School Board Minutes

Falmouth School Board Minutes

Falmouth School Board
Regular Meeting
Monday, April 24, 2006

1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Falmouth High School ATM room. Present were Chairman Beppie Cerf, Linda Cote, Karen Farber, Beth Franklin, Kathy Hillman-Reed, Scott Lydick, Mark Terison, Superintendent George Entwistle, Student Representatives Rachel Bennett and Chris Murry and approximately 15 others.

2. Pledge of Allegiance: All in attendance recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

3. ADJUSTMENTS TO AGENDA: Mrs. Farber requested an Executive Session at the end of the meeting to discuss contract negotiations with the Bus Drivers, Custodians, and Maintenance Workers’ Association.

4.         APPROVAL OF MINUTES
            a.         Mrs. Hillman-Reed with a second from Mrs. Farber moved the Board approve the minutes of March 20, 2006. Mrs. Cote pointed out that under 5a. the words “a letter" were duplicated. The amended minutes were approved 7-0.
      b.         Mrs. Hillman-Reed with a second from Mrs. Cote moved the Board approve the minutes of March 28, 2005. The minutes were approved 7-0.
      c.         Mrs. Hillman-Reed with a second from Mrs. Cote moved the Board approve the minutes of April 3, 2006. The minutes were approved 7-0.
            d.         Mrs. Farber with a second from Mrs. Hillman-Reed moved the Board approve the minutes of April 10, 2006. Mrs. Farber noted that under Item 1, the word “out” should follow the names of Cote and Bennett in the first paragraph. The amended minutes were approved
                        7-0.

5. COMMUNICATIONS: There were none.

6. COMMENTS FROM PUBLIC: There were none.

7. RECOGNITION
a. Lion’s Club Speak-Out Winner, Anna Farnum, Falmouth High School senior, shared her speech on “The Super Kid” with the School Board. Ms. Farnum was also the recipient of the Western Maine conference Citizenship Award.

8. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Superintendent Entwistle explained that, in lieu of regular Board reports, the Leadership members will be reporting on the National ASCD Conference they recently attended in Chicago. He then reported to the Board on his recent trip to the Dominican Republic. The purpose of the trip was to explore the creation of a mutually beneficial relationship with other administrators/ schools/students through which we could increase our understanding and awareness of other cultures. He met with many dignitaries at UNIBE, visited classrooms, and traveled around Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. As a result of successful discussions and negotiations, he shared a copy of a draft agreement between Falmouth Public schools and UNIBE (Latin American University) in Santo Domingo. Dr. Entwistle then presented a slide show from his visit.

9. LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEMBERS’ REPORTS
a. Lunt School: Principal Flaherty informed the Board of the Kindergarten Parent Orientation meeting on Thursday evening. Kindergarten screening will be held on May 18 and 19. A team of teachers will be interviewing to fill four classroom teacher positions. Mr. Flaherty then reported on the ASCD Workshop he attended titled, “Closing the Reading Achievement Gap with Classroom Libraries”. As grades 1 and 2 do not have a library and those teachers are interested in increasing non-fiction books, Mr. Flaherty wanted to gain knowledge in building classroom libraries. He felt the worthwhile workshop affirmed Lunt teachers are using the best practices in education.

b. Plummer-Motz School: Principal Boffa expressed her appreciation at being able to attend a national conference of this magnitude. She participated in presentations by Carol Ann Tomlinson, Jay McTighe, Mel Levine, and Robert Marzano. She reported on the presentation by Robert Marzano on “background knowledge”, how to acquire background knowledge and the direct and indirect approach to building background knowledge.

c. Falmouth Middle School: Principal Rodman attended a session entitled, “Changing the Homework Culture in Your School” presented by Dr. Cathy Vatterott. In addition, he and Mrs. Hutton participated in a two day workshop on “Developing Effective Grading and Reporting Systems” with Tom Guskey and Jane Bailey.

d. Falmouth High School: Principal Hutton and Mr. Rodman presented some key issues that were raised in the presentation on “Developing Effective Grading and Reporting” systems with Tom Guskey and Jane Bailey. They provided an example of how one student could be graded using various methods.

e. Assistant Superintendent: Mrs. Powers felt attending the ASCD Conference was one of the best learning situations for the Leadership Council members. Mrs. Powers attended two outstanding presentations including Robby Champion’s full day presentation entitled, “Using the Results-Driven Paradigm for Professional Development,” and Dr. Mel Levine’s presentation titled “What We Are Learning About Learning: With Implications For What We Should Be Reaching In Teaching.”

f. Director of Student Planning & Learning Options: Ms. Palfrey attended a presentation by Deborah Childs-Bowen on “Creating a School Culture That Sustains Student Success” and “Integrating Differentiated Instruction & Understanding by Design” by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe. She also attended presentations on dropout prevention and “Promoting the Academic Success of Boys”.

g. Business Manager: Mr. O’Shea attended the full day workshop on “Using the Results-Driven Paradigm for Professional Development” by Robby Champion. He felt it provided an informative discussion for developing district and school professional development around some key concepts. Mr. O’Shea added that he had locked in the price of fuel for 2006-2007 at $2.29.

h. Director of Special Services: Ms. Crowell attended an excellent workshop by Mel Levine. She is still looking for an autism teacher and is working on the Extended School Year -Services program. In addition, she and Ms. Palfrey have been reviewing web-based Special Education, 504, and ESL data management programs that will help to coordinate all aspects of documentation for various special services.

i. Athletic Director: Mr. Hurley explained he had no report for this meeting and that the spring season began today.

