ADVANCE COPY, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL THE PITTSFIELD SCHOOL BOARD

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

MINUTES

Pittsfield School Board Meeting
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Pittsfield Middle High School

I. CALL TO ORDER

Members Present: Mike Wolfe, Chair
Linda Freese, Secretary
Ray Ramsey

Others Present: John Freeman, Superintendent of Schools
Danielle Harvey, Dean of Instruction
Melissa Brown, Director of College and Career Readiness
Donna Lehmann, Director of Student Services
Kathy LeMay, Director of Intervention/Title I manager
Ross Morse, Community Liaison
Christine Bisson, Student Support Specialist (PMHS)

Chairperson Wolfe called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m.

II. AGENDA REVIEW
The following items were added to the agenda:
· Opening of school (all administrators)
· Administrator appreciation (Mr. Wolfe)
· Request for release of contract (Dr. Freeman)

III. ACTION ON AMENDED AGENDA

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

IV. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES

On a motion made by Mr. Ramsey and seconded by Mr. Wolfe, the minutes of the August 20, 2015, meeting were unanimously approved as written.

V. PUBLIC INPUT – None

VI. DEAN OF INSTRUCTION

A. Opening Days

Teacher workshop days were well received. These first two days provided a positive start to the new year. Dismissal issues at PES are being worked through. The delayed start of Kydstop made for some added confusion on the first day.

VII. DEAN OF OPERATIONS

A. ALICE Information

Postponed until the next meeting.

B. PES Open House

The date of the open house was shifted from late September to August 27 to allow students and families to meet the teachers before the school year starts and to decrease anxiety about the opening of school for both students and parents. The leadership team received positive feedback from families about the scheduling of the event. Mr. Hamilton approximated that about 50% of PES families attended the open house. In the future, the team plans to provide more timely communication of the event to both faculty and families to increase participation.

Kindergarten orientation was also held on the same evening. During that time, families were provided with an opportunity to learn about schedules, transportation, lunch services, and general school logistics.

C. PMHS Orientation

Agendas for the orientation were simplified so that families were not overwhelmed by a flood of information. However, efforts were made to ensure families received adequate information about student experiences in seventh and ninth grades.

Updates to policies and rules provided in the Student Handbook that had previously been shared with the board were shared with students during opening days. School administrators each met with one grade of students during class meetings to review the updated policies and to answer any questions that the students may have had regarding changes.

D. Chris Herren Event

Former basketball player Chris Herren spoke to PMHS students (afternoon) and to community members (evening) on Wednesday, September 2 regarding his experiences with alcohol and drug misuse. The events were very well received and sent a powerful message to the students and the families that attended the evening event. Follow-up programs include the start-up of a Youth Leadership Council with Amber Viollette, Student Assistance Program (SAP) counselor, as the group leader. Six students have signed up so far and it will be opened up to others at the upcoming Activity Fair. A community action group is also planned.

E. Teacher Workshop Days

Opening of school meetings were held during the two teacher workshop days. In addition to communicate a range of critical information, teachers were provided with time to ensure that the classrooms were ready for the year, which was appreciated.

F. Custodial Staff

The Board asked for an update on the custodial staff. Mr. Hamilton reported that the school is making do with the limited staff as interviews continue to fill vacant positions.

VIII. DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SERVICES

A. Opening Days

Ms. Lehmann reported that seven students with IEPs had moved out of district during the summer while seven students with IEPs moved into the district. The district remains in need of para-educators; there are three openings at this time.

The district’s new preschool teacher is working hard to organize the program which will start next week, Ms. Lehmann reported. The new special educators at PMHS are off to a good start. They are working to organize the guided study supports.

As of this past summer, the district had six students in out of district placement. Two of these students exited from district placement, and one student entered placement. At this time, the district has five students in out of district placements.

IX. DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS

A. Opening Days

Orientation days for seventh and ninth grade students offered an opportunity for students and families to meet faculty members. The School’s Program of Studies as well as the Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) Coordinator and Dual Enrollment Coordinator were introduced as resources to the students and families.

XI. DIRECTOR OF INTERVENTIONS AND TITLE I

A. Opening Days

Reorganization of staff has allowed Title I to be ready to offer interventions earlier in the school year than in the past. Title I plans to start instructional groups next week.

Ms. LeMay reported on competency recovery plans at the high school. She has been working on clearing out the incomplete grades in the system.

Ms. LeMay also reported on the staff presentation of the newly-designed progression of supports for struggling students. She followed a similar format to the presentation that was shared with the Board at the last meeting and went into greater detail with the staff. The staff and faculty were provided the opportunity to ask questions, and Ms. LeMay has developed a frequently asked questions resource sheet.

X. SUPERINTENDENT

A. School Board Policies

Dr. Freeman presented policies for the School Board to consider, including:
Policy KG-R, Community Use of School Facilities – Regulations – rescission recommended; Policy KH, Public Gifts to the School – amendment recommended; KHB, Advertising in the Schools – amendment recommended; KK, Visitors to the Schools – amendment recommended; KKA, Visits to the Schools by Citizens – rescission recommended; KKB, Visits to the Schools by Officials – rescission recommended; KKB-R, Visits to the Schools by Officials – rescission recommended; KM, Teacher Communication on Student Performance – amendment recommended;
Policy KI, Fundraising/Public Solicitation and Policy KE, Public Complaints were removed from the list and will be updated based on questions from the board.

On a motion made by Mr. Ramsey and seconded by Ms. Freese, the Board unanimously approved the policy recommendations as presented.

B. FY17 Budget

Dr. Freeman requested advice from the School Board members on a direction for the budget session for the 2015-2016 school year. The Board gave guidance that administration try to keep the budget as flat as possible. They have appreciated the administration’s effort in the past to keep the budget reasonable while reflecting the needs of the students in the district.

C. Opening Days

Dr. Freeman reflected that the opening days were very smooth and positive and recognized the administration team for their collaborative work.

D. Release of Contract

Ms. Bisson read a letter requesting release from her contract. Ms. Bisson shared that she was not aware of the job responsibilities when she was hired. Mr. Hamilton and Mrs. Brown shared their experience from the interview process where they articulated the job roles and responsibilities. On a motion made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Mr. Ramsey, the Board voted unanimously to release Ms. Bisson from her contract effective immediately.

XI. SCHOOL BOARD

A. Appreciation

The Board expressed appreciation to the administration for their work this past spring and through the summer to ensure that the school year ended smoothly for students and began with an upgraded plan for support for struggling students. The administration thanked the board for their acknowledgement.

XII. NEXT MEETING

The next School Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 17th, at 5:30 p.m., at the Pittsfield Middle High School.

XIII. PUBLIC INPUT (Second Session) – No input presented

XIV. NON-PUBLIC SESSION

At 6:20 p.m., a motion was made by Mr. Ramsey and seconded by Ms. Freese to enter into non-public session to discuss employee compensation pursuant to RSA 91-A:3, II (a). The Board was polled and voted unanimously (Ms. Freese, yes; Mr. Ramsey, yes; Mr. Wolfe, yes) to enter into a non-public session.

The Board discussed an employee compensation issue.

No action was taken in non-public session.

At 6:37 p.m., a motion was made by Mr. Freese and seconded by Mr. Ramsey to exit the non-public session and to re-enter into open session. The Board was polled and voted unanimously (Ms. Freese, yes; Mr. Ramsey, yes; Mr. Wolfe, yes) to exit the non-public session and to re-enter into open session.

XV. ADJOURNMENT

On a motion made by Mr. Wolfe and seconded by Mr. Ramsey, the Board voted
unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 6:38 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathy LeMay
Danielle Harvey