SPECIAL MEETING OF THE
MONTPELIER BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS October 15, 2014 MINUTES Minutes Approved: November 5, 2014 Present Board: Sue Aldrich, Jennifer Cahill Bean, Michele Braun, Ken Jones, Carol Paquette, Charlie Phillips, Lowell VanDerlip Students: Theresa Noonan, Alex Stetter Public: Bridget Asay, David Beatty, Chris Curtis, Jed Guertin, Page Guertin, Mary Hooper, Tina Muncy, Lyn Munno, Amy Nixon, Nathan Suter, and others Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. Public Comments None in advance of the priorities discussion. Discuss FY16 Budget Priorities The Board worked on identifying three to five top priorities to guide the Leadership Team in their upcoming work on the FY16 budget. Items rising to the top of the list included facilities, the arts, and a 5:1 student-to-staff ratio. Other items on the list included maintaining teacher excellence, PE/sports, technology, foreign language, and extra-curriculars. Mr. Phillips asked for justifiable class sizes, as well as a concerted effort to attract tuition students and a concerted effort to seek out opportunities for collaboration with U-32. Mr. Jones identified working on outcomes for lower-performing students as a desired priority. The need for both a short-term and a long-term plan for technology was noted. The Board also discussed asking the Leadership Team for three budgets, one with a 0% increase, one with a 3.5% increase, which is the estimated increase to maintain the status quo and existing obligations, and one with a 5% increase. A few parents spoke against the suggestion of a 0% increase, saying it did not make sense and was not the right starting place for the District’s children. Resident Chris Curtis said if the Board needs 3.5% to maintain, then that’s the starting point for the conversation. Other residents in attendance expressed appreciation for the brainstorming and thanked the Board for the process of discussion. Mr. Jones noted the importance of showing the consequences of what a 0% increase would look like. Mr. Phillips agreed, saying he would never vote for it but saw it as a good starting point. Announcements/Review Meeting (+/∆) Mr. VanDerlip hopes to have the report of the Program/Finance Committee for the next board packet. Mr. Jones requested to delay discussion on his proposal to move forward in joining Montpelier middle and high schools with U-32 from the October 22nd meeting to the November 5th meeting since he cannot attend the meeting on October 22nd. When the agenda for the November 5th meeting is prepared, Mr. Jones asked for inclusion of a student presentation featuring enrollment projections – 10 minutes maximum. Executive Session On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to enter Executive Session at 9:33 p.m. On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to leave Executive Session at 9:58 p.m. Contract Negotiations Adjournment On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 9:58 p.m. Heather Michaud Recorder MEETING OF THE
MONTPELIER BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS October 1, 2014 MINUTES Minutes Approved: October 22, 2014 Present Board: Sue Aldrich, Jennifer Cahill Bean, Michele Braun, Ken Jones, Carol Paquette, Charlie Phillips, Lowell VanDerlip Administration: Superintendent Brian Ricca Student: Alex Stetter Public: Emma Bay-Hansen, Christopher Curtis, Alisa Dworsky, Jed Guertin, Page Guertin, Aaron Heyerdahl, Barbarina Heyerdahl, Anthony Iarrapino, Kairn Kelley, Scott Lewins, Jen Matthews, Lyn Munno, Anthony Pollina, Leah Sagan-Dworsky, Tanya Serota-Winston, Peter Sterling, Nathan Suter, Andrew Tripp, and others Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. Adjust/Review Agenda With a sizable crowd in attendance, Mrs. Aldrich extended the public comments portion of the meeting to allow those who wished to do so an opportunity to weigh in on their desired priorities for the upcoming budget. Mrs. Aldrich asked that once the public comments portion of the meeting has ended, the Board be given an opportunity to do their work without any further public input at that point. Public Comments Resident Chris Curtis asked the Board to resist any temptations to cut the budget. He identified priorities of more custodial staff and additional playground supervision at UES. He urged the Board to resist any temptation to remove the Community Connections program from the school budget. He also urged the Board to not go down the road of whiplash budgeting. He said anything that could be done in terms of early intervention would save down the road. Mr. Curtis said he was unconvinced that the program/finance committee should be the body to decide which direction the budget should go. Another Montpelier resident said she, too, was uncomfortable with the concept of a budget committee making decisions about the budget. She said Montpelier needs a strong, robust school system and it is the experts (i.e., the School Board and the administration) who should say what the students need to be the best they can be. She said the residents of