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Fairfax Board of School Directors
Monday, January 23, 2006
Regular School Board Meeting at 6:30pm
Fairfax Community Library
Present: Chairperson Peg Stewart, Greg Beeman, Jeff Loller, Rachelle Howard, Lauri Fisher, Kelsey Peterson, Dustin Howard, Phil Higgins, Scott Lang, Tom Walsh, Lisa Delorme, Chris Sumner
Public: Carol Groening, David Groening, Paul Maffin, Monica McSweeney, Kyle LeBeau, Karen Langelier, Nancy Mead, Jackie Bruning, Angela Baker, Meika Zilderberg
1. Call to Order – Peg Stewart called the meeting to order at 6:42PM following a Board Executive Session.
2. Approval of Minutes - Regular Meeting ofJanuary 9, 2006 – Jeff Loller moved to accept the minutes. Greg Beeman seconded. Passed unanimously.
3. Correspondence – Peg Stewart attended the meeting on Vermont Council of Rural Development and has written a letter to the Fairfax Selectboard.
4. Public Comment - Reverend Paul Maffin was invited to speak concerning the Redeeming Grace Church’s use of the school building on Sundays. He was present to thank BFA for the past and current use of the building for Sunday services until they find a parcel of land and build their own church. He expressed the church’s willingness to completely compensate the school for the use of the building. Tom Walsh stated that there are challenges in finding custodial help to open up and staff the building on Sunday to accommodate this gathering as well as the need to heat a large portion of the building. The church’s proposal is to have Carol Groening be entrusted with opening up the building to continue the Sunday services in place of one of the custodial staff. Rachelle Howard inquired as to the amount of time that they will continue to use the building. Reverend Maffin could not give a prediction at this time.
5. Reports
a. Principals’ Reports
Lisa Delorme gave an update on the enrichment programs in the elementary. The Elementary Drama Club has 33 participating students in grades 3 - 5. The after school Art Club is in its second of 2 sessions with 19 students in each session.
Scott Lang reported the second semester of the year has begun. The high school students enjoyed a visit from Jan Reynolds last week. She provided a presentation as well as work in small groups. On February 15th, Laban Carrick Hill will come to the high school to celebrate Black History Month. March’s event will be a visit from the Vermont Dance Ensemble. These monthly events are being funded through enrichment funds.
Tom Walsh reported an incident that happened on January 14th. Water was pouring onto a transformer box and flooding the basement of the building. The insurance company was called and it was decided that the accident and its over $15,000 in damage would be covered under the policy. Repairs will need to be made and the transformer box needs to be raised up to prevent it from happening again. Tom presented the Safe-School Data for the period of November 15th through January 6th and it shows there are a lot less referrals to the planning room this year compared to years past. There has been good feedback from the faculty on Monday’s inservice. The staff very much appreciated the fantastic lunch provided by the track team parents.
b. Financial Report – Chris Sumner distributed an updated financial report and summary.
c. Superintendent’s Report – Phil Higgins related his concerns about a recent Burlington Free Press article.
d. Board Reports
Kelsey Peterson reported that the Student Council is hosting the Winter Ball this Saturday, January 28th. On February 4th the Scholars Bowl will compete in the second round of the state tournament. She related thanks from John O’Brien and members of senior class for the Boards support in securing a graduation tent.
Rachelle Howard attended the State of the Academy address and reported on that gathering.
Jeff reported on the technology committee’s recent meeting and stated they are beginning the process of curriculum development.
Peg Stewart distributed a graph she put together tracking student enrollment since 1983.
6. Old Business
a. School Budget Communication Plan – Phil Higgins generated a communication plan from last year’s plan and discussed the updates for this year. The budget will be presented to the public on February 20th. Tom Walsh distributed the draft of an information sheet that will be mailed to the townspeople and requested input and changes. It was decided that it would be mailed by February 10th. Julie Filiberti will post the information on the website once she receives it. The Board will practice the budget presentation at the regular meeting on February 13th. A PowerPoint presentation will be incorporated.
7. New Business
a. NEASC Recommendations - Progress Report – Scott Lang highlighted some of the NEASC recommendations and gave the status as to what has been done and is being done to address them.
b. Youth Risk Behavior Survey – Angela Baker and Mieka Zilderberg presented the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior results for BFA. They followed up with sharing some of the programs they have initiated at the school to target some of the troubling areas. They would once again like to present this data to the students, parents and community as they did last year. They are looking for Board support to plan this event. Peg will arrange to meet with Angela. Kelsey Peterson announced that she would like to be present at this meeting to give student representation.
c. Action Plan - Lisa Delorme took the opportunity during the discussion of the State of the Academy address to distribute the updated Action Plan to the Board.
d. Approve Tuition Rate for 2006-2007 – Chris Sumner briefly discussed the tuition rate histories of the past few years and how this year’s were calculated. Greg Beeman motioned to approve the 2006-2007 Tuition Rates ($8000 for elementary, $8500 for middle, and $8900 for high school). Jeff Loller seconded. Passed unanimously.
8. Policy Review
a. Participation of Home Study Students in School Programs & Activities Policy –Phil Higgins discussed the changes that were made to this policy around co-curricular activities. Jeff Loller motioned to approve the Participation of Home Study Students in School Programs and Activities Policy. Lauri Fisher seconded. Passed unanimously.
b. Foreign Exchange Student Policy – Jeff Loller motioned to approve the Foreign Exchange Student Policy. Lauri Fisher seconded. Passed unanimously.
c. Use of School Facilities Policy –Tom Walsh presented the some changes made to the policy. Discussion took place around the use of the building on Sundays. No action took place and the policy was tabled.
d. Field Trip Policy– 2nd Reading – Policy will be brought back with final changes next meeting.
e. Wellness Policy – 1st Reading – Policy will be brought back for 2nd reading next meeting.
9. Other -none
10. Executive Session (Personnel) – The Board entered Executive Session at 9:30PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Julie Filiberti
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