Merrimack School Board Meeting December 17, 2007 Merrimack High School Cafeteria PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES PRESENT: Chair Coburn, Board members Markwell, Thornton and Vaillancourt, Superintendent Chiafery, Assistant Superintendent Woelflein and Business Administrator Shevenell. Vice Chair Robertson-Smith arrived during the Merrimack Middle School budget discussion. 1. Call to Order Chair Coburn Called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. 2. Approval of December 5, 2007 Minutes and December 10, 2007 Minutes Board member Vaillancourt moved (seconded by Board member Thornton) to approve the December 5, 2007 minutes. Board member Vaillancourt requested the following changes to the December 5, 2007 minutes. Page 2 of 4, item 6, 3 rd paragraph, would cost about $600 less. Should read would cost about $600 more. Page 3 of 4, last sentence requested that the Board consider should read requested that the administration consider Page 3 of 4, item 8, second paragraph, second sentence, Kathy Custer should read Kathi Custer Motion passed 4-0-0. Board member Thornton moved (seconded by Vaillancourt) to approve the December 10, 2007 minutes. Board member Vaillancourt requested the following changes to the December 10, 2007 minutes. Page 2 of 5, fifth paragraph from the bottom, 2 computers per classroom were purchased. should read 2 computers per kindergarten classroom were purchased. Page 4 of 5, 8 th paragraph from the bottom should read Board member Vaillancourt added that she did not see the need to support Board member Thornton s motion because it was not necessary as the program was self-funding and her motion would have no tax impact. Motion passed as amended 4-0-0. 3. Public Participation There was no public participation. 4. Review Revision and Approve Use of Facilities Policy Superintendent Chiafery noted that inclusion of the term parking lots was requested to by a member of the leadership team. Board member Vaillancourt moved (seconded by Board member Thornton) to approve the Use of Facilities Policy as amended. Page 1 of 7
Motion passed as amended 4-0-0. 5. Revisit Merrimack Middle School Specific Budget Line Items Principal Levesque provided further information on the Camp Mi-Te-Na program and the expenditures included in the Community Relations Account. Warren Berry, Director of Project Safeguard, presented attendance figures for the program, changes to the program, and communication survey results. He added that there was a great volunteer support team for this program and that there was a focus on communication through a one-question survey for the students and parents. Board member Thornton asked for verification that this program was largely funded by grants and last year grant funding was cut. Mr. Berry affirmed that the program was largely funded by the Drug Free Schools grant and the funding was cut dramatically last year. He added that the grant funding had increased this year. Assistant Superintendent Woelflein added that the Title IV Safe & Drug Free grant funding actually went down this year but administration moved money from other grants to help support Project Safeguard. Board member Vaillancourt asked what the exact amount of the Title IV grant money that was applied to this program and how much money was typically raised in private donations. Mr. Berry responded that $11,710 came from grants and the donations typically totaled $1,500-$2,000. Board member Markwell noted that he felt that the fingerprinting and background check costs should have been included in the breakdown under the Camp Mi-Te-Na budget to capture the actual costs of Camp Mi-Te-Na as this would put the Community Relations line item more in line with the other elementary schools. Board member Vaillancourt added that in her opinion there was a disconnect with the eighth grade students more than with the sixth grade students and she emphasized that she was not saying that this was not a worthwhile program but there was a lot of money being spent on this program. She noted that she was looking forward to seeing some changes to the 8 th grade program to bring the attendance numbers up. Vice Chair Robertson-Smith stated that she found the program useful and worthwhile. She added that she felt it was important to work together as a team and to have strong volunteers as the time that was put into this program exceeded the money spent. 6. Review of Proposed Warrant Articles Tom Touseau, Assistant Director of Maintenance, explained the details of the roofing project at the Mastricola complex. Board member Vaillancourt asked what the cost for this project was and if there was money in the capitol reserve fund. Business Administrator Shevenell responded that the cost of the project would be approximately $240,000 and there was $255,000 in the capitol reserve fund. He added that the warrant article would request to take the money out of the capitol reserve fund. Page 2 of 7
