board of directors meeting
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING May 16, 2016 Minutes Present for a Quorum: BFA: Nilda Gonnella-French, Jeff Morrill, Al Corey Fairfield: Michael Malone, Mike L'Esperance, Dave Gaudette Town: Paul Bourbeau, Kerry McCracken-Ducolon, City: James Farr Unable to Attend: Martha Casavant-Ries, Kristina Ellsworth-Spooner, Denise Smith Administrators: Kevin Dirth, Superintendent; Jesse Byers, Curriculum Director; Kathy Finck, Human Resources Director; Martha Gagner, Business Manager; Julie Regimbal, Special Education Director; Joanne Wells, Assistant Special Education Director; Michelle Spence, Early Childhood Programs Director 1.
Call to Order – Michael Malone called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. at the FCSU Board Room. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Agenda Review Paul Bourbeau made a motion to approve the agenda; second by Nilda GonnellaFrench. The motion carried unanimously. 4. Visitors 5. Consent Agenda Al Corey made a motion to approve the consent agenda; second by Jeff Morrill. The motion carried unanimously. A. Approval of Minutes Al Corey made a motion to approve the minutes of the March 16, 2016 meeting; second by Kerry McCracken Ducolon. The motion carried 8-0-1. Paul Bourbeau abstained. 6. Old Business B. Unification - Jim Farr reported that May 31 is the Organizational Meeting which is more like a town meeting than a Board Meeting, but immediately following will be the first school board meeting of the unified district. The agenda for the Board meeting includes selecting a name for the new district and discussion of an agreement with Cold Hollow district if they vote to unify. B1. Organizational Meeting - Kevin reported there is a name contest going on which ends on May 23rd. The name will be selected by the New School Board at their first meeting. For the Organizational meeting voters will be signed in as with other elections. Kevin then showed the internal website that Julie Regimbal set up to document things that we know will need to be handled with the new board. It is becoming our action plan. If the Board has questions that should be added please send them to Brenda Comstock so that she can put them up on the google Page 1 of 5
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site. One that should be added is inter-school choice K – 8. The Board asked for access to add questions to the parking lot. Julie provided that access. C. Negotiations – Paul Bourbeau made a motion to table this conversation until Kathy Finck arrived; second by Al Corey. The motion passed unanimously. 7.
New Business D. Appoint New Minute Taker – Paul Bourbeau made a motion to approve appointment of Brenda Comstock as minute taker; second by Al Corey. The motion carried unanimously. E.
Renew transportation contracts for FY17 – Martha reported that we were going to be working with consultants to go over our transportation but with unification we asked to put it off for a year, and we were approved by the Agency of Education. There was some discussion about fuel cost surcharges and whether this was something we had to do. This is for FY16/17. New England Economic Price Index 3.1% is the increase. This is about a thirty thousand dollars. Our option is to take this one year renewal or go out to bid. Paul Bourbeau made a motion to approve renewing the Transportation contract; second by Al Corey. The motion carried unanimously. F.
*Employment Matters F1. Adoption of Administrators Contracts – Al Corey made a motion to approve all of the contracts as presented; second by Jeff Morrill. The motion carried unanimously. Paul Bourbeau made a motion to remove item 6c from the table; second by Al Corey. The motion passed unanimously. Item 6. C - Kathy Finck reported that the court ruling states that it is the Board’s
responsibility to make a finding that it would be a substantial disadvantage to have discussions in open session, before they can go into executive session. Paul Bourbeau made a motion to move this discussion into Executive Session as discussion of strategy would provide premature knowledge, putting the Board at a substantial disadvantage if this discussion continues in open session; second by Nilda Gonnella-French. The motion passed 7 – 2 - 0 Michael Malone and Jim Farr opposed. F2. Superintendent’s Evaluation Paul Bourbeau made a motion to table this until the August meeting; second by Al Corey. The motion carried unanimously.
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F3.
Non-union salary and benefits – Mr. Malone reported that the Executive Committee reviewed and discussed this last month and recommends it be approved by the full Board as presented. Al Corey made a motion to approve the non-union salary and benefits as presented; second Paul Bourbeau. The motion carried unanimously.
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8.
