Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair,

Francie Marbury – Principal, Andy Reichsman – member of the public & former Board Member, Frank Rucker – WCSU Chief Financial Officer, Abby Dillon – WCSU Director of Special Education

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 6:10pm.

Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes of the 12/5/11 minutes as drafted. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Lauren made a motion to adopt Policy F17 for Head Lice. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Frank Rucker and Abby Dillon joined the meeting at 6:30pm.

The Board and Andy Reichsman discussed the School Budget with Frank Rucker and Abby Dillon.

Lauren made a motion that the Marlboro School Board present a budget proposal to voters at the Annual School District Meeting of $2,215,318.37. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

We anticipate that this will be a 5.1% increase in the school budget that will result in a 2.1% increase in the Town tax rate.

Andy Reichsman, Frank Rucker and Abby Dillon left the meeting at 8:40pm.

Superintendent’s Report attached.

In the mail the School Board received information from the Town Auditors about submitting the School District Report for Town Meeting. We also received the deadlines for warning and filing reports for Town Meeting from the Town Clerk.

Principal’s Report attached.

Jen made a motion at 9:05pm to go into Executive Session to discuss a personnel matter. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Executive Session ended at 9:10pm. No action was taken.

Francie Marbury left the meeting at 9:15pm.

Jen made a motion at 9:20pm to go into Executive Session to perform the Superintendent Evaluation. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Executive Session ended at 9:50pm.

The Superintendent Evaluation was completed.

The Board will look at a variety of programs under budget consideration at our next meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 10:00pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Jen Carr

Upcoming Meetings:
Jan 23rd, Budget meeting 6pm
February 6th, Regular Board Meeting 6pm

Pay Orders: #13 12/16/11 $55,022.70
#14 12/30/11 $48,099.45

Our Guiding Principles:
Students will be at the center of our decision-making. We will keep to the agenda. The chair will estimate the amount of time necessary for each item and act as timekeeper during the meeting. Every voice is heard as discussion goes back and forth. Decisions will not be made hastily.
We will ask ourselves, “What other information do we need in order to make a thoughtful decision?” Decisions/discussion will be recapped before moving on to a new item. Items requiring action will be identified and we will note who is responsible for each action item. Follow through will occur before the next meeting. We will use e-mail judiciously to communicate between meetings.
Implementation Guidelines:
Meetings will be held on the first Monday of each month with the fourth Monday kept in reserve, if an additional meeting is needed.
The chair will send out the agenda the Thursday before the meeting. The meetings will start at 6 pm and go no later than 9 pm.

Marlboro School Board
Principal’s Report
Monday, January 9, 2012

Student Learning
Teachers will be participating in two days of professional development on January 17 & 18 with other teachers from WCSU. The focus will be on writing about reading and writing as part of literacy learning and instruction.

The local Farm to School Network will be working with us to improve health and nutrition education and will support our Healthy Snack program by helping us to access more locally grown vegetables and fruits. This will be supported through Action Plan funds.

Junior High students are beginning I-projects. These independent studies engage them in research on a topic of their own choosing and result in presentations to their classmates and interested community members. A schedule of presentations will be sent out to you when it is available.

David and Matt’s classes are in the midst of a study of Greek mythology which will culminate in student written and performed shadow puppet plays.

Erica’s class concluded a “Clay Boat” unit, which combines scientific process with learning about volume and capacity. Students were engaged in making hypotheses and collecting, recording, and interpreting data.

Before vacation Judy’s class took on major efforts in service learning when they hosted a fundraiser lunch for the whole school. The proceeds from this went to the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum at Hogback to support their creation of an eagle habitat. The students had studied about birds and created projects that were on display at the lunch. This class also sponsored a food drive for the Deerfield Valley Food Pantry and the older students delivered the 5 boxes of food collected.

Jen’s class began its new schedule with kindergarten students staying the full day. Before vacation they also created a 3-D map of Marlboro, identifying where they live in relation to the school.

Policy or Regulation Implementation
No new policies – Are we ready to adopt the Head Lice Policy?

Building and Grounds
Thermal House has been awarded the bid for the last phase of the Energy Grant and will complete this work over the April vacation when temperatures have warmed and students are not in the building.

Finance/Accounting
We have not yet received the final report from the audit.
As we review the proposed budget, there are several increases I’d like to explain:
100-110 kindergarten teacher is based on 75 days with 12:45 dismissal and 100 days with students staying until 2:45
100-566 early ed reimbursement to private providers increases from $3200 per student to $3800 per student based on Actual Cost report of $4300 per student from providers
260-622 increase projected based on increased after school use
260-472 increase of $4500 based on lack of donations which we benefited from in the past; possibly shift $2000 of this to MSA request

Abby and I will address the increases in 1200 Special Education and 1210 Essential Early Education at the meeting.

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment as of 1/9/12 89
Jen K-8, 1st-3
Judy 1st-6, 2nd-12
Erica 3-12, 4th-7
Matt 5th-12
David 6th-13
Tim/Rachel 7th-3, 8th-12

Staffing
Spark intern with David, Leah Suter, has completed her work at MES.
Antioch intern, Liz Casarella, is working with Erica three days a week until early May. Her focus is environmental education.

Informational items
I hope to have a draft of my report for the Town Report for our meeting. Areas of particular focus will be the after school Ventures program, the Farm to School work, school social climate, as well as specific examples of student learning.

Marlboro Realms of Learning
Communication
Problem Solving
Personal Development
Civic and Social Responsibility
Knowledge
Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 6:00 P.M.

Note: I have asked Frank Rucker and Abby Dillon to answer any questions as you consider your proposed FY13 Budget. I am unable to attend due to a conflict with the regular board meeting in Townshend.

Student/Staff Learning
1. At the grade 5-6 GLAM last month, I responded to questions about the transition to the Common Core Standards focusing on mathematics. These standards not only increase the expectation for higher levels of mathematical understanding at earlier grades, but also require teachers to expand their repertoire of instructional techniques. David represents Marlboro at these 5-6 meetings and contributes to their collaborative work.
2. With the exception of Dover, all elementary teachers will attend professional development at Townshend for January 17 and 18. The L&G Board approved my recommendation to change the semester break to make up for our late start this fall. L&G classes will be held January 17 and 18, but school will close for in-service on Monday, January 23.
3. I noted Francie’s article in the Marlboro Mixer with a special recognition and thanks to the Junior High Students for picking up around the town’s recycling dumpsters.

Policy/Regulation
1. Consider warning policies E11: Banking and Investment and E12: Fraud Prevention.
2. The WCSU Board adopted E11 on December 7, 2011. Ten of eleven district boards were represented with 21 voting members present at that meeting – and impressive turnout. The proposed WCSU Superintendent’s Budget for FY13 was approved by unanimous vote. My administration appreciates the Board’s direction and support.
3. The VT Standards Board for Professional Educators (VSBPE) adopted new standards for administrators to parallel those adopted for teachers last June. These new standards are closely linked to the Common Core and are more student centered and outcomes based.
4. The Voluntary RED Committee met January 4. See the RED Committee link on the WCSU website for the latest information.

Finance/Accounting/Operations
1. Funding for the EEE Program in FY13 was approved as part of the Superintendent’s Budget. In March, the WCSU Board intends to debate the method of allocating EEE expenses for FY14.
2. The boards for L&G, Towshend, and NewBrook have approved proposed FY13 budgets to be warned for their annual meetings.
3. Bargaining with the WCEA continues with an all day mediation session on Jan. 31.

Enrollment/Staffing
1. A number of schools have added new students recently. This is a promising development, but L&G’s enrollment is still projected to decline from 390 to 370 over the next three years.
2. The “budget season” always reminds us of the importance of a school’s equalized pupil count and the town’s Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) on the projected school tax rate necessary to provide for our students’ education.

Calendar Dates
1. The Voluntary RED Study Committee Meeting will meet Wed., Feb. 1, at 7:00 P.M. in L&G’s Library. The Committee will also meet March 21 (not on the usual first Wed. of the month).
2. The next WCSU Board Meeting will be Wed., March 28, 7:00 P.M. at Townshend for their annual organizational meeting and election of officers. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend.

1/7/12 -sbj

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair,

Francie Marbury – Principal, Joe Juhasz – Deputy State Auditor, Rose Watson – Town Auditor, Barbara Adreotta – Town Auditor, Rachel Boyden – JH Teacher/Pay Scale Committee, Lucy Gratwick – Marlboro Select Board, Craig Hammond – Marlboro Select Board, Steven John – Superintendent

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 6:05pm.

Lauren gave background about the work of the pay scale committee and also the process that the School Board will use for creating the School District Report for Town Meeting.

The School Board is tentatively planning a narrative report for reporting the new school-teacher salary scale reporting in the report and may print our scale, but not other districts, as there are differences in how various school districts make use of their salary-scales.

Joe explained the statutes about what the School Board and Auditors are respectively required, according to State Statute, to report on in their reports for Town Meeting.

Joe clarified that neither entity has any authority to tell the other what to put in their report.

The Auditors are required to provide a specific report on accounting for the Town. According to the State statute, the Auditors are not supposed to report on School Board information, but most likely would not be prosecuted by law if they did.

Joe suggested the Select board could put information in the Town Report about how to formally request and obtain public record reports.

Joe also suggested that summarized information can also be easier for people to understand that detailed reports. Often the details are not helpful because people do not understand them.

Craig Hammond and Steven John both noted that all groups have different roles and need to adhere to their roles in public office.

Craig Hammond noted that if Town Auditors are being approached by Townspeople with school related questions, they should be directed to the School Board. Similarly if they are approached about Town related questions, they should be directed to the Select Board.

Steven John also clarified that School Board Members can only take action on issues in their School Board Meetings.

Linda Peters, Town Treasurer and School District Treasurer, joined the meeting at 6:45pm.

Rose, Barbara, Rachel, Joe and Lucy left the meeting at 6:55pm.

