April 15, 2009
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 Y. Huntley, Corinne Cascadden, Beverly Dupont, Dan Record, Roland Pinette, Cheryl Pinette, Tim Forestall, Ken Proulx, Jane Provencher, Georgia Caron, Craig Melanson, Nancy Brannen, Jennifer Akesson, Angela Duquette, Dolores Charest, 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 April 1 and April 7, 2009 meetings, public and non public sessions. The motion passed unanimously.
WARRANTS On a motion by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Nicole Plourde, the Board voted to approve the warrants dated April 6, and April 20, 2009 for the amounts of $17,467.84 and $121,768.14 respectively. On a roll call vote, all members voted in the affirmative.
COMMENTS None
FIELD TRIP On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Brian Leclerc, the Board voted to approve a school trip by the BJHS Players to Manchester, NH to see the Willy Wonka Jr. production. The motion passed unanimously. Discussion ensued regarding the current policy on field trips. The Board requested input from the administration regarding the costs and the educational purposes of these trips. Mitch Couture requested this issue be tabled until the budget is set. On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to defer this issue until after the budget is settled and directed the administration to bring it back to the Board at the first meeting in July. Mitch Couture, Nathan Morin, Nicole Plourde, and Martha Laflamme voted in the
affirmative; Brian Leclerc voted in the negative. The motion passed by a 4 to 1 margin.
YEATON Discussion ensued on the costs of repairing and/or replacing the boilers at Brown School and Berlin High School as recommended by Yeaton Asoociates. The recommendation of two new steam boilers would cost $75,000 at Brown School and the four new boilers would cost $350,000 at Berlin High School. The use of economic stimulus money was mentioned. It was also noted that there are restrictions on the use of this money. The administration is watching for additional information on the rules and availability of these funds. On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to submit this request to Council. The motion passed unanimously.
SUPER REPORT A NECAP presentation was given by Ken Proulx. Discussion ensued.
On a motion by Nathan Morin, seconded by Martha Laflamme, the Board voted to approve the attendance of staff members to the Differentiated Instruction training in Las Vegas funded by Title I pending the approval of funding. On a roll call vote, all members voted in the affirmative.
COMMENTS None
NEW BUSINESS Martha Laflamme requested information from Bev Dupont on the issue of a latex free environment at Hillside School. Mrs. Dupont explained the precautions they were taking to address this issue.
NON PUBLIC On a motion by Nicole Plourde, seconded by Brian Leclerc, the Board voted to go into nonpublic session at 6:55 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 Brian Leclerc, the Board voted to come out of nonpublic session at 8:10p.m. The motion passed unanimously. No additional votes were taken in nonpublic session.
STAFFING On a motion by Martha Laflamme, seconded by Nicole Plourde, the Board voted to approve the following staffing changes:
NOMINATIONS:
Chantal Rigg – Girls Tennis Coach – BHS
Tony Morin – Grade 7 Softball Coach
David Morse Sr. – Grade 7 Baseball Coach
Justin Jacques – Track & Field Coach – BJHS
All nominations are contingent on the applicant passing a criminal record check.
A request for maternity leave was also granted.
JV HOCKEY The Superintendent and Tim Forestall informed the Board that the number of participants in the JV Ice Hockey Program has been dwindling. The administration will monitor the program and look at options that may lead to some cost savings.
ADJOURN On a motion by Brian Leclerc, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to adjourn it’s meeting at 8:25 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Berlin Board of Education
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