MINUTES OF MEETING
JACKSON SCHOOL BOARD
Jackson Grammar School
October 21, 2013
1. Call to Order: The Oct. 21st meeting of the Jackson School Board was called to order at 6:00 p.m. Present were Genn Anzaldi, Andrew Kearns, Lauren Synnott, Fred Nemeth, Keith Bradley, and Dr. Carl Nelson. There were seven members of staff/public present.
2. Approve Minutes (9-10-13) – Note was made by Mr. Nemeth that on Pg. 4 under Board Member Issues, he had been quoted as stating “the Bartlett bus picks up Jackson’s kids and takes them to Glen…..” which he had not said. It was agreed that sentence should begin “It was noted the Bartlett bus picks up Jackson kids….” Motion was made by Ms. Anzaldi, seconded by Ms Synnott, that the Minutes of the Sept. 10th meeting be approved as corrected. Motion carried by unanimous vote.
3. Citizen Comments: Attention was brought to an email which had been submitted by Selectman, Bob Thompson, regarding electioneering at Jackson Grammar School/Whitney Center. Mr. Thompson was present and provided a sketch of a proposed layout to show an appropriate location for electioneering to take place. Mr. Thompson noted Dr. Nelson, Ms. Anzaldi and he had met with the town and school attorneys at the end of June and looked at ways to figure out where, if anywhere, electioneering can fit on school property when voting is held at the Whitney Center. He noted that the town is being sued by Frank Benesh who contends he has a right to electioneer anywhere except for a 10’ strip so designated. He said Mr.
Benesh felt he should be allowed to electioneer anywhere in front of the building.
Mr. Thompson stated a compromise was offered by the attorney. He noted it would be difficult enough to go through a snow removal project for the “green shaded area;” also we have to be committed to identifying an area where electioneering can take place and not jeopardize the health and safety of the children and the voting rights of the voting public. He noted the courts have upheld, and have disallowed, 200’; this drawing represents an area 89’ from the building - the Board of Selectmen felt it was reasonable. He added that Mr. Benesh also wants us to pay for his legal bills.
Mr. Thompson said it is our first choice to hold the elections at the Whitney Center, we want to recognize everybody’s rights – students, staff, voters - and not have a gauntlet set up for people to have to go through. There was the question: “Do we have to provide a spot for electioneering?” Mr. Thompson said the long range plan would be to adopt an ordinance which refers to property restrictions. Mr. Nemeth stated in July the School Board approved a plan (shown on the sketch as the green shaded area) - Policy KG, Use of School Buildings. Mr. Bradley said, for the record, we said we had no intention of paying anybody’s legal fees.
Mr. Thompson stated the sketch was provided by Mr. Benesh’s lawyer. Ms. Anzaldi said we do not support the expanded area. Mr. Bradley noted that part of it is not even our property. Mr. Thompson said he will share the adopted policy with the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Bradley noted snow removal had not been considered when they were adopting that policy. Mr. Thompson said they had discussed that with the snow removal person, who said he could take care of it. Mr. Bradley questioned what happens if there is ice and someone slips and gets hurt. It was felt the school’s insurance would cover that.
It was noted the attorneys both felt this was a good compromise to go with. Mr. Thompson said now that we understand the School Board’s position is clear on what you think is reasonable, the question is “do we want the ordinance on the warrant to come before the town meeting?”. Mr. Bradley questioned whether the town would rather the School Board allow that, or move to the highway department for voting? He said people are under the impression that the next election would be held at the highway department. Mr. Thompson said he will take this back to the full Board and bring it back to the School Board’s next meeting. He then left the meeting.
Penny Miller said with regard to camp numbers for last summer, she would request that evaluations be sent out in a more timely manner - either each week or, at the least, within a week after the summer program ends. She said she also requests that the summer program curriculum be determined and date set and communication with the parents much earlier in the year, noting getting the information in April or May is not early enough. She noted that Bartlett opens its registration in Feb. It was agreed her request would be forwarded to Ms. Dembowski.
