feed. Abbey gave the background on the Farm to School Program. They work with the “3 C’s”; Classroom Community and Cafeteria. Professional development, community development, and cafeteria support. She said Jack is a huge proponent of this program. The state provides grants for planning and implementation. Different institutions are being looked at for commonalities.
Richard Brookfield from Food Connects gave the board background on his organization (attached). They offer support through education. The cost is per school. Food Connects would work with what you have such as an existing garden. The board thanked Richard.
Review of Multi-Age Classroom Configuration
Linda said class configuration has been discussed. Linda went over the history and other potential configurations (attached). The school population is declining. The possibilities to consider are dropping from 14 teachers to 13 through attrition or to continue with 14. Linda talked about the possibilities of which multi age classes would be reduced. Discussion ensued. School policy says primary K-2 has an average of 20 students per classroom. There have been up to 25 in the other grades but that is not the case for next year. Michelle commented that the number of teachers budgeted for was 14. The risk of a RIF next year does not look likely according to Jeremy as a teacher has left every year he has been here. Frank said now that this is on the radar the teachers
can prepare in the future but this decision would be best tabled until a new administration is in place. There has not been a dedicated discussion among staff regarding classroom configuration. Linda asked if there should there be a consideration of the configurations presented as student needs are higher in 5/6 than in 3/4. Linda asked the board to consider their fiscal responsibility. This topic has been difficult for the teachers at this late date. Looping was discussed. Jeremy feels multiage is a social advantage. The administration will make a decision by the end of the week. Discussion: The impacts of hiring two new teachers now and having to RIF one next year. An option could be for a one year hire. Per pupil spending was discussed. Jake expressed his concern with making more changes than are already happening.
CAES Board Retreat
Linda said she thinks Bruce Williams should be at the retreat as he will be the Superintendent next year. The board typically sets goals for the next year. Considering waiting until a new principal is hired may be something the board should look at. Discussion: a full day for the retreat; possibly late June or early July for a daylong retreat; a facilitator or not; board roles; the needs of the school; setting an agenda and a date and time.
Set Date and Time
This will be decided through email.
Facilitator
Principal Search Update and Process
Marilyn said Bob Stevens has been hired to help with the process. Two candidates are being moved to interview again. There will be one more first interview on Friday and the second interviews will be the following Monday. Staff and community will be able to rate the candidates.
Principal’s and Superintendent’s Reports
Jean recognized Teacher Appreciation. She said it is her honor and a privilege to work with the staff at CAES. The 5/6 hiring committee had three finalists to send to the superintendent but one of them has accepted another position. She said the board should be proud of their staff.
Two Rivers Supervisory Union
June 12th will be the last full WSWSU board meeting. Linda received a letter from Joe Karl notifying Linda he will not be returning as the Ski Program Director. Linda also received a letter from Cindi Austin regarding the choral program. Linda thanked Cindi for her hard work. Tonia also thanked Polly Westcott for her dedication to the instrumental program.
Lynn Behrendt has notified Linda she is retiring this year. Linda thanked Lynn for her dedicated service to CAES.
There will be a negotiation meeting tomorrow night. The next TRSU board meeting is next Thursday.
Linda will meet with the two 5/6 candidates.
Public Comment
Carrie said the Grateful Garden had been so successful because of the staff at CAES; it has been instrumental. Marilyn thanked everyone for coming to the meeting.
Other Business
None
Executive Session
Tonia made a motion to go into executive session at 8:15 p.m. to discuss personnel and to invite Jean and Linda. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 8:45 p.m. Tonia made a motion to accept Victoria Winokur’s resignation with regret and appreciation for her service at CAES. Motion approved. Jeff made a motion to appoint Jean Michaels as CAES Interim Principal effective immediately through June 20, 2013 with a salary to be negotiated by the superintendent. Motion approved.
Adjournment
Tonia made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, April 1, 2013, 6:00 PM
Chester-Andover Elementary School – Library
Minutes
Present
Board: Jake Arace, Tonia Fleming, Marilyn Mahusky, Jeff Hance
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal and Linda Waite - Superintendent
Public: Kim Leonard – Recording Secretary, Margaret Arlund, Michelle Robidoux, Mary Jane Miles
Call to Order
Marilyn called the meeting to order at 6:09.
Approval of Minutes of February 4th & 28th, 2013
Tonia made a motion to approve the minutes of February 4th & 28th as presented. Motion approved.
Date for Board Retreat
Discussion about a day and time for the board retreat. A full day retreat is appealing to the new members of the board. Marilyn is willing to waiting another month or so before scheduling this retreat – still don’t have a board member from the Town of Andover. Discussion about having a facilitator at the retreat.
Finance
Linda did talk to Chris Adams and got a current budget status update. It looks like we are in pretty good shape, not overspending at this point. Will obtain a memo from Chris about this.
Facilities
Playground Equipment Update
Scott Gray reported that $10,000 has been donated so far for the structure replacement. This is to replace the existing structure in similar functionality in metal and plastic not pressure treated wood. Scott stated that the price for replacement was based on the existing size and content of the playground. The board would like to invite Chris Meyers, President of the PTG, to the next meeting to discuss this project.
Front Door Sensor Replacement
The work has been completed and is in working order. There are two additional push bars on the entrance doors. We were unable to do away with the original set of bars so we had to add the panic bars above the existing ones. While the security company was here they worked on the communication boxes that are on Cindy & Kim’s desk in the main office to have them work more efficiently.
Countertop Replacement
Tonia has asked for an update on the countertop replacement. Scott stated that the bid was awarded to All Seasons Construction. An addendum has been made to replace the sinks that are cast iron to all steel. Work will start on June 24th and will be completed before school starts in August.
Review of Multi-Age Classroom Configuration
Discussion about various classroom configurations for next year. Linda had a handout with different scenarios. Michelle Robidoux spoke about the configurations from years past. Scott passed out a handout about looping and explained the process. Marilyn stated that in some of the scenarios there is a reduction in teachers. Linda confirmed that currently we have one opening and one anticipated opening.
Principal Search Update and Process
Marilyn announced that the Principal Search Committee met prior to this meeting. Bob Stevens gave a presentation about facilitating such a search. Currently there are 30 applicants but qualifications have not been looked at yet. Bob thinks we will have a candidate by May, Marilyn thinks that looks more like June. Three options: Information shared today; full search – cost $4,000 - $5,000; abbreviated search - cost $2,500 to $3,000. Linda would recommend that the board support her idea to use Bob for the abbreviated search. Linda asked the board to entertain a motion to hire Bob Stevens in the capacity of an abbreviated search for principal. Motion made by Tonia to hire Bob Stevens as presented. Motion was approved. The principal search committee
consists of the following people: Marilyn Mahusky (board member), Jeff Hance (board member), Maggie Arlund (teacher), Amy Hamblett (teacher), Cindy Cole (Admin. Asst.), Carrie King (community member), Doug Reitmeyer (community member).
Time line would be to have a candidate for Linda to present to the board by the June meeting.
Principal’s and Superintendent’s Report
Scott reported that we are beginning the interview process for the 5/6 teaching position. Several candidates – 99 last count. Twelve have been chosen to interview. Special programs coordinator, Tabitha Klezos, is working on bringing in the after school program OWLS (outdoor wilderness learning and survival) which is run by Jamie Maloof. We continue to work with Diana Watson who is working with us on the critical friends group work. She will be working with us off and on throughout the rest of the school year.
Linda has received reports from the following coaches for winter sports: Tabitha Klezos– Special Program Coordinator, Tracy Jackson – Okemo, Angela Markwell – bowling, Carol Neff – ice skating, Laurie Scott – swimming, Rena Gordon – Kindergarten program. Reports were excellent with suggestions for next year. SBAC training – two board members attended. Code of Ethics for school board members was handed out and is done so each year. Linda asked the board members to read the handout, sign and return to her on or before the next meeting. All the budgets have passed. Letter handed out regarding a family medical leave by a primary teacher in September – 6 week leave.
Two Rivers Supervisory Union Update
Calendar – Snow Days
Five snow days have been used so far this year. June 19th is the last day for students and June 20th is the last day for teachers. CAES graduation is on June 17th and Green Mountain is on June 21st.
Public Comments
Mary Jane Miles shared a few comments regarding the school lunch program.
Other Business
None
Executive Session
Jeff made a motion to go into executive session, seconded by Tonia. Motion approved. No action taken.
Adjournment
Tonia made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kim Leonard
Recording Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Special Board Meeting
Friday, March 15, 2013, 8:00 a.m.
Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union – Conference Room
*Advanced Notice - Election of Officers
Minutes
Present
Board: Jake Arace, Marilyn Mahusky, Jeff Hance and Tonia Fleming.
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal, Linda Waite-Superintendent, Wayne Flewelling-Special Education Director, and Chris Adams-Business Manager
Public: Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Alicia Currie, Pat Gutierrez
Call to Order
Linda called the meeting to order at 8:09 a.m. She welcomed Jake Arace as a new member to the board.
Reorganization
Elect Board Chair
Linda asked for nominations for Board Chair. Jeff made a motion to nominate Marilyn Mahusky as board chair. Motion approved.
Elect Board Vice Chair
Marilyn asked for nominations for vice chair. Jeff made a motion to nominate as Tonia Fleming as vice chair. Motion approved.
Elect Board Clerk
Marilyn asked for nomination for board clerk. Tonia made a motion to nominate Jeff Hance as board clerk. Motion approved.
Elect Supervisory Union Board Representatives
Marilyn asked for nominations for union board representatives. Marilyn made a motion to elect Tonia, Jeff and Jake as the union board representatives. Motion approved.
Set CAES Regular Board Meeting Date and Time
The board agreed to have the meetings on the first Monday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at CAES. Next meeting is March 19th at 6:00 p.m.
Reduction in Force
Linda said Wayne has been looking at the special needs and student numbers at CAES. A number of special needs students are leaving CAES. A reduction in force would eliminate one Special Education Teacher. The teacher will have recall rights. Wayne said he sees the case load going down at CAES. With the numbers next year CAES does not need 3 special educators and a speech language pathologist. He is recommending 2 special education teachers and a speech language pathologist at CAES for FY’14. Tonia asked about an opening at GMUHS. There are two postings for special educators at GMUHS. There would be 10 to 12 students per caseload next year. Wayne thinks this is a reasonable number. Had the SU consolidated special education Wayne could have moved
staff to where they are needed but this did not happen. Jake made a motion to reduce the CAES staff by one special educator as presented. Discussion: Pat said they were not notified about this until 24 hours ago. The students do not have the same needs. The population is becoming more troublesome. Pat read a letter from Amy Hamblett, Special Education Teacher. Pat said it will be very difficult for classroom teachers and special education teachers to collaborate. Pat said they are barely keeping their heads above water now with the current staff. Wayne said he thinks the needs can be met with the number of special educators he is recommending. Linda said if the needs increase the teacher will have recall rights. The school population is decreasing. She said they need to be fiscally responsible. Alicia said she case manages severely handicapped students. The current service delivery model enables the
teachers to evaluate the students. She feels they need to maintain a model of service to meet the needs of the students. Scott understands the teacher’s concerns but supports Wayne’s recommendation. He feels it is conceivable to make it work. If the needs change then they need to respond. The caseload numbers were discussed. Marilyn reminded the board she is biased as she works in special education. She said she is inclined to vote no. Motion does not pass, 1:3.
Executive Session
None
Adjournment
Tonia made a motion to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:08 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Thursday, February 28, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
*Please note this meeting will replace the March 4th meeting.
Minutes
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Phillisa Prescott-Vice Chair, Marilyn Mahusky, Jeff Hance and Tonia Fleming.
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal and Linda Waite-Superintendent
Public: Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Jean Michaels, Michelle Robidoux and Jake Arace
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of February 4th, 2013
Phillisa made a motion to approve the minutes of February 4, 2013 as presented. Motion approved.
Personnel
Non-Licensed Staff Hiring
Linda informed the board Darcy Gibney has been hired as a special education Para professional. She gave the board Darcy’s background.
Finance
FY’ 2013 Budget Update
Chris gave the board a copy of the completed FY’12 audit. The audit is a “clean report”.
He gave the board a copy of the current budget. The food revenues for all of the schools are coming into the central office which is something new. The funds need to be designated to the correct school. Discussion ensued regarding the process. The computer program costs are offset by revenues. Chris said things are “orderly” at CAES.
Facilities
Bid Awards
Waste Management: Chris said the current contract runs through April first. Bids were evaluated on Tuesday February 26th (attached). He is recommending GDS division of Casella Waste Management. Phillisa made a motion to authorize the administration sign a two year agreement with GDS Casella Waste Management as presented. Motion approved.
Counter Tops: The bids were evaluated on Tuesday February 26th. Chris is recommending All Seasons construction Corp (attached). Phillisa made a motion to authorize the administration to sign a contract for countertops with All Season’s Construction Corp in the amount of $23,904.76 as presented and to negotiate further regarding the possibility of new stainless steel sinks and make a decision in the best interest of the project at no more cost than the agreed on bid. Motion approved.
Scott informed the board that a touch bar needs to be installed on the front doors to correct a glitch in the sensor.
Principal Search
Linda reported an ad has been placed on schoolspring.com. Twenty-four applications have been received so far. The ad will close on March 15th. Linda recommends that a moderate size committee be formed of 2 board members, 2 staff members, administrative personnel, possibly a third staff member, an administrator from the central office and two community members. A timeline and criteria should be put in place. Discussion ensued regarding the makeup of the new board and the role of the committee. The committee could convene as early as next Wednesday. Discussion ensued regarding the size of the committee. First round interview, a site visit, second round with a site visit to CAES and a second interview. Linda would like to see 8-12 candidates to the first interview then the top 4-5
for the second interview.
Tonia made a motion to authorize Linda to convene a search committee and bring 2 to 3 candidates to the board. Motion approved.
NECAP
These tests were discussed at the last meeting. The scores have improved.
Principal’s and Superintendent’s Report
Scott reported the staff worked on data and whole child interventions that affect students. The Grafton Museum wants to help CAES with natural science and there are funds to do this. Critical Friends work is going to possibly continue.
Linda gave the board a copy of the legislative updates from the VSBA. Budgets across the state are up 5.5%. On March 12th the post fact finding session for the teacher’s negotiations will take place.
Two Rivers Supervisory Union Update
The board approved the Fletcher Farm as the TRSU central office.
Public Comment
None
Other Business
The board agreed to meet on March 19th at 5:30 p.m.
Executive Session
None
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:57 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, February 4, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
Chester-Andover Elementary School – Library
Minutes
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Phillisa Prescott-Vice Chair, Marilyn Mahusky, Jeff Hance and Tonia Fleming.
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal and Linda Waite-Superintendent
Public: Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Kathy Cherubini, Michelle Robidoux and Jake Arace
Call to Order
Wendalyn called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of January 3rd & 7th, 2013
Tonia made a motion to approve the minutes of January 3rd and 7th 2013 as presented. Correction: Phillisa was not present at the January 3rd board meeting. Motion approved as amended.
Personnel
Retirement Request Review
Linda reported she received a letter from Pat Gutierrez notifying her of her intent to retire in June 2013. Phillisa made a motion to approve Pat Gutierrez request to retire and to approve the unused sick leave request in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement. Motion approved. The board said this is a loss to the school and they wish Pat well in the future.
Facilities Committee Update
Tabitha Klezos is looking into some different ways to fund the structure. Scott said the structure is old and needs replacing. The board would like to hear from the parent teacher group.
Policies
Non-Resident Teacher Enrollment Policy F14 – Second Read - Adoption
Tonia made a motion to adopt amended policy F14-Non-Resident Teacher Enrollment. Motion approved.
Principal’s and Superintendent’s Report
Scott reported the winter sports program is going well. The Critical Friends Group work will be finished on Thursday. There will be no winter sports on Thursday, February 28th. There was a lockdown drill on January 25th that went well. Discussion ensued regarding details of the drill. Observations/Evaluations will be completed by March 1st. Dr. Seuss’s birthday will be celebrated.
Linda reported January 28th was a building in service day. The SU provided two courses to teachers. VSBIT (VT School Board Insurance Trust) is formulating a safety tool kit for schools by the end of February. There are four tiers. The first tier’s resources will be at no charge to participating schools. Fact finding briefs for teacher negotiations have been submitted.
Lois Fuller, the school improvement coach from the state, has recommended some changes to the school improvement plan and Scott is working on these changes. David Liben’s report has not come back yet.
Two Rivers Supervisory Union Update
Linda reported there is a lot going on. There is a policy meeting this evening. The facilities committee has met and looked at a number of sites for the new SU. The Fletcher Farm site is going to be recommended by the committee. The next TRSU board meeting is February 21st at 6:30 p.m. at GMUHS.
The TRSU policy committee is going to recommend all schools approve the same mandatory policies. Individual school boards may adopt other policies they feel are important to their school. Policy audits are an option at a nominal fee.
TRSU logos have been submitted by art students from GMUHS and BRHS. The administration will recommend three choices to the board.
The governance committee is working with the VSBA to interview other supervisory unions regarding the governance of their SUs.
Public Comment
None
Other Business
None
Executive Session
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 6:16 p.m. to discuss personnel. The administration was invited. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 7:30 p.m. Phillisa made a motion to accept Scott Gray’s resignation effective June 30, 2013. Motion approved. The next meeting will be March 28th at 5:30 p.m.
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:42 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, January 7, 2013, 5:30 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
Minutes
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Phillisa Prescott-Vice Chair, Marilyn Mahusky and Tonia Fleming.
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal and Linda Waite-Superintendent
Public: Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary
Call to Order
Wendalyn called the meeting to order at 5:34 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of December 3, 11, & 14, 2012
Jeff made a motion to approve the minutes of December 3, 11, and 14 as presented. Motion approved.
Personnel
Retirement Letter
This has been moved to executive session.
Finance
Budget Approval
There is a .84% increase in the budget. Most of it is due to health insurance premiums and to maintain the compensatory positions. Phillisa made a motion to approve the FY’14 budget in the amount of $3,601,400.00. Motion approved.
Approval of Warnings
Warning of Annual Meeting
Monday February 25, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.
Warning of Public Information Hearing
Monday, February 25, 2013
Warning to Vote by Australian Ballot
Tuesday, March 5, 2013.
Phillisa made a motion to approve the annual meeting warning and the public information hearing warning on February 25, 2013 and the warning to vote by Australian ballot on March 5, 2013. Motion approved.
Facilities Committee Update
No report at this time
Policies
Non-Resident Teacher Enrollment Policy F14 – First Read
Phillisa reported the only change is #4. It allows siblings of current out of district students to attend CAES.
Principal’s and Superintendent’s Report
Scott reported the front doors are locked at 8:00 a.m. and are opened at 2:30 p.m. Visitors will be buzzed in. He is looking at purchasing reflective covers for the office windows and classroom door windows. Discussion ensued regarding the classroom doors being locked. There are concerns with cars pulling out of line and passing stopped cars during pickup. Scott said he is addressing this. He is also looking into identification tags and visitor tags.
