53 Green Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
www.wsesu.org
NOTICE OF BOARD MEETING
The Windham Southeast School District Board will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday,
November 8, 2022 in the WRCC Cusick Conference Room and remotely via Zoom
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AGENDA
I. CALL TO ORDER – 6:00 p.m. – Kelly Young, Board Chair
II. STUDENT MATTERS (5-10 Minutes)
III. CONSENT AGENDA
• CLERK’S REPORT – Approval of Minutes – October 25 and November 3, 2022
Amend Minutes from the August 9, 2022 Meeting
• FINANCES
Warrants of October 11, 2022
Warrant No. 1113 in the amount of $ 17,133.06
Warrant No. 1117 in the amount of 4,180.93
Warrant No. 1118 in the amount of 1,026.99
Warrant No. 1119 in the amount of 1,008.36
Warrant No. 1120 in the amount of 231,506.12
$254,855.46
Warrants of October 17, 2022
9/22/22 ACH Purchasing Card Payment $ 9,691.83
Warrant No. 1122 in the amount of 1,701,732.06
Warrant No. 1123 in the amount of 455.73
Warrant No. 1124 in the amount of 851,349.54
$2,563,228.96
Warrants of October 25, 2022
Warrant No. 1126 in the amount of $ 27,610.34
Warrant No. 1127 in the amount of 1,349.71
Warrant No. 1131 in the amount of 781.95
Warrant No. 1133 in the amount of 150.00
Warrant No. 1134 in the amount of 2,627.67
Warrant No. 1135 in the amount of 465,270.15
$497,789.82
Warrants of October 31, 2022
10/12/22 ACH Purchasing Card Payment $ 25,198.11
Warrant No. 1137 in the amount of 13,818.80
Warrant No. 1139 in the amount of 595.21
Warrant No. 1140 in the amount of 80.72
Warrant No. 1141 in the amount of 70,602.04
$110,294.88
Payrolls
October 7, 2022 $1,440,524.13
October 21, 2022 $1,444,398.37
IV. PRESENTATION – Windham Regional Career Center – Goals / Achievements
V. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS (10 minutes)
VI. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A. Board Representation – Brattleboro – Board Action Needed
B. Appointment – Brattleboro Representative to the WSESU Board
C. Policy and Amendment Committee – Board Action Needed
• D7 – Volunteers and Work Study Students – Re-Adoption
• E8 – Tobacco/Nicotine Prohibition – Re-Adoption
• F39 – Students Experiencing Temporary Housing Insecurity – Re-Adoption
D. Superintendent 360 Evaluation (Follow-Up)
VII. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
VIII. FISCAL REPORT
IX. NEW BUSINESS
A. Nomination / Election of a Vice-Chair
B. Returning the Authority to Approve New Hires to the WSESD Board
C. Head Start / Early Head Start Carryover Request and Non-Federal Share
Waiver for Grants That Ended 6/30/2022 – Action Needed
D. Appointment of 2 Additional Leadership Council Members (1 Guilford / 1 BUHS)
EXECUTIVE SESSION (If Needed)
board at a future meeting.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2022
REGULAR BOARD MEETING – 6:00PM
HYBRID MEETING: WRCC CUSICK CONFERENCE ROOM, BRATTLEBORO, AND
REMOTELY VIA ZOOM
DRAFT MINUTES
WSESD Board Members Absent: none
WSESU/SD Staff and Administrators Present: Mark Speno, Wendy M. Levy, Cassie Damkoehler, Paul Smith, Julianna Eagan, Andrew Parsons, Mike Szostak, Noah Ginsberg, Brin Tucker, Stacy Sawyer, Lily DePino, Kate Margaitis.
Media Present: Chris Mays from the Brattleboro Reformer
Others Present: Mindy Haskins Rogers of Northampton, Jaci Reynolds of Brattleboro, Lisa Ford of Guilford, Kristina Naylor of Dummerston, Kerry Amidon of Vernon, Rikki Risatti of Brattleboro, Ruby McAdoo of Putney.
Please note: attendance may be incomplete.
from the August 9, 2022 Meeting
• The atmosphere at BUHS has improved from last year.
• The current leadership team at BUHS is great.
• Last year was a tough school year.
