WENTWORTH SCHOOL BOARD
MEETING MINUTES
WENTWORTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
March 23, 2006
MEMBERS PRESENT Mr. Morrison, Mrs. Gelsi, Mrs. Mack
OTHERS PRESENT Mrs. Gaides, Mr. Keene, Mrs. Bownes – Recording Secretary
PUBLIC PRESENT Mr. Muzzey, Mrs. Gaudette, Kevin Patten, Brook Duchette
CALL TO ORDER Mrs. Gaides called the meeting to order at 6:06 p.m.
ELECT CHAIR It shall be noted that Mrs. Gelsi nominated Mr. Morrison and the motion was seconded by Mrs. Mack.
AGENDA REVIEW The Board reviewed and disposed of the agenda.
AND DISPOSITION
MINUTES It was moved by Mrs. Gelsi, seconded by Mrs. Mack to approve the minutes of the January 24, 2006, January 26, 2006 and the February 20, 2006 meetings as presented. Vote was unanimous.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT In addition to Mr. Keene’s written report, he briefly reviewed the following items with the Board:
1. Cultural Arts Night
2. Annual Review of School Improvement Plan
1. Miscellaneous
2. Letter from Melody Gaudette (presented at the meeting)
DISCUSSION ITEMS It was moved by Mr. Morrison, seconded by Mrs. Gelsi to accept
’06-’07 School Calendar and approve the ’06-’07 School Calendar as presented. Vote was unanimous.
NECAP Test Results Mrs. Gaides shared the information relative to the NECAP testing. Mrs. Gaides advised that a presentation relative to the test results will be provided at the next meeting.
A citizen a the meeting said that she is under the understanding that there are numbers that go out to the public and then numbers that are kept for the state. Mrs. Gaides explained that there is a parent report and then there are numbers depicting what the school as a whole looks like (Grades 6, 7, & 8 in Wentworth).
A citizen at the meeting asked why Wentworth scores are so low. Mrs. Gaides said that the report will be reviewed in more depth at the next meeting.
Mrs. Gaides emphasized that there are curriculum initiatives undertaken to address areas of concern.
Mrs. Gelsi clarified for those present that the special education students are included in these results.
A citizen at the meeting inquired as to what is being done to improve these scores. Mrs. Gaides explained that a variety of curriculum analysis will be conducted and initiatives are and will be undertaken to address areas of weakness.
RECOGNITION & Mr. Keene recognized the following individuals:
· Brook Duchette and the cast and supporting cast for their performance in The Boarding House.
· Steve Welch for construction of back drops
· Bixby for paint and art work
THE FLOOR testing percentages were low back in 2003 and we are still testing low. Mrs. Gelsi pointed out that the special education population has grown significantly and this affects the scores.
A citizen at the meeting pointed out that accommodations are built into the testing for those special education students.
A citizen at the meeting inquired why the special education students are included. Mrs. Gaides said that the No Child Left Behind Act requires this.
A citizen at the meeting noted that Wentworth is being tested the same way as the rest of the towns in the state and stated that Wentworth is continuously scoring low.
Mr. Patten said that the bottom line is sometimes it is the family and it has nothing to do with the Board or the teachers or the school.
Mr. Muzzey said that 6 years ago or more he brought it to the people’s attention that our students score the lowest in the state. He said that something needs to be done. He said he has been in on curriculum meetings and he doesn’t believe it is the curriculum or the teachers. He said he believes it is the administration and the teaching methods.
A citizen at the meeting said that if you look at the history of special education in Wentworth over the past 8 years, there has been a consistent turn over of special education teachers. She pointed out that children are pushed to the next level year to year and this is a problem. She said that with this many IEP’s there should be more special education people on staff. She noted that there are 4 or 5 children per grade that need additional services. This citizen emphasized that some of these children cannot be helped here at this school. She said that children who are in the 7th grade, but are at the 4th grade level, will need more help than the staff can give.
A citizen at the meeting stated that in grades 1 – 5 special education needs are being met. She said this wasn’t happening before. She said this will help those students, but unfortunately the upper grades are the ones that suffered.
Mr. Keene stated that there is also the extremely small sample size to be considered. He said a few low scores can drop the total score down significantly. He said this is just one set of statistics. He said the Terra Nova and local assessments also have to be considered.
Mrs. Gelsi said that the bottom line is that in the 7th grade half over the class is testing substantially below proficiency.
Mr. Milligan said he doesn’t accept the fact that the low scores are due to the low numbers. He said if we have low numbers, we should have higher scores. He said if students don’t meet the curriculum, they shouldn’t be passed to the next grade.
Mr. Morrison said that there are a lot of children that don’t need to be coded or have an IEP and that it is a convenient excuse along the way.
Mr. Muzzey said that 6 years running, you should see highs and lows, but we don’t see any good classes going through.
The Board disagreed with this and pointed to the 3th, 4th and 5th grade scores.
A citizen inquired as to what the solutions are to this problem. She suggested home tutoring, parent involvement, etc. This citizen said this shouldn’t be on the Board or the teachers alone. She asked what parents and the community can do.
Mrs. Gelsi said that there are families that cannot afford tutoring.
A citizen at the meeting suggested these families make a request of the PTO.
