MINUTES OF MEETING
JACKSON SCHOOL BOARD
Jackson Grammar School
May 16, 2011
1. Call to Order: The May 16th meeting of the Jackson School Board was called to order at 6:00 p.m. Present were Andrew Kearns, Lauren Synnott, Joe Kopitsky, Genn Anzaldi, Dr. Carl Nelson, and Principal, Gayle Dembowski. There were four members of staff/public present.
2. Approve Minutes – (4-6-11) – Motion by Ms. Anzaldi, second by Ms. Synnott, to approve the Minutes of the April 6th meeting as circulated. Motion carried by unanimous vote.
3. Citizen Comments: Scott Badger stated there will be a $1.4 million cut to the Conway School budget and questioned whether the town of Conway is likely to take any legal action to try to restore that money. Dr. Nelson explained there are three pieces to the Conway budget: implementation of the 10% rule which affects the Conway budget by $829,000; secondly, the Governor has in his budget zero contribution to the teacher retirement system which equates to another $425,000; thirdly, grants funds – we have been told New Hampshire will not find out what Title I allocations will be until June 30th. He noted the only piece we can do anything about is the $829,000. Conway has made two moves: they
have asked their attorney to ask the Commissioner of the DRA to look at his staff members’ decision – it is basically an appeal; secondly, they have established a second meeting suggested for August 16th, with the deliberative portion 28 days prior.
Mr. Badger wished to know what the second meeting would accomplish. Dr. Nelson said the Conway School Board has asked him to set up a meeting with the Municipal Assn. and the two committees to try to work through it. The Budget Committee make up is slightly different now and they may support another amount. The Conway School Board still has issues it can look at in terms of litigation, but we do not know whether that will happen. If we go through the second meeting process and there is an attempt at a compromise, that might strengthen the case. Dr. Nelson noted there are two pieces of litigation, one involves DRA, and the other the Municipal Budget Committee.
Ms. Synnott questioned why wait until August. Dr. Nelson stated there are time lines that have to be met. He said the meeting dates may change. Mr. Badger urged the Jackson School Board to urge collectively the other sending towns to contact the Conway School Board. Mr. Kearns said he can draft a letter from this Board to the Conway School Board and also contact sending towns to see where they are at.
Mr. Badger questioned if there were a $1.4 million cut whether that would have a significant impact on Jackson. Mr. Kearns said we would have a savings, although it may be pretty small. Dr. Nelson noted that current cuts at the high school were $244,000 – it would be Jackson’s portion of the high school’s operating costs and it would be a year out.
Melissa Grady noted there was discussion at the last Board meeting regarding Vicki [Varrichione] Bartlett’s Family Liaison person at Kennett and how she tracks the students at the high school. Mr. Kearns said presently it is not part of her job to be there for Jackson students although she has not turned any of them away. He said they will put together figures on what the cost would be for Jackson to take part in that, noting that once a month reports are provided by her and it would be beneficial to us. Dr. Nelson stated most years the breakdown is about 5 Bartlett students to 1 Jackson student; they will have to consider whether she will have to add time or if it could be worked into her current hours. Mr.
Kearns said although we did not budget for it, it is certainly worth looking at – realistically we would be looking at the following year. Ms. Grady said it would be difficult to put a price on that, but it seems logical to her. Ms. Synnott noted also it would free up some of Mr. Dembowski’s time.
4. Presentation of School Programs/FYI Items: Dr. Nelson reported there will be an SAU Board meeting on June 9th at 6:30 p.m. and a Joint Boards meeting on June 8th at 6:30 p.m., both of which will be at the Conway Professional Development Center.
