PLAINFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT

Plainfield School Board Meeting

Monday, May 1, 2006

Plainfield Elementary School

 

MINUTES

 

The meeting was called to order at 6:33 pm. Present were Board members Cogan, Ferguson, Bucklin and Forman. Also present were Superintendent Collins, Principal Langsner, Finance Director Bill Moorman and members of the public.

 

Public Comments

Town member Dennis Girouard asked if the Board has plans for a public forum on contract negotiations. Board member Bucklin replied that the Board has not made plans yet. Girouard asked when negotiations typically start. Superintendent Collins replied that negotiations usually start in October or November.

 

Announcements and Communications

Board member Ferguson announced that two more computers were donated to the school by the same anonymous group that donated computers last year. She added that the Plainfield Technology Group told her that the new computers were just what they needed.

 

Board member Bucklin has invited the two groups running summer camps at Plainfield School this summer to exhibit at the “KUA Summer Programs Open House”.

 

Board member Ferguson reported that the town librarian would like the Minutes delivered to the libraries in a more timely manner.

 

Consent Agenda

A. Minutes April 3, 2006

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted three in favor, one abstaining to accept the public and non-public minutes of April 3, 2006 with the following revision: in the second paragraph under Superintendent’s Report, “Collins reported that he requested the Facilities Committee recommend what work they want to complete with the additional $20,000 authorized in the regular budget at the School District meeting for building repairs.”

 

B. Nominations

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to accept the nomination of Mary Cantlin as Assistant Athletic Coordinator. The Board also noted that the music teacher will not return next year.

 

Reports

A. Finance Director’s Report

Bill Moorman reported that he signed the school up to participate with other NH schools and municipalities in a bid for fuel oil for the next school year. He hopes to receive an email tonight with the results. Moorman also reported that the year’s surplus exceeds the earlier estimate of $90,000 by about $44,000. He would like to talk with the Board tonight, after Board Chair Reynolds arrives, about spending some of that money this year.

 

B. Principal’s Report

Principal Langsner announced the following:

·        The new Plainfield School sign will be hung on Friday, May 5 and the official unveiling will take place on Tuesday, May 9 at 8:00 am.

·        Board members will receive the eighth grade Ward Essays on May 22 for review.

·        Grades 6 – 8 had a successful dance recently which included Cornish students of the same age.

·        The PTA invited a guest author to visit PES. Richard Laporte told of his bush pilot experiences.

·        The PTA will sponsor a guest, Ted Lawrence, who will present “The Notion of Motion”.

·        Grades 5 – 8 will have a presentation by the “Bully Busters” which is part of the on-going bullying program at PES.

·        Diane Sangermano and Richard Caruso have been teaching ballroom and Latin dancing in gym classes.

·        The Read To Feed program has earned $6,196. The idea to raise $5000 for a “Gift Ark” was started by fourth graders Emma Greenough and Molly Adams.

·        Terra Nova testing has been very time consuming for staff. Therefore, the Progress Reports for grades 5 – 8 will not be sent home until Tuesday, May 9.

·        Search committees have formed to interview for the library, science and music positions. Interviews will start next week.

·        The Plainfield Technology Group found a fairly inexpensive way to run the NWEA testing material. A test run will be done next week.

·        An outline of the first Beaupré Community Service Day was handed out to the Board.

 

C. Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Collins met with the lunch provider, Lyn Caple of Coventry Catering, to discuss next year’s program. Caple requested a four cent increase in the cost of a lunch (from $1.93 to $2.00) and a forty dollar increase per month ($400 per year) to transport the lunch to school. Collins feels the increase is justified given the increase in fuel and the increase in food costs for providing whole grains on the menu. Collins also briefly discussed other food service providers but he doesn’t suggest going with another service. He noted that the $2.50 cost of a school lunch would remain the same next year.

 

Superintendent Collins recommended that the Athletic Committee recommendation for participation for out-of-district students in Plainfield School athletic programs be attached to policy IGDJ. He also recommends a flat $50 fee for out-of-district students.

 

Board Chair Reynolds arrived at the meeting at 7:10 pm.

 

Collins reported that the school has received a grant to repair the banks of the brook that runs through school property. He has some questions on procedure and is waiting for more information. He also wants to speak with David Grobe about the project.  Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to authorize the Board Chair to sign the grant “Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program Natural Resource Conservation Project”.

 

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to sign the contract with Coventry Catering for the 2006-2007 school year.

 

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to install a $50 fee for out-of-district athletes participating in the Plainfield School athletic program.

 

Collins submitted to the Board a draft of procedures for the distribution of advertisements, announcements and flyers. He said the Board could make it a policy or leave it as an administrative guideline. The Board discussed letters from School Board candidates and under what category they would fall. Collins suggested that the Board think about the new guidelines and they will discuss again at a future meeting.