The winter sports program begins Thursday. The staff will be working on Curriculum Mapping. A new flag was donated by the American Legion. NewsBank will be hosting the School Nutrition Association satellite board meeting.
Linda reported she hired Lindsey Fitch as a special education Para professional at $12.81/hr. Linda gave the board Lindsey’s background. WSWSU qualifies for a grant from the VT DOE for an electronic health records program which has been purchased.
Sherri Nichols has set up courses to align with the school improvement plan.
Mediation for the teachers took place and the fact finding materials will be submitted. There will be a meeting in late February.
The CAES school improvement plan meets the requirements. How the plan will be implemented and reports will be submitted.
Linda said crisis plans have been reviewed and discussed with administrators on Friday. CAES is the most highly equipped building in the SU in terms of security. Linda shared a letter she sent to community members with the board (attached). Marilyn feels cameras in a school are disconcerting. Procedures for the security system need to be documented; the board will review them.
Two Rivers Supervisory Union Update
Linda shared an article regarding TRSU from the Rutland Herald. The TRSU budget has been approved. The next meeting is Thursday, January 17th at 6:30 p.m. in Ludlow. The senior management team is working on filling the positions on the TRSU organizational chart. The facilities committee looked at the Fletcher Farm and another building in Ludlow to house the new S.U.
Public Comment
None
Other Business
There are multiple board positions that will be opening. Petitions will need to be submitted by January 28th. If someone is interested they should contact the town offices. A submission should go into the Beating Drum and the local newspapers.
Executive Session
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 6:33 p.m. to discuss personnel. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 7:33 p.m. No action taken.
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 7:33 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Special Board Meeting
Thursday, January 03, 2013, 4:30 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
*Special Board Meeting
Minutes
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Phillisa Prescott-Vice Chair, Marilyn Mahusky and Tonia Fleming.
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal and Linda Waite-Superintendent
Public: Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary and Jean Michaels
Call to Order
Wendalyn called the meeting to order at 4:40 p.m.
FY’ 13-14 Budget
Chris said the expenditures are up a bit. The education spending is up 1.65% total. There was a drop in equalized pupil spending. Chris went over the changes. Linda explained the compensatory education positions being moved to the SU budget. Chris explained line 144 is reimbursable as it is for a high needs student. The SU assessment is the amount the TRSU board approved. Line 302; the phone system: reduced by $5,000.
The overall increase in the budget is .84. The board discussed approving the budget and the warnings at the next board meeting. The public informational meeting is scheduled for February 25th. Board member discussion will go on the next agenda.
Marilyn made a motion to go into executive session at 5:17 p.m. to discuss personnel negotiations. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 6:35 p.m. No action taken.
Adjournment
Tonia made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:36 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M, Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Special Board Meeting
Tuesday, December 14, 2012, 8:00 a.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
*Special Board Meeting
Minutes
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Phillisa Prescott-Vice Chair, Marilyn Mahusky and Tonia Fleming.
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal and Linda Waite-Superintendent
Public: Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary
Call to Order
Phillisa called the meeting to order at 8:08 a.m.
School Improvement Plan
Discussion: The Rationales should read “to improve scores for all students and reduce the disparity” in the goals 1 and 2. The coach said the socioeconomic piece should be included. Improve overall grades and close the gender and socioeconomic gaps.
The board looked at the School Improvement Plan Review page from the improvement handbook.
“Overall student population gender and socioeconomic categories”. The board agreed to add this in Rationale for goals 1 and 2.
Linda feels the wording should be positive. Goal 1: Action Steps: “Establish groups based on data”. Under results: “pre and post tests will be given subsequent to all units and instruction”. “For all students” should read in each category.
Page 2: “Assess the need for a multi tiered level of behavioral support for all students”. “Complete the VT readiness tool for PBIS”. Swap row 1 action with result.
Page 3: Row 2: 2nd column: every staff member will be trained in the Charlotte Danielson Model for Teacher Evaluation guided by Sherry Gilles of the VT NEA, and revisions will be made from teacher input from a representative on the evaluation committee.
Page 4: remove “Connie Cannon”.
Discussion: Paying for Para training,
Page 4 row 2: “All students will increase their proficiency levels”; Carryover rationale from goal 1 to goal 2.
“All students” needs to be consistent.
Goal 3: Target goal to assess student work and collect data to collect and analyze data to inform instructional decision.
Page 9: Row 1 and 2 in column 2: “development of a clearly articulated”
Page 10: Mirror the language in all results. Colum 2 row 3: “development of a articulated approach”
The board agreed to send Scott changes/suggestions for pages 11 and 12 by the end of today.
Adjournment
Maralyn made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 9:16 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M, Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Special Board Meeting
Tuesday, December 11, 2012, 6:00 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
*Special Board Meeting
Minutes
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Phillisa Prescott-Vice Chair, Jeff Hance and Tonia Fleming.
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal, Jean Michaels-Substitute Principal
Public: Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary
Call to Order
Wendalyn called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m.
School Improvement Plan
Phillisa made a motion to approve the Chester-Andover Elementary School Improvement Plan for 2012-2013 as presented.
Discussion: Scott went over the plan with the board. The result indicators were discussed; the result should be more defined. The rational needs to be more defined. This document will be made public after it has been reviewed by a consultant.
Referencing WSWSU and two elementary schools in the document is confusing. Suggestion: To use “in conjunction with” when using WSWSU. Where it reads rational and disparity there should be a definitive result in the result indicators. Spell out the acronyms. Responsive classroom training was discussed. Add “in order to insure high quality’ under “Every staff member will be evaluated yearly”. “Tweak” the results to reflect the goals. The result indicators should directly tie to the goal and a definitive result should be included. Goal 4: How does the rationale support teachers and staff.
Phillisa withdraws her motion. Scott will have the changes for the board’s review on Friday. The board agrees to meet on Friday, December 14, 2012 at 8:00 a.m. at CAES to approve the document with the changes to be followed by the policy committee meeting.
The next finance committee meeting will tentatively be January 3rd.
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:29 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M, Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
December 3, 2012 5:30 P.M.
Board Present: Wendy Baker – Chair, Phillisa Prescott – Vice Chair, Jeff Hance, Tonia Fleming, Marilyn Mahusky
Administration Present: Linda Waite – Superintendent, Chris Adams – WSWSU Business Manager
Public: Kyle Rogsted - SAPA TV, Kathleen Cherubini, Michelle Robidoux, Kathy Martens, Janet Currier – Recording Secretary
Call to Order: Wendy called meeting to order at 5:34 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of November 5, 2012 – Tonia made motion to approve minutes as presented. Board approved.
Personnel:
a) Non-Resident Teacher Enrollment Request – Mrs. Cherubini has requested to enroll her child as a CAES Kindergarten student in 2013. Phillisa said she was on the CAES Policy Committee when the Committee decided to amend the policy to no longer accept out of district teacher’s children as CAES students. She explained the reasons for phasing out this policy, one being loss of money as no money from the State follows the student and the other reason being liability to Chester-Andover. The Policy Committee decided to continue to educate children who are already at CAES but not to accept any new students. Linda said she thought that the policy change meant to sunset the policy but grandfather CAES teachers who have been at CAES for a good length of time. Phillisa
disagreed with this. Linda said these students could not be counted on the ADM (Average Daily Membership) a State report. Chris Adams said he thinks CAES student tuition is $10,500.00. Discussion ensued. Kathy Martens said there is only one other teacher that lives out of district and has children attending CAES. The teacher requesting this already has one child attending CAES and Kathy feels that this policy should be given and exception for this family. Marilyn said the Board could make an exception for this family and then close the policy for future requests. Linda said she would like to have the Policy Committee review the policy and then bring back any possible changes to the Board. Another issue to look at would be space availability. Phillisa said she thought it would be an easy fix for this policy if the Board agrees. The Policy Committee will meet and this item will be on the February agenda.
b) Hiring Update – Linda said there are two non-licensed positions that have been filled. A part-time custodian position – Gary Luman has been hired for 20 hours per week at $12.97/hour. Tabitha Klezos has been hired as Special Program Coordinator at $15,525.00/year. She is filling Becky Plunkard’s position.
c) Co-Curricular Report – Linda reported that Brenda Sheer and Elise Lisle collaborated to put on the CAES Circus with grades 5 and 6. The presentation was given on November 20th. Linda thanked the staff members for the work on the CAES Circus.
Chester-Andover Board Minutes December 3, 2012 Page 2
Kathy Martens said that Elise Lisle wrote a play to go along with the Circus and that the Circus was especially good this year.
d) Retirement Request – This item was tabled and will be discussed at the end of the meeting in Executive Session.
Finance –
a) Budget – Chris Adams gave copies of the budget to those present. He said the budget increase is minimal – 0.62%. He talked about the declining enrollment and the effect on student tuition costs. He said the pupil count should be out in about 2 weeks. He then reviewed changes in the budget. Special Ed Paras – there is a need for 2 less for next year. Chris said that 57% of special education costs come back from the State. He reviewed the overall budget changes. Health Insurance now reflects a 13% increase. Phillisa said she would like to see a bigger cushion. Chris said the Two Rivers S.U. have agreed to do the 13%. An explanation of the other budget changes was given by Chris. He then went through the Assessment changes and
explained each of them. Linda said another CAES Board meeting was scheduled for 12/11/12 at 6:00 p.m. at the CAES Board Retreat. The Board will meet to discuss the School Improvement Plan. The Board will meet on December 18th at either 4:30 or 5:00 until 6:30 to discuss the budget. The CAES Board will approve the budget at the January 7, 2013 meeting.
Facilities Committee Update – Scott Gray was not present to give this report.
a) Project Priority List –This list was not available but Jeff said a meeting will be held on December 10th at 3:30 to try to get grants for windows, countertops and sinks.
Linda reported that Scott said there might be a need for an engineering study at CAES for a cost of around $10,000.00. Linda said the last roof replacement was 15 years ago for a cost of $250,000.00. This was for just the roof, no insulation or anything else was done.
Policies:
a) Prevention of Bullying Policy F:32 – Second Read/Adoption - Phillisa made motion to adopt Policy F:32 Prevention of Bullying Students. Board approved.
Principal’s Report - Linda said that Scott sent his report to her. She said that the Board at their Retreat charged the Administration to be more specific on the outcome of the School Improvement Plan. Scott called the School Effectiveness Team and Sherri Nichols-Buckley and they met and reviewed the School Improvement Plan. Scott reported on half day retreats that the teachers have been doing to work on reports and assessment collections. Scott will report on observations at the next meeting.
Superintendent’s Report – Linda said support staff negotiations will be held on December 19th at 5:30 p.m. at Green Mountain. She reported that they added December 21st as a school day to make up the storm day taken on October 29, 2012.
Chester-Andover Board Minutes December 3, 2012 Page 3
Two Rivers Supervisory Union Update – Linda said they have been talking budgets, and on Thursday, December 6th there is a budget meeting. They plan to adopt the Two Rivers S.U. budget on December 20th.
Public Comment – None.
Other Business – None.
Executive Session – Phillisa moved to enter Executive Session for personnel at 7:08 p.m. and to invite the Superintendent to participate in this discussion.
Board came out of Executive Session at 7:35 p.m. No further action was taken.
Adjournment -Tonia made motion to adjourn at 7:36 p.m., Marilyn seconded. Board voted in the affirmative.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Currier
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, November 5, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
Minutes
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Phillisa Prescott-Vice Chair, Marilyn Mahusky, Jeff Hance and Tonia Fleming.
Administration: Linda Waite-Superintendent and Jean Michaels
Public: SAPA-TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Kathy Cherubini and Michelle Robidoux
Call to Order
Wendalyn called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m.
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 5:42 p.m. to discuss personnel and to invite Linda. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 6:42 p.m. No action taken.
Approval of Minutes of October 1, 2012
Tonia made a motion to approve the minutes of October 1, 2012 as presented. Correction: Under Facilities: Change “handicapped door” to “accessible door”. Motion approved as amended.
Personnel
Non-Resident Teacher Enrollment Request
The request is to make an exception to the policy. This item has been tabled until the next board meeting.
Hiring Update
Linda informed the board she is in the process of hiring the special programs director and the vacant custodial position.
Finance
Preliminary Budget
Chris gave the board a copy of the preliminary budget. There is a preliminary accumulative fund balance of $147,000 as of June 30, 2012. The proposed budget does not show any increases in salaries but there is a contingency amount in the board line for potential salary increases. The assessment has not yet been figured. Chris said the FY’13 budget looks good so far. He will bring a YTD FY’13 budget to the next meeting. Budget committee meetings will need to be set up. Line 372 is a typo; it should read 3 Para professionals.
Facilities Committee Update
Jeff met with Jim Spaulding and came up with a list of capital improvements; new roof, the countertops and sinks replaced and paving the parking lot. The board would like a priority list. There was discussion around the fact that the replacement of the countertops and sinks was already approved.
Policies
Bullying Prevention Policy-First Read
The department of education requires a bullying policy by December. Tonia gave the board a copy of the VSBA policy that she recommend we use for this mandatory policy. Tonia went over the changes that were made.
Principal’s and Superintendent’s Report
Suggestions for the Medicaid funds were discussed; special education equipment, professional development, general education health services, and technology. The special programs coordinator position and part of the school clinician position are currently paid for with Medicaid funds. The board asked for a more concrete priority list.
Jean reported the school improvement team has met and discussed data collection and interventions. The teacher conferences were well attended.
Linda reported the WSWSU mediation took place on 10/15. They continue at impasse. The next step will be scheduled. The support staff mediation will take place in December. Linda gave the board an article on the common core.
New Supervisory Union Update
The next meeting is November 15th in Ludlow. The finance committee had their first meeting last week. The next finance committee meeting is November 12th at the WSWSU Central Office. The Two Rivers budget will impact local budgets.
Public Comment
None
Other Business
The retreat will be held November 17th from 9:00 a.m.-Noon.
Executive Session
Executive session was held at the beginning of the meeting.
Adjournment
Marilyn made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:26 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, October 1, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
Minutes
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Marilyn Mahuskey and Tonia Fleming
Administration: Linda Waite-Superintendent and Scott Gray-Principal
Public: SAPA-TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, and Michelle Robidoux
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m.
Wendy asked for a moment of silence in honor of Carly Ferro.
Approval of Minutes of September 4, 2012 & September 25, 2012
Tonia made a motion to approve the minutes of September 4, and September 25, 2012 as presented. Motion approved.
Spring 2012 Science NECAP Scores
Scott reported the science results are in (attached). CAES went from 26% proficient in 2011 to 56% proficient in 2012.
Finance
Special Education SU Assessment FY’ 13
Linda gave the board a copy of a memo from Chris Adams, Business Manager (attached). Linda explained that when the budget was created special education personnel was put in the supervisory union budget to be assessed back to the school. The executive committee decided to reverse the decision to move special education personnel to the supervisory union so the school budgets will be adjusted to reflect the costs of the personnel that remain employees of the school.
Medicaid
Linda gave the board a memo from Chris Adams, Business Manager regarding available Medicaid funds (attached). She also gave the board a memo on Medicaid allowable costs (attached). Discussion: How the funds would be used. More responsive classrooms, homework club, recommendations from the administration. Scott said the homework club is currently underway. The Special Programs Coordinator position was discussed. Scott gave the board a copy of the position description (attached).
The board has asked for specific recommendations from the administration as to how to spend the remaining Medicaid funds.
Facilities Committee Update
The handicap front door needs to be checked as well as some of the water fountains.
Principal’s and Superintendent’s Report
Scott reported he is collecting applications for the Special Programs Coordinator. The NECAP testing begins this week. Data is being collected for the improvement plan.
Linda reported the VT State board of education quality commission put together a commission for school quality. Linda has been asked to serve on the commission. WSWSU education association and the administration have rescheduled the mediation.
The VSBA and VSA conference is scheduled for October 25th and 26th at Lake Morey.
Linda reported the board will have a preliminary budget at the next meeting.
New Supervisory Union Update
The next meeting is Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with an executive session. There will also be another meeting on October 18th. The name chosen for the new SU was Vermont Southwest S.U. but it was decided this name is too close to Southern Vermont SU. The board will choose a name at the next meeting. The organizational chart will be discussed. Each of the SU’s do business in different ways.
Board Retreat
Wendy asked for the boards thoughts on a board retreat. She asked if there needs to be a retreat. There is interest in a retreat to discuss goals and the board’s vision for the school. November 17th from 9-Noon is a tentative date.
Public Comment
None
Other Business
None
Executive Session
None
Adjournment
Marilyn made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:39 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CAES Board Special Meeting
CAES Library
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Minutes
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker, Chair; Phillisa Jones-Prescott, Vice Chair; Jeff Hance, Clerk; Tonia Fleming; Marilyn Mahusky’
Administration: Linda Waite, WSWSU Superintendant; Scott Gray, CAES Principal
Call to Order
Baker called the meeting to order at 8:05 AM
CAES School Plan (draft)
Jones-Prescott made the motion to approve the CAES School Plan (draft). Fleming seconded the motion. Lively discussion ensued including changing the science testing proficiency goal percentile to 40% and adding parent/caregiver informational and support (of their child) components to the plan.
Jones-Prescott amended her motion to include changes discussed. Mahusky seconded the amended motion. Motion approved.
Adjournment
Jones-Prescott made the motion to adjourn. Fleming seconded the motion. Board adjourned 8:53 AM.
Respectfully Submitted
Wendalyn Baker
Chair, CAES Board of Directors
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Tuesday, September 4, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
Minutes
Present
Board: Phillisa Jones-Prescott, Marilyn Mahuskey, Jeff Hance and Tonia Fleming.
Administration: Linda Waite-Asst Superintendent, Scott Gray-Principal, Jean Michaels-Substitute Principal
Public: SAPA-TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Maggie Arlund, Michelle Robidoux, Lillian Miller, and Peggy Roberts
Call to Order
Phillisa called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of August 6, 2012
Jeff made a motion to approve the minutes of August 6, 2012 as presented. Motion approved.
AYP
Update On Aug 6th it was reported CAES did not make AYP in reading and math. Scott gave the board a copy of the AYP results (attached). Scott explained the results of the report and how the results are calculated.
Year 1 School Improvement
Scott sent a letter home with an explanation of the AYP results (attached). The improvement plan that has gone to the state is also attached. A school improvement coach, Lois Fuller, from the state has been appointed. There needs to be an S.U. team and a school team. The action plan will be focused on reading and math with an emphasis on math. The state requires a schools action plan be submitted to the Department of Education.
Personnel
Hiring Report
Linda reported she has hired Jessica Betancourt as a Para professional at an hourly rate of $12.81 plus a $2.00 SPED stipend for the 2012-2013 school year.
Special Education Teacher
Linda recommended Wendy Trombetta as a special educator for the 2012-2013 school year. Linda gave the board Wendy’s school and work background (attached). She will be placed on the salary scale at a Masters-step 2, $44,008. Tonia made a motion to hire Wendy Trombetta as a special educator for FY’13 at a salary of $44,008.00. Motion approved.