Linda Peters spoke about the Town’s ability to pay tax money due to the School. The Town is short of usual funds due to the extraordinary expenses from Hurricane Irene and also due to the fact that the Town is still owed $300,000 from the State for bridge work. The Town has also not fully collected all tax revenue.

Lauren made a motion that the School District allow the Town to retain $500,000 of its debt to the School until such time as is needed for the School to meet expenses or until the Town has the funds to pay the School, which ever comes first. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Andy Hauty joined the meeting at 7:00pm. Linda and Craig left the meeting at 7:10pm

Andy Hauty spoke about parent concerns about school bussing to BUHS. Francie noted that timing of the school day was looked at very carefully before making the busing decisions.

Lauren noted that during the budget process Gail MacArthur comes to the school with a proposal for busing for the next year. Concrete suggestions on improving the BUHS bus service can be directed to Gail as part of this process.

The School Board notes that Gail thoroughly researched all busing options before coming to the conclusions for busing this year.

Andy left the meeting at 7:25pm

Gussie made a motion that the School Board adopt Policy F26, the Restrictive Behavioral Intervention Policy. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

The School Board decided to consider the Fraud Prevention Policy and the Investment Policy (Policies E11 and E12) at the December Board Meeting.

Lauren made a motion to accept the October minutes as corrected. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Principal’s Report attached. Superintendent’s Report attached.

Lauren made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss School employees compensation. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed at 8:40pm. Executive session ended at 9:25pm. The Board took no action.

Francie will set up a time for staff negotiations. Lauren and Gussie will be the School Board representatives for staff negotiations.

Staff negotiations will be held on Tuesday, November 22nd at 3pm.

The School Board is comfortable that the new pay scale will not adversely affect the staff in FY 2013.

A letter was read from Charly Sperling thanking the Board for supporting the sixth grade Cape Cod field trip.

The School Board is very appreciative when we get letters like this from students.

Meeting adjourned at 9:50pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Jen Carr

Upcoming Meetings:
Nov 22nd staff negotiations
Dec 5th, Regular School Board Meeting
Dec 7th, WCSU 7pm at LGUHS, vote on budget and approve agency fund
Dec 19th, School Board Budget meeting, time TBA
Jan 9th, Regular School Board Meeting
Jan 23rd, Budget meeting, time TBA

Pay Orders: #8 10/7/11 $55,968.64
#9 10/21/11 $53,701.14
#10 11/4/11 $364,823.05

Our Guiding Principles:
Students will be at the center of our decision-making. We will keep to the agenda. The chair will estimate the amount of time necessary for each item and act as timekeeper during the meeting. Every voice is heard as discussion goes back and forth. Decisions will not be made hastily.
We will ask ourselves, “What other information do we need in order to make a thoughtful decision?” Decisions/discussion will be recapped before moving on to a new item. Items requiring action will be identified and we will note who is responsible for each action item. Follow through will occur before the next meeting. We will use e-mail judiciously to communicate between meetings.
Implementation Guidelines:
Meetings will be held on the first Monday of each month with the fourth Monday kept in reserve, if an additional meeting is needed.
The chair will send out the agenda the Thursday before the meeting. The meetings will start at 6 pm and go no later than 9 pm.

Marlboro School Board
Principal’s Report
Monday, November 7, 2011

Student Learning
Kindergarten – Kindergartners will attend school for the full day starting December 19. At this point there are nine potential kindergartners for next year. This makes it less likely to have a combination kindergarten-first grade class. Before making a recommendation as to whether kindergarten will be full day next year, I will survey parents of the incoming class.

We are in the process of meeting with Antioch students in the Environmental Studies department to see if during January – April they will work with the school on projects related to Hogback.

David’s class has returned from a week of Field Research on Cape Cod and Matt’s heads out Monday, November 7 for five days. David’s class will host a night for parents on November 17, 6:30, at which each student will present her/his research project.

Jen, Judy, and Erica held parent conferences on October 13. David, Rachel, and Tim will hold conferences in late November and early December.

Marlboro Ventures, our 21st Century grant program, is off to an excellent start with full enrollment for all activities. About 50 of our students are participating. Activities include recording studio basics with “found sound”, mountain biking, circus, clay creatures, wilderness games, and storytime with art. The session will run Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday for six weeks. The next session will begin after the holidays.

Below are the notes taken by Christine at our first joint Professional Development Committee meeting.
1. Discussion on the regional professional development day: It was generally agreed that the day was better received the previous year’s.
2. We discussed the GLAM meetings and what the expected outcomes for the groups this year should be. There were presentations from last years 1/2 and 5/6 GLAM meetings around geometry and measurement. There was very positive feedback from the district about the Fountas and Pinnell balanced literacy training. Francie reported that the writing part of this training will be held on Jan17 and 18, 2012.
3. Dorrine reported on what L and G had been doing for their literacy training.
4. Wardsboro School had a math training with Mahesh Sharma, which they found to be very useful.
5. Kris Parker Jennings gave the standards board report.

Policy or Regulation Implementation
Policy adoption and approval as noted on the agenda.

The following protocol has been revised as requested at the last meeting:

Communication Protocol for “unexpected events”

The principal receives notification and gathers information.

The principal contacts the superintendent, principal designee (usually a classroom teacher), administrative assistant and, if appropriate, school bus coordinator, by phone.

Confer to determine course of action with regard to school closure, transportation, etc.,.

Identify timeline for further communication – ex. Hourly or daily check- ins.

The principal either phones or delegates phoning of all staff in addition to group e-mail.

The principal sends out AlertNow voice mail to all school families.

If the principal is away, the principal designee becomes the school representative at meetings, as needed.

Building and Grounds
We put the remainder of the energy grant project out to bid and have received several inquiries. There will be a walk-through for interested contractors on Friday, November 11 at 7am. Bids are due and will be opened on Wednesday, November 30 at 1pm. The approval of this expenditure will be on the agenda for the December 5 board meeting.

Finance/Accounting
Our audit took place October 24-26. Using the same firm as three years ago, all went smoothly. We anticipate receiving their report in early December.
The line of credit note is due on November 30 and we will pay it off with the November 18 pay order.

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment as of 11/7/11 85
Jen K-7, 1st-4
Judy 1st-5, 2nd-10
Erica 3-11, 4th-6
Matt 5th-14
David 6th-13
Tim/Rachel 7th-3, 8th-12

Staffing
Morgan English, One-on-one special education para resigned
Joel Eisenkramer has been hired for this position
Increased enrollment in K-1 and 1-2 and the departure of a teacher intern in early December results in the need for the assistant originally included in the FY12 budget. This assistant be shared between these two classrooms. Hiring will take place before December 7.

Informational items
Holiday Concert, Thursday, 12/15; snow date 12/19

Marlboro Realms of Learning
Communication
Problem Solving
Personal Development
Civic and Social Responsibility
Knowledge

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
Monday, November 7, 2011 at 6:00 P.M.

Note: I am coming from the Windham Board Meeting.

Student/Staff Learning
1. Christine M. represented the Marlboro faculty at the WCSU Professional Development Team Meeting on Oct. 19, the first of this year. This Team now includes teacher representatives from every school, all principals, and the WCSU Administration. This group collaborates to propose, support and coordinate plans for professional development across the WCSU. Francie will report on this meeting.
2. You should have received my notes from the VSBA/VSA fall conference, October 20-21. I welcome your questions and discussion of any issues from this conference. The conference’s closing session was a mock Town Meeting debating articles re: a policy opinion poll. You may find it provocative.
3. Francie and I will be attending two meetings in November that explain the latest developments and status of the transition to the national Common Core Standards to be fully implemented in 2014. One meeting focuses on mathematics while the other on language arts.
4. Governor Shumlin honored Tong Chen, as Vermont’s 2012 Teacher of the Year, at L&G’s all school assembly last Thursday. Following his remarks, Peter opened up the meeting to questions from students. Their questions ranged from, “What’s your favorite color?” and “Did you always want to be Governor?” to “What happening with healthcare?” and “What’s your opinion of nuclear energy (not specifically Entergy)?” After school the Governor met with the faculty for a spontaneous open Q and A session.

Policy/Regulation
1. Consider warning policies E11: Banking and Investment and E12: Fraud Prevention.
2. Although Marlboro was well represented, the full WCSU Board could take no action being one voting member short of a quorum – 14 present, 15 required. Seven district boards were represented. The proposed WCSU Superintendent and Agency Fund Budgets for FY13 will be voted at the Dec. 7 WCSU Board Meeting. I know you already have a lot of meetings, but please make your plans to attend.
3. In a letter emailed to all board members and principals last week, I recommended revising the school calendar in January to complete in-service training for all elementary teachers in Balanced Literacy (Fountas and Pinnell workshop). I also recommend a change in the semester break for L&G.

Finance/Accounting/Operations
1. FYI: bargaining sessions with the WCEA were postponed pending resolution of the teachers’ strike in Bennington. We hope to resume our meetings as soon as our respective legal counsels become available.
2. Last Wed., the WCSU Board gave Frank and me some general ideas about the conceptual direction of the WCSU Superintendent and Agency Fund Budgets for FY13. Frank and I will have a proposed WCSU Budget for FY13 for your review and discussion.
3. See Frank’s budget development timeline for the big picture of the steps required to prepare the 12 separate budgets within the WCSU.
4. The first (and we intend annual) WCSU bus drivers training for behavior management and student conduct was led by Chris Pratt last Friday at L&G.
5. We have improved the lighting in WCSU offices upstairs and also the building’s security with motion detectors for outside lighting.

Enrollment/Staffing
1. To date, we have been unable to locate a suitable candidate to fill the position of WCSU Administrative Assistant for Student Support Services, i.e., Abby Dillon’s assistant.
2. As we pursue additional leads, we have contracted for a specific task to meet a Special Education reporting deadline. Samantha will assist with Sp. Ed. issues and to support this necessity, I have temporarily hired Alison Hescock (L&G ’05) as our front desk receptionist in the office. On Monday, Nov. 7, Alison will begin her work answering our phones and assisting with communications from 8:00 – 3:30 Monday through Friday.