Montpelier need the opportunity to vote for the best budget for the school system. Peter Sterling encouraged the Board to think about what resources it needs to give the children of Montpelier a 21st century education. Another resident said she does not think cutting the budget should even be up for discussion. Resident Andrew Tripp believes the Board should be a source of leadership and needs to identify new sources of revenue. Nathan Suter expressed concerns about deficiencies, particularly technology. He said technology is critical in today's world and Montpelier needs a 2014 education for its students. Mr. Suter said the more we defer staffing, technology, etc. now, the more we pay the piper later. He believes past budget increases have been extraordinarily modest. He said the Board needs to be vocal and mature about its needs and revenue sources. MHS student Leah Sagan-Dworsky presented her argument for including funding for the debate team in the budget. Kairn Kelley believes the students should be the primary focus whenever talking about changes to programs. She apologized to the Board for taking the whole budget process for granted in the past and promised to take the time to communicate to colleagues, friends and neighbors to be sure voters support what the Board says they need as long as they keep up the good work. Alisa Dworsky offered her support to advocate for keeping programs strong. Anthony Iarrapino said he appreciated the Board's instinct toward frugality, but at the same time was ashamed about the physical condition of the schools. He believes the Board may have conditioned the voters to artificially low budgets but they needed to break that habit and be honest about what the needs really are. He wants to support a budget that he can be proud of, one that is focused on the students. Resident Lyn Munno said she fears losing students to neighboring communities with better offerings and opportunities. It is her hope for the Board to look at what is a great education for children in Montpelier for 2014 and the future and to create a budget for that. Resident Aaron Heyderdahl said his family moved to Montpelier because the schools are vibrant, healthy and strong. He said his children have been in seven different school systems and by comparison the experience at MHS has been the most engaged, happiest of any system his children have been in. He believes the art, music and Community Connections programs are the pieces that really bring life to the school and create passion for the kids and he urged the Board against any cuts to those programs. Discuss Field Trip Passed over. Lonesome Lake – Myles Chater Update on Board Communications Plan Mrs. Aldrich reported that she, Mr. Phillips and Mr. VanDerlip attended the VAM meeting and the turnout was good. Mrs. Braun said she got a "thanks, but no thanks" message from the two neighborhood organizations she was able to connect with. She asked for other neighborhoods with leaders to get in touch with her. Ms. Paquette contacted Montpelier Alive and was put on their agenda for October 9th at 5:30. Unfortunately she cannot attend that meeting and asked for others to attend; Mrs. Aldrich and Mr. Phillips volunteered. Mr. Phillips contacted the Senior Center and they have set him up with a table where people can stop by on November 7th from 11:30-1:00. Mr. Jones called the City Council and is on their agenda for next Wednesday, October 8th. Mr. VanDerlip said he is happy to help out wherever given the fact that he missed the last meeting and did not receive an assignment. He volunteered to write letters, commentaries, or information pieces for the papers from a board perspective. Mr. Phillips said he had not yet had an opportunity to contact the Rotary and Mrs. Braun volunteered to do that. Discuss Process for Priority Setting for FY16 Budget Since the first draft of the budget will come before the last scheduled meeting with stakeholders, Superintendent Ricca reminded the Board of the need for expenditure parameters or per-pupil parameters to guide his upcoming work. Mr. Jones reminded board members of a discussion regarding the possibility of another meeting off schedule for the purpose of priority setting and suggested October 15th as a possibility. Superintendent Ricca is unable to attend a meeting on that date. Following discussion, it was decided that the Board will meet again on October 15th absent Superintendent Ricca to determine priorities to put resources toward. Once set, the Board will provide those priorities to Superintendent Ricca. Discuss Superintendent Limitations Report 2.0 Global Superintendent Constraint A written report was provided and discussed. Discuss Process for Board Completion of MPS Governance Policies Mrs. Aldrich recognized the need to set up a timeframe for reviewing and revising existing policies. Mr. VanDerlip volunteered to work with Superintendent Ricca to identify which policies need revisions, as well as a calendar for bringing the identified policies to the full Board for discussion. Update on Program/Finance Committee