[0:00] It's so true, Daniel.
[0:02] Good evening everyone. I will now call this meeting
[0:04] of the DER School Board to order.
[0:05] Please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance,
[0:10] Pledge Allegiance to the flag,
[0:14] To the Republic Nation.
[0:18] God Indi with liberty and justice.
[0:25] We will start with the roll call if everyone can introduce
[0:27] themselves, starting from my right.
[0:33] Gary, you're up. That's me.
[0:36] Gary Sandon, assistant superintendent,
[0:39] Jane Ard, business administrator,
[0:41] Michael Flynn, superintendent Brenda Willis, school
[0:43] Board.
[0:44] Michael Thiel, school board Chair. Jen
[0:45] Thoro, school Board Vice Chair.
[0:46] Jenna Paradise, school Board Secretary,
[0:49] Jamie Caru, school board.
[0:50] Karen Ran school board. And David K Clap School board.
[0:53] All right. Thank you everybody. Before we get started
[0:56] tonight, thank you to everyone throughout the district
[0:58] for taking care of our kids on this first
[0:59] day back to school today.
[1:01] I know I didn't wanna see summer to end,
[1:02] and I am sure our educators, staff
[1:04] and students probably didn't want to either,
[1:06] but I hope everybody was able to take the summer to recharge
[1:09] and today's a fresh start to a new year.
[1:11] So good luck to our students and staff alike.
[1:14] I'd also like to welcome Carrie Sandon to the district.
[1:17] I wasn't at the last meeting, which would've been her first.
[1:19] So Carrie, welcome
[1:21] and I'm looking forward to working with you.
[1:22] Thank you. Our first order
[1:26] of business will be the consent agenda for tonight.
[1:28] We have the public meeting minutes of August 11th, 2026.
[1:32] The manifest in the amount
[1:33] of $2,968,882 and 79 cents.
[1:37] Of which $1,305,516 and 25 cents is general payroll
[1:42] and $1,663,366
[1:46] and 54 cents is general expense approval
[1:49] of the following professional staff nominations.
[1:51] Cameron Dure,
[1:52] one year science teacher Gilbert H should middle school.
[1:55] Angelina Ra, elementary teacher,
[1:57] Ernest p Barkett Elementary School.
[1:59] And Christine Thomas, school Nurse
[2:01] Gilbert Achu Middle School.
[2:03] Do I have a motion to accept the consent agenda?
[2:06] So moved First by Jenna. Second. Second by Jamie.
[2:10] Any further discussion of any of these items? Hearing none.
[2:13] All in favor? Aye. Aye. All opposed.
[2:16] Motion carries seven zero. No presentations tonight.
[2:20] So we'll move on to delegations
[2:21] and individuals at this time.
[2:24] Residents of dairy, parents of currently enrolled dairy
[2:26] students and employees of the district may address the
[2:27] school board on matters that pertain only to school
[2:29] and district business for a period of time, not
[2:31] to exceed three minutes per person.
[2:33] As a reminder, the board welcomes your input,
[2:35] however questions are not entertained
[2:37] during the comment period.
[2:38] If you would like to speak, please come up
[2:40] to the microphone at this time
[2:41] and state your name and address for the record.
[2:54] Tracy Zisk. Five Silver Street.
[2:58] First off, I just wanted to start off with,
[3:00] I know I've been in contact with Mike and with Jeremy.
[3:04] If you haven't been over to see South Range School yet,
[3:07] which I can't imagine any school board member has not,
[3:10] it was such a big project.
[3:12] It's unbelievable. I mean, I lived it.
[3:17] None of you live in the neighborhood care
[3:19] and you do a few streets up,
[3:20] but it's directly across the street from my house.
[3:24] Seven days a week. They were there.
[3:28] These guys were out there at six in the morning
[3:31] to nine o'clock at night.
[3:32] I mean, they, they killed it.
[3:34] And when I tell you that they were so respectful
[3:37] to the children in the neighborhood, they drove slow.
[3:40] They did a touch a truck
[3:42] and impromptu one by the side of my house.
[3:44] They let the kids come up
[3:47] when the kids were pulling the horn,
[3:48] they would punk their horns.
[3:50] It was the cutest thing ever.
[3:51] It was, it, it really engaged at the kids.
[3:55] Did not have their playground,
[3:56] but they made the most of it for them.
[3:59] It really was unbelievable.
[4:01] And for someone as a resident,
[4:05] they were there at six in the morning pounding starting,
[4:08] and it was not loud.
[4:10] It wasn't out of control. I was leaving for work.
[4:14] I work seven days a week in the summer,
[4:16] and one of the guys pulled over at 5 45 in the morning.
[4:21] It was Saturday. And he is like, it's gonna be loud today.
[4:24] And I said, that's okay. It's what we voted for.
[4:27] You know, we, we asked for this, we know it.
[4:29] We're not here to complain about it.
[4:31] You guys have been out of control. Amazing to all of us.
[4:35] Walking the parking lot,
[4:36] making sure there were no nails in the street.
[4:39] All that can happen in construction zones.
[4:41] They went up and beyond, but a big shout out to 'em
[4:45] because if you didn't know or you didn't drive by right
[4:48] after 4th of July,
[4:52] it was over a hundred degrees for like four days.
[4:56] Those guys were up on the roof in asbestos suits
[5:00] for hours at a time.
[5:03] And what I witnessed and what I saw, they,
[5:05] they rallied together.
[5:06] There was crews coming in with Gatorades water.
[5:10] They didn't stop working. They didn't say it's too hot.
[5:13] They were out there. And I work outside
[5:16] and it was a hundred degrees and I was hot.
[5:18] I was not in an asbestos suit for 10 hours.
[5:22] They, those guys unbelievable.
[5:24] But how kind
[5:26] and considerate they were to all
[5:28] of us definitely just needed its praises.
[5:32] But the reason why I'm here is I do have a question about
[5:35] the SAU wondering when it will be listed.
[5:39] I know that's something we discussed
[5:41] and we voted on in March.
[5:45] I, my, my concern is it's not a typical house,
[5:49] so it will sit on the market longer.
[5:52] I know I had addressed this at a meeting.
[5:54] I had spoken and asked
[5:56] to consider putting it on the market while it was
[5:59] still in use.
[6:00] Like a regular houses residents live in their
[6:03] homes as is for sale.
[6:05] But I'm looking to know when that will go on the market.
[6:08] And if you ever found out what it's going to be sold
[6:12] under being that it's in the West running Brook district,
[6:16] because that's mixed zone unit mixed zoning
[6:21] where I remember I had asked if you could confirm if it was
[6:24] gonna be just commercial or mixed zone.
[6:27] I believe it needed to be grandfathered in
[6:29] because of how that district was put into place.
[6:33] And my third question is,
[6:34] has Tracy, the economic development,
[6:36] Your time is up, so if someone wanted to make a motion
[6:38] to grant Tracy additional time,
[6:41] So moved second.
[6:43] Just All right, we have, yeah, I,
[6:45] I gotta do the procedure.
[6:48] So we have a motion and a second. All in favor?
[6:50] A all opposed motion passes. Seven zero.
[6:52] Go ahead. Thank you. And I, my last was,
[6:55] I was just wondering, is the economic director been pulled
[6:58] into the loop on this yet?
[7:00] Has she started networking to see if that building
[7:04] is something a local business
[7:07] or other businesses in her network would be considering?
[7:11] Like I said, it is mixed zone usage, so would like to know
[7:16] what the, the game plan is for the building.
[7:18] That's it. Thank you. So
[7:20] We don't enter seeing questions during the comment period,
[7:23] but Mike is gonna have an update
[7:24] on the SAU later in the meeting.
[7:25] It's in my superintendent's update.
[7:27] Okay. Thank you. Yep.
[7:50] Good evening, Brian Church six Rollin Street.
[7:54] First off, happy birthday Jenna. Thank you.
[7:56] I wish I was your age, but I wish we could. I'm 25.
[8:00] I know, that's what I'm saying. I would like
[8:05] to make a recommendation if, if I could, one of the things
[8:09] with spending on both Townside
[8:12] and school side are health insurance costs.
[8:15] And if anyone paid attention to the town council,
[8:19] I think it was Counselor Webb had made a recommendation when
[8:24] they were doing their goal setting to study
[8:26] or have an outside group take a look at health insurance
[8:29] because the drivers,
[8:30] they're like 20% I think for the town side.
[8:33] I don't know what it was for the school side,
[8:34] but it's getting very expensive.
[8:37] So Council Webb made it a goal
[8:40] to check into
[8:43] what they could do on the healthcare side of things.
[8:46] And I think it would be beneficial to the town as a whole
[8:51] if the school could actually participate with the town,
[8:54] see if they can get an outside group to look at
[8:57] what they can do to contain some of those costs.
[8:59] So that's just a recommendation. That's it. Thank you.
[9:03] Thanks Brian.
[9:15] Good evening chair. Members of the board neighbors.
[9:17] I'm Matthew Glavin at 31 Berry Road in Derry, New Hampshire.
[9:22] I'm here tonight to support keeping the surplus you guys
[9:27] have in your, in your budget from the year, keeping
[9:30] that in a rainy day fund.
[9:33] We do not have to look far for an example of this.
[9:36] Bedford last year got hit
[9:37] with an unexpected million dollar increase in their
[9:39] retirement costs after their March election,
[9:42] after the budget had passed.
[9:44] And that kind of surprise
[9:45] that nobody wants in a school budget
[9:48] unless it comes with cake.
[9:50] Since they don't have much flexibility, they had
[9:52] to make some tough mid-year cuts
[9:53] to make, to make adjustments.
[9:56] This is exactly what I hope dairy can avoid.
[9:58] You guys have done an exceptional job at budgeting
[10:01] and to be, you know, that close
[10:03] to the margins is is pretty good.
[10:05] You know, we haven't had any seem
[10:08] to have reigned in the costs a little bit as far
[10:10] as the building goes and,
[10:11] and taking the, the necessary steps
[10:13] and the rainy day fund will be something that's useful,
[10:15] especially when boilers break or snowblowers go.
[10:19] And, and towns need to make decisions on to buy these things
[10:22] and we don't have to rely on the taxpayers to do that.
[10:26] I also get why returning the surplus sounds appealing.
[10:29] Everyone likes getting money back,
[10:30] but the savings back for each also would likely be small.
[10:33] And if a big expense comes up later,
[10:35] taxpayers could end up paying 'em a lot more.
[10:38] To me, a rainy day fund is not money taken from the
[10:40] taxpayers is money saved for taxpayers.
[10:43] So we are better prepared when the next problem shows up.
[10:46] So I would ask to take the long view
[10:48] and keep this approximately a million dollars in reserve
[10:51] to help keep dairy's public schools stable
[10:54] and the taxpayer's bills stable as well.
[10:57] Thank you.
[11:13] Sorry.
[11:18] Good evening. Hi, my name is Christine Christy Trow.
[11:23] I live at 15 Lawrence Street here in Derry
[11:26] and I'm a homeowner and a taxpayer.
[11:29] I came tonight because I have been listening
[11:31] to the discussion about the approximate
[11:36] surplus and what should happen with that money.
[11:40] I understand why returning the money
[11:42] to the taxpayer sounds appealing.
[11:45] Property taxes are a real concern for many of us,
[11:48] but I also think we need to look
[11:49] beyond the immediate savings
[11:51] and consider what could happen down the road
[11:55] if the amount returned
[11:56] to an individual homeowner is relatively small.
[11:59] I believe we should consider whether keeping these funds
[12:01] available for unexpected school expenses
[12:04] could ultimately save taxpayers more in the long run.
[12:08] We all know what happens in our homes.
[12:11] Heating or air conditioning system can fail.
[12:14] A plumbing problem can happen without warning
[12:16] a roof can suddenly need work.
[12:19] And our school buildings face some
[12:21] of these unexpected expenses only on a much larger scale.
[12:26] With changes in the state funding in Concord also
[12:29] affecting our schools.
[12:31] I think it's very important
[12:32] that dairy has some financial protection
[12:35] when an unexpected expense comes up.
[12:39] I would rather have the funds be available than find
[12:42] ourselves facing an emergency later having
[12:46] to raise additional funds to cover it.
[12:48] For that reason, I support keeping the
[12:52] surplus available in our appropriate fund if,
[12:56] if legally permitted for unexpected
[12:59] expenses in future needs.
[13:01] To me, that is responsible planning in the way
[13:04] of protecting the taxpayers in the long run.
[13:08] This is one number I would really like the board
[13:11] to clarify tonight.
[13:13] What would returning the approximate surplus actually save
[13:16] the average taxpayer tax home dairy homeowner?
[13:20] I think taxpayers deserve to know what number,
[13:23] so we can compare the immediate savings with the value
[13:25] of having money available when our schools
[13:28] unexpectedly need it.
[13:30] And thank you.
[13:32] Thank you.
[13:48] Busy night for public comment, huh?
[13:51] Hi, my name is David Proventure.
[13:53] I live at 26 Milton Moore Road.
[13:55] I've lived in Derry almost my entire life.
[13:58] I was gonna come up here
[14:00] and say basically the same thing Matt and Chrissy just did,
[14:02] but that seems like a waste of time.
[14:03] Of course you should keep a rainy day fund instead.
[14:07] I'd like to take a minute to remember.
[14:11] Fallen American hero,
[14:13] Dolly Parton passed away at the age of 80.
[14:14] Today a lot of people might be asking what does that have
[14:17] to do with the board, school board?
[14:20] A lot of people know her. You know, for, as a musician
[14:23] with a unique sense of style.
[14:24] She also used her fortune that she got from her music
[14:28] to start a nonprofit organization called The Imagination
[14:31] Library that was dedicated to teaching children to read
[14:36] and giving them a lifelong love of reading.
