PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MINUTES WILL
NOT BE FINAL UNTIL
THE BOARD HAS APPROVED THEM AT
ITS NEXT MEETING.
April 3, 2008
The Board of Directors
of
The following
Directors were present: Kim Totten, Chair; Maryane Burns;
Dorothy “Dee” Carrier; Dorothy Gardner; David Johnson; Scott McKernan; Jane Meisenbach; Joanne
Reinhart; Joanne M. Rogers; and Donald A. Russell..
Not present were
Robert W. Hill, Rebekah Stimpson,
Gwen Thomas and Roland Tufts.
Also present was Lisa
Rogers, student representative to the Board of Directors. Student representative Sam Prindall was absent.
1. Call to order
The
meeting was called to order by Chairman Totten at
7:15 p.m. The meeting was preceded by a
public hearing on the FY 2009 budget.
2. Pledge of Allegiance to
the Flag
The Pledge of Allegiance to the
Flag was recited by those present.
3. To consider action relative to
additions or adjustments to the agenda
Agenda
adjustments were noted as follows and integrated appropriately into the agenda.
{add}
6.1a To accept the resignation of Karen
Dilley, social worker, effective at the conclusion of the 2007-2008
contract year
{add}
6.1b To accept the resignation of Peter
Slaski, middle school math teacher, effective at
the conclusion of the 2007-2008 contract year
{add}
6.3 To approve a request for a leave of absence without pay from Gretchen Feiss, 7-8th
grade science teacher, for the 2008-2009 contract year
{add}
8.1 Correspondence
3.1 RECOGNITIONS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Ø
Stephen C. Spaeth,
Maya Tepler, Sally Loughlin and Craig King – on publication of “
Ø
4. To take action relative to accepting as printed the minutes of the
March 6, 2008, and March 20, 2008, regular meetings of the Board of Directors
It
was moved by Mrs. Carrier, seconded by Mr. Johnson, and VOTED (unanimously) to accept as printed the minutes of the March
6, 2008, regular meeting of the Board of Directors.
It
was moved by Mrs. Rogers, seconded by Mr. Johnson, and VOTED (unanimously) to accept as printed the minutes of the March
20, 2008, regular meeting of the Board of Directors.
5. OLD BUSINESS:
5.1 To discuss the Budget Referendum Validation Process and to set a date
for the District Budget Meeting
Board members had been provided information on the Budget Referendum
Validation Process. At this point, it’s
unclear whether the Board will have 10 or 14 days (following the District
Budget Meeting) to hold the Budget Referendum.
In the past, at the Board meeting at which the Board votes to adopt a
budget to take to referendum, the warrants have been prepared for signatures at
that same Board meeting. At the April 17th
Board meeting, the Board will have to sign the warrants for the District Budget
Meeting to begin the process of posting them.
The Superintendent recommends that the Board include an article
authorizing the Board to receive and expend additional monies which the
District may receive.
The Finance Committee has tentatively discussed holding the District
Budget meeting on May 31st with a June 10th budget
referendum. In the event that the District
goes through the process without a budget being adopted, the Superintendent
suggested the Board may want to consider an alternative date to allow time to go
through the process a second time, before the July 1, 2008, deadline for having
a school budget in place, in the event the budget fails.
The Superintendent suggested that the Board may want to consider
holding the District Budget Meeting earlier than what has been discussed. The costs of holding a referendum other than
June 10th (Statewide referendum) must be borne by the District.
Dr. Wilhelm noted that a downside of scheduling the meetings earlier
than previously considered is the difficulty of coming up with another set of
dates. He sought the Board’s opinion on
holding the Budget Meeting so that the referendum could be held prior to June
10th. Mr. Russell feels this
would be prudent.
Superintendent Wilhelm stated that traditionally between $4,000 and $6,000
has been budgeted for conducting a referendum.
He noted that a risk is the potential of having two different groups
involved – those who attend the District Budget Meeting and those who vote at
referendum.
Mrs. Carrier asked if it would be possible to consider the dates of May
17th (Budget Meeting) and May 27th (referendum) then
reserving the dates of June 10th and June 20th for the
Budget Meeting and referendum, respectively, in the event the process must be
repeated.
When asked about the possibility of holding the Budget Meeting on an
evening, Mrs. Carrier expressed her preference to hold it on a Saturday, to
allow as many as possible to attend.
High School Principal Craig King informed the Board that the parking
lot of the high school will be utilized for the prom on May 17th. The possibility of using the
Superintendent Wilhelm will consult with counsel regarding this matter.
Dr. Wilhelm told the Board the issue of “open” or “closed” articles needs
to be decided.
If the warrant contains “open” articles, the public can vote to
increase or decrease the line item amounts recommended by the Finance
Committee. “Closed”
articles means that the public can only vote to decrease amounts in the lines.
