MILAN/DUMMER

Minutes of Joint School Board Meeting

Tuesday, November 16, 2004 at 6:30 p.m.

Milan Village School, 11 Bridge Street, Milan, NH 03588‑9702

Phone 603 466.3632 Fax 603.466.3870 http://schools.ncia.net/milanvs/

Dummer Members present:

Joane Belleau School Board Chairwoman

Mariann Letarte School Board Member

Milan Members present:

Jacqueline Quintal School Board Member

Sarah Sarette Principal of Milan Village School

Andrew Mullins School Board Chairman

Patricia Shute School Board Member

Others present:

Patrick Low Superintendent SAU20

Pauline Plourde Business Administrator SAU20

Rebecca Hebert-Sweeny Director of Special Services SAU-20

John Moulis Superintendent SAU #3 - Berlin Public Schools

Malcolm Shute Recording Secretary

Agenda

I. Call to Order - Andrew Mullins called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m.

II. October 5, 2004 School Board Minutes Approval &

November 11, 2004 Building Public Hearing Minutes Approval

No formal approval noted.

III. Public Comments (John Moulis, SAU #3 Supt.,visiting/Area Agreements)

Julie Renaud Evans, a Milan resident, requested the board to carefully consider all of their options regarding sending Milan students to out-of-town schools when they complete the sixth grade. She asked them to consider all options instead of making decisions based on current and past agreements.

A. Area Agreement

John Moulis, from the Berlin Public schools, discussed the AVER (Androscoggin Valley Economic Recovery) group. Last year a joint Berlin, Dummer and Milan meeting was held in Berlin to discuss the AREA agreement for the Districts that send their students in the 7^th through the 12^th grade to the Berlin public schools. An Area Agreement document was generated as a result of this meeting and was distributed to Milan and Dummer for their input and comment. He mentioned that Milan has not responded to the request. Patrick Low asked Jacqueline Quintal to incorporate any input/changes in the Milan draft and offered to assist.

In October 2004, the document went back to Mr. Moulis and amendments were added. John said the only significant change that was made in the current document was to replace all references to RSA: 195, which have been repealed, to reflect RSA: 198.

Pauline Plourde felt that all that needed to be done by the Milan and Dummer school boards was to make sure that the draft reflected what was actually being done at the present time. She pointed out that Milan has two documents to sign off on; one with Milan/Dummer and one with Milan/Berlin.

John said he understood that it was Berlin’s responsibility to accept all students from Milan and Dummer who wanted to attend the Berlin Junior High School or the Berlin High School and that the staff at these schools will be adjusted up or down to accommodate the rise and fall of tuition students in grades 7-12 on a regular basis. This is part of the AREA Agreement which has been in effect since 1970. He gave an example of how things have changed over the years by describing that, in the past for example, students from the Barnstead School had to apply for admission to adjacent schools. It was not automatic like it is with the Berlin schools now.

Patrick Low stated that the NH School Board Association recommends that all State AREA Agreements provide for the movement between schools and districts of up to 5% of the school population with tuition pass through. Mr. Moulis was concerned that a huge decrease of students would have a big effect on the Berlin school staff. Mr. Low pointed out that the number of students would be nominal with about six students involved per year. He also felt that because Berlin accepts funds from the State of New Hampshire, it must accept tuition students.

B. Questions & Answers

Jacqueline Quintal asked what the procedure is to review the draft. Patrick Low felt that since there will be a working session for the budget review coming up soon, the AREA Agreement review should be included in that working session and an agenda should be posted to reflect the two subjects.

Jacqueline also asked how unregistered students should be handled. She understood that separate lists of tuition students were maintained by Milan and Berlin and apparently were not exactly the same because in some instances a student may have moved from Berlin to Milan and was still attending a Berlin school but did not register with the Milan School Board. Patrick Low mentioned that a conference had been held on this subject and John agreed. Andrew Mullins registered two students on November 11, 2004. Pauline Plourde understood that these students started school this year in September in the Berlin High School and then moved to Milan on November 11^th. John will contact the parents.

Patricia Shute asked if there would be a public hearing on the AREA Agreement draft and John explained that since the document was not new and had simply been revised, there was no need to have a public hearing.

C. Other

Items 1, 2, and 3, which are described below, are additions to the AREA Agreement and were explained by Rebecca Hebert-Sweeny, Director of Special Services SAU #20. Item 4 was introduced by Pauline Plourde.

