Jan Mitchell, LWV Observer
All members were present, but Superintendent Richardson was at a conference, and Tom Stringer, Director of Business, took his place.
In addition to the approval of the minutes of the last regular meeting, they approved the minutes of the special meeting that approved the contract with the Northfield Education Association.
Just Foods’ newsletter contained an article praising the District for its “Farm to School” program initiated by the Food Service. Not only is the District buying more food from local growers, but also farmers will come to school to talk about their work.
The Board heard from the Curriculum co-directors about the implementation of the PLCs. Teachers have started to identify the SMART goals and action plans they will use to improve and assess student performance. Biology teacher Jody Saxton West spoke about the way she and her colleagues have used data from the standardized science tests to identify the specific kinds of items students did well on, or had trouble with. These data located some individual students who might benefit from a different placement, or different testing modes (oral, rather than written prompts, for example), and helped teachers to find their own strategic strengths and weaknesses. She was clearly excited about the process, and the Board was very pleased with the report.
The vacancy on the Board attracted 4 applicants, and each of them had something of value to offer. The sub-committee of the Board considered the applicants and recommended that the Board focus its discussion on Ray Cox and Julie Pritchard. By a vote of 5 to 1, they chose Julie Pritchard for the position, which will be open for a special election in November 2010. Quinnell was the dissenting vote.
The Board unanimously approved the Proposed Certified Tax Levy, which in aggregate will amount to an increase of 1.96% on property in the District. This percentage does NOT mean the revenue will increase next year, however. General education formula funding (including per-pupil amount) is set by the state legislature, and was not increased for the years 2009-10 and 2010-11. Further discussion of the levy occurs at the November 23rd Board meeting, when a public hearing will be held. The final levy will be certified at the December 14th Board meeting.
The Board also approved a resolution to authorize sale of General Obligation School Building Refunding Bonds, since interest rate declines recently show potential for saving over $2 million in debt service if we sell them.
Other routine business was conducted, and the meeting was adjourned.