Regional Governing Board Meeting Minutes: August 21, 2006

Lamb called the meeting to order at 6:00pm and reviewed the agenda for the evening.
 

1.     Public Comments: None presented.

 

2.     Consent Agenda: Peaslee moved and Kinney seconded a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. After noting that Christopher Dayton (not Chris LaFountain) was the videographer for the June 19, 2006 meeting, the motion passed 4 in favor, Lamb and Kinney abstained.  The Consent Agenda, as approved, included

                        -           the Minutes of June 19, 2006, as amended

            -           SWVRTSD Payroll Warrants #73-76 in the combined amount of $176,588.73                      -           SWVRTSD Vendor Warrant #77 in the amount $27,359.32

-         SWVRTSD Payroll Warrants #1 and #2 in the combined amount of $24,249.50

                        -           SWVRTSD Vendor Warrant #3 in the amount $85,829.07

                        -           SWVRTSD Payroll Warrants #4 -#5 in the combined amount $21,752.10

                        -           SWVRTSD Vendor Warrant #6 in the amount $61,779.58

                        -           SWVRTSD Payroll Warrants #7-#8 in the combined amount $21,711.88

                        -           SWVRTSD Payroll Warrants #9-#10 in the combined amount $24,133.38

                        -           SWVRTSD Vendor Warrant #11 in the amount $18,382.92.

 

3.     Policies:

a.     Policy #5084C – Personal Use of Wireless Communication: Peaslee moved and Kinney seconded a motion to adopt Policy #5084C, and the motion passed unanimously.

b.     Policy #5087C – Threats and Disruptions to School Operations: Peaslee moved and Kinney seconded a motion to adopt Policy #5087C, and the motion passed unanimously.

c.     Policy # 5089C – Weapons Policy Other than Students: Peaslee moved and Kinney seconded a motion to adopt Policy #5087C.  After Peaslee noted that enforcing the “school grounds or property” definition included in this policy (see page 2, lines 24-27) will be very difficult, the motion passed 6 in favor, Peaslee opposed.

d.     Policy #5130C – Illness and Injury: Peaslee moved and Goodhue seconded a motion to adopt Policy #5130C, and the motion passed unanimously.

e.     Policy #5140C – Communicable Diseases: Peaslee moved and Kinney seconded a motion to adopt Policy #5140C, and the motion passed unanimously.

f.      Policy #5175C – Substance Abuse: Peaslee moved and Kinney seconded a motion to adopt Policy #5175C, and the motion passed unanimously.

g.     Policy #5176C – Medication in School: Peaslee moved and Kinney seconded a motion to adopt Policy #5176C, and the motion passed unanimously.

In closing comment, Knapp noted that he would talk about drug testing later in the meeting.

4.     Treasurer's Report: Burfeind briefly reviewed the Treasurer’s Cash Flow and Account Balances as of June 30, 2006 and the Statement of Cash Flow 07/01/06 – 07/31/06 noting receipts and disbursements for each report period and a closing cash balance for FY06 of $632,170.89 which was within $1,000 of the balance on hand at the beginning of the FY06 year.  Burfeind also noted

-         a closing cash balance as of July 31, 2006 of $450,857.28  

-      a detail of interest earnings and operating accounts and balances are included in each report

                        -           there are “no surprises” financially for this time of year.

 

5.     Revenue and Expenditure Reports: Members noted the general ledger revenue and expenditure reports for June and July, 2006, copies of which were included in the agenda packet.

                       

6.         Finance Committee:

a.     Remaining Balance on FY06 Insurance: Lamb noted that the Finance Committee recommends making a one-time payment to MAU for $4,760 which is the difference between the amount allocated by MAU in the Allocation Agreement and the total CDC insurance premium amount submitted by the insurance agent.  This recommendation was further detailed in the Finance Committee Minutes of August 2, 2006 as well as an 8/21/06 memo from Oyama to the SVSU Business manager (copies of both were included in the Agenda packet).

b.     Advanced Payment for Wood Chip System: Lewis briefly reviewed his written recommendation (dated 8/1/06, a copy of which was included in the Agenda packet) to make an advance payment of $35,826 to MAU from CDC FY06 surplus funds, and that this amounts to approximately 1/3^rd the total CDC cost for the wood chip system.  Peaslee then moved and Goodhue seconded a motion to approve payment to MAU as described, and the motion passed unanimously. Marsden then updated the board on the status of the wood chip construction project, which is now mostly back on schedule with a start-up anticipated in January, 2007.  In response to a recommendation from Kobelia about the benefits of stockpiling wood chips, Marsden noted that

                 -           there is storage space on-site for only about 2-3 days worth of wood chips

                 -           stockpiling wood-chips can create mold problems

                 -           he is not aware of any schools that stockpile chips

-      he is talking with the Department of Forest and Parks as well as wood chip providers and is confident that there are enough chips available locally to supply both MAU schools on a regular basis.

