MINUTES OF MEETING
JACKSON SCHOOL BOARD
Jackson Grammar School
February 6, 2013
1. Call to Order: The Feb. 6th meeting of the Jackson School Board was called to order at 6:00 p.m. Present were Genn Anzaldi, Keith Bradley, Fred Nemeth, William White, Lauren Synnott, Dr. Carl Nelson, and Principal, Gayle Dembowski. There were four members of public/staff present.
2. Approve Minutes (1-22-13) – Motion by Mr. Nemeth, second by Ms. Synnott, to approve the Minutes of the Jan. 22nd meeting as circulated. Motion carried by unanimous vote.
At 6:02 p.m. Motion was made by Mr. Nemeth, seconded by Mr. Bradley, that the Board adjourn to non public session under RSA 91-A:3, II. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote. Ms. Synnott recused herself.
Nonpublic Session Minutes
The Board reviewed a student matter. Fred Nemeth moved, seconded by Keith Bradley, to stay with the agreement/program in place. The motion passed 3-0-1 (White).
Fred Nemeth moved, seconded by Keith Bradley, to return to public session. The motion passed unanimously.
The Board returned to regular session at 6:30 p.m.
3. Citizen Comments: None.
4. Presentation of School Programs/FYI Items:
A. SAU – Other School Board Reports - Dr. Nelson announced there will be an SAU Board meeting on Feb. 7th at 6:30 p.m. at the Conway Professional Development Center, at which the topic of discussion will be the school calendar.
5. Old Business:
- Whitney Center – Mr. Bradley announced they will be putting $3,695 in
the budget each year for the Friends of Whitney account. He noted if they go back to having an administrative person, that will be paid for out of that; anything left in that line item at the end of the year, the Friends of Whitney can request be returned to them. Dr. Nelson noted the construction money will go back. Mr. Bradley said if we see their endowment rise, they will return.
- Security/Locks – Ms. Dembowski reported that Intervale Lock & Safe came
to the school and measured and discussed the security, but she has not yet received a quote from them. Dr. White said he was impressed with the signs that have been posted. Ms. Dembowski noted also each staff member has been given a lanyard in order to have keys readily available. She has asked staff for feedback about locking and, in general, most are still expressing concerns about locking. Ms. Anzaldi said in the meantime all doors are up to the minimum – they all lock.
Ms. Dembowski said they have done a lockdown drill with the children. Also SAU 9 has revised the draft of the emergency plan so language will all be similar. She said they will have to meet with the Safety Committee and review new procedures with the staff. The front door will not be locked – the Whitney Center is always locked.
Jerry Dougherty questioned whether there is a plan for the front door to be locked. Ms. Anzaldi said we want to have it lockable from the inside and are waiting for a quote. Perimeter doors are always locked from the inside. Mr. Bradley suggested they consider replacing the old front door so that it can be locked from the inside and asked Ms. Dembowski for her opinion. Ms. Dembowski said she feels it is such a small building that if someone was approaching it gives enough time to react. She said she would still like to have a panic button, that she does not expect the lock will stop everyone, but there is a sense of security that she feels.
Mr. Nemeth said he would like (for the next meeting) to have Ms. Dembowski provide her specific view of what the policy should be. He said if she feels after feedback from staff and parents that it should be locked, he would like to know that; if she feels a panic button is what she is comfortable with, he would also like to know that. Ms. Dembowski said we have been a community that has listened to our parents and staff, so it tends to sway her opinion. She felt that locking the door was a reasonable step in making the building a little more secure. Mr. Bradley questioned whether she sees the doors being locked as being more work for an employee. Ms. Dembowski said it changes the way we are comfortable with operating, and will restrict freedom of the staff and of the
parents. Dr. White suggested looking at the standards within national trends, noting it could happen to any school.
6. Instructional Issues: None.
7. Consider Personnel Actions: None.
8. Business Affairs:
- FYI – 2012-13 Budget Status Report – Dr. Nelson provided copies of
updated budget, noting they are still in good shape to have a fund balance of $125,000, which is what we estimated the tax rate on.
Consider Approval of Revised Budget for 2013-14 – It was noted JGS expects to have two students entering the District that will be going to Bartlett Middle School so they had to add $41,000 to the budget, bringing the total to $2,271,390. Motion was made by Mr. Bradley, seconded by Ms. Anzaldi, that the Board approve a revised budget for 2013-14 of $2,271,390. Motion carried by unanimous vote (5-0-0).
C. Consider Approval of Revised Warrant Article #1 (Budget) – Motion was made by Ms. Anzaldi, seconded by Mr. Bradley, that the Board approve revised warrant article #1 to reflect a total of $2,271,390. Motion carried by unanimous vote (5-0-0).
D. Signing of Warrants and Budget Forms – All document were duly signed.
9. Administrator’s Reports:
A. Superintendent – Dr. Nelson noted that Conway’s deliberative session of its annual school meeting will be held on March 6, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at Kennett High School. Bartlett’s annual school district meeting will be held on March 5th at 6:30 p.m. at JBES.
Ms. Dembowski reported they had transition activities day at Bartlett, including pizza, with a tour by two of our 8th grade students. It went very well and they were excited about moving over to the Middle School. She noted also that a JGS student was featured on the front page of the Conway Daily Sun this week and that Jackson athletes have been in the news a lot at the high school.
10. Citizen Comments: Ann Bennett said if you think about this building and the physical reality of the front of the building, whether locking the front door makes it safer is a decision you need to make. She noted the next meeting is a month away; she would like to think if the bid is back in a timely fashion, the Board would consider a brief work session as to how they want to proceed. She said from the beginning there was agreement on everybody’s part that they need to be able to lock that door from the inside.
Ms. Dembowski stated she will call Intervale Lock to obtain the quote, and the Board agreed to consider a special meeting. Dr. Nelson noted they must consider a funding source. Ms. Dembowski stated they have already done the interior doors. Mr. Dougherty questioned how much is in the Maintenance Trust fund and was told there is $48,500. It was noted that expenditure from the Trust Fund only requires a public hearing.
11. Board Member Issues:
- Set Date for Next Meeting – Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.,
followed by the annual meeting at 7:00 p.m.
Mr. Bradley noted SAU 9 was going to do further research about Whitney Center funding as regards operation costs and he would like to have that before the March 7th meeting. He felt it is a way to remind people that the Whitney Center is a community building and costs $209,000 per year, which the school pays for and the community at large is welcome to enjoy. Dr. Nelson will email that information to the Board members.
12. Signing of Manifest: Manifests were duly signed.
13. Nonpublic Session: See Item 1.
14. Adjourn: Motion was made by Mr. Bradley, seconded by Mr. Nemeth, that the meeting be adjourned at 6:59 p.m. Motion carried by unanimous vote.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail T. Currier, Recording Secretary
Agenda 3/7/13:
Old Business:
Security/Locks
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