Meeting Date:	1/12/06
Minutes Submitted On:	1/13/06
Board Attendees:	Ellen Pratt (EP), Anne Fines (AF), Virginia Scholl (VS), Peter May (PM), Rebecca Coffey (RC)
Administration Attendees:	Ron Stahley (RS), Amelia Stone (AS)
Community Attendees:	Don Linden, Nancy Mackler, Marcia Hansen, Gerry Gatz

Location:	PCS Writing Room
Meeting called to order at:	5:10 pm
Meeting called to order by:	PM
Finish time:	7:00 pm

NOTE: These minutes should be considered a draft that awaits approval and possibly amendment by the board at its next scheduled meeting. All handouts are available for public perusal. They are in the school board binder in the school office.
AGENDA TOPIC	MOTION	MOVED BY	SECONDED BY	DISCUSSION	PASSED?
Prior Meeting’s Minutes	Move to approve minutes of 13/15/05 meeting	PM	VS		Unanimous
Communications	Communication from PCS art teacher Gerry Gatz re: International Education in public schools. (FWD of a Message from Dr. Juefei Wang, Asian Studies Outeach Program Director, UVM) 17 states are moving toward adding to their curricula content on other countries, raising requirements in foreign languages or increasing the number of foreign languages offered, and creating international high schools.  The College Board has decided to establish tests for Advanced Placement in Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and Russian in the next few years.  Vermont (and PCS in particular, with its International Studies projects) seems to be nicely ahead of the curve on this movement to address the need to prepare children for a more global society.. Communication from step-parent LaVonne Betts about the impact for all children (but especially for children with unique learning styles) of Art Education on success in academic areas of the curriculum. Communication from 5-6 grade PCS teacher Karen Saunders saying that art and library science are integral to the education of PCS students Communication from Sue Kochinskas about the value of art and library to all students at PCS.
Committee Reports: School Forest	§ Volunteers Daniel Hovis and Pamela Cubbage are creating a School Forest section for the PCS web site. § The School Forest Committee is running part of the at-school aspect of the Winter Sports program. For children from 4th-6th grades they are offering snowshoeing, animal tracking, snow games, and cookouts at the school forest’s “hideout “
Warrants	Move to Ratify Previously Approved/Signed Warrants § Warrant No. 1030 (fast) in the amount of $267.31 § Warrant No. 1032 (reg) in the amount of $12,190.41 § Warrant No. 1033 (fast) in the amount of $2,360.51 § Warrant No. 1037 (fast) in the amount of $37,563.00 § Warrant No. 1039 (fast) in the amount of $3,089.00 § Warrant No. 1040 (reg) in the amount of $16,253.71 § Warrant No. 1041 (fast) in the amount of $30,797.39 § Warrant No. 1044 (fast) in the amount of $3,333.37 § Warrant No. 1045 (fast) in the amount of $100 § Warrant No. 1046 (reg) in the amount of $15,730.87	PM	VS		Unanimous
Warrants	Move to Approve/Ratify Current Warrants § Warrant No. 1048 (fast) in the amount of $46,501.73 § Warrant No. 1049 (reg) in the amount of $24,732.75 $24,732.75 § Warrant No. 1050 (fast) in the amount of $1,756.48 § Warrant No. 1051 (fast) in the amount of $274.00 § Warrant No. 1052 (fast) in the amount of $39,357.39 § Warrant No. 1054 (fast) in the amount of $3,519.87	PM	VS		Unanimous
Administrators’ Reports	AS has met with the new Early Education Outreach Coordinator, Amelia Struthers. A meeting for Amelia Struthers with Holly from Head Start and with Cami Elliot-Knaggs, the previous EEOC is planned. The board asked AS to articulate at a future date for the board what Amelia Struthers’ first year priority operational goals are.
Unfinished Business
	RS distributed: § FY07 Budget Draft 3. General Operating Fund shows an increase of 3.67%. Total PCS spending for FY 07 is down from FY06 by 4.81% because some Special Ed funds were shifted to the BUHS. NOTE: While some Special Ed expenditures are no longer included in the Putney Central School subtotal of the overall budget they are reflected in the BUHS Assessment line item and therefore still affect overall spending as reflected in the Combined Total. The FY07 budget distributed by RS shows a Combined Total of $4,858,545. This represents a decrease of 0.22% from the FY06 budget. The FY07 budget projects a Per Equalized Pupil Spending for FY07 of $11,191.78, which is safely below the Act 68 cap of $11,728. § Town School District Capital Plan FY07 (by which the school board will seek via a special article at Town Meeting permission to raise $23,500 and authorization to spend $6,000. The Plan also estimates additional capital plan money to be raised (and spent) in subsequent years. § Information on the discrepancy mentioned during the 12/15/05 board meeting regarding an approximately $41,000 capital fund balance shown in the March 2005 Town Report. $32,000+ of that balance is not reflected in any draft of the FY2007 operating budget or capital plan budget. RS explained that $32,000+ needs to be transferred by Town Clerk Anita Coombs into the school’s general operating fund. After that transfer happens the actual balance and the figure in the Town School District Capital Plan FY07 will be in sync. PM volunteered to call Anita Coombs and ask that this transfer happen as soon as possible. § Tax Impact Sheet. (Solid information on the tax impact of the FY07 budget will not be available until the summer. Information in the sheet distributed by RS represents an estimate only.) The estimated actual homestead tax rate for FY07 is $2.6987, up 13 cents from last year. This reflects the Common Level of Appraisal rate, which in FY07 will probably be 64.94% (down from last year’s 69.31%). Income sensitivity built into Act 68 should protect lower income people from undue burdens. RS said that, while it is disappointing that the tax rate will rise, it is good news that it will not rise as significantly (17-20 cents) as original projections indicated. He recommended that the board make no further cuts to the Draft 3 budget. The Draft 3 budget represents a decrease in total spending even though enrollment is projected to hold essentially steady.
