NOT 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
1. Call to Order – The meeting was called to order at 5:39 p.m.
2. Non-public Session – called at end of meeting.
3. Approval Of The Minutes-Mark Bouzianis motioned to accept January 12, 2004 minutes after revisions are made. Mike Grant second. All in favor. In section 4 the words “have to provide” will be changed to “require”. In section 11.1 state that the board “is going to use the services of Dick Wendell”. Mike Grant motioned to accept January 12, 2004 Budget Workshop minutes. Mark Bouzianis second. All in favor. Mike Grant motioned to accept January 17, 2004 Public Hearing minutes after revisions are made. Mark Bouzianis second. All in favor. Mike Grant motioned to accept January 17, 2004 School Board minutes after corrections. Mark Bouzianis second. All in favor. Mark Bouzianis requested that the wording of the sentence “Mark Bouzianis stated that revenue that might come in 3 years is not a comfort to taxpayers now” in section 4 be changed. Mark Bouzianis requested that in section 4 the line “Mark Bouzianis stated that it would not be fiscally sound to use money intended for other programs” be stricken from the minutes.
4. Visitors- none
5. Business And Financial –
5.1 Maggie Doane stated that the cash on hand is $234,947.53 as of January 31, 2004. Maggie Doane stated that the School Building Maintenance Fund is $6,800.02. The School Building Fund is $4,755.74.
6. Curriculum/Principal’s Report
6.1 Kindergarten update- Dennis Dobe stated that there was a mailing and an information night for the parents of incoming Kindergarteners. There have also been many visits and tours. The Kindergarten survey is complete and 21 families have committed to attend NES next September. 10 families have said no for various reasons including that they needed extended day care, child to young, or liked the private school setting. Most families will use the bus if it is provided. The bus is not a deciding factor. There are a couple of families that have to have a bus for transporting the child to after school day care. There was no difference in cost for a small bus verses a large bus. By the end of March, Mr. Dobe will have a sense of where the program is and the class sizes. The board requested a deadline for registration of Kindergarten. The packet that was mailed out is due back by the end of March. The aide budget is the same for 1 or 2 sessions. Some people duel-enroll their children in Kindergarten. The board stated that it is not fair for parents to make a decision at the end of August on where their child will attend Kindergarten. There are also a lot of questions about the Kindergarten program, such as how many sessions, class size and who will teach. The board stated that based on the information provided, there will be no bus to transport the kindergarteners mid-day. The board thanked Dennis Dobe for all his hard work in gathering the information for the program. The board suggested that the Kindergarteners do more academics and fewer arts. The board also stated that it is probable that the Kindergarten sessions will be extended to 3 hours long, from 8:30-11:30 & 12:00-3:00.
7. Superintendent/Assistant Supt. Report
7.1 SAU update-The SAU web site is SAU16.org. Most districts have had their budget hearings. The increases are higher in the smaller schools. The enrollments are stable. Stratham’s budget is up 6%, Exeter’s budget is up 5%, and the Co-Op is much higher. February’s chairs meeting is on the 18th.
7.2 Enrollment update-The enrollment is unchanged at 173 students.
8 Principal’s Report
8.1 School activities- There was a school assembly for Civil Rights Day, which was well attended. There were about 20 students from PEA that visited and brought in items to share. There will be a visit from World Tales on Wednesday. There is a parent information night on the 12th for Sergent Camp. On the 18th will be a Hobby Night. The students can bring in hobbies or collections to display and share will the community.
8.2 Literacy initiative-a consultant group from Tufts University will visit on Tuesday.
8.3 Early release program review-The consultant taught on the early release. The Needs Assessment will meet with the teachers and classrooms and provide a list of recommendations.
8.4 Auction update-There has been another auction meeting. Packets have been sent home to NES families. The classroom baskets are coming along.
9. General Correspondence-none
10. Personnel-non-public session.
11. Building and Grounds
11.1Facility update- Everything is in good shape. Mr. Jack has done a good job. The plumbers have come in to fix a problem and the water is turned back on in two classrooms.
11.2Engineering study update- Waiting for feedback from Dennis Dobe.
12. Pupil Related Matters- Dennis Dobe stated that the spelling bee was held and the winner
was Sean Meier and the runner up was Quinn Conner. Sean will go to the regional
spelling bee in Portsmouth on March 6th. The NPTO has been having fundraisers for
Sargent Camp. No one is paying more that $50 to attend. The question was asked
“Who will be with the children?” Dennis Dobe stated that he would be there for 2-3
days and there would also be two teachers there. Mr. Gilbert has donated his time on
previous years. Parent volunteers are discouraged.
13. Board Reports/Policy
. 13.1 SAU 16 Chairs meeting update- The meeting was postponed.
13.2 SAU 16 Policy Manual update- The Policy Committee had a meeting and reviewed
the policies. There were some wording changes to the ones that the board had already
approved. A packet of policies were sent out and reviewed.
13.3 Preparation for March vote on 2004-2005 budget-The board is considering sending
out a newsletter explaining the budget.
14. Old Business-none
15. New Business-none
16. Next Meeting-The next meeting will be March 8, 2004 at 5:30pm.
16. Adjournment- Mike Grant made a motion to enter non-public session under Chapter 91A:3II,a at 7:05pm. Mark Bouzianis second. Roll call vote. All in favor. The board discussed issues related to future teacher contract negotiations. Mike Grant motioned to leave non-public at 7:30pm. Mark Bouzianis second. Roll call vote. All in favor. Mark Bouzianis motioned to adjourn. Mike Grant second. All in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 7:30pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Gray