Policy and Amendment Committee
October 4, 2022 at 3:00pm
in the District Office Conference Room
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Agenda
I Approval of Minutes from 9/20/22
II Update of Board actions concerning:
C7 Board Relations with the Administrators
D7 Volunteers and Work Study Students
III. Continue Review
H7 Leadership Councils
D2 Professional Development
IV. New Business
LSP 2 Business and Non-Instructional Operations
Transportation – Pupil Transportation Utilizing Private Vehicles
F10 Reporting Suspected Child Abuse or Neglect
F39 Students Experiencing Temporary Housing Insecurity
E 8 Tobacco Prohibition
Discussion about generating new policies to meet needs in the School District as well as prioritizing the following policies :
G8 Local Action Plan
F1 Student Conduct and Discipline (Hold pending review of all related policies)
D1 Personnel-Recruitment, Selection, Appointment, and Background Checks Regarding including students in the hiring process
V. Additional Polities highlighted by the Policy and Amendment Committee for review
G1 Curriculum Development and Coordination
D4 Educator Supervision and Evaluation
H2 Parent Involvement Policy
Meeting to conclude at 4:30.
Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) Board
Policy and Amendment Committee
53 Green St.
Brattleboro, VT 05301
Sept. 20, 2022
DRAFT MINUTES
Members attending: Deborah Stanford (DST, Chair), David Schoales (DS, Vice Chair), Tim Maciel (TM, Clerk), Liz Adams (LA, via Zoom). Absent: Shaun Murphy
Guests attending: Barbara Nowakowski (BN), Paul Smith (PS), Mark Speno (MS), Jaime Contois (JC, via Zoom)
DST convened the meeting at 3:03 pm.
Minutes of 09.06.22 meeting approved.
Committee agreed to DST’s request to amend the agenda to discuss D7, Volunteers and Work Study Students, in order to consider recommendations from administrators and parents (including a Board member not on the P&A committee).
At a later P&A Committee, DST would like to discuss possibility of developing a new policy to address students at high risk for COVID.
DST also wants to revisit F10: Reporting Suspected Child Abuse or Neglect with particular attention to reporting requirements for sexual abuse.
________________________________________
D7: Volunteers and Work Study Students
– Concern about the very likely possibility of canceling fall sports seasons for schools that cannot get full background checks for volunteer drivers.
– Might ask Pietro Lynn if a transition period for D7 would be acceptable to allow volunteer drivers for fall sports who have not completed full criminal background checks.
– General agreement that D7 should be amended to indicate a transition period which would end on 1.1.23. However, during the transition period all volunteers must begin the process of being fingerprinted for a criminal background check so that the process is completed by 1.1.23. If a volunteer is not fully vetted as of 1.1.23, that volunteer may be a driver ONLY when accompanied by a fully vetted staff member of the school district.
– An amended D7 will be resubmitted to the full board at the next policy meeting for a 10- day comment period.
– District will pay for registration fees for criminal background checks.
– BN noted that all administrators know that all volunteers need registration and background checks.
– Q: What in a background check would disqualify a person? A: It’s about assessment of risk. Decisions are made on an individual basis, but any child abuser would be disqualified.
– MS will notify the principal of Dummerston School about the change in D7.
– BN: Changes to D7 will be posted on the WSESD website on Monday.
H7: Leadership Councils
– MS distributed a handout with a sample agenda for LC meetings. Handout also included norms of operation, e.g. “Minutes of meetings will be provided within 5 days by the meeting notetaker.”
– LCs may follow Robert’s Rules for Small Boards.
– BN will reach out to principals to ask for new slates of LC members by Oct. 15th for approval by the Board on Oct. 25th.
– Article 15 notes that staff members cannot be chairs. Since Article 15 was passed by voters, LCs must abide by procedures stated in. the article, however, the Board can add to it such as a process for recruiting new members.
– DST: H7 is on hold and will be revisited at the next P&A meeting.
– On hold until next P&A meeting.
D2: Professional Development
– Discussion of distinction between “professional development” for staff members as stipulated in their contracts under Title 2A and “professional development” opportunities developed by schools for all staff, e.g. anti-racism workshops.
– MS: Professional Development Committee called for in D2 does not yet exist. District must get back to it.
– This year priority for PD is on using the new math and literacy curricula.
– PS will check into statute about the authority of the SU to determine PD activities.
– Policy D2 calls for the Superintendent to report on PD annually to the Board. However, this is not yet on the calendar. MS will draft an agenda for presentations to the WSESD Board for the year. He understands importance of a 3- to 5-year plan, but is also focusing on support for new staff. He sees the need to “backfill.”
– JC: Is it possible to look at the number of staff who have received training in specific areas such as anti-racism?
_____________________________________________
Next Meeting: Tuesday, October 4th, 3:00 – 4:30 pm.
