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 MAY 14, 2024
REGULAR BOARD MEETING – 6 PM
CUSICK CONFERENCE ROOM, WRCC, BRATTLEBORO
DRAFT MINUTES
Present
Anne Beekman (AB ), Tim Maciel (TM), Ruby McAdoo (RM), Shaun Murphy (SM), Eva Nolan (EN), Kim Price (KP), Brian Remer (BR), Colleen Savage (CS), Matt Schibley (MS), Deborah Stanford (DS),
WSESD staff and administration present
Frank Rucker, Paul Smith, Brin Tucker, Kerri Beebe, Hannah Parker, Nancy Wiess, Keith Lyman, Alora Lawyer
Others present
BCTV
Absences
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Executive Summary:
● Staff Appreciation – Approved budget of $10 per staff, Board members volunteered for organization and delivery of staff appreciation
● $500 donation to Green Mountain Camp for Girls as compensation for facilitator Kristina Naylor.
● Approved dependent care reimbursement at $15/hour per household for board members.
● Application deadline for Student Representatives set for May 22, 2024.
● Public comment regarding email quarantining issues and consent agenda .
● Fiscal and Legislative Reports: Updated on legislative bill H.887, tax calculations, and education commissions.
● Held an executive session for early kindergarten entry requests, Board approved the recommendation.
● Approved new hires for the upcoming academic year and amended previous meeting minutes.
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AGENDA
I. Call to Order
Opening Remarks
DS called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm.
If there is anything that needs to be amended to the consent agenda, please identify it now.
None were provided.
DS made the following comments:
1. During non-agenda items, Board Members and Administrators will not be called on during this time. This is a protected time for community members. The time it falls in the agenda will be varied to support engagement.
2. Body language in person is easier to be understood in person. Be cognizant of the ways to respond that help those on zoom.
3. Speak to the issue with civil courteous speech. Emotional tinged comments hamper topics moving forward.
4. Follow up questions – determine if they are questions that are best asked at the moment, or if they can wait.
5. SM will be assisting with time keeping requesting to keep comments to 2 minutes expecting that there will be an auditory reminder at 1:45 minutes.
DS read the hybrid meeting statement.
II. Student Matters
No mattes were brought to the meeting.
III. Board Matters
A. End-of-Year Appreciation- Action Required
RM shared that she and BR are approving up to $10/person using local vendors. Requested 3-4 Board Members to step to assist with the organization of and distribution of items to the schools.
RM MOVED THAT THE WSESD BOARD APPROVE THE EXPENDITURE OF UP TO $10 PER PERSON FOR STAFF APPRECIATION. MOTION WAS APPROVED.
VOTE WAS CALLED. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
RM, MS, CS, KP, DS and BR volunteered to assist with this effort.
B. Update on Board Retreat 5/3/24
The Board Retreat was held at the Guilford Library, and Kristina Naylor was the facilitator. Topics discussed:
● Board Calendar
● Open Meeting Law (in a fun online quiz format)
● Agendas – reviewed agendas from School Boards of other districts in the state to consider in relation to the WSESD Board Agenda is formatted
Compensation for Facilitator – Action Required
Ms. Naylor requested that the compensation be no more than $500, and be a donation to Green Mountain Camp for Girls.
SM MOVED THAT THE FACILITATOR COMPENSATION OF $500 BE MADE TO THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CAMP FOR GIRLS. MOTION WAS SECONDED.
VOTE WAS CALLED. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
C. Board Sub-Committees – Update
RM noted Programmatic and performance equity will be scheduling a meeting in June
SM noted the finance committee meeting Monday June 3rd at 1pm at the Central Office.
D. Leadership Councils – Update
RM shared about the BUHS staff appreciation breakfast. The response was very positive. Hannah Parker expressed the appreciation teachers expressed for the thoughtfulness that was given by the parents.
EN spoke about the Oak Grove Teacher Appreciation efforts. The notes from that meeting are worth reviewing. The LC discussed the value in the retreats hosted by the Superintendent’s Office and had a discussion about the desire to have some guidance from the Board about the work to be done by this group. She encouraged that the notes from this meeting be reviewed.
DS noted that the policy related to LCs is Policy H7.
