ROCHESTER SCHOOL BOARD

Regular School Board Meeting

July 12, 2007

City Council Chambers

DRAFT

 

Members Present:

Mr. Charles DeVito

Mrs. Audrey Stevens

Mr. William Brennan

Mrs. Anne Grassie

Mr. Frank Callaghan

Mrs. Peggy Parker

Ms. Diane Moody

Mrs. Pamela Hubbard

Mr. Robert Watson

Dr. Anthony Pastelis

Mr. John Connelly
Mrs. Nancy Warren (arr.
7:07 pm)

 

 

Members Absent:

 Mrs. Jae Duntley

 

 

 

Also Present:

Mr. Michael Hopkins, Superintendent

Mr. Kent Hemingway, Assistant Superintendent

Ms. Linda Casey, Business Administrator

Atty. Jerome Grossman

 

Guests/Press

 

Mr. DeVito called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. on a roll call with a quorum present. Members participated in the pledge of allegiance.

 

Last Minutes                        Mr. Connelly moved, second by Mrs. Stevens, to accept the minutes of the Regular meeting of June 14, 2007 and the Special meetings of June 21, 2007 and July 5, 2007.  The motion carried unanimously.

Superintendent’s Report

 

Retirement Plaque                Mr. Pedersen was not in attendance this evening to receive his retirement plaque for five years of service to the Rochester School District serving as the Principal of Spaulding High School.  Well wishes and thanks were given.

 

National Night Out              National Night Out is scheduled for Tuesday, August 7, 2007 beginning at 5:00 p.m., the event will be held in downtown Rochester.  Many community groups and organizations as well as the Police and School Departments are sponsoring this event.   Please contact Deb Houle if you would like to volunteer for the dunking tank, one of the many activities scheduled for the night.

 

Employee Recognition        Mr. Hemingway, Assistant Superintendent with the assistance of the Mrs. Christiane Allison; Mr. Rob Hanson and Ms. Cheryl Boulea introduced the recipients of the June Rochester School Department Employee of the Month award, highlighting their attributes:  Karen Good, Art Teacher at Spaulding High School; Barbara Cascadden, Psychologist; Fran Hoyt, Secretary at Rochester Middle School; and Cheri Mann, Secretary at William Allen School

 

                                                Recipients received a $25 gift certificate from The 103 Restaurant in Rochester, a certificate of appreciation.   Mr. Hemingway extended thanks to The 103 Restaurant for the contribution of gift certificates each month for the recognized employees.

 

Personnel Committee           Mr. Hopkins advised the Board that a Personnel Committee meeting had been scheduled for Wednesday, July 18, 2007 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the School Department Board Room to conduct final interviews for two Middle School Assistant Principals.

 

PBIS Training                       Mr. Hopkins reported that several staff members from East Rochester School, Gonic School and School Street School will be attending two full days of PBIS training  next week.

 

Community Project              Mrs. Stevens along with Andrew Grassie introduced a local community project that has blossomed from a community project started by David Stevens in Afghanistan to build a school and provide supplies for 1200-1400 children.  One of the goals set at the Mayor’s Summit was promoting a positive Rochester, and this project will give everyone involved a better sense of community and pride.  It is a great opportunity to rally around a very important cause, to help provide and opportunity for learning and education for the children in Afghanistan.   The project is a work in progress at this point; if anyone would like more information or to offer assistance contact Audrey Stevens at Audrey@wemissdave.com; or Andrew Grassie at Andrew.grassie@rochesternh.net    More details and information will be available at next month’s meeting.

 

Student Senate Report

                                                Reports will begin in September.

                                               

Public Comment                  None

                                               

Committee Reports

 

Building Committee:        

                                                No Action Required

 

Instruction Committee:

                                                Mrs. Grassie moved, second by Mr. Connelly, that the Board approve the proposed Comprehensive Developmental Counseling Program.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

                                                The Board extended their thanks to the Guidance Staff for their time and efforts that went into the development of this thoroughly designed program. 

 

      PD Master Plan              Mrs. Grassie moved second by Dr. Pastelis, that the Board approve the proposed Professional Development Master Plan for the District.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

                                                Special thanks were given to Lee Brock and Gina Russo for their presentation to the Committee about their Virtual High School class experience this past year; and also to Ms. Deb Hoyt, High School and Virtual High School teacher.

