Lyme School District
Regular School Board Meeting
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Lyme Elementary School
Meeting Minutes
Approved w/changes 11/20/08

Board Members Present: Peter Glenshaw, Audrey Brown, Emily Dentzer, Kevin Kerin, Dan Parish, Mark Schiffman. 2 public and 3 faculty (Jane, Penny, Miki). Administrators Present: Gordon Schnare, Jeff Valence; Recorder: Roger Lohr

1. Call to Order
The regular Lyme School Board meeting was called to order at 7:03 PM by Board Chair Peter Glenshaw. Lyme resident Patrick Caldwell, a student in Hanover High Civitas class was welcomed to the meeting.

2. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made and seconded (Schiffman, Kerin) to approve the minutes from the September 25, 2008 Lyme School Board Meeting, as submitted and amended. The motion was passed unanimously. The change to item 3A in the last sentence of the second paragraph inserted the word “tasks” after volunteer. In item 3C change the first sentence to refer to the Lyme student results rather than that they “did poorly.”

A motion was made and seconded (Kerin, Dentzer) to approve the minutes from the September 25, 2008 Lyme School Board Non Public Meeting, as submitted. The motion was passed unanimously.

The motion to approve the meeting minutes of the October 8, 2008 Special Board meeting was withdrawn (Kerin, Parish). It was suggested that the fourth paragraph be removed from the minutes and replaced with a general statement that the details of Kathy McGowan’s memo and the Dresden letter were discussed.

A motion was made and seconded (Glenshaw, Schiffman) to approve tabling the motion to approve the October 8 Special Board meeting minutes. The motion was passed unanimously.

3. Communications and Reports
A. Chair’s Report
Chair Peter Glenshaw stated that a meeting had been scheduled with himself, Kathy McGowan, and representatives from Dresden.

B. Superintendent’s Report:
Superintendent Schnare commented about the financial report and distributed the revenue report. The food service is looking good. The lunch program had 130 lunches sold on one day this week and sales have been consistently higher this year. There are concerns about the cost of class trips and the Montreal trip was replaced with a less expensive local trip. It was suggested that the Board consider school district priorities with regard to the financial climate.

C. Principal’s Report
Principal Valence discussed enrollment and the activities on the recent in-service days. Report card revisions are underway in grades 1-5 with more detailed assessments. The principal wants to schedule coffee talks with parent groups.

D. Committee Reports
Audrey Brown reported about library issues regarding staff certification. The Board supported the librarian getting recertified. The SAU has offered to pay for the librarian’s professional development costs. The library coordinator has also had some college costs covered by the SAU. Ms. Brown will inform the Library Trustees of the School Board positions.

4. Business Requiring Discussion
The Board discussed school safety and the level of responsibility that should be provided to students. The school nurse FTE’s and responsibilities are not specified in any Board policies. The laws regarding equal access to school and curriculum has been expanded and the Lyme School District is presently developing a policy on these issues.

The Board was informed about a group of residents involved with a food initiative and the group encourages the district to make efforts to increase the volume of food that is purchased from local growers. Grant funding is also being sought by the group. Issues to consider include food and delivery costs, reliability, and food safety. It was suggested that if the school were to purchase more local food that it would want to begin this process with the next school year. A motion was made and seconded (Kerin, Parish) to appoint Kevin Kerin and Audrey Brown as Board Representatives to the Local Food Advisory Committee. The motion passed unanimously.

A discussion was held about the nurse hours scheduled at the Lyme School. Presently the nurse is working .8 FTE. Some of the staff have had health care training, an emergency response team has been developed, and protocols have been undertaken. Field trip contingencies have also been coordinated. The Board acknowledged the accomplishments in this area and felt that the nurse position will be looked at in next year’s budget.

5. Business Requiring Action
A motion was made and seconded (Schiffman, Kerin) to approve policy BBBE Unexpired Term Fulfillment as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made and seconded (Schiffman, Kerin) to approve policy BBBH Single District SAU as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made and seconded (Schiffman, Kerin) to approve policy BCA School Board Member Ethics as submitted and amended. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made and seconded (Schiffman, Kerin) to approve policy BDA Annual Organizational Meeting as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made and seconded (Schiffman, Kerin) to approve policy BDB Board Officers as submitted. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made and seconded (Schiffman, Kerin) to approve policy BDD Board-Superintendent Relationship as submitted and amended. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made and seconded (Schiffman, Kerin) to approve policy BEA Regular Board Meetings as submitted and amended. The motion passed unanimously.

6. Business Requiring Discussion
Policy First Readings
Policy BDE – School Board Committees and Representation. The Board discussed the Board Chair participation on committees and the procedures were reviewed.
Policy BDEA – School Board Standing Committees was recommended to be rescinded.
Policy BDEB – School Board Advisory Committee was recommended to be rescinded.
Policy BEDH – Public Participation at School Board Meetings was reviewed and updated.
Policy BG – School Board Policy Process was reviewed with regard to deletions and additions.
Policy BIA – New Board Member Orientation was reviewed.
Policy DGA – Authorized Signatures was reviewed.
Policy DH – Bonded Employees was reviewed.
Policy DJEJA - 3 Bill Payment Authorization was reviewed.

It was decided that the Finance Committee would complete the Risk Assessment Survey and a copy would be returned to the Board with the next meeting packet materials.
Mark Schiffman reported that he informed the Budget Committee about the school district’s year-end balance surplus.

7. Non Public Session
A motion was made and seconded (Parish, Kerin) 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 9:12 PM.

Non Public Session Minutes

Public session was reopened @ 9:38 p.m. (Parish, Brown).

Kevin Kerin reported on the October meeting of the Thetford Board of Trustees. Their November meeting will be held at the Lyme School. Kevin will notify the public. Other discussion at the October meeting included the status of academy construction projects and low scores on NECAP science tests.

8. Adjournment: There was a motion made and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 9:45 PM. (Parish, Kerin). The motion passed unanimously.

The manifests were reviewed and signed by the authorized Board members. The next Regular Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 7:00 PM.