WINDHAM SOUTHEAST SCHOOL DISTRICT
53 Green Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
www.wsesu.org
NOTICE OF BOARD MEETING
The Windham Southeast School District Board will meet remotely at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 via Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/92810993916?pwd=R01lN3o5ck4wOGdaWWlKK0NCa20xZz09
Meeting ID: 928 1099 3916
Passcode: pV2Qb9
AGENDA
I. CALL TO ORDER – 6:00 p.m. – David Schoales, Board Chair
II. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS
III. CONSENT AGENDA
• CLERK’S REPORT – Approval of Minutes – February 2, 2021
IV. COMMUNICATIONS
V. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
• Gregg Stoller, STEP Behavior Coach will share information around social and emotional learning (SEL). The presentation will cover the following:
o Basic SEL definitions
o Current WSESU SEL programming
o Our path to focusing on SEL as a unified district
o Focus on creating a unified district philosophy and framework
o Leadership teams backing of current action steps
o Creation of Social Emotional Academic Development Committee (2020) and its progress made
o Panorama: What it is and why we chose it
o Continued work ahead
• COVID Update of Ongoing Expansion of In-person Instruction
• Update on Recruiting Diverse Candidates for Employment
VI. FISCAL REPORT
• New Information or Documents Relating to ESSER and CRF Grant Opportunities
• Clarification of Tax Rate Calculations for Town Public Information Meetings
VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS
• Leadership Council Reports
• WSESD/WSESU Diversity/Equity Committee
• Finance Committee
• Personnel Committee
• Policy and Amendment Committee
• Programmatic and Performance Equity Committee
• Climate Crisis Task Force
• Communications Council
o The Council Will Present Long and Short Form Drafts of Informational Flyers Relating to the Town Ballot Articles on School District Withdrawals
• Social Justice Committee
o Members of Social Justice will Recommend Narrative Around Our “Ongoing Social Justice and Anti-Racist Commitment” on All Recruitment Documents
o Members of Social Justice will Recommend Including a Diverse Group of Student Volunteers on the BAMS and BUHS Screening and Hiring Committees
• Early Education
• WSESU Board
VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
IX. NEW BUSINESS
A. Possible Meeting Date Change to the Second and Fourth Tuesdays in order to Remove a Conflict for Brattleboro Residents and Media Persons Who Wish to be Able to Attend Brattleboro Select Board Meetings, Which Are on the First and Third Tuesdays
X. Public Comment on Non-agenda Items
EXECUTIVE SESSION (If Needed)
….
Note: These proposed minutes should be considered preliminary until they are approved by the Board at a future meeting.
WINDHAM SOUTHEAST SCHOOL DISTRICT (WSESD) BOARD
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2021
REGULAR BOARD MEETING – 6:00PM
REMOTE LOCATION
DRAFT MINUTES
WSESD Board Members Present: See Attached
WSESU Administrators Present: Andrew Skarzynski (Superintendent); Frank Rucker (Finance Director)
Media Present: Rich Melanson (BCTV)
Others Present: Wendy M. Levy (Board Recorder), See Attached
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chair DS called the meeting to order at 6:01pm.
II. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS
None.
III. CONSENT AGENDA
– Clerk’s Report: Approval of the minutes of the January 19, 2021 and January 26, 2021 meetings, and the following warrants and payrolls.
Warrants of January 4, 2021
Warrant No. 1196 in the amount of $ 5,724.30
Warrant No. 1198 in the amount of 17,766.89
Warrant No. 1199 in the amount of 56,947.46
Warrant No. 1200 in the amount of 132.00
Warrant No. 1202 in the amount of 1,650.00
Warrant No. 1203 in the amount of 231.95
Warrant No. 1204 in the amount of 1,008,605.04
$1,091,057.64
Warrants of January 11, 2021
Warrant No. 1205 in the amount of $ 1,000.00
Warrant No. 1206 in the amount of 11,299.76
Warrant No. 1208 in the amount of 130,700.26
$143,000.02
Warrants of January 19, 2021
Warrant No. 1209 in the amount of $ 650.00
Warrant No. 1210 in the amount of 600.00
Warrant No. 1213 in the amount of 56.22
Warrant No. 1215 in the amount of 3,831.66
Warrant No. 1216 in the amount of 85,177.01
$90,314.89
Warrants of January 25, 2021
Warrant No. 1217 in the amount of $ 39,350.00
Warrant No. 1219 in the amount of 87.74
Warrant No. 1220 in the amount of 14,327.74
Warrant No. 1221 in the amount of 1,280.00
Warrant No. 1222 in the amount of 77,356.14
$132,401.62
Payrolls
December 31, 2020 $1,034,685.24
January 15, 2021 $1,241,312.98
MOTION BY TN TO APPROVE THE JANUARY 19 AND JANUARY 26 MINUTES, AND WARRANTS AND PAYROLLS. LA SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
SM reported he reviewed the warrants, and noted many items related to improvements in air quality in the schools, with a combined cost of approximately $50,000. SM also mentioned the payment for the association bill for the three Brattleboro properties, and the replacement of the boiler at the Dummerston School. He encouraged other Board members to review the warrants to get a good understanding of operations, and he praised the Finance Department for their great work. DS agreed it’s good practice for Board members to review the warrants.
