Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Francie Marbury – Principal, Steven John – Superintendent, Members of the public: Jane Wilde, Paul Redmond, Rose Watson (town auditor), Linda Peters (town treasurer), Joan Carey

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 7:00pm.

Lauren spoke about the background of the requests the Town Auditors have made for information about School Staff salaries to be outlined in the report for Town Meeting.

Steven John spoke about the role of the School District and School Board to produce their own reports for the Town Meeting. Rose noted that the Auditors are also responsible for producing their own report and can choose what information to include.

The Board and the Auditors discussed the legal reporting responsibilities of each group.

Over the next year, the School Board will be looking at making changes to the pay scale. Lauren has started putting together a committee to work on these changes. Dan MacArthur has already agreed to serve on the committee and it will also include a representative from the staff and one or two others, perhaps from the WCSU if possible. This committee will start work in the spring.

Gussie made a motion that the School Board present to the Town Auditors information about the Marlboro School salary scale for the Town Report. The information will be similar to the information that was presented in last year’s Town Report. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Linda Peters left the meeting at 8pm. Jane Wilde and Paul Redmond left at 8:30pm.

Francie, Lauren and Rose Watson, Town Auditor, made the necessary updates to last year’s information about the salary scale needed to produce this year’s information.

Over the next year, the School Board will be looking at what information regarding the school staff compensation to present in the Annual School District Report. The School Board will welcome public input, including input from the Town Auditors, in this process.

Joan Carey left the meeting at 9pm. Meeting adjourned at 9:15pm.

Respectfully submitted, Jen Carr

Upcoming meetings: February 7th at 6pm, regular monthly Board Meeting

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.

Page 1

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

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 6:00pm.

Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes from the 1/3/11 meeting as corrected. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Gussie made a motion to accept the 1/5/11 minutes as submitted. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

A letter from the Town Auditors was found in the School Board mail box requesting that we add information to the school district report. It is too late in the process for the Board to attend to this. Lauren will follow with the auditors to request that in the future special requests be made in advance of the December Board Meeting.

A letter was received announcing tuition of $15,893 for Twin Valley High school in the upcoming school year.

At Pre-Town Meeting the School Board will discuss the projected tax rate versus the final tax rate and how it alters from the time of Town Meeting to the time it is set.

Gussie made a motion for the School Board to approve a budget recommendation of $2,107,831 for education spending for the Marlboro School District for FY 2012. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Jen made a motion to approve the Warning for the Marlboro School District 2011 Annual Meeting. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

The District Meeting Warning and the School District Report were signed by the Board. Meeting adjourned at 7:45pm.

Respectfully submitted, Jen Carr

Upcoming meetings: February 7th at 6pm, regular monthly Board Meeting

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.

Page 1

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair,
Francie Marbury – Principal, Andy Reichsman – member of the public & former School Board Member, Gail Chaine – School Administrator

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 3:10pm.

Former School Board Member Andy Reichsman joined the meeting to help with the budget process.

The salary scale for MES teachers was discussed. Andy suggested that it might be a good idea to form a committee to work on adjusting the MES pay scale. No immediate action was taken on the teacher salary scale.

The Marlboro School budget was discussed.

Jen made a motion that for FY 2012 the tuition rate for Elementary School will be $10,023. The JR High tuition rate will be $11,352.89 and the Kindergarten tuition rate will be $7,016. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Jen left the meeting at 4:20pm. Lauren took over the minutes at this point.
Frank Rucker joined the meeting via speaker phone at 4:25 pm.

Before adjusting for the Common level of Appraisal of .9087 the equalized homestead tax rate is down 3.87% from last year. After the CLA the school tax rate is up 1.13%. Cost per pupil is dropping 2.54% or $320 per student from last year.

In addition, Frank has told us that the base education spending amount is staying flat at $8,544 per equalized pupil, this is a loss of anticipated revenue of $33,000. Marlboro is entitled to $25,000 of Federal Stimulus money that is allocated to secure teacher jobs. We have been advised by the WCSU that we should be wary of putting the full amount in this year’s budget. At this time in the budget process we have allocated $10,000 to our revenues.

Frank left the conversation at about 5 pm.

At the January 20th meeting we will vote on the proposed budget, the warning for the School District meeting, and sign the Director’s report.

Meeting adjourned at 5:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Jen Carr and Lauren Poster

Upcoming meetings: Jan 20th, 6pm Budget Meeting & Feb 7th, 6pm Board Meeting

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.

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 from the 12/6/10 meeting as corrected. Estimated budget numbers that Steven reported to the State on our behalf were added. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Principal’s report attached.

Francie suggests giving thought to possible early retirement procedures to facilitate long-range planning for instructional staff. The Board will take no action at this time.

The Board has scheduled another meeting for January 20th at 6pm for budget planning.

Superintendent’s report attached.

The School Board read a letter from Isobel Rountree to Governor Peter Shumlin requesting that the State incorporate more physical education into the school day. The letter was very well researched and written. The Board appreciates these types of public comments from students.

Gussie reported on her phone call with the BUHS representative that coordinates the dual enrollment (college/high school) classes. She also discussed with the High School correct placement of students into high school classes.

Executive session was called to order at 7:55pm to perform the Superintendent evaluation process.

Executive session ended at 8:40pm. The Superintendent’s evaluation was completed and Lauren will mail it to Emily Long.

Meeting adjourned at 8:45pm. Please note pay order #13-14 at the bottom of the minutes.

Respectfully submitted,
Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #13 12/17/10 $43,579.34
#14 12/31/10 $133,189.74

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 3, 2011
6pm

Student Learning
Winter Workshops
parent organized and led
focus on collaboration and community
MAPS for students whose math achievement we want to monitor
Learning Together during Winter Sports – math, realms, CES

Policy or Regulation Implementation

Building and Grounds
WCSU broadband grant?

Finance/Accounting
Budget update – working with Andy and Frank
Increase of less than 1%
Equalized pupils up from 121 to 126.69
Reinstate Artist in Residence $3000

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment as of 1/3/11 86
Staffing – interviewing nurse applicants on 1/12

Informational items
Strings and Band Concert, 6:30 (change board meeting date?)

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
Monday, January 3, 2010
Student/Staff Learning
1. Most students in our schools were involved with some food/fundraising for their community’s food shelf. The holiday season presents important opportunities for learning —community service.
2. A small group of Marlboro students will take the MAPs tests soon. This will give the staff some indication of MAPs potential as a formative assessment to help improve instruction and learning.
3. I’m still hoping for that Marlboro 3-4 Classroom’s recipe to make kale chips. Yum!

