The Lyme School • Lyme, New Hampshire
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Lyme School District
School Board Meeting
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Meeting Minutes
(approved w/changes 12/13/07)


Board Members Present: Peter Glenshaw, Audrey Brown, Kevin Kerin, Kathy McGowan, Maggie Minnock, Dan Parish, Mark Schiffman. Staff Members Present: Gordon Schnare, Jeff Valence, Miki McGee, Jane Officer, Elaine White; Recorder: Roger Lohr

1. Call to Order: The regular Lyme School Board meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. by Board Chair Peter Glenshaw.

2. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, Minnock) to approve the minutes from the October 25, 2007 Lyme School Board Meeting, as submitted with amendments. The motion was passed unanimously. The change on item 3B was that there was a trace of evidence.
A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, Brown) to approve the minutes from the October 25, 2007 Lyme School Board Non-Public Meeting, as submitted. The motion was passed unanimously.

3. Communications and Reports
A. Chair Report: Superintendent Schnare introduced Miki McGee as the new school Special Education Director. Chair Glenshaw referenced the Strategic Plan, which is in final form and ready to be printed and he will take it to Gnomon Copy and have it ready by Thanksgiving. Audrey Brown will send an electronic copy of the plan to members of the Library Committee.
There has not been a response from the Lyme Foundation regarding managing a development fund for the school. Principal Valence reported that the Lyme Benefits Fund will support lunch scholarships for about $1,000 for one family and a report on those scholarships will be available at year end.

B. Superintendent’s Report:
Superintendent Schnare has been preparing the budget for the Board and the budget books will be made available by Wednesday, November 21. He reported that the total budget increase was 1.184 percent and it included a 4.5 percent decrease in the high school tuition expenses, fewer out-of-district placement costs, 4.8 percent increase in K-8 program costs, and with the $9,000 food service deficit the entire budget should be within a 2 percent increase compared to last year. The Board also saw a current document showing the Food Service at a $274 deficit. The prepaid revenues are presently running ahead of the expenses and the food service is projected to have a smaller deficit compared to previous years.
Another water test will be conducted in December and decisions can be made regarding filters afterward. There will be an increase in Thetford Academy tuitions and the Board recognized potential tuition increases in Hanover due to the loss of Dartmouth payments to Dresden School District in the coming years. It was suggested that the Memorandum of Understanding with Dresden be reviewed.
The Superintendent explained the budget process starting with his developing the budget, going to the Board and Budget Committee, warranting the specifics in February, incorporating it in the town Annual Report, and a town meeting vote on the budget in March.
There will be a Budget Forum held on November 29 and another one conducted for the school faculty and staff on December 6. Peter Glenshaw and Kathy McGowan will handle these forums to discuss an overview of the budget historically and looking to the future. The Board was asked to tell people about and invite them to the Budget Forum.
There has been a need for a part time special education clerk to input IEP information using new software and the Superintendent nominated Laurie Gelb for the position at eight hours per week.

C. Principal’s Report: Principal Valence reported the enrollment is at 181 and two high school students will be in out-of-district placements. The NWEA tests have been administered and there has been interest expressed by some parents to consider adding Spanish as an additional foreign language as well as incorporating foreign language into lower grades. The principal plans to schedule more parent group meetings to continue communicating with members of the community.

D. Committee Reports
The Building Committee will meet on November 27 at 8 AM to discuss plans for 2008, solar power potential, the water issue, and security measures.
The Personnel Committee met with the Superintendent to discuss his annual goals and they also met with the LEA to discuss the pay raise for next year. It was suggested that after the budget process is completed, the committee will deal with the administration succession planning.
The High School Committee asked Superintendent Schnare for a copy of the Dresden Memorandum of Understanding. Additionally, the Board commented that there had been no negative ramifications for Lyme students regarding the Hanover High School cheating incident.

4. Business Requiring Action
A motion was made and seconded (Kerin, Brown) to approve Policy EBC Crisis Intervention and Response as proposed and attached to the original Board meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made and seconded (Minnock, Kerin) to approve Policy EBCA Emergency Plans as proposed and attached to the original Board meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously. The Board asked Superintendent Schnare to present the emergency plans that are spearheaded by the school nurse. This would be done after the budget process.
A motion was made and seconded (Schiffman, Brown) to approve Policy BEDG Meeting Minutes and Procedures as proposed and attached to the original Board meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, Brown) to approve Policy EIB Liability Insurance as proposed and attached to the original Board meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
The Board decided to consider Policy IJOC Volunteers at the next meeting. Some revisions of the policy semantics were suggested and there was sensitivity about submitting volunteer parent names for background checks. Kevin Kerin suggested that the school consider working with the Heddy Group on the background checks.
The Board also discussed using the September CPI (or October if available in time) for the budget guidelines, which call for adding one percent to the change in the CPI from the same month in the previous year.

5. Adjournment: There was a motion and approval to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 PM. (Brown, McGowan). The motion passed unanimously.
The manifests were reviewed and signed by the authorized Board members. The Public Forum is scheduled for November 29. The Budget meeting is scheduled for December 6 at 6 PM, which is an earlier time that usual. The next Regular Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 13, 2007 at 7:00 PM.