Cavendish Town Elementary School Board Minutes January 8, 2008   6:00 p.m. Present Board- Mike Ceravole-Chair, Dr. Bont-Vice Chair, Jim Ballantine, Jessica Goodman, and Sharon Huntley Administration- Joan Paustian-Superintendent, George Thomson-Principal Public/Staff- Peggy Svec and Duncan Love Call to Order- Mike called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. Approval of Minutes of December 11, 2007-  Dr. Bont made a motion to approve the minutes of December 11, 2007 as presented.  All approved. Reports: Superintendent- Joan wished everyone a happy new year.  Emergency drills have been scheduled and they will meet with the police, the students and the staff after the drill.  The WSWSU Executive Board approved a lease with Bob Record for our building.  Joan gave the board Comparative Data for Cost-Effectiveness for CTES and discussed the comparisons with other schools.  Health insurance was budgeted at 6.5% but it has come in at 5%. Joan asked the board to consider changing the date of the meeting in February to Tuesday February 5th.  The Board agreed to change the meeting.           Principal- George gave the board a budget summary.  He said they seem to be on target for expenditures.  George gave the board a copy of the audit and a summary.  Discussion ensued.  The bottom line on the annual audit is a deficit of $93,808.00.  Stuart Lindberg resigned and Hal Jaffee, the previous bus driver, said he would finish out the year.  Dr. Bont moved to approve hiring Hal Jaffe as a bus driver.  All approved.  The other bus driver will be out for a couple of weeks for medical issues.  They have almost all of the runs covered.  They have purchased a bus for $3,000.00 from the town of Pownal.  Valley Trucking inspected the bus and said the batteries needed to be replaced and other than that the bus is in good shape.  Dr. Bont asked that a “thank you” letter be sent to Green Mountain for letting CTES use one of their busses for so long. They had an offer of $1,000.00 for the old bus and they accepted it.  George gave the board samples of the new report cards.  The snow sports program began today. They have 81 students participating.  Discussion ensued.  The PTO is having another bingo night on January 19th and they are scheduling a dance in February.         Board- Dr. Bont asked about the trust funds.  Jim said there needs to be a policy regarding these funds and how the money is managed.  Discussion ensued.  George said he and Joan will put together a policy for the next meeting.  Mike said the board received a letter from Senator Leahy thanking them for their support on the NCLB issue.   Committee Reports- None FY 2009 Tuition Requests for Faculty Members- Joan has two faculty tuition requests.  Jenn Harper and Robin Bebo-Long asked for the board to allow their children, Sarah and Madeline, to attend CTES in 2008-2009 school year.  Jim asked if the state money follows the student.  Mike said no but they can send a letter to the sending town and ask for the funds for these students.  Sharon made a motion to accept the tuition requests from Jen Harper and Robin Bebo-Long.  Dr. Bont seconded.  Four yes. One no.  Motion passed. Discussion of 2008-2009 Budget-   George gave the board copies of the budget.  He went over the few changes from the last draft.  The asbestos inspection was discussed.  George said the fax machine broke and Mike came in with a new one.  George thanked him.  The board agreed to take the filing cabinets for music, the resurfacing of the kitchen mixer and the bottled water costs out of the budget.  Jim made a motion to remove the bottled water from the budget.  Mike seconded.  Sharon and Jesse said they will approve as long as the board will deficit spend if they need bottled water next year.  All approved. The budget is at $1,709,963.00 with the discussed changes.  A special meeting is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Tuesday January 15th to approve the budget.  The drainage issues at the school were discussed.  George and Jim talked to Richard about possible solutions. Discussion ensued.  A rough estimate to fix this is between six and eight thousand dollars.  Joan said they may want to have a separate article to raise the money for this project.  Discussion ensued.                        Approval of Annual Meeting Warning- Joan read the 2008 annual meeting warnings.  Jesse made a motion to approve the 2008 Annual Meeting Warning as read.  Sharon seconded. Four yes.  One no.  Motion passed. Other Business-  None Executive Session – None Adjournment-  Jesse made a motion to adjourn.  Dr. Bont seconded.  Meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Virginia M. Walsh Mack Recording Secretary