School Board Members:    Barbara Coish, Beverly Donovan, Bruce Anderson and Michael Hatem (7:55 p.m.)
Superintendent:        Dr. Frank Bass
Assistant Superintendent:    Roxanne Wilson
Business Administrator:    Toby Eaton

Barbara Coish called the public session to order at 7:01 p.m.  All those in attendance stood for Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence.

Good News

Windham Center School – Beverly Donovan announced that both the 4th and fifth grade Continental Math Teams did well this year and have been named Regional Champions for their divisions. 

Windham Middle School – Bruce Anderson announced a recent book report by 7th graders that has joined the ranks of online book reviewers.  Mr. Anderson read aloud the names of students who were chosen to represent the school at the upcoming South Central Middle School Festival on May 10th at West Runningbrook Middle School.

Board Buddies

Susan Poore and Kelsey Peterson addressed the School Board to speak of recent happenings at Center School.  They spoke of recent field trips and learning about Windham’s history.  The also spoke of battle of the books.  Both students were presented with Certificates of Participation.

Audit Review

Representatives from Plodzik and Sanderson, Windham’s auditing firm, were on hand to discuss the review process and where the District stands this year.  Windham received an opinion letter with determination and received an unqualified opinion, which is the best opinion to receive.  They noted the district should be proud of their reporting for the 2007 year.  They also noted there would be a lot of auditing changes in the coming year and they will be looking more in depth in the future.

Bob Skinner addressed the Board by questioning some wording in the Opinion Letter - he also questioned why Bond Indebtedness was not listed and he formally requested this be listed for the school.  He would also like it to be stated where the school receives their income from.

Barbara Coish noted they will take this up for next year’s report.

Dr. Bass announced that State Representative, Mary Griffin had arranged for Senator Sununu to meet the current 8th grade students in Washington DC at the Capital Building.

Barbara Coish discussed the process the Board will follow when hearing any Public Address.  No Public Address noted.

PTA Presentation

Mrs. Sweetser discussed the PTA’s end of year wrap up events.  She spoke of a Windham Middle School essay contest with a $150 award going to the best essay.  The essay focuses around a student’s involvement in their community.

Food Service Policy and Procedure

Megan Bizzarro, Food Service Director, gave background on how the food service program works and what obstacles they were facing in terms of collection of monies.  She spoke of state and federal reimbursement.  This will be the first reading of the Food Service Policy EF and Food Service Account Procedure EFA.

Bruce Anderson questioned Mrs. Bizzarro about the proper serving equipment that may be needed at Windham Schools.  She responded by stating there needs to be a investment in some equipment.  Mr. Anderson requested she draft a memo and get it to the SAU outlining her opinion regarding this.

Beverly Donovan requested some wording in Procedure EFA be taken out regarding reference to the high school – noting we have students still attending Salem High School and this could be confusing.  Dr. Bass made note of the requested changes.

Windmill Study Project

Dr. Bass stated there is a great deal of attention focused on this project that perhaps could help in a positive way with funding.  He spoke of a committee being formed which would report to the School Board on a regular basis with regard to the project.  Dr. Bass recommended Alan Carpenter Chair this Committee.

Beverly Donovan questioned what the Charge Order of the Committee would be.

Alan Carpenter addressed the Board speaking of alternative energy – he noted they have an opportunity to take it beyond alternative energy for the school and tie it into a long term curriculum at the high school.  He envisioned the science department using the project.
Barbara Coish stated they could approve the Committee tonight but not come up with a charge at this time.  Dr. Bass stated it could be our charge to look at the timeline and feasibility and then report such information back to the School Board on a monthly basis.

Bruce Anderson noted they did not have money in the budget for a Windmill right now, but are still hoping for grant money.  He noted they would all like to see this move forward.

Dr. Bass stressed it would be the intent of the committee to explore options and see what is feasible and then make recommendations.

Mike Hatem questioned if this could be accomplished through the Building Committee.

Mr. Carpenter responded by stating he imagined the Building Committee has a lot to do and a lot of analysis has to be done before they can even get to funding.  He noted they would have to look at the site and see how to incorporate it into the building and then they would loop with the Building Committee.

Barbara Coish reminded everyone that they did not want to use public money

Motion that the Windham School Board establishes an ad hoc study committee for the purpose of looking at alternative energy sources at the Windham High School site was made by Beverly Donovan with a 2nd by Bruce Anderson.  Approved 4-0.

Motion to make Mr. Alan Carpenter the Chairman for the newly formed ad hoc study committee was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Beverly Donovan. 
Approved 4-0.