Mr. VanDerlip reported that the committee had met earlier that evening and heard reports from committee members in regard to dual enrollment and distance learning. The committee also discussed the content of its report to the Board and how that report is going to be delivered. Mr. VanDerlip reported that the committee is prepared to provide data in regard to class size. The committee's report will include information about dual enrollment and will also address distance learning. The report is going to suggest that attention be given to any opportunities for collaboration with U-32 or other neighboring high schools. The report is also going to request that attention be given to examining revenue sources. One committee member wants the Board to look at the budget in terms of outcomes. The committee will meet again on October 15th to pull together the various pieces that committee members have been working on, with a final report to the Board hopefully on October 22nd. Mrs. Aldrich reminded everyone that the items suggested by the committee in their report to the Board are not necessarily going to happen. She said each item will be viewed as a suggestion and that the Board will not direct the Leadership Team in any direction until such time as there is a formal vote. Consent Agenda Minutes of September 17, 2014 Warrants Mr. Jones moved, seconded by Mr. Phillips, to approve the consent agenda including minutes of the September 17, 2014 regular meeting and Warrants 19, 20 and 21 dated October 9, 2014 in the amounts of $545,225.56, $25,046.21 and $170,012.40 respectively. Motion carried unanimously. Announcements/Review Meeting (+/∆) Mr. Jones distributed a proposal to move forward in joining Montpelier middle and high schools with U-32 with a request to include this as a discussion item on the agenda for the October 22nd meeting. Mr. Jones distributed and interpreted additional NECAP score data. Mrs. Braun congratulated Dr. Ricca on being named one of 25 national emerging leaders by Phi Delta Kappa International. Superintendent Ricca congratulated MHS math teacher Whitney Machnik and her Intro. to Computer Science class on their hands-on involvement in a local start up. Mr. VanDerlip announced that he will be attending a series of technology workshops through the Senior Center which will be taught at the middle school by middle school students. Mr. Jones presented the possibility of working with the Barre Technical Center to develop a technical education program at MHS. Mrs. Braun announced that local composer Erik Nielsen has been working with kids in the orchestra at MSMS. Alex Stetter announced that there are two candidates for the second student representative seat and hopefully one of those candidates will be attending the next meeting. Executive Session On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to enter Executive Session at 8:35 p.m., with the superintendent remaining. On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to leave Executive Session at 9:28 p.m. Contract Negotiations Adjournment On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 9:28 p.m. Heather Michaud Recorder MEETING OF THE
MONTPELIER BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS September 17, 2014 MINUTES Minutes Approved: October 1, 2014 Present Board: Sue Aldrich, Jennifer Cahill Bean, Michele Braun, Ken Jones, Carol Paquette, Charlie Phillips Administration: Superintendent Brian Ricca, Principals Pam Arnold and Chris Hennessey, Director of Facilities Thom Wood Public: Jed Guertin, Page Guertin, Patti Magoon, Lisa Moody, Eli Rosenberg, Kim Scott, and others Absent: Alex Stetter, Lowell VanDerlip Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:15 p.m. Executive Session On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to enter Executive Session at 6:15 p.m., with the superintendent remaining. On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to leave Executive Session at 7:04 p.m. Contract Negotiations Return to Open Session 7:08 p.m. Adjust/Review Agenda No changes. Public Comments None. Presentation from Main Street Middle School MSMS Literacy Coach Patti Magoon and teachers Lisa Moody, Kim Scott and Eli Rosenberg discussed and demonstrated ways they have modified and adjusted instructional strategies for implementing the Common Core. Report from Director of Facilities Thom Wood Status of Bond Projects Mr. Wood provided the Board with an update on the status of bond projects. A handout was provided. There is currently about $70,000 of bond money not allocated to any one project based on the over/under of other projects. Completed Summer Work Mr. Wood briefly reviewed the routine repair/maintenance projects completed at each of the buildings over the summer. A handout was provided. Projects that still need to be completed were also discussed. Cost Analysis Regarding Relocation of the Fifth Grade to Main Street Middle School Mr. Wood has been working with Black River Design to come up with a plan for performing selective renovations at Main Street Middle School to accommodate moving the fifth grade to that