Paul Bourbeau made the comment that this has been through every Board and the Executive Committee has reviewed it in depth as well, and wanted to note that they were not rushing through this. F4. Resignations – These were an FYI to the Board. Other Business G. Warrant Al Corey made a motion to approve the warrants; second by Paul Bourbeau. The motion carried unanimously. H. Monthly Financial Report – Martha Gagner reported that it looks like we will make it under the wire. She noted that at the end of this month, for transportation and special education payments, they may be asking for some advance payments in different school warrants because there isn’t enough money in the FCSU general fund so close to year end to cover them until they receive the reimbursement. I. Board and Administrator – None to distribute this month. J. Superintendent’s Report – Kevin Dirth reported that the newsletter was attached, and he would be happy to answer any questions. He also read a letter from the Secretary of Education giving us permission to extend the study to consolidate the transportation plan because of the merger. Martha Gagner explained the requirements and what our consultant has asked of us. K. Central Office Administrators Reports Michelle Spence reported that Melanie Bolye has resigned for the end of the school year. They will be hiring someone for this position, which is still under the Federal Grant for three years. Early Childhood is also adding to the Action Planner for Unification. She reported that she shared data with the Principals last month about how pre K – K transition might be better aligned. Kathy Finck reported HR has spent a good amount of time on the non-union salary and wages, and they have also begun combining guidelines and benefits. They are talking with VMERS to see about getting all schools on the same plan. New hiring is going well. They are preparing documents for negotiations, and working on our present contracts. Board members gave Kudos to Kathy for all of the work she has done on these issues.
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2016.07.20 APPROVED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44
Julie Regimbal reported they have completed their hiring three SLP and two special educations. With hiring comes a flurry of meetings around new staff. She and Joann have done trainings at all of the schools to ensure consistent practice across all of the schools. They also seek common local assessments across the schools. New training for Special Ed Teachers Goal Book, which helps explain how to support students, and provides teachers, parents and paras strategies for more successful learners. Read & write for Google is another new program that allows more students to access curriculum. Ms. Regimbal also noted there is Special Ed finance training to cover changes in how grants can be used. Joanne Wells has been attending student meetings at the school. She spends time helping folks access services in the community. Ms. Wells reported that the relationship she and Julie Regimbal have works very well – they really complements each other. There has been a lot of service coordination and some student intervention. Martha Gagner reported that she has had her first opportunity to talk with our accounting software technicians about what needs to be done for the new school district. It looks like database changes will cost about $25,000. At the same time we will change to the required State chart of accounts. Letters of intent for the union employees are all back. The business office is preparing for year end and doing prep work on the databases for the New Year. Ms. Gagner has been working with Human Resources on negotiations and processes. The school purchases are ramping down schools for year end, and the Business office is trying to be sure all bills are in in time. Kevin said that the $25,000 will more than likely be paid for by the unification grant. Paul asked about where the funds will come from for the transportation consultant, wondering if it also could come out of the unification grant. Martha said it more than likely would qualify. Paul Bourbeau asked about meeting participation and what software is needed to do a better job. There was some discussion about having technology that would allow a better experience for Board members having to call in. We currently have Phillips WeCall. Jesse Byers reported that she has been working on personalized learning plans, which will be all in place - starting this fall all schools will be coordinated. There has been a lot of technology training getting this ready to go in the fall. Ms. Byers reported she has submitted for FY17 Title II and IIa grant funds. For the homeless population she is closing out work done this year that Page 4 of 5
2016.07.20 APPROVED was done with the partnering grant. We are applying for the same grant with the consortium again, it worked very well. On June 6 there will be a regional event to present Vermont’s effort to end family homelessness by 2020. This is the first event on the cross training calendar that has been worked on for months, and other staff shared appreciation for this. English Language Learners (ELL) have received results for the first online proficiency test. There was some nervousness over this test being online only, but they were thrilled with the growth that students showed on those tests. On Professional Development, Literacy teachers are seeking more training. Jesse has set up a course that is overflowing - Readers and Writers workshop – and she is looking to set up more.
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9.
Items for Future Meetings – June 15, Executive Committee. The Agenda for August will include a discussion for a Board retreat and transition update, which should be on all agendas ongoing. Compilation of the Superintendent evaluation. Realizing this would likely be her last Board meeting Michael Malone led the Board in thanking Jesse Byers for her work as she will be moving into teaching.
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10. * Superintendent and Board – none needed.
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11. Potential Executive Session
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Paul moved to go into executive session at 7:40 p.m. to discuss the issues previously determined to qualify for executive session; second by Al Corey. The motion carried unanimously. Kathy Finck, Martha Gagner, Kevin Dirth and Unified Board member Steven LaRosa were invited to attend.
