School board meeting 8/10/09 Minutes
APPROVED
Attending: Lauren Poster – chair, Andy Reichsman – vice chair, Gussie Bartlett – Sec’y, Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John – WCSU Superintendent arrived at 12:20pm,
The meeting was called to order at 10:11 am at South Pond.
We reviewed the minutes from June 8th. Lauren made a motion to accept them as written. Gussie seconded. The motion passed.
We reviewed our guiding principles (see below). We added a principle: “Students’ will be at the center of our decision-making.”
Gussie reported on the Supervisory Union Governance committee. This segued nicely into a board discussion covering a variety of “big picture” issues, including student testing, consolidation of districts, school atmosphere and others.
Francie presented us with an article, “The Schools We Mean To Be” by Richard Weissbound, from the May 2009 edition of Educational Leadership. We all read it and selected paragraphs to discuss. Among other things, it talked about the importance of parents’ participation for schools to be successful and that there are under-involved parents and over-involved parents. We talked about these issues in relation to our own experiences at MES and elsewhere.
Steven John, WCSU Superintendent, arrived and joined in the discussion.
Principal’s report. We talked about progress on the addition. Francie gave us an overview of the coming school year and talked about the Action Plan.
Lauren moved that we approve the benefits procedure that was reviewed and revised by the board in the fall of 2008. Andy seconded the motion. The motion passed.
We reviewed the end of the year financial picture, with information provided by Gail Chaine. This included figures on the After-school program and the Healthy Snacks Program, both of which are pretty much breaking even at this point.
We discussed the 08 – 09 deficit.
We discussed the carried over MASP debt.
Andy will work with Gail to make the financial reporting submitted to the board more clear for lay-people’s understanding.
Lauren moved that we allow staff members attending the Coalition of Essential Schools meeting this fall to use their some of their professional development benefit towards transportation, lodging and registration for that event. Gussie seconded the motion. The motion passed.
Steven presented his Supervisory Union report (see below).
The meeting adjourned at 2:35 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Andy Reichsman
Pay Orders: #26 6/19/09 $ 71,329.14
Pay Orders: #1 7/3/09 $ 10,696.68
Pay Orders: #2 7/17/09 $ 20,658.12
Pay Orders: #3 7/31/09 $ 31,492.22
Future Board Meetings: Monday September 14th, 2009 at 6:00pm.
Our Guiding Principals:
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 second 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
August 10, 2009
Student Learning
1. Summer School at L&G is being taught by Mr. Parker-Jennings and includes nineteen 7th and 8th graders. This is mostly funded by Title I ($2500). Mr. P-J will report on individual student progress vis a vis the VT Grade Expectations for Learning in mathematics and language arts after classes end July 31st.
2. The WCSU Summer Explorers’ Camp for elementary school students is in session at Newfane Elementary. Ms. Van Pamelen is the director of the camp working with 40-50 students weekly. A number of L&G seniors and graduates mentor the campers. Explorers’ Camp is funded by tuition fees and private donations. Photos and an article about the camp appeared in last weekend’s Reformer.
3. A summer session for drivers’ education recently concluded at L&G. Fifteen students successfully completed this class.
Policy/Regulation
1. A draft of the Support Staff Handbook is available for review, comment and revision to meet each school’s needs. I recommend that every school have a Support Staff Handbook.
2. Administrative procedures for screening school volunteers is in draft form and available for review, questions and comment. This procedure clarifies our implementation of the “Criminal Background Checks” policy required by the state. I will direct principals to follow the final copy of this administrative procedure on or before the first day of school.
3. The Course Credit Approval and Reimbursement form has been revised to implement the teachers’ Master Agreement. The new forms now require the principal’s approval as well as mine. To be approved the course content and learning must support the goals of the school’s Action Plan and the Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP).
Finance/Accounting
1. The audit team from Sullivan and Powers completed their on site examination the week of July 20-24th. The head of the eight-person team briefed Frank and me on their preliminary findings. We await their final audit report, but I am pleased to commend the entire staff for responding to all inquiries in a professional and open manner.
2. The Special Education Funding DOE data collection has been completed as of 8/1/09. This will secure final reimbursements to all WCSU school districts for FY09.
3. The Fiscal Year End FY09 Statistical Report DOE Data Collection is being prepared this week and next for the eleven districts in the WCSU districts. This report secures operating funds for next year, FY10.
4. Following the redirection and correction provided by the DOE, Frank and I resubmitted the Consolidated Federal Grant and ARRA Funds application for FY10. The IDEA Grant was approved as previously submitted.
Enrollment/Staffing
1. The WCSU Administrative Team is examining the job description and work of the two Curriculum Coordinator positions. We are exploring ways to provide professional development, coaching, and mentoring for teachers more cost effectively. The review of staffing in my office includes the WCSU’s proposed uses of the Consolidated Federal Grants and ARRA funds for FY10. Since all schools in the WCSU now have Title I School-wide programs, our professional development resources can be better coordinated and focused to improve student learning.
2. Using FY10 funds available, I have contracted some additional clerical help to clean and better organize our personnel files. The improved system will make it much easier to locate employee documents, while maintaining the confidentiality and security of these records. This work is being supervised by John Doty, a semi-retired educator with more than 25 years of administrative experience in Vermont. We expect to complete this work by August 14th.
3. Mr. John Doty will be appointed as Windham School Principal (.2 FTE) on August 10th.
Informational Items
1. A committee appointed by the Brookline and Newfane School Boards has submitted a draft Joint School Board Contract to legal counsel for review.
2. The WCSU Board Retreat will be held Thursday, Aug. 13 from 4 to 8 PM. at the Three Mountain Inn on Route 30 in Jamaica village. This meeting has a single item agenda: Write a Strategic Plan for the WCSU.
3. The WCSU Administrative Team including all principals will retreat for two days, August 17 -18. The primary purpose of this retreat is to consider action steps to reach the goals of the WCSU Board’s Strategic Plan.
4. The WCSU Office and staff will host an Open House on Thursday, August 20th from 4:00 – 7:00 PM and the next morning from 8:00 – 10:00 on Friday, August 21st. All members of the public are invited. Bring your children, family and friends.
Sbj-8/9/09
Posted: September 15th, 2009 under School Board.