PUTNEY TOWN SCHOOL BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Note: These minutes should be considered a draft that awaits approval and possibly amendment by the board at a subsequent scheduled meeting.
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Meeting Date: |
11/29/05 |
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Minutes Submitted On: |
11/29/05 |
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Board Attendees: |
Ellen Pratt (EP), Anne Fines (AF), Virginia Scholl (VS),
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Administration Attendees: |
Jim Kane (JK), Business Manager, WSESU, |
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Community Attendees: |
Sue Kochinskas, Angela Deprato, Nancy Mackler, |
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Location: |
PCS Writing Room |
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Meeting called to order at: |
8:105 am |
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Meeting called to order by: |
PM |
I. FY07 Budget Planning
JK distributed FY07 Draft 2, which represents a 3.57% budget increase in the General Operating Fund over FY06. He reviewed with the board the summary page as well as several line items.
Summary Page:
Early Essential Education shows a projected decrease in spending of $11,522 or 19.84% vs. what was budgeted for FY06. This is a draft figure. The final figure might represent an even bigger decrease in budget. JK says that even if PCS spends the currently budgeted figure of $58,081, about 1/3 of that will be reimbursed to PCS by the state.
The WSESU assessment is budgeted at $4,075 less than the number budgeted for FY06. This, too, is a preliminary figure and might be adjusted downward.
This Draft 2 budget shows a combined total (general operating fund, special education, early essential education, vocational education block spending, capital fund, assessments and vocational expenses) of $4,685,431. This represents $183,603 (or 3.77%) less than what was budgeted in FY07. According to JK, not too many hopes should be placed on this figure staying the same, as Act 130 has changed the formula for state funding and the BUHS assessment of $1,433,341 does not reflect the impact of the changed formula. (The FY06 figures were just slotted in as place marks. An actual estimate of the BUHS assessment, derived from the new formulas, should be available to the board by its 12/15/05 meeting.. Act 130 may render the BUHS assessment drastically higher than what is shown in this Draft 2 budget.)
Line Items:
In the General Operating Fund, psychological services are budgeted to increase by 33.33%. This reflects a general trend nationwide and regionally. (For reasons of confidentiality, the principal could not address at open meeting whether this also reflects a rise in the number of children needing services or in the level of services provided to children.)
Legal/Audit. PCS always budgets $5000. This year PCS has an additional $6,000 budgeted because an audit is mandated every three years by statute. (The school is ending the third year of the three-year cycle.)
Maintenance: Fuel Oil is budgeted at 50.38% increase. That high estimate may be adjusted downward in January
Maintenance: Planned Building Improvements are budgeted at an increase of 56.25% because some maintenance items are long overdue. More information will come from the Building Committee at the board’s 12/15/05 meeting
The Transportation line item is up by 9.18%. This partially reflects the rise in gas prices. The transportation contract is being put out to bid. Bids should be received in January.
The benefits for teachers and paras seem to run at about 40% of salaries.
504 Tuition is budgeted for FY07 at the same level as FY06. PCS doesn’t always spend all of this line item but it does sometimes need to drastically overspend it, as it did one year when it incurred approximately 50,000 in bills on behalf of one student.
The item Maintenance: Property and Liability Insurance is budgeted at 46.88% higher than it was for FY06. This reflects rises in liability insurance premiums industry-wide..
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The board began a general discussion of budget.
According to minutes of 11/18/04, “indeed, enrollment projections for next year indicate that enrollment will probably hold at about the same level of 211 students. “ AS anticipates an enrollment of 204 for 2006-2007. According to RC, 7 students is not necessarily a significant drop. (About 25 more students than projected enrolled at PCS this year. “Seven” therefore seems to be within a comfortable margin of error considering that it is far too early in the year to know who will move into town, move out of town, or change schools in the next 9 months.) The sense of the board is that, since no significant drop in enrollment is expected, there is no urgent need to cut a classroom teacher. Still, we should create a budget that reflects the most efficient possible use of funds. PM asked that, even if we do not discuss cuts in core teaching staff, the issue of whether to reduce the library position remain open for discussion. Cutting back the PE and Nurse positions is now off the table.
Possible efficiencies regarding PE and Nursing positions. The WSESU Learning Framework requires that PCS address Health Education. According to AS, were the board to reduce funding for the Nurse and PE positions it would not be able to discuss fully implementing the Health Education component of that Learning Framework. AS will prepare for the board information about what the WSESU Learning Framework requires regarding Health, what PCS currently provides, and where any deficits in the PCS Health program lie.
II. Future Meetings
First Meeting in December (December 1). 4:30 in Writing Room.
§ Foreign Language Instruction, including report from Brattleboro town about how their pilot of a language coordinator and interns in elementary schools is going.
§ 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.
§ FY07 Budget
§ Negotiations Committee Up-date (parties Meet 30 November)
Second Meeting in December (December 15). 4:00 in the Writing Room.
§ Budget, including review of FY05 expenditures (final figures are now available) and look at BUHS assessment.
§ Select board may meet with us at 4.
§ Administrator’s Report
§ Building Committee progress to-date
First Meeting in January
§ This is the meeting by which the FY2007 budget must be adopted.
§ 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.
§ Review transportation bids
January 31. 3:30.
§ Meeting with faculty at PCS.
§ 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