APPROVED

Windham School Board

Public Session

November 7, 2006

Planning Department

 

School Board Members:          Beverly Donovan, Beth Valentine, Barbara Coish and Bruce Anderson

Business Administrator:          Brian Gallagher

Asst. Superintendent:                Roxanne Wilson

 

Chairperson Bruce Anderson called the public session of the Windham School Board to order at 7:10 p.m. with a call of the roll.  All those in attendance stood to salute the flag and to observe a moment of silence.

 

Good News from Windham Schools

 

Beth Valentine informed the Board – Windham Center School – students have been working on writing about veterans, creating thank you cards for veterans and learning songs for an assembly.  All veterans were invited to attend the celebration.  This year’s assembly was dedicated to our very own veteran, Barbara Cox.

 

Beverly Donovan informed the Board – Windham Middle School – that sixth grade students returned from a week at Camp Bournedale.  All students had a wonderful week participating in the numerous activities offered at camp.

 

Board Buddies from Windham Center School

 

Jaycie Greenberg – 4th grade student – spoke to the Board about a recent field trip to the State House along with the activities from red ribbon week.  She spoke of a fun beginning to the school year.

 

Naseem Sardashti – 5th grade student – spoke to the Board about students studying science and the human body along with exciting studies about the American colonies.  Both girls were presented with Certificates of Participation from the School Board.

 

Adoption of Minutes

 

Motion to Approve the October 3, 2006 Non-Public Minutes was made by Barbara Coish with a 2nd by Beverly Donovan.  Approved 4-0.

 

Motion to Approve as Amended the October 3, 2006 Public Minutes was made by Barbara Coish with a 2nd by Beverly Donovan.  Approved 4-0.

(Amendment page 5 - take to track; she is tracking it according to each school’s use.)

Page 7 – addition of:  and go into Non-Public under RSA 91-A:3II(b)

 

Motion to Approve the October 10, 2006 Non-Public Minutes was made by Beth Valentine with a 2nd by Beverly Donovan.  Approved 4-0.

 

Motion to Approve the October 10, 2006 Public Minutes was made by Beverly Donovan with a 2nd by Beth Valentine.  Approved 4-0.

 

Motion to Approve the October 17, 2006 Non-Public Minutes was made by Barbara Coish with a 2nd by Beverly Donovan.  Approved 4-0.

 

Motion to Approve as Amended the October 17, 2006 Public Minutes was made by Beverly Donovan with a 2nd by Barbara Coish.  Approved 4-0.

(Amendment page 2 – HG616 TO HB616 – correction: RSA 91-A:3II(b)

 

Motion to Approve the October 19, 2006 Public Minutes was made by Beth Valentine with a 2nd by Beverly Donovan.  Approved 4-0.

 

Vendor and Payroll Manifest to be Signed

 

Bruce Anderson noted the Manifest was being circulated for signatures.

 

Appointment Presentations by Members of the Public

 

Parent Presentation:  Bus Transportation on Tarbell Road – Shawna Colantuone addressed the School Board about the issue of safety regarding her neighborhood bus route.  She presented a history of the bus route and its problems  She noted that she and other neighbors feel the Beacon Hill intersection was not safe for children to be waiting for a bus.  She feels it is a town issue.

 

Beth Valentine questioned proposed road changes, i.e. paving/grading.

 

Beverly Donovan question what she was looking to the School Board for tonight – a letter to be sent to the Department of Highway Safety. 

 

Mrs. Colantuone suggested perhaps a mini bus would be the answer to this problem and that it could be requested in next years budget. 

 

Beverly Donovan discussed other unsafe roads in Windham.  Noting that she sympathized with her, but that our bus budget would be huge if the Board agreed to every request for a mini bus.  Noting that there is no perfect road in Windham.  Perhaps grading the road would improve the situation.

 

Michael Poirer addressed the Board stating he was not in favor of changing this right now.  He felt that police presence would be more effective.

 

Deborah Monfette suggested widening Tarbell Road.

 

Bruce Anderson requested Brian Gallagher to call Mr. Al Turner with these questions.

 

Captain Wagner from the Windham Police Department addressed the Board by stating he is aware of these concerns.  He noted that he and Chief Lewis studied Tarbell and Beacon Hill road and concluded that the safest option for now would be to keep the bus route the same.

 

Captain Wagner further stated he would like to see the students stand on the north side of the road – using the telephone pole as a reference point.

 

Deborah Monfette questioned what would happen in the winter time

 

Captain Wagner stated the bus driver should stay with his/her lights on until all students are seated; parents parked in cars along the road is a problem; the line of sight is an issue; he agreed that signs would be appropriate noting that highway safety requests are in place.

 

Bruce Anderson stated that we need to find a solution.

