APPROVED BY THE PITTSFIELD SCHOOL BOARD

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

MINUTES

Pittsfield School Board Meeting
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Pittsfield Middle High School

I. CALL TO ORDER

Members Present: Clayton Wood, Chairperson
Elizabeth Adams
Kathy Corliss
Michael Wolfe

Others Present: John Freeman, Superintendent of Schools
Bob Bickford, Principal, PMHS
Tobi Gray Chassie, Director of Student Services
Lois Stevens, Coordinator of Student Services
Members of the Faculty
Members of the Public

Chairperson Wood called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.

II. AGENDA REVIEW

The following items were added to the agenda:
• Resignation (Dr. Freeman)
• Safe Routes to School (Dr. Freeman)
• Senior Class (Dr. Freeman)
• Meet the Challenge (Ms. Corliss)
• Grandstand Roof (Ms. Corliss)
• Summer Schedule (Mr. Wood)
• Nellie Mae – School Board Relations (Mr. Wood)
• School Zone and Police Presence (Mr. Wood)

The following item was deleted from the agenda:
• Academic Core Team (Ms. Chassie)

III. ACTION ON AMENDED AGENDA

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

IV. PUBLIC INPUT – None

V. PRESENTATIONS

A. TEACHER EVALUATION TASK FORCE

Ms. Chassie introduced the members of the Teacher Evaluation Task Force, as well as the facilitator from WestEd, Dr. Susan Villani. Ms. Chassie provided an overview of the process that was followed to develop the proposed teacher evaluation plan, including the research utilized, group norms of collaboration, and transparent communication strategies between the team and others. Teachers Denise Mason and Darlene Stewart described the components of the Professional Growth and Evaluation Plan. Teacher Kiza Armour explained the phasing in of the plan over the next three years, the eventual use of student performance data, and the continual revision process.

The Education Association of Pittsfield will consider action on the revised plan on June 20; the School Board will consider action on the revised plan on June 30.

B. HIGH SCHOOL REDESIGN LOGIC MODEL

The High School Redesign Logic Model was presented by Ms. Chassie, Mr. Bickford, and Dr. Freeman for feedback from the School Board.

VI. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A motion was made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Ms. Adams to approve the minutes. Recommendations were made for corrections. On page 1, change location to Pittsfield Elementary School. On page 2, add to paragraph 7, “Mr. Wood thanked Mr. Bickford for the valuable information that assisted the Board in making the decision relative to the Concord Regional Technical Center. On page 3, paragraph 1, change to “Erin Butler remains treasurer.” The minutes were approved unanimously, as amended.

VII. PES ADMINISTRATION

A. PROJECT HOME

By written report, Mr. Kilmister stated that PES parents Darci and Aaron Kendall, who are the owners of Revolution Landscaping in Pittsfield, are the project managers for the first phase of PES Project Home, which is intended to build awareness of the project.

B. PES SCHOOL IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT

By written report, Mr. Kilmister reported that a meeting of the School in Need of Improvement (SINI) team will take place on June 22, 2011. The team will reassemble to complete the assessment of the current plan and outline strategies for next year’s plan.

C. DIGITAL CLASSROOM

Mr. Kilmister provided the Board with a brochure advertising the workshops being presented on June 29, 2011, on technology.

D. CALENDAR

A calendar for PES events was provided by Mr. Kilmister.

VIII. PMHS ADMINISTRATION

A. FOOD SERVICE SURVEY

Student Brian Eastman, for his senior project, surveyed students about our current food service program. The results of the survey were shared by Mr. Bickford.

B. REQUEST FOR FUNDING SUPPORT

Student Brandon Patterson is making a request for the school district support for his trip to Kansas City, Missouri, to compete on the national level for Skills / USA as part of his Information Technology program a the Concord Regional Career and Technical Center. He is requesting $420.

On a motion made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Ms. Adams, the Board voted unanimously to approve finding $420 in the budget to support Brandon.

C. STUDENT LETTERS

Ms. Corliss raised a concern relative to the grammatical accuracy of a letter written by a high school student. She stated that she believes this is indicative of a teacher’s lack of diligence and attention to detail.

D. COMMUNITY SERVICE

Ms. Corliss asked if there is a system for organizing the opportunities available for completing the community service requirement. According to Ms. Adams, requests have been made of the school with no response provided. Ms. Stevens explained that the topic of community service will be addressed by the Site-Based Council, which finds this topic to be critically important.