Policy/Regulation
1. On January 15, I will report to the Commissioner on the status of Class Size policy adoption by all school districts in the WCSU. Decisions by Windham and Jamaica Boards are pending.
2. Later this month, a revised Truancy Policy proposal that would meet the state’s requirements will be emailed directly to all board members.

Finance/Accounting/Operations
1. The full WCSU Board approved the WCSU Budget for FY12, December 8. The “local” assessments for each school district can now be included in your budget as definite.
2. I only wish I could give you some definitive word on the federal grant for $19 million. I have emailed you all the latest on the Education Jobs Funds. The good news is that Marlboro may receive $25,056.

Enrollment/Staffing
1. We welcome Darcy Haggerty as special education teacher at Townshend. Darcy will finish the year for Nancy Aldrich.
2. Jennifer Towle is covering a maternity leave for Suzanne Paugh at NewBrook.

Informational Items
1. WCSU Negotiating Team meets January 5th at L&G in Room A-11 at 5:30 P.M.
2. WCSU Board organizational meeting and agency fund vote will be March 30 at 7 P.M.

sbj – 1/3/11

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Francie Marbury – Principal, Andy Reichsman – member of the public, Steven John – Superintendent, Gail MacArthur – School Bus Coordinator

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

Former School Board Member Andy Reichsman will be joining a few of the upcoming School Board meetings to help with the budget process. At this meeting he presented an overview of his outlook so far of the upcoming year’s Marlboro School Budget.

The School Budget was discussed. Even though we do not have enough information to determine final numbers, we gave the Superintendent a preliminary estimate of $2,045,500 in expenditures to report to the State. This is -.1% from last year.

Further meetings were scheduled.

We are canceling the meeting currently scheduled for December 13th. The meeting scheduled for January 12th is being changed to January 5th at 3pm. We scheduled a new meeting for January 19th at 6pm. The extra meetings are to work on the School Budget. The next regular monthly meeting is scheduled for January 3rd at 6pm.

Gail MacArthur joined the meeting at 6:30pm. Andy left the meeting at 6:45pm.

Gail and the Board discussed the bus transportation budget.

Gail left the meeting at 7:15pm.

Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes from the 11/19/10 meeting with a spelling correction. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Gussie made a motion to adopt the Class Size Policy G-14 as warned. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

The School Board continues to be extremely disappointed and concerned that Tony Gordon has not fulfilled his monetary obligation to sub-contractor Dave Manning after repeated requests from the Board.

The Board went into an Executive Session discussion from 7:35 – 7:50pm regarding compensation for personnel at Marlboro School.

Principal’s report attached.

Gussie brought up an article in the paper that discusses the dual credit courses at BUHS that offer college credit for high school classes. Gussie will draft a letter to BUHS parents addressing the dual credit classes as well as class enrollment at the high school.

Superintendent’s report attached.

Page 1

Meeting adjourned at 9:00pm. Please note pay order #12 at the bottom of the minutes.

Respectfully submitted, Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #12 12/3/10 $41,674.01

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.

Student Learning

Marlboro School Board

Principal’s Report Monday, December 6, 2010 6pm

Crisis Plan rehearsed 21st Century Grant 3rd-4th grade Compost/Recycle project preparation for Winter Concert – Primary play Kindergarten observing and measuring growth of bulbs (paper whites) Writing “Slice” for PLC class HS Night Jan 20, 7pm 3rd-4th Poetry Reading, Tues, 2pm; recitation at Sing (Gussie) Primary Canned Food Drive – posters, presentation to All School

Page 2

Policy or Regulation Implementation

Class Size

Building and Grounds

Heating units set to be installed on January 17 and over the February vacation Additional funds from the Energy Efficient Grant towards insulation work in office wing

Finance/Accounting

Budget work ongoing

• Tuition rate to include in budget? • Steven – Title I $ for revenue?

Enrollment/Staffing

Student enrollment as of 12/6/10 88 Residency issue – resolved Staffing – advertising for nurse

Informational items

Winter Workshops – parent volunteers Winter Concert – Wed, 12/15, 6:30pm at the Whittemore

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board Monday, December 6, 2010 Although Dover is meeting tonight at 6:30, I’m all yours tonight. Student/Staff Learning

1. I am attending the third section of the Professional Learning Communities course with Francie and Erik S., Dave H., and Tim H. from Marlboro. We are offering this course to all professional staff in the WCSU to have 100% of our professionals trained by June 2011. Teachers and administrators are using these skills in their Grade Level Meetings (GLAMs) and other professional collaborations.

2. This is the season for holiday concerts and the WCSU is no exception. The WCSU Elementary Band and Chorus will perform Thursday, December 16 at 7 P.M. The Leland and Gray Concert Band, Middle School Band, High School Chorus, Middle School Chorus and High School A Cappella Chorus will perform the following evening, Friday, December 18 beginning with a student art show at 6:30 P.M. Both concerts are held in the L&G gym. The public is cordially invited.

3. Congratulations to the NewBrook Spelling Bee Team, our 2010 Vermont State Champions!

4. On December 10, Dr. Dorfman and I will lead a small group of principals and teachers to visit an exemplary K-12 public school system in Rockville Centre, NY. Rockville Centre students are setting very high marks for achievement and we believe we can gain some inspiration and insight from their success.

5. Gussie shared an article with me on an approach to enable poor readers to “catch up” with their peers. I will bring copies for your discussion. This issue relates to item #4 above.

Page 3

6. The Harvest Festival Banquet held in the 3-4 classroom was scrumptious. The kale chips were gustatory delight and a first ever for me. My compliments to the entire class. Where can I get the recipe?

Policy/Regulation

1. Please consider adopting G14: Class Size Policy as warned at your November 8 meeting. AllschooldistrictsarerequiredtohaveaclasssizepolicyadoptedbyJan. 15, 2011.

2. The outcome of your deliberations on your proposed FY12 Budget will be reported along with the other proposed budgets from WCSU school districts on or before December 15. The Commissioner has emailed a spreadsheet to me that Frank and I must use to record each school district’s efforts to meet the Act 146 suggested targets for reducing education spending.

Finance/Accounting/Operations

1. I hope to answer any questions you may have regarding the proposed WCSU FY12 Budget. Overall it is down 1.1% for next year. Please be sure your board is represented (three votes) at the full WCSU Board Meeting this Wednesday, December 8 at 7 P.M. in Wardsboro.

2. Francie will have the latest on the energy project and bid.

Enrollment/Staffing

1. Carol Backus is replacing Nancy Aldrich as Special Educator at Townshend. 2. School enrollment projections for next year are flat or declining in all WCSU schools,

except Windham (23) and Winhall (146).

