Minutes
Cooperative School District Planning Board
Thursday, October 30, 2003 – Gorham Middle/High School Library
Donna Goodrich, chairperson – Gorham
Leona Guay – Gorham
Michael Waddell – Gorham
Robert Leclerc – Randolph
Lark Wood – Randolph
Charles Brown – Randolph
Tom Collia – Shelburne
David Carlisle – Shelburne
Pauline Plourde – Business Administrator, SAU #20
Robert Corrigan – Shelburne School Board Member
Jo Anne Carpenter – Shelburne School Board Member
Jacqueline Tetreault – Admin. Assist., SAU #20/Recording Secretary
Members of the public
Members of the press
Donna Goodrich, chairperson of the Cooperative School District Planning Board, called the meeting to order at 6:41 pm.
The following corrections were recommended to the October 16, 2003 minutes:
-pg. 1 – move Keith Parent to ‘Others’ – Keith Parent, principal, GMHS
-pg. 3, paragraph 1 – change the following: A variety of possibilities may need to be worked out, and special legislation or DRA approval may need to be sought.
-pg. 3, paragraph 5 – change the following: The articles of agreement should be clear in defining everything for the cooperative school district…
-pg. 3, paragraph 5 – change the following: It was recommended that all towns to be included in the cooperative district hold informational meetings regarding the cooperative school district and how each town would be affected.
-pg. 4, paragraph 3 – change the following: The articles of agreement should contain language as general as possible and cover all the bases.
Motion by Michael Waddell, second by Charles Brown
MOTION: to accept the October 16, 2003 minutes as amended.
Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.
Ms. Plourde presented a multitude of information regarding various methods of appropriating funds for a cooperative school district. Ms. Plourde had conversations with Sally Fellows, who works with school profiles & adequacy aid for the NH Department of Education. Ms. Fellows told Ms. Plourde that cooperative school districts appropriate funds a number of different ways, and provided Ms. Plourde with a number of worksheets showing breakdowns for operating costs and capital costs.
Ms. Plourde also mentioned her conversations with Sarah Browning, who works with school laws and rules for the NH Department of Education. Ms. Browning indicated to Ms. Plourde that the state supreme court pretty much stays within the RSA regarding voting in cooperative districts. Board makeup must add up to an odd number, but no more than 15. It was recommended that Ms. Plourde contact Ms. Browning and ask her to attend the cooperative school district planning board meeting on Thursday, November 13th. Ms. Goodrich shared that she will be out of town on that date, and Mr. Waddell will be the person to work through.
In regards to the number of acres required for a cooperative school district, Ms. Plourde had discussed this issue with Ed Murdough from the NH Department of Education, and Mr. Murdough stated the State will grant waivers for the number of acres required, as the State is aware of the situations that many towns are in. In regards to leasing of the Gorham Middle/High School, the cooperative district would need to buy the property from Gorham, and state the specifics out in the articles of agreement.
Ms. Plourde also spoke with Scott Dickman, who works on school appraisals for the NH Department of Education. Mr. Dickman told Ms. Plourde that it would cost approximately $3200 to do a complete appraisal of both schools, both the interior and the exterior. After some discussion, it was agreed upon to wait on this item until March when the cooperative school district planning board would possibly be creating a small budget for the next fiscal year.
It was recommended that capital expenses need to be figured in the exercise to determine capital value, and that ‘numbers’ need to be placed on all inventory in order to have costs to base any purchases on. Depreciation must be taken into account. It was also asked to have a breakdown of what tuition costs cover, and to have other items separated out.
Ms. Plourde reminded the Board that state aid does not come into effect until the second year, and that currently, the percentage amount from the NH Bond Bank is 5%, which could change. There are some disparities between Randolph/Shelburne and Gorham, which is that Randolph and Shelburne generally have the same cost per pupil, but their cost is approximately double the cost per pupil of Gorham students. Ms. Plourde showed that many cooperative districts based their operating costs solely on fixed percentage of ADM (average daily membership). She also shared that 1) building aid cannot be received unless a school district is building and 2) the building aid is received over a number of years.
In discussion of operating expenses, many members seemed to agree that 100% ADM may be the direction to go in, with capital costs being based 50% on ADM and 50% on equalized valuation. This concept may be easier for Randolph and Shelburne to defend, and comes back to the value of real estate in each town. It was also mentioned that when, and if, the cooperative school district does come in to existence, that a place will be needed to send the students to school.
