Minutes of Regular Dec. Mtg.

Cavendish Town Elementary School

Regular School Board Meeting

December 11, 2007

Present:

Board: Michael Ceravole, Chair, Dr. Gene Bont, Jessica Goodman

Administration: George O. Thomson, Principal

Public: Paulette Martel, Peggy Svec, Larry Lindberg

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:05 PM by the Chair Michael Ceravole.

Approval of Minutes for November 13, 2007: There is a minor correction to the minutes - under trust funds the White Trust Fund needs a capital ‘W.”. Dr. Bont made a motion to approve the minutes with the minor change. Seconded by Jessica. All approved.

Reports:

Superintendent: There was no Superintendent’s Report as Joan was absent.

Principal:

George passed out the budget summary and indicated that there are no surprises. He did remind the Board that there are charges for an out of district placement which is not in the budget. The school audit has been completed. He indicated that there is a deficit as determined by the auditors. It appears that it is a little less than the Finance Committee thought but George did not want to release the figure until it has been checked by the school and Meredith. The State Police will be visiting the school in January to observe a lock down at the school. George indicated that we will have a lock down in December and then again when they visit. The State Police will observe and then make recommendations of things they think we might want to improve. The new Report Cards went out last week. This was the first time for using the new computer generated card. There were a few glitches, but in the long run they seemed to be well received. They will get easier to do in the future for sure. Dr. Bont asked if we could white out a name and let them see what they look like. George will have a sample prepared for the next meeting. The annual Holiday Program is scheduled for December 17 with a snow date of December 19th. The new basketball backboards have been installed. Jarrod Harper coordinated the installation efforts and contacted MackMolding for assistance. They very generously sent in three employees with staging and pulleys to help with the installation. They look wonderful. George expressed his sincere thank you to Jarrod for spearheading this project and to all who helped with the installation. George will be sending a thank you letter to MackMolding for their assistance. The Snow Sports Program will be starting on Tuesday, January 8. We have 79 kids participating. Mike indicated that they were still looking for volunteers. The Art Club has been busy making holiday decorations for the hallway. George has been putting the decorations up. The Community Tree Lighting event was last Sunday. George indicated that there were about 65 folks attending. He said there were more towns people but less children and families than in the past. This event included the annual lighting of Riley’s Tree in front of the school. The Respect Club provided hot chocolate and cookies. The PTO will be having their annual craft day for the students Friday, December 21. The students can make crafts as gifts. This is also the day when the Legion will be hosting their party for the kids.... complete with Santa and gifts for all.

The Book Fair was successful. They did not raise as much money as they hoped but they did meet their goal of number of books sold. As a result George will dress as a clown and sing “Send in the Clowns.” He has not yet decided what day this will be but he expects it will be before the vacation. Christmas Break is Monday, December 24 - January 1, 2008. George plans to be in school on Wed - Fri. but not on either Monday. School starts again on Wednesday, January 2.

Board Report

Dr. Bont asked how much interest money was left in the trust accounts. George indicated that there was not much since about $2,200 was used to purchase the security system. He said he thought there was less than $1,000. He will get exact figures for the next meeting. Mike said he had the figures at home and could tell Dr. Bont.

There was a discussion on the reinvestment of the Redfield/Proctor Trust funds. Mike said he would contact the bank and set up a meeting to have that discussion. Amy Thompson of the Chittenden Bank indicated that this Trust is not large enough for them to be managing. It is not generating much money to offset the expense. She said they have had their attorneys look over the Trust document and there is no reason that they can not release all of the money to the school. At a previous meeting, it was felt that we should keep the principal separate and still only use the interest. It was felt that some portion of the interest should be added to the principal each year so that it could continue to grow (to keep up with inflation). Dr. Bont felt we should ask the bank what percentage should be applied to the principal each year. Mike will set up a meeting.

George said that Amy suggested we contact Leslie Lever about options on what to do with the money. There was a discussion on locking the principal in some way.

