PLAINFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT

Plainfield School Board Meeting

Monday, March 17, 2008

Plainfield Elementary School

MINUTES

The meeting was called to order at 6:37 pm. Present were Board members Reynolds, Ferguson, Forman, Cogan and Bucklin. Also present were Superintendent Collins, Principal Langsner and members of the public.

Reorganization: Election of Officers

Upon a motion made and seconded, the Board agreed to accept Carin Reynolds as Board Chair with four votes in favor and one abstention.

Upon a motion made and seconded, the Board agreed to accept Audra Bucklin as Board Vice-Chair with four votes in favor and one abstention.

Upon a motion made and seconded, the Board agreed to accept Myra Ferguson as Board Secretary with four votes in favor and one abstention.

The Board agreed to assign committees at a future meeting.

Consent Agenda

A. Minutes March 3, 2008

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the March 3, 2008 meeting.

Reports

A Principal’s Report

Principal Langsner reported that during professional development time the previous week teachers took the opportunity to look at the NECAP results and study them in greater detail. They also spent a full day studying and discussing “writing across the curriculum”.

Langsner explained to the Board that those teachers completing their 3-year Professional Development plan must complete a binder showing evidence of their progress during the three year cycle. Langsner shared some of the work from a few teachers’ binders and invited Board members to take the time to look them over at another time.

B. Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Collins asked Board members to sign copies of the MS-22 which must be included with the minutes of the Annual Meeting.

Superintendent Collins told the Board that Dave Bradley has been working with the surveyor on the disputed boundary line between the school and an abutting property. He explained that the School Board can accept the gift of the disputed property from the abutting homeowner without town approval. The Board gave Collins permission to have the agreement drawn up.

Collins stated that the wetland permit has been received and work on the erosion problem along the river that flows across school property can begin. This type of work must be done during periods of low flow the work probably won’t begin until mid-summer. Collins told the Board that he is trying to identify contractors capable of the work and he hopes to hire someone before he leaves his position as Superintendent. He reminded the Board that the grant they received will cover ¾ of the cost of the project.

Collins reported that the inspection of the oil tank was delayed until next week.

Collins explained that there are conflicts on the night of the next scheduled meeting and requested that the meeting be rescheduled. The Board agreed to move the meeting previously scheduled for Monday, April 7 to now be held on Thursday, April 3.

C. Committee  Reports

Athletic Committee – Board member Chris Forman reported that a small group of Athletic Committee members met last week and discussed the decision made at a previous meeting to not have a 5/6 grade baseball team this year. He reported that the decision that was made was multi-faceted but the end result is that Lebanon Little League is interested in having a Plainfield team. Athletic Director Feid is checking in to that possibility. Forman also explained that a survey concerning athletic tryouts is being circulated to students who participated in soccer and basketball, and to the parents of those students, in hopes of getting feedback concerning this issue.

Facilities Committee – Board member Cogan said that the Facilities Committee will meet later this week. He told the Board that the Committee will be amending the energy conservation savings estimate down to about $10,000 due to another oil bill that was not accounted for previously.

Business for Discussion and/or Action

A.    Review Goals 07-08

The Board discussed Goal IV, Action 2: “The Board will hold a public forum to explore the balance between classroom and out of classroom learning experiences”. Board Chair Reynolds stated that she felt the time is right for this forum, with the 8^th grade trip in the near future and the major fundraising function just getting over. Some Board members didn’t want the entire focus of the forum to be centered on the 8^th grade trip and instead should be kept to the broader discussion of the balance between classroom and out of classroom time, as the goal states. The Board discussed the forum process and how best to structure it.  Board member Forman suggested a survey on the topic which could help focus the forum discussion. Board member Bucklin volunteered to put together a survey.

B. Parking Lot/Maintenance Plan – Next Step

The Board also talked about a forum to discuss the building facility. The Board proposed a couple of dates for the forum and asked Cogan to discuss them with the Facilities Committee. Superintendent Collins asked the Board to state how they feel about the parking lot project. Board member Ferguson said she is okay with the project but does not want to see the windows and insulation work abandoned. Board member Ferguson stated she didn’t want to see more than $50,000 spent on the new parking lot. It was Board member Forman’s opinion that the parking lot is a safety issue and he would like to see it resolved with a new lot. Board member Reynolds concurred but would like to see the new plans. Board member Cogan supports the new parking lot.

C. 2008-09 School Calendar

 The Board was presented with a proposed calendar for the 2008-09 school year. Principal Langsner explained that the school staff saw the calendar and gave their input. She also said that the staff discussed the idea of having regular Tuesday one-hour early dismissal days. She reported that 16 staff members were for the idea and that 20 staff members wanted to stay with the old calendar and further explore the idea. Langsner also said that she polled a few parents and found that nine love the idea, four were against it and that one would rather have a one or two-hour delayed opening instead. Langsner said that she has discussed the idea with Terry Root from First Student and he is looking into whether or not bussing would be possible if such an idea were adopted. Superintendent Collins says he supports the idea but notes that areas where it is successfully done are K– 12 school systems and that Plainfield may have its own unique problems that may make it impossible to adopt. Langsner explained to the Board why this change would be advantageous in the area of staff professional development.

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 (c) at 8:21 pm.

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to go back into public session at 8:30 pm. No action was taken.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:31 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Annette Moore

Recording Clerk