Informational Items
1. The Voluntary RED Study Committee Meeting will meet Dec. 14, 7 P.M. at L&G Library. This includes the towns of Brookline, Jamaica, Newfane, and Townshend.
2. The WCSU Negotiating Team’s next meeting TBA.
3. On October 26, the WCSU Board Executive Committee (quorum) met at 6:30 P.M. prior to the full board meeting (no quorum) at 7:00 P.M. at Jamaica Village School. The next WCSU Board Meeting will be Wed., Dec. 7, 7:00 P.M. at Leland and Gray to consider and formally vote on the proposed WCSU Superintendent’s and Agency Fund Budgets for FY13.

sbj – 11/4/11

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair,

Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John – Superintendent, Rachel Boyden, JH Teacher & Pay-scale Committee, Dan MacArthur – Pay-scale Committee, Andy Reichsman – Pay-scale Committee, Jean Boardman – Pay-scale Committee, Gail MacArthur – Bus Coordinator

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 6:05pm.

Lauren gave information about the work that the pay-scale committee has been doing. The group discussed the preliminary pay-scale that the committee has put together.

Jean Boardman joined the meeting at 6:30pm.

The Board decided to use the recommendations of the pay-scale committee when setting salaries for the upcoming year’s budget. The Board will make final decisions about the salary scale when setting the budget.

Dan, Rachel and Andy left the meeting at 7:05pm. Gail joined the meeting at this time.

Gail spoke about bussing from BUHS now that there is a new BUHS start time. When the high school time changed, Gail initially spoke with First Student school bussing service about coordinating with the BUHS buses to meet our bus on Route 9, but this option did not work.

Gail noted that the school does not have a bus to use for the BUHS afternoon bus run and that due to our own MES afternoon bus run, we are unable to get a bus to BUHS until later in the afternoon than other options like the Moover.

Costs of the transportation program were discussed. It was noted that an afternoon bus run dedicated to picking kids up from BUHS and dropping them at their individual homes would take our costs to a level that has never before been put toward high school bussing.

Gail informed the Board of a meeting about high school bussing that happened last week. Four high school families and Gail met to speak about parent concerns about the afternoon bussing from BUHS. Lauren Poster and Francie Marbury also attended this meeting.

After this meeting Gail spoke with the Moover to try to address concerns. The Moover will now be making multiple stops along Route 9 in order to drop the students at more locations than just Sweeties Market. Gail is still waiting for the Moover to get back to her about pulling into MES instead of having the kids cross Route 9.

Lauren made a motion that the Marlboro School District will not be providing an afternoon high school bus run this year. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

The Board encourages students to use the Moover that picks students up from BUHS as 4pm.

The Board additionally wants to commend Gail MacArthur for all the work she has done with the Moover to coordinate a free bussing option for high school students in the afternoon.

Jean Boardman left the meeting at 7:40pm.

Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes from the last meeting as corrected. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Francie noted that initially we did not need to access the line of credit from Peoples Bank to cover expenditures, but as the pay orders have increased with teachers’ salaries being paid again, the amount the town was able to forward us was no longer sufficient. On 8/17/11 we drew $80,000 and on 9/21/11 the school directed Linda Peters to draw an additional $70,000.

Principal’s Report attached.

Gussie made a motion that the School Board warn the policy on Restrictive Behavioral Intervention, Policy F26. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Lauren made a motion to allow school employees on sabbatical leave to remain a member of the insurance group at their own expense with the understanding that upon return to the same employment status with the School District they will be reimbursed, less the employee co-pay. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

The School board asked Francie to direct Gail Chaine to review the benefits procedures. Specifically we noticed that COBRA is mentioned under parental leave and not in any other leave. Francie will report in the December meeting.

The School Board will review the School Benefits Procedures no later than the December meeting.

Lauren directed that in the Communication Protocol for “unexpected events” that titles be used as opposed to names.

Francie and Gail will put the job out to bid of insulating the school office and JH ceiling. This will be paid for using the rest of the money from the school’s energy grant. It is likely that we may need more money to complete both jobs than what is leftover from the grant.

Superintendent’s Report attached.

The Board will read and consider a Fraud Prevention Policy (Policy E12) and an Investment Policy (Policy E11) for the next meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 9:05pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Jen Carr

Upcoming Meetings:
*Oct 20 & 21st VSBA Fall Conference Lake Morey, Keynote Speaker Jamie Vollmer
*Oct 26th WCSU Executive Meeting in Jamaica 6:30pm/Full Board 7pm
*Nov 7th MES School Board Meeting MES 6 pm (invited elected auditors)

Pay Orders: #7 9/23/11 $70,348.93

Our Guiding Principles:
Students will be at the center of our decision-making. We will keep to the agenda. The chair will estimate the amount of time necessary for each item and act as timekeeper during the meeting. Every voice is heard as discussion goes back and forth. Decisions will not be made hastily.
We will ask ourselves, “What other information do we need in order to make a thoughtful decision?” Decisions/discussion will be recapped before moving on to a new item. Items requiring action will be identified and we will note who is responsible for each action item. Follow through will occur before the next meeting. We will use e-mail judiciously to communicate between meetings.
Implementation Guidelines:
Meetings will be held on the first Monday of each month with the fourth Monday kept in reserve, if an additional meeting is needed.
The chair will send out the agenda the Thursday before the meeting. The meetings will start at 6 pm and go no later than 9 pm.

Marlboro School Board
Principal’s Report
Monday, October 3, 2011

Student Learning
Kindergarten-First Grade – Jen O’Donnell has spent the first month of school getting to know this group of 9 children and figuring out how best teach them within the current schedule of kindergartners leaving at 1pm. Based on numerous meetings and conversations with parents we have decided that it is in the best interests of the students and the school to extend the kindergarten to a full day. Although there are parents who are not in favor of this, more than half are. It will allow for a less fragmented schedule and more academic time without losing the very important choice time. The tricky transition when kindergartners go home and the rest of the class stays will no longer be an issue. Jen and Judy will continue to work closely together and the students will benefit from the flexible grouping that this allows. This will have implications for the budget I bring to you later this fall as the kindergarten position will go from .7FTE to full time.

Both in our professional learning and in student learning, we continue to deepen our connection with Hogback and focus on environmental education. Water quality monitoring and a study of porcupines are areas Tim and JH students are learning more about through work with BEEC and with George Leoniak. Judy is taking a two day workshop with BEEC to deepen her understanding of the life cycle of animals.

Students will take the NECAP for reading, writing, and math this month.

Science NECAP results have just come in and I will have a brief analysis of these at the meeting.

Teachers participated in a regional in-service day on Wednesday, September 28.

Teachers will be attending SU grade level meetings 2-3 times throughout the year. Part of their work will be to deepen learning from August 25 and 26 on Balanced Literacy (Fountas and Pinnell).

David’s class will conduct a week of Field Research on Cape Cod, the last week of October. Matt’s class will do the same in November.

Policy or Regulation Implementation
Steven sent out a policy about physical restraints developed by LGUHS last year. Please be ready to review this and consider what similar policy we might adopt. A copy is attached.

Specify type of leave in decision made by board in July –“ Lauren made a motion to allow school employees on leave to remain a member of the insurance group at their own expense with the understanding that upon return to the same employment status with the School District they will be reimbursed, less the employee co-pay.”

Consider extending the increased benefit of 5 sick and 3 personal days after one year to all non-professional staff. At the July meeting this was extended to fulltime classroom and special education assistants.

The following protocol clarifies how communication and decision making occurs when an unexpected event arises.

Communication Protocol for “unexpected events”

Francie receives notification and gathers information

Francie contacts Steven John, David Holzapfel, Gail Chaine and, if appropriate, Gail MacArthur, by phone

Confer to determine course of action with regard to school closure, transportation, etc.,.

Identify timeline for further communication – ex. Hourly or daily check- ins

Francie either phones or delegates phoning of all staff in addition to group e-mail

Francie sends out AlertNow voice mail to all school families

If Francie is away, David becomes the school representative at meetings

Building and Grounds
We are initiating a bid for the remainder of the energy grant. Gail will put out the invitation to bid asap. Based on the following information from the Thermal House audit, we suggest taking on the first two areas: offices and Junior High ceiling. We can’t be sure that the prices will be the same almost two years later. The grant and required match from the school will cover $10,200. We will need at least $2300 in addition if the earlier estimate is accurate.

Area Cost Energy $ Savings/Year Years to Pay Back
Offices 5200 / 841 / 6.2
JH Ceiling 7300 / 914 / 8.0
Gym Basement 4500 / 406 / 11.1

Decision: Please approve up to $5000 in total expense (including the 5% match).

Finance/Accounting
Our audit is scheduled for the week of October 24-28.
Discussion needed – Bus transportation to BUHS is an ongoing issue. As we look ahead, we need to find ways to attract new drivers. This might include offering to help with costs of getting a CDL: physical – $175, license – $75, bus clinic – $35, criminal record check – $44.25 total – $329.25

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment as of 10/4/11 84.
Jen K-6, 1st-4
Judy 1st-5, 2nd-10
Erica 3-11, 4th-6
Matt 5th-14
David 6th-13
Tim/Rachel 7th-3, 8th-12

Informational items
• We are continuing to run the third bus to Williamsville and will do so until the bus is able to resume the run all the way down the Auger Hole Rd.
• I will be absent from school on occasional Mondays (once or twice a month) to care for my grandson. I notified the staff as follows: In my new role as grandmother I will be taking some Mondays throughout the year to be with my grandson. I know this can pose challenges for you and I’m trying to anticipate those. David will continue to be my stand-in when the unexpected occurs and Gail will be in touch with me if needed. I will limit my time away from school for professional development but I will continue to attend administrators meetings, GLM’s, and the Local Standards Board meetings. I’ll let you know via the Staff Bulletin calendar when I plan to be gone. Thanks for understanding.