In discussion relating to building of a new school, it was mentioned that any liability costs may be with the high school, and that the new high school proposed last year was a good building, and building a new school may be better than renovating. When the cooperative school district is formed, Gorham and Randolph and Shelburne effectively ‘disappear’ as three separate school districts, and the cooperative district will own the properties of Ed Fenn School and Gorham Middle/High School which will have to be purchased from the Gorham School District. This district will then be given credit towards purchase into the cooperative district.
Ms. Plourde did ask Ms. Browning what would need to be completed to have the cooperative school district be voted on for the March school district meeting. Ms. Browning shared that the NH Board of Education meets the third Wednesday of each month, and she would need the final articles of agreement by January 2nd, 2004. It was asked when was the latest it could be added to the town warrant, to which the reply was possibly as late as the end of February.
After some further discussion, it was agreed to by members of the Board to have an explanation of the articles of agreement of the cooperative school district at each school district meeting in March, and to have on each warrant an article to further fund the cooperative school district planning board for items such as appraisals, legal fees, etc. At each of the school district meetings, it was recommended that as many members of the cooperative school district planning board attend all the meetings to show unification. Many townspeople will be inquiring how the cooperative school district will impact their taxes, and what the bottom line will be. Approaching a vote on the cooperative school district in March of 2005 will give voters time to think about things, as well as those who are interested in running for the cooperative school board time to run for office.
Time check – 8 pm.
Members of the Board did share one of the ‘selling points’ is show voters that a cooperative school district will bring the school taxes back down, which are currently $22 per thousand for Gorham residents, $14.14 per thousand for Randolph residents, and $12.59 for Shelburne residents.
Ms. Plourde once again shared that the NH State Supreme Court is very strict in the rules regarding governance, and that its division for this cooperative would be 80% Gorham, 10% Randolph, and 10% Shelburne. Another variation of this is to say that a certain number of members need to come from certain towns. Some members may be voted in at large. Mr. Waddell will work with Ms. Plourde on this issue before the next meeting.
Mr. Corrigan from the Shelburne School Board shared that his personal preference for a method of appropriation would be operating costs on 100% ADM and 100% capital costs on equalized valuation, and he understands that this did not include any bonding of a new school. He recommended that in preparation for the next meeting, that the valuation numbers form the last town evaluation be used for comparison.
Ms. Plourde questioned the Board once again if it was their preference to have Ms. Sarah Browning attend the next Board meeting on November 13th to get an answer to the appropriations and governance questions. Members in attendance commented that it might be better to have all the articles of agreement composed before the meeting with Ms. Browning, and that most of the articles of agreement is fairly standard language. It was recommended that Ms. Plourde inquire with Ms. Browning about her attendance at the Cooperative School District Planning Board meeting currently scheduled for December 11th, 2003.
Current questions to be asked:
-Special district meeting in May or June
-Get opinion for membership
-Listing of capital expenses and current equipment for GMHS and Ed Fenn
-Would school buses become property of cooperative?
Ms. Plourde also shared with the Board that approved meeting synopsis and minutes are now available via the SAU #20 website.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Cooperative School District Planning Board will be Thursday, November 13th, 2003, commencing at 5:30 pm at the Gorham Middle/High School library. The agenda for this meeting is as follows:
Cooperative School District Planning Board
Thursday, November 13, 2003 – 5:30 pm
Gorham Middle/High School library
I. CTO
II. Approval of 10/30/2003 minutes
III. Mission statement
IV. Methods of governance
V. Methods of appropriations
VI. Public comments
VII. New Business
VIII. Next Meeting/Agenda
IX. Adjournment
Motion by Michael Waddell, second by Lark Wood
MOTION: to approve the October 2, 2003 synopsis to be distributed to all school boards, parents, newspapers, and all members of the voting checklists in Randolph, Shelburne, and Gorham.
Vote on
motion: all members voted in favor;
motion carried.
Motion by Michael
Waddell, second by Charles Brown
MOTION: to adjourn the October 30, 2003 meeting of the Cooperative School District Planning Board.
Vote on
motion: all members voted in favor;
motion carried. Meeting adjourned at
8:37 pm.
Respectfully submitted
Jacqueline J. Tetreault
Administrative Assistant/Recording Secretary
SAU #20