Lyme School District
School Board Meeting
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Meeting Minutes

Board Members Present: Peter Glenshaw, Mary Beck, Audrey Brown, Kevin Kerin, Julie McCutcheon, Kathy McGowan.
Staff Members Present: Gordon Schnare, Jeffrey Valence.
2 members of the public.
Recorder: Roger Lohr

1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. by chair, Peter Glenshaw.

2. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, McCutcheon) to approve the minutes from the December 14, 2006 Lyme School Board Meeting, as submitted. The motion was passed unanimously.

A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, Brown) to approve the minutes of the December 14, 2006 Lyme School Board Nonpublic Meeting, as submitted. The motion was passed unanimously.

3. Communications and Reports
A. Chair Report: Chairman Glenshaw wants to reconvene the Strategic Plan Committee to develop a final report on Phase 1 for the March or April Board meeting. Filing dates for new school board members are through February 2. It would be desirable if prospective school board members had a financial orientation. Mr. Glenshaw will speak with some possible candidates.

B. Superintendent’s Report: Superintendent Schnare distributed summaries for expenditures and revenue to the Board members. It was proposed to transfer $10,000 to the food service account and the superintendent highlighted some budget areas that were doing well including interest earned, food service, and lower than expected amounts in special education and high school tuition. The school is replacing the copier with two new copiers that will be networked to the laser printers to save on printing costs. It was mentioned that the food service expenses remain constant while the revenue fluctuates with school vacation and other periods when students are not in school.

The Driver’s Education issue was discussed and the superintendent continues to look into various solutions so New Hampshire accepts out-of-state driver education for Lyme students. A letter was referenced regarding a tuition waiver for Ethan Hurd to finish the school year at the Lyme School.
A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, Kerin) to accept a request for a tuition waiver for Ethan Hurd through the rest of the 2006-07 school year. The motion passed unanimously.

C. Principal’s Report
Principal Valence discussed the need for more time to meet with the faculty about the curriculum vision and professional development. He requested that Board members consider and suggest local organizations (outside of school) that he should join and what the Board feels should be his priorities.

D. Committee Reports
Kevin Kerin reported that the high school tuition was estimated to be $16,472 at Hanover High and $13,224 at Thetford Academy. Both are under the budget estimates for the tuition.
Kathy McGowan spoke about the Budget Committee and reported that it approved the school budget unanimously. The town will do the snow plowing for the school so the budget amount allocated for the plowing will be used to replace budget cuts for furniture and fixtures and curriculum development.

The Library issue is most relevant in town at this time. The Budget Committee has decreased the library budget because the school is funding part of a library staff person. The school will need to address the fact that according to state department of education mandates, a certified media specialist is necessary for the school. The issue will be discussed within the Strategic Plan Committee and it was understood that the Board will need to communicate about its position regarding the library. The Board asked the principal and superintendent to find model schools in the state that exemplify the library issue for Lyme’s current situation (a separate library staff and location) and find alternative ways to deal with it. The town voted to use the existing library for the school in 1994 and current residents who attended the public meeting are probably split on the issue of how to handle the school library needs.

4. Business Requiring Action
A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, Beck) to approve the School District Meeting date on Thursday, March 8, 2007. The motion passed unanimously.
It was explained that Warrant Article 2 is the school district operating budget and it discounts the amounts associated with other articles in the Warrant. It was decided that Kathy McGowan would present the budget article to the Budget Committee and at the Public Meeting.

A motion was made and seconded (McCutcheon, Kerin) to approve the March School District Warrant as submitted and attached to the original meeting minutes as amended, and to authorize the Administration to make whatever technical changes that might be necessary in order to ensure that the Warrant is legal and accurately addresses the intent of the School Board. The motion passed unanimously.

A motion was made and seconded (Glenshaw, McCutcheon) to call the election for the School District on March 13, 2007 from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., at the Lyme School Gymnasium to choose by ballot, a Moderator, a Clerk, and a Treasurer, each to serve one year and two members of the School Board, each to serve three years. The motion passed unanimously.

Superintendent Schnare nominated Catherine Patch as a long term substitute at Track 1, Step 1 for physical education and health for the remainder of the school year.
A motion was made and seconded (Beck, Kerin) to approve Catherine Patch as a long term substitute at Step 1, Track 1 for physical education and health for the remainder of the 2006-07 school year. The motion passed unanimously.

5. Non Public Session
A motion was made and seconded (McCutcheon, McGowan) to enter nonpublic session in accordance with RSA 91-A3 (II. (a) & (c)) for discussion of matters relating to personnel and pupils. The motion passed unanimously. At 8:40 p.m. the roll call was conducted and the Lyme School Board entered non public session.
A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, McCutcheon) to re-enter public session. The motion passed unanimously. The Board reopened the public session of the Lyme School Board meeting at 8:45 p.m.

The board discussed its position on the library. We are committed to making sure that our students receive excellent library experiences that comply with state law. We are working with the Library Trustees and Budget Committee to ensure that this occurs.

6. Adjournment: There was a motion and approval to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 p.m. (McGowan, McCutcheon). The motion passed unanimously.
Next regular board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 7:00 p.m., which is an early date due to the winter school break. The Little Town Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 6 and the School District Meeting is scheduled for March 8.