Endowment Committee Presentation

Diane Carpenter spoke of the purpose of the Endowment Committee and how it builds and strengthens a community.  She stated the sole purpose of its subcommittee (high school) is to raise monies through donations to enhance the wonderful facility.  The subcommittee is not connected to the School Board or the District.  With regard to the windmill project, she stated the Endowment can be a vehicle to accept donations.  It would be a school generated project and then the school can come to the Endowment which would set up a directed fund where they can help funnel and receive monies.  It was noted public utilities can not give to schools but they can give to the Endowment.  In closing, Mrs. Carpenter stated the Endowment would be thrilled to be a part of the project if asked.

WHS Colors

Mrs. Coish read aloud a statement regarding high school colors and noted all School Board members had input in the statement.

•    We respect the process and stand by the decision of the student vote of November 15, 2005 establishing the blue and gold scheme.  Student vote result – blue/gold (664), green/gold (446), green/black (411)
•    In an effort to avoid divisiveness, the School Board voted to add the color green to the color scheme.
•    We acknowledge that there was a petition vote, but we stand by the student’s choice and the compromise by the School Board.
•    The School Board will not attempt to further define the percentage of colors.  This shall be the responsibility of the Administration and the Athletic Director.
•    The Windham High School Mascot remains the Jaguar.  Student vote result – Jaguar (605), Wolverine (531), Wildcat (389)
•    No further discussion on the School Board agenda will be held on this issue.

Retirement Update

Fran DeCinto, Human Resource Director, spoke of the NH Retirement System.  She noted it has had a lot of trouble and spoke of why the system is not doing well.  Mrs. DeCinto spoke of House Bill 1645 and noted that if this does not pass, the employer contribution will be huge.  She noted the Bill is still in the discussion stage at the Senate and stressed that something needs to be done about it.

Beverly Donovan discussed joining the legal coalition that would give Windham a way to fight if the Bill fails.  She noted the Town Selectmen and both Salem’s town and school districts have joined the coalition.  She noted it would just be a pledge amount and is not actually paid yet.

Motion to pledge up to $2,000 to join the coalition to support House Bill 1645 was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Mike Hatem.  Approved 4-0.

Building Update

Glenn Davis gave a high school update.  He spoke of the failing kitchen equipment in the other schools and noted it needs to be replaced.  He will make the pricing of said equipment available for the Board’s review.

Beverly Donovan clarified that most of the equipment belongs to Pelham and that Windham would need to purchase their own anyway.

Mr. Davis requested input from the Board regarding research of putting kitchens into all the schools and asked for direction.

Mike Hatem noted they will have to buy some equipment anyway and questioned why they would want to truck food to Center, Middle and Golden Brook.

Mr. Davis reminded the Board that it is not just about equipment, but that the septic design and structure of the facilities would have to be examined.

Barbara Coish stated the vote of the town was to have a centralized kitchen at the high school.  Mr. Davis stated the kitchen was expanded at the high school due to a prior vote of the town.

Beverly Donovan commented that when the new middle school is built it will have its own kitchen and that they do not have the master plan done yet which will also discuss kindergarten.

Mike Hatem noted he would like to know what it will cost.  Mr. Davis responded by stating they do not have the money available for that type of analysis.

Beverly Donovan noted it is Mr. Davis’ job to get the high school on line and not to manage other kitchens.

Bruce Anderson suggested looking at Team Design’s original analysis and agreed they do not have the money now to do such an in-depth analysis.  He noted the food for the other three schools will come from our high school facility for now and requested that some unused allocated equipment from the high school kitchen be used for purchasing equipment for the other schools.  Mr. Davis responded by stating yes, it can and it would be a good thing to look at a master plan for the other schools.  He noted that once London Bridge Road is completed, it will shorten the distance between the high school and Golden Brook and the Middle Schools.  Mr. Davis also noted he felt Team Design’s analysis was good.  Mr. Davis will update the analysis and get it to the Board.

Mr. Davis noted the high school building was 51% completed.  Regarding public tours, Mr. Davis gave his opinion to wait until the fall noting rooms will be defined and the site will be safe.

Mr. Davis requested direction from the Board regarding the teacher’s rooms.  It was noted the rooms were small.  The Board will not make a decision tonight regarding teacher workrooms,

Regarding the fields, Mr. Davis noted loam, irrigation, fencing and goal post receivers would go in over the next two weeks or so.

Bond Bank Application

Dr. Bass noted it will come after July 1, 2008.

Motion to seek bonding from the bond bank for $4million was made by Mike Hatem with a 2nd by Beverly Donovan.  Approved 4-0.

Motion to encumber $90,000 for the first year interest payment and to have it available in 08-09 Budget was made by Mike Hatem with a 2nd by Beverly Donovan.

WHS Timeline

Richard Manley, Principal for Windham High School, updated the Board on the timeline for the high school program and curriculum development.  He stated there was a substantial amount of planning going on and they were assembling a Planning Team – noting the Deans would be brought to the Board next month.  He stressed it would be important for the Deans to realize what the expectation of the high school should be.  He further stressed he would be looking at Salem High School and what our students are currently receiving.  He noted his concern with becoming accredited. 

