December 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, Nathan Morin, Nicole Plourde, Brian Leclerc, John Moulis, Marion Huntley, Beverly Dupont, Dan Record, Georgia Caron, Gary Bisson, Tim Forestall, Corinne Cascadden, Ken Proulx, Roland Pinette, Cheryl Pinette, Drew Drummond, Dennis Farrington, Bo Lafrancois, Stan Ouellette, and members of the press. The meeting was opened by Martha Laflamme.
MINUTES On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to approve the minutes of the November 20, 2008 meeting, public and non public sessions. The motion passed unanimously, with Brian Leclerc abstaining. The Board also thanked the city council for acting so quickly in appointing Brian and welcomed him to the Board.
HEALTH INS On a motion by Nathan Morin, seconded by Nicole Plourde, the Board voted to join the discount program offered by Primex Health as described in the packet for the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
Mitch arrived and took over the meeting at this time.
FINANCIAL REPORT Marion Huntley reviewed the latest financials and answered various questions asked by the Board.
WARRANTS A motion was made by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Nathan Morin, to approve the warrant December 8, 2008 for the amount of $274,754.59. Discussion ensued, regarding mileage, memberships, and filters. On a roll call vote, all members voted in the affirmative.
COMMENTS None
WOOD FUELS Drew Drummond, a representative from Woodfuels Inc., gave the Board a presentation on the benefits of using industrial size wood pellets as a source of heating. He explained the benefits and the cost of installation and implementation. He informed the Board that spring is the best time to install this system and that Gorham and Franklin Pierce University are moving forward with this option.
BUILDING USE Bo Lafrancois asked for a group of adults to use the BJHS gym for an adult basketball program. It was suggested the program become a recreation department program since the group cannot provide a certificate of insurance. Discussion ensued. It was recommended that the group sign up through the athletic director, all players sign a waiver, that they have a staff member join the group, that a contact person is assigned, and they use the BJHS gym when a custodian is in the building only.
YEATON ASSOC On a motion by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Nicole Plourde, the Board voted to bring a proposal by Yeaton Association for a Boiler Plant review to the city council. The Superintendent needs to obtain additional proposals as well. On a roll call vote, Mitch Couture, Nicole Plourde, Martha Laflamme, and Nathan Morin voted in the affirmative, with Brian Leclerc voting in the negative. The motion passed by a 4 to 1 margin.
INDUSTRIAL ARTS Stan Ouellette gave the Board information on the types of items purchased and their uses in the Industrial Arts Program at BJHS. He answered the Board's questions.
LINDAMOOD On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to approve the attendance of two staff members to the three day Lindamood training session being held at NCES. The motion passed unanimously.
SUPER REPORT Discussion ensued regarding bussing all students in grades 1-3 unless they live under half a mile from their school in the 2009-2010 year. A motion was made by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Nathan Morin, to approve bussing all students in grades 1-3 beyond one half mile beginning in 2009-2010. It was noted that additional supervision at each building may be needed to accommodate these bus students. The motion passed unanimously.
The issue of a four day school week was discussed. A plan would have to be approved at the state level. The Superintendent talked about the issues that would have to be addressed. A Board member asked about changing the time off during the winter months to conserve energy. Discussion ensued regarding developing a model for people to review and looking at other models to save money such as closing a building. It was decided we need to take one project at a time and move with it rather than going in multiple directions. Further discussion ensued. On a motion by Brian Leclerc, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board decided to further investigate the closing of a building and to put the issue of a four
day school week on the back burner. The motion passed unanimously.
The Superintendent updated the Board on a meeting with the Assistant Fire Chief on the issue of the replacement of the windows at BJHS. The Superintendent plans on making some of the changes in the current school year. Brian Leclerc was part of that meeting. Some of the connecting doors need to be cleared and designated as exits. The Superintendent will send out a memo to all staff informing them of this safety issue. There are six windows that need to be changed as soon as possible.
The Board was given a copy of an Administration Evaluation Form for their information. They requested that it be used in all buildings and that it be made available electronically.
The Board was informed of a hockey Christmas Tournament in Portland, Me that the Berlin High School Hockey Team would be attending.
Brian Leclerc informed the Superintendent that he would like an update once a month in the Superintendent's report on Capital Improvements.
COMMENTS None
NEW BUSINESS None
NON PUBLIC On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to go into nonpublic session at 8:23 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 Brian Leclerc, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board voted to come out of nonpublic session at 9:35 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:
RESIGNATIONS:
NOMINATIONS:
Dave Griffin - Grade 8 Girls Basketball Coach
Matt Buteau - Grade 7 Girls Basketball Coach
RE-NOMINATIONS:
Steve Enman - Grade 7 Boys Basketball Coach
Denise Roy - Hillside Interscholastic- Girls Basketball Coach
Denise Roy - Interscholastic Athletic Director
Gary - Hillside Interscholastic - Boys Basketball Coach
Jean Bouchard - Drama Advisor Hillside/BJHS
All nominations are contingent on the applicant passing a criminal record check. The motion passed unanimously with Nicole Plourde abstaining.
ADJOURN On a motion by Brian Leclerc, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board voted to adjourn it's meeting at 9:37 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Berlin Board of Education
| 
