June 4, 2009 Minutes

APPROVED BY THE PITTSFIELD SCHOOL BOARD

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT #51
PITTSFIELD SCHOOL BOARD

MINUTES

Pittsfield School Board
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Pittsfield Elementary School

I. CALL TO ORDER

Members Present: Mary Paradise
Kathy Corliss
Michael Wolfe (6:00 p.m.)
Ross Morse (6:52 p.m.)

Others Present: Dr. John Freeman, Superintendent
Tobi Gray Chassie, Director of Student Services
Rick Gremlitz, Interim Principal, PMHS
Doug Kilmister, Principal, PES
Members of the Faculty (Assessment Team)

Due to the lack of a quorum, Ms. Paradise did not call the meeting to order, but at 5:48 p.m. invited the members of the District Assessment Team to make their annual presentation to the Board.

I. PRESENTATION

Susan Bradley, chairperson of the Pittsfield School District Assessment Team, introduced members of the Team who were present to provide information to the School Board regarding the 2008 assessment results. Ms. Bradley provided an overview of the programs that are implemented at PES. Ms. Bergevin provided an overview of the programs that are implemented at PMHS.

Ms. Bradley reviewed several examples of the data comparison results in reading, writing, and math. Susan Elliott, grade 3 teacher, explained the process that teachers engage in when analyzing the common released items. The process provides valuable information that helps to guide future instruction and potentially, improvement in test scores.

Lynette Rose, the behavior specialist at PES, explained the data relative to the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) system of monitoring school climate. Tobi Chassie added information regarding the implementation of PBIS at PMHS, which is going very well.

Christine Teague, literacy coordinator, explained the work that is being accomplished at PES in the area of writing. This was followed by Carin Plante, middle high school English language arts teacher, who explained the PMHS writing assessment data. Ms. Teague explained the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) data, using the Kindergarten end-of-year DRA scores as an example. She explained that as a result of data analysis, weaknesses in instruction were identified and changes implemented. The result has been an improvement in students’ DRA scores over time, which may be an indicator of future improvement on the NECAP.

Ms. Elliott explained the work of the Math Task Force after their analysis of the 2008 NECAP results. Ms. Bradley summarized the assessments that are completed by the special education team. Ms. Bergevin reviewed the results of the junior PSAT and the sophomore PSAT, including a summary of the weaknesses and strengths that were measured. Ms. Bradley called attention to the programs that are either going to continue or be initiated in the next year.

Mrs. Bradley acknowledged the assistance of Kathy Mahanes and Tiffany Pease for their help with technology and Beth Colon-Pagan for her help with the production of the assessment report.

Ms. Paradise thanked the members of the Assessment Team for their work and for the presentation. Dr. Freeman recognized Susan Bradley as she retires from her thirteen-year tenure as chairperson of the Assessment Team. He commented on her level of enthusiasm and passion for assessment and the impact that the analysis has had on student achievement.

Chairperson Paradise called the meeting to order at 7:38 p.m. Ms. Paradise clarified that the presentation of the summary of the Assessment Team was accomplished prior to the meeting being called to order.

II. AGENDA REVIEW

Mr. Gremlitz stated that he would be distributing written information for the Board’s review. Dr. Freeman added negotiation training. Ms. Paradise added graduation announcements and English 10 presentations.

III. ACTION ON AMENDED AGENDA

On a motion made by Mr. Wolfe seconded by Mr. Morse, the Board voted unanimously to approve the amended agenda.

IV. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES

On page 10, “Mr. Mores” should read “Mr. Morse”. On page 4, Mr. Kilmister changed the title from NH Environmental Education to NH Education and the Environment Team: Building Vertical Science Literacy.
On a motion made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Mr. Morse, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of May 21, 2009, as modified.

V. PUBLIC INPUT – None

VI. PES ADMINISTRATION

A. SINI COMMITTEE

On June 15 and 17, 2009, a team of individuals will be working on the state-required “School in Need of Improvement” plan.