[14:38] And I just want, you know, everyone to think, you know,
[14:42] how can I be more like Dolly
[14:47] David?
[14:58] Any more takers? I'm sorry.
[15:02] I was like, I didn't register. No, there's not
[15:03] Register.
[15:04] It's fine. Just come up
[15:05] and state your name and address for the record.
[15:06] Thank.
[15:08] My name is Francois Alrich.
[15:10] F-R-A-N-C-I-S-E 37 Kristen
[15:12] Drive. Good to go.
[15:18] Ready? Okay. Good evening. My name is Francoise.
[15:21] I have three children that attend dairy schools.
[15:24] I live on Kristen Drive a one mile loop in east dairy.
[15:26] I'm here tonight to ask the school board
[15:28] to review my daughter's bus stop assignment
[15:30] and a process by which bus stops are assigned.
[15:32] My daughter is 10 years old and attends intermediate school.
[15:34] She's currently being asked
[15:36] to walk approximately half a mile
[15:37] to her bus stop along the road
[15:39] with no sidewalks and no street lighting.
[15:41] There are four children who live along Kristen, Dr.
[15:43] Who are assigned to the same stop because at the distance
[15:45] and safety concerns, the adults are routinely driving their
[15:48] children to the stop sign at
[15:49] the intersection in the morning.
[15:51] This results in multiple vehicles
[15:53] and children congregating at the intersection creating
[15:55] additional congestion and an unsafe situation.
[15:58] I've tried to address this through the appropriate channels,
[16:00] but I've received conflicting answers about
[16:01] who is actively responsible.
[16:03] The transportation director has told me
[16:05] that the bus company is responsible for signing the stop.
[16:08] The bus company, however, has told me
[16:09] that the transportation officer
[16:11] at the school is responsible.
[16:12] I'm asking the board to clarify who has authority
[16:14] and responsibility for bus stop placement
[16:16] to review this particular stop for safety
[16:18] and to consider whether a more appropriate stop can be
[16:20] established for these children.
[16:22] This is not simply an issue of convenience.
[16:24] We have four intermediate school children being asked
[16:26] to travel along a road without sidewalks or lighting.
[16:28] And the current arrangement is resulting in adults having
[16:31] to drive them to an already cluttered intersection.
[16:34] I would appreciate the board's help in determining
[16:35] who is responsible for resolving this
[16:37] and ensuring that this safety concern is properly reviewed.
[16:39] Thank you.
[16:41] Thank you. There is a review process for bus stops
[16:46] and I, it does go through the transportation coordinator.
[16:48] So if you're not getting the answers that you need,
[16:51] you know, we can have the superintendent's office make
[16:54] sure that you know you're being
[16:55] Properly taken care.
[16:56] I wrote an email outlining my concern to Mr.
[16:58] Clifton, I think. Yep. Yeah.
[17:00] And Mr is the one who told me that I had the concern.
[17:03] So that's it. Thank
[17:05] You.
[17:06] All right. Thank you. Thank you.
[17:16] All right. Not seeing anyone else come to the microphone.
[17:18] So we'll move on with the meeting.
[17:19] The public comment period will remain open
[17:21] until 7:02 PM So if you wish to speak prior to that time,
[17:24] please approach the microphone
[17:25] and I'll recognize you with the next break in the agenda.
[17:29] It's first day of school, so no student members
[17:31] with us quite yet tonight.
[17:32] So we'll move on to deliberations.
[17:34] We have three items to consider for tonight.
[17:37] Our first discussion is going to be school board goals.
[17:44] So back on June 23rd, the board met with Mike
[17:46] for a goal setting workshop.
[17:48] Members of the board were asked to submit ideas for goals
[17:50] to Mike and I for consideration in advance of the workshop.
[17:53] And everyone was also encouraged to continue
[17:55] to provide input right up until tonight's discussion.
[17:58] So we went through the discussion notes
[17:59] and the feedback from that workshop
[18:01] and we put together some themes for potential goals
[18:03] to consider tonight.
[18:05] Before we get into the goals themselves, I wanted
[18:07] to talk a little bit about the board,
[18:08] the superintendent, how we work together.
[18:11] You know, we're a board of directors and Mike is our CEO.
[18:15] So he's the one employee that we hire
[18:17] and he's responsible to us
[18:18] for the day-to-day operations of the organization.
[18:21] So this goal setting process is for the board,
[18:23] but it's also really Mike
[18:24] and his team that is gonna take our goals
[18:26] and do the day-to-day work to implement them.
[18:29] So, you know, we provide oversight
[18:31] and we ensure those goals are being met
[18:32] and the resources are being responsibly stewarded.
[18:35] So as we go through this process to set goals, you know,
[18:38] we're obviously gonna rely on Mike
[18:39] and his team as professionals in their field to provide us
[18:43] with advice and some realism onto what is possible.
[18:48] So with that, I'll go through what we have.
[18:50] And of course everyone is encouraged to provide input.
[18:53] So the first goal we put down addresses something we
[18:56] know we have ahead of this year.
[18:57] And that's the contract with AFSCME
[18:58] and our educational assistance there.
[19:00] Current agreement is up at the end of the year
[19:02] and we will need to begin negotiations on a new agreement
[19:05] to bring to voters next March.
[19:07] So I have the following language for us to consider.
[19:10] The school board with the superintendent
[19:11] and the administration's negotiating team will negotiate a
[19:14] collective bargaining agreement with afscme the Union
[19:16] representing educational assistance
[19:17] and bring that agreement for voter approval at the 2027
[19:20] school district annual meeting.
[19:23] This one should be a no-brainer.
[19:24] Did anyone have any comments on this?
[19:29] No comments. I don't have a comment. No.
[19:31] Thought you were gonna say some sounds.
[19:33] I just put it on 'cause I figured at some point
[19:34] I'll talk.
[19:35] I, but I would, I don't have
[19:36] Any comments on that.
[19:37] That seems like a, yeah.
[19:38] Yep. I would accept a motion
[19:40] to adopt. This goal is presented.
[19:42] So moved First by Jen, second by Jenna. All in favor?
[19:46] A. Aye. All opposed. Motion carries. Seven zero. All right.
[19:50] The second goal we talked about was something we've been
[19:53] addressing and we'll need to continue address.
[19:55] And that's our policy manual.
[19:56] So our policy committee meets monthly to review new
[19:59] and revised policies to come before the full board.
[20:02] It was expressed in the workshop
[20:04] that we should set a specific goal around policy
[20:06] to keep us on track throughout the year.
[20:08] So I have the following language for us to consider.
[20:11] The school board with the superintendent will aim to review
[20:13] and bring at least three new
[20:14] or revised policies to the board for review each month.
[20:18] So I put three policies in here as a placeholder.
[20:21] I think if this is a goal we want to implement,
[20:22] there could be a discussion around
[20:23] what we think is reasonable,
[20:24] whether we'd wanna be more or less aggressive.
[20:27] So I'd open it up to comments on this one.
[20:31] I think that, I mean, how many do even know off the top
[20:34] of your head how many policies we have
[20:36] and how many are in need of review?
[20:37] Because I feel like three a month is a small amount
[20:41] and most of the policies appear
[20:42] to be small in nature, not very large.
[20:45] I feel like we could probably get through
[20:47] at at least two per meeting,
[20:49] meaning at least four per month, if not more.
[20:52] Do you have any feedback, Mike?
[20:54] As far as what we have as an undertaking?
[20:59] Yes. So we, we have a lot that we're trying to
[21:04] reel back in and get compliant with what we need to.
[21:07] I think we did a pretty good job last year, nearly 36, 37,
[21:11] which is around that four a month target.
[21:14] So four is, four is fine with me.
[21:16] Brenda, I don't know if you have an opinion on, I mean,
[21:19] four would be the four, right?
[21:20] Yeah. But some of them might be five
[21:22] or six depending on what specifically comes
[21:24] through N-H-S-B-A and legislation that we need to do.
[21:27] And I think part of the, part of the process
[21:32] of setting changing
[21:33] and updating policy involves legal sometimes
[21:37] and also new laws that come up.
[21:39] So while we have these policies to review,
[21:44] we might have to do this instead.
[21:47] Because there's new laws that require, like there's,
[21:49] we're gonna look at a policy tonight that has to be dealt
[21:52] with because of a law.
[21:53] So I, I mean I, I think three is a good goal,
[21:56] but if we can do more, we will.
[21:57] We talked about this at our meeting the
[21:59] other day as well. Yeah,
[22:00] Because another thing that happens, right?
[22:03] We have to update JICK tonight
[22:05] and then there's also one, two, I'm looking down there.
[22:08] I think there's at least three that are connected.
[22:10] Five a lot. Five. They don't connected to the same.
[22:12] Oh three. Yeah, there's three connected.
[22:14] So that means we'll within the next month we're gonna have
[22:18] to bring three additional on top of one.
[22:19] So again, three's fine. Four's easy.
[22:23] We anticipated a committee
[22:24] Four, you know, at least.
[22:25] So I mean if you wanted to shoot
[22:27] for four four's, fine. You know, it's a goal.
[22:28] Yep. Four's fine. I mean we are able to,
[22:31] and we have a, we have a committee goal of five
[22:35] per meeting trying to review so that whether it was four
[22:38] or not, or has to go back four should be fine.
[22:40] Yeah. Alright.
[22:42] So let's say we use the language
[22:43] of the school board with the superintendent.
[22:44] We will aim to review and bring at least four new
[22:46] or revised policies for the board to review each month.
[22:50] So I would accept a motion to accept the school
[22:52] as revised. So
[22:54] Moved First by Jenna.
[22:56] Second. Second by Jamie. All in favor? Aye. Aye.
[22:58] All opposed. Motion carries. Seven zero.
[23:03] So the third goal gets into finance.
[23:05] So there was a desire from the group
[23:07] to tighten up the fiscal advisory process
[23:09] and set a target for the budget.
[23:10] So just about the entire fiscal advisory committee has
[23:13] turned over in the last few years.
[23:14] We have a lot of new members, we've had a lot
[23:16] of new members on the board itself
[23:18] and we have a still new
[23:19] superintendent adapting to the district.
[23:21] So it's a good time to set a path forward for
[23:24] what we want this process to be
[23:25] and what is expected of everyone involved.
[23:28] So I had the following language for us to consider
[23:31] and I did leave the target increase undefined for now.
[23:33] I think that's something we should talk about.
[23:35] That's something that Mike
[23:36] and Jane should, should have input into.
[23:39] And I know you guys are already gearing up
[23:41] for the budget season, so I'm sure you have thoughts.
[23:44] So the language I have is the school board
[23:47] with the superintendent and finance department will continue
[23:50] to refine the fiscal advisory committee process
[23:52] and to define the role of the committee members.
[23:54] And we'll aim to produce an FY 28 budget
[23:57] and no more than an X increase.
[24:00] So I'll open this up to discussion.
[24:02] And you know, Mike Jane, if you have thoughts on
[24:05] what would be a reasonable target
[24:07] for the budget at this point.
[24:10] So that's under the superintendent's update as well.
[24:12] Obviously there's a couple bills
[24:14] that are in place in regards to
[24:15] how we're gonna have to prepare them.
[24:19] So I, I would, I would make a recommendation to leave it as
[24:22] as X and then once we get into September, october,
[24:25] you can certainly revisit it
[24:26] and put a, put a number on the ground.
[24:29] I don't feel comfortable putting any type of number in
[24:31] Place.
[24:32] I think that absolutely makes sense.
[24:35] So the only thing I would say is I, I agree with you.
[24:38] It, it's hard to put a number on it today,
[24:40] but if things are favorable with these bills, as we find out
[24:44] with the calculations come up with, I'd love to be
[24:47] around 3%, three and a half percent
[24:50] as a target point if possible.
[24:52] Obviously today it's a little early to come to
[24:54] that conclusion, but from a, that's
[24:59] what I would like to see.
[25:00] We can talk more about it obviously. Sure.
[25:04] Clearly that hinges on HP 1300
[25:06] and we'll see how that shakes out when,
[25:09] when we have some clarifying information on
[25:11] what the calculation looks like for the tax cap.
[25:17] So that's kind of my feedback
[25:18] and I think I gave that feedback at our meeting back in
[25:21] last month, whatever it was.
[25:22] So that's all, that's
[25:23] what I thought my thoughts as we move forward.
[25:25] Yeah, I mean we're still a couple
[25:26] of months away from really getting the fiscal advisory
[25:29] process going, so Yeah,
[25:31] I mean I think we definitely have some time
[25:33] where you're gonna wanna find tune, you know,
[25:35] what a real target looks like.
[25:38] Michael, the only thing I would say what
[25:39] that is is once Jane's knee deep in these
[25:41] budgets, she needs the number.
[25:43] Yeah. Like we can't wait till like end of October.
[25:47] 'cause she's probably Yeah, absolutely.
[25:48] Halfway through the process.
[25:49] So I'd say early September, mid-September,
[25:51] unless these guys say
[25:52] otherwise, we should really narrow that number down.
[25:57] Yeah, I mean when, you know, when the meeting comes,
[26:00] when you guys are ready to discuss this,
[26:02] we'll obviously wanna bring it up
[26:03] as soon as possible. Sure.
[26:05] And Michael, did you say that in,
[26:06] in the language somewhere about what is,
[26:09] what the expectations are
[26:10] for fiscal advisory committee? Yeah,
[26:12] We would, that was the, the language was we would continue
[26:15] to refine the fiscal advisory committee process
[26:17] and to define the role of the committee members.
[26:19] Okay, good. I, I think it's really important
[26:21] because I know for myself, and I can't speak for Jen,
[26:24] but for that short stid that we were doing fiscal advisory,
[26:29] I would almost like it to read more like
[26:33] a job application on Indeed where you have a breakdown
[26:35] of what's expected from you.
