Swanton School Board
July-October Minutes
Don Collins (chair)- 868-7975
Rod Russin (vice chair)
April Kilbury 527-7152
PattiJo Walker 524-5749
Tobias Maguire 868-5983
SWANTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING MINUTES
October 11, 2010 6:00 pm
Present: Don Collins, Rod Russin, Tobias Maguire and Patti Jo Walker. April Kilbury was absent from the meeting.
Administration: Brent Coon Principal, Holly Rouelle, Assistant Principal, and Dr. John J. McCarthy, Superintendent, Becky Hart
Others Present: Sarah Nielsen, President of the PTO, Mary Babcock, Samantha Leadbeater, Athletic Director, Erin Gagne, Special Education Teacher, Robin Trushaw, Special Education Teacher, Michelle Theberge, Character Education, Lanny Brow, Head Custodian, Lora McAllister, Office Manager, Joe Raleigh.
Call to Order: Don Collins called the meeting to order at 6:03pm.
Citizens and Staff: Joe Raleigh inquired about bus systems for Jones Court. The students currently get dropped off at Route 7 (Spring Street) and must walk the distance of Jones Court. He has safety concerns about his kindergarten child walking alone and would like to see if the school district could make a change. Don Collins recommended that he go to the administration so that they have an opportunity to resolve this with the bus company. Dr. McCarthy stated that they would look into the matter.
PTO Update: Sarah Nielsen, President of the PTO, reported that Amanda Sweeney came to the last PTO meeting to speak about the behavioral program, PBiS, and she would like to thank her for coming. The administration presented on NECAP testing. Parents really appreciated the information provided. She thanked April Kilbury for representing the board. She thanked Robin Trushaw for working on putting together a K-6 Yearbook with the support of the PTO. Mrs. Nielsen inquired about the status of the request about the naming of the playground. Don Collins stated that this will be explained later on in the meeting.
Approval of Minutes: Patti Jo Walker made motion, seconded by Rod Russin to approve the September minutes as printed. Don Collins requested a correction on Jon’s name from Wood to Nielsen. The board approved the minutes as revised on a 4-0 vote.
Lora McAllister and Lanny Brow presented on their efforts in finding a way to save on the cost of maintenance supplies for the school. There is a group of people that have organized a FMDA (Facilities Maintenance Directors’ Association). This group of people have created a Buyers’ Group and locked in a price for purchasing maintenance supplies at a rate of 40% cheaper that what is being purchased right now (paper towels, tissues, can liners etc.). If we decide to join this buyer’s group, we can join anytime and you can leave anytime. If the school district decides to join the buyer’s group, the school district can join and/or leave at any time. There are no joining fees but this group has a contract with a company and if we purchase through them, we must purchase 87% of the schools’ maintenance supplies line items through this group. There are 35 schools currently involved this year. Category 1 supplies are locked in to prices for one whole year, and include basic supplies. Category II supplies that are not included in Category I, are locked in with a vendor, coming in at no more than 14% over their wholesale price. The FMDA can choose to audit the contracted compay, Foley, at any time. They went through a bidding process to arrive at the vendor. There is also an education piece for using the cleaning products incorporated in this buyer’s group. There is a rebate check depending on how much you buy through them. Mrs. McAllister has a detailed spreadsheet showing the savings that other schools have incurred. The vendor will put in universal towel holders, soap dispensers, etc. Tobias Maguire made motion, seconded by Rod Russin, that the board supports the school district joining the FMDA. The board approved the motion 4-0 vote.
Correspondence: Letters for executive session.
Old Business: None
Financial Report: Becky Hart reported that there has been few changes in the financial report since last month. Swanton is currently under-expending the budget by about $60,000 combined with revenue projecting a carryover of $67,000.00.
Check Warrants: Patti Jo Walker made a motion, seconded by Rod Russin to approve the check warrants for September 2010 totaling $453,231.86. The board approved the motion 4-0 vote.
Becky Hart reported that they went out to bid for a two year snow removal contract. They would like the bid to be brought to the next board meeting.
Principal’s Report:
Student Learning: Brent Coon explained that much of the focus for grades 3 through 6 has been on NECAP preparation. They are finishing the NECAP testing with the fifth grade writing assessments. They are continuing all school meetings with a focus on Belonging, Be Respectful and Be Responsible. On Thursday, Sept. 23rd, they had their annual Open House. Lynn Lane, our school nurse, organized an event sponsored by Hannafords called Food Play. The performance focused on healthy eating habits and exercise for grade K-5 students. Thanks to Lynn Lane for organizing the event and Hannafords for sponsoring it.
