Meeting Date:	9/29/05
Minutes Submitted On:
Board Attendees:	Ellen Pratt (EP), Anne Fines (AF), Virginia Scholl (VS), Peter May (PM), Rebecca Coffey (RC)
Administration Attendees:	Conrad Dumas, WSESU Special Education Coordinator; Amelia Stone (AS)
Community Attendees:	Sarah Tirrell-Baker

Location:	PCS Writing Room
Meeting called to order at:	5:33
Meeting called to order by:	VS
Finish time:	7:00

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?
Prior Meeting’s Minutes	Approve minutes of 9/08/05 as amended.		PM		AF		Page 6: The line “the board also discussed potential school climate problems and whether there is any reasonable risk of a potential sexual harassment ….” While RC raised the risk of potential sexual harassment suit, the remainder of the board expressed an opinion that sexual harassment litigation was not a reasonable risk. That sentence should be revised to three sentences that instead say, “The board also discussed school climate problems. RC raised the question of whether there is any reasonable risk of a sexual harassment claim by an employee. The sense of the board is that this is not an issue.” On that same page it looks as though “AS and EP complimented AS for looking closely at the needs of the lower economic spectrum children.” It was AF and EP who offered the compliment.		Passed. PM abstained.
Communications	Email dated 9/23/05 from Stephen Coronella, director Putney Public Library. The Henderson Foundation approved his request to use some of the library’s remaining grant funds for 2 new computers in the PCS library. The computers were ordered on 9/23/05 and should arrive at the school by 9/30. Stephen’s letter expresses thanks to Beckie Coffey, Don Linden, Nancy Mackler, and Amelia Stone. (Full text of email is in the board binder in the PCS office.) The board expressed its delight with and appreciation for the generosity of Stephen Coronella, the Putney Public Library trustees, and the Henderson Foundation. Communication from Village Nursery School asking that there could be a bus pickup at the Nursery School rather than up on the main road They have asked Laidlaw if they would stop there and gotten a “No.” The board decided to turn this matter over to AS and that she report back to us by a meeting in November.
Committee Reports: Early Education Outreach	The Early Education Outreach Committee met on 9/14 to follow-up on the early education forum. They would like to get board approval for hiring an Early Education Outreach Coordinator, which is a position funded in the FY06 budget. At the next meeting EP will distribute the job description for review and likely endorsement by the board. Once a Coordinator is hired, he or she will work with AS to derive from the Committee’s job description measurable operational objectives for the year. The board will review the job description and move on the matter at the next board meeting. On November 17 from 3-5 at Brattleboro Savings and Loan there will be a meeting of the Windham Early Childhood Council. The meeting will look at the issue of the use of ADM funds for collaboration between child care providers and schools.
Committee Reports: Negotiations	The Committee met on 9/13 and finalized a working draft of about 20 negotiating points that they will present to the union. The board will review those with Scott Henry (the PTSB’s representative on the Negotiating Committee) at the 10/3/05 meeting. That discussion will happen in Executive Session.
Warrants	None
Administrators’ Reports: AS	According to AS, a coordinator is probably necessary to coordinate the at-school portion of the Winter Sports program. AS suggested that money remaining from last year’s Winter Sports fund be used to hire a coordinator. The board felt that, because it does not control that money (which is raised entirely by volunteers), it could not really engage in that discussion. With regret, the board suggested to AS that in this matter its hands are tied other than to suggest that the Volunteer Coordinator, once hired, could spend some time helping to coordinate Winter Sports. The board expressed its acknowledgement of and gratitude for the hard work of the Winter Sports Committee and all that it does to financially and logistically support the Winter Sports Program. AS met with the building committee last week and started to categorize and prioritize needs. They will meet again in late October. They will compare Putney’s budget for maintenance and improvements with the spending from other districts. The 5^th and 6^th grade team took their students to Jamaica State Park for an overnight. According to AS, the team planned great community- and team-building activities for the kids. AF suggested that the team consider an overnight in the School Forest. The board compliments the three teachers who pulled the trip together. Laidlaw issues: One bus has been arriving as late as 9am and one has been arriving well after 3:30 pm at PCS. AS talked with John Harrison of Laidlaw, who has talked to principals of other schools about promptness. Some Westminster students would like to extend the route of a Putney bus to the border of Westminster West so that they could ride the bus from there to school. Unfortunately, there is no way for a bus to turn around safely at the town border; the bus would need to continue to the center of Westminster West, which would throw off the bus schedule considerably and incur significant extra costs for the district. Putney Town School District Policy does not provide for transportation for tuitioned students. Next week the school will begin the mandatory standardized testing. The school uses the New England Common Assessment Program tests for all students in grades 3 - 8.