[26:37] 'cause walking into it and,
[26:38] and being put on there, it's still so vague as,
[26:41] and people sitting around going, okay,
[26:43] so what do you want from me?
[26:44] Especially because the process was odd.
[26:46] And I know Mike, when you walked into it, you were like,
[26:49] all right, we're gonna revamp things
[26:50] and it's gonna be very different.
[26:52] So it would be nice
[26:53] to have it laid out like a job application of
[26:57] what people are walking into volunteer for.
[26:59] 'cause obviously it's not a paid position,
[27:01] so you wanna know the hours that are expected.
[27:03] The, like you said, setting out the meetings,
[27:05] like very, very straightforward.
[27:07] So people know I go in, I get out, I do this job.
[27:10] Yeah, Jane and I sat, I'm losing track of days.
[27:13] I think yesterday. Yesterday.
[27:14] Yesterday. Okay. And I'll call it like what,
[27:17] this year we plan on doing basically an orientation night,
[27:20] kind of what you explained, like what to expect, what, how
[27:23] to read, what, what the documents are.
[27:24] And then we'll do like a,
[27:26] a pre-meeting prior to the first meeting.
[27:30] So we have the same goals in place, specifically myself.
[27:33] 'cause last year I kept looking around being
[27:34] like, what do we do here?
[27:36] So we're gonna establish some of our goals
[27:38] with an orientation night.
[27:39] And then before we kick off, get,
[27:41] get a couple more in depth trainings on how
[27:43] to read Jane's documents, what to look for
[27:46] and what the purpose of each meeting should be.
[27:48] Is there still gonna be a chair per se?
[27:51] 'cause I know that there was one person
[27:52] who was the dedicated, what,
[27:54] what are they considered a chair?
[27:55] I don't remember the gentleman's name.
[27:58] I think you're talking about there formally there was
[28:01] Bruce Kling who has since moved outta town
[28:03] who I think just, it was an unofficial,
[28:06] I dunno, It was an unofficial position. Okay.
[28:09] I think he just sort of spearheaded things
[28:10] and he kind of became like a,
[28:11] an impromptu leader of the group.
[28:13] So, but I do think that speaks to some
[28:16] of the turnover that's happened.
[28:18] And there's been some moving parts
[28:19] regarding fiscal advisory committee members turning over us,
[28:23] getting Mike on as superintendent.
[28:25] And so it speaks to the need
[28:27] to clarify this process. I think
[28:29] There was a, was a group on that committee for a long time
[28:32] that kind of had a way of doing things
[28:35] and you know, almost the entire, I mean,
[28:37] the entire committee has turned over in the last few years.
[28:40] So, and it turned over again. We're
[28:42] Member.
[28:43] So it's a, it's a good time to redefine
[28:45] and you know exactly what it's meant to be.
[28:49] Okay, thank you. I again,
[28:51] appreciate all the feedback on
[28:53] this and I agree a hundred percent.
[28:54] The only thing I would say is, you know,
[28:55] after every meeting we, we are pretty specific on
[28:58] what the expectations are for the next meeting.
[29:00] There's no, it's literally saying, Hey,
[29:02] we're gonna review X, Y,
[29:04] and Z, be prepared to discuss X, Y, and Z.
[29:06] So I appreciate what you're saying and I get that.
[29:09] But there's some little personal responsibility
[29:12] that comes along with this position as well, that kind
[29:16] of an expectation that as you get into this role
[29:18] and go to the meetings, you gotta kind of, you know,
[29:21] step it up and do the work.
[29:24] But I, I appreciate what you guys are saying though.
[29:25] I don't disagree as well.
[29:29] So, Jen, I just wanted to say
[29:31] that the fiscal advisory committee chooses their own person.
[29:35] Okay. And they communicate with each other
[29:38] and write the letter for the annual report.
[29:41] And we did used to have an, a training,
[29:44] or I don't know what you wanna call it, training with Jane
[29:50] prior to the past couple of years.
[29:51] So I, I do think that it's beneficial to people who
[29:56] have never even looked at our school budget before
[29:58] and don't understand what's needed
[30:00] and why we spend this much money on X.
[30:02] Right. So I, I do think I'm kind of sad that it went away,
[30:05] but I'm glad that it was coming back
[30:06] and I'm sorry that you were part of the people
[30:08] who didn't have all that training.
[30:09] Thank you. All right.
[30:14] So we are good with this goal as written. Yes. So I
[30:18] Have a goal with an Yeah.
[30:20] Doesn't mean like,
[30:24] Are do you wanna revisit it when there's a number there?
[30:27] Yeah. Or take it out for now.
[30:29] Yeah, we can take it out for now
[30:30] and revisit it later when we have a number.
[30:32] Is that okay? Works for me where we can just leave out the
[30:35] part about the increase
[30:36] and obviously we can set a goal
[30:38] where we wanna refine the fiscal advisory committee process
[30:40] and define the role of the committee members
[30:42] and just leave the budget target off for now.
[30:46] Next. Because it doesn't really say,
[30:47] it's not really a goal, it's next.
[30:49] Yeah. Well let's say we could set a goal right now the
[30:52] school board with the superintendent and finance department.
[30:54] We'll continue to refine the fiscal advisory committee
[30:56] process and to define the role
[30:57] of the committee members, period.
[31:00] And then when we're ready to discuss a budget target,
[31:03] we can, it's gonna be a target anyways.
[31:05] So like, yeah, you guys are gonna tell us a number
[31:07] that doesn't need to be a goal at that point.
[31:09] That's gonna be, it's gonna be what it is. Yeah.
[31:11] So that's fine. Alright.
[31:13] So I would take a motion to accept the goal as revised.
[31:18] So moved Second. All right. We have first by Jen.
[31:21] Second by Jamie. All right. All in favor? Aye.
[31:25] All opposed. Motion carries. Seven zero.
[31:30] So we have a fourth goal that also touches on finance.
[31:33] There was quite a bit of discussion in our workshop
[31:35] regarding trust funds.
[31:37] So there was a facilities trust established a few years ago,
[31:39] and we moved toward annual replenishment of that fund
[31:42] to address long-term capital improvements.
[31:44] But historically, trust funds haven't been a big part
[31:46] of the district's financial picture.
[31:48] So given economic uncertainty facing school districts right
[31:51] now, it's as good a time as any to rethink that.
[31:54] So I have the following language.
[31:57] The school board with the superintendent
[31:58] and finance department will explore
[32:00] and establish trust funds as part
[32:01] of the district's long-term financial management strategy
[32:04] to responsibly fund future capital improvements,
[32:07] mitigate the financial impact of large unforeseen
[32:09] expenditures, and promote greater stability
[32:11] and predictability for taxpayers.
[32:15] I like it. And this went up for discussion.
[32:17] I have one question. Do we want to, each year,
[32:19] since this is a goal for the year, do we want
[32:22] to determine this year how many trust funds
[32:24] or what the goal might be in within our goals?
[32:28] Yep. I mean, I left this deliberately kind of open,
[32:31] you know, where we will explore and establish trust funds
[32:35] and, you know, we can kind of, you know, go from there
[32:38] as you know, as we start to look into it through the year.
[32:41] Yeah, I read this as this is your target
[32:43] and then as we begin the discussions,
[32:45] you'll then narrow it down on how many this year
[32:47] or next year or the projection.
[32:49] Okay. Yeah. Yeah. And I would,
[32:50] and I think this is a good opportunity for Mike to present
[32:52] what he feels the needs are
[32:53] and what is reasonable for us to move forward with.
[32:57] So I think this is something that really,
[32:58] that will come from Mike and
[32:59] we'll say yay or nay kind of thing. So keep
[33:01] It vague now. Yeah.
[33:02] Okay. I mean, let him do his analysis.
[33:04] We just get a capital improve CIP coming up
[33:07] and so there's lots of information to digest
[33:09] and figure out where that opportunities are. Yeah,
[33:12] It's a broad goal for the year
[33:13] and then, you know, you fine tune
[33:14] what it looks like throughout the course of the year.
[33:17] Okay. So any more discussion on this one?
[33:23] All right. So I would accept a motion
[33:24] to adopt this goal as presented.
[33:27] So moved First by Jen. Second. Second by Jenna.
[33:31] All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed. Motion carries.
[33:34] Seven. So the fifth goal gets into some
[33:38] of the state legislation that we've already
[33:40] talked a little bit about tonight.
[33:42] So there are issues we're gonna have
[33:43] to face in the coming year, whether we like it or not.
[33:46] So we're gonna have to be prepared.
[33:47] We have HP 1300 that's become law
[33:49] and that requires a school tax cap vote
[33:51] to be on the November ballot in every town.
[33:53] And we have HP 1331 that opens the door
[33:56] for a charter amendment vote
[33:57] that would reorganize the school
[33:59] district as a town department.
[34:00] So this is all still incredibly murky, particularly
[34:03] around the tax cap.
[34:05] I know Mike, you've been consulting with legal counsel,
[34:08] but once we can have all of this laid out for us, we'll need
[34:10] to settle on a position as a board
[34:12] and how we approach these issues.
[34:13] So Mike and his team can work on a
[34:16] communications plan for the district.
[34:17] So November's gonna come up fast.
[34:20] So this is the language I have for us to consider.
[34:22] For now, the school board
[34:24] with the superintendent will develop a position in
[34:26] communications plan to approach a possible tax cap vote in
[34:29] November, 2026 as a result of HP 1300
[34:32] and a possible vote to consolidate the district
[34:34] as a department under the town as a result of HB 1331.
[34:39] So, thoughts on this?
[34:45] All right, so I would take a motion
[34:46] to adopt the goal as presented. So
[34:48] Moved first By Jen.
[34:50] Second. Second by David. All in favor? Aye. Aye.
[34:53] All opposed. Motion carries seven zero.
[34:57] The sixth goal addresses the facilities bond.
[35:00] So the bond's gonna need
[35:01] to be wound down in the near future,
[35:03] and we're gonna need to determine how the remaining bond
[35:05] proceeds and the interest income will be utilized.
[35:08] So I have the following language, the school board
[35:11] with the superintendent and facilities department will
[35:13] develop a prioritized list of facilities, projects
[35:16] to utilize bond proceeds
[35:17] and interest income prior
[35:18] to the established deadline for expending funds.
[35:23] Any discussion comments on this one?
[35:28] All right. Pretty cut and dry.
[35:29] I would accept a motion to adopt this goal as presented.
[35:32] So Moved first by Jenna.
[35:35] Second. Second by Jen. All in favor? Aye. Aye.
[35:38] All opposed? Motion carries. Seven zero.
[35:42] All right, so the seventh goal
[35:43] addresses curriculum and assessment.
[35:45] So we are as a board legally responsible
[35:47] for the overall education programs in the district.
[35:50] And while we rely on Mike
[35:51] and the professional educators, the employees
[35:53] to handle the day-to-day curriculum development
[35:55] and delivery, we do have a duty to ensure
[35:57] that the robust curriculum is being provided in every grade
[36:01] and subject area and once it's implemented,
[36:03] that it's being effective.
[36:04] So the overall sense from the board is
[36:06] that we'd like the board as a whole to be
[36:08] provided with a better understanding of curriculum
[36:10] and to have better defined procedures for
[36:12] how our role in the process is fulfilled.
[36:15] So this is the language I have for us.
[36:18] The school board with the superintendent
[36:20] and curriculum department will establish a procedure
[36:22] for the presentation of proposed changes to curriculum,
[36:24] to the board for review and ascent,
[36:27] and for the presentation of the results of those changes,
[36:29] including assessments at periodic intervals.
[36:33] So I will open this one up for discussion.
[36:39] I would just say, you know, I've, I've taken a,
[36:42] an interesting working alongside component
[36:44] and the curriculum department on
[36:46] the curriculum assessment piece
[36:48] and figuring out how the board fits into all of that.
[36:50] And I, I like this gold. I think it's a good one.
[36:53] I think that the, we've had
[36:56] as a board over the past few years,
[36:58] a particular interest in the facilities components.
[37:00] We've often talked about that in meetings.
[37:02] I think everyone's heard us talk about that a lot.
[37:05] I really think we need to hit this with some new energy
[37:07] and I'd like to see the curriculum department work alongside
[37:10] us to show us as a board what's happening in the department.
[37:16] Have us thoughtfully weigh in on what's being taught in the
[37:18] district and move forward with that
[37:22] routine intervals throughout the year.
[37:24] So I like the way that the, this is written.
[37:26] I do think it's broad enough to cover a lot of areas.
[37:29] Another piece of that, I think as well is something
[37:32] that Kim has mentioned to the curriculum committee
[37:35] is engaging families better, communicating better with
[37:39] the community at large, and also parents in the district.
[37:41] What's being taught in the schools, how it's being taught,
[37:44] how to support that at home.
[37:45] So I would be supportive of this goal for the year.
[37:51] Alright, any further thoughts or comments?
[37:56] I would accept a motion to adopt this goal as presented.
[37:59] So moved first by Jen. Second. Second by Jenna.
[38:02] All in favor? Aye. All opposed. Motion carries. Seven zero.
[38:08] So the last goal addresses communications
[38:10] and as you just noted, particularly
[38:13] around family engagement and parent feedback.
[38:15] So the sense from the group at the workshop was this was an
[38:18] area where the district can do better.
[38:19] I think we're already seeing improvements
[38:20] since we met in June.
[38:22] So this is the language that I have for us.
[38:26] The school board will direct the administration
[38:27] to develop strategies
[38:29] for increasing meaningful family engagement,
[38:31] seeking regular parent feedback on programs
[38:33] and policies through the use of periodic surveys
[38:35] and further developing a parent education program.
[38:39] So I'll open this one up.
[38:40] So I, it was my understanding
[38:42] that the communications committee was formed to increase
[38:46] communication with the entire community
[38:48] and not just families and parents.
