Policy/Communication Committee Meeting Minutes Archive

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
December 15, 2008
Barre Town School, Upstairs Conference Room
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

MINUTES

ATTENDANCE: Chris Bond (Chair), Dr. Theodore Riggen, Kerri Lamb

1. Collections and Maintenance of Education Files (JRA) – The committee considered new language based on Dr. Bacon’s suggestion that a provision be added to permit parents/guardians to petition the administration to have non-pertinent documents removed from student files. The committee approved of the proposed language. The committee agreed to recommend JRA for renewal with minor changes.

2. Student Anti-Harassment (JBA) – The committee agreed to several changes suggested by a staff review of the policy. The committee also agreed on several other changes necessitated by legislative changes (as reflected in changes to the Department of Education model policy). The committee agreed to recommend JBA with some changes and additions.

3. Hazing Policy (JICFA) – At the November meeting, the committee discussed whether the Hazing policy was even necessary, given the substantial overlap with the Bullying policy. However, additional research revealed that the Hazing policy is required by the Department of Education. The committee reviewed the existing policy and agreed to recommend minor changes to the policy to be compliant with the model policy. The committee agreed to recommend JICFA for renewal, with some minor changes.

4. Bullying (JK-R) – The committee agreed to recommend JK-R for renewal, with some minor changes that were suggested after a staff review. Additionally, some members of the school staff will attend a conference this winter that might have content that would be relevant to this policy. The committee will reconsider this policy if staff have suggestions at that time. The committee agreed to recommend JK-R for renewal, with some minor changes.

Respectfully submitted, Chris Bond

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
November 17, 2008
Barre Town School, Upstairs Conference Room
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

MINUTES

ATTENDANCE: Chris Bond (Chair), Laura Moore, Dr. Theodore Riggen, Denise Maurice

1. Student Harassment (JBA): The committee considered several edits suggested by school staff, including changes to the scope of the policy to explicitly include school bus stops, a removal of the section requiring an investigation report to be delivered in writing to complainant (but still requiring an oral report), and a change of wording regarding the length of time investigation files are kept. The committee will consider a revised draft that includes many of these edits at the next policy meeting.

2. Student Anti-Harassment Disciplinary Procedures (JBAA): The committee agreed that because the JBAA is a procedure, it should be recommended for removal as a policy. However, the committee recognized that this is a critical procedure and Dr. Riggen indicated that the Administration would continue to utilize it and would also carefully consider the edits that had been recommended by staff. The committee will likely recommend this “policy” for removal, but will not do so until it recommends action on policy JBA.

3. Hazing Policy (JICFA): The committee discussed whether the hazing policy is necessary given the substantial overlap with the bullying policy. Alternatively, the committee considered the possibility of merging the hazing policy with the bullying policy. The committee also noted sections of the Hazing policy that did not seem relevant to Barre Town School (for example, the discussion of “military training program goals” in section 3). The committee agreed on some edits to remove the irrelevant sections and will consider an amended version at the next policy committee meeting (when it will again consider possible merger with the bullying policy). The committee will review a revised version of this policy at its next meeting.

4. Bullying (JK-R): The committee considered some edits recommended by staff (e.g., addition of “bus stop” in the definition section). The committee also discussed the definition of bullying and questioned why the scope of the bullying policy is much narrower than the Student Harassment policy. The committee will review a revised version of this policy at its next meeting.

Respectfully submitted, Chris Bond

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
October 27, 2008
Barre Town School, Upstairs Conference Room
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

ATTENDANCE: Chris Bond (Chair), Kerri Lamb, David Harrington, Dr. Theodore Riggen

1. 5-Year Agenda – The committee reviewed a spreadsheet prepared by David Harrington that proposed a model for reorganization of the policy index by subject matter and proposed a new numbering system. The committee will study the organization further and consider recommending reorganization of the index and the adoption of a new numbering system to the Board at a later meeting. The committee also discussed the need to develop a 5-year agenda that provides for reviewing related policies together and recognizes that some policies need to be reviewed more frequently than others. The committee agreed that this agenda cannot be created until the reorganization of the index is substantially completed. To that end, the committee chairman will review the policies before the next meeting and present the committee with those policies that can recommended to the Board for deletion and/or merger as a first step in “cleaning up” the policy list to enable the creation of a long-term agenda.

2. Regular Agenda – At the request of Dr. Riggen, the committee agreed to suspend the discussion of the scheduled policies until the November meeting. Dr. Riggen requested postponing the discussion in order to solicit an opinion from the school psychologist regarding the policies [(Student Anti-Harassment (JBA); Student Anti-Harassment Disciplinary Procedures (JBAA); Hazing Policy (JICFA) and Bullying (JK-R)]. The policies will be added to the agenda for the November meeting.

Respectfully submitted, Chris Bond

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
October 13, 2008
Barre Town School, Upstairs Conference Room
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

ATTENDANCE: Chris Bond (Chair), Laura Moore, David Harrington, Dr. Theodore Riggen

1. Admission of non-Resident Students (JECB) – The committee agreed to recommend the current policy to the board for approval with some minor modifications. The committee discussed several changes to the policy that were ultimately rejected. The committee agreed to recommend JECB for renewal with minor changes.

2. Collection and Maintenance of Education Files (JRA) – Dr. Riggen confirmed that current practice conforms to this policy as currently drafted. No committee member present offered any recommendations for modification. The committee agreed to recommend JRA for renewal.

3. Parental Permission for the Release of Personal Identifiable Information (JRA-E [Form]) and Record of Access to Student Education Records (JRA-E1 [Form]) – The committee agreed that these two forms are not proper “policies” and as such should be removed. However, the committee recognized that the Administration retains the discretion, consistent with the Collection and Maintenance of Education Files (JRA) policy, to continue utilizing these forms. The committee agreed to recommend these policies (JRA-E and JRA-E1) for removal.

DISCUSSION ITEMS

4. Suspension/Expulsion Hearing Policy – The committee discussed whether to amend the weapons policy (JICI) to expand the list of behaviors that result in an automatic expulsion hearing. Alternatively, the committee discussed adopting a new policy that outlines specific consequences for specific behaviors. After discussion, the committee agreed not to recommend any changes to the weapons policy or the adoption of a new policy.

5. Agenda – The committee discussed the need to adopt a 5-year agenda plan that 1) organizes the policies by subject matter, so that related policies are reviewed together; and 2) distinguishes between high risk and low risk policies to ensure that higher risk/higher frequency policies are reviewed more frequently than lower risk, lower frequency policies. The committee members will review the policies prior to the next meeting with these criteria in mind and be prepared to discuss a new agenda. After considering the policy list in light of these criteria, the committee agreed to review the following policies at the second October meeting: Student Anti-Harassment (JBA; Student Anti-Harassment Disciplinary Procedures (JBAA); Hazing Policy (JICFA) and Bullying (JK-R).

Respectfully submitted,  Chris Bond

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
May 27, 2008
Barre Town School, Upstairs Conference Room
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

ATTENDANCE: Chris Bond (Chair), Laurie Gossens, Kerri Lamb

1. Tobacco Prohibition Policy (GBK) – The committee agreed to recommend the current policy to the board for approval with additional language in paragraph 4 regarding disciplinary action for violations of the policy, as well as removing language in paragraph 5 regarding prosecution for trespass. The committee agreed to recommend GBK for renewal with minor changes.

