Thetford School District

Thetford Elementary School

Board Minutes: Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Andy Boyce convened the School Board meeting at 7:05PM in the Art Room. The following were present: Andy Boyce, Robin Brown, Karen Kaliski, Jennifer Reining, Susan Weider, School Board; Alice Worth, Principal; Virginia Stone, Secretary; Wendy Baker, OESU Superintendent; Linda Rosa, OESU CFO; Keith Merrick, TA Business Manager (@7:30PM); Lynne Miller, Budget Committee; Susan Arnold, Robert Fournier, Annemarie Linnehan, Don Longwell, Jan Longwell (@7:30PM), Ann Swanson, and Nancy

Vaughan (@8:00PM)

Agenda Review – no additions

Minutes – MOTION: (Brown/Kaliski) moved/seconded to approve the minutes of the meeting 1/15/08 as corrected; unanimous. Correction: The meeting was held on January 15 th, not January 11 th.

Orders – None

Public Comment/Correspondence

Discussion of Thetford’s Tuition Exception Policy (AD-R) and the process for applying for a tuition exception; the financial responsibility of the town when a student attends a school other than the designated high school; and references to Vermont State Law (T.16, 824 and 827).

Discussion of issues and concerns regarding Thetford Academy; discussion of

de-designation and implications to students and the town with~references to the Secondary School Options Committee Report (2004); and interest by the Board in updating the report using recent data.

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Discussion of the Capital Project at Thetford Academy: the change in scope of the project and the~financial impact on tuition; comments and handouts provided by~Don Longwell; and the~request for a public forum prior to Town Meeting to discuss the Capital Project.~~The Board agreed to hold a Public Forum prior to Town Meeting, date and time to be determined. ~Of the $14,877 announced tuition for Thetford Academy FY’09, $641 is the amount attributed to "Construction Debt Service“ for~the capital project for FY'09.

Business

Review/Approve Partnership Agreement – Discussion concerning the process and evaluation of services provided by Thetford Academy when reviewing and approving the Partnership Agreement.~ The Board agreed to develop a process to follow the School District Strategic Plan, Goal 4, Objective C in the coming year in which the Board~will "review the partnership agreement and the effectiveness of educational services provided Thetford School Directors 1/22/08 page 2

Business (cont’d)

to the students in Thetford in grades 7-12.” MOTION: ~(Boyce/Brown) moved/seconded to authorize the chair to sign the Partnership Agreement for the 2008-2009 school year (FY2009); unanimous. ~Andy Boyce~gave Board members copies of the Secondary School Options Committee report from 2004 for informational purposes and future discussion.

8:25PM Lynne Miller, Susan Arnold, Robert Fournier, Annemarie Linnehan, Don Longwell, Jan Longwell and Ann Swanson left the meeting.

Anticipated Executive Session for Principal’s Contract – postponed to a February meeting

8:45PM Nancy Vaughan left the meeting.

Financial Report

Approve FY ’09 Budget - Linda Rosa and Alice Worth reported that there had been no changes to the Budget from the last iteration of 1/15/08. MOTION: (Boyce/Reining) moved/seconded to approve the FY’09 School Budget; unanimous. Discussion of the format for the Budget in the School Report. ~For the Tax Worksheet in the Annual Report, OESU will provide figures for the FY’08 budget as voted, the FY’08 actual budget, and the FY’09 budget.~ The Estimated Actual Homestead Tax Rate for FY2009 is 1.5352, an increase of 1.43% as compared to FY2008.

~~~~~~~~Approve Annual Meeting Warning – MOTION: ~(Boyce/Reining) moved/seconded to approve the Warning for the Annual Meeting 3/1/08, Article IV in the amount of $7,543,558.00, Article V in the amount of $20,000, Article VI in the amount of $20,000; unanimous.

Adjourned: MOTION: (Boyce/Kaliski) moved/seconded to adjourn at 8:55PM; unanimous.

Virginia Stone

These minutes are not official until approved by the School Board.