[38:51] I mean that is true, but this goal,
[38:53] particular goal is centered around, you know,
[38:55] what we had discussed as something we wanted to hit the,
[38:58] you know, hard this year, which is engaging families.
[39:02] So you can have separate goals. Yeah.
[39:03] So committee can have targeted goals
[39:06] and then the board can have targeted goals as well.
[39:10] You know, everything. Just think comparatively,
[39:13] everything we do in facilities
[39:14] as a facilities committee isn't necessarily gonna be all
[39:17] around the bond and all that.
[39:19] Right? So each committee can have their own goals still.
[39:22] Yeah, and I mean that was our goal from last year was,
[39:24] you know, to increase communication with the,
[39:27] with the greater community.
[39:28] That's why we established the communications committee.
[39:30] And I think that that committee has been doing
[39:33] that work toward that goal.
[39:34] And I think that work will continue.
[39:35] And this is kind of another layer to communications.
[39:40] Okay. I also kind of see communications
[39:42] as like the Venn diagram that intersects all of it
[39:45] because I sit on facilities, curriculum and communications
[39:50] and there's no meeting that
[39:51] happens that we're not talking about.
[39:53] Well we do this in communications as well
[39:54] because ultimately that's what we're trying
[39:56] to do is communicate the whatever's going on.
[39:58] So I I appreciate what you, Mike said what you said Mike,
[40:01] about we can have specific information shared,
[40:03] but I know that at least in the curriculum area,
[40:07] Kim's mentioned that family piece of, it's a big one,
[40:10] communicating what we're teaching in
[40:11] the schools is a big one.
[40:14] So I, I think that's why
[40:15] that was highlighted in this particular one.
[40:18] And I mean, it was a topic of conversation at the workshop
[40:22] of, you know, basically customer satisfaction.
[40:25] You know, that parents and the district are, are happy
[40:29] with the services that they're
[40:30] receiving and that they're being heard.
[40:32] So this goal kind of, you know, drills into that.
[40:36] I also, like at the communications committee, Mr. Church
[40:40] a couple weeks ago talked about the tax cap
[40:42] and it's coming out like I see those things
[40:45] that the community brings forward, going to that committee
[40:47] for level, like how are we gonna communicate how
[40:50] to read your tax bill, right?
[40:51] And, and things like that.
[40:52] But I still think the board level is what are we doing
[40:55] for the, for the direct family
[40:57] that we're, they're targeting.
[40:59] So I think you you hit 'em both honestly.
[41:01] So the job's gonna hit done. I mean
[41:03] It's true like a lot of these goals are gonna dovetail
[41:05] back into commun communications.
[41:06] You know, the, the legislation, the votes we're gonna have
[41:09] to deal with is gonna fall to communicating, you know,
[41:13] the use of the facilities bond funds is gonna fall
[41:16] to communicating with the community.
[41:17] So I mean, everything really ties back
[41:18] to communications at the end of the day.
[41:22] I think the big piece too, over the past year
[41:23] for communications, it was a new committee last year
[41:26] and creating the new norms around, for example, having the
[41:31] quarterly newsletter come out, that that was a very big,
[41:34] big, a very big target for us last year that we accomplished
[41:38] getting information out about the budget, the vote,
[41:41] the deliberative session and all of that.
[41:43] So I think some
[41:44] of these things will eventually become just norms within the
[41:46] district, if that's helpful to,
[41:51] Yeah.
[41:52] Okay. Can you talk a little bit
[41:57] about the parent education program?
[41:59] Like what, what do you see as that ha happening with that?
[42:03] Yeah, so that's something that the board kind of really
[42:06] emphasized at the end of last year.
[42:07] And I'll go back to the special education.
[42:10] One of the questions we asked in the survey is,
[42:11] would you be interested in coming
[42:13] to an information night or a workshop night?
[42:15] It was like 60 40, 50, 50 ish, which is fine.
[42:18] So trying to find some of those targeted approaches
[42:20] for parents that are looking for maybe a little bit
[42:22] more in depth discussion.
[42:24] I mean, again, I always roll my eyes when I say in
[42:27] Huffington I did muffins with Mike,
[42:29] but that was an evening I spent with people
[42:31] that really had questions around the budget.
[42:32] So we're trying to find some of that targeted approach.
[42:34] Okay.
[42:37] All right. Any further discussion? All right.
[42:41] So I'd accept a motion to adopt this goal as presented.
[42:44] So moved first by Jen. Second. Second by Jamie.
[42:48] All in favor? Aye. Aye. All opposed.
[42:52] Motion carries. Seven zero.
[42:54] Mike, before you go on, can I Oh sure. Have a second.
[42:57] You know, Brenda asked a great question a couple weeks ago
[42:59] in regards to the strategic plan that this board previous
[43:02] to hiring me invested in.
[43:04] So I actually started doing some cross-referencing from
[43:08] what was completed by the, the firm
[43:11] and what's happened in my first year.
[43:12] And it was kind of really neat to see the things that kind
[43:15] of what we started to implement were aligning
[43:17] with the strategic plan unintentionally.
[43:18] So at some point this year,
[43:20] I really envisioned my group coming together with showing
[43:22] that cross work so that you can see the money that you
[43:25] and the community invested in it is actually being done even
[43:27] though we might not be titling it strategic plan, update,
[43:31] you know, our goal is update, my goal update.
[43:33] All of those things are really starting to connect.
[43:35] So I thought it was a, a great question
[43:37] that we can bring value to show that we are doing the work.
[43:40] Yep. Mike, I get one sec. Sure.
[43:43] So I, I, I'll just comment on what Mr. Ello said.
[43:47] I agree with him a hundred percent,
[43:48] but I don't think it's a goal though.
[43:49] I think when we talk about health insurance,
[43:51] I think it's something we should be looking
[43:52] at on a regular interval.
[43:53] Whether it's every other year we should be shopping out our,
[43:57] our, our plans and see what we can get.
[43:59] We did it two years ago. I think we,
[44:01] it didn't materialize we what we had was better.
[44:04] But I think that's something, and,
[44:06] and maybe it is, maybe you've already discussed this I
[44:08] talked about, but we should probably do it on
[44:09] a, some sort of interval.
[44:10] I don't know what that is, but you
[44:11] can deal with that part of it.
[44:13] But as part of operating a district of $110 million
[44:17] and health insurance is going up for us 10% a year,
[44:21] whatever it is, seven, 8% a year, we should definitely
[44:24] look at other o opportunities that may be out there
[44:26] and see if we can do better if not, I mean it is
[44:28] what it is least we said we try
[44:30] And do it.
[44:31] Brian, your comment was about working with the town
[44:34] collaboratively and you know, we are, we do meet
[44:36] with the town regularly for joint meeting.
[44:39] We have one that's gonna be coming up
[44:41] before our second September meeting.
[44:42] And that's an excellent topic of discussion to have
[44:44] with our town council, the counterparts.
[44:46] I think we all have different union
[44:47] contracts though, right?
[44:47] There's a lot of differences there.
[44:50] I don't know how that would
[44:50] mesh, but we could definitely talk about it.
[44:52] I didn't think that that was allowed to do
[44:55] because I remember asking Jane at one point about trying
[44:58] to do some sort of merger offer for next charter school
[45:02] for their health insurance and whether
[45:03] or not they could come in under or come in with ours.
[45:07] Sure. And it was
[45:08] Not, there are, there are several
[45:09] rules in regards to that.
[45:10] But to Mr.
[45:12] Ella's point as well, we, Mike
[45:13] and I met at the beginning of the summer, the towns already,
[45:15] health Trust does a very good job.
[45:17] They can run a scenario, right?
[45:18] So Mike talked about joining our buying group, right?
[45:21] Picker buying group, lower numbers, things like that.
[45:23] But I'll go to what David just said.
[45:24] There's a, there's a key component for the plans
[45:26] that are offered in the bargaining units, right?
[45:29] So we can shop around
[45:31] every time a collecting bargaining agreement opens up,
[45:34] but you can't break the bargaining unit that you're in
[45:36] with the plans that you're offering.
[45:37] So trying to get coordination with that.
[45:39] But Mike Fowler is, I mean,
[45:41] I don't think I need to tell you anything.
[45:42] He's, he's phenomenal what he does.
[45:43] And so he had reached out in May to run this hypothetical.
[45:46] So Health Trust is doing a lot of work
[45:49] to see if it's doable.
[45:50] If it's not, next is a different entity.
[45:53] 'cause it's not a mu it's a charter.
[45:55] So there's different rules with that. Okay.
[45:58] It's definitely something. And believe it
[45:59] or not, it came up at Rotary this morning.
[46:02] It's something that our profession or our world
[46:05] and education has to really think about.
[46:08] And more specifically, and not to go on in, on record
[46:11] or into details, but there is a district that
[46:14] broke away from health trust in
[46:16] school care for the first time.
[46:18] And their testing, their, their bargaining unit was open.
[46:21] So they're testing and theirs in I'll, I'll call it more
[46:24] of a private supplier.
[46:27] So we'll have some data
[46:27] that's gonna be coming our way before.
[46:29] But I agree with everyone.
[46:30] It's, it's definitely a controlled cost
[46:32] that we have to figure out what to do.
[46:34] So David, were you saying that
[46:36] because you want that to be one of our goals?
[46:38] Like do you want Oh, you just,
[46:39] I think it's, I think it's standard operating procedure in
[46:41] an organization, whether you're private, public, whatever,
[46:44] you should always evaluate certain contracts.
[46:47] And health insurance is a big, it's not a contract,
[46:49] but it's a big, big nut in our budget that,
[46:52] and I'm not saying it's every year,
[46:53] but every couple years
[46:54] you should look and see if you can do better.
[46:55] Okay. I just, there's a lot of restrictions,
[46:57] there's a lot of to red tape.
[46:59] And it comes down to our labor agreement too,
[47:01] as Mike alluded to, you know, with the health trust
[47:04] and the specific plans that they get is in the
[47:06] collective bargaining, but you
[47:07] Cannot not do some, 'cause it's
[47:09] hard. You know what I mean? You
[47:10] Gotta still, we would have to do it in tandem
[47:11] with negotiating with the bargaining units.
[47:13] Yeah. All right.
[47:18] So we have our eight goals
[47:19] that we came up with out of our workshop.
[47:21] Everyone feels comfortable with what
[47:22] we've approved tonight for now.
[47:23] Is there anything glaring that you think we need to address?
[47:27] And we can always revisit these throughout the year.
[47:29] You know, if something comes up that, you know, needs
[47:31] to be a goal, you know, they can always be revisited.
[47:34] So this is our starting point and we'll go from here.
[47:37] So I will take these and draft
[47:39] Mine and bring 'em to you either the next meeting
[47:41] or the second meeting in September.
[47:42] So whenever we decide at leadership, it's fine.
[47:45] Thank you. That's good. Alright. All right.
[47:49] Our next item to consider is gonna be the FY 26 fund balance
[47:52] and retention in the contingency fund.
[47:54] So I believe Jane is gonna have a
[47:56] presentation on this for us.
[47:59] I think you just tapped. Yep.
[48:01] That, Okay.
[48:05] So now that we're at our fiscal year end
[48:07] and we're reviewing our financials for the end
[48:11] of the school year, and again our year,
[48:13] our years go from July one to June 30th.
[48:15] So this is where we would be at the end of June 30th, 2026.
[48:19] And these are unaudited numbers.
[48:22] We're not having our audit, let's take it till the first
[48:24] or second week of September now.
[48:26] But our estimated yearend balance right now is a little over
[48:30] a 4.4 million.
[48:32] And there are several areas of the budget that make that up.
[48:35] General and special education tuition,
[48:38] there was some surplus through rein
[48:43] and just in general, general funds some health insurance
[48:47] and also unfilled positions tend
[48:52] to give us a surplus.
[48:54] And so when we're looking at how we're gonna calculate
[48:58] the number that we're presenting tonight, we also have
[49:01] to keep in mind that last year we approved a warrant
[49:04] article, which was warrant article number three.
[49:06] That was $500,000.
[49:08] And that was for maintenance
[49:09] and repairs that would move from the unspent funds
[49:14] and move it to the capital reserve fund, which is
[49:17] what you were just speaking about a few minutes ago.
[49:20] And that would be held with the, it's a trust fund held
[49:23] by the trustees of the trust fund at the town.
[49:26] And that's 500,000.
[49:28] So I subtracted that
[49:30] there was also a warrant article number four,
[49:33] and that was also to address capital improvement projects
[49:36] through facilities.
[49:37] And that would be taking
[49:39] that on the interest earned from the bond proceeds.
[49:43] And remember we were issued the bond, it was a,
[49:47] the bond was sold last August
[49:49] and we were earning interest all along last year.
[49:52] And the total that was earned through the bond was 743,000.
[49:56] The award article was for 700,000.
[50:00] So the remaining 43,000 would've just gone through
[50:05] part of unspent funds.
[50:07] So we subtracted the 700,000
[50:10] and then subtracting 1.5 million,
[50:14] 1.5 million is an amount that we use every year
[50:17] during the budgeting process.
[50:19] And it's kind of a, a placeholder for revenues
[50:22] as your unspent or unreserved funds at the end of the year.
[50:25] And last year when we were doing our calculations, we
[50:30] estimated a 1.5 million in return
[50:33] of unspent funds at the end of the year.
[50:35] So I've calculated that
[50:37] and then that leaves the 1.7 million,
[50:41] which would be available to either move
[50:43] to the contingency fund all or in part
[50:47] or return to offset taxes.
[50:50] Wait before you click? Sure. Okay.
[50:52] Before you click, I just want to point out as we're,
[50:55] we're trying to retrain our vocabulary
[50:57] and some of the things, so our, our unspent right is end
[51:00] of year in a municipal budgeting process, you your target
[51:04] for unspent every year.