 

Personnel Committee:

 

Retirement                             Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Dr. Pastelis, that the Board accept the retirement resignation of Sarah Brown, Cook Manger and Sylvia Poore, Personal Aide.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

Resignations                         Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mrs. Grassie, that the Board approve the following resignations:


Karen Broderick...................................................................................... Program Aide
Martin Carter.................................................................. Physical Education Teacher
Amie Gingras................................................. Special Education Personal Assistant
Joseph Kraus...................................................................................... English Teacher
Amy McCormack...................................................................... Mathematics Teacher
Jennifer Brock......................................................................... Title I Support Teacher
Lisa Fendone................................................. Special Education Personal Assistant
Kelly Hearn.................................................... Special Education Program Assistant
Linda Sutton.................................................................................. Assistant Principal

 

                                                The motion carried unanimously. 

 

Termination                           Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mr. Watson, that the Board approves the employment termination of CW, Program Aide.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

Nominations                         Mrs.  Stevens moved, second by Mr. Brennan, that the Board approve the following nominations:


Kiley Hemphill.......................................................................... Fourth Grade Teacher
Christine Mason.................................................................... Occupational Therapist

Anne Milne................................................................................... Fifth Grade Teacher

Stephen Nugent....................................................... Technology-Plumbing Teacher

Pamela Parsell-Tobin.............................................................................. Program Aide

Christopher Pike............................................................... Entry Level PC Technician

Joseph Widman.................................................................................... Music Teacher
Walter Estes.................................................................................................. Custodian
William Moore.............................................................................................. Custodian
Elaine Paula........................................................................................................... Nurse
Lorraine Perry..................................................................................... Grade 5 Teacher
Guy Sawyer..................................................................................................... Secretary

 
The motion carried unanimously.

                                                Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mrs. Grassie, that the Board approve the following Department Head and Curriculum Advisor nominations:
                                                                                                                                           

Karen Good................................................................................ Art Department Head
Therese Letourneau....................................................... Business Department Head
Tom Alberghini.................................................................. English Department Head
Ruthellen Sanders......................... Family & Consumer Science Department Head
Martin Wintje......................................... International Language Department Head
Barry Smith............................................................... Mathematics Department Head
Patricia Sukduang............................................................. Science Department Head
Frederick Apt.......................................................... Social Studies Department Head
David Robbins........................................................... Technology Department Head
Abra Andrews.................................................................................. Art Club Advisor
Nicole Bandera......................................................................... Class of 2008 Advisor
Karen Good............................................................................... Class of 2008 Advisor
Breinne Jordan......................................................................... Class of 2009 Advisor
Michelle Weaver...................................................................... Class of 2009 Advisor
Jennifer Daly............................................................................. Class of 2010 Advisor
Thomas Daly............................................................................ Class of 2010 Advisor
Elizabeth Caramihalis............................................................... Class of 2011 Advisor
Lynda Baita............................................................................... Class of 2011 Advisor   
Cheryl Allen.......................................................................................... FBLA Advisor
Lynda Morgan................................................................................... FCCLA Advisor
Courtney Ritchings............................................................................... FEET Advisor
Sarah Marino.......................................................................................... FEET Advisor
David Robbins.........................................................................................
FFA Advisor
Martha Whitehouse...............................................................................
FFA Advisor
Robert Seaward........................................... Granite State Challenge Team Advisor

Sharon Lewis........................................................................................ HOSA Advisor

Judy Cohen................................................................... Human Rights Club Advisor

Susan Westfall................................................................................ Key Club Advisor

Allison Leach.................................................................................. Key Club Advisor

Rachel Stockwell............................................................. Literary Magazine Advisor

Barry Smith......................................................................... Mu Alpha Theta Advisor

Christine Schadler................................................. National Honor Society Advisor

Alan Stone.............................................................. National Honor Society Advisor

David Robbins............................................................................. Newspaper Advisor

Rachel Stockwell......................................................................... Newspaper Advisor

George Ackerman...................................................................... Outing Club Advisor

Donna Ackerman....................................................................... Outing Club Advisor

John Iudice........................................................................................... SADD Advisor

Karen Good...................................................................................... SEARCH Advisor

Jennifer Daly.................................................................................... SEARCH Advisor

Deb Day................................................... Spanish National Honor Society Advisor

Patricia Sukduang................................................................ Student Senate Advisor

Jerome Lachance............................................................................ Yearbook Advisor   

Sharon Ridley............................................ Yearbook Advisor (Business Manager)

Clayton McKenney.......................................................... Audio-Visual Coordinator

Cheryl Richardson..................................................................................... Drill Master

Marty Wintje.............................................................. Foreign Culture Club Advisor

Rebecca Buzzell......................................... National Junior Honor Society Advisor

                                               

                                                The motion carried unanimously.