Old Business
School Forest Liability – Peter May/Ann Fines Report	AF spoke to several local groups to determine how they have handled liability issues regarding motorized vehicles. She reported that, according to Tom Hayes, a member of the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, that VAST carries insurance. Furthermore, individual riders also sometimes have their own policies. Tom predicts that it will produce hard feelings in Putney if snow vehicles are prohibited from using forest trails. To do so would run counter to the Vermont culture regarding open access over private lands. Tom said that when one community member bars motorized vehicles there can be a domino effect and, increasingly, people may start excluding motorized vehicles. The Pinnacle Association and Putney Mountain Association have the same insurance policy that covers the school. Those associations restrict use of motorized vehicles to areas where they have been historically used, where the trails connect to a larger network, and where the use of motorized vehicles is not detrimental to the environment. The Putney Mountain Association bars motorized vehicles except for snow mobiles. The PMA says that the usage on designated trails is not a problem at this point and that there is no way to police barring motorized vehicles anyway. According to AF, John Nopper, Select Board member, said that the town of Putney is covered by blanket liability insurance under the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. John suggested that if the Putney Town School Board has insurance coverage it should leave it at that and deal with problems when they arise. AF recommends to the board that since the school district has coverage and allows motorized vehicle use only in limited areas and has not yet had problems that it continue this policy that supports the traditional rural customs and values of Vermont. Jim Kane, Business Manager of WSESU (via memo): The Putney Town School District has coverage. Bob Luce of Downs, Rachlin and Martin feels that it is in the interest of the District to ban the use of ATVs but that even if it were to do so the District would still have some liability. Bob Luce encourages the board to work with local legislators to rectify the law. The sense of the board is that the information about how other groups weigh potential liability issues against their desire to be good citizens is helpful. Given that attorney Bob Luce has pointed out that there are potential liabilities for the school district either way it decides on this matter, the board agreed with AF’s recommendation.
School Forest Liability	Move to continue the historic practice of allowing limited motorized vehicle use in the School Forest.	AF		VS				Unanimous
Resolution of Potential Conflict of Interest	VS chaired this. 10 minutes allotted. This is a continuation of the 9/8/05 board discussion. RC reminded Board members that Policy B3 (Board Member Conflict of Interest) says, “It is the ethical and legal duty of all School Board members to avoid conflicts of interest as well as the appearance of conflicts of interest.”  RC expressed her thanks to and admiration for PM in his willingness to be forthright and open about a potential for conflict of interest. RC reiterated her opinion that the nature of PM’s relationship to a school employee presents him with at least an appearance of a conflict of interest in giving input to the Administrator’s evaluation.   (The Administrator evaluates the employee. The nature of her evaluation of that employee may influence the nature of PM’s evaluation of the Administrator.) RC noted, however, that if other board members do not share her opinion that specific steps to ensure the avoidance of a conflict of interest should be taken   --  in addition to PM's commitment not to discuss or participate in any way in the evaluation of the employee --  she is willing to let the matter go.   RC also reiterated her concern about the potential effect of a real or apparent conflict of interest on employee morale. However, in the absence of on-the-record employee input to the board on the matter of morale, RC recognizes that she can no longer press her concern about this matter. At this point VS, EP and AF reiterated their views that the preventive measures agreed to by PM at the last meeting, based on advice of RS, the Executive Director of the VT School Boards Association and precedents within and without the district (e.g. no discussion of employee's performance, no-participation in para educator contract negotiations, and professional demeanor in school and on school grounds) were sufficient safeguards. PM thanked the Board for their careful consideration of this conflict matter.  He reiterated that at any time he would welcome staff, board member or community member input should concerns arise."
New Business
IDEIA-B Flow Through Budget – Action Needed (Conrad Dumas)	Conrad Dumas passed out information about the distribution of the IDEA money from the Federal government. (It is in the school board binder in the school office.) For FY06 we are allocated $37,7378 for identified students 3 years – 21 years 11 months, based on the WSESU Child Count of 12/01/04.
