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Fairfax Board of School Directors
Monday, September 10, 2007
Regular Board Meeting at 6:30pm
Fairfax Community Library
Present: Chairperson Peg Stewart, Jeff Loller, Lauri Fisher, Angela Baker, Rachelle Howard, Clara Pedley, Adam Benay, Armando Vilaseca, Scott Lang, Lisa Delorme, Chris Sumner
Public: Patricia Hendee, Christina Pontbriand, Jasmine Gibbs, Jen Shapiro, Christel Michaud, Karen Seaman, Nancy Mead, Robin Freeman, Paula Dearborn, Terry Sloan, Meg Baker, Katrina Antonovich
1. Peg Stewart called the meeting to order at 6:35PM.
2. Consent Agenda
a. Minutes: Regular Meeting August 13, 2007.
b. Minutes: Special Meeting June 20, 2007
c. Correspondence: Request for Tuition Waiver
Action: Lauri Fisher motioned to accept the Consent Agenda. Jeff Loller seconded. Passed unanimously.
3. Public Comment – none
4. Differentiated Instruction Presentation – Judy Stewart, John Woodley, Jean Anne Branch and Scott Lang represented the Professional Development Team and gave a presentation on the focus of professional development for the high school faculty around Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design. They began the presentation by giving background on the basics of DI and UbD. They then gave the outline of the long term (3 year) plan they are putting in place for professional development in DI and UbD in the future. The training began with the high school faculty receiving 3 days of inservice training at the start of this school year.
5. Reports
a. Principals – Lisa Delorme reported that the elementary now has 361 students. The elementary had 342 at the end of last year. This increase has resulted in big class sizes this year and the administration and Board will need to look into options for following years if the increases continue. Open House will take place on October 11th . The Steering Committee will meet on September 27th at 8:30AM. Tom and Lisa are taking part in a program for principals this year due to the school not making AYP. Hike Day in the elementary will take place on October 12th .
Scott Lang reported that the high school population is also up considerably: now almost 400 students. This created a slight problem feeding all the students in the lunchroom during the first few weeks, but it was worked out. The population increase is due, in part, to larger classes coming through as well as an increase in tuition students. Space is not an issue at this point, but staffing may become a problem.
b. Business Manager – Chris Sumner reported that there is a need to find funding for staffing at the door from 2:45 to 5:00PM, as there is a need for students and parents to have a means for accessing the building in those afterschool hours. As the sports are expanding, the administration is worried about response time between fields for emergencies and for supervision and is looking for a means of transportation that will get them from field to field quickly. They are looking at possibly purchasing or renting a golf cart to use for this as the electric car is not working at this time. Discussion ensued on what to do with the electric car. Patricia Hendee inquired if a volunteer EMT could serve for emergencies (as they do in football). Armando stated that there is a general supervision problem also because of the distance between fields. He stated that another option would be to hire a trainer. Peg suggested using the old Driver’s Ed car to serve as a vehicle between fields. The administration will look at all the options and come back with a recommendation. Chris reported that there will be another training on the use of the new software. The business office is undergoing the audit right now.
c. Superintendent – Armando Vilaseca reported that because enrollment will be above last year, it will provide extra revenues that were not anticipated in the budget. There was discussion on how again to explain this possible surplus to the voters. Armando wrote a letter to the Vermont Legislature with his opinions in relation to their supplement to the tax bills that were received this year. The school opened up the year on a very positive note. There are ongoing technology issues due to the numbers of machines and all that they are being required to do and there may be upcoming requests for additional IT time in the future. Armando recognized the increasing AP Calculus scores.
d. School Board Members – Clara Pedley reported on girls varsity soccer. The Student Council is under new administration this year and is off to a good start. The high school had a student activities fair to advertise for the clubs and it was very successful.
Angela Baker expressed thanks to the administration for taking care of the afterschool (LiveYers) building access problem.
Laurie Fisher reported that there would be an upcoming FWSU meeting on September 26th .
Adam Benay reported on band, Scholars Bowl, Tongues Untied, and drama.
Jeff Loller reported that the community is providing fall baseball this year.
Peg Stewart reported that she attended the all-staff meeting at the beginning of school when Geri Witalac received the teacher of the year award and offered her congratulations. There is a new trash hauler for the town and school. The security system is now in effect 24 hours a day. Students do try to use the library door when it is open in the evenings to gain access to the school. Students can get back in until 5:00 because the door will be manned. Rachelle Howard questioned why the door will be manned. Scott explained that there is a need to have the students and parents be able to gain access if needed. Clara mentioned that the students are keeping their belongings and backpacks in cars instead of during practices. Coaches will have building access cards. It is a work in progress.
6. Inservice Update – Lisa Delorme reported that at the elementary level, the 5 days of inservice went very smoothly. She gave an update on the Bridges math inservice training and plans for futher math training that will happen throughout the course of the year. Revision of the report card is another focus for the year that was worked on during inservice. They will be working to make it data-based and focused on the grade expectations. Christel Michaud mentioned that there are parents that are interested in taking part in the report card revisions and Lisa responded that she would look into that. Teachers are leading the majority of the elementary staff meetings this year.