B. INTERNET

Ms. Corliss asked about the repairs to the internet cables. The work that was done to immediately repair the damage was an interim solution. An estimate for a long-term $2,995 solution was received in the amount of $2,995. This work will be completed and reimbursement will be sought from the insurance carrier.

VII. PMHS ADMINISTRATION

A. STUDENT SCHOLAR

Jennifer Tyrell, a grade 9 student, was recognized as the NH Francis Wayland Parker Scholar for the month of May. The school community is very proud of Ms. Tyrell.

B. DISTRIBUTIONS

Mr. Gremlitz distributed copies of Lessons for Seniors: A Collection of Interviews and Stories to Guide and Inspire PMHS’s graduating Class of 2009 through Life. He also distributed copies of Behind the Ink, a literary magazine written by students.

C. NEAS&C COMMITTEES

Mr. Gremlitz distributed a list of the employees on each of the committees working on the seven standards for the NEAS&C self-assessment.

D. GRADUATION

Mr. Gremlitz reviewed the last-minute details for graduation activities.

VIII. STUDENT SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

A. PARAPROFFESIONALS

Ms. Chassie informed the Board of three people who have been hired as paraprofessionals: Rhonda Estabrook for grade 2, beginning immediately; Katherine Freeman and Cammie Guest for grade 4 for the 2009-2010 school year.

B. SPEECH-LANGUAGE ASSISTANT

Ms. Chassie reported that the district has recruited a person with seven years experience to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of Lorraine McArdle from her position as a speech-language assistant. Vickie King will begin in the 2009-2010 school year.

IX. SAU ADMINISTRATION

A. PROPOSED POLICIES

The Board agreed, by consensus, to delay consideration of the proposed policies until the next meeting.

B. WORKER’S COMPENSATION

Dr. Freeman explained that Sally has contacted LGC regarding worker’s compensation coverage. A quote has not been yet received. The Primex offer of a multi-year agreement would extend our membership for three years and offer a 5% discount in each of the three years.

C. MISSION AND VISION

Dr. Freeman distributed a copy of an email that was sent to Board members by Leslie Vogt and responded to by Dr. Freeman. The email is as follows:

MS. VOGT: This is a harsh email that I wish I could say in person. I dislike the mission vision statement. I was completely unprepared to read such a long document. I couldn’t bring myself to read it for about a half an hour; just the thought of so much verbiage practically gave me hives!

So, during the community forum I need to know why it is necessary to have all the detailed vision statements – the “authorities” that will use the statements etc. And then, how will we – the Pittsfield School District – make these 37 statements a document that is acknowledged and “living”? ( I cannot even imagine tracking the “success” of 37 vision statements……I don’t understand how school personnel agreed to and chose to give themselves such a large burden….)

For the third sentence of the mission statement I have difficulties with the phrase “comprehensive system of support” and “direction in life” I am very flexible about any revisions. And I submit- “We commit to an education system that ensures that our graduates possess sound academic skills, and understand the value of commitment to hard work, an ethic of involved citizenship and thoughtful plans for the next phase of their lives.” Yeah, I know the sentence structure is rough.

For each of the vision statement columns I have trouble accepting that the heading for each column assumes complete success for each detailed statement, although I understand the value and importance of measuring success against an absolute. Still… I would propose:

Our schools will be

The children, youth and adults of our school community will be

We seek to have graduates who

I truly appreciate all the work creating the proposed mission and vision. I definitely need to learn additional back ground for the “why” of this document! I hope I’m not the only person with these questions so that the time you invest answering my questions is not just for me. (I hope I’m just preparing you for comments at the community forum.) Let me know if, for purposes of public disclosure, I should send these questions to the full school board.

DR. FREEMAN: Thanks for the feedback on our draft; hope your hives didn’t materialize by the time you finished your reading.