2. Use, Possession, and Distribution of Substances Policy (JICH) – The committee noted that as currently drafted the policy does not make an explicit reference to tobacco (but only to “controlled substances as defined by state or federal statute or regulation”). While the committee agreed that the current version of the policy already prohibits tobacco use by students, the committee also agreed to recommend adding an explicit reference to tobacco in the definitions section for clarity. The committee also discussed various formatting changes. The committee agreed to recommend JICH for renewal with minor changes.

3. Act 230 (IHB) – The committee considered the language from the new VSBA model policy. The committee agreed to recommend inclusion of the model policy language, and to recommend renaming the policy from “Act 230” to “Educational Support System.” The committee agreed to recommend that the model policy language replace the current policy.

4. Acceptable Use (IIC-1) – The committee noted the frequent references in the current version to the Barre Supervisory Union and considered the possibility that an SU-wide policy might be preferable to a Barre Town School Policy. Alternatively, the committee acknowledged that the policy could be re-worded to remove certain references to the SU. The committee agreed to recommend that the IIC-1 policy be added to the Board’s next agenda as a discussion item.

5. Admission of non-Resident Students (JECB) – After discussion of numerous concerns about the policy as currently written, the committee agreed that more research is needed before a recommendation can be made to the Board. The committee agreed to TABLE JECB until the next Policy Committee Meeting.

6. Assignment of Students to Classes and Grade Levels – Following discussion of the policy in light of current practices, the committee agreed to recommend the policy to the Board for approval, with some minor edits. The committee agreed to recommend JG to the Board for approval.

Respectfully submitted,  Chris Bond

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
May 5, 2008
Barre Town School, Upstairs Conference Room
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

MINUTES

ATTENDANCE: Chris Bond (Chair), Laura Moore, Laurie Gossens, Dr. Theodore Riggen

1. Adult Anti-Harassment Policy (GBBA) – The committee considered a draft policy based on the VSBA model policy (“Harassment of Employees”). The draft included several edits and modifications that the policy committee had discussed when it considered an earlier version of the draft at its March meeting. After discussing the changes, the committee agreed to recommend the draft policy to the School Board for approval. The committee agreed to recommend a new version of GBBA for approval by the School Board.

2. Act 230 (IHB) – The committee agreed that more concise language would be preferable to the language used in the VSBA model policy. The committee agreed that the language in the VSBA policy seems redundant, given that it reiterates large sections of state statutes. Where possible, the committee is committed to avoiding needless restatements of law. However, the committee agreed to table the discussion of this policy until more research could be done on the required language for this policy. The committee agreed to table IHB until the May 22, 2008 policy committee meeting.

3. Tobacco Prohibition Policy (GBK) – The committee agreed to recommend the current policy to the board for approval with an additional provision regarding disciplinary action for violations of the policy. Also, the committee noted that the Tobacco Prohibition Policy is directed only to staff, and not to students. Thus, the committee agreed to add the student Use, Possession, and Distribution of Substances (JICH) Policy to the agenda for its next meeting. The committee agreed to recommend the policy for approval at the second Board Meeting in May.

4. Independent Educational Evaluation (IHBB); Independent Educational Evaluation – Procedures (IHBB-R); Schedule A (IHBB-R1); Provision of Special Education Services to Private School Students (IHBC) – The administrators stated that these policies were out of date. They further suggested that since the federal regulations relating to the subject matter of these policies are so detailed—and change so frequently—it might not be prudent (or necessary) to keep these policies. After discussion, the committee agreed to recommend these policies for removal. The administrators will review the policies to decide whether any of their provisions might be useful for adoption as procedures. The committee agreed to recommend these four policies for REMOVAL.

Respectfully submitted, Chris Bond

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
March 27, 2008
Barre Town School, Upstairs Conference Room
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

ATTENDANCE: Chris Bond (Chair), Laura Moore, Laurie Gossens, Kerri Lamb

1. Adult Anti-Harassment Policy (GBBA) – The committee considered a draft policy prepared by Chris Bond based on the Vermont School Board Association (VSBA) model. The discussed the merits and drawbacks of expanding the protections of the policy beyond school employees to include other members of the school community (e.g., parents). The committee also discussed several other proposed edits to the draft policy. The committee agreed on several edits and will consider a revised draft of the policy at the next committee meeting.

2. Act 230 (IHB) – The committee discussed whether the current Act 230 policy should be replaced by the VSBA model policy. The committee decided that the VSBA model seemed to be needlessly lengthy, replicating too much detail from the statute when simply referring to the statute would be appropriate. However, since this is a required policy, the committee agreed that more research needed to be done before cutting anything from the model policy. The committee agreed to consider a revised version of the policy at the next committee meeting.

3. Extended School Year (IHBA), Extended School Year Form (IHBA-E), Procedures for Extended School Year (IHBA-R) – After discussion, the committee agreed to recommend these three (related) policies for removal. The committee agreed to recommend the policies for removal at the next Board Meeting.

Respectfully submitted, Chris Bond

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
March 6, 2008
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

ATTENDANCE: Chris Bond, Laura Moore, Laurie Gossens

1. Tobacco Prohibition (GBK) –The committee noted the overlap (or lack thereof) between the tobacco policy and the alcohol policy, specifically as those policies relate to the softball field and the other recreation facilities on school property. In particular, the committee noted that paragraph five of the policy seems to offer a mechanism for meaningful enforcement of the tobacco policy (i.e., persons failing to comply with the policy after being requested to do so may be referred for prosecution as a trespasser). The committee agreed that, if further research indicates that the same enforcement mechanism could be used for the alcohol policy, the committee should raise the issue of alcohol policy enforcement with the full school board. Also, the committee agreed to recommend changes to the policy to make the penalty for a second offense (termination of employment) discretionary instead of mandatory. The committee agreed on several edits and would like to send this policy to the board with the discussed edits.

2. Limited English Proficiency Students (IGBFB) – The committee agreed to recommend replacing this policy with the language from the Vermont School Boards Association Model Policy (Code F19). The committee agreed to recommend that the policy be modified to track the model policy and that the modified policy be recommended to the board for approval.

3. Act 230 (IHB) – The committee considered several edits and clarifications to the Act 230 Policy. The committee also considered the fact that revisions had been made to Act 230 since the adoption of the current policy. The committee agreed that further research was needed regarding any changes to the policy necessitated by changes to Act 230. The committee will consider the Act 230 policy at its next committee meeting.

4. Technology Security Policy – The committee discussed the need to create a policy relating to the security of technology and information from scratch. The committee agreed to begin considering what current practices should be codified in the policy, as well as what areas of vulnerability should be considered when drafting the policy. Further research will be conducted before the next policy committee meeting.

Respectfully submitted,  Chris Bond

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
January 24, 2008
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Attendance: Chris Bond, Laura Moore, Kerri Lamb, Dr. Ted Riggen.

The meeting was brought to order by committee chair, Chris Bond at 6:00pm.

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted unanimously.

Policies discussed and edited
1. GBBA - Adult Anti-Harassment
2. DJA – Purchasing Authority
3. DJH - Leasing
4. DKA – Payroll Procedures/Schedules
5. DN – School Properties Disposition

Policy Committee
December 6, 2007, 6:00 P.M.

Attendees:  Chris Bond – Committee chair, Laura Moore

The committee agreed to postpone the Student Publications (JICE), Idling, and Adult Anti-Harassment (GBBA) policies until the January meeting, to give the committee an opportunity to consider the new model policies released by the Vermont School Boards Association in December.

