Budget Committee Meeting

                                                         Non-approved Minutes

                                                            November 14, 2006

                              Monadnock Middle/High School Library, Swanzey, NH

 

Members present: Jane Fortson, Eric Stanley, Neil Moriarty, Normand Dion, Andy Bueckner, Jim Ells, Robert Smith, Thomas Parker, Stephen Russell, George Tremblay, Richard Bauries, Robert Mitchell, John Tommila and Jonathan Kenyon.

Absent: Don Arguin and Surry Representative.

Administrators Present: K. Dassau, Superintendent, D Hodgdon, Assistant Supt. and K. Chambers, Business Manager. 

 

1.      Approval of the October 24, 2006 Minutes: MOTION: J. Fortson MOVED to accept the October 24, 2006 Minutes as presented. SECOND: A. Bueckner. DISCUSSION: J. Ells commented on a comment that the Budget Committee Chair had said about C. Kahn. The minutes did not include that comment. N. Moriarty explained that would not change the minutes. E. Stanley commented that he said that the Keene Sentinel had listed sports not football as the minutes reflected.   VOTE: 12.110/0/1.238/2.652. Motion passes.  

 

2.   Public Comments: C. Kahn wanted to comment on the remark made by N. Moriarty at the last meeting.  She said that it was rude and out of line.  She explained that the contracts were voted down for the support staff and the teachers. She said that they are struggling. She would ask that the Chair keep her personnel life out of the meetings.

 

D. Connell asked that the Budget Committee think about the average middle class taxpayer. He would suggest a fair increase in the school portion of the taxes.

 

3.   Non-Budget Items the committee wishes to discuss: K. Chambers passed out the following handouts to the committee: MRSD Monthly Expense Report, 2006/2007-2007/2008 Medical Coverage Comparison for MRSD, HealthTrust, SAU #38 Budget Draft and Budget Transfer Proposal. K. Chambers explained the health increase, which is 1.9% and they budgeted for 25%. She has asked the representative to speak to the Board on the large increase one-year and a small increase the next. K. Chambers explained that Mt. Caesar is in the negative. K. Chambers will be bringing an explanation for the increase in Special Ed. K. Chambers explained that she has received three additional towns tax rate from the state and should have all the tax rates by the next meeting. She said that the cash position is good and she does not anticipate any problems at this time. N. Moriarty asked that the committee reviews the documents handed out and bring questions to the Nov. 28, 2006 meeting.

4.   Budget Committee Working Session on the budget for 2007-2008:

a.      MC2 Status of talks about tuition payment with other districts: K. Dassau informed the committee that there is no change as of Tuesday. Their expectation is to meet with J. Calhoun of SAU #29 and other School Board Members to discuss this issue. There is no promise of tuition. R. Bauries commented that if you do not think that you would be getting any funds from the outside there would be no reason to have Choice Programs and if there is no vote by the district you could not have Choice Programs. He believes that at the last minute the Budget Committee would be forced into doing something. He said that the dialogue with the outside districts needs to happen. We need to talk about this.  R. Bauries gave figures on the cost of the MC2 students at 18 students and at 45 students. J. Ells asked how R. Bauries got the $43,000.00 figure. He said that he divided the 18 students into the $789,000.00 MC2 budget. J. Ells asked why we are questioning the MC2 enrollment figures and not any other school enrollment figures. N. Moriarty said that we use the Sept. and Oct. figures. N. Moriarty asked when the administration felt this Choice issue would be resolved. K. Dassau explained that at the last Board Meeting the Board voted to support Choice Programs. The Policy Committee is working on a policy. SAU #29 and other districts would like to review that policy coming from Monadnock. The MRSB has not budgeted for the Choice Tuition. R. Bauries commented that if we accept students from other districts than the district needs to vote. R. Bauries commented that MC2 is a school. K. Dassau explained that MC2 is a program and is recognized by the state as a program.

