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Fairfax Board of School Directors
Monday, March 12, 2007
Regular Board Meeting at 6:30pm
Fairfax Community Library
Present: Chairperson Peg Stewart, Angela Baker, Jeff Loller, Lauri Fisher, Rachelle Howard, Dustin Howard, Clara Pedley, Thomas Walsh, Lisa Delorme, Armando Vilaseca
Public: Carolyn Branigan, Patrick DiRico, Jessi Blackburn, Rachel Turner, Maegie Rooney, Kelly Brown, Andrea McGregor
1. Call to Order - Armando Vilaseca called the meeting to order at 6:35PM.
- Board Reorganization
Action: Lauri Fisher motioned to appoint Peg Stewart as Board Chair. Jeff Loller seconded. Motion passed.
Action: Angela Baker motioned to appoint Jeff Loller as Board Clerk. Rachelle Howard seconded. Motion passed.
Peg Stewart congratulated and welcomed Angela Baker to the Board.
The following committee assignments were accepted:
FWSU Board –Lauri and Peg and Jeff
Steering Committee – Peg and Rachelle
Technology Committee – Jeff
Library Committee - Lauri and Angela
Recreation Committee – Peg
Contract Negotiations – Jeff and Rachelle will continue with negotiations
Enrichment Committee – (on hold)
Legislative contact – Lauri
VSBA Regional School Board – (on hold)
Safety Committee - Jeff
3. Town Meeting Day Follow Up
Reflections/Suggestions for Next Year – The Board reflected that it was pleasing to see a community member compliment the Board and the budget. Having one person speak for the Board was helpful. Having the students speak was beneficial. Armando stated that the presentation will be posted on the website next year. The School will present second after the Town at next year’s Town Meeting.
Carolyn Branigan reported the legislature is having a hearing this week on school funding. Even though the budget passed, she was looking for input on how the Board felt around the issue of school funding. The Board verified that the legislature should still pursue a better way to fund schools because the taxes continue to be a burden to taxpayers. Unfunded mandates are a burden. The legislature should look into having the State manage all the Special Education costs as well as various other cost cutting measures that will still allow local control.
4. Approval of Minutes
Action: Jeff Loller moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting ofFebruary 19, 2007. Lauri Fisher seconded. Passed unanimously.
5. Correspondence – Peg Stewart distributed a memorandum from the Vermont State Department of Taxes regarding the change in procedure in how rebates are handled. The Town will now receive the monies in April and they will be subtracted from the taxpayer’s tax bill.
6. Reports
a. Principals’ Report – Lisa Delorme reported Karen Amirault began her residency in the elementary today and the final dance performance will be on Thursday, March 22nd. The Elementary Drama Club performance will be held on Wednesday, April 18. The PTSA will be hosting an internet safety workshop for parents on Wednesday, March 21st. Elementary report cards go home on Friday.
Tom Walsh stated all his updates are in his letter to the parents, of which the Board will receive a copy. The safety committee has met and decided that no one will be notified of the next “Clear the Halls” drill. The interior library door has had a card reader installed. They will work on having the drill be audible to the library patrons.
b. Superintendent Report – Armando Vilaseca reported that Peter Cross went through the white house and will be issuing a report on what will need to be addressed for the building to be utilized by the school or by the FWSU office. It will need to be handicap accessible and will need an elevator. Armando reported that the negotiations are going well. The Board will get next year’s school calendar at the next meeting. There is a regional calendar to follow with common teacher in-service days and 175 common student days. The school received reimbursement from the state for $5279.68 for the emergency electricity project that was undertaken. It is still unknown if the school will receive reimbursement for the roof project. Armando also sent out a VSBA packet containing legislative bills having to do with school issues for the Board to review.
c. Board Reports – Dustin Howard stated the NHS completed its 2nd blood drive last week with 84 usable pints. The senior class is considering a school marquee as a school gift. Jeff Loller announced a band concert will be held on Wednesday evening at 7:00. Peg Stewart attended the recreation department meeting. The field below in the recreation area will be torn up and crowned due to the drainage being incorrectly installed. She will be meeting with the recreation chair to iron out some issues regarding school usage.
7. New Business
a. SPC Copier Proposal – The district has decided to consolidate all of the copier contracts into one district-wide 5 year contract with SPC. This consolidation will be a cost savings to each of the schools. Fairfax will benefit by additional machines with higher outputs and color printing capabilities. Fairfax will assume the lease for the district with Fletcher and Georgia paying Fairfax for their shares of the contract. The school will own copiers at the end of the lease for the cost of $1.
Action: Jeff Loller moved to approve the following copier proposal with SPC 1)with the change of “Town of Fairfax / Bellows Free Academy” to “Bellows Free Academy / Fairfax”, and 2)pending clarification of the interest rate at the end of the 5-year lease. Rachelle Howard seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
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b. White House Discussion – Peg Stewart passed out a copy of the current lease agreement between the school and the Town for the usage of the white house. Discussion took place regarding the issue.
Action: Lauri Fisher motioned to extend the lease for the white house with the Town to the date of March 31, 2010. Jeff Loller seconded. Motion passed. Lauri will draft a letter of intent to the Town informing them of the Board’s decision.
8. Policies
a. Gifts to School – 1st Reading took place
b. Parental Involvement – 1st Reading took place
c. Resignation Policy
Action: Lauri Fisher motioned to remove the Resignations Policy. Jeff Loller seconded. Motion passed.
9. Other – Discussion took place on whether the Board could feasibly reduce the number of meetings to once per month. It was recommended having the agenda sent out two weeks prior to give members time to review. The Board was in agreement to try to do one meeting for the remainder of this year occurring on the 2nd Monday of each month (April 9, May 14, and June 11).
Action: Lauri Fisher motioned to waive the meeting policy for the remainder of the year and go to one monthly meeting. Jeff Loller seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
10. The Board entered Executive Session at 8:10pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Julie Filiberti
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