Marlboro Realms of Learning
Communication
Problem Solving
Personal Development
Civic and Social Responsibility
Knowledge

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board

Monday, October 3, 2011 at 6:00 P.M.
Note: I am coming from the Windham Board Meeting.

Student/Staff Learning
1. All schools are now well underway. MAP assessments concluded last Friday, Sept. 30, for all students (except Marlboro).
2. The NECAP Science results from last spring’s testing have been released by the state. Francie will report to the greatest extent possible without identifying any students.
3. Marlboro’s staff participated in the SE Vermont Regional In-Service at Bellows Falls High School last Wednesday, Sept. 28. A panel of teachers and principals from five area schools (including Dover) shared the successful initiatives they implemented to improve student learning based on the research in Roots of Success. This document highlights eight elements common to the most effective schools in Vermont. See the Roots of Success summary previously shared and attached again FYI. I suggest that this document may point to specific goals and means the board may want to establish to direct future planning and budget development.

Policy/Regulation
1. F27: Pupil Privacy and Surveys and E09: AIDS and HIV were both warned on 2/8/10. Were these policies adopted? If so, I missed recording the date.
2. Consider policies E11: Fraud Prevention and E12: Banking and Investment.
3. I will share a recent explanation from the DOE regarding the allocation of Title I funds within a supervisory union. This clarification responded to an inquiry from the Dover School Board.

Finance/Accounting/Operations
1. We held a bargaining session with the WCEA last Wednesday, Sept. 26 at L&G. I can brief the board in executive session.
2. The WCSU audit will be completed in early October. The Newfane, L&G, and Winhall school districts are also being audited.

Enrollment/Staffing
1. Jenn Chapin, Admin. Assistant for Special Education, resigned to accept her “dream job” in Houston. We are taking temporary measures to complete Jenn’s work on short notice. We advertised this opening and Abby Dillon will lead the selection committee and process to recommend the best candidate for me to hire.
2. The relocation of office spaces at the WCSU building is now complete. Moving always provides a good opportunity to weed old files. We shredded nine boxes of confidential documents that are no longer required by law.

Informational Items
1. FYI: The Voluntary RED Study Committee Meeting will be Oct. 5, 7 P.M. at L&G Library. On Tuesday, Oct. 4, the committee’s VSBA Consultant, John Everitt, plans to visit the four elementary schools represented. The date for the committee’s meeting in November is the 2nd.
2. The VSBA/VSA fall conference is October 20-21. I will attend and urge you to consider this opportunity.
3. On October 26, the WCSU Board Executive Committee will meet at 6:30 P.M. prior to the full board meeting at 7:00 P.M. – Jamaica Village School.

sbj – 9/30/11

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair,

Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John – Superintendent, Rose Watson – Town Auditor, Barbara Andreotta – Town Auditor

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 7:10pm.

The School Board and the Town Auditors discussed a timeline for meeting together before the School District Report is produced for Town Meeting. The board agenda for tonight’s meeting had already included an item to invite the auditors to our November board meeting.

Rose and Barbara left the meeting at 7:20pm. When they left they gave the School Board a letter from Keely Eastly since she was not at the meeting.

Lauren made a motion for the Board to go into Executive Session at 7:25pm. Gussie seconded the motion. Executive session ended at 7:40pm. No action was taken.

The School Board discussed a letter from Nora Wilson. Steven John followed up on this letter by directing Gail Chaine to provide Nora with a list of school employees and their salaries.

The Board came up with a process for checking mail in the summer season when Board Meetings are less frequent or not held at the school.

Francie will try to accelerate the process with the professional outside audit firm in order to ensure that we have a report before budget season.

Superintendent’s Report attached.

In February the Board will assess the five-year plan that is nearing its five-year mark that addressed methods for student assessments. We will also look at creating a new plan that would address student achievement especially as they relate to the Common Core and Vermont’s Framework of Standards.

The administration called to the attention of the Board that we pay careful attention to the amount of funding being spent on pre-K education. We have currently maxed out our budget that was set for pre-K education this year.

Francie reported that the School did not end up needing to use the line of credit from Peoples Bank to cover summer expenditures.

Gussie made a motion to accept the minutes to the July 19^th meeting as corrected. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Jen made a motion to add a $500 stipend to Erica’s pay for her to lead all school sing in Ellen’s absence. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Principal’s Report attached.

The Board successfully logged on to their new WCSU email accounts.

Upcoming meetings were discussed. The Board will coordinate about plans for the VSBA conference by email.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

Upcoming Meetings:

*Oct 3^rd MES School Board Meeting MES 6 pm (invite pay scale committee)

*Oct 20 & 21^st VSBA Fall Conference Lake Morey, Keynote Speaker Jamie Vollmer

*Oct 26^th WCSU Executive Meeting in Jamaica 7 pm

* Nov 7^th MES School Board Meeting MES 6 pm (invited elected auditors)

Pay Orders: #3 7/29/11 $110,948.47

#4 8/12/11 $21,710.83

#5 8/22/11 $49,961.03

#6 9/9/11 $33,995.27

Our Guiding Principles:

Students will be at the center of our decision-making. We will keep to the agenda. The chair will estimate the amount of time necessary for each item and act as timekeeper during the meeting. Every voice is heard as discussion goes back and forth. Decisions will not be made hastily.

We will ask ourselves, “What other information do we need in order to make a thoughtful decision?” Decisions/discussion will be recapped before moving on to a new item. Items requiring action will be identified and we will note who is responsible for each action item. Follow through will occur before the next meeting. We will use e-mail judiciously to communicate between meetings.

Implementation Guidelines:

Meetings will be held on the first Monday of each month with the fourth Monday kept in reserve, if an additional meeting is needed.

The chair will send out the agenda the Thursday before the meeting. The meetings will start at 6 pm and go no later than 9 pm.

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board

Monday, September 12, 2011 at 6:00 P.M.

Note: I am coming from the Windham Board Meeting, and will attend Townshend’s as close to 7 P.M. as possible.

Student/Staff Learning

I hope you received a copy of my WCSU Opening Day remarks and two graphs via email. The excel graph reports on math performance for WCSU students over the past three years. The second graph (in the powerpoint) depicts the national trend for student performance K-12. I welcome your questions and discussion.
Friday, Sept. 2, most of our professional staffs were able to participate in the WCSU Opening Day in-service meeting at L&G followed by preparations in each school.
For the time being, I directed all principals to welcome any students to our schools regardless of residency. Some families are likely to be displaced and we want all children to attend the nearest school without question. For any L&G students who are absent due to Irene, every effort will be made to send assignments home. Students will be able to make up for any lost instruction on an individual student basis. Parents and students are encourage to contact L&G (as best they can) to find out what works best for their family.
The boards and all school employees made the transition to Google Apps for email communications, calendaring, and collaboration sharing documents, effective September 6^th. We will use your previous email addresses in addition to your Gmail account for another month, but do switch over for any board business. I am sending this report out on both accounts, so you should receive it twice.
For this school year, we’ll have twelve mentors for all first or second year teachers in the WCSU. Mentor training with a consultant began all day Friday, Sept. 9. This program is endorsed and partially supported by the NEA/VEA. Marlboro will not participate formally in the program for FY12.
Last Friday, I greeted the students and staff in their classrooms in Marlboro, NewBrook, Jamaica, and L&G. Everyone seems relieved and quite happy to be in school. Attendance is remarkable good. I also visited Wardsboro (no school) to support this staff and check out the bus route. All schools will be in session Monday, Sept. 12.
Would you like to share anything you took away from the WCSU Board’s Annual Retreat Meeting last month?

Policy/Regulation

As things stand now, Windham will have 171 student days this year. The state requires a minimum of 175. John and I will consider ways to make up the four student days and make some recommendations to the Board. Remember that our posted calendar contains no snow days. Any snow days will have to be added in June. FYI, it’s too early to apply for a waiver even if you required one for this year.

Finance/Accounting/Operations

As reduced by about $8,000, the DOE approved our WCSU Consolidated Federal Grant proposal for FY12. Contracts can now be offered for CFG funded and 21 Century Grant after-school services.

Enrollment/Staffing

On August 14, Jennifer Connor began her work as the WCSU 21^st Century Program Director to oversee the after-school program at seven schools this fall. Marlboro’s site coordinator is Rose Watson. Mrs. Connor will share an office with Jenn Chapin who assists Abby Dillon.
Last week, the personnel office (Kathy Velsor) moved downstairs at the WCSU. Our clientele should find this location much more convenient. The EEE Program (Claire Nelson) has relocated to Townshend Elementary School to better serve young children in a school setting.

Informational Items

WCSU Negotiating Team meets Monday, September 26 at L&G, 5:00 to prepare for a bargaining session at 6:00 P.M. An additional session is scheduled for Oct. 19.
The Voluntary RED Study Committee Meeting will be Oct. 5, 7 P.M. at L&G Library. Nov. 2 is their date for November.
The WCSU Board Executive Committee will meet at 7:00 P.M. on October 26 at Jamaica Village School.

sbj – 9/11/11

Marlboro School Board

Principal’s Report

Monday, September 12, 2011

Student Learning

On August 25 and 26 all teachers who work the additional days for professional development attended training in Literacy Learning and Instruction K-8. This will be the basis for continuing work in our PLC meetings and during the WCSU Grade Level meetings.

And then Irene struck! After conferring with a number of people I decided to postpone the opening of school until Tuesday, September 6. Most Marlboro teachers did not attend the WCSU Welcome Back at Leland and Gray on Friday, September 2. Though an unofficial workday, on Monday, September 5th the school was full of teachers readying classrooms. Many of them had made their way to school over the weekend as well.

Gail MacArthur developed new bus routes to pick up as many students as possible. We are sending the little bus over North Pond and Sunset Lake roads to the Williamsville store to pick up the 9 students who live below the washed out areas of the Auger Hole. Tim and David are driving this route and are submitting time slips for additional pay. High school students will be brought to Marlboro by the Moover starting Tuesday, September 14.