Organization of the Board (BD): The committee will recommend removal of this policy. The committee notes that there is substantial overlap between this policy and the Town Charter. Further, the committee believes that subject matters addressed in this “policy” (e.g., term lengths, meeting frequency, open meeting requirements) are beyond the scope of the Board’s policy-making authority.

Audits/Financial Monitoring (DIE): Based on the recommendation of the Business Manager and following discussion in the committee, committee will recommend this policy for renewal.

Purchasing Authority (DJA): After considering the recommendations of the Business Manager and after discussion, the committee will recommend this policy for renewal, with the following changes: “Superintendent of Schools” in the second paragraph will be changed to read “the Town Clerk,” and a sentence will be added to the second paragraph requiring the Administration and the Business Manager to conduct a quarterly review/audit of the employee list.

Vendor Relations (DJG): After discussion, the committee will recommend this policy for renewal, the following change: paragraph 2. E. will be relabeled as paragraph 3.

Meeting adjourned at 7:15 PM.

Policy Committee
October 25, 2007 Meeting Notes

Meeting began at 6:03 PM
Attendees:  Chris Bond – Committee chair, Laura Moore, Laurie Gossens, Kerri Lamb, Teresa MacAdams

Given the timing of the next regularly-scheduled policy meeting (Thanksgiving night), the committee agreed to change the next meeting to Thursday, November 29 at 6 PM in the BTMES conference room.

• GBBA (Adult Anti-Harassment): K. Lamb reported that VSBA is issuing new model policies by the first week of November – including an updated “mandatory” anti-harassment policy. The new policy aims to separate policy from procedure. The committee opted to table this policy until the new model policy is available.
• BD (Board Organization): The committee questioned the need for this policy and recommended review of BTMES bylaws to assess overlap. If adequate overlap between Vermont State Law and BTMES bylaws exists, committee recommends this policy for removal.
• JICE (Student Publications): The draft policy prepared by Mr. Bond was recommended to go to the Board for approval pending incorporation of the extensive policy language edits and cross-reference additions.
• DHA (Contracts/Signing Authority): The committee recommended submitting this policy to the finance committee with proposed policy language edits (e.g., broaden signature to include administrators’ contracts, requires co-signature of superintendent and board chair and provides for budget exceptions as required by law). Further the committee recommended that we confirm with the board chair that the policy language matches practice (i.e., any other contracts to be included in list?).
• DID (Inventories): Recommend to board for approval.
• DI (Fiscal Accounting and Reporting): The committee recommended this policy be compared to Vermont State law. If the policy content is already covered by law, the committee recommends this policy for removal. If the policy language is not covered by law, the committee recommends this policy be submitted to the finance committee for review.
• Discussion regarding the timing of policy changes and effective dates: The committee agreed the Vermont State law should be checked for guidance. The committee suggests the annual handbook signature page be amended to acknowledge that policy changes occur during the school year. These policy changes will be noted in the school family newsletter and noted that amended policies will be available on-line and at the BTMES front office. The policy committee will recommend to the school board and administrators when a particular policy change warrants a mid-school-year communication to families.
• Discussion regarding board posting of policies in advance of final board approval: The committee recommends that policies up for a second and final reading/vote be posted on the school website prior to the board vote.
• Discussion regarding school dress codes: Committee discussed the current ‘haphazard’ rules and enforcement of BTMES dress-code “rules”. The committee discussed the current approach by administrators to deal with dress-code concerns versus the impact and concerns over establishing a specific policy. No consensus was reached.

Meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.

Policy Committee
September 26, 2007 Meeting Notes

Meeting began at 6:30 PM
Attendees: Chris Bond – Committee chair, Laura Moore, Ted Riggen, Teresa McAdams

• GBBA: This policy was tabled awaiting further research.

• BD: This policy was tabled awaiting further research.

• JIH: This policy was recommended to go to the Board for approval. Since the last presentation to the Board, policy language has been changed to allow for the release of a student with parent consent.

• JIH – A: This policy was recommended to the Board for removal, pending approval of JIH (see above).

• Discussion regarding distinction between policies and procedures. Committee agreed that we should not engage in the policy-making process for procedures. Further, in the reference section found at the bottom of all policies, procedures germane to that policy should be listed.

• Discussion regarding order of policy review and lack of consistent themes with our current policy review lists. It was noted that this haphazard list of policies for review is due to need to catch up the backlog of policies that have not been reviewed in many years. The committee agreed that after this year’s agenda of policies for review, we will be caught up on the list of delinquent policies and would be in a position to re-organize how this committee reviews policies. It was agreed that a better approach might be to review all policies by topic together. For instance, the committee would decide to focus on finance policies and complete a review of all such policies. This approach would allow for more consistent thought, accomplish better cross-reference, eliminate duplicative policies, etc.

• JICE: This policy was tabled awaiting further research. Chris Bond to examine other policies (e.g., IMB, IJKP, IJK) for cross reference.

• CBG: The Committee agreed to bring this policy to the Board and question why BTMES has a superintendent evaluation policy. If the Board agrees with this question, the committee recommends this policy for removal.

• DBI: This policy was referred to the finance committee for review. Committee members would like the finance committee to concur with the policy language and consistency to practice. The committee decided to refer to finance all the finance-related policies on the committee schedule for review and comment. The referral will include a notation of the policy-committee schedule of review noted.

• DH: Check to see if the school district is required by State law to provide bond coverage to all employees and board members. If so, recommend to Board removal of this policy. If not required by law, recommend to the Board approval of this policy.

Meeting adjourned at 7:50 PM.

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
April 24 - Tuesday
Barre Town School, Upstairs Conference Room
6:00 p.m. – 8:00p.m.
MINUTES

ATTENDANCE: Chris Bond, Laura Moore, Dr. Ted Riggen, Sheila Cross, Kerri Lamb

The committee agreed and accepted the minutes from the March meeting.

FOLLOW-UP POLICIES

1. Grants and Pilot Programs – This policy had been tabled by the Board at the last regular School Board meeting. The Board had asked that the word “grant” be changed to “school-based, competitive grant” and that the paragraph marked number 4 be reworded for clarity. The committee agreed to these changes and Chris Bond agreed to email the proposed new language to Laurie Gossens to get her comments before the next school board meeting. The committee also agreed to change the name of the policy from “Grants and Pilot Programs” to simply “Grants.” The committee agreed to send the revised version of policy to the board.

2. Student Activities (JJ) – After discussion, the Board decided that passing grades should not be a prerequisite for participation in student activities. The committee agreed to remove the second paragraph of the draft policy (regarding the autonomy of Student Activities to conduct their own meetings) and to remove the paragraphs relating to non-sponsored activities. The committee considered merging the Student Activities policy with the School Board Association Model Policy on Sports. However, after much discussion, the committee decided that while there were important similarities between the two policies, there were sufficient distinctions to warrant a separate policy on sports. The committee agreed to send the edited version to the board for approval.

3. Sports – The committee wanted more information regarding which aspects of this model policy, if any, are required by the Vermont Principals Association. Dr. Riggen agreed to consult with Athletic Director Jack Carrier on this point before the May committee meeting. TABLED - This policy will be revisited at the next committee meeting.

4. Volunteers and Community Service Providers (IJOC) – This policy had been tabled by the Board at the last regular school board meeting. At that board meeting, Mr. Crowley had objected to language in the suggested policy regarding the circumstances in which volunteers would be subjected to background checks (part of Mr. Crowley’s concern was his belief that there are no volunteers at BTMES that meet the criteria described in the draft policy). The committee considered new draft language on this issue. The committee decided to get feedback from Mr. Crowley on the new proposed language before recommending that this policy be sent to the Board again. Dr. Riggen agreed to review the proposed language with the other administrators before the next policy committee meeting. TABLED - This policy will be revisited at the next committee meeting.

