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BARTLETT 2006 SCHOOL BOARD
REPORT
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POLICE
 School
Board Meeting Minutes, September 4, 2007
_________________________________________
NOTE: My copy of the booklet that contains this report was binded
without the page that contained the end of this report. Maybe
someone out there has the part I am missing and will e mail it to me.? (It
is pages 6 and 7)
BARTLETT SCHOOL BOARD REPORT 2006
It s a perfect
time to write a letter, since I just returned from a tour of the new
Kennett High School. What an awesome example of efficient building
design and sound educational planning. As I walked around, I had
flashbacks to some of the countless hours spent in meetings, hearings,
and study groups through the years as the Valley wrestled with the
problem of how to best educate our high school youth. We waded through
option after option, ranging from building our own high school with
Jackson, to Cooperative Agreements. I didn’t think we left any stone
unturned, and today I was convinced that in the end it was so worth the
time and financial commitment. A special thanks to Frank Moffatt who has
been Bartlett’s representative to the High School Facilities Committee.
He has been devoted to the project since its inception, and has worked
tirelessly to see it through to completion. His enthusiasm is
contagious.
Our school
continues to be an exciting place. Always lots of energy; always
something going on! Since we have dedicated the year to Exploring Math
and Science, we started off with a whole school presentation by a
representative from the Science Museum. Our 5th
— 8th graders
were treated to a presentation by Frank Rodericks, an Aerospace Engineer
currently working in a Solid Rocket Booster program. Frank grew up in
the Valley and attended J.B.E.S. for a number of years. The National
Junior Honor Society went to Concord, met with local Representatives
Gene Chandler and Tom Buco, and toured the State House. A highlight of
the trip was a chance to meet the Governor! The Jackson Historical
Society invited 18 of our students to show and sell their paintings at
the White Mountain Art Show. Our art teacher, June McLeavey, has done a
wonderful job introducing our students to the arts and inspiring them to
appreciate and create. Visit the remodeled art room to see your tax
dollars well spent!
Again this
year, we can report impressive test results. On the NECAP Tests (New
England Common Assessment Program), our students placed 5~ in
Writing out of 44 K-8 schools in the state —71% were Proficient or
Proficient with Distinction. We were 8~ in the state in Reading, with
75% of our students pefforming at a Proficient or Proficient with
Distinction level. Our results on the Math test placed us 16~, with 66%
Proficient or Proficient with Distinction. Results like these attest to
the level of commitment and diligence on the part of our staff. They are
constantly analyzing the information and identifying areas of the
curriculum or methods of instruction which may need refinement. We are
fortunate to have assembled such a fine group of professionals in our
building. Of course without the dedicated support staff and educational
leadership of Mr. Voci and the SAU #9 staff, they would not be able to
do their jobs. We are grateful to them all.
Most
of all, we are grateful to you, the voters and taxpayers of Bartlett,
who continue to value the work that we do and support us in so many
ways. Thank you.
Vicki Harlow, Chair
Josiah
Bartlett is as successful as it is because of an amazing amount of
teamwork.
The entire
school working population, parents, and a hands-on Board of Education
all strive to present a realistic learning opportunity to the student
body. Our philosophy is that with a very strong reading and writing
background, anything is possible. One cannot be excellent in math and
the sciences without being able to read and understand the problems.
The
final and most important element is the student body itself. Each year
this group of pre-school through eighth graders continue to enjoy a
success that is brought on by their own hard work and enjoyment of
learning.
Bartlett is a
special community with Josiah Bartlett as a special learning center and
all should be proud of the team’s achievements.
Frank R. Moffatt
This will be
my last letter as a member of the Bartlett School Board as I am not
running for re-election. We are very fortunate to have a number of very
enthusiastic candidates who are all qualified to be excellent school
board members
The new high
school is accounting for a doubling of our per student costs for the
grades 9 through 12, and on top of this we are graciously donating a
share of the overrun costs for the next five years. We have yet to see
that the school is fully complete as promised when this charade began.
The
science/math enrichment program that was proposed last year and defeated
is being revived with a proposal for yet another administrator to take
care of an extremely broad range of activities with no particular focus
on math and
science. It
appears to be everything for everyone. The grammar school that I
attended in New York State was larger than JBES and everyone took NYS
regents exams. There were eight teachers, a part time nurse, one
janitor, and the principal was counted in the eight teachers because she
also taught English to the sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Classes
with more than 40 had to sit at the teacher’s desk up front. Compare
this to our inflated staff who could not keep an enrichment program in
math and science going several years ago and apparently need a
coordinator to help them out. This is disappointing but not surprising
when you reflect back on the negative reaction of the staff to having
anyone come into their “turf’ at last year’s meeting.
I am certainly
glad to see some progress in dealing with the lead and mold hazard of
the old church. It is absolutely amazing to me that we are only now
addressing this issue without any help from the former owner, our legal
support or the real estate agent. We cannot even find out who was
involved from our administrators. So far, 14 parking places have cost us
about 75,000 dollars (i.e. just over 5,000 dollars each in downtown
Bartlett, NH soon to be 24,300 dollars each space).
Only four
people from Bartlett have stopped by my office to chat and exchange
ideas on how we can do better. The most frequent caller, John Murphy,
has now passed away. He was the ‘voice of fiscal responsibility’
regularly admonishing us from the back at Town Meeting. We will greatly
miss him. The proposed budget by your Board is not fiscally responsible.
It is part of the Board’s mission to be fiscally responsible and
accountable.
The advice and
support from our administrators is not fiscally responsible in a timely
manner. Unpopular policy matters are ignored and ‘pocket vetoed’ by
inaction. They are not intellectually convincing in any of their
arguments concerning staffing levels and the appropriate compensation
adjustments (both direct and fringe benefits). The administration has
advised us that we would be consistent in choosing cost of living annual
escalators. Their actual advice has consistently flip-flopped between
the bureau of labor statistics and the social security cost of living
indices. Higher always appears to be better. Our BEA contract is a
travesty; full of errors.
Security
issues are important to all of us. An automated/computerized door
locking system with $600.00 locks is only half the ‘barn door’ in a
rural community like Bartlett. We also must have magnetometers to locate
firearms entering the building in pockets of those allowed in our
facility. Where was that advice? It is at least as reasonable as a door
locking system that saves the...////...........missing
content...........NOTE:
My copy of the booklet that contains this report was binded without the
page that contained the end of this report. Maybe someone out
there has the part I am missing and will e mail it to me.?
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