TM spoke about BAMS Leadership council, and echoed the comments shared by EN and the LC Policy (H7).
KP shared about the Putney LC meeting. Jon Sessions presented about the Panorama Survey results, and shared that there is a focus on the offerings provided to the middle school student at Putney. Also, there are plans for the playground – the plan is for this to be a district funded efforts as well as a fundraising effort from the community to realize this project completion. SM noted Guilford LC reconstitution is underway.
Academy’s LC asked if the Board will be considering gender neutral bathrooms as a district initiative. DS discussed that the board is working on a gender freedom policy.
E. Dependent Care Options -Potential Action
Kerry Amidon and Kristina Naylor assisted by reaching out to the Selectboard to see the dependent care. The plan the Selectboad is using was shared. It is used for children under 13 or care of a spouse/relative. The max is $15/ hour for the duration of the meeting. It does not cover travel time, and only legal guardians are eligible to claim dependent care. Caregivers must be at least 16 years of age. Legal guardians are not eligible to receive payment for being the childcare provider. One stipend per household, and a receipt is required.
SM MOVED TO TAKE THE ACTION AS DESCRIBED OF $15/HOUR PER HOUSEHOLD.
VOTE WILL BE TAKEN AS A ROLL CALL VOTE
AYE NAY ABST
AB X
TM X
RM X
SM X
EN X
KP X
BR X
CS X
MS X
DS X
Total 8 0 2
VOTE PASSED 8-0-2.
F. Applications for Student Representatives – Deadline May 22, 2024
This is a public announcement that the application for Student Representatives for the 24-25 school year is due May 22, 2024. This will be for one vacant position.
IV. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items
DS read a statement indicating that this is a time for the Board to listen and take notes. If needed or appropriate the Board or Administration will work on next steps. Just a reminder to the public that there will be no response at this time. We are listening.
Point of Order was requested: Before moving ahead with this item, it was noted that the board is proceeding through the agenda at a rapid pace. While that is commendable, there may be members of the public planning to join for this portion of the meeting at the time indicated on the agenda. Out of respect, this portion of the meeting will be held until 7:15 pm as indicated on the warned agenda.
Jody Normandeau from Dummerston – commented regarding consent agenda, and if the public had comment regarding minutes, they could email the board clerk.
Bethany Ranquist, Brattleboro resident, requested attention be given to the issue of emails being quarantined. There have been quite a few instances of email communication not making it through to the staff from parents as well as a member of an agency that supports students in the school district. Hannah Parker noted that emails need to be “released” through the firewall, indicated that she notified BUHS staff and encouraged Board members to do the same.
V. Fiscal Report
A. Legislative Update
The General Assembly approved Bill H.887, the Education Funding Bill. The Yield number (9893) is essentially the same as the number presented at the Annual Meeting (9899). That means that the tax calculations and estimate assumptions from the 3/19/24 meeting will hold assuming that the Governor does not veto it. A document from Nicole Lee highlights that Excess Spending has been un-suspended as has Ballot Language. These were put in place during COVID.
There is a Commission being formed to report to the legislature about the State of Vermont Education.
B. Update on Warrants – posting on website
Frank Rucker indicated that board member SM would forward it to board members and community members who request. Recommended against posting them online due to risk from information misrepresentation through the use of AI, noted bank reconciliations and an incident several months ago where someone forged a check to collect payment fraudulently.
RM feels this rationale is compelling, however, wonders if a simple fix would be adding a notification within the finance page noting a course of action the public could take to access warrants. When considering if other districts are doing related to sharing out information as is found in a warrant, Mr. Rucker indicated that there is not a standard in place at this point. Fraud is increasing as well as the sophistication of fraudulent methods.
EN expressed appreciation of the steps that have been taken by Mr. Rucker and SM for the steps that have been taken to provide information as requested by community members.
Jody Normandeau, Dummerston resident, expressed gratitude for the attention to her request.
VI. Administrative Report
A. Early Kindergarten entry request: Executive Session 1 V.S.A. §313(a)(7) for the purpose of reviewing Academic records Potential Action
DS CALLED FOR A MOTION TO FIND THAT THE PREMATURE GENERAL PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE WOULD CLEARLY PLACE THE PUBLIC BODY OR PERSON INVOLVED AT A SUBSTANTIAL DISADVANTAGE WITH THE EXPECTATION THAT A MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER 1VSA §313 (a)(7) THE ACADEMIC RECORDS FOR KINDERGARTEN ENTRY REQUEST.
