“UNOFFICIAL” MINUTES FOR OCTOBER
24, 2006
Meeting Held at
IN ATTENDANCE
Board: Dale Smeltzer, Susan Flynn, Michael Roche and Sherry Ziemke
Administrators: Ken Page, Bob McNamara, John Pike, Don Schneider and Barbara Tomasi-Gay
Staff: Trish Feld
Architect: John Alden
Public: Georgeanne Baker and Theresa Wood
1) Dale Smeltzer called the meeting to order at 6:06 p.m.
2) Ms. Smeltzer confirmed the agenda and noted that the order
of the agenda would be changed to suit the needs of those in attendance that
were not able to stay for the entire meeting.
3) There were no comments from the public.
4) TBPS
Renovations and Financial Reports – Mr. Alden, Ms. Wood,
and Mr. Schneider reported that the recent occupancy of the first completed
building went smoothly. Mr.
Schneider acknowledged the dinner put on by the PTO and offered his sincere
thanks to its members. A written
summary of the TBPS – Breakdown of Change Orders vs. Contingency dated
October 13, 2006 was given to the Board.
Based on this report, the financials are in very good shape thus far in
the project. They were happy to
report that DEW is ahead of its own estimate at this point. The Building Committee will meet this
Thursday and one of the items for discussion will where to budget unexpected
costs such as movers, rental of room dividers, etc. Mr. Alden pointed out that
the District should see some cost savings through heating during the
construction phase.
5) District
Financials – FY07 Actuals – Mr. Pike presented
the District’s FY06-07 expenses to date. The Board requested to have the various
personnel expenses separated into categories such as professional, support
staff and substitutes.
Michael Roche arrived at 7:38 p.m.
Mr.
Pike presented bid results from TD Banknorth and Chittenden Bank for the
Bond/Grant Anticipation Note to cover anticipated renovation expenses in the
coming year. He is expecting that
since we have already received the first payment of State construction aid, we
will be at or near the top of the list for the coming year and hence the
remaining State aid will be paid to us in a timely fashion so that additional
bonding will not be needed for that portion. Based on the information received, Mr.
Pike recommended to the Board that it authorize him, on behalf of the District,
to borrow from TD Banknorth.
Mr.
Pike also suggested that TD Banknorth would be an excellent bank to hold the
District’s Operating Account, and presented a proposal that he had received
from them. The Board requested that
Mr. Pike speak to a representative from the Chittenden Bank to give that bank a
final opportunity to compete to retain the District’s business for
operating account services.
Susan
Flynn moved to authorize John Pike to borrow $6.676 million dollars from TD
Banknorth at an interest rate of 3.75% and an investment rate of 5.25% as
stated in its bid for the Bond/Grant Anticipation Note for the TBPS Renovation
Project. Michael Roche seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Susan
Flynn moved to instruct John Pike to investigate the best deal for the
6) Superintendent’s
Report – Projected ELL Staffing Needs – Superintendent McNamara reported to the Board that based on
current research, the District will need to provide ELL support for eligible
students for the foreseeable future, between 3-7 years.
John
Pike left at 7:07 p.m.
These
ELL children are counted as weighted students and must receive a score of 6 on
the ACCESS Test to be considered proficient English speaking people. Currently, the staffing patterns are
considered good.
Bob
McNamara left at 7:16 p.m.
7) Strategic
Planning Goal – Ms. Ziemke
reported that more people are still needed to fill the seats of the
committee. However, the committee
has begun to meet and preliminarily has decided that help from a consultant or
facilitator will be necessary in order to prepare a credible document. The Board confirmed that the use of paid
facilitator or consultant services was a reasonable expectation for this process,
as long as the cost was moderate.
8) Action
Plan: Professional Development
Plans – Ms. Tomasi-Gay
presented the revised Action Plan dated October 24, 2006. Along with the complete document, she
distributed the Action Plan At-A-Glance sheet that was requested by the Board. She reported that the Educational
Leaders will review the progress of the plan monthly and a report will be given
to the Board on a trimester basis.
Ms. Tomasi-Gay outlined a thorough plan of activities to meet the
various goals listed in the plan including assessment reviews, differentiated
instruction opportunities, cross pollination of instruction and learning
between buildings, WWSU professional development opportunities, just to name a
few.
9) Snowplow
Bids – The administration and
Mr. Roche presented the bids received for snowplowing and sanding/salting
services. Mr. Roche expressed his
concern regarding the contractors not having worker’s compensation. Mr. Page will ask the Vermont School
Board Trust about the requirements for such services when being provided by
others outside the District.
Susan
Flynn moved to approve a per season bid for $3,500 from Eric Howes of Moretown
for Crossett Brook Middle School and for $120 per plow with a not to exceed
$4,500 from Hallstrom Excavating of Waitsfield for Thatcher Brook Primary
School for snowplowing, sanding/salting services during the 2006-2007
season. Michael Roche
seconded. The motion was passed
unanimously.
10) Board Minutes – Susan Flynn moved to approve
Board minutes dated October 5, 2006 as corrected (4B grammatical error). Sherry Ziemke seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
11) Board Orders
– On the recommendation of
Susan Flynn, Michael Roche moved to confirm Board orders dated October 12, 2006
in the amount of $1,001.00, October 18, 2006 in the amount of $231.84, October
19, 2006 in the amounts of $635,896.24, and $91,103.78. Sherry Ziemke seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
8)
Executive Session - Susan Flynn moved to go into executive session to discuss contract
negotiations at 8:05 p.m. Michael Roche seconded the motion which passed
unanimously. It was agreed to leave
executive session at 8:17 with no action taken.
Susan Flynn moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:18 p.m. Sherry Ziemke
seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
These minutes are unofficial until approved by the Board of School
Directors. They are, in my opinion,
substantively correct. Notes recorded by: Georgeanne Baker