School Board Meeting Minutes: September 2008 Archives
Notes from the MCA. The following commentary is meant to highlight areas of deficiency in the minutes provided by the school board.
The minutes themselves follow.
MCA
Notes from the MCA:
1. The school business administrative report : B. “Mrs. Peranelli reviewed the following pages of the report: 2, 6, 8, 10, 34, 36. The Board also received the accompanying Management Letter to be signed by the School Board Chairperson, Superintendent of Schools, Treasurer and School Business Administrator. The final item the Board received is the June 30, 2008 end-of-year fund balance summary”. Considering that the school district budget is more than half our town tax burden the details/documents should be made available on line for all to see. The MCA has requested these documents and will post them on this website when made available.
2. Other Matters: Mr. Lancor informed the Board of the notebook being put together for members of the Budget Advisory Committee. No further info in the minutes as to what is in the notebook.
3. From the superintendent’s report: “A. Strategic Planning Process: Mr. Lancor presented to the Board a proposed strategic planning process to be implemented in 2008-2009. This process would lead to a new multi-year Educational Master Plan beginning with the 2009-2010 school year. Mark Borrin moved, and Kathy Garry seconded a motion, to approve this line of planning process. All voted in favor. Laurie Whitley volunteered to participate on this team. A summary of the process would be helpful for the public at large so that they can better understand how there tax dollars are being spent.
4. New Business: “A. Proposed 2009-2010 Budget TimeLine*: Mr. Lancor discussed with the Board the proposed time line for development of the 2009-2010 budget to be reviewed by the Board. Dates need to be determined for multiple committee meetings to be held during the month of October. Mr. Lancor will e-mail proposed dates to Board members for committee meetings in October and will post them. The Advisory Budget Committee will receive a copy”‘. The MCA has requested these dates and will publish them on this website.
5. . The school business administrative report : C. MS-24 and MS-25 Reports*: The Board received copies of the MS-24 (Revised Estimate Revenues for 2008-2009). On Monday, September 8, Mrs. Peranelli e-mailed all Board members a copy of the MS-25 Report (Expenditures for 2007-2008). The Board signed these documents. The MCA has requested these documents and will publish them on this website.
Click for :September 9. 2008 School Board Minutes
Note form the MCA: A few points to highlight from these draft minutes.
· Item D of the Chairpersons report references an article on the NH Local Government Center website called "Meeting Minutes 101" a very good reference for all NH public bodies and the board felt that they met those standards ( published on the MCA website July 8th, 2008 by the way).
Now, as members of the public that read this document ( the minutes) you will easily see how difficult it is to get real information as to what is really happening. The school district budget is more the 50% of our total tax burden. Doesn't the public at large deserve better?
The school board believes that they meet the requirements for Meeting Minutes 101. We do not. From the Meeting Minutes 101 document:
"When considering the “brief summary of the subject matter discussed,” the board may want to recall that the purpose of meeting minutes is to promote openness in government and to inform citizens about what their government is doing. Citizens should be able to read minutes of a meeting and get a good idea about what happened. "
Read on .....
· Item A on the School Business Administrative report-.."FY09 Budget will come up short in the fuel line, somewhere between $50,000 to $70,000, depending on the steps that will be taken to conserve energy. She ( Kay Perannelli) feels that we can work within the budget" We assume that this means that there will be no budget overruns due to increased fuel costs.
· Item B on the School Business Administrative report- "It was noted that $78,516 will be returned to the Town to reduce 2008 taxes. She will report on this again next Board meeting." Is this the total surplus or only a portion of it? Where did it come from? No answers in the minutes
· Item C on the School Business Administrative report- "Mark Borrin moved, and Fox Smith seconded a motion, to accept Joanne Coppingerʼs bid for the engineering design of the parking lots. All voted in favor". While not implying conflict of interest, it is interesting that Joanne Coppinger is also the wife of the Moultonboro Academy Principal.
In the public comment session- "Jim Leiterman asked the Board to explain more about the $50,000 fuel deficit and how that is offset, and its relationship to the $50,000 given back to the town"..And the answer is....not in the minutes! Apparently they don't have one.
.Moultonborough School District
Monthly School Board Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Town Hall Meeting Room
Present:
Bill Blackadar, Mark Borrin, Fox Smith, Laurie Whitley, Michael Lancor, Kay Peranelli,Lou Goscinski, Scott Laliberte and Laurie Caldwell
Chairman Blackadar called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. and led attendees in the Pledge of
Allegiance.
Public Agenda:
1. Personnel Announcements: The Chairperson announced the following personnel
appointments made during non-public session:
Donna Fodero - SPED Assistant at MA Middle School
Melissa Torressen - Classroom Assistant at MCS
Grace Marino - Spanish Teacher at MA
Public Input:
None.Approval of Minutes:
A. Laurie Whitley moved, and Fox Smith seconded a motion, to approve the minutes from
the July 8, 2008 School Board meeting. All voted in favor.
General Items:
A. Electronic School Board: Laura Maroon assisted Board members and administrators with
the electronic agenda used for the first time.
B. Other Matters: None.
Chairperson's Report:
A. Calendar: The Chairperson announced the following important calendar date:
Tuesday, September 9, 2008:
Monthly School Board Meeting - 7:00 p.m. -Town HallB. 08-09 SB & Admin. Goals*: The School Board and Administration Goals for 2008-2009
were reviewed and discussed. Mark Borrin moved, and Fox Smith seconded a motion, to
accept the goals as presented. All voted in favor.
C. Town Summer Information Meeting: This meeting was held the morning of Saturday, July
19, 2008 in the Community Auditorium. Mr. Blackadar represented the School District and
reported on this event.
D. Meeting Minutes 101: The Board received a copy of the document produced by the Local
Government Center called “Legal Q & A: Meeting Minutes 101” for review and discussion......