E. MEET THE CHALLENGE

Ms. Corliss asked if there are funds available for the Meet the Challenge program. Mr. Bickford stated that the funds for field trips were cut from the budget. A member of the public, Ammy Ramsey, offered her services to drive the bus if arrangements could be made with the bus company. Mr. Wood offered his School Board stipend to support the trip to Canobie Lake Park.

IX. STUDENT SERVICES ADMINISTRATION – See presentations above.

X. SAU ADMINISTRATION

A. FOOD SERVICE

Mr. Wood asked Dr. Freeman to check references for both Café Services and Abbey Group. Ms. Corliss suggested the possibility that Abbey Group would be more likely to use locally grown food. Discussion ensued regarding the components of both bids.

On a motion made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded Ms. Corliss, the Board voted unanimously to approve awarding of the contract for the management and operation of the food service program for one year to Café Services pending reference checks and the approval of the contract by the New Hampshire Department of Education.

B. RESIGNATIONS

Dr. Freeman distributed the resignation letters of Susan Hipkiss and Susan Petrovek. On a motion made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Ms. Adams the resignations were accepted with appreciation for service to the district.

C. POLICIES

On a motion made by Mr. Wood and seconded by Ms. Corliss, the Board voted unanimously to put off the discussion of policies until the next meeting.

D. INTERVENTION TEAM

The team will be invited to present at a future meeting.

E. PARENT INFORMATION AND RESOURCE CENTER

Dr. Freeman announced that John-Michael Dumas, Program Director of the New Hampshire State Parent Information and Resource Center, will participate in a meeting with parents and staff on June 13, 2011, at 4:00 p.m. This is an exploratory meeting of parents and educators to discuss the possibility of developing a Parent Information and Resource Center in Pittsfield.

F. STAFF MEETING

On June 24, 2001, at 2:15 p.m. in the PES gym, there will be a combined staff meeting. Staff members will be recognized who mark service milestones of five-year increments. Retirees will also be recognized. Dr. Freeman invited members of the School Board to participate and present recognition tokens to retirees; Mr. Wood agreed to participate.

G. SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL GRANT

Dr. Freeman announced that the Safe Routes to School Grant was awarded to the Town of Pittsfield by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation in the amount of $260,000. He explained that the money will be used for sidewalks, signage, and other traffic calming measures.

H. SENIOR CLASS

The current senior class is recognized for going through many changes over the past six years. Dr. Freeman asked Ms. Stevens to investigate the changes that they have endured. According to Ms. Stevens, the class has had three superintendents, three principals, three disciplinarians, three Spanish teachers, three technical education teachers, a major schedule change, three different versions of the advisory program, and loss of electives, loss of advanced placement courses, and the current redesign project. The Board agreed that mention could be made in the comments made by Board members during graduation addresses.

XI. SCHOOL BOARD

A. NELLIE MAE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

Mr. Wood stated that he received communication from the chairperson of the Community Advisory Council indicating his displeasure at the perceived attitude of the chairperson of the School Board during the presentation of the Logic Model on June 8, 2011. Mr. Wood stated that he would like to proceed by first talking to Mary Paradise. He would like to clear up the confusion immediately, as he believes that the voting record of the Board proves their support.

B. SUMMER SCHEDULE

Mr. Wood is planning to have the Board meet during the summer months on the usual second and fourth Thursday schedule.

C. SCHOOL ZONE AND POLICE PRESENCE

Mr. Wood stated that he has received a concern from a community member about the speeding problem in school zones and would like to request further police presence to mitigate the problem.

XII. COMMITTEES – None

XIII. NEXT MEETING

The next School Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 30, 2011, at 5:30 p.m. in the PMHS Media Center.

XIV. PUBLIC INPUT (Second Session) – None

XV. NON-PUBLIC SESSION

At 9:42 p.m., a motion was made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Ms. Adams to enter into non-public session to discuss an employee matter pursuant to RSA 91-A:3, II (a). The Board was polled and voted unanimously (Mr. Wood, yes; Mr. Wolfe, yes; Ms. Adams, yes; Ms. Corliss, yes) to enter into a non-public session.

The Board discussed a personnel issue relative to the appointment of an athletic coach.

At 9:49 p.m, a motion was made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Ms. Adams to exit the non-public session (Mr. Wood, yes; Mr. Wolfe, yes; Ms. Adams, yes; Ms. Corliss, yes).

Discussion ensued regarding the formula used to determine the stipend that coaches are paid. The differentiation between assistant coaches and coaches, junior varsity and varsity coaches, and years of experience was discussed.

XVI. ADJOURNMENT

On a motion made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Ms. Adams, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:53 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Tobi Gray Chassie
Recording Secretary