PLAINFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT
Plainfield School Board Meeting
Monday, December 18, 2006
Plainfield Elementary School
MINUTES
The meeting was called to order at 6:34 pm. Present were Board members Reynolds, Ferguson, Bucklin, Cogan and Forman. Also present were Superintendent Collins, Principal Langsner, and members of the public.
Announcements, Communications
Board Chair Reynolds received calls from two parents requesting that the school form a graduation committee to explore the possibility of changing the format of the eighth grade graduation. Reynolds suggested the callers speak with Principal Langsner. Principal Langsner will look into the history of the graduation and report to the Board.
Consent Agenda
A. Minutes December 4, 2006
Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to accept the public and non-public minutes of December 4, 2006 with the following amendments: in the last paragraph on the first page, change the second sentence to, “She attributes this difficulty to the low rate the school pays some substitutes, support staff and nurse substitutes in particular, compared to other schools in the Upper Valley.”; change the last sentence in the same paragraph to, “Plainfield pay for substitute teachers is on a par with Lebanon this year, but Langsner mentioned that Lebanon has recommended to increase pay for both substitute teachers and substitute aides next year.”; change the third bullet on the third page to, “to increase a special education teacher from .8 fte to 1.0 fte. This year the school has hired this teacher as a tutor to attend to special student needs.”; and add a bullet, “increase the art teacher from .6 fte to .8 fte.”; change the last sentence in the last full paragraph on page four to, “He has put the increase for the athletic director, the junior high teacher, the art teacher, and the special education teacher into the budget because these positions already exist, and in the past, additions to existing positions have been put into the budget and not in a separate warrant.”
Reports
A. Principal’s Report
Principal Langsner reported that the school registered three new students to start on the first day after the holiday break. Langsner told the Board that the PTA has supplied every classroom in the school with an emergency backpack. The PTA bought the following items, recommended by the NH Association for School Principals, to put into the emergency backpacks: water, granola bars, gloves, flashlight, tarps and space blankets.
B. Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Collins gave Board members a copy of the Plainfield Professional Performance Process, developed by the Professional Development Steering Committee and the Best Schools Team. He requested that the Board read is so they can take action on it at a later date.
C. Athletic Committee – Board member Forman reported that at their last meeting, the Athletic Committee (A.C.) talked about fundraising ideas to help offset the startup costs of starting 5/6 grade baseball and softball teams this spring. Forman explained that during that discussion he became aware that former principal Andy Mellow had done a lot of work organizing fundraising so that they would not become overwhelming to the school community. Forman would like more information about this at a later date.
Forman said that the A.C. also looked at the proposed 07-08 budget and discussed an endorsement for changes to the Athletic Director staffing. He said the committee will definitely endorse the budget and he hopes that the endorsement will be unanimous after some more in-depth discussion among members.
The Athletic Committee will also be exploring a policy on student participation in more that one school sponsored sport.
Superintendent Collins asked Forman if the Athletic Committee received any feedback on the summer camps run by Brandon Feid. He would like their input as to whether to allow the camps back at Plainfield School next summer.
Business for Discussion and/or Action
A. LGC COBRA and Retiree Services
Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to authorize the Superintendent to enter into an agreement with the Local Government Health Trust, LLC to provide the District with COBRA and Retiree billing administrative services (for dental plan at no extra cost to the District).
B. Principals’ Job Description
Board member Forman explained that he revised the job description that the Board saw at the last meeting, incorporating into it new language that describes outcome. For example, he took the sentence, “Interviews and recommends prospective staff members.” and added, “who are the best of their peer group.” A lot of discussion focused on the following addition, “…including the appropriate use of Track III Status (“Teachers In Need Of Assistance”) to manage, mentor, and improve teachers who are not meeting expectations.” Some Board members felt that the sentence focused too much on the negative. The Board agreed to make the sentence more positive by adding, “…and recognizing the achievements of…” Superintendent Collins will make all the changes suggested and bring the document back for a final reading and approval in January.
C. 2007- 2008 Draft Budget
Superintendent Collins noted that he sent a copy of the draft 2007-2008 budget to all Finance Committee members and invited them to attend the January 8 meeting. The Board looked over the new draft and Superintendent Collins noted some small changes that were made since the last meeting. Collins also pointed out that the budget draft does not include an interest payment which will need to be added if the Board decides to pursue a bond for the sprinkler system. Board member Forman commended the administration on presenting a basically flat budget if you remove those increases that are mandatory.
The Board discussed the staffing changes proposed in the new budget and whether or not they wanted to include any or all of those increases into the budget or as a warrant article. Those staff increases include: increase a special education teacher from .8 fte to 1.0 fte; increase middle school staffing from 1.55 fte to 2.0 fte; increase the art room teacher from .6 fte to .8 fte; change athletic director from a stipend to .33 fte. The board discussed the difference between “got to have” and “like to have” and also the possibility that such small increases do not necessitate a separate warrant articles. Superintendent Collins encouraged the board to look at the four staff increases and, if they feel the staff increases are essential to the school, include them in the budget. Collins suggested that they put anything they feel nonessential into a separate warrant article. All Board members agreed to put all four position increases into the main budget.
D. Potential Bond Vote
Superintendent Collins asked for the Board’s authorization to apply for state aid for the sprinkler system. The application needs to be in by December 29, 2006. Board member Cogan suggested that if the Board decides to apply for a bond for the sprinkler then they should perhaps include other improvements from the suggested 5-year plan from the Facilities Committee. Superintendent Collins was not sure how many of those improvements qualify for state reimbursement. He explained that he needs a cost estimate and a design of the work that needs to be completed for the application. Board member Cogan suggested that Superintendent Collins try to find out if the parking lot (which has a design and an estimate) is eligible. Cogan also requested that Collins investigate whether or not the redesign of bathrooms and the replacement of lighting systems are eligible. Collins will try to get answers from the state and report to Cogan before the Facilities Committee meets again on Thursday.
Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to authorize the Superintendent to submit an application for state aid reimbursement.
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 9:48 pm. Discussion of a compensation package per a tentative agreement with the teachers.
Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to go back into public session at 10:29 pm. Upon a motion made and seconded, the School Board voted unanimously to ratify the Professional Agreement between the Plainfield Education Association and the Plainfield School Board.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 10:31 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Annette Moore
Recording Clerk