building. Black River Design has given the District two budgets. Their first pass was a very comprehensive plan that included renovating the entire ground floor area of the addition. The estimated cost of that work was $479,029. This amount was substantially more than what the District anticipated, so Mr. Wood went back to Black River Design to work with them on getting something more affordable. He has been working with them on an alternate solution and a more realistic budget for the renovation work. Based on those conversations, Black River Design returned an estimate of $250,000 for performing the renovations on a reduced scope. Mr. Wood is confident that he can work with Black River Design to perform the renovations for that price and that the work can be completed during next summer's construction season. Mr. Wood has asked Black River Design to generate a hard plan, as well as a very detailed estimate of probable costs, by November 1, 2014. Mr. Jones moved, seconded by Mr. Phillips, to recognize the need to move the fifth grade to the Main Street Middle School and authorized the District to take the steps necessary to make that happen. Motion carried unanimously. A communication plan for notifying families and addressing concerns about the relocation of the fifth grade to Main Street Middle School was discussed. Superintendent’s Report on End #1 A written report was provided. Superintendent Ricca asked board members if the information provided in his report was what they were looking for. Mr. Jones opined that static snapshots of proficiency work are not truly indicative of how the District is doing and cited the need to see and understand longitudinal change data. He said in the future he would like information presented that way. Mr. Phillips agreed, indicating he needs to see what happens over time in order to evaluate whether or or not progress is really being made. Superintendent Ricca acknowledged that the type of reporting Mr. Jones was asking for would also help internally and agreed to make this year's data the baseline for next year's End #1 report. Mr. Phillips asked for some future analysis on the drop in writing scores at the middle school. Mrs. Braun asked Superintendent Ricca if there was anything in his data that appeared significant to him. Superintendent Ricca said it was clear that the District was not meeting the needs of its most needy students, especially the boys, and needed to work on that. Mr. Jones suggested that the report for End #1 might be enhanced with the inclusion of portfolio data. Mr. Jones moved, seconded by Mr. Phillips, that the Board instruct Superintendent Ricca to provide them with information about how the report for End #1 will be improved for future years based upon the District's movement toward portfolio development for its students. Mrs. Braun questioned whether the language for End #1 should be adapted to reflect Mr. Jones' request. Following discussion, it was decided that the language is fine as is. Superintendent Ricca said he believed that including portfolio data as another indicator for End #1 would be an excellent step in the right direction, as portfolios can capture much more meaningful information. He went on to say that it is how the District should be fully assessing its students – around improvement and growth – and he would be proud to come back and begin a real conversation around this. Motion carried unanimously. Discuss Board Communications Plan Mrs. Aldrich announced that Vibrant and Affordable Montpelier (VAM) will be conducting another informational type meeting on Monday, September 22, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will take place at Noble Hall at Vermont College. Mrs. Aldrich plans on attending the meeting to inquire of city residents as to their priorities for the schools. Mrs. Aldrich reminded the Board about Val Gardner's recommendation to step up efforts at communicating and getting feedback from the community. She said the VAM meeting is an opportunity to do that. Superintendent Ricca asked what other venues would be helpful to have outreach ahead of hard budget numbers. Mr. Phillips suggested reaching out to the Senior Center and to Rotary. He volunteered to attend the informational meetings that are going to be set up by Principals Arnold and Hennessey in regard to the fifth grade move. Mrs. Braun suggested the Montpelier business association and neighborhood associations. City resident Page Guertin suggested a regular article in The Bridge to communicate information about the schools. Superintendent Ricca explained that he and Director of Curriculum & Technology Michael Martin have this year begun the process of being more thoughtful and purposeful about use of the school pages in that paper to give people a better understanding of what is happening in the schools. Preliminary Discussion Regarding FY16 Budget Superintendent Ricca reported that the Leadership Team has started to have very preliminary conversations around the FY16 budget. He said it would be helpful for the team to know what priorities the Board