Minutes

Cooperative School District Planning Board

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 – Shelburne Town Hall, Shelburne, NH

Attendees

Donna Goodrich – Gorham, chairperson

Wendy Niskanen – Shelburne

Charles Brown – Randolph

Robert Leclerc – Randolph

Michael Waddell – Gorham

David Carlisle – Shelburne

Tim Collia – Shelburne

Leona Guay - Gorham

Others

Steve Welford – Interim Superintendent, SAU #20

Pauline Plourde – Business Administrator, SAU #20

Jacqueline Tetreault – Recording Secretary

Members of the public

Members of the press

ITEM I – CALL TO ORDER

Donna Goodrich, chairperson of the Cooperative School District Planning Board, called the meeting to order at 6:38 pm.

ITEM II – APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES

Motion by Robert Leclerc, second by Wendy Niskanen

Motion: to approve the minutes of February 19, 2004 as written.

Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.

ITEM III – INTRODUCTION OF BOARD MEMBERS TO PUBLIC

All members currently in attendance introduced themselves to the members of the public.

ITEM IV – QUESTION/ANSWER PERIOD WITH PUBLIC

It was shared that the selectmen from the town of Shelburne would like to see all minutes from the past meetings. It was shared that Gorham and Randolph selectmen may also like copies of the minutes, and this will be prepared by the SAU Central Office for distribution. Once minutes have been approved by the Board, they are available on the SAU #20 website. It was asked that a ‘disclaimer’ mentioning that much discussion in meetings does not end up in the minutes, and that the public is encouraged to attend the meetings.

Some inquiry was made into the Cooperative School District issue not being ready for a vote at this year’s town meetings. Ms. Carpenter shared that community members often forget that a committee is give a three year ‘life span’, and that there is a perception currently that there may be problems within the Board. Members of the Board shared that it takes much discussion on a variety of items to come to a final consensus. Ms. Goodrich also shared that the articles of agreement and other legalities take time, and that the next six months will be very involved with discussion. There are ‘tough’ issues facing this Board, and the Board wants to be as prepared as possible with correct information.

Ms. Kathleen Kelley, as a citizen of the town of Randolph, composed an email of the concerns that she has been hearing from citizens in her town and has relayed this information to the Cooperative School District Planning Board so that they will be prepared for the meeting to be held in Randolph.

One of the first questions asked was how much would the cooperative school district cost the taxpayer. It was shared that two meetings of the CSDPB have been devoted entirely to appropriations, with different financial scenarios being given at each meeting. It was shared that it may now be time to have a subcommittee devoted to finances. A finance subcommittee could analyze various financial scenarios in depth, and then report back to the Cooperative School District Planning Board.

Ms. Kelley asked that if other cooperative school district studies were not driven by ‘building needs’, then for what reasons were they formed. Mr. Waddell replied that issues such as representation could have driven the studies, but the issues currently being addressed ‘have always been there’.

L. Guay entered the meeting at 6:52 pm.

Ms. Goodrich asked what Shelburne would ‘want’ from a cooperative school district. Mr. Carlisle shared that minimizing the impact on taxpayers would be one effect, as well as representation and commitment. Mr. Leclerc also questioned what impact a possible buy in may have to taxpayers. Mr. Carlisle also commented that ‘things would not remain the same throughout the next ten years’, and how could the effect be minimized.

Discussion began around state funding, and Ms. Plourde shared that ‘funding is always in flux’. She continued to share, both verbally and with visual aids, how state funding is received, and how monies are raised locally.

Ms. Goodrich shared that it may help for the towns to see what their costs are currently without a cooperative school district, and what the costs would be with a co-op. Each town would need to see if they are ‘getting slammed’ at the expense of others.

Ms. Niskanen shared that the communities would not want to bond against something that need tremendous work (ie. Gorham Middle/High School). Mr. Waddell shared that a neutral party needs to evaluate both school properties, and then it will be up to the communities to see how they perceive the evaluations.

Mr. Carlisle shared that there would be a concern of investing in a building that may not be there next year. Mr. Waddell commented that there has been no decision as to what will take place in the future concerning the renovations at the Ed Fenn School and the Gorham Middle/High School.

Ms. Goodrich recommended that Ms. Plourde contact the Department of Revenue Administration to conduct an evaluation of both the Ed Fenn Elementary School and Gorham Middle High School. Ms. Guay commented that it will be important to sell the idea of ‘buying in’ to other towns, and it would be in the contributing town’s best interest to have some say in whether to renovate or build new.

Time check - 7:47 pm

ITEM V – METHODS OF GOVERNANCE – FINAL VOTE

Mr. Waddell made the following suggestions for a final vote on method of governance should a cooperative school district be adopted: 6 members from Gorham, 1 from Randolph, and one from Shelburne, with the three at-large members being vote as follows: one from Randolph, one from Shelburne, and one from either Gorham, Randolph or Shelburne. It was recommended that once this decision is final, that the legality of the method of governance be checked with an attorney.

Mr. Welford entered the meeting at 7:59 pm.

Motion by Michael Waddell, second by Charles Brown

Motion: to adopt the following method of governance for the articles of agreement: six members from the town of Gorham, one member from the town of Randolph, one member from the town of Shelburne, and three members voted at large to be voted for in the manner of one member from Randolph, one member from Shelburne, and one member to be voted at large from either Gorham, Randolph or Shelburne.

Vote on motion: 7 – yes, one – no (Leona Guay); motion passes.

ITEM VI – METHODS OF APPROPRIATION

It was recommended to allow Pauline Plourde to contact the Department of Revenue Administration to start the processes of getting the two schools evaluated.

Motion by Michael Waddell, second by Charles Brown

Motion: to engage the State of New Hampshire to conduct evaluations on the two school building properties within the Gorham School District.

Vote on motion: all voted in favor; motion carried.

It was shared that this expense will come out of this year’s cooperative budget.

Mr. Waddell questioned whether there was a way of evaluating the capital items such as furniture and equipment. Ms. Plourde will check with the state, but informed the Board due to changes at the state level, policies will need to be developed as to what constitutes capital.

ITEM VII – AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING

Some discussion was held regarding the meeting to be in held in Randolph, and if the implementation of a cooperative school district would ‘cancel’ Randolph’s school choice option. Ms. Niskanen shared that when the articles of agreement are written, children’s needs will be considered (example: 5 minute bus ride vs. 45 minute bus ride). She also shared that it is understood that the cooperative district would be composed of three different cultures, and that each town has issues that are important to them.

The next Cooperative School District Planning Board meeting that was originally scheduled for April 1, 2004 had to be rescheduled for March 31, 2004 due to a scheduling conflict. The meeting to be held in Gorham is currently scheduled for April 15, 2004. It was agreed that the agenda should be kept similar to the one used this evening, and that a question and answer session may occupy most of the time. Ms. Goodrich stated that ground rules will be explained, and that the focus of the meeting is issue based.

ITEM VIII – ADJOURNMENT

Motion by Leona Guay, second by Wendy Niskanen

Motion: to adjourn the March 24, 2004 meeting of the Cooperative School District Planning Board.

Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 8:29 pm.

Respectfully submitted

Jacqueline Tetreault

Recording Secretary

Cooperative School District Planning Board.