Informational Items

1. The WCSU Board will meet December 8 at 7 P.M. in Wardsboro to approve a WCSU FY12 Budget.

2. WCSU Elementary Concert – Thursday, Dec. 16th at 7 P.M. at L&G. 3. L&G Winter Concert and Art Show– Friday, Dec. 17th at 6:30 P.M. 4. WCSU Negotiating Team meets January 5th at L&G in Room A-11 at 5:30 P.M.

sbj – 12/4/10

Page 4

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

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 3:05pm.

Francie and Gail have received three bids for the heating unit ventilator replacement. After reviewing the specific cost breakdowns for work for the different bids and checking references, they are recommending William Heustis of Fleming Oil Company.

The Board reviewed the cost breakdown for the three bids and listened to comments on the references. Gail Chaine joined the meeting briefly to answer questions about the bids. Francie also called William Heustis on the phone with follow up questions.

Gussie made a motion to accept the bid from William Heustis of Fleming Oil for $39,800 to do the replacement on the five heater units/ventilators as per the original bid. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Gussie made a motion to approve the meeting minutes from the 11/8/10 meeting as corrected. Lauren seconded. Motion passed.

Meeting adjourned at 3:40pm. Please note pay order #11 at the bottom of the minutes.

Respectfully submitted,
Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #11 11/16/10 $291,830.02

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.

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 will follow up on the letter about the speed limit with the Select Board and other schools that have lowered the speed limit in front of their school.

Gussie will follow up with the sub-contractor in hopes that he has been paid by Tony.

Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes from the October 11^th meeting as submitted. Gussie seconded.  Motion passed.

Steven John arrived at 6:15pm.  Jen and Steven reported back on their time at VSBA conference.

Lauren made a motion that the Board adopt Truancy Policy F25.  Gussie seconded the motion.  Motion passed.

The Board, Francie and Steven reviewed the Class Size Policy (Code G14) and the Class Size Policy Administrative Procedure (G14-R).

Lauren made a motion to approve and warn Class size Policy (Code G14) taking into account that the attached Class Size and Administrative Procedure (G14-R) are to be used as guidelines as the recommendations are not binding and may not apply directly to the Marlboro School.  Gussie seconded the motion.  Motion passed.

Superintendent’s Report attached.

Steven John left the meeting at 7:25pm.

Principal’s Report attached.

The Board and Francie discussed the MES Science and Social Studies programs as they relate to the Vermont Educational Standards.

The kitchen renovation went slightly over budget, but the extra money is being taken from the balance of the Snack Fund.

The After School Program accounting was reviewed.  Gussie will follow up with Gail.

The School received three bids to replace the five unit heaters/ventilators.  The School Board requested that specific cost breakdowns be provided for the contractor bids that were submitted for the replacement of the unit heater/ventilator.

The next School Board Meeting will be held on December 6, 2010 at 6pm (the regularly scheduled monthly meeting time.)

Additional School Board Meetings will also be held on December 13, 2010 at 6pm and on January 12, 2011 at 6pm to discuss the school budget.

Meeting adjourned at 8:35pm.  Please note pay orders 9-10 at the bottom of the minutes.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

Pay Orders:               #9                    10/22/10                               $115,180.08

#10                  11/5/10                                 $37,887.54

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, November 8, 2010

Please make every effort to use my time well as I am expected to present a budget to Townshend tonight at 7:00 P.M.  Ordinarily I could stay but this is the second Monday of this month.

Student/Staff Learning

1. We are forming a cohort of teachers to take the first step towards National Certification.  This professional development uses video documentation and emphasizes reflective practice to improve classroom instruction and student learning.  Jerry Cassels, the new counselor at L&G has stepped forward to mentor and guide teachers through the process.  At present, Jerry is our only National Board Certified Teacher in the WCSU.
2. On September 26, the WCSU sponsored teacher training to learn how to better analyze and interpret the MAPs results to improve instruction.  Twenty-nine teachers, principals, WCSU staff and technical assistants participated in this daylong training.  Deborah and Kris Jerz were among those taking advantage of this opportunity.
3. The L&G Band and Chorus collaborated with students and teachers from the Performing Arts College of the University of Inner Mongolia on three pieces at their concert (10/30).  Our Chinese guests followed with a fabulous series of dances, vocal and instrumental performances.
4. Last Thursday, November 4^th, was a half-day for students to provide time for parent conferences Pre-K through high school.
5. John Doty, Dorinne Dorfman, Nancy Baker, Sue Nueman and I attended a “rollout” presentation by the DOE on the Common Core Standards.  Having been adopted by the VT Board of Education, the Common Core will supplant the Vermont’s standards for student performance beginning Fall 2014.  Thirty-one states have joined with Vermont to form the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) to implement the Common Core Standards. The last NECAP exams will be science in the spring of 2014 followed by the SBAC for language arts and mathematics in spring of 2015.
6. Our third section of the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) course including Francie and Erik S., Dave H., and Tim H. continues next on November 18.

Policy/Regulation

1.   I urge your board to approve the F25: Truancy Policy if you did not do so last meeting.  Please also consider warning G14: Class Size Policy as recommended by the WCSU Policy Committee.

2.   Legal Counsel for the DOE contacted me for copies of all school district policies for truancy as adopted.  I faxed these documents for review last week.

3.   Emily Long, Jenn Carr(Marlboro), Frank and I attended the VSA/VSBA Conference on October 28-29.  At two break out sessions I attended there was considerable discussion among school board members and superintendents regarding the requirements and opportunities of Acts 146 and 153.  I emailed a copy of my conference notes for your review.   I welcome your questions and comments.

Finance/Accounting/Operations

1. Frank broke the middle finger of his right hand on Thursday.  This may necessarily delay the release of the proposed WCSU FY12 Budget, but some preliminary figures may be available for you tonight.
2. The WCSU Negotiations Team will meet with the representatives of the WCEA on November 17.  The terms of this successor Master Agreement will apply to Wardsboro, Jamaica, Townshend, Brookline, Newfane, LGUHS, and WCSU teachers.  Traditionally, Windham has followed the terms of this agreement.
3. On October 27 at NewBrook, the WCSU Executive Committee voted compensation for the proposed WCSU FY12 Budget.  Their decision calls for no increase (zero) in salary for members of the WCSU Leadership Team and a total of 1% new money for non-certified staff members with any individual increases being granted at the discretion of the Superintendent based on performance.  The Committee also voted to extend my contract to June 30, 2012 based on the same terms and conditions of the prior contract.
4. Sullivan and Powers Auditors returned to our offices to conclude their work last week.  I commend Frank and his staff for responding effectively to the numerous requests for more information and detail.

