PLAINFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT

Plainfield School Board Meeting

Monday, January 8, 2007

Plainfield Elementary School

MINUTES

The meeting was called to order at 6:32 pm. Present were Board members Reynolds, Ferguson, Bucklin, Cogan and Forman. Also present were Superintendent Collins, Financial Specialist Beth Bierwirth, and members of the public. Steve Beaupré and Rob Hewett represented the town Finance Committee.

Announcements, Communications

Board member Ferguson sent a card to Principal Langsner to wish her well as she goes into the hospital.

Consent Agenda

A. Minutes December 18, 2006

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to accept the public and non-public minutes of December 18, 2006 with the following amendments: in the last sentence under Superintendent’s Report, change “is” to “it”; change the sixth and seventh sentences under Potential Bond Vote to, “Board member Cogan suggested that Superintendent Collins try to find out if the parking lot (which has a design and a preliminary estimate) is eligible. Cogan also requested that Collins investigate whether or not the redesign of bathrooms, the replacement of lighting systems, and other projects are eligible.”

Superintendent Collins reported that he received a letter from Deborah Foltyn indicating that she will not return next year.

Reports

A. Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Collins reminded the Board that the Public Hearing for the budget is next Tuesday, January 16 at 7:00 pm.  He also asked them to start thinking about the Annual Report and what they want to see put into it this year, keeping in mind that Steve Halleran has expressed concern on increasing the size of the report, which would require a different type of binding.

B. Athletic Committee – Board member Chris Forman recommended that the Board appoint Conrad L’Heureux to the Athletic Committee to fill the empty “Parent of a Male Athlete” position. Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to appoint Conrad L’Heureux to the Athletic Committee.

Facility Committee – Board member Doug Cogan reported for the Facility Committee. The Committee has identified approximately $500,000 in projects, including the sprinkler system and the parking lot, which should be taken care of in the near future. He said that the Facility Committee feels it would be best to pursue a bond for all the projects at the 2008 School District meeting.  He said the committee would like to take the coming year to hone the numbers of the projects so they can present hard budget numbers, not estimates, to the town. Cogan said that if the sprinkler project needs to be completed this year then most of the other projects will need to wait for future funding.

Superintendent Collins reported that a recent conversation with the Fire Marshall indicated that if the sprinkler system was put off for another year then the school must replace old windows with new windows which allow people to escape the building in case of fire. Collins said the problem is that those new windows won’t even be necessary with a sprinkler system, so it would be a waste of money to pursue such a course. Collins reported that the preliminary estimate for the sprinkler system from the fire engineer ranges from $165,000 to $255,000, depending on where the underground main is located and whether or not the water pressure is adequate or will need to be boosted. Superintendent Collins is working with the engineer and should have a firm estimate this week.

Collins reported that a company came in recently to look at the interior woodwork to give an estimate on making it fireproof. He said that in order to certify the building with this fireproof paint, the painting will need to be done by certified people which will be expensive. Board member Ferguson asked if it would be less expensive to just replace the wood.

Board member Bucklin would like to see the parking lot and the gym lockers/showers/bathrooms included in a bond vote this year, as well as the sprinkler system. Board member Forman feels that the sprinkler is a matter of safety for the students and should be pursued in a bond this year and not put off while the other project figures are completed. Board member Ferguson noted that she has spoken to people in town that don’t feel that the parking lot is a safety issue and that it doesn’t need to be upgraded. Board member Cogan will ask the Facility Committee if there is any way they can have firm numbers for the parking lot so that it can be pursued with the sprinkler system in a bond this year.  

Superintendent Collins noted that the extension to the chimney has been completed, the installation of the new gym doors has been completed and that Pro Controls has finished their work on the HVAC system. Collins said that Bill Fleming is still receiving training from Pro Controls and is looking into a way for them to have remote computer access to assist him with regulating the system.

C. KUA Committee – Doug Cogan reported the following from a recent meeting: 31 non-faculty students at KUA this year; sixteen eighth-graders expressed an interest in KUA; $124,000 in Plainfield grant aid was provided last year (70% based on need); the 2006 exemption value was $126,000; $17,150 in financial aid was also given to Plainfield students. There is another meeting scheduled for January 18.

Business for Discussion and/or Action

A. Administrative Presentation of 2007-2008 Draft Budget

Superintendent Collins went through the budget draft section by section, taking questions from the Board, from the Finance Committee and from the floor as he progressed. The Board agreed to budget for all eighth grade students (37) in the high school tuition line. The Board found a few areas which they asked Collins to investigate and clarify at the meeting next week. They hope that these questions will identify $10,000 - $20,000 which can be honed from the draft budget. In turn, they would like to add an article to the warrant to place $20,000 in the Building Capital Reserve Fund.

Board Chair Reynolds asked the Finance Committee if they could comment about the Board’s intent to include the three increases to staff positions in the budget rather than as separate warrant articles. Steve Beaupré replied that the Finance Committee will be meeting again and will get back to the Board on that.

B. Principal’s Job Description

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board unanimously approved the Principal’s Job Description.

C. Professional Performance Process Document

The Board asked to take some more time before approving this document.

Non Public Session

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to go into non-public session pursuant to NH RSA 91-A:3, II (a) at 9:03 pm. Discussion of a compensation package per a tentative agreement with the support staff took place.

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to go back into public session at 9:30 pm. Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to ratify the Support Staff Agreement between the Plainfield Support Staff Association and the Plainfield School Board.

Board members made comments about the budget discussion held earlier in the evening and the changes they wished to be made prior to the public meeting. They asked Superintendent Collins to take a look at the benefit costs of the proposed staff changes.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:34 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Annette Moore

Recording Clerk