Professional Development: Mary Pelkey and Deb Martin, Math Intervenionists have offered an after school workshop on Additive Reasoning. 17 teachers took part in the training that focused on the concepts to support student understanding. During staff meeting this month, Holly Rouelle, Joan Lumbra, Math Content Specialist and Brent presented professional development on differentiated instruction. They read the article “Beyond the Right Answer”, and then grade level teams worked together to create open-ended questions in their current math units to reach the needs of a broad range of student abilities. Brent thanked Joan Lumbra for her assistance with that staff meeting. They had a district-wide half-day of in-service where the teachers went to MVU for a role out of the Social Studies curriculum. The paraprofessionals took part in professional development on “The Para Educator Learning Network”, or crisis prevention training. (CPI). Math Consultant Loree Silvis spent a day at Swanton School, providing demonstration lessons for the new teachers.
Leadership: Brent Coon reported that all the teachers in the formative cycle have submitted their goals for the year. The administration has scheduled first observations for all the new or novice teachers. Brent and Holly have attended district training from Paula Bevans on updates to our FNWSU Teacher Appraisal system. Brent Coon attended a meeting at the VPA office in Montpelier with other principals from around the state to discuss the challenges all schools face in regard to Act 146. This committee will meet every 6-8 weeks.
Amanda Sweeney presented our positive behavior support system to parents at this month’s PTO meeting. Swanton Elementary received a gold ribbon at the PBiS Conference for reaching our target goals for commitment to PBiS. (Positive Behavioral Support System)
Technology: Through the ARRA Grants, Swanton has purchased 75 new Netbooks. Thanks to Peter Garrow for getting the Netbooks “user ready”. They are in the second year of the Young Writers’ Project. Students have the ability to respond to a picture and/or prompt and receive constructive feedback from their peers and teachers.
Facilities: The outside lighting project funded with an ARRA Grant has been completed. Lanny Brow reported that they have been looking for a solution to increase the output of the hot water supply in the Central Building’s kitchen. They did some research and found that that the school would benefit from having tankless hot water heaters. They have been renting a hot water tank and have had more than adequate supply of hot water since the installation was completed.
Co-Curricular Athletics Proposal: Included in the board packet, was a proposed guideline for the sports programs expectations in Swanton. Committee members Brent Coon, Holly Rouelle, Sam Leadbeater and Patty Jo Walker looked at sports policies/guidelines, and contracts etc. from other schools. They reviewed the Vermont Principals’ Association 2010 Policies and incorporated notes from community members, school board members and administration. Dr. McCarthy recommended that the proposal be more like a procedure and a draft be placed on the website for the public to review. If community members have any comments, they should contact the administration. In addition to the website, the school newsletter will direct the community and parents to view the proposal on the website. If community members would like a paper copy, they are welcome to contact the school and they will send them one. After allowing the public one month to review and allow public comment, the board will review and approve the draft with any proposed revisions at the November meeting.
Superintendent’s Report:
Challenges for Change: Dr. McCarthy has met with many other Superintendents from Franklin County and Chittenden County and has found that some of their schools will have difficulty in meeting the target. There is concern about meeting the targets, what the other school districts are doing, and how to proceed.
Board Training: Dr. McCarthy has scheduled a board training on October 19th from 6-9pm at the Swanton House of Pizza to discuss and provide information about voluntary mergers and Challenges for Change. Winton Goodrich of the Vermont School Board Association will be the facilitator. Dr. McCarthy wants to provide an opportunity for the board to openly discuss voluntary mergers.
Policy: Dr. McCarthy brought the section E policies to the board and wanted to designate them as reviewed. The E policies to be reviewed are: E1 Fiscal Management Philosophy, E2 Budgeting, E3, Financial Accountability, General, E4 Financial Reports and Statements, E5 Risk Management, E6 Property Disposal, E7 Fixed Assets, E8 Federal Child Nutrition Act Wellness Policy and E9 Tobacco Prohibition. Tobias Maguire made motion to designate Section E as reviewed as of September 13th, 2010, Patti Jo Walker seconded the motion. The board approved the motion on a 4-0 vote. Dr. McCarthy did not have section F policies ready for this meeting for review.