5. Student Interviews, Searches, and Arrests (JIH) and Locker Searches (JIHA) – The committee agreed that the Locker Searches policy was redundant of (and, in part, contradictory to) certain portions of the policy on Student Interviews, Searches, and Arrests. The committee agreed to recommend removing JIHA, merging its substance into JIH, and resolving the contradictions in favor of the version that was the least restrictive of the right of administration and staff to search lockers. However, it became apparent that the committee did not have before it the most recent version of policy containing the previously agreed upon edits. Upon this realization, the committee consented to table the policy until the next meeting. TABLED - This policy will be revisited at the next committee meeting.

6. Child Abuse and Neglect (JLF) – The committee discussed whether it was necessary to have a formal policy on child abuse, given that the actions and responses described in the policy are (already) required by state statute. Dr. Riggen responded that it is very useful for the administration to have a written policy. Upon discussion, the committee agreed to recommend truncating the JLF policy to two paragraphs (citing the controlling statute), and to further recommend that the more detailed substance of the old JLF policy be retained as a procedure (JLF-P). The committee agreed to send the edited version to the board for approval.

7. Adult Anti-Harassment (GBBA) – The committee did not have any suggested substantive changes to this policy at the meeting. However, given that this policy had not been reviewed since its adoption in 1999, the committee agreed that it would be prudent to research whether any intervening change in harassment law warranted changes to the policy. TABLED - This policy will be revisited at the next committee meeting.

8. Weapons in School (JICI) – Dr. Riggen stated that it was useful for the administration to have a strong policy against weapons and claimed that the administration utilized the policy frequently. The committee questioned the provision requiring automatic expulsion of students who bring to school a weapon as defined by the Gun Free School Act of 1994. In particular, the committee questioned the provision that provided for automatic expulsion but also provided that the school board could modify the expulsion on a case-by-case basis. There was concern regarding whether this policy was internally consistent and whether it had been followed in practice. Furthermore, the committee expressed concern about possible changes to the Gun Free School Act of 1994 since the adoption of the policy. The committee agreed that more research was necessary before making a recommendation to the school board. TABLED - This policy will be revisited at the next committee meeting.

9. Budget Policies (various) (DA, DB, DBC,) – After reviewing the memorandum submitted by Business Manager Wayne Shepard, the committee agreed to recommend merging policies DA (Fiscal Management), DB (Annual Budget), and DBC (Budget Planning) into a single policy. The committee agreed to send the merged policies, with minor edits, to the board for approval.

10. Budget Adoption Process (DBG) – The committee considered Mr. Shepard’s memorandum regarding proposed changes to this policy. However, the committee agreed that the committee and the School Board lack the authority to amend this policy because it is a verbatim reproduction of the Town Charter. After further consideration, the committee agreed that, because it was a section of the Charter, the Budget Adoption Process was not really a “policy” and should not be treated as such. The committee therefore agreed to recommend to the school board that Budget Adoption Process (DBG) be considered for removal. The committee agreed to send the policy to the board, with a recommendation of REMOVAL.

11. Debt Limitation Long-Term Debt (DCB) – The committee agreed with Mr. Shepard’s memorandum that the policy was acceptable as written. However, the committee agreed to recommend that the policy be re-coded as “DB” for simplicity. The committee agreed to send the policy to the board for approval.

12. Purchasing Procedures (DJB) – The committee agreed to table this policy and solicit feedback on it from Mr. Shepard. TABLED - This policy will be revisited at the next committee meeting.

13. Organization of the School Board (BD) – The committee expressed curiosity regarding the source of this policy, and wondered whether the school board has authority to make changes to the board organization. Kerri Lamb agreed to do more research on this policy before the next meeting. TABLED - This policy will be revisited at the next committee meeting.

FOLLOW-UP POLICIES FOR MAY MEETING

1. IJOC - Volunteers and Community Service Providers Sports
2. JIH - Student Interrogations, Searches & Arrests
3. GBBA - Adult Anti-Harassment JICI - Weapons
4. BD - Organization of the School Board
5. DJB – Purchasing Procedures

SCHEDULED POLICIES FOR MAY MEETING

1. A - Philosophy & Mission
2. AA - School District Legal Status
3. AC - Relationship to Pupils and Patrons

The next policy committee meeting will be 5/22/07 in the upstairs conference room beginning at 6:00pm.

Respectfully submitted, Chris Bond

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
March 27 - Tuesday
Barre Town School, Upstairs Conference Room
6:00 p.m. – 8:15p.m.
MINUTES

ATTENDANCE: Chris Bond, David Harrington, Laura Moore, Laurie Gossens, Dr. Ted Riggen, Susan Barnard, Laura Thygesen, Beth Campo, Teresa MacAdams, Sheila Cross, Patty Merriam, Kerri Lamb

The committee agreed and accepted the minutes from the January and February meetings.

FOLLOW-UP POLICIES

1. Student Interrogations, Searches & Arrests (JIH) – A large number of edits were suggested by David Harrington and supplied to the committee in writing at the meeting including a title change to Student Interviews, Searches and Arrests. A discussion of the proposed edits ensued. The committee agreed on several edits and would like to send this policy to the board with the discussed edits.

2. Grants and Pilots Programs (new policy) – This policy was created by the administrators and edited by Laura Moore and David Harrington throughout the month. The committee received the new draft of the policy via email previous to the meeting and a hard copy at the meeting. After a great deal of discussion it was decided to give grant writers the option of submitting a summary of their grant for approval by the school board prior to completing or waiting until after it is accepted to submit it to the school board for approval. The committee agreed to send the edited version to the board for approval.

3. Student Activities (JJ) – Last month the committee asked to have some language from the model policy added and a reference to the Teaching About Controversial Issues policy. The committee discussed this policy at great lengths and decided to table it until the next meeting when they will also discuss the new Interscholastic Sports proposed policy and possibly combine them. This policy will be revisited at the next committee meeting.

4. Volunteers and Community Service Providers (IJOC) – after discussion wording was added to require volunteers with extended unsupervised contact on a regular basis to get fingerprint supported criminal history checks prior to accessing the children unsupervised. The committee agreed to send the edited version to the board for approval.

5. Wellness: Nutrition & Fitness (EF) – the committee considered the opinions/suggestions of the administrators, staff and the facilities committee. In doing so they decided to

   1. eliminate the class size for physical education item

   2. changed “No child may be removed from recess for more than 10 minutes for academic reasons.” To “No child may be removed from recess repetitively for academic reasons.”

   3. accept “Adequate storage for sports equipment shall be planned prior to purchase of equipment.

   4. Slightly edited the recess shall be offered daily for all students K-8 to reference B.2.

   5. Moved, “Recess will occur before lunch.” to become a goal and change will to should.

   6. Agreed that instruction should be provided for recess duty

   7. Removed the storage will be provided for winter apparel (for middle school it is not currently possible)

   8. Remove the sharing information regarding BYSA as it is covered in another policy (giving permission for BYSA to disseminate information regarding sign-ups)

   The committee agreed to send the edited version to the board for approval.

