PLAINFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT
Plainfield School Board Meeting
Monday, December 5, 2005
Plainfield Elementary School
UNAPPROVED MINUTES
The meeting was called to order at 6:33 pm. Present were Board members Reynolds, Houde Hardy, Ferguson, Bucklin and Cogan. Also present were Superintendent Collins, Principal Langsner, Finance Director Bill Moorman and members of the public.
Public Comments
Town member Janet Connolly asked if she could get a copy of the curricula. Board Chair Reynolds said she thinks the curricula are available at the libraries.
Announcements, Communications
Board member Houde Hardy reported that she was approached by a parent expressing concern about the continued irregularity of the morning bus schedule.
Board member Ferguson sent a note of congratulations from the School Board to Mary Cantlin and to Karen Heaton.
Consent Agenda
A. Minutes November 21 , 2005
Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to accept the public and non-public minutes of November 21, 2005 with the following changes: the third nomination for Open Gym Supervisor should be “Dan Cantlin”, not “Mary Cantlin”; the fifth sentence in the second paragraph under the Facility Committee Recommendations should be, “Board member Ferguson thought the $30,000 per year was a reasonable target for building repairs”; the first sentence in the second paragraph under Administrative Structure should be, “Board member Cogan thought that Plainfield has more in-school athletics than many schools” and add after that, “It has always been the feeling in the Plainfield community that athletics should be run by the school rather than by the town”.
B. Nominations
Upon motion made and seconded, the School Board voted all in favor to accept the following nomination:
Dan Cantlin Boys B Basketball Coach
Reports
Principal’s Report – Principal Langsner reported that there continues to be problems with the buses. The P4 and P6 routes are the hardest hit with problems and there have been several incidents when there have been buses without seatbelts. The office staff reports every problem to the bus manager. Board Chair Reynolds asked if there is some penalty for not providing the school with seatbelts which is in the contract. Collins replied that he has a call in to the regional director to discuss contract issues.
Langsner reported that the faculty and the Faculty Advisory Council are working on their school goals. They have discussed the need to make the goals longer than one-year goals in order for them to be successful.
Superintendent’s Report – Collins reported on the status of Highly Qualified Teachers. He said that the interpretation changes frequently and has caused some stress among the staff. The latest interpretation is that teachers in grades K – 6 are considered Highly Qualified if they have been teaching for three or more years, hold a NH certification for Elementary or Early Childhood Education, have completed an elementary teacher preparation program in NH or a regionally accredited program out of state and have completed one certification cycle. He said that he thinks 99% of our teachers in grades K – 6 will fall in this category. Collins and the Board also discussed the qualifications necessary for middle school teachers to be considered Highly Qualified.
Health Insurance Committee Report – Board member Bucklin reported that the Health Insurance Committee met with the third insurance company and the committee can now compare the options offered.
Nutrition Committee Report – Board member Ferguson reported that Brandon Feid went to a conference on school nutrition and he reported back to the committee that Plainfield School seems to be far ahead of other schools in this area.
Business for Discussion and/or Action
Board Chair Reynolds reordered the agenda at this time.
B. Warrant Article re. Collective Bargaining Agreements (Citizen’s request)
Town member Pam Miller spoke against separating staff salaries from the general operating budget. She said that the teachers, the administration and the students are all one team and she is not in favor of dividing them from the general operating budget.
Carl Strong explained the position of the people he represents. Strong quoted the Sanborn Decision, which he said suggests budget items that may involve “lively discussion” should be separated from the general operating budget. Strong said that he would rather the Board make the decision to use separate warrants but his group has a signed petition and is prepared to bring it to the district meeting in March.
Board Chair Reynolds identified three areas that she felt are of concern to the petitioners: raises last year were excessive compared to other school’s raises and to people in general; the School Board is trying to bury the true cost of salaries in the operating budget; the public feels a loss of control by keeping salaries within the operating budget. Reynolds addressed each of these concerns and stated that she feels the majority of the town will support keeping staff salaries within the operating budget.
Carl Strong said he does not feel the Board does a good enough job identifying how teacher raises effect additional costs, such as FICA, insurances, retirement benefits and annuities. Bill Moorman said that they are all labeled in department 12 of the budget but Strong feels that it is too confusing. Janet Connolly indicated that she asked for and received information from the Superintendent’s office recently that she felt was very clear and perhaps the Board could use something similar to clarify some of the questions. Board member Cogan said he feels the Board could do a better job with clarity but he doesn’t feel that a separate warrant article will accomplish that. Cogan said he feels the school can’t run without the teachers but is glad that the petition warrant article will appear in March to give the entire community the opportunity to show how it feels.
A. Preliminary 2006-2007 Budget Presentation
The School Board looked at the preliminary proposed budget for 2006-2007 and went through it line by line, discussing increases, decreases and changes from last year’s budget. They also discussed a plan to hire a teacher (to replace retiring teacher Steve Beaupre) in combination with an Assistant Principal/Athletic Director next year and the need for a classroom aide in the kindergarten.
C. Policies
The Board did the first reading of policy ING (Animals in School) and policy JR (Student and Family Privacy Rights).
The Board did the second reading of policy ACE (Procedural Safeguards Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap) and policy IGBA (Programs for Students with Disabilities). Some changes were made to both of these policies and they will need to return for another reading.
The Board did the second reading of policy GBCD (Background Investigation and Criminal Records Check), policy IIAC (Library Materials Selection and Adoption) and policy IM ((also AFE) (Evaluation of Instructional Programs). Upon motion made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to approve as second reading and adopt policies GBCD, IIAC, and IM.
Non Public Session
Upon 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 9:32 pm. Discussion on staff renewal per the Master Agreement took place.
Upon motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to go back into public session at 9:42 pm. No action was taken
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:43 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Annette Moore
Recording Clerk