 

D. Committee Reports

Athletic Committee – Board member Forman attended the April 11 meeting. Forman reported that Brandon Feid attended an insurance conference on playground equipment safety. He also reported that the committee discussed the Track program and the coach-to-student ratio. He said that the track program is different from any other sports because participation is irregular. He said that there are divergent views about this irregularity of participation by athletes. Forman feels that the Track team is in transition – is it an activity or a sport?

 

Forman reported that Feid is considering having Plainfield School host a soccer tournament next fall.

 

Facilities Committee – Board member Cogan reported from the April 27 meeting. He said the committee focused on the additional $20,000 authorized in the regular budget at the School District meeting for building repairs. The committee suggested that four HVAC controls be installed ($16,000) and that spot insulating (music room door, back of building) be completed with the remaining money. He asked Principal Langsner if she is aware of facility repairs needed in the front office. Langsner said that the air circulation in the conference room is very bad when both doors are closed.

 

Cogan reported that the Conservation Commission doesn’t want to promise funds to the Bridge Project (to connect PES trails with town trails) unless trail access is guaranteed by KUA. He said that funding does appear to be all lined up for the bridge.

 

Cogan also reported that the town has indicated they could do some work on the parking lot this summer, extending it westward into the field. The Board will discuss this further at the next meeting.

 

Cogan said the Facilities Committee is working on putting a five-year plan in writing. They are concerned because $30,000 has been authorized this year for facility repair work and they have identified over $500,000 worth of work that needs to be done. He warned the Board that they may need to consider a bond. Superintendent Collins said he would get bond information to Cogan.

 

Nutrition Policy – Board member Ferguson reported that the Wellness Policy will be discussed at the next meeting on May 15. She said the last meeting was dedicated to plans for the garden and added that the Committee hopes that the new parking lot will not change the garden site. She described some special furniture that will be added to the garden this year.

 

KUA Committee – Board member Cogan reported that KUA offered seven eighth graders a place for the 2006-2007 year. He knows of one student that has elected not to attend. Cogan also said that some questions were raised by parents of KUA students about how the Plainfield grant is allocated among students. Cogan stated that Steve Halleran has made a formal request for KUA to report the allocation to the town and to the School Board.

 

(At this time Board Chair Reynolds gave additional communications.)

 

Board Chair Reynolds related a discussion she had with a concerned parent about the high turnover rate of Plainfield School music teachers but did note that several of the vacancies were due to unexpected life changes of the teacher or teacher’s spouse.

 

 

 

 

Business for Discussion and or Action

A. Policies

Upon a motion made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to accept the edits of sections J through L as per policy BFC (Policy Adoption, Rescission, and Revision).

 

B. Athletic Committee Membership

Upon a motion made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to add a person-at-large to the Athletic Committee. This additional Athletic Committee member will apply with a statement of interest and will be selected by the committee based on the individual’s background.

 

The Board noted that the Athletic Committee will have to advertise to fill the open positions on the committee, including the new “at large” member.

 

C. Audio taping of meetings

The Board discussed how they felt about Dennis Girouard audio taping future Board meetings and placing them on his website and on the Board website. Board members Forman, Ferguson and Cogan all stated that they don’t have any problem with the audio taping but they would like to have an evaluation after a few months to see if it is worthwhile. Girouard said he will get a periodical report to the Board giving the number of people who are listening to the recordings. Cogan also stated that the Board would not delay any meetings for technical difficulties.

 

(At this time, Finance Director Moorman received an email on the Fuel Oil Bid referred to earlier in the meeting.)

Finance Director Moorman related that there wasn’t any fixed price bid for the region that includes Plainfield. He said that the floating price is given as a margin above the Boston fuel index. The quote for the floating price is 22 cents – 23 cents above the Boston index. Moorman said that he feels this is risky because there would not be a cap on the price. Moorman said his own inclination is not to participate in the bids. He plans to call Irving Oil and see what they are offering. Cogan encouraged Moorman to check the current price of the Boston index. Board member Bucklin suggested that Moorman call KUA and ask if they would consider a consortium with PES.

 

D. Sewer System Project

Superintendent Collins asked the Board if they would like to put the sewer system project out to bid. He said he has four possibilities. Boar Chair Reynolds thought it would be worthwhile.

 

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to authorize Board Chair Reynolds to sign the revised contract with Pathways Consulting, LLC for their engineering services.

 

Further Business

The Board discussed what to do with the excess surplus of $44,000 (as noted earlier in the evening).

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to use a portion of the excess surplus of $44,000 to purchase those things cut from the budget before the School District meeting, totaling $18,500.

 

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:06 pm.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Annette Moore

Recording Clerk