For a verbatim account of the meeting, see tape.
February 6, 2008
PUBLIC HEARING 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, Nicole Plourde, Nathan Morin, Melissa Wedge, Martha Laflamme, John Moulis, Marion Y. Huntley, Steve Michaud, Corinne Cascadden, Gary Bisson, Tim Forestall, John Donaldson, Dan Record, Beverly Dupont, Roland Pinette, Cheryl Pinette, Jane Provencher, Anthony Harp, 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 January 28, 2008 meeting public session. The motion passed unanimously.
WARRANTS Discussion ensued regarding out of district costs, Special Education tuition, and a blanket order for the maintenance department. A motion was made by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Nathan Morin, to remove a tuition bill from NHCTC. The motion passed with Martha Laflamme abstaining and the balance of the Board voting in the affirmative. A motion was then made to approve the warrant dated February 11, 2008, for the amount of $236,882.20. The motion passed with Mitch Couture abstaining and the balance of the Board voting in the affirmative.
PUBLIC HEARING The 2008-2009 School Budget Public Hearing was held at this time
There were no questions or comments on the proposed budget.
COMMENTS None
NELMS Beverly Dupont requested approval to send four junior high teachers to the NELMS conference in March. No one has attended this conference since 2004. She is sending one teacher from each team. A motion was then made by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme to approve this request. On a roll call vote, all members voted in the affirmative.
FY09 BUDGET On a motion by Nathan Morin, seconded by Melissa Wedge, the Board voted to approve sending the 2008-2009 school budget to the city council at the general fund level of $16,913,132 and the total fund level of $20,152,158. The motion passed unanimously.
SUPER REPORT John Donaldson gave the Board information on a request for a new pickup truck for the district. The question of recycling was discussed. John Donaldson will speak with other departments in the city.
The Board was given a letter from the Milan School Board regarding their displeasure with the WAIT Program. The administration explained that no child is forced to participate in the WAIT Program and that an alternative can be provided to the student. The Board asked the administration to send a letter explaining the options and inviting them to contact Gary Bisson to set up an appointment to learn about the program from staff and administration.
Discussion of the lease with the bus garage owners will be done at the next meeting. John Donaldson responded to the question of why we need a bus garage. The Board asked Mr. Donaldson to gather more information and to respond at the next Board meeting when the lease discussion comes up.
The Annual Report for the NH JAGS program was distributed for the Board’s information. This program is part of the Governor’s initiative to reduce and eventually eliminate high school dropouts.
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 6:45 p.m. in accordance with RSA 91-A3II(a),(b), (c). On a roll call vote, all members voted in the affirmative.
On a motion by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to come out of nonpublic session at 7:04 p.m. 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:
NOMINATIONS:
Alaina Setz – Reading First Tutor, Brown School
All nominations are contingent on the nominee passing a criminal record check.
ADJOURN On a motion by Nathan Morin, seconded by Melissa Wedge, the Board voted to adjourn it’s meeting at 7:33 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Berlin Board of Education
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