PLAINFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT

Plainfield School Board Meeting

Monday, November 19, 2007

Plainfield Elementary School

MINUTES

The meeting was called to order at 6:35 pm. Present were Board members Reynolds, Ferguson, Cogan and Bucklin. Also present were Superintendent Collins, Principal Langsner, Physical Education teacher Brandon Feid, Music teacher David Keeney, Art teacher Kate Mortimer and members of the public.

The agenda was reordered at this time.

Business for Discussion and/or Action

A. Curriculum Presentations

Physical Education teacher Brandon Feid presented to the Board a handout of the NH K – 12 Physical Education Curriculum Guidelines which were adopted in 2005. Feid said that the current Plainfield School curriculum was revised by him in 2004 using a draft of these guidelines. This current curriculum was never presented to the Board. Feid was confident that the current curriculum closely follows the guidelines but has some further work to be sure it is completely aligned.

Music teacher David Keeney shared a document entitled “Music Course Goals” which is a broad set of goals for the Music program. The last curriculum was finished in 2001. The next step in the curriculum process is to map the curriculum and align it to state standards.

Art teacher Kate Mortimer explained to the Board that she has been assisted by parent volunteer Elizabeth Lurie in beginning to map the Art curriculum. Mortimer explained that PES has never had a real Art curriculum, with the last “curriculum” being merely a list of art activities. She explained that Art also has guidelines from the state that the curriculum must be aligned to but her lessons already closely follow the guidelines and the biggest task right now is mapping it out.

Announcements, Communications

Superintendent Collins told the Board who is on the town Finance Committee this year.

Consent Agenda

A. Minutes October 15, 2007

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted three in favor to accept the minutes of the November 5, 2007 (Board member Bucklin was out of the room when the vote was taken).

B. Nominations

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted three in favor to accept the following nominations (Board member Bucklin was out of the room when the vote was taken):

            Greg Hardy, 5/6 Boys Head Basketball Coach

            Todd MacDonald, 5/6 Boys Assistant Basketball Coach

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to accept the following nominations:

            Jodi Anderle, School Secretary

            Katie Southworth, Education Assistant, grs. 1 & 6

C. Resignation

Superintendent Collins informed the Board of the resignation of Annette Moore, School Secretary, which the Board acknowledged, with regrets.

Reports

A. Principal’s Report

Principal Langsner reported that she recently met with the principals of Lebanon High School and Lebanon Jr. High School about how to facilitate the transition of students from Plainfield School to Lebanon High School. One of the plans to help this transition involves sending Plainfield School junior high teachers from to Lebanon High School and to Kimball Union Academy so they can better understand where their students will be going and what they will be experiencing when they go to high school. Langsner also explained that Lebanon High School will be moving toward a competency based grading system which will soon be accepted state-wide. In this new system, a student must pass certain standards in order to pass the class and grades will be “pass” or “fail” instead of the traditional A, B, C.

B. Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Collins announced that he attended a meeting with School Care representatives and they hope to have the figure for premium increases by December 1. He said they will be offering another plan, besides the HMO and POS plans, which emphasizes wellness and prevention. The premiums for the new plan will be 5% lower than the HMO plan but deductibles will be higher.

Collins reported that the next AREA meeting will be held December 12, 2007.

Collins said that the energy analysis done by Allen Ferguson is complete and results will be reported at the next Facility Committee meeting. Board member Bucklin mentioned an organization she knows that is looking for K – 12 schools to pilot a program for “green” schools.

C. Committee Reports

Facilities Committee – Board member Cogan reported that a meeting about the parking lot was held recently with Principal Langsner, Steve Halleran, Ken Stalker, Scott MacLeay and members of the committee. It was the consensus of the group to revise the original parking lot plan to make it more affordable. He outlined a simpler plan that would roughly double the number of parking spaces available now. Board member Ferguson stated that she feels the present parking situation is improved given the changes to drop-off and pick-up procedures implemented by Principal Langsner. Ferguson stated that improvements to the existing building are more critical. Board Chair Reynolds stated she would prefer to see changes made to the parking lot that could be supported by the budget or by the capital reserve fund but didn’t think she would support a parking lot bond at this time. She suggested a phased plan for the parking lot. Board member Bucklin asked whose responsibility it would be to install sidewalks for safe foot access from Bonner Road. Principal Langsner said she is looking for help with that from the Safe Route to School grant.

Professional Development Committee – Board member Bucklin reported that the committee met recently with some amazing work led by teacher Brenda Johnson.

The agenda was reordered at this time.

Business for Discussion and/or Action

C. Superintendent Search Process

Superintendent Collins introduced town member Joe Della Badia. Mr. Della Badia preceded Superintendent Collins in the role of Superintendent of the Plainfield School District. Mr. Della Badia has both a familiarity with the Plainfield School District and has helped to facilitate superintendent searches for other school systems. Della Badia offered to volunteer his time to facilitate the superintendent search. Della Badia said he would lead the Board through the process, keeping it focused and doing the “leg work” for them and he briefly described the process he would suggest. Board Chair Reynolds said that she would welcome Mr. Della Badia in the role he described but would like to be sure that no resumes were screened before the Board could see them.

B. Policies

Policy IF (Instructional Approach) – First Reading. This is a mandatory policy using language suggested by the School Board Association. Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to move this policy for a second reading.

Policy IMAH (Daily Physical Activity) – Second Reading. Several changes were suggested.

Policy JLDBA (Behavior Management and Intervention) – Second Reading. One change was suggested.

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to approve Policy IMAH (Daily Physical Activity) and Policy JLDBA (Behavior Management and Intervention) as revised.

Policy JLF (Reporting Child Abuse) – Second Reading. This policy was rewritten from the last reading. A change was suggested. Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to move Policy JLF (Reporting Child Abuse) for a third reading.

Policy KE (Public Complaints) – Third Reading. A change was suggested and made. Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to approve Policy KE (Public Complaints) as revised.

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 (b) at 9:15 pm.

Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to go back into public session at 9:45 pm. No action was taken.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:46 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Annette Moore

Recording Clerk