Scott Lang represented Tom Walsh and reported on the middle school inservice. They worked on literacy as well as Responsive Design (the continuation of Responsive Classroom).
Scott Lang reported that of the 4 faculty meetings in the high school each month, 2 will be training and work in Di and UbD, one will focus on writing, and the last faculty meeting will be for departments to work in their areas on UbD in assessments. Armando mentioned that they are having teachers provide professional development this year to foster leadership, communication and team building. Scott recognized Sheila Rivers work in organizing the inservice and professional development. Karen Seaman was wondering if there was compensation for the teacher leaders to encourage their participation as teacher leaders. Armando acknowledged that, yes, teachers are compensated for their time outside of the classroom.
7. Use of School Facilities Policy/Procedures – The 1st reading of this policy brought forth much discussion. It was decided to include fields as well as buildings in the policy. Discussion took place in considering the continuation of the $50 surcharge that is included for increased energy costs during weekends and holidays in the months of November through March. Christina Pontbriand questioned what the energy costs encompass. Lauri Fisher gave background as to where the surcharge stemmed from. The Board decided to delete this clause. Field use forms will now have to be filled out for outdoor areas just as they are for room use. Meg Baker questioned about the need to fill out a usage form for the use of the playground for parties and such. Peg stated that the playground is a community area and will not fall under this requirement. Katrina Antovich, interim parks and recreation director, questioned what the process for the recreation fields would be. The process was explained to her. Jasmine Gibbs questioned which groups fit in category 1, the school related groups. Peg stated that the PTSA is a school related group and would fall under category 1. It was then questioned where Success by Six fits in. Armando stated that Success by Six is a standing committee of the PTSA. Patricia Hendee stated that PTSA events shouldn’t be “bumped” by an organization that falls under category 2, referring to the controversy between Success by Six and the community youth basketball organization over use of the elementary gym on Saturdays. Armando suggested the Board hear the public’s voices and then come to a consensus together. Nancy Mead was concerned that all groups need to be accommodated. Rachelle stated that it is hard to come up with a black and white procedure for the room usage issue. Robin Freeman stated that in this case not all needs were met for all the parties involved and communication needs to flow to work out a plan with correct and all information provided to the Board. Lauri stated that the Board does not make the decisions on the procedures and they did not make this decision. Armando stated the difference between policies and procedures but in this case procedure and policy is pretty much the same thing. Christel Michaud stated that she didn’t see anything in the policy that clarified conflicutal room use and recommended some guidelines to follow. Discussion ensued about use of alternative spaces in the event of conflicts. Patricia Hendee addressed the alternative spaces that were provided to the basketball club and questioned why they were not looked at and recommends the administration looks at all alternatives before a decision is made. Christina Pontbriand, PTSA Vice President, commented that the scheduling itself is broken and communication has broken down. Peg stated that all requests go through the building and grounds director. It was brought to the Board’s attention that scheduling for rooms happens in both offices and that it isn’t always communicated between them. Peg was not aware that groups were scheduling in two different areas. The Board acknowledged that it was a problem that could be solved. Karen Seamen stated that Sx6’s goal, as with everyone else, is to provide what is best for kids and the tensions have been stemming from Sx6 having not felt valued. Scott Lang stated the Board’s role is to make the policy as clear as it can be. Robin Freeman stated that if there is a master schedule, the administration needs to make sure that the athletic department uses that schedule. Katrina Antonovich suggested View My Schedule to complete this master schedule. Armando stated that is what they are planning on installing in the near future. It was also recommended that the building use form is very clear. Meg Baker stressed the need to have something in the procedure to deal with conflicts and guidelines for the administration to follow in guiding their decision. Robin Freeman had questions on the procedures. He questioned how to address notification of the custodial overtime fee. Peg suggested the administrators meet with the head of Buildings and Grounds to work out this policy and procedure. Peg thanked the public for their input. The public thanked the Board for all their efforts.
8. Policies
a. Nutrition Policy – Peg stated that the peanuts and nuts should be removed from the nutrition policy because of the allergy policy that is now in place. Rachelle questioned the sports drinks area of the policy and the fact that Vitamin Water cannot be allowed. Armando will look into the classifications of water and how they apply to the policy. The policy will be brought back.
b. Kindergarten Entrance Age Policy – Since no changes were made to the policy, it will be posted as reviewed with the new date.
9. Other – Nancy Mead had questions about the School Board Goal for 2007-2008 (Foster and expand local communication and participation in support of the strongacademic and financial goals of the Bellows Free Academy community.) Peg responded that they are looking for continuing improved academic results. Scott mentioned that the Board and administration would like to bring the community back in to get their input and is talking about hosting another community forum as they did 5 years ago.
Peg stated the chair of the Selectboard will be meeting with the Franklin County Sherriff and board members should let her know if they had any items that should be addressed in that meeting. Peg noted that the parking lot seems less congested and there are also some cars that still do not have tags.
Upcoming meetings were announced. The Board is on the agenda of the October 1st meeting with the Selectboard to discuss the white house now that the engineer’s report is done. The Board decided they feel uncomfortable talking to the Selectboard without speaking with the community to get the communities thoughts on what to do with the building.
10. The meeting adjourned at 9:40PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Julie Filiberti
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