May 15, 2014
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 Nicole Plourde, Louise Valliere, Lynn Moore, Donald Labrecque, Denise Valerino, Corinne Cascadden, Amy Huter, Dan Record, Tim Forestall, Roland Pinette, Cheryl Pinette, Ann Nolin, Autie Hamilton, Kayla Steady, Denise Morgan-Allain, Lucie Remillard, Roland Simard, Dave Morrissette, Quinn Morrissette, Chelsea Caron, Savannah Stone, Dylan Nett, Ted Comstock, Debora Payeur, and members of the press.
MINUTES On a motion by Louise Valliere, seconded by Donald Labrecque, the Board voted to approve the minutes of the May 1, 2014 meeting, public and nonpublic sessions. The motion passed unanimously.
WARRANTS On a motion by Lynn Moore, seconded by Donald Labrecque, the Board voted to approve the warrants dated, May 12, 2014 and May 19, 2014 for the amounts of $13,080.42 and $283,104.25. On a roll call vote, all members voted in the affirmative.
FINANCIAL REPORT The Board reviewed and approved the financial report.
COMMENTS Quinn Morrissette and Savannah Stone presented the Board with a DVD of artwork done by BHS students. Quinn commented on how proud he was of his peers. Savannah wanted everyone to know how much work and time went in the artwork that was displayed at the Board meeting. The Board thanked the students and commented on their awesome work.
NHSBA Dr. Ted Comstock, Executive Director of the NH School Boards Association informed the Board of the services offered by NHSBA , which include Board member training and legal services. He also presented to them the NHSBA 2014 NH Excellence in Education Award. Berlin Board of Education was chosen to receive this prestigious award among a very strong and competitive group of School Boards throughout the state of NH.
BYOD Autie Hamilton explained to the Board how difficult it has been to manage and control what student personal electronic devices are used for at BHS. When a student brings their own device they are able to connect to any network. By issuing a one to one device such as a KUNO the District is able to have more control over what is allowed. Tim Forestall gave the Board results of a staff survey on this issue. These results show that only 30% of students bring their own devices and that more staff training is needed. The administration at BHS requested the Board support a one year moratorium for personal electronic devices at BHS for the next school year. The District
will begin the process of obtaining one on one devices for every student in grades 5-12 within the next two years. The Board consensus was to allow BHS administration to temporarily suspend authorized use of personal electronic devices..
FED/STATE GRANTS On a motion by Donald Labrecque, seconded by Denise Valerino, the Board voted to authorize the Superintendent to accept monies for federal and state grants that occur during the 2014-2015 school year. On a roll call vote, all members voted in the affirmative.
On a motion by Donald Labrecque, seconded by Denise Valerion, the Board voted to authorize Corinne Cascadden and Bryan Lamirande to sign federal accounting forms for SAU #3. The motion passed unanimously.
SUPER’S REPORT The Superintendent informed the Board of the following issues:
- End of the Year Activities
- National Summit on Educator Effectiveness
- Manifest Educational Hardship and Best Interest of the Child
The Superintendent shared the list of Milan students who have been approved to attend Gorham Middle/High School based on Manifest Educational Hardship and Best Interest of the Child. Notifications for four cases were received after April 1, 2014, a date noted in the AREA Agreement. NH RSA 193-A:4- Exemption reference the guidelines to follow when an AREA agreement is in place. The Board expressed concerns of approval for four Milan Village Grade 6 students assigned to Gorham schools.
More clarification will be sought with the NH Department of Education and School Attorney.
COMMENTS Mrs. Cascadden informed the Board of a letter she received from a parent concerned about the district’s music program. She explained her response to the parent and reiterated that the District was not cutting the music program.
Lucie Remillard expressed her concerns over the Manifest Hardship issue and stated that it is very important that the Board, and administration find out the logistics of these cases and to be sure they are not just a financial issue.
She also congratulated the Board on their award.
MEMBER BUSINESS Lynn Moore informed the Board of the training she attended by NHSBA for new School Board members and how informative and helpful it was.
Nicole Plourde requested that the issue of all-day kindergarten be placed on the next Board meeting agenda. She feels with enrollment as low as it is at the current time that now is the time to make this happen
Donald Labrecque would like information on how having an all- day kindergarten can be accomplished without hiring any new teachers or moving any grades to other buildings.
Louise Valliere requested that the teachers involved in this issue be present at this meeting.
NON PUBLIC The Board consensus was that a non-public session was not necessary.
STAFFING On a motion by Lynn Moore, seconded by Donald Labrecque, the Board voted to approve the following staffing changes:
Resignations:
Alex Baker – IT Technician – District
Georgia Caron-Director of Special Services - District
The motion passed unanimously.
ADJOURN On a motion by Louise Valliere, seconded by Denise Valerino, the Board voted to adjourn it’s meeting at 7:15 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary, Berlin Board of Education
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