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January 31, 2007
PUBLIC HEARING
The 2007-2008 School Budget Public Hearing was held in the Berlin High School library beginning at 6:00 p.m. Present for the meeting were Nathan Morin, Mitch Couture, Martha Laflamme, Brian Leclerc, Nicole Plourde, John Moulis, Marion Y. Huntley, Steve Michaud, Corinne Cascadden, [Link]Beverly Dupont, Dan Record, Gary Bisson, Tim Forestall, Jane Provencher, Roland Pinette, Cheryl Pinette, Robert Bellevance, Lisa Thompson, Susan Lessard, Mallory Brodeur, Louise Brodeur, Aja Lessard, Judy Middleton, Robert
Middleton, Alain Lessard, Chris Martin, Bronte Dandeneau, Dena Dandeneau, Roger Dandeneau, Jensyn Dandeneau, Alain Halle, Julie Halle, Jessica Halle, Linda Falardeau, Stacey Falardeau, Trisha Falardeau, Nancy Bisson and members of the press.
DISCUSSION
Discussion ensued on Capital Improvements. It was the consensus of the Board to list the following items in order of priority to be included in capital improvements: Honeywell Project; Hillside Reading Program; Telephone upgrade for safety purposes; and the Junior High School lighting panel. John Donaldson also stressed the importance of the lighting panel.
COMMENTS
Several students, parents, and concerned citizens spoke in support of the Women’s Hockey Program. They would like to see the program reinstated in the budget. Suggestions were made to help fund this program. They included eliminating the Boys’ Junior Varsity Hockey Program and charging higher athletic fees for the sport.
The Public Hearing ended at 6:45 p.m. and was immediately followed by a meeting of the Berlin Board of Education.
MINUTES
On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Brian Leclerc, the Board voted to approve the minutes of the January 24, 2007 meeting, public session. The motion passed unanimously.
WARRANTS
A motion was made by Brian Leclerc, seconded by Nicole Plourde, to approve the warrant dated February 5, 2007 for the amount of $ 231,142.89. On a roll call vote, all members voted in the affirmative.
COMMENTS
None
NEW BUSINESS
The Board requested discussion on student conduct be placed on the agenda for the February 21, 2007 meeting.
Discussion ensued regarding working regionally with the co-op with the Gorham, Randolph, and Shelburne school districts. A formal letter will be sent to their Board from our Board encouraging dialog between the two Boards inviting them to meet to discuss options and interest.
Budget discussion ensued as to whether eliminating Junior Varsity Hockey and replacing it with Girls Hockey would be an even swap, and therefore no further adjustments would need to be made. Indications were that this was not the case.
A motion was made by Mitch Couture to increase our budget by $15,000 to help with the funding of Girls Hockey. Discussion ensued relative to challenging the group to come up with the remaining balance. The motion failed due to there being no second.
A motion was made by Nicole Plourde to look for funding to come from the community and use the savings from the JV program towards the Girls hockey program. The proposal failed.
Brian Leclerc recommended submitting the budget as is and informing the council the community wants Girls Hockey but the school budget cannot afford it. Discussion ensued. A motion was then made by Brian Leclerc, seconded by Nathan Morin to present the current budget. The Board advised the Superintendent to send a letter to the Girls Hockey Club indicating the Board’s willingness to partner with the group to seek alternative funding to fund the Girls Hockey Program. On a roll call vote, Mitch Couture, Martha Laflamme, Nathan Morin, and Brian Leclerc voted in the affirmative; Nicole Plourde voted in the negative. The motion passed by a 4 to 1 margin.
NON PUBLIC
On a motion by Brian Leclerc, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to go in to nonpublic session at 7:20 p.m. in accordance with RSA 91-A3II(a),(b), (c). On a roll call vote, Mitch Couture, Martha Laflamme, Nathan Morin, and Brian Leclerc voted in the affirmative; Nicole Plourde voted in the negative. The motion passed by a 4 to 1 margin.
On a motion by Brian Leclerc, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to come out of nonpublic session at 8:40 p.m. No additional votes were taken in nonpublic session.
ADJOURN
On a motion by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Brian Leclerc, the Board voted to adjourn it’s meeting at 8:41 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Berlin Board of Education
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