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 MARCH 26, 2024
REGULAR BOARD MEETING – 6 PM
ACADEMY SCHOOL, BRATTLEBORO
DRAFT MINUTES
Summary
● Board Officers were nominated and elected.
● Voting Members of the WSESU Board were nominated and elected.
● Board Meeting days/times were determined.
● The Board will follow the “Robert’s Rules of Order” for Small Boards adding back in seconding a motion.
● Leadership Council assignments were established
● The Board voted to change the Board Meeting scheduled for April 23 rd to April 30 th to avoid meeting during Spring Break.
● Six new employees were presented and approved for the FY25 school year.
● Board approved the submission of Head Start/Early Head refunding application. Application due April 1.
● Board approved the new members of the Guilford and Academy Leadership Councils.
Present
Sean Murphy (SM), Anne Beekman (AB), Deborah Stanford (DS), Eva Nolan (EN), Matt Schibley (MS), Kim Price (KP), Colleen Savage (CS), Ruby McAdoo (RM), Tim Maciel (TM), Brian Reimer (BR)
WSESD staff and administration present Mark Speno, Brin Tucker, Paul Smith, Nancy Wiese, Deb Gass, Hannah Parker, Julianne Eagan, Kelly Dias
Others present
BCTV
CALL TO ORDER – 6:00 p.m. – ADMINISTRATION
Because this is the annual reorganization meeting, it is customary for the Superintendent to act as Chair until the Board elects their own Chair.
Superintendent Mark Speno called the meeting to order at 6 pm.
Mr. Speno opened the meeting by offering words of appreciation for the work done by all on the Board, both the previously seated Board and the new Board. He then began by inviting nominations for the position of Board Chair.
Nominations/Election of Board Chair
AB NOMINATED DS. MOTION SECONDED.
MOTION TO ELECT DS AS CHAIR CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mr. Speno passed the meeting to DS. She shared that the sentiment that we are “in this together”.
Nominations/Election of Board Vice-Chair
RM NOMINATED HERSELF, SM NOMINATED KP. MOTION SECONDED.
INITIAL VOTE SPLIT SO A RAISED HAND VOTE WAS TAKEN. MAJORITY WAS FOR KP AS VICE CHAIR.
MOTION TO ELECT KP AS VICE-CHAIR CARRIED.
Nominations/Election of Board Clerk
TM NOMINATED MS.
MS requested that he be supported by receiving training to prepare for this role. He requested that the board reimburse him for the cost of $86 to attend a training this upcoming week.
SM MOTIONED TO REIMBURSE MS FOR COST OF TRAINING. VOTE CALLED. MOTION CARRIES.
DS MOTIONED TO ELECT MS AS BOARD CLERK. MOTION SECONDED. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Nominations/Election of WSESU Voting Members
Brattleboro:
MS NOMINATED TM. MOTION SECONDED..
MOTION TO ELECT TM AS THE BRATTLEBORO REPRESENTATIVE TO THE WSESU BOARD PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Dummerston:
EN NOMINATED DS. MOTION SECONDED.
MOTION TO ELECT DS AS THE DUMMERSTON REPRESENTATIVE TO THE WSESU BOARD PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Guilford
BR NOMINATED SM. MOTION SECONDED.
MOTION TO ELECT SM AS THE GUILFORD REPRESENTATIVE TO THE WSESU BOARD PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Putney
RM NOMINATED AB. MOTION SECONDED.
MOTION TO ELECT RN AS THE PUTNEY REPRESENTATIVE TO THE WSESU BOARD PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mr. Speno shared that Kerri Amidon will be the representative from Vernon to the WSESU Board.
Establish Meeting Days/Time
DS opened a discussion regarding the meeting times of the WSESD Board. EN asked that there is consideration to the length of time of the meetings. MS echoed that this is important.
AFTER THERE WAS NO FURTHER DISCUSSION THE BOARD DETERMINED TO KEEP THE BOARD MEETINGS ON THE SECOND AND FOURTH TUESDAYS OF EACH MONTH AT 6:00 PM.