Decision: I recommend paying Tim and David for this additional work at the hourly bus driver rate.

The first four days of school went smoothly with everyone delighted to be back. On the first day we had a brief assembly which was attended by quite a few parents. New students were welcomed and some of the heroes of the day were recognized: Deacon’s grandfather, Bummy Turner, Roshika’s mom, Lisa Merton, Althea and Leander’s father, Forrest, Camilla’s mother, Susanne, and all the bus drivers.

David’s class went ahead with their scheduled overnight at Woodford State Park. The clouds parted and the sun shone as they pulled away from school on Thursday afternoon.

Erica is working with Tim each week to plan and lead All School Sing.

Decision: I recommend adding the Sing stipend of $500 to her contract.

This year weekly team meetings, in addition to the less frequent meeting of the Educational Support Team, will provide the venue for closer coordination and planning of instruction according to individual student needs. These meetings will start this week.

The 21^st Century Grant programming will begin the week of October 24. Each day’s schedule will consist of 15 minutes of recess and snack, 30 minutes of homework club, and 75 minutes of programmed activity.

Policy or Regulation Implementation

Building and Grounds

The permanent wall between downstairs between Judy and Matt’s rooms was completed on schedule and within budget. It is a great improvement in terms of sound. While the electrician was here to install outlets in the new wall, he also corrected the wiring for the projectors that were hung in all classrooms last summer so that they no longer require extension cords and comply with code.

Hands free sinks have been installed in the five bathrooms with the $7000 secured by Ellen from the Wellness Grant. These funds were also used to make improvements to the parking lot lighting and to purchase a bike rack and a new microwave for the office.

Other summer work included replacing the water fountain in the Outback and the major section of chain link fence along Route 9 (as approved).

Finance/Accounting

Our audit will be scheduled for later this fall.

We did not have to use the line of credit due to the town receiving early tax payments.

The state has informed us that they are backed up and are not currently able to give us the information needed to move forward with using the rest of the Energy Efficiency Grant funds.

Enrollment/Staffing

Student enrollment as of 9/12/11 83; two additional students enrolled today and will begin class on October 4.

Jen K-6, 1^st-4

Judy 1^st-5, 2^nd-10

Erica 3-11, 4^th-6

Matt 5^th-14

David 6^th-13

Tim/Rachel 7^th-3, 8^th-11

We are pleased to have several teacher interns this year from the Spark Program and from Antioch: Peder Rud with Rachel, Leah Suter with David, Courtney Plummer with Judy.

Marlboro College work-study students are in the process of applying for up to 20 hours of work per week as classroom assistants.

Rose Watson has been hired to be the Site Coordinator for the 21^st Century Grant program.

Informational items

Due to the loss of the first three days of school, we discussed the following changes to this year’s calendar. There were many questions about the possibility of taking September 28 as a school day rather than teachers participating in a regional inservice day. We added in two days with October 19 and November 23 as school days. Please see the new calendar posted on the website.

Despite the incredibly challenging and stressful circumstances, the school year is off to a very good start. The Marlboro School staff is outstanding – a talented, passionate, and hard working crew and I appreciate every one of them.

Marlboro Realms of Learning

Communication

Problem Solving

Personal Development

Civic and Social Responsibility

Knowledge

Warning: The Marlboro School Board will hold its next meeting on Monday, November 7th at 6 pm at MES. The Town’s elected auditors have been invited to this meeting.

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair,
Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John – Superintendent, Andy Reichsman – Member of
the Pay Scale Sub-Committee
The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 10:20am.
Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes from the 6/29/11 as drafted. Gussie
seconded the motion. Motion passed.
The Board reviewed the School Board Guiding Principles.
Francie updated the Board on the process of hiring a new Physical Education teacher.
Francie noted that the cost of the wall being built in the largest downstairs room in the
School building is targeted to come in at about $500 under budget.
Francie will consult with Frank Rucker about the proper way to create a fund that would
create a minimum $5,000 balance to be available when the 21st Century after school grant
is reduced in year four of the program.
Superintendent’s Report attached.
Steven John suggests that the School Board and not the individual members pay for dinner
at the upcoming WCSU retreat.
The Marlboro School is receiving $861.07 less than expected from the State Title 1 grant
because of a Federal reduction in the overall grant.
The Board has resolved to borrow funds using a line of credit from a local bank to cover
expenditures until revenues start coming in the fall. Gail Chaine contacted Merchants and
Peoples banks and expects to receive an agreement within the next 2 weeks.
Addition to the Minutes: On Thursday, July 21
st
Gail Chaine accepted an offer for the line of credit
from Peoples Bank. Gail expects to receive the note on Monday, July 25
th
and will have the School
Board and the Town Treasurer sign it at that time. ~7/21/11
The Marlboro School ended the fiscal year with a deficit of $71,130 and that amount has
been moved temporarily from the Future Tuition Fund to the General Fund, to be repaid
when revenues start flowing again in the fall.
The main source of the deficit came from Special Education spending, over budget by
more than $110,000, but we under-spent in Regular Programs and some revenues
exceeded budgeted expectations, accounting for a smaller deficit.
Andy Reichsman joined the meeting at noon.
Lauren made a motion to approve the Marlboro School Title 1 School wide Action Plan for
2011 – 2012. Jen seconded the motion. Motion passed.
The meeting recessed for lunch at 12:25pm. Meeting resumed at 12:55pm.
The Board went into Executive Session at 1:10pm to discuss salaries and personnel
matters. Executive Session ended at 1:40pm.Page 2
Lauren, Andy Reichsman and Frank Rucker will do further work on the pay scale and
then bring a proposal for the new scale to the October School Board Meeting.
Andy Reichsman left the meeting at 1:45pm.
Lauren made a motion to allow school employees on leave to remain a member of the
insurance group at their own expense with the understanding that upon return to the
same employment status with the School District they will be reimbursed, less the
employee co-pay. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion was tabled.
The Board went into Executive Session at 1:55pm to discuss a personnel matter. Executive
Session ended at 2:05pm.
Further discussion of the motion followed. Lauren accepted Gussie’s friendly amendment
to this motion to limit the reimbursement to a single person benefit. The Board voted to
accept the amendment to the motion. The Board voted yes to pass the amended motion.
Jen made a motion that we change the amount of sick and personal days for full time
classroom and special education assistants after one year of employment to five sick days
and three personal days. Under this change unused sick days may be accumulated up to a
maximum of 60 days. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Meeting adjourned at 2:25pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jen Carr
Upcoming meetings:
-Wednesday, August 24
th
at 5:30pm, WCSU Board retreat
Pay Orders: #2 7/15/11 $54,049.56
Our Guiding Principles:
Students will be at the center of our decision-making. We will keep to the agenda. The chair will estimate the amount of time necessary for each
item and act as timekeeper during the meeting. Every voice is heard as discussion goes back and forth. Decisions will not be made hastily.
We will ask ourselves, “What other information do we need in order to make a thoughtful decision?” Decisions/discussion will be recapped before
moving on to a new item. Items requiring action will be identified and we will note who is responsible for each action item. Follow through will occur
before the next meeting. We will use e-mail judiciously to communicate between meetings.
Implementation Guidelines:
Meetings will be held on the first Monday of each month with the fourth Monday kept in reserve, if an additional meeting is needed.
The chair will send out the agenda the Thursday before the meeting. The meetings will start at 6 pm and go no later than 9 pm.
Windham Central Supervisory Union
wcsu46.org 1219 Vermont Route 30 Townshend, VT 05353 802-365-9510 phone 802-365-7934 fax
WCSU will provide member districts with the leadership and resources to ensure a strong education system for all students.
Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
Tuesday, July 19, 2011, Summer Retreat 10:00 – 2:00 at South Pond
Student/Staff Learning
1. On Thursday (7/7), I met with a group of representatives from law enforcement, Youth Services,
L&G, and the Center for Health and Learning (Cindy Hayford). On behalf of the WCSU, I signed a
letter of support for a planning grant from the Holt Foundation to develop more healthful living in
the West River Valley.Page 3
2. On June 27 and July 8, three principals worked with Frank, Matt and me to analyze student
performance on the Measures of Academic Proficiency (MAP) tests in mathematics. This work will
inform our planning and action steps to improve math instruction K-12 at the administrators’
summer retreat Aug. 16-18.
3. On July 27-29, a group of grade 5-8 teachers (GLAM) will meet to align instruction with grade
level expectations for student performance in mathematics. Sue Newman is coordinating this
working group, and I will facilitate with special attention to our students’ transitions in math from
grades 6 to 7.
Policy/Regulation
1. The legislature did remove the legal limit to the number of pre-k students receiving support for
their education (up to 10 hours per week). This is good news for all elementary school districts.
FYI, no actual pre-k monies flow to the district, but an adjustment is made to the school tax rate.
2. The first meeting of the R.E.D. Study Committee including representatives from Brookline,
Jamaica, Newfane, Townshend, and Windham will be Aug 1 to elect officers, consider consultants
and set the agenda for their future work. The VSBA is advising the boards with this study.
3. I advise taking up the Banking Investment and Fraud Policies after they are considered by the
WCSU at their summer retreat on Aug 24.
Finance/Accounting/Operations
1. I submitted the Title I/Consolidated Federal Grant application on July 1 based on the ATM’s
recommended revisions. You should have received (via email) a summary copy of our proposed
allocations for FY12 along with the ATM notes from our June 20 meeting.
2. Last Friday, I was notified that our Title I grant will be cut by more than $8,000. I will adjust
your school’s allocation based on student count to share this pain across the WCSU.
3. I directed a review of all software programs that support WCSU operations including
requisitions, personnel time sheets, leave requests, professional development records, child incident
reporting, email and online communications. On Sept. 1, we will move to windhamcentralboard.org
for all board public documents on line, communications (email), and calendaring.
Enrollment/Staffing
1. We have posted the WCSU school nurse position to replace Ruth Davies who retired
June 30. I will convene an interview committee as soon as our applicant pool warrants action.
2. Dorinne, Samantha, and I are interviewing candidates for the WCSU 21st Century Grant
Coordinator, the position to oversee the after-school program and site coordinators at eight school
buildings this fall. I hope to publicly announce this appointment on Friday.
Informational Items
1. WCSU Negotiating Team meets Wed., July 27 at L&G, 6:30.
2. R.E.D. Study Committee meets Monday, Aug. 1 at 6:00 P.M. in the Library at L&G.
3. WCSU Admin. Team meets Aug 16 – 18 for its annual planning retreat.
4. The WCSU Board’s Summer Retreat will be Wed. Aug. 24 – 5:00 P.M. at the
Hermitage. Dinner is $25. Please reserve with Samantha in my office 365-9510.
5. The WCSU Board will meet at 7:00 P.M. on October 26 at Jamaica Village School.
sbj – 7/18/11
WCSU will …place students at the center of our decision-making.
…build trust and respect by acting ethically, transparently, and with integrity.
…operate as a community of learners, committed to developing the skills and capabilities of all.
…collaborate, share and seek creative solutions.