10.       COMMITTEE REPORTS
            a.         Finance Subcommittee: Mrs. Hillman-Reed reported the Committee met tonight and talked about the presentation of the budget to the Town Council. The Committee feels comfortable with the budget that was adopted. The next meeting is May 22nd.
            b.         Facilities Subcommittee: Mr. Terison explained the Committee is looking forward to NESDEC’s presentation to the Board on May 8th.
            c.         Policy Subcommittee: Ms. Franklin reported the Committee is bringing forward two policies this evening for a first reading. As three members of the Wellness Committee were in attendance, Ms. Franklin asked that these policies be moved to the beginning of Unfinished Business. The next meeting is May 6th.

11.       ITEMS FOR INFORMATION
            a.         An article titled “It’s a Flat World After All” was included in the packet.
            b.         A thank you letter to FEF for their generous donation was included for the Board’s information. Mrs. Cerf expressed her appreciation for their generosity as well.
            c.         Quote (Lieberman & Miller)
            d.         Letters of resignation from Margaret Merrill, Jennifer Gennaco, Denise O’Toole, and Kristen Bodwell were received.
            e.         Notification of Retirement from Donna Erikson: Mrs. Cerf wished Mrs. Erikson well on her retirement.

12. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: There was none.

13. NEW BUSINESS
g. Policy JL-Student Wellness-First Reading: Ms. Franklin explained the Wellness Committee is composed of parents, teachers, nurses, administrators, students, and a board member and she introduced three of them, MaryBeth Bachman, Deborah Dolley, and Bob Griffin. Mrs. Bachman explained that recent State laws require that these policies be revised. The district must ensure that meals provided by the Food Service Program meet nutrition standards established by Federal guidelines. Nutrition should be incorporated into the school health program and every school district must adopt and implement nutrition education. Mr. Griffin noted the Committee consulted with Drummond Woodsum and visited other districts noting many districts have Wellness Coordinators already. Mrs. Dolley stressed that this will be an ongoing Committee. Mrs. Farber recommended that Health and PE teachers be included on the district-wide Wellness Committee. Ms. Franklin stated the Wellness Committee will report to the Board annually and the next step will be to develop some goals.

h. Policy EFE-Sales of Foods in Competition with the Food Service Program: The Government has determined that districts may not serve food of minimal nutritional value to students and schools must adopt policies covering exceptions. The next step is getting this information to booster groups.

a. Appointment of Michelle Brown as Gr. 3 teacher at Plummer-Motz School: Mrs. Hillman-Reed moved the Board appoint Michelle Brown as Gr. 3 teacher at Plummer-Motz School. The motion was approved 4-0.

b. Appointment of Bree Bianchi as Gr. 4 teacher at Plummer-Motz School: Mrs. Farber with a second from Mrs. Cote moved the Board appoint Bree Bianchi as Gr. 4 teacher at Plummer-Motz School. The Board approved the motion 4-0.

c. Approval of 1st year probationary contract teachers to 2nd year probationary status: Mrs. Farber with a second from Ms. Franklin moved the Board approve the list of 1st year probationary contract teachers moving to 2nd year probationary status. The Board approved 5-0.

d. Approval of 2nd year probationary contract teachers to continuing contract status: Mrs. Hillman-Reed with a second from Ms. Franklin moved the Board approve the list of 2nd year probationary contract teachers moving to continuing contract status. Superintendent Entwistle explained the administration would like to extend the probationary status of Tammy Serra due to unforeseen circumstances. The Board approved 5-0.

e. Spring Schedule “B” Appointments (See attached): Mrs. Farber with a second from Ms. Franklin moved the Board approve two spring coaches, Ashley Olen and Billy Maley. The Board approved the motion 5-0.

f. School Board’s endorsement of Falmouth’s hosting of the Region One Soccer Championship Series: Mrs. Farber expressed concern about hidden costs to the district as well as wear and tear on the fields. It was pointed out that the district has the right to cancel the games if necessary. Mrs Farber moved the Board approve the district hosting the soccer championship. With a second from Mrs. Hillman-Reed, the Board approved the motion 5-0.

14.       Executive Session: Mrs. Farber with a second from Ms. Franklin moved the Board go into Executive Session pursuant to 1 M.R.S.A. § 405 (6) (D) to discuss contract negotiations. The Board approved the motion 5-0 and went into Executive Session at 10:34 p.m.

15.       ADJOURNMENT: The Board came out of Executive Session and adjourned at 10:48 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

George H. Entwistle 3rd
Secretary

Last Updated: 5/24/06

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