Bellows Free Academy Fairfax

email

password

Fairfax Board of School Directors

Monday, June 8, 2009

Regular Meeting at 6:30pm ~ Community Library

Present: Peg Stewart, Elaine Carpenter, Robin Freeman, Barbara Murphy, Kim Lesny, Adam Benay, Ben Langelier, Chris Hogan, Bruce Chattman, Scott Lang, Lisa Delorme, Chris Sumner

1. Call to Order – Peg Stewart called the meeting to order at 6:35PM. The Board welcomed Chris Hogan as the new student Board representative.

2. Consent Agenda

Minutes of Regular Meeting: May 11, 2009 – Barbara Murphy noted that her report was omitted from the minutes.

Action: Barbara Murphy motioned to approve the Consent Agenda with the addition of her Board Report and Elaine Carpenter seconded. Passed unanimously.

· Elaine Carpenter motioned to approve Melissa Towle for a 1.0 FTE Music position and Barbara Murphy seconded. Passed unanimously.

· Elaine Carpenter motioned to approve Melinda Mascolino for a 1.0 FTE Special Educations position. Kim Lesny seconded. Passed unanimously.

· Barbara Murphy motioned to approve Patricia Breen for a .67 Kindergarten position. Robin Freeman seconded. Passed unanimously.

· Kim Lesny motioned to approve Paula Thompson for a 1.0 FTE Compensatory Math/Special Education position. Robin Freeman seconded. Passed unanimously.

· Elaine Carpenter motioned to approve Andrea McDonald for a 1.0 FTE School Nurse position. Robin Freeman seconded. Passed unanimously.

· Barbara Murphy motioned to approve the resignation of Ellen McGuane from her 1.0 FTE Special Education position. Kim Lesny seconded. Passed unanimously.

3. Public Comment - none

At their meeting on May 27th, the FWSU Board approved both the Action Plans and the Technology Plan for the district as required by the State. At your meeting this week, you will be presented with, and asked to approve your specific school action plan. A reminder – these action plans were developed during the school year by your administration and faculty to address areas for school improvement based upon student results. And, although the plans are developed for three years to provide direction for professional development, there will be annual reviews and reports regarding our progress in achieving the stated goals.

Education Legislation

Although the legislature voted to over-ride the Governor’s veto of the Capital Bill, many of his concepts and proposals are likely be introduced again next year. Board members should be informed of the Governor’s proposal as these are matters that will impact upon the work you will need to do next year during the budget development process.

• Level-fund education spending in fiscal year 2011 at 2010 per pupil amounts.

• Freeze categorical grants in 2011 at 2010 amounts (e.g., special education and transportation reimbursements).

• Shift the state’s share of the teachers’ retirement system to the Education Fund

• Phase out the Small Schools Grants by funding it at 50 percent in 2011 and 0% in 2012.

• Prohibit districts from receiving reimbursement for mainstream costs for state-placed students.

• Continue to decrease the threshold for residential income.

The Governor did sign H.12, passed by the General Assembly on the last day of the regular session. H. 12 supercedes the budget bill and establishes the base education amount for both FY2010 and FY2011 at the amount of $8,544, which is the amount that we used in developing your budget proposals for FY2010. The effect of the establishment of $8,544 as the base amount for FY2011 is that it "not withstands" provisions of law that provide for the annual increase of the base education amount by an inflationary factor. What this means is that the Legislature will not have to increase the allocation by an inflationary amount for FY2011. H. 12 also sets the FY2010 tax rate for nonresidential property at $1.35 and the base tax rate for homestead property at $0.86. The bill does not address tax rates for FY2011.

During the next several weeks and into the summer months, I anticipate the opportunity to attend information sessions to further review the implications of the General Assembly's education finance related actions and will keep you informed.

At their meeting on May 27th, the FWSU Board approved a restructuring of the FWSU management team. This restructuring will result in no additional costs for supervisory union operations and will provide for the additional expertise of an HR Professional who can better serve the supervisory district and town school districts.

Mr. Clark and I recently met with Katrina Driscoll at the Vermont Woodworking School to discuss possible educational opportunities for BFA students through collaboration with the VWS. This topic will be reviewed, at the summer workshop on August 5th along with other potential uses for the former Industrial Arts space.

Respectfully Submitted,

Bruce Chattman, Superintendent

Thank you for approving an additional kindergarten teacher for the 09-10 school year. The kindergarten teachers and I screened, interviewed and observed candidates teaching model lessons in kindergarten classrooms. As a result, we are bringing to you an excellent candidate. She has four years of experience teaching at the kindergarten level.