DS raised the question of whether the WSESD Board should commit to following Robert’s Rules of Order for Large Boards or Robert’s Rules of Order for Small Boards. A discussion ensued about the differences between the two, one of which is the process of seconding a motion.
Highlights included:
• Robert’s Rule of Order for Large Boards is for boards with 12 or more members, and is more formal.
• Robert’s Rule of Order for Small Boards is for boards with fewer than 12 members, and is less formal.
• State statute says you have to choose one.
• Neither model permits “cross-talk”. All comments must be directed to the Chair. However, it is permissible to temporarily suspend Robert’s Rules of Order for open discussions.
AB advocated for keeping with the Robert’s Rules of Order for “Small Boards” and add back in the act of seconds.
DS CALLED FOR A VOTE BY RAISED HAND TO ADOPT THE “ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER FOR SMALL BOARDS” ADDING BACK IN SECONDING A MOTION. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
RM asked for the board to review the norms for each committee as this new Board begins their work together.
Committees
Board Members were invited to express their interest in serving on the following committees with the caveat that any Board Member can visit a committee meeting anytime without being “officially” on that committee. The results are:
POLICY AND AMENDMENT – DS, AB and TM
PERSONNEL – KP, CS, AB and MS
FINANCE – KP, SM and RM
SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE – EN, CS, TM and SM
PROGRAMMATIC AND PERFORMANCE EQUITY – RM, KP, BR and EN
COMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL- RM, MS and SM
TM asked that in a future meeting the board discuss teacher contracts.
Leadership Councils (LC)
Board Members were invited to express their interest in serving on the following Leadership Council with the caveat that they can remain with a LC they have been working with, or switching to a different LC. The results are:
RM – BUHS
DS – Dummerston
TM – BAMS
AB – WRCC
KP – Putney
MS – Green Street
EN – Oak Grove and EES
CS – Academy
BR – Guilford
A discussion ensued regarding utilization of communication tools to inform Board Members of meeting times and places of committees, etc. for easy reference. Mr. Speno mentioned Google Calendar as a tool. RM noted that the communications council can assist with this effort as well.
The book that Mr. Speno shared with the board, The Governance Core (by Davis Campbell and Michael Fullan) was discussed as a resource rich in information. There was an inquiry about trying to find opportunities for discussion on the topics presented in this book. This idea is being considered for portions of the Board Retreat.
Board Orientation
DS shared the Vermont School Board Association (VSBA) states that whenever there is even one new board member, you have a new board. DS will schedule a zoom session with everyone that has just been voted in inviting in Mr. Speno. This zoom session will include the board leadership team, CS, BR, MS, TM and AB. When discussing, it was brought up that the meeting could be warned, but would not be a required meeting for all to attend.
Plans in the works to help the new Board Members:
● There is a Board Retreat being planned for April. The purpose would be the onboarding the new Board Members, and the board calendar.
● The board has a resource binder for new Board members, so BR and CS will be given to them this evening.
● A compilation of the February board retreat was distributed to the board for review.
● Policies that are in process of being reviewed and/or preparing for re-adoption were distributed in order to allow time to review prior to the April 9th meeting when there will be a vote.
● A Mentor assigned to the new board members.
RM shared that the VSBA offers forums and webinars which are very helpful and informative.
The fourth Tuesday in April falls on April 23rd , which falls in the middle of Spring Break. DS is proposing that the meeting be shifted to April 16th instead of being canceled. RM suggested moving it to April 30th as there are three Tuesdays in April.
MS MOVED THAT THE APRIL 23RD MEETING BE MOVED TO APRIL 30TH IN THE CUSICK
ROOM AT 6 PM. MOTION WAS SECONDED. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Student Matters
No students brought forth any matters this evening.
Break started at 7:25 pm
Break ended at 7:35 pm
Administrative Report
Mr. Speno shared about the Carbon Monoxide leak on Weds. 3/20/24. Told of the process that has been undertaken to address the situation and take further preventative steps.
The Eclipse Resource developed by Ben Lord for the staff to reference. Eclipse Glasses have been purchased for all students and staff. April 8 th (eclipse day) will also be an early release day.