Enrollment/Staffing

1. Samantha has reworked the phone messages and extension system at the WCSU Office.  We welcome your feedback.
2. On Monday, October 25, Jennifer Chapin began work as our Administrative Assistant for Student Support Services, assisting Abby Dillon.  Jenn has a master’s degree in education and comes to us from the banking and mortgage sector.

Informational Items

1. The WCSU Negotiations Team will meet Wed., November 17 at 6:30 P.M. – L&G.
2. All day meeting with the principals (ATM), November 19.
3. The WCSU Board will meet December 8 at 7 P.M. in Wardsboro to approve a WCSU FY12 Budget.

sbj – 11/5/10

Marlboro School Board

Principal’s Report

Monday, November 8, 2010

6pm

Student Learning

Social Studies curriculum and Vermont History and Social Science Standards

21^st Century Grant

Policy or Regulation Implementation

F25 Truancy

Class Size

Building and Grounds

Unit Ventilator project bids

Kitchen renovation completed (almost)

Finance/Accounting

Budget timeline

Anticipated staffing needs for FY12

Class size projections  85

K  5

Primary 17  assistant needed

3^rd/4^th 20  support needed

5^th/6^th 23  support needed

JH  20

Enrollment/Staffing

Student enrollment as of 11/8/10  90

3 students will move in the next few weeks

3 may enroll

Residency issue

Staffing – no change

Informational items

Winter Workshops – parent volunteers

Winter Concert – Wed, 12/15, 7pm at the Whittemore

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

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

The School Board signed a joint letter with the Select Board to the VT Agency of Transportation requesting that the speed limit on Route 9 in front of the Marlboro Elementary School be reduced from 50mph to 40mph during the hours that students are arriving and departing.

The signed letter will be delivered to the Select Board tomorrow 10/12/10.

The Board modified a letter that was drafted to Tony Gordon. It will be signed and mailed within the week.

Lauren made a motion to approve the minutes of the 10/4/10 board meeting with the addition of the next meeting date. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Meeting adjourned at 6:30pm. Please note pay order 8 at the bottom of the minutes. Respectfully submitted, Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #8 10/8/10 $60,657.56

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.

Page 1

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Francie Marbury – Principal, Andy Reichsman – Community Member, Gail Gulack – Candidate for State Representative, Steven John – Superintendent

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

Steven John joined the meeting at 6:30pm.

A discussion was held about Challenges for Change and the impacts it could have on the School’s budget. Andy will support the Board in looking for ways to trim the budget for next year. Further discussion about how to respond to Challenges for Change will be held during the upcoming budgeting process.

Andy Reichsman left the meeting at 7:25pm.

The Board had further discussion about Act 153 and discussed the proposal from four school districts to form a Regional Education District (RED) study committee. We discussed what “like schools” were in our area and decided that we would not pursue this option any further at this time.

Lauren moved that the minutes from the 9/13/10 meeting be approved as corrected. Gussie seconded motion. Motion passed.

Principal’s report attached.

Dave Manning has approached Francie on several occasions to try to have his bill for sub-contracting services paid by the primary contractor Tony Gordon and to date the bill has remained unpaid. The Board decided that Gussie would write a letter to Tony Gordon and Alchemy Construction on our behalf.

Superintendent’s report attached.

The next School Board meeting will be held on November 8, 2010.

Meeting adjourned at 9:05pm.

Please note pay orders 6 (corrected) & 7 at the bottom of the minutes.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #6 9/10/10 $31,423.58
#7 9/24/10 $53,525.33

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 4, 2010 @ 6pm

Student Learning
Classroom routines/behavior expectations – Primary example
PLC training – Christine, Erik, Tim, David, Francie
Regional Inservice Day – Roots of Success

Policy or Regulation Implementation
F25 Truancy

Buildings and Grounds
Sandri’s – We were able to pre buy heating fuel at $2.54; still members of Co-op Power but $100 deposit returned

Finance/Accounting
Challenge for Change – possible budget cuts

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment as of 10/4/10 90
Staffing – no change

Informational items
Fall Fiesta — Arts Grant — Cider Sale — P&F — MSA contributions

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
Monday, October 4, 2010

Note: I will be arriving from the Windham Board Meeting, but can stay as long as you like.

Student/Staff Learning
1. Last spring’s NECAP Science results have been released. Grade 4 students across the WCSU performed quite well this year when compared with the state average. This still leaves considerable room for improvement and especially so as we examine student performance at grades 8 and 11. Our teachers are looking to improve their science lessons at all grade levels, particularly in grades 5-8 and 9-11.
2. On September 29 all professional employees of the WCSU attended the SE Vermont Regional In-service Day at BFUHS. We met with the principal authors of the Roots of Success” a research revealing the characteristics of four schools whose students performed significantly better than predicted by each school’s socio-economic demographics. All Vermont schools’ NECAP test scores were compared to find these four highly successful schools. The principal of one of these schools outlined the work and attitude of his staff (“whatever it takes”). An open-ended question and answer session followed as well as structured discussions in small groups of school colleague. In the afternoon, grade level and content groups met across schools and supervisory unions to discuss instructional strategies for student success. I am pleased to report that our WCSU teachers took the lead in facilitating these discussion groups.
3. All students will soon complete our fall MAPs testing window. At our September meeting the WCSU Admin Team agreed to seek additional training to learn how to analyze and interpret these MAPs results to improve instruction and learning. On October 26, NWEA trainers from Washington will work with more than 30 principals, teachers, and WCSU staff.
4. All our teachers are organized by grade level groups (GLAMs) for pre-k to 6 or content subject groups for grades 7-12. These groups are committed to improve instruction and student performance by meeting for three full days this year. These working groups of teachers apply what they have learned from the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) training to reflect on their teaching by focusing on indicators of student learning. I enjoyed working with the Foreign Language group, the first to meet in September.
5. Our third section of the PLC course has already completed two full days with a third scheduled for Oct. 8. Francie and Erik S., Dave H., and Tim H. are participants from Marlboro in this class.
6. I now have a very clear picture of class sizes across the WCSU as a result of my personal survey on “Talk Like a Pirate Day”, Monday, September 20. This international event falls every September 19th, but it’s too good a working holiday to be missed. I refer you to the website in case you want to prepare for next year.

