Regional Governing Board Meeting Minutes: November 20, 2006

Lamb called the meeting to order at 6:00pm, and after reading aloud and noting a small change to the agenda posted for the meeting, Peaslee moved and Johnson seconded a motion to approve the agenda, as amended, and the motion passed unanimously.


1. Public Comments: Johnson reported that he recently attended a technology conference sponsored by the National School Board Association in Dallas TX and that he is a "changed man" as a result of information learned about how technology can be integrated into the classroom, details of which he will share with the board at a future date.


2. Nomination of Student Representatives: After Montgomery introduced Waterman and Skidmore, the two CDC students interested in becoming student representatives to the board, Peaslee moved and Goodhue seconded a motion to nominate both Skidmore and Waterman as CDC representatives, and the motion passed unanimously. Members also noted letters of interest written by both students which were included in the Agenda packet.


3. FY06 Audit: Steve Love highlighted information contained within the Financial Statements and Schedules June 30, 2006 audit report (dated 10/6/06, a copy of which was included in the Agenda packet), noting that he is able to offered an "unqualified opinion" regarding the financial statements for the SWVRTSD for the year ended June 30,2006, and that those statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the technical school. Love also reported that

- no adjusting entries were needed for the period audited

- members should read carefully Management's Discussion and Analysis (pages 2-11) which he characterized as "good input and insight from management".

Love then reviewed the financial statements, as follows

- Statement of Net Assets and Liabilities totaling $1,303,914 with no long term debt (page 12)

- Statement of Activities with net assets totaling $1,189,544 (page 13)

- Balance Sheet Governmental Funds totaling $679,497 (page 14)

- Reconciliation of Governmental Funds Balance Sheet to Net Assets (page 15)

- Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances for the General Fund, Perkins Fund, Adult Education, and Other Funds, for a total fund balance of $562,810 and $29,107 in revenues in excess of expenditures (page 16)

- Reconciliation of the Fund Balance Revenues, Expenditures and Changes to the Statement of Activities showing change in net assets for governmental activities of negative $20,694 (page 17)

- Statement of Fiduciary Net Assets showing total liabilities and net assets of $42,819 in the scholarship fund and student activities funds (page 18)

- Notes to Financial Statements (pages 21-25)

- Budget and Actual - General Fund: showing a favorable revenue variance of $23,360 and a favorable expenditure variance of $256,475 for a net favorable variance, revenues over expenditures, of $279,835 which also includes an unbudgeted advance payment of $35,826 for the new wood chip system (pages 26-28)

- Report on Internal Control: in which Love noted that the audit found no instances of material weaknesses or of non-compliance.

After Lamb noted that the Finance Committee reviewed the audit and recommends that the board approve the document as presented, Peaslee moved and Goodhue seconded a motion to approve the Financial Audit for the period ended June 30, 2006, and the motion passed unanimously.


4. Engineering and Manufacturing Technology Career Cluster Presentation: After noting that the CDC recently sponsored a well-received and well-attended career fair for the manufacturing, building trades, and engineering programs, DeCesare distributed and then reviewed several documents, as follows

- Project Lead the Way: which describes the pre-engineering program in place in technical centers throughout the United States

- Engineering and Design: which describes in more detail the specific two year engineering program in place at the CDC

and also described the recent partnership between CDC engineering and business management teachers and MAU math and science teachers in a "real life" project in which students are tasked with improving an existing design (and developing the associated marketing) of binding accessory for snowboards, and as requested by a local manufacturing company (the goals of this program as well as photographs of students and teachers engaged in this project were included in a Program Innovation Project handout distributed at the beginning of the meeting). In subsequent discussion, members and staff noted that

- there are 29 students currently enrolled in the engineering classes

- the engineering introductory class runs one hour daily for one semester, and the engineering program runs two hours daily both semesters, two years

- one art credit is earned at the completion of the first year, and a math credit, a science credit, and a technology credit are awarded at the completion of the second year, all of which appear as graded credits on the student transcript

- in general, students entering the program meet all pre-requisites, although additional support is provided some students

- although three of the 14 students enrolled in the introductory class are female, there are no women enrolled in the two-year program, and DeCesare noted that he "tries continuously to get non-traditional students involved"

- recent national trends to introduce the Project Lead the Way program into the middle and elementary grades typically improve gender equity in this area (and Knapp and DeCesare agreed to work with curriculum development/education committees to promote this)

- CDC teachers, Department of Education staff, and local business leaders are collaboratively developing the Industry Scenario Assessment for math, science, and marketing students

- students who complete the two-year program with a grade of 85 or higher and who pass a locally administered standardized college test are eligible to receive 12 college credits for the course (and these credits are also posted to the student transcript).

Members thanked DeCesare for his presentation.

