NOTTINGHAM BUDGET COMMITTEE MINUTES
NOVEMBER 16, 2006
PUBLIC SESSION
APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 30, 2006
PRESENT:
Ms. Gail Powell, Chair
Mr. Chet Batchelder
Mr. Kurt Duprey
Ms. Denise Blaha
Mr. Philip Fernald
Mr. Michael Koester
Mr. John Decker
Mr. Hal Rafter, Alternate School Board Representative
Ms. Charlene Andersen
Mr. Chris Mills
ABSENT:
Mr. Bill Netishen, Selectmen's Representative (Excused)
Ms. Judy Doughty, School Board Representative (Excused)
OTHERS PRESENT:
Ms. Michelle Carvalho, Principal, Nottingham School
Ms. Rhoda Capron, Head Librarian
Ms. Joy Bicknell, Library Trustee
Ms. Laurie Legard, Library Trustee
The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.
Ms. Powell reminded the Budget Committee that their next meeting was scheduled for Thursday, November 30, 2006 at 7:00pm.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Mr. Decker made a motion to accept the minutes from the meeting on November 9, 2006. Mr. Fernald seconded the motion. Mr. Decker, Mr. Fernald, Ms. Powell, Mr. Koester, Mr. Rafter and Mr. Mills voted in favor of the motion. Ms. Andersen, Mr. Batchelder, Mr. Duprey, and Ms. Blaha abstained from the motion. The motion passed 6-0 with 4 abstentions.
PRESENTATION OF LIBRARY BUDGET:
Ms. Legard explained that the library budget was determined by looking at what they had spent during the current year and comparing it to their previous budget to see if they were on target. She said that they based their proposed budget on that process.
Ms. Legard said that there had been an increase in the proposed budget for the alarm system. She said that the library had been having a problem with their smoke detectors. She said that they were replacing 3 smoke detectors in the downstairs part of the library. She said that they were hoping that replacing the smoke detectors would fix the problem.
Ms. Legard said that the library had hired a new cleaner. She said that he charged considerably less than the previous cleaner had. She stated that there was a decrease in the cleaning line in the proposed budget. She said that the new cleaner did an excellent job and the building was very clean.
Ms. Legard said that the library was requesting $10,000 towards automation in their proposed budget. Ms. Capron said that the library staff had spent 6 years going through all the books in the library. She said that the next step in the automation process was for them to have all their records converted to electronic form. She said that she had talked to the school Technology Director and she would like to have the public library system be compatible with the school library system. She said that the long term goal was for the public library and the school library to be able to share resources. She said that the public library staff would send their records out to be converted to electronic form. She said that they would have that done elsewhere. She said that automation was standard in public
libraries now. She said that there were paper supplies she used that were no longer available for purchase because so many libraries were automated. Mr. Duprey asked about the projected outlays and the costs of the next step in the automation process. Ms. Capron said that the next step in the process was a $15,620 cost for software, accessories, furniture, equipment and training. She said that after that automation would cost about $800 per year for technical support and licensing. She said that the school Technology Director would provide technical support. Mr. Mills asked if there had been money set aside in a reserve account for automation. Ms. Capron said no. She said that the costs of technology had gone down in the 6 years since they had started this project though and so she thought since most libraries were already automated, they were saving money by coming into this after other libraries had already done it. Ms. Powell
asked if the staff hoped to have this project completed by 2008. Ms. Capron said yes. Ms. Powell asked if there would be new equipment needed during the automation process. Ms. Capron said yes but she said that it was already figured into the total cost for the automation.
Ms. Powell asked if the library had a technology plan. Ms. Capron said that the library had gotten a grant the previous October to use to put one together. She said that they had someone working on it but they did not have it completed yet.
Ms. Legard said that the staff had talked with staff of other libraries and she said that a big advantage would be that the automation system would be tried and true when they got it. She said that the staff of the other libraries knew what worked and what didn't and they would be able to help if there were questions about automation. She said that other libraries seemed to be happy with the result of automation. Mr. Koester asked if automation would result in savings in other areas of the budget. Ms. Capron said that she doubted automation would result in any savings but she said that the big advantage would be that it would free time for the library staff to do more things. She said that she was also hoping automation would produce more accurate records because they could be updated automatically. Ms.