In response, Kobelia noted that he also believes that the local supply is sufficient, but remains concerned about a potential interruption to access to that supply on a short-term basis which could expose the schools to some risk.  In concluding action, Marsden expressed interest in the possibility of local storage and Lamb noted that the topic would be discussed on one of his upcoming radio shows. 

 

7.         Education Committee: 

a.     New Apprenticeship Programs: Letourneau reported that the Education Committee recommends the implementation of four new apprenticeship programs, one each in Veterinary Technician Assistant, Culinary Arts, Masonry and Carpentry, and further noted that because Vermont does not currently have a Carpentry program, the curriculum and other details will need to be determined locally. Letourneau noted that these programs will be developed with local businesses as well as the Department of Education.

b.     Heritage Family Credit Union: Lamb reported that the Finance Committee and the Education Committee heard the proposal from the Heritage Credit Union about installing a full-service branch in an enclosed area within the CDC store (and as further detailed in the Minutes of August 2, 2006 of both committees, copies of which were included in the Agenda packet). Lamb noted that CDC students, administrators, and Credit Union staff are working out the details.  Lamb also noted that this is an opportunity for students to learn banking/teller activities as well as financial responsibility while opening and operating their own checking, savings, and credit accounts.  Lamb also noted that Heritage will absorb the bulk of the costs for implementing the branch

c.     Cosmetology Program: Lamb also reported that the Finance Committee and the Education Committee both discussed a proposal for a cosmetology program, logistics of which (financial as well as curricular and operational) are being worked out by CDC administration and staff.  Oyama noted that a grant application has been written and presented, the results of which will be known mid-September.

d.     Summer Programs: In response to a comment from Johnson, Oyama noted that summer programs were not offered this year, and that part of the reason for not doing so is that there were no such programs “written into” the grant proposal.  Members agreed to discuss summer programs again in May, 2007.  Members also noted that there were programs offered in previous years by Adult Programs in several outlying districts, all of which were funded by sources other than grants

 

8.     Superintendent's Report/ Bullying and Harassment Policies: After commending the CDC for considering the new apprenticeship programs, Knapp reported/commented on the following

-      a recent Wall Street Journal article noted the acute shortage of welders nationally, and that this occupation is now commanding significant wages

-      there was an in-depth discussion at the recent Administrative Retreat about the recently adopted SVSU harassment and bullying policies and their associated administrative regulations, and the CDC needs to adopt these policies as soon as possible, preferably before the beginning of school

-      further bullying and harassment training will be provided 8/28/06 in the MAUHS auditorium, and CDC administration and staff are welcome to attend

-      a public meeting will be held 9/13/06 at 7:00pm for all SVSU boards and the public in general regarding the redistribution of students, which is an attempt to meet the needs of all SVSU students in the most cost-effective manner (and one of the “givens” of this study is that the Catamount Elementary school will close, and that this will cause the redistribution of students).

In subsequent action, Peaslee moved and Kinney seconded a motion to adopt

the SVSU harassment and bullying policies, and after members and staff noted that

-      the current overarching policy about policies is that the CDC “operates under and abides by” all SVSU policies until such time that the CDC adopts its own related policies, and therefore this action is not needed (Johnson)

-     the state attorney general’s office has indicated that the board needs to officially adopt and to train staff on these policies and that this action should be included in meeting minutes (Knapp)

-     the board reviewed these policies several months ago (DeLucia)

and after Kobelia called the question, the motion passed 8 in favor, Johnson abstained.  Johnson noted that the actual CDC policies will come back to the board for review and adoption as soon as possible.

 

9.     Director’s Report: After noting that the bullying and harassment training could be videotaped by a CDC student, Oyama introduced LaFountain, the CDC student who will be videotaping board meetings for the upcoming year.  Reading from a report distributed at the beginning of the meeting (along with several other related documents), Oyama then noted that

-      the ten-year NEASC Evaluation is underway and various reports, all of which will require board approval, are being written

-      the board will need to approve the revised Mission statement (a copy of which was distributed at the beginning of the meeting) at the September meeting

-      career options and CDC programming opportunities will be discussed weekly during “Purple Thursdays” at which a different career cluster will be highlighted, and industry representatives will be on hand to discuss career options with students (a schedule of these events was also distributed at the beginning of the meeting)

-      beginning with the September board meeting, there will be a presentation about individual programs within career clusters to be presented by CDC faculty and students

-      activities during the 8/28-8/29/06 professional development event will focus on the NEASC reports.