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12. Adjourn
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The meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING May 16, 2016 Minutes Present for a Quorum: BFA: Nilda Gonnella-French, Jeff Morrill, Al Corey Fairfield: Michael Malone, Mike L'Esperance, Dave Gaudette Town: Paul Bourbeau, Kerry McCracken-Ducolon, City: James Farr Unable to Attend: Martha Casavant-Ries, Kristina Ellsworth-Spooner, Denise Smith Administrators: Kevin Dirth, Superintendent; Jesse Byers, Curriculum Director; Kathy Finck, Human Resources Director; Martha Gagner, Business Manager; Julie Regimbal, Special Education Director; Joanne Wells, Assistant Special Education Director; Michelle Spence, Early Childhood Programs Director 1.
Call to Order – Michael Malone called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. at the FCSU Board Room. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Agenda Review Paul Bourbeau made a motion to approve the agenda; second by Nilda GonnellaFrench. The motion carried unanimously. 4. Visitors 5. Consent Agenda Al Corey made a motion to approve the consent agenda; second by Jeff Morrill. The motion carried unanimously. A. Approval of Minutes Al Corey made a motion to approve the minutes of the March 16, 2016 meeting; second by Kerry McCracken Ducolon. The motion carried 8-0-1. Paul Bourbeau abstained. 6. Old Business B. Unification - Jim Farr reported that May 31 is the Organizational Meeting which is more like a town meeting than a Board Meeting, but immediately following will be the first school board meeting of the unified district. The agenda for the Board meeting includes selecting a name for the new district and discussion of an agreement with Cold Hollow district if they vote to unify. B1. Organizational Meeting - Kevin reported there is a name contest going on which ends on May 23rd. The name will be selected by the New School Board at their first meeting. For the Organizational meeting voters will be signed in as with other elections. Kevin then showed the internal website that Julie Regimbal set up to document things that we know will need to be handled with the new board. It is becoming our action plan. If the Board has questions that should be added please send them to Brenda Comstock so that she can put them up on the google Page 1 of 5
2016.07.20 APPROVED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41
site. One that should be added is inter-school choice K – 8. The Board asked for access to add questions to the parking lot. Julie provided that access. C. Negotiations – Paul Bourbeau made a motion to table this conversation until Kathy Finck arrived; second by Al Corey. The motion passed unanimously. 7.
New Business D. Appoint New Minute Taker – Paul Bourbeau made a motion to approve appointment of Brenda Comstock as minute taker; second by Al Corey. The motion carried unanimously. E.
Renew transportation contracts for FY17 – Martha reported that we were going to be working with consultants to go over our transportation but with unification we asked to put it off for a year, and we were approved by the Agency of Education. There was some discussion about fuel cost surcharges and whether this was something we had to do. This is for FY16/17. New England Economic Price Index 3.1% is the increase. This is about a thirty thousand dollars. Our option is to take this one year renewal or go out to bid. Paul Bourbeau made a motion to approve renewing the Transportation contract; second by Al Corey. The motion carried unanimously. F.
*Employment Matters F1. Adoption of Administrators Contracts – Al Corey made a motion to approve all of the contracts as presented; second by Jeff Morrill. The motion carried unanimously. Paul Bourbeau made a motion to remove item 6c from the table; second by Al Corey. The motion passed unanimously. Item 6. C - Kathy Finck reported that the court ruling states that it is the Board’s
responsibility to make a finding that it would be a substantial disadvantage to have discussions in open session, before they can go into executive session. Paul Bourbeau made a motion to move this discussion into Executive Session as discussion of strategy would provide premature knowledge, putting the Board at a substantial disadvantage if this discussion continues in open session; second by Nilda Gonnella-French. The motion passed 7 – 2 - 0 Michael Malone and Jim Farr opposed. F2. Superintendent’s Evaluation Paul Bourbeau made a motion to table this until the August meeting; second by Al Corey. The motion carried unanimously.
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2016.07.20 APPROVED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
F3.
Non-union salary and benefits – Mr. Malone reported that the Executive Committee reviewed and discussed this last month and recommends it be approved by the full Board as presented. Al Corey made a motion to approve the non-union salary and benefits as presented; second Paul Bourbeau. The motion carried unanimously.
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8.
