ROCHESTER SCHOOL BOARD

School Board Meeting Minutes
April 14, 2011
City Council Chambers

 

Members Present:

Mr. Robert Watson, Chair

Dr. Anthony Pastelis

Mr. William Brennan

Mrs. Audrey Stevens

Mr. Travis Allen

Mrs. Evelyn Logan

Mrs. Doris Gates

Ms. Caroline McCarley

Mrs. Pamela Hubbard

Mrs. Peggy Parker

Ms. Julie Brown

Mr. James Gray

Mrs. Anne Grassie

 

Members Absent:

 

Also Present:

Mr. Michael Hopkins, Superintendent

Mr. Kent Hemingway, Asst. Superintendent

Ms. Linda Casey, Business Administrator

Atty. Jerome Grossman

 

Guests & Press

Mr. Watson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. on a roll call with a quorum present.  Members participated in the pledge of allegiance.  Mr. Watson called for a moment of silence in remembrance and honor of Bert George, former School Board colleague.

Last Minutes                  Mrs. Logan moved, second by Ms. Brown, to accept the minutes of the Regular Board meeting of March 10, 2011 and the Special School Board meetings of March 24, 2011 and March 31, 2011.  The motion carried unanimously.

Superintendent’s Report

Student Recognition       Mr. Hemingway, Assistant Superintendent and Mrs. Good, SHS Art Teacher introduced Spaulding High School Senior, Marie Palaima. Ms. Palaima was selected to be recognized for her creative, artistic expression.  Her mixed media piece “Pieced and Bronzed Tree” received the Scholastic Art and Writing Award Gold Key in New Hampshire; and was selected as a Silver Key winner nationally.  She is the fourth student from Spaulding to be recognized in the National Competition.  Ms. Palaima will receive her Silver Key Award at the 2011 National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards ceremony to be held at Carnegie Hall in New York City on May 31st.  

Employee Recognition    Mr. Hemingway, Assistant Superintendent introduced the March employee of the month recipients:  Karen Good, Art Teacher at Spaulding High School; Brenda Bourgeois, Secretary at Maple Street School; Jonathan White, Computer Technology Teacher at Rochester Middle School; and Robin Despins, District Data Manager at the School Department Central Office.

                                    Recipients received a $20 gift certificate for Granite Steak & Grill in Rochester, a certificate of appreciation and a spring plant.

Restaurant Management  Students in the Restaurant Management Program were recognized for the outstanding meal that was prepared and served to Board Members on March 24th.  The students who prepared and served the meal were:  Shawn Ham, Gunther Valick, Robin Stockbridge, Zane Campbell, and Teddy Blair.

Magnet School               Mr. Hopkins reported on the first public forum regarding the magnet school concept in Rochester.  There was a positive turnout by parents, staff, Board Members, and community members.  The meeting was a good start to the sharing and gathering of ideas regarding what would attract a family to send a child to a magnet school.  The Superintendent indicated that there is no focus on a specific direction for school design at this time; collecting parent and community ideas and suggestions at these meetings will be taken into consideration before a design is put in place.  The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 25, 2011 at 6:00 p.m.

Meeting Update              Mr. Hopkins reviewed the forthcoming meeting schedule:

April 21, 2011   Special Services and Instruction Committee

April 25, 2011   Magnet School Focus Meeting - 6:00 p.m.

April 25, 2011   Building Committee Meeting - 7:00 p.m.

April 26, 2011   Budget Proposal presentation to City Council

April 28, 2011   Policy Committee meeting - 6:00 p.m.

April 28, 2011   Assistant Superintendent Interviews – 6:30 p.m.

                                    Dr. Pastelis encouraged people to attend the Magnet School Focus Meeting; this is an opportunity for school choice in Rochester.

Student Senate Report

                                    None

Public Comment          

                                    None

Committee Reports

Building Committee:     

                                    No action required.

Instruction Committee:

Dropout Prevention        Mrs. Grassie moved, second by Mr. Gray, the Board approve the submission of an application for the Dropout Prevention Grant.  The motion carried unanimously. 

Personnel Committee:

Resignations                  Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mr. Brennan, the Board accept the resignation for retirement purposes of Paula Herlihy, Elementary Teacher.  The motion carried unanimously.

                                    Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mrs. Parker, the Board accept the following resignations:

Stephanie McNally.................................................... Guidance Counselor
Linda Pouliot.................................................................... Para-Educator
Jacklyn Tardy................................................................... Para-Educator
Elizabeth Caramihalis.............................................. High School Teacher
Erin Bedell..................................................... Special Education Teacher

The motion carried unanimously.

Nominations                  Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mrs. Logan, the Board approve the following nominations:

Jacob Beal........................................................................ Para-Educator
Linda Grant...................................................................... Para-Educator
Kerry Hoyt....................................................................... Para-Educator
Emilee Somers....................................................... Title I Interventionist

                                    The motion carried unanimously.

Extra-Curricular             Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mrs. Parker, the Board accept the resignation of Bonny Varney, Varsity Softball Coach Assistant.  The motion carried unanimously.

                                    Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mr. Allen, the Board approve the following Extra-Curricular nominations:

Joshua White..................................... ($1.00) Track (Mixed) Assistant Coach
Amy Beranger........................................... Varsity Ski Team Coach Assistant
Dennis Fontaine................................................ Varsity Football Head Coach
John Creteau............................................... ($1.00) Baseball Coach Assistant
Claudine White.............................................. ($1.00) Tennis Coach Assistant

The motion carried unanimously.