Page 3 of 7 Vice Chair Robertson-Smith reiterated that a benefit of this project would be that the district would not have to spend any money repairing this roof for 25 years. There was discussion regarding the age and condition of the roof. Mr. Touseau spoke about the second warrant article that related to the Asbestos Abatement at Reeds Ferry School. He pointed out the areas that would be replaced and noted that the removal project should eliminate all of the asbestos floor tile and mastic from the school. Business Administrator Shevenell added that the estimated cost was $140,000 and there was $50,000 in the Asbestos Removal Capitol Reserve Fund and the additional $90,000 would need to be raised to complete the project. Board member Markwell asked for confirmation that this would eliminate all of the asbestos at Reeds Ferry School, and if there would be more testing done to determine if there was asbestos present. Mr. Touseau responded that this would eliminate all of the asbestos floor tile and mastic in the school. He added that testing was mandatory and he was not aware of any other asbestos at the building. Board member Thornton asked what the condition of the floors was at Reeds Ferry compared to the floors at the high school last year. Mr. Touseau responded that there was chipping, wear marks and some replaced tiles and he felt that Reeds Ferry school needed to be next in the asbestos removal process. 7. Review of Special Education Budget David St. Jean, Special Education Director, presented the special education department budget. He noted that the budget was based on each individual student and the budget being presented was his best effort. He noted three main areas that determine the budget: out of district costs; paraprofessional costs; paraprofessionals; and transportation. He added that this presented budget complies with all of the current New Hampshire special education rules but the rules were currently being rewritten by the state and it was impossible to forecast how they will impact the budget. Board member Vaillancourt requested an explanation of catastrophic aid to help understand the budget. Mr. St Jean explained catastrophic aid: When sending a student to an out-of-district facility, the District must budget the entire amount and pay that entire amount. At the end of the school year, the district submits all of the expenses to the state and is then reimbursed using a formula: 3.5 times the state average tuition. After that reimbursement, the state pays 80% of the cost up to $100,000. Any costs over $100,000, are paid at 100% by the state. He added that the state reimbursed the money during the next fiscal year and was not reimbursed to the Special Education Department, but to the district directly to offset taxes. 8. Review of Central Office Budget Business Administrator Shevenell presented information on the radio inventory at the elementary schools. He noted that the elementary schools would like radios in each instructional space, four radios in the main offices and radios for the crisis team individuals. He added that each building was at least 20 radios shy of their goal. Board member Markwell asked for the cost per radio. Business Administrator Shevenell responded that the cost was approximately $250 per radio.
Business Administrator Shevenell discussed the proposed security cameras. He noted that the total cost of ownership would be approximately $10,000 per year and the insurance discounts that the district would see as a result of implementing the proposed security cameras would be approximately $10,000. Business Administrator Shevenell presented cost information on installing security cameras in the interior of the entire high school. He noted that the cost, $75,000, did not include classroom cameras. Board member Vaillancourt asked if there was a discount if all of the cameras were installed at the same time. Business Administrator Shevenell responded that the cost reflected a $2,000 discount. Business Administrator Shevenell discussed the central office budget. He noted that the main item in the budget was the replacement of district office financial software for $120,000 and other items in the budget were mainly contractual by nature. Board member Vaillancourt asked if there was only one transportation vendor to choose from. Business Administrator Shevenell affirmed that there was one transportation vendor and that First Student took over Laidlaw. Board member Vaillancourt asked if there would be changes as a result of the takeover. Business Administrator Shevenell responded that he did not anticipate any drastic changes but would perhaps see better service. Board member Thornton asked how many busses were used for the late bus runs. Business Administrator Shevenell responded that there were four busses running the late runs. Board member Thornton asked how much the late busses were being used and if any could be consolidated. Business Administrator Shevenell responded that the 4:30 p.m. run was not heavily used and administration would be looking into the 4:00 p.m. bus to see of there could be some consolidation. Board member Markwell moved (seconded by Board member Thornton) to remove the Camp Mi-Te-Na funding line item 100-2725-27-8519-21 in the amount of $8,000 and to decrease line item 100-3000-28-8611-21 Community Relations by $1,337 for a total of $9,337. Board member Markwell spoke to his motion and noted that he hoped Camp Mi-Te-Na would continue through participation fees and donations and not through district funding. He added that he was disappointed that fingerprinting and background checks were not included in the Camp Mi-Te-Na costs. Board member Vaillancourt spoke in support of the motion and she stated that she was not confident that it was the best use of academic time given the current DINI status. She would like to see some modified programs and would not object if Camp Mi-Te-Na was privately funded. She added that the district did not fund the Washington DC trip and, in her opinion, it was just as academically valuable as Camp Mi-Te-Na. Vice Chair Robertson-Smith spoke in opposition of the motion. She felt that it was a very valuable program as it went beyond academics. She added that she would not like to see this program discontinue due to budget cuts. Page 4 of 7
