APPROVED

WINDHAM SCHOOL BOARD

Public Session

Business Meeting

November 6, 2007 – Planning Department

 

 

School Board Members:          Al Letizio - Chairman, Beverly Donovan, Bruce Anderson, Beth Valentine and Barbara Coish

Superintendent:                              Dr. Frank Bass

Assistant Superintendent:     Roxanne Wilson

 

Chairman, Al Letizio called the public session of the Windham School Board to order at 7:26 p.m.  All those in attendance stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence.  Mr. Letizio expressed the School Boards sympathy toward Business Administrator, Toby Eaton, for the recent loss of his mother.

 

Public Address

 

Joni Matthews – addressed the board by requesting they reconsider opening the high school with all four grades in 2009.  She stressed that parents are having a difficult time with the impending transition.  She recommended a phased-in approach and noted she would volunteer her time with the Integration Committee.  She requested this topic be on the agenda at the board’s December meeting.

 

Betsy Delfosse – addressed the board stating she was in support of Ms. Matthews request.  She noted a lot of 8th and 10th grade student will probably not be attending the new high school when it opens and that she would like to keep them together as a class.  She further noted she felt it would not be realistic to offer all classes, especially AP classes.  She also requested this topic be placed on the agenda for a December meeting.

 

Chairman Letizio stated the board will take these requests under advisement.

 

Good News

 

Windham Middle School – Beverly Donovan – noted the 6th grade trip to Camp Bournedale was a success.  She thanked everyone who supported the program.

 

Bruce Anderson discussed Dr. Bass’ visit to middle school on November 1st with 7th grade social studies classes.  Dr. Bass developed a presentation focusing on the Trojan War and mythology.

 

Board Buddies

 

Barbara Coish presented Certificates to board buddies, Maggie Mazri and Leyla Saad.  Both students were fifth graders from Windham Center School.  They spoke of the fifth grade curriculum and recent projects in the areas of math and language arts.

 

Visiting Students from Russia

 

Barbara Coish introduced visiting students and recognized the chaperones.  The students addressed the School Board in English, stating they were very glad to be here and that the schools were impressive and incredible.  They also stated they loved their host families and liked America very much.  The students sang the Russian National Anthem for all those in attendance.  Dr. Bass presented gifts to the chaperones and visiting students.

 

TGIF Presentation; Camp Bournedale

 

Roxanne Wilson opened this discussion by noting TGIF was part of the teacher contract and recognized all the good work teachers do over and above their teaching responsibilities.

 

Stephanie O’Shaunessy and Gretchen Williams, from Windham Middle School, discussed the Bournedale curriculum and how it specifically pertains to the student’s journal writing.  Mrs. O’Shaunessy noted this tied into the state frameworks and GLE’s.  The journal writing reinforces what the students learned during the day at camp.

 

PTA Presentation

 

Laurie Sweetzer, PTA School Board Liaison, spoke of awards that the Town of Windham received with regard to PTA.  She proudly noted that Windham won the PTA of the Year Award.  Mrs. Sweetzer noted her job as liaison would be to gain information during school board meetings and return to the PTA board.  Upcoming PTA events are Be Net Safe presentation on November 13th; and Saving for College presentation on December 4th.

 

Building Committee and Athletic Committee

 

Al Letizio introduced members of the Building and Athletic Committees.  He then explained the current approved high school site and athletic fields.  He noted currently the site would have a PE field; grass soccer field; grass football field; and grass baseball and field hockey fields.  Mr. Letizio noted that after listening to the Athletic Committees recommendations, the School Board chose to adopt their recommendations.

 

Chris O’Neil – Athletic Committee – spoke, stressing the importance of academics.  He then stated that extra curricular activities were also important to children.  Mr. O’Neil stated that with the current footprint we can not meet athletic expectations.  He noted he heard from the community and noted they want it to be done right the first time and not to come back for more and more.

