MINUTES
7:00 P.M. - BUSINESS MEETING
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2008
CAPITAL AREA TECHNICAL CENTER CAFETERIA
The following Board
Members were present:
|
Chair: |
Bill Burney |
|
Board Members: |
Jane Dennison, Dick Barnes, Nate Rende, Sue Campbell, Kim Silsby, Sue Dowling, and Darek Grant |
Board Members
absent:
|
Board Members: |
Willie Emerson |
Also present were:
|
Superintendent: |
Cornelia Brown |
|
Curriculum
Coordinator: |
Tina Meserve |
|
Business Manager: |
James Jurdak |
|
Student
Representative: |
S. Nash Callahan |
7:00 P.M. - BUSINESS MEETING:
1) Opening:
A.
Call to
Order
B.
Pledge
of Allegiance
C.
Presentations:
1.
CATC
Student Climate Survey & CATC Teacher Climate Survey –
Scott Phair.
CATC Director Scott Phair
reviewed the responses from both the Student and the Teacher Climate Surveys
with the Board.
Overall, the responses
reflected very favorably on CATC and showed that both students and Teachers feel
that CATC is a safe and good environment in which to learn or work.
2.
Wind
Turbines – Maeghan Maloney.
Ms. Maloney gave her
presentation to the Board relative to applying for a Service Learning Grant
funded by State Farm Insurance to have a local Augusta construction firm (All
Seasons Home Improvement Company) install two windmills at Cony High School. The Grant would also provide a laptop
computer for students to use as a learning tool to track the amount of energy
generated by the windmills.
Mr. Gregg, owner of All Seasons
Home Improvement Company, also reported to the Board on the proposed
project. Mr. Gregg mentioned that there
is an Ordinance that restricts the height of a windmill to 60 feet and that the
heights of the two proposed windmill towers would be 33.5 feet and 50 feet.
Ms. Maloney thanked the Board,
Superintendent Brown, CATC Director Scott Phair, and Mr. Gregg for their help
on the Grant.
2) Approval
of Minutes:
A. Motion to approve the Minutes of the Regular
Meeting of August 13, 2008.
|
Move to approve the Minutes
of the Regular Meeting of July 9, 2008. |
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: |
Kim Silsby
Second: Sue Campbell 7: Members Silsby, Campbell, Dennison, Barnes,
Rende, Grant, and Dowling. 0 Motion Passed Unanimously 7 to 0. |
B. Motion to approve the Minutes of the Special
Meeting of August 27, 2008.
|
Move to approve the Minutes
of the Special Meeting of August 27, 2008. |
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: |
Kim Silsby
Second: Sue Campbell 7: Members Silsby, Campbell, Dennison, Barnes,
Rende, Grant, and Dowling. 0 Motion Passed Unanimously 7 to 0. |
3) Communications:
A. Letters:
1. August 20, 2008 letter from
Commissioner Susan Gendron advising Superintendent Brown that the Augusta
School Department’s Alternative Plan has been approved and thanking
Superintendent Brown for the “great effort that went into preparing your
Alternative Plan”.
2.
August 19, 2008 letter from Karen
Hawkes, Director-Maine Center for Sport and Coaching, advising Superintendent
Brown that, “the Board of Directors unanimously approved Augusta Public Schools
for full Sports Done Right
accreditation”.
3. September
3, 2008 letter of from The Family of Helen Nicholas Burney thanking everyone
for their condolences, gifts, and flowers.
B. Student
Council Report: Student
Representative Nash Callahan reported to the Board relative to the overcrowding
situation in the Cony Lunch Room and that Cony Principal James Anastasio advised
him that the Food Service area will be open five minutes earlier to try to help
alleviate the overcrowding problem.
Nash
also mentioned that students are concerned about high class sizes and that some
classrooms have up to 30 students and there are even some classrooms that do
not have enough desks to accommodate all of the students in the class.
Cony Principal Anastasio stated that
Teachers who were short on desks for students have since ordered the necessary
extra desks.