As the first year of the kindergarten intervention comes to a close the teachers and I looked at two years of Primary Observation Assessment (POA) data to measure kindergarten progress over a two year period. Following is a summary of the data. The numbers reflect the percentages of students meeting beginning and end of the year standards. Next year the invention will be taught by kindergarten teachers in a trimester rotation. This will more closely link the afternoon program to the extended day session.

September 07 September 08

Writing Vocab-52% 33%

Letter Identification-84% 76%

May 08 May 09

Writing Vocab-81% 82%

Sentence Dictation-98% 96%

I apologize for not being in attendance this evening. My daughter Gracie has a ballet recital. Thank you for supporting my obligations to my family.

Ø I have been working with Lisa Delorme and a representative group of middle school teachers to refine our interventions and structures for students not meeting grade level standards in math and literacy. After analyzing last years NECAP and local assessment data and after meeting with our School Improvement Coordinator, we have proposed three major adjustments to support teaching and learning. First, we have modified our schedule to include a 45 minute block of learning time, four days a week, for literacy instruction for all students. Second, we are eliminating the “D” from our grading practices. This means that the lowest passing grade a student can receive will be a 71. We will no longer accept student work that does not meet local standards. Students will be provided opportunities to improve work and relearn key concepts. Finally, we are recommending that we increase our Math Intervention teacher from .3 FTE. To 1.0 FTE. This will allow us to focus specifically on the students nearly and significantly not meeting the standards in math, as this is an area we continue to be identified for not meeting AYP. The funding for this position will come from Title One and Medicaid funds.

Ø We are busy with end of year activities. Grade six went to Lotus Lake for an overnight and had an outstanding learning experience. They also participated in the Grade Six Party last Friday evening. Grade seven is going to the Sports and Fitness Edge on June 10. Finally, grade eight attended the Quarry Hill Club today and students participated in a Dinner Dance on May 29.

Ø The Geo-Bee Team competed in the state finals on May 16. The team competed valiantly. Thank you to Mrs. Skerrett, Ms. Fitzgerald, and Mr. Daniels for supporting this group of students.

Ø We completed transition process for students in grades 5, 6 and the students from Fletcher. During this process, we meet with Fletcher and Grade 5 students in their classrooms to answer questions and discuss the middle school. Also, we held a parent information night for both groups of students and parents. Finally, we conducted a Step-up Day on June 1 where students are able to meet their teachers and get a tour of the building.

The last events of the school year are unfolding and the pieces are being put into place

for the transition to next year.

We had an unusually strong pool of applicants for the position of choral music teacher and we were fortunate that Melissa Towle, who has taught music in Hyde Park and at People’s Academy has agreed to join our staff. Melissa also was a long term substitute at BFA and has been supervised while at Orchard School by Mary Lynn Riggs who was her principal and Bruce Chattman, who was superintendent in South Burlington at the time. Many thanks to Chris Chouiniere, middle school music, Bruce McCrae, Olivia Root and Samantha Schraven who served on the interview committee.

Class Day will be held Tuesday, June 9 at 8:30. Graduation rehearsals will be held on June 10 and 11, exams are being held on those mornings. Exam days will both be half days of instruction for students. BFA is the only area high school that has been true to the new law requiring 175 days of a minimum of 5 ½ hours with the preponderance of students in all grades present or in an offsite school activity. That combined with the increase in student days to 177 has guaranteed that BFA students have had much more uninterrupted instruction than their high school peers in the region. Your investment in the FEA contract will show better student learning.

On Friday, June 12, high school teachers will be meeting with their middle school counterparts by subject areas in vertical teams to develop action steps for creating curriculum that is aligned and efficient. This will be a critical focus along with the DI/UbD work over the next several years. Friday night is the Alumni Banquet.

Graduation will be held at 10am under the big top on Saturday, June 13. Jen Chamberlin is this year’s Valedictorian and Adam Benay is the Salutatorian.

I will be completing my work at BFA on June 21. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you, the students and the taxpayers of Fairfax for the last ten years.

c. Financial – Chris Sumner submitted an updated budget report for the Board to review.

d. School Board Members

Barbara Murphy had questions about the 6^th grade Lotus Lake field trip. Barbara also noted that she feels the electronic process for the delivery of the Board packet isn’t working for her. She would like to have a hard copy in advance. In response, the Board members stated the way each of them would like the packet delivered.

Elaine Carpenter had questions on the kindergarten intervention program. Lisa Delorme gave an update and possibilities for improvement to the program for next year. Elaine reported on the FWSU meeting where the Action Plan was presented.

Ben Langelier reported on taking the science NECAPS. He felt students seemed dedicated to doing their best. He also reported on the sports teams.

Adam Benay reported on the upcoming Class Day, final exams and Student Council. He thanked the Board for the privilege to be able to serve the Board for the past two years.

