Peter’s UNOFFICIAL recorded & annotated CESB Notes November 17, 2014
I hope that familiarity, gained by either by attending these School Board meetings or listening to these recordings, promotes a better understanding of how our School Board works. Please take the time to listen to the parts of these meetings that interest you and be involved in our town
TO LISTEN TO A SEGMAENT OF THE MEETING CLICK ON http://calaisnotes.wordpress.com/ My library of all the CESB meetings since May 22, 2012 is also on that site.
Calais School Board Meeting, Monday, November 17, 2014
Calais Elementary School Library 6:00 PM
THESE ARE NOT THE OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE MEETING. THESE ARE MY RECORDINGS AND PERSONAL NOTES OF THIS MEETING. Bracketed [words/numbers] are my additions for clarification and unnumbered bulleted indents are my brief outline of what was addressed under that agenda heading. Wording not in “quotation marks” is my edited paraphrasing of what was said. Please listen to the audio recording of the whole meeting for a complete account of the meeting. http://calaisnotes.wordpress.com/
Any Calais School Board member will be happy to answer any questions you have about this or any meeting. Their home phone numbers are in the front of the 2013 Town of Calais Annual Report and on the Calais Elementary School Website tab “Administration/School Board” at the top of the CES (Calais Elementary School) web page –
http://www.calaisschool.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&a[...]=46
Seated around the table (clockwise from the Chair): Charlotte Hanna Bassage (Chair), Michael Giammusso, Chauntelle Eckhaus, Susanna Culver, Marissa Meyer (CES Principal),
Bill Kimball (U-32 District Superintendent)(arrived 8:57 pm), and Drew Lamb.
Absent: none
Also in attendance: Chuck Davin, Heidemarie Holmes-Hess (CES Art Teacher), Rick Kehne, Ginny Kern, Brian Clark, and myself.
Michelle Tofel-Murray recorded the Board’s Official Minutes.
1.0 (6:02 pm)(5 minutes) Call to Order
1.1. Agenda Revisions (packet page 1)
2.0 Public Comments and Correspondence
• Deb Grout thank you note
3.0 (6:07 pm)(5 minutes) Action Items
3.1. Early Retirement Option – Teachers
• The Board voted to not offer an Early Retirement Option this year
o Approved 4-0
4.0 Discussion Agenda
4.1. (6:12 pm)(28 minutes) Australian Ballot Feedback (December 4th Forum)
• Peter Harvey spoke about his letter to the CESB about the Australian Ballot question. (packet page 2-3) In part he said:
o There is a real fundamental difference between a Town Meeting and the Annual School Meeting
o The voters need to feel like they are participating in how the school is run when they come to the Annual School Meeting
o Merely voting a budget is not participation in running the school. [rubber stamping the budget.]
• Charlotte suggested pulling some lines from the budget article to be voted on as separate articles at the Annual School Meeting
• Peter pointed out that the voting public does not know how limited the CESB is in making up the budget (building costs, state mandates)
• Peter said that “unless things change, I don’t see an advantage of the [Annual] School Meeting over an Australian Ballot.”
• Chuck said that he put his article on the Town Meeting last year because he felt he couldn’t get his question on the Annual School Meeting agenda.
• Rick said that “At least in that meeting you are sitting there discussing the reality of what is driving the budget. In an Australian situation you are … not hearing what is behind it.”
• Planning for the December 4th Public Hearing
4.2. (6:40 pm)(29 minutes) Board Goals - Accountability
• Review/discussion
• PTNO increased parental participation after Halloween Party success
• School volunteers
Supper break (7:00 pm)(6 minutes)
4.3.1. (7:06 pm)(20 minutes) Capital Budget (not in the packet. emailed to CESB members)
• Rick presented
4.4. (7:26 pm)(27 minutes) Second Reading: G11 - Acceptable Use of Electronic Resources and the Internet (packet page 12-15)
• Chauntelle presented
o Cleaning up the policy formats to make them more user friendly
o Chuck commented on G11
o [FERPA – Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act]
o Chauntelle asked the CESB if tutors may use the school to meet with students at the school. Marissa will check into why U-32 did not allow this request.
4.5. (7:52 pm)(15 minutes) Discuss: F5 – Student Records (Calais’ current policy – Adopted 4/25/06) (packet page 16-19)
• Chuck asked to “offer a public comment.” Charlotte told him “We are not doing F5. F5 is as it stands. Did you catch that?”
• 7:54 to 8:05 Chuck preached to the CESB for 11 minutes, reading from a prepared statement after Charlotte told him to limit his remarks to 5 minutes and reminded him twice of that. He ignored several school board members who asked him to stop when he began comparing the CES to “clergy men abusing their charges.” Throughout his speech he had used such descriptions as: “immoral, evil, mean spirited, duped, desperation, abuse, coerce, coercion.
• Saying that she could not listen to him compare the school lunch program to The Church molesting children, Chauntelle angrily told Chuck to stop. When he wouldn’t stop she got up from the table and left the room.
• Chuck did not leave the written statement with the CESB.
4.3 (8:08 pm)(76 minutes) Budget Draft #2 (packet page 4-11)
• Budget Changes for 2016 vs 2015 (packet page 6)
• Technology Services (Technology Inventory Replacement Cycle) has gone up (packet page 6, 8-9)
• Teacher/student ratio chart and statistics (packet page 4-5)
• The CESB had asked Marisa, at the Oct meeting, to bring a list of what budget items could feasibly be cut ($100,000) to this meeting. Marisa’s list this evening totaled ($97,000). Charlotte suggested that the CESB members just discuss this list, think about these cuts, and hold off till the December meeting to make decisions. Charlotte’s new goal this evening is to cut $51,000 from the budget (packet page 6).
o Reduce the fund transfer to Food Service Program ($5,000)
o Drop Spanish from the curriculum (0.4 FTE) ($28,929)
o Cut the Night Time Custodian Position (0.3 FTE) ($5,339)
o Reduce total maintenance budget by ($5,000) (packet page 10)
o Reduce bus routes from 3 to 2 buses ($25,000) (packet page 10)
o Cut P.E. by 0.2 FTE ( $15,778)
o Cut Art by 0.1 FTE and Music 0.1 FTE ($17,758)
Heidemarie told the Board that she sees positive results from Health & Guidance; fewer problems and better learners, more focused and better concentration in her classroom, from last year to this year less interruptions.
o Cut Library and Technology 0.2 FTE ($13,908)
o Cut P. E. 0.2 FTE ($15,778)
5.0 (9:24 pm)(1 minutes) Consent Agenda
5.1. Approve minutes of October 27, 2014 & November 6, 2014 (emailed before meeting) (packet page 20-23)
• Both minutes approved with minor changes 5-0
5.2. Approve Board Orders
• None this evening
6.0 (9:26 pm)(4 minutes) Reports to the Board
6.1. Principal and Superintendent (packet page 24-31)
6.2. Financial Report (packet page 32-50)
6.3. WCSU Executive Committee (packet page 51-52)
6.4. Policy Committee
7.0 (9:29 pm)(3 minutes) Future Agenda Items – Enclosed meeting dates
7.1. Budget Preparation – December
7.2. Capital Plan
8.0 Information Request
9.0 Meeting Feedback
10.0 (9:32 pm) Adjourn
Jan 19, 2025, 4 to 6 PM
Special Meeting of the Selectboard, Cell TowerJan 20, 2025, 5:30 to 8 PM
Central Vermont Council on Aging Volunteer Open HouseJan 23, 2025, 3 to 6 PM