Summer School                     Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mr. Brennan, that the Board approve the following Summer School nominations:

 

Jenifer Anderson............................................................. Special Education Teacher
Brenda Bastianelli.......................................................................... Program Assistant

Cheryl Boulay................................................................................. Program Assistant

Carol Boyer..................................................................................... Program Assistant

Karen Broderick............................................................................. Personal Assistant

Amy Clark.......................................................................................... Program Teacher

Diana Dean..................................................................................... Personal Assistant

Theresa Doucette.................................................................................. Personal Aide

Leovi Durand.......................................................................................... Personal Aide

Donna Egan....................................................................................... Program Teacher

Erin Ferland........................................................................................ Program Teacher

Veronica Grant........................................................................................ Personal Aide

Laura Harwood.................................................................................. Program Teacher

Judith Hellings........................................................................................ Program Aide

Karen Hodgkins............................................................................ Personal Assistant

Ashley Hokanson......................................................................... Personal Assistant

Curtis Lalonde................................................................................... Program Teacher

Donna Lessard.............................................................................. Personal Assistant

Karen Mott..................................................................................... Program Assistant

Bonnie Mulcahy............................................................................ Personal Assistant

Kelly Payeur................................................................................... Personal Assistant

Jannie Pratt..................................................................................... Personal Assistant

Erin Roussin........................................................................................... Personal Aide

Daniel Saucier......................................................................................... Personal Aide

Jill Sinclair............................................................................................... ESOL Teacher

Judy Turgeon......................................................................................... Personal Aide

Charles Ward.......................................................................................... Program Aide

Jody Welch.................................................................................... Personal Assistant
George Kelley................................................ Special Education Personal Assistant
 

The motion carried unanimously.

 

Position Change                   Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mr. Connelly, that the Board changing a Deaf Educator position to a Special Education Teacher position ½ time Middle School and ½ time High School.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

Job Description                    Mrs. Stevens moved, second by Mr. Connelly, second reading and adoption of the following job descriptions:  Speech Specialist and Speech/Language Department Head.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

Special Services Committee:           

                                                No action required.

 

Finance Committee:

 

Modular Water/Sewer         Mrs. Warren moved, second by Mrs. Hubbard, that the Board approve the bid from SUR Construction, Inc. of Rochester, NH to install water and sewer services at the three elementary schools for the modular classrooms at the cost of $41,600.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

Modular Electrical                Mrs. Warren moved, second by Mr. DeVito, that the Board approve the bid from M & D Electric, Inc. of Rochester, NH to install electrical service for the four elementary school modular classrooms at a cost of $8,690. The motion carried unanimously.

 

Auditorium Ceiling              Mrs. Warren moved, second by Mr. Watson,  that the Board approve the bid from Dzioba Construction of Derry, NH for $19,258 to replace Auditorium ceiling tiles at Spaulding High School. The motion carried unanimously.

 

Auditorium Lighting            Mrs. Warren moved, second by Mr. Watson, that the Board approve the bid from M & D Electric, Inc. of Rochester, NH to install auditorium lighting at Spaulding High School in the amount of $9,945.   The motion carried unanimously.

 

Curbing Replacement          Mrs. Warren moved, second by Dr. Pastelis, that the Board approve the bid from Perm-A-Drive Paving Co., Inc of Conway, NH for $53,480 for curbing replacement at the Middle School.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

Truck Bid                               Mrs. Warren moved, second by Dr. Pastelis, that the Board approve the bid from Ron Currier’s Hilltop Chevrolet of Somersworth, NH for a heavy duty pickup truck in the amount of $29,184.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

Tractor Bid                            Mrs. Warren moved, second by Dr. Pastelis, that the Board approve the bid from MB Tractor & Equipment of Tilton, NH for a mid-size tractor in the amount of $34,525.  The motion carried unanimously.

.

Custodial Supplies               Mrs. Warren moved, second by Mr. Brennan, that the Board approve custodial supply bid from Central Paper Products of Manchester, NH for paper towels in the amount of $11,512.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

                                                Mrs. Warren moved, second by Mr. Watson, that the Board approve the custodial supply bid from Corporate Express of Portsmouth, NH for jumbo roll toilet paper, hand cleaner, and latex gloves in the amount of $9,930.  The motion carried unanimously.

