Windham Southeast Supervisory Union School Board
Minutes — October 9, 2024
Directors present: Anne Beekman, Kerry Amidon, Tim Maciel, Shaun Murphy (via zoom), Deborah Stanford
Also present: Mark Speno (via zoom), Alissa Alteri-Shea, Tate Erickson, Brandy Levesque, Ben Lord, Stacey Sawyer, Brin Tucker.
(Zoom attendees as of 5:07 pm at the end of these minutes.)
CALL TO ORDER—5:00 p.m. — Anne Beekman
The chair amended the agenda to include New Business.
On a motion by Deborah Stanford, the board unanimously approved the Consent Agenda as presented.
Public Comment on non-agenda items.
Martha Noyse – resident of Brattleboro – requested the board to begin having multi-level conversations around the school budget.
Administrative Report – Superintendent Speno discussed the ongoing fall benchmark data meetings occurring at all schools. This is where a central office team visits individual schools and in detail goes over all the data we have including social and emotional data. The team reviews interventions and supports, including enrichment opportunities, available for both groups and individual students.
On a motion by Deborah Stanford, the board unanimously approved Margaux Frank as a part time Speech Language Pathologist.
A discussion was had on the status of the part time clerical position being advertised at the central office and the board’s role in creation of new positions.
A presentation on Multi-Layered Systems of Support was given by Tate Erickson, Brandy Levesque, Ben Lord, Stacey Sawyer, and Alissa Alteri-Shea. The extensive overview included the processes used in evaluation, the supports available including Educational Support Team (EST), coaching programs, and staffing organizational structure. Brandy spoke to the pre-school EST services available to our private partners.
Tate gave an update on Special Education in the district including our case management model which is keeping us timely and compliant and allowing our teachers to focus on instruction. There appears to be anecdotal evidence that this is great for recruitment. We are facing a steep increase in special education referrals with both significant move-ins and an increase in parent requested services.
New Business – The Chair read the following statement regarding the Superintendent’s contract.
“On February 16, 2024, I negotiated and signed a new three year contract with our Superintendent, Mark Speno, at the direction of the WSESU Board. The Board voted unanimously to authorize me to do this at a regularly scheduled and duly warned meeting on February 14, 2024.
The contract began on July 1, 2024 and expires on June 30.2027. It contains provision for an annual raise for each of those years. This is a usual and customary contract in the state of Vermont. Annual raises are a standard component of educational contracts, which protect school personnel from the prevailing winds of politics.
I am stating, for the record, that I did exactly as I was supposed to do in this instance. Any intimation that I have done something untoward or unethical is untrue, unwarranted, unfair, and frankly defamatory.
I have served the students of our district for eleven years with integrity and an unwavering moral lens that put their needs first, even ahead of my own family’s. I intend to keep serving them, and look forward to continuing to collaborate with our staff to create the best educational experience possible for the children that represent our future.”
The chair reminded the board that the Superintendent evaluation is due at the end of the week.
On a motion by Kerry Amidon, the board entered Executive Session at 6:17 pm under 1 VSA 313, A (3).
The board rose from Executive Session at 7:01 pm with no action taken.
On a motion by Kerry Amidon, the board adjourned at 7:01 pm.
Notes submitted by Kerry Amidon
