Lyme School District
Regular School Board Meeting
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Lyme Elementary School
Meeting Minutes
approved with changes, 10/27/11
Board Members Present: Kate Semple Barta, Stephanie Clark, Bruce
Hammond, Sue Hanlon, Heidi Lange, Scott May, Mark Schiffman. Staff
Members Present: Mike Harris, Teresa Thurston, Jeff Valence. 4
public attendees (including 2 teachers). Recorded by R. Lohr
1. Call to Order
Chair Mark Schiffman called the meeting to order at 7:12 PM.
2. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made and seconded (Bruce Hammond, Kate Semple Barta)
to approve the Lyme School Board regular meeting minutes for August
29, 2011, as submitted. The motion was passed unanimously.
Superintendent Harris will submit a copy of the power point presentation
that was given to the Board by Principal Valence on July 11. Stephanie
Clark will create a cover sheet with relevant information about
the meeting such as attendees, start time, and adjournment.
3. Communications and Reports
A. Chair’s Report
Chair Schiffman reported on the town Budget Committee meeting
with regard to the unanticipated Special Education expense. The
Committee favored keeping the tax rate unchanged and suggested
that the school withdraw funds from the High School Reserve Fund
and Special Education Reserve Fund. The Committee opposed holding
a special town meeting. Superintendent Harris reported that state
catastrophic aide related to these extraordinary special education
expenses is projected at $62,000, which is $14,000 less than expected
when the issue was originally discussed last month.
It is projected that the special education expense will result
in a 3 percent increase in the overall district year-to-year budget
next year after state catastrophic aid revenue is taken into account.
A letter from the teachers has been received by the Board regarding
the upcoming teacher contract collective bargaining. The Board
will need to appoint negotiators for that process and negotiations
will be discussed in a non-meeting at the end of the Board meeting.
B. Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Harris cited the document of the Lyme School District
finances. The school district has been notified by the state that
there will be a $2,800 one-time payment as an extra contribution
toward payment of the state mandated retirement expense. The superintendent
stated that he will not adjust for variances in school district
accounts in financial reports but he will show over expenditures.
It was also stated that the computer budget has not been altered
for this year.
A document was distributed regarding a grant for small rural school
achievement amounting to $23,000 to be spent in ways approved
by federal government guidelines. It appears that there is not
a defined time limit to use this grant and the Board will be informed
about how these funds are proposed to be spent.
The water hookup will be connected directly into the school water
system and will bypass the storage tank. The connection work is
expected to occur by mid-October. The cost of the hook up will
be paid by the Lyme Water Association and the school district’s
Building Reserve Fund.
A number of repair projects will be undertaken at the school including
work on heating pumps. The Building and Maintenance Committee
is considering recommendations from the Energy Audit that was
conducted. The district also needs to find a company to snowplow
some areas around the school this winter.
Food Service
The Board discussed the food service program, which has averaged
104 lunches per day and $200 per day expenses for food. Kate Semple
Barta and Bruce Hammond have worked on the menu and a form has
been created to track weekly expenses. Principal Valence met with
the town Zoning Department and is awaiting a decision regarding
the need for any permits to build a cooling shed. The shed was
possible because of a grant from the Lyme Foundation and it is
expected to be constructed next month.
C. Principal’s Report
Principal Valence reported on the first and third grade class
size and he has been meeting with the teachers and getting feedback
from parents. These classes have been broken into smaller groups
of students for some subjects and activities. The conference room
will be used for math instruction and there is a need to acquire
some additional furniture. Additionally, there may be a need for
additional educational assistant time in the specials. The Board
policy on class size planning purposes was discussed and Board
members were asked to encourage dialogue about the first and third
grades. The need for more staff to address these grades has decreased
the availability of differentiation instruction for the other
grades.
New programs cited included the Spark Math in the middle school,
inquiry-based science with the Montshire Museum, and High School
101 for eighth graders.
D. Committee Reports
The High School Committee survey about high school selection was
reviewed by Tom Yurkosky for the Board. He cited that one third
of the Lyme School District students are in high school. The High
School Committe would like to promote fair and balanced choice.
Ideas suggested to enhance the high school selection process include
holding a fair with parents and students from respective high
schools; tours of the high schools with time in classes; parent
visits to the schools; the High School 101 class; surveying current
high school students and parents from Lyme; attending a Thetford
Board/Trustee presentation; information about high school class
scheduling; talking with realtors in Lyme about predisposition
toward Hanover.
The Building and Maintenance Committee cited the building audit
that was conducted, which included recommendations for school
improvements that could reduce heating load by 46 percent and
electric use by 20 percent. There would be a quick payback for
many of these investments. It was also suggested that the school
would be eligible to qualify for the NH pay for performance program
that would reimburse the district for some of the recommended
expenses. The audit also suggested some behavioral changes to
save energy.
4. Business Requiring Discussion
The Board discussed enrollment pressures on the space at the Lyme
School. The 202 students is the highest enrollment since the mid-90’s.
Some rooms have been used in other ways since those days such
as the computer room and needs for differentiated instruction.
Two classes are currently split and there may be three classes
that need to be divided next year. There is $10,000 allocated
to study the town demographics and for a space needs assessment
consultant. Chair Schiffman has discussed the possibility of conducting
a demographic study with Resource Systems Group. The Board discussed
contracting an architect to do a needs assessment that would offer
short and long term solutions to the space in the school. It was
decided that the Academic and Building Committees would work on
these projects. It was also suggested that the teachers coordinate
a group to consider instructional strategies for an overcrowded
school. The Board consensus was to fund the demographic study
and the superintendent will develop a list of architect consultants
for the Board to consider. The architect will conduct an architectural
needs assessment of Lyme School and offer a range of scenarios.
5. NonPublic Session
A motion was made and seconded (Stephanie Clark, Sue Hanlon) to
enter non-public session in accordance with RSA 91-A3 ll (c) for
discussion of matters relating to personnel matters. The motion
was passed unanimously. The roll call was conducted and the Board
entered nonpublic session at 9:20 PM. The roll call was conducted.
The Board returned to public session.
6. Adjournment
A motion to adjourn was made and seconded (Stephanie Clark, Sue
Hanlon). The motion was passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned
at 9:40 PM.
The next Lyme School Board regular meeting is scheduled for Thursday,
October 27, 2011 at 7:00 PM.