Policy/Regulation
1. I urge your board to approve the attached F25: Truancy Policy.
2. Each supervisory union and member school board must adopt class size policies by January 15, 2011 specifying minimum and optimal class sizes. The policies may include differentiated minimum and optimum figures for various districts, courses, and grade levels. See the attached model policy from the DOE for your discussion and consideration. The WCSU Policy Committee will meet to discuss this issue on Wed., October 6 at 7:00 P.M. in the WCSU Office.
3. Each supervisory union (SU) board is required to discuss the provisions of Act 153 by December 1, 2010. Your board has met this requirement by attending the WCSU Board Meeting on Wed., Sept. 15 at Townshend Elementary School. On September 28 following a lengthy discussion, the boards of Brookline, Jamaica, Newfane and L&G voted to appoint a study committee to explore forming a K-12 Regional Education District (RED).

Finance/Accounting/Operations
1. The WCSU Negotiations Council approved the Dover Board’s request to negotiate directly and independently with the WCEA representing their teachers to conclude a successor Master Agreement. Brookline, Jamaica, L&G, Newfane, Townshend, and Wardsboro will form a WCSU Negotiations Team to negotiate with the WCEA Teacher Representatives. I look forward to the efficiency of more consistent contractual language across the WCSU.
2. I will share information available on the web regarding ESEA Title I allocations to individual school districts that you may find contradictory and intriguing.
3. On October 1st I signed a two-year lease through June 30, 2012 for our present office space on favorably terms with Junellen Lott.

Enrollment/Staffing
1. The number of applicants for my Receptionist/Administrative Assistant was overwhelming. After interviewing twelve qualified candidates and narrowing the field to three, my leadership team unanimously supported my appointment of Samantha Bovat. A brief introduction for Sam was emailed to you prior to her starting work last Monday. Sam is a great addition to my administrative staff.
2. We will continue to pursue opportunities to improve the effectiveness of our WCSU Office team.

Informational Items
1. The WCSU Negotiations Team will meet Wed., Oct. 6 at 6:30 P.M. – WCSU Office.
2. WCSU Policy Committee will meet Wed., Oct 6 at 7:00 P.M. – WCSU Office regarding class size policy.
3. WCSU Administrative Team will meet all day on October 26.
4. WCSU Executive Committee will meet October 27 at 7:00 P.M.
5. VSA/VSBA Annual Fall Conference at Lake Morey, October 28 -29.

sbj – 10/1/10

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 6:03pm.

Gussie made a motion to accept the minutes for 7/20 with a spelling correction to the Principal’s report. Lauren seconded. Motion passed.

Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes of the 7/22 meeting as submitted. Jen seconded. Motion passed.

Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes of the 7/26 meeting with a spelling correction. Jen seconded. Motion passed.

Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes of the 8/24 meeting as corrected. Gussie seconded. Motion passed.

Steven recommended that we add a line to all employee contracts stating that they accept the conditions of the Benefits Procedures for Marlboro School District Staff.

Lauren made a motion that we warn Truancy Policy F25 as modified. Date warned is 9/13/10. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Steven will modify the document and email it out. Jen will post.

Steven noted that he and Francie are discussing how we can meet budget reductions for FY 2011 as required by the VT State Commissioner on Education in Challenges for Change. Francie will bring suggestions to the October 4th meeting.

Superintendent’s report attached.

Steven John left the meeting at 7:15pm.

The Board had a discussion about consolidating with other towns as per Act 153 and for the time being we are not making any changes to our structure.

Lauren signed the grant application for the energy grant proposal.

Principal’s report attached.

The Board noted that the new federal health insurance policy includes dependent children up to the age of 26.

The Board has agreed to support Francie’s request to increase substitute teacher pay from $75 to $80 per day.

The Board agreed to support Francie’s proposal to increase the hours of the school nurse from .17 FTE to .20 FTE. The difference in cost will be covered by Medicaid reimbursements. Francie will present the new contract at the next meeting.

Lauren made a motion to allow Jen to represent the Marlboro School Board at the WCSU Executive Committee Meeting. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Next Board Meeting is October 4th. The following Board Meeting will be held November 8th.

The School Board would like to extend our overwhelming thanks and appreciation for the delicious refreshments provided by Erica’s 3rd & 4th grade class!

Meeting adjourned at 8:45pm.

Please note pay orders 3-6 at the bottom of the minutes.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #3 7/30/10 $17,794.50
#4 8/13/10 $34,068.24
#5 8/27/10 $57,117.02
#6 9/10/10 $20,017.32

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, September 13, 2010
6pm

Student Learning
Classroom routines/behavior expectations
EST
Weekly Primary Team meetings
Presentation technology
Class trips
Initial Assessments

Policy or Regulation Implementation
F25 Truancy
Benefits and Procedures – children up to 26 yrs included under family

Buildings and Grounds
Kitchen
Art Room
Energy work – new grant and old

Finance/Accounting
Substitute teacher pay – $75 to $85
Carryover Medicaid funds to fund special needs such as Pam’s request for $200 of $900 for i-movie software – will this negatively impact us in future?
VSBA membership
Challenge for Change

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment as of 9/14/10 90
Staffing
• One-on-one assistant in 3rd/4th grade – Nicole McTaggart
• Increase nursing time to .2FTE in order to bill medicaid

Informational items
Arts Grant
Cider Sale
Parent Nights
P&F
Sing – appreciations, class presentations
All School Game

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
Monday, September 13, 2010

Note: I will be arriving from the Windham Board Meeting and must leave for Townshend later.

Student/Staff Learning
1. August 18-19, the WCSU principals met with me for the annual summer retreat to revise our action steps and plans for making further progress toward the goals of the WCSU Strategic Plan. Student performance data (MAPs) was analyzed to inform our deliberations. Bruce Garrow and Bill Anton compiled this data by grade level across the WCSU to help focus our discussion. Dorinne Dorfman and Matt Martyn led a four-hour workshop using these data and graphs. Rosemary supported this effort by reporting on the training she attended at NWEA in Washington earlier this summer.
2. The WCSU first day for professional staff was Friday, Aug. 27. I shared remarks on Acts 153 and 146, and some indicators of student performance that relate to the goals of the WCSU Strategic Plan. Teachers organized their grade level groups (GLAMs) for grades pre-k to 6 and instructional subject groups for grades 7-12. These groups will continue their work to improve instruction and student performance by each meeting for three additional days this year.
3. On the first two days of school, I visited every WCSU school and classroom to welcome students and encourage them to follow directions, ask good questions and make good decisions.
4. I took a webinar course on how to indentify and meet the needs of homeless students.
5. On Sept. 1, I attended the VSA Meeting to learn more about Act 153 and 146.
6. Francie has begun the Professional Learning Communities training this fall.

