Deerfield School Board 7/2/09 Deerfield Community School Deerfield, NH Present: Bonnie Beaubien, Kevin Barry, Maryann Clark, Gregg Williams, Peter Warburton, Gail Paludi, Paul Yergeau, Kathy Whitaker, Gigi Klipa Bonnie called the meeting to order at 5:01 P.M. Bonnie led the group in The Pledge of Allegiance. Kevin Barry made a motion to approve the June 16, 2009 meeting minutes with the corrections listed; the motion was seconded by Gregg Williams; all in favor of the amended minutes-yes; the motion carried. June 16, 2009 minute corrections: spelling correction Greg should be Gregg also page 2, concerning, Mrs. Mason- she teaches 2-1/2 day sessions also on page 2, best education page 3 would be-remove, option 2B placed not place; .75 not half; page 4 – Option 5-$59.001 cost to add one full time teacher as amended; Option 5 of not if; an not and; good not food; philosophically not philosophical; page 5 that because of; page 7-add one fulltime K teacher; take out class with two All in favor of amended minutes-yes; the motion carried. *Citizen/Staff Comments: none *Peter thanked the Board for the excellent meeting and discussion at the last meeting. *Surplus money discussion-Peter passed out the surplus money budget sheet. He explained that the bottom line figure could go up or down slightly at this time. *Mr. Yergeau discussed his prepared request list for use of surplus money. *Mary Rubega prepared a list of technology needs for the district. *Don Nichols prepared an estimate for counter top work and bathroom repair. Total cost for the bathroom repairs is $16,507. This is just for materials not the labor. *One Source Security prepared a quote for the building security needs. Mr. Yergeau talked about the building walk through with the company. The company has suggested an electronic card reader for three entrance ways. There would also be work done on the front door and reconstruction on the front entrance way. All of this work would be approximately $15,000. In addition, there would be more money needed for the modulars. Paul indicated that the total work would be in the $15,000-$20,000 range.
*Bonnie asked about the Honeywell energy and security audit that was offered free of charge. Peter will be in touch with them. *Paul talked about the math program and being a school in need of improvement in mathematics. A root cause analysis was conducted. The current math series is outdated and replacement with the new version of the series would be $22,649. The current series is 14 years old. A workshop costing $3500 to train teachers in the use of the new series would be paid for by a grant. *Kathy Whitaker talked about the Wilson Program and the training necessary to become certified in this program. $5000 is needed to order the materials necessary. Earobics and Fast Math at a cost of $2000 for materials are also needed. Preschool materials are also needed due to the addition of another teacher. The total cost for preschool would be $4500. Additionally, the preschool playground was discussed. A Vermont Co. quoted $37,000 to add a preschool playground. The estimate for fencing and landscaping for the preschool playground was $10,600. A quote from Lowes was less expensive. A ramp and tables and chairs for preschool are also needed. *Paul talked about the replacement of furniture. A new refrigerator is needed for the teachers’ room and one for the kitchen area. ($900 - $1400 each) *Gigi talked about additional furniture for K and other classrooms due to moving. $3750 is the total for this furniture. Cafeteria tables were also discussed. They need to be replaced. Gigi suggested replacing 2 more at this time. Bonnie suggested that it might be beneficial to replace more than 3 tables. The tables are $1250 each. *The total figure for the items discussed above was $138,406. This includes a total of 5 cafeteria tables. The remainder of the surplus would be returned to the town. *Maryann Clark expressed concerns about the amount of money that was proposed for the preschool program especially the playground. Gregg Williams and Kevin Barry also expressed concerns about the amount of money for the preschool program. More information is needed for the Board to make a decision. *A new total amount minus the preschool playground equipment would be $111,406. *A motion was made by Kevin Barry and seconded by Gregg Williams to encumber $111,600 of surplus for the items listed above which does not include the preschool playground. It was agreed that no decisions would be made regarding the preschool playground or security system until additional information is presented at the 8/5/09 meeting. At this time, that would leave $254, 384 of surplus to be returned to the town. All in favor-yes; the motion carried. *Erica discussed the high school survey results. People are generally satisfied with what is taking place at Concord High School. Concerns include distance and access to