Mr. Manley requested that Committees formally make a presentation to the Planning Team in order to receive their input and move forward.

Roxanne Wilson stated she has found some money to support some training and to fund the Planning team somewhat this summer.  She also noted a lot of work will need to be done this fall regarding the development of competencies.

Mr. Manley stated the School Board would need to have input regarding issues of GPA; class rank; prerequisites; AP classes, etc.

Mr. Anderson stressed that Mr. Manley would need to spend a lot of time at Salem High School next year and be visible to the Freshman students.  Mr. Manley responded by stating there is no doubt that that is a major piece for the students who are there for one year as it will be a difficult time for them. 

China Trip

Mr. Manley gave a brief overview of his recent exchange visit to China and the potential impact it might have on the new Windham High School.  He noted the impact was profound and that our economic competition is great.  He noted the American advantage is our well rounded engineers and mathematicians.  He stressed they need to prepare our students for the larger world.  He stated he has plans and will be coming to the Board at a later date.

Kindergarten Update

Dr. Bass noted the 75% reimbursement is still the same.  He noted the ability to contract with private kindergartens is now an option.  He noted they would have to be approved.  It was also noted that the timeline was extended and that it still continues to change – they have to be prepared with curriculum offerings.

Mrs. Wilson stated keeping up to date with legislation has to be done every week and that they need to keep thinking about the program aspect of all of this.  She noted the State was very clear that it is not going to be a voucher system.

Beverly Donovan suggested having a focus group with local providers.  She noted some of the teachers are not certified.  The consensus of the Board was that they would like to continue with master planning and have a permanent solution to kindergarten.

Salem Tuition Agreement

Dr. Bass provided the signed Tuition Agreement to the Board as well as an addendum which was requested by the Windham School Board.  The members signed the addendum.

Budget Update

Toby Eaton noted they are staying at the level they were at two weeks ago and noted it will be tight until the end of the year.  Mr. Eaton reviewed the building fund payment sheet and current high school construction cost update.  He noted their contingency was still comfortable as well as Harvey’s contingency.  He stressed the numbers were right in line with where they are within the project.

Monthly Expense Report and Investment Report were noted.  Maintenance expenditures were discussed.  Mr. Eaton requested a Motion be made by the Board to use some monies from the maintenance fund to offset some of the deficit.   He noted they had not budgeted for two generators which were needed this year.  Dr. Bass noted they would wait a couple of weeks and come back to the Board as it would be prudent to make a motion then.

Barbara Coish stated she would like to know how much Primex Insurance would cover regarding the flooding at Golden Brook School.  Mr. Eaton will get the numbers to the Board regarding this.

Bruce Anderson stated he did not realize they had $69,000 in maintenance issues.

Mr. Eaton noted there was a negative 3.4% rating in health insurance and that the District has a 9.9% average savings for next year.

Consent Agenda/Adoption of Minutes

Motion to accept the non-public minutes of April 1, 2008 as amended was made by Beverly Donovan with a 2nd by Bruce Anderson.  Approved 4-0.

Motion to accept the public minutes of April 1, 2008 was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Mike Hatem.  Approved 4-0.

Motion to accept the public minutes from April 8, 2008 was made by Beverly Donovan with a 2nd by Mike Hatem.  Approved 4-0.

Motion to accept the non-public minutes from April 15, 2008 was made by Beverly Donovan with a 2nd by Mike Hatem.  Approved 3-0 (Bruce Anderson abstained)

Motion to accept the public minutes from April 15, 2008 was made by Beverly Donovan with a 2nd by Mike Hatem.  Approved 3-0 (Bruce Anderson abstained)

Vendor & Payroll Manifests – noted

Motion to accept the Consent Agenda was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Beverly Donovan.  Approved 4-0.

Resignation – It was noted there was a resignation at Windham Middle School by Mr. Michael Kirste

Motion to accept resignation with a thank you for all his years of service to the District was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Mike Hatem.  Approved 4-0.

Assistant Superintendent’s Report

Roxanne Wilson stated AYP notification would be out on Thursday and that there was a good chance one or two of our schools would not make AYP in one area.  She will report back to the Board.

Barbara Coish questioned how the cameras were working out on the buses.  Dr. Bass will speak with the bus company and report back to the Board.

Future Agenda Items

•    Strategic planning with the town
•    Setting the summer meeting schedule
•    Café services for the WHS lunch program
•    WHS policies that will need to written.

Motion to adjourn the public session under RSA 91-A: 3II (b) at 10:35 p.m. was made by Bruce Anderson with a 2nd by Michael Hatem.  Michael Hatem-aye; Beverly Donovan-aye; Barbara Coish – aye; Bruce Anderson – aye.

Respectfully - Diane Figaro