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Francie Marbury – Principal

The meeting was called to order by Jen at 6:10pm. Lauren arrived at 6:30pm.

Gussie made a motion to accept the minutes of the 6/6/11 meeting with typos corrected. Jen seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Francie noted that for the 21st Century grant for the after school program, the WCSU Office will mange the grant funding and ongoing accounting.

Principal’s report attached.

The cap on the number of pre-school students at Meetinghouse School has been lifted. We have received eleven applications and we budgeted for ten. We will take all eleven applicants and operate within the amount that was originally budget for the ten.

Jen made a made a motion to allow Francie to award contracts not to exceed $8,500 to build a wall and install electrical outlets in the largest downstairs room. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Lauren made a motion to approve spending $2,270 to replace the longest section of fence in front of the school. Jen seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Lauren made a motion at 7:15pm to go into Executive Session to discuss a personnel matter. Executive session ended at 7:30pm. No decisions were made.

Francie and Gail will investigate special provisos with our health insurance provider as pertains to our benefits procedures.

When we are reviewing benefits procedures at the upcoming retreat, Franice would like us to consider expanding benefits to non-professional employees who have been with us for a few years.

The School is running a deficit between now and October. The Town is not in a position to make a loan to the School as they have in past years. The School will look into postponing as many debts as possible until revenues start coming in October. We anticipate that we may need to borrow from Bank North at a rate of 3%. We are investigating other loan institutions as well. We will have the full information at our July retreat.

Meeting adjourned 8:30pm.

Respectfully submitted, Jen Carr

Upcoming meetings: -Tuesday, July 19th from 10am to 2pm, School Board Retreat (alternate location is Steven John’s house) -Wednesday, August 24th at 5:30pm, WCSU Board retreat

Page 1

Pay Orders: #26 6/17/11 $142,249.83 #1 7/1/11 $26,030.59

Our Guiding Principles:

Students will be at the center of our decision-making. We will keep to the agenda. The chair will estimate the amount of time necessary for each item and act as timekeeper during the meeting. Every voice is heard as discussion goes back and forth. Decisions will not be made hastily. We will ask ourselves, “What other information do we need in order to make a thoughtful decision?” Decisions/discussion will be recapped before moving on to a new item. Items requiring action will be identified and we will note who is responsible for each action item. Follow through will occur before the next meeting. We will use e-mail judiciously to communicate between meetings.

Implementation Guidelines:

Meetings will be held on the first Monday of each month with the fourth Monday kept in reserve, if an additional meeting is needed. The chair will send out the agenda the Thursday before the meeting. The meetings will start at 6 pm and go no later than 9 pm.

Marlboro School Board Principal’s Report Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Student Learning

21st Century Grant – This grant has been awarded to the seven WCSU schools that applied and MES will receive $58,000 for the next three years and reduced amounts for the following three years ($43,500, $37,700, and $29,000). We have established a timeline for hiring the program director and once s/he is in place we will hire site coordinators for Marlboro and the other schools (Dover, Newbrook, Townshend, Jamaica, Wardsboro, and Leland and Gray). After school programming will start sometime this fall. We will not have the After School program as it currently exists.

Action Plan – I’m attaching a copy to this report and hope that you will be able to review it before the retreat. At the retreat it can be discussed and adopted. Early Education Collaborative – The cap on the number of preschoolers has been lifted. We already have 11 applicants and we budgeted for 10.

The Literacy Collaborative will be providing 4 days of training for 11 staff members. We will use two of our MES professional development days for this, as well as two WCSU professional development days. This training will be funded through the Consolidated Federal Grant and through the Federal Jobs Grant. The second year will require a commitment of Title I funds.

Policy or Regulation Implementation

No current activity. We will review the Benefits Procedures at the summer retreat. I am gathering information from other schools as a basis for considering changes to the benefits for support staff.

Building and Grounds

Summer building projects include creating a permanent wall in what is now the Primary classroom and extending the work under the Energy Efficiency Grant.

Permanent wall between Judy’s room and next year’s 5th grade room. Don Sherefkin is working on drawings. Brian Johnson, Division of Fire Safety, has given input regarding code requirements. Two contractors who have worked for us in the past are interested in the project. We do not anticipate needing to go through a formal bid process. I request that the board approve spending up to $8000 on this.

Page 2

Fence along Rte 9 – After the fence was damaged last winter, we received insurance. To repair only the damaged area will cost an additional $1300. To replace and improve the entire fence (longer section) will cost $2270.

Finance/Accounting Energy Efficiency Grant – The remaining funds will be used to improve the thermostat relay regulation in the office area and for several of the projects recommended in the Thermal House audit. This will require an extension of the deadline by which funds must be spent and an “increase in scope” of the grant. We will apply for these this summer. The projects we recommend are insulating the Junior High ceiling and the exterior walls in the office area.

After School Program – As directed by the board, the AfterSchool director was given a retroactive raise.

Health insurance

Two matters – one is the request to continue coverage while on leave; the other is a request for dental insurance by a support staff member. I will request executive session to present information regarding these requests.

Enrollment/Staffing

• Student enrollment as of 6/16/11 89 • Chris Brown has tentatively been offered a fulltime position teaching PE at

Whitingham Elementary/Twin Valley Middle School. Our position will be advertised

in the next weeks with interviews on July 18. • Contracts for Matt Chapman and Jen O’Donnell are ready to be offered.

Informational items

Due to the change in BUHS start and ending times MES will start at 8:15 and end at 2:45. High school students will be able to catch the bus to MES in the morning and then down to BUHS. In the afternoon, the Brattleboro bus will bring them as far as the turnaround at the town line on Rte 9 where Jackie will pick them up and drop them off along Rte 9, at the school, and along Auger Hole and Higley Hill on her way to where the bus is parked at Elliot’s garage.

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Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John – Superintendent

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 6:10pm.

Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes of the 5/2/11 meeting as drafted. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes of the 5/11/11 meeting as drafted. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

The School Board decided to invite the Town Auditors to a meeting in the fall to discuss the School District report.

Steven John joined the meeting at 6:50pm. Principal’s report attached.

The Board went into Executive Session at 7:05pm to discuss a personnel matter. Executive session ended at 7:15pm.

Jen made a motion to pay a part-time teacher, as is the standard in other schools in our Supervisory Union, $120 per day for two days for IEP work that was done above and beyond the usual work day. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

The Board went into Executive Session to discuss at 7:20pm to discuss a personnel matter. Executive Session ended at 7:30pm.

No decisions were made in Executive Session. Francie will bring more information to our next meeting.

Francie will get back to the School Board with recommendations for the salary of the after school program coordinator.

The Board discussed the funding that is to come from the 21st Century grant and the accounting processes for this funding. In order to designate funds from the after school program to another fund in the school budget, the School Board would have to warn the item for Town Meeting.

The School Board read a letter from David’s class thanking us for our support of their trip to New York City.

Meeting adjourned 8:10pm.

Respectfully submitted, Jen Carr

Upcoming meetings: -Monday, June 13th at 7pm, MES Consortium -Tuesday, June 14th at 7pm, MES Graduation

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-Thursday, June 16th is the last day of school -Monday, June 20th at 7pm, School Board Meeting for Fiscal Year End Review -Tuesday, July 19th from 10am to 2pm, School Board Retreat (alternate location is Steven John’s house) -Wednesday, August 24th at 5:30pm, WCSU Board retreat

Pay Orders: #23 #24 #25

Our Guiding Principles:

5/6/11 5/20/11 6/3/11

$39,180.19 $152,543.75 $37,809.02

Students will be at the center of our decision-making. We will keep to the agenda. The chair will estimate the amount of time necessary for each item and act as timekeeper during the meeting. Every voice is heard as discussion goes back and forth. Decisions will not be made hastily. We will ask ourselves, “What other information do we need in order to make a thoughtful decision?” Decisions/discussion will be recapped before moving on to a new item. Items requiring action will be identified and we will note who is responsible for each action item. Follow through will occur before the next meeting. We will use e-mail judiciously to communicate between meetings.

Implementation Guidelines:

Meetings will be held on the first Monday of each month with the fourth Monday kept in reserve, if an additional meeting is needed. The chair will send out the agenda the Thursday before the meeting. The meetings will start at 6 pm and go no later than 9 pm.

Marlboro School Board Principal’s Report Monday, June 6, 2011

Student Learning

21st Century Grant – This grant has been awarded to the WCSU schools that applied. The amount of funding is not certain but it seems there will be enough to provide a greatly expanded after school program at MES. Preparation for this will require a great deal of my summer worktime. New York City Field Research – David’s students presented their projects to parents on the evenings of May 9 and 11.

8th grade portfolio roundtables – Thank you for attending so many of these. These are our strongest demonstrations of student learning. The Literacy Collaborative will be providing 4 days of training for 11 staff members. We will use two of our MES professional development days for this, as well as two WCSU professional development days. 3rd/4th grade musical - Erica’s class (3rd/4th grade) will present a musical on Thursday, June 9, 7pm at the Whittemore Theatre. Action Plan – The Action Plan committee has been meeting for the past two months and will have a plan for your approval by the summer retreat.