For our work with mission, we’ve been working toward a statement that is less about superlatives and absolutes and more about specifics and reality, less vague and more concrete; a statement that guides our use of time and resources; a statement from which our curriculum and instruction will follow; in doing so, we’ve been working toward a statement that would be clear, specific (what’s to be learned and how it’s to be learned), measurable (how we’ll know if students learn what we want them to learn), and provide for possible failure (our response when student don’t learn).

In terms of our vision statement, we’ve been working to include the broad range of ideas contributed by our former students, community, faculty, and staff; with our vision; (people do have quite large expectations for public schools!) we wanted to paint a detailed picture of what we can become if / when our mission were achieved; what will we look like when we’re at our best, our ideal state; we’ve tried to create a picture that is realistic, clear, compelling, likely to have broad-based understanding and support, and guide action (that is, our clarification of curriculum and instructional practices that will follow); unfortunately, to create such a picture, the vision statement will necessarily be a bit on the lengthy side and encompass many aspects of schooling as we touch the broad range of our work and reflect the ideas generated by participants in the process; to serve as a touchstone for future work, the vision statement would need to be detailed.

Of course, this is a draft, and the Board will hopefully approve some version of a mission and vision in the near future; it’ll be important as we move forward in our district design process to have a specific and strong document on which to base the following work: learning principles, instructional practices, curriculum, job descriptions, etc.

It’s not necessary (for public disclosure purposes) to forward to Board members, but I encourage you to do (and we’ll read into the minutes on Thursday) as the eventual document will be headed in the Board’s direction, possibly for consideration during the second June meeting. Thanks, John

MS. VOGT: Even though I will not be at the meeting this week I would ask that the Board plan to be thoughtful and deliberate about adopting a revision to the mission and vision (possibly in June?). I would like to be confident that the teachers and support staff have considered the final proposal of the mission and vision. (I must say that I think adoption of the mission/vision should happen by the end of July.)

And for those who may be curious I did not get hives while reading the whole document, but I sighed loudly and frequently! It’s just so long ; ).

Dr. Freeman distributed a copy of the PowerPoint presentation that he has prepared for the Community Forum on Saturday, June 6, 2009.

Ms. Paradise suggested using the forum as a means of receiving feedback from the community and having the Board provide feedback in finalizing the mission and vision statements during upcoming Board meetings.

D. SAU RELOCATION

Dr. Freeman updated the School Board on issues including building aid, the renovation of the town hall, Architect Dan Bisson’s consultation, and the community forum.

Mr. Morse expressed his desire to exhaust all possibilities including renovating the town hall, renting different space at Locke’s Location, renegotiating the current lease, and looking for other rental space within the town of Pittsfield.

Ms. Paradise directed Dr. Freeman to ask the current landlord for quotes for other space or renegotiating the current lease. Also, he was directed to speak to Steve Aubertin of Maximum Results Realty regarding possible rentals downtown.

E. SCHOOL MEAL PRICES

Dr. Freeman acknowledged Ms. Vogt for raising the issue of meal prices. He explained that despite the good efforts of our food service managers, our cafeteria operations are operating in deficit again this year. Dr. Freeman provided historical information on prices and number of meals purchased. He provided a proposal that included decreases in expenditures and an increase in meal prices. Ms. Paradise asked Dr. Freeman to survey some neighboring districts to ask if they are including a subsidy in the district budget to offset the cost of the meals. He will also investigate the vending of healthy foods.

Mr. Morse asked about the number of the students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch. Dr. Freeman stated that approximately 40% of the elementary students are eligible for free and reduced lunch. The effort to maintain healthy diet choices has also affected the balance.

A motion was made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Mr. Morse, to approve a
$.20 increase on the 2009-2010 school year for student and adult meals. Discussion ensued. The motion was passed unanimously.

F. TEACHER EVALUATIONS

Dr. Freeman distributed information regarding teacher observation requirements. He also summarized the work with teacher evaluations this year.

G. HEALTH INSURANCE PROVIDER

Dr. Freeman advised that LGC, the current health insurance provider, requires a fifteen day notice for cancellation; however, the LGC representative advised that any new provider would need much more time to initiate coverage. He also reported that the Primex quote for similar coverage exceeded the anticipated cost of insurance through LGC and that SchoolCare has not yet provided a quote for similar coverage.