IDEIA-B Flow Through Budget	Move to accept $37,218 in IDEA-B Flow Through Money for FY06.	PM		VS		The board is happy to provide the mandated services but wishes the Federal government would live up to its promised 40% reimbursement for costs.		Unanimous
WSESU Mission Statement and District Goals	Conrad Dumas handed out an update to the document distributed by RS at the 9/08/05 meeting. (It is in the school board binder in the school office.) Board members can present RS with questions at the 10/3/05 meeting if they have them.
Review of FY ’06 budget in anticipation of budget season for FY ’07 (Health, Early Education Outreach, and Foreign Language will be part of the conversation)	AS: Items for attention: § Library acquisition budget. § Custodial maintenance budget has probably been under funded for a while. § Fuel costs for heating and bussing will undoubtedly be higher than ever. § Computers. (We agreed to a 3-year lease.) § Staffing: We are in a good place in terms of classroom staffing. We might want to look at general para support. § Special Ed costs. The numbers that need service are not following a rising trend but costs are predicted to remain high. § The lunch program: The first month’s report will be ready next week. We need to take care in monitoring costs. Let’s look at other districts to determine whether we’re under-funding that area. Health: If the board wants the school to designate one person as the health instructor, rather than hire an additional teacher can “Health” be seen as part of a “Wellness” curriculum that could be handled by PE or Nurse? The board asked AS to investigate what the credentialing is that is necessary to look at the PE or Nurse position in a larger context. Foreign Language: Currently, PCS provides an “exposure” program to Chinese language (through the Freeman Foundation) and Japanese language and culture. If the school were to move its emphasis to a language proficiency program, that would require at least two periods per week in the grade. That would involve expense (hiring) and would impinge on other coursework, as well. Any after-school program would exclude students who rely on busses for transportation. It would also conflict with after-school sports That’s an exposure- not proficiency-oriented program. An after-school language program would affect bussing. Also it would conflict with sports. The board did not come to any decisions about this matter except to say that it seems unlikely that the FY07 budget could be increased to accommodate a language teacher. On 11/17 WSESU Supervisor Ron Stahley will present to the board a report from Brattleboro town about how their pilot of a language coordinator and interns in elementary schools is going. Since the PTO has long been instrumental in coordinating the school’s exposure program to Japanese language and culture, the board also requested that AS ask the faculty members of the PTO to present to the board about that program. The board asked AS to communicate to Jim Kane that it would like Jim to prepare and distribute to the board a “level services” budget in advance of the board’s 11/3/05 meeting.
Structuring board meeting time	AF: Suggests that for all discussions the board set a time limit. The board agreed. EP agreed to be timekeeper.
WSESU board meeting, which is at 6:45 next Thursday at Academy School	EP can’t meet the Wednesday 6:45 meeting at the Academy School. PM is also unavailable. VS will attend the meeting.
Upcoming Meetings	Only October Meeting (October 4). This meeting will start at 5:00. (VS will join meeting at 5:30) § Check-in on recess plan.  Parents concerned about the length and/or quality of recess are urged to attend. § Discussion with Kathy Bartlett of issues related to (but not quite addressed by) harassment policies. § Second Reading:  Policy F23, Policy on Prevention of Harassment of Students. § Second Reading:  Policy F30.  Pupil Privacy Rights Student Surveys § Report from Scott Henry on WSESU Negotiations Committee and about his role as a sole Putney rep to the BUHS board. (Executive Session) November 3. Meeting is at 5pm. (EP may be late.) § Update on possibility of adding a bus stop at Village Nursery School. § “Off the record” communications from stakeholders. How do board members handle them? § Review the “level funding” budget from Jim Kane. November 10 § Nothing scheduled to-date. November 17 § Presentation to board by Jim Kane or VSBA about school budgets. § Foreign Language Instruction, including report from Brattleboro town about how their pilot of a language coordinator and interns in elementary schools is going. § Building committee presents to the board a prioritized list. § Superintendent meets with Board and Administrator to present to Board Administrators professional goals for coming year, with reference to the PCS School Action Plan.  Board provides input to Administrators professional goals.  Executive Session may be held with Superintendent at Boards request.
	First Meeting in December (December 1) § Nothing scheduled to-date. Second Meeting in December (December 15) § Nothing scheduled to-date. First Meeting in January § Superintendent meets with Board and Administrator in Executive\ Session to consider provisional budget allocation for Administrator Salary for coming year. Executive Session may be held with Superintendent at Board’s request. First Meeting in February § Superintendent distributes Administrator Performance Feedback Questionnaires to stakeholders (parents, teachers, staff, etc.). 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. Second March Meeting § Consideration of Head Start contract for 2006-2007

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.