Policy or Regulation Implementation

No current activity. We will review the Benefits Procedures at the summer retreat.

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Building and Grounds

Summer building projects include creating a permanent wall in what is now the Primary classroom and completing the work under the Energy Efficiency Grant.

Finance/Accounting

Energy Efficiency Grant – The remaining funds will be used to improve the thermostat relay regulation in the office area and for several of the projects recommended in the Thermal House audit. This will require an extension of the deadline by which funds must be spent and an “increase in scope” of the grant. We will apply for these this summer. The projects we recommend are insulating the Junior High ceiling and the exterior walls in the office area.

After School Program – With our greatly cut back program this year, Rose took a reduction in pay, working 3 days a week instead of 5. We currently have a balance of $6000. Ellen incurred a great deal of extra time and travel expense as part of an IEP development process. The Special Education program will not pay for this. This is a total of 15.5 hours plus travel. I recommend paying her for 2.5 days at the substitute teacher rate of $80 per day.

Enrollment/Staffing

Student enrollment as of 6/6/11 89 Staffing – Jen O’Donnell and Matt Chapman have been hired to fill one year positions in Kindergarten/1st grade and 5th grade. At our end of the year staff party on Thursday, June 16, we will say goodbye to Claire Galya.

Informational items

2011-2012 calendar Gail, Jackie, and I are meeting to consider possible changes to our start and end times if WSESU goes to a later start.

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Marlboro School Board Special meeting to get community feedback about the information included in the School District Report Minutes 5/11/11 APPROVED

School Board Members Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Town Auditors Attending: Rose Watson, Barbara Andreotta Community Members: Gail and Dan MacArthur, Michelle Holzapfel, Joan Carey, Lucy Gratwick, Michael Boylan, Lisa Merton, Andy Reichsman, Andy Hauty, Sylvia Johnson, Jane Wilde, Paul Redmond, Marjorie Tudor, Francie Marbury – MES Principal

Special Guest: Joe Juhasz, Deputy State Auditor for Vermont was present at the meeting to discuss the School District’s use of auditors Moderator: Steven John (Steven also serves as the WCSU Superintendant)

The meeting was called to order by Steven John at 7:05pm.

Joe Juhasz spoke about the role of the State Auditor’s office. The office does not tell local towns what to do, however they do have the ability audit.

Joe also spoke about the role of Town Auditors: Reconciling financial reports Statue states that they audit the records of Town School Board once per year if there is no professional audit (the current MES professional audit is every three years.) No power to change actual journals for Treasurer. (School Treasurer is currently same as Town Treasurer) Compiling town report, but not all VT towns have Town Auditors do this

Lauren outlined information about how this meeting came to happen. She noted that the School Board has published the school salary scale for the last two years in the School District Report at the request of the Town Auditors. This is not information included in any other town’s school district report, as far as Lauren knows. The School Board called this meeting to get feedback from the community about the information included in the School District’s Annual Report, to see if people found the new information useful, confusing, or if there might be other information they’d like to see.

The School Board also wanted clarification as to what jurisdiction the Town Auditors have over the School Board, if any, and what information they can dictate to the School Board be included in the School District Report or in the Town Report. When the questions first arose, at the suggestion of our Town Clerk, Nora Wilson, Lauren contacted Kathy Scheele (then DeWolfe), in the office The VT Scetretary of State’s Office. Recently Kathy suggested we get support from the VSBA and Steve Dale, Director of the VSBA connected Lauren with Joe Juhasz, State Deputy Auditor, inviting him to this meeting help clarify information about the School District’s use of Town Auditors.

The School Board will not make any decisions about these issues at tonight’s meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to share information and gather community feedback about these issues in a public forum in order to help inform our decision making process.

Joe noted that certain limited information (reporting of financial expenditures) is officially required in the School District Report. The Town has to decide what information above and beyond the minimum requirements is useful in the report. He also noted that information can be made available through other avenues (ie, school or town website.)

Rose said the Town Auditors felt that the school salary scale was necessary in the report because there had been a number of requests that came to their office for this information.

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Lauren asked Joe to clarify the respective roles of Town Auditors and the School Board:

Joe said the School Board has overall fiduciary responsibility for the school and responsibility for reporting school finances.

Town Auditors review expenditures. They note if the financial reports are financially accurate and if proper controls are in order. They also have a responsibility to ask for more detail when they have concerns whether the information in the report is correct.

Town Auditors can publicly express their findings about the figures, especially if they find errors, but they do not have authority to infringe upon another Board’s report or compel them to add information. The process he suggested for additional reporting to the community would be on the lines of a public “letter to the editor.”

Further, he said that auditors can suggest changes and communicate ideas, but can’t compel another entity to work differently than they see fit. While Town Auditors can recommend appropriate financial procedures, each entity has domain over their own area. He suggests conversation as the best way to make any changes. Town Auditors should report to the community if they can’t resolve issues through dialog.

Rose outlined the work the Town Auditors do: Each month they review accounts and perform reconciliation. They note checks that stand out and ask questions. They check school accounting against the town ledger. They check delinquent taxes. They compile the Town Report. Town Auditors are paid an hourly wage and they work in the Town Office. It was noted that the have an easier time communicating with officials in the Town Office than with the School Board because of their work location in the Town Office.

Joe said that most Town Auditors do not do as much work as ours. The Auditors estimate spending 6-9 hours per month on this work, but more with preparation of town report.

The Auditors and School Board were asked what they are looking for in terms of audits.

The School Board has concerns about confusion that can be created by non-professional audits. Lauren also noted that it had been recommended to her by Kathy Scheele at the VT Secretary of State that the School Board should be careful of opening up the School District to liability by the use of nonprofessional auditors, and that the Secretery of State’s office has been recommending that town’s of our size move away from the use of elected auditors.

Joe Juhasz noted that many towns are grappling with the issue of using professional versus town auditors. He noted that when towns have a good budget process and budgets that come out evenly each year, that they may not need professional audits each year, but others may need yearly professional audits when there are problems that arise.

Rose Watson mentioned that she thinks if the School Board moves to a yearly professional audit instead of using Town Auditors, that then the Town of Marlboro would also have to eliminate the office of Town Auditor.

Joe says that he does not think that the position of the Town Auditors would be eliminated if the School Board moved to professional audits, but he will follow up to be sure.

A concern was raised about retaliation from the School Board if the Board Members are unhappy with the actions of the Town Auditors.

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It was pointed out that the School Board can’t eliminate the position of Town Auditors. Changes would have to be made through a properly warned item and a vote at Town Meeting.

Rose is also concerned that professional auditors are not looking specifically for fraud, but that Town Auditors can serve this purpose more effectively.

Lauren noted that our professional auditors do ask about potential fraud during the school audits she has been involved with every three years. She also noted that the School Board has a formal process of checking and providing oversight for the school accounting (two School Board members review all school pay orders.)

Joe spoke about the importance of having a local system of controls over finances. Groups should always perform risk assessments and think about how they can mitigate financial risk. He thinks this is a good role for the Town Auditors.

Joe says Town Auditors do not officially need to be present at professional audits, but they can be and this can be of use. Town auditors serve an important role in monitoring finances and checking for odd behavior that an outside auditor would not notice.

It was asked how expensive a yearly professional audit is. Joe did not state the cost of a professional audit because it can vary greatly. MES has scheduled the professional audit that is performed every three years for this year and the cost is $5,000. However, it likely would not be this expensive if we did it every year since it would be less work doing it annually.

It was asked what is the purpose of professional audit is. Professional auditors tell you what internal controls you are missing and what you can do to correct the situation. Elected town auditors can also do this although they vary in experience and ability to recognize problems.

Joe also noted that the State Auditor’s office can help towns look at financial controls and create policies. They can also provide information and help with arbitration if needed.

Meeting participants spoke about what information they would like to see in the School District Report:

There was no support for publishing the actual salaries of the teachers as it was thought that this can cause adversarial relationships. Was noted that elected officials have their salaries published.

Many people think the school’s salary scale is useful information for the public. It was noted that showing the pay scale in the School District report reflects well upon our teachers and school since we are not overpaying our staff. It was expressed that the salary scale does not overly infringe upon teacher’s privacy.

People like this information because they want to know how our teachers fare in salary as compared to teachers in other districts.

Lauren noted that the School Board (with a committee involving community members) is currently working on updating the school salary scale and is concerned that the current salary scale might be confusing since it looks different than salary scales of other regional schools, especially those that are in professional bargaining agreements.

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Steven John, speaking as our Superintendent, noted that when he places a new hire on the WCSU’s salary scale he has to subtract 3 years from their work history, and make other changes as per collective bargaining. In many schools teachers join the National Education Association and negotiate their salaries through professional bargaining agreements. MES teachers do not do this. They negotiate directly with the School Board.

It was noted that it is hard to compare our pay scale to other school’s pay scales that are set up differently than ours. MES also has a different amount of days than other schools. For this reason, and others, the School Board is concerned publishing the salary scales isn’t giving as accurate information as one might believe.

It was suggested that in the abstract we could compare our teacher’s salaries to those of other schools. We could profile hypothetical comparisons with random samples of teachers from different districts with similar experience and education levels.

It was suggested that a simplified comparison could be printed every year without taking up so much room in the Town Report. It was also recommended that one year could be a local comparison and one could be a national comparison of salaries.

It was noted that if less information than the full salary scale was printed every year that we could sill make the full information available online, although a concern was expressed that not everyone has easy online access.

It was noted that community members can not be expected to always know what information they should ask for regarding town issues they may not be intimately involved with and that they count on the respective community groups to think about and supply what information the public needs to make informed decisions at Town Meeting.

It was noted that in the beginning of this discussion about the school’s teacher salaries that began two years ago the Town Auditors were concerned that there was a problem with the salary scale that would allow school staff salaries to rise out of control. The concern was that the formula allowed for exponential growth of salaries.