And in concluding action, and after Oyama noted that welding training is part of the Forestry program, board members signed the School Board Code. 

 

10.        Other:

a.     Student and Staff Handbooks: Johnson recommended that board members should be on-hand to answer questions during faculty review of policies and administrative regulations contained within the handbooks.

b.     Signage: Oyama noted that signs need to be installed which clearly mark the CDC entrance and the MAU entrances to the campus, and Kinney agreed to bring this to the MAU Facilities Committee for further review.

 

11.   Field Trips: Peaslee moved and Johnson seconded a motion to approve the following field trips, documentation for which was included in the Agenda packet:

-      FFA trip 10/23/06-10/30/06 to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana

       -      FFA Field trip 9/15/06-9/16/06 to FFA regional meeting in Springfield MA.

and the motion passed unanimously.

 

12.        Chair’s Report:

a.     Student Representative: In response to a recommendation from Lamb, Peaslee moved and Kinney seconded a motion to have administration determine how best to gain a student representative to board meetings.  After members variously noted that

                 -   there may be directions already included in the SWVRTSD charter

   -   in the absence of a student senate, it might be appropriate for the student officers of each club to determine how the student(s) should be selected

       the motion passed unanimously.

b.     Interaction with Sending Districts: Lamb recommended that

-      the regional board needs to become more interactive with the regional districts and to teach career education in those schools in a ‘non-threatening” way (we don’t want them to be fearful of the CDC “stealing” their students)

-  this has been discussed at several meetings over several years      

-  a plan needs to be developed to implement this.

c.     Broadening the Client/Student Base: Lamb recommended that course and career offerings should be expanded to include post-graduate courses presented on a tuition basis (such as a welder’s course leading to certification).  Oyama noted that providing a post-secondary degree would require a “major overhaul” for the CDC, and that several courses already offer college credit via various articulation agreements.  

d.     Technology Issues: After Goodhue noted that the discussion about technology issues during the June meeting included inconsistent statements, members and staff noted that

-      there is no need to “cut ourselves off entirely” from SVSU Central Office services and services which may be better provided if resources are shared (Kinney) and if  “working relationships” between the CDC and SVSU are improved (Peaslee)

-      people were responding to different questions, and this was part of the problem, and staff should be asked to respond to a specific list of questions (Knapp).

Knapp agreed to further discuss these issues with Oyama and the CDC and SVSU technology coordinators.

 

e.     Drug Testing: Knapp noted that, given the potential for a wide array of legal actions, attorneys and educational leaders recommend that schools not participate in a random drug testing program.  Knapp further noted that police and parents should take the lead on this issue, although school administration and staff could send a student to the school nurse if there is ‘probable cause”, and if there is a policy in place defining specific conditions and actions.

f.      Microsoft Lawsuit Settlement: After noting that

-  Vermont was one of the states participating in a lawsuit against Microsoft,

-   settlement funds are being distributed to Vermont schools based on the number of students participating in the free and reduced lunch program

-  16½% of CDC students last year were eligible for the free and reduce program

-  the CDC needs to report any funds received as a result of that settlement

Oyama then asked Knapp what amount the CDC will receive.  Knapp responded saying that he was told that only sending schools are eligible for participation in the settlement, and after Oyama noted that the Brattleboro technical school is receiving Microsoft funds, Knapp agreed to review the distribution issue again with state officials.  In closing comment, Knapp noted that the Brattleboro technical center is part of the high school, whereas the CDC is an independent school district which does not offer a breakfast and lunch program, and that this may account for the apparent inconsistency. 

g.     New Assistant Director: Oyama was pleased to introduce Montgomery, the new Assistant Director, to the board and the viewing audience.

 

13.        Executive Session: Members noted that there was no need for an Executive Session.                    

14.   FYI: Items included in the Agenda packet for informational purposes and not already mentioned above included

                        -           Disposition of Retired Computers

                        -           Carl Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.

 

At 7:25pm, Peaslee moved and Kinney seconded a motion to adjourn, and the motion passed unanimously.