Lyme School District
Special School Board Meeting
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Meeting Minutes
(approved with changes 12/13/07)

Board Members Present: Peter Glenshaw, Audrey Brown, Kathy McGowan, Dan Parish, Mark Schiffman. Staff Members Present: Gordon Schnare, Jeff Valence, Meg Franks, 1 public; Recorder: Roger Lohr

1. Call to Order The Lyme School Board special meeting was called to order at 6:12 p.m. by Board Vice Chair Kathy McGowan.

2. Review of FY 2008-09 Budget
2008-09 Budget Overview
Superintendent Schnare outlined the budget meeting process and commented that the budget increase for the 2008-09 school year was projected at present to be below the school board’s goal. The biggest savings are in the high school special education costs because there were no costly out-of-district placements. The high school tuition is also lower due to a decrease in the number of Lyme students in high school at this time. It is expected that $50,000 of the $100,000 surplus would be transferred into the High School Trust Fund. There will be increased expenses for school security and staff development for curriculum work.

It was expected that the Board would review the budget document at this meeting but not make decisions at this time. There will be some preliminary decisions made at the next Board meeting and then the budget will be presented to the Budget Committee. The formal Board vote on the budget will be done by the Board in January to be warranted and voted by the residents in March.

Budget Discussion
The High School tuition account, which is about 25 percent of the budget no longer uses phantoms and now incorporates the actual number of students. If a new high school student moved into Lyme, the reserve fund would need to be used to cover the associated tuition cost. Tuition to Hanover High School is expected to increase 8 percent and Thetford Academy will be a 9 percent increase. The number of vocational students may be underestimated. The number of high school students will decline from 91 to 83.

The budget related to instruction costs at the Lyme School will have an increase of special education costs (salaries and 1.5 new staff) and a decline of $7,380 in health insurance costs. There will be increases in staff development but decreases in text books as more reliance is placed upon periodicals and the Internet. One of the largest expense areas that will increase in the budget is for computer equipment. There is need to replace computers and also a new server should be acquired.

It is necessary for a pre-school consultant for special education and previously such evaluation work was allocated to other accounts. The increase in pre-school special education students will necessitate a $5,500 increase in the pre-school account.

The nonunion staff that includes guidance, psychological testing, and speech therapist will not see increases, but there will be an increase of teacher stipends for summer work as they deal with the improvement of instruction and curriculum development.

There will be a coach or coaches for language arts to help teachers to adopt successful writing practices after the 7th and 8th grade LA/Social Studies teacher retires. This $15,000 budget item will help benefit teachers and students.

Audrey Brown will check with the Library Board regarding the library salaries so that everyone has a similar understanding. There will be an increase in advertising for recruiting staff when necessary and there is need for some new desk furniture. The principal has a negotiated salary increase, too.

Kathy McGowan will check with the town regarding the price of oil. The Board also discussed that emergency services should be a town budget item rather than with the school. The new bus lease is lower but there will be an account for fuel expenses related to the busses.

The Board also discussed amounts and timing to offset the looming increase in high school enrollment in the coming years.

The food service deficit is set at $10,000. The food service budget is up $6,000, mainly because of higher food costs.

3. Nonpublic session: A motion was made and seconded (Brown, McGowan) to enter nonpublic session in accordance with RSA 91-A3 (ll. (a) & (c) for discussion of matters relating to personnel and pupils. The motion passed unanimously. The Board conducted roll call and entered nonpublic session at 8:25 PM.
The board returned to public session at 9:37 PM (Brown, McGowan).

4. Adjournment: A motion was made and seconded (Brown, McGowan) to adjourn the meeting at 9:38 PM. The motion passed unanimously.
The manifests were reviewed and signed by the authorized Board members. The next Regular Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 13, 2007 at 7:00 PM.