BELLOWS FALLS UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
School Board Meeting
December 14, 2009
Present:
Daniel Axtell, Jack Bryar, David Clark, Stephen L. Fine, Matthew Guild, Stephen Major, Jan Mitchell-Love, Margaret Perry, Laurie Rowell
Also Present:
Johanna Harpster, Andrea Allbee, Christopher Hodsden, John Broadley, Sophie Geha, Aaron Morton, FACT-TV
1. Call to Order:
The Chair, David Clark, called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.
2. Adjustments to the Agenda:
Item 9(D), Long Term Substitute, will be moved to Item 6(A), Principal’s Report, as there is no action necessary.
Item 9(B), Action on FY2011 Budget, will be postponed.
A personnel matter will be discussed under Item 13, Executive Session.
3. Consent Items:
Margaret Perry moved to approve the minutes of November 23, 2009 as presented. The motion passed unanimously.
4. Communications and Public Comments:
Principal Hodsden congratulated Megan Metcalf and Ross Gleason on being named Students of the Quarter at River Valley Technical Center.
Jack Bryar announced that a meeting was being held this evening in Grafton regarding the ongoing efforts of some residents to secede from the placeUnion High School District. He believes there are a number of statements being made about the high school that are not fact and would like the administration to work on a response, as well as possibly attending Grafton’s next Selectboard meeting.
6. Reports:
A. Principal
Principal Hosden believes additions and improvements to the school’s website is allowing for good use of the calendar now.
The school’s Winter Concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on December 31st.
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December 24, 2009
Physical Education instructor Bob Lockerby has been out for health reasons, and a paraprofessional who has a physical education degree has been filling in.
Assistant Superintendent John Broadley informed the board that the Eagle Times printed a winter sports preview for all area schools except this one. The reporter contacted the school in early December and Mr. Broadley e-mailed him the information, but the reporter claims he never received the letter. The article noted that the reporter had not received any information from the school or coaches, but upon inquiry, coaches have said they were not contacted by anyone from the Eagle Times. The Chair suggested that the administration regard this situation as an opportunity to begin to improve dialogue with the Eagle Times.
B. Superintendent of Schools
There are three buses that are not in operation on the high school grounds. Superintendent Harpster reported that Rockingham is disposing of their two, and the Grafton board has been informed that there will be a charge if their bus is not used, and she believes they will move forward on the disposal.
Chris Kibbe has been on medical leave, but hopes to begin working part-time tomorrow and to be back full time before the end of the month.
C. Technical Center Representatives
Legislators have been invited to attend the meeting in Brattleboro on December 15.
River Valley Technical Center was awarded a $400,000 distance learning grant.
D. Student Representative
Student Council has finished its first major fund raiser, and the Project Feed the Thousands food drive will conclude next week.
Auditions are being held for the school’s spring musical, “Oklahoma”.
Stephen Major would like to see students participate in the subcommittee that is being formed to review food service offerings, and in discussions about Senior Projects.
WNESU
Unapproved minutes of the November meeting were included in the agenda packet. The Chair appointed Laurie Rowell as representative for the WNESU meeting on December 16, in the absence of Russ Capron.
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December 14, 2009
F. Committees and Special Projects
(1) School and Community Relations Committee
Minutes of the November 7, 2009 meeting were included in the agenda packet. The School and Community Relations Committee and the Diversity Committee are sponsoring a student production, “Shout It Out” at 5 p.m. on January 16th.
(2) Instruction and Educational Effectiveness Committee
Minutes of the November 23, 2009 meeting were included in the agenda packet. The committee continues to discuss Senior Projects.
(3) Budget Committee
The committee is ready to recommend a budget for FY2011, but state revenue reports are not yet available. Jack Bryar suggested that area Business Managers publish an article about the difficulty schools are having in establishing their budgets when the state does not provide their information timely. Action on the proposed budget will be postponed to the December 28th or January 11th meeting.
(4) Building & Grounds Committee
The committee completed a walk thru of the building and the grounds, and reviewed budgeted items and what should be considered in future budgets. Improvements need to be made to the school’s technical infrastructure, and Wes Vaughn has been asked to identify what it will take to increase band width. Principal Hodsden hopes to have information for the board at its next meeting.
7. Policies for Adoption:
A. Weapons
Laurie Rowell moved to approve Weapons Policy (Code F21) as presented. The motion passed unanimously.