 

Information of school athletic comparisons was presented.  Mr. Letizio noted these would also be available on the website.  Comparisons of the following high schools were included in presentation:  Bow; Bedford; Salem; Sanborn and Pelham.  The presentation showed what could be offered now and what could be offered at full build out. 

 

The Athletic Committee discussed what fall sports could be offered, noting most would be at varsity level.  They also noted that field hockey would practice on the baseball field but would need a fence around it.  They also noted that there was no place for football to practice under the current situation.  They spoke of being compliant with Title 9 as it pertains to field hockey and they also spoke of space and scheduling issues.  It was stressed that most schools do not use their practice fields for playing games.

 

Mark Charbonneau discussed winter sports, noting it was not as much of a concern as with fall and spring sports.  He stated having a 2nd gym would ease space issues.  It was noted that without a 2nd gym, wrestling would have to be held in the Café’.

 

Mike Hatem discussed spring sports.  He stated he disagreed with offering track if the high school does not have a track.  He noted it would be tough to practice and he did not want all track meets to be away.  He also stated that with current facility offerings, there would be no JV softball or JV baseball programs.

 

Glenn Davis, Owners Representative, presented the Conceptual Master Plan with Athletic Vision.  He gave an overview of the site with a Middle School and Without a Middle School.  Mr. Davis noted that by adding softball, baseball and field hockey fields on the Gage land, it would utilize the land as best they could while providing the best access to the high school building itself.

 

Costs and estimates were discussed – noting it would cost approximately $250K per field and $1.498Million for the proposed stadium.  Proposal included:  Latex track; baseball sod field; field hockey sod field and a turf football field.

 

Chairman Letizio announced that he and Dr. Bass met with the Conservation and Recreation Committees to discuss an exchange of land.  It was noted a site walk was performed with members of the above committees but that no vote was taken.  Mr. Letizio stated that about 16 acres of land were being sought or roughly 11% of the Gage land.  He noted 129 acres would be left untouched.  He also noted an equitable exchange (swap) was discussed.  A follow-up meeting will be held with Conservation Committee this week.

 

Joel Mitchell, Athletic Consultant, presented his opinion with regard to the current athletic offerings for Windham High School.  He stated it was missing a soccer field, track and 2nd gym.  He noted his findings were based on simplistic calculations.  Mr. Mitchell stated that track and field has a high participation rate in most schools and that Windham has no facility.  He also noted that there would be a squeeze with late hours for practicing of most team sports.  Mr. Mitchell then noted that if you have fields far away from the actual school you will need fencing around such fields and that these fields would be difficult to keep secure and to manage.  Looking at the potential Gage land site, Mr. Mitchell felt that development of this would be most beneficial.  His bottom line was to recommend adding a soccer field, track and a 2nd gym.

 

The tax impact for the additional athletic fields/stadium was discussed.  It was noted that the impact on a $400,000 home for a $5.4M Bond would be $24.00 in the first year and in 2nd year it would be $5.67 per month.

 

Dr. Bass discussed the importance of giving a participatory opportunity to all students, stressing you want to get kids involved immediately as freshman.  Noting it is extremely important to allow students to find their niche.  Regarding track and field without an actual track, it was noted it would be difficult to measure distance and that tournaments were a great draw for the community.  It was also stated that the number of students who participate in track and field is huge.

 

FIVE MINUTE RECESS

Meeting Reconvened at 9:20 p.m.

 

Chairman Letizio opened up the meeting to comments from those present.  Beverly Donovan requested a sample schedule of how all our current facilities will be used.  Mr. Mitchell handed a sample schedule to Mrs. Donovan showing the overlap and late scheduling of teams.

 

Mrs. Donovan requested seeing some sort of grid as to how the facilities would be used.

 

Beth Valentine discussed Bow High School’s team schedule and noted that there is a tremendous soccer field bottleneck.  She also noted that JV and Varsity soccer play simultaneously and require two fields.  She noted that Windham physically does not have the facilities to provide this.

 

Dr. Bass noted that overuse of fields will render them useless in about two years time and that maintenance will have a hard time keeping up with them.