Finance
The board did not fill the Special Programs Coordinator position which was funded with Medicaid dollars. The board discussed using stipends for pieces of this position. A mentoring program should be part of the 21st Century Learning Skills. The model should be more in line with the federal guidelines. The winter sports program will need a staff member. The staff would like the homework club to continue. The Medicaid funds are to be used for the whole school community. Linda gave examples of how the other schools are spending their funds. The funds could be used for academics. The staff asked for consideration for revamping the RESPECT Club and their goals by focusing on the positive of the program and changing things like the food rewards. The budgeted amount for the
position was $22,113.00.
Discussion: Should Medicaid funds be used for these programs; is this the best way to spend these funds. Does the board want the administration to fill the Special Programs Coordinator position? The balance in Medicaid is $73,378.00. Medicaid must benefit all students. A board member suggested the administration analyze the programs and make recommendations to the board and possibly use the remainder of the funds for academic improvement. Another suggestion was to have an after school program that incorporates all of the programs. Possibly advertise the position and look at the programs. A parent said she didn’t think a budgeted position should potentially be cut. She feels the Program Coordinator should be replaced and the remainder of the funds be used for
academics since the school did not meet state requirements. Should the program be evaluated before hiring someone. A needs assessment has been done by the administration. The mentoring program should be more in line with the federal guide lines. The homework club should be opened up to second grade students. Tonia made a motion to authorize the administration to advertise for an anticipated Special Programs Coordinator at a salary of $20,391.00. Motion passed 2:1. The administration will put this on the next agenda.
Facilities Update
Scott reported the fire alarm system has been malfunctioning. He has been working with the security systems as to what the problem is. This problem must be fixed. The system is up to code. Countryside Lock and Alarm assured Scott they have fixed the problem.
School Action Plan - DRAFT
Scott gave the board a draft of the action plan and asked for feedback. The staff will also be asked for feedback. Scott went over the format with the board. Linda explained that specific goals must be met. The administration will need the feedback by September 14th. The board agreed to have a special meeting on Tuesday, September 25th at 8:00 a.m. at the central office to adopt the plan. The board will receive the action plan for review on September 21st.
Linda explained the way AYP is calculated. Jean feels that the document should guide the work being done.
Principal’s and Superintendent’s Report
Scott reported the start to school went smoothly. The staff has received training on the new security system. The Paras have received keys to the classrooms. Two way radio communication has been installed with the busses in the main office. Scott is working on a partnership with the Grafton Nature Museum. He said they will align to our curriculum. It is a way of bringing in more science. There will be no cost to CAES. Phillisa wanted to thank all of the people Julie Hance, Jean Michaels, Carol Neff, Cindy Cole, Jack Carroll and his staff for the school year’s eve celebration.
Linda reported on the opening in-services that took place prior to the student’s first day. Teachers participated in a rigorous Science assessment course. Dr Bill Dagatt spoke to the teachers about the Common Core. Linda gave the board a flyer for the regional meeting at Woodstock High School on October 9th with a dinner at 5:00 p.m. and the VSBA conference on October 25th and 26th at the Lake Morey Resort. Mediation will be next week.
Supervisory Union Update
The SU is still unnamed. A survey monkey went out for the name of the new SU.
The next meeting will be Sept 20th at 7:00 p.m. at GMUHS. Linda recommends all members of the board attend especially during this time when a lot of decisions are being made. The meetings will be the third Thursday of each month. Between Sept and Oct there may be additional meetings. The meetings are open to the public.
Other Business
New agenda items: Executive committee and the special programs coordinator update.
Public Comment
Michelle said she, Jeremy Kelloway, and Kathy Martens took the science course last summer.
Executive Session
Tonia made a motion to go into executive session at 7:15 p.m. to discuss personnel and to invite the superintendent. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 8:15 p.m. No action taken.
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, August 6, 2012, 5:00 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
Minutes
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair (5:10 p.m.), Phillisa Jones-Prescott, Marilyn Mahuskey, Jeff Hance and Tonia Fleming.
Administration: Linda Waite-Asst Superintendent and Sherri Nichols-Buckley-Curriculum Coordinator
Public: SAPA-TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Maggie Arlund
Call to Order
Phillisa called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of July 2, 2012
Marilyn made a motion to approve the minutes of July 2, 2012 as presented. Motion approved.
Personnel
Release from Contract-Linda presented the board with a letter from Elizabeth Latino asking to be released from her contract as a Special Education Teacher to take the position as a teacher. Tonia made a motion to release Elizabeth Latino from her contract as presented. Discussion ensued regarding the position Elizabeth will be vacating. Linda reported the Special Education position has been advertised as an anticipated position and Wayne Flewelling has formed a committee to hire a new special educator. Motion approved.
Teacher Hiring
Linda gave the board a nomination form for Elizabeth Latino as the teacher for the 2012-2013 school year. Linda reported on Elizabeth’s background as a classroom teacher in Connecticut. Based on the hiring teams recommendation Linda is presenting Elizabeth Latino as a teacher for the 2012-2013 school year for board approval. Marilyn made a motion to accept the nomination of Elizabeth Latino as the teacher as a FTE 1 at step 16. Motion approved.
Annual Yearly Progress Report
Sherri reported CAES did not make Annual Yearly Progress in math and reading in grades 3-6. (Report is attached) AMO is the Annual Measurable Objective, the target that schools are expected to meet in order to achieve an index of 500 by 2014. LCB is the lower confidence boundary, if a school’s index is on the LCB or higher, the school meets AYP. Sub groups must have at least 40 students to be counted. The highest a student can score is 500.
Sherri explained a new assessment will be given after 2014. Discussion: To have the report be more positive and focus on the positive; what the consequences would be if we do not meet AYP next year. Linda explained the new assessment will be a continuous growth model.
The federal government gives the state the authority to develop their measurement of progress. The question was asked how we are going to improve the scores. Linda said the administrators attended a conference last week and it was reported that class size is not an indicator in student performance.
Last year CTES teachers met as a group and identified each child that fell into the nearly proficient and non proficient and created a specific plan for each of these children.
The question of multi age classrooms was asked. Linda said the configurations are being looked at. Looping is a huge factor. The administration is going to look at all of the data for configurations. There was a question about support in the classrooms for behavior issues. Linda said that is also being looked at; teachers need training in classroom management techniques.
This information will be on the state and WSWSU websites. All parents must be notified of the results. The question was asked if there could be a public forum to report on these results. Linda said it is a consideration; possibly in conjunction with a board meeting. Sherri said she will update the board with the progress they are making.
Finance
Snow Removal Bids and Recommendation Linda went over the bids with the board (attached). The business manager and Jim Spaulding recommend accepting Butch Wilson and Mike Waysville’s bids.
Wendalyn made a motion to accept the bids from Butch Wilson and Mike Waysville as presented. Phillisa asked if we can pay Butch Wilson by storm or a flat rate. Mr. Wilson’s flat rate is the lowest. Wendalyn recided her motion.
Wendalyn made a motion to accept Mike Waysville’s bid. Motion approved
Wendalyn made a motion to accept Butch Wilson’s bid for snow removal sanding and bank removal for the coming school year. Motion approved.
Facilities Update
Linda reported the building lost power in the storm. When the AC came on there was a leak where the phone system is. Linda authorized Jean Michaels to contact the phone system company. They reported the system was wiped out. The cost of $1,450.00 includes the repair of the unit and the service call last week. This system is ten years old. The life of a phone system is 10-12 years. A consideration for the board is to replace the system. A new system would cost approximately $10,000.00. The recommendation at this time is to fix the existing system. Phillisa asked if this is covered by insurance. Linda asked for authorization to look at the insurance coverage and do the repair unless there is insurance to cover a new system. Wendalyn made a motion to
authorize the superintendent to repair the system and seek funds from the insurance. Motion approved.
Policy Committee Membership and Date
Linda asked the board for suggestions on a date and time. The next scheduled meeting is for August 17th. Tonia gave Linda times of day that worked for her.
Principal’s and Superintendent’s Report
Linda reported she has hired a custodian. Michael Bamforth was hired full time at an hourly rate of $12.97 per hour. The next meeting for the new SU is scheduled for August 16th in Ludlow at 7:00 pm. The transition meetings are scheduled for the third Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm. Linda offered the board information on educational funding seminars in the area.
Administrators attended a leadership conference at Killington last week. Principal of the year awards took place at the conference and Tom Ferenc, GMUHS principal was one of the VT winners.
Aug 24th is the first day for teachers and August 29th is the first day for students.
The VSA and VSBA will be having their fall conference at Lake Morey and Linda hopes CAES will have board representation.
Supervisory Union Update
Covered under the Superintendent’s report.
Other Business
In the past the Medicaid funds have been used for the special programs coordinator.
Jean is working on the school year’s eve celebration. The Medicaid funds could be used as stipends for facilitating the larger projects that had been done by Becky. Jean is willing to do a lot of the work but she is not equipped to set this up alone. Marilyn does not feel these funds should be used in this way. Linda feels that the stipend amount be approximately $1,500.00 per event.
$20,391 is budgeted for the programs coordinator position. The winter sports programs are budgeted at $6,500.00. Linda wants to ensure the School Years Eve program get off the ground. Tonia made a motion to approve a $1,200 stipend for the coordination of the school years eve celebration. Motion approved.
A Board Retreat was discussed. It was suggested the board try to put some dates together by email with the board chair. GMUHS is having their retreat on October 11th. They will visit classrooms and have lunch with the students then have a goal setting session in the afternoon. A whole day would not work for some board members.
Public Comment
None
Executive Session
Wendalyn made a motion to go into executive session at 6:28 p.m. to discuss personnel. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 6:39 p.m. No action taken.
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Monday, July 2, 2012, 5:00 p.m.
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones-Prescott, Marilyn Mahusky, Jeff Hance, and Tonia Fleming
Administration: Linda Waite- Interim Superintendent, Sherri Nichols-Buckley -Curriculum Coordinator, Lauren Baker – Director of Information Technology, and Jean Michaels- Substitute Principal
Public/Staff: SAPA-TV, Kathy Martin, Michelle Robidoux, and Amy Hamblett
Call to Order
Phillisa called the meeting to order at 5:07 p.m.
Approval of Minutes
Approval of Minutes June 4, 2012 – Marilyn made a motion to approve the minutes of June 4, 2012 as they are. Motion Approved.
Approval of Minutes June 11, 2012 – Discussion between staff members/ public and the board to amend the minutes of June 11, 2012 to reflect the addition of names present: Betsy Hart, Lillian Miller, and Jana Wunderle. Marilyn made the motion to approve the minutes with the addition of the names. Motion approved.
Approval of Minutes June 20, 2012 – Marilyn made a motion to approve the minutes. Motion Approved.
Personnel
Library Media Specialist Nomination- Linda recommends the board accept Shannon Thompson as the .875 Media Specialist. An interview committee comprised of Jeremy , Lauren, Jean, and Kathy met with 4 of the 11 candidates. Shannon has a BA in History and Music from Skidmore College and a Master in Education in Informational Sciences. She has previous work experiences in school systems comprised of elementary and middle schools. Shannon also has an extensive portfolio. Jean mentioned that during the reference check, all the references said Shannon went above and beyond. Shannon falls on the second step on the salary scale at $34,887.00 to begin August 24, 2012.
Marilyn asked Jean how many references were called. Jean reported that she spoke to 4 references.
Phillisa made a motion to offer the .875 FTE Library Media Specialist Position to Shannon Thompson. Motion Approved.
Memorandum of Agreement – Title I Teachers
Linda explained that the memorandum is between two schools in Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union: Chester-Andover Elementary School and Cavendish Town Elementary School who have School Wide Program (Title I). The Executive Board made a motion to move the Title I staff employment to Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union Employment, effective July 1st, 2012. Norm Bartlett constructed the current memorandum to account for the current bargain unit to the WSWSU bargaining agreement. This document outlines the discussion by and between all parties, and now the Superintendent is looking for Board approval.
Phillisa asked, “What does SWP mean?” Linda explained that three years ago is when we changed the filing system for the district. SWP just refers to how we file for federal grants funded through CFP, federal funds allocated to WSWSU. Three years ago when David came on board we were operating under a targeted assistant program to a school-wide way of funding, which means we can use all the monies in Title I and Title II to serve all schools, students, and teachers. In essence it gives the district flexibility on how we can use the funds.
Phillisa asked, “Are there any other SWP teachers and the SU?” Linda reaffirmed that there are only two schools that this affected and it accounted for 1.8 FTE at CAES and 1.25 FTE and CTES.
Marilyn asked who Norm Bartlett was. Linda explained that Norm Bartlett is the mediator for the NEA bargaining unit. Norm fell ill this spring and that is why it took so long for the memorandum to be completed and finalized.
Marilyn asked if staff members affected by this memorandum were aware of this and approve of it. Linda said that Norm worked closely with the association and bargaining units on behalf of those teachers and they are fully aware and accept the terms outlined in the memorandum.
Marilyn asked if there are any issues associated with this memorandum. Linda said that she was not currently aware of any.
Phillisa made a motion to enter into the Memorandum of Agreement- Title I Teachers. Motion approved.
Apple Lease Agreement
Lauren Baker provided the Board with a Memo outlining the WSWSU Technology Plan and how it will be funded. Lauren gave background on the technology plan, stating that it was state requirement and since we are in the midst of a merger we have sent a letter to the State, asking for an extension to the current plan, which was accepted. The main focus is around student centered learning and providing increased access to all students through the use of mobile devices. Currently, Chester-Andover has 100 IPads and this year we will be acquiring 100 more. We will be dropping the number of laptop computers from 120 to 80, reducing the carts from 8 to 6. There will be 20 new teacher laptops, and the 20 laptops to be replaced will be recycled into student hands. The lease/purchase $53,900.52 with an annual
payment of $31,421.41 The “retiring” computers can be sold to help costs. The action Lauren requested from the Board was to authorize the Superintendent, Linda Waite, to sign the lease agreement and related paperwork in support of the project.
Phillisa asked Lauren if the laptop numbers were decreasing because of the increase in the IPads. Lauren explained that was correct. Lauren also explained that they piloted the use of IPads in 3 Classrooms this year and found that the teachers used the applications on the IPads more than the laptop computers. Lauren said that laptops are going to be used for local assessments such as MAPs and the up and coming SBAC assessment.
Phillisa also asked if there will be an IPAD for every student in every grade. Lauren reorted that every student in grades 2-6 will have an IPad, GMUHS students have a 1:1 model where the students have IPads and not laptops.
Tonia asked if students will share or have an IPad assigned specifically to them. Lauren said that students will be assigned an IPad in their homeroom, where they will be housed and taken with them to classes when needed.
Marilyn asked about supervision and guidelines for technology usage. Lauren said those still need to be set, but we would look at the ones that GMUHS set and modify. Overall, students at the elementary only use them with teacher guidance on applications and never take them home, the liability will be different at the high school because they take them home. As we gauge how the elementary teachers will use the technology, we will create guidelines to support that, but at this point it is a research, wait and see point.
Marilyn asked if technology is used pretty consistently. Lauren stated that technology is used regularly to allow access and give teachers the ability to customized learning for each student in a powerful way across the curriculum to deliver content and supplementary support, which the teachers feel is effective and believe helpful.
Marilyn also asked if all teachers have been trained. Lauren said that training has been available and some teachers have participated in the professional development opportunities, but not all teachers have. Training will always be a work in progress and more training will be available. Teachers have been working closely together sharing apps and talking about websites to enhance their practices, coupled with district training opportunities will allow teachers to utilize technology and enhance professional practice.
Phillisa said that she had concerns way back around the flexibility to keep up with the ever changing technology; it looks like you are doing a great job with the ideas that you have presented. Lauren said that she researched how other schools were doing it, increasing the accessibility of technology for all students and not how the technology was used, but offering a range of tools and projects to a variety of learners. The district will now have a fiber optic connection.
Wendy asked if a TI line is coming into the school. Lauren said that a multiband width in advance of the increased number of devices.
Phillisa made a motion to accept the lease as specific to the three year technology plan. Tonia moved to allow the Superintendent to sign the lease agreement. Motion approved.
Linda Waite, Superintendent, thanked Lauren for her ongoing project and hard work. Lauren traveled throughout the New England region to research the topic and decided on the right thing to do and stated a commitment to a 1:1 commitment to gain access for all students.
Jeff asked if extra insurance needed to be taken out. Lauren said that VSBIT provides it as we acquire more assets and /or new assets. Jeff said that mobile devices in the hands of 6 year olds equates to something happening to the technology. Lauren reported that Meredith said it was taken care of; with 80 new devices there no accidents not even in terms of loss or damage. With the increase of middle school student usage and the 1:1 initiative, students take pride in their machines and increase their responsibility. Most of the communities Lauren visited reported that discipline reports decreased when they were given the technology devices to use as their own.
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 5:37 p.m. to discuss personnel. Motion Approved. The board came out of executive session at 6:37 p.m.
Finance
Wendalyn asked Linda if all the necessary documents have been signed. Linda stated that all necessary documents were signed. Wendalyn asked if there were any further finance questions. The board had no further questions.
Principal’s and Superintendent’s Report
Jean Michaels-Substitute Principal reported that Graduation and the Family Picnic were both well attended events. On the last day of school, students took part in “Step-Up Day” and had the opportunity to meet their teachers next year and see the classroom that they will be in, in the fall. Currently, there are positions that need to be filled and the committees are going through that process already and making gains.
Linda Waite, Superintendent reported that it was her first day on the job, no longer an as an interim. Earlier today she attended a three hour Merger meeting around the consolidation of the supervisory unions. The first official Transitional Board meeting is July 11 at 7 p.m. at GMUHS. To begin the process there will be full board meetings in July, August, September, and November, but since it is a 22 member committee, we are trying to create a subcommittee to work on the planning process.
Linda Waite also introduced Sherri Nichols, Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union’s new Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, and Professional Development. Sherri has been a member of our curricular work, including the scope and sequence. She has been Assistant Principal at Flood Brook Union School for the past five years, prior to that she taught at the elementary and middle school levels. She has an extensive curricular work background and an extensive literacy background. Linda expressed her excitement to work with Sherri and her extensive portfolio of accomplishments and current work in a curriculum and instructional doctoral program.
Policies
Acceptable and Responsible use of Electronic Resources and the Internet G:12 Second Read .
Discussion: Marilyn asked where the policies get vetted. Phillisa said there were a set of mandated policies and optional policies that are model policies that the VSBA has comprised regarding issues in schools. The model policies have all of the required portions and have been written with the help of lawyers and our policies are written to mirror them with changes that reflect the needs of the school and/or district. Marilyn asked how the policy committee is comprised. Phillisa reported that she had been on the policy committee for awhile and now the board representative is Tonia. The committee ensures that every mandated policy is reviewed, written, and accounted for. Marilyn asked if there were specific parameters to ensure online monitoring. Lauren stated that there are filters and history searches that can
happen. Lauren also said that the policy sets the rules, each school with their administrator develop the rules and that is how flexibility is established for each school.
Phillisa made a motion to approve the Acceptable and Responsible use of Electronic Resources and the Internet G:12 Policy as presented. Motion Approved.
