Meeting

Date:

2/17/05

Minutes Submitted On:

2/18/05

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, Angela Deprato, Nancy Mackler, Jane Sbardello

                       

Location:

PCS Writing Room

Meeting called to order at:

4:20

Meeting called to order by:

PM

Finish time:

6:37

 

NOTE:  These minutes should be considered a draft that awaits approval and possibly amendment by the board at its next scheduled meeting. 

 

AGENDA TOPIC

MOTION

MOVED BY

SECONDED BY

DISCUSSION

PASSED?

Executive Session:  Superintendent Review and Administrator Review

To go into Executive Session at 4:27. 

RC

EP

Came out of Executive Session at 5:55

Unanimous

Meeting Minutes of January 26 and February 10, 2005

To approve the meeting minutes as amended.

PM

VS

Amendments: 

 

Feb 10:  Head Start discussion:  The minutes read:  “ According to the state regulations, the teacher would have three years to obtain the licensure/endorsement.  During that 3-year period, the school could collect the ADM money.”  According to EP, those were proposed regulations that, since the meeting of 2/10/05, have been taken out of consideration by the legislature.  They may be reintroduced.

 

Unanimous

Communications

No emailed messages as of 2/16/05.

One anonymous letter received.  The board does not consider anonymous communications.  The board asks the sender of the letter to please write again and sign the letter. 

Committee Reports:  Finance/School Forest/Early Education Outreach Advisory Committee

None.

Warrants

To approve #1050 FAST for $28,171.45, #1053 FAST for $1,060.27, #1054 FAST for $179.00, #1055 REGULAR for $21,584.53

PM

EP

 

Unanimous (AS and VS did not vote as they had left the meeting earlier.)

Administrators’ Reports

AS:

 

Today we had our final Winter Sports day.  On February 28, children enrolled in the Ascutney program can ski for free at Ascutney.  The school will not organize transportation or supervision for that day.  The board thanks the staff, parents, and community members who raised funds, planned the season, and chaperoned.

 

Winter Concert was last night at 6pm.  Dan Seiden did a great job that, in addition to organizing and teaching the music, included getting the kids to take the concert seriously and dress for the occasion.  Many thanks to Dan and to Gerry Gatz for the backdrop.

 

A number of classrooms have been celebrating I Love to Read and Write Week.  Classrooms also celebrated the 100th day of school.  The week will end with Bedtime Story Day.  On that day, children and teachers in k-4 come to school in their pajamas and bring their favorite bedtime story books.  Book swaps happened in individual rooms.  Parents and community members came as Visiting Readers. 

 

RS: 

 

March 7 at Marlboro Tech Center is a WSESU all-board meeting.  The VSBA will do some work on school financing and Act 68.  RS will also do some goal setting with boards.  This is a public meeting.

Old Business:  Town Meeting Prep

RC will create a chart that visualizes which line items drive overall budget increases.  (The main drivers are salaries, health care, fuel oil, special ed, Title I, and high school assessment.)  She is awaiting information from Jim Kane, after which she will make a chart or graph depicting education spending per equalized student ehen high school debt service is not factored into the equation. 

 

For Jim Kane, RS distributed financial information.  They are: 

 

·        Act 68 Three Year Comparison:  Putney Town School District

·        2005-2006 Proposed Budget Summary

·        Proposed Budget 2005-2006

·        2005-2006 Revenue Budget

·        Town School District Capital Plan

 

These documents are now in the school board binder  in the school office.  They are public documents

 

New Business:  Keyboarding

Don Linden distributed the WSESU Technology Plan for December 2004 – June 2007.  PCS’s plan will derive largely from it.

 

According to Don, AS, and RS, state standards are moving toward keyboarding being taught in elementary school.  (It is now taught in the high schools.  However, BUHS will phase out keyboarding over the next three years.)  PCS therefore needs to take up the task of keyboarding instruction.  A new server will allow children to access their typing lessons from any computer in the building.  Several faculty members are now testing keyboarding instruction on that server.  The school has licensed the Type to Learn program and it has been implemented in many classrooms.

 

New Business:  Review of 360° Survey Instrument for Annual Principal Review Process

 

Although the “Procedures for Putney Central School Board Annual Administrator Evolution” that the board devised over several sessions in 2004 specifies a February distribution date, this year the survey won’t be distributed until early March.  Consistent with the board procedures, the survey will be distributed through the parent newsletter and at staff meetings.  Community members wanting to complete the survey can get a copy from the school office.  In all cases, the survey will be accompanied by a cover memo from AS.

 

The final survey and draft cover memo are now in the school board binder in the school office.  They are public documents.  Also in the binder is the final draft of  “Procedures for Putney Central School Board Annual Administrator Evolution.”

New Business:  Food Service Bid

AS received the draft bid this afternoon from the WSESU.  Representatives of PHACT (Putney Health Action Coordinating Team) at the meeting offered to meet with AS and to work with her to incorporate measurable objectives into the RFP.  (These measurable objectives would be carried over into the contract.)  The board would like to review any suggested changes and objectives at its meeting on March 10, when it will also discuss the possibility of raising meal prices at PCS in order to offset the growing deficit in the food service program. 

 

The draft bid is now in the school board binder in the school office.  It is a public document.

February 28 – 7pm.  Note:  This meeting will be held in the dining/bar area at the Putney Inn, as the school will be closed that week for vacation.   

 

·        Executive Session regarding Superintendent Review

·        Town Meeting Planning

·        Head Start preparation for meeting with Deb Gass. 

 

March 10.  4:30 pm in Writing Room.

 

·        Food service prices / food service contract bid.

·        Elect board officers

·        Administrators’ Report:  Learning Communities update

·        Possible meeting with Deb Gass of EES regarding Head Start

 

March 24.  4:30 pm in Writing Room.

 

·        Possible meeting with Deb Gass of EES regarding Head Start

 

 

 

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.