[51:06] Remember we cannot go back
[51:07] to the taxpayers ever and ask for more money.
[51:09] So if something happens or something occurs,
[51:11] it comes from the bottom line or a bottom line
[51:12] budget, you cannot go back.
[51:14] So the targeted approach for municipality budgeting is
[51:16] between three and 5%.
[51:18] So that 4.48 is right exactly
[51:21] where municipality budgeting should be with unspent funds.
[51:24] That means you appropriately budgeted
[51:26] and you appropriately spent for the year.
[51:28] So I just want, I want to point that out
[51:29] and then remember these, the, the Warren article three
[51:32] and four were voted on by the, the taxpayers to, to save
[51:35] that money and move those into those, those funds.
[51:37] So just clarifying that before we move on.
[51:42] Did you, you didn't go over the allowable right?
[51:45] Did you? I did not. Okay.
[51:47] And just as a note on the, on the bottom years ago, the,
[51:50] when they finally addressed
[51:52] that school districts could have retained funds,
[51:54] this board voted to have the maximum, which is 5%
[51:58] and it's of your net assessed amount of your budget.
[52:03] So for us, we would have been able to retain up
[52:07] to almost 3.9 million.
[52:09] That's not how much we have left over.
[52:11] We've never retained our maximum allowed amount.
[52:16] So, but we just put that in there so you could see
[52:18] how much we could have retained had we had
[52:20] that much remaining.
[52:24] And then we were asked if we could show different scenarios
[52:28] or options and what the tax impact would be for
[52:31] that depending on if you retained one of these scenarios
[52:36] or, and returned funds.
[52:38] So if we look at scenario one, if the school board wanted
[52:43] to retain 500,000 of the 1.7
[52:47] and move that to the contingency fund,
[52:51] you would have a balance of 1.2 million.
[52:54] And if you return that to offset taxes,
[52:57] that would be a 23 cent tax impact.
[53:01] If you retain a million, it would be a 14 cent tax impact,
[53:05] retain 1.5 million, 5 cent tax impact.
[53:09] And if we retained the full amount, that would be no impact
[53:12] of a tax reduction.
[53:15] So we just use these for easy numbers, you know,
[53:19] the board can choose number whatever numbers they want,
[53:23] but so that's what we have right now.
[53:26] And we have historically always
[53:31] retained funds since we've had the ability to do that.
[53:35] And they've ranged from, I think it started at 400,000
[53:40] and we've been in a different range over
[53:42] a different number of years.
[53:44] Yeah. I wanted to clarify too, that we have the ability
[53:47] to do this because of a vote of the town, right? Yes.
[53:50] The, the town voted for
[53:51] That, the town's voter approved
[53:53] to give the school board the ability to retain these funds
[53:56] until specifically rescinded.
[53:57] So Correct. It's indefinite.
[53:59] Correct. Yeah. And,
[54:00] And I mean This is the board's decision, right?
[54:04] So the recommendation from us is always
[54:06] to, to protect ourselves.
[54:08] And I say Jane always protects the house, right?
[54:11] And I think we live through a couple experiences and, and,
[54:14] and thankfully insurance covered the flooded hood,
[54:17] but we have some other things that could possibly happen,
[54:19] whether it's a boiler, whether it's, so it's,
[54:21] it's always good to have that protection piece so that
[54:26] the following year, if, if,
[54:28] if you take from the bottom line general the following year,
[54:31] you're then gonna be requesting for it again.
[54:34] So just keeping that in mind as you guys deliberate here on,
[54:36] on what you think is best for us.
[54:38] But I think we always say, you know, protecting,
[54:42] protecting the house is always a good thing.
[54:43] 'cause there are a bunch of unknowns.
[54:46] So just for the people in the audience,
[54:48] when you see these numbers, say your house tax assessment,
[54:52] $600,000, you divide that by a thousand, you multiply it
[54:55] by those change on this on the right hand side,
[54:59] and that's the amount you would save.
[55:01] So on a $600,000 house at 23 cents,
[55:03] what are you looking at about a, I don't know, $123 roughly.
[55:07] It's kind of how you look at it when you think about
[55:10] the calculation and trying to figure out
[55:11] how much you'd actually save by the amounts
[55:14] that are showing up top there.
[55:16] $138. It's
[55:20] Just one That's for the whole year?
[55:23] That That'd be for the whole year. The whole year.
[55:25] Okay. 7 38 Thoughts.
[55:28] If we were to retain, if we retain
[55:31] or we choose to retain now, do we determine now what
[55:35] kitty fund, what category
[55:37] that the money would be retained for? Or is it?
[55:39] Great question. It goes into the contingency fund. Okay.
[55:41] So that's, that's the, the, the state rewrote that law too
[55:45] to help districts to be better able
[55:50] to access the contingency in case of
[55:52] unforeseen costs that come our way.
[55:55] That's the way the language is written.
[55:57] So it's a general umbrella term for anything
[55:59] that would arise.
[56:00] And it's not earmarked for specific causes.
[56:03] And the board gets to determine that.
[56:05] Yeah. And you have to have a public hearing
[56:07] and the board has to vote. Right.
[56:09] Okay. All right. So this just puts it into the,
[56:12] It's a savings account for protection.
[56:14] Okay.
[56:16] And whatever, you know, when we establish this contingency
[56:18] fund now, whatever is left in it at the end
[56:20] of the year just goes right back into your year end fund
[56:22] Balance at the end of next year.
[56:24] Yep.
[56:25] Do we know what the tax impact
[56:27] of the bond is this year? Like
[56:31] The rates of it?
[56:33] Is that For the bond? Yeah.
[56:36] No, I, I can look it up though. Okay. This was a high year I
[56:41] Think.
[56:42] I thought so too. I thought this was a higher year,
[56:43] which is why I was hoping to take that into consideration.
[56:47] I thought it levels down. It should
[56:50] because the first year was like nothing.
[56:52] And then the second or third year was gonna be a high kick.
[56:56] I feel like we gotta go something back
[56:59] At That.
[57:00] I don't remember the number, but yeah,
[57:01] to answer your question, interest only the first
[57:02] year is a smaller number.
[57:04] Then you start the amortization schedule.
[57:07] Jane would better be better suited to answer that question.
[57:09] I don't remember the number.
[57:14] Sorry. I'll need a few minutes. It's okay. Sorry.
[57:18] Sorry. Do we have any other questions
[57:20] about the impact of this?
[57:22] What we're talking about?
[57:28] I just wanna reiterate what Michael said.
[57:29] I think it was kind of quiet there at the end.
[57:31] So if you, if you do vote to retain
[57:34] and nothing comes up right, that money then rolls right back
[57:38] to the taxpayer the next year. Okay.
[57:41] I mean, my thoughts would be
[57:43] that we would retain the amounts
[57:44] of 1.7 or so million dollars.
[57:46] I think that we need
[57:48] to be thoughtful moving forward about expenses
[57:50] that we know are gonna be coming up down the line.
[57:52] I think that everyone up here is being tasked
[57:55] with being thoughtful stewards
[57:56] of the public's dollars tax dollars.
[57:59] Part of that is being able to plan
[58:02] and anticipate expenses
[58:03] that we know are coming down the road.
[58:05] I think we have a very recent example of what happens when
[58:08] that doesn't happen, which is what resulted in the bond.
[58:11] I'd like to see us be a little bit more
[58:13] thoughtful moving forward with that.
[58:15] And I do think it's a responsible move.
[58:17] So that, that would be my idea around all of this.
[58:23] So we retain this and we don't use it.
[58:26] It goes back to the taxpayers,
[58:28] It goes back into your un it goes.
[58:29] So you come back to this discussion a year from now.
[58:31] You keep doing this every year.
[58:33] You just keep doing it every year.
[58:35] I think, I think it would be great if we just
[58:38] split it in half and kept half of it
[58:40] 'cause we might not need it
[58:41] and give the other half back to the taxpayers.
[58:47] I think there's definitely some benefits in doing that.
[58:51] Karen and I, I can certainly see meeting everyone halfway.
[58:56] I think we're also in a climate right now where we're,
[58:59] we're coming up against some potential volatility at the,
[59:02] that are is beyond this board's control regarding HB 13,
[59:06] HB 1331.
[59:08] That would be my concern is that if we're not
[59:12] maintaining flexibility about
[59:13] approaching things moving forward,
[59:17] The, sorry.
[59:19] The bond. The bond, the bond number really quick.
[59:21] 44 cents. 44 cents.
[59:24] 44 cents. That Is high. It's, I don't like it. No.
[59:27] Is that an increase? Is that a delta?
[59:29] I mean, I would also be of the opinion
[59:31] of retaining the balance.
[59:33] I mean there's so much unpredictability, unpredictability in
[59:37] so many areas of the district's ledger, you know,
[59:40] facilities, healthcare costs, special education,
[59:42] what we're actually gonna get from state
[59:43] and federal funding sources.
[59:46] I think the fiscally responsible thing to do is
[59:48] for the district to maintain this contingency fund.
[59:50] You know, this is part of municipal budget management.
[59:53] You know, you have to consider, if you take all this money
[59:56] now and you use it for a quick fix
[59:57] that's gonna take a few cents off the tax rate,
[1:00:00] there are things you're not gonna be able to address
[1:00:02] that are gonna get pushed out again.
[1:00:04] And you know, as Jen alluded to, that is kind of
[1:00:07] how we've ended up in bad situations before.
[1:00:12] Can I just clarify one thing, Karen? Sorry.
[1:00:14] So the tax pad is, is 44 cents,
[1:00:16] however, it's, it's going up 33
[1:00:19] 'cause the 11 that was already in because of the interest.
[1:00:22] So there's the Delta's 33 cents just so
[1:00:25] That's on the bond.
[1:00:26] Yes.
[1:00:28] I think my main concern is just, I mean we saw
[1:00:31] what just happened last year with the healthcare funds
[1:00:33] and how London dairy got gobsmacked with an unanticipated
[1:00:39] increase in theirs and they were scrambling.
[1:00:41] And my fear is that next year, I mean nothing's going down.
[1:00:46] The cost for everything is going up.
[1:00:47] I mean, we just had to increase,
[1:00:50] we've had to increase everything.
[1:00:51] And if we're getting less from the state
[1:00:54] and where everything else is increasing, we're just gonna be
[1:00:58] stealing from Peter to pay Paul at some point
[1:01:02] and giving this back of $138 to then possibly have to turn
[1:01:06] around the next year and ask for more money
[1:01:10] for something else when we could have this
[1:01:12] as a rain day fund.
[1:01:14] I also think it, it, it sounds so
[1:01:20] callous to say it's only 138
[1:01:22] because I know $138 is a lot to a lot of people,
[1:01:26] but to a district
[1:01:27] and for what we're funding, that is
[1:01:31] what we are fiscally charged to do is, like you said,
[1:01:35] to, to protect the house.
[1:01:36] Mike and I, I think personally I think we, we'd be,
[1:01:41] it's responsible for us to keep it
[1:01:43] 'cause we know, we know things
[1:01:44] are not gonna get any cheaper.
[1:01:48] But we did have the money from the bond. We
[1:01:51] Also had, I don't think your mic's on,
[1:01:54] We also had the money from from those other
[1:01:57] projects we just did.
[1:01:59] Nope. You just turned it off.
[1:02:02] No. Okay. Use this one. Okay. Anyway.
[1:02:05] I I still think in good faith
[1:02:07] to the taxpayers splitting this in half is the better
[1:02:10] decision simply
[1:02:11] because we've already used a bunch of money to fix a bunch
[1:02:14] of little things that were kind of not super important
[1:02:19] but needed to be done.
[1:02:21] So I don't know, I just think
[1:02:24] we might possibly not even use this money this year. Right.
[1:02:29] And the contingency fund is only gonna grow. Right?
[1:02:31] Like we, we agreed to put,
[1:02:34] was it the 500,000 in there?
[1:02:37] That's, those are different funds you're talking
[1:02:39] About or sorry.
[1:02:42] Okay, so it wouldn't be going into that one.
[1:02:45] The maintenance and repair it would be a different
[1:02:48] No, this is the contingency fund
[1:02:50] that is established under, what is it?
[1:02:51] 1 98 4 B. It's the bottom. So it is different.
[1:02:55] 1 94 have traditional trust fund
[1:02:57] Or March.
[1:02:59] It's an expiring fund every year you can take money from
[1:03:02] your un expend your unspent fund balance
[1:03:05] and put it into this contingency fund
[1:03:07] and it expires at the end of the year
[1:03:08] and just goes back into your
[1:03:10] unspent fund balance at the end of that next year.
[1:03:13] Okay. I mean,
[1:03:15] and facilities is, is going kind of okay now
[1:03:18] because we got the bond and we've done all this stuff.
[1:03:21] So we're keeping money in case of
[1:03:25] we need it for health insurance.
[1:03:26] Well if we're shopping around for health insurance,
[1:03:28] then we might save on that too.
[1:03:30] I mean, there's just other things to do.
[1:03:33] I just think it would be a goodwill gesture gesture
[1:03:37] to split it in half.
[1:03:39] Yeah, well I mean,
[1:03:40] any savings on health insurance are gonna be a
[1:03:42] few years out because
[1:03:44] Of the contractor. Right.
[1:03:45] The labor agreements that we're in. So
[1:03:49] David, I'd be interested in hearing your perspective.
[1:03:53] So I, I hear everyone saying, and, and I,
[1:03:55] and I can appreciate what Jenna mentioned about London
[1:03:57] getting whacked last year.
[1:03:59] And a lot of people who used
[1:04:00] for the student care, whatever got whacked.
[1:04:03] You know, the three prior years I was on the board, I,
[1:04:06] I gave money back every year.
