Lyme School District
Special School Board Meeting
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Meeting Minutes
(approved with changes 10/25/07)

Board Members Present: Peter Glenshaw, Audrey Brown, Kevin Kerin, Kathy McGowan, Maggie Minnock, (unofficial Mark Schiffman). Staff Members Present: Gordon Schnare, Jeff Valence, Marcia Campbell, Brian Pendleton; Recorder: Roger Lohr

1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m. by Board Chair Peter Glenshaw.

2. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made and seconded (Minnock, Kerin) to approve the minutes from the August 23, 2007 Lyme School Board Meeting, as submitted with amendments. The motion was passed with one abstention (Minnock). The change was on item 3B was that the surplus in the budget was due to the high school “phantoms.” On item 4, the second paragraph should read the idea of “creating a foundation.” In the last sentence the word “foundation” should be changed to fundraiser. Dan Parish’s name was misspelled in the third motion in item 5.
A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, Minnock) to approve the minutes from the August 23, 2007 Lyme School Board Non-public Meeting, as submitted. The motion was passed with one abstention (Minnock).

A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, Minnock) to approve the minutes from the July 31, 2007 Lyme School Board Special Meeting, as submitted with amendments. The motion was passed unanimously. The change in the attendee list was to delete Kevin Kerin’s name. In the second sentence, the word “lead” should be spelled led.

A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, Minnock) to approve the minutes from the August 2, 2007 Lyme School Board Special Meeting, as submitted with amendments. The motion was passed unanimously. The change in the attendee list should add Dan Parish.

A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, Parish) to approve the minutes from the September 4, 2007 Lyme School Board Special Meeting, as submitted with amendments. The motion was passed unanimously. The changes in item 3, third paragraph in the last sentence the hiring process was overseen by Principal Valence, Special Education director Deb Trottier, and the School Board Personnel Committee. In the same paragraph, eliminate the first “the” and one of the repeated words “the” in the second line.

3. Communications and Reports
A. Chair Report: Chairman Glenshaw welcomed Mark Schiffman to the School Board and suggested for Mr. Schiffman to take on Mary Beck’s Board responsibilities. Mr. Glenshaw will email a list of those responsibilities to the Board.

B. Committee Reports
The Board discussed the overlap between the Board’s Academic Committee and the School’s Faculty Committee. It was felt that the Board Academic Committee could focus on extracurricular activities and that the members of that committee should be interested in such programming, which could include for example topics such as math, languages, strings, and mudseason activities.

C. Superintendent’s Report:
Superintendent Schnare distributed the financial report and the Board decided that it only needed to see a summary of the financial information at the Board meetings. The full report would continue to be supplied to the Budget Committee and the Chair. The largest variance in the financial information featured a favorable amount of more than $90,000 in special education. The Board discussed the school water and that it has passed the standard tests required by state. The water issue will continued to be addressed.

It was reported that the bus stop near the Appalachian Trail has been moved to the Skiway Lodge, for safety reasons. The families affected are happy that the stop is also a shorter distance away from the residences.

A public hearing is required to be held by the Board to accept a gift and an announcement related to the hearing needs to be publicized in advance. This will be done for the next Board meeting.

The Board also discussed having an additional staff personal trained in restraint practices. The administrators will look into it and the Superintendent will also check to see if there is a policy about restraining practices in school. Finally, the Board decided to split the cost of driver’s education for Lyme students that go to school in Vermont for this year. They will cover half of amount that Lyme parents would pay for students to learn to drive in New Hampshire.

D. Principal’s Report: Principal Valence reported the enrollment may increase with the possibility of two additional families in Lyme. The draft of the academic principles will be reviewed and then incorporated into the realm of instruction. The faculty is involved with this review and parent groups will also participate.

The NWEA training has been completed for some teachers and there will be more training in November. The NWEA tests measure the progress of student learning and provide immediate results and diagnostic benefits as students complete the tests. The NECAP tests are scheduled for October 3, 4, 9, and 10 and it will be in six different components within the categories of reading, writing, and math.

Eighth graders have decided to go to Washington DC on their class trip and the seventh graders will go to Montreal. With regard to the snowplowing agreement, there is a need to hire another contractor to do some of the snow plowing that the town will not do. Teachers are finalizing their goals for this year’s evaluation process. The school’s Open House is scheduled for October 18. Finally, the Lyme Energy Commission will conduct an analysis of using an active solar energy system at the school and will deliver the report to the Building Committee.

4. Business Requiring Discussion
The Board discussed policy BHE Retention of Electronic Documents in a first reading. Various methods of using email, limiting Board member exposure, and deleting electronic communication after 30 days were considered. The Superintendent will provide procedures related to the issues.

The Board considered the mechanics of developing a foundation and a fund raising plan. There was discussion about how the town would respond to the concept and the process. Various suggestions were offered to work with other foundations and to create a school-based foundation with an ongoing local base. The Board considered whether the project should be announced as an experiment for a specific purpose or be developed as a longer term effort. It was decided to announce an event to present the idea and have an open invitation rather than a limited invitation. Peter Glenshaw will look into other foundations and the Board will decide about a project timeline for this undertaking at the next Board meeting.

The Board decided to hold a special meeting on October 2 at 7:00 PM to discuss and vote on the Strategic Plan.

5. Business Requiring Action
The last sentence of Policy DFA was eliminated.
A motion was made and seconded (Kerin, Minnock) to approve Policy DFA, on Investments as submitted at the June Lyme School Board meeting with amendments. The motion passed unanimously.

6. Non Public Session
A motion was made and seconded (Brown, Minnock) to enter nonpublic session in accordance with RSA 91-A3 II. (c) for discussion of matters relating to personnel and pupils. The motion passed unanimously. At 9:07 p.m. the roll call was conducted and the Lyme School Board entered non public session.

A motion was made and seconded (McGowan, Minnock) to re-enter public session. The motion passed unanimously. The Board reopened the public session of the Lyme School Board meeting at 9:25 p.m.

Kevin Kerin asked about how to respond if we get questions about the situation at Hanover High School, since we send Lyme students there. It was agreed to refer all questions directly to School Board Chair Peter Glenshaw. Peter and Kevin will work on crafting a board statement.

7. Adjournment: There was a motion and approval to adjourn the meeting at 9:30 p.m. (McGowan, Brown). The motion passed unanimously.

The manifests were reviewed and signed by the authorized Board members. A Special Meeting of the Board will be held on Tuesday, October 2 at 7:00 p.m. The next Regular Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.