Policy/Regulation
By last July 1, all school districts were expected to adopt a uniform truancy policy common across Windham County. L&G will adopt a State’s Attorney approved policy on Sept 14th. I urge your board to approve essentially the same policy. See attached F25: Truancy Policy for your consideration.
2. Each supervisory union and member school board must adopt class size policies by January 15, 2011 specifying minimum and optimal class sizes. The policies may include differentiated minimum and optimum figures for various districts, courses, and grade levels. I emailed the information that Commissioner Vilaseca provided last week. He informed me that more specific policy language will soon follow.
3. Each supervisory union (SU) board is required to discuss by December 1, 2010 whether to formally explore a merger within the SU or with neighboring districts. This requirement can be met by attending the WCSU Board Meeting next Wed., Sept. 15 at Townshend Elementary School. By October of 2012, each supervisory union board must vote whether to engage in a formal merger planning analysis process.

Finance/Accounting/Operations
1. 1. Having first arrived on Aug. 9th, a team of auditors from Sullivan and Powers completed their work at our office on September 10th. Eight school districted were audited.
2. Although the target budget reductions in Act 146 are not mandatory, I urge all boards to ask the administration to present budgets that comply. This will give the public specific cuts in program and learning opportunities for our students. The board of each supervisory union and each district within it must notify the Commissioner by December 15, 2010 “whether their combined budgets will be able to meet recommended reductions.”

Enrollment/Staffing
1. Christine Moyer advised Laura Hazard regarding three new Arabic speaking students enrolled at Jamaica Village School. Laura has hired Bill Conley as their ESL teacher.
2. The response to my posted opening for a Receptionist/Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent has been overwhelming. We have interviewed ten applicants and hope to hire within the week.
3. Morgan Mahdavi’s last day as office receptionist was last Friday. We all appreciated her professional manner. The staff sent her off to college with best wishes and a practical gift. Susan Daigneault will fill in until a permanent replacement is on board.

Informational Items
1. We did not have a quorum at the WCSU Executive Committee Meeting on August 11 and were unable to take any action.
2. Full WCSU Board Meeting to discuss Act 153 will be Wed., Sept. 15 at 6:30 P.M. – Townshend School. Winton Goodrich from VSBA will share information and answer questions.
3. The WCSU Negotiations Council will meet Wed., Sept. 22 at 7 P.M. – Dover School.
4. WCSU Policy Committee to meet regarding class size policy – October TBA.
5. WCSU Administrative Team will meet September 24.

sbj – 9/10/10

Present: Bob Reuter, Tom Simon, Steven John, Francie Marbury, Lauren Poster, Gussie Bartlett

Meeting called to order by Chair, Lauren Poster at 6:15 PM

General discussion of this early part of the meeting centered around consideration of grants through the WRC (Windham Regional Commission ) from EECBG ( Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant). Two areas were cited as being those of greatest need, ( and best payback for MES): the ceiling of the Junior High classroom, and underneath the Outback. In addition, it was mentioned that the office area tends to be cold. As a result of this additional information, and in an attempt to maximize our utilization of grant money to the greatest extent possible within budgetary limits, Bob Reuter of Thermal House agreed to consolidate the grant and final information will be available for the September 13 meeting. ( Tom Simon informed us that the previous deadline in late August had been extended.) Guests left at 7:00 PM

Lauren said that she received a call from Winton Goodrich expressing his concern that we don’t have a formal teacher negotiation process and he recommended that we have Steven John contact our attorney Dennis Wells for advice. The Superintendent said he had already spoken with Dennis Wells whose specialty is labor relations who assured us that we are not obliged to participate in WCSU negotiations council at the present, and may continue with our current practices.

Question was raised as to how Marlboro intends to reduce expenditures by $17,209.00 for Fiscal 2011, our portion of the WCSU total reduction of $234,871.00 as required by the VT State Commissioner of Education. Francie will bring suggestions to the September 13 meeting.

Steven also brought up the question of using “consent agendas” to speed up and generally simplify the work of the board at meetings. He also handed out readings including “Success in Vermont Schools” and a long-term study of trends in school populations nationwide.

Meeting was adjourned at 7:40 PM

Respectfully submitted

A.W.Bartlett
Scribe, Pro Tem.

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

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 5:45pm.

Francie, Lauren and Jen further reviewed the contract and cost breakdown from Marc Balch Construction for the kitchen renovation.

Lauren made a motion to accept Marc Balch’s contract for $8,200 for the kitchen renovation with a possible extra $400 for upgraded cabinetry. Jen seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Brooks Mitchell will do the plumbing work for this kitchen upgrade for $2,270.

The School Board approved up to $11,500 from the Capital Improvement Fund to be used for this kitchen renovation, in addition to the $3,500 from our Food Service Equipment Grant.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

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.

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

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 5:40pm.

Francie and the School Board review the contract and cost breakdown from Marc Balch Construction for the kitchen renovation.

The Board decided to get further information on different aspects of the contract before deciding to award the bid.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

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.

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

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 11:10am.

The Board reviewed minutes from previous meetings. Lauren made a motion to approve the meeting minutes from June 7th as corrected and the minutes from June 21st, July 13th and July 14th as submitted. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Kitchen Renovation: The Board was unable to review the contract for the kitchen renovation, as it has not been submitted. We also have not gotten the engineers OK of a wastewater permit for food service.

Lauren made a motion that we put the kitchen renovation work back out to bid. In the new bid the re-tiling of the floor will be eliminated and removal of the non-functioning heater will be included.

We will also ask Gail to coordinate with Frank Rucker to review our bids for kitchen renovation and to post our Request for Proposals more widely to generate more bids.

The Board and Francie discussed the article entitled The Principals Critical Role in Leading Instruction.

Steven John joined the meeting at 1pm.

Power School: The Marlboro School currently only uses this database program to track student enrollment. So far the program has not been more widely used because of concerns about confidentiality and the possible need to change to another system after work has been done to set up this system. Additionally, it is felt by administration that the information that can be tracked may be less relevant since we are not a K-12 system.

Steven pointed out that it is possible that in the future we could be required by the State to maintain records in a database like Power School. Steven also noted with funding from the ARRA, outside administrative help from the Supervisory Union is available now to support schools in the work of entering data into the Power School system.

Francie is going to talk with Gail Chaine about utilizing a person from the Supervisory Union to support the school with data entry into the Power School system.

Local Assessments: Francie shared the Marlboro School’s various forms of academic assessment that are used throughout the year and throughout the various grades.

