Minutes
SAU #20 Board Meeting
Thursday, October 9, 2003 – Milan Village School
Leona Guay – Gorham, SAU
vice-chair Diane Labbe - Dummer
Jay Holmes – Gorham Joanne
Belleau – Dummer
Jay Guilmette – Gorham Jo
Anne Carpenter - Shelburne
Jean Lary – Gorham Robert Corrigan - Shelburne
Jennifer Lapointe – Gorham Wendy Niskanen - Shelburne
Jacqueline Quintal – Milan Norman Eames - Errol
Andrew Mullins – Milan
Patricia Shute – Milan
David Dernbach – Randolph
Lark Wood – Randolph
Kathleen Kelley – Randolph,
SAU chair
Steve Welford – Interim
Superintendent, SAU #20
Pauline Plourde – Business
Administrator, SAU #20
Paul Bousquet – Principal,
Edward Fenn Elementary School
Keith Parent – Principal,
Gorham Middle High School
Jacqueline Tetreault –
Administrative Assist., SAU #20/Recording Secretary
Members of the press
Kathleen Kelley,
chairperson of the SAU #20 School Board, called the meeting to order at 7:40
pm.
Some discussion was had
regarding a motion to approve the purchase of curriculum software from Wheeler
Consultants. It was asked to have the
minutes reviewed and tabled until the November meeting.
-Mr. Dernbach confirmed
that Paul Ezen from the Department of Education will be attending the SAU board
meeting to be held on December 4th to present information regarding
No Child Left Behind. All board members
unanimously affirmed Mr. Ezen’s
attendance at this meeting.
-As of this meeting, a
letter to State Senator Fred King had not been drafted.
-With regard to weighted
voting, Mr. Welford presented information from Cathryn Nunlist as to her
interpretation of RSA 194-C:7 and RSA 194-C:8 as it applied to SAU 20. The Gorham School Board requested tabling
the issue of weighted voting until a second legal opinion could be
obtained. Chairperson Leona Guay will
call an attorney for the Gorham School Board.
-Regarding a proposed index
for an SAU policy manual, it was recommended that Ms. Niskanen, Ms. Lapointe,
and Mr. Dernbach continue to work through this project and present a current
SAU policy manual as soon as possible.
Vision Statement
After a brainstorming
session, the following vision statement was presented for approval:
To lead the school
districts in SAU 20 in providing the services, educational personnel and
programs to help students succeed.
Motion by Joanne Belleau, second by Jacqueline Quintal.
MOTION: to accept the above vision statement as
presented.
Vote on motion:
16-yes, 1-no (Leona Guay); motion passes.
-Ms. Plourde presented an
adjusted financial report. The current
projected fund balance is $96,019.67.
-Mr. Welford presented the
FY04 Adequacy Aid and Targeted Aid number from the NH Department of Education
for the towns in SAU #20.
Dummer - $
274,393.00 Milan
- $ 1,187,964.00
Errol - $
178,525.00 Randolph
- $ 192,699.00
Gorham - $
2,048,527.00 Shelburne -$ 246,631.00
-Mr. Welford informed the
Board of a recent article in the Manchester Union Leader regarding
transportation for disabled students.
-With regards to delegates
for the NHSBA, Mr. Welford commented that each district was approached to send
their own.
-Ms. Wood inquired how the
teachers were embracing the curriculum software. Mr. Bousquet commented that some teachers have begun to work with
it, and that the software mirrors much of the work previously done by
hand. Mr. Bousquet shared that teachers
will need to work with the software to find out what it will do, which does not
focus on subject area specific, which may be a slow process. He also stated that many teachers at the
elementary school will spend Friday, October 10th working with the
software in teams. Some board members
did share that they feel the teachers should really experiment with the
software, and also it should be researched how others schools feel about the
software before committing to a consultant contract with Wheeler
Consultants. Mr. Welford shared that
this software, nor the purchase of consultant services, would be replacement of
a curriculum coordinator. Instead, it
would be more in preparation for a curriculum coordinator.
Ms. Quintal shared that she
believed the SAU should hold off purchasing the consultant services and see
where the teachers go with the software.