extracurricular activities. Peter asked about when and how soon would these results be shared with Concord. Peter offered to set up a time to share this information with Concord. He will get some dates that might be appropriate for sharing the survey information. Paul suggested sharing the results electronically prior to the meeting. Erica suggested an article for the town discussing the salient points. The information should be shared with the Deerfield community first prior to sharing it with the Concord Board. Informational Items: *Paul shared information about K. The number is still the same at this time. A letter went out to parents and Paul is collecting the results. *Paul shared that there is a letter of retirement from a custodian effective in August. Don Nichols prepared a proposal for the replacement of this person. This item should be on the August 5, 2009 agenda and we need to invite Don Nichols to that meeting. *Paul talked about the two professional development days at the end of the year. The staff felt the days were beneficial. The Promethean Board training was very successful. *A motion to hire Elizabeth LePage as a preschool special education teacher was made by Kevin Barry and seconded by Gregg Williams; all in favor- yes; the motion carried. *Paul talked about the bus passes for high school students and the registration process. It was suggested that the Board hire Kandy Davitt to send letters and be at school to assign passes. A motion was made by Gregg Williams and seconded by Kevin Barry to continue the process as last year and hire Kandy; all in favor- yes; the motion carried *Peter Warburton reported that Harriet Cady, School Treasurer, will not be able to fulfill her role for the summer months due to health concerns. Rachelle Burnham would be willing to serve as deputy treasurer for the summer months. A motion was made by Kevin Barry and seconded by Maryann Clark to hire Rachelle Burnham as deputy treasure until 9/1/09; all in favor- yes; the motion carried. *Peter shared information about the ARRA funds. The Deerfield amounts are listed in the information Peter shared which is also available on the Department of Education website. *Leslie VanBerkum donated plants for the front of the school near the flagpole. Kevin Barry made a motion which was seconded by Maryann Clark to send a thank you to her in addition to Deb Campelia and Deb Boisvert for their work on the grounds in the front of the school; all in favor- yes; the motion carried. *Paul reported that the last deposit was made for the new sign out front. Peter suggested an uncovering of the sign and inviting John Harrington to the ceremony.
*Gregg Williams volunteered to attend the 9/15/09 MBC meeting. All School Board members are invited to the MBC work sessions. The MBC has asked to have the budget from the Board by November 16, 2009. *Kevin Barry talked about the plowing bill that was sent to the School District by the town. This bill has not been paid. Kevin Barry made a motion to pay the town of Deerfield for the plowing in the amount of $3000. The motion was seconded by Maryann Clark. Also included in the motion was a statement to increase for 2010-11 the plowing line to $3000. All in favor-yes; the motion carried. A motion was made by Kevin Barry and seconded by Gregg Williams to adjourn the business meeting at 7:21 P.M. All in favor-yes; the motion carried. Bonnie opened the goal setting meeting at 7:47 P.M. A review of the 2008-2009 goals took place. Goal #6: Transportation - this goal was accomplished. A discussion took place about a late bus option for Deerfield students going to Concord High School. This should be a goal. The goal regarding the bus contract should still be continued. District funded transportation can come off as part of the goal since it has been accomplished. Goal #7: Goals Review - just change timelines; change refine to develop. Goal #5: Special Education - out-of-district reports should include Concord and all other out of district placements. Change AYP to something more broad; explore numbers and average costs for SPED students-this should be continued as on-going. Goal #3 Budgets – this goal should be kept with date changes; two separate statements but add paraprofessional contract. Goal #4 School Board Communication - add success of students in and graduating from Concord High School; publicize-should be continued as on-going; remain informed about the Middle Village Charter School needs to be added. Goal #2 Program and Instruction - add preschool (review and assess); add middle school structure and staffing; change to SAU-wide Literacy/Numeracy Task Force; add media at DCS; move school day options to the top; RTI should be a goal; schedule on-going curriculum presentations throughout the year should be included as part of the goal; academic and social preparedness for high school needs to be added; differentiated instruction to meet the needs of all learners needs to be added. Goal #1 Facilities - add year of survey; continue to explore middle school/high school options; keep campus goal; make some facility changes-take it out take out of 1&2 and add by November 2009; support creation of a grounds committee; take out signs.
The Middle Village Charter School needs to be on August agenda. A motion was made by Kevin Barry to adjourn the meeting and seconded by Gregg Williams. All in favor-yes; the motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:14 P.M.