The Use of Restraint and Seclusion F:46 Second Read
Discussion:
Marilyn asked if seclusion also referred to time outs. Marilyn stated that she was not in favor of this policy because it did not closely resemble the state law, it should clearly reflect that restraint is the last resort. Phillisa said that the wording “last resort” is implied in the policy because the wording is “watered down” and those that will be conducting the restraints will have a lot of familiarity with when and how to perform a restraint. Sherri stated that there is a subcommittee of administrators that are research and working on procedures that clearly define the imminent risk to self or others before a restraint is used, and imminent would clearly be defined along with precise procedures and who would be able to perform a restraint. Jeff stated that trained members would
respond, but in extreme cases anyone should be able to take an object from a child or restrain them if they were harming others or themselves. Jeff said he would like adults to intervene no matter what, trained or not, if there was danger like a student hitting other students with baseball bats on the playground instead of waiting for trained individuals to intervene.
Phillisa made a motion to approve The Use of Restraint and Seclusion F:46 Policy as presented. Motion approved. The voting all in favor, except 1, Marilyn; Marilyn would like it reflected that she was not in favor of this policy as written because it did not clearly reflect the intent of the law, stating it was a last resort when a child is in imminent danger to themselves or others.
Supervisory Union Update
July 11th, 2012 at 7 p.m., GMUHS library, is the first New Supervisory Transition Board Meeting
Election of New Supervisory Union Representative
At the June 4, 2012 Board Meeting Tonia made a motion to nominate Phillisa, and Jeff as the New Supervisory Union Representatives last meeting and opened discussion. Phillisa and Jeff asked Wendalyn if she would be interested, they wanted to ask her but she was not in attendance at the last meeting. Wendalyn accepted the nomination. Tonia made a motion to nominate Wendalyn as the third New Supervisory Union Representative. Motion Approved.
Other Business
None
Public Comment
Michelle Robidoux asked the board if there was a plan for a new principal. Wendalyn, Board Chair, stated that there would be no comment about that at this time, stating “we are not at liberty to discuss this.”
Amy Hamblett expressed, on behalf of the teachers, that they were all feeling anxious about the fall. Phillisa acknowledged the anxious feeling and thanked Amy for her comment, and told her that the Board will keep that in mind as they proceed forward.
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:07 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sherri Nichols-Buckley
Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, and Professional Development
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 8:00 a.m.
Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union – Conference Room
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones-Prescott and Tonia Fleming.
Administration: Linda Waite-Asst Superintendent
Public: Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary
Minutes
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 8:01 a.m.
Resignation Release From Contract
Phillisa made a motion to accept the resignation of Paul Martorano. Motion approved.
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:03 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, June 11, 2012 5:00 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
Present:
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones Prescott, Marilyn Mahusky, Tonia Fleming and Jeff Hance
Administration: David P. Adams-Superintendnet
Public: Betsy Hart, Lillian Miller and Jana Wunderle
Minutes
Call to Order
Wendalyn called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m.
Executive Session
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 5:05 p. m. to discuss personnel. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 7:13 p.m.
Recommendation for Employee Termination
David recommended the board terminate Scott Gray. Phillisa made a motion to terminate Scott Gray’s employment as discussed effective immediately. Motion approved.
Other Business
None
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Monday, June 4, 2012, 5:00 p.m.
Present
Board: Phillisa Jones-Prescott, Tonia Fleming, Jeff Hance and Marilyn Mahuskey
Administration: David Adams- Superintendent and Linda Waite-Asst Superintendent, Meredith Austin-Business Manager and Jean Michaels-Substitute Principal
Public/Staff: SAPA-TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, and Michelle Robidoux
Call to Order
Phillisa called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm.
Approval of Minutes May 7, 2012 – Tonia made a motion to approve the minutes of May 7, 2012 as presented. Motion approved.
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session to discuss personnel at 5:02 p.m. and to invite Linda Waite and David Adams. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 5:55 p.m. No action taken.
Personnel
Resignations
David recommends the board accept Becky Plunkard’s resignation with regret. The board accepted Becky’s resignation with regret.
David asked for the board to accept the resignation of Jeanie Phillips. Phillisa informed the board that Jeanie will be going to Green Mountain as their Library Media Specialist. The board accepted Jeanie’s resignation with regret.
Finance
Bank Borrowing Bids –(Attached) Meredith recommends the board accept the bank borrowing bid from Merchant’s Bank and borrow $845,104.00 on July 2, 2012 in anticipation of the receipt of tax revenues. Discussion ensued. Tonia made a motion to accept Merchant’s Bank bid in the amount of $845,104 as presented. Motion approved.
FY 2012 Audit Contract –Meredith recommends the board sign a contract with Fothergill Segale & Valley for their 2011-2012 audit. Marilyn made a motion to accept the bid from Fothergill Segale and Valley and to authorize the board chair to sign the agreement. Motion approved.
Facilities Update
David said the library received new tables and chairs and two classrooms will receive new furniture. The library sinks were discussed.
Policies
• Professional Development D:2 Second Read
• The Use of Restraint and Seclusion F:46 Second Read
• Acceptable and Responsible use of Electronic Resources & the Internet G:12 Second Read –Changes: Change Green Mountain Union High School to Chester-Andover Elementary School in the policy.
Tonia made a motion to approve the above policies as presented with the corrections noted. Discussion: Marilyn asked if the Use of Restraint and Seclusion policy is from the state board of education. The policies are not changed unless there is a specific reason for the change. The board tabled the Use of Restraint and Seclusion and Acceptable and Responsible use of Electronic Resources & the Internet policies until the next meeting. Tonia made a motion to accept policy D:2, Professional Development as presented. Motion approved.
Principal Report
Jean expressed how much she enjoys CAES. She gave her background in education.
Graduation will be on June 13th at 7:00 p.m.
The Keewaydin trip went well and the students seemed to have a wonderful time. The final report is attached.
Superintendent Report
David thanked the board for their support during his time as superintendent.
David gave the board a report giving authorization for regrouping RWSU and WSWSU.
Supervisory Union Update
The merger has been approved.
Election of New Supervisory Union Representatives
Tonia made a motion to nominate Phillisa, and Jeff as the New Supervisory Union Representatives and to table the third position until the next meeting. Motion approved.
Other Business
None
Public Comment
None
Executive Session
Not necessary
Adjournment
Marilyn made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:39 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Monday, May 7, 2012, 5:00 p.m.
Present
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones-Prescott, Tonia Fleming and Jeff Hance
Administration: David Adams- Superintendent and Linda Waite-Asst Superintendent
Public/Staff: SAPA-TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Jean Michaels-Principal Substitute and Michelle Robidoux
Call to Order
Wendalyn called the meeting to order at 5:06 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of April 2, 2012 & April 18, 2012
Phillisa made a motion to approve the minutes of April 2, 2012 as presented. Motion approved. Phillisa made a motion to approve the minutes of April 18, 2012 as presented. Motion approved.
Personnel
5/6 Grade Teacher Nomination
David recommends the board hire Victoria Winokur as a 5/6 teacher. David gave the board background on Victoria’s experience. Phillisa made a motion to approve hiring Victoria Winokur as a 5/6 teacher for the FY’13 school year at a salary of $49,688.00. Motion approved.
Hiring Report
No hiring report.
Facilities Update
Building & Grounds Report
David discussed the work that has been completed. VTel installed a fiber optics cable to the server at no cost to the school by way of a grant. The tree removal was discussed.
Policies
Professional Development D:2 - First Read
Phillisa reported this is an amended policy with no legal references. It will go on the next agenda for adoption.
The Use of Restraint and Seclusion F:46 – First Read
Phillisa said this policy will go on the next agenda for adoption.
Acceptable and Responsible use of Electronic Resources & the Internet G:12 – First Read
Phillisa this policy will go on the next agenda for adoption.
Superintendent Report
The RWSU and WSWSU request for funding for a merger has been approved. There will be a $100,000.00 reimbursement to offset the assessments to the towns. There will also be a $150,000.00 reimbursement for the SU merger.
The administration gave a State of the District Report at the WSWSU full board meeting.
Linda Waite has been appointed as the WSWSU Superintendent for FY’13. The board congratulated Linda. The state of the district report will be put on the website.
Jeremy Kelloway has received an award for innovation and technology. Tom Ferenc has received the Met Life secondary Principal of the Year Award.
Supervisory Union Update
This was addressed during the superintendents report.
Other Business
None
Public Comment
None
Executive Session
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 5:22 pm. to discuss personnel and to invite the superintendent and the superintendent elect. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 6:50 p.m. No action taken. Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 6:59 p.m. to discuss negotiations and to invite the superintendent and the superintendent elect. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 7:02 p.m. No action taken.
Adjournment
Jeff made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:02 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, May 14, 2012, 5:00 p.m.
Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union – Conference Room
*Special Meeting
AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Executive Session – (Personnel)
3. Other Business
4. Adjournment
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, May 7, 2012, 5:00 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Approval of Minutes of April 2, 2012 & April 18, 2012 – (Action Requested)
3. Personnel
a.) 5/6 Grade Teacher Nomination – (Action Requested)
b.) Hiring Report – (Informational)
4. Facilities Update
a.) Building & Grounds Report
5. Policies
• Professional Development D:2 - First Read
• The Use of Restraint and Seclusion F:46 – First Read
• Acceptable and Responsible use of Electronic Resources & the Internet G:12 – First Read
6. Superintendent Report
7. Supervisory Union Update
8. Other Business
9. Public Comment
10. Executive Session – (Personnel)
11. Adjournment
____________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 4:00 p.m.
Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union – Conference Room
*Special Meeting
AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Executive Session – (Personnel)
3. Adjournment
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, April 2, 2012, 5:00 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
*Amended
AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Approval of Minutes of March 19, 2012 – (Action Requested)
3. Personnel
a.) Contract Renewals – (Action Requested)
4. Finance
a.) Irene FEMA Reimbursement Reports
5. Facilities Update
a.) Counter Tops Bid Award – (Action Requested)
6. Principal Report
a.) Winter Sports / Activities Report
b.) NECAP Data & Action Plan
7. Policies
• D:2 Professional Development - First Read – (Action Requested)
• F:44 The Use of Restraints and Seclusion - First Read – (Action Requested)
8. Superintendent Report
9. Supervisory Union Update
a.) Supervisory Union Executive Committee
b.) Supervisory Union Merger
10. Other Business
11. Public Comment
12. Executive Session – (if necessary)
13. Adjournment
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, April 2, 2012, 5:00 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Approval of Minutes of March 19, 2012 – (Action Requested)
3. Finance
a.) Irene FEMA Reimbursement Reports
4. Facilities Update
a.) Counter Tops Bid Award – (Action Requested)
5. Principal Report
a.) Winter Sports / Activities Report
b.) NECAP Data & Action Plan
6. Policies
• D:2 Professional Development - First Read – (Action Requested)
• F:44 The Use of Restraints and Seclusion - First Read – (Action Requested)
7. Superintendent Report
8. Supervisory Union Update
a.) Supervisory Union Executive Committee
b.) Supervisory Union Merger
9. Other Business
10. Public Comment
11. Executive Session – (if necessary)
12. Adjournment
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Facilities Committee Meeting
Chester-Andover Elementary School – Conference Room
Monday, April 2, 2012 4:00 p.m.
AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Facilities Update
3. Future Planning
4. Other
5. Adjournment
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, March 19, 2012, 5:00 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Board Reorganization – (Action Requested)
a.) Election of Officers
1. Elect Chair
2. Appointment of Vice Chair
3. Elect Board Clerk
4. Appoint Designee for SU Executive Committee
5. Elect 3 Representatives from CAES to Supervisory Union Board – Title 16 §266
b.) Set Date & Time of Meetings
3. Approval of Minutes – (Action Requested)
January 11, 2012
January 13, 2012
January 26, 2012
February 27, 2012
4. Finance
a.) Audit Presentation
5. Facilities Update
a.) Camera & Security Bid Award – (Action Requested)
6. Principal Report
7. Superintendent Report
8. Supervisory Union Update
a.) Supervisory Union Executive Committee
b.) Supervisory Union Merger
9. Other Business
10. Public Comment
11. Executive Session – (Personnel - if necessary)
12. Adjournment
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Facilities Committee Meeting
Chester-Andover Elementary School – Conference Room
Monday, March 19, 2012 4:30 p.m.
AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Facilities
a.) Review Camera & Security Bids
3. Other
4. Adjournment _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 4:00 p.m.
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones-Prescott, Tonia Flemming and Jeff Hance
Administration: David Adams- Superintendent and Linda Waite-Asst. Superintendent
Public/Staff: None
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m.
Executive Session
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 4:05 p.m. to discuss personnel and to invite David and Linda. Motion approved.
The board came out of executive session at 4:40 p.m. No action taken
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
April 2, 2012 5:00 p.m.
Board Present: – Phillisa Prescott Jones –Vice Chair, Jeff Hance, Tonia Fleming
Administration Present: David Adams – Superintendent
Public: Lauren Baker, Michelle Robidoux, Janet Currier – Recording Secretary
Call to Order: Phillisa called meeting to order at 5:02 p.m.
Phillisa entertained a motion to amend agenda to: Approval of Minutes; Personnel; Facilities Update; Policies. Tonia seconded motion for agenda amendment. Motion was voted in the affirmative.
Approval of Minutes of March 19, 2012: Jeff made motion to approve minutes as presented. Board approved.
Personnel:
a) Contract Renewals: David made the recommendation that staff salaries be approved as listed in the absence of an approved master agreement. He gave those present a list of the teachers that he is recommending for renewal. Tonia made motion to approve contract renewals as recommended and presented. Board approved
Facilities Update:
a) Counter Tops Bid Award: Jeff asked to table this item until the May meeting. The requested bids for this project to put new countertops in 6 classrooms and only received one response. The cost was much higher than they expected and the Facilities Committee plan to meet and talk about the project and possible ways of cutting costs.
Policies:
D:2 Professional Development – First Read: Phillisa told the Board that there is a current policy but should be amended by removing the legal reference in the policy.
Tonia moved to amend the policy by removing the legal reference. This will be on the next agenda for approval.
F:44 The Use of Restraints and Seclusion – First Read: Phillisa said this is a new policy but it is one the school should have. It is on the VSBA Model Policy list. There will be a second read in May.
Finance:
a) Irene FEMA Reimbursement Reports: David said that Tropical Storm Irene caused some damage to Chester-Andover Elementary School in the amount of $10,092.45. Water from the storm was being pumped into the boilers from the oil tanks and burned out the pump. An environmental group had to come to pump out the tanks and a new cap had to be put on the filler pipe. Some of the fencing along the brook had to be replaced as well. FEMA reimbursed the school $7,569.34 for the damages. David gave kudos to Lori Langevin of the central office who did an outstanding job as our liaison with FEMA. David said they have been told that the State is responsible for 25% of the remaining amount but that we have no further information on this as of this date.
Principal Report:
a) Winter Sports/Activities Report – David said he did not have this report for this meeting.
b) NECAP Data and Action Plan - David said that Principal Scott Gray is out of school for medical reasons. David passed out reports on the CAES NECAP student performance results. David reviewed and explained the charts. This year we had 72% of students in grades 3-6 that were proficient in Math compared to 65% proficiency across the State. In Reading CAES had 76% proficient compared to 74% across the State. In Writing the number is 46% proficient and it is 46% across the State as well. In Science our students are 265 PROFICIENT COMPARED TO 53% across the State. David said they will be looking at the areas in writing and science to see why the numbers are so low and will be planning corrections in teaching in these areas. Phillisa said that she feels
since the numbers in Science are low at Green Mountain too we should get more aggressive in teaching Science. David then reviewed the colored chart for NECAP testing stating that the blue and green areas are the highest scores. This chart showed testing results for Chester-Andover in Math for grades 3-6, Reading for grades 3-6 and Writing for grade 5 only. David said he would ask Scott Gray and Linda Waite to come to the next board meeting to talk more about these results.
Superintendent Report: David said he wanted to call attention to Lauren Baker – Director of Information and Technology for the district. Lauren began by talking about how we got started with mobile devices at Chester-Andover when one of the teachers got a grant for 20 I-Pods. She talked about how things have progressed in this area for Chester-Andover. Lauren had an i-pad set up in front of each board member and the Superintendent so they could follow along with her. I-pads were provided for every teacher at CAES as of June 2011 so they could learn to use them over the summer. The teachers asked to have these more available in the classrooms. The board approved 80 i-pads, 6 trays and 1 cart for sharing in the school. Lauren reviewed the CAES Innovations in
Learning and the CAES I-Pads project framework. She will provide the boards with the link to access the following site: Leverage Learning: The I pad in Primary grades. She said there is a lot of information on this site. David said it is expected that in the next 5 years there will be a change from paper textbooks to media literacy in most schools. Lauren told the board of a project that CAES teacher Jeremy Kelloway did with his class. The board asked that he come to the next meeting to share this with them. Lauren said that the book Inevitable Mass Customized Learning is the first book she read on a Kindle. It was about ideas of where we are going with learning with technology. The board thanked Lauren for her report.
Supervisory Union Update:
a) Supervisory Union Executive Committee
b) Supervisory Union Merger
Phillisa said she had no report at this time on either of these items.
Other Business: None.
Public Discussion: None.
Executive Session: None
Next Agenda Items: I-Pads; Winter Sports Report; Action Plan and NECAP Data; Policies – 2nd Read; Counter Top Bids.
Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 6:14 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Currier
Recording Secretary ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, March 19, 2012, 5:00 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
Minutes
Present
Board: Wendalynn Baker, Phillisa Jones-Prescott, Jeff Hance, and Tonia Flemming
Administration: David Adams-Superintendent, Scott Gray-Principal, Meredith Austin- Business Manager
Public: SAPA-TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Debbie Carleton, Linda Waite, Michelle Robidoux, Jim Spaulding, and Lyndsie Hammond
Call to Order
David called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
Board Reorganization
Election of Officers
Elect Chair: David asked for nominations for Board Chair. Phillisa made a motion to nominate Wendalynn Baker as Board Chair. Motion approved. David turned the meeting over to Wendalynn.
Elect Vice Chair: Wendalynn asked for nominations for Vice Chair. Jeff made a motion to nominate Phillisa as Vice Chair. Motion approved.
Elect Board Clerk: Wendalynn asked for nominations for Board Clerk. Phillisa made a motion to nominate Jeff as Board Clerk. Motion approved.
Appoint Designee for SU Executive Committee: The board appointed Phillisa as the CAES representative to the SU Executive Committee.
Elect 3 Representatives from CAES to Supervisory Union Board – Title 16 §266: Tonia made a motion to elect Phillisa, Wendalynn and Jeff as representatives from CAES to the Supervisory Union Board. Motion approved.
Committees:
Negotiations: Tonia and Wendy
Policy: Tonia
Facilities: Jeff and Wendalynn
Finance: Wendalynn, Phillisa, Jeff and Tonia
Set Date & Time of Meetings: Phillisa made a motion to set the meetings for the first Monday of the month at CAES at 5:00 p.m. Motion approved.
