Minutes of Reg. Aug. Meeting

Cavendish Town Elementary School

Monday, August 7, 2006

School Board: Mike Ceravole, Chair, Jim Ballantine, Jessica Goodman, Mark Huntley, Administration: George O. Thomson, Principal

1. Call to Order:The meeting was called to order by the Chair, Mike Ceravole at 6:05 p.m.

2. Approval of Minutes of July 18, 2006: The minutes of the previous meeting of July, 18, 2006 were reviewed. There was one correction in the Principal’s report. The student whose parents wrote the letter to the Board was Alex Ting not Richard King.

Mark moved to accept the minutes as corrected. Jessica seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.

a) Superintendent's Report - none

b) Principal’s Report -

~ George reported that he has received three different estimates on a security alarm system for the school. He asked for a couple of Board members to go over them with him to compare the quotes carefully, and then make a recommendation at the next Board meeting. The quotes ranged from a low of $1,500 to a high of $4,500. He speculated that the quotes were not comparing exactly the same systems. Jim and Gene will meet with George to compare the quotes. He told the School Board that the Reading School had just been broken into with rooms being ransacked and some items stolen.

~ George said the warranty of the transmission of the new bus is three years or 100,000 miles with unlimited parts and labor. If we wanted to extend the warranty, we would need to go to Reed and have the transmission oil drained, and flushed and then replaced with a synthetic oil. The cost to do this is $550. Allison will only provide an extended warranty if this special oil is used. On top of that is an additional $489 for the warranty. This would come to a total cost of $1,039. After some discussion it was decided not to go with the extended warranty.

~George indicated that he contacted two companies that “profess” to purchase old buses. Neither of them had made a bid on the bus. After consultation with Jim and Gene, he placed “For Sale” signs on the bus and also placed ads in the newspapers. He has had two calls as a result of the ads. As the Board had never stated what they wanted to sell the bus for,George told the prospective buyers to make an offer. One offer was for $100. He has not actually talked with the other person yet. They have exchanged voice messages. The Board felt that we might get $2,500 for the bus, and that was what George should ask for to start. George said he thought he would ask the mechanic at Reed Truck Service to see what they thought we might ask. The Board thought this was a a good idea.

~ Both of our old buses have been vandalized. Someone got into them and set the fire extinguishers off. He had to have the buses cleaned and will have to purchase new extinguishers. He removed the extinguisher from the new bus.

~ The buses are being readied for school. They both are inspected, and the new bus has had the radio installed. It is due to get the camera installed tomorrow and also locks on the back and front doors. George was dismayed that they are not standard on new buses.

~ All of the schools in the SU met their annual yearly progress as determined by the Department of Education. He indicated that this is good news, as there were 60+ schools in the State that did not meet AYP. He indicated that the formula used will assure that all schools are “failing schools” within a few years, as it is impossible to keep making AYP in all the sub-categories

~He told the School Board that the SU will be once again changing their(SIS) Student Information System. This is the third time in a few years. This time it is because one company has bought out the competition. There is an aggressive training and implementation schedule. George, Irene and Doris will have two days of training later this month. The teachers will all be trained on using it during inservice.

~ George will be the principal representative on the Superintendent Search Committee.

~ He has talked with the teachers about purchasing additional map and display rails for their rooms. He checked with the provider we had when the building was renovated. The cost is about $10 per foot. Robin indicated she would like about 40 feet. Ann indicated she could use 458 feet. Jenn said she did not like the strips and does not want any. George said he would talk with the teachers further and actually go into their roms to see how much of the strips they could use. George reminded the Board there there is no money in the budget for this.

~ George will be attending a training on forms for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch program on Tuesday.

~ George has met with Bill Stevens of the Vermont School Crisis Team. He is a Vermont Planning Facilitator for the DOE. Although the school has a crisis plan, George indicated that Bill would be working with the school to update the plan and also help create a Pandemic plan which is required by law.

