Rumney Memorial School
School Board of Directors Minutes
July 8, 2008
APPROVED
Board members present: Jen Miller-Arsenault, Chris McVeigh, Coleen Austin, Beth Holtzman
Administrators: Adam Rosen, Principal; Nancy Thomas, Assistant Superintendent/Director of Special Services
1. Call to Order: Jen called the meeting to order at 6:05.
1.1. Reception of Guests: Jeff and Kate Alberghini, Janet Lockyer, parents and coaches; Tammy Joslyn, athletic director.
1.2. Amendments to the Agenda: Item 4.3 will be considered first to accommodate guests. Item 5.1 was scratched as it was a typo. Item 6.7 was added to accept the resignation of Heath Wilson from the board of school directors.
1.3. Public Comments and Correspondence: None.
2. Consent Agenda:
2.1. Approve minutes from June 3, 2008.
2.2. Approve Board Orders.
Chris moved to approve the consent agenda. Coleen seconded. All in favor.
3. Principal/Financial Report
3.1. 5/6 Community Service: This was a successful end-of-year activity. Adam would like to include it part of the Community Partnership money in the future. Beth encouraged making the distinction between service learning and community service, with mindful emphasis on service learning in future years.
3.2. Pre-K enrollment: Currently this stands at 12 students for the MWF morning program, 12 students for the TTh program, and 8 students for the MWF afternoon program. Adam was able to reduce the afternoon paraprofessional hours accordingly, which is reflected in the fund balance.
3.3. End-of-year activities: These went well, including graduation, step-up day, field day, and other traditions.
3.4. Exit interview of homeschool families: Two families have decided to homeschool next year. One family declined to interview, but the other gave feedback about their Rumney experiences. Particular concerns were the amount of homework and the need for more writing; both of these areas are being addressed by the Action Plan.
3.5. End-of-year finances: The fund balance stands at 3.6%. Only one oil company agreed to a guaranteed price, and this was high; this item could go over budget. Beth asked if any building repairs or improvements should be prioritized for energy efficiency. Transportation fuel costs are part of the bus contract and may be adjusted upward. It will be important to stick to the budget in consideration of possible fuel cost increases this winter. Jen asked Adam to summarize items of financial concern in future reports so that all money items up for vote at a particular meeting can be viewed together.
4. Discussion Agenda
4.1. Discuss formalizing relationship between University of Vermont and Rumney Memorial School, including stipends for student teachers: Adam has discussed with the administrator of the early elementary student teaching program from UVM about the mutual benefit of having their student teachers placed at Rumney. Unfortunately, the transportation costs can make the placements burdensome for UVM students. There are legal concerns around paying student teachers; any such proposal would need to be cleared by the UVM lawyers. Nancy reported that U32 has a formal memorandum of understanding with UVM for the placement of student teachers, under which the school and the supervising teachers receive payment. It was decided not to make a formal proposal at this time, but to continue to discuss and explore options with UVM.
4.2. Office Coverage: Coleen inquired about summer office hours. Laurie Fielder works 15 days spread out over the summer. Adam will post summer office hours on the school Web site.
4.3. Selection of Coaches: Tammy explained that parents interested in coaching usually fill out a form the first time; she keeps this on file. For each season parents express their interest to her, she makes selections, and Adam approves them. There is not usually a problem of too many people offering to coach. If there is an opening she will send home notes to the appropriate grades. Sometimes a parent from a different grade level will coach a team, as Janet Lockyer has done. Jeff Alberghini said that U32 and the Recreation Council are trying to set up coaching and refereeing clinics, which will help volunteers feel more comfortable in filling these positions. Nancy Thomas reported that there is Medicaid Healthy Schools money available to pay for training or to pay high school students to referee, but adults cannot be paid with that money.
4.4. Discussion of G13—Kindergarten entrance age. A cross-reference was added indicating policy G9, the Grade Advancement: Retention, Promotion & Acceleration of Students. It was agreed that the accompanying procedures page should include a specific reference to a conversation between the principal and the parents.
4.5. Second Reading, F7—Drugs and Alcohol. Chris expressed concern that this policy seems appropriate for high school students but is too harsh for elementary school students. Nancy explained that the policy states what consequences may be, but the board makes the final decision about what happens in any given case. Nancy also reminded the board that this policy was taken from Federal statutes, and that it was extensively reviewed by the Executive Committee, the WCSU Policy Committee, and the WCSU lawyers. The Federal statutes will be brought to the next meeting.
5. Committee Reports/Updates
5.2. WCSU Executive Committee: Chris provided a written report.
5.3. WCSU Policy Committee: No meetings scheduled until fall. Jen and Coleen would like to meet to coordinate and update policy manuals. Chris offered to copy the final updated result so each board member can have a copy. Adam and Nancy will check into putting the policy manual online and whose job it would be to update it there.
5.4. WCSU Transportation Committee: Issues with First Student are being addressed with the help of legal counsel. Chris is now the Rumney representative to this committee. He will suggest that the Transportation Committee begin to examine the time and route changes necessary to implement the suggested school day and transportation restructuring proposal brought by Adam and Mark Mooney in February.
6. Action Agenda
6.1. Approve Policy G13—Kindergarten Entrance Age. Chris moved to approve G13. Coleen seconded. The vote was three in favor, one abstained. The motion carried.
6.2. Approve Policy D12—Prevention of Harassment of Employees. Nancy and Chris will work on this for future approval.
6.3. Approve Policy F7—Drugs and Alcohol. Tabled.
6.4. Approve Policy F20—Prevention of Harassment of Students. Beth moved to approve F20. Chris seconded. All in favor.
6.5. Approve Bus Routes for 2008-2009. Chris moved to approve the bus routes conditional upon Adam and Laurie making the necessary edits to name spellings and missing times. Jen seconded. All in favor.
6.6. Approve Hire of Heather Collier as Pre-Kindergarten Assistant. Chris moved. Coleen seconded. Beth asked if the contract provides for flexibility in case of increasing or decreasing enrollment. Adam says it does. All in favor.
6.7. Accept the resignation of Heath Wilson from the Rumney Board of Directors. Chris moved to accept Heath’s resignation with regret and with profound thanks for his help, service, and guidance, particularly in his areas of expertise, and for bringing his son Jeffrey to the meetings. Coleen seconded. All in favor.
The board will need to select a new member to fill Heath’s position. Adam will put a notice in the Times Argus and the World. Board members will ask those they think might be interested. The cut-off date will be August 6. Interviews will be conducted before the meeting on August 13.
7. Items for future agenda: New board member; Roles and responsibilities (Adam will invite Charlotte Hanna Bassage); Board Goals.
8. Executive Session for Negotiations: Chris moved to go into Executive Session at 8:30 p.m. to discussion negotiations. Beth seconded. Chris moved to come out of Executive Session at 8:40 p.m. Coleen seconded. No action taken.
9. Adjournment: The board adjourned by consensus at 8:40 p.m.