Powell asked why the Board of Trustees had decided to make automation a part of the budget instead of putting it into a separate warrant article. Ms. Capron said that automation would be a continuing line so she felt it would be better to put it into the budget. She said that she had also asked the Town Administrator about it and he had said that he had not felt it would be inappropriate to put the costs of automation into the regular budget. Mr. Batchelder said that was his sense on the matter as well.
Mr. Batchelder asked about the library computers going obsolete. Ms. Capron said that the computers in the library were "ok." She said that they had one computer for the staff and 3 computers for the public to use. She said that one of the computers was slow. She said that she did not want to make decisions to replace any computers since their technology plan was not completed. Mr. Batchelder said that kids who did not have computers should know how they worked. He said that those kids would be at a disadvantage if they needed to use outdated technology. Ms. Capron said that the library had high speed internet provided by Comcast and she said that she felt the computers in the library adequately served the needs of the community. Mr. Koester asked if they were dealing with relatively
new versions of computer programs. Ms. Capron said that she did not know.
Ms. Legard said that the line for the library aide position under salaries had seen a decrease. She said that they had hired a new person to do that position and she said that person had been hired at a lower rate than the previous person was paid.
Ms. Legard said that all the salary lines had gone up 4% for a cost of living raise except for that of the Library Director. She said that the proposed increase for the Library Director was 5% because they were slowly trying to increase her salary to be comparable with her education and years of experience. Ms. Blaha said that she had done some research on that and she said that the Library Director in Nottingham was paid at the low end of salaries for the area based on her education and experience.
Ms. Powell said that the weekly attendance average numbers were interesting. Ms. Capron said that they had calculated those numbers in October. She said that they had put those numbers in the town report. She said that she thought the number was around 370 but she said that she had not brought those numbers with her. She said that they had seen the use of the library continue to grow. She said that they were seeing a lot more kids but they were also seeing a lot more adults using the library.
Mr. Fernald asked about a $10,000 donation to the library. Ms. Capron said that Charlotte Blaisdell had left money for the library in Nottingham. She said that when Ms. Blaisdell had died she had left $10,000 that would go to the library upon the death of her niece. She said that they continued to get letters from a lawyer relating to the status of that money. She said that Ms. Blaisdell's niece was still alive but she said that the library was still scheduled to get the $10,000 upon her death.
DISCUSSION OF SCHOOL BUDGET:
Mr. Rafter said that he would be presenting the proposed school budget. He said that the Superintendent, Ms. Judy McGann had her appendix out and she had not been able to come to the Budget Committee meeting.
Mr. Rafter said that the proposed line for tuition at other public schools had decreased. He said that the School Board had met with the Dover Superintendent and the Dover Business Administrator. He said that the finalized tuition rate for the current school year at Dover High School was $9,110.52. He said that the difference between the Coe-Brown tuition rate and the Dover High School tuition rate was $1,723. He said that in the projected school budget they had estimated a 6% tuition rate increase for Dover High School. He said that they had budgeted for a cost of $9,657 per student. He said that they had based that estimate on a comment by the Dover Superintendent who had said that Dover was looking at a 5.5% tuition rate increase. He said that a proposed teacher contract was going in front of the
Dover City Council. He said that could affect the tuition rate. He said that the Dover Superintendent and Business Administrator had explained to the Nottingham School Board how the tuition rate was calculated. He said that there had been a decline of $100 since the previous year. He said that the tuition rate was $450 less per student then had been originally budgeted for.
Mr. Rafter said that the School Board had just been notified of a change in the line for Special Education teacher salaries. He said that there had been 3 track changes among the Special Education staff. He said that it was approximately a $6,000 difference.
Mr. Rafter said that there had been an increase in the line for the Speech Therapist. He said that was based on a reassessment of the projected need in the school.