[1:04:08] My vote, I voted to give money back every year.
[1:04:11] 'cause we were able to keep a good chunk of money.
[1:04:13] But I'm not comfortable going to a, a super low number.
[1:04:19] I don't think we need to take it all.
[1:04:20] But I I I'm good with 1.5 as a number.
[1:04:24] I know it's not a lot. I just don't feel comfortable giving
[1:04:27] I not having a savings for, you know, we did, yeah.
[1:04:30] We're spending a lot of money on facilities,
[1:04:32] but that's everything outside.
[1:04:34] Like when we're not putting a ton of money inside
[1:04:36] and things could go, like, I'm sit here and list them off.
[1:04:40] But you, you know what I mean? You know, I just don't,
[1:04:43] IIII just don't feel comfortable not having something
[1:04:47] reserved that will protect us.
[1:04:52] Just another piece. I'm only giving you
[1:04:54] information was going on last year.
[1:04:55] You guys retained, it was my first meeting.
[1:04:57] I couldn't remember last year. We retained 2.1 last year.
[1:05:02] And how much of that do we use?
[1:05:04] Oh, we used it for, so it's contingency.
[1:05:09] So the only public hearing we had was to use the funds
[1:05:12] to relocate the SAU.
[1:05:14] So that was it. Excuse
[1:05:16] Me.
[1:05:18] What the warrant on articles two, these two. Oh,
[1:05:21] It's separate.
[1:05:22] It's separate. The problem
[1:05:23] to looking into the past about unexpected expenses is that
[1:05:27] unexpected expenses are unexpected.
[1:05:29] So that's what's problematic about that.
[1:05:31] And there was a time that this board was debating about
[1:05:33] having a bond that was $10 million more than the $25 million
[1:05:37] that we asked for $15 million more.
[1:05:40] I mean, there, there is significant need
[1:05:42] and there remains significant need.
[1:05:45] I don't like those needs. I, I really don't,
[1:05:46] I wish we didn't have those needs.
[1:05:47] But they continue to be needs.
[1:05:49] They don't go away because we don't pay for them today.
[1:05:52] My concern would be that, you know,
[1:05:54] a hundred dollars today is taking $200 tomorrow.
[1:05:58] That, those are my thoughts
[1:05:59] and that's why I'm, I'm advocating for,
[1:06:01] to retain the full amount.
[1:06:03] I I understand we can have
[1:06:04] thoughtful disagreement about that.
[1:06:07] Okay. So I I don't think we should retain it all.
[1:06:12] I think we've asked for a lot from the taxpayers.
[1:06:15] We have a $9 million increase in our budget.
[1:06:18] I don't know what that is 'cause we don't have a,
[1:06:20] we don't know what the tax rate's gonna
[1:06:22] be, but it's significant.
[1:06:24] We have the two warrant articles that were approved
[1:06:26] that we can spend that money.
[1:06:27] We've approved money that has been left over
[1:06:30] to do repairs up until a couple of weeks ago.
[1:06:34] So we're not ignoring doing things.
[1:06:37] I think $138 is not a lot of money
[1:06:40] or whatever it turns out to be.
[1:06:42] But it is a goodwill gesture to the, to the taxpayers
[1:06:45] who have given us a lot this year.
[1:06:48] So you'd be in favor of returning a portion of it? Yes.
[1:06:51] Or do you have a number out of this? What is,
[1:06:55] I don't have a number.
[1:06:56] I, I listened to David and I listen to Karen.
[1:06:58] I'll see where it comes down, what, what ends up coming up.
[1:07:02] So I can definitely appreciate what Brenda's saying
[1:07:04] and she's, and Karen's saying a hundred percent right.
[1:07:06] The one thing, and I don't wanna get too political here,
[1:07:08] and I, and I, I'll try not to,
[1:07:10] but we've been asked to do a lot as a school board
[1:07:13] from in Concord.
[1:07:15] We've been asked to give a lot
[1:07:19] and change direction change course.
[1:07:21] I won't go into every little detail,
[1:07:23] but we all know what they are.
[1:07:26] So, and this is who the town of Derry voted
[1:07:29] for up in Concord to send up there.
[1:07:32] So, you know, I do, I feel bad
[1:07:36] that the tax rate is at where it's at.
[1:07:38] Of course I do. But do I have a lot of sympathy?
[1:07:41] No, this is what was voted for.
[1:07:43] This is what the town voted for
[1:07:45] and we're doing the best we can to manage the variables
[1:07:48] that have been given to us.
[1:07:50] And, but I'll stop my sob story.
[1:07:54] So I'll make a motion to retain
[1:08:00] 1,000,002 50.
[1:08:04] All right. So we have a motion on the table
[1:08:06] to remain retain $1,250,000.
[1:08:10] Do I have a second? Second. Second by Brenda.
[1:08:16] All right. So why don't we do a roll call Vote. Brenda? Yes.
[1:08:21] Jen? Yes. Jenna,
[1:08:27] Can you come back to me?
[1:08:30] Is your mind gonna change? Maybe I, I'm not.
[1:08:35] Alright. Right. We'll skip you for now. Jamie? Yes. Karen?
[1:08:40] Yes. David? Yes. Jenna?
[1:08:45] Yes. All right. Chair votes Yes.
[1:08:48] Passes. Seven zero. Right
[1:08:50] For the record, that means $533,811
[1:08:55] will be returned to the taxpayer.
[1:08:58] Okay. Alright. Thank you. Okay,
[1:09:05] so our final item
[1:09:06] to go over tonight is gonna be a policy revision.
[1:09:09] Mike will have more details, but this is a first read
[1:09:12] and there is urgency to enact its revision.
[1:09:14] So we're being asked as permitted under policy BGA
[1:09:18] to waive the second meeting limitation
[1:09:19] and take immediate action.
[1:09:20] So Mike, I'll turn it over to you.
[1:09:22] And actually I'm ecstatic
[1:09:23] 'cause I'm gonna turn it over to Dr.
[1:09:24] Sand.
[1:09:27] So in your packet tonight, you have a po, a copy
[1:09:31] of draft policy JIC.
[1:09:34] As you know, house bill 1 31 was recently JICK.
[1:09:37] JICK was recently amended
[1:09:43] because of legislation that Governor Aott signed in July.
[1:09:46] It actually went into effect August 1st.
[1:09:49] So we're somewhat on a time crunch.
[1:09:51] And basically the revisions
[1:09:54] of this policy is due to that legislation.
[1:09:56] So just to give you an overview of some of those changes,
[1:10:00] it is in relation to bullying and student safety.
[1:10:04] All school staff must report bullying by the end of the day.
[1:10:07] That is new. Upon receiving a bullying report,
[1:10:11] administrators need to provide the rights to the victim.
[1:10:14] It a lot of the legal terms in the policy have changed.
[1:10:19] It replaces labels like respondent
[1:10:21] and complainant to perpetrator and victim.
[1:10:26] Sure. It updates new here I am new. I'm sorry.
[1:10:33] It updates a lot of the cyber bullying threats.
[1:10:36] It gives behavioral expectations
[1:10:38] with plain language examples.
[1:10:40] And it also has a curricular component.
[1:10:42] And there's also a piece of it where the principal
[1:10:46] or designee needs to have a mandatory conference
[1:10:48] with the perpetrator and the perpetrator's family.
[1:10:51] So the New Hampshire School Board Association has advised
[1:10:54] districts to actually waive the second reading to be able
[1:10:58] to implement this as soon as possible.
[1:11:01] All right. Questions, comments about the policy?
[1:11:06] All right. So I would take a motion
[1:11:07] to waive the second reading limitation
[1:11:09] and approve the amended policy.
[1:11:11] JICK as presented first by Brenda. Second.
[1:11:15] Second by Jenna. Karen. Karen can take it, Karen. All right.
[1:11:20] All in favor? Aye. All opposed. Motion carries. Seven zero.
[1:11:25] Move on to administration reports.
[1:11:27] I'll turn it over to Jane for
[1:11:28] the business administrators update.
[1:11:30] Okay. I just want to address a couple things
[1:11:32] that were mentioned tonight with regards
[1:11:35] to the capital reserve accounts.
[1:11:36] We actually have two right now.
[1:11:39] One of 'em is, was voted on, that was for the replacement
[1:11:43] of Westbrook and Barca's Roof.
[1:11:46] And there is remaining funds in there from interest.
[1:11:49] So right now that account,
[1:11:51] I think it's in the $60,000 range.
[1:11:54] And we would only spend
[1:11:56] that on a roofing project since that's where it came from.
[1:11:59] And we would bring that to the board if we were gonna
[1:12:02] do any spending on that.
[1:12:03] The other capital reserve is a general facilities
[1:12:09] account where we would be able to do, you know, HVAC
[1:12:13] or window replacement paving, things like that.
[1:12:16] Again, those would be brought to the board
[1:12:18] for approval as well.
[1:12:19] So those are the only two capital reserves. How much is in
[1:12:22] That one? I'm sorry?
[1:12:23] Did you specify how much was in that one?
[1:12:24] You said 60 K for the roof one
[1:12:27] and then the general one has how much?
[1:12:29] Yeah, and I don't have the numbers with me,
[1:12:30] but it's over a hundred thousand.
[1:12:32] Okay. And I'll bring, I'll bring that actually
[1:12:35] for my September report.
[1:12:37] I'll bring you a copy of those. We get them every month.
[1:12:39] Okay. And so if you were going to, if you wanted to have a
[1:12:44] WOR article to add to a capital reserve account,
[1:12:48] I would recommend that if it's going to be
[1:12:50] for general facilities, it would just add
[1:12:52] to the existing capital reserve account that there is,
[1:12:55] there's no need to have a third, you know,
[1:12:57] a second general maintenance account.
[1:12:59] If you're gonna do something different
[1:13:00] and have a warrant capital reserve for special education,
[1:13:04] then you would have to have a new account.
[1:13:07] Okay. And
[1:13:11] so I know we talked about budget
[1:13:14] and you know, obviously we're, we have
[1:13:16] to take into consideration House Bill 1300.
[1:13:20] We've already started doing our templates
[1:13:22] and our base of our budget.
[1:13:24] And like Mike said, we met yesterday
[1:13:25] to talk about timelines.
[1:13:28] The good thing I guess for timeline is
[1:13:30] that Health Trust no longer
[1:13:33] just gives you a guaranteed maximum.
[1:13:35] Last year we were given our actual rate October 10th.
[1:13:40] So we're getting
[1:13:42] that in the beginning of our budget process.
[1:13:44] So that's really helpful to us so that we'll know what
[1:13:47] that increase is going to be early on in the process.
[1:13:50] And that will be really helpful when the board decides,
[1:13:53] you know, for a percentage of an increase,
[1:13:55] I'll at least have that number.
[1:13:57] It won't be a guess. And as you know, we get PanIN typically
[1:14:01] around the week of Thanksgiving, so
[1:14:03] more towards the end of November.
[1:14:05] But by that point we'll know what the town vote
[1:14:08] is relative to that.
[1:14:09] For 27, 28,
[1:14:13] we're also working on, I'll be bringing to the DOE 25
[1:14:17] that is the compilation of all
[1:14:21] of the revenues expenditures.
[1:14:23] And we do that for the Department of Ed.
[1:14:26] I think they call it the DOE 25
[1:14:28] 'cause it used to be 25 pages,
[1:14:29] but I believe we have a whole bunch more tabs.
[1:14:32] And everything in the budget now has to be broken down by
[1:14:36] elementary, middle high.
[1:14:38] Also now has to be broken down by each individual school.
[1:14:42] And that's for general
[1:14:43] and special education, all grants, food service,
[1:14:48] it's a very complicated report, takes a lot of hours.
[1:14:51] So we're working on that.
[1:14:52] We're probably going to, it is due September 1st,
[1:14:55] but since we've just finalized our numbers,
[1:14:58] we'll ask for request.
[1:14:59] And we've always, we've always got one,
[1:15:02] so it probably be 10 days after.
[1:15:07] And we're also still working on audit.
[1:15:10] We've received so far 54 requests,
[1:15:13] although those are a lot of requests within each one.
[1:15:17] And if you remember, we have three different bank accounts.
[1:15:19] We have two PIP accounts, we have a general checking,
[1:15:21] we have six student activity checking accounts
[1:15:24] that we have to reconcile.
[1:15:26] So we are working on all of that
[1:15:28] to be prepared for a full audit.
[1:15:31] I would like to just bring up food service today.
[1:15:34] I, Christina LeBel, our director of child Nutrition,
[1:15:38] brought over the applications for me to approve today.
[1:15:43] We received several applications, three of them.
[1:15:48] And this is after we've gone down in the calculations on
[1:15:52] whether people are approved or not.
[1:15:54] We had three that were approved to be on reduced meals.
[1:15:58] Five were denied for excess in
[1:16:03] or too much income based on the guidelines.
[1:16:06] Four families were approved for free meals
[1:16:10] and five that were sent over are actually direct certified.
[1:16:13] So they wouldn't have even had
[1:16:15] to have filled out an application because we get
[1:16:17] that the direct certified actually is a list that comes
[1:16:20] to us directly from the state.
[1:16:22] So as you as you know, people
[1:16:26] who are already qualified for free
[1:16:28] and reduced, they have until the beginning
[1:16:30] of October to reapply.
[1:16:32] So we wanna make sure and encourage families to do that,
[1:16:35] even though the timeline's another month and a half out.
[1:16:38] Get your applications in now so that we can make sure
[1:16:40] that you're set up to have a continuation of the free
[1:16:44] or reduced if you still qualify.
[1:16:47] And so people can do that.
[1:16:49] We have paper copies in the school office.
[1:16:52] We have our online portal is open
[1:16:55] and if you feel like you need additional assistance with it,
[1:16:59] please feel free to call Christina
[1:17:01] or call any one of the kitchen
[1:17:04] staff members at your child's school
[1:17:06] and they'd be happy to help you with your application.