America’s Promise Recogntion: Dr. McCarthy explained that Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union received a national award for being one of “100 Best” Communities for Young People through their bookmobile director, Deb Grennon’s efforts. A committee is planning a community celebration to highlight what we provide for youth by having performing youth groups of music, dance, Circle of Courage, Early Education Program, Bookmobile Program and the After School Programs etc. There has been a small amount of funding provided for this celebration. We are currently looking at the last week of January for the celebration. They have a big round sign stating “America’s Best Communities” and would like to have a sign displayed at each school. Thanks to Deb Grennon for obtaining that recognition for our communities.
For Executive session: negotiations, contract and letters.
There will be preliminary discussion during execution session about the budget as it pertains to personnel and negotiations. The board will give the business manager and the Superintendent direction for the next budget proposal in November. Sara Nielsen has requested that community participants at a board meeting be given some handouts so that they can follow along with the board when the board reviews policies/budgets etc. The board talked about the Challenges for Changes targets and is it something that the board needs to meet. Jack McCarthy stated that the Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union schools have been some of the leaner spending schools and yet, they have had some of the largest percentage targets. He believes that the board has an obligation to look to see if they can meet some of the recommendations. Don Collins has reviewed the formula and he noted that MVU and North Country Union High School are the leanest spending schools in the State but they got hit harder that many of the Chittenden County Schools. Don Collins believes that the formula is upside down and believes that they should have used some of the factors that would have better reflected the per pupil spending. Swanton can be as lean as lean can be, but because of the state wide property tax, our town must still pay higher property taxes due to some higher equalized per pupil spending in other school districts in the State of Vermont.
Mary Babcock wanted to congratulate the new administration for the wonderful job they are doing.
Dr. McCarthy prepared a policy draft for memorials and dedications. It will need to be presented for a reading and warned for adoption if the board wishes. The request for memorial and dedication must be submitted in writing to the Superintendent. The Superintendent will advance the request to the appropriate school board for its consideration. The Superintendent and the Board may create an adhoc committee to study the request and make a recommendation to the board. He went over the bullets of the policy: The request or proposal must provide: Sufficient biographical and/or historical information about the individual or organization. The location of the building or ground where the memorial be placed or dedication will occur. The reason(s) for establishing the memorial or dedication. All available plans or designs for the memorial or dedication. A description of any physical impact on the buildings or grounds. A description (if any) of the impact on existing memorials or dedications. A description of the costs and source of funding for the memorial or dedication. Date and time of dedication or memorial. The Board may survey the staff and public regarding this request. The Superintendent recommended that he board should consider this type process. This needs to be warned for ten days. Tobias Maguire made motion to waive first reading on the proposed H7 Policy for Memorials and Dedication. Rod Russin seconded the motion. The board approved the motion 4-0 vot.e
Executive Session & Adjournment:
Patty Jo Walker, seconded by Rod Russin made motion to enter executive session for personnel and negotiations, at 7:35pm. The board approved vote 4-0.
Tobias Maguire made motion, seconded by Rod Russin to exit executive session at 8:14pm. Rod Russin made motion, seconded by Tobias Maguire to authorize the chairperson to sign the contract for Tracie Skeels. Vote 4-0
Tobias Maguire made motion, seconded by Rod Russin to Accept the letter of resignation for Karen Cameron with regrets. Vote 4-0
Patti Jo Walker made motion, seconded by Rod Russin to Accept the request for maternity leave from Ms. Stone. Vote 4-0
Patti Jo Walker made motion to accept the recommendation to hire Jen Bourdeau as a paraprofessional. Vote 4-0
Tobias Maguire made motion to adjourn at 8:20pm and Don Collins declared the meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Patty Jo Walker, School Board Clerk
by Pierrette Bouchard, School Board Secretary.
SWANTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING MINUTES
September 13, 2010 6pm
Present: Don Collins, April Kilbury, Rod Russin,Tobias Maguire and Patti Jo Walker.
Administration: Brent Coon Principal, Holly Rouelle, Assistant Principal, and Dr. John J. McCarthy, Superintendent, Becky HartOthers Present: Sarah Nielsen, President of the PTO, Jon Nielsen, Mary Wood, Erin Gagne, Robin Trushaw
Call to Order: Don Collins called the meeting to order at 6:00pm.
