APPROVED
NEWFIELDS SCHOOL BOARD
August 13, 2007 — 5:30PM
NEWFIELDS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
In Attendance: Carolyn Bellisio, Joe Army
Administration: Steve Kossakoski, Nathan Lunney, Dennis Dobe
Treasurer: Maggie Doane
Secretary: Dennis Dobe
Visitors: Ed Oddo
3.1 June 11, 2007 Board Meeting (Approved with corrections: Motion— Carolyn Bellisio,
Second—Joe Army; Unanimous)
4. Visitors
4.1 Ed Oddo -- Summer Projects Update
Mr. Oddo issued a report on the status of the summer’s facility projects. He noted that all proposed summer projects had been completed except for the land cleaning on the adjacent school properties. Mr. Oddo indicated that he believed the work would be done before the opening of school.
5. Business and Financial
5.1 Monthly Financial Report
School District Treasurer, Maggie Doane, stated that the Newfields School District had $418,266.47 cash on hand at the end of July. Additionally, she reported the following fund balances: Maintenance Account--$8,223.52, Parking Lot--$6,868.23.
5.2 Authorization to Request Funds from Trustees for Maintenance Projects
Joe Army made a motion to request 2005-2006 as well as 2006-2007 appropriations from the School Maintenance Fund to reimburse the general fund. (Second by Carolyn Bellisio. All in favor.)
5.3 End of Year Balance
Nathan Lunney reported that the Newfields School District had an end of year balance of $112,194.18 for the 2006-2007 school year. Further, Mr. Lunney stated that in addition to that balance, and a sum of unexpected revenue, the school district would be returning $168,362.94 to the Town of Newfields to help offset taxes in the coming year.
5.4 Projected State Revenue for 2007-2008
Nathan Lunney shared more favorable news with the School Board when he announced that NH State Revenue for the Newfields School District is estimated to be $261,473, which represents an increase of over 79% over last year’s State Revenue for Local Education.
5.5 GASB 34 Compliance
Mr. Lunney inquired about the School Board’s position on the accounting and auditing practices required by GASB 34. The Board indicated that it wished to obtain a clean (“unqualified”) opinion on its audit, and the GASB 34 non-compliance is the only obstacle. Joe Army made a motion that “GASB 34 compliance be in place for the 2006-2007 audit with an increase in the audit fee not to exceed $1,000.” (Second by Carolyn Bellisio. All in favor.)
5.6 Oil/Propane Contract
Mr. Dobe presented the contracts for oil and propane from Hartman Oil. The contracts were reviewed and signed by the School Board.
6. Curriculum
6.1 NWEA Results
Results from the Spring 2007 administration of the NWEA Measures of Academic Progress were shared with the School Board. Mr. Dobe stated that our students continue to improve their scores in each of the subtests (reading, mathematics, and language usage) and remain above national norms in each of the subject areas.
6.2 NES Literacy Assessment Plan for 2007-2008
Mr. Dobe described the assessment plan for measuring student growth in the areas of reading and writing over the coming year. Students will have multiple and varied assessments over the course of the school year. These test results will be used for instructional decision making by teachers and for planning teacher training.
6.3 ‘Follow the Child’ Digital Portfolios
Principal Dobe provided an overview of the NES electronic portfolio project, which is
consistent with the requirements of the NHDOE initiative, ‘Follow the Child’. Beginning this Fall, every NES student will have an electronic portfolio that teachers and students will populate with various artifacts that demonstrate student growth toward national, state, and district educational standards.
7. Superintendent / Assistant Superintendent Report
7.1 SAU Update – Dr. Kossakoski shared some pertinent dates with the School Board:
Annual SAU 16 Administrator’s Retreat – 8/14 & 8/15, SAU 16 Data Retreat – 8/16, SAU 16 New Teacher Orientation – 8/23, and the Annual SAU 16 Opening Assembly – 8/27. Steve also briefed the Board on activity in the SAU Human Resources Office (many hires processed), building activity across the SAU, as well as the status of the SST renovation project and the SAU Office move to the Tuck Learning Campus on Linden Street. Dr. Kossakoski also updated the Board on the status of the Virtual High School Charter School – it is currently in development, but expected to open later this year.
7.2 Enrollment Update – Dr. Kossakoski reported that the current NES enrollment is at 163 students, but that there were late registrants not included that would increase that number by opening day.
8 Principal’s Report
8.1 School Opening – Mr. Dobe shared information regarding summer activity at the school
leading up to school opening activities (SAU Meeting – 8/27, NES Staff Meeting – 8/28, School Opening – 8/29). Dennis stated that the school looks wonderful, and that the summer custodial crew did an outstanding job again this year preparing the school building for opening.
8.2 Summer Staff Training – Mr. Dobe informed the School Board of several professional
development activities that NES staff members participated in over the summer months to include at kindergarten conference, a principal’s conference, a literacy institute, and training in Moodle, electronic portfolios, and much more – especially technology training at the SPDC.
8.3 AlertNow Notification Service – The SAU will be subscribing to a parent notification
service called AlertNow. This automated message service can allow school administrators to notify parents of important events (such as a school cancellation or late bus) and incidents (school lock-down or emergency) within a very short period of time (all NES and/or SAU 16 parents notified with in a few minutes). The service will begin this Fall.
8.4 School Activities – Mr. Dobe briefly restated the school opening activities for NES.
9. General Correspondence
10. Personnel
10.1 Staffing Update – Mr. Dobe informed the School Board of the birth of a baby girl to an NES teacher, and also of the matrimony of two NES teachers over the summer months. Also mentioned was the resignation of two educational assistants. Interviews for those vacated assistant positions were held earlier in the day.
10.2 Nomination of New Professional Staff – Mr. Lunney nominated Timothy Farrell for the position of Special Education Teacher and Case Manager at NES. Joe Army made a motion to accept the nomination as stated, which was seconded by Carolyn Bellisio. All in favor.
11. Building and Grounds
11.1Building Use Requests – There were no building use requests.
11.2 Summer Building and Maintenance Projects -- Outlined in 4.1 above.
12. Pupil-Related Matters
13. Board Reports / Policy
13.1 Review of 07-08 Committee Assignments – The School Board received a sheet of
current SAU committee assignments, and the Board discussed Newfields
representation. It was determined that the two committee vacancies would be filled as
follows: Bus Safety Committee – Michael Price, NCLB Committee – Joe Army.
13.2 Joint Board Chairs Meeting -- There was no meeting held in July.
13.3 Communication and Public Outreach Plan -- There was no discussion on the plan.
13.4 SAU 16 Policy Committee Update -- Tabled to September meeting.
13.5 Policies: Second Reading -- Tabled to September meeting.
13.5.1 GBGBA Use of Automated External Defibrillators
13.5.2 IMG Animals in School
13.6 Policies: Third Reading -- Tabled to September meeting.
13.6.1 JRA Student Records and Access
13.6.2 KF Use of School Facilities
13.7 Policy for Review: JEB – Age of Entrance -- Tabled to September meeting.
14. Old Business
15. New Business
16. Next Meeting
16.1 Board Meeting: September 10th, at 5:30PM
17. Adjournment – 8:01PM
Mr. Army made a motion to adjourn the school board meeting, second by Ms. Bellisio. All in favor.