When the salary scale was further investigated it was found that our teachers were actually underpaid compared to other teachers in our region and nationally and the auditors didn’t fully understand how the formula worked.

The meeting participants spoke about appropriate process for dealing with concerns about MES and the School Board, in this instance the example for concern is how the Board is reporting information about school teacher salaries.

Joe Juhas noted that the appropriate process is to have the concerns come to the School Board first, then move outward if the issues are not resolved directly with the School Board. In this example, the members of the public concerned about salaries or the bigger picture of overall MES spending should approach the School Board first and try to have their questions answered before going to the Town Auditors.

Lauren also reminded the meeting participants that School Board meetings are open public meetings. She requested that townspeople please come and talk to the School Board at these meetings whenever they have questions.

Lauren made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded. Meeting adjourned at 8:45pm.

Respectfully submitted, Jen Carr

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Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John – Superintendent

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 6:05pm.

Francie signed and sent paperwork on behalf of the School for the Vermont FiberConnect high-speed internet project.

The Board went into Executive Session at 6:15pm to discuss a personnel issue. Executive Session ended at 6:20pm.

Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes from the 4/4/11 meeting as drafted. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Jen made a motion that we expand the definition of family coverage as per our health benefits procedures to include “domestic partners” as defined by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Principal’s report attached.

The salary scale sub-committee is in the midst of revising the pay scale. As we are still working on this issue of salary scale, the School Board is not going to approve the benefits procedures at this time.

Jen and Gussie signed staff contracts for the 2011 – 2012 school year. Lauren will come to the school on the morning of May 3, 2011 to further review the contracts before she signs.

Delta Dental is now offering expanded benefits for dependents up to the age of 26.

Lauren made a motion to allow school parent Sarah Coffey to use the school bus with a rental fee based on mileage. Jen seconded the motion. Motion passed.

The Board will review financial entries that Gail Chaine makes in the General Ledger once a year. This will be happen with Gail present when the school’s pay order is done.

Francie wants to note that in the future she will work to inform the Board in a timely manner about staffing issues.

Superintendent’s report attached.

The Board went into Executive Session at 8:15pm to discuss WCSU negotiations with teachers. Executive session ended at 8:25pm.

Steven John gave his feedback about which old School Board documents should be kept.

The Board will do the VSBA’s School Board self-assessment and focus on benefits procedures at the next Board Retreat to be held at the beginning of August.

The Board went into Executive Session at 9:40pm to discuss a personnel matter. Executive session ended at 10:10pm.

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The Board made a decision to extend the Principal’s contract for FY 2012. The Board asked the Superintendent Steven John to follow up on the details.

The Board asked Steven John to review our present administrative policy for after school use of the school facility and the buses.

Please note pay order #21-22 at the bottom of the minutes. Meeting adjourned 10:15pm.

Respectfully submitted, Jen Carr

Upcoming meetings: -Wednesday, May 11th at 7pm, Special School Board Meeting -Wednesday, May 18th at 7pm at Windham, WCSU Annual Meeting -Monday, June 6th at 6pm, Marlboro School Board Meeting -Monday, June 13th at 7pm, MES Consortium -Tuesday, June 14th at 7pm, MES Graduation -Thursday, June 16th is the last day of school -Tuesday, June 21st at 6pm, School Board Meeting for Fiscal Year End Review -Monday, August 1st from 10am to 2pm, School Board Retreat

Pay Orders: #21 4/8/11 $54,975.59 #22 4/22/11 $54,998.32

Our Guiding Principles:

Students will be at the center of our decision-making. We will keep to the agenda. The chair will estimate the amount of time necessary for each item and act as timekeeper during the meeting. Every voice is heard as discussion goes back and forth. Decisions will not be made hastily. We will ask ourselves, “What other information do we need in order to make a thoughtful decision?” Decisions/discussion will be recapped before moving on to a new item. Items requiring action will be identified and we will note who is responsible for each action item. Follow through will occur before the next meeting. We will use e-mail judiciously to communicate between meetings.

Implementation Guidelines:

Meetings will be held on the first Monday of each month with the fourth Monday kept in reserve, if an additional meeting is needed. The chair will send out the agenda the Thursday before the meeting. The meetings will start at 6 pm and go no later than 9 pm.

Marlboro School Board Principal’s Report Monday, May 2, 2011

Student Learning

Learning Fair, Wednesday, May 4, 6:30-8 Please check website for teachers’ letters and homework notes Literacy PD for 2011-12

Policy or Regulation Implementation

Review of Benefits Procedures Consideration of “domestic partnership” with regard to benefit eligibility

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Building and Grounds

Sara Coffey use of buses Completion of play structure

Finance/Accounting

Use of rest of Energy Efficiency Grant funds still not determined

Enrollment/Staffing

Student enrollment as of 5/2/11 89 Projections and classroom configuration for next year

Informational items

2011-2012 calendar meeting regarding regional transportation – Gail MacArthur attending

Windham Central Supervisory Union

1219 Vermont Route 30 Townshend, VT 05353 802-365-9510 phone ␣ 802-365-7934 fax

wcsu46.org

WCSU will provide member districts with the leadership and resources to ensure a strong education system for all students.

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board Monday, May 2, 2011

Student/Staff Learning

1. In collaboration with the WCSU Professional Development Team, the principals proposed that our in-service days be dedicated to Balanced Literacy. This work will enable our teachers to improve student reading (fluency and comprehension) and writing from k-6 continuing through middle grades and high school graduation. I have approved this initiative to include all teachers in the WCSU through next year with the exception of Dover. This Balanced Literacy work will begin at each school on the afternoon of May 18. (Dover will continue its work on integrating technology with classroom instruction.)

2. The Measures of Academic Proficiency (MAPs) testing window is now open until June 10. Later in June, a small group of principals will meet with Matt to analyze student MAPs scores compared with their past performances. This analysis will inform our planning sessions at the administrators’ summer retreat in August.

3. The NECAP tests for science are scheduled for later this month. Only students in grade 4 are tested in elementary schools. Expect the results to be reported in the fall.

Policy/Regulation

1. At the combined WCSU school district board meetings held last Thursday, April 28, at Townshend Elementary School, Winton Goodrich from VSBA, reviewed the latest developments and clarifications re: forming a R.E.D. Study Committee. Jamaica,Townshend, Brookline, Newfane and L&G board members all participated in the question and answer time for discussion. The next step for boards moving forward is to appoint representative(s) to the R.E.D. Study Committee.

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2. At their meetings this month, the joint contract Brookline-Newfane, Jamaica, Townshend, Wardsboro, and L&G Boards will consider ratifying a tentative interim (one year) agreement for the professional staff represented by WCEA. As your teachers are indirectly affected by this agreement, I can brief you on some of the details in executive session.

Finance/Accounting/Operations

1. The Federal Education Jobs Funds have been allocated and I signed the required sub-grants to each school district. Francie will give you the details regarding Marlboro’s use of this one time money.

2. In view of the changeable nature of education finance, I will wait until the Vermont Legislature adjourns before adjusting (increasing) any employment contracts issued prior to April 15 that may have involved a Reduction in force (RiF). The deadline for returning signed contracts for next year is May 15.

Enrollment/Staffing

1. Chris Pratt is the new principal for NewBrook Elementary School. On my recommendation Chris was appointed by unanimous vote. An article regarding his leaving BUHS appeared in the Reformer this weekend. The joint board and parent organization invites the communities to a covered dish reception at 6:00 PM on Monday, May 16. This event will give parents and students a chance to meet and speak with Mr. Pratt informally.

2. Dr. Dorfman is interviewing candidates for a counselor to replace Jerry Cassels beginning this fall at L&G.

3. I hope to conclude contracts for all principal and WCSU staff members by the end of May. This will require an executive session for “personnel” at your board meeting.

Informational Items

1. WCSU Negotiating Team meets Thurs., May 5, at L&G in Room A-11 at 6:30 P.M. Future meetings are tentatively scheduled for June 1 and 15.

2. The WCSU Board will meet on Wed., May 18, at 7 P.M. at the Windham School.

3. The WCSU Board’s Summer Retreat will be held Wed. Aug. 24 – time and place to be determined.

4. The last day of school for students will vary across the WCSU districts. Windham and Marlboro are the earliest, while Dover is the latest.

sbj – 5/1/11

WCSU will …place students at the center of our decision-making. …build trust and respect by acting ethically, transparently, and with integrity. …operate as a community of learners, committed to developing the skills and capabilities of all. …collaborate, share and seek creative solutions.

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will have a special meeting to hold a fiscal year-end review on Monday, June 20, 2011 at 7pm at the Marlboro Elementary School. Please note that this meeting has been rescheduled from Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 6pm.

Marlboro School Board

Special meeting to get community feedback about the

information included in the School District Report

Minutes 5/11/11 DRAFT

School Board Members Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk,

Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair,

Town Auditors Attending: Rose Watson, Barbara Andreotta

Community Members: Gail and Dan MacArthur, Michelle Holzapfel, Joan Carey, Lucy Gratwick, Michael Boylan, Lisa Merton, Andy Reichsman, Andy Hauty, Sylvia Johnson, Jane Wilde, Paul Redmond, Marjorie Tudor, Francie Marbury – MES Principal

Special Guest: Joe Juhasz, Deputy State Auditor for Vermont was present at the meeting to discuss the School District’s use of auditors

Moderator: Steven John (Steven also serves as the WCSU Superintendant)

The meeting was called to order by Steven John at 7:05pm.

Joe Juhasz spoke about the role of the State Auditor’s office. The office does not tell local towns what to do, however they do have the ability audit.

Joe also spoke about the role of Town Auditors:

Reconciling financial reports

Statue states that they audit the records of Town School Board once per year if there is no professional audit (the current MES professional audit is every three years.)

No power to change actual journals for Treasurer.

(School Treasurer is currently same as Town Treasurer)

Compiling town report, but not all VT towns have Town Auditors do this