Citizens and Staff: Sarah Nielsen, President of the PTO, thanked Patti Jo Walker for serving as the PTO/Board Liason and attending the last meeting. The next PTO meeting is on October 6th and the topic is Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBiS). Amanda Sweeney will be the speaker on this topic. The new playground structure has been completed and a community member has offered to make a sign for this playground. The PTO playground committee would like to name the new playground. The board has to review any policies/procedures around naming something. Patti Jo Walker will be attending the next PTO meeting.
Approval of Minutes: April Kilbury made motion, seconded by Patti Jo Walker to approve the July 8, 2010 minutes as printed. The board approved the motion on a 4-0 vote. Tobias Maguire abstained because he was not in attendance. Rod Russin made motion to approve the August 9, 2010 minutes, seconded by Tobias Maguire. Don Collins inquired about the vote change from 5-0 vote to 4-0 vote. The vote was clarified when it was determined that Rod Russin left the meeting during the second executive session because he left to attend the FNWSU negotiations meeting. With this clarification, the board approved the minutes on a 5-0 vote.
Correspondence: Dr. McCarthy has a letter for executive session.
Old Business: None
Financial Report: Becky Hart reported that the first look at the 2010-2011 financial report projects under-expending the budget by about $60,000.00. There is a number of line items showing over or under spending, largely due to the staff changes as a result of eight retirements from the school year ending June 30, 2010.
Check Warrants: April Kilbury made a motion, seconded by Rod Russin to approve the check warrants for August 2010 totaling $93,079.90. The board approved the motion 5-0 vote.
Principal’s Report:
Evaluation Appraisal Plan: Brent Coon provided an outline of the teacher appraisal plan in the school board packet. Holly Rouelle and Brent Coon went to Central Office to review the personnel files so that they could review past appraisals. From this, they developed a three year plan for Swanton teachers, dividing the staff into the three cycles: Formative I, Formative II and Summative. Once the staff was divided into the three cycles, they further divided the staff in half, then designated Brent or Holly as the evaluator. Their plan is to complete the first round of appraisals in September and October, second round in November and December, etc. until all appraisals would be completed by April 2011.
Kindergarten Update: Things are going well for the extended learning that all day Kindergarten offers. The pace allows the teachers to structure their day to provide more learning opportunities such as multiple read alouds, process writing and focused science lessons.
Student Learning: Brent reported they had their first all school K-2 meeting at the Babcock School with a focus on the core concepts of “Belonging” and “Be Respectful”. Thanks to Eric Astleford and Sarah Brooks for stepping up to play the guitar and sing. It was a great all school meeting. The first round of math and literacy assessments are almost complete, to get baseline data on our students. This data is entered into AimsWeb and put into VCAT for analysis.
Professional Development: During August In-Service, Brent Coon’s presentation focused on “Relevance, Rigor and Relationships and Holly Rouelle’s presentation focused on “the Power of Language”, both emphasized the importance of knowing our students well enough to support their individual learning. Our Keeping Learning on Track leaders met with teacher and paraprofessional in vertical teams and provided an overview of the year resources to support students in the area of questioning, engagement and within unit assessments. The teams had their first monthly staff meeting where vertical teams addressed learning styles and set their first goals for formative assessment. Amanda Sweeney, behavior specialist, has provided training in Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports System (PBIS) for the new staff members. A review of the climate system and appraisal system was provided to all the staff at the first staff meeting.
Leadership: To begin the year, the goal of the leadership team is to be as visible as possible in both the Babcock and Central buildings. Holly Rouelle has gone into the classrooms to do read alouds or participate in class community building activities to introduce herself to students.
Facilities: The new playground is up, thanks to the support from the PTO and the Swanton Community. A fence company is coming in to provide an estimate in repairing the fence surrounding the pre-school/kindergarten playground. Brent Coon reported that they have had a great start to the school year. The board recessed to go outside to see the new playground. The board discussed the process for the naming of a facility, structure etc. They believe that there should be a survey of parents and school community.
Superintendent’s Report:
Challenges for Change: Dr. McCarthy handed out a letter about the “voluntary merger” bill and Challenges for Change from John Nelson, Executive Director of the Vermont School Board’s Association. Dr. McCarthy stated that as a result of the law, the merger incentives should be discussed. He has scheduled a board training on October 19th from 6-9pm with Winton Goodrich from the Vermont School Board Association as a facilitator. He will provide information regarding the financial incentive for consolidation and the education spending targets that are part of Challenges for Change. The per pupil spending in our supervisory union has some of the lowest spending in the state, yet the education spending target for our district is over 2%. Is there some punitive measure for not meeting the target? At this point the Commissioner does not know. The formula used for the target seems to be up side down. There is a December 15th deadline to report to the Commissioner. The Commissioner, the Governor and the State Board have signed on to the National Core Standards with no funding for the professional development that will be necessary to make changes. There was a short discussion on whether the Swanton Board would meet the targets, what the other school districts are doing, and how to proceed.