[1:17:09] And we also do have teachers
[1:17:11] who specialize in speakers of other languages.
[1:17:14] So if, if families need assistance with that, we have plenty
[1:17:18] of people that can help people fill out.
[1:17:20] And the home to school coordinators are also really helpful.
[1:17:23] We do have cook server
[1:17:26] positions open if anybody's interested in a
[1:17:28] position in our kitchens.
[1:17:30] And we also have a commissary driver position open.
[1:17:33] They're part-time, but the commissary driver
[1:17:37] brings food from one school to another.
[1:17:40] Unloads the state commodities when they come every month.
[1:17:44] So we're looking for somebody
[1:17:45] for those positions in food service.
[1:17:49] Any questions? I do actually, while you have the microphone,
[1:17:54] I was wondering if you could address publicly the
[1:17:57] how the choosing the audit works.
[1:18:00] I know I spoke to Mike recently a couple days ago
[1:18:02] and there was a concerned citizen who had posted on a thread
[1:18:07] that actually Brian had had posted
[1:18:10] and basically kind of like accused nefarious wrongdoings
[1:18:14] of choosing an auditor basically that would favorably
[1:18:19] look upon our books or look the other way or whatever.
[1:18:21] And I was just wondering if you could quickly address the
[1:18:25] fact of how, how you choose an auditor,
[1:18:27] how many are actually available to us in the state
[1:18:29] of New Hampshire and just to kind of, you know,
[1:18:33] clear the air and, and,
[1:18:34] and make it well known that this is not picked
[1:18:36] to look the other way or cook our books of somehow.
[1:18:40] Sure. So there are very few auditors,
[1:18:44] public auditors for entities like ourselves.
[1:18:47] We currently use Cbis,
[1:18:49] which has had a few different names
[1:18:52] over the last several years.
[1:18:54] And actually it's the same auditing firm
[1:18:56] that the town of Dairy uses.
[1:18:58] So different teams are doing the audits.
[1:19:02] Different ones do municipalities, different ones do schools.
[1:19:06] So there's Sebas, there's PLA and Sanderson.
[1:19:09] We had used pla, pla and Sanderson for many, many years.
[1:19:13] And so then we went out to try to find, you know,
[1:19:16] because we had been on there for so long,
[1:19:19] that same concern had gone up
[1:19:20] and then we switched to another company.
[1:19:23] But there's really, those are the top two in the state.
[1:19:27] There are some smaller private ones,
[1:19:30] but they would do a town maybe the size of Chester.
[1:19:34] I know Chester uses a small accounting firm,
[1:19:37] but with a, with a business like ours, it's $120 million.
[1:19:43] We are using a very large firm.
[1:19:47] We never have the same team.
[1:19:49] So they, many of them don't live around here.
[1:19:53] You know, some of them are remote, some of them travel
[1:19:57] to get here, some of them are local,
[1:20:00] but they purposefully rotate your teams so
[1:20:03] that you're not having anybody who's,
[1:20:08] you know, for any conflict or anything like that.
[1:20:11] So yeah, there's very few auditing firms for us
[1:20:14] to choose from and we're using one of the largest ones.
[1:20:19] Okay, thank you. I just wanted to kind
[1:20:21] of put it out there on the record so that
[1:20:24] if this person should ask again,
[1:20:25] they could actually find the information easily.
[1:20:29] You think Jane would've gotten,
[1:20:30] you think Jane would've taken it
[1:20:31] so personal last year when she was a super user?
[1:20:34] Yeah, if I thought it was gonna be a breeze,
[1:20:36] I wouldn't have so much anxiety to be perfect
[1:20:39] and make sure that, thank you for
[1:20:43] that there description, Jane.
[1:20:44] Appreciate it. Yes.
[1:20:47] So Jane, I have a question on free and reduced lunch.
[1:20:50] Sure. Is that state guidelines or federal guidelines?
[1:20:53] Federal guidelines. They are federal guidelines. Okay.
[1:20:56] Yes, yes. They're, they're not school district.
[1:20:58] We have no control over those guidelines, you know, and,
[1:21:01] And some people in the community might ask,
[1:21:02] why do we always talk about it?
[1:21:04] Right? That you hear at every board
[1:21:05] meeting it, it's important.
[1:21:06] Number one really is
[1:21:08] to make sure the families know the benefits
[1:21:10] that are available to them and so
[1:21:12] that the students are fed every day.
[1:21:14] That's the real goal. But the second piece
[1:21:16] that people might not understand is that we, our, the amount
[1:21:19] of money we receive from the state is tied
[1:21:21] to our free and reduced lunch.
[1:21:24] So if you think about how calculations exist,
[1:21:27] it's kind of crazy, right?
[1:21:28] The, the higher you're free
[1:21:30] and reduced, the more adequacy you get.
[1:21:32] So it's also important for all districts, not only just
[1:21:34] to make sure that the communities receiving the benefits,
[1:21:37] but it's also a bottom line number
[1:21:38] for us in regards to adequacy.
[1:21:40] So that's why it's important on both ends.
[1:21:43] Are you saying, Mike, that when the federal guidelines
[1:21:45] change, the state adequacy changes
[1:21:47] and then the local school board needs to figure out
[1:21:49] I didn't say it that way. I said it.
[1:21:52] That's what it kind of sounds like. Yeah. Okay.
[1:21:55] Alright. So onto my report. Right
[1:21:58] Ahead.
[1:21:59] Alright, so just a couple things.
[1:22:00] We're gonna go down the list. It's
[1:22:01] Tracy's stealing my thunder here.
[1:22:04] So to report out on South range, it, it's, I'll reiterate
[1:22:07] what Tracy did in public comments.
[1:22:08] So I commend the, the, the groups
[1:22:12] that we entered into the agreement with
[1:22:13] and the work that was being done.
[1:22:15] It was seven days a week.
[1:22:17] It was during the torrential downpours,
[1:22:19] it was during the Crazy heat.
[1:22:20] They were there every day
[1:22:22] and they were respectful to the neighborhood
[1:22:24] and they cranked out work
[1:22:26] as Jeremy reported, there's no secret.
[1:22:28] As we started to uncover more things popped up.
[1:22:31] So some of those timelines changed credit
[1:22:34] to South Range in the staff
[1:22:37] for their resiliency as the trucks.
[1:22:40] I I, at my opening staff meeting, as the buses were leaving,
[1:22:43] the trucks were pulling in at the, at the start of summer.
[1:22:45] And then as the trucks were pulling out,
[1:22:47] the staff were pulling in, they walked
[1:22:49] into a pretty filthy building.
[1:22:51] They, Jeremy's crew
[1:22:53] and the staff themselves just started
[1:22:55] taking it upon themselves.
[1:22:56] But then we got a crew in during the weekend,
[1:22:59] staff from Barca, staff from other buildings.
[1:23:01] I know Dr. Sandi was over there really starting
[1:23:04] to help make that building come together.
[1:23:07] So credit to them, credit to the, the people that we worked
[1:23:10] with, it was pretty cool.
[1:23:12] Speaking of that, I mentioned teachers are back,
[1:23:14] it was great to see them last week.
[1:23:16] And we did our opening meeting,
[1:23:19] which I've got down to about 45 minutes.
[1:23:21] So I think everyone's happy about that.
[1:23:24] Get them back into the buildings, get 'em kicking.
[1:23:26] So it was great to see them.
[1:23:29] I have to say it publicly, the way I sit in front
[1:23:31] of the staff, if you see Jeremy, please
[1:23:34] give him a high five that man.
[1:23:36] And what he did this summer, not only coordinating
[1:23:38] what was going on South Range,
[1:23:40] but we replaced nearly 4,000 square feet of, of flooring.
[1:23:45] We replaced so much.
[1:23:47] And I don't think I've ever seen
[1:23:48] that man either get too high or too low.
[1:23:50] Probably the most even keel guy around.
[1:23:52] So he did just a phenomenal job
[1:23:53] this year, managing all that.
[1:23:54] So thank you to him. Spent some time at Rotary this morning.
[1:23:58] It was great to see that group.
[1:24:00] We spent some time talking about the,
[1:24:02] the work we're doing in our school.
[1:24:04] And then really the questions surrounded House Bill 1300,
[1:24:08] which I'll talk to at the end.
[1:24:09] But it was, thank you for the invite to the rotary. Bev.
[1:24:11] Bev had reached out to invite me.
[1:24:13] So that was, that was great. Obviously students are back.
[1:24:17] Today was a great day.
[1:24:21] I I, I made a joke with Mr. Fox this morning
[1:24:23] 'cause the buses were terrible.
[1:24:25] But at the same time in my Carrie
[1:24:27] and I, I think we did some math, I think in my 26 years,
[1:24:29] we've never had a good first day run on busing,
[1:24:31] but a couple unanticipated consequences
[1:24:33] this year with time change.
[1:24:34] So we had a higher ridership than we ever have this year.
[1:24:37] So we actually had more students getting on the bus
[1:24:39] and less parent pickup and drop off.
[1:24:42] But that slowed down the routes
[1:24:43] 'cause the routes have been designed for normal ride,
[1:24:46] call it normal ridership previously.
[1:24:48] So we're working through all those kinks.
[1:24:50] It normally takes about three or four days.
[1:24:51] New, new stops are added.
[1:24:53] New stops may be adjusted at the same time.
[1:24:56] I think I spoke with Michael and Janet leadership today.
[1:24:58] Your buses were totally on time, so it's good and bad,
[1:25:02] but we're trying to navigate that as usual.
[1:25:06] Really super excited to report out.
[1:25:08] We had our signups with five through eight sports.
[1:25:10] So remember we added five, six sports.
[1:25:11] We included boys and girls soccer, cross country
[1:25:15] and field hockey.
[1:25:18] We had nearly 200 signups.
[1:25:20] So whoa, we actually have
[1:25:21] to add an additional volleyball team.
[1:25:25] And so that's great. That's what we all wanted,
[1:25:27] I think in the spring was to have more kids involved.
[1:25:30] I'll say now some of the, the rubber needs
[1:25:32] to meet the road in regards
[1:25:33] to organizing our coaches in our fields and all of that.
[1:25:37] But I think we have Danielle, who's in great shape.
[1:25:39] She's pheno so organized along with Melanie and Mr. Fox.
[1:25:43] They're all doing a phenomenal job.
[1:25:44] So excited to report out that SAU move.
[1:25:48] So Kathleen and I actually, I call it evicted.
[1:25:53] We've been evicting people slowly.
[1:25:55] The business department now has been there
[1:25:56] for almost three, four weeks.
[1:25:58] Moved into special ed, moved into curriculum McKinney, bento
[1:26:02] and then, then Kathleen and I actually closed the doors
[1:26:04] today for the final time at 18 South Main.
[1:26:07] We took our final staff picture there yesterday.
[1:26:12] So we are all in at Dairy Village.
[1:26:17] The only thing left at the SAU are,
[1:26:20] it looks like a ghost town, but it's chairs
[1:26:22] and desks and filing cabinets.
[1:26:24] So what we're gonna do is slowly move those filing cabinets,
[1:26:27] if you can imagine years
[1:26:28] of stuff into the appropriate places.
[1:26:30] And then we'll essentially be all out
[1:26:33] in regards to the next steps.
[1:26:35] We met with our legal team last Friday,
[1:26:40] and obviously it's up to you guys.
[1:26:41] And I had mentioned that we start
[1:26:43] that discussion, the recommendation.
[1:26:45] So there's an RFP, I'm gonna give the quick version
[1:26:48] 'cause this isn't, this isn't the work we're doing,
[1:26:50] but the RFP, right?
[1:26:51] You put a purchase order out for the SAU, you solicit bids,
[1:26:54] people tell you how much they wanna buy it,
[1:26:56] and then the board can select that.
[1:26:57] The recommendation from our firm though is to do an RFQ.
[1:27:01] So it's the same way. It's you're trying
[1:27:03] to find a qualified commercial real estate agent
[1:27:06] that has that skillset.
[1:27:07] So it's the same as if we're doing an RFQ for architects
[1:27:10] or landscaping things like, so
[1:27:14] who is qualified to do the work?
[1:27:17] That gives the board a little bit more control.
[1:27:19] So you can interview the candidates once they submit,
[1:27:21] if they're interested in being the, the agent.
[1:27:24] And then you can tell them more specifically
[1:27:26] what your bottom line number is, what your goals are.
[1:27:31] We have already qualified the legal components
[1:27:33] because we went out to the to vote, right?
[1:27:37] So the town unanimously approved you to be the,
[1:27:40] the buyers, the sellers.
[1:27:42] So you can, you can do all the work.
[1:27:43] So we've, we've crossed that line.
[1:27:45] Once we come to an agreement though, remember it's
[1:27:47] that last, last chance, whatever it is
[1:27:50] that charter schools can come in
[1:27:52] and equal the match, whatever it may or may not be.
[1:27:54] So the, the next step would be for the board to
[1:27:59] probably either the next meeting
[1:28:00] or the following meeting, put in
[1:28:02] what you want see out of your RFQ.
[1:28:04] So what are the qualifications? What's the experience?
[1:28:07] Do you want to do a firm, do you
[1:28:09] want to do an individual person?
[1:28:10] Things along those lines.
[1:28:12] The reason why the, the, I'll just say it one more time.
[1:28:14] Publicly. The reason why you move away from the RFP
[1:28:16] 'cause what's the goal of an RFP?
[1:28:18] What's the goal when you bid? I'm, I'm testing you guys.
[1:28:21] When you're putting a bid in, what's the goal?
[1:28:22] Lowest, right? You, you're,
[1:28:24] you people are just gonna continue to undercut what they,
[1:28:26] maybe what the value is
[1:28:27] and what they think they can get the sale for.