Robin Freeman reported on touring the new SU office space. He also went on 5^th grade Fort Ticonderoga trip. He reported the 5^th grade successfully completed the Starbase program. He attended the orientation meeting for parents of incoming 6^th graders and found it to be very beneficial.

Peg Stewart reported the Selectboard signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Town of Fairfax and Bellows Free Academy (BFA) Fairfax and the Fairfax Parks and Recreation Department . She reported that she also received a letter from the DRB regarding new housing being built adjacent to the school. She plans on attending the meeting.

5. Board Business

a. Approve School Action Plan – This district-wide plan was already approved by the FWSU Board. Elaine stated that she has a concern that the plan addressed only the core curriculum and wants to be assured that the arts other non-core classes are not lost focus of. Robin questioned how often there will be status updates. Bruce stated that at least annually. The Action Plan will be presented to the staff at the upcoming inservice.

Action: Barbara Murphy motioned to accept the BFA-Fairfax and FWSU Action Plan. Robin Freeman seconded. Passed unanimously.

b. Authorize New .67 FTE Paraprofessional Position – This new position will cover a paraprofessional to be present in the 4^th kindergarten classroom.

Action: Elaine Carpenter motioned to approve the creation of an additional .67 FTE Paraprofessional position. Barbara Murphy seconded. Passed unanimously.

c. Approve Participation in FWSU 403(b) Plan – The school is already participating in this plan and just needs formal Board approval.

Action: Barbara Murphy motioned to approve the school’s participation in the FWSU 403(b) Plan. Kim Lesny seconded. Passed unanimously.

d. Approve Tax Anticipation Note – Chris Sumner explained why the school’s finances should be moved to Chittenden Bank. They are giving a better deal than BankNorth which the school has dealt with in the past. The move will give a net gain to the school of approximately $17,000.

Action: Barbara Murphy motioned for approval for Chris Sumner to switch the school’s accounts from BankNorth to Chittenden Bank. Kim Lesny seconded. Passed unanimously.

Action: Barbara Murphy motioned to approve the school borrowing $2,197,000 from Chittenden Bank as a tax anticipation note. Elaine Carpenter seconded. Passed unanimously.

e. Approve Bid to Repair Concrete Walkways – The Board received a map detailing the sidewalks that were in need of repair. A discussion took place as to whether the quotes included removal of the existing sidewalk. The understanding is that the town will remove the existing walk.

Action: Barbara Murphy motioned to approve the bid in the amount of $9000 from Hank Gadouas Concrete with the understanding that the old walk will be removed with no additional cost to the school. Robin Freeman seconded. Passed unanimously.

f. Approve Invoice to Replace Tile – The carpeting in the upstairs of the elementary (9 classrooms) will be removed over the summer and replaced with tile.

Action: Elaine Carpenter motioned to approve the bid in the amount of $7380 from DC Glass and Construction. Kim Lesny seconded. Passed unanimously.

g. Bleachers – The existing bleachers on the baseball field and softball field will be removed as they are not safe. Funding for new bleachers has not yet been obtained.

h. Approve Revised Maintenance (75%)/Groundskeeper (25%) Job Description

Approve Revised Groundskeeper (75%)/Maintenance (25%) Job Description

Approve Revised Custodian Job Description

Changes were discussed and made to the above revised job descriptions. Action on approval of these job descriptions will occur in August once these changes have been written in. The Board approved the concept of these job descriptions to allow the staff to be advised of these changes for their hiring agreement for next year.

Lisa Delorme informed the Board that she has applied for school improvement funds towards a temporary one or two year math position. Lisa submitted a proposal for professional development for a math teacher to use the lesson study model to go into classrooms and train and assist the teachers for one year. The money applied for would pay for a substitute to cover her classroom for the year. They expect to find out about the proposal by mid July. If the funds are granted, they seek Board approval to post the position.

Action: Robin Freeman motioned to authorize the posting of an elementary 1-year position upon notification of funding. Kim Lesny seconded. Passed unanimously.

The Board members gave some suggested additions to the retreat agenda.

The Board questioned whether they could give formal support to the Citizens of Fairfax Community because it was not on the agenda. Peg stated she will speak with Mark Hunziker and see if a special meeting needs to be called to give support.

The Board thanked Scott Lang for his many years of service.

a. Security Camera Policy – Discussion took place and it was agreed to modify the policy by removing “in violation of commonly accepted practices” from #1.

Action: Barbara Murphy motioned to approve the Security Camera Policy with the above modification. Elaine Carpenter seconded. Passed unanimously.

b. VSBA Community Use of School Facilities and Use of School Facilities Policy - These documents will be reviewed and discussed at the annual retreat.

The Board entered Executive Session at 8:55PM(for personnel )

The Board exited at 9:00PM

No action was taken.

9. Adjourn – The Board adjourned at 9:00PM.

Respectfully submitted,