IV. COMMUNICATIONS
DS announced he received some communications about special instruction, but because it included personal information, the Board will discuss it in Executive Session.
V. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
– Update on How Increased In-Person Operations are Going
Superintendent Andy Skarzynski gave his report. Highlights included:
• “It was like the first day of school all over again last week!” said Andy, who noted the atmosphere was “magical,” “orderly,” and filled with the smiling faces of students, parents, and staff.
• Grades Kindergarten-6 and BAMS students are now attending in-person four days per week. Dummerston and Putney middle school students are working toward doing the same.
• The recovery plan is focused on social-emotional needs, engagement and truancy, and academic success. Staff and administration will work on this using Agency of Education (AOE) guidelines.
• Andy toured the district’s schools and noticed a lot of good work.
DS asked Andy how he will notify the Board about infections.
Andy responded:
The first infection was in November, and it was alarming.
The administration made a dashboard on the website, but did not see a reason to populate it. Instead, the administration notified everyone in the school district community, even if they were not connected to that particular school.
The feedback they received, said Andy, was that these notifications were overwhelming and led to desensitization.
The administration adjusted their messaging, and now all parties connected to the classrooms and schools are notified using a line-tracing process, and then the school administration notifies the community. The incident also goes on the dashboard. The point of this, said Andy, is to balance digital overload with not increasing anxiety.
Andy mentioned privacy considerations and how the administration handles this.
DS directed the Board on how to direct questions to the administration without overwhelming them.
VI. FISCAL REPORT
– Update on the New State Revenue Forecast
Finance Director Frank Rucker announced he had good news: the general forecast for revenues are coming in stronger than what the Tax Commissioner projected in December. This, Frank explained, will help the tax impact assessments.
Frank also announced receipt of a better estimate of the equalized pupils figure. He anticipates it will change again, so there is no need to change the warning. This change means a reduction in the tax rate, and overall, the change in the Fiscal Year 2022 tax rate is modest, very favorable, and indicates fiscal responsibility, said Frank.
– Availability of CRF and ESSER 1 Funds and the Second ESSER Grants
Frank reviewed these items. Highlights include:
• There are two rounds of ESSER funding. The first round is available from the first CARES Act, but it is not implemented until January 2021.
• The leadership team is working on the grant application for this funding, which is due to the AOE later in February. It addresses ways to improve educational outcomes.
• ESSER 1 is about $1million in preliminary funds. About $750,000 is for personnel to help students recover from a loss in learning, as well as COVID coordination, and teaching coaches and coordinators. Andy noted early literacy is also included in this.
• About $100,000 is for continuing PPE investments and social-distancing.
• About $150,000 is for technology investments.
• Frank explained some vendor challenges and finances for ESSER 2.
• This application process is much more rigid, and Frank explained how, and the process for working with the AOE on it. He noted the final grant application is due in March.
• ESSER 2 funding is disbursed into 2024 to help with recovery from COVID.
DS asked about the difference in funding between the two rounds of ESSER funding. Frank explained, and noted the air-quality projects that are ready to go. Frank detailed the information he received about ESSER 1 and Title I allocations.
DS asked about the EST education coordinator. Andy and Frank responded, and noted this is a districtwide consideration. Frank pointed out the district is not developing positions and programs that are grant-funded and will disappear.
DS mentioned the increased professional development, and asked if the administration could hire consultants for this. He mentioned Act 173, block grants, and how money is distributed, and how this could lead to a “double-cliff” in funding after a few good years. DS advocated for spending the funding on items/programs that will bring long-term benefit. A discussion ensued. Frank mentioned the weighting adjustment and how it affects finances.