[1:28:29] So really to give yourself the leverage
[1:28:31] and make sure you're using what you you're capable of.
[1:28:34] You wanna find that buyer and you tell
[1:28:35] them, go out, do this.
[1:28:37] And then we meet all those qualifications.
[1:28:39] So you can get that going.
[1:28:41] One of the next meetings, we get that posted
[1:28:43] and then you guys get to do that work from there.
[1:28:46] But we're officially out.
[1:28:48] I mean it's, it's, it was today,
[1:28:50] it was really weird and, but it's nice.
[1:28:54] So that goes into my last thing is the facilities tour.
[1:28:57] We've been kicking around. So I'd like,
[1:29:01] I know I think we've heard from one
[1:29:02] or two board members in regards to the nights or evenings.
[1:29:04] We're gonna post that as a whole meeting
[1:29:06] just outta the good for everyone.
[1:29:07] And then anyone in the community can join
[1:29:08] the tours as we hop around.
[1:29:11] Also thought about maybe doing it before a board meeting.
[1:29:13] Maybe we go out in the facilities.
[1:29:15] That way you don't have to mess
[1:29:17] with your calendars too much.
[1:29:18] Maybe we book a four o'clock start time and we bounce around
[1:29:21] and we end up back in this direction.
[1:29:23] So those are some of my recommendations.
[1:29:25] School's off and running. You'll hear from the principals
[1:29:27] next meeting, they're gonna come and do the opening spiel.
[1:29:29] I didn't wanna take any of their
[1:29:30] thunder and more off and running.
[1:29:33] It's been a, it's been a great day.
[1:29:34] I say it's always the best day of the year.
[1:29:35] So questions for me?
[1:29:40] Questions? Alright, lots of good news there.
[1:29:44] Glad to hear about five, six sports that seem
[1:29:46] to come together at just the right time for us.
[1:29:49] Excited. All right.
[1:29:53] Our next order of business will be committee
[1:29:54] and liaison reports.
[1:29:56] Mike, I'm assuming you have no other updates outta policy.
[1:29:59] We were just meeting it. That specific emergency policy.
[1:30:03] So I will turn it over to Jenna
[1:30:04] with an update from the Curriculum and Assessment Committee.
[1:30:09] Okay. So shameless admission,
[1:30:13] we had a massive meeting last week.
[1:30:16] It was our first one in review of the summer,
[1:30:19] and Kim gave us a lot.
[1:30:22] It was a full amount of Kim just going over everything
[1:30:25] that was done over the summer.
[1:30:28] So I had to take the notes and I had to throw it into AI
[1:30:32] and scramble it
[1:30:33] because I could not possibly summarize
[1:30:36] everything that was given to us.
[1:30:37] So this isn't entirely from my brain, but a little bit.
[1:30:42] So I'm just gonna give you a rundown of what we did.
[1:30:45] The main focus that the curriculum worked on over the summer
[1:30:49] was family at, one of the things is family access.
[1:30:53] The district is working on a family curriculum hub
[1:30:57] and a K through eight curriculum dashboard.
[1:30:59] And the idea is that parents will be able to easily see
[1:31:03] what their child is expected to learn at each grade level,
[1:31:06] what the priority standards are,
[1:31:08] how students are being assessed,
[1:31:09] and get ideas of how they can support them from home.
[1:31:13] They're doing a lot of work around writing
[1:31:16] and instruction grades K through eight, which we know that
[1:31:20] there needs to be some work on over the summer.
[1:31:23] The task forms work on the curriculum using something called
[1:31:26] the writing rope, which isn't, I believe a paid for program,
[1:31:30] but it's something that they're pulling from that goes
[1:31:33] around the evidence-based learning
[1:31:37] to build on the framework.
[1:31:38] The goal is to build those skills year over year,
[1:31:41] like critical thinking
[1:31:42] before we send them into Pinkerton,
[1:31:44] where they're really expected to do a lot
[1:31:45] more, learn a lot more.
[1:31:47] Writing homework is an area
[1:31:50] they're trying to make more clear.
[1:31:52] Starting in fifth grade.
[1:31:54] The homework will gradually start to increase.
[1:31:57] Again, preparing them for what they're going
[1:31:59] to expect once they get to high school.
[1:32:01] It's not just to give them more work, it's to reinforce
[1:32:03] what they're learning, build responsibility
[1:32:05] and help prepare them for middle.
[1:32:07] And then for high school
[1:32:09] families will get more information about
[1:32:11] what the expectations are and how they can help.
[1:32:14] In math, they had some,
[1:32:19] some task force teams go over that
[1:32:22] and they're working on consistency
[1:32:24] and how instruction is structured,
[1:32:26] which I know is very vague,
[1:32:27] but it was kind of vague to us in the meeting too.
[1:32:31] It was just basically, this is something
[1:32:32] that we are working on.
[1:32:35] Math block is including a warmup focused instruction
[1:32:38] and meaningful practice.
[1:32:41] And then continuing to work on the ELA curriculum.
[1:32:45] There was something that I thought was really interesting is
[1:32:47] that there was progression made with open up,
[1:32:52] I guess there are different programs
[1:32:53] that are used for each level.
[1:32:54] There's K through four and then 5, 6, 7, 8,
[1:32:57] and depending where they are,
[1:32:58] and the fifth graders were doing,
[1:33:01] or the upcoming fourth graders were doing so well
[1:33:03] that they're now being bumped up into the next level
[1:33:06] of the ELA program, which I thought was really good.
[1:33:10] And then, oh, and science, we are going to be,
[1:33:14] they're gonna start using Open sc,
[1:33:16] which they're very excited about.
[1:33:18] It's gonna be sixth through eighth grade
[1:33:19] full implementation.
[1:33:21] And they're going to be using something called SAM Labs,
[1:33:24] which is a, a obviously a, a lab program for K through four.
[1:33:29] So I think that is the general synopsis.
[1:33:33] But there was, there was a lot.
[1:33:35] Jen, please if I miss anything. No, there
[1:33:37] Was, there was a lot of information that we covered.
[1:33:39] It's over a short period of time.
[1:33:41] I think you summarized it well.
[1:33:43] I think one of the take homes for me was that there's a lot
[1:33:45] of work that happens in the curriculum department over the
[1:33:46] summer when there aren't students in the schools
[1:33:48] and teachers are getting together
[1:33:50] to think a lot about what's being taught.
[1:33:52] I had asked Kim about Kim Conan, again for everyone
[1:33:56] that might not know as the director of curriculum.
[1:33:58] I asked her about some writing information
[1:34:01] at the K to four level.
[1:34:03] Yeah, there was a lot that was contained in that meeting.
[1:34:05] So good job, Jenna.
[1:34:07] Thanks. I tried just to
[1:34:10] Echo a few things.
[1:34:11] I also said on that committee, the writing rope,
[1:34:14] if you think about, it's actually a visual.
[1:34:16] So it's all the elements of strong writers
[1:34:18] and you take those strands
[1:34:20] and you weave them together to create the rope.
[1:34:22] So it's really a focus on different strands of writing
[1:34:24] and explicit instruction for students.
[1:34:28] Another goal of the committee is
[1:34:29] to create public facing documents that we would like
[1:34:31] to put on the website so families know
[1:34:33] what their students are learning and when.
[1:34:36] And also, just to echo what Jen said, there were people in
[1:34:40] and out all summer long at the SAU working on task force
[1:34:43] to really look at the curriculum that we have, refining it
[1:34:47] and trying to make it really clear for teachers
[1:34:50] to really provide them a strong framework
[1:34:52] to teach from in ELA.
[1:34:57] Oh, and one other thing I wanted to add,
[1:34:58] which I thought was very important
[1:35:00] and to let parents know, is that the,
[1:35:02] they're gonna be implementing book contracts, which so
[1:35:06] that nobody gets a surprise in that every year, you know,
[1:35:09] physical copies of books go out
[1:35:10] and sometimes kids don't take care of things,
[1:35:13] which is a shocker.
[1:35:14] I know. So parents
[1:35:15] and kids are gonna be signing book contracts to say
[1:35:18] that they're getting property from the school
[1:35:20] and they're going to take care of it,
[1:35:22] and they're going to return it back to the school district,
[1:35:24] hopefully in the same condition that it went out.
[1:35:26] And if not, then they're going
[1:35:28] to be fiscally responsible for that book.
[1:35:30] Which I think not only is that beneficial to the district,
[1:35:33] but it's also beneficial to the children to learn how
[1:35:36] to take care of their property
[1:35:38] and especially other people's belongings.
[1:35:42] So that's my report.
[1:35:45] All right. Do we have any questions?
[1:35:48] We will move on to member updates in any other business.
[1:35:51] I had a couple of items. First, I wanted to thank Jen
[1:35:53] for chairing our last meeting on August 11th
[1:35:55] while I was on vacation.
[1:35:58] I also wanted to thank Barbara DuPont, Audrey Allen
[1:36:00] for reaching out to us and coming to the meeting
[1:36:02] with their proposal to redirect the funds from the
[1:36:04] fundraiser they spearheaded six years ago.
[1:36:06] Their proposal to donate the funds to St.
[1:36:08] Jude's is an excellent way to honor the memory
[1:36:10] of the two girls who were the inspiration of the campaign.
[1:36:13] So thank you again to all of them for all of their work.
[1:36:16] I also wanted to mention, again,
[1:36:18] we'll probably keep mentioning this,
[1:36:19] that the district is looking for an applicant
[1:36:21] for a school district treasurer.
[1:36:24] This is an appointed position.
[1:36:25] So you'd submit an application
[1:36:26] through the SAU office for the board to consider.
[1:36:29] There's a small stipend.
[1:36:30] So if you're a resident of dairy and a registered voter
[1:36:33] and you'd like to offer your services to the district,
[1:36:35] please reach out to the SAU office.
[1:36:38] Did anyone else have any other business or updates?
[1:36:43] Alright, Hearing none are upcoming meeting
[1:36:46] schedule. We're back at it.
[1:36:47] Oh wait, wait. Septe, the next ELE board meeting we need
[1:36:51] to discuss about possibly moving the September 8th board
[1:36:54] meeting because there is an election. Oh yeah,
[1:36:56] That's right. Forgot about that.
[1:36:59] Mike. Do we want to consider That's up to you.
[1:37:01] Rescheduling that meeting. So that meeting is scheduled
[1:37:04] for state primary day.
[1:37:06] Good Call. I personally, I mean I, I would like
[1:37:10] to see it move to a different day
[1:37:12] for obviously my own personal reasons
[1:37:14] because I work the elections and so does
[1:37:18] Yeah.
[1:37:19] Somebody I understand that's a, it's also a
[1:37:21] Conflict.
[1:37:22] That's a conflict for a lot of other peoples.
[1:37:23] That's September 8th, right? Well
[1:37:25] You're holding signs too. Yeah.
[1:37:27] So September 7th is Labor Day,
[1:37:30] so we're definitely not gonna have it that Monday.
[1:37:32] We could consider moving it to that Wednesday the ninth.
[1:37:37] I could do that. Mike, thoughts on that?
[1:37:40] Again? This is your meeting, so
[1:37:42] I mean that date works for, for your team. Yeah,
[1:37:45] We're Gonna make it work for my team.
[1:37:48] Wednesday or Thursday.
[1:37:53] I cannot do that Thursday, September 10th. Alright.
[1:37:56] Wednesday would be better for me anyways. You guys for me.
[1:38:00] Alright. Not at Nighttime. Nice job. Not
[1:38:05] A big deal, but I'll be absent that day.
[1:38:07] Just no big deal. Alright.
[1:38:09] Yep. So if we want to move that meeting,
[1:38:11] I would take a motion to move our Tuesday,
[1:38:14] September 8th meeting to Wednesday, September 9th.
[1:38:16] Same time, same place.
[1:38:18] I'd like to make a motion for
[1:38:20] That.
[1:38:21] First by Jenna. Second. Second by Jamie. All in favor? Aye.
[1:38:24] Aye. All opposed. Motion passes. Seven zero. I'll
[1:38:27] Work with Kathleen to repost
[1:38:29] and go from there. Thank you. Yep.
[1:38:31] All right, thanks. Yeah, last
[1:38:34] Minute.
[1:38:35] So our upcoming meeting schedule again.
[1:38:36] Our next meeting will be Wednesday,
[1:38:38] September 9th at 6:30 PM here at the Municipal Center
[1:38:42] on Tuesday, September 22nd.
[1:38:44] We're gonna be meeting for a joint workshop at the town
[1:38:46] council one hour before our regular meeting.
[1:38:48] So a bit of context for this earlier this year we met
[1:38:51] for a workshop prior to a town council meeting
[1:38:54] and it's our turn.
[1:38:55] So we're hoping our these regular meetings will lead
[1:38:58] to some meaningful collaboration
[1:38:59] and some action that benefits the town as a whole.
[1:39:01] We, we talked about this a little bit earlier, so again,
[1:39:04] that workshop is gonna be here at five 30 on the 22nd
[1:39:08] and our regular meeting will follow at six 30.
[1:39:12] So if there is no other business,
[1:39:13] the board will be meeting in non-public session tonight.
[1:39:15] So I would accept a motion to enter non-public session under
[1:39:18] RSA 91 a Section three, paragraph two, subparagraph A.
[1:39:22] So moved first by Jamie second. Second by Jenna.
[1:39:26] The statute requires a roll call vote. Brenda. Jen. Yes.
[1:39:31] Jenna? Yes. Jamie? Yes. Karen? Yes. David? Yes. Chair votes?
[1:39:35] Yes. Motion carries. Seven zero.
[1:39:37] Board will now move into non-public session.
[1:39:39] Goodnight everybody.
[1:39:41] I haven't had a chance to.