September 3, 2008
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 Huntley, Georgia Caron, Beverly Dupont, Dan Record, Corinne Cascadden, Jane Provencher, Ken Proulx, Roland Pinette, Cheryl Pinette, Tom McCue, Paul Bousquet, Nancy Bisson, Jennifer Miller, Julie Glover, and members of the press.
MINUTES On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board voted to approve the minutes of the July 30, 2008 meeting, public session. The motion passed with Nathan Morin abstaining and the balance of the Board voting in the affirmative. On a motion by Nathan Morin, seconded by Nicole Plourde, the Board voted to approve the minutes of the August 13, 2008 meeting, public and nonpublic sessions. The motion passed with Martha Laflamme abstaining and the balance of the Board voting in the affirmative.
FINANCIAL REPORT Marion Huntley reviewed the latest financials and answered various questions asked by the Board.
FY10 TUITION On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board voted to approve the following tuition rates for the 2009-2010 school year.
Elementary $10,768
Junior High $11,699
High School $10,513
The motion passed unanimously.
WARRANTS A motion was made by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Nicole Plourde, to approve the warrants dated August 25, and September 8, 2008 for the amounts of $1,773.39, $1865.77 and $323,179.10 respectively. On a roll call vote, Martha Laflamme, Nathan Morin, and Nicole Plourde voted in the affirmative, and Mitch Couture abstained.
COMMENTS Jennifer Miller, a parent from Dummer, thanked the staff and administration at BJHS. She was very pleased with the BJHS orientation. It was very helpful and much appreciated.
DUMMER TUITION The Superintendent provided a draft as a starting point on the Dummer Tuition issue. On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board voted to suspend the rules and have a dialogue with the Dummer Board and Superintendent. The motion passed unanimously. Paul Bousquet thanked the Board and gave them information from their attorney relative to how the current arrangement could continue with minor modifications to allow Dummer parents choice. Even though they are pleased with Berlin Public Schools, the Dummer people want a choice and would like an answer as soon as possible; tonight would be most helpful. They need to respond to the NHDOE with their withdrawal plan. The plan then goes to the NHDOE for their approval. Once approved, it will go to the March meeting for a vote by the Dummer citizens.
Discussion ensued regarding tuition calculation, SPED students, and process issues. Further details will be determined. Dummer will work with Barbara Loughman to get language ready and will bring it back to the Berlin Board for discussion at the October 6, 2008 meeting in Dummer. On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board voted to tentatively agree to a tuition agreement with details to be determined in the near future. The motion passed unanimously.
SUPER REPORT The Superintendent gave the Board information on SINI and DINI. He informed the Board that the next testing will be done during October 2008. The SINI plan for Brown School was explained to the Board. Discussion ensued.
The Superintendent informed the Board that he would like to request from the council that the district be appropriated funds to purchase the first school bus that is needed rather than lease, purchase a second bus and purchase a maintenance pickup truck that is also needed for plowing and recycling. Discussion ensued. The Superintendent was instructed to check out the possibility of purchasing repossessed vehicles and to get back to the Board by email with his findings. After he has done this, they will make a formal request to the city council.
COMMENTS Tom McCue asked if the maintenance vehicle was needed for recycling or for plowing. He was told that it was for both. He also mentioned that he felt it was unfortunate that the meeting with Dummer was on October 6, 2008 which is a Monday night and the council would not be able to attend.
NEW BUSINESS Martha Laflamme inquired about Edline being available at Hillside School. She was informed it was not done this year due to budget constraints. Hillside School magnets will be distributed to the Board in the near future.
Nathan Morin inquired on the status of a four day week. He was wondering if it was going to be considered for next year. Mr. Moulis responded. The Board asked him to contact other schools and see how well it worked in regards to savings and educational programming and achievements.
Nicole Plourde also inquired if it would be possible to bus all students in grades 1-3. She wondered if we had the room on the buses to do so. Mr. Moulis will investigate.
NON PUBLIC On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to go into nonpublic session at 7:40 p.m. in accordance with RSA 91-A3II (a), (b), (c). On a roll call vote, Nicole Plourde, Mitch Couture, 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 Nathan Morin, the Board voted to come out of nonpublic session at 8:25 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. One additional vote was taken to seal the one non public minutes until an appropriate time.
STAFFING On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board voted to accept the following staffing changes:
RESIGNATIONS:
Donna Couture - STC- BHS
Lise Barrette - Title I Tutor - Hillside School
TEACHER NOMINATIONS:
Alaina Setz - Grade 5 - Hillside School
NOMINATIONS:
Karen Sullivan - School Nurse - Brown School
Marcy Heinemann - Reading First Tutor
Lisa Labbe - Reading First Tutor
Shannon Bainbridge - OMS - Marston School
Mindy Supry - Indiv Aide - BHS
Cora Jo Ciampi - Indiv Aide - BJHS
Pamala Atkinson - Indiv Aide - Hillside
RE-NOMINATIONS:
Berlin High School
David Arsenault - Band
Jean Bouchard - Drama
Gloria Caouette - Key Club
Carole Chabot - SADD
Shawn Conant - Yearbook
Elaine Connary - FCCLA
Sonya Dube - ECE
Linda Lafleur - FCCLA
Marc Lauze - AM Supervision
Marc Lauze - PM Supervision
Ted McCormick - JCWA
Ted McCormick - Student Council
O' Brien Murphy - Drama, Asst
Beth Pahigian - Language Club
Barbara Peabody - HOSA
Roland Simard - AM Supervision
Alan Woodward - AM Supervison
Robert Desilets - Breakfast Duty - BJHS
Stan Ouellette - Morning Courtyard Duty - BJHS
All nominations are contingent on the applicant passing a criminal record check. The motion passed unanimously.
BHS BACKERS The Board was informed that the BHS Homecoming Parade will be held on September 26, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. The Board is invited to attend and to arrive at 6:30 p.m. if they wish to walk in the parade.
ADJOURN On a motion by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to adjourn it's meeting at 8:30 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Berlin Board of Education
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