                                               

                                                Mrs. Warren moved, second by Mr. Watson, that the Board approve the custodial supply bid from Future Supply Company of Salem, NH for gentle lotion hand cleaner in the amount of $4,933.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

                                                Mrs. Warren moved, second by Mr. Watson, that the Board approve the custodial supply bid from All American Poly of Piscataway, NJ for large trash liners in the amount of $5,688.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

New Positions                      Mrs. Warren moved, second by Mrs. Grassie, that the Board the following new positions:

Title I Aide/Assistant, 25 hrs/week..................................................... Title I funded
Special Education Personal Aide/Assistant, 27.5 hrs/week....... SAU #37 funded
Special Education Personal Aide/Assistant, 10 hrs/week................ IDEA funded

                                               

                                                The motion carried unanimously.

 

Increased Hours                   Mrs. Warren moved, second by Mr. Brennan, that the Board increasing the hours of four Personal Aide/Assistants fully funded through IDEA as follows:

Personal Aide/Assistant (2) ...................................... 24 hrs/week to 27.5 hrs/week
Personal Aide/Assistant............................................. 13 hrs/week to 27.5 hrs/week
Personal Aide/Assistant............................................. 12 hrs/week to 27.5 hrs/week

                                               

                                                The motion carried unanimously.

 

Stipends                                Mrs. Warren moved, second by Mr. Connelly, that the Board approve the following grant funded stipend requests:

 

                                               

Jessica Carloni...................................................................................................... $2,400
Sally Riley............................................................................................................. $3,879
Sara Toussaint..................................................................................................... $2,400
Colleen Yasenchock............................................................................................ $2,775

The motion carried unanimously.

 

FY 2008 Budget                    Mrs. Casey reported that the total budget for FY 2008 is $49,747,019.  The FY 2007 budget will not be closed out until the end of July, in order to close-out any outstanding invoices.  A final FY 2007 budget report will be available at the next August meeting.

 

Discipline Committee:

                                                No action required.

 

Policy Committee:

 

Second Reading                   Mrs. Warren moved, second by Mr. Connelly, that the Board approve second reading and adoption of the following policies:

 

                                                Policy ECA, Buildings and Grounds Security

                                                Policy KA-A, Emergency Information

                                         

                                          The motion carried unanimously.

 

First Reading                  The Committee submits for first reading the following policies:

 

                                                Policy JFABD, Admission of Homeless Students

                                                Policy JFCC-R, Student Conduct on Buses

 

Old Business

 

Graduation                            Mr. DeVito noted how nice the outside graduation ceremony was, everything seemed to go well and the weather cooperated with the event.  He further  reviewed some comments and suggestions for future graduation ceremonies:  Recognition by the Board Chair of people who have served in the district for a long period of time; The Principal on stage turning each students tassel after receiving their diploma was new this year and was well received; and finally, look at some way to formalize the process for recognizing teachers and faculty that attend graduation - something that will distinguish them from other guests.

Freshman Advisory            

                                                Mr. DeVito reported on one of the significant changes that will be taking place next year for the Freshman Academy.  There will be more of an opportunity for student interaction with other groups of students in classrooms through the assignment of 200 students to eight teachers.  This change will allow for more flexibility and opportunities for freshman students.

 

                                                Class schedules were given to students before their last day of school.  Mr. Hemingway reported that upon his visit to the Guidance Office he was told that the volume of concerns and calls was below normal.  There does not appear to be any major problems at this point with the Master Schedule.

 

                                                Mr. Watson requested that the Freshman Academy Study that was conducted by SERESC be presented to the Instruction Committee for review and discussion.

NHSBA Update

 

                                                Mrs. Warren informed members that NHSBA is now gathering request for resolutions for the Fall Working Agenda.  If anyone has any items of concern or request that they would like presented for consideration please forward that information to her.   Recommendations from Standing Committees of the Board may be brought forward to NHSBA for review.                                                                                                                                                               

New Business

     

Substitute Pay                      Mr. Brennan requested that the Substitute Teacher pay scale be sent to Committee for review.   Mr. Hopkins will bring this item to the next Personnel Committee meeting for review and consideration.

 

Adjournment

                                                Mr. Callaghan moved, second by Mrs. Hubbard, to adjourn.  On a unanimous vote, the Board adjourned at 8:08 p.m.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                Michael Hopkins 

                                                                                                                                                Board Secretary