Kensington School Board Minutes
January 15, 2004
The Kensington School Board met on Thursday, January 15, 2004. In attendance were: Mrs. Cheryl McDonough, School Board Chairperson; Mrs. Sue Belanger, Mrs. Dana Donovan, School Board members; Mr. Paul Flynn, Associate Superintendent of Schools; Mrs. Barbara Switzer, Principal.
The meeting was called to order by Mrs. Cheryl McDonough at 7:13 PM.
Mrs. Switzer gave her report as follows:
Mrs. Switzer reported that the Holiday Concert on December 17th was well attended and enjoyed by all.
Rob Rossel, KES Artist In Residence, presented a slide show to the students at KES on January 6th. Mr. Rossel will be at KES on January 26th 27th and 28th to texture tiles with students. Mr. Rossel will return in February for three days to glaze the tiles. The mural will be installed on two Saturdays in March and will be unveiled in April.
Diversity week will be celebrated the week of January 20th with the culminating event being held in the multipurpose room on Friday, January 23rd. Reverend Robert Thompson will be the featured speaker at this assembly. Mrs. Switzer thanked Mrs. Greenwood and Mrs. Hill for organizing the week’s events.
Session 2 of the after-school Enrichment Classes will begin the week of January 26th and end in March. There are many and varied classes available to all students at KES.
The board received a copy of the student newspaper entitled “The Call of the Wild.”
Mrs. Switzer thanked Mrs. Praded, Mrs. Hall and Mrs. Lupo for their work with the students.
The students are now using the multipurpose room for eating lunch.
The software for the automation of the Library has arrived and will be installed by the KES Library Consultant, Cynthia Buckels.
The SAU has purchased a LCD Projector for Kensington.
Mrs. Switzer reported that Mrs. McDonough, KES nurse, is in the process of writing procedures for the distribution of the KI Pills in the event of an emergency.
Current Enrollment figures were distributed to the board.
Mrs. Robin Gray reported that the PTO did not meet in December. All PTO sponsored activities in December were well received by students and parents alike. Mrs. Gray asked the board if they had any objections to a PTO sponsored Sweetheart Dance on February 14th which will be held at the Legion Post and is a BYOB affair. The board had no objections.
Mr. Flynn gave his report as follows:
· SAU #16 enrollment figures are as follows:
Brentwood 348
East Kingston 173
Exeter (Lincoln & Main St. Schools) 1038
Kensington 194
Newfields 171
Stratham 626
COOP 1345
Exeter High School 1557
· There are 111 Kensington students at the high school and 94 Kensington students at the COOP.
· The SAU Joint Boards will be meeting to discuss the Evaluation of the Superintendent and his Compensation and to formalize some SAU Curriculum Initiatives.
· The Kensington School District Deliberative Session will be held on Saturday, February 7th at 7:00 PM at KES. Mr. Flynn asked that the community be encouraged to attend this important session.
· All necessary permits have been acquired for the access road at the new high school project. The committee still anticipates a September, 2006 opening.
· Punchlist items for the KES addition are still being addressed. Warranties are forthcoming. The Air Quality study reports that no toxins were found in the air. Problems with the heating system are being addressed. The security system can be armed however, the logistics of actually arming the system are being reviewed.
Mrs. Donovan moved to accept the amount of $2,110,268.00 (two million, one hundred ten thousand, two hundred sixty eight dollars) as the proposed operating budget for the 2004-2005 school year and the default budget of $2,020,970.00 (two million, twenty thousand, nine hundred seventy dollars) should the article be defeated. Mrs. Belanger seconded the motion. A vote was taken and was in the affirmative.
Mrs. Donovan moved to approve Article 2 which enters the District into a collective bargaining agreement with the Kensington Education Association covering the five year period from September 1, 2004 to August 31, 2009. Mrs. Belanger seconded the motion. A vote was taken and was in the affirmative.
The revised Building Use Form was presented to the board. It was determined that anyone wishing to use the building on weekends would need to receive permission from the board. Custodial fees on weekends are applicable to all and will be assessed at the rate of $25.00 per hour.
Mrs. Donovan moved to accept as a final Reading the following Kensington/SAU Policies:
Annual Goals and Objectives – BA, School Board Policies and Administrative Procedures – BAAA, School Board Legal Status – BB, School Board Powers and Duties – BBA, School Board Powers and Duties- BBA-R, Board Member Authority – BBAA, Board Member Resignation-BBBC, Ethics Policy Statement-BCA, School Board member Ethics-BCA-R, Board Member Conflict of Interest-BCB, Board Organizational Meeting-BDA, Board officers-BDB, Board Policy Development-BG, Written Communication Policy-BHDA, Electronic Communications-BHDB, Regular Board Meetings-BEA, Agenda Preparation and Dissemination-BEDB, Public Participation at Board Meetings-BEDH, Administration in Policy Absence-BFE, Policy Development System-BGA, Policy Review and Evaluation/Manual Accuracy Check-BGC, Policy Dissemination-BGE. Mrs. Belanger seconded the motion. A vote was taken and was in the affirmative.
Mr. Flynn informed the board that Kensington School District will be receiving a $10,000.00 dollar bequest from the estate of Helen Eastman.
Mrs. McDonough noted that she was in receipt of a letter from a former KES student asking for the board’s input relative to the startup of a children’s club which would be supervised by High School students. Mrs. Switzer will call the student for further information.
The meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Margaret Ruggeri, School Board Secretary