Lyme School District
Regular School Board Meeting
Tuesday, December 15, 2011
Lyme Elementary School
Meeting Minutes
approved with changes, 1/12/12

Board Members Present: Bruce Hammond, Sue Hanlon, Heidi Lange, Scott May, Mark Schiffman, Kate Semple-Barta. Staff Members Present: Mike Harris, Jeff Valence, Teresa Thurston, Meg Franks. Recorded by R. Lohr

1. Call to Order
Chair Mark Schiffman called the meeting to order at 7:06 PM.

2. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made and seconded (Sue Hanlon, Kate Semple Barta) to approve the Lyme School Board regular meeting minutes for November 17, 2011, as submitted and amended. The motion passed with 6 in favor and one abstention (Heidi Lange). The change included: item 5, section 2 replace the word created with summarized.
A motion was made and seconded (Sue Hanlon, Kate Semple Barta) to approve the Lyme School Board nonpublic session minutes for November 17, 2011, as submitted. The motion passed with 6 in favor and one abstention (Heidi Lange).

A motion was made and seconded (Scott May, Kate Semple Barta) to approve the Lyme School Board regular meeting minutes for December 6, 2011, as submitted and amended. The motion passed unanimously. The changes included: add Heidi Lange to the attendee roster; item 2 second section there should be a note to the minutes that the method using the NE CPI for an indicator should have been 2.62 percent; item 2, section 3 change the enrollment to 23 in the 1st grade, 23 in the 2nd grade, 28 in the 7th grade, and 17 in the 8th grade; item 2, 6th section plural “laptops for students to use”; item 2, section 7 end the sentence after the word placeholder.

3. Communications and Reports
A. Chair’s Report
Chair Schiffman stated that the collective bargaining with the teacher union was scheduled for mediation in January. Additionally, he reported that the proposed school budget was presented to the town Budget Committee and there was an understanding of the special education issues’ impact on the school district finances. The committee appeared to deem the balance of the budget as reasonable. The committee was supportive in how the school would present the budget to the residents and it was suggested that the community begin discussing the school space issue as soon as possible. There was also discussion about using the reserve funds to soften impact of the school budget on taxes. The committee asked to receive the school district budget information well in advance of the January budget meeting and for longer term budget projections.

Chair Schiffman will help create a simplified model of longer term school budget forecast. Additionally, it was stated that the Board’s final reserve fund transfer decisions are considered at the end of the school year to get a better idea of what is necessary.

B. Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Harris will look into the precise semantics of the existing bond, which is slated to be paid within two years, to see if it could be extended to cover the cost of a new school project. There is no state building aid at this time and it may or may not be available in a few years.

The superintendent explained the current financial report and it was expected that the $51,000 balance in high school instruction and half of the regular instruction variance would be available at the end of the year, which is about $100,000 combined. The transfer from the special education reserve fund will be considered later in the school year.

The LWA water installation went to bid and a contractor was selected. It is expected to be completed during the vacation prior to the basketball tournament.

C. Committee Reports
The Policy Committee forwarded the special education policy manual for Board acceptance.
A motion was made and seconded (Sue Hanlon, Kate Semple Barta) to recommend that the Lyme School Board accept the Special Education Policy Manual as submitted by the Lyme School Special Education Director. The motion passed unanimously.

4. Business Requiring Action
Superintendent Harris explained the early retirement rules for Lyme School teachers. Covering the cost of health insurance for retirees is about $7,000 per year.
A motion was made and seconded (Scott May, Sue Hanlon) to approve the early retirement of Kathleen Ragonese in June of 2013. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made and seconded (Scott May, Heidi Lange) to approve the nonresident tuition rate at $14,758 for the 2011-12 school year at the Lyme School. The motion passed unanimously.

5. Business Requiring Discussion
Superintendent Harris highlighted details from his memo regarding budget reduction options. The proposed budget does not include increases for the teacher salaries but it does include nonunion staff salaries. The Board discussed the reduction options including the NWEA testing, adjustments to 504 and ELL, and cutting the School Board contracted service line item in half. Several board members said that their child’s teacher had gone over the NWEA test results during their conference and spoke highly of it. Jeff asked the board to give him direction about making the commitment to using the data if we are continuing to spend the money. Additionally, the Board decided to add back about $200 to account for the error in the NE CPI in the original budget. The Board also incorporated a change in the Hanover high school tuition and updated the budget. The budget included one additional FTE to address the enrollment issue.

Regarding the school space issue, the Board reviewed a few options including converting space in the building, purchasing a portable classroom, building an addition for new classrooms, and adding more space for a variety of other uses, too. The Board discussed constructing new facilities at the rear of the school and whether the immediate needs should be addressed versus planning a larger project. There are a few grade levels that have what is considered a large number of students in the younger grades and over the years programs such as band, language, and breakout sessions have been displaced.

The Board discussed options to cover the cost of a construction project and what might need to be done to inform the residents about the school space issue. It was suggested that new space could alleviate some of the pressure on the existing school during a renovation project. Some concern was voiced about the cost of the project and the level of need to move ahead at this time. The Enrollment Stabilization Reserve Fund has $50,000 and the Building Capital Reserve has more than $80,000. It was stated that the school district might consider borrowing against the $600,000 High School Reserve Fund. Additionally, it was understood that there may be some generous people in town, who have expressed interest in donating to such a project.

The Board discussed a school addition and renovation project that might be realized in two phases, one for immediate needs and one longer term project. It was suggested that one warrant article be offered for the voters to consider building two classrooms to address the school’s immediate needs. This could be part of a longer term project, which could be communicated to Lyme residents. The Board consensus was that two new classrooms would be a great value and would be used an overwhelming amount of time.

A motion was made and seconded (Scott May, Sue Hanlon) to approve the school district budget for the 2112-13 school year not to exceed $5,500,000 for advisory vote by the Budget Committee. The motion passed with five in favor.

7. Adjournment
A motion to adjourn was made and seconded (Scott May, Sue Hanlon). The motion was passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 10:32 PM.

The Lyme School Board will hold the next regular meeting on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 7:00 PM.