For a verbatim account of the meeting, see tape.
July 18, 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, Brian Leclerc, John Moulis, Marion Y. Huntley, Steve Michaud, Gary Bisson, Tim Forestall, Dan Record, Jane Provencher, Beverly Dupont, Dan Record, Ken Proulx, Roland Pinette, Gary Boucher, Brett Halvorson, DJ Bouchard, Donna Hallee, Ann Elise Record, Joanne Murphy, Pam Carrier, Gerry Fillion, Allison Pepin, Steve Griffin, David Griffin, Linda Falardeau, Trisha Falardeau, Craig Melanson, Susan Lessard, Jen Boucher, Wendy Reardon, Danielle
Service, Peggy Laperle, Dottie Ouellette, Carole Chabot, Jean Bouchard, Elizabeth Kelly, Barbara Demers, Debbie McCrum, Robert Bellevance, Dick Lafleur and members of the press.
MINUTES On a motion by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to approve the minutes of the June 20, 2007 meeting, public and nonpublic sessions and the June 22, 2007 public session. The motion passed unanimously with Brian Leclerc abstaining.
WARRANTS A motion was made by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme, to approve the warrants dated July 9, and July 23, 2007 for the amounts of $12,686.22, $5100.00, $188,877.91, and $238,384.70 respectively. Discussion ensued and a question was answered on a driver education charge. On a roll call vote, all members voted in the affirmative.
COMMENTS Bev Dupont requested funding for a reading program at Hillside School.
Joanne Murphy, and Ann Elise Record, Hillside School teachers, spoke of the benefits which would be availed with a new research-based reading program.
Steve Griffin spoke in support of a reading program at Hillside.
Robert Bellevance commented on the use of the FY07 budget surplus. He resents the council trying to tell the Board how to spend the school budget. He doesn’t approve of the process and feels it may happen again in the future. The Board is elected and shouldn’t fall into the politics of the city council.
Gary Boucher and Gerry Fillion spoke in favor of Girls Varsity Ice Hockey.
Susan Lessard spoke in favor of a Girls Ice Hockey Program and commented that she was frustrated with the process. She feels it is the girls who should be thought of rather than getting wrapped up with a power struggle issue.
TITLE I SDE CONF Jane Provencher and Debbie McCrum reported on the SDE Conference that was attended by some staff members and how beneficial it was for all participants.
PROM A proposal was made by students at BHS to move the 2008 Prom to an offsite location. They would like to go to the Mountain Grand View. Discussion ensued including bussing all students and the type of security provided by the hotel. A motion was then made by Brian Leclerc, seconded by Martha Laflamme to approve the request to host the 2008 Prom at the Mountain Grand View. The motion passed unanimously.
POLICIES BIE/BGE On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme the Board voted to approve the second reading of Policies BIE – Board Member Indemnification and BGE – Policy Dissemination. The motion passed unanimously.
BOARD MEETINGS On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to approve the schedule of 2007-2008 School Board meetings as presented in their packet. The motion passed unanimously.
FY08 BUDGET Brian Leclerc requested clarification of the FY07 surplus amount. An explanation was given to him.
Martha Laflamme read the following comments: she supports fighting for students, not fighting among Board members; supports ice hockey but second to reading program at placeHillside; she spoke of items that currently cannot be funded and that the Board is in a very unfortunate situation. She was also concerned with having to vote for ice hockey prior to receiving funding from the council.
Nicole Plourde had a different perspective. She feels the council did what they could to support education and stepped up to the plate. We need to work as a community, not worry about a power struggle; it was a gesture of good faith made by the council. She does respect the opinions of others. She reminded everyone that the parents were instructed to speak with the council with their concerns on the ice hockey program.
Nathan Morin is willing to work with the council but reminded them that they do not have line item control.
Mitch Couture commended the mayor for saying he will stick to his word. Mitch supports the ice hockey program provided the entire $180,000 is given to the schools.
A motion was then made by Nathan Morin, seconded by Martha Laflamme, that given there is a gentlemen’s agreement, the Board will fund Girls Ice Hockey and the Reading Program at Hillside and that the balance of items funded will be determined by the Board in return for the full surplus. On a roll call vote, all members voted in the affirmative.
SUPER REPORT The Superintendent presented the Board for their information the state review of the CTE Program at BHS and the School Approval Designations.
COMMENTS Susan Lessard thanked the Board for their efforts and for keeping their composure and pride through it all.
Dena Dandeneau thanked the Board and reminded them that girls’ ice hockey does affect more than 25 girls.
Gary Boucher thanked the Board along with the girls involved in ice hockey.
Craig Melanson spoke in favor of keeping the Choices and Challenges teaching position at the junior high school. He feels it is a huge disservice to the community not to have this program.
Julie King also spoke in support of the Choices and Challenges Program.
NEW BUSINESS The Board requested the cost of Choices and Challenges and how many hours of health are incorporated in the physical education curriculum. They were informed the amount of hours will be less than with the Choices and Challenges program. The Board also asked if savings would be had with staff changes.
NON PUBLIC On a motion by Brian Leclerc, seconded by Nicole Plourde, the Board voted to go in to nonpublic session at 7:15 p.m. in accordance with RSA 91-A3II(a),(b), (c). On a roll call vote, Nathan Morin, Nicole Plourde, Mitch Couture, and Brian Leclerc voted in the affirmative; Martha Laflamme voted in the negative. The motion passed by a 4 to 1 margin.
A motion was made by Brian Leclerc, seconded by Nicole Plourde the Board voted to come out of nonpublic session at 8:10 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. There were no additional votes taken in nonpublic session.
STAFFING On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Brian Leclerc, the Board voted to accept the following staffing changes:
RESIGNATIONS:
Brenda Lambert – Individual Aide – Brown School
Celeste Croteau – Reading First Tutor, Marston School
TEACHER NOMINATIONS:
David Moore – Science – BHS
Suzanne Moberly – English – BHS
Barbara Peabody – Health Occupations - BHS
NOMINATIONS:
Samantha Donato – Individual Aide – Marston
Sean Walsh – Girls Varsity Basketball Coach
Roland Simard – Unified Arts Dept Head – BHS
Kelly Ort – Special Education Dept Head - BHS
RE-NOMINATIONS:
Craig Melanson – Athletic Director – BHS
Nicole Arguin – Varsity Field Hockey Coach – BHS
Louise Johnson – 1st Asst Varsity Field Hockey (JV)
Michael Poulin – 1st Asst Varsity Soccer (JV)
Paul Letarte- Boys/Girls Cross Country
Pam Carrier – Science Team Advisor – Hillside
Barbara Demers – Student Council – Hillside
Pam Carrier – Memory Book Advisor – Hillside
Elizabeth Kelly – Writer’s Club Advisor - Hillside
All nominations are contingent on the person passing a criminal record check. The motion passed unanimously.
ADJOURN On a motion by Brian Leclerc, seconded by Nicole Plourde, the Board voted to adjourn it’s meeting at 8:12 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Berlin Board of Education
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