6. The committee tabled the remaining policies until the April meeting.
   

FOLLOW-UP POLICIES FOR APRIL MEETING

1. JJ - Student Activities
2. Interscholastic Sports
3. JLF – Child Abuse & Neglect Reporting
4. GBBA – Adult Anti-Harassment
5. JICI - Weapons

SCHEDULED POLICIES FOR APRIL MEETING

6. DA - Fiscal Management
7. DB - Annual Budget
8. DBC - Budget Planning
9. DBG - Budget Adoption Process
10. DCB - Debt Limitation Long-Term Debit
11. BD - Organization of the School Board
12. DJB - Purchasing Procedures

The next policy committee meeting will be 4/24/07 in the upstairs conference room beginning at 6:00pm.

Respectfully submitted, Kerri Lamb & Laura Moore

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
February 20, 2007
MINUTES

ATTENDANCE: David Harrington, Laura Moore, Laurie Gossens, Susan Barnard, Beth Campo, Teresa MacAdams, Kerri Lamb

FOLLOW-UP POLICIES
1. Grants and Pilot Programs draft – Laurie Gossens will discuss this policy with the other administrators and bring a draft to the next policy committee meeting. There will be a policy and a form including the answers to three questions: 1. Free money or matched; 2. Will there be costs down the road (what will they be); 3. Will this cause an undo burden on other staff (or what extra work will it cause)? A new draft policy will come to the committee in March.

2. JJ - Student Activities – the committee was presented with the VSBA model policies for Student Activities (Elementary and Secondary). The committee would like to have a reference to the Teaching About Controversial/Sensitive Issues Policy and have some lines added from the model policies. This policy will come back to the committee with the requested edits in March.

3. IJOC - Volunteers and Community Service Providers – David Harrington will check on the criminal history information and report back to Kerri for an updated. This policy will come back to the committee with the requested edits in March.

4. EF Wellness – the committee reviewed the suggested edits from curriculum committee and the finance committee making the following adjustments:

1. Removal of Fitness goal number 2: BTMES shall provide a comprehensive physical education program that promotes moderate to vigorous physical activity on a daily basis, as well as, daily recreation periods (regardless of weather) that allow for physical activity in a supervised setting. Physical education and activity programs shall strive to meet the need and interest of all students irrespective of their sex, race/ethnicity, health status, and disabilities ~~~ The reason being it is not possible at this time due to the scheduling of the indoor recreational space.

2. Moving and editing the following part of the Fitness-Instructional Program Guideline #1 to Fitness Goals (with the following edits): We will strive to meet the National Association for Sports and Physical Education recommendations which suggest a minimum of 150 minutes per week for elementary school students and 225 minutes per week for middle and high school students, including opportunities outside the normal school day.

3. Moving the following to goals from Fitness - Instructional Program Guidelines: Teachers will be encouraged to periodically provide directed activity session.

4. Deleting the following from Fitness - Instructional Program Guidelines: Ensure all physical education instructors have necessary training to implement curriculum on an annual basis with administrative permission ~~ as recommended from the finance committee. Reasoning: this is required by DOE rules

5. Deleting the following from Fitness Facilities Guidelines - The school shall provide both functional and protective equipment for all students to participate actively and safely. A proper playing surface shall be provided that is clean and safe. ~~ as recommended by the finance committee. Reasoning: This is a common sense item. We would never place our students in harms way.

6. Making the following edit to the Facilities Guidelines: Adequate storage for sports equipment shall be planned prior to purchase of equipment will be provided.~~ as recommended by the finance committee. Reasoning: If it is planned for previous to purchasing there will be adequate space.

7. Move the following to goals from Fitness-Facilities Guidelines: Provide appropriate indoor facility for poor weather recess which allows for physical activity. ~~~ The reason being it is not possible at this time due to the scheduling of the indoor recreational space.

The committee looks forward to the proposed edits by the administrators (after consulting with the staff) and the Facilities committee at the March meeting.

5. Sports sample policies and a draft policy was distributed. Will be discussed at the March meeting.

SCHEDULED POLICIES FOR THIS MEETING

1. JIH - Student Interrogations, Searches & Arrests – Kerri will email this policy to David for proposed edits. This policy will come back to the committee in March.

2. JLF - Child Abuse & Neglect Reporting – due to time restrictions this policy was tabled until the March meeting.

3. GBBA - Adult Anti-Harassment – due to time restrictions this policy was tabled until the March meeting.

4. JICH - Use, Possession, and Distribution of Substances – due to time restrictions this policy was tabled until the March meeting.

5. JICI – Weapons - due to time restrictions this policy was tabled until the March meeting.

SCHEDULED POLICIES FOR NEXT MEETING – HOWEVER DUE TO A LARGE NUMBER OF TABLED POLICIES FROM MARCH WE WILL NOT DISCUSS THESE UNTIL APRIL.

1. DA - Fiscal Management

2. DB - Annual Budget

3. DBC - Budget Planning

4. DBG - Budget Adoption Process

5. DCB - Debt Limitation Long-Term Debit

6. BD - Organization of the School Board

7. DJB - Purchasing Procedures

The next policy committee meeting will be 3/27/07 in the upstairs conference room beginning at 6:00pm.

Respectfully submitted, Kerri Lamb, Committee Chairperson

Minutes of the January 23, 2007
Policy Committee Minutes

Attendance: Mark Scott, Teresa MacAdams, Sheila Cross, Laura Moore, Ted Riggen, Jeanne Danielle, Wayne Sheppard, Patty Meriam, Susan Barnard, Laurie Thygeson, Beth Campo, Tonya Crawford-Stemple, Kerri Lamb.

The meeting opened at 6:00 pm with acceptance of the November meeting.

JJ Student Activities – after asking Dr. Riggen for his input, the committee suggested only one edit, the removal of the first sentence in the third paragraph. They would like to submit it to the board for 1st approval at the next board meeting.

KIA – Identification Procedures (Visitors to School) – after asking Dr. Riggen for his input, the committee suggested making the following changes and sending the policy to the board for first reading:

1. Add a number at the end that says, “Preschool parents will be issued special name tags and will sign up in the preschool room.”

2. Delete the word addresses from number 7.

3. Delete number 8.

EF- Wellness: Nutrition and Fitness – The committee viewed the legal requirements for this policy and agree to send the draft policy to each of the perspective committees following these edits:

1. Send Curriculum Guidelines – send this entire section to the curriculum committee with the exception of deleting the reference to the Vermont Framework and Grade Cluster Expectations. Instead, add them to the cross reference section at the end of the policy.

2. Under Inclusion (Adaptive Physical Education) – to line 1 add or adapted after The physical education, delete number 2, add professionally train in prior to number 3, add physical education program between any and extra-curricular and add with medical/parental clearance at the end.

3. Under Physical Activity Guidelines – 1 and 2 should go to the administrators to decide if it would work, Number three would go to finance and the administrators will create procedures to be referenced, 4 should be changed to say, “Students must be properly attired to participate in outdoor activities and recess. In cold temperatures the school shall encourage students to wear winter a coat, headwear, gloves, and weather appropriate footwear….”, the last sentence should be reviewed by the facilities committee.

4. Under Interscholastic Sports – the committee decided to delete the entire section but Kerri will bring some samples of sports policies to the next meeting. A draft program will presented at the March meeting.

5. Under Before and After School Programs – the committee decided to delete this section because we do not have before and after school programs at this time.

6. Under Policy Implementation – no suggested changes were made.

7. Community Resources – the committee suggested we make these changes, “When provided BTMES shall share information regarding BYSA whenever possible.”