KP MOVED. MOTION WAS SECONDED
VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
DS ASKED IF THERE IS A MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER 1VSA §313 (a)(7) THE ACADEMIC RECORDS FOR KINDERGARTEN ENTRY REQUEST INVITING IN MARK SPENO, BRIN TUCKER AND KERRI BEEBE.
KP MOVED, AND THE MOTION WAS SECONDED.
VOTE CALLED. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Entered Executive Session at 7 pm
Rose from Executive Session at 7:20 pm
KP MOVED TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE EXECUTIVE SESSION.
MOTION WAS SECONDED.
VOTE WAS CALLED. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
break called at 7:28 pm
break ended at 7:32 pm
B. Panorama Climate Survey Results
– Presentation
Paul Smith shared a presentation with the Board showing the results of this year’s Panorama Climate Survey. Of note, the participation rates are up from the prior year. In considering the Continuous Improvement Plan goal focusing on “students at my school are kind to each other” positive improvement by 10% was met for grades 3-5 and did not quite get there for 6-12. Mr. Smith reminded us that with custom questions used in the survey, there are not national norms to compare our results with, but there are in the ‘Sense of Belonging’ and ‘School Climate’ questions. Teacher to student interactions seem to be positive, while student to student interactions are where the challenges lie. The goals for the School Improvement Plan are being developed now that the responses have been received.
– Q & A
There was an inquiry about student responses to participating in surveys. Hannah Parker spoke about the difference in the developmental levels of kids grades 3-5 and 6-12. The sense of acceptance and belonging generally is easier in elementary school than in middle/high school. Wondering about comparing pre-COVID results and post-COVID responses to these surveys. The student responses are increasing, with this year being more positive again.
TM – Spoke about student engagement, student safety measures. As well as noting other districts including additional items. TM reminded the board of the request to have a task force with some board members and administration to consider questions that are a part of the survey for the next round of the survey. TM also spoke to delivery of service at BUHS to increase participation rates. Brin Tucker suggested that during the Admin Retreat might be a natural time for that discussion as it is part of the Continuous Improvement Plan. From there, a sub committee can be formed. Interested in serving on the sub committee is TM, RM, and EN.
Proposal to consider reviewing the Youth Risk Assessment survey and look at in comparison with results from the last time this was administered.
C. Perkins Data Presentation – Nancy Wiese
Every other year it is required to give the Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment. Highlights from this survey are:
● Faculty and Staff are happy at the Career Center.
● Student Survey Data shows that the students feel respected by their teachers and peers
● Students also feel like they belong
Indicated on the data presented on the Windham Regional Career Center Data Comparison of FY22 to FY23 Data, there is strong growth in the student’s achievement.
Administrative Report
Monthly Reports
– Update on request to include 1) Suspensions and 2) Seclusion and Restraints Potential Action
Mark Speno reviewed information related to Suspensions, Seclusions and Restraints with some board members and the Superintendent mentor last week. The decision was to consider that monthly reporting might allow the public to identify specific students, therefore Mr. Speno would not recommend including this information in monthly reports, but instead consider reporting on this type of data towards the end of the year.
D. Hires, Resignations, and Retirements Action Required
Allison Taverna – BUHS Social Studies AST
Katarina Mazur – BAMS Tech & Design
Zac Ezzell – BUHS “Hub” AST
Alison Bissonnette – PCS Grade 2 Teacher
Alex Derosia – Green St. Grade 1 Teacher
RM MOVED TO ACCEPT THESE NEWLY HIRED INDIVIDUALS. MOTION WAS SECONDED.
The issue of the Board Members receiving the resumes of professionals being presented for hiring in a timely manner was raised as a concern. According to the policy, Board Members should receive resumes by Thursday before the Tuesday meeting. Brin Tucker noted that as this is hiring season, so asked the question wondering if the Board is suggesting that if timing is tight for presenting a resume for a strong candidate to the Board, they will need to wait two weeks to offer a position. Knowing that this is hiring season waiting to hire someone can mean that a candidate can be lost. DS stated that the Board recognizes the importance of acting quickly on this issue during this important season of hiring and that adhering to the presentation of a
resume by Thursday prior to a Tuesday meeting may not be possible.