Approval of Minutes:
January 11, 2012, January 13, 2012, January 26, 2012, February 27, 2012
Phillisa made a motion to approve the minutes of January 11, 13, 26 and February 27, 2012 as presented. Motion approved.
Finance
Audit Presentation: Meredith introduced Melanie Rodjenski from Fothergill Segale and Valley Certified Public Accountants. There were no findings or recommendations in the CAES FY’11 audit. David thanked Meredith for keeping CAES in good financial shape.
Facilities Update
Camera & Security Bid Award
The facilities committee recommendation is attached. David talked about the needs of the building and the need for visual security and an electronic key system. The dollars being used are from an offset of teacher salaries from a federal grant. The bids were discussed.
Jeff made a motion to award the camera and security bid to Round Hill Fence and Security in an amount not to exceed $19,456.00 and to allow the superintendent or the business manger to sign an agreement. Motion approved.
David reported there is a bid out for counter tops and sinks for the classrooms. Scott suggested the board look at the facility needs on a one, three and five year cycle.
Principal Report
Parent teacher conferences took place last week; there was 90% parent participation. Grades closed last week and report cards are going out. A base radio is being installed in the CAES office for the busses. David said there have been some concerns regarding bus procedures; bus drivers have been trained on use of all equipment.
Winter sports are over and the directors have given their summations of the season. He said all of the programs went well. Phillisa asked for a report on how many students participate in each of the programs.
Superintendent Report
David reported he is leaving his position at the end of the year with regret. The VT School Board’s Association is offering a training on April 16th from 6-9 p.m. at GMUHS for board members; David encouraged the board to attend. The VSA, VSBA and the VPA have sent the Legislature a letter regarding multiple pathways for learning and increasing student opportunity, school choice, the appointment of the commissioner, the future of the state board of education, and school district and supervisory union mergers. David shared an article with the board; “Five Keys to Principals’ Success”. Phillisa thanked Scott for the letter he writes each week in the Beating Drum.
The board asked for a report on the NECAP tests.
Supervisory Union Update, Supervisory Union Executive Committee, Supervisory Union Merger
The executive committee accepted David’s resignation. A regional educational district (RED) was created in the four mountain towns that represent FBUS. July 1, 2013 FBUS will move to the Bennington Rutland SU. The legislature is talking about funding an SU merger similar to the way they are funding the RED. Changes have been made to Act 153 to make it easier for SU’s to merge. There is a full SU board meeting on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 6:30 pm FBUS.
Other Business
Policy and the NECAP tests will be on the next agenda. The vacancy for the board will go into the Beating Drum.
Public Comment
None
Executive Session
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 5:54 p.m. to discuss personnel and negotiations. The administration was invited. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 6:38 p.m. No action taken.
Adjournment
Tonia made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:39 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday February 27, 2012-Immediately following the Chester-Andover Elementary School Annual Meeting and Public Information Hearing starting at 7:00 p.m.
Chester-Andover Elementary School-Library
Present:
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Tonia Fleming, Phillisa Prescott, Ginger Roper and Jeff Hance
Administration: David Adams-Superintendent, Scott Gray-Principal, and Meredith Austin-Business Manager
Public:
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 7:47 p.m.
Request to Raise Minimum School Lunch Price to $2.50 to Comply with Federal Lunch Program Regulations
Wendy explained to the board the need to raise student lunch prices in order to comply with federal regulations. After a brief discussion, Ginger moved to raise the student lunch price to $2.50 and the adult lunch price to $3.50. Motion carried unanimously.
David brought up the subject of the disposal of walkie-talkies no longer in use at the school. After a brief discussion it was agreed that the administration should move forward to dispose of the walkie-talkies with Phillisa ensuring that there would be some revenue generated from the disposal.
The board congratulated David on his new job and wished him well with his new endeavor.
March Meeting Schedule
Next meeting scheduled for March 19 at 5:00pm with the FY 2011 audit presentation by Fothergill Segale and Valley.
Adjournment
Ginger made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Meredith Austin
Business Manager
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Thursday, January 26, 2012, 8:15 a.m.
Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union – Conference Room
Present:
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Tonia Fleming, and Jeff Hance
Administration: David Adams-Superintendent
Public: Virginia Walsh Mack- Recording Secretary
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.
Annual Meeting Warnings
Tonia made a motion to amend the warning to identify the informational meeting will be held on Monday, February 27, 2012. Motion approved.
Other Business
None
Adjournment
Jeff made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:31 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Friday, January 13, 2012, 8:00 a.m.
Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union – Conference Room
Present:
Board: Wendalyn Baker-Chair, Tonia Fleming, and Phillisa Prescott
Administration: David Adams-Superintendent
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 8:08 a.m.
Annual Meeting Budget Warnings
David went over the warning and the articles for the board. The board discussed the number of budget committee members CAES has. Phillisa made a motion to authorize the superintendent to look into the number of budget committee members in Article four and to prepare the Article for signatures. Motion approved. Phillisa made a motion to approve the CAES Warning as presented. Motion approved.
Other Business
None
Public Comment
None
Executive Session
None
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, January 11, 2012, 8:00 a.m.
Central Office Conference Room
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Jeff Hance, Phillisa Jones-Prescott, Ginger Roper and Tonia Fleming
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal, and Meredith Austin-Business Manager
Public/Staff: Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary and Marilyn Mahusky
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 8:08 a.m.
Approval of Minutes of January 4, 2012
Phillisa made a motion to approve the minutes of January 4, 2012 as presented. Correction: Adjournment at “7:21 p.m.” Motion approved as amended.
Finance
FY’13 Budget Adoption
Meredith reported she removed .2 FTE for Compensatory Ed as directed by the board. The Para professionals remained the same. The inflationary cost line was increased. The budget is down 2% from the FY’12 budget at $3,571,469. Ginger made a motion to approve the FY’13 CAES budget for $3,571,469. Motion approved.
Announced Tuition
By January 15th schools who accept students from other districts must announce their tuition rate for FY’13. Meredith is asking the board to set the tuition rate at no more than $8,891.00. Ginger made a motion to set the CAES tuition rate for FY’13 at no more than $8,891.00. Motion approved.
Annual Warning Review
The warnings need to be approved and signed. Ginger made a motion to put $50,000 of the fund balance in the capitol improvement fund. Motion approved.
The board will meet to approve and sign the warnings at 8:00 a.m. on Friday January 13, 2012.
Other Business
None
Public Comment
None
Executive Session
None
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:34 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 5:00 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School - Library
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones Prescott, Ginger Roper, Jeff Hance and Tonia Fleming
Administration: David P. Adams-Superintendent, Scott Gray-Principal, Meredith Austin-Business Manager and Wayne Flewelling-Director of Special Education
Public: SAPA TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Michele Robidoux, Kathy Cherubini, Pat Gutierrez and Kathy Martens
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:10 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of December 19, 2011
Tonia made a motion to approve the minutes of December 19, 2011 as presented. Motion approved.
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 5:09 p.m. to discuss personnel. Motion approved.
The board came out of executive session at 6:03 p.m.
Finance
FY’13 Budget
Meredith handed out a four year comparison format as provided by the DOE. The equalized pupil numbers are continuing to go down. The per-pupil cost has gone up. The tax rate then fluctuates. Meredith gave the board a bar graph showing the equalized pupils, education spending, education spending per equalized pupil and the tax rate (attached). She also gave the board bar graphs based on level funding education spending and level funding education spending per equalized pupil (attached).
Meredith identified a number of line item reductions in the budget. This budget is reduced by almost $43,000. Meredith explained that the reductions in the FY’13 budget will be purchased this year with the savings in salaries and benefits being offset by the jobs fund dollars.
David asked the board for direction as to how to reduce the budget by another $17,000. The board had further discussion on other budget adjustments that could be made. David said the consolidated grant has supported 1.8 FTE for School Wide Programs teachers and .2 FTE (one day per week) was locally funded. .2 of the position is about $17,000. The school wide programs and regular education Para professional positions were discussed. The board asked the administration to remove the .2 FTE Title position from the budget. Kathy Martens asked about the Para professionals’ lines. Lines 374 and 354 have the same dollar amount but the number of employees is the same. Meredith said she will look into it.
The board agreed to meet Wednesday, January 11th at 8:00 a.m. at the central office.
Federal Jobs Grant Fund Update
This was discussed during the budget discussion.
Facilities Update
Jeff said there was about $146,000.00 in the capital improvement fund. The chimney repair, gym floor project, alarm system, burner repairs and the new tables and benches in the cafeteria have been completed.
Policies
Threats of Violence or Destruction F-1:3 Second Read: Correction: Second page first paragraph after #6 should read “otherwise”.
Enrollment of Children of Non-Resident Teachers F:14 Second Read
Weapons Policy F:41 Second Read
Phillisa asked for a motion to adopt these policies as amended. Tonia made a motion to adopt the above policies as amended. Motion approved.
Principal Report
Scott reported the winter sports program starts tomorrow and the students are excited. Staff will be working with a math consultant and the common core state standards as well as other professional development on “ski Thursdays”.
Superintendent Report
David said he will be putting the articles for the budgets together. A draft of the Picus report from the joint legislative committee on student funding has been released. David will be testifying before the legislature tomorrow regarding Act 153. A task force for Act 153 that David has worked on will ask for a task force of attorneys to help with the reorganization of SUs.
Supervisory Union Update
Supervisory Union Executive Committee
Phillisa asked that this be tabled due to the time.
Supervisory Union Merger
At the 12/14/11 consolidation meeting the committee voted to move forward with proposing a merger of the RWSU and WSWSU. Insuring state funding for the merger by July 1, 2012, a 60/40 vote to hire a new superintendent and to approve the budget are provisions in the motion.
The mountain towns and their potential vote to form a Regional Educational District were discussed and the fact that the state could make decisions on the SU merger whether a RED is formed or not.
Other Business
None
Public Comment
None
Executive Session
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 7:08 p.m. to discuss personnel. Motion approved.
The board came out of executive session at 7:20 p.m. No action taken.
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:01 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, December 19, 2011, 5:00 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School – Library
Unapproved Minutes
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Jeff Hance and Tonia Fleming
Administration: David Adams-Superintendent, Scott Gray-Principal, and Meredith Austin-Business Manager
Public/Staff: Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:03 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of December 5, 2011
Jeff made a motion to approve the minutes of December 5, 2011 as presented. Correction: Policy-Current non resident teachers who have children attending currently; children of future non resident teachers will not be accepted beyond the 11/12 school year. Principal’s report “Working Walrus” awards. Motion approved as amended.
Finance
FY’13 Budget
Meredith presented the board with the anticipated revenues (Attached). The draft audit for FY’11 is in and the fund balance is $152,048.00. Meredith has put $52,048.00 into this budget and recommends the board ask the tax payers to support putting the remaining funds in another fund such as capitol improvement, technology etc. Tuition is based on four students; collapse line 1600 and 1610; 3201 and 3102 is revenue to offset the SU assessment; education spending is up 2.33%.
Meredith gave the board a three year comparison of tax rates (Attached). David asked the board for guidance. The board recommends the federal jobs funds be used for teacher salaries and use the salary savings for something budgeted for next year. David asked the board for a target. The board is recommending the administration reduce the education spending to a .005% increase. The board agreed to have a facilities meeting on 1/4/12 at 4:00 p.m. at CAES.
Facilities
Construction Company Name Change - Bid Award for Cafeteria Table Project- The company that was awarded the bid for the cafeteria tables (MacDonald Secore) has changed it‘s name to Krause-Livingston Construction, Inc.
Other Business
Wendy reported a teacher at CAES would like to give her students t shirts with “CAES” printed on them. Wendy received feedback that there could be an issue because the mascot was not on the t shirt. Discussion ensued.
Public Comment
None
Executive Session
None
Adjournment
Jeff made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:56 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, December 5, 2011, 5:00 p.m.
Chester-Andover Elementary School – Library
Present:
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones-Prescott-Vice Chair, Ginger Roper, and Tonia Fleming
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal, David Adams-Superintendent, Meredith Austin-Business Manager
Public/Staff: SAPA TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Angela Hutchins, Lyndsie Hammond, Frank Kelley, and Lauren Baker
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:13 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of November 7, 2011
Phillisa made a motion to approve the minutes of November 7, 2011 as presented. Motion approved.
David announced Frank Kelley was awarded the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History Vermont Teacher of the Year. Vermont Alliance for the Social Studies was a co sponsor of the award. David went over the criteria for nominees and gave background on Frank’s teaching and some of the accolades he has received. Frank was presented with a certificate and $1,000.00. The board congratulated Frank.
Personnel
Co-Curricular Hiring Report
David informed the board of the co curricular contracts that have been issued. (attached)
Facilities Update
David reported the cafeteria tables will be installed over the Christmas break.
Policies
Threats of Violence or Destruction F-1:3 – First Read
Enrollment of Children of Non-Resident Teachers F:14- First Read- Current employee’s who have children attending CAES may continue to request their children attend CAES. Future students of employees will not be accepted.
Weapons Policy F:41- First Read
Phillisa gave background on the above policies. They will be put on the next agenda for adoption.
Principal Report
Scott reported the CAES Circus was well attended and the students had a great time. There will be a concert on December 13th at 7 p.m. Students are being awarded “Rhino Awards” for their hard work; the awards are displayed outside Scott’s office. CAES now has 80 Ipads in the building for student use. The teachers will focus on professional development during ski afternoons. Phillisa asked Scott for a presentation on the Ipads.
Superintendent Report
David reported on November 11th WSWSU had a joint in-service with RWSU teachers. Some CAES teachers attended a conference in November on using the Ipad. The business office is in the middle of budget season and is very busy.
Tomorrow, December 6th at 6:00 p.m. at CTES there will be another joint supervisory union study meeting. On December 14th there will be a meeting for both Supervisory Unions to vote on moving forward to present a plan to the Department of Education.
SU Planning Study Update
Phillisa reported that a draft of the study is not ready as the committee has asked for additional information which will be presented at tomorrow night’s meeting. She went over the tax savings to the towns of Chester and Andover and what the savings would be for CAES. She supports the study. David said all of the information regarding the study is on the WSWSU website.
Finance
Budget Development Update
Meredith went over the restructuring of the budget with the changes in Act 153. She went over the methodology used to calculate costs (attached). David said this is a major change and a cost shift in the budget.
Meredith hit the high points of the budget (attached). Transportation went down; Keewaydin was added back into the budget for $3,200.00; compensatory education line: .2 FTE remains in the CAES budget and the rest is going to the SU to be paid by a grant. Health insurance: There will be no more than a 5% increase in health insurance and no less than a 3% increase; there is an additional $5,000 for technology; fuel oil has gone up; there is an increase for the auditors; the inflammatory costs line has addition dollars added. The budget is down by 2%. Discussion ensued regarding professional development, Kindergarten increase (Kindercamp and Para professionals), and a co curricular increase to restore the cuts from last year. Meredith talked about the special education personnel cost
shifts.
There is a finance committee meeting on 12/7 at 8:30 a.m. and 12/13 at 5:00 p.m. A tentative board meeting has been scheduled for 12/19.
Meredith reported on the Federal Education Jobs Fund (memo attached). CAES has received $50,693.00. The administration will come back to the board at a later meeting with recommendations. The board would like to hear from Scott as to where he thinks these dollars should be spent.
Other Business
Dates: Board meetings on 12/19/11 at 5:00 p.m. and 1/4/11 p.m. to approve the budget.
Phillisa asked that WSWSU update be put on future agendas.
Public Comment
None
Executive Session
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 6:37 p.m. to discuss negotiations. The superintendent was invited to attend. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 7:45 p.m. No action taken.
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
November 7, 2011 5:00 p.m. Board Minutes
Board Present: Wendy Baker – Chair, Ginger Roper, Tonia Fleming, Jeff Hance, Phillisa Jones Prescott
Administration Present: David Adams – Superintendent, Scott Gray – Principal, Meredith Austin – SU Business Manager
Public: Kyle Rogstad – SAPA TV, Lauren Baker, Janet Currier – Recording Secretary
Call to Order: Wendy called meeting to order at 5:06 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of October 3, 2011 –Phillisa made motion to approve minutes. Wendy had 3 corrections; at top of page remove the word Unapproved in front of the word Minutes; Remove the first three items listed under Policies; Under Principal Report add “car” traffic in the third sentence. Minutes were approved as amended.
Personnel a) Nominations- Long Term Substitute Teacher – Board approved hiring Lyndsie Hammond as a long term substitute teacher to cover for Kathy Cherubini and teach grades 3-4.
Appointment of SU Representative – Phillisa made motion to appoint Jeff Hance as the third supervisory union representative. Board approved.
Appointment of Finance Committee Member – Phillisa made motion to appoint Tonia Fleming to the Finance Committee. Board approved. The next Finance Committee meeting will be held on November 21st at the Supervisory Union Office.
Finance – A report will be given in December.
Facilities Update – David reviewed work done over the summer and said that Jim Spaulding and Scott Gray have been very busy with many different projects. The projects that have been completed are: gym and kitchen floors have been replaced, the asbestos abatement has been done, the chimney has been repaired, and work has been done to the fire alarm system. David said that approximately $53,000 has been spent on those updates and the cafeteria tables will be replaced in December. David said he believes there will be approximately $40,000 left in the capital repair fund after the tables are installed. He said the Facilities Committee might want to look at replacing countertops and sinks as they are quite old and have about worn out their usefulness.
David said that CAES has not received a full bill for removal of water from the fuel tanks from Tropical Storm Irene. The paperwork has been submitted to FEMA in hopes of getting 87% of the repair costs back but we have not heard yet. All deadlines have been met and CAES has received verbal approval for coverage.
Policies Update – None at this time.
Chester-Andover Board Minutes November 7, 2011 Page 2
Principal Report – Scott said that the NECAP testing is complete and all the tests have been packed up and returned to Measured Progress for scoring. Results probably won’t be available until March. He said that Connie Cannon is coming to CAES do professional development in Math with the staff. Scott talked about all the areas they have looked at to find problem areas and improve teaching methods. He said that ASPIRE begins on Monday after Thanksgiving and there are more than 35 students that will take part in it. He said this Thursday evening a spelling program will be looked at and then work with a professional will be done to implement the program. Phillisa said she is happy the spelling program is being brought back to the school.
Superintendent Report - David said he attended the VSBA and VSA Conference on October 20th and 21st and it was a wonderful conference. He said this is a very informative conference for both board members and superintendents and he hopes that next fall the board members will consider attending it as it is very worthwhile. He explained that Tropical Storm Irene required changes to the school calendar and Professional Development days. Next Tuesday there will be a Professional Development day with David Leibman on Informational Text for Writing Common Core Curriculum. There will also be I-Pad training and a team will travel to Maine to see how Maine has implemented the I-Pads into their schools. Friday there will be a training done for office staff on Ergonomics, all office staff members have
been invited. David said he will also give an update on the possible upcoming merger. David reported that the para-educators participated in the training that took place prior to the start of school this year and he feels the year got off to a better start because of it
A Curriculum Advisory Committee Members document was given to those present. David said the Committee plans to meet about 4 times a year to offer support to the school curriculum teams. The next meeting is scheduled for March 7, 2012. The Curriculum Management Policy is part of the packet given out for review. David said several curriculum teams met during the summer and one team was the music teachers. They looked at the music curriculum and grade expectations for grades K – 12.