DCA – Tax Anticipation Notes – after consulting with Wayne Sheppard the committee would like to send this policy to the school board for first reading following this change:

1. The last paragraph should read, “At a school district meeting the electorate may authorize….”

2. Wayne suggested the policy committee look at the DJB policy that is referenced in this policy.

JFAB – Admission of Non-Resident Students – after consulting with Wayne Sheppard the committee would like to submit this policy as it stands to be revisited by the school board.

JFABA – Nonresident Tuition Charges - after consulting with Wayne Sheppard the committee would like to submit this policy as it stands to be revisited by the school board.

DFA – Revenues From Investments - after consulting with Wayne Sheppard the committee would like to send this policy to the school board for first reading following this change:

1. delete and/or School Treasurer

Communication with BYSA – Kerri described the communications with BYSA and the committee asked she pass along the following information to BYSA:

1. How are coaches vetted and checked for criminal history?

2. Please ask the BYSA coaches to be extremely careful with the walls of the multi-purpose gym. A reminder: this is a classroom setting

3. Speak to the coaches regarding leaving the BTMES building unattended

4. Remind them to take care of the school

Grants & Pilot Projects draft policy – the committee agrees with most of the policy. They had a possible issue with the requirement for the finance committee authorize grants and the 3 work hours per month restriction. The committee asked to table the policy until David Harrington, chair of the Finance Committee could attend the policy committee and field questions.

The next policy committee meeting will be February 27 at 6:00. The scheduled policies are:

JIH – Student Interrogations, Searches & Arrests
JLF – Child Abuse & Neglect Reporting
GBBA – Adult Anti-Harassment
JICH – Use, Possession, and Distribution of Substances
JICI – Weapons
The committee members asked we invite the Crisis Committee including the Barre Town Police Chief Stevens.

Due to requests at the January meeting we will also discuss
DJB - Purchasing Procedures
IJOC - Volunteers and Community Service Providers
Samples of the Sports policy
Grants & Pilot Projects Draft

Respectfully submitted, Kerri Lamb

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
November 28, 2006

Attendance: Kerri Lamb, Laura Moore, Ted Riggen, Sheila Cross, Laura Thygeson, Susan Barnard, Wendy Pierson, Teresa MacAdams, Jen Bombard and Tina Alger

Minutes

1. Opening Discussion
   The committee briefly discussed the current nutrition policy with concerns of staff interpretation. Students are apparently being told by staff that they can’t eat food which was brought in their lunch box from home. Laura Moore felt this wasn’t a policy committee issue that it should be dealt with by staff and/or administrators. Ted Riggen will make sure that staff are not over enthusiastic.

2. KIA – Identification Procedures (Visitors to School)
   Ted Riggen would like more time to make edits to this policy. It was tabled until the January meeting when he will bring proposed edits.

3. EF - Wellness: Nutrition and Fitness
   We first looked over the edits made at the last meeting and agreed to them. We then made edits beginning with section B. subsection 4 and ending with section D. Curriculum Guidelines subsection 3. Kerri will look up the actual law regarding this policy and highlight the required pieces so that we do not delete any necessary parts. The policy edits will be presented to the committee at the next meeting.

4. JJ – Student Activities
   Ted Riggen would like more time to make edits to this policy. It was tabled until the January meeting when he will bring proposed edits.

5. BBAA – Authority and Function
   The committee suggests removal of this policy. The general feeling was that this policy was not necessary.

6. BC – School Board Member Conduct
   The committee suggest removal of this policy. The policy states the law word for word. It is not necessary to quote to law.

7. BEC – Executive Sessions/Open Meetings
   The committee suggest removal of this policy. The policy states the law word for word. It is not necessary to quote to law.

8. BI – School Board Membership
   The committee suggests the board revisit this policy with no edits.

9. Grants and Pilot Projects
   Some sample policies were presented to the committee along with a proposed policy. The committee will look these over and come back to the January meeting with suggestions.

Post Meeting Action

1. BBAA – Authority and Function sent to the board for suggested removal

2. BC – School Board Member Conduct sent to the board for suggested removal

3. BEC – Executive Sessions/Open Meetings sent to the board for suggested removal

4. BI – School Board Membership sent to the board for suggested revisit

Minutes of Barre Town Policy/Communications Committee
September 26, 2006
Upper Conference Room Barre Town Middle & Elementary School

Attendance: Kerri Lamb-chairperson, Sheila Cross, Dr. Ted Riggen, Dr. Michele Fagan, David Harrington, Patty Meriam, Cathy Hilgendorf, Beth Campo, Karen Davenport, Susan Barnard.

Policy: KFB Use of School Facilities and KFB-F Use of School Facilities Form
After a lengthy discussion regarding fees for the use of facilities a final decision was made to delete the last sentence of the edited piece and submit the form and policy to the school board for approval.

Policy: Wellness/Nutrition
Kerri took the current nutrition policy and the draft wellness policy from the health committee and combined the two to make a new draft nutrition policy and procedures. Wording changes were made by the committee and Kerri will make changes and get the changes to committee members prior to the next meeting.

The discussion regarding wellness section of this policy will begin with the next policy committee meeting on October 24th.

October 24

November 28

No December meeting

January 23

February 20

March 27

April 24

May 22

Possibly June 12

 

Barre Town Policy Committee Meeting
May 23, 2006 Minutes

Attendees: Kerri Lamb, Laura Moore, Sheila Cross, David Harrington, Brenda Buzzell, Susan Barnard, Phil Joyal, Laura Thygesen, Cathy Hilgendorf, Karen Davenport, Martha Ide,

1. 1. IJK – Library and Instructional Materials Selection, Public Concerns & Complaints – the committee agreed with the following changes

   1. adding to end of C. 1. , therefore there will be no “R” rated movies shown.

   2. Add as a sub bullet under C. 2. and C. 3. At the beginning of the each school year a notice shall be sent home with students notifying parents of the possibility that these movies or segments/clips may be shown. Parents will be encouraged to contact their child’s teacher for specific information

   3. Edit the parenthesis in letter E. to be (No gratuitous nudity, violence or excessive vulgar language)

   4. Add to the Cross References: IMB – Teaching About Controversial/Sensitive Issues

2. KFB – Use of School Facilities and form

   1. the Facility Committee suggested we do not include a complete list of equipment but instead list Fees vary per request. They stated it is extremely infrequent someone would as for unusual equipment to be used and they suggested the administrators would make that decision

   2. It was also suggested that we remove with Locker Rooms from the form

   3. The committee suggested we look at the Spaulding and/or Barre City policy with regards to who shall pay to use the facilities. We will discuss this at the next meeting.

3. EF – Nutrition policy

   1. The name will change to Wellness and Nutrition

   2. The School Health Advisory Committee presented their draft of the new required policy.

   3. The policy committee went through the draft policy and noted which pieces were presently complete and which would be new. Due to the necessity to have this policy in effect prior to the next school year Kerri will try to develop a skeleton policy stating the necessities to be passed by the board. She will then break the remainder of the draft items into committee lists for Facility, Finance and Curriculum. After each of the committees have discussed their items and reported back to the policy committee this policy will be updated.

4. GBEC – Staff, Visitor and Volunteer Substance Abuse

   1. The committee looked at the policy and suggested no changes. They would like to board to officially revisit the policy.

5. GBEC-R Staff, Visitor and Volunteer Substance Abuse Procedure

   1. The committee suggested Regulations be changed to Procedure

   2. Because this is a procedure

      1. any edits would be up to the administration, not to the school board

      2. there should be no Dated Adopted section at the bottom because the board does not adopt procedures. Procedures are administrative responsibilities

      3. the code should change to GBEC-P because all policies should now end with P (for procedure).