b.      Middle School Budget: M. Young explained that his budget is up 5.47%, 3.5% of that increase in personnel, 1.5% increase in classroom supplies and materials for 3 new areas, $5,000.00 for stipends, $2,000.00 for general supplies and $2,000.00 for books and printed materials. $50,878.00 will go directly to instruction. K. Chambers explained that there would be a change in the amount of $163,581.00 for the health insurance. T. Parker asked M. Young what they are doing at the Middle School to help the test scores that would need budget support. M. Young explained the process with the teacher student ratio for identifying and helping the student. They are teaching the standards and making sure that they are focused. T. Parker heard that there is not enough money for the children. Are we doing the right thing? He commented that the children are first, the taxpayers and then the employees. He congratulated M. Young on a small increase. E. Stanley asked the computer skill levels for the students in the 7th and 8th grades. M. Young explained that they have a broad range of skills. All the students go through keyboarding, which is a six-week course. All the classes are integrated with technology. Graphic arts, spreadsheets and power point are work in progress. R. Bauries commented on the enrollment numbers and asked M. Young how many new staff members are in his budget. M. Young said none. There are also none from the grant. J. Ells asked if M. Young had a wish list to help with the AYP. M. Young explained that the books in the general supplies, being asked for because we have the programs in place. He commented that a multi-purpose room would be great. N. Dion asked about the team leaders. M. Young explained their positions. K. Dassau explained that there are no new dollars allocated. The funds came from the high school account to the middle school account. M. Young explained that the team leaders teach the same amount of classes and receive the stipends for the extra time after that. R. Bauries commented that the Middle School has failed AYP for the past 2 years. D. Hodgdon commented that the high school has not the middle school. D. Hodgdon explained that after the 2nd year the school has to work on a school improvement plan. He also explained what the elementary schools need to do after their second year. S. Russell commented that the middle school has 367 students. All with different socioeconomic backgrounds. He believes that without MC2 you may have a problem with some of those students. All around the nation there are alternative programs. J. Kenyon arrives. M. Young explained that he is an advocate for children and will look to get them ready for the world. M. Young explained that the 5th English teachers works with the students that are at a lower level in reading and writing. N. Moriarty asked M. Young if the students are arriving at the 6th grade level in math, reading and writing. M. Young commented that they are always looking for improvement. N. Moriarty commented that we are moving the problem forward. This is an elementary school issue. M. Young said that a good curriculum is K-12. N. Moriarty asked if lack of computer time was an issue at the middle school. M. Young explained that he would like to see it increased but not as important as other issues. N. Moriarty asked M. Young how many students he would be sending to MC2 next year. M. Young said 4 or 5 students. M. Young commented on the extra 55 minutes that the students who are failing or are in need of help would receive. He commented on the summer school, which is in the budget. N. Moriarty commented that in the big picture summer school is almost free. M. Young said that he would love to expand summer school. In the past he has had to cut the number of students. M. Young explained the criteria to be eligible for summer school. N. Moriarty commented that they should look at summer school for the sharper kids.