1. Child Find

Parents of children ages 2 ½ to 5 are welcome to attend these classes which will be given statewide and in Berlin on November 30, 2004 from 9 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Flyers have been distributed in doctor’s offices, all area pre-schools and transportation companies (school buses). Reservations are being taken now to have children evaluated. To register, parents should call Jacqueline Tetreault at 466-3632.

2. Parenting Workshops (Title 9)

Jane Vaillancourt will present these workshops. The first one is being held tonight (November 16, 2004). It will be held again on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. At this workshop issues such as violence, harassment and bullying will be addressed rather than the normal Title 9 subjects. To register, call the Gorham High School at 466-2776. Parents from all schools in the SAU #20 district are welcome.

The third workshop in this series is scheduled for Monday, December 6, 2004 and will also be run by Jane Vaillancourt. A panel consisting of a Gorham police officer, Hebert-Sweeny and Keith Parent, Principal of Gorham High School, will present children issues such as what do if a student is accused of something, is harassed or is being sued, for example. The panel will provide the courses of action which are available from a legal aspect.

Rebecca felt that it is nice that parents will now have some recourse if their children are accused of something when, in fact, they may be innocent and may really be the victims.

3. Enrollment Plan Review

Joane Belleau, Dummer School Board Chairwoman, read from the draft of the revised agreement entitled The Milan Authorized Regional Enrollment Plan between the School Districts of Milan and Dummer. It was agreed that a footer would be added at the bottom of each page to identify the date of origin of this document as well as this and subsequent revisions as follows:

Originally Issued July 1, 1990

Revised ________________

Three additional changes were mutually agreed upon in paragraphs C, K and P.

· C. second line after the words “through six for all elementary students and” was modified to read “through six and may include pre-K elementary students. It will provide...” Para.C was also changed to add the words “and as determined and mandated by the New Hampshire Department of Education” to the end of this paragraph.

· K. was changed by inserting after the word “hardship” the phrase “per RSA 193:3 which states that “in case of educational hardship or best interest. This was proposed by Patrick Low to reflect the actual RSA wording.

· P. RSA 195-A, which has been repealed, was changed to RSA 198-19.

Pauline Plourde offered alternatives for Dummer regarding the semi-annual payment plan described in Item L. She proposed four yearly payments which would help with Milan’s cash flow during the year. Joane Belleau will follow up on this with the Dummer selectmen.

Jacqueline Quintal will update the Enrollment Plan and distribute copies and have their lawyer review it. This was considered a “first reading”.

The Dummer School Board is not interested in “choice” at this time per Joane Belleau.

(NOTE: The Dummer school board members left the meeting at this point).

IV. Principal’s Report (Provided in advance -questions to be taken) No questions were raised; however, Sarah Sarette presented the following items for discussion/information.

A. Grant for Comprehensive School Reform Program (Junior Grade Book) the grant for this program will be extended for another year beginning on December 7, 2004. A letter was received from The Education Alliance at Brown University on November 16, 2004 stating that the scheduled one-day visit would take place on December 1, 2004 at the Milan Village School. The letter also stated that this site visit will involve interviews with the principal and site facilitator, a teacher group interview and a structured walk-through of the school. Milan School Board members will be needed for this visit. Milan teachers Mike Giroux and Kari Goulet are being trained to be the overseers for the school so that the outside consultant will no longer be needed as often.

B. School Building Update

The kitchen is now OK. The furnace problem was resolved by connecting the new one for normal use with the old one as a backup. They were connected wrong which contributed to the lack of heat, along with a malfunctioning sensor valve. The furnace is now OK. Honeywell can provide a service which will place a telephone call if the furnace fails. The school board will consider using this service. Apparently, Honeywell now sends an e-mail to Sarah if the furnace fails. Pauline Plourde and Andrew Mullins want Honeywell to tag the furnace whenever they perform work on it. Currently, there is no record of their visits because they do not sign in as they directed.

C. Positive Behavioral Intervention Strategy (PBIS)

Sarah will update everyone monthly on the referral process for PBIS. Attitudes are changing and fewer problems are noted since the inception of this program. The students were asked what privileges they would like to have. Based on their responses, the students now can ride the elevator, have their lunch served by a teacher and eventually have use of their own Bobcat lounge at the south end of the library where they will be able to socialize, study or just listen to music away from the classrooms. Sarah wrote a Wal-Mart grant looking for them to provide funds to build the lounge.