5. Consent Agenda: After Lamb noted that the Finance Committee has reviewed and recommends the approval of the CDC/MAU Allocation Agreement, Peaslee moved and Goodhue seconded a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. After members and staff noted, with regrets, the resignation of Bump as the board recorder for the last five years, and that

- the word "pending" should be struck from the Nomination of the Cosmetology Teachers

- Vendor Warrant #29 should be added to the Consent Agenda

and after Oyama introduced Schlesinger, who writes minutes for Pownal Town meetings as well as the Pownal Conservation Commission, Peaslee moved and Goodhue seconded a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as amended, and the motion passed unanimously. The Consent Agenda, as amended, included

- the Minutes of October 16, 2006

- SWVRTSD Payroll Warrants #21, #22, #24, and #25 in the combined amount $130,288.79

- SWVRTSD Vendor Warrant #26 in the amount $47,383.32

- SWVRTSD Payroll Warrants #27 and #28 in the combined amount of $68,352.75

- SWVRTSD Vendor Warrant #29 in the amount $65,152.19

- the Resignation of Richard Bump, Recorder

- the Nomination of Lauren Ferrante, Cosmetology Teacher

- the Allocation Plan and Formulas for FY08.


6. Committee Reports

a. Facilities Committee: After a brief discussion wherein Lamb noted that discussion on the lease agreement between MAU and CDC has been on-going for three years, Peaslee moved and Goodhue seconded a motion to approve the MAU/CDC Lease Agreement, and the motion passed unanimously. In response to a question from Lamb, Oyama noted that design for the CDC signs haven’t yet been created by CDC students.

b. Finance Committee: Lamb reported the, in addition to completing a review of the Allocation Agreement and the FY06 Audit, the Finance Committee has begun developing the FY08 budget.

c. Outreach/Marketing: In addition to the Purple Thursday events (see item 8d below), DeLucia noted that board visits to sending schools will begin again in Spring 2007.


7. Superintendent's Report: After wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving and welcoming the new members to the board, Knapp commented/reported on the following

- the Bennington School District 6th grade vote will take place 12/12/06 and urged members to support the vote, noting that a three-year experience at the middle school will provide increased time to direct students toward technical careers

- revenues received from tickets written by the Sheriff funnel through Central Office and are then applied to the sheriff’s salary

- major discussion items at the recent Vermont School Board Association (VSBA) annual meeting included spending caps on education (as proposed by the Governor and not supported by Knapp: "placing a cap on an already frugal district makes no sense"); as well as possible changes to the way in which education in Vermont is funded

- FY08 budget hearings are underway in all SVSU districts

- the benefits and costs of a state funded early childhood education are under discussion in several areas (and this could favorably impact the CDC program already in place)

- the next legislative breakfast is scheduled 1/8/07.

In subsequent discussion, DeLucia noted that he also attended the recent VSBA annual meeting and gave Lamb copies of material covered during that conference for board review. In response to a question from Peaslee, the VSBA and the Vermont Superintendent's Association have both cautioned the governor about creating spending caps while at the same time implementing new and unfunded state-wide mandates.

8. Director's Report: Oyama briefly reviewed several documents included in the Agenda packet as follows

a. Enrollment: the 2006-2007 First Semester Enrollment by Programs and Classes, which indicates 308 students in program classes, 96 students in introductory classes, a 367 student head count (37 students are enrolled in more than one class), and a 1st semester FTE of 171.4583 students

b. Heritage Credit Union Branch and Program: a questionnaire and associated material presented by Heritage for the program being developed in conjunction with the Accounting teacher for placement of a full service bank branch to be located in the first floor hallway outside the Atrium (a floor plan will be distributed) for use by students and staff; and that this will be complimented by an associated curriculum about credit ratings, credit cards, savings plans, checking accounts, ATM cards, etc. Oyama also noted that

- all teachers will be trained on the banking/credit program and will integrate this material into individual lesson plans

- Heritage personnel approached administration about this program, and already have a similar branch in the technical center in Spofford VT as well as one in a New Hampshire technical school

- assessment scenarios will be developed once the program itself is more completely defined.

c. Vermont Business Roundtable: brochure on ways to "avoid the coming workforce crises".

d. Program Innovation Project: In addition to information presented in item 4 above, Oyama also noted that the Program Innovation Project is a collaborative effort between MAU high school mathematics, science and CDC Engineering and Business management teachers, and then reviewed material included in the handout (rigor/relevance framework for the project, roles of teacher and student in the project, project goals, progress to date, continued progress, barriers and challenges for the project, and the Purple Thursday events)

e. New Bus Purchase: After noting that federal regulations disallow the use of one of the CDC buses beginning 1/1/07, Oyama reported that bids for a new bus have been received and are being reviewed by administration. Oyama also noted that there is a possibility that the cost of the bus may be grant funded, and that because the grant has to be submitted before 1/1/07, there may be a need for a special board meeting (or, alternatively, the Finance Committee could be authorized to sign the grant application). After Oyama agreed to distribute to board members the document detailing the federal regulation regarding non-conforming busses, Goodhue moved and Peaslee seconded a motion to authorize members of the Finance Committee to approve and sign the equipment grant application, if developed, and the motion passed unanimously.

9. Other:

a. VSBA Annual Conference: DeLucia recommended that the FY08 budget should include funding for sending several board members to this conference.

b. Contract Negotiations: In response to a question from Kinney, Knapp agreed to report back on the CDC portion of the cost for the consultant hired to work on upcoming contract negotiations.


10. FYI: Members noted that the following items included in the Agenda packet

- Expenditure and Revenue Reports for October 2006

- the Treasurer's Statement of Cash Flow report for October 2006, dated 11/01/06

- the Minutes of the Finance Committee meeting November 8, 2006


At 7:30pm, Goodhue moved and Johnson seconded a motion to move to Executive Session to discuss personnel, and the motion passed unanimously.