Mrs. Carrier admitted this is a hard question, but given the time spent
on the budget, the Finance Committee realizes that everyone in the State is in
the same position Statewide. She doesn’t
want to be in a position where articles can be increased to a point beyond the
Board’s means. She recommended that the
Board support a “closed” article warrant.
Mrs. Rogers agreed with Mrs. Carrier, acknowledging that she is “leery”
of the budget process this year. She
noted minimum attendance at the public hearings, except for those who had
specific issues, which could result in additions to the budget.
Mr. Johnson expressed his agreement with the closed article warrant.
Mr. Russell also agreed, feeling that the closed articles present a
“cap” on what the Board feels it can afford.
It was moved by Mrs. Rogers, seconded by Mrs. Gardner, and VOTED (unanimously) to adopt (the
format of) a “closed” article warrant
for the FY 2009 budget.
5.2 To hear a report on the public meetings held to explain the FY 2009 budget
Mrs. Carrier reported that three hearings have been held. The Finance Committee has heard questions
regarding health teachers, librarian time, and music positions, all of which
need to be thought about. She said she
is looking forward to presenting a budget to the Board at its April 17th
meeting. Business Manager Peter Gray and
Assistant Superintendent Sally Loughlin were commended for their presentations
at the three budget hearings.
5.1 To
hear a report from Craig King on the NEASC accreditation findings
Dr. King reported that the Commission on Post-Secondary Education of
NEASC voted last weekend on
Dr. King outlined for the Board the four possibilities of the status
the high school may receive, ranging from continued accreditation with
requirement of a two-year progress report (which all schools are required to
submit) to continued accreditation with cause for probation (indicating that
the school is failing to adhere to one or more of the standards).
He outlined the reports which are required to be submitted to NEASC,
pointing out that special reports can be requested at any time.
A committee has been established to continue the long-range work of
maintaining accreditation. Students and
parents will be appointed to the committee.
6. NEW BUSINESS:
6.1 To accept the resignation of Michael
R. Nelson, Technology Support Leader, effective at the conclusion of the
2007-2008 contract year
It was moved by Mrs. Carrier, seconded by Mrs. Gardner, and VOTED (unanimously) to accept the
resignation of Michael R. Nelson, Technology
Support Leader, effective at the conclusion of the 2007-2008 contract year.
Superintendent expressed appreciation for Mr. Nelson’s work with the
District.
6.1a To accept the resignation of Karen
Dilley, social worker, effective at the conclusion of the 2007-2008
contract year
It was moved by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mr. McKernan,
and VOTED (unanimously) to accept
the resignation of Karen Dilley, social
worker, effective at the conclusion of the 2007-2008 contract year.
Dr. Wilhelm commended Mrs. Dilley for her service and wished her well.
6.1b To accept the resignation of Peter
Slaski, middle school math teacher, effective at
the conclusion of the 2007-2008 contract year
It was moved by Mrs. Carrier, seconded by Mr. Johnson, and VOTED (unanimously) to accept the
resignation of Peter Slaski,
middle school math teacher, effective at the conclusion of the 2007-2008
contract year.
Dr.
Wilhelm noted that Mr. Slaski has done a good job and
has the opportunity to teach in
6.2 To appoint William Donovan, District
Energy Manager, to the position of Interim Transportation Director, from April
22, 2008 through June 30, 2008
It was moved by Mr. Johnson, seconded by Mrs. Gardner, and VOTED (unanimously) to appoint William Donovan, District Energy
Manager, to the position of Interim Transportation Director, from April 22,
2008 through June 30, 2008.
Mr. Donovan thanked the Board for this opportunity. Giving a brief update on the District’s
energy-savings project, he said that over the past seven years, $1.5 million in
cost avoidance (aka savings) has been realized.
He will present a more in-depth report to the Board at a future meeting.
6.3 To approve a request for a leave of absence without pay from Gretchen Feiss, 7-8th
grade science teacher, for the 2008-2009 contract year
It was moved by Mrs. Carrier, seconded by Ms. Burns, and VOTED (unanimously) to approve a
request for a leave of absence without pay from Gretchen Feiss, 7-8th grade
science teacher, for the 2008-2009 contract year.
Ms. Feiss has been offered a year-long
teacher-in-residence faculty position at
7. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
7.1 Board Negotiating Committee – No report was presented.
7.2 Calendar Committee – A draft calendar will be presented to the
Board for a first reading at the April 17th meeting.
8. SUPERINTENDENT’S
REPORT:
8.1 Correspondence – Board members were provided with a copy of
correspondence from the federal Department of Education, informing the District
that it has been approved to acquire 17 acres of unimproved land at the Topsham
Annex for construction of athletic fields and use of physical education
programs for middle and high school students.
Said property will be conveyed to the District as a 100% public benefit
in 2011, upon closure of
9. ADJOURNMENT:
The
meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
/bb/minutes4308