Mr. Welford shared that the software is mainly a catalog for the state
frameworks, and that the consulting piece would create committees to begin
putting a process in place so a hired curriculum coordinator would have a
process to measure up with. Ms.
Niskanen shared that the SAU should create a curriculum design that is pleasing
to teachers, administrators, and board members, and that a curriculum
coordinator from ‘outside the district’ would possibly bring unfamiliarities to
the district that we may not want.
Ms. Wood shared that if
consulting services are purchased, that there should be a cap on the cost of no
more than $30,000, so that the consultants could determine where each of the
schools stands regarding curriculum and to work with the principals of each
building. Mr. Welford informed the
Board that the reasoning of a range of $20,000 to $30,000 was that the
consultants would meet with the schools 4-6 times per month.
Ms. Belleau also stated
that she believed the SAU was justified in holding off to hire a consultant,
and that holding off will not weigh the process down.
Mr. Dernbach asked the
principals for their opinions, and both principals shared that teachers are in
lack of time to work with the software, and that they do not want to turn the
teacher’s focus away.
After some further
discussion, it was mutually decided to spend more time working with the
software and postpone any decision with curriculum consulting until a later
date.
A non-public session was
not necessary for this meeting.
Mr. Parent, Mr. Bousquet, and Mr.
Welford were dismissed at this time.
-Ms. Kelley presented a
draft of the superintendent brochure which is due to be mailed out on
10/10/2003. Ads have been placed
through Education Week on 10/3/2003 and also on their website. Public notices have also been mailed to the
newspapers regarding the focus groups for the superintendent search. Some discussion was had regarding the range
of salary for the superintendent, and which school districts were
comparable. Mr. Guilmette shared that
he believed that this was a pretty solid range. Mr. Corrigan commented that other advantages that would
compensate for money issues.
Motion by David Dernbach, second by Robert Corrigan
MOTION: to advertise the salary range for the Superintendent of Schools
for SAU #20 for $77,000 to $90,000.
Vote
on motion: all were in favor; motion
carried.
It was shared that benefits
should a negotiated item.
Ms. Kelley presented the
list of candidates for the superintendent search committee:
Randolph – David Dernbach,
Ann Lake
Milan – Andrew Mullins
&
Errol –
Gorham – Jean Lary, Ben
Murphy
Shelburne – Bob Corrigan,
Karen Moore
Teacher representation –
Lynn Hunt
Principals – Paul Bousquet,
Keith Parent, Sarah Sarette, Kathleen Urso
Motion by Leona Guay, second by Joanne Belleau
MOTION: to appoint Ms. Pauline Plourde and Ms.
Rebecca Hebert-
Sweeny to the superintendent search
committee.
Vote
on motion: One descending vote; all
others were in favor; motion carried.
-Ms. Kelley read the charge
of the superintendent search committee, and after some discussion, the charge
was amended to the following:
The committee is encouraged to seek
candidates with well developed oral and written communication skills who will
live and contribute to the SAU #20 communities.
Motion by Jacqueline Quintal, second by Andrew Mullins
MOTION: to approve the superintendent search
committee charge as
read.
Vote
on motion: all were in favor; motion
carried.
-Ms. Niskanen wished to
brief the SAU board on the current status of the Cooperative School District
Planning Board. There was some
controversy regarding her presentation of a report. After some discussion, she was allowed to present her report,
which were handouts regarding simplified versions of the state law, and a
synopsis of meetings.
-Ms. Belleau inquired as to
whether the Superintendent had a chance to meet with town officials in all districts. Mr. Welford responded that he is currently
in the process of doing so.
-Some discussion was had
regarding rental costs paid by the SAU.
The next regularly
scheduled meeting of the SAU 20 school board will be November 6, 2003 at 7 pm
for budget discussion and review draft of policy manual.
Motion by Jean Lary, second by Jennifer Lapointe
MOTION: to adjourn the October 9, 2003 meeting.
Vote on motion:
all were in favor; motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at
9:56
pm.
Respectfully submitted
Jacqueline J. Tetreault
Administrative
Assistant/Recording Secretary
SAU #20