Budget FY07	Move to approve Total Putney Central School spending of $3,109.927 and a Combined Total (including BUHS and WSESU assessments) of $4,858.545	RC	EP		Unanimous
Administrative performance review.	RS and AS recommend using the 360-degree principal evaluation survey for stakeholders again this year. AS will modify the version of the 360-degree instrument that parents and community members get so that, this year, the question are more appropriate to the information about and experience with AS that parents and community members have. AS will review her suggested changes with RS and they will share the modifications with the board as an information item prior to its distribution to stakeholders in February. (February distribution of the survey is specified in the procedure developed by the board last year.) In addition to the 360-degree survey, the WSESU may present the board with a school climate survey for distribution in the Spring of 06.
New Business
Executive Session	Executive Session 5:40- 5:52 . Moved by RC. Seconded EP. Principal salary review. Negotiations committee. Personnel issue.
Report on International Studies by Gerry Gatz	The Asian Studies committee (a committee of faculty and parents) is investigating the possibility of working with a “sister school” next year. Students would exchange information about their lives and schools with students in a school in Japan. The Asian Studies committee is also trying to continue the recent tradition at PCS of having a teacher from an Asian country work for a semester or two at PCS with students, sharing information about culture and language. While the committee is interested in working with teachers from any Asian countries, certain constraints apply. As a practical matter the committee wants to work with established agencies (such as, for example, the American Friends Service), which can broker the arrangement, do the paperwork, help anticipate emergencies, and help negotiate the teacher’s visa application process. These agencies do not facilitate exchanges for teachers in some Asian countries. Progress on the PTO-funded and –coordinated Japanese garden: Kids, Gerry Gatz, the Japanese Garden Committee (PTO member and some non-PTO members of the faculty) and parent Rod Payne-Meyer have designed and kids and other parents (including Gino Palmeri) have helped construct a Japanese garden. A Spring celebration is planned, with possible performance by the Taiko drummers. The board expressed its thanks to all volunteers and especially to Rod Payne-Meyer who has donated a lot of his time, expertise, and resources. .
Review of transportation bids	Tabled.
School action plan.	The School Council (a group of PCS teachers) is working on the plan with AS, EP, and parent Nancy Stefanik. They are then asking the teaching teams for input. The state requires the school to devise a school plan so that it can track scores on standardized tests and have a plan to bring up the scores of lower performing students. RC urged AS, when devising the plan, to look beyond the requirements of the statute for ways in which the school can also programmatically address the learning needs of kids who already achieve above standards.
Upcoming Meetings	NEED TO BE SCHEDULED: § Review of transportation bids § AS report on priority operational goals for EEOC Amelia Struthers January 17. 7:00 pm in Writing Room. (Note: atypical time.) § Joint meeting with Select Board, School Board, and Putney Family Services. Purpose of meeting: Plan a community forum on human services in Putney. RC will not attend this meeting January 26. 5:00pm in Writing Room. (Note: atypical time.) § Informational meeting for prospective new select board and school board candidates instead (NOTE: This is not planned as an actual board meeting as only two school board members will be present.) January 31. 3:30 pm in Writing Room. (Note: atypical time.) § Meeting with faculty at PCS. First Meeting in February § Planning for Town Meeting § Review of AS’s modifications of the 360-degree Principal Performance Evaluation survey Second Meeting in February § Superintendent meets with Board and Administrator in Executive Session to provide Progress Report to Board with respect to Administrator’s progress against Administrator’s professional goals for the current year. Purpose is to provide constructive feedback on Administrator’s performance and identify critical issues, if any, that may impact any contract renewal notice dates. Executive Session may be held with Superintendent at Board’s request. § Discussion of 4-Day Week § Planning for Town Meeting § Presentation from RS on progress to-date on Brattleboro Town Schools Foreign Language Program Second March Meeting § Consideration of Head Start contract for 2006-2007 § Discussion of language instruction.

Respectfully submitted by: Rebecca Coffey. This represents my understanding of this meeting. If you have any changes, please submit them at the next board meeting.