Holderness Central School
Holderness, NH
Minutes
May 5, 2008
Board Members Present: Robert Heiner, Martha Macomber, Wendy Mersch, Joseph Casey, Jonathan Stewart
Administration Present: Kathy Boyle, William VanBennekum
Others Present: 8 members of the public
The Board entered Non- Public Session at 5:00pm.
On a motion by Bob Heiner, seconded by Wendy Mersch, the Board entered into Public session at 5:25pm.
On a motion by Dr. Heiner, seconded by Dr. Casey, the Board unanimously approved the slate of nominations of support staff positions.
On a motion by Dr. Heiner, seconded by Ms. Mersch, the Board regretfully accepted the resignation of Jean Kemp. Mr. VanBennekum stated that Ms. Kemp will continue to assist the school in web design and maintenance.
On a motion by Dr. Heiner, seconded by Dr. Casey, the Board regretfully accepted the resignation of Ron Reynolds.
The Board unanimously decided to start their School Board Meetings at 5:15pm from hence forth.
Agenda Review and Disposition – The following will be added under discussion items
F. 07-08 abbreviated budget
g. insurance percentage
h. staffing
i. Blogging
j. June 4th meeting
Minutes of April 7, 2008 – On a motion by Mr. Stewart, seconded by Dr. Casey, the Board unanimously approved the minutes of April 7, 2008.
Privilege of the Floor #1 – Jane Kellog discussed the Moose license plate project that was completed by Holderness Central School. There is a pen that the Governor used to sign this bill, and she would like the school to have this pen to display.
Principal’s Report – Mr. VanBennekum began by acknowledging the faculty, students and staff. He is pleased with the level of instruction throughout the school, and stated that the staff are remaining focused even with the additional 30 minutes of instruction each day.
Mr. Van Bennekum recognized the efforts of Grades 4-8. He looked over each student’s report card and he was extremely pleased with the overall performance of the students.
This week is teacher appreciation week. Nurse’s day is on Wednesday, May 7th.
Paul Taylor, a storyteller from Australia, gave a presentation for grades K-3. The students enjoyed learning about the history and stories of Australia. This presentation was funded by the PTA in conjunction with the Friends of the Arts. It concludes this year’s 3 assemblies paid for and supported by the PTA.
On Friday, May 2nd, the school hosted “Lawyer in Every School”. Attorney Jim Sawyer, attorney Michael Ray and Attorney Gabriel Nizetic attended. Mike Barney from the Holderness Police Department also attended. Participants discussed the many facets of law and how it impacts students. Mrs. Heather Goodwin coordinated and scheduled the event.
The PTA hosted movie night on May 2nd, which was very successful. Snow cones, popcorn and drinks were provided free. There were about 40-50 people in attendance and many of the students brought sleeping bags, blankets and pillows. They enjoyed the movie “Alvin and the Chipmunks” on the new multimedia system.
The TIGER (Tolerance, Inclusion, Giving, Empathy and Respect) program was presented to Grades K-5 on Wednesday, April 30th. This depicted several current and real life situations in school and how students learn to accept differences in people. The program was funded through the school budget and was extremely valuable and entertaining for all. Mrs. Janis Messier coordinated the program.
The 8th grade students participated in “Surviving Middle School”, a program designed to reinforce responsibility and other related topics at the National Guard armory in Plymouth. The event was sponsored by the national teen institute in conjunction with CADY.
The spring concert is this Wednesday at 6:30pm.
The Environmental camp is the week of May 12-16.
The HCS Walk a thon is Saturday at 10:00. This is sponsored by the Support Staff to raise money for student scholarships for camp.
The NECAP science testing will be the week of May 12th for grades 4-8.
Mr. VanBennekum recognized Mrs. Joanne Anable for her consistent helpfulness to anyone in need. Her duties go way beyond the single role of just counselor for children, but include Child Study, 504 plans, testing coordinator, covering classes, working in the cafeteria and always lending a hand when needed. All of this is done in a 4 day work week. Those who have had to work closely with her easily identify the characteristics that make her a very valuable staff member at HCS.
Consent Items
Claims and Payroll- A/P #59 was circulated and signed
Correspondence – Was circulated
Discussion Items
A. Annex - Mr. Francis discussed the demolition of the annex. The demolition and debris removal insurance allowance will be $15,000. Mr. Francis explained that there was an unknown cost for the lost contents. The allowance to rebuild is $121,955, and the cash allowance is $79,270. Mr. Francis went over additional costs. There was a discussion regarding the remaining building. It is a wood structure that is run down. After some discussion, Dr. Heiner suggested a walk-thru of the building.
On a motion by Dr. Heiner, seconded by Dr. Casey, the Board unanimously voted to demolish both buildings.
The Board discussed options related to a new structure. A community center was mentioned as a possibility.
B. Roof – Last month, there were questions about shoveling the roof during the winter months. Mr. Francis explained that there may have been hard feelings about why the annex collapsed. Mr. Francis explained that due to the roof being metal, it would have been too dangerous to have someone shoveling it. In addition, the roof of the annex was a low priority at the time. Ms. Boyle explained that the snow blowing on the school roof was a large problem and that there were several steep drifts from the storms. Mr. Francis explained that he used roofing companies because they are OSHA trained and workman’s comp insured. He further explained that when the school was built, the roofs were built for certain snow loads. In 2001, the new snow loads were established, and now the roofs are being built to
accommodate a heavier snow load.
