Cavendish Town Elementary School Board Minutes September 12, 2006, 6:00 p.m. Present Board:  Mike Ceravole - Chair, Dr. Bont, Mark Huntley and Jim Ballantine          Administration:  Ed Brown – Superintendent, George Thomson – Principal   Public/Staff:  Duncan Love, Peggy Svec, Denise Matale, and Dawn Tyrell   1.      Call to Order:  Mike called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. 2.      Approval of Minutes of August 7, 2006:  Jim made a motion to approve the minutes of August 7, 2006 as presented. All approved. 3.      Reports: a)      Superintendent: No report. b)      Principal: George said they had a good opening to school with 19 Kindergarten students and a total of 92 students.  The teachers had a scheduled in-service and are concentrating on the anti bullying program. They are waiting to hire a mental health counselor.  He said we have switched our data management system to power school.  Discussion ensued. In theory the old bus is sold.  They received a $1,000.00 offer and accepted it.  The new owner said he will come and get it.  If he doesn’t they have someone else interested.  They have a bus driver issue.  One bus driver is on vacation and George was able to find someone for the morning run and Green Mountain is helping out with the afternoon run. Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. is the Open House. George passed out the budget summary and discussed it.  They have discussed replacing the stove in the kitchen.  Today George was notified that the stove is not safe.  Discussion ensued.  The library has a new policy.  No child 12 or under can be in the Library without a parent.  It is a liability issue.  Discussion ensued.  The library has decided to set up a committee to discuss this issue.  Mark said there should be some way to deal with this.  Discussion ensued.                c)      Board: Mike said the board sent a letter to John Surething stating they support him on the GM school board.  The board received a letter from Jack Coleman stating he thought the board should apologize to John for sending the letter.  The CTES board members agreed to do nothing but file the letter. d)      Committee Reports: George reported:  There has been discussion regarding an outdoor classroom.  They had a meeting to discuss the possibilities.  Robin headed the meeting.  The committee hiked the property to see the possibilities.  Discussion ensued.  Mike made a motion to approve purchasing a stove not to exceed $5,000.00.  Mark seconded. Approved.       4.      Budget Update:  George passed out a summary sheet for the elementary school.  It shows how they ended the year in specific categories.  There is a balance of around $28,000.00.  EEE and the high school went over what they budgeted.  There will be an audit.  Discussion ensued. Mike made a motion to move $40,799.32   plus the interest from the construction fund to pay against the principal on the bond indebtedness for the 2005-2006 school year. Dr. Bont seconded. All approved. 5.      Early Education Update: Ed said the Early Ed program is up and running.  All 3 and 4 year olds who choose to attend are being served.  Stepping Stones, The Little School and The Montessori School are all doing well.  Discussion ensued. 6.      Superintendent Search Committee Update: Ed said people from the committee are coming in and going over the applications.  They have 17 applicants. The next committee meeting is September 26th.  George asked the board to give him a list of some qualities they are looking for in a new superintendent.         7.      Alarm System Update:  Jim, Dr. Bont and George met and went over some options for an alarm system.  They now know what they want and are waiting to get quotes. Discussion ensued. 8.      School Bus Update:  Discussed in the Principal’s Report.   9.      Support Staff Contract – Needs to be Signed:  Ed said the support staff had no representative at the meetings.  Jen worked hard on this Agreement.  It will expire June 30, 2007.  Mark moved to approve and sign the Support Staff Negotiated Agreement.  Dr. Bont seconded.  All approved.   10.     Letter from Bus Drivers:  The support staff agreement is a closed shop and even if the bus drivers don’t join the union they have to pay 85% of the dues.  They were being paid for 2 hours for each run in the previous agreement.  They used to be paid 1.5 hours per run.  They are asking for two hours per run, which was in the last GM, CAES and CTES support staff agreement, which was meant for GM.  CTES was not taken into consideration during those negotiations.  George said they are reliable and dedicated. Since they don’t belong to the union they do not have voting rights.  Discussion ensued.  Ed said the hours are not set in the negotiated agreement.  The decision is up to the Principal and the Board.  Mark made a motion to pay the bus drivers for 2 hours per run.  Dr. Bont seconded.  Approved.       11.     Other Business: Mike introduced Denise Matale who presented the CTES School Board with a check for $4,586.84 from The Chamber of Commerce for the repair or the purchase of new instruments for the music program at CTES. The Board thanked her. 12.     Executive Session (Personnel):  None 13.     Adjournment:  Mark made a motion to adjourn.  Dr. Bont seconded.  Meeting adjourned at 7:29 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Virginia M. Walsh Mack Recording Secretary