 

Bruce Anderson made a general comment regarding the last public meeting – noting that 8 ½ acres of Gage land was being looked and now, for the record, 16 acres are being looked at.  He stressed that the Board did not officially adopt that.  Mr. Anderson stated that he is in favor of the vision, but that he heard from the public and they said no last year.  He further stressed that the board would have to work hard to justify this request to the public.

 

Mr. Anderson then questioned if the softball out-field and PE field could be used for football practice and if the use of these would alleviate any of this.  Mr. Mitchell responded by noting it certainly would and that you can find a way to use the current fields to its maximum.  He then noted that a artificial turf field for a game is one of the most important things to have.  It was noted the PE field could be used for practice and drills.

 

Chris O’Neil addressed the town comment – noting voters would like to see athletics separated on the ballot.  Mr. O’Neil further noted that a practice field needs time to rest.

 

Bruce Anderson questioned why the current rectangles were not being looked at for artificial turf.  Mr. Davis responded to this by stating the loam would have to come off and you would have to go down to sand base but that you could still do this.  Mr. Anderson questioned if it would be less expensive to convert the rectangles to artificial turf.  Mr. Davis stated the issue now is that they are processing the loam.  He noted there is no savings from the contractor and that quotes are from the sub-base up.

 

Mr. Anderson questioned a 2nd gym and wondered if it would be large enough for gymnastics.  Mr. Anderson questioned the use of gymnastics equipment and if they leave it up for the season.  It was noted that at Pinkerton, they remove the gymnastics equipment on a daily basis.

 

Barbara Coish stated the Gage land is close and has trails, but she can not see asking for it along with asking for more money now.  She stressed there is going to be a ½ million dollars in start up costs to think about and she does not want to jeopardize the budget.

 

The Building Committee stated they did not see the rush to put loam down now.

 

The question of  lighting in the master plan was discussed.  Mr. Davis noted there is an option for lighting.  It was also noted there was a line item to accept bleachers.

 

The number of possible students who participate in sports was discussed.  It was noted that the Athletic Committee looked at numbers from Salem, rec. numbers and middle school numbers.  They noted they are confident in the numbers.

 

Beverly Donovan questioned offsite offerings.  She suggested discussing flexibility of the use of middle school fields and not rushing into the use of the Gage lands.

 

Bruce Bretton addressed the School Board with regard to acreage in town.  He noted on the town side, they have scheduling problems with recreation.  He thought it would be a win-win situation to develop that part of the Gage land.

 

Beverly Donovan noted they would need to meet with the Board of Selectmen to see how to provide for the kids and to look at everything as a whole.  She noted she was not ready to vote tonight.

 

Chris O’Neil noted with regard to winter offsite facility use, that we will be at their mercy for getting times to practice.

 

Mark Charbonneau responded to Mrs. Donovan by noting there are two grass fields at middle school and that you cannot play varsity at middle school fields.

 

Dan Sheahan from the Building Committee stressed that the true needs are a track and another football field with turf.  He questioned updating other schools fields in town noting while not ideal; students could travel to the other schools to practice.  He noted parents take their children to practice for hockey and swimming and they could also take them to practice elsewhere for football.

 

Mike Hatem noted that middle school is in the worst shape and there is no other place to play JV baseball.  He noted Center school is an option.

 

Dan Sheahan questioned if land at Center School could be developed for less money.

 

Bernie Roulliard questioned if we could get by with a baseball and softball field.  He noted Bow high school has this and questioned if it was a hardship to them.

 

Chris O’Neil noted it would create scheduling issues.

 

Bernie Roulliard noted the location of a stadium on the Gage land would make sense, however, he did not like seeing conversation land used for an added softball and baseball field.

 

Chris O’Neil responded by stating it goes back to clustering of fields for safety reasons.

 

Beverly Donovan questioned the previous plan showing a stadium fitting on the existing land and having middle school also use the track.  She also questioned the operating budget and wanting to see the tax impact for extras before discussing going forward in March.