5. Old Business: Wetlands Project – Mr. Kearns reported Keith Bradley met with Jay Henry and George Bordash today and looked at getting site work accomplished. Mr. Henry said to get it all done would cost about $10,000, they could do some less for $5,000 or $6,000, could include boulders at the old playground, and would not be creating the space around the back corner near the Whitney Center. Dr. Nelson stated the money is in the budget and must be spent by June 30th (about $20,000). Mr. Kearns said the cost does not include whether we choose to seed or mulch, the town will supply the fill. It has to be contracted prior to June 30th. Ms. Anzaldi suggested contacting Chandler
Landscaping for a quote. Dr. Nelson recommended getting a general contractor to write up what the cost would be and ask Mr. Bordash to get the estimates. Mr. Kearns said he will ask Keith Bradley to meet with them. It was noted we need to get another set of plans. Mr. Kearns will check to see if they are at the Town Hall or will contact the engineer for another set. He said he assumes it also includes the culvert and the swale, but will check on that. It was agreed the Wetlands Project would remain on the Agenda under Old Business.
6. Instructional Issues:
A. Consider Approval of 2011-12 School Calendar – Motion by Mr. Kopitsky, second by Ms. Synnott, that the Board approve the 2011-12 School Calendar as presented. Motion carried by unanimous vote.
B. Consider Second Reading and Adoption of Revised Personnel Policies for Contracted Personnel – Motion by Ms. Anzaldi, second by Mr. Kopitsky, that the Board consider Adoption of the Revised Personnel Policies for Contracted Employees at second reading. Mr. Kopitsky noted under Retirement Health Insurance the question of whether the requirement should be a person having taught 15 or 25 years in the JSD. Mr. Kearns expressed concern with the 15 years, that if a person starts here at age 25 and they retire at age 40, we would be paying their health insurance for a number of years. Dr. Nelson noted in Conway’s budget this is a $1 million item; also the other factor is the health insurance increases
that incur at the rate of 10% to 15%.
Ms. Dembowski noted also under the NH Retirement Plan a person cannot retire until age 55, so someone could not retire at age 40 and collect. Dr. Nelson stated they could retire from Jackson; however, and still be eligible for this retirement. He said it is a valuable benefit for someone who has served the District for several years. Mr. Kearns said he is not, personally, comfortable with 15 years. Dr. Nelson recommended including a “years served” number. He suggested tabling it and he will research it and prepare the wording.
Motion was made by Mr. Kopitsky, seconded by Ms. Anzaldi, that a decision on retirement health insurance be tabled until we get different wording. Motion carried by unanimous vote.
C. Consider Second Reading and Adoption of Revised Personnel Policies for Noncontracted Employees – Motion was made by Ms. Anzaldi, seconded by Ms. Synnott, to approve adoption of Revised Personnel Policies for Noncontracted Employees at second reading. Mr. Kopitsky pointed out under Section 13.2 the limit for payment for unused, accumulated sick days was previously 120 and has been changed to 150. Motion carried by unanimous vote.
Mr. Kearns thanked Ms. Synnott and Mr. Kopitsky and staff who worked with the Personnel Committee for their work.
7. Consider Personnel Actions:
A. Election of Personnel for 2011-12 – Ms. Dembowski explained the Special Education Instructional Aide position has been reduced by ten hours a week and eight of those ten hours will be added to the General Instructional Aide position which is now vacant. The Special Ed Instructional Aide will work twelve hours per week and serve as the Media Specialist as well. The 28-hour General Instructional Aide position is vacant and has not as yet been posted.
Motion was made by Ms. Synnott, seconded by Mr. Kopitsky, to approve election of personnel with the change as noted.
Mr. Kearns questioned whether the total number of hours with support staff is the same as this year. Ms. Dembowski stated it is actually two hours less because the Special Ed Instructional Aide position has been reduced ten hours and she is only adding eight. Mr. Kearns questioned with two less hours in the building whether that will work with the configuration being put forward for next year. Ms. Dembowski stated it will. Motion carried by unanimous vote.
8. Business Affairs:
A. FYI – 2010-11 Budget Status Report – Report provided. Dr. Nelson stated they are still in fairly good shape.
9. Administrator’s Reports:
A. Superintendent – Dr. Nelson announced that KHS graduation will be held on June 18th at 10:00 a.m. The last day of school will be June 23rd and will be an early release day. Bartlett graduation is scheduled for June 21st at 5:00 p.m.