c.       High School: J. Smith informed the Board that the high school reduction in the health benefits is $237,000.00. N. Dion asked if all the dept. heads have course reductions. J. Smith explained that they teach 4 classes. N. Dion commented that is not necessary.  He said that 11 dept. heads is an exorbitant amount. He said that it is wrong and unnecessary. He said there should be only 5 dept. heads. He said that he is not blaming J. Smith he inherited this situation. He said that it is a lot of money for a little work. J. Smith commented that they are part of the bargaining unit. J. Smith commented on the adding of the extra period. K. Dassau said that the down side is that it reduces the amount of instructional time by 12-13 days a year. Stemming from a facilities problem, we are a school in need of improvement and we are reducing the amount of instructional time. This addresses T. Parker’s issue about the AYP.  J. Smith explained that a group of teachers met today to discuss the AYP school improvement plan. A plan needs to be submitted, reviewed by the state and implemented for 2 years. J. Smith said that Spec. Ed. hurt the AYP percentage significantly and the general population was close. J. Smith explained that the team is looking at the test scores. S. Russell asked how much of the facilities are dragging down meeting AYP. J. Smith said that the science labs are hurting the students. They are not state student class size. He would suggest more classrooms, which would mean more time with the students. He explained that in the English classes there is a lot of correcting time that takes away from the students. KHS English teachers teach fewer classes and have time to evaluate work. J. Fortson asked about the money in the budget for the students to take college classes. J. Smith said that was an oversight. J. Smith said that he would get the amount of money for the Nov. 28, 2006 meeting. J. Fortson commented that these are the students on the other end of the spectrum. J. Fortson commented on the Virtual High School as well. J. Smith said that there are about 12 students a semester who take the virtual courses. He said that it is an excellent opportunity. J. Fortson asked for the numbers on the Virtual High School and if there is staff involved. J. Smith said that we are working under Hinsdale High School. N. Moriarty asked how many new high school students would be attending the MC2 Program next year. J. Smith explained that there are three that came to us with interest. N. Moriarty asked how many fifth year students he has. J. Smith would be getting that information for the Nov. 28, 2006 meeting. N. Moriarty asked how many classes a teacher teaches in the day. J. Smith explained that they teach 5 classes, they have a duty, a lunch and a prep period. J. Smith was asked for his thoughts on students paying to participate in sports. He said that the district should provide the opportunity at no cost. K. Dassau commented that the pay to play option was not well received by the Board. J. Smith explained that the ice hockey players and the lacrosse players purchase their own equipment for the program. N. Moriarty asked about the extra teachers for the 5 new courses that the Board approved. J. Smith explained that there are no new staff members for the courses. N. Moriarty asked about extending the school day. J. Smith stated that would be a contract issue. K. Dassau explained that would be a much larger issue. N. Moriarty asked J. Smith to investigate a night program. T. Parker commented on the Governor’s idea of raising the dropout age to 18. J. Smith said that would be more difficult. He believes that those students opposed to going to school during the day would accept a night program. J. Tommila asked the dropout rate. J. Smith said that it was at 3.9%. J. Smith explained that the $25,200.00 in replacement equipment is to replace a classroom of computers that are 6 years old. J. Kenyon commented that it is his observation that the Budget Committee is saying to keep the schools open longer but also suggesting getting rid of the late buses. Parents can not pick up their children because they have to work. You are commenting on the pay as you go but what if the students could not pay, you are taking away from the students that you want to help. N. Moriarty asked who said to cut late buses. J. Kenyon explained that R. Smith made the comment in Troy. R. Smith said that he never made that comment. R. Bauries asked J. Smith how many students did not graduate this past June. J. Smith will get the figures for Nov. 28, 2006. N. Moriarty asked about the fifth year students sitting in class. K. Dassau informed N. Moriarty that in the State of NH you are required to educate spec. ed. students until they are 21 years of age. J. Smith explained that he has 2.2 teachers out of the 6.5 teachers from the grant. J. Fortson asked that the School Board and the principals put the college classes and the virtual classes in the budget.

d.      MC2 Questions: J. Fortson explained that at the last meeting she was told that there are 45 students MC2 but that is not the sense she received from the principals. K. Dassau explained that K. Carter and J. Smith project 45 students and that is what the budget is set on. J. Fortson asked how the extra money to fund MC2 would be made up if a default budget were to happen. K. Dassau explained that is the will of the School Board and a recommendation of the administration. R. Bauries commented that he is one of the people that felt that this program works for some. He suggested that Keene have the MC2 Program. He also said that it should be a warrant article. J. Kenyon commented that there are a number of students that said they would not be in school if they did not have MC2. He is wondering where the numbers are coming from. He commented that this is the only place that says MC2 is not a good thing. The State, the NEASC and the federal government all say it is a good program. Why not support it. J. Ells commented that the program is designed to take kids with an exceptional ability to learn but had problems at the regular school. They are not all spec. ed. students. J. Fortson had a question about the number of teachers at MC2. K. Chambers will bring the information to the Nov. 28, 2006 Meeting. N. Moriarty asked what would happen if there are not 45 students on July 1, 2007. It was suggested to have a contingency plan. T. Parker commented that he wrote the petitioned article on the MC2 issue. He commented that the program has good features in the program but the problem is it is costly. He suggested that the School Board and the administration move it closer to Monadnock in order to use the same facilities. He suggested that K. Carter be an Assistant Principal. He said that would cut costs without hurting the program. He said that a default is a real possibility so who would you hurt in the high school to fund the program. Do what you are doing for less money. K. Dassau commented that this is the 4th year of the default, most likely we will be placed on warning status by the NEASC and we will likely be a school in need of improvement. He would agree that we are at the bottom of the barrel. T. Parker commented that there are too many taxpayers at the bottom of the barrel. K. Dassau said that it is not you it is us, we. T. Parker said that we need to solve it. R. Smith asked if they thought throwing in more money would help the state testing. K. Dassau commented that is not what he said. He is saying that the default is affecting areas. E. Stanley asked if there was a significant increase in the default. J. Fortson said that the Budget Committee approved overspending in the default budget. K. Dassau said that it is a problem in a world of problems. We need to wake up. There is a problem. R. Bauries commented that the taxpayers gave 11 million-dollars in the past 4 years. He said that the School District has done very well. He said not that MC2 is a bug-a-boo but we need to know the background. It is too expensive.

