Cavendish Town Elementary School Board Minutes November 8, 2005, 6:00 p.m. Present Board:  Mike Ceravole-Chair, Dr. Bont, Mark Huntley and Jim Ballentine   Administration:  Ed Brown - Superintendent and George Thomson - Principal Public/Staff:  Paulette Martel and Peggy Svec    1.      Call to Order:  Mike called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m.      2.      Approval of Minutes of September 13, 2005:  Dr. Bont made a motion to approve the minutes of September 13, 2005 as presented. Jim seconded.  All approved. 3.      Reports: a)      Superintendent:  Ed said the Supervisory Union Board met with the Rutland Windsor Supervisory Union to see if there were any areas the supervisory unions could find to combine to save money.  Discussion ensued. Ed said some areas were transportation, fuel, and special education programs.  There is no desire to consolidate schools.  The S. U. Executive Board met this morning.  The mountain town’s representatives did not seem too interested in consolidating. Bill Talbot’s presentation at the Superintendent and School Board’s meeting was well presented regarding educational funding.  Ed discussed issues being addressed in the legislature.  Discussion ensued.      b)      Principal: George passed out the budget summary.  George went over some things that were not planned such as maternity and sick leave.  George said he will have a draft of the budget next week.  George spoke to Jack Carroll about lunch programs.  Irene is on vacation in Europe.  There was a pre school collaborative meeting yesterday. They discussed a long- term plan.  They will put the pre school program on the next agenda.  Discussion ensued.  George discussed the professional development the staff has been involved in.  This Friday is an in-service day.  George passed out a checklist that will enable teachers to follow a student for seven years with Grade Level Expectations. Administrators are going to a meeting on Using Data to Improve Learning.  November 21st and 22nd George will be in Cuba.  George talked about the clubs at school.         c)      Board:  The library is requesting their money.  Ed said there should be an agreement as to when the money will be paid to the library.  Discussion ensued.  Dr. Bont talked about a workshop he attended with Amy Jones on getting children to write.  Discussion ensued. d)      Committee Reports: None e)      Discussion of Community Use of Facility:  George went over the policy we currently have for private functions.  George has been getting requests to use the multipurpose room for private functions.  Discussion ensued.  Right now there is a security fee of $25, which is returned when the key is returned and the building is clean, and a $15 charge for the use of the kitchen.  Ed suggests the board look at other schools policies before making any decisions. Discussion ensued.     4.      Approval of long-term substitutes for Kindergarten teacher sick leave and Art teacher maternity leave: Connie Kendall is on medical leave and Shelly Barrett has been hired to be her substitute.  Amy Jones will be out on maternity leave beginning December 19th.  Hillary Domenick is an art substitute that is finishing at the high school and she has agreed to be Amy’s substitute.  Dr Bont moved to approve the two substitutes as presented.  All approved. 5.      Policies – First Read:  Jim moved to approve the first read of the policies.  All approved. F-7:  Alcohol and Drugs- Discussion ensued. D-8:  Alcohol and Drug Free Workplace- Discussion ensued. E-8:  Tobacco Prohibition- Discussion ensued. 6.      Public Discussion: None 7.      New B usiness: Ed said the state is going to assess the DRA’s. Discussion ensued.    8.      Executive Session: None 9.      Adjournment:  Mark made a motion to adjourn.   Jim seconded.  Meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m. .