B. Principal –
1. Configuration/Transition Plans 2011-12 - Ms. Dembowski provided an outline of the proposed configuration for next year, noting it is pretty well balanced in terms of numbers of students and the mix of kids appears to be the best it could be. She noted the teachers are great where they are, they know the curriculum, so she is proposing to keep them the same as well. She noted Ms. Robert will go both up and down; parents seem to be in favor of the younger students being with the older ones as role models. Ms. Dembowski stated curriculum-wise Ms. Robert is excited to have that group, it worked well this year.
Report of number of students in each grade: Ms. Dembowski reported they have four new incoming Kindergarteners, eight 2nd graders, six 3rd graders, eleven 4th graders, and seven each in grades 5 and 6.
2. Special Ed Interview – Board Representative - Ms. Dembowski wished to nominate Keith Bradley as the Board’s representative. The Board unanimously approved.
3. UA Show May 18, Recital June 1 – Ms. Dembowski reported on June 3rd they will go to Camp Huckins with Bartlett students; they will be joined by Bartlett school for a hike at the Highland Center on June 17th; the Unified Arts show is scheduled for May 18th; the Recital is June 1st.
4. Toddler Playground Update - Ms. Dembowski reported that Ms. Piotrow has made contact with the Selectmen for input on putting the toddler playground equipment back up; they are deciding where the best spot would be. Ms. Piotrow has drafted a letter to the Library Trustees to ask them to consider having it in that vicinity. Mr. Kearns said he thinks they are also considering the ball field area. Dr. Badger said if they put a preschool playground there they would be obligated to fence in the pond. Ms. Anzaldi felt, as a parent, it makes sense to have the toddlers with the older play groups to avoid parents having to go back and forth between playgrounds. Mr. Kearns said it has been offered to them, so ultimately we need to see what the Library says.
10. Citizen Comments: Dr. Badger noted at the annual meeting there was discussion about if the cuts to Conway’s budget go through whether Jackson gets refunded its portion of that money. He said it would be nice to see the School Board start looking at enrichment opportunities for our kids who are in high school, start to explore where the opportunities are for enrichment at all different levels – resources, tutoring, partially funding classes.
Mr. Kearns said they did discuss the possibility of a savings – it would be two years out because it is based on next years’ expenses. There is the use of the money we would save plus the whole idea of enrichment. He said we can start looking at what other schools do, what the opportunities are.
Dr. Badger questioned whether the Board has looked into asking Conway to equalize its student expenditures with respect to the high school within its own budget? He wants to see Conway spend the same amount per student at the high school as they do at the elementary school. He suggested it would be interesting to see if there is a legal basis for pressuring them on that issue.
Mr. Kearns said if the cuts happen and the appeals do not work, under the $1.3 million, the high school cuts are about $245,000. As regards our contract with Kennett, he does not necessarily see it as a legal issue. Dr. Badger said it is an issue that the average Conway voter understand that the high school is really underfunded - their cost per pupil is higher at the elementary school than its regional peers, they spend more per pupil than the State average at their elementary school than anyone else in the region, and spend less at the high school than any other region. He said he would love to see them defend it.
Dr. Nelson said the key is to frame the question you want. Mr. Kearns said it should include equalized student expenditure. Ms. Anzaldi felt it should express our concern that there is not equalized budget for all the students in the Conway area.
11. Board Member Issues: Mr. Kearns noted under old business for June, we get the Whitney funds in February, but they need to be spent by June 30th , a portion goes back to the taxpayers, that leaves the rest to be spent on some things now, or find a holding place for it. He noted we got $10,000, put $3,000 into the fund. Ms. Dembowski stated they have been using primarily the “Friends” money. Mr. Kearns feels we need to have a discussion as to whether there are any building projects that need to be done now, noting he would want the Whitney Center to have funds available for anything that might come up this summer.
A. Set Date for Next Meeting – It was agreed the next meeting would be held on June 15, 2011 at 6:00 p.m.
12. Signing of Manifest: Manifests were duly signed.
13. Nonpublic Session: None.
14. Adjourn: Motion was made by Ms. Anzaldi, seconded by Mr. Kopitsky and carried by unanimous vote, that the meeting be adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail T. Currier, Recording Secretary
Old Business – June Meeting:
Wetlands Project
Whitney Funds
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