Windham Southeast Supervisory District (WSESD) Board
Policy and Amendment Committee
53 Green St.
Brattleboro, VT 05301
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
DRAFT MINUTES
Members attending: Deborah Stanford (DST, Chair), David Schoales (DS, Vice Chair), Shaun Murphy (SM), Tim Maciel (TM, Clerk), Liz Adams (LA, via Zoom).
Guests attending: Barbara Nowakowski (BN), Kerry Amidon (KA, via Zoom), Mark Speno (MS), Lana Dever (via Zoom)
DST convened the meeting at 3:03 pm.
DST amended agenda in order to move the discussion of policy review prioritization as well as the date/time of the next P&A meeting to the top of the agenda.
SM asked if F24, the Firearms policy, had been discussed. DST noted that it had been discussed and the committee had decided not to accept any of the VSBA strikeouts. It has been sent to the full board for 1st reading.
Next meeting: August 8th at 3:00 p.m in Central Office.
Policies given high priority for P&A committee discussion:
– H7: Leadership Councils
– D2: Professional Development
– G8: Local Action Plan
– F1: Student Conduct and Discipline
Also on the P&A docket for further discussion:
– F12: Transportation
– D7: Volunteers and Work Study Students
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Motion to approve 7.12.22 minutes by DS. Approved by committee.
POLICY REVIEWS
F22: Student Assessment
BN made changes agreed upon at last meeting including adding “guardian” when referencing “parents.”
MS said that the COVID Recovery Plan will be updated at the August 15th Admin Retreat which
he will lead and will include the two Curriculum Coordinators (Paul Smith and Brin Tucker),
school-based staff plus some SU coaches and administrators.
F22 and other policies will be discussed at the retreat. Currently, the COVID Recovery Plan is not up-to-date.
MS noted that the biggest challenge to be addressed at the retreat is the staffing shortage.
Committee agreed to present F22 at next full board meeting for 1st reading.
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C7: Board Relations with the Administrators
Attorney Lynn responded to DST’s questions regarding C7 and said there is no problem adding language proposed at the last meeting that requires the superintendent to present the criteria used to assess administrators (#4, p. 1 of the policy). BN will make changes to the draft.
Discussion of when materials and reports should be disseminated to the board prior to a board meeting. There should be guidelines for getting information to the board in a timely manner. Large reports should be distributed well in advance. There should be a distinction made between “updates” and “reports.” Board should be considerate of the time required for the Central Office to gather information.
Lengthy reports should be warned along with the agenda for the benefit of the board and the public.
Majority of the committee feels that policy should note that material needed for issues that require board action should be warned along with the agenda, if not before.
Discussion of 3rd bullet point on p. 1 (“the need to maintain distinction between the administrative role of the administrators and the policy making role of the board.”
No consensus on where the line is between micro-managing and meeting the board’s due diligence.
Policies are only as good as their implementation.
BN will modify C7 and distribute to the committee before the next P&A meeting.
DST tabled C7 until next P&A meeting
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D12: Policy on Prevention of Harassment of Employees.
Attorney Lynn reviewed the draft and warned the committee to avoid specifying specific dates that may not be enforceable. He also changed “40 years of age” to “18 years of age or older. Committee agreed to present D12 at next full board meeting for 1st reading.
D9: Alcohol and Drug-Free Workplace.
Committee agreed to present D9 at next full board meeting for 1st reading.
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DST adjourned meeting at 4:40 p.m.
Next meeting: August 8th, 3:00 pm, Central Office.