is interested in pursuing as they make decisions and shape the budget, knowing it will be a complicated one. Mr. Phillips said he would like to set institution of a foreign language program at the elementary school as a priority. He said he did not believe it would be incredibly expensive based on the previous study that was conducted. Mr. Phillips also asked to look at Community Connections. Mrs. Aldrich said she thought the Board should have an official priority setting meeting. She asked board members if their preference was to do that during one of the next regularly scheduled meeting after some community outreach or if they wanted to have a separate meeting. Following discussion, it was decided that developing a process for establishing priorities would be included as an agenda item for the next scheduled meeting on October 1, 2014. An at-home viewer suggested adding National Life and CVMC to the list of organizations for community outreach. Group assignments for community outreach were made. Mrs. Aldrich and Mr. Phillips will attend the VAM meeting. Mr. Phillips will contact Rotary. Ms. Paquette will contact the Senior Center. Mrs. Braun will contact the capital area neighborhoods. Mr. Jones will contact City Manager Bill Fraser or Mayor John Hollar for some time on the City Council agenda. Mrs. Bean will contact Montpelier Alive. Consent Agenda Minutes of September 3, 2014 Warrants Unpaid Leave of Absence Request Mr. Jones moved, seconded by Mr. Phillips, to approve the consent agenda including minutes of the September 3, 2014 regular meeting, Warrants 16, 17 and 18 dated September 25, 2014 in the amounts of $920,358.64, $37,678.19 and $122,272.86 respectively, and an unpaid leave of absence request. Motion carried unanimously. Announcements/Review Meeting (+/∆) Pleased to see the middle school had a strong cross country showing. Adjournment On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 9:08 p.m. Heather Michaud Recorder MEETING OF THE
MONTPELIER BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS September 3, 2014 MINUTES Minutes Approved: September 17, 2014 Present Board: Sue Aldrich, Jennifer Cahill Bean, Michele Braun, Ken Jones, Carol Paquette, Charlie Phillips, Lowell VanDerlip Administration: Superintendent Brian Ricca Student: Alex Stetter Public: Jed Guertin Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m. Adjust/Review Agenda No changes. Public Comments None. Review Leadership Team/Board Retreat Board members and Superintendent Ricca reflected on the recent half-day retreat between the Board and the Leadership Team and exchanged positive thoughts and comments about the meeting. Hear Report on Meeting with Val Gardner Superintendent Ricca, Mrs. Aldrich and Messrs. Phillips and Jones reported on their recent meeting with Val Gardner. The meeting was held in order to bring Mr. Jones up to date on Ms. Gardner’s prior discussion with the Board since Mr. Jones was not able to attend that meeting. Role of the board, board priorities and policies were discussed. Ms. Gardner is interested and willing to continue working with the Board. Next steps will be for her to work with Superintendent Ricca and Mrs. Aldrich (and maybe Mr. Phillips) on agenda planning. She will also work with Superintendent Ricca on monitoring reports, limitations reports and superintendent reports. Update on Program/Finance Committee Mrs. Braun and Mr. VanDerlip reported on the August meeting. Enrollment data from Montpelier and U-32 was obtained and one of the discoveries was that this data requires a lot of interpretation. A directive was given to administration to review enrollment for both schools and look at other details that do or do not make it possible to collaborate to maximize opportunities for students. The committee asked for a report back detailing where collaboration is already taking place, where it could take place, what are the hurdles that make collaboration challenging, and what needs to change in order for more collaboration to occur. Mrs. Braun and Mr. VanDerlip also reported that the committee received a positive report on the Recreation Department. The Recreation Department was compared to others of comparable size and committee members were blown away by the number of people being served by the Rec. Department. Programs offerings were compared to the school and Community Connections offerings. It was found that there was no overlap, with offerings being complimentary and not duplicative. No significant opportunities for change were identified. One committee member has been designated to report on what is happening in regard to distance learning, i.e., what the possibilities are and how to make this a more robust avenue for student learning. Ideas for enhancing revenue, i.e., being more aggressive about seeking students who do not have a designated high school, as well as foreign students, were also discussed. Mr. VanDerlip acknowledged that the committee had put the burden of finding out what is happening and what could change with distance learning, tuition paying students, etc. on the