• Noah said at the end of the year, the Faculty Council conducted a staff survey, to which roughly 80-percent of the staff responded.
• From this survey, the council developed five action steps.
• One of them was to focus on collaborative decision-making. Mike said this is going better than he has ever experienced in the sixteen years he has been employed at the school.
• This is working well for students, too. Mike reflected that this year he has received far fewer referrals to his Restorative Justice department than in previous years, and the referrals he gets are less critical (i.e. fights and things of that nature).
• A discussion ensued on faculty collaboration and mutual support, including with the BUHS leadership team.
• Andrew spoke about the work on ethics in teaching and some materials related to it.
• A discussion ensued on the progress and focus on restorative practices in schools, and maintaining the work on diversity and equity initiatives.
V. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS
KY reported she had received an email about installing pet waste stations on school grounds. She noted it’s a District policy to prohibit dogs on school grounds unless they are therapy dogs.
A. Policy and Amendment Committee – Board Action Needed
DS announced she was going out-of-order from the policy listings on the agenda. She addressed the proposed policies as follows:
• E8 – Tobacco Prohibition – 2nd Reading with Revision
DS announced this policy was changed to include “nicotine.” This is the second reading with the revisions. Now this policy has entered its 10-day warning period.
• F39 – Students Experiencing Temporary Housing Insecurity – 2nd Reading with Revision
DS gave some background on collaborating with staff and community members to draft this policy. One change is that a student does not need permission from a parent or guardian to seek services. Another change is that a student experiencing temporary housing insecurity will have immediate implementation of an IEP.
• D7 – Volunteers and Work Study Students – 4th Reading with Revision
DS announced this is the fourth revision of this policy, and it is now in its 10-day warning period. She said the committee had received many comments from staff, Board directors, and community members. The revisions are as follows:
◦ This policy will commence on 2/1/2023.
◦ It will include a 35-mile transport radius from school.
◦ A volunteer may participate by providing intent to complete a background check by picking up the application from the Central Office Human Resources Department, and by scheduling a fingerprinting session with the Windham County Sheriff’s Department. The 2/1/2023 deadline applies to both of these requirements.
Rikki asked if the policy applied to students who have a prescription for a nicotine patch. DS asked Rikki to email the question to her and she will review it.
IX. NEW BUSINESS
A. Motion for the WSESD Board to Continue the Use of the Professional Legal Services of Dinse, PC, Regarding Matters Related to the Current and Ongoing Sexual Abuse Investigation
MOTION BY KY FOR THE WSESD BOARD TO CONTINUE THE USE OF THE PROFESSIONAL LEGAL SERVICES OF DINSE, PC, REGARDING MATTERS RELATED TO THE CURRENT AND ONGOING SEXUAL ABUSE INVESTIGATION. TM SECONDED.
A discussion ensued.
Mindy Haskins Rogers of Northampton, Massachusetts, asked if KY removed item VI. B.Sexual Abuse Investigation Update, from the agenda. KY responded: The Board will have an update after the next Executive Session, but she does not now know what the content of that update will be.
VOTE ON THE KY MOTION: MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
KY called for a break. The meeting recessed at 6:57pm.
KY called the meeting back into order at 7:05pm.
X. EXECUTIVE SESSION — 1 VSA §313(a)(1)(F) CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATIONS MADE FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL LEGAL SERVICES TO THE BODY
MOTION BY KY THAT THE BOARD ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER 1 VSA §313(a)(1)(F) CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEY-CLIENT COMMUNICATIONS MADE FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL LEGAL SERVICES TO THE BODY. AB SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
KY noted the Board may or may not take action upon rising from Executive Session.
The Board entered into Executive Session at 7:06pm.
The Board rose from Executive Session at 8:13pm.
VI. UNFINISHED BUSINESS (continued)
B. Sexual Abuse Investigation Update
KY reported there is nothing further to report. The investigation continues. The administration is working on other outreach methods.
Mindy asked if there are any outlets for youth to report, and was it communicated to them. Mark responded: The communication went out a few months ago, and it consisted of the same email to all BUHS students and families.
Mindy asked if all adults in the building will be given a script to use when receiving a report from a student. Cassie responded: The Student Support Team developed a script for the first Community Advisory. This work continues.