D. Junior Great Books Consultant

Jacqueline Quintal asked about literature for teachers who use these books. The school will be concentrating on writing because it has not been up to standards. The representative came here today and will be here for a few days working exclusively with 5^th and 6^th graders. A Great Book which he recommended for all staff members will be ordered.

E. Technology Training

Jacqueline also asked about the Microsoft Word training at the school. The teachers have their teaching manual for this, which includes the State of NH standards for technology.

They are determining which parts of MS Word are suitable for each grade level, from the first grade through the sixth grade. Fifth and sixth graders are using laptops. Plans are to begin with the other grades after the Christmas break.

F. Parent Meeting

Jacqueline asked about this meeting which was scheduled for next week before Thanksgiving. Sarah said there was a committee meeting last week but she did not have the minutes yet. This is voluntary and the group is growing rapidly.

G. Funding Approval for PBIS course

Karen Cloutier requested the Milan School Board pay for a PBIS-related course she is planning on taking in the spring.

Motion by Patricia Shute seconded by Jacqueline Quintal.

Motion: To approve Karen Cloutier’s request for payment of a PBIS course pending no receipt of other first time requests before February 15, 2005. Vote: All members voted in favor. Motion passed.

V. Superintendent's Report

A. Financial Report

Purchase orders have been reviewed and MVS and SAU comment they are current.

B. Transportation

The West Milan bus has a new camera but the wiring is not finished. There were some complaints that the bus drivers were keeping the same video tape for several days rather than turning them in daily as per the original plan. This makes it very difficult to locate a video for a specific hour of the day or even for a particular day. Andrew Mullins questioned whether or not the school had sufficient tapes on hand for three buses to videotape five days a week. A one-month supply would require 60 tapes. Sarah mentioned that bullying on the buses has happened again with some parents choosing to drive their children to school rather than use the school buses. Patricia Shute suggested that the tapes be organized by bus and by date for easy access.

C. Café Services

Patricia Shute acknowledged that the café management had apologized to the teachers for their past behavior but had not apologized to the students which she felt they should be done.

D. American Flag

It was noted that the flag was again being flown upside down. The children in the school were taking care of this per Sarah Sarette. Twelve new American flags were donated to the Milan Village schoolrooms by the NH National Guard when they found out the classrooms did not have flags.

E. Building Project

Tabled until the next meeting.

F. Roundtable/Staff discussion times and Meeting with MVS staff will take place on 11-29-2004 at 3:15 p.m.

VI. MVS Building Project Update (Outcome of 11/11/04 meeting Budget Development) - Tabled until next school board meeting.

VII. Budget Development (Presentation of working draft/discussion)

Patricia Shute requested that the school board solicit input from the general public regarding the upcoming budget. Patrick Low asked Sarah Sarette to mention this in any future letters to parents. Pauline Plourde proposed that the preliminary budget figures be made available to the general public for their information and comment now, rather than waiting until March when the Town Meeting and the School Board Meeting are held. Jacqueline Quintal felt the information should be kept quiet for now. Andrew Mullins mentioned that the budget would not take effect until March 2005 and would probably change. Patrick Low reminded everyone that much of the information is available to the public now under the Freedom of Information Act.

Patrick reminded everyone to be aware of the Code of Ethics for school employees and to act accordingly, as professionals.

VIII. Area Agreements (Review/discussion-possible input NH RSA)

This subject was covered in Section III. Public Comments A. and B. above.

IX. Dummer Board

Tabled until next meeting.

X. Non-Public Session

Andrew Mullins made a motion to enter non-public session under RSA 91:3, seconded by Jacqueline Quintal. Roll call vote Jacqueline Quintal – yes, Patricia Shute – yes, and Patricia Shute - yes. The session began at 8:10 p.m. and ended at 9:00 p.m.

XI. Other

Patrick Low visited Virginia Barry, the Assistant Provost at Plymouth State College, last week to discuss how SAU #20 could attract student teachers to this area. He felt that any student-teachers who do come should attend all town-related meetings as well as school board meetings during their stay in order to immerse themselves in the local culture and be exposed to the whole picture rather than just their role in the classroom.

He also pointed out the need for teachers here and stated that approximately 50% of our teachers will be eligible for retirement in six years (2010).

XII. Next Meeting – SAU #20 School Board Meeting - November 30, 2004 at 6 p.m. & 7 p.m. at Milan Village School.

XIII. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 10:45 p.m. on a motion by Patricia Shute and a second by Jacqueline Quintal.

Respectfully submitted,

Malcolm Shute

Recording Secretary

Milan School Board