Leave of Absence....... Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Ms. Brown, the Board approve the leave of absence request from Sora Martindale for the 2011-2012 school year.  The motion carried unanimously.

2011-12 Nominations. Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mrs. Logan, the Board approve the 2011-2012 school year Teacher; R.O.T.C.; and Administrator nominations as presented.   The motion carried unanimously. (list attached)

Special Services Committee:

                                    No action required.

Finance Committee:

SLC Agreement             Mr. Watson moved, second by Mr. Gray, the Board approve Strafford Learning Center to provide services for up to fifteen (15) out-of-district students at a location in Rochester for the cost of $395,819; authorizing the Superintendent to enter into an Agreement with Strafford Learning Center regarding provision of these services.  The motion carried unanimously.

Roof Engineering           Mr. Watson moved, second by Mr. Gray, the Board approve the bid from Goudreau Architects, Inc. of Portsmouth, NH in the amount of $9,600 for roof engineering services at East Rochester School and Spaulding High School.  The motion carried unanimously.

Sprinkler Design            Mr. Watson moved, second by Mrs. Logan, the Board approve the bid from Goudreau Architects, Inc. of Portsmouth, NH in the amount of $21,844 for sprinkler design service for Spaulding High School.  The motion carried unanimously.

SINI Stipend                 Mr. Watson moved, second by Mrs. Logan, the Board approve a SINI Grant funded stipend for Kathryn Crosby in the amount of $1,500 for SINI Grant management.  The motion carried unanimously.

Sick Leave Donation       Mr. Watson moved, second by Ms. Brown, the Board approve the donation of sick-time from District Para-Educators totaling seventy-eight (78) hours on behalf of Para-Educator MC.  The motion carried unanimously.

Discipline Committee:

                                    Mrs. Hubbard moved, second by Ms. Brown, the Board uphold the Committee’s recommendations for the following discipline cases: #23432l, #22850, #22442; #23510, #23612, #23833, #23907, #23725, and #24220.  The motion carried unanimously.

Policy Committee:

Second Reading             Dr. Pastelis moved, second by Mr. Gray, second reading and adoption by the Board of Policy DJC, Bidding Requirements; as amended.   The motion carried unanimously.

First Reading                 The Committee recommends to the Board for first reading the following policies:

-          JGG, Physical Restraint of Students

-          JGG-R, Physical Restraint Notification and Permission Form

-          BHB, Board Member Development Opportunities

-          BEAB, School Board Meeting Cancellations

Old Business

                                    None

New Business

Music & Drama             Mr. Allen commended the Music Department on the excellent job they do organizing drama productions and concerts at all levels.

Rochester Reads             Mrs. Hubbard announced that Rochester Reads has distributed over 19,000 free books to children since its inception.  The Program always welcomes the donation of gently read and treasured children’s books. Books may be dropped off at the School Department Central Office for processing.

Collegiate Baseball         Ms. Brown requested a status update regarding the Mavericks Baseball team. The Superintendent reported that the work on the dugouts is nearly complete; the infield and bullpen areas will be worked on next week.

NHSBA                        Dr. Pastelis reported that he was nominated and selected to serve on the NHSBA Board of Directors.  He reviewed the details of the March meeting as it related to the State Budget education funding; three NH State Representatives attended the meeting.  Dr. Pastelis addressed the concern with unfunded State and Federal mandates coming to Rochester and School Districts around the Country.  NHSBA updates will be reported monthly.

Non-Public Session

                                    Dr. Pastelis moved, second by, the Board enter non-public session at 7:39 p.m. in accordance with RSA 91-A:3, I & II (1,3 ) to discuss matters that would adversely affect the reputation of any person, other than a member of the board. The roll call vote follows:

 

                                                YES:    Mrs. Stevens, Mr. Allen, Mr. Brennan, Mrs. Gates, Mr. Gray,

                                                            Mr. Watson, Ms. Brown, Ms. McCarley, Mrs. Parker,

                                                            Dr. Pastelis, Mrs. Hubbard, Mrs. Grassie, Mrs. Logan

 

                                                NO:      None

                                    After a short recess, the Board entered non-public session at 7:45 p.m.


Public Session

                                    Ms. McCarley moved, second by Mr. Allen, to enter public session.  By unanimous vote, the Board entered public session at 9:16 p.m.

Appeal                          Ms. McCarley moved, second by Ms. Brown, the Board support the procedures followed by the  High School Principal relating to a parental appeal; following School Board Policy JICK.   Roll call vote was called:

 

                                                YES:    Mrs. Logan, Mrs. Parker, Mr. Watson, Mrs. Gates, Mr. Allen,

                                                            Mr. Gray, Dr. Pastelis, Mr. Brennan, Mrs. Hubbard, Ms. Brown,

                                                            Ms. McCarley, Mrs. Stevens, Mrs. Grassie

 

                                                NO:      None

                                    The motion carried by a vote of 13 to 0.

Contract Renewal           Mr. Gray moved, second by Mrs. Stevens, the Board approve extending a two-year contract for employment to the Superintendent; with the same terms as previous years.  The motion carried unanimously.

Adjournment

                                    Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mrs. Parker, to adjourn. On a unanimous vote, the Board adjourned at 9:46 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Michael Hopkins

Board Secretary