Mindy asked if there is any more meta-data to report. KY responded: She does not know. She has none now.
VII. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Mark gave a brief report to make time for a staff presentation by the Curriculum Development Team.
He said the student climate surveys began this week. And, today’s presentation refers to policies D2
and G1.
• CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT TOOLKIT
Team members Brin Tucker, Stacy Sawyer, Lily DePino, and [someone whose name I could not hear clearly] presented on their work. They shared a document of a slide show, “2022 Curriculum Development.” Highlights of their presentation included:
• How the Curriculum Development staff did their work.
• Which teaching methods were utilized.
• Assessment methods used.
• The different curriculum structures for different grades.
• There is periodic professional development for teachers.
• The implementation schedule.
• Details on the curriculum development programs for math and literacy, with structures of the lessons.
• This program was piloted last year in the SU’s schools.
• Challenges and opportunities.
• A teaching and assessment toolkit was developed for all teachers to use, with details on the toolkit’s components.
TM asked for updates on this and other presentations. Mark responded: it’s on our schedule to do so.
Mark noted that at the Vernon and SU Board meetings, he developed a packet of information about the
toolkit for all three Boards and the community.
VIII. FISCAL REPORT
SM noted Finance Director Frank Rucker had recently developed the timeline for the upcoming budget
development period.
IX. NEW BUSINESS (continued)
B. Superintendent 360 Evaluation
KY said she sent out the evaluation’s rubric to the WSESD Board.
Kerry Amidon of the WSESU Board spoke about the evaluation. Highlights included:
• The members of both boards received the VSBA survey email, which contains instructions on completing Mark Speno’s evaluation.
• The deadline for completing this is November 4.
• After November 4, the VSBA will issue a report about Mark’s evaluation, and the process will continue from there.
• The survey is built off of the superintendent’s job description.
• The same process was used to evaluate former superintendent Lyle Holiday.
• This evaluation will be used to set goals for Mark.
• Everyone taking the survey will receive the same survey, but some questions may not be applicable to them; the survey will tell you how to skip non-applicable questions.
C. Board Representation – Brattleboro
MOTION BY KY TO ACCEPT WITH EXTREME REGRET DAVID SCHOALES’S RESIGNATION FROM THE SD BOARD. AB SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
KY announced what will happen next. Highlights included:
• State statute requires the Brattleboro Selectboard to be notified of David’s resignation. That happened on October 25.
• This new member will serve until March, 2023.
• In March, Town Meeting will elect someone to serve the remaining year of David’s now-vacant term.
Mark said Secretary Barb Nowakowski has made the listing to send to newspapers and social media.
He noted applicants’ letters of intent will ultimately go to KY, but they get mailed to Barb.
Rikki asked when the last time this happened. A discussion ensued. The consensus was that this has not yet happened to the merged SD Board.
Ruby McAdoo of Putney asked for clarification on filling the open seat. A discussion ensued.
Ruby asked where this process is listed. KY responded: the Brattleboro Selectboard gets notified. Mark responded further: this is dictated by state statute.
D. Appointment – Representative to the WSESU Board
LD pointed out the late hour and recommended extending the meeting.
MOTION BY AB TO EXTEND THE MEETING. MG SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
MOTION BY SM TO NOMINATE EMILY MURPHY-KAUR AS THE REPRESENTATIVE TO THE WSESU BOARD.
EMK, who had attended remotely, had apparently left the meeting, as she did not respond. A discussion ensued.
MG questioned whether this appointment should be made at this meeting. She recommended waiting until a new Brattleboro Board member is appointed in thirty days. She noted there are no major motions at the SU Board, and they are going into budget season.
SM WITHDREW HIS MOTION.
MOTION BY LD TO NOMINATE TIM MACIEL AS THE REPRESENTATIVE TO THE WSESU BOARD. DS SECONDED.
MG questioned whether this appointment should be made at this meeting, especially because the Board had just rescinded its nomination of EMK.
LD WITHDREW HER MOTION.
KY announced that this item is tabled until the next meeting, when it will be on the agenda.
Jaci Reynolds of Brattleboro thanked the Board for tabling this item until another Brattleboro
representative is identified.