Chair Coburn added that she was not in support of this motion because she felt it was a valuable program. The motion passed 3-2-0. Vice Chair Robertson-Smith and Chair Coburn voted in opposition. Board member Thornton moved (seconded by Board member Markwell) to remove funds for security cameras for Mastricola Elementary School, Mastricola Upper Elementary School, Thorntons Ferry Elementary School and Merrimack High School totaling $94,000. Board member Thornton spoke to her motion and noted that in looking at all of the new expenses and initiatives proposed in the budget, these were ones the she felt comfortable putting off for another year. She added that she chose those particular schools based on their visibility and activity levels. She noted that Board members were responsible to advocate for the schools, students and the taxpayers. Board member Markwell added that he would like to see these items fall on a warrant article to have the voters decide on this issue. Vice Chair Robertson-Smith noted that she disagreed that security cameras were a new initiative and that security cameras had been cut from past budgets. She added that she felt this year the district was in a position to take care of these needs that we have been putting off and she would not support this motion. She believed that the voters were part of the decision making process by re-electing her to sit on the Board and make these decisions. She added that if there was a strong feeling from the voters that this was an inappropriate budget item, they would have the chance, during the deliberative session, to voice concerns about it. The motion failed 2-3-0. Board member Vaillancourt, Vice Chair Robertson-Smith, and Chair Coburn voted in opposition. Board member Vaillancourt moved (seconded by Vice Chair Robertson-Smith) to add $75,900 in order to equip the rest of the high school with interior cameras. Board member Vaillancourt spoke to her motion that safety and security were important and that cameras in the interior of the high school would add great value to the security of the building and the safety of the occupants. She reiterated Principal Johnson s opinions on the value of the interior cameras. She noted that this was not a new initiative and the School Board was very prudent in the budget last year and she did not believe that the district had been foolhardy with the budget. She believed very strongly that school safety and security was an initiative that the School Board should pay attention to. Vice Chair Robertson-Smith added that she was in support of the motion, and that safety was important to the Board. The logic model was important to the board and completing the project in one fell swoop was a good way to take care of it. She reminded the Board that there would be a cost savings by installing all of the cameras at once and that she would support the motion. Board member Thornton noted that she would not support the motion. She added that safety and security were important to her but $75,900 was too much to ask. Chair Coburn asked what $75,000 would equate to in terms of an increase in the total budget. Business Administrator Shevenell responded that it would equate to approximately a 1/10 of 1% increase. Chair Coburn felt that the Board had been waiting for this. She added that in January the budget would be reviewed one more time and it was important for the public to come and speak to the issues. She Page 5 of 7
added that she was not in support of separating this out in a warrant article because she felt the Board needed to take a stand on this issue. She added that the Board must be mindful that some members of this committee created the district s logic model in which we were fully supportive of the safety and technology initiatives and the Board needed see the logic model to fruition. She added that she would support this motion because she felt it was the leadership initiative to take. Board member Markwell asked if parking lot cameras were researched and that he would be interested in learning the cost to include parking lot cameras and perhaps eliminate the need for parking lot patrol from the budget. The motion passed 3-2-0. Board members Markwell and Thornton voted in opposition. 9. Other a. Correspondence There was no correspondence. b. Comments There were no comments. 10. New Business Superintendent Chiafery requested the approval of the Board for the purchase of an electric steamer for the high school at a cost of $14,587.33. Chair Coburn moved (seconded by Board member Markwell) to approve the purchase of an electric steamer. The motion passed 5-0-0. Assistant Superintendent Woelflein presented the Donorschoose.org program and she explained the initiative to the Board and added that there was a project from the Springboard to Success program that would be a test project and if there were any donors willing to make a contribution, it would come back to the Board for approval. Board member Thornton added that she would like to see the Donorschoose.org information distributed throughout the school district. Board member Vaillancourt asked if the Board could get an update on the choral program at the middle school since this was a big issue last year. 11. Committee Reports Vice Chair Robertson-Smith reported that the Program Evaluation and Review Committee (PERC) met and discussed the State Scholars initiative, Springboard to Success, and evening academy for students to make up credit. Chair Coburn reported that the Technology Committee met on December 11 th and the focus of the meeting was to establish a timeline and process for reviewing and revising the technology plan. 12. Public Comments on Agenda Items There were no comments. 13. Manifest The Board members signed the Manifest. Page 6 of 7
At 9:15 p.m. Board member Markwell moved (seconded by Board member Vaillancourt) to enter nonpublic session per RSA 91-A:3 (a)(b)(c). The motion passed 5-0-0 on a roll call vote. At 9:29 p.m. Board member Vaillancourt moved (seconded by Vice Chair Robertson-Smith) to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed 5-0-0. Page 7 of 7