Meeting Date:	11/30/06
Minutes Submitted On:	12/5/06
Board Attendees:	Ellen Pratt (EP), Anne Fines (AF), Virginia Scholl (VS), Peter May (PM), Benji Cragin (BC)
Administration Attendees:	Ron Stahley (RS), Amelia Stone (AS) Marcia Hansen, Sue Kochinskas
Community Attendees:

Location:	PCS Writing Room
Meeting called to order at:	4:30pm
Meeting called to order by:	PM
Finish time:	7:26 pm

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	To adopt the minutes of the 11/16/06 meeting	PM	EP		yes
Communications	The board received a letter from Dorothy Grout stating that she will be retiring from teaching at the end of this school year. PM moved to accept the resignation; BC seconded and it was passed. The board expressed it gratitude for Ms. Grout’s 33 years of service to children. Most recently Ms. Grout was a Title I teacher.
Committee Reports: Finance School Forest Committee	No report.
Warrants	To pass warrants # 1041Fast in amount of $50 and #1043 Regular in the amount of $16,433.38	PM	VS		Yes
Administrators’ Reports	AS reported that the Winter Concerts will be Dec. 11 for grades 5-8 and Dec. 12 for grades K-4. Both concerts begin at 6 pm. Mary Ann Deer’s writing class has raised $230 for the Windham Co. Humane Society. AS reported that as part of the Safe Routes to School grant (the school received this grant from VTrans to explore ways to encourage more students walking/biking to school) we’ve learned that the signage in front of the school is out of date and should probably be updated to make it more visible. We’ve also learned that a very small percentage of the cars that drive past the school are actually adhering to the 35 mph speed limit. RS reported that the Dept. of Education will be hosting meetings about school governance between January and May. The meetings will be based on the Commissioner of Education’s proposal for a new model of school governance. To read this White Paper, see: www.education.vermont.gov/new/pdfdoc/pubs/governance_white_paper.06.pdf All Vermonters are encouraged to attend these meetings.. A final schedule of the dates and locations of the meetings will be announced in the near future. Brattleboro will likely be a location for a meeting. The board will draft a set of questions for the Commissioner, which RS will send. The board requested that RS ask the Commissioner for a timeline for the process of deciding upon his proposal. RS distributed a paper by William Mathis on Educational “Affordability” (see copy in binder in school office).The author of the paper discusses some of the reasons for school budget increases, including the fact that schools are labor intensive. Para educators negotiations committee will probably meet in January. RS went to China for 12 days. A delegation of Supervisory Union staff and board members attended. We have a multi-district grant from the Freeman Foundation for the Chinese exchange program. There are 2 formal courses in Chinese at the high-school level.
Old Business
Policy Review: D7 “Volunteers and Work Study Students” – Adoption Board Goals Progress				Deferred adoption of the policy until the next meeting. Board asked AS and RS to clarify the applicability of the policy vis-a-vis criminal background checks for volunteers, distinguishing between co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.
Executive Session. PM moved to enter into executive session to discuss a student issue at 7:04 pm. BC seconded. Out at 7:07 pm.
FY ’08 Budget Review/Discussion: RS distributed the draft budget from the central office. PM expressed his desire to have the operating budget come in under 4%. In this draft it is 7.87%. According to Jim Kane’s memo that accompanied the budget draft (Jim Kane is the Business Manager for the Supervisory Union) we are under the estimated per pupil spending cap for FY2008, which is $12,500). The board directed AS to bring proposals for cost savings to the next meeting, in particular the board wants AS to look at the school specials (Art, Music, Library, PE). Some ideas include reducing hours of some of these staff, sharing staff with other schools (e.g. nurse or other staff).
New Business Report from Volunteer Coordinator, Sue Kochinskas Board meeting with PCS Staff	Sue handed out a report of her activities (see binder for copy). Sue serves as a “matchmaker” between community members and parent who wish to volunteer in the school and teachers and programs that need volunteers. She will report back to the board in early March. The board is grateful for the volunteer spirit in this community. The board expressed its gratitude to Sue for her good work. The board will meet with staff on December 5.
Forest in Every Classroom – Marcia Hanson	Four PCS teachers started this course last spring. The program was designed by the World Wildlife Federation and Shelburne Farms to instill stewardship for public lands in school children. The PCS teachers who are participating are concentrating on the school forest. These teachers’ classes will identify trees and learn as much about the forest as they can. The teachers will design place-based curriculum so that kids can do something that benefits community. This spring, Marcia’s class will do a habitat study. The service learning component of her work will involve having her class make a quest. The board expressed its support and appreciation for the staff’s work.
Other:
Upcoming Meetings	Dec. 5: 4 PM Special Board meeting. Board/PCS staff session and Q&A Dec 6: 7 PM Special board Meeting – all boards (select, school, planning, Putney Family Services, zoning, etc) meeting in PCS Music Room. Dec. 14: Regular meeting – joined by Select Board Agenda to include: Road signage in front of school and painting of cross-walk, plowing sidewalk, possible housing development of Basketville property Superintendent review January: Amelia Stone report on school safety procedures March: Volunteer Coordinator report Future agenda items: Roles and responsibilities associated with the Snack Shack Para educators negotiations committee reports

Respectfully submitted by: Board Clerk

This represents my understanding of this meeting. If you have any changes, please submit them at the next board meeting.