S.U. Planning Study Update - Phillisa said the last meeting was on October 19, 2011 at Cavendish Town Elementary School where they worked on a template of a draft to be submitted to the State on the merger. She hoped that a draft petition to be submitted to the State will be available for review prior to the December 6th, meeting at Green Mountain (6:00 p.m.). This draft is of work being done on the possible merger with Rutland-Windsor Supervisory Union and Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union. The next meeting will be on November 16th at Cavendish Town Elementary School. Phillisa urged all the board members to attend this meeting as a financial analysis will be available regarding the merger. A meeting was held with the full S.U. Board regarding how they would assess the costs back
to the schools and a consensus was decided to base it on equalized student numbers and special education and other ungraded students would be based on child count. The new assessment will be based on this information. On December 14th (location to be determined) a joint S.U. meeting will be held to decide if the petition will be submitted to the State or not. Phillisa is concerned that the public be
made aware of what is occurring with this merger and she feels it should be announced in the Vermont Journal, the Message and the Beating Drum to get the word out.
The State is very involved in this process. David gave an explanation of the “100 day” process as he called it that has taken place to date. We are going to be the State’s “Test
Chester-Andover Board Minutes November 7, 2011 Page 3
Case” to see if there will be financial benefits to merge. A state consultant will be presenting the financial figures next week on the 16th at Cavendish Town Elementary School. David feels that the cost savings and opportunities for student learning will be great. This merger has been discussed for about a year and a half to date. The administration was directed by the board to get the merger information in the papers as soon as possible.
Other Business – None.
Public Discussion – None.
Executive Session – Phillisa made motion to enter Executive Session at 5:54 p.m. to discuss Negotiations and Policy and to invite the Superintendent, Principal and Business Manager to attend. Board approved.
The Board came out of Executive Session at 6:50 p.m. No further action taken.
Adjournment: Phillisa made motion to adjourn at 6:50 p.m. Board approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Currier
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Monday, October 3, 2011, 5:00 p.m.
Unapproved Minutes
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones-Prescott, Jeff Hance, Ginger Roper, and Tonia Fleming
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal, Linda Waite- Assistant Superintendent and Meredith Austin-Business Manager
Public/Staff: SAPA, TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary and Sue Fortier
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of September 12, 2011
Phillisa made a motion to approve the minutes of September 12, 2011 as presented. Correction: Add Tonia Fleming as being present. Motion approved as amended.
Personnel
Long Term Substitute Teacher
Linda reported this nomination is for Michelle Jennifer Farrar as the Long Term Substitute for Charlene Leonard, CAES Title I Teacher, who is on a medical leave.
Ginger made a motion to approve hiring Michelle Jennifer Farrar as the Long Term Substitute for Charlene Leonard as presented. Motion approved.
Finance
FY’ 12 Budget Development Timeline
Meredith went over the timeline with the board. She talked about the changes regarding moving special education costs from the school budgets to the S.U. budget.
SU Assessment Methodology
Meredith went over the different ways assessments are calculated. The administration is working to decide which method they will use in the budget process.
Facilities Update
FEMA Site Inspection
Scott reported FEMA inspected the school grounds last week. Each incident is reported separately. The oil tanks were looked at, the fence by the brook was looked at, as well as the garden. Scott is not sure what if anything will be done about the garden.
Policies
Student Conduct F1:1 Final Rescission: No action; action was taken at the last meeting.
Suspension and Expulsion F1:2 Final Rescission No action; action was taken at the last meeting.
Student Conduct F:1 Adopt No action; action was taken at the last meeting.
Participation of Home Study Students F:29 Second Read
Firearms F:43 Second Read
Educational Support System G:5 Second Read
Hazing F:34 Second Read
Ginger made a motion to approve the above policies as presented. Motion approved.
Principal Report
Scott reported the bus routes are back to normal except for the Popple Dungeon route. Bus 4 and 7 have been permanently combined. With the busses running the traffic has slowed down at the school. The leadership team will be scheduling some parent nights to work on everyday math; they will also be focusing on NECAP science scores. The new cafeteria tables have been ordered and are scheduled to be installed in November. The ASPIRE afterschool program will start back up at CAES if there is interest. They are a licensed child care provider. Sue Fortier said a sustainable program would need 12 students per day and she believes the interest for parents is there. Ginger said this program was at CAES when her children were here and she would recommend the program. This is a
fee based program. The cost for 5 days is $69.14 until 6:00 p.m. and the cost for 3 days is $30.31 until 5:00 p.m. They do accept childcare subsidies.
Superintendent Report
WSWSU Curriculum Advisory Membership
Linda reported the administration is looking for a board member to sit on the curriculum committee. There would be three or four meetings over the school year. The committee has documents that they would like to go over with board members and community members. These meetings would take place late afternoons. Tonia volunteered to sit on the committee.
NECAP Science Results
Linda said the science NECAP scores were released from the Board of Education last week. More detailed reports will be available to board members at future meetings and a complete report will again be provided in the WSWSU State of the District Report later this year.
In the coming weeks Administrators and Teacher s will analyze the data from the test scores and develop action steps to improve teacher capacity and ensure opportunities to learn best strategies for science instruction and assessment which include offering a summer five-day Science Assessment graduate course for WSWSU teachers. In addition teachers worked this summer to develop a draft science scope and sequence document that includes mastery and content objectives for each grade level K-6.
Scott said there is a trend in the data. The leadership team will look at the data from every aspect and target the areas most needed. He said the same process will take place with all subjects. This will become part of the action plan.
Linda said most of the students fell into the “almost proficient” group so the hope is for the teachers to move that large group of students to the “proficient” group. Parents will receive individual results at parent-teacher conferences.
Discussion: Science testing is not required under the No Child Left Behind law; performance targets will be set; it seems this issue has not been “pinned down”; taking action steps to move forward; bringing in outside resources-VINS and ELF.
VSA/VSBIT Conference – October 20th & 21st
Linda said the Vermont School Boards Assoc. is having a conference at Lake Morey on October 20th and 21st. They are offering workshops for school board members.
Impact of Irene on School Operations
Linda said the revised calendar has gone out. She went over the changes. The in service days will now be instructional days and two days were added to the end of school.
SU Planning Study Update
Phillisa reported the executive committee voted to hire a consultant for a needs assessment study at a cost of under $2,000 for each of the schools. She said she is not sure if the consolidation is “good” for CAES; the study will answer a lot of questions. The consolidation is contingent on the four mountain towns forming a Regional Educational District (RED) and moving to BRSU. There will be a joint S.U. meeting on October 13th at GMUHS at 6:30 to determine what methodology will be used for the study. The committee will have several more meetings to create a plan to present to the department of education in January.
Other Business
None
Public Comment
None
Executive Session
Not necessary
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:06 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Monday, September 12, 2011, 5:00 p.m.
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones-Prescott and Jeff Hance
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal and David Adams- Superintendent
Public/Staff: SAPA TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary and Lauren Baker-Director of Information Technology and Integrated Instruction, Angela Hutchins, Wayne Flewelling-Special Education Director, Leslie Kenney and Tonia Fleming.
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m.
Wendy welcomed Tonia Fleming, CAES new board member.
Approval of Minutes of August 1, 2011
Jeff made a motion to approve of the minutes of August 1, 2011 as presented. Motion approved.
Personnel
Long Term Substitutes
David informed the board a staff member is unable to work and a long term substitute will need to be hired for 8 to 12 weeks.
Finance
Health Reimbursement Agreement –Jeff signed the resolution.
Cafeteria Tables Bid Award- David reported two bids were received. Meredith and David recommend the board hire MacDonald Secore for $39,380 to replace the cafeteria tables. Phillisa made a motion to hire MacDonald Secore for $39,380 to replace the cafeteria tables. Discussion ensued: It will take about 3 days to complete the work but will take approximately 8 to12 weeks to receive the tables. This work should be completed as soon as possible. Motion approved.
Appointment of Negotiation Team Member
Wendy asked for a nomination for negotiation team member. Phillisa made a motion to nominate Tonia Fleming as the negotiation team member from CAES. Motion approved. David gave background regarding the negotiations.
Facilities
David said the gym floor has been installed and looks beautiful; the chimney has been relined and reduced and there are new burners. David said the contractor discovered the oil tanks were filled with water which needed to be removed by professionals. David said he is going to apply to FEMA for assistance and the insurance company has been notified. Discussion ensued regarding the safety of the tanks. There was erosion damage to the playground. The garden was lost due to the storm. The new soccer field faired pretty well.
Policies
Phillisa made a motion to waive the reading of the following policies and to adopt them as presented. Motion approved.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Compliance (HIPPA) D:15 Second Read
Student Conduct and Discipline F:1 Second Read
Transportation F:12 Second Read Amended
Attendance F:22 Second Read Amended
Curriculum Management G:1 Second Read Amended
Student Conduct F1:1 Second Read Rescind
Suspension and Expulsion F1:2 Second Read Rescind
Phillisa reported the policy committee has been working to update the policy books. Phillisa made a motion to waive the first readings for the following policies. Motion approved.
Participation of Home Study Students F:29 First Read
Firearms F:43 First Read
Educational Support System G:5 First Read
Hazing F:34 First Read
Principal Report
Scott reported School Years’ Eve went very well and he thanked Becky Plunkard for her hard work. Scott thanked the PTG for the plants they brought to him.
The bus routes are going pretty well; student handbooks will be going home and will also be available on line; a substitute will be hired for Charlene Leonard.
Scott said the Dental Hygienist Program was recommended to him from the Principal at Flood Brook and David gave some background on this grant program.
Tai Kwon Do, Homework club and the RESPECT Club will be starting soon.
Superintendent Report
David thanked Scott for the School Years’ Eve celebration and also thanked Becky for her hard work. David asked for understanding from everyone regarding the bussing.
Teacher Evaluation System
David reported this is the tool which will be used to evaluate teachers.
David introduced Wayne Flewelling our new Special Education Director. Wayne gave the board some background and said he is looking forward to working with all of the students and staff in the S.U. Wayne had an in-service for Para professionals this summer where they received some professional development and were also able to be recognized for the work they do. Leslie Kenney said it was a very good day; she was able to meet other Para professionals in the S.U.
Effects of Irene on School Opening
David said they have missed 5 instructional days. He thinks they will be able to use in-service days and to possibly use days prior to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Discussion: The possibility to receive waivers for these lost days. The calendar will be reissued. The extra time added to the school day will not affect the ability to make up the days. David thanked the board for their support.
Other Business
None
Public Comment
None
Executive Session
None
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:49 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Monday, August 1, 2011, 5:00 p.m.
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Ginger Roper, Betsy Hart and Jeff Hance
Administration: Scott Gray-Principal and Linda Waite-Asst. Superintendent
Public/Staff: SAPA TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary and Lauren Baker-Director of Information Technology and Integrated Instruction
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of June 27, 2011
Jeff made a motion to approve the minutes of June 27, 2011 as presented. Motion approved.
* Betsy Hart informed the board she will be resigning as a board member as she has taken a position in one of the other schools in the S.U. She thanked everyone for the opportunity to serve the CAES community. The board thanked Betsy for her contributions.
Personnel
Nominations-Long Term Substitute Teacher
Ginger made a motion to accept Pam Josselyn as the long term substitute for Kathy Cherubini beginning August 25, 2011. Motion approved.
Finance
Health Reimbursement Agreement
Linda gave the board background on the health reimbursement agreement. Discussion ensued. Ginger made a motion to appoint David Adams as the contact person for the agreement and to authorize the board clerk to sign the agreement. Motion approved.
Committee Reports
Facilities
Scott reported the kitchen floor is completed and work continues on the gym floor. The chimney has been fixed. The table replacements will go out to bid; there will be a walk through next week. The tables will not be installed before school starts. The boilers will have new burners installed later this month.
Policy
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Compliance (HIPPA) D:15 First Read
Student Conduct and Discipline F:1 First Read
Transportation F:12 Amended
Attendance F:22 Amended
Curriculum Management G:1 Amended
Student Conduct F1:1 Rescind
Suspension and Expulsion F1:2 Rescind
Wendy reported these policies are mandatory. She waived reading the policies. Scott said he is looking at non mandatory policies. Policy F:1 was discussed.
WSWSU Executive Board
None
Principal Report
Scott reported his focus for the last month has been to meet with individual teachers. He said it has been very beneficial to him to get to know his staff. His focus this year will be rebuilding climate and culture in the school as well as AYP. He is planning the first in-service day. He invited the board to the in-service on August 26th at 8:30 a.m.
Superintendent Report
Dental Hygienist Program Grant Award
Linda gave the board the background on this grant. She said David feels Scott should have time to speak with the professionals involved. This will be put on the next agenda. Scott said he has concerns about sufficient space for this program. The schools liability was discussed.
Mission Statement
Wendy asked the board to approve the language changes in the Mission Statement. Ginger made a motion to approve the language changes in the Mission Statement. Motion approved.
Other Business
Wendy made a motion to appoint Jeff Hance as the board clerk. Motion approved. Wendy said the board will need to ask for letters of interest to fill the vacancy on the board.
Ginger reported Green Mountain has been looking at the bus routes and trying to possibly consolidate the bus runs. One bus has been eliminated. Ginger said the GM Board is going to have discussions regarding clustering the bus stops and thinks that a board member from CAES should be involved in the discussion. Scott said he rode a bus run today and he thought that on this particular run there could be cluster stops. Scott said he has some ideas regarding pick up and drop off at CAES.
Public Comment
None
Executive Session
None
Adjournment
Jeff made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:43 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
June 27, 2011 5:30 p.m. Unapproved Minutes
Board Present: Wendy Baker – Chair, Betsy Hart, Jeff Hance, Phillisa Jones Prescott
Administration Present: David P. Adams– Superintendent, Scott Gray – Principal
Public: Christopher Rosengrant– SAPA TV, Janet Currier – Recording Secretary
Call to Order: Wendy called meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of June 6, 2011– Betsy moved approval of minutes as presented. Board approved.
Finance:
a. Bid Awards – Betsy made motion to approve Knockout Carpet at a cost of $17,122.00 to replace gym and kitchen floors with a 35 cent per square foot additional cost if necessary. Board approved.
Personnel–a) Nominations–
Custodian - Betsy made motion to approve hiring Allison Balmer as a full time custodian at $12.97/hour to begin on July 1, 2011. Board approved.
Co-Curricular Yearbook – Phillisa moved to approve Angela Hutchins and Shanna McCarthy as co-curricular yearbook advisors for the 2010-2011 school year at $303.00 each. Board approved.
Special Education Para Educators (3) – Phillisa moved to hire Anne Cassels, Rena Gordon and Karen Knisley at $13.16/hour for 7.5 hours/day. Board approved.
b) Co-Curricular Reports –
Flag Squad - Board agreed to accept report.
c) Support Staff Memorandum of Agreement – David explained that the Support Staff reorganized into a Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union Support Staff Union and agreed to a two year contract with no changes. Negotiations are to continue to align all support staff contracts as of June 30, 2012. David recommended acceptance. Betsy made motion to accept Memorandum of Agreement for the support staff. Board approved.
d) Request for Accumulated Sick Day Pay – Wendy asked the Board to postpone this until the end of the meeting. Board agreed.
Committee Reports –
Facilities – David said it will be a busy summer at Chester-Andover with Boiler work, Chimney work and floors being replaced.
Policy – None.
WSWSU Executive Board – Phillisa said the Executive Board is looking at a possible merger with Rutland Windsor Supervisory Union. There is a request for a member from each board to sit on the steering committee. She asked to take a poll of the CAES Board to see what their feelings are regarding this merger. She said it seems to be a good fit.
Chester-Andover Board Minutes June 27, 2011 Page 2
She said she will go to the initial meeting to get information and to see if the Chair needs to attend the meetings. She explained that a committee will review all aspects of this merger to see if it is actually feasible or not. The Legislature is being asked to fund the needs assessment but we do not know if they will approve this request or not. Once the needs assessment is done then the boards will receive the detailed information about the merger.
Principal Report - Wendy thanked Joan Nagle for her work for Chester-Andover over the past two years. Joan is not present tonight but the board wanted her to know that her work is appreciated. The board then welcomed the new Principal, Scott Gray who will begin as the Chester-Andover Principal on July 1, 2011.
Superintendent Report –
a) Dental Hygienist Program Grant Award - David gave the board information on this grant program to read and said it would be on the August agenda.
David then gave the board two draft copies of the Chester-Andover Mission Statement to review and make a decision on. This will also be on the August agenda.
Other Business – None.
Public Comment - None.
Executive Session – Phillisa made motion to enter into Executive Session at 5:50 p.m. to discuss a personnel issue and to invite the Superintendent and Principal to participate.
Board came out of Executive Session at 6:02 p.m. Phillisa made motion to pay Steve Sanderson $20.00/day for his unused sick days not to exceed 120 days. Board voted unanimously.
Adjournment – Meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Currier
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
June 6, 2011 5:00 p.m.
Board Present: Betsy Hart – Acting Chair, Jeff Hance, Ginger Roper (arrived late)
Administration Present: David P. Adams– Superintendent, Joan Nagle – Principal
Public: Christopher Rosengrant– SAPA TV, Meredith Austin, Elise Lisle, Lauren Baker, Toby Treu, Frank Kelley, Polly Westcott, Michelle Robidoux, Cindi Austin, Janet Currier – Recording Secretary
Call to Order: Betsy called meeting to order at 5:04 p.m.
Because only two board members were present and there was no quorum, Betsy said the board would go through the agenda items that do not need board action. She hoped a third board member would arrive by 5:30 p.m.
#4 – Teacher Presentation – Grants – Frank Kelley and Toby Treu were the teacher presenters regarding the Document Camera. Toby Treu explained how using the document camera allows everyone to see the document as it is projected on a screen/wall. Frank demonstrated by showing different documents on the wall. He said this document camera is great because it allows the students to get up and move to show their work to the other students using the camera and therefore holds the students attention better. He said they also got funds for a digital camera that the students can use. Frank said they are just starting with this document camera and they have much more to learn about all that they can use it for.
Betsy congratulated Frank on his nomination for History Teacher of the Year. Toby said Frank has also been nominated for the pool of Social Studies Teachers as well and they are waiting to see who will be chosen for that honor.
#8. Finance Report – a) Federal Jobs Bill – David said last year this bill received a lot of attention in the press. He said that federal dollars have been awarded to the State to be distributed to individual schools. Chester-Andover’s allocation is $60,000.00. David said we are waiting to see how the Vermont Education General Fund stands to see if we will actually receive these funds or not. He explained how the monies can and can not be used if we do get them. Therefore none of the funds will be used until we have further information as to whether or not this money will be available for distribution. David hopes that we will have more guidance by the time budget season arrives.