H. NEGOTIATION TRAINING

Dr. Freeman distributed a notice of a Tuesday, June 9, 2009, work session. It will be held in the PMHS Media Center for the purpose of the provision of training on negotiations by Mr. Ted Comstock of the NHSBA. Dr. Freeman distributed a list of questions that Ms. Vogt prepared for the work session.

I. SUPPORT STAFF COMPENSATION

Discussion ensued regarding a step and track system versus a placement guide for support staff. Dr. Freeman reported that the SAU has completed a brief survey of neighboring communities regarding this issue. Ms. Paradise suggested that a committee be gathered to investigate the issue further and make recommendations. Dr. Freeman will draft a committee format and description of its mission.

Dr. Freeman provided board members with a copy of a email communication from Ms. Vogt on this issue: …I would like you to know that I support the recommended schedule of support staff compensation of 09-10. I had to think about my position. I value the services of our 16 yr+ employees, and believe that our students would benefit if we could provide more generous compensation (in general – there are certain specifics that cause me to hesitate). I would like the school district to commit to developing a system that allows 15 yr+ support staff to have access to pay increases that allow them to gain economic ground – versus loosing ground or staying even with inflation. I believe that it would be beneficial for the support staff to know that the school district is committed to developing a “system” for 15+ yr employees prior to 2010-2011, and that we “discovered” the issue in late May, 2009; thus feel obligated, in this tough economic situation, to be conservative.

A motion was made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Ms. Corliss to determine support staff raises as in the past, using the salary guide as a step-and-track guide, with a letter accompanying the work agreement explaining that a committee will be gathered to consider changes. The motion was passed with Mr. Wolfe, Ms. Paradise, and Ms. Corliss voting in the affirmative and Mr. Morse voting against the motion.

J. GRADUATION

Discussion ensued regarding the lack of opportunity for this year’s seniors to purchase graduation announcements. Ms. Paradise raised the issue of having a set of expectations for each class’ advisor to ensure uniformity from one year to the next. Mr. Gremlitz will investigate advisor handbooks from other districts.

K. SOPHOMORE ENGLISH PRESENTATIONS

According to Board members, the presentations were very impressive. Ms. Vogt, via email, inquired about the possibility of engaging the student council’s leadership in investigating the issues brought forth.

X. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 28, 2009, at 5:30 p.m. at the Pittsfield Middle High School. Agenda items will include policy review, support staff compensation plan, a stipend plan, and administrative salaries.

XI. PUBLIC INPUT (Second Session) – None

XII. NON-PUBLIC SESSION

At 9:24 p.m., a motion was made by Mr. Morse and seconded by Mr. Wolfe to enter into non-public session to discuss personnel matter. The Board was polled and voted unanimously (Ms. Corliss, yes; Mr. Morse, yes; Ms. Paradise, yes; Mr. Wolfe, yes) to enter into a non-public session under the provisions of RSA 91-A:3 (a).

The Board discussed a personnel matter.

At 9:45 p.m., a motion was made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Mr. Morse to exit the non-public session. The Board was polled and voted unanimously (Ms. Corliss, yes; Mr. Morse, yes; Ms. Paradise, yes; Mr. Wolfe, yes) to come out of non-public session and to re-enter open session.

XIII. PUBLIC SESSION

On a motion made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Mr. Morse, the Board voted unanimously to accept the resignation of Mr. Robert Gonyea as teacher at Pittsfield Middle High School, effective at the conclusion of the current school year, and to affirm the Separation Agreement between the District and Mr. Gonyea previously discussed by the Board and signed by Ms. Paradise with the authorization by the Board.

XIV. ADJOURNMENT

On a motion made by Mr. Morse and seconded by Ms. Corliss, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:51 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Tobi Gray Chassie
Recording Secretary

John J. Freeman
Non-Public Session and Subsequent Open Session Recording Secretary