 

Bruce Anderson stressed he still would like to see priorities and a schedule in black and white before going forward.  Mr. Anderson questioned if the site work was included in the stadium price.  Mr. Davis noted that it was.

 

Barbara Coish questioned the cost of lighting for the fields we already have.

 

Mike Joanis noted the $5.4M is more than the original estimate to do the whole site.

 

Mr. Davis stated these are overview prices and that they are real accurate for the stadium.  Mr. Davis noted it would take about 6 months to update the multipurpose field we have now.

 

Mr. Mitchell stated there are schools that use what Windham has now, but that it is not done without difficulty.  He stressed the bottom line would be that there needs to be a track and field.

 

Beth Valentine questioned where they were in the process of working through getting the Gage land.  Mr. Letizio responded by stating they were at the point of follow up but that there was no meeting yet.  He noted Conservation and Selectman will be meeting to discuss this.

 

Denis Senabaldi noted the Selectmen were waiting for the meeting to discuss the matter and that at some point the School Board will have to approach the Board of Selectman.  Mr. Senabaldi questioned if the School Board would be giving back land.  Mr. Letizio noted that the possibility existed.

 

Mr. Anderson stated it is hard for the public to understand why we would be offering more sports to fewer kids.

 

Dan Sheahan questioned how much it would take to put a track around the current football field.  Mr. Davis noted you would not end up with a full size soccer field and that it would be a significant cost.

 

Rick Horrigan commented on trading land with the Town by noting there is a lot of land behind Windham Middle School.

 

Charlie McMahon addressed the School Board by stating we have to live with the property we have.  He suggested not having a stepped project and to get everything on the ballot and to capture state aid. 

 

Tom Case addressed the School Board.  He reminded them to tell the community the true costs if they go ahead will all projects.  He stressed to be very clear and to consider the total cost for running the high school and maintaining it.

 

Wayne Morris addressed the School Board.  He questioned putting bleachers at the football field.  Mr. Davis responded by noting it would fit but you would loose some of the other field in so doing it.  Mr. Morris also questioned if the cost included a finished road on the Gage land.  Mr. Davis noted it would be a gravel road.

 

Chris O’Neil asked the School Board to vote to adopt the proposed plan.

 

School Board members were asked to give their opinion on the previous discussion.

 

Bruce Anderson felt it was premature for the board to vote.  He noted he would like to wait until they hear back from Recreation and Conservation.  He also noted he would like to see sample scheduling and have time to digest all that was discussed.

 

Barbara Coish stated the board would need to have future discussions televised.

 

Beverly Donovan requested they revisit CIP issues and would like to sit down to set priorities before going ahead with this.

 

Beth Valentine noted she agreed with Bruce Anderson and would like to organize the data.  Her hope was that the town will support us with regard to the Gage land.

 

Barbara Coish further stated this is all town own land and there is no haste this has to happen in March.

 

Al Letizio noted they should consider what the Master Plan looks like first. 

 

Beverly Donovan would like to revisit the Middle School and the use of a track.

 

Mr. Letizio noted he will try to schedule the next possible meeting on camera to discuss this further.

 

Manifests

 

Motion to approve the manifest was made by Barbara Coish with a 2nd by Bruce Anderson.  Approved 5-0.

 

Tabled to next meeting:  correspondence/information; administrative monthly reports; board members reports and concern; adoption of minutes.

 

Future Meetings Dates

 

November 20, 2007      Workshop Meting                           SAU 7:00 p.m.

November 13, 2007      WSB Bld. Comm. Meeting      SAU 7:00 p.m.

December 4, 2007         Business Meeting                             Planning Dept. 7:00 p.m.

December 18, 2007      Workshop Meeting                         SAU 7:00 p.m.

 

Motion to Adjourn the public session under RSA 91-A: 3II(b) at 11:50 p.m. was made by Barbara Coish with a 2nd by Bruce Anderson.  Al Letizio-aye; Beverly Donovan-aye; Beth Valentine-aye; Bruce Anderson-aye; Barbara Coish – aye.

 

Respectfully submitted - Diane Figaro