administration. The next meeting is scheduled for September 17th. Following the report, Mrs. Aldrich, questioned whether the Board wanted committee members giving directives to the administration. Mr. Jones agreed, saying that was not the way the committee was set up. The committee was formed for the purpose of gathering information and making recommendations to the Board. Mrs. Braun clarified that the committee did not direct the administration to do anything they were not already doing. The directive was to gather information and look at it, not to take any action. She said the committee is still meeting and has not put together what their recommendations to the Board are going to be. Mr. Jones opined that he does not believe the committee is going to be in a position to help with the upcoming budget. He said he wanted to plant the seed for considering what it would really take for the District to join with U-32 as a single high school educating unit. Mrs. Braun acknowledged that the committee took that off the table because it was too big of an issue. Mr. Jones wants to consider that specific opportunity. He said he was not prepared to make such a motion currently, but forewarned fellow board members that he would be prepared to do so in the next 4-6 weeks. Preliminary Discussion Regarding FY16 Budget Superintendent Ricca asked the Board for parameters to follow in setting the FY16 budget, noting it would be most helpful to have some priorities and financial percentage guidelines. Discussion in regard to identifying priorities ensued. Mr. VanDerlip commented that the cost of moving the fifth grade to Main Street Middle School needs to be woven into the planning for next year. He said he also believes that the District needs to focus on what its per-pupil spending has been and is going to be. Mr. Jones reviewed the plan for moving the fifth grade to Main Street Middle School as documented in the October 16, 2013 Minutes. On April 2, 2014, Director of Facilities Thom Wood requested and was granted approval to spend $12,000.00 on a fifth grade relocation study. Mr. Jones requested to see the results of that study before making a final decision on the matter. There was some difference of opinion between board members as to whether a final decision about moving the fifth grade to Main Street Middle School had already been made. It appears planning for the move has mistakenly been occurring absent a formal vote by the Board. Mr. VanDerlip noted the importance of an explicit decision on the matter rather than just letting it happen. He suggested hearing Mr. Wood’s report at the next scheduled meeting on September 17th, with a final decision on the matter thereafter. Six of the seven board members supported the idea of including this matter on the agenda for the September 17, 2014 meeting so that anyone wishing to weigh in on the matter would have an opportunity to do so. Mr. Phillips identified resources for marketing the school system as a possible budget priority. He would also like to know if the District has adhered to its class size policy. Discuss Board Communications Plan Mrs. Aldrich noted the importance of thoughtful community outreach and asked for suggestions for going out in an organized way to see what people want for the schools. Mr. Jones suggested having Val Gardner identify successful strategies for accomplishing this. Mrs. Braun remembered that Mary Lundeen had suggested hosting coffee hours and then expanding. Mrs. Aldrich suggested holding another forum to engage the community. Mr. Phillips asked if it would be worthwhile for board members to be regular attendees at parent group meetings. Superintendent Ricca said he thought it would be in the Board’s interest to reach out to stakeholders other than direct beneficiaries. Mrs. Braun believes the Board needs to connect with direct beneficiaries as well since the Board may be considering budget reductions that could impact programs. She said the Board needs to be prepared to work with as many groups in as many ways as possible and wondered how to do that. Mr. Jones believes the ideal would be for the community to be part of the priority setting discussion. Mr. Phillips agreed, noting the importance of engaging the community before adopting a budget, not after. Following further discussion, it was agreed that the priority setting discussion will take place at the scheduled October 1st meeting. Mrs. Aldrich and Superintendent Ricca will work with Amy Nixon from The Times Argus on getting the word out. The Board will identify specific groups to meet with and delegate which member will speak with each group at their next scheduled meeting on September 17th. Consent Agenda Minutes of June 20, 2014 Minutes of July 16, 2014 Warrants Co-Curricular Contracts Mr. Jones moved, seconded by Mrs. Bean, to approve the consent agenda including minutes of the June 20, 2014 special meeting, minutes of the July 16, 2014 regular meeting, Warrants 13, 14 and 15 dated September 11, 2014 in the amounts of $446,476.08, $16,417.96 and $120,183.94 respectively, and co-curricular contracts (see listing). Motion carried unanimously. Announcements/Review Meeting (+/∆) Executive Session On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to enter Executive Session at 8:49 p.m., with the superintendent remaining. On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to leave Executive Session at 9:45 p.m. Contract Negotiations Adjournment On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 9:45 p.m. Heather Michaud Recorder Co-curricular Appointments MEETING OF THE
