June 8, 2005

Attendees: John Alberghini,Vicky Congdon, Gail Conley, Phil Graff, Fred Kenney, Steve May, Loree Silvis

Guests: Dave Johnson, Lisanne Hegman

Meeting came to order at 7:10 pm.

General Items

1. Comments from community members: Vicky noted that a parent in the district had called her with concerns about the open principal position at Camel’s Hump and a perceived lack of information getting out to the community about the search process and the status of the position. Dr. Conley noted that an interim principal was now under contract and a press release had just been issued by Central Office.

Steve reported a conversation with a parent in the district about the scheduling of extracurricular activities conflicting with religious observances. Dr. Conley said that coaches can excuse a student but acknowledged that the student might still feel a conflict. Vicky will bring up the issue at a future policy committee meeting.

2. Fred moved to approve the minutes of 5/4/05 and 5/18/05; Steve seconded. All in favor.

3. Principal’s Report

John updated the Board on the very positive preliminary results on the VT Developmental Reading Assessment and Primary Observation Assessment for grades 1 and 2. The scores reflect the concerted effort the staff has put into early literacy.

Smilie had a break-in over the Memorial Day weekend. A computer was stolen. John reported the incident to the state police.

John expressed his personal appreciation to Dr. Conley, the Smilie Board, and the town for their outstanding support of Smilie School during his tenure as principal. The Board greatly appreciates all that John has achieved at Smilie and on behalf of the community, thanks him for his dedication and hard work.

4. Superintendent’s Report

Dr. Conley distributed the FY 05 Year End Estimates for Bolton School District. Laura Nassau’s preliminary estimate is that Bolton will end the year with a deficit of $22,763 (includes a $14,895 deficit carry forward), generated by unplanned operations and repairs and the accumulated vacation payment to the departing principal.

Dr. Conley reported the legislature has removed the cap from special ed. funding. There will be an increase in state aid and the local assessment would go down slightly.

5. Committee reports:

Executive: Two carousel meetings have been scheduled: October ’05 and April ’06. Phil is interested in serving on the ad hoc Technology Committee. The Long-Range Planning committee has been charged with developing a long-range technology plan.

Negotiations: A press release is going on 6/16 with an update on the negotiations process. Board and community members are encouraged to attend the open meetings.

Policy: Draft of Harassment policy is with individual boards for feedback. On-going discussion of Nutrition policy and how best to implement consistently across the district as well as of the new bullying prevention statue.

Discussion Items

1. Dave Johnson from the Bolton Selectboard approached the Board about designating Smilie School as the town emergency center. (The current emergency center is the fire station.) The Board supports this change. The school would need an emergency generator, and there are certain radio system requirements as well. The town has appropriated $9,000 for the emergency center. Bolton applied for additional funds through Homeland Security but was denied them for use at the fire station; Dave noted we could reapply for the funds for Smilie. The Regional Planning Commission is another possible source of funds. Phil asked the Selectboard to develop an action plan that the School Board would approve next spring. Fred noted that the town emergency plan needs to be updated to reflect the change.

2. Lisanne Hegman, the Chittenden East preschool director from the Lund Family Center, gave an overview/update on the preschool, K care, and after-school programs at Smilie. The preschool program has completed the application for NAEYC accreditation; a validator will observe Ginny Gifford in the classroom this fall. Enrollment for K care and after-school care is lower than in years past, and Lisanne asked if Bolton would support the programs if the numbers drop below what Lund requires to maintain the program (5 for K care; 15 for after-school care per day). Fred noted that it was not a line item in the approved budget, and that he also had an issue with taxpayers paying for childcare. The Board’s follow-up discussion included ways Lund could increase program visibility and use of the subsidized slots and thereby increase enrollment. Dr. Conley recommended that John ask Lund for an action plan for the 2005-06 school year to be presented to the Board.

3. Follow-up discussion on the recent break-in: John has asked Dave Cobb to check the school more thoroughly before leaving the building. Dr. Conley recommended that Dave take additional care before weekends and vacations. Phil suggested we look into better locks for the doors and windows.

4. Lunch program update:

The Board will invite Joanne Machia to the August meeting for an update on the lunch program. John will compile the participation numbers. The Board discussed approaching the town to explain that we are trying to improve the quality of the program and to see if the town would be willing to subsidize some of the expense.

5. Review of draft of harassment policy and guidelines:

Vicky noted that the Board was only reviewing the draft policy at this time (not the guidelines). Steve felt strongly that the policy needed to spell out the classes of protection as specified by the federal law (currently spelled out in the guidelines). Board members asked for clarification regarding misconduct not on school property or at a school-sponsored activity. Fred suggested stating “as required by state and federal law” rather than citing the specific statue, which is subject to change. Vicky will take these comments to the next Policy meeting.

6. Vicky raised the issue of students wearing T-shirts with potentially offensive or exclusive messages. John said he has noticed several incidences of this and has spoken with students individually. He will address this issue in the Smilie Handbook.

7. Fred moved to accept the Invoice Edit List in the revised amount of $549,948.92; Steve seconded. All in favor.

The meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm.

The next meeting is scheduled for August 31, 2005 at 7 pm at Smilie School.

Respectfully submitted,

Vicky Congdon

Approved as amended