6. GBGA – Staff Health

   1. The committee looked at the policy and suggested no changes. They would like to board to officially revisit the policy.

7. IMB – Teaching About Controversial/Sensitive Issues

   1. Change the typo in the second paragraph crate to be create

   2. Change IJK/IJL to IJK under #3

   3. Cross Reference – add IJK Library and Instruction Materials policy

8. GBJA – Confidential Information and Disclosure of Information policy

   1. Add the following to the top: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Compliance - The Barre Town School District shall comply with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) with regard to any employee benefit or group health plan provided by the district that is subject to the requirements of the Act. The superintendent or his or her designee shall develop and implement procedures necessary to ensure continuing compliance with the requirements of HIPAA.

   2. Change Release of Names of Personnel to Information Regarding Personnel.

   3. In number 1 delete names and insert personal information and list to information.

9. Below are the policies in transition and where they currently stand

   1. 2nd reading @ June 7th board meeting

      1. JK – Discipline

      2. GBEA – Staff Ethics/Conflict of Interest

      3. BGB – Policy Adoption

   2. 1st reading @ June 7th board meeting

      1. IJK – Instructional Materials

      2. KEC-LM –for removal

      3. KEC-LME-E - for removal

      4. KEC-IM for removal

      5. KEC-IM-E - for removal

      6. IMB – Teaching About Controversial/Sensitive Issues

      7. GBJA – Confidential Information and Disclosure of Information

   3. Revisited @ June 7th board meeting

      1. GBEC – Staff, Visitor and Volunteer Substance Abuse

      2. GBGA – Staff Health

   4. Still in committee

      1. KFB – Use of School Facilities and form

      2. EF – Nutrition

10. The date of the next policy committee has not yet been set. The date will be announced at the June 7th board meeting.

    ---

Barre Town Policy Committee
May 2, 2006 Minutes

Committee or Board Members Present: Kerri Lamb, Laura Moore, Sheila Cross
Administrators: Tim Crowley, Dorothy Anderson

1. The committee discussed including the definitions of movie ratings in the policy and agreed to do this. Whether or not to include parental permission to watch any movie in the policy was discussed. It was determined that administrators should ensure that teachers are aware of the policy and they know they are expected to follow board policy, so no specific language about parental permission was included. The policy will go for a first reading on May 17.

2. Tim announced that with an expanded staff development calendar for next year will permit greater discussion with staff about policy, particularly revised policies.

3. Each year changes in policies or procedures should be highlighted in the staff and parent handbooks by inserting a sheet in the handbooks that specifically lists items that have been changed.

4. Staff Ethics/Conflict of Interest. In the first sentence, change employees of “board” to employees of “school district”. Eliminate extraneous top section. Take out last two paragraphs that deal with confidentiality and add to GBJA Confidential Information and Disclosure. Ready for a first reading on May 17.

5. GBJA Confidential Information and Disclosure. The essence of the last two paragraphs eliminated from Staff Ethics and Conflict of Interest, in the form of Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) will be included. Current language-change “the names” to “the personal information”.

6. Policy Adoption and Maintenance- In second paragraph, first sentence under Standard and Procedure add “to the superintendent’s office” after “in writing”. Beginning of third sentence add “Within 30 days” and in the middle of third sentence change the word “send” to “make a decision to send.” First reading May 17.

7. JK Discipline Kerri will e-mail Dorothy the completed document and it will receive a first reading on May 17.

8. Facilities and Use of Facilities needs to be reviewed by Facility Committee.

9. Hot Lunch was revisited with no edits.

10. Next policy agenda will be

Barre Town Policy/Communication Committee Meeting
March 28 Minutes

Attendees: Kerri Lamb, David Harrington, Tim Crowley, Patty Dupuis, Brenda Buzzell, Laura Moore

1. JK: Discipline – Tim Crowley presented the edited policy. After extensive discussion he will prepare a statutory and dignity introduction and return to the next meeting with it.

2. GBEA: Staff Ethics/Conflict of Interest – Dorothy took this policy to the staff. She could not attend this meeting so this policy was tabled until the next meeting.

3. GBJA: Confidential Info & Disclosure –Dorothy was researching some language for this policy. Dorothy was not able to make it to this meeting so it was tabled until the next meeting.

4. BGB: Policy Adoption – After a great deal of discussion and some edits to the proposed policy the committee will take a final look at this policy after the edits are incorporated at the next policy committee meeting.

5. IJK: Instructional Material this policy was discussed in great lengths. Many edits were made. The committee would like Dorothy to look at the edits and give comments at the next committee meeting.

SCHEDULED POLICIES
1. EFC - Free & Reduced Price Food Services......17
2. GBEC - Staff, Visitor, and Volunteer Substance Abuse.....19
3. GBEC-R - Staff, Visitor, and Volunteer Substance Abuse –Procedures..... 21
4. Update on scheduled policies.....23

DISCUSSION
1. Webmaster communication

APRIL MEETING
1. Date change
2. Policies scheduled for discussion in April:
    a. GBGA - Staff Health (will be given to Martha Ide previous to committee meeting)

POLICIES ON HOLD
1. KFB Use of School Facilities - resubmitted to the Facility Committee
2. KFB-E Use of School Facilities form - resubmitted to the Facility Committee

Respectfully submitted, Kerri Lamb, Policy Committee Chair

Barre Town Policy Committee
January 24, 2006 Minutes

Attendance:
Kerri Lamb (Committee Chair and School Board Member)
David Harrington (School Board Chair)
Chris Conti (Former School Board Member)
Laurie Gossens (Administrator)
Sheila Cross (Former School Board Member)
Dorothy Anderson (Superintendent)
Steve Murray (Transportation/Custodian Supervisor)

The meeting was called to order at 5:30pm. The following policies and issues were discussed:

Policies

• Class Size Policy – after a great deal of discussion this new policy was created and is attached.

• JK-Discipline – This policy was tabled until the February meeting due to administrative request.

• IJK – Instructional Material – This policy was tabled until the February meeting due to the absence of the librarian at the meeting. Some clarification needs to be made to the committee by her. The following changes were suggested:

  • Addition to Criteria for Selection of Library & Instruction Materials b: “PG, PG-13 and G rated movies will only be available. PG and PG-13 rated movies will be available under supervision only.

  • Addition to d. in the same section: (no nudity and limited vulgar language)

• KFB – Facility Use (and KFB-F Facility Use Form) –

  • Change to C. Rental Fees, 1 Custodial Personnel: $10.00 per hour should be changed to highest wage for overtime in the contract year (minimum of 4 hours)

  • Change to C. Rental Fees, 1 Standards Relating to Rentals, b.: change 36 hours to 48 hours.

  • Change to C. Rental Fees, 1 Standards Relating to Rentals, f.: delete Adult smoking is permitted in the school, only in these areas: main lobby, staff lounge.

  • Change to C. Rental Fees, 1 Standards Relating to Rentals, h.: change Superintendent’s office to Principals’ office.

  • Change to form

    • first sentence change school related groups to Barre Town residents

    • Change Board Room to Conference Rooms

    • Change Equipment line to read: Equipment – fees vary per request

    • Delete Superintendent approval line

• IHOA – Field Trips and Excursions – no edits were made to this policy. The Policy Committee requests the board read and place a revisited date on the policy.