Mrs. Gelsi said she has never heard a teacher turn down a student requesting extra help. A citizen at the meeting said that parents should attend these extra help sessions.
Mrs. Sanborn stated that the responsibility for these students lies with the parents and the school. She said that she invites parents into the classroom and advises parents on how to assist at home.
Mrs. Sanborn reviewed the process for coding a child and getting an IEP.
Mrs. Sanborn (representing the teachers union) said that with regard to the recent article submitted to the Record Citizen by the Chairman of the Board, there was misinformation printed. She said that the WEA never demanded the Board keep a regular education teacher. Mrs. Sanborn stated that the teachers feel that the article is not supportive of the school or the staff and is directed at the teachers. She advised that the WEA is disappointed in this article. A letter from the Wentworth Teacher’s Association was presented to the Board.
A lengthy discussion between the WEA members present and the Board ensued with regard to the article printed and information discussed at meetings and budget hearings.
Mrs. Gelsi said she has written a letter of clarification and submitted it to the Record Enterprise.
Mrs. Sanborn said the WEA is very disappointed and feeling very unsupported.
Mrs. Gelsi said the article is awful and noted that the teachers did not demand the regular education teacher be kept. Mrs. Gelsi said she supports the teachers and emphasized that they didn’t demand anything. She said the teachers, in fact, had made a presentation on how to address the weaknesses in the school.
Mr. Patten stated his belief that there is no more important job in this country than a teacher. He said good teachers deserve good salaries, but there is a limit to where throwing money at things solves problems. Mr. Patten inquired when the union contract is up for negotiation. Mrs. Gaides said that 2007-2008 is the end of the current contract. Mrs. Sanborn pointed out that the Wentworth teachers are the lowest paid teachers in the state.
Mr. Patten asked who negotiates the contract and Mrs. Gaides stated that it is between the Board and the union.
Mr. Kolb said there are some very angry people out there about the huge spike in the taxes. He said property values in this town are going to go down. Mr. Kolb said that the Selectmen get a list several times a year relative to people that are in arrears in their taxes. He said there are a lot of people in arrears in their taxes and these people are angry. Mr. Kolb said the School Board has to address the tax rate and the test scores.
Mrs. Gove asked why there wasn’t a consideration in having a bond for the building project/renovations. Mrs. Gelsi said that the previous Board discussed a bond and the majority of the people that showed up at the meeting along with the Board and the facilities committee felt that a bond would increase taxes over 5 years as opposed to a one time increase. She said that the Board went with the recommendation that a one time increase was better.
Mrs. Gelsi said that the Board made all the cuts it could in order to make the necessary repairs and improvements affordable.
Mr. Muzzey interjected that there is a deadline by which you cannot, by contract, fire a teacher.
A citizen at the meeting inquired if the public has access to the transcripts of each meeting. Mrs. Gaides advised that all minutes of meetings are available to the public.
Mrs. Gaides explained the grants being taken advantage of within the school.
A citizen suggested that after school programs could be utilized to help the students that are struggling.
Mr. Muzzey said that the teaching methods are the problem, not the curriculum.
Mrs. Murray asked if it was possible to call a special meeting to change the warrant article and request a bond so the taxes wouldn’t take such a hit. Mrs. Gaides was asked to look into this option by Mrs. Murray.
A citizen at the meeting said that there is a lot of negativity around the letter that appeared in the newspaper. Mrs. Gelsi apologized for not being more clear in her original letter, and again stated that she had submitted a letter of clarification to the newspaper.
Mr. Morrison said as a Board member, he would not support a special meeting as the people spoke at the official meeting and the people voted for the budget.
A citizen at the meeting advised that we all have to stop pointing fingers and find solutions.
Mr. Muzzey agreed that a special meeting was not an option. He said that this issue is water over the dam. Mr. Muzzey said that the vote was taken and we are going to have to live with it.
FUTURE MEETINGS Following are the upcoming meeting dates for the Wentworth School Board:
April 17, 2006
May 15, 2006
June 19, 2006
NON-PUBLIC SESSION At 7:26 p.m. it was moved by Mr. Morrison, seconded by Mrs. Gelsi that the Board move into non-public in accordance with RSA 91-A:3, IIC to discuss nominations and a resignation. The Board was polled, vote was unanimous.
PUBLIC SESSION At 8:10 p.m. it was moved by Mr. Morrison, seconded by Mrs. Gelsi, that the Board return to public session. Vote was unanimous.
Mr. Keene’s resignation was accepted with regret. Vote was unanimous.
The Board elected to approve the slate of nominations presented by the Superintendent. This was approved with a vote of 2-1 (Mrs. Mack opposing).
The Principal search was discussed. The School Board agreed to accept applications for the Principal search until May 10. The School Board will decide on the interview schedule at the May 15th meeting. The School Board has requested seven people on the committee” Mrs. Mack, Mrs. Gelsi, Mrs. Melanson, and the remainder to be selected from parents and/or community.
ADJOURNMENT At 8:20 p.m., it was moved by Mrs. Gelsi, seconded by Mr. Morrison, that there being no further business to come before the Board, that the meeting be adjourned. Vote was unanimous.
Respectfully Submitted,
Karen A. Bownes
Recording Secretary
Board Works