Paul Bourbeau made the comment that this has been through every Board and the Executive Committee has reviewed it in depth as well, and wanted to note that they were not rushing through this. F4. Resignations – These were an FYI to the Board. Other Business G. Warrant Al Corey made a motion to approve the warrants; second by Paul Bourbeau. The motion carried unanimously. H. Monthly Financial Report – Martha Gagner reported that it looks like we will make it under the wire. She noted that at the end of this month, for transportation and special education payments, they may be asking for some advance payments in different school warrants because there isn’t enough money in the FCSU general fund so close to year end to cover them until they receive the reimbursement. I. Board and Administrator – None to distribute this month. J. Superintendent’s Report – Kevin Dirth reported that the newsletter was attached, and he would be happy to answer any questions. He also read a letter from the Secretary of Education giving us permission to extend the study to consolidate the transportation plan because of the merger. Martha Gagner explained the requirements and what our consultant has asked of us. K. Central Office Administrators Reports Michelle Spence reported that Melanie Bolye has resigned for the end of the school year. They will be hiring someone for this position, which is still under the Federal Grant for three years. Early Childhood is also adding to the Action Planner for Unification. She reported that she shared data with the Principals last month about how pre K – K transition might be better aligned. Kathy Finck reported HR has spent a good amount of time on the non-union salary and wages, and they have also begun combining guidelines and benefits. They are talking with VMERS to see about getting all schools on the same plan. New hiring is going well. They are preparing documents for negotiations, and working on our present contracts. Board members gave Kudos to Kathy for all of the work she has done on these issues.
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2016.07.20 APPROVED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44
Julie Regimbal reported they have completed their hiring three SLP and two special educations. With hiring comes a flurry of meetings around new staff. She and Joann have done trainings at all of the schools to ensure consistent practice across all of the schools. They also seek common local assessments across the schools. New training for Special Ed Teachers Goal Book, which helps explain how to support students, and provides teachers, parents and paras strategies for more successful learners. Read & write for Google is another new program that allows more students to access curriculum. Ms. Regimbal also noted there is Special Ed finance training to cover changes in how grants can be used. Joanne Wells has been attending student meetings at the school. She spends time helping folks access services in the community. Ms. Wells reported that the relationship she and Julie Regimbal have works very well – they really complements each other. There has been a lot of service coordination and some student intervention. Martha Gagner reported that she has had her first opportunity to talk with our accounting software technicians about what needs to be done for the new school district. It looks like database changes will cost about $25,000. At the same time we will change to the required State chart of accounts. Letters of intent for the union employees are all back. The business office is preparing for year end and doing prep work on the databases for the New Year. Ms. Gagner has been working with Human Resources on negotiations and processes. The school purchases are ramping down schools for year end, and the Business office is trying to be sure all bills are in in time. Kevin said that the $25,000 will more than likely be paid for by the unification grant. Paul asked about where the funds will come from for the transportation consultant, wondering if it also could come out of the unification grant. Martha said it more than likely would qualify. Paul Bourbeau asked about meeting participation and what software is needed to do a better job. There was some discussion about having technology that would allow a better experience for Board members having to call in. We currently have Phillips WeCall. Jesse Byers reported that she has been working on personalized learning plans, which will be all in place - starting this fall all schools will be coordinated. There has been a lot of technology training getting this ready to go in the fall. Ms. Byers reported she has submitted for FY17 Title II and IIa grant funds. For the homeless population she is closing out work done this year that Page 4 of 5
2016.07.20 APPROVED was done with the partnering grant. We are applying for the same grant with the consortium again, it worked very well. On June 6 there will be a regional event to present Vermont’s effort to end family homelessness by 2020. This is the first event on the cross training calendar that has been worked on for months, and other staff shared appreciation for this. English Language Learners (ELL) have received results for the first online proficiency test. There was some nervousness over this test being online only, but they were thrilled with the growth that students showed on those tests. On Professional Development, Literacy teachers are seeking more training. Jesse has set up a course that is overflowing - Readers and Writers workshop – and she is looking to set up more.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
9.
Items for Future Meetings – June 15, Executive Committee. The Agenda for August will include a discussion for a Board retreat and transition update, which should be on all agendas ongoing. Compilation of the Superintendent evaluation. Realizing this would likely be her last Board meeting Michael Malone led the Board in thanking Jesse Byers for her work as she will be moving into teaching.
19
10. * Superintendent and Board – none needed.
20
11. Potential Executive Session
21 22 23 24
Paul moved to go into executive session at 7:40 p.m. to discuss the issues previously determined to qualify for executive session; second by Al Corey. The motion carried unanimously. Kathy Finck, Martha Gagner, Kevin Dirth and Unified Board member Steven LaRosa were invited to attend.
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12. Adjourn
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The meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m.
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