• GCFB-E – Management Contract – This policy should be eliminated as it is no longer necessary because each member of management has an individual contract.

• GCG – Qualifications for Substitute Teachers – We suggest the administrators look at this policy and report back with suggested edits at the February meeting.

• HHE – Employee Negotiating Organizations – no edits were made to this policy. The Policy Committee requests the board read and place a revisited date on the policy.

• GCH – Professional Staff Orientation & Training

  • Change Orientation programs will be planned and organized by the Principal to Orientation programs will be planned and organized by the Curriculum Director.

• GDA – Support Staff Positions – the committee recommends elimination of this policy due to unionization of the support staff. This information is now included in their contract.

• GDF – Support Staff Hiring – the committee recommends elimination of this policy due to unionization of the support staff. This information is now included in their contract.

Discussions Items

• Teacher notification of policy updates – teachers should be notified of the reading of policies for 1st and 2nd reading in the teacher’s bulletin for two days previous to a board meeting. For further inquiries they should be referred to the minutes of the policy committee which are available online.

• Electronic updates – after the final reading of a policy the superintendent’s office (currently Pam) should email edits to policies and the index to the webmaster.

• Paper updates – a paper copy of the complete policy manual should be kept by the policy committee chair, the principals’ office and the superintendent’s office only. All others should use the website. An updated copy of the policy and index should be mailed from the superintendent’s office (Pam) upon final approval from the board.

• Procedures and Forms – all forms and procedures should use the same code as the relevant policy followed by a –p for procedure and –f for a form.

Next meeting set for 2/28/06 at 6:00 in the upstairs conference room of Barre Town Middle and Elementary School.

Respectfully submitted, Kerri Lamb, Committee Chairperson

BT Policy Committee Minutes
November 29, 2005

Committee Members: Kerri Lamb, Sheila Cross
Administrator: Dorothy Anderson

Follow-up Discussions

1. These policies, forms, and procedures will be removed.

KEC-IM	KEC-IM/LM-E
KEC-IM-E1	KEC-IM-E2
KEC-LM

The policy statements will be included in IJK and the forms and procedures will be kept in the superintendent’s and principals’ offices. The new IJK will receive a first reading on December 7, 2005.

2. To date there is no recommendation from the Facility Committee on KFB Use of School Facilities and KFB-E Use of School Facilities-Form.

3. To date there is no recommendation from the Finance Committee on the inclusion of a Public Relations position in the budget.

4. Pam will help the BT webmaster index the policies on-line in the same way the hard copy manual is indexed.

Communications

1. Dorothy will ask Sherrie Clark to produce an outline for a board information brochure.

Scheduled Policies To Review

1. JLDAC Independent Student Evaluations
   Change “Special Programs Director” to “Special Services Director.”
   Change “Basic Staffing Team” to “Evaluation Planning Team.”
   Remove references to rules and laws in the text of the policy.
    

2. JlIB Student Dismissal Precautions
   Add references to nurses’ office where appropriate, in first sentence and #1.
   Remove “as above” in #2
    

3. JRB Student Lists
   Place the word “or” between the words “dropouts” and “transfers”

Respectfully Submitted, Dorothy Anderson

Barre Town Policy Committee Minutes
Tuesday, November 8, 2005

Members Present: Kerri Lamb, Sheila Cross
Administrators Present: Ted Riggen, Tim Crowley, Laurie Gossens

Policies Discussed:

1. The use of calculators with curriculum was not discussed as this issue was discussed in length at the Curriculum Committee. The policy committee decided against any suggested changes to policy IIC-1 – Acceptable Use Policy.

2. Policies KEC-IM – Public Concerns/Complaints about Instructional Materials and KEC-IM-E – Public Concerns/Complaints about Instructional Materials Form. These were both looked at and some minor typos were corrected but it was then agreed that Kerri would look at policy KEC-IM and policy IJK/IJL Library and Instructional Materials Selection to see if these policies could possibly be combined into one.

3. A follow-up to policy JK-Student Discipline – Tim Crowley presented on this policy. He had gotten together with Carolyn Jarvis and looked at our policy compared to the State Model Policy. Carolyn came up with a packet of recommendations of items that could possibly be deleted and/or added. After much discussion, the committee agreed that Carolyn, Tim and Laurie will organize all the discipline data and come up with a possible policy and procedures for discipline. The committee asked to have this information back by the December 20th meeting.

4. The KFB Use of School Facilities policy and KFB-E Use of School Facilities - Form were discussed. Kerri will get suggested pricing and/or wording changes from the Facilities Committee.

5. Laurie Gossens asked that Kerri look at a better indexing system for the current policy manual. Things are not well grouped and it is hard to find policies when you need them.

Communication Issues:

1. Follow-up from the September meeting

   1. Mr. Crowley and Dr. Riggen will investigate other ways to get the newsletter into the general public. The school website is a great source of information for the community. But, the committee still feels that we need to look at this issue more in depth. A possible solution may be to have a public relations person. There will be more discussion on this in the future.

   2. David Harrington’s committee reorganization letter was placed into the Town Newsletter as requested

   3. CVCT was contacted about the cost of taping school concerts, plays, etc. They were very expensive and the administrators did not feel there was enough need.

2. Teacher Relations:

   1. Tabled until a later date.

Next meeting is November 22nd.

Respectfully Submitted,  Sheila Cross

Barre Town Policy Committee
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
6:00-7:00 p.m.  Barre Town School Upstairs Conference Room

Committee Members Present: Kerri Lamb, Sheila Cross, Nancy Pope
Administrators Present: Dorothy Anderson

1. The committee recommended removal of KD Public Information and Communications and KJ Relations with Community Organizations. The concepts included in these policies are incorporated and expanded upon in a new KD Community Relations. The new policy is attached.

2. The committee recommended revision of KDDA Press Releases, Conference, and Interviews. A second sentence will be added to item #5 that reads. “Affected personnel will be consulted before permission for such activities in classrooms is granted.”

3. Community Relations were discussed. Three activities will receive some attention.

   1. The school newsletter will be distributed more widely.

   2. We will use the Town Newsletter more frequently. For example, David’s letter about board reorganization should be submitted to the November edition.

   3. CVCT will be contacted about the cost of taping school concerts, plays, etc.

Respectfully Submitted, Dorothy Anderson

Barre Town Policy Committee
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
BT Upstairs Conference Room  - 6:00 p.m.-7:15 p.m.

Committee Members Present: Kerri Lamb, Sheila Cross
Administrators Present: Dorothy Anderson, Laurie Gossens

The Policy Committee’s new name is the Policy/Communication Committee to reflect additional responsibilities. Kerri suggested some goals for 2005-06. Long-term goals are to review all policies over a five year period. See the attached chart. A wellness policy must be implemented by July 1, 2006.

Communication with parents was discussed. One suggestion to make parent conferences more convenient for parents is to conduct parent conferences by telephone. In the school newsletter, we will list all the ways the school communicates with parents and request feedback on which ones are most effective. A list of methods of communication follows

EEA and EEA-R were reviewed and deemed ready for second reading at the September 7 board meeting.

The committee is interested in removing procedures from policies, specifically, at this point in time, the JK Student Discipline. It was decided to have Tim Crowley review discipline procedures in the handbook, JK Student Discipline, and the model policies on Physical Restraint and Student Behavior to ascertain if our documents are in compliance with model policies and to get his opinion on what could be removed and/or added. We would like this information by October.

The meeting adjourned at 7:16 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,  Dorothy Anderson