Lyme School District
Regular School Board Meeting
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Meeting Minutes
Approved with changes on 6/28/09

Board Members Present: Audrey Brown, Lou-Anne Conroy, Emily Dentzer, Mark Schiffman, Kate Semple Barta. Staff Members Present: Gordon Schnare, Jeff Valence; 4 members of the public; Recorder: Roger Lohr

1. Call to Order Chair Schiffman called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM.

2. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made and seconded (Parish, Brown) to approve the Lyme School Board regular meeting minutes of April 16, 2009 as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made and seconded (Parish, Conroy) to approve the Lyme School Board non-public meeting minutes of April 16, 2009 as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.

3. Communications and Reports
A. Chair Report:
The Board discussed the board meeting schedule and decided to change the June meeting to Thursday, June 18. Board members will consider holding a summer retreat to discuss longer range issues at the June meeting.

B. Superintendent’s Report:
Superintendent Schnare commented about the $326,000 budget surplus. The SAU office will be moved to the library basement, which was offered rent free in a signed memorandum of understanding with the Library Trustees. The SAU will cover the cost of new carpeting and paint for the space. The Board was informed about the need to upgrade the school district’s information system with new accounting software that was estimated at $25-30,000. This will also allow the files to be loaded on the server.

The Lyme School food service currently has a deficit ranging from $2,500 to 3,500 and there is $3,500 of uncollected amounts from student families. The staff is working on a $40,000 project to be covered by Federal Stimulus funds that would be for one-time expenditures such as training.

C. Principal’s Report
Principal Valence reported that the enrollment is 195 and each of the sections will be one class except the eighth grade, which will have two classes.

4. Business Requiring Discussion
Thetford Academy Board
The Board discussed the position on the Thetford Academy Board and Mark Schiffman gave a brief background. There is a substantial time commitment, which has been increased. It appears that the Lyme School Board members would prefer to not serve on the TA Board because of the excessive time requirements. The slot will be open to a Lyme resident as a liaison to the Lyme School Board. If current Board members are interested in filling the TA Board position, he or she should contact Chair Schiffman, but it is expected that the position will be publicly offered to another Lyme resident, preferably one that has a child student at TA.

Lyme Educational Fund
The fund mission was explained as one that would support programs that directly benefit Lyme students. The fund will be operated under the Lyme Foundation umbrella. Stipulations for funding were outlined and they include for example, that a funded program should be sustainable and that any program funding would not diminish the Lyme School District’s responsibility for providing an adequate education. The Educational Fund will have its own Board including a Lyme School Board member and the principal as non voting members. It was felt that the Lyme School Board would need to clearly prove to residents that the school budget could cover program costs if (or after) the fund grant runs its course.
Project ideas will be initiated at the school and the vetting process will include the Lyme School Board. The first proposal that has been accepted by the Lyme Educational Fund is an early grade foreign language program. The fund would agree to cover three years of this program and welcomes the school district to reapply for continued funding after that time period expires.
Principal Valence explained the foreign language program that would be integrated in the grade school classes and add at least one FTE. It was expected that the middle school language offerings would then include two languages such as French and Spanish. It was decided to advertise for a teacher, who had multiple foreign language skills including Spanish. The Board requested that a formal framework of the project proposal be brought forth at the next meeting that would include program particulars such as staffing, costs, and evaluation.

5. Business Requiring Action
Superintendent Schnare discussed an insurance resolution regarding workers compensation.
A motion was made and seconded (Dentzer, Brown) to authorize the Board Chair to sign a workers compensation discounted multiyear agreement as outlined in the resolution forwarded by the insurance company. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made and seconded (Dentzer, Brown) to authorize the Board Chair to sign a Property and Liability discounted multiyear agreement as outlined in the resolution forwarded by the insurance company. The motion passed unanimously.
Superintendent Schnare reported on deliberations by the Facilities Committee. It had been discussed that the summer maintenance projects would include access to the well, reflooring restrooms, encumbering funds for the security system, acquiring a pump, replacing lighting fixtures in the kindergarten room, fire-rated door replacements, and carpeting. The Board discussed the need to install a security system.

A motion was made and seconded (Parish, Dentzer) to approve the summer maintenance projects as proposed by the Facilities Committee and authorize the superintendent to spend no more than $51,610 on those projects. The motion passed unanimously.

The Superintendent reviewed how the school district surplus affects and is applied to the town tax rate. Transition planning for the SAU office will be discussed at the next meeting. There will be an energy audit conducted of the Lyme School that will include the feasibility of replacing the furnace.

There was a first reading of Policy JFAB – Non resident tuition, which allocates responsibility for special education costs to the tuition student’s family or the respective school district in which they reside. No tuition students are expected to attend Lyme School next school year. A first reading was held of Policy IFA regarding the school’s acceptance that there are materials at the library that are beyond Lyme School student interests.

6. Non Public Session
A motion was made and seconded (Parish, Dentzer) to enter nonpublic session in accordance with RSA 91-A3 ll (c) for discussion of matters relating to personnel and pupils. The motion passed unanimously. The Board roll call was conducted and the Board entered nonpublic session at 9:40 PM.
At approximately 9:56 p.m., the Lyme School Board voted to return to public session. Present were Brown, Dentzer, Parish, Schiffman, Schnare, and Semple Barta.
A motion was made and seconded (Parish, Semple Barta) to authorize the Superintendent to award a bonus to Principal Valence as outlined in his contract. The motion was passed unanimously.

7. Adjournment: There was a motion made and seconded (Brown, Parish) to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:58 PM.
The manifests were reviewed and signed by the authorized Board members. The next Regular Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 25, 2008 at 7:00 PM.