Policy: Dr. McCarthy brought the section E policies to the board and wanted to designate them as reviewed. The E policies to be reviewed are: E1 Fiscal Management Philosophy, E2 Budgeting, E3, Financial Accountability, General, E4 Financial Reports and Statements, E5 Risk Management, E6 Property Disposal, E7 Fixed Assets, E8 Federal Child Nutrition Act Wellness Policy and E9 Tobacco Prohibition.
Negotiations: For Executive session
Crossroads Article: Dr. McCarthy included a nice article about the Crossroads After School Program in the board packet.
Dr. McCarthy has Contracts and Letters of Intent for executive session.
Other: Patti Jo Walker stated that Swanton needs to have a philosophy or policy for the athletic program. Dr. McCarthy recommended having an athletic procedure outlining Swanton’s philosophy. The board discussed the athletic process and will discuss further in executive session.
Executive Session & Adjournment:
Patty Jo Walker, seconded by April Kilbury made motion to enter executive session for personnel and negotiations, at 7:30pm. The board approved vote 5-0.
Rod Russin made motion, April Kilbury seconded the motion to exit executive session at 8:06 pm. The board approved down the motion 5-0 vote.
Tobias Maguire made motion to allow students of staff members residing outside of Swanton to attend Swanton Elementary School and waive the tuition. Rod Russin seconded the motion. The board voted down the motion on a 0-5 vote.
Patti Jo Walker made motion to grant an unpaid leave of absence as requested. April Kilbury seconded the motion. The board approved the motion 5-0 vote.
Tobias Maguire made a motion, Patti Jo Walker seconded to approve the contracts as presented in executive session. The board approved 5-0 vote.
The board will have a committee of two administrators, athletic director and board member volunteer Patti Jo Walker to bring back a draft of philosophy and procedures of athletics to the next board meeting. This may include two or more options.
Regarding the process of naming of the playground the board determined they needed to develop a clearer process to bring to the next meeting. They felt that they should study the matter with a larger group/committee and survey the community.
On the agenda for the next meeting: custodial staff.
Rod Russin made motion, seconded by Patti Jo Walker to adjourn the meeting at 8:13pm. The board approved the motion 5-0 vote.
Respectfully submitted,
Patty Jo Walker, School Board Clerk
by Pierrette Bouchard, School Board Secretary.
SWANTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING MINUTES
August 9, 2010 6pm
Present: Don Collins, April Kilbury, Rod Russin, Tobias Maguire and Patti Jo Walker.
Administration: Brent Coon Principal, Holly Rouelle, Assistant Principal, and Dr. John J. McCarthy, Superintendent.
Others Present: Sarah Nielsen
Call to Order: Don Collins called the meeting to order at 6:02pm.
Citizens and Staff: Sarah Nielsen spoke on behalf of the PTO about their latest initiatives. The PTO will be moving forward with the playground renovation project by installing a new Early Ed (brown) playground on August 21st. Volunteers are needed starting at 7:30am. The majority of the costs for the new playground were funded through a Head Start Grant. A representative from the PTO has been going to the school board meetings each month. Sarah Nielsen presented the idea of having a board member as a PTO representative/liaison to attend the monthly PTO meetings. The next PTO board meeting is the first Wednesday of September. Patti Jo Walker has volunteered to be the representative from the board.
Approval of Minutes: April Kilbury made motion, seconded by Patti Jo Walker to approve the June 10, June 28 and July 26, 2010 minutes as printed. The board approved the motion on a 5-0 vote. The board needs the July 8, 2010 minutes special board meeting awarding the electrical bid.
Correspondence: for executive session.
Old Business: None
Contracts: For Executive Session.
Financial Report: Becky Hart included the end of the year financial report in the board packet with a carryover of $253,013.04. Becky Hart has a contract for Gosselin Electric. The material that Gosselin was going to use is not in so it will not be able to complete the project by August 15, 2010. Patty Jo Walker made motion, seconded by Tobias Maguire, to authorize Don Collins to sign the contract in behalf of the board. The board approved the motion on a 5-0 vote.