Mr. Rafter said that the primary and secondary Literacy Collaborative lines had been combined. Ms. Blaha asked about the teachers in the Literacy Collaborative program. Ms. Carvalho said that one full time teacher taught for 1/2 of the day and then did the Literacy Collaborative for the other half of the day. Ms. Blaha asked if they had any evidence that the Literacy Collaborative was working. Ms. Carvalho said that they were looking at that. She said that the committee looking at it planned to have a presentation to give to the School Board by the end of the school year.
Mr. Rafter said that the line in the proposed budget for computer software supplies had increased by $300.
Mr. Rafter said that there had been an increase in the proposed budget for Special Education pupil transportation services. Ms. Andersen asked if more kids were using those services. Mr. Rafter said that more kids were projected to be using the services in upcoming years. Ms. Powell asked if the School Board was entering into a contract with a transportation services company. Mr. Rafter said that a contract was already in place. Ms. Carvalho said that the cost for Special Education pupil transportation services was a charge per student plus a charge for mileage. Mr. Rafter clarified that the district was charged per bus for the regular education students and they were charged per student plus mileage for the Special Education students.
Mr. Rafter said that the proposed budget had a 3.2% increase from the current budget. He said that the new teacher that was being proposed had been marked as a discretionary budget item. He said that the modular classroom was also marked as a discretionary budget item.
Mr. Rafter said that the joint school boards would be meeting to discuss the SAU budget. He said that there could be minor changes to that budget.
Mr. Rafter said that there had been a meeting with Coe-Brown and there had been discussion about tracking high school kids after their graduation. He said that according to the Coe-Brown headmaster it was a virtually impossible task. He said that kids were just too difficult to track once they moved beyond high school. He mentioned that when Gail Blouin had been on the School Board she had done a huge amount of work trying to track kids beyond high school.
Mr. Rafter said that the guaranteed maximum rate for health insurance was 4.8%. He said that was reflected in the proposed budget.
Mr. Rafter said that there had been discussion of a new salary schedule for the support staff. He said that it had not been finalized yet and the effect would be difficult to estimate at this point.
Mr. Rafter said that the School Board had talked about the pros and cons of modular classrooms versus multi age classrooms. He said that the School Board had not had 100% attendance at their meeting the previous night and they had not been ready to make a decision about whether or not to keep modular classrooms in the proposed budget.
Ms. Powell asked if there had been any changes to the cover memo. Ms. Carvalho asked if the architectural feasibility study had been included on the cover memo. She said that it would cost $6,000.
Mr. Decker asked if the Budget Committee would get copies of the narrative. Mr. Rafter said yes. He said that they would get them by November 30, 2006.
Mr. Rafter said that there were not many items in the budget that were up for discussion other than the modular classroom and the additional teacher. He said that those two would go hand in hand.
Mr. Rafter said that the new salary schedule which had been proposed for the support staff seemed like it would be easier to work with. He said that the School Board would make that decision in September.
Mr. Rafter said that according to the 'No Child Left Behind' legislation all aides would now need to be highly qualified. He said that made the position of aide more competitive.
Mr. Rafter said that the opinions and comments of the Budget Committee regarding the modular classroom would be useful to the School Board. Mr. Mills asked if there was an alternative to the modular classroom. Mr. Rafter said that the alternative they were looking at was combining a 2nd and 3rd grade class.
Ms. Powell asked if the narrative would explain how Dover figured their high school tuition rate. Mr. Rafter said no. Ms. Powell said that the Budget Committee needed the other questions about the budget resolved as soon as possible. She noted that the Budget Committee still wanted to know what the projected tax impact of the school budget would be.
