PITTSFIELD SCHOOL BOARD
REGULAR MEETING AGENDA
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014 – 7:00 PM
PITTSFIELD TOWN HALL
Lower level
CALL TO ORDER 7:01 p.m. Kris calls meeting to order, Ray, Meg Powden and A.J present.
CONSIDER AMENDMENTS AND DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA: None.
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMENT: Planning Commission asks for new members! Please apply with Patti.
BOARD COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMENT: Parent asked about sending child abroad and we referred to statute requiring approved educational placement in order to provide tuition funding. Parent will follow up.
CONSENT AGENDA
Minutes of September 9, 2014 Kris moves to amend total of payment order VSBIT Insurance was $1240.76 from 1241.76. so the whole total goes down one dollar. Ray seconds the amendment and approved unanimously. Ray moves to accept minutes and Kris seconds, unanimously approved.
WNWSU REPORTS
Superintendent’s Report (Meg Powden) Meg reports her three main areas of work are improving excellence in SU teaching and administration, dealing with the actual merger of the school districts into a new Union, and working to maintain the morale of WNWSU staff given the ending of the WNWSU next year.
NEW BUSINESS
Quarterly Financial Report: Meg reports audit recently was all good and otherwise stable finances.
Woodstock Sending Student Agreement reviewed. Again they do not include our annual amendment identifying that our SU will not be responsible for Team SPED decisions unless we agree, and not bound just because our staff misses a meeting. Meg will follow up with Woodstock on some specific amendments suggested by A.J..
Payment Order #3: Stratton Mtn. School ½ tuition $6,876; WNWSU Admin $5,953.18, SPED $22,807, EEE $2,437.73; Clara Martin Ctr. $1,050; Bethel School Dist. ½ year tuition $9,000; Stockbridge School District $38,375; RHR Smith Auditors (prior year bill) $1,000; C&L Taxi $4,400. Total $91,898.91. Kris moves to approve, Ray seconds, approved unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
Merger update: Meg reports Tonia and Meg will meet on the 23rd with the Superintendents from Orange and Windsor and their Business Managers. Goal is to identify how much each town will get from a $150k budget to pay for DOE assistance in merging. One idea is to weight kids from ghost towns less than kids from towns with schools and pay towards merger efforts accordingly. Ray notes that we should get equal amounts, per student, for the merger costs. Kris asks about whether or not transportation is figured in “allowable tuition” under Vermont law, because if it is we shouldn’t have to pay for transportation to Woodstock. Kris and Meg will work on that, Kris by contacting source at DOE and report back. Alice Worth has emailed with Kris as well regarding getting a punch list for what needs to be done for merger as well. This will all be discussed on the 23rd as well. Our board would like to have a consultant help create a written agreement on various aspects of the merger, such as assessment for SU costs and transportation. We go over with Meg what we know about services the SU did for us via administration in an effort to help Meg and Tonia demonstrate that a reduced SU administration assessment is appropriate as we move into the WCSU.
POLICY
EXECUTIVE SESSION-Student Concern 7:55 Ray moves, Kris seconds, we approve unanimously and go into ex ses. We are out exec session at 8:02.
NEXT MEETING DATE/AGENDA ITEMS
November 11, 2014 7pm Town Hall
ADJOURNMENT at 8:03 Kris moves and left, we approve adjournment unanimously.
REGULAR MEETING AGENDA
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014 – 7:00 PM
PITTSFIELD TOWN HALL
Lower level
CALL TO ORDER 7:01 p.m. Kris calls meeting to order, Ray, Meg Powden and A.J present.
CONSIDER AMENDMENTS AND DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA: None.
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMENT: Planning Commission asks for new members! Please apply with Patti.
BOARD COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMENT: Parent asked about sending child abroad and we referred to statute requiring approved educational placement in order to provide tuition funding. Parent will follow up.
CONSENT AGENDA
Minutes of September 9, 2014 Kris moves to amend total of payment order VSBIT Insurance was $1240.76 from 1241.76. so the whole total goes down one dollar. Ray seconds the amendment and approved unanimously. Ray moves to accept minutes and Kris seconds, unanimously approved.
WNWSU REPORTS
Superintendent’s Report (Meg Powden) Meg reports her three main areas of work are improving excellence in SU teaching and administration, dealing with the actual merger of the school districts into a new Union, and working to maintain the morale of WNWSU staff given the ending of the WNWSU next year.
NEW BUSINESS
Quarterly Financial Report: Meg reports audit recently was all good and otherwise stable finances.
Woodstock Sending Student Agreement reviewed. Again they do not include our annual amendment identifying that our SU will not be responsible for Team SPED decisions unless we agree, and not bound just because our staff misses a meeting. Meg will follow up with Woodstock on some specific amendments suggested by A.J..
Payment Order #3: Stratton Mtn. School ½ tuition $6,876; WNWSU Admin $5,953.18, SPED $22,807, EEE $2,437.73; Clara Martin Ctr. $1,050; Bethel School Dist. ½ year tuition $9,000; Stockbridge School District $38,375; RHR Smith Auditors (prior year bill) $1,000; C&L Taxi $4,400. Total $91,898.91. Kris moves to approve, Ray seconds, approved unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
Merger update: Meg reports Tonia and Meg will meet on the 23rd with the Superintendents from Orange and Windsor and their Business Managers. Goal is to identify how much each town will get from a $150k budget to pay for DOE assistance in merging. One idea is to weight kids from ghost towns less than kids from towns with schools and pay towards merger efforts accordingly. Ray notes that we should get equal amounts, per student, for the merger costs. Kris asks about whether or not transportation is figured in “allowable tuition” under Vermont law, because if it is we shouldn’t have to pay for transportation to Woodstock. Kris and Meg will work on that, Kris by contacting source at DOE and report back. Alice Worth has emailed with Kris as well regarding getting a punch list for what needs to be done for merger as well. This will all be discussed on the 23rd as well. Our board would like to have a consultant help create a written agreement on various aspects of the merger, such as assessment for SU costs and transportation. We go over with Meg what we know about services the SU did for us via administration in an effort to help Meg and Tonia demonstrate that a reduced SU administration assessment is appropriate as we move into the WCSU.
POLICY
EXECUTIVE SESSION-Student Concern 7:55 Ray moves, Kris seconds, we approve unanimously and go into ex ses. We are out exec session at 8:02.
NEXT MEETING DATE/AGENDA ITEMS
November 11, 2014 7pm Town Hall
ADJOURNMENT at 8:03 Kris moves and left, we approve adjournment unanimously.
RSS Feed