4) Resignations
and Retirements:
A. Resignations: None.
5) Recognitions: None.
6) Informational
Items:
A.
Out-of-State
Professional Development Travel:
1. Charles
Izzi, Jr., CATC – Trip to
NEASC
– Decennial Visit –
(Mr. Izzi will be serving as the Assistant
Chair of the Decennial Visiting Committee.)
B.
Athletic
and Extra-Curricular Nominations:
1. Nominations for
Gifted/Talented Coordinators:
·
Rebecca
Foster – Farrington
·
Anita
Hopkins – Hussey
·
Kelley
King – Gilbert
·
Kendra
Lakeman -
7)
Committee Reports:
A.
Finance
Committee Report: Committee Chair Sue Campbell gave the
Finance Committee report to the Board.
1.
Business
Manager’s Report. Business Manager
James Jurdak gave his report to the Board.
B.
Curriculum
& Education Committee Report: Committee Chair Dick Barnes
gave the Curriculum & Education Committee Report to the Board.
1.
Curriculum
Coordinator’s Report. Curriculum
Coordinator Tina Meserve gave her report to the Board.
C.
Personnel
& Negotiations Committee Report: Member Silsby gave the
Personnel & Negotiations Committee Report to the Board.
8)
Consent Items: (All matters listed under this item will be considered routine and will
be enacted by one motion. A Board Member may ask to have an item(s)
removed and considered individually.)
A. Nominations for Professional Positions: None.
9) Public
Comment on Non-Personnel Agenda Items:
None.
10) Unfinished
Business:
A. Policy Adoptions/Revisions/Deletions:
1. Motion to approve tabling the approval of the Second Reading of Changes to Policy JL- School Wellness.
|
Move to approve tabling the approval of the Second JL-School Wellness. |
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: |
Sue Dowling Second:
Darek Grant 2: Members Dowling and Grant 5: Members Silsby, Campbell,
Dennison, Barnes, and Rende Motion Failed 2 to 5. |
2. Motion to approve an Amendment to allow the Changes to the Second Reading of Policy JL-School Wellness until January 2009.
|
Move to approve an Amendment to allow Changes to
the Second January 2009. |
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: |
Sue Dowling Second:
Darek Grant 3: Members Dowling, Grant, and
Campbell 4: Members Silsby, Dennison, Barnes,
and Rende Motion Failed 3 to 4. |
3. Motion to approve a Second Reading of Changes
to Policy JL-School Wellness.
|
Move to approve a Second JL-School Wellness. |
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: |
Kim Silsby
Second: Sue Campbell 5: Members Silsby, Campbell, Dennison, Barnes,
and Rende 2: Members Dowling and Grant Motion Passed 5 to 2. |
11) New
Business:
A. Student Activity Travel Requests
(Out-of-State or Overnight):
1. Motion
to approve – French Club (French Teacher Priscille Michaud) –
Trip
to
|
Move to approve - French Club (French Teacher
Priscille Michaud) – Trip to |
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: |
Sue Campbell
Second: Kim Silsby 7: Members Silsby, Campbell, Dennison, Barnes,
Rende, Grant, and Dowling. 0 Motion Passed Unanimously 7 to 0. |
2. Motion
to approve – Cony High School Band – Trip to
November
23-24, 2008 for the All
|
Move to approve – November 23-24, 2008 for the All
|
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: |
Jane Dennison
Second: Sue Campbell 7: Members Silsby, Campbell, Dennison, Barnes,
Rende, Grant, and Dowling. 0 Motion Passed Unanimously 7 to 0. |
3. Motion to approve – Cony High School Music Department – Trip to
|
Move to approve – Cony
High Music Department – Trip to |
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: |
Sue Campbell Second:
Jane Dennison 7: Members Silsby, Campbell, Dennison, Barnes,
Rende, Grant, and Dowling. 0 Motion Passed Unanimously 7 to 0. |
B. Policy Adoptions/Revisions/Deletions. None.
C. Nominations
for Administrative Positions: None.
