The
Kensington School Board met on Wednesday, October 10, 2001. In attendance were:
Mrs. Cheryl McDonough, School Board Chairperson; Mrs. Susan Belanger, Mrs. Dana
Donovan, School Board Members; Mr. Paul Flynn, Associate Superintendent of
Schools; Mrs. Barbara Switzer, Principal.
Mrs.
McDonough called the meeting to order at 6:50 PM.
Monthly
manifests were signed by the board.
The
board unanimously approved the amended minutes of the September 13, 2001 School
Board Meeting. Minutes were amended to reflect the time of adjournment.
Alice
Mower, the Chairperson of the School Needs Committee, was in attendance and
gave a brief overview of the recent meetings which were held in regard to the
proposed KES addition. Mrs. McDonough asked how the committee felt about having
two warrant articles with one of the articles being just the multi-purpose
room. Mrs. Mower reported that a vote was taken at the last meeting and the
vote was 13 in favor of presenting two separate articles and 4 in favor of
presenting one article which would include the entire proposed addition. Mrs.
Mower noted she is in hopes of collecting additional input from townspeople
because of the questionnaire placed in the Community Newsletter.
Mrs.
McDonough asked Mrs. Switzer how she felt about presenting two articles and
Mrs. Switzer answered that she felt wrong message may be sent to the town
should the article be split into two. Mrs. Switzer stated she felt the whole
child is important and it would include space for Art, Music and PE classes
thus necessitating the multi-purpose room.
Mrs.
McDonough stated she felt that it would serve the school better to divide the
article because attaining something would be better than nothing. Mrs.
McDonough stated that the citizens of Kensington would still have the option of
voting for the entire addition by voting in favor of both warrant articles. Mr.
Flynn stated that he will work up several examples of how the Warrant Articles
could be worded.
Mrs.
Mower reported that five contractors would be present at the next meeting
scheduled for October 24th to give presentations on the construction
manager, design/build and bid methods of construction.
Mrs.
McDonough commended Mrs. Mower for her diligence and time spent as Chairperson
of the School Needs Committee.
Mrs.
Switzer gave the Principals’ Report as follows:
Mrs. Switzer reported that Open House held on
September 19th was very successful and well attended. Mrs. Switzer
presented the board with the number of parents from each class who attended
Open House.
Mrs. Switzer stated that Ms. Ryan is currently
investigating the feasibility of having a Kensington Elementary School Year
Book this year.
Mrs. Switzer stated that the October 5th
In-Service focused on the Emergency Response Plan as well as determining goals
for KES. During the months of November and December the Kensington Elementary
School staff will continue to update the Emergency Response Plan and will
investigate the research questions which were generated from the meeting
regarding the goals which were determined to be Literacy and Social Curriculum.
Mrs. Switzer went on to say that she would meet with the Emergency Management
Representative from Kensington to review the Emergency Response Plan.
Mrs. Switzer reported that the October 17th
In-service will focus on Web CT and Mr. Kossakowski will be the presenter.
Mrs. Switzer stated that a number of staff members
are currently participating in the UNH Math Journal Group.
Mrs. Switzer presented the board with a letter which
was sent to all parents regarding the celebration of Halloween.
Mrs. Switzer stated that Lori Nelson has been hired
as an aide in the Kindergarten classroom.
There
was one field trip request:
Grade 4 to visit Strawbery Banke on
Wednesday, October 24th.
Dana
Donovan moved to approve the field trip. Mrs. Belanger seconded the motion. A
vote was taken and was in the affirmative.
Mr.
Flynn gave the Superintendent’s report as follows:
Mr.
Flynn reminded the board that there is a Future’s Search Meeting on October 16th
and a Joint SAU #16 Board Chairs meeting
scheduled for October 17th.
Mr.
Flynn reported that the addition to the Swasey School in Brentwood’s is
currently in progress. Additionally, Mr. Flynn stated that Stratham is starting
their second year of the extended Kindergarten Program and it is going well.
Mr. Flynn said that Stratham, Newfields and Brentwood would be negotiating
teacher contracts this year. Mr. Flynn also gave an update on the High School
Project.
Mr.
Flynn stated that Kensington Elementary School would need to address the space
issue into the budget this year. He reported that the cost of an additional
teacher and a modular classroom would need to be incorporated into the budget.
He and Mrs. Switzer will review the options available in the near future. Mr.
Flynn will have the NESDEC Report early in November which will help in the
budget process.
Mr.
Flynn noted the board will need to address a potential liability problem
regarding a non staff member holding classes in Kensington Elementary School.
Mr. Flynn will investigate the matter and report back to the board.
Under
Old Business, Mr. Flynn stated that the bus company is working on resolving some
concerns relative to the length of time students are on the bus. After a brief
discussion it was determined that a member of the school board and possibly
Mrs. Switzer will ride on the buses to determine the length of the bus runs.
Mrs. McDonough stated she felt a 40 – 45 minute bus ride is not unusual. Mr.
Flynn will call the parent who initially voiced her concern regarding the
problem.
The
board unanimously moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 PM.
Respectfully
submitted,
Margaret
Ruggeri
School
Board Secretary