Another citizen questioned whether they had visited the number of participants. Ms. Anzaldi stated we discuss it every year, and noted there seemed to be more younger students this year. Mr. Bradley pointed out it runs at a loss every year. There was question whether they have considered increasing the cost. Ms. Anzaldi stated the thought was to keep it affordable. The citizen said we need to find someone who has the right qualifications. Mr. Kearns noted they would remind Ms. Dembowski of earlier staffing. Angus Badger questioned the number of Jackson kids participating in Bartlett. Ms. Anzaldi said it is open to Bartlett residents first and then to Jackson. Mr. Bradley said every year
he brings up the question of whether it is worth it. He noted in order to run at a lower loss, we would get a bus to send all Jackson kids. Ms. Miller said she had talked to the Bartlett Director about expanding their capacity and she said she would not.
Ms. Miller said she had discussed with Ms. Dembowski this week, and does not understand, the Jackson soccer program and whether it is a school program. She questioned whether there is oversight from the School Board or teachers as to how the program is run, coaching, number of games, etc. Mr. Kearns stated there is no specific oversight, if there is an issue people should come to the Board.
Ms. Anzaldi questioned why there is soccer and nothing else. Dr. Badger stated it just is - soccer has always been a school program. He gave some history of the soccer program, noting several years ago no one would volunteer to run the program. Martha Miller at that point took it on and ran it for a year. At that time there was $500 in the school budget for the program; Peter Benson put money in the budget for an administrator. He noted as regards the onus of scheduling, Jackson does not have paid people to do that - the job of running that program goes way beyond just scheduling, there is also the issue of dealing with issues regarding individual kids which leads us to look outside the parent group – it is too stressful for a parent to run the program - that money is
no longer in the budget. He said he feels the school should look at that position again and see if the money can be found for that program. Mr. Bradley said the reason they took it out of the budget was the question of who deserved it; and secondly, for $500, is it really going to make a difference of how the program runs? Dr. Badger said $500 does not pay the person the value for their whole time, but gives the chance for the Board to raise expectations.
Ms. Anzaldi said it might be time for us to set some type of criteria for all programs, put money back into the budget with some guidelines dealing with expertise and accountability. Dr. Nelson advised that the Board can put it in the budget if it so chooses.
Ms. Miller said for next year she would suggest for the liability form, to describe what the soccer program is, address conduct, child/parent expectations, explain the program. Dr. Nelson was directed to find money in the budget for this year ($500). Mr. Bradley said he does not agree with “finding” it, it goes against a previous decision. He said he questions whether the taxpayers of the community want us to spend more money to buy equipment, to pay referees, to pay coaches.
Dr. Badger, making reference to the recent disappearance of a Kennett High School student, said a child left the school and did not make it home, and he wished to know whether there is any change in the security at the school. Dr. Nelson said the school sent letters home to the parents with the kids regarding recognizing the signs of stress with your children. He said in this case, school had concluded and students were leaving; the student referred to did as she always did. They have stressed the need to be careful, to be cognizant of surroundings. Mr. Bradley said as a school district we have to provide the bus, we do not have to make sure the kid gets on the bus.
Ms. Anzaldi announced Ms. Dembowski has asked her to let people know we would be locking the front door beginning Oct. 28th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Notice of same was also in last week’s newsletter.
4. Presentation of School Programs/FYI Items:
- SAU – Other School Board Reports - Dr. Nelson reported the next SAU
Executive Board meeting is to be held on Oct. 24th at 4:00 p.m.
5. Old Business: None.
6. A. Consider Second Reading and Adoption of Policy ECF (Energy Conservation) - Motion made by Mr. Nemeth, second by Mr. Bradley, that the Board adopt Policy ECF (Energy Conservation) at second reading. Motion carried by unanimous vote.
