Lyme School District
Regular School Board Meeting
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Meeting Minutes
approved with changes on 9/24/09

Board Members Present: Audrey Brown, Emily Dentzer, Daniel Parish, Mark Schiffman, Kate Semple Barta, Lou-Anne Conroy. Staff Members Present: Gordon Schnare, Jeff Valence. Recorded by R. Lohr

1. Call to Order
Chair Schiffman called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM.

2. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made and seconded (Parish, Brown) to approve the Lyme School Board regular meeting minutes for June 18, 2009, as submitted and amended. The motion was passed unanimously. The changes in item 3D, 2nd sentence should read “…other people, who were involved in the development of the position for the Lyme School, develop a position description, and…”

In item 4, 3rd paragraph change spelling of “bourne.”
A motion was made and seconded (Parish, Brown) to approve the Lyme School Board non-public meeting minutes for June 18, 2009, as submitted. The motion was passed unanimously.

The Board agreed to approve the minutes of the July 30 meeting at the next Board meeting.

3. Communications and Reports
A. Chair’s Report:
The chair planned to speak about other agenda topics later in the meeting.

B. Superintendent’s Report:
The Superintendent distributed the 2007-08 Audit and commented that there were no special findings in the report. The 2008/09 report is now in process. The state DOE25, MS25, and MS24 were distributed to the Board and signatures were obtained where needed.

The year-end financial report showed a surplus of $298,323, which will be applied to the residential tax rate.
Chair Schiffman commented about a statewide lawsuit that is being developed by state education and municipal organizations to oppose the shift of employee retirement compensation costs from the state to local responsibilities. Peter Glenshaw will report on this lawsuit and lead a discussion about whether the Lyme School Board wants to participate.

Food Service did remarkably well last year with a deficit of $5,117. Unanticipated costs for the Lyme School include a retirement ($10,000), shift of state retirement compensation costs ($4,000), and instructors to handle class size overflow in kindergarten and the 4th grade ($17,000). The $31,000 payment for special education over charges has been received.

Summer Work
The school security system has been installed. Solar panels have been installed but are not hooked up yet. There were doors replaced, retiled bathrooms, re-carpeting and other work in some of the rooms, and ceiling work.

C. Principal’s Report
The principal discussed enrollment, which is 185 students with 23 in kindergarten, 19 in 1st grade, 19 in 2nd grade, 23 in 3rd grade, 25 in 4th grade, 20 in 5th grade, 16 in 6th grade, 16 in 7th grade, and 24 in 8th grade.

The Principal reviewed changes made to handle the overflow in the kindergarten and the 4th grade using aides and co-teaching. The strategy was to cover the instructional needs but minimize the cost to the school district.

The foreign language program is off to a successful start and the students are enjoying it.

4. Business Requiring Discussion
Plan for the Future
The Board discussed the need for a strategy for options to consider for building expansion to accommodate 200 students. The existing bond will be paid in 2014. The Board briefly discussed portable classrooms, multi-aged classes, capacities, and dispersed grades. It was decided to create a committee to look at various options so that the Board will have alternatives to consider if the need arises in the future.

Kate Semple Barta is working to develop the Wellness Committee and is looking at a local farm food program. A parent and a student will be appointed to this committee.

The Board recognized that concerns have been voiced by a neighbor. It was suggested that the Facilities Committee consider the issues and the Board decided to discuss the details in nonpublic session.

Budget Guidelines
Chair Schiffman led a discussion about budget guidelines for 2010/11. The Lyme Budget Committee will meet in two weeks to discuss the town and school budget guidelines. The Lyme School Strategic Plan did not consider economic realities such as those that currently exist (zero percent CPI). Within the Strategic Plan’s “CPI plus one percent” scenario, the school board will have a difficult time to meet budget objectives and staff cuts could be necessary. The Board felt that it wants to maintain the quality of education while it acts fiscally responsible to minimize town tax increases. The school expenses are subject to many uncontrollable expenses such as special education and high school tuition. At the same time, the faculty contract that was previously negotiated requires an increase in the largest portion of the school budget. Additionally, the Board must incorporate enrollment into the budget parameters.

5. Business Requiring Action
A motion was made and seconded (Parish, Brown) to approve extending the contract of Kate Cook to .69 FTE at an additional salary of $7,165. The motion was passed unanimously.

A motion was made and seconded (Parish, Brown) to approve extending the contract of Tom Harkins to one full FTE at an additional salary of $13,000. The motion was passed unanimously.

A motion was made and seconded (Brown, Semple Barta) to approve the Board meeting schedule. The motion was passed unanimously.

A motion was made and seconded (Brown, Dentzer) to approve Policy EBA – Food Allergy Policy as submitted. The motion was passed unanimously.

A motion was made and seconded (Parish, Brown) to approve Policy JFAB – Non-Resident Students as submitted and amended. The motion was passed unanimously.

A motion was made and seconded (Schiffman, Brown) to approve Tom Yurkosky as representative for the Lyme School Board to serve on the Thetford Academy School Board. The motion was passed unanimously.

6. Non-Public Session
A motion was made and seconded (Parish, Brown) to enter non-public session in accordance with RSA 91-A3 ll (c) for discussion of matters relating to personnel and pupils. The motion was passed unanimously. The roll call was conducted and the Board entered nonpublic session at 9:18 PM. The roll call was conducted. Present were Brown, Conroy, Dentzer, Parish, Schiffman, Schnare, Semple Barta, and Valence.

7. Adjournment
A motion to adjourn was made and seconded (Brown, Parish). The motion was passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM.
The manifests were reviewed and signed by the authorized Board members. The next Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 7:00 PM.