“UNOFFICIAL” MINUTES FOR DECEMBER
6, 2006
Meeting Held at HUHS STUDENT CAFE
IN ATTENDANCE
Board: Dale Smeltzer, Susan Flynn, Dawn Poitras, Michael Roche (arrived 6:34 p.m.) and Sherry Ziemke (arrived 6:06 p.m.)
Administrators: Kevin Hamilton, Bob McNamara, John Pike, Don Schneider, and Ken Page
Staff: Angela Neill (Accounting Mgr, Central Office), Doug Lombard, Roy Bishop, Patti Casari
1) Dale Smeltzer called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.
2) Dale Smeltzer confirmed the agenda.
3) There were no comments from the public.
4) Discussion Items
a) Budget Development – Draft #1 – Ken Page distributed a handout of the first budget draft. He noted that the draft does not reflect any new initiatives. John Pike, Business Manager, provided a brief overview. He noted that this is just the expenses side of the budget and that the other pieces, including income and equalized pupil count, are usually available to him by the third week in December, at which time a cost per pupil can be calculated and resulting estimated tax rate. The budget summary pages are organized in a similar fashion to the financial report format. The total budget increase in this draft is 8.7%, of which 3.1% is due to the first interest payment for the TPBS renovations bond. Fuel is a higher increase due to it being underfunded in the current budget. The professional FTEs are up .89, which is mostly due to a proposed additional grade 3,4 teacher. Support staff show a net increase of about 2 FTEs, between changing needs at both schools as students move up through the grades.
Susan Flynn asked if the budget reflects the proper amounts for supplies, etc. that are needed to run the various departments, and Ken responded that it does. Dale Smeltzer asked if any changes were being made in the Technology Equipment plan made last year, and this is being level funded with the same components. It was noted that transportation costs were fairly level, and Bob McNamara pointed out that this is the last year of the contract.
Don Schneider described the changes in the professional staff FTEs being proposed. Since one teacher was dropped at the primary school last year due to an unusually small grade size, if a new teacher is not added, then class sizes would increase to 22-23 students/class in grades 3 and 4. This proposed addition is being offset by a slight decrease in preK staffing. The possibility of moving a grade 5 teacher to the primary school was considered, but that would cause those class sizes to increase to about 24 students per class.
(Michael Roche arrived at 6:34 p.m.)
Health Insurance is included at 8.5%, which is the not-to-exceed figure that John Pike just received. Further questions regarding aspects of the budget should be directed to Ken and Don.
b) TBPS Renovations – Don Schneider reported that work has slowed down a little on construction of the link, due to a crunch for space caused by the elevator shaft installation. The Building Committee meets tomorrow. Don has sought an estimate for furnishings costs to start the process of prioritizing the needs. The current estimated date for DEW to move from the center to the south building is February 16.
c) Strategic Planning Goal – Sherry Ziemke described the proposal from the Strategic Planning steering committee for hiring a consultant. The steering committee agrees that consultant help is definitely needed for a number of aspects, and after interviewing three candidates is recommending Val Gardiner because of her knowledge of schools and dynamic thinking and presentation skills. Sherry presented two options to consider: 1) not to exceed $2000, and 2) not to exceed $2500 for the consultant costs, with up to $500 needed for other related costs such as mileage, printing, food, etc. Sherry expressed concern that the process be able to utilize the resources needed to be successful and suggested the higher cost. After discussion, the Board agreed that a consultant cost of $2000 was a better place to start, and if necessary, would consider increasing the amount once the needs have been more specifically identified.
d) Annual Report Info – Begin Planning – Dale Smeltzer asked people to email her if they had suggestions for what topics should be included. Current topics include Renovations update (including cost), Action Plan Summary, Assessment results.
5) Reports:
a) Educational Leaders’ Report – Don Schneider had emailed out the report ahead of time via email. Dale asked him when to schedule a playground presentation for the agenda, and it is planned for the first meeting in January to allow for survey results to be reflected in the planning. The school safety forum is for TBPS; CBMS is planning to hold one in the coming months as well.
6) Other Business:
a) Susan
Flynn reported that Judy Haack (Family and Consumer Science, CBMS) had given
her some goodies for the Board from her recent study in
b) Michael
Roche reported that the website sent out by Bob McNamara providing information
regarding
7) Action Steps Taken:
a) Board Minutes - Susan Flynn moved to approve the minutes from November 16, 2006 with one typographical correction in section 5b. Michael Roche seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
b) Board Orders – On the recommendation of Susan Flynn, Michael Roche moved to confirm Board orders dated December 4, 2006 in the amounts of $7,540.67 and $3,468,684.25, and Dawn Poitras seconded the motion. Susan Flynn commented that all her questions had been answered, but that she was suggesting that the continued bills for breakfast costs be looked into further, with other options being utilized if at all possible. The motion passed unanimously.
Susan Flynn moved to recess to the joint board meeting at 6:58 p.m, and adjourn following its conclusion. Michael Roche seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Susan Flynn left at 6:59 p.m.
Minutes recorded by Dale Smeltzer