D. Motion
to elect a Voting Delegate and an Alternate Delegate to the Maine School Boards
Association’s (MSBA) Delegate Assembly.
|
Move to elect a Voting Delegate and an Alternate Delegate to the |
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: |
Sue Campbell
Second: Jane Dennison 7: Members Silsby, Campbell, Dennison, Barnes,
Rende, Grant, and Dowling. 0 Motion Passed Unanimously 7 to 0. |
Members Jane Dennison and Sue Campbell agreed to serve, respectively,
as the Voting Candidate and the Alternate Candidate to the Maine School Boards
Association’s Delegate Assembly.
E. Motion
to accept a $5,000 gift from donor, Robert G. Fuller, Jr., for a statue of
Daniel Cony for
|
Move to accept a $5,000 gift from donor, Robert
G. Fuller, Jr., for a statue of Daniel
Cony for |
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: |
Sue Campbell
Second: Jane Dennison 7: Members Silsby, Campbell, Dennison, Barnes,
Rende, Grant, and Dowling. 0 Motion Passed Unanimously 7 to 0. |
F. Motion to approve an Amendment to lower the amount of the proposed increase in Tutor pay from $15 an hour to $22 an hour to from $15 and hour to $20.00 hour.
|
Move to approve an Amendment to lower the amount of the proposed increase in Tutor pay from $15 an hour to $22 an hour to from $15 an hour to $20.00 hour. |
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: |
Sue Dowling
Second: None - - Motion Failed for lack of a
Second. |
G. Motion to approve increasing the pay for Tutors from $15 an hour to $22 an hour.
|
Move to approve increasing the pay for Tutors from $15 an hour to $22 an hour. |
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: |
Sue Campbell
Second: Jane Dennison 6: Members Silsby, Campbell, Dennison, Barnes,
Rende, and Grant. 1: Sue Dowling Motion Passed 6 to 1. |
12. Superintendent’s Report: Dr. Brown reported to the Board that we had
an excellent opening of school, with the exception of the problems with the
buses.
Dr. Brown said she had a chance to get
into all of the buildings and talk with kids
Dr. Brown further reported that the
Augusta School Department had a wonderful two days of In-Service and had a
great slide show that was put together by Amber Davis of CATC’s Multi-Media Department.
Dr. Brown stated, “As mentioned earlier,
busing is an issue. We are going to talk
with First Student tomorrow to see what we can come up with to resolve the
busing concerns. We will stress the
mechanical issues and the safety issues with First Student again tomorrow. We have a contract with First Students, and
they are required to abide by the Articles in that contract, and we will be
pursuing that with them tomorrow to see how they intend to make us whole for
some of the errors that happened the first part of the school year.”
Dr. Brown advised the Board that, In and Around Augusta, the television
program that she hosts, is beginning its fall season. She stated that she is always looking for
guests, so if anyone would like to come on the program to talk about
educational things, please let her know.
Dr. Brown mentioned that it is a ½-hour program and generally shoots on
Monday mornings; however, shoots can be done at off-site locations or in the
evening, if that would work better for a guest’s schedule.
13. Reports from Other School Officials: None.
14. Audience Recognition for Non-Agenda Items:
Ms. Trish
Callahan, Augusta School Board Student Representative Nash Callahan’s mother,
addressed the Board with her concerns relative to class student/teacher ratios
and how she feels that students are being “overly policed”. She feels that
15. Adjourn:
A. Motion to Adjourn:
|
Move to
Adjourn. |
Motion: Yeas: Nays: Vote: Time: |
Sue Campbell
Second: Jane Dennison 7: Members Silsby, Campbell, Dennison, Barnes,
Rende, Grant, and Dowling. 0 Motion Passed Unanimously 7 to 0. 9:05 p.m. |
Next Meetings of the
Board Retreat – Saturday,
September 27, 2008
8:00 a.m. to Noon – Superintendent’s Conference Room
Regular Board Business Meeting - Wednesday, October 8, 2008
7:00 p.m. – CATC Cafeteria