Ms. Powell noted that the cost of the additional teacher would be about $62,000 and she reminded the Committee that the modular classroom and the additional teacher were items that went together in the budget. She said that in the immediate future they would not need one without the other. Mr. Koester asked how a multi age classroom would work. Ms. Carvalho said that it would be one class with kids from two consecutive grade levels. She said that class would have the same teacher for 2 years. She said that one advantage to that was that students could begin instruction right away without having a period where they were getting to know each other and their teacher and their teachers style. She said that there was also a system where the older kids in the class (called the veterans) assisted the new, younger
students. She said that the size of the mixed class would be similar to the size of a regular class. She said that there would only be one teacher who would teach a multi age class. She said that the students currently in grades 1 and 2 were on the lower end of the school population. She said that there were 48 kids in grade 1 and 53 kids in grade 2. She said that there would be 2 traditional classrooms along with the multi age classroom if they chose to go with that option. Mr. Mills asked about the down sides of a multi age classroom. Ms. Carvalho said that a teacher who taught a multi age classroom would need to know the curriculum for 4 different grade levels. She also noted that there could be personality clashes between teachers and students and she said that would be an issue when a student was paired with the same teacher for 2 years. She said that another problem was that there would be less flexibility for moving
around the other kids. She said that they would be cutting the choices of their students in traditional classes by 1/3. Mr. Koester asked if they would still need a teacher who was trained for the 8th grade if they did a multi age class. Ms. Carvalho said yes.
Mr. Mills said that there were applications for housing developments in front of the Planning Board. He said that the town population would grow. Ms. Carvalho said that her population projections had been low the previous year. Ms. Powell said that the question was whether a modular classroom would be a just a short term thing so that the district could move faster with putting up a permanent structure or whether there was a real need for a modular classroom. Mr. Rafter said that the School Board was proposing to have a population projection study done. He said that the study they were proposing seemed to have a really good track record for about 5 years. He said that the question was going to be how large of an addition they were going to need to build. He said that there was always the option of
thinking about whether they wanted to build a middle school instead of an addition to the elementary school. Ms. Andersen said that the district would need to address the current population situation as well. She said that it would take time for an addition to be built.
Ms. Andersen asked if there were any other options besides a modular classroom or a multi age class. Ms. Carvalho said that the school could look at additional spaces such as the art room, the teacher's room, or the library and see if those could accommodate classroom space. She said that increasing class sizes could also be an option. Ms. Andersen asked whether a split shift was an option. Ms. Carvalho said that in her experience the staff that usually crossed grades (such as the art teacher, the gym teacher, etc.) ended up going beyond the typical school day. She said that split shift usually meant an increase in personnel costs.
Mr. Koester asked if the population study project would include studying grade level bubbles. Mr. Rafter said that he assumed it would. Ms. Carvalho said that the study also would look at the options for the building and the district based on what they estimated for population changes.
Mr. Duprey asked about the definition of an elementary school. He said that Nottingham School had more grade levels than just the elementary school grade levels. He noted that Nottingham School had the traditional middle school grade levels as well. Mr. Rafter said that the entire Nottingham K-8 school was considered an elementary school at the state level.
INFORMATION REQUEST FORM:
Ms. Blaha said that she had modified the information request form slightly based on comments which had been made at the previous meeting. She said that she would distribute the form to all members of the Budget Committee. She said that if someone had an information request than they should fill out the form, send it to her and she would distribute it to the appropriate person. She said that she would keep a log of the status of each request. Ms. Powell asked if there was going to be a numbering system for the requests. Ms. Blaha said no. She said that she did not anticipate there being an overwhelming number of requests per meeting.
OTHER:
Ms. Andersen said that this had been a good Budget Committee meeting.
Ms. Andersen said that she would like to formally propose that anything sent to the Budget Committee be printed double sided. She said that the town and the SAU could save a lot of money on paper if they did everything double sided. She said that she would like for a double sided requirement to be an official part of Budget Committee policy. Mr. Decker said that the Budget Committee had made requests like that before. He said that whether they got double sided copies seemed to depend on who was making the copies and when.
Ms. Powell said that she did not understand the CPI index. Mr. Decker explained the procedure to her. He said that the information was set up in 2 columns and one reflected the month to month change and the other reflected the annual change.
Mr. Fernald said that the Budget Committee had been told they would get the current class sizes. Mr. Rafter said that Ms. Carvalho had promised to put that information together for the Budget Committee.
Mr. Decker made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:15pm. Mr. Batchelder seconded the motion. The present members of the Budget Committee voted unanimously in favor of the motion. The motion passed 10-0.
Respectfully submitted,
Kelly Tivnan
Budget Committee Secretary
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