VOTE WAS CALLED. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
VII. Consent Agenda
Approve Minutes of 4/30/24, 5/3/24 warrants and payroll
KP MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM 4/30/24 AND 5/3/24. MOTION WAS SECONDED.
MS noted that there is a need to make an adjustment to the minutes from 4/30/24. To correctly address this situation, the following action was taken:
MOTION AND SECOND WAS RESCINDED.
DS asked if there is anything to remove from the consent agenda? MS would like to remove the notes from 4/30/24.
Warrants and Payrolls:
Warrant of April 8 2024
Warrant No. 1347 in the amount of $ 2,565.01
Warrant No. 1348 in the amount of $ 132,788.65
Warrant No. 1355 in the amount of $ 2,757.86
Warrant No. 1356 in the amount of $ 554.40
Warrant No. 1357 in the amount of $ 35,379.42
$ 174,045.34
Payrolls April 5, 2024 $ 1,688,842.78
Warrant of April 15, 2024
Warrant No. 1358 in the amount of $ 217.00
Warrant No. 1359 in the amount of $ 1,185.00
Warrant No. 1360 in the amount of $ 176,216.86
Warrant No. 1361 in the amount of $ 2,208.00
Warrant No. 1362 in the amount of $ 99,607.08
$ 279,433.94
Warrant of April 22, 2024 $
4/12/24 ACH Purchasing Card Pmnt $ 22,726.62
Warrant No. 1365 in the amount of $ 7,778.00
Warrant No. 1369 in the amount of $ 1,959.00
Warrant No. 1370 in the amount of 82,585.79
Warrant No. 1371 in the amount of $ 271.92
Warrant No. 1372 in the amount of $ 172,555.96
$ 287,877.29
Payrolls April 19, 2024 $ 1,596,702.55
Warrant of April 29, 2024 $
WSESD 4/23/24 ACH Arbiter Sports Pmnt $ 637.50
WSESD 4/26/24 ACH Arbiter Sports Pmnt 766.00
Warrant No. 1376 in the amount of $ 37.17
Warrant No. 1377 in the amount of 16,438.67
Warrant No. 1380 in the amount of 110.27
Warrant No. 1381 in the amount of $ 78,469.84
Warrant No. 1382 in the amount of $ 658.44
Warrant No. 1383 in the amount of $ 368,388.75
$ 465,506.64
Warrant of May 6, 2024
Warrant No. 1385 in the amount of $ 20,574.47
Warrant No. 1390 in the amount of 3,397.98
Warrant No. 1391 in the amount of $ 1,302.98
Warrant No. 1392 in the amount of 800.00
Warrant No. 1393 in the amount of $ 88,908.14
$ 114,983.57
Payrolls May 3, 2024 $ 1,655,611.04
DS MADE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE CONSENT AGENDA AS THEY STAND. MOTION SECONDED.
VOTE CALLED. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
MS shared that there were two places that needed to be amended on the minutes from 4/30/24, specifically Sherry Keefe’s comments and Tim Maciel’s. MS read the amended sections.
DS CALLED FOR A VOTE TO APPROVE THE AMENDED NOTES FROM 4/30. MOTION WAS SECONDED. VOTE WAS CALLED. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
VIII. Unfinished Business
A. Policy & Amendment presents the following for 2nd Reading
• F26 Participation of Home Study Students in School Programs and Activities
B. Policy & Amendment presents the following for Re-Adoption Action Required
• B1 Board Member Education
• D1 Personnel Recruitment, Selection, Appointment and Background Checks
• D2 Professional Development
DS MOVED TO READOPT THE POLICIES, B1, D1 AND D2. MOTION WAS CALLED. VOTE WAS CALLED. VOTE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
AB MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. MOTION WAS SECONDED. VOTE WAS CALLED. PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm
These notes were submitted on 05/20/2024 by the Board Clerk with special recognition to Tracey Drotts, Board Recorder.
