For a verbatim account of the meeting, see tape.
May 2, 2007
A meeting of the Berlin Board of Education was held in the Berlin High School library beginning at 6:00 p.m. Present for the meeting were Mitch Couture, Martha Laflamme, Nicole Plourde, Nathan Morin, John Moulis, Marion Y. Huntley John Donaldson, Steve Michaud, Corinne Cascadden, Gary Bisson, Tim Forestall, Jane Provencher, Ken Proulx, Ted McCormick, Beth Pahigian, Elaine Connary, Julie King, Sonya Dube, Crystal Goslin, Mary Martinelli, John Henson, Gloria Caouette, Nathan Snyder, Carole Chabot, and members of the press.
MINUTES On a motion by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Nicole Plourde, the Board voted to approve the minutes of the April 18, 2007 meeting, public and nonpublic sessions. The motion passed unanimously.
WARRANTS A motion was made by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme, to approve the warrants dated April 30, and May 7, 2007 for the amounts of $3009.16 and $286,947.78 respectively. On a roll call vote, all members voted in the affirmative.
COMMENTS None
EARLY GRAD Ken Proulx informed the Board of two student requests for early graduation after the first semester of their senior year. These students will have met the requirements to be eligible for early graduation. The high school administration has reviewed the individual requests and supports both of them. On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board voted to approve the two early graduation requests. The motion passed unanimously. Nathan Morin arrived at the meeting at this time.
BEA REQUEST The Superintendent informed the Board that the BEA and the Superintendent have agreed to temporarily waive the time frames regarding hearings on the nonrenewals of the current staff. This is necessary due to there being no further information available on funding from both the state and local level at this time. The administration hopes to have more information after May 14th when the city is scheduled to pass a published budget.
STUDENT CONDUCT Ted McComick spoke to the Board regarding students in athletics versus school sponsored clubs. He gave his opinion regarding the student conduct agreement and having it expanded to cover co-curricular non-athletics. Discussion ensued. The question of whether athletes are being held to a higher standard than a class officer for example was discussed Other club advisors gave their opinion in support of not implementing an agreement for co- curricular non athletics.
MANUAL APPROVAL Discussion ensued regarding the 2007-2008 student, staff, and parent manuals for Board approval. The Board decided to table this issue, so that all Board members have more time to review the manuals.
POLICIES On a motion by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Nicole Plourde, the Board voted to approve the first reading of Policies ACE-GBA-IF and IHCD. The motion passed unanimously.
SUPER REPORT The Superintendent offered his congratulations to the students and advisors of FCCLA for a job well done at their Spring Conference. He also congratulated Roland Pinette for his award as the NH CTE Director of the year.
Nicole Plourde and Nathan Morin informed the Superintendent that they would be attending the NHSBA School Board Orientation and Refresher Workshop on May 10th.
COMMENTS None.
NEW BUSINESS None
NON PUBLIC On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to go in to nonpublic session at 6:40 p.m. in accordance with RSA 91-A3II(a),(b), (c). On a roll call vote, Mitch Couture, Nicole Plourde, and Nathan Morin voted in the affirmative, Martha Laflamme voted in the negative. The motion passed by a 3 to 1 margin.
On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board voted to come out of nonpublic session at 7:38 p.m. On a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously. No additional votes were taken in nonpublic session.
STAFFING On a motion by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to accept the following staffing changes:
RESIGNATIONS:
Sally Dwyer – Individual Aide – Brown School
NOMINATIONS:
RE-NOMINATIONS:
All nominations are contingent on the person passing a criminal record check.
STUDENT CONDUCT On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board voted to continue adhering to the existing guidelines for co-curricular activities. The motion passed unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS Discussion ensued regarding a meeting on May 15 with the Gorham, Randolph, and Shelburne School District.
ADJOURN On a motion by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to adjourn it’s meeting at 8:05 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Berlin Board of Education
MINUTES
BERLIN BOARD OF EDUCATION
NONPUBLIC SESSION
May 2, 2007
On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to go in to nonpublic session at 6:40 p.m. in accordance with RSA 91-A3II(a),(b), (c). On a roll call vote, Mitch Couture, Nicole Plourde, and Nathan Morin voted in the affirmative, Martha Laflamme voted in the negative. The motion passed by a 3 to 1 margin.
The Board reviewed staffing contained in the packet.
The Board and Superintendent worked on his evaluation and contract. Marion Huntley left for this portion of nonpublic session.
The Board discussed bullying relating to staff, volunteers, and students. The Board requested language be brought to them in order to modify current policies to include employees and volunteers as well as students. They also requested that a mechanism be included for reporting incidents which would allow individuals to reports concerns for others as well as themselves.
Board scholarship applications were distributed to Board members for their review and possible decision. Marion Huntley left the session at this time.
On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board voted to come out of nonpublic session at 7:38 p.m. On a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously. No additional votes were taken in nonpublic session.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Berlin Board of Education
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