MINUTES OF THE CORNWALL BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
HELD ON THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2009 AT 5:00 P.M. AT
CORNWALL CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL

Board members present were: Barbara Gold, Chairperson; Phil Hart, Becky Hurlburt, Irene Hurlburt, Wynne Kavanagh, and Thomas K. Levine. Others present were Patricia Chamberlain, Superintendent of Schools; Kathleen Fitzgibbons, Principal; and Bob Kanehl, CCS teacher and principal intern.

Mrs. Gold called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m.

On a motion by Mrs. B. Hurlburt, seconded by Mr. Hart, the Agenda was amended to switch the order so that New Business comes before Old Business.

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On a motion by Mrs. B. Hurlburt, seconded by Mr. Levine, the minutes of the February 19^st meeting were approved.

There was no correspondence.

There was no Board of Finance report.

Mr. Hart passed around a list of HVRHS seniors (~nine from Cornwall) accepted into colleges. The Region One budget was approved by their board. The board is working on an Internet filtering policy.

Mrs. Gold said that the next meeting of the ABC Committee will be at CCS on April 15.

Ms. Chamberlain – Superintendent’s Report

• March being Board of Education Appreciation Month, Ms. Chamberlain thanked Board members for the time and energy they dedicate to Cornwall Consolidated School and HVRHS.

• There are three non-certified staff contracts in talks at this time.

• A recommendation for the supervisor of special education should come before the Region One Board at their April meeting

• The business manager continues to work on health insurance renewals. Sam Herrick is talking with two other insurance companies as the increase from Anthem stands at 23%.

• Questions about how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and funding for education abound. As information comes to the superintendent’s office, it will be passed along to all the boards.

(Mrs. I. Hurlburt present)

Dr. Fitzgibbons – Principal’s Report

• The CMTs are over, including make-ups. Dr. Fitzgibbons expressed appreciation to Elizabeth Clarke for organizing the testing and make-up testing and maintaining the security of the testing materials during the two-week process. There was 100% participation from Cornwall students in grades three through eight. She also thanked Martha Bruehl for organizing Ed Connection delivery of pre-test breakfast snacks, and the CCS PTA for helping to pay for them.

• Pete Selino and Dr. Fitz will check out the desks and chairs currently stored in the no-longer-Hart barn with the goal of clearing the barn of all CCS goods.

• Lee Kellogg has asked if their baseball team could combine with Cornwall’s as they have a low number of participants.

• Science teacher Erica Foster will take her Environmental Science Club on a three-day trip to Unity College in Maine at the end of March.

Standing Building Committee – Mr. Hart will call Gordon Cavanaugh to proceed with the drainage work.

Mr. Hart will find a graduation speaker and is seeking suggestions for the volunteer award. CCS Graduation will be held on Thursday, June 11 at 6:00 p.m.

On a motion by Mr. Levine, seconded by Mrs. I. Hurlburt, the Board went into executive session at 5:26 p.m. for the purpose of executive search. Ms. Chamberlain and Dr. Fitzgibbons were invited to attend.

The Board came out of executive session at 5:55 p.m.

Dr. Fitzgibbons remarked on the successful Chili Chow dinner at CCS on March 14^th – an 8^th grade trip fundraiser. Special kudos to chef Pete Selino for cooking the chili!

The meeting was adjourned at 5:56 p.m.

Susan F. Gingert

Board Clerk