March 7, 2013
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 Louise Valliere, Nicole Plourde, Nathan Morin, Donald Labrecque, Kenneth Proulx, Corinne Cascadden, Bryan Lamirande, Gary Bisson, Tim Forestall, Amy Huter, Dan Record, Elizabeth Deen, Roland Pinette, Cheryl Pinette, Ted McCormick, Dave Roberts, Reggie Coulombe, Kendra Chouinard, Dave Morrissette, Karin Dorval, Peter Donovan, Craig Melanson, Al Woodward, parents, students, and member of the press.
MINUTES On a motion by Nathan Morin, seconded by Donald Labrecque, the Board voted to approve the minutes of the February 21, 2013 meeting, public and nonpublic sessions. The motion passed unanimously.
WARRANTS On a motion by Kenneth Proulx, seconded by Nathan Morin, the Board voted to approve the warrants dated, March 4 and March 11, 2013 for the amounts of $19,501.95 and $322,302.86. On a roll call vote, all members voted in the affirmative.
FINANCIAL REPORT The Board reviewed and approved the financial report.
COMMENTS Reggie Coulombe informed the Board that he would like them to consider a Girls’ Soccer team at BHS.
Peter Donovan read a letter of support for Girls’ Soccer from Kerry and Courtney Theriault.
Kendra Chouinard spoke in favor of Girls’ Soccer
Dave Morrissette felt it is better to keep Girls’ Soccer separate from Boys’ Soccer to prevent injury.
Ted McCormick is fearful that two sporting programs will hurt funding and quality of teams.
Allan Woodward feels there is enough interest for two teams, Field Hockey and Soccer.
Dave Roberts spoke in favor of Girls’ Soccer
1st RDG POLICIES On a motion by Louise Valliere, seconded by Kenneth Proulx, the Board voted to approve the first reading of Policies – JICJ – Unauthorized Communication Devices, JICL – Student Personal Electronic Device Use, JJA – Student Activities and Organizations, JJIB – Interscholastic Athletics, JJIC – Eligibility for School Athletics, JJE – Student Fund-Raising Activities, JJIF – Guidelines for Proper Sportsmanship, JKA – Corporal Punishment, JKB – Detention of Students, JLDBA – Behavior Management and Intervention. Nathan Morin expressed concern regarding Home School students participation in school sports; the remainder of the Board did not wish to continue the discussion; the issue was not taken into consideration. The
motion passed unanimously.
2nd RDG POLICIES On a motion by Nathan Morin, seconded by Donald Labrecque, the Board voted to approve the second reading of Policies – JLCB – Immunizations of Students, JLIE – Student Automobile Use, JQ – Student Fees, Fines, and Charges, and JLF – Child Abuse or Neglect. The motion passed unanimously.
COURSE APPROVAL On a motion by Kenneth Proulx, seconded by Donald Labrecque, the Board voted to approve the new courses at BHS as presented to the Board.
FY 14 BUDGET The Board reviewed last year’s budget packet for the City Council and made the appropriate amendments to present for the FY 14 Budget.
SUPER’S REPORT The Superintendent informed the Board of the following issue:
• District Data Teams
DISTRICT NECAP District Administrators informed the Board of their progress and how they use the NECAP Data to improve student education.
Ken Proulx inquired about Adequate Yearly Progress and expressed dissatisfaction with AYP scores always moving the bar up.
Nathan Morin inquired about student’s with IEP’s . The Superintendent explained how test scores for these students are increasing and costs are going down.
COMMENTS Ted McCormick expressed concern regarding what will happen if the FY 14 Budget is rejected by the City Council.
Karin Dorval informed the Board that she feels there are a large number of girls available for both Soccer and Field Hockey.
NEW BUSINESS Corinne Cascadden reminded the Board of the discussion held on March 15, 2012 regarding Girls’ Soccer and recommended placing it as a future agenda item for discussion.
Nicole Plourde expressed how pleased she was with the turnout of support for Girls’ Soccer. She also congratulated the basketball team for a good season.
NON PUBLIC On a motion by Nathan Morin, seconded by Donald Labrecque, the Board voted to go into nonpublic session at 7:06 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 Donald Labrecque, seconded by Kenneth Proulx, the Board voted to come out of nonpublic session at 8:32p.m. The motion passed unanimously. No additional votes were taken in nonpublic session.
STAFFING On a motion by Nathan Morin, seconded by Donald Labrecque, the Board voted to approve the following staff changes:
NOMINATIONS:
Brandon Steady – Boys Varsity Tennis Coach – BHS
Karen Turgeon – JV Softball Coach – BHS
Jake Moore – JV Baseball Coach – BHS
RE-NOMINATIONS:
Roland Poirier – Varsity Softball Coach – BHS
Patty Hood – Girls Varsity Tennis Coach – BHS
Nathan Roberge – Varsity Baseball Coach – BHS
Robert Lord – Boys & Girls Track & Field Coach – BHS
Kieran Finnigan-Allen – Boys & Girls Track & Field Coach 1st Asst – BHS
Mandy Woods – Softball B Team Coach – BMS
Jill Poulin – Softball A Team Coach – BMS
Jamason Levesque – Baseball Coach – BMS
The motion passed unanimously.
All nominations are contingent on the applicant passing a background check.
ADJOURN On a motion by Nathan Morin, seconded by Donald Labrecque, the Board voted to adjourn it’s meeting at 8:35 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Berlin Board of Education
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