Kensington School Board Minutes

May 13, 2004

 

The Kensington School Board met on Thursday, May 13, 2004. In attendance were: Mrs. Cheryl McDonough, Chairperson; Mrs. Dana Donovan, Mrs. Alice Mower, School Board Members; Mr. Paul Flynn, Associate Superintendent of Schools; Mrs. Barbara Switzer, Principal.

 

Mrs. McDonough called the meeting to order at 6:55 PM.

 

The monthly manifests were reviewed and signed by the board.

 

The board unanimously approved the minutes of the April 8^th School Board meeting.

 

It was reported that the following persons were elected to the PTO Board for the 2004-2005 school year:         Melissa Brockelbank     - President

                        Sue Farley                    - Vice President

                        Kelly Binnette               - Secretary

                        Sara Belisle                  - Treasurer

                        Members At Large       - Sue Lalime

- Kathy Felch

 

Several members of the Kensington Education Association were in attendance and presented the board with a letter relative to the proposed dress code. Mrs. McDonough stated that she expects the wording of the dress code will be something very similar to what the majority of SAU #16 teachers have proposed.

 

Mrs. Haug read a letter from the Kensington Education Association which voiced their concerns relative to the elimination of the Assistant Principal Position at KES (see attached).

 

Mrs. McDonough explained that the board has talked about eliminating the position for many years. Mrs. McDonough stated that the position is an administrative position and the person holding the position could not be a member of the collective bargaining unit of the District. Mrs. McDonough stated she would take full responsibility for the decision and noted it was no reflection on Ms. Knightly’s abilities. Mrs. McDonough went on to say that she has the greatest respect for Ms. Knightly as a leader at KES. Mrs. McDonough will speak to Ms. Knightly and explain the rationale behind the decision.

 

Several staff stated they felt Ms. Knightly did not get a proper explanation and noted that all staff rely on Ms. Knightly, and have done so for more than thirty years, to make appropriate decisions and handle any discipline problems that might arise in the absence of the administrator.  

 

Mrs. McDonough stated that the board may revisit the issue during the budget session in the fall.

 

Mrs. Martha Doherty questioned the proposed changes in grade 5 for the 2004-2005 school year. Mrs. Doherty stated that she felt by making the classes more self-contained it would leave KES students less prepared for the Cooperative Middle School.

Mrs. McDonough stated that other SAU #16 Elementary Schools  are much more self-contained that KES. Mr. Flynn stated that other schools within the SAU are moving away from the switching of classes.

 

Mrs. Switzer stated that there are pro’s and con’s to both sides of the issue. Mrs. Switzer noted that she felt by not switching it would allow more flexibility in scheduling and common planning blocks for grade level teachers can be incorporated into the schedule. Mrs. Switzer stated she believes that the KES students will adapt easily to the schedules at CMS. The fourth grade classes will switch for Science and Social Studies for the 2004-2005 school year. Whether grade five will switch for any classes will be addressed at a later date.

 

Mrs. Switzer gave the principal’s report as follows:

·        Grades K through Grade Five have completed the Gates McGinitie Reading Test.

·        Grade 3 have completed the NHEIAP’s.

·        The Fourth grade classes will be administered the NWEA’s over the next few weeks. They will be tested in Reading, Language Arts and Math.

·        During the 2004-2005 school year,  Grades 3, 4 and 5 will take the NWEA’s in the fall and spring.

·        KES will look at having School-wide Portfolios for the entire school population.

 

The following field trips were unanimously approved by the board:

·        Grade 3H and 3M will travel to Brentwood Gymnastics on June 7^th and have lunch at the Swasey Parkway.

·        Grade 4H and 4K will travel to the State House and the NH History Museum in Concord on June 7^th.

·        Grades 2L and 2C will travel to the Boston Public Garden on June 2^nd.

·        Grades 2R and 2L will travel to the Swasey School in Brentwood on May 27^th to visit their pen pals.

 

Mrs. Switzer presented the board with the Field Day agenda. Due to the unavailability of the Town Park, KES will be having Field Day at the Stratham Hill Park on Tuesday, June 8^th. In order to transport the children to and from Stratham the buses will pick up students at their homes and take them directly to Stratham Hill Park and will pick up students at Stratham in the afternoon and return them to their homes. There is an additional cost of $65.00 per bus for the day. The board unanimously approved the field day request.

 

Mr. Flynn gave his report as follows:

·        A Joint Board Meeting is scheduled for May 17^th at the SST. The proposed Dress Code Policy will be discussed at that time.

·        Ground Breaking Ceremonies for the new High School is scheduled for Wednesday, May 19^th .

·        Transition Meeting for Grade 5 parents is scheduled for May 20^th at CMS.

·        The building project is on budget. Mr. Flynn noted that 16 laptop computers have been recently purchased for KES. 

·        Dedication of the new addition is scheduled for Sunday, May 16^th from 1:30 – 3:30 PM.

·        Five or six pine trees will need to be cut down on the perimeter of the playground. One has recently been cut down because it had split and was a safety issue.

·        The following SAU/Kensington Policies were unanimously approved as a second reading by the board:

DBB                Fiscal Year

DFA                Investments

DJG                 Vendor Relations

DM                  Cash in School Buildings

EB                   Safety Program

EBBB              Accident Reports

EBBC              First Aid and Emergency Care

EBCD              Emergency Closings

EDC                Authorized Use of School Owned Materials

EEAE               School Bus Safety Program

EEBB               Use of Private Vehicles to Transport Students

EGA                Appropriate and Acceptable Computer, Network and Internet Use

EGAH              E-mail Retention

EHB                 Records Retention

EHBA              Internet Log File Retention

EI                     Insurance Review

JGAB               Admission/Attendance of  Non-resident Students

 

Mrs. Donovan moved to change the June School Board meeting from June 10^th to June 9^th immediately following the Fifth Grade Recognition celebration. Mrs. Mower seconded the motion. A vote was taken and was in the affirmative.

 

Mrs. Mower thanked the teachers for getting the children involved with the dedication activities by writing what the new addition means to them. Mrs. Mower reported that the sign designating the playground as the Richard F. Drew playground has been refurbished by Art Wiggin and is now held by two granite posts. Additionally, two granite benches have been placed on either side of the refurbished sign. Two trees and a number of shrubs have been planted outside the entrance to the school. Mrs. Mower shared the commemorative sign, which will hang in the new entrance, with the meeting.

 

Mrs. Donovan moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:10 PM. Mrs. Mower seconded the motion.

A vote was taken and was in the affirmative.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Margaret Ruggeri

School Board Secretary