Addison Northwest Supervisory Union

ANWSU Governance Study Committee

Meeting Minutes - June 22, 2004

VUHS Library

Committee Members Administration

Kristin Bristow Laurie Gutowski Tom O’Brien

Samantha Kayhart Amy Johnston Donna Corcoran

Adela Langrock Nancy Larrow Wayne Howe

Linda Hawley David Kayhart

Dennis Mueller Scott Gaines Consultants

David Tatlock Paulette Bogan Ray Proulx (absent)

Karen Petersen Sid Bosworth (absent) Wendy Hovey

Guests/Visitors

Greg Hamilton

Allison Vigne

1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by K. Bristow at 6:00 p.m.

2. Approval of Minutes: Motion by D. Tatlock, seconded by P. Bogan to approve the minutes of May 11^th and 25^th as written. So voted and the motion carried.

3. Public Comment: None this evening.

4. Correspondence from Commissioner of Education: K. Bristow read a letter from Richard Cate, Commissioner of Education, in response to the letter sent to him regarding the formation of this Committee per Title 16 V.S.A. § 706B. He offered his assistance and that of Bill Reedy, Legal Counsel at the Department of Education.

5. Study Committee Members’ Comments: Ms. Bristow indicated that this would be a regular agenda item, giving members the opportunity to speak regarding issues or concerns that come up between meetings, etc.

D. Tatlock indicated that it had occurred to him that there are people out there that have already given thought to this governance idea and perhaps the committee should hear from them. For example, perhaps someone should speak to the data being collected. It was suggested that the superintendent, business manager, other administrators, the curriculum coordinator, and probably others, be asked for input.

D. Kayhart indicated that he has been involved in this initiative since the beginning and the state is really the entity pushing the idea. They want to control educational costs and are looking for ways to curtail spending. The Legislature is hoping that school districts will take some action.

T. O’Brien indicated that the notion of a more efficient, effective way to operate was raised during the interview process when he was considering the job here. Once hired, he followed-up on the idea with the board and convened the initial study group. Up until now he has tried not to be directly involved because this is a board initiative. He reserves the right for other administrators, and himself, to speak until this group is ready.

Discussion ensued regarding the public’s perception of this idea and ways to convince them that savings can be gained and services will continue to improve. Everyone agreed that it is up to this group to find the ways to do it. Superintendent O’Brien noted that a board member reported that, while attending a recent Regional Planning Commission meeting, someone stated that this initiative is the school district’s way of gaining control - to take away the local control. Mr. O’Brien noted that there is little local control – but there certainly is local influence.

S. Kayhart asked about the progress of the website. Mr. O’Brien indicated that he talked with Bob Owens (our technology coordinator) and he is working on a link from the ANWSU website.

Wendy Hovey indicated that she would like to interview each of the committee members regarding the process, the perception, questions that you may have, etc. The interviews would be recorded for editing by each member and then compiled (not shared with others). The interviews will be held in the central office conference room. A sign up sheet was distributed so members could “sign up”.

K. Bristow indicated that since Mr. Proulx is not able to be here (or will be late) this evening, we will continue with the agenda items not requiring his assistance.

Draft Statement Prepared by Samantha Kayhart: K. Bristow read the statement, which will need to be voted on by the Committee, at some point in time, so it can become a part of the process.

Tom O’Brien indicated that he does not want to preclude himself or the other administrators from speaking. The Committee needs to let the administrators and/or others know when it is ready to hear from them. The Committee felt it would be helpful to them to hear Mr. O’Brien’s position.

Mr. O’Brien indicated that one of the key points to his coming here was the discussion that he alluded to earlier that took place during the interview process. He had worked in 3 multiple board districts before coming here and was interested in the consolidation idea. When he first arrived he met with administrators at their annual retreat and there was great interest expressed by them as well. This district works well together – the administrators, the boards, building to building, etc. The work is collective and unified – giving a solid base for what this Committee is trying to do. The initial study circles idea came from Winton Goodrich and has progressed to where we are now. Since then, work has continued o n a K-12 curriculum, which provides continuity for all students, as well as other district-wide initiatives. Our boards not only speak to each other but work together with respect, for the common good. They may not always agree but work together to complete the task, whatever it may be. This is not the case in most districts.