~ George has contacted Black River Design about the “as built plans for the school.” Rick, (who was recently married) has indicated that the “as Built plans” are with Dan. George will continue to persue this until the plans are in his possession.

~ He indicated that NEMRIC felt that we needed to consider a backup system for al the financial files in the town office. He felt this should be discussed at a future meeting.

~ The end of year budget was passed out. George indicated that there were a few items that still needed to be changed, but that it was close. He suggested the Finance Committee get together before the next School Board meeting. He will set up a meeting the first week of September. The following people will be attending: Jane, Meredith, Ed, Irene, Jim, Mike and George.

~ George also announced that the Special Education Director of WSWSU resigned her position last week. This will be a position that will need to be filled quickly.

c) Committee Reports - Although there were none, George said that he knows Gene Bont is continuing with the Nature Trail Project. He thought Gene was meeting Robin again this week to hike the site. Jessica thought this might be a great project in which to involve the kids. She thought it might be incorporated into lessons that the teachers teach. A discussion followed. It was suggested that committee members might attend a Tuesday inservice meeting to talk to the teachers about this.

4. Policy to be reviewed - George talked to the School Board about the Student Conduct and Discipline Policy. The Policy Committee reviewed the current policy and felt it was adequate with no changes. They did suggest a change of working in the Discipline Plan. On page 10 they wished to insert the following: When the principal or his designee anticipates a controversial suspension or one of more than 10 days, the principal or his designee will appraise the School Board. The Board agreed to this addition.

5. School Opening - George talked about opening of school.

~ The floors look great and are all completed with the exception of the multipurpose room.

~ There has been a fair amount of touch up painting in the hallways and in classrooms.

~ School Materials needed by the teachers are arriving daily.

~ The master student and parent handbook is completed. Copies still need to be prepared.

~ The staff handbook master is completed. Copies just need to be prepared.

~ The schedules are completed.

~ We need a few staff members: OT, School Clinician and a Special Education Director for the SU.

~ Inservice starts on Monday, Aug. 28 with a breakfast GMUHS. The teachers will then have the day to get classrooms ready. The Olweus team will be planning the Olweus training for the staff on Tuesday.

On Tuesday we will have the Olweus training, the Power School Training (SIS) and the discussion of the staff handbook.

The students arrive on Wednesday, August 30.

Jim asked about bus routes. George indicted that they were completed and that he could give Jim a copy. Jim would like to review them with George. They agreed to a time on Wednesday to do this.

6. Music Program Update: At the last meeting, it was suggested that any Board members that had a problem with the music program should see George. No one spoke to him, but George talked to Jim. Since that meeting, he met with the teacher and discussed the items brought forth by Jim.

Next year the teacher plans six specific units: Rhythm, Folk Songs, Opera, Ancestral Music, U.S. Music and Instrumental Music. The teacher talked bout what is planned during these Units. In addition, the students will have to learn music for programs.

They discussed the programs and felt that this year they might focus on traditional music and not try and teach the students “contemporary” songs.

George will be receiving regular weekly lesson plans from the teacher so he can more closely monitor the program.

They are also considering having more than one class learn each song for programs. There would be fewer groups performing, but the groups performing would be larger.

The plan is to change the report cards so that they will include a section on performance, class behavior, homework, etc.

It was suggested that the programs should be simple with recognizable music. The Board felt the key was to keep it simple!

7. Report of the Administrative Retreat - The Administrative Retreat was held in Woodstock August 2, 3, and 4. George briefly discussed the agenda items:

~ Dennis Wells - Legal issues facing administrators.

~ VDS/Local Assessment Planning

~ Power School Implementation Plan

~ Regular Ad Council Meeting

~ Jeff Francis - A Legislative Perspective

~ Special Education Issues/Expectations

He indicated that it was a great opportunity for the administrators to get together to discuss

issues and do some common planning.

