SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT #34
Deering, Hillsboro, Washington, and Windsor
November 12, 2009 Meeting Minutes
Draft
A. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Pelletier called the meeting to order at 6:32pm.
Announcement by the chairman as to the presence of a quorum, that the meeting has been duly called, and the notice of the meeting has been posted for time and in the manner required by law.
Pledge of Allegiance and moment of reflection led by Chair Pelletier.
The meeting was taped by the district and John Segedy; John also videotaped the meeting.
B. ROLL CALL
A roll call was taken by the recording secretary with the following results:
Hillsboro-DeeringSchool Board:Rich Pelletier –Present
Tim Grass-Present
Paul Plater – Present
John Segedy – Arrived at 6:37
Marjorie Porter- Present
Washington School Board:Gayle Terani – Present
Sue Hofstetter – Present
John Hyland – Present
Al Bruno- Present
June Manning – Present
Windsor School Board:Cynthia Stosse – Absent
Darlene Cuddy-Absent
Tracey Guzouskas- Arrived at 6:50
Dr. Barbara Baker, Superintendent
Patty Parenteau, Director of Student Support Services
Helene Bickford, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
Ernie Muserallo, Business Administrator
Carol Fogarty, Executive Assistant
Jean Mogan, Accountant
Community members
Shelly Gardner, SAU 34 Board Recording Secretary
C. PUBLIC FORUM
D. DISCUSSION ITEMS
1. Proposed 2010-2011 SAU #34 Budget
Budget recommendations and summary, prepared by Ernie, were provided. Discussion ensued around contracts in the default budget. The legalities of negotiating contracts and how they affect the default budget was discussed. The current budget is the default budget.
MOTION: John moved to have Ernie add an adjusted budget column. No second.
Ernie explained what was included in line item 580 Travel.
Training was discussed. Some Board members felt this was an area where cuts could be made by utilizing programs more locally. Marjorie spoke in support of maintaining quality training. Dr. Baker informed the Board of the actual expenses that fall under training.
MOTION: John moved to limit the travel line to $5,000 for the 2011 budget, seconded by Paul. Motion failed 4-6.
The direction given to Ernie so far was a 2% increase across the Board.
MOTION: John moved to reduce the general raises from 2% to 1%; Seconded by Paul. The public will be voting on the total figure of the budget. Salary for the new superintendent was discussed. Motion approved 3 3/5 to 3 2/5.
MOTION: Sue moved to remove Line 280 Tax Sheltered Annuity, seconded by June. Sue suggested negotiating the contract to include this if it was requested. Motion was approved unanimously. Tracey asked about Line 540 Advertising and why it increased. Dr. Baker explained the expenses which included advertising for administrative positions.
MOTION: John moved to reduce advertising from $4,368 to $2,000, seconded by Marjorie. Motion passed unanimously.
MOTION: John moved to remove Line 733 Furniture and Fixtures, no second.
MOTION: John moved to cut Line 380 to $5,000, no second.
A short break was taken at 7:55pm.
Sue started the discussion around health care benefits.
MOTION: John moved to reduce Line 240 Course Reimbursement from $4,782 to $3,000, no second.
The total amount that the budget has been reduced by so far is about $10,356.
MOTION: John moved to reduce the superintendent’s salary from $120,000 to $115,582, seconded by Paul. Tim amended to adjust the budget line to read the same amount, seconded by Paul. Discussion continued. Vote for the amendment failed 2-9. Original motion failed 3-8.
MOTION: Marjorie moved to approve the budget as amended, seconded by Sue. Paul amended to lower the budget by an additional 1% and leave it up to the administration to determine where to make the cuts, seconded by John. Amendment failed 2-9. Original motion passed ($956,467) 9-1-1 Paul against, John abstained.
MOTION: Sue motioned for a default budget of $964,308, seconded by Marjorie. Discussion ensued. Motion passed 8-2-1; John and Tim were opposed and Paul abstained.
E. ACTION ITEMS
1. Minutes: 10/7/09 Meeting
MOTION: John moved to accept the minutes with the following amendments:
- D, 1. After second sentence add “they indicate an un-audited fund balance of $205,000.”
- A,5 should read “ John Segedy would like to see a budget equal or lower to the statutory budget.”
Motion approved 7-0-4 Marjorie, Gayle, Sue and Tim abstained.
2. Superintendent Job description
The NH code of administrative rules, which defines the duties of school superintendent and the SAU #34 Superintendent’s job description was handed out. Discussion ensued. Chair Pelletier suggested forming a sub-committee to work on this. John Segedy, Sue Hofstetter, Marjorie Porter and Tracey Guzouskas volunteered for this sub-committee.
Paul expressed that he is against offering multi-year contracts to administration unless they are under separate warrant articles.
F. NON-PUBLIC SESSION – if needed
MOTION: John moved to go into non-public session, seconded by Marjorie.
Rich, yes; Tim, yes; Paul, yes; John S., yes; Marjorie, yes; Tracey, yes; Sue, yes; June, yes; John H., yes; Al, yes, Gayle, yes.
G. CALL BACK TO ORDER
Chair Pelletier called the meeting back to order at 9:32pm.
H. ACTION FOLLOWING NON-PUBLIC SESSION
MOTION: Marjorie motioned to seal the minutes of the non-public session, seconded by Paul and approved unanimously.
I. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: John Segedy motioned to adjourn, seconded by Tim and approved unanimously at 9:34pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Shelly Gardner, Recording Secretary
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