#9. Committee Reports –a) Facilities – David said the upcoming summer will be a busy one. The floor and tables in the gym will be replaced as well as the chimney and oil burners. Bids have gone out for these projects but we have not gotten anything back yet on the floor and tables in the gym.
Ginger Roper arrived at 5:25 p.m. – there is now a board quorum present.
Chester-Andover Board Minutes June 6, 2011 Page 2
#8 – Finance Report – c) Bid Results – Meredith Austin referenced a memo on the chimney repair and oil burner replacement projects. She said we received two bids on these projects and she is recommending that Chester-Andover go with All Seasons for the chimney repair as they were low bidder and they have worked with us on other projects very successfully. We received two bids on the oil burner replacement project as well. Meredith said that since ARC Mechanical has done all the previous work on the burners she is recommending that we go with them even though they are not the low bidder.
Ginger made motion to approve All Seasons bid at $15,238.00 and ARC Mechanical’s bid at $9,540.00. Board approved. David said he hopes that Jim will have the bids on the floor and tables for the June 27th meeting.
b) Bank Borrowing – Meredith said bids were requested to borrow $813,575.00 for Chester-Andover. She said they received bids from Merchants Bank and People’s United Bank. Meredith reviewed the numbers and interest that would be earned and recommended going with Merchants Bank for borrowing. Jeff made motion to borrow from Merchants Bank the amount of $813,575.00 for the 2012 – 2013 school year. Board approved.
#9. Committee Reports – b) Policies – Betsy said the following two policies are up for second read and approval. F-16 Admission of Resident Students – and F-17 Admission of Non-Resident Tuition Students. The following two policies are to be rescinded: F-16:1 Admission of Resident Students and F-17:1 In District Tuition Student. Ginger made motion to take action to adopt the first two policies and to rescind the last two as requested. Board approved.
c) WSWSU Executive Board – David said that a special meeting will take place tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. at Cavendish Town Elementary School. The topic is the possible merging of Windsor Southwest and Rutland Windsor Supervisory Unions. Members from the Department of Education will be present at this meeting. David said a recommendation by the research committee will be made to both S.U. Boards. The boards will then vote to see if this merger should be continued to be investigated to see if it would be financially feasible for this to happen. David named the schools and towns that would be involved. He said rather than having one S.U. become part of the other they would like to form an entirely new Supervisory Union.
#10. Principal Report – a) Enrollment Report -Joan Nagle put together an enrollment numbers report. She said they have noticed a drop in the enrollment numbers over the past few years. She compared several past years and said that they expect the enrollment to drop again for next year. She said they have had several new families come in to register their children for next year though. The new students are across the grades.
b) Music Curriculum Report – Joan said she understood there was a concern about the loss of some of the music teaching time. She presented a proposed schedule for next year and said no one would be losing music times. David said he and Joan both recommend that the board reinstate the .2 music teacher position. Cindi Austin was asked if she
Chester-Andover Board Minutes June 6, 2011 Page 3
teaches Music Theory and History. She said she teaches both to her classes. She said what she teaches is taken from the Vermont Standards. David asked the board present to
consider the information presented and allow them to make the staffing adjustments and then to revisit this issue in the fall. With band and chorus the addition of the .2 position will make a 1.0 FTE music program. Jeff made motion to recall the .2 music position as recommended by the administration. Board approved. Betsy asked that this be re-visited when the full board is present.
Joan informed those present that Frank Kelley did receive the History Teacher of the Year Award last week and she announced it in her building. She said he makes History fascinating for the students at Chester-Andover and they are lucky to have him as a teacher.
#11. Superintendent Report – David extended his congratulations to Frank. David said that the follow up of the two S.U. merger study and the minutes of tomorrow evenings meeting would be posted on the S.U. website. David said that new hire Teacher Paul Martorano has a request of the board. He lives out of state and plans to relocate to Chester if possible. He is requesting that his two daughters be allowed to attend and participate in Step-up Day at Chester-Andover if by chance he does not settle in Chester as a resident. Ginger made motion to allow Mr. Martorano’s children to participate in Step-up Day at Chester-Andover. Board approved.
David then asked the board for suggestions regarding the Chester-Andover Mission Statement. Ginger asked that the word will be taken out of the first sentence so it states “we build”. Board thought the rest of the statement looked okay.
Joan asked about the contracts for her office staff and custodians. David said they have been signed and distributed.
Joan asked if the June 27th meeting is a special meeting. Betsy said it is in lieu of a July meeting.
Joan said her last day in the office would be June 24, 2011.
Betsy asked that the board go back to items 2 and 3 on the agenda:
#2 – Approval of Minutes of May 2, 2011 –
#3 – Approval of Minutes of May 26, 2011 – Jeff made motion to approve minutes of May 2nd and May 26th as presented. Board approved.
The board then went to #6 –
Chester-Andover Board Minutes June 6, 2011 Page 4
#6 – Technology Report – David explained that the Technology line item had gone over in the budget but that money had been recouped from the sale of old inventory and there
is a request to use the money recouped for Technology and the purchase of I Pads. Lauren said this money is in the general fund but in a separate technology line. David said that if the money is not spent by June 30, 2011 it will be carried forward and we won’t have a chance to use the money for purchases within this fiscal year. Lauren Baker said they are trying to give sufficient access to students to all the technology sources available. She said I Pads are very powerful tools for accessing the web and are great tools for personal support. She said they are great tools for putting the right information in front of the right student at the right time. Lauren said they are trying to provide the tools for all students in all schools to move towards 1:1 computing. Another
factor is the I Pad is cheaper than laptops and do not require as much technical support. Much discussion took place. Meredith said that if this money is not spent in time for June 30th delivery then it would have to wait until next year’s budget to be spent. Ginger felt the I Pads should be purchased to give kids access to using them especially since Green Mountain is going to be using I Pads. Ginger made motion to authorize the use of the $8,000.00 + tech revenue at the discretion of the Technology Director to support the educational needs of the staff and students at Chester-Andover Elementary School. Board approved.
Other Business – None.
Executive Session – Ginger made motion to enter Executive Session for personnel at 6:44 p.m. and to invite the administration to participate in this discussion.
Meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. with no further action taken.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Currier
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
May 26, 2011 8:30 a.m.
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones-Prescott -Vice Chair, Betsy Hart , Ginger Roper and Jeff Hance
Administration: David Adams-Superintendent
Public/Staff: SAPA-TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.
Personnel
Resignations
David explained how the music department was reduced and now there is a .2 position open because Polly Westcott accepted a position for .2 at CTES which leaves a vacancy of .2 FTE at CAES. Cindy Austin has recall rights. Discussion ensued regarding the need for this position. David is recommending the board recall the .2 position. Discussion ensued regarding what the music department should look like. David said he will ask Scott for a report on the needs for music. The board agreed to postpone the music recall until the next meeting.
David recommends the board accept Polly Westcott’s .2 FTE resignation. The Board approved Polly’s .2 FTE resignation.
David said he received a resignation letter from Steve Sanderson, CAES Custodian.
Phillisa made a motion to accept the resignation from Steve Sanderson as CAES Custodian with many thanks and appreciation. Motion approved.
Nomination
David recommended Paul Martorano be appointed as the new K-6 grade teacher for the 2011-2012 school year. David gave the board background on Mr. Martorano. Discussion ensued. Betsy made a motion to hire Paul Martorano as a CAES K-6 grade teacher for the 2011-2012 school year at a salary of $44,008.00 pending certification and background checks. Motion approved.
The next meeting will be June 6th. Items for the next agenda will be: music program report; the music recall; technology grant presentation; ask Paul to attend the meeting; Federal Jobs Bill report; the reduction in enrollment.
David asked the board to consider a proposal from Lauren Baker to purchase IPads. Discussion ensued regarding technology equipment. David reported that Lauren recouped about $8,000.00 by disposing of equipment; she is asking to purchase Ipads for teachers to use in classrooms. Discussion ensued regarding the need for the Ipads and how the Ipads would be used. David said training for the teachers is important. Ginger asked about student response systems for the SmartBoard. David said Green Mountain is talking about these devises. The IPads are intended for classroom use. David said he would support setting up a lab. He doesn’t think the IPad duplicates a laptop. David will invite Lauren to the next meeting.
David spoke to the board regarding the discussion of not merging the two SU’s but eliminating both of them and creating a new S.U.
June 7th at 7:00 p.m. at CTES there will be a meeting with the two S.U.s. The commissioner of education will be attending this meeting.
Adjournment
Ginger made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Monday, May 2, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones-Prescott-Vice Chair, and Jeff Hance
Administration: Joan Nagle-Principal and David P. Adams-Superintendent
Public/Staff: SAPA-TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Kathy Cherubini, Elise Lisle, Jeanie Phillips, Vanissa White, Michelle Robidoux and Rachel Spengler.
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of April 4, 2011
Phillisa made a motion to approve the minutes of April 4, 2011 as presented. Motion approved.
Technology Grant Presentations
Elise and Jeanie gave a presentation on the Title II Technology Grant CAES received. A Smart Board was purchased with 70% of the funds. Jeanie talked about Arts Grade Expectations. The teachers took what the children are learning with the Red Clover books in their Library classes, and incorporated it into their Art and P.E. classes.
Jeanie and Elise talked about some of the lessons learned with the SmartBoard: It engages students; the class Jeanie took was crucial; planning is essential; an audience adds excitement; collaboration is catchy. The board thanked Jeanie and Elise for the presentation.
Joan read a letter from the Kindergarten teachers who reported 4 ipods were purchased for the Kindergarten which they use on a weekly basis and they feel the ipods are very useful in reading.
Election of Supervisory Union Representatives
Wendy said the board needs official representatives for the full supervisory union meetings. Phillisa made a motion to nominate Betsy Hart and Wendy Baker to the supervisory union board. Motion approved.
Jeff made a motion to nominate Phillisa Jones Prescott as a representative to the supervisory union board. Motion approved.
Personnel
Nominations
Co-curricular Flag Group
1:1 Special Education Para
3/4 Grade Teacher
David presented the board with nominations for Ann Cassels as a Special Ed Para professional for an hourly rate of $12.56 and nominate Julie Kelly as the Flags Director at a salary of $545.00. Phillisa made a motion to approve hiring Ann Cassels as a Special Ed Para professional at an hourly rate of $12.56 and Julie Kelly as the Flags Director at a salary of $545.00. Motion approved.
David said they have candidates for the 3/4 position but have not completed the background checks and he asked the board to have another meeting in May to hire the new teacher. The board agreed.
Resignation of Para Educator
David recommends the board accept the resignation letter from Amy Brunner. Phillisa made a motion to accept Amy Brunner’s resignation. Motion approved.
Request for Additional Health Insurance Premium Reimbursement
The board agreed to table this item until after executive session.
Committee Reports
Facilities
David said Jim has done all of the bid specs for the projects. He does not have a status report tonight but should have one at the next meeting.
Policies
Phillisa submitted the following policies for first reads. She said these policies were looked at but were not changed just updated. She waived the reading of the policies:
• F-16 Admission of Resident Students – First Read
• F-16:1 Admission of Resident Students – First Read to Rescind
• F-17 Admission of Non-Resident Tuition Students – First Read to Amend
• F-17:1 In District Tuition Student – First Read to Rescind
WSWSU Executive Board
Phillisa reported the mountain towns are requesting an extra vote if they create a RED. This will be discussed at the semi annual meeting on Wednesday, May 4th at 6:30 p.m. at GMUHS. David said Flood Brook and the mountain towns are asking for 8 votes based on enrollment when the other boards’ votes are based on being an operating board or a non operating board.
Principal Report
Teacher Enrollment Request in accordance with policy F-14
Joan said Kathy Cherubini is requesting her child be accepted to CAES for the next school year. Phillisa made a motion to allow Mrs. Cherubini’s son to enroll in Kindergarten at CAES for the 2011-2012 school year in accordance with the CAES F-14 policy. Motion approved.
Joan said the first, second, third, and fourth graders made May Day baskets for shut-ins and the elderly. Joan went with some of the students to deliver the baskets. She said she had a wonderful time.
She reported May 12th and 13th is the Kindergarten screening.
Superintendent Report
David asked the board to consider changing the tuition policy dates of determining the tuition rate and announce it by January 15th. David explained the state requires the tuition rates be reported by January 15th.
David thanked the teachers who received and applied for the grants. He said the kids are for the better for it.
David reminded the board of the Act 153 training on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at GMUHS. The act is being integrated into existing law and Steve Stitzel, Attorney, will be presenting. The State of the District Report will be presented at the board meeting on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at GMUHS.
David discussed the governance meetings that have been taking place with surrounding supervisory unions. David said they are having another meeting on June 8th or 9th.
David recognized Scott Gray who has been appointed as the CAES principal beginning July 1st.
Other Business
Wendy congratulated the Grateful Garden committee for the grant they received.
David asked if the chair and he can meet to come up with a date for the special meeting. The board agreed.
Executive Session
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session to discuss personnel. The board invited Scott and the administration. Motion approved.
The board came out of executive session at 7:43 p.m. Phillisa made a motion to deny the request for additional compensation for health insurance premiums. Motion approved.
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Monday, April 4, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones-Prescott-Vice Chair, Betsy Hart and Jeff Hance
Administration: Joan Nagle-Principal and David P. Adams-Superintendent
Public/Staff: SAPA-TV, Jana Wunderle, Carrie King, Michelle Robidoux, Kathy Martens, Wendy Svec, Frank Kelley, Leo Graham, and Lauren Baker
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of March 10, 2011
Phillisa made a motion to approve the minutes of March 10, 2011 as presented. Correction: Change Michelle Robidoux’s name from “administration” to “staff present”. Motion approved.
Grateful Garden Update
Carrie King and Jana Wunderle gave a presentation on the Grateful Garden. They applied for a $1,000.00 grant to provide infrastructure for the garden; they will find out if they will get the grant next week. The objective is to protect growth. They handed out information on the growth of the garden, the budget, and information on why a garden is beneficial to a school community. They described how the garden is started with help from each child in school. There are plans to erect a fence to protect the garden. They are working on a plan depending on money raised to expand to include community plots. Discussion ensued; Phillisa asked for details about the fencing. David asked if any provisions were made regarding zoning or regulations about fencing.
Board Retreat – (Date(s))
The board discussed dates for the board retreat. The board agreed to meet on May 26th with the times to be determined.
Committee Reports
Facilities
David reported that Jim Spaulding is compiling estimates and information on future projects (Chimney, burner replacement, cafeteria floor and table replacement).
Policy
Family Medical Leave Act D:13
Phillisa recommended the FMLA, D: 13, policy be adopted. Phillisa made a motion to adopt the FMLA, D:13, policy as presented. Motion approved.
WSWSU Executive Board
No report. This item will be on a future agenda.
Principal Report
Joan reported they are planning kindergarten registration; she commented on the great quality of the pre-school program at GMUHS. Joan spoke about the district in-service on gender performance. The fire drill with the new system was “interesting”; a number of ideas came out of it. They have new plans for trying to build a safety plan that is an improvement over the existing plan. Joan asked whether library media specialist, Jeanie Phillips could present at a future meeting to report on the grant. The kindergarten teachers want to report on the use of the IPOD Touch in their classrooms.
The next board meeting will be May 2, 2011 at 5:30 p.m.
Joan presented the winter sports program reports from the directors of the activities; improvements were made to the program and they were successful.
Superintendent Report
David presented the school calendar for next year. He explained that the schedule is coordinated with the other schools and the tech centers. He discussed the teacher’s professional development during the winter sports days and how productive they were.
David reported the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) for CAES was not met; he would like to come back in May with Joan to expand on what it means to the health of our school. He explained that expectations changed and increased, therefore making it more difficult to reach AYP. He emphasized that this is not an excuse for why we didn’t achieve AYP, just an explanation. David explained there is a plan in place to strategize for maximum outcome in writing and math. He will have more information in May. Phillisa asked about the change of criteria; annual measurable growth. Discussion ensued.
Leo Graham reported on statistics of No Child Left Behind. Michelle Robidoux said there were 118 more schools not making AYP for the first time with the new criteria.
Other Business
Jeff made a motion for a support staff reduction in force per contract negotiations. Motion approved.
Executive Session
Phillisa made a motion to go into executive session at 6:30 p.m. to discuss personnel. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 6:58 p.m.
Appointment of Principal
David said he is recommending Scott Gray for the CAES Principal for the 2011-2013 school years with a first year salary of $75,824.00. Betsy made a motion to hire Scott Gray as the CAES Principal as presented. Motion approved.
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:03 p.m.
*Notes taken by Betsy Hart
*Transcribed by Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Thursday, March 10, 2011, 7:00 p.m.
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones-Prescott, and Betsy Hart
Administration: Joan Nagle-Principal and David P. Adams-Superintendent, Lauren Baker-Director of Technology and Integrated Instruction
Public/Staff: SAPA, TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Rachel Spengler and Michelle Robidoux
Call to Order
David called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
Board Reorganization
David asked for nominations for board chair. Phillisa made a motion to nominate Wendy Baker as board chair. Betsy seconded. Motion approved. David then turned the meeting over to Wendy.
Wendy respectfully asked for a moment of silence for the student that passed away earlier this week.
Betsy nominated Phillisa as Vice Chair. Motion approved.
Phillisa nominated Betsy for Board Clerk. Motion approved.
Phillisa made a motion to set the date and time of the board meetings on the first Monday of the month at 5:30 p.m. in the CAES Library. Motion approved.
CAES Board Director Recommendation
Wendy said there were no candidates for the open board member seat.
The board will notify the Chester Town School Board and they will send out a notice asking for interested candidates to serve on the CAES board.
Grateful Garden Update
This update will be tabled until the next meeting.
Budget Vote Review
The board thanked the voters for their support of the budget and the capitol improvement fund.
Board Retreat
Wendy suggested the board come into the school and hold their retreat here and have a tour of the building and have lunch with the students. This would give the board an opportunity to get an understanding of the school. Phillisa suggested they have time to process what they learned at the retreat.
Approval of Minutes of February 7, 2011
Betsy made a motion to approve the minutes of February 7, 2011 as presented. Motion approved.
Personnel-Teacher Retirement Letters
David reported with regret he has received letters of retirement. Eileen Dulmer is retiring at the end of the school year and Toby Treu is planning on retiring at the end of the FY’12 school year. Betsy made motion to accept the retirement letters from Eileen Dulmer and Toby Treu with sincere regret. Motion approved.
Reduction In Force
There was a budgetary decision to reduce a music position. Phillisa made a motion to reduce a music position from a .5 to a .2 which is a .3 reduction. Motion approved.
Tuition Request Letters
David reported there are two requests for students to attend CAES.
Policy does not allow students to be enrolled at CAES that are not part of the WSWSU.
Rachel Spangler asked the board to enroll her son in CAES. She has not been able to enroll her son in preschool because of personal reasons; she works in Springfield and her son’s care givers live in Chester; they would be bringing him to school.
She is asking the board for an exception to their policy to allow her son to attend CAES. She is willing to pay tuition or additional dollars they may request. She said her son does not have special needs. David said the difficulty the board has is that they have a policy; they can review the policy. Phillisa said the board would have to change the policy. David said the policy committee can meet and review this. The policy committee can determine if they want to allow out of district tuition students.