8. Other Business - none

9. Executive Session - none

10. Adjournment - Mark moved the meting be adjourned. Jim seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m.

Respectively submitted,


	Cavendish Town Elementary School Board meeting Monday, August 7, 2006 Present: School Board: Mike Ceravole, Chair, Jim Ballantine, Jessica Goodman, Mark Huntley, Administration: George O. Thomson, Principal Public : none 1. Call to Order:The meeting was called to order by the Chair, Mike Ceravole at 6:05 p.m. 2. Approval of Minutes of July 18, 2006: The minutes of the previous meeting of July, 18, 2006 were reviewed. There was one correction in the Principal’s report. The student whose parents wrote the letter to the Board was Alex Ting not Richard King. Mark moved to accept the minutes as corrected. Jessica seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously. 3. Reports: a) Superintendent's Report - none b) Principal’s Report - ~ George reported that he has received three different estimates on a security alarm system for the school. He asked for a couple of Board members to go over them with him to compare the quotes carefully, and then make a recommendation at the next Board meeting. The quotes ranged from a low of $1,500 to a high of $4,500. He speculated that the quotes were not comparing exactly the same systems. Jim and Gene will meet with George to compare the quotes. He told the School Board that the Reading School had just been broken into with rooms being ransacked and some items stolen. ~ George said the warranty of the transmission of the new bus is three years or 100,000 miles with unlimited parts and labor. If we wanted to extend the warranty, we would need to go to Reed and have the transmission oil drained, and flushed and then replaced with a synthetic oil. The cost to do this is $550. Allison will only provide an extended warranty if this special oil is used. On top of that is an additional $489 for the warranty. This would come to a total cost of $1,039. After some discussion it was decided not to go with the extended warranty. ~George indicated that he contacted two companies that “profess” to purchase old buses. Neither of them had made a bid on the bus. After consultation with Jim and Gene, he placed “For Sale” signs on the bus and also placed ads in the newspapers. He has had two calls as a result of the ads. As the Board had never stated what they wanted to sell the bus for,George told the prospective buyers to make an offer. One offer was for $100. He has not actually talked with the other person yet. They have exchanged voice messages. The Board felt that we might get $2,500 for the bus, and that was what George should ask for to start. George said he thought he would ask the mechanic at Reed Truck Service to see what they thought we might ask. The Board thought this was a a good idea. ~ Both of our old buses have been vandalized. Someone got into them and set the fire extinguishers off. He had to have the buses cleaned and will have to purchase new extinguishers. He removed the extinguisher from the new bus. ~ The buses are being readied for school. They both are inspected, and the new bus has had the radio installed. It is due to get the camera installed tomorrow and also locks on the back and front doors. George was dismayed that they are not standard on new buses. ~ All of the schools in the SU met their annual yearly progress as determined by the Department of Education. He indicated that this is good news, as there were 60+ schools in the State that did not meet AYP. He indicated that the formula used will assure that all schools are “failing schools” within a few years, as it is impossible to keep making AYP in all the sub-categories ~He told the School Board that the SU will be once again changing their(SIS) Student Information System. This is the third time in a few years. This time it is because one company has bought out the competition. There is an aggressive training and implementation schedule. George, Irene and Doris will have two days of training later this month. The teachers will all be trained on using it during inservice. ~ George will be the principal representative on the Superintendent Search Committee. ~ He has talked with the teachers about purchasing additional map and display rails for their rooms. He checked with the provider we had when the building was renovated. The cost is about $10 per foot. Robin indicated she would like about 40 feet. Ann indicated she could use 458 feet. Jenn said she did not like the strips and does not want any. George said he would talk with the teachers further and actually go into their roms to see how much of the strips they could use. George reminded the Board there there is no money in the budget for this. ~ George will be attending a training on forms for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch program on Tuesday. ~ George has met with Bill Stevens of the Vermont School Crisis Team. He is a Vermont Planning Facilitator for the DOE. Although the school has a crisis plan, George indicated that Bill would be working with the school to