E. Appointment of 2022-2023 Leadership Council Members
The appointed members were presented as follows:
* Chair / ** Clerk
BAMS
Dan Braden (parent)
Sharon Carlton Newton (parent)
Kelly Coleman (parent)
Maureen Gallagher (parent)
Robin Morgan (parent)
Lauren Schneski (parent)
Matthew Betz (staff)
Doreen Burke (staff)
Keith Lyman (admin)
BUHS
Miles Ackerman-Hayes (student)
Ben Berg (student)
Magdalena Keppel (student)
Katey Everest (parent)
Lisa Ford (parent) *
Jessica Gould (parent)
Kiera King (parent)
Renee Woliver (parent)
Tyler Boone (staff)
Jen Course (staff)
Ricky Davidson (staff)
Linda Heimerdinger (staff)
Mike Szostak (staff)
Cassie Damkoehler (admin)
Traci Lane (admin)
Hannah Parker (admin)
Tim Maciel (board)
Rick Mills (emeritus)
Academy School
Holly Aguilar (parent)
Moriah Carney (parent)
Alix Joyal (parent)
Alisha Kaeppel (parent)
Hannah Lindner-Finlay (parent)
Emily Megas-Russell (parent)
Abby Mnookin (parent)
Gwyneth Mogg-Hall (parent)
Robin Morgan (parent) *
Jen Sinton (parent)
Carrie Szlasa Dix (parent) *
Larisa Volkavichuyute (parent)
Nina Willson (parent)
Jody Mattulke (staff)
Kelly Dias (admin)
Green Street
Andrea Conkling (parent)
Cindy Douglas (parent)
Amanda Fray (parent)
Chrissy Howe (parent) *
Chelle Martinez (parent)
Leigh Niland (parent)
Michael St. Pierre (parent)
Rebecca Stamulis (parent)
Mo Hart (staff)
Deb Schiller (staff)
Kate Margaitis (admin)
Oak Grove
Tricia Hill (staff)
Mary Kaufmann (staff)
Dummerston School
Maeve Jenks (parent)
Lance Neeper (parent)
Jessica Newton (parent)
Keri Newton (parent)
Tamara Rosa (parent)
Chelsea White (parent)
Melissa White (grandparent)
Molly Oglesby (staff)
Hannah Van Loon (staff)
Carmen Winchester (staff)
Julianne Eagan (admin)
Michelle Green (School Board)
Guilford Central School
Maggie Foley (parent) *
Erin Tkaczyk (parent)
Beth Bristol (parent)
Hannah Tustin (parent)
Hannah Salisbury (staff)
Amy Skolnick Buchalter (staff)
John Gagnon (admin)
Putney Central School
April Brown (parent) *
Tara Castine (parent)
Jaime Contois (community)
Ruby McAdoo (parent) **
Carolyn Olivier (community)
Lynn Borofsky (staff)
Nancy Gagnon (staff)
Steve Hed (staff)
Jon Sessions (admin)
A discussion ensued, including that MG and TM should not be on the list because they are SD Board
representatives to the Leadership Councils and do not need to be voted into these positions.
MOTION BY AB TO APPOINT THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEMBERS ON THE
SCHOOL LIST WITHOUT MICHELLE GREEN AND TIM MACIEL. SM SECONDED.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
MOTION BY AB TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER 1 VSA §313(a)(7) TO
DISCUSS A PERSONNEL ISSUE INVOLVING BOARD REPRESENTATION SPECIFICALLY
FOR MONITORING STUDENT BOARD MEMBERS. DS SECONDED.
ROLL CALL VOTE:
SM YEA
AB YEA
TM YEA
LA YEA
DS YEA
LD YEA
MG ABSTAIN
MOTION CARRIED 6-1, WITH MG ABSTAINING
KY announced the Board may or may not take action upon rising from Executive Session.
The Board entered Executive Session at 9:15pm.
The Board rose from Executive Session at 9:33pm.
The Board took no action.
MOTION BY AB TO ADJOURN. LA SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
The Board adjourned at 9:35pm.
Documents presented:
• A slide show, “2022 Curriculum Development.”
Submitted by Wendy M. Levy from minutes taken by Wendy M. Levy
This represents my understanding of the above dated meeting. If you have any changes, please submit them at the next board meeting.