Rachel said her attorney suggested she appoint a co-guardian. She asked if that would help her request. The board informed Rachel the state of Vermont does not allow guardianship for the sole purpose of a child attending a particular school.
Committee Reports
Facilities
David reported they are working toward a Request for Proposal for the chimney repair. David suggested the facilities committee start talking about the repairs. Phillisa suggested the facilities committee should agree to a regularly scheduled meeting. The facilities committee agreed to meet Wednesday, March 16th, 7:30 a.m. at CAES. Joan said the interior fire alarm system was replaced over vacation; some of the outdoor fire alarm equipment will be installed as soon as the parts arrive.
Policy
Family Medical Leave Act – First Read
Harassment of Employees – Second Read
Volunteers and Work Study Students – Second Read
Phillisa said the Family Medical Leave Act Policy is a required policy. The board waived the reading of the policy.
Phillisa said she is asking for the adoption of the Harassment of Employees and the Volunteers and Work Study Students Policies. Phillisa made a motion to adopt the Harassment of Employees and the Volunteers and Work Study Students Policies as presented. Motion approved.
WSWSU Executive Board
Phillisa said the full S.U. meetings will be held on the third Wednesday in January and the First Wednesday in May. The board will need to elect three board members to represent CAES at the S.U. full board meetings. Phillisa said the Regional Educational Districts are still being discussed.
Principal Report
Joan said she would like to publicly thank David and her staff for the support during the tragedy this week. David said the CAES team should be thanked.
Phillisa asked that the board evaluate how the crisis plan worked. Joan said the team met and have talked about what worked and didn’t work.
Superintendent Report
David said they have had six snow days so far this year; school closing is a collaborative effort and David said they will not announce the last day of school yet.
Legislative Update: The legislature is working on the single payer health bill; The House has rescinded the two vote bill and the Senate is expected to approve it; The Legislature is considering the Commissioner of Education position become a Secretary of Education position as a cabinet member. David said the next budget year is going to be a difficult one.
Principal Search:
David handed out a Principal search packet. He talked about the overview of the process for community and staff input. David asked the board about candidate visits to the school and their availability for the visits; the board agreed the visits will take place the week of March 21st.
Other Business
Betsy said as a parent the job the staff did this week was phenomenal; she said they should be commended.
Executive Session-Personnel
None
Adjournment
Phillisa made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:08 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Monday, February 7, 2011, 5:00 p.m.
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Ginger Roper, Betsy Hart, and Jeff Hance
Administration: Joan Nagle-Principal, David P. Adams-Superintendent, Meredith Austin-Business Manager
Public/Staff: SAPA-TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Toby Treu, Michelle Robidoux, Ellen Ferro, Polly Westcott and Angela Hutchins
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of January 3, 2011 and January 24, 2011
Betsy made a motion to approve the minutes of January 3, and January 24, 2011 as presented. Motion approved.
Financial Audit Report from Auditors
Meredith introduced Don Murray from Fothergill, Segale & Valley Certified Public Accountants. Don went over the 2009-2010 audit with the board along with the management letter which includes suggestions to the business office. Discussion: charts of accounts, budget adjustments. This is a satisfactory budget; Don said CAES is fiscally sound.
Ginger made a motion to accept the 2009-2010 audit as presented. Motion approved.
Committee Reports
Facilities
Joan reported: The facilities committee met on 1/19 and the electrical work in the kitchen was discussed; Jim said the electrical issue in the kitchen has been fixed. A cover also needs to be built around the electrical wires in the kitchen. The alarm system is being updated during the February vacation. The kitchen floor and the multipurpose floor should be replaced at the same time. The town has established a new ordinance on businesses that discharge grease and like substances.
Jim has received conflicting recommendations regarding the asbestos in the multipurpose room floor tiles. Jim is speaking to someone to give a better idea of what they should do with the floor. The phase I energy audit walk-through report will be here by the next board meeting.
Policy
Family Medical Leave Act – David said this will go on the next agenda for a first read.
Harassment of Employees-First Read
Volunteers and Work Study Students – First Read
WSWSU Executive Board
None
Sped Team Leader Nomination
David recommended Alicia Currie as the CAES Special Ed Team Leader for the current school year. Betsy made a motion to approve the team leader nomination as presented. Motion approved.
Principal Search
David said he has received 15 applications for the principal position posting which is now closed. David handed out two options for the principal search (attached); both of which contain committees. David said option two is more streamlined. He explained to the board that the Principal selection is an important decision that requires a thoughtful process and since the position requires close interaction with the community, teachers and staff the decision cannot be made in a vacuum. Staff and community involvement is important and necessary in the selection process. Wendy said by statute it is the superintendent’s responsibility to bring a qualified candidate to the board for hiring, so she feels that option two is her preference; Ginger agreed; this option allows the superintendent to make
the decisions. The whole board agreed to option two.
Ellen said she thinks the board should think twice before making this decision. She said she didn’t think streamlining the hiring process is the best way to go. Toby said the process in the past has worked very well for CAES; she thinks the community as well as the staff should be involved in the hiring process. Polly said she would like a relationship of trust and communication with a new principal. Betsy said she thinks there should be a forum with the staff and community so they can express what characteristics they would like to see in a principal. David agreed. Angela asked how the staff member would be chosen. David said he would like to address the faculty directly and make sure the understanding is that this will be an advisory role.
Ginger made a motion for David to use option two as outlined in the principal search attachment. Motion approved.
Principal Report
Joan reported under facility report.
Superintendent Report
The commissioner is in the hospital from a fall and David said they are all “plugging” for him. Because of the competitive grants participation the S.U. has been asked to participate in a labor management conference for student achievement; Alison, David, and Jenn Harper will attend the conference in Denver next week, expenses paid. David will also be attending the Superintendent’s conference for the remainder of the week.
Other Business
None
Executive Session
Betsy made a motion to go into executive session at 6:10 p.m. to discuss personnel; the board invited David to attend. Motion approved. The board came out of executive session at 6:37 p.m. No action taken.
Adjournment
Jeff made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:37 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Monday, January 24, 2011, 8:00 a.m.
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Ginger Roper, Phillisa Jones-Prescott, and Jeff Hance
Administration: Joan Nagle-Principal and David P. Adams-Superintendent
Public/Staff: Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 8:10 a.m.
Approval of Warning of Annual Meeting on February 24, 2011
Wendy said this warning will require the majority of the board’s signatures.
Phillisa made a motion to approve the warning for the annual meeting on February 24, 2011 as presented. David went over the articles. Motion approved.
Approval of Warning to vote by Australian Ballot
David went over the articles. Phillisa made a motion to approve the warning as presented. Motion approved.
Approval of Warning of Public Information Hearing on February 24, 2011
Ginger made a motion to approve the warning of the public information hearing as presented. Discussion ensued regarding the date of the hearing. David is going to recommend next year the annual meeting and the public information meeting be warned together. Motion approved.
Other Business
The board talked about who will attend the WSWSU semi annual meeting on Wednesday. David went over the facility needs. Discussion ensued regarding the electrical upgrade to the kitchen and the kitchen floor replacement; the asbestos currently in the existing kitchen tiles. The facilities committee will discuss this at their next meeting. The board agreed to meet at 5:00 p.m. on February 7th.
David asked the board if they are interested in an advisory committee for the principal position. Discussion ensued regarding alternatives to an advisory committee.
Joan said last year the faculty received a number of technology grants and they would like to give a presentation to the board for each of the grants. The board agreed to have the presentations in March and April for fifteen to twenty minutes each. Joan talked about the use of I Pads in Kindergarten; the board said they would like to hear more about this.
Adjournment
Ginger made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 9:01 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Minutes
Monday, January 3, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Ginger Roper, and Jeff Hance
Administration: Joan Nagle-Principal and David P. Adams-Superintendent
Public/Staff: SAPA-TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Michelle Robidoux, Frank Kelley, Marilyn Mahusky, Tonia Fleming, Kathy Martens, Lauren Baker, and Polly Westcott
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
Approval of minutes of December 6, 2010
Jeff made a motion to approve the minutes of December 6, 2010 as presented.
Corrections: The Vermont Symphony Orchestra should be capitalized and under the annual report; line one should read board not boards. Motion approved with corrections.
Budget Adoption
David reported the budget is at $3,649,327.00. The proposed budget has an education spending reduction of 3.1%.
David went over the changes in the budget (memo attached). This budget exceeds the boards’ goal of a 1.4% increase in expenditures. Overall the FY12 budget compared to FY11 is 0.31% less. Discussion ensued. Ginger made a motion to approve the 2011-2012 CAES budget as presented. Discussion: the possibility of putting the Para professional and Music back into the budget. David said they are level funding the budget right now and the forecast for the state education fund will have a shortfall. David recommends this budget in light of the recession we are in and prepare for the additional cuts that will need to take place in the future. David said the board could restore items back in the budget but it will be at a cost. Marilyn asked if the board considered all non
instructional costs; making commitments to reducing transportation and food service. David said transportation has been thoroughly looked at by the board. There is a 4% reduction in food service; operations and maintenance were reduced by 4% also. David said the music program has been brought back from .6 to 1.0. Tonia said by making so many cuts this year how are we going to meet more cuts next year. David said the reduction is less than a third of a percent. David said it is up to the board to decide if they want to discuss the budget more. Michelle said she heard at the last meeting that if at all possible the Para professional position be put back in the budget. Board members did not recall this. David thanked the budget committee and audience participants for their contributions to the budget process.
Joan said students will be attending the Keewaydin program next year. The program will need a fulltime nurse to attend next year to accommodate some of the students attending. She is asking the board to put $870.00 back in the budget for a nurse so these children can attend the program. Ginger made a motion to amend her previous motion to include the $870.00 in the budget under the substitute line. The budget amount is $3,650,197.00. Motion approved. The board agreed to meet on January 24th at 8:00 a.m. at the S.U.
Reports
Policy Committee Report
None
Optimum Class Size Policy-2nd Read
Ginger made a motion to approve the policy as presented. Motion approved.
WSWSU Executive Committee Update
None
Facilities Report
This item is tabled until the next meeting.
Energy Audit Draft
This item is tabled until the next meeting.
Appointment of Treasurer
Wendy said they have a letter of interest from Alison DesLauriers for the treasurer position until the election in March. Ginger made a motion to appoint Alison DesLauriers as the CAES Treasurer. Motion approved.
Warrant Authorization
David said to be consistent with statute the signers need to be identified. Ginger thought there should be a majority of board members to sign the warrants. This will be added to the next agenda for discussion.
Principals Report
Joan said Sue Bigam came and worked with the 3-4 teachers on vocabulary. She worked with the 5-6 teachers on constructive responses.
Winter sports will free up teachers for more in-service work. Ann Thompson is going to work with the teachers for four afternoons on writing and one afternoon on math. The GEO Bee is this Friday at 8:30 a.m.
Superintendents Report
David reported the information from the Governor elect’s office will accept the federal jobs dollars from the federal government. The guidelines to receive the grant will be followed. The state Challenges for Change target was not met.
Principal Search
David reported they are prepared to post the principal position on School Spring which is an electronic posting. It is a cost effective way of posting school positions. The board agreed to have the position posted on School Spring.
Comments from the Community
None
Executive Session
Ginger made a motion to go into executive session at 6:35 p.m. to discuss negotiations. David was invited. Motion approved.
The board came out of executive session at 6:53 p.m.
No action taken.
Other Business
None
Adjournment
Jeff made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:53 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
Memorandum
To: Chester- Andover School Board
From: Meredith Austin
Date: 22 December 2010
Re: CAES Proposed FY 2012 Budget
Enclosed you will find the current version of the CAES Proposed FY 2012 Budget. An adjustment has been made following the last board meeting to reflect anticipated time in the classroom and anticipated duty time for all paraprofessionals. The total expenditures of $3,649,327 reflects an overall reduction in spending from the current year budget of 0.31% . This level of spending requires education spending of $2,848,937, a 3.11% reduction from the FY ’11 level. The total reduction in education spending is the result of the reduced expenditures as well as an increase of $44,627 in local revenues over the FY ’11 figures and an increase from the FY ’11 budgeted fund balance of $35,461.
This budget provides for:
- 1 FTE in the music program
- Removal of duplicated expense in the support services section (lines 62-65)
- One less paraprofessional in regular education
- All paraprofessionals budgeted at seven hours per day split between direct student support and duties
- Reduction in cost of benefits based on individual change requests
- The Special Programs Coordinator is retained at the current year service level
- Co-curricular is reduced by $2,536.
At the last board meeting it was agreed to make the changes as discussed and present a budget with no more than a 1.4% increase. This budget exceeds that goal.
Chester Andover Elementary School
Chester-Andover Elementary School Board Meeting
Monday, December 6, 2010 5:30 p.m.
Chester Andover Elementary School - Library
Present
Board: Wendy Baker-Chair, Phillisa Jones Prescott, Ginger Roper, Jeff Hance
Administration: David P. Adams-Superintendent, Joan Nagle-Principal, Meredith Austin-Business Manager
Public: SAPA TV, Virginia Walsh Mack-Recording Secretary, Lauren Baker, Vanissa White, Cindy Austin, Peggy Roberts, Tonia Fleming, Polly Westcott, Michelle Robidoux , Maggie Arlund, Marilyn Mahusky, and Kathy Martens
Call to Order
Wendy called the meeting to order at 5:31 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of November 15, 2010
Phillisa made a motion to approve the minutes of November 15, 2010 as presented. Correction: Under Budget Reduction Target-Cindy Cole asked about the paraprofessional time. Motion approved with correction.
Budget
David handed out the table of options prepared at the direction of the finance committee (Attached). David explained the association between education spending and the equalized per pupil spending. Discussion ensued regarding student teacher ratio. The board is discussing level funding and a 1% reduction. The commissioner is requesting the dollar amount of a reduction if the board decides on one. Marilyn asked who was on the finance committee. Finance committee members are Betsy and Wendy. Marilyn said the budget committee members are a little frustrated with the consistency of the finance committee members; the process has not been as “smooth” as it could be. Vanissa asked about the transportation option. David said there would be no savings in transportation. The
administration is not making any transportation recommendations at this time. The options listed are the recommendations from the finance committee for a 1% reduction in the budget. Ginger said she would like to see Option 3-RIF one Regular Ed Para. Vanissa asked about the school counselor and curriculum cost in the budget. Meredith said there is a duplication in the support services-general section and there is an opportunity for savings in supplies; there is a potential $8,000 savings. The increase in speech was discussed. David said it has been reviewed and there is a projected student need. Kathy Martens asked about the four regular ed paras and where their total costs are in the budget. David explained the paras time was increased this year to seven and one half hours. The proposed budget reflects a reduction back to seven hours. The administration will look at the paras and support services lines in the budget to see if
dollars have been added twice. Tonia asked about lines 77 and 78. It looks like there could be a savings; the actual spending was historically less. David said some of the cost is contractual even if it isn’t used. The board agreed to keep the budget at a 1.4% overall increase. The board agreed to have a discussion in the future regarding transportation. The board agreed to: Music remaining at 1.0 FTE, and a 1.4 % overall budget increase. David said he appreciates the work the finance and budget committees have done.
Reports
WSWSU Executive Committee Update
Phillisa reported the curriculum management policy continues to be discussed. The policy committee is recommending it be adopted. The statute has changed and this is now a S.U. responsibility. Phillisa thinks the policy will be adopted at the next executive committee meeting.
Policy Committee Update
Optimum Class Size – First Read
This policy is required by January 15th. Any recommendations this board has Phillisa will bring to the next policy committee meeting. The FMLA policy was discussed; the committee is continuing to work on it.
Principal
Joan reported CAES had parent teacher conferences with 94% attendance; the kitchen served 300 turkey dinners for the Thanksgiving Lunch; the Vermont symphony orchestra gave a great percussion instrument presentation; Joan attended a co teaching conference which will be discussed in the future.
Joan said the administrators have met regarding truancy and created a procedure for the towns. Joan said she met with parents regarding tardiness. She would like to look at tardiness patterns and not just the 5, 6 and 7 days tardy. She is focusing on larger number of days of tardiness. Discussion ensued regarding procedures.
Superintendent
Act 146 Challenge for Change Report to Commissioner
David said he will send the report to the commissioner with the dollar amounts agreed to by the board.
Annual Reports
David said the boards cannot change the way the annual reports are distributed without an article that the voters vote on. He is asking the board to consider a possible alternative. This would not go into effect until 2012. Marilyn said this was an issue at the Chester Town meeting last year and the voters wanted their reports. David also asked the board if they would consider a modified report being mailed and having a complete version available. The board agreed to leave the book as it for this current year.
County Wide Truancy Protocol
David explained the county wide procedures to reduce truancy. He said students are required to attend school. The commissioner recommended there be a county wide protocol. The problem is the definition of tardiness. The system is designed to have family intervention. When the school defines tardiness there are a series of letters that are sent with actions to be taken. David said truancy needs to be looked at again. David handed out and went over a truancy form checklist, and the truancy response protocol with the board. He said we can create a local definition of “Tardy”. He expressed the need to communicate the importance of being ready for learning.
Nominations
The board agreed to move this agenda item to number 3.
Special Education Paraprofessional
David gave the board a nomination form to hire Karen Knisely as a paraprofessional for a student from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Phillisa made a motion to approve hiring Karen Knisley as a 1:1 para professional as presented. Motion approved.
Winter Sports Program Advisors
David presented nomination forms for the following winter sports program directors: Amy Brunner-Ice Skating Director $394.00, Angela Markwell-Bowling Dirctor $394.00, Gary Baker, -Alpine Skiing Director $758.00, Kathy Harrigan-Alpine Skiing Director $758.00, Rena Gordon-Kindergarten Program Director $394.00, and Laurie Scott-Swimming Director $394. Phillisa made a motion to approve the winter sports appointments as presented. Motion approved.
Resignation of School District Treasurer
Wendy reported Pat Saul has resigned as the school district treasurer. Jeff made a motion to approve Pat Saul’s resignation. Motion approved.
Appointment of School District Treasurer
David said the board can appoint a treasurer or have a special election. Someone can be appointed now until the election in March. The board would like letters of interest for this position. Discussion ensued. There is a process in place for a second signer to allow payroll and warrants to be signed. Phillisa made a motion to request from the general public a letter of interest for the school district treasurer position to include background information to the board by December 23rd; letters to be sent to the central office. Discussion ensued. Motion approved.
Warrant Authorization
Phillisa said she thinks there should be more than one signer on the warrants. Discussion ensued regarding how and when the warrants will be signed. Phillisa made a motion to require two signatures for warrants from any board member. Motion approved.
Comments from the Community
None
Executive Session
Phillsa made a motion to go into executive session to discuss personnel at 7:32 p.m.; David was invited. Motion approved.
The board came out of executive session at 8:06 p.m. Jeff made a motion to approve Joan Nagle’s resignation. Motion approved.
Other Business
None
Adjournment
Jeff made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:06 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Virginia M. Walsh Mack
Recording Secretary
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