B. Animals on placeSchool District Property
Laurie Rowell moved to approve the Animals on School Property Policy (Code G12) as presented. The motion passed unanimously.
8. Unfinished Business:
A. Commissioner’s Letter re Fiscal Year 2011 School Budget
Rockingham and Grafton boards have asked the administration to draft a response to the Commissioner’s Letter, focusing on items pertaining to the current funding provision for mainstream costs for state-placed students returning to the 60/40 split, increasing the threshold for extraordinary special education costs from
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December 14, 2009
$50,000 by an inflationary amount, paying a portion of the annual contribution to the Teachers Retirement Fund from the Education Fund, and the effect on Grafton if the Small Schools Grant is phased out. Stephen Major moved to authorize the Superintendent to draft a letter to area legislators in response to the Commissioner’s letter, urging them to oppose the ideas listed in the first, second, third, fourth, sixth, and seventh bullets on Page Two of the Commissioner’s letter, with a copy of the letter being attached to the response. The motion passed on a vote of four in favor (Rowell, Major, Mitchell-Love, Bryar) to three opposed (Perry, Axtell, Fine) and one abstention (Guild). The Chair did not vote. It was suggested that this letter and responses from
other area school districts be submitted to local newspapers. Jack Bryar volunteered to review Superintendent Harpster’s letter when drafted.
B. 501(C)(3)
Board members received a copy of the IRS 501(C)(3) application drafted for the purpose of taking possession of the Virginia Brown bequest in the agenda packet. Jack Bryar moved to submit the IRS 501(C)(3) application to legal counsel for review. Lengthy discussion ensued, with some board members expressing concern about who would serve on the board for the 501(C)(3), whether or not the board agrees to this in principal, costs, and lack of transparency and safety measures. Upon motion to cease debate, there were six votes in favor (Axtell, Perry, Fine, Mitchell-Love, Bryar, placeClark), and three opposed (Guild, Major, Rowell), and the Chair declared the motion failed. The main motion passed on a vote of five in favor (Mitchell-Love, Bryar, Guild, Perry, Major) to
three opposed (Rowell, Axtell, Fine). The Chair did not vote.
9. Business for Action/Discussion:
A. Lockers
Laurie Rowell contacted area schools to find out whether they supply lockers for their high school students, and after talking with one vendor, believes the price of purchasing 400 lockers would be approximately $44,000. The school has cubbies available for student use and there are lockers in the gymnasium area that can be used. Students feel that the locker rooms in the gymnasium area are too far away from classrooms to make use of them during the day. Student representatives spoke in support of the current system, and explained how they deal with bringing valuables to school on occasion. Laurie would like to see the school move toward providing things expected in high school. Margaret Perry moved that the primary agenda item for the next high school board retreat be
looking at the school’s image, both positive and negative. The motion passed on a vote of seven in favor (Fine, Mitchell-Love, Rowell, Perry, Axtell, Major, Bryar) to one opposed (Guild). The Chair did not vote.
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December 14, 2009
B. 2010 - 2011 Budget
Stephen Major moved to adopt a budget for FY2011 not later than January 11, 2010, regardless of actions taken at the State House. The motion passed unanimously.
C. Driving Instructional Time
Principal Hodsden kept the driver education vehicle off the road while working on its replacement, and he is now authorizing an additional 16 hours of make-up time the students will need. Stephen Major moved to authorize an additional 16 hours of Driver Education instructional time. The motion passed on a vote of six in favor (Major, Axtell, Perry, Rowell, Mitchell-Love, Guild) to one opposed (Fine) and one abstention (Bryar). The Chair did not vote.
10. Directors’ Comments:
Jack Bryar, addressing his constituents, hopes they understand why he attended tonight’s board meeting instead of the Grafton meeting.
Jan Mitchell-Love thanked the administration for taking steps to improve the website and calendar.
Stephen Fine hopes there are no other issues that will impact the school financially that the board won’t learn about until the last minute.
11. Date of Next Scheduled Meeting:
The Chair set the date of the next meeting for December 28, 2009, beginning at
7:30 p.m.
13. Executive Session:
Jan Mitchell-Love moved to go into executive session at 9:41 p.m. for the purpose of discussing a personnel matter, and invited the administration to attend.
The Chair returned the board to open session at 10:02 p.m. No action was taken as a result of executive session.
14. Adjournment:
There being no further business to come before the meeting and no objection, the Chair declared the meeting adjourned at 10:02 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jan Mitchell-Love, Clerk
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