Steven John spoke about some of the ways our assessment structure fits into the bigger picture of the Supervisory Union, Title One reporting, and overall Vermont Performance Standards.

The Board also discussed the ways in which the Vermont Standards for Education are used to decide curriculum in the different grades. We decided that at a future meeting – after the next year’s curriculum is developed – we will hear from Francie about how the standards are reflected in our various academic programs.

School Budget: As of June 30, 2010 the School has a $59,424 surplus.

Jen made a motion to use $6,535 of the surplus money to forgive the debt of the Marlboro After School Program. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Gussie made a motion that we transfer $20,000 from our surplus to our Capital Improvement Fund and also transfer $32,889 from our surplus to our Future Tuition Reserve Fund. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

We will plan to review the budget with all necessary changes at our next meeting.

The Board wanted to note that Gail Chaine has done an excellent job in working to appropriately reflect fund transfers in the overall budget.

Fuel Oil Pre-Buy with Co-op Power: Francie will check with Frank about whether or not we can take part in a Co-op group for fuel oil purchase. We will ensure that we comply with statutory requirements for the bidding process, finding at least three prices before deciding on our purchase. We are inclined to join the co-op as long as this decision adheres to the requirements stated. School administration will decide on this after finding the required information.

Lauren will attend the WCSU Executive Committee meeting on August 11. The next Marlboro School Board meeting will be held September 13 at 6pm due to Labor Day.

Principal’s report attached. Please note pay orders #26 and #1-2 at bottom of minutes.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #26 6/18/10 $139,389.97
#1 7/2/10 $52,942.25
#2 7/16/10 $77,619.16

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
Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Student Learning
Marlboro Local Assessment Plan

Policy or Regulation Implementation
Power School data system
Use for student enrollment

Buildings and Grounds
Kitchen renovation

Finance/Accounting
End of year budget

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment – 89
Staffing
Co-teacher in Primary – Jen O’Donnell
Special Educator – Erik Schickedanz
.5 assistant in 3rd/4th – Pam Burke
.5 assistant in 5th/6th – Celena Lundsted
one-on-one assistant – to be hired in August

Informational items

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

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 5:40pm.

The bid for kitchen renovation was discussed. It was decided that we will not re-tile the kitchen floor except for any necessary patching and that we will most likely not need to install a new grease trap.

Gussie made a motion that we accept the bid from Marc Balch Construction for the kitchen renovation contingent upon the engineer’s OK of the wastewater permit for food service and a review of the contract from Marc Balch. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

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.

Attending: Lauren Poster – Chair, Gussie Bartlett – Vice Chair, Jen Carr – Clerk, Gail Chaine – Administrator, Celena Lundsted – Healthy Snack Coordinator

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

Gail Chaine presented the Request for Proposals and list of contractors she sent the request to for the Marlboro School kitchen renovation.

Gail, Celena and the Board discussed the most viable bid for work that was presented to the School and agreed that a few more details were needed before approving the bid.

The Board agreed to meet to meet again on Wednesday evening at 5:30pm to review the bid that was presented.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

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.

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

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 8:30am.

We discussed pre-school issues. We will go with the same budget formula we are currently using and look at possibly changing the formula in the next budget year.

Celena Lundsted joined the meeting at 9am.

Celena gave the Board information about the Healthy Snack program. The program is successful and has doubled in size. With this increased food service, our school kitchen needs to be brought up to code.

Jen made a motion to authorize Gail Chaine to work with Celena’s support on undertaking a bid process for making the necessary upgrades to the kitchen this summer. Lauren seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Lauren made a motion to authorize Gail Chaine to use up to $500 from the Capitol Improvement Reserve to move the printer station and relocate the water fountain.

Principal’s report attached.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

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, June 21, 2010

Summer maintenance projects
Kitchen renovation – up to $15000
Materials (Rob – $10,000 include new janitor’s tub)
Labor ($2800)
Down Under
Hours for reorganization
New furniture
Paint floor
Installation of presentation equipment
Printer Station in hall – $500
Browsing Book Bins for library – $3500
Paint retouch trim – Repair and Maintenance (FY09 actual 20,000; FY11
10,000)
Repair siding
Asbestos removal/penalties
3/4 door handle
leak in SpEd office ceiling

Power School
Background on WCSU plan to enter health data
Prior concerns about confidentiality (board and administration)
Another system that works for us and accomplishes the same thing
No clear need on part of WCSU
System may change (state) so let’s wait and see
At Steven’s request, Gail is entering student name and grade

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

The meeting was called to order by Lauren at 6:15pm.

We reviewed the 5/18/10 School Board minutes. Lauren made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Principal’s report. Attached.

Lauren made a motion to authorize Francie to spend up to $5,000 on kitchen renovations contingent upon receiving a $3,500 grant from the State of Vermont. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Francie and Lauren will communicate with the Select Board about the possibility of a back-up generator for the school in case of power failures.

Abby Dillon and Judy Lang joined the meeting at 6:30pm.

Abby Dillon made a special education presentation until 7:20pm. Overall the special education budget is down from last year. Abby shared her experience of various models for special education. Judy commented on her experiences in the Primary classroom at MES.

Judy Lang left the meeting at 7:35pm.

The Marlboro School Board joined the Dover school Board at 7:35pm. Steven John and Abby Dillon were present at the joint meeting.

The Dover School Board President Rich Werner spoke about ways in which they have made changes in their special education program.

Note on Dover Elementary School structure: The Dover School is pre-K to sixth grade. No multi-age classes. There is one teacher in each class. No assistant teachers. Pre-K is half-day, five days per week. Kindergarten is a full day.

Abby Dillon left the meeting at 8pm.

Gussie spoke briefly about her participation in the recent Supervisory Union Governance Committee meeting.

The two boards spoke about commonalities in the schools. There was some interest in the possibility of shared transportation to high school. The two boards thought it could be useful to form a group that would further discuss transportation issues.

The two boards talked about ways the kids from the two schools could come together like a joint winter sports day or shared music programs/events.

Superintendent’s report was presented to both Boards. Attached.

The Marlboro School Board resumed its own meeting at 8:40pm. Steven John was present for this portion of the meeting.

Lauren made a motion that, in anticipation of school expenditure over the summer and into autumn, we authorize Gail Chaine to move $50,000 from the Future Tuition Reserve Fund into the General Fund, to be replaced automatically when revenues come back from the Town in the fall. Gussie seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Steven John left the meeting at 9:15pm.

The Marlboro School Board had a brief discussion to recap the joint meetings with Abby Dillon and the Dover School Board.