Bus Options Committee: GOT explained the options that he has considered based on suggestions from Mike and Jim. The best option seems to be to purchase a used bus from Pownal School District. They have a 1996 bus with about 90,000 miles that they are willing to sell for about $3,500. Mike said that Joan contacted them and felt they would take $3,250 if we wanted to purchase the bus. It would cost us about $6,500 if we wanted to lease a bus for the remainder of the year. The repairs to our old bus are estimated at $4,600+. The bus at Pownel is in good condition and has very little rust. We are not sure about the underside of the bus. We do not know what rust is on the bottom. Discussion continued on options. Mike feels this is the best option. We would have to pay to keep the GMUHS much longer. The Pownal School Board meets next week so if this is the way we want to go it would behoove us to act quickly.

Dr. Bont made a motion to send someone over to look at the bus, and if acceptable, to make an offer for the bus for $3,250. Seconded by Jesse. All approved. Larry is willing to look at the bus. George suggested that Jim might be interested in going over with Larry to look at the bus.

Review of the Initial Budget Draft George handed out the draft budget. He explained that it is very preliminary and knows that there will be many changes. He handed out an explanation and rationale of some of the items. He asked the board to start reviewing it and making notes of questions. We need to have a budget committee to meet to go over the proposal. George said to ignore all the comments on the draft as he has not changed them yet to reflect this year’s budget. The notes on the handout are the correct explanations.

Other Business: There was none.

Executive Session: Jessica made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss a student situation and personnel. Dr. Bont seconded the motion. The Board went into Executive Session at 7:05 pm. They came out of Executive Session at 7:15 pm.

Mike made a motion to approve the 2007-2010 Support Staff Agreement and to direct the chair to sign on behalf of the Board and to pay the retroactive salaries as soon as possible. Jessica seconded the motion. It was passed by an unanimous vote. George asked the Board if Irene could figure the retroactive salary and cut checks for those affected prior to Christmas. The Board agreed that this would be fine.

Jessica made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:20 PM. Dr. Bont seconded the motion.

