BELLOWS FREE ACADEMY

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

December 21, 2004

 

 

A meeting of the Board of Directors was held on Tuesday, December 21, 2004 in the Library Conference Room.

 

Present were:                                                    Absent were:

Directors:

Nilda Gonella-French                                       Jim Mercier (ex)

Lynn Dickinson

Tom Koldys

Donna Corrigan

Supervisory Union:

Marilyn Grunewald

Sara Denny

Jean Prindle

Roger Derby

Trustees:

Mitch Montagne

BFA Administration:

Paul Clark

Reg Godin

Ruth Cagigge

Sally Tarr

Lawrence Carnahan

 

 

I.                    CALL TO ORDER

 

The meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM by Nilda Gonnella-French, Acting Chair, who presided, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance by all who were present at the meeting.

 

II.                 CONSENT AGENDA

 

A.         Minutes of Previous Meeting – A motion was made by Tom Koldys and seconded by Lynn Dickinson to accept the minutes of the November 23, 2004 Board of Directors Meeting as presented.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

B.         Superintendent’s Report – No additional comments were made to the Superintendent’s Report submitted to the Directors via the Board packet.

 

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December 21, 2004

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III.               OLD BUSINESS

 

A.         Committee Reports

 

1.                  Curriculum Committee – The Directors reviewed the Curriculum Team Draft, which outlined the proposed Curriculum Team responsibilities, the list of participants, and the Curriculum Team members for 2005-2006.  Discussion occurred during which it was noted that every School Department is represented on the Curriculum Team.  Further discussion occurred on the list of questions drafted to be addressed during the department presentations scheduled to be completed by February 1, 2005.  Plans are to have the presentations video taped and aired on Channel 15 or 16 for the purpose of informing the public of the courses/programs currently being provided to BFA students.   BFA’s Northwest Tech Center students will be assisting with the taping and editing of the one-hour departmental presentations.

 

2.                  Building and Finance Committee – Lynn Dickinson reported that the Building and Finance Committee has completed the final draft of the 2005-2006 Budget, which will be presented to the Directors later in the meeting.

 

3.                  Personnel Committee – The Directors were informed that the Personnel Committee has been working on contract negotiations and will be presenting the Administrators Contract later in the meeting for review and approved by the Directors.

 

4.                  Policy Committee – No report submitted at this meeting.

 

B.         Draft Operating Agreement

 

Roger Derby reviewed the final draft of the Bellows Free Academy Union High School District #48 Operating Agreement.   He reported that the St. Albans City and Town School Boards have reviewed the draft agreement.  Mr. Derby stated that the section pertaining to 504 services has been eliminated and all that is needed now to finalize the agreement is to include the dates taxes will be submitted from the City and Town.  Discussion occurred following which a motion was made by Tom Koldys

 

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December 21, 2004

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and seconded by Lynn Dickinson to approve the Operating Agreement as submitted.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

C.         Complaints About Personnel Policy – 2nd Reading

 

Review and discussion occurred on the Complaints About Personnel Policy submitted to the Directors for second reading.  There was consensus by those present to add the following phrase to the last sentence on the first paragraph under the heading Policy “yet encourages parents and students to come forward with complaints”.    A motion was then made by Tom Koldys and seconded by Lynn Dickinson to accept and warn the policy with the changes made.   Motion carried unanimously.

 

D.         Budget Updates

 

Reg Godin provided those present with a detailed review of the first draft of the 2005-2006 BFA budget.   During the review Mr. Godin pointed out that there is an increase of approximately $400,000 for benefits, and a new item to the Budget called Purchased Services for the Franklin Central Supervisory Fees in the amount of $161,378.  Also reviewed were the Special Education pass through expenses, which were excluded from previous budgets and did not appear as line times.  These expenses included paraeducators who services as one to one support personnel for those students whose IEP required extra support, individual transportation, outside professional services and Soar High School.  Reg Godin then reported that the $109,000 increase for Tech Education is not shown in the budget documents submitted at this meeting.

 

Discussion occurred on the budget information submitted and how best to present the information to the public.  Marilyn Grunewald suggested that a single page document be prepared noting what items use to be part of the City/Town elementary budgets and considered pass throughs with the BFA budgets to enable the public to compare “apples to apples”.  Lynn Dickinson agreed with the Marilyn’s suggestion and suggested that a little history (5 years to present) of the budgetary process also be submitted to the public.

 

Discussion then occurred on the time frame for the Warning of the Budget prior to submitting the budget to the public for approval.  The vote on the budget by the public is scheduled for March 2, 2005 therefore the warning for the budget is required 30 days prior to the vote.  The final budget will

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December 21, 2004

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be submitted to the Directors for final approval at their January 18, 2005 meeting.

 

E.          Communications

 

The Directors were invited to a Faculty Meeting scheduled for January 10, 2005 at 2:40 PM in the Auditorium.  Agenda items for this meeting are, 1) Principal Search Update, 2) 2005-2006 Budget, and 3) Answers to Faculty questions.

 

IV.              WARRANTS

 

Approval of warrant was deferred to the next meeting of the Directors.

 

V.                 EXECUTIVE SESSION

 

A motion was made at 6:15 PM by Tom Koldys and seconded by Lynn Dickinson to enter into Executive Session to discuss contract negotiations, Principal Service and an Update on Personnel Qualifications.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

A motion was made at 6:35 PM by Tom Koldys and seconded by Lynn Dickinson to exit Executive Session.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

The Board has authorized Marilyn Grunewald to advertise for the Principal’s position outside of Vermont.

 

VI.              ADJOURNMENT

 

A motion was made at 6:35 PM by Tom Koldys and seconded by Lynn Dickinson to adjourn the meeting.  Motion carried unanimously.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Susan C. Krupp

Recording Secretary

 

 

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