C. Kindergarten numbers – HCS is expecting 17 Kindergarten students for the 2008-2009 school year.
D. End of School Request – Ms. Boyle explained that the commissioner expects students in school for 180 days. He asked that any requests for waivers are given to him after Spring break in case of any further school closings due to weather. A request for a waiver of days comes from the School Board, and then the Commissioner has the final say. Mr. Halloran, Mr. VanBennekum, and Ms. Boyle met about the proposal to the Board. Ms. Boyle explained that the original last day of school was June 18th. As of today, the students have missed 10 days of school due to weather. If 10 days were added to June 18th, the last day of school would be July 2nd. Because the school has extended the school days by 30 minutes since March 10th, 5 days will be made up. If 5
days are subtracted from July 2nd, the last day would be June 25th. Ms. Boyle’s recommendation is to ask for a waiver for 5 days, so that the last day would be on June 18th.
On a motion by Dr. Heiner, seconded by Dr. Casey, the Board unanimously voted to ask for a 5 day waiver in order to tentatively have the last day of school on June 18th.
The graduation date is set for Tuesday, June 17th.
E. Tuition Contract for non-resident – The Waterville Valley template was used as a template to write this contract for Holderness. Mr. Stewart asked that the wording for the second child discount be clarified.
On a motion by Mr. Stewart, seconded by Ms. Mersch, the Board unanimously voted to approve the Non-Resident Enrollment and Tuition Agreement as amended.
F. 07-08 budget – The Board requested that the abbreviated budget be sent to them a week before the meeting for review. Ms. Boyle explained line items in this budget. In particular, she discussed the negative amount in the sub line. She explained that the school is trying to give back to the town because of a position that was cut. Ms. Boyle explained other areas in the budget that have gone over the allocated amount due to unforeseen circumstances, such as air quality tests, roof expenses and sub expenses. Because of this, the recommendation is that the budget remains frozen.
G. Insurance Percentages – The rate was set last week at 16%. The budget was based on an increase of 23.7%, so there will be a downward adjustment of the budget. A discussion ensued regarding catastrophic illness and insurance to cover those circumstances.
H. Next Years’ Staffing – Mr. VanBennekum discussed the advantages of changing the grading system to a trimester schedule. He explained that there is a lot of support from the staff for this schedule and that there will be a longer period of time between progress reports.
On a motion by Mr. Stewart, seconded by Dr. Heiner, the Board unanimously voted to move HCS to a trimester schedule.
Mr. Stewart stated that communication with parents and teachers will be extremely important with this schedule. Ms. Boyle suggested that the Board should have a discussion at the end of the 2008-2009 school year to determine the success of the trimester schedule, and to determine if the school should continue to use trimester in future school years.
Mr. Van Bennekum explained that he has created a more standardized schedule that can be followed period to period throughout the day. The school will keep the 45 minute instructional bell. Mr. VanBennekum would like to continue to offer French I and Algebra I. However, due to schedule constraints, the students would have to make a choice between the 2. There was a discussion regarding filling the 5th grade position, and either having one person teach half time 5th grade and half time middle school, or having a full time 5th grade teacher and then combining grades. Mr. VanBennekum suggested that if the Board does not want to change the staffing, they would have to approve a .5 teacher for 5th grade. A discussion started
regarding an accelerated math program.
I. Blogging meetings – Mrs. Macomber proposed setting up a web site so that the public could become more involved in Board meetings. This would be a web site where a topic was posted, and the public could write in with their thoughts. Ms. Macomber and Dr. Casey will meet with Tim Korade, Director of IT, to discuss this further.
J. June 4th Meeting – Ms. Macomber asked the Board their thoughts on beginning discussions on the budget for next year. Mrs. Macomber explained her concern with possible impending budgetary issues regarding the retirement system and the possibility of Holderness becoming a donor town. Orientation to the budget will be added to the June 4th agenda.
Recognition and Awards – This was discussed in the Principals report.
Privilege of the Floor #2 - Mr. Halloran entered the meeting, and provided a further explanation of the donor town impact. He explained that if the bill happens, it would be part of the state, so the Department of Revenue would calculate that into the state school tax. The local tax would be what was raised in the town hall meeting. Currently, there is a committee working to figure out how not to have donor communities.
On a motion by Dr. Casey, seconded by Mrs. Mersch, the Board unanimously voted to enter in Non-Public session at 7:50pm.
On a motion by Mrs. Mersch, seconded by Dr. Heiner, the Board unanimously voted to re-enter Public session at 8:30pm.
On a motion by Dr. Heiner, seconded by Mr. Stewart, the Board unanimously voted to re-enter Non-Public session at 8:40pm.
On a motion by Mrs. Mersch, seconded by Dr. Heiner, the Board unanimously voted to re-enter Public session at 9:30pm.
There were 3 employee contracts that were negotiated and approved.
On a motion by Dr. Heiner, seconded by Mrs. Mersch, the Holderness School Board voted to unanimously adjourn.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michelle McCauley
School Board Secretary
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