Also, the brochure that was put together for townspeople prior to voting on whether or not to study this initiative highlighted the effectiveness, efficiencies to be gained, and what would work best to serve our students. Whether or not we reach the end result, these discussions are good for the growth of the district.

Nancy Larrow asked what some of the things are that are being done together, which for her, as a committee member, would be helpful to know.

Wayne Howe, Principal of Addison Central School, spoke about the degree of cooperation that already exists across the five towns. A strong focus has been to have the three elementary schools sending students to the High School with the same curriculum for continuity. Also procedures, financial plans, etc., have been done – the same for all schools to follow.

Donna Corcoran, Business Manager, indicated that having a single teacher and support staff contracts is great, since the central office does the payroll for all schools. Neighboring districts have several, which has to be a nightmare to administer. We also do all the accounts payable (except for Addison). Insurance coverage is one item that we have under one carrier for all schools.

Linda Hawley commented, from a board member point of view, that it did not always work the way it currently does!

Tom O’Brien commented that there many external issues that are out of our control – (NCLB) No Child Left Behind Act, for example. This Act places the ultimate responsibility on the students – it’s a weight on administrators and staff, with penalties for poor student performance. It’s good that expectations are the same for all schools and we are moving forward. Our communities will not lose – they will ultimately gain – from these discussions.

Discussion ensued regarding testing and the impact it will have if we become a unified district – and the benchmarks for (AYP) adequate yearly progress.

K. Bristow noted that one thing that is not “together” is the budgets. Currently, Donna has 8 different budgets to prepare. She would like to see a comparison of how it currently works and what it would look like if we did consolidate.

D. Kayhart indicated that Donna probably has some ideas. Donna responded that she has not put a money amount on any one thing, but has looked at a more efficient use of her time – which equates to money.

Tom O’Brien indicated that there will be actual money savings – how much, we don’t know at this point in time – from the efficiencies, particularly in the central office staff and board members’ time, which goes way beyond the one board they were elected to serve on. Seven or eight meetings a month is not an efficient use of anyone’s time.

Mr. O’Brien noted that there are 4 miles between Belvidere and Waterville schools and they finally voted in the positive to close one (Belvidere) and consolidate. We are constantly looking at student enrollments and consequent reductions in staff. It is demoralizing for a small town (like Belvidere) to lose its school and its “local control.” This is one of the reasons for us to have this kind of discussion.

S. Kayhart indicated that she participated in the support staff negotiations process. Addison could not compete for staff against the schools offering more money and benefits for doing the same job and our students were losing quality instruction as a result. The Board had to cut programs and staff when the community would not support our budgets. Music is one example. Addison students were dropping out of music classes when they reached the high school, because they found that they were behind the other students. A consolidation would be an advantage to Addison and its students.

K. Bristow indicated that projections were to have been completed and brought to this meeting, and enrollment and staffing were to be discussed this evening. Without the projections, the figures don’t mean much.

D. Kayhart asked if the Committee should be looking at our buildings for better usage of the space, better staffing configurations, etc.

Mr. O’Brien indicated that he sees that as the purpose of the administration - to come up with a plan. Class structure, programming, administrative staff, other staffing/needs, etc. are discussed every year (at budget time). If we were to consolidate, staff would be utilized throughout the district – rather than by individual school.

A. Langrock asked if programmatic changes can be made even if we are not a unified district. Mr. O’Brien indicated that defining the programs for all students needs to happen.

Next Meeting Date and Agenda: K. Bristow asked that Donna Corcoran and/or Carol Spencer be asked to attend the next meeting. We also need to ask Ray Proulx for the projections.

The date of the meeting will be kept at July 14, since it’s already on everyone’s calendar, at 6:00 PM at the VUHS Library. Nancy Larrow and Paulette Bogan will be responsible for the food.

The meeting was adjourned by the Chair at 7:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sally A. Bushey

Recording Secretary