Check Warrants: Mrs. Hart has sent check warrants to the board meeting for approval. The check warrants were for April – June 2010. Patti Jo Walker made a motion, seconded by Rod Russin to approve the check warrants for April 2010 totaling $564,680.30, May totaling $394,990.13, and June 2010 totaling $191,925.75. The board approved the motion 5-0 vote. Patti Jo Walker made motion, seconded by Rod Russin to approve the check warrants for July 23, July 30 and July 31 totaling $580,433.20. The board approved the motion 5-0 vote.
Action Plan- The school must develop an annual Action Plan. The formal Action Plan will also be part of the School Improvement Plan under the requirements for corrective action. This needs review and approval by the Board. Brent Coon provided an overview of the Action Plan. Tobias Maguire made motion, seconded by Rod Russin to approve the Swanton Action Plan. The board approved the motion 5-0 vote.
Superintendent’s Report:
Challenges for Change: The topic will be on the agenda next month.
Policy: Dr. McCarthy reported that policy sections A,B,C and D have already been reviewed.Over the next few months, the Superintendent will bring policy sections E, F, G, and H to be reviewed.
Negotiations for Executive session
Consolidation: There is legislation that offers financial incentives for schools to consider consolidation. Dr. McCarthy would like the board to review the essence of the law in case that is something the district boards would like to consider.
FNWSU Supt.’s Evaluation Rep.: Tobias Maguire believes that he is the evaluation committee representative from Swanton and is willing to continue to do so. Don Collins suggested that the form needs to be revised and believes the board has sent a message to the FNWSU Board that they would like to see a change in the form. They would like a formal and organized process in evaluating their own administrators.
Rod Russin made the motion to discuss negotiations at 6:40pm, seconded by April Kilbury to enter executive session. Patti Jo Walker made the motion to exit executive session at 6:51pm. April Kilbury seconded the motion and the board approved the motion on a 5-0 vote. Patti Jo Walker made a motion, seconded by Rod Russin, that the negotiation council approves a tentative agreement that the board will support that action. The board approved 5-0.
Principal’s Report:
Brent Coon reported that the building was full of students most of the summer. We had 22 students take part in a three week summer school, receiving educational services and tutoring. This was organized by Tiffany Renaudette. The summer intervention program is up and running this week with 60 students participating in the program. This is being coordinated by Amanda Sweeney. Mary Pelkey and Laura Gonyeau were instrumental in putting together the Study Island Math Incentive Program. It is a web based program that provides instruction, practice and assessment in an interactive, engaging way for the students. There are 57 students participating in the program with every grade K-6 being represented. Crossroads was in full swing this summer with Mrs. Kneebone coordinating that program.
Holly Rouelle stated that there have been many professional development opportunities going on as well during the summer. A group of Swanton Teachers took part in classes on formative assessment, which will be a yearlong focus for staff development. The literacy task force met 12 different times during the summer. Literacy work included creating a resource binder for all teachers and developing expectations and supporting materials to teach researched based protocols in Readers’ Workshop and Writer’s Workshop. They will be presenting to parents on First Day so parents can use similar reading strategies at home to support this learning.
Holly and Brent went to the Vermont Principal Association Leadership Academy in Killington last week. They had the opportunity to spend the day with Tony Wagner, author of the Achievement Gap. Mr. Coon attended a strand on effective tools to help schools integrate technology into our classroom instruction that help to ensure that learning is relevant. Ms. Rouelle attended a strand on teacher evaluation with Dr. Paula Bevan, who works with the Danielson Group, which is the evaluation system that is used in the Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union. The forms are now done electronically. They are hoping to make the evaluation system more objective and less subjective.
Brent Coon reported that the custodial staff was very busy this summer. They cleaned floors and carpets, painted walls and made repairs. They are trying a new flooring system replacing the majority of the carpet with tile which is longer lasting. Custodians are also getting ready for the brown playground replacement. It is a major job, more than they anticipated, removing the old playground. Thanks to the custodians for all their hard work. The new playground will be age appropriate and safer for our youngest learners.
The gardening program project now has a new shed to house their supplies. The shed was delivered and put in place by July.