AB asked Frank to forward his tax impact statement to DS so he can then forward it to the rest of the Board.
Frank reported the Annual Report: Barb Nowakowski sent it to the printer, and it will soon appear on the website.
VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS
LEADERSHIP COUNCILS (LC)
GREEN STREET: JR reported this LC met and discussed the school’s greenhouse, reopening, the vote on dissolving the district, the Tulip Trot fundraiser, and how the school community will alter the latter into a musical.
GUILFORD CENTRAL: SM reported this LC met on January 22. They discussed the Board report and the upcoming March 2 warning. Principal John Gagnon gave a report. On February 18, the LC will present at the pre-Town Meeting meeting. The next LC meeting is February 5 at 1pm.
DUMMERSTON: MG reported this met and discussed ways to connect the remote-learning and different cohort students; one idea is to establish a parent liaison for each class to connect the families. The school counselor presented an information session to help the liaison project. Parents have offered good ideas to connect families and access resources and support, and other LCs can do this, too.
Principal Julianne Eagan added her report of the liaison meeting: participants discussed how much they miss informal conversations that used to happen during student drop-offs and pick-ups, etc., and how long it has been since this has been possible. People are feeling isolated, she said, and this liaison project is a response to that.
DS asked if the liaison group is separate from the school and the Board. MG responded: the LC brainstormed the idea, but the parents are leading it. She added this project can continue post-COVID, and it should because it is good at connecting people, especially families who are new to town or school.
EARLY EDUCATION SERVICES
Moriah Carney gave her report. They have a few more students, and more families are showing interest in the program, which will likely lead to a greater increase of students in the fall.
COMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL
MG reported they met on January 20, and Barb Nowakowski attended. This was helpful, said MG, because it allowed the council members to identify roles, and how the Central office can help the council, and what it is okay to ask for—and this is a big help overall.
The council worked on the email subscription list, which has about 100 subscribers so far. MG wants school principals to announce this. The council will work with the Central Office to maintain the list. The council also worked on ways to help the SU and Vernon with communications.
MG noted the coming improvements to the SU website, which will be completely replaced. The council will help identify from families ways to improve the new website. MG asked the LCs to help with this.
The council discussed the district-dissolution issue, which MG said needs its own meetings because it’s such a big topic. She noted all four district towns will have the two dissolution articles on their Town Meeting warnings. She detailed what the council is doing to inform the public on this subject, and how tricky it is because of the lack of information on nearly all aspects of the decision.
A lengthy discussion ensued on the dissolution question; the roles, responsibilities, and limits of LCs, the Board, administration, committees, and staff; if the Board should take a position on the issue; and legal advice DS has received about what the Board and LCs should and should not do.
Andy mentioned statutory parameters of the LCs’ and the Board’s powers. Andy referenced 16 VSA §724, which addresses the withdrawal from a unified school district.
Nearly all who spoke mentioned the lack of information about dissolution and how to assess whether it is a good idea. AB noted the Board has no basis for comparison: the Board has spent the first year developing the merged district, and then along came a global pandemic.
MG said if the dissolution does not pass this time, the Board should prepare for a future vote until statute indicates otherwise.
VIII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
IX. NEW BUSINESS
A. Board Brainstorm on Future Agenda Items and Grant Requests
DS tabled this item until the next meeting, and said he will send a list of items to the Board to help them prepare.
X. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS
Robin Morgan pointed out the new time for Board meetings conflicts with the Brattleboro Selectboard meetings, and this creates a challenge for those who want to attend both. DS provided some background on why this change was made, and said the Board could change the meeting schedule to second and fourth Tuesdays to avoid the conflict. SM noted the Board did discuss this conflict, and the minutes from that meeting reflect it.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
MOTION BY AB TO ENTER EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER VSA 16 § (C) 313 TO DISCUSS A PERSONNEL MATTER. TN SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
The Board invited Andy. The Board entered Executive Session at 7:43pm.
The Board rose from Executive Session at 8:12pm and took no action.
MOTION BY AB TO ADJOURN. TN SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:13pm.
Respectfully submitted by Wendy M. Levy from minutes taken by Wendy M. Levy.
This represents my understanding of the above dated meeting. If you have any changes, please submit
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