In conclusion, we appreciate the opportunity to learn form other schools’ special education programs. We encouraged Francie to follow up with Abby Dillon about how we could meet students’ needs effectively in the least restrictive setting. Francie will check back with the School Board on progress.

We also agreed that a joint winter sports day with the Dover School could be a good way for our kids to get to know other children outside the school.

Meeting adjourned at 9:35pm.

Note pay orders 24-25 at bottom of minutes.

Respectfully submitted,

Jen Carr

Pay Orders: #24 5/21/10 $82,793.95
#25 6/4/10 $46,357.10

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, June 7, 2010

Student Learning
End of year assessments – local assessment plan
Gathering information for Title I Schoolwide report
Action Plan 10-11
Application to VAC for Winter Workshops supplement by request to Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason Foundation

Policy or Regulation Implementation

Buildings and Grounds
Installation of projectors and interactive white boards
Energy Efficiency Grant update
Kitchen upgrade – grant update
Power outage – generator VEM

Finance/Accounting
On target to come in close to budget

Enrollment/Staffing
Student enrollment – 85
Staffing
Co-teacher in Primary
Special Educator
.5 assistant in 3rd/4th
Emma Hallowell to Guilford
Professional development funding for Spanish teacher
Fluency Fast Teacher Training Program: http://fluencyfast.com/how-tos/how-to-teach.htm
Fluency Fast Language Class: $130.
International Forum on Language Teaching Conference (www.iflt.org): $325.
Course Total: $455
Course Total: $455.
July 24-31 in Los Alamitos, CA

Informational items

Mon-Wed, June 7-9 8th grade graduation portfolios
Tues, June 8, 7pm Consortium
Thurs, June 10, 7pm Graduation
Last day of school – Saturday, June 12, 11:45

Superintendent’s Report for the Marlboro School Board
Monday, June 7, 2010

Note: I understand this meeting will convene at 6:00 at Dover Elementary School, followed by a joint meeting with Dover School Board at 6:30 or 7:00. Apart from the first item below my report is identical to the Dover Board for this meeting.

Student/Staff Learning
1. I am meeting with Francie Tuesday morning to review all staff evaluations for this school year. This is a regular year-end activity leading to my summative evaluations of each principal’s work.
2. On June 2, the principals met to review the year-end calendar and Title I Schoolwide reporting requirements. We also presented Betty Ann Runge with a token of our appreciation for decades of service to the WCSU and to wish her all the best in her second retirement.
3. The Professional Development Team met last Thursday to plan professional learning goals and opportunities for WCSU in FY11. We will regularly schedule grade level meetings for all teachers next year. I commend the members of this committee for providing leadership for their teaching colleagues and their commitment to excellence.
4. Professional learning continues this summer with the third section of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) course. The WCSU principals meet August 18-19 with me for the annual summer retreat to revise our action steps and plans for making further progress toward the goals of the Strategic Plan. Student performance data will be analyzed to inform our deliberations.
5. August 3-5 the L&G administrative team will attend the Vermont Principals and Superintendents Annual Conference with Frank, Abby and me. This will give Dr. Dorinne Dorfman to formally collaborate and plan with her new colleagues.

Policy/Regulation
1. Governor Douglas has allowed H. 66- the Voluntary School Merger Bill to become law without his signature. I emailed his letter of explanation separately.
2. As called for by H 66 Superintendents will see their statutorily-required duties expand on July 1, 2012. These include:
· Reporting all financial operations of the supervisory union and/or its member districts;
· Hiring non-licensed staff and dismissing all staff, subject to all legal and contractual procedures;
· Nominating individual candidates for licensed positions for board approval. If the board rejects the nominee, the superintendent would bring forth another single nominee.
· Developing and implementing class size policies in conjunction with school boards
3. Each supervisory union and member school board must adopt class size policies by January 15, 2011specifying minimum and optimal class sizes. The policies may include differentiated minimum and optimum figures for various districts, courses, grade levels. The policies must be posted on the supervisory union website and messaged to the Commissioner of Education.

The Commissioner is required to develop at least two model class size policies and make them available online by August 31, 2010.
4. The existing exceptions to the requirement that collective bargaining be conducted at the supervisory union level have been repealed (i.e., there will be no exceptions). Contracts can still have district-specific terms and individual school districts must still ratify contracts.
5. Each supervisory union (SU) board is required to discuss by December 1, 2010 whether to formally explore a merger within the SU or with neighboring districts. By October of 2012, each supervisory union board must vote whether to engage in a formal merger planning analysis process. The Department of Education is required to develop a merger template to assist districts in evaluating whether a merger would be beneficial to the district or its students. The template will be made available by December 15, 2010.

Finance/Accounting/Operations
1. H. 66 targets for education savings will total $23.2 million statewide and will ask school districts collectively to cut approximately two percent from their fiscal year 2011 education spending. The formula will not assign each SU an equal dollar amount or percentage as its target. Instead, the formula must favor SUs with districts that (1) have demonstrated fiscal restraint in recent years, (2) have low per-pupil administrative costs, (3) have high student-to-staff ratios, (4) have high percentages of students in poverty or who are English-language learners, or (5) have “other unique circumstances that affect education spending.” The Commissioner of Education must notify SUs of their targets by August 1, 2010. The board of each supervisory union and each district within it must notify the Commissioner by December 15, 2010 “whether their combined budgets will be able to meet recommended reductions.”
2. The Commissioner of Education will develop and present a plan by January 15, 2011 to restrict the recipients of Small Schools Grants to districts that are deemed geographically isolated. The report will include an analysis of what amount of supplemental financial support is necessary to allow these geographically isolated districts to provide an adequate education. The plan would also include a timetable to withdraw Grants “gradually” from districts that are not geographically isolated.
3. The Commissioner of Education will develop and implement by July 1, 2011 an “integrated process for financial management and reporting that includes common accounting standards…”
4. From H. 783 (Tax Bill): The Department of Taxes must produce a “feasibility report” by July 1, 2011 regarding developing an electronic system that would allow the Department to directly administer and collect the education property tax.

Enrollment/Staffing
1. Abby Dillon and the principals of those schools affected by three special educator openings will meet to interview the most promising candidates. We hope to fill these positions by mid July if not earlier.
2. The job descriptions for all non-certified staff positions in the WCSU Office are being reviewed based on our experience this fiscal year.

Informational Items
1. Save August 11 as a possible WCSU summer retreat date (very late afternoon – dinner – evening?). Details TBA.
2. ATM Summer Retreat meets August 18-19.
3. VPA/ VSA Summer Conference will be August 3-5.