APPROVED
Newfields School Board Meeting –Minutes
In Attendance:
Board Members: Michael Grant, Jan Trueman, Mark Bouzianis
Administration: Steve Kossakoski, Dennis Dobe
Board Officers: Maggie Doane, Robin Gray
Visitors: Dottie Dawson
1. Call to Order – The meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m.
2. Non-public Session – called at end of meeting.
3. Approval Of The Minutes-.Mike Grant motioned to accept November 10, 2003 minutes. Marc Bouzianis second. All in favor. Mike Grant motioned to accept the minutes from the budget workshop on November 10, 2003. Mark Bouzianis second. All in favor.
4. Visitors- none
5. Business And Financial –
5.1 Maggie Doane stated that the cash on hand is $166,374.82 as of November 30, 2003. School Building Fund is $4,750.24 as of 10/31/03. School Maintenance fund is $1,794.05 as of 10/31/03. Maggie Doane was going to ask Peggy from the SAU office where the money was from the warrant article. Mark Bouzianis motioned to have a letter sent to the Trusties of the Trust Fund for the School Building Maintenance Trust Account to cut a check for $5000. Mike Grant second. All in favor.
5.2 Tuition update- A letter has been sent describing the wishes of the board. There has been no response yet.
6. Curriculum
6.1 Enrichment update- The committee has come up with an outline with different activities. The meeting was well attended with good input and good ideas.
6.2 Literacy initiative- There was a meeting last week. The teacher training is currently funded by Title II and Title V grants in conjunction with other schools. The training will begin this summer.
7. Superintendent/ Assistant Supt. Report
7.1 SAU update- There will be a chairs meeting on Wednesday and a Joint Chairs Meeting December 15. The SAU budget and the school calendar will be the topics. The new High School passed the wetlands permits. The SAU 16 office is proposing to implement charter school within the SAU for grades 8, 9 & 10. It is for kids who need a little extra help, not special needs children. There is also a local charter school starting in September for grades 3, 4 & 5.
7.2 Enrollment update- Enrollment is down by 1 student in 3rd grade.
7.3 Auditor’s Report- The auditor’s report was without any blemishes. To date there has not been an inventory of items in each classroom. An inventory checklist might have to be done.
8. Principal’s Report
8.1 School Activities- Officer Phil visited the school and taught about safety and stranger danger. The Thanksgiving feast was a success and was well attended by parents. The holiday concert will be on December 18th. The month of January is packed with diversity programs.
8.2 Technology- On Thursday the teachers will attend a technology workshop. The goals for the year and training will be discussed. Newfields will host workshops and trainings. The SAU Data Driven Decision Making team will have training for the SAU staff. It will oversee collection and use of the testing data. Jan Trueman asked if the phone system is all set. Dennis Dobe stated that it is all set and the school is getting another line. Dottie Dawson stated that she tried calling the school and did not get a person. She stated that she would expect to get a person not a machine for a school this size. Mr. Dobe stated that the phone system has a greeting and it directs you where to the secretary if a live person is desired. There is also a voice mail systems that goes directly to a specific teacher.
8.3 Dress code committee- The SAU has formed a staff dress code committee. Newfields will send two teachers to the committee, Ms. Ashton and Mrs. DuPont.
9. General Correspondence-none
10. Personnel
10.1 Maternity leave request- Mrs. Lebrun has requested maternity leave. She will leave in late April and return next September.
11. Building and Grounds
11.1 Building maintenance program update- Mr. Wendell looked at the maintenance contracts and the school could save approximately $2000 on the Dowling contract and the landscaping contract. East Kingston has now joined. It would cost Newfields approximately $4000 per year. There is no guarantee of immediate savings because the current condition of the school is not known.
11.2 Engineering study update- There was a morning meeting where the traffic flow and a wish list was discussed. There has been no response yet.
12. Pupil Related Matters- Evan Mikulich tried out and was selected for the Newmarket Jump Rope Team. He is a hard worker and is dedicated to the sport.
13. Board Reports/Policy
13.1 SAU 16 Chairs meeting update- At the November meeting they reviewed the budget. The transportation committee met. The discussion about the pros/cons of seat belt use on the school bus and the overcrowding on the bus.
13.2 Newfields/SAU 16 policy Manual- The SAU policy committee will look at the Policies and work out any errors.
13.2.11 BDB – doest not apply to a 3 member board.
13.2.20 BHDA – needs to be made clearer.
13.2.26 EBBC – does the staff need to first aid certified.
14. Old Business-none
15. New Business-none
16. Next Meeting-The next meeting will be January 12, 2004, at 5:30pm.
Mike Grant motioned to go into non-public session at 7:00pm. Mark Bouzianis second. Roll call vote. All in favor. The topic discussed was teacher contract negotiations. Jan Trueman motioned to leave non-public session at 7:16 pm. Mark Bouzianis second. Roll call vote. All in favor.
17. Adjournment- The meeting was adjourned at 7:16pm. Mark Bouzianis motioned to
adjourn. Jan Trueman second. All in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Gray