 

Beth Valentine suggested that Captain Wagner speak to the students about safety.

 

Bruce Anderson requested Brian Gallagher to call Laidlaw tomorrow to discuss safety issues.  Brian Gallagher will follow-up with Laidlaw regarding these concerns.

 

PTA Presentation

 

Kristin Letourneau, Vice President of the Windham PTA, addressed the Board about the events of the new school year.  She noted that to date the PTA had 577 members, which exceeded last year’s membership.  She stated the Neighborhood Partners Program discounts are a success.  Mrs. Letourneau stated each school was awarded a lump-sum donation of $1,000 – to be used at the Principal’s discretion. 

 

Other Business Items

 

Safety Issues at Schools – The Board was presented with the issue of open front doors at the schools along with the concerns of many parents regarding school safety.  Roxanne Wilson discussed our current school’s lobby designs; possible solutions to this safety problem and suggested studying the issue further and speaking with Chief Lewis about the matter.

 

Beth Valentine suggested the Student Council(s) set up a committee to study this safety issue further and to come up with possible solutions.

 

Laura Belliviea was concerned that volunteers at the welcome desk at Golden Brook School need more training.

 

Shawna Colantuone is highly concerned with this issue and suggested pre-approved ID badges.  She felt a sub-committee was a great idea.

 

Kristin Letourneau noted the PTA staffs the welcome desk and that there is a brief training session.  She further stated that staff members need to have their badge readily available before entering the school.

 

Diane Figaro stated that this issue needs to be addressed at all three schools and not just at Golden Brook.  She further stated that Golden Brook should not be in session during an election day.  It creates unsafe conditions at that school.

 

Beverly Donovan suggested that Roxanne Wilson look at the calendar for next year and consider scheduling a workshop for teachers on election days – purpose to not have Golden Brook students in the school for safety reasons.

 

Lisa Vivinetto stressed that doors need to be locked – children are vulnerable and that there should be a background check of volunteers.  She suggested the use of a camera or card swiping device to screen visitors.

 

Beth Valentine noted we should re-look at safety issues and facility set up.

 

Bruce Anderson charged a sub-committee to come up with ideas/solutions to this problem, before budget season.

 

Lisa Vivinetto requested the Board bring the same issues up at the next Salem meeting so that similar safety issues can be addressed at the high school.

 

Building Charge for Windham High School – The Board was in possession of the final building charged that needed a vote to accept.

 

Motion to Accept Windham High School Building Charge was made by Beverly Donovan with a 2nd by Barbara Coish.  Approved 4-0.

 

Some members of the Building Committee were present:  Mike Joanis, Brian McNamara, Rick Horrigan, Laura Bellavia, and Jan Moynihan-Cooney (not present were Karl Dubay, Bernie Roulliard and Dan Sheahan). 

 

Rick Horrigan stated the Committee assisted in the new Owner’s Representative search; they started looking at value engineering items and have made recommendations to the School Board; they looked at the curriculum plan as it pertains to the building side of things.  The Committee will still have to meet with the Athletics Committee; review site plans and look at more soft cost items.

 

Beth Valentine thanked everybody on the Committee noting they are an extremely well-balanced group of people.

 

Lisa Vivinetto questioned the relationship between the School Board and the Building Committee.

 

Bruce Anderson stated that any major decisions are brought to the School Board for approval; the Committee has the authority over certain dollar amounts and they make formal recommendations.

 

Windham School Board Goals – Beverly Donovan requested this agenda item be tabled to the next workshop meeting.

 

NESDEC School Board Evaluation – The Board was presented with an evaluation instrument from NESDEC for their review.  Roxanne Wilson noted that the Board can elect to use this form in February.

 

Area Meeting – It was noted that Salem has a subcommittee looking at and reviewing their current block scheduling.

 

Bruce Anderson stated approved retirements and the 2009 graduating students were also discussed.

 

Beth Valentine stated negotiations for a one- year contract are ongoing – Superintendents are working on this. 

 

Roxanne Wilson noted the contract should be complete after the first of the year.

 

Lisa Vivinetto questioned if the contract was for one year only.  The Board responded with no.

 

High School Update and Committee Reports – Barbara Coish stated they are trying to have FYI’s continue every week.

 

Beverly Donovan noted that Integration met and is starting to look into mascots and band uniforms.

 

Beth Valentine questioned if Integration started looking a graduation requirements for transition year students.  Beverly Donovan noted that they will be scheduling this.

 

Presentations of Policies/Reports by Superintendent and Staff

 

Curriculum Presentation from Windham Center School – Principal Desrosiers and Assistant Principal, Deb Armfield, addressed the School Board regarding language arts and science curriculums.  They noted this was the first year of implementation of the Harcourt Series in grades 3, 4 & 5 in language arts.  They further noted that they look at grade level GLE’s and noted they are very important.  They stated they will be connecting with Middle School to cover what grade 8 will be tested upon – we try to combine reading/language arts to cover some science strands.

