School Board Minutes of Regular Meeting November 2008
November 12, 2008 / Minutes of Regular Meeting Marlow School Board John D. Perkins School, 7:30 p.m.
Present: Joseph Scharf, Board Chair Stephanie Tickner, Board Member, Vice Chair Nancy Tomasko, Board Member Ken Dassau, Board Member Marcia Levesque, Board Member Phyllis Peterson, Principal Brenda Finn, Assistant to the Co-Superintendents of Schools Timothy Ruehr, Business Administrator for Towns Jill Wdowiak, Recording Secretary
Also in Attendance:
Alexandra Bond, Alan Chmiel, Carol Stewart
1. Call to Order
Mr. Scharf called the board meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
2. Status of Students at KHS
Alexandra Bond Ms. Bond from Keene High School distributed and presented the "Report to the Marlow School Board on Student Attendance and Performance of Marlow Students at Keene High School in 2007-2008." She explained that the GPA for Marlow students was 2.94, which was higher than Keene High School's GPA of 2.75. Ms. Bond updated the Board on the great strides that have been made in regard to testing scores and the student incentives that are being offered.
3. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Ms. Tickner to approve the board minutes of October 8, 2008 (R). Ms. Tomasko seconded the motion. A unanimous vote in favor was taken.
4. Hearings of Individuals and/or Groups
Ms. Tickner asked to speak to the Board as a parent. She explained that school lunch forms are being sent home late, and, therefore, there is very little turnaround time to send them back to ensure that students are able to order lunch. Ms. Peterson thanked Ms. Tickner for sharing her concern, and she will follow up on this to be sure that parents receive the lunch order forms in a timely manner.
5. Bills and Manifest
A motion was made by Mr. Scharf to approve the bills and manifests (cks #50014835001484) in the amount of$506.37, (cks #5001518-5001519) in the amount of$894.14 and (cks #5001520-5001552) in the amount of$35,851.58. Mr. Dassau seconded the motion. A unanimous vote in favor was taken.
6. Financial Report
Mr. Ruehr presented the financial report for Marlow showing a balance of negative $104.00 as of November 12,2008. He asked the Board not to put too much stock in this as it is early in the year. Mr. Ruehr explained that we have a negative balance mainly due to elementary out-of-district placement. He suggested that the Board keep in mind that we have a huge trust fund for this purpose and the balance in that account is pretty healthy for a school of our size.
Mr. Ruehr highlighted the additional expenses that are coming up, such as the need for a new oil tank and piping. He explained that the piping is not holding the pressure, the tank is not leaking. Mr. Ruehr shared that Ms. Peterson has looked into having the piping installed with free labor from a town volunteer and purchasing the parts ourselves at a cost of roughly $7,000.00. He explained that we would be installing the same size tank as we currently have because we cannot put in a larger tank due to regulations unless we want to spend much more money. Mr. Ruehr shared his concerns regarding the fact that we have no recourse with volunteer labor and feels it is risky to install without a warranty.
Ms. Levesque asked Mr. Ruehr if a home-schooled student is taking a class at Keene High School, are we paying full tuition for that student? Mr. Ruehr replied that generally a student taking a class is not charged but a student taking a full load would be charged. Mr. Ruehr suggested that Ms. Levesque e-mail the name of the student in question to him, or tell Ms. Finn during non-public session, and this matter will be looked into.
Establish Town Tuition Rates for 2008-2009 -Mr. Ruehr distributed and explained the state's cost per pupil formula. He added that we are the highest in the district and explained what is driving this number is declining student enrollment and the fact that staff are not being cut but are being added. A motion was made by Mr. Scharf to establish Marlow's Town Tuition rate of$19,866.00 for the 2008-2009 school year. Ms. Tomasko seconded the motion. A unanimous vote in favor was taken.
7. Reports
a. Principal
Ms. Peterson presented her principal's report. She updated the Board on the oil tank issues as well as the playground inspection that recently took place. Marlow School Board Minutes Noven1ber 12, 2008 Page Three
b. Co-Superintendent
Ms. Finn presented the report on behalf of Mr. Woolridge. She informed the Board that there was a 9th grader absent from Keene High School for seven days; one day for illness, two days for truancy and four days for an out-of-school suspension. She updated the Board on upcoming meetings as well as Surry's request to join SAU #29. She added that we are in the process of finding out what services Surry is looking for by joining our SAD and whether or not the services they are requesting are able to be covered in the estimated $30,000+ they would be paying. Ms. Levesque shared that we want to do the right thing but not at the expense of taxing our own school district. Ms. Finn distributed to the Board, a newspaper article that shows the tax increase, by town, due to the new jail facility.
c. School Board Members
Mr. Scharf shared that the Board received an invitation from Marlow School inviting board members to a Thanksgiving dinner on November 17th at 11 :30 am.
d. S.A.D. 29 Committees
Previously discussed
8. Old Business Other
None
9. New Business Other
None
10. Future Agenda/s December
Status of Marlow Students at KMS December -Review of Home School Policy
11. Non-Public Session -R.S.A. 91-A:3
None
12. Adjournment
Ms. Tickner adjourned the board meeting at 8:27 p.m.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Jill Wdowiak Recording Secretary