e.       Mt. Caesar: N. Moriarty suggested that the committee not discuss the trailers tonight. B. Tatro commented that she had 10 staff members, 1 retired staff member and students in the audience to support Mt. Caesar. B. Tatro explained that Mt. Caesar did not make AYP due to the Spec. Ed. Student population. The Spec. Ed. Students did make a 10% improvement. She explained that they have scheduled the specials around the special ed. students. This will allow the students to receive 5 days of instruction. The staff is trying to pin point the children and their needs. J. Fortson asked K. Chambers for the insurance number. K. Chambers will get that number for Nov. 28, 2006. N. Moriarty asked B. Tatro is the 3rd graders leave 3rd grade at a 3rd grade reading level. B. Tatro responded no. N. Moriarty asked why they do not keep the students back. B. Tatro said that was not the policy. B. Tatro commented that $150,000.00 of the increase is for 4 aides. These are aides for the children with IEPS. No general aids. B. Tatro commented on the classroom used for a computer room. She said that it is the same level of parity, a program shared or on a cart. N. Moriarty asked about the extended music. B. Tatro explained that the request has been made. N. Moriarty asked the amount of time the kids use the computers in a week. B. Tatro explained that she would get that information for the Nov. 28, 2006 meeting.               

 

5. Superintendent’s Report: K. Dassau reiterated his comment from the last meeting, which was that he hoped the School Board and the Budget Committee could agree on a budget. He commented that a default budget is not a source of pride.

 

He commented that the School Board has a policy on retention. Research does not support retention.

 

The default meeting is scheduled for Nov. 16, 2006.

 

6.  Board Chair Report: N. Moriarty commented that the Budget Committee endorsed a budget lower than the default. He said that throwing money at it doesn’t always solve it. He also said that everything is social promotion. Everyone has to cover that. Do it where it is suppose to be done.

 

 S. Russell commented that people should go and look at some of the classrooms. It is a different classroom today. It is a difficult job. 

 

7. Setting the Agenda:

1.      School Board Report

2.      Facilities (if ready)

3.      Emerson, Cutler, District, Mt. Caesar and High School

 

8. Public Comments: J. Johnson a retired Mt. Caesar teacher of 19 years commented that she never did the social promotion. She did promote a student who was her size and older than the other in her class. There are many factors. Do not think that they are all the same. You should not blame the elementary schools.

 

D. Connell asked if they can not do the work why promote.

 

J. Carnie commented on the MC2 program. He said that the numbers for enrollment need to be questioned for MC2 and not the other is because of the 300% increase for that program. It is not a matter of picking on MC2. They are consistently off the projections. No one has projected close to 45 students.

 

R. Bauries commented that the district received more than the 11 million-dollars over the last 4 years because of the additional money from the grant.

 

C. Dreyfuss commented that the numbers are down for MC2 but in light of the negative support that is not a surprise. She agreed that the default budget is not a source of pride. She is in agreement of retaining students but how do you justify the default budget and retaining students.

 

J. Fortson commented that she has never promoted a default budget. We have lived within a default budget.

 

MOTION: J. Tommila MOVED to adjourn at 9:25 PM. SECOND: J. Fortson. VOTE: Unanimous for those present.

 

Respectfully submitted, 

 

 

Laura L. Aivaliotis

MRSD Recording secretary