Approval of Minutes: Rod Russin made motion, seconded by Patti Jo Walker to approve the revised minutes December 2009 through March 2nd, 2010. The board approved the motion 3-0 vote with Don Collins recusing himself and Tobias Maguire abstaining because he was not on the board. Tobias Maguire made motion, seconded by Rod Russin to approve the revised minutes from March 8, 2010 through May 10, 2010 minutes. The Board approved the motion 5-0 vote.
Next meeting will be September 13, 2010.
Don Collins had a suggestion for some information sharing at a future board meeting. Possibly after the first quarter, He would like to invite the Kindergarten teachers to present to the board about full time Kindergarten and some preliminary results. He would also like information of the staff evaluation system and process in Swanton.
Executive Session & Adjournment
Patty Jo Walker made motion, seconded by Tobias Maguire to enter the second executive session for personnel and negotiations, at 7:11pm. Approved Vote 5-0
Please Note that Rod Russin excused himself from executive session to attend the negotiations meeting and left the meeting.
PattiJo Walker made motion to have board chair, Don Collins sign all contracts discussed in executive session on behalf of the board. Motion seconded by Tobias Maguire with a vote of 4-0.
PattiJo made motion to accept Catherine Patch's letter of resignation as discussed in Executive Session. Seconded by Tobias Maguire. Vote 4-0
PattiJo Walker made motion to provide $1.00 / day increase to Penny Atwood ( Crossing Guard ) and $.50/day increase to Tom Murray (Crossing Guard), Seconded by Tobias Maguire. Vote 4-0.
PattiJo Walker made motion to exit executive session at 7:26pm. Seconded by April Kilbury. Vote 4-0
Don Collins called the meeting adjourned at 7:31p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Patty Jo Walker, School Board Clerk
by Pierrette Bouchard, School Board Secretary.
SWANTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING MINUTES
July 26, 2010 5:45pm
Attendees: Don Collins, April Kilbury, PattiJo Walker, Tobias Maguire, Brent Coon. Rod Russin was absent from the meeting.
Don Collins called meeting to order at 5:47 p.m.
Personnel Committee made the following recommendations for the 2010-2011 school year:
1.) PattiJo Walker made motion to offer Elizabeth Parris .2 School Nurse Position. Seconded by April Kilbury. Vote 4-0
2.) PattiJo Walker made motion to offer 2nd grade one - one position to Barb Trushaw, at rate determined by Superintendent's office. Seconded by Tobias MaGuire. Vote 4-0
3.) April Kilbury made motion to offer Michaele Bigelow, Kindergarten one - one position. Seconded by PattiJo Walker. Vote 4-0
4.) PattiJo Walker made motion to offer Matthew Perry one - one position. Seconded by April Kilbury. Vote 4-0
5.) Toby MaGuire made motion to offer Samantha Leadbeater AD position after reference check. Seconded by April Kilbury. Vote 4-0
6.) April Kilbury made motion to offer Dustin King PE teacher position. Seconded by PattiJo Walker. Vote 4-0
Don Collins adjourned meeting at 6:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Patty Jo Walker, School Board Clerk
by Pierrette Bouchard, School Board Secretary.
SWANTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
Special Board Meeting
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Superintendent’s Office 5:30pm
The Swanton Board of School Directors met at the Superintendent’s Office at 100 Robin Hood Drive, Swanton at 5:30pm on Thursday July 8, 2010, to review electrical project bids. Present at the meeting were Board members Don Collins, April Kilbury, and PattyJo Walker. Also present was Business Manager Becky Hart and Project Manager Luc Choquette, GMES.
The meeting was called to order by Board Chair Don Collins at 5:32pm.
The school district was recently awarded $50,000 of federal stimulus funds to upgrade exterior lighting at the Swanton Schools. Invitations to bid on the electrical project were sent out to seven local contractors, and four responses were received for Board review.
After review and discussion, the Board accepted the low bid from Gosselin Electric, pending reference checks, on a motion made by PattiJo Walker and seconded by Don Collins. Motion passed 3-0. Becky Hart will contact board members Toby Maguire and Rod Russin to confirm their agreement to this action as well.
Luc Choquette advised the board that there is an approximate lead time of 3-4 weeks to receive the electrical supplies necessary. Conditions of the grant award include buying American made products. Project should still be able to be completed prior to school starting at the end of August.
Having no other business to discuss at this time, the meeting adjourned at 5:55pm on a motion made by PattiJo Walker and seconded by April Kilbury. Vote 3-0
Respectfully submitted,
Patti Jo Walker, School Board Clerk
