Minutes
Danville-Cabot Boards Transcripts of Merger Discussions (Act 46) (pdf) SBE email addresses --- aoe.section9proposals @vermont.gov (SBE) ---- --- dan.french@vermont. gov (Sec'y Education) --- SBE all others SBE Postal Address Secretary
of Education Proposed Statewide Plan for School District Governance (Act 46) ... June 1, 2018 pdf | Next Meetings (Updated 89/9)
Tuesday, October 2 | Board Regular Meeting | Danville School Library @ 6:00 p.m. | Agenda (pending)
Minutes HIGHLIGHTS 1. In the past several weeks the Board has presented to the State Board of Education (SBE) a proposal for Danville School to remain unmerged with Cabot in respect to Act 46. While the Danville Board has drafted proposals, testified at the State House and summoned support from throughout the school system in support of its position to move forward independently, the voice of the Danville community will also be a consideration in the SBE decision. Consequently, the Board urges citizens of the Town to communicate in writing their support for our proposal directly to the SBE. The proposal is well summarized in the oral testimony of Chair Melendy in August to the SBE and in the longer written response submitted by the Board regarding its position. The final decision of SBE is expected in October. Email
communication to krista.huling@vermont.gov
(SBE, Chair). 2. All School staff engaged in an ALICE* training workshop in late August, designed to sharpen school-wide and individual responses to physically aggressive threats, including active shooters, to the School. Five staff members are also ALICE certified trainers and in the future are expected to train new staff and refresh the practices of the present staff. 3. Fifteen (15) MacBook Pros (Apple) were leased for use by the Art Department for the next 4 years. 4. The School will be filling 3 positions with respect to Student Services: (1) academic support of grades 4-6, (2) proactive, behavioral support for grades 1-2, and (3) a life-skills position to work 1-on-1. 5. Safety concerns with respect to Route 2 continued to be addressed by considering the installation (not just the purchase) and regulatory hurdles associated with a proposed “slow down” sign. The Principal reported an agreement with Danville United Methodist Church on the Green to serve as a rally point during school evacuations. 6. The new security system cameras and keyless door locks have been installed. Receipt of IP numbers for systems components is expected to enable completion of the installation in about a week. 7. The 2018-2019 edition of the Danville School Handbook for Students and Parents was adopted by the Board, and printed copies are expected soon. 8. The Board approved the donation of old security system components - cameras, server and monitor - to the Bath Village School in Bath, NH.
9. A discussion of the resurrection of the After School Program was added to the agenda for the October meeting. Email questions/comments to Minutes HIGHLIGHTS Regular Meeting of 9 August 2018 Access Full Minutes 1. The School Board’s response to the Secretary of Education’s proposed merger of the Danville and Cabot School Districts was presented by Board Chairman Bruce Melendy at a hearing before the State Board of Education on Wednesday, August 15th at the State House in Montpelier. The response emphasized Danville’s wish to remain un-merged (stand-alone) and pursue satisfying the aims of Act 46 in accord with the Alternative Governance Proposal the Board had previously submitted. · Oral remarks of Chairman Melendy to the State Board of Education – 15 August 2018 · Written response to the State Board of Education by the Danville Board – 13/15 August 2018
2. An overview and summary of the last meeting of the Danville and Cabot School Boards relative to Act 46 are included in the Board’s minutes of August 9th. Email questions/comments to Minutes HIGHLIGHTS 1. The filling of 3 Special Education positions for the beginning of the School Year has been completed. One position is at Danville, and the other two have split service-provision/case-management responsibilities shared among other districts. 2. Drafting of a CCSU Benchmark and Goals document hase been completed at a recent administrative retreat. The document ties curriculum and management matters to CCSU-wide goals focussing on student outcomes. The distribution of the finalized document was expected within a week. 3. Arising from parental concerns, a first step in considering a policy addressing safety concerns of athletic teams using off-campus locations, such as local roads, during practice was taken by the Board by asking the Principal and Athletic Director to assess the situation and offer a recommendation. 4. Emily Shopland was hired as a member of the 5th/6th grade team of teachers. 5. The Board asked the Principal to develop a proposal with staff for the re-institution of the After-school Program. 6 The Board encouraged the Superintendent to make public notice of meetings of his Superintendent-Parent Advisory Committee consistently better known and to make their openness robust. 7. Work on the installation of the new security system components for the building is on schedule and is expected to be completed by the end of August. 8. Continuation of posting of Highlights of School Board meeting minutes on the Board website was approved. In addition, posting of them on the School’s blog and Facebook pages, with permission to moderate granted to the Principal, was also approved. Email questions/comments to Minutes HIGHLIGHTS 1. The Danville School Board took its own initiative in confessing to its inadvertent Email questions/comments to Minutes HIGHLIGHTS
Special Meeting of 18 June 2018 Access Full Minutes 1. A meeting of the Danville and Cabot School Boards occurred as a consequence of the Statewide Plan relative to Act 46 issued on June 1, