Minutes
Attendees
D. Goodrich – Gorham, chairperson
C. Gagnon –
W. Niskanen – Shelburne
T. Willow – Shelburne
C. Brown –
L. Guay – Gorham
M. Waddell – Gorham
D.
Others
P. Low – Superintendent, SAU#20
P. Plourde – Business Administrator, SAU #20
J. Tetreault – Recording Secretary
ITEM I – CALL TO ORDER
D. Goodrich, chairperson of the Board, called the meeting to
order at
ITEM II – APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The following corrections were noted to the minutes of September 30th:
-pg. 2 – paragraph 2 – The articles of agreement would need to be presented to the communities…
Motion by Leona Guay, second by Wendy Niskanen
Motion:
to approve the September 30th minutes as amended.
Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.
Due to a previous school commitment, Ms. Goodrich excused
herself and Mr. Waddell took over chairing the meeting at
ITEM III –
ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT – REVIEW AND UPDATE
The articles of agreement were updated as follows:
Article 1 - The School Districts of Gorham, Randolph and
Shelburne shall be combined to form a cooperative K-12 school district which
shall be named the
Motion by Charles Brown, second Wendy Niskanen
Motion:
to re-ratify Article 1 as amended.
Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.
Article 2 – No changes were recommended.
Article 3 – No changes were recommended.
Article 4 - The School Board of the
Term Ending
Gorham: 2 members 2006
2 members 2007
2 members 2008
Shelburne: 1 member 2007
At Large - Randolph 1 member 2006
At Large – Shelburne 1 member 2008
At Large – All 1 member 2006
Members of the Cooperative School Board shall be elected by the voters of the pre-existing districts they represent and must be residents of those pre-existing districts. The at large members shall be elected by vote of all three pre-existing districts. Voting will be by the individual town’s checklist. All members elected subsequent to the organizational meeting shall be elected to three (3) year terms at the regular town elections. Reapportionment of the Cooperative School Board may be proposed at any time in accordance with NH RSA 195:22 and NH RSA 671:0, but in any case the apportionment as specified above shall be subject to review for possible amendments in 2010 and every 5 years thereafter.
Motion by Wendy Niskanen, second by Carol Gagnon
Motion:
to re-ratify Article 4 as amended.
Vote on motion: 6 – yes; 1 – no (L. Guay); motion passes.
Article 5 - Transfer
of Real Property and Creation of School Facilities Capital Reserve
Fund. (Legal Help Provided)
The Gorham Randolph Shelburne Cooperative School District
shall assume ownership of the
following school building facilities located at: Edward Fenn Elementary School
- at 169 Main Street, Gorham NH, known as Map U-6, Lot-5 on 9.8 acres and
roughly 29,645 sq. ft., the Gorham Middle High School – 120 Main Street, Gorham
NH, known as Map U-5, Lot-66 on 2.9 acres of land and roughly 61,321 sq. ft.,
13-17 Mechanic Street, Gorham NH, known as Map U-5, Lot-71 on 16,830 sq. ft. of
land and 5 Mechanic Street, Gorham NH, known as Map U-5, Lot-70 on 9,143 sq.
ft. of land as provided under the provisions of NH RSA 195:9. The NH Department of Revenue, Property Appraisal
Division has conducted an appraisal of said properties for a sum of $1,655,850
for the Edward Fenn Elementary School, the sum of $1,640,650 for the Gorham
Middle High School, the sum of $74,575 for 13-17 Mechanic Street Multi-family
Property and $57,000 for 5 Mechanic Street Multi-family Property. The
D. Goodrich resumed chairing at
Motion by Michael Waddell, second by Wendy Niskanen
Motion: to re-ratify Article 5 as amended.
Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.
Article 6 - Transfer of Furnishings and Equipment (Re Ratified)
All furnishings and equipment of the pre-existing school
districts shall become the property of the
Article 7 – Operating Expenses (Re Ratified)
The operating expenses of the Gorham Randolph Shelburne Cooperative School District payable in each fiscal year shall be apportioned ninety-five percent (95 %) on a three-year average daily membership (ADM) of the pupils in each pre-existing school district during the preceding fiscal years, and five percent (5%) on the three-year average State equalized valuation as most currently available as determined by the Department of Revenue Administration of the Gorham Randolph Shelburne Cooperative School District during the preceding fiscal years.
Motion by Michael Waddell, second by Wendy Niskanen
Motion: to re-ratify Article 7 as amended.
Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.
Article 8 - No changes were recommended.
Article 9 - No changes were recommended.
Article 10 - No changes were recommended.
Article 11 - No changes were recommended.
Article 12 - Existing Contracts (Re Ratified)
All contracts in force at the time of the Gorham, Randolph, or Shelburne School Districts fully transitioning to become the Gorham Randolph Shelburne Cooperative School District will continue to be honored in full by the Cooperative District for the duration originally indicated on the contracts not to exceed three years. All rights, responsibilities and remedies addressed by contracts so in place will remain intact and will not change.
Motion by Wendy Niskanen, second by Michael Waddell
Motion: to re-ratify Article 12 as amended.
Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.
Article 13 – No changes were recommended.
Article 14 - No changes were recommended.
Article 15 – Sites of Meetings (Re Ratified)
Motion by Wendy Niskanen, second by Carol Gagnon
Motion: to re-ratify Article 15 as amended.
Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.
Article 16 – No changes were recommended.
Article 17 – No changes were recommended.
Article 18 – Some further work was needed on this article. It was determined that this article will be finalized for ratification at the October 19th meeting. This will be the only item on the agenda.
Article 19 – Grandfather Clause
Two
Motion by
Michael Waddell, second by Tuesday
Motion: to ratify Article 19 as written.
Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.
Article 20 – No changes were recommended.
Article 21 – Physical Property (Re Ratified)
All items purchased with
Motion by Michael Waddell, second by Charles Brown
Motion: to re-ratify Article 21 as amended.
Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.
Article 22 – Amendment of Articles of Agreement (Ratified)
These Articles of Agreement may be amended by the
It shall be the duty of the
Until the date of operating responsibility is assumed, the
Motion by Michael Waddell, second by Carol Gagnon
Motion: to re-ratify Article 22 as amended.
Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.
Article 23 – A Community’s Right to Appeal the Articles of Agreement (Ratified)
In the event that an informal appeal to the Cooperative School District Board is ineffective, any pre-existing town community may vote on a warrant at town meeting which would compel the Cooperative School District Board to form a committee to re-evaluate any of the Articles of Agreement.
Motion by Michael Waddell, second by Charles Brown
Motion: to ratify Article 23 as written.
Vote on motion: all were in favor; motion carried.
ITEM IV – JOINT
MEETING
Ms. Goodrich asked for some direction from the Board
regarding the joint meeting Tuesday, October 19th. The Board felt that it would be important for
the members of the Gorham, Randolph and Shelburne School Boards to see the tax
impact that a cooperative district would mean for their towns. Ms. Plourde was asked to compose a sheet
showing the figures with the cost of a cooperative district broke out per
million, the cost of having a bond for the school with Gorham on its own versus
all three towns combined, and the tax rates if the three towns were to form a
cooperative and if they were to not jointly form.
It was also mentioned that the superintendent was going to meet the Senator John Gallus, as well as a letter communicating the special legislation regarding the cooperative district to Representative Lawrence Guay, and Paula Bradley. It was recommended that ‘personal contact’ be made when delivering this communication. Ms. Guay and Mr. Brown volunteered to deliver the letters to the representatives.
ITEM V – PUBLICITY
No items of publicity were discussed.
ITEM VI – UPDATE ON
OTHER UPCOMING MEETINGS
The members of the Cooperative School District Planning
Board are scheduled to meet with the Shelburne selectmen on
ITEM VII – NEXT
MEETING DATE
The next meeting date will be determined by the Cooperative School District Planning Board.
ITEM VIII – ADJOURNMENT
An adjournment by consensus of the Gorham-Randolph-Shelburne
Cooperative School District Planning Board took place at
Respectfully submitted
Jacqueline Tetreault
Recording Secretary