MONTPELIER BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS July 16, 2014 MINUTES Minutes Approved: September 3, 2014 Present Board: Sue Aldrich, Jennifer Cahill Bean, Michele Braun, Ken Jones, Carol Paquette, Charlie Phillips, Lowell VanDerlip Administration: Superintendent Brian Ricca, Support Services Director Mary Lundeen, Facilities Director Thom Wood Absent: Alex Stetter Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Adjust/Review Agenda Discuss and approve bid for repair of the parking lot at MHS. Public Comments None. Visit with Director of Support Services Mary Lundeen reflected on her first year as Director of Support Services. Mrs. Lundeen shared that her work for 2013-2014 focused on relationships, relevance and rigor. She detailed her work in these areas, as well as in the areas of professional development activities, capacity building within the District, and coordination of specialized instruction. Mrs. Lundeen discussed next steps for Support Services for the upcoming year. Challenges and eligibility percentages were also discussed. Discuss and Approve Bid for the Parking Lot at MHS Mr. Wood distributed a small key plan describing the work to be done. Goals of the project were discussed. Seven contractors attended the walk through, but there were only five bidders. A list of bid prices was provided. Mr. Wood detailed his efforts to mitigate costs while at the same time keeping the goals of the project in mind. He explained that despite these efforts, the lowest bid from Capitol Earthmoving was still significantly higher than originally anticipated. Mr. Wood provided board members with an update on other bond projects and recommended using some of the identified savings from those projects for the high school parking lot project. He asked the Board for a motion to enter into a contract with Capitol Earthmoving for repair of the parking lot at MHS. Mr. Jones requested some of the history around prior work on the parking lot at MHS in regard to biological treatment of stormwater. Mr. Wood confirmed that the intention with past renovations was to create a bioswale, but those efforts have been problematic and ineffective. Mr. Wood confirmed that missing from Capitol Earthmoving’s finished contract for which he was seeking approval were the pole lights and plantings. Following discussion, Mr. Jones moved, seconded by Mr. Phillips, to accept the bid of Capitol Earthmoving in the amount of $135,020 for repair of the parking lot at MHS. Motion carried unanimously. Discuss Board Meeting Date Changes Superintendent Ricca suggested the possibility of another half-day retreat between the Board and the Leadership Team in lieu of the scheduled August 13th meeting. There was consensus in support of this change. Following discussion regarding vacation schedules, Superintendent Ricca will work on scheduling another half-day retreat between the Board and the Leadership Team for either August 20th or August 21st. Superintendent Ricca also asked for permission to move the second October meeting from October 15th to October 22nd. There were no objections to this change. Review Meeting with Val Gardner Mrs. Aldrich asked board members to share their thoughts on the prior meeting with the Leadership Team and Val Gardner. She explained that she thought it would be helpful for Mr. Jones to hear what other board members took away from that meeting since he was unable to attend. Mr. Phillips said the meeting got him thinking about some of the ways the Board does business and the possibility of being more purposeful and running meetings more efficiently. He said he left the meeting thinking there was a lot of Board work to be done, but it would be worth it. Mr. Phillips said he would love to have Val come back to discuss things some more. Mrs. Braun said she was surprised by the Leadership Team’s level of frustration with the budget process. She said she would love for the Board to evaluate what policies they are using and whether or not changes need to be made. Mrs. Braun is also interested in comparing this Board’s policies with other districts operating under policy governance and having a good experience. Mrs. Bean felt the meeting with Val was incredibly valuable. She said a lot of what Val said was embarrassingly simple and so important to think about. She believes board evaluation is critical to understanding purpose and governance structure and that very basic groundwork is needed. Mr. VanDerlip was also surprised by the Leadership Team’s frustration with the budget and the newly-formed program/finance committee. He