The Climate survey has been completed. The results will be reviewed by leadership teams at each school to develop reports and assist in developing goals for future Continuous Improvement Plans as well as addressing issues that have been identified. In May, the official results will be shared with the Board. It was asked that the raw results be shared with the board in order to allow time to review and consider the information gathered.
Mr. Speno shared a calendar of the Presentation Calendar scheduled for the year for the Board. (get the calendar from Mark to put into the notes). Mr. Speno highlighted that all presentations given at Board meetings are archived on the WSESU website.
Curriculum Coordinator interviews are occurring. The goal is to have recommendations for the two positions in the first or second week of April. The following new hires are being presented for hire:
The following people are being presented for hiring:
Dummerston – Ashley Perkins for the second grade position
Guilford – Katherine Cassidy for fifth grade
BUHS – Christopher Brewer as Dean of Students
Putney – Laura Casey and Maureen Ward
Academy – Tess Peterson for an 80% Academic Support position
AB MOTIONED THAT THE PEOPLE PRESENTED FOR HIRE BE APPROVED. MOTION WAS SECONDED.
Clarification was requested regarding the type of position (retirement or new position) in Dummerston and Academy. Both are filling existing positions that will be vacant but not filling current vacancies.
RM asked if there are other interim positions still at BUHS. Hannah Parker stated that Traci Lane is still in an interim position.
VOTE WAS CALLED TO HIRE THE PRESENTED STAFF. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Fiscal Report
No fiscal report this evening
Consent Agenda
CLERK’S REPORT – Approval of Minutes – March 12, 2024
KP MOVED FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM MARCH 12, 2024. MOTION WAS SECONDED.
ROLE CALL VOTE WAS CALLED.
AB – AYE
TM – AYE
RM – AYE
SM – AYE
EN – AYE
KP – AYE
BR – AYE
CS – ABSTAIN
MS – AYE
DS – AYE
MOTION CARRIED.
New Business
EES – Approval needed for submission of Head Start/Early Head refunding application. Application due April 1 – Action Needed
EES is the Head Start program of WSESU. EES has their own policy council. Work they conduct is done independently and then is presented to the WSESD Board. Ms. Gass presented the most recent version of the EES Strategic Plan 2023-2024. The strategic plan informs the Annual Refunding Application 24-25 document that is being brought to the board for approval.
SM MOVED THAT THE WSESD BOARD APPROVE THE AMOUNT OF $3,404,917.00 WHICH IS THE AMOUNT REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE WORK OF THE EES SERVICE. MOTION WAS SECONDED.
TM asked if there is a waitlist currently at EES. Ms. Gass shared that currently there is not, but they are at capacity. She was excited to share that EES is partnering with an agency in Wilmington. The new program in Wilmington will start small with two children. Currently there is a waitlist for that program. TM expressed excitement about the father engagement program being offered.
DS CALLED FOR A VOTE ON THE MOTION PRESENTED BY EES. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Guilford Central School Leadership Council Members Approval – Action Needed Mr. Speno brought forth for membership for Jamie Durham, Sarah Rosow, Caitlyn Person, Kitsie LaRock, Joslyn McIntyre, Josh Nelson, and Tosha Tillman.
SM MOVED TO APPROVE THE NEW GUILFORD CENTRAL SCHOOL LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEMBERS. MOTION WAS SECONDED.
SM attended the Guilford meeting, and he expressed excitement over the energy of the group.
VOTE WAS CALLED. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Academy School, presented Robin Morgan as a parent (new role)
AB MOVED TO APPROVE THE NEW ACADEMY LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEMBER. MOTION WAS SECONDED. VOTE WAS CALLED. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
RM asked for information about the upcoming orientation for the LCs by the end of March or first week of April. An email will be coming out to LC Chairs soon.
AB MADE A MOTION TO ADJOURN. MOTION WAS SECONDED. VOTE WAS CALLED. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm.
Meeting Notes taken by, with gratitude given by Board Clerk to, Board Recorder Tracey Drotts.