update the plan and also help create a Pandemic plan which is required by law. ~ George has contacted Black River Design about the “as built plans for the school.” Rick, (who was recently married) has indicated that the “as Built plans” are with Dan. George will continue to persue this until the plans are in his possession. ~ He indicated that NEMRIC felt that we needed to consider a backup system for al the financial files in the town office. He felt this should be discussed at a future meeting. ~ The end of year budget was passed out. George indicated that there were a few items that still needed to be changed, but that it was close. He suggested the Finance Committee get together before the next School Board meeting. He will set up a meeting the first week of September. The following people will be attending: Jane, Meredith, Ed, Irene, Jim, Mike and George. ~ George also announced that the Special Education Director of WSWSU resigned her position last week. This will be a position that will need to be filled quickly. c) Committee Reports - Although there were none, George said that he knows Gene Bont is continuing with the Nature Trail Project. He thought Gene was meeting Robin again this week to hike the site. Jessica thought this might be a great project in which to involve the kids. She thought it might be incorporated into lessons that the teachers teach. A discussion followed. It was suggested that committee members might attend a Tuesday inservice meeting to talk to the teachers about this. 4. Policy to be reviewed - George talked to the School Board about the Student Conduct and Discipline Policy. The Policy Committee reviewed the current policy and felt it was adequate with no changes. They did suggest a change of working in the Discipline Plan. On page 10 they wished to insert the following: When the principal or his designee anticipates a controversial suspension or one of more than 10 days, the principal or his designee will appraise the School Board. The Board agreed to this addition. 5. School Opening - George talked about opening of school. ~ The floors look great and are all completed with the exception of the multipurpose room. ~ There has been a fair amount of touch up painting in the hallways and in classrooms. ~ School Materials needed by the teachers are arriving daily. ~ The master student and parent handbook is completed. Copies still need to be prepared. ~ The staff handbook master is completed. Copies just need to be prepared. ~ The schedules are completed. ~ We need a few staff members: OT, School Clinician and a Special Education Director for the SU. ~ Inservice starts on Monday, Aug. 28 with a breakfast GMUHS. The teachers will then have the day to get classrooms ready. The Olweus team will be planning the Olweus training for the staff on Tuesday. On Tuesday we will have the Olweus training, the Power School Training (SIS) and the discussion of the staff handbook. The students arrive on Wednesday, August 30. Jim asked about bus routes. George indicted that they were completed and that he could give Jim a copy. Jim would like to review them with George. They agreed to a time on Wednesday to do this. 6. Music Program Update: At the last meeting, it was suggested that any Board members that had a problem with the music program should see George. No one spoke to him, but George talked to Jim. Since that meeting, he met with the teacher and discussed the items brought forth by Jim. Next year the teacher plans six specific units: Rhythm, Folk Songs, Opera, Ancestral Music, U.S. Music and Instrumental Music. The teacher talked bout what is planned during these Units. In addition, the students will have to learn music for programs. They discussed the programs and felt that this year they might focus on traditional music and not try and teach the students “contemporary” songs. George will be receiving regular weekly lesson plans from the teacher so he can more closely monitor the program. They are also considering having more than one class learn each song for programs. There would be fewer groups performing, but the groups performing would be larger. The plan is to change the report cards so that they will include a section on performance, class behavior, homework, etc. It was suggested that the programs should be simple with recognizable music. The Board felt the key was to keep it simple! 7. Report of the Administrative Retreat - The Administrative Retreat was held in Woodstock August 2, 3, and 4. George briefly discussed the agenda items: ~ Dennis Wells - Legal issues facing administrators. ~ VDS/Local Assessment Planning ~ Power School Implementation Plan ~ Regular Ad Council Meeting ~ Jeff Francis - A Legislative Perspective ~ Work Session ~ Special Education Issues/Expectations He indicated that it was a great opportunity for the administrators to get together to discuss issues and do some common planning. 8. Other Business - none 9. Executive Session - none 10. Adjournment - Mark moved the meting be adjourned. Jim seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m. Respectively submitted, George O. Thomson