B. Consider First Reading of Revised Personnel Policies for Contracted Employees – Motion by Mr. Kearns, second by Ms. Synnott, that the Board approve the revised Personnel Policies for Contracted Employees. Motion then was made by Mr. Kearns, seconded by Ms. Anzaldi, to amend the motion to change Article 28, Reduction In Force, last sentence to read: In the event that the three years or less averaging of two individuals are the same, the individual to be laid off first will be determined by the recommendation of the Principal and approval of the School Board.,
Mr. Kearns explained this would be opening it for discussion to examine the reasoning behind the Principal’s recommendation. Ms. Synnott said they can still be considered, but seniority is not the only determining factor. Note was made that this is all new, there previously was no Reduction In Force clause in the policy. Mr. Nemeth questioned whether it should be mandatory [in the limited event of a tie]. Mr. Bradley questioned the situation if there is a teacher who has been here for 15 years and a new teacher who has been here one year, and the evaluation is the same, and they get one point more than the one who has been here 15 years. Mr. Nemeth said we can still have criteria of what we think it is important to consider as opposed to mandatory guidelines. Ms.
Woodward pointed out in order to get distinguished, a person would need some longevity – you need to look at what the criteria is. Mr. Nemeth said he is not certain whether he wants to adopt and be in favor of mandatory language or more discretionary language – he is not persuaded that we want to lock ourselves into the mandatory language. It was Mr. Bradley’s opinion that the Board would be handcuffing itself to a mandatory solution. Mr. Kearns called for the vote to accept, at first reading, with the suggested change. Motion carried by unanimous vote.
Ms. Bennett noted we have a Personnel Committee and it might be constructive to reactivate the relationship with the Personnel Committee since they will consider changes later in the year in the whole model. Ms. Synnott stated they did much of that in the Personnel Committee meeting.
C. Consider Approval of Revised Jackson School District Professional Evaluation System (JATE) – Motion by Ms. Anzaldi, second by Ms. Synnott, to approve the Revised Professional Evaluation System as recommended. Mr. Kearns offered two changes: Under the heading of Unsatisfactory: A teacher can remain unsatisfactory for up to 1 year – change to 6 months. Under heading Basic: A probationary teacher can remain at the Basic level for up to 3 years – change to 1.5 years. Mr. Bradley questioned if at the end of the half year they were still there, does this mean we would have to terminate them or do we have the option? Ms. Anzaldi stated this gives the option. Mr. Kearns said they can remain at the Basic level for 1.5
years, if we are not happy with them, we could “non renew”. Motion carried by unanimous vote to accept at first reading with changes as proposed.
7. Consider Personnel Actions:
A. FYI – Appointment of Hanna Lucy as Long-term Substitute. Dr. Nelson explained this is an FYI statement and does not require any action.
8. Business Affairs:
- FYI – 2012-13 Budget Status Report – Dr. Nelson provided copy of updated
budget. There were no questions or comments.
B. FYI – Correspondence from Becky Jefferson Re: Tax Status for Tuition Reduction Employees. Mr. Kearns summarized that it comes down to reduced tuition is not taxable.
9. Administrator’s Reports:
Superintendent – Dr. Nelson reported the first budget meeting will be held on Nov. 6th at 10:00 a.m. He will meet with Ms. Dembowski and draft the budget for the Board’s review.
Principal – Ms. Dembowski could not be present.
10. Citizen Comments: None.
11. Board Member Issues:
- Set Date for Next Meeting – November 18, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.
Mr. Bradley noted Transportation Committee meeting – waiting for further information and report back to the Board at the next meeting.
Ms. Anzaldi requested that tuition be included under Old Business on the Nov. Agenda.
12. Signing of Manifest: Manifests were duly signed.
13. Nonpublic Session: None.
14. Adjourn: Motion made by Mr. Kearns, second by Ms. Synnott, that the meeting be adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail T. Currier, Recording Secretary
November Agenda-
Old Business:
Tuition
Electioneering
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