Respectfully submitted,

George Thomson

Recording Secretary, pro temp


	Cavendish Town Elementary School Regular School Board Meeting December 11, 2007 Present: Board: Michael Ceravole, Chair, Dr. Gene Bont, Jessica Goodman Administration: George O. Thomson, Principal Public: Paulette Martel, Peggy Svec, Larry Lindberg Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:05 PM by the Chair Michael Ceravole. Approval of Minutes for November 13, 2007: There is a minor correction to the minutes - under trust funds the White Trust Fund needs a capital ‘W.”. Dr. Bont made a motion to approve the minutes with the minor change. Seconded by Jessica. All approved. Reports: Superintendent: There was no Superintendent’s Report as Joan was absent. Principal: George passed out the budget summary and indicated that there are no surprises. He did remind the Board that there are charges for an out of district placement which is not in the budget. The school audit has been completed. He indicated that there is a deficit as determined by the auditors. It appears that it is a little less than the Finance Committee thought but George did not want to release the figure until it has been checked by the school and Meredith. The State Police will be visiting the school in January to observe a lock down at the school. George indicated that we will have a lock down in December and then again when they visit. The State Police will observe and then make recommendations of things they think we might want to improve. The new Report Cards went out last week. This was the first time for using the new computer generated card. There were a few glitches, but in the long run they seemed to be well received. They will get easier to do in the future for sure. Dr. Bont asked if we could white out a name and let them see what they look like. George will have a sample prepared for the next meeting. The annual Holiday Program is scheduled for December 17 with a snow date of December 19th. The new basketball backboards have been installed. Jarrod Harper coordinated the installation efforts and contacted MackMolding for assistance. They very generously sent in three employees with staging and pulleys to help with the installation. They look wonderful. George expressed his sincere thank you to Jarrod for spearheading this project and to all who helped with the installation. George will be sending a thank you letter to MackMolding for their assistance. The Snow Sports Program will be starting on Tuesday, January 8. We have 79 kids participating. Mike indicated that they were still looking for volunteers. The Art Club has been busy making holiday decorations for the hallway. George has been putting the decorations up. The Community Tree Lighting event was last Sunday. George indicated that there were about 65 folks attending. He said there were more towns people but less children and families than in the past. This event included the annual lighting of Riley’s Tree in front of the school. The Respect Club provided hot chocolate and cookies. The PTO will be having their annual craft day for the students Friday, December 21. The students can make crafts as gifts. This is also the day when the Legion will be hosting their party for the kids.... complete with Santa and gifts for all. The Book Fair was successful. They did not raise as much money as they hoped but they did meet their goal of number of books sold. As a result George will dress as a clown and sing “Send in the Clowns.” He has not yet decided what day this will be but he expects it will be before the vacation. Christmas Break is Monday, December 24 - January 1, 2008. George plans to be in school on Wed - Fri. but not on either Monday. School starts again on Wednesday, January 2. Board Report Dr. Bont asked how much interest money was left in the trust accounts. George indicated that there was not much since about $2,200 was used to purchase the security system. He said he thought there was less than $1,000. He will get exact figures for the next meeting. Mike said he had the figures at home and could tell Dr. Bont. There was a discussion on the reinvestment of the Redfield/Proctor Trust funds. Mike said he would contact the bank and set up a meeting to have that discussion. Amy Thompson of the Chittenden Bank indicated that this Trust is not large enough for them to be managing. It is not generating much money to offset the expense. She said they have had their attorneys look over the Trust document and there is no reason that they can not release all of the money to the school. At a previous meeting, it was felt that we should keep the principal separate and still only use the interest. It was felt that some portion of the interest should be added to the principal each year so that it could continue to grow (to keep up with inflation). Dr. Bont felt we should ask the bank what percentage should be applied to the principal each year. Mike will set up a meeting. George said that Amy suggested we contact Leslie Lever about options on what to do with the money. There was a discussion on locking the principal in some way. Bus Options Committee: GOT explained the options that he has considered based on suggestions from Mike and Jim. The best option seems to be to purchase a used bus from Pownal School District. They have a 1996 bus with about 90,000 miles that they are willing to sell for about $3,500. Mike said that Joan contacted them and felt they would take $3,250 if we wanted to purchase the bus. It would cost us about $6,500 if we wanted to lease a bus for the remainder of the year. The repairs to our old bus are estimated at $4,600+. The bus at Pownel is in good condition and has very little rust. We are not sure about the underside of the bus. We do not know what rust is on the bottom. Discussion continued on options. Mike feels this is the best option. We would have to pay to keep the GMUHS much longer. The Pownal School Board meets next week so if this is the way we want to go it would behoove us to act quickly. Dr. Bont made a motion to send someone over to look at the bus, and if acceptable, to make an offer for the bus for $3,250. Seconded by Jesse. All approved. Larry is willing to look at the bus. George suggested that Jim might be interested in going over with Larry to look at the bus. Review of the Initial Budget Draft George handed out the draft budget. He explained that it is very preliminary and knows that there will be many changes. He handed out an explanation and rationale of some of the items. He asked the board to start reviewing it and making notes of questions. We need to have a budget committee to meet to go over the proposal. George said to ignore all the comments on the draft as he has not changed them yet to reflect this year’s budget. The notes on the handout are the correct explanations. Other Business: There was none. Executive Session: Jessica made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss a student situation and personnel. Dr. Bont seconded the motion. The Board went into Executive Session at 7:05 pm. They came out of Executive Session at 7:15 pm. Mike made a motion to approve the 2007-2010 Support Staff Agreement and to direct the chair to sign on behalf of the Board and to pay the retroactive salaries as soon as possible. Jessica seconded the motion. It was passed by an unanimous vote. George asked the Board if Irene could figure the retroactive salary and cut checks for those affected prior to Christmas. The Board agreed that this would be fine. Jessica made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:20 PM. Dr. Bont seconded the motion. Respectfully submitted, George Thomson Recording Secretary, pro temp