thinks it would be valuable to explore the annual calendar with Val to ensure the Board is discussing the right things at the right times. Mr. VanDerlip said he would also like to work with Val to get greater clarity on evidence for achieving the ends and usefulness of the limitations policies. Ms. Paquette said it was a gift to have Val present things so simply. She said she was surprised with the Leadership Team’s disappointment and wishes she had known their feelings. She would love to work further with Val. Mrs. Aldrich said she was not at all surprised with the Leadership Team’s frustration with the Board. She went on to say that the Board has been second guessing the Leadership Team for years. She said it was an incredibly dysfunctional budget season that should not be relived if at all possible. Mrs. Aldrich believes it is important for the Board to keep working with Val in order for board members to remind themselves of what their roles are. She said there needs to be a long-term discussion as a Board in regard to how board members feel about moving forward and what style they want to use in order to get the best from the Leadership Team. Superintendent Ricca told the Board that Val Gardner is committed to just good governance and confirmed that her continued work with the Board is not reliant on policy governance or on any style whatsoever. Superintendent Ricca encouraged the Board to take advantage of the resources offered through the VSBA. It was decided through straw poll for the Board to schedule another meeting with Val Gardner. Superintendent Ricca will work on setting this up. Mr. Jones suggested that this meeting take place in addition to Board’s regularly scheduled meetings rather than in place of one since there is plenty of other work to be done. Mrs. Braun suggested Superintendent Ricca obtain a copy of Val Gardner’s presentation for Mr. Jones. Discuss Next Steps for Board Development Mrs. Aldrich asked board members for their preference on whether they wanted to discuss common goals and roles going forward before meeting with Val Gardner or whether they wanted to meet with Val and then have that discussion. Mrs. Braun suggested having Val Gardner facilitate that discussion. The majority of the Board voted to have Val facilitate the discussion around goals and future board development. Mrs. Braun will be provided with copies of the policies adopted in 2007. Update on Program/Finance Committee Mr. VanDerlip reported that the committee received class size information for the middle school and the high school. Superintendent Ricca provided clarification on some of the numbers and there was nothing particularly alarming discovered. One committee member is in the process of comparing budget amounts and expenditures year to year. Although not yet complete, initial feedback is that the District’s budget is wonderful – incredibly well organized, accessible, etc. Additional information in regard to extensive curriculum offerings, i.e., distance learning, dual enrollments for college credits, collaboration with U-32, has been requested. One committee member has provided comparative data in regard to recreation departments which will be studied further. Community Connections was also discussed. Mr. VanDerlip reported that there has been some public interest in the committee meetings, with five or six people in attendance at each meeting. The committee will meet again in August. Consent Agenda Minutes of June 4, 2014 Minutes of June 13, 2014 Warrants Teacher Contract Resignation Erica Farnham Co-Curricular Contracts Mr. Phillips moved, seconded by Mr. VanDerlip, to approve the consent agenda including minutes of the June 4, 2014 regular meeting, minutes of the June 13, 2014 special meeting, Warrants 3 and 4 dated July 17, 2014 in the amounts of $105,461.25 and $46,702.38 respectively, past Warrants 63 and 64 dated June 19, 2014 in the amounts of $505,458.00 and $38,728.17 respectively, past Warrants 65, 66 and 67 dated June 27, 2014 in the amounts of $412,918.56, $74,559.42 and $32,165.38 respectively, past Warrants 1 and 2 dated July 2, 2014 in the amounts of $712,340.22 and $62,588.66 respectively, the recommendation to offer a teaching contract to Mary Ellen Solon (school social worker – MHS/MSMS), a teacher resignation, and co-curricular contracts (see listing). Motion carried unanimously. Announcements/Review Meeting (+/∆) Mr. Phillips asked about the timeline for discussing negotiations. Superintendent Ricca shared that Laura Soares from VSBIT would love some Executive Session time to talk about this. He advised that the Leadership Team is in the process of putting together a prioritized list of recommendations. Preliminary numbers and recommendations will be discussed at the Board/Leadership Team retreat in August. Mr. Jones is on the negotiating team for the agreement that covers that Instructional Assistants, Mrs. Bean and Mr. Phillips on the contract for the teachers. Adjournment On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 8:39 p.m. Heather Michaud Recorder Co-curricular Appointments |