 

Roxanne Wilson stated that the test case pilot for certain items will be taking place this spring.

 

Beth Valentine questioned if there is a science module.  It is a consideration.

 

Alert Now Safety Communication System – Roxanne Wilson relayed information to the Board regarding the Alert Now Safety Communication System that Dr. Cutler and Terry Bullard had been investigating.  It was noted that this system could interface with our current Power School system.  The cost is $3.00 per child per year.  The system would allow email and phone service to parents in case of emergencies. 

 

Bruce Anderson questioned if the money would come from the budget.  Yes it would.

 

Beverly Donovan stated that if only Windham Middle School has Power School now, that perhaps it should wait.

 

Beth Valentine questioned if this would be a recurring amount every year.  Yes, it would be about $5,000 every year.

 

Motion to have Terry Bullard proceed with Pilot Program of Alert Now Safety was made by Beth Valentine with a 2nd by Barbara Coish.  Moved 3-0-1 Beverly Donovan abstained.

 

Projections – Roxanne Wilson presented the projected enrollment numbers from NHSBA and NESDEC. 

 

Beth Valentine – Are grade 1 numbers inclusive of transition?  Yes.

 

Barbara Coish – I spoke to Beth Maguire noting next years incoming first graders will be quite large – all specialists will be on carts.

 

Bruce Anderson – I prefer to use NHSBA enrollment numbers as they are bigger and we used NHSBA last year.

 

Motion to use NHSBA Actual and Projected Enrollment Numbers was made by Barbara Coish with a 2nd by Beverly Donovan.  Approved 4-0.

 

Correspondence/Information – Brian Gallagher noted for the Board that there was no increase for dental insurance.  Mr. Gallagher also noted that the GMP (guaranteed maximum price) for health insurance was up 21.4%.  He noted that this will be re-examined in May, 2007 - they are hoping this price will go down.

 

Summer Camp Review – It was noted that 575 children participated in the summer camp program.  A special thank you was extended to all those that supported the program.

 

Administrative Monthly Reports

 

Project Budget and Monthly Budget Worksheets – Brian Gallagher noted the highlighted transition payments. 

 

Monthly Attendance Report – Mr. Gallagher noted that this was stable.

 

Information and Proposals from Board Members

 

School Councils – Barbara Coish noted that WCS now has recess before lunch and is working well; the magazine drive went very well – the school council will be researching a different fundraiser for next year.  She noted the school’s goals were cursive improvement and curriculum mapping.  The Council discussed security at WCS and possibly locking the doors between classrooms.  Roxanne Wilson and Brian Gallagher will look into this further.

 

GBS Council – requesting 2 more parents to serve on Council; you made my day program is expanding; Yankee Candle fundraiser profit will go into the student activity fund; the school is buying 4 digital cameras courtesy of the PTA lump sum donation.  The Council discussed goals; the Curriculum Fair is set for March.

 

WMS Council – the Council is down a couple of members.  They would like to host a seminar for parents regarding internet safety.  They are requesting that this be taped and rebroadcast so that more parents could benefit from the seminar.

 

TGIF – will meet next Monday

 

CIP – Joint Meeting with the Planning Board will be held on November 8, 2006

 

NHSBA – Meeting to discuss items that will be brought before the legislators:  kindergarten issues; initiative to change the mandatory school age from 16 to 18 and to have alternate programs to help keep kids in school past the age of 16.

 

Salem School Board Update – 3 new courses will be offered next year.

 

Legislative Update – Beth Valentine noted to send invitations to the legislators for our December 5, 2006 meeting.

 

NHCAFE – nothing is new to date

 

Future Meetings

 

November 14, 2006      SAU Meeting                                                        7:00 p.m.

November 17, 2006      SAU Meeting                                                        4:00 p.m.

November 21, 2006      Planning Board – budget Meeting        7:00 p.m.

December 5, 2006         Business Meeting/Legislators                   7:00 p.m.

December 19, 2006      Workshop Meeting                                           7:00 p.m.

 

Future Agendas

 

 

Beverly Donovan made note of a Career Day @ Salem High School which was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.  This program selected some Pelham and Salem students to attend.  The program had a criminal justice theme.  She thought this was very successful and would like to keep it in mind for our high school.

 

Motion to Adjourn the public session under RSA 91-A: 3II (b) at 9:45 p.m .was made by Beth Valentine with a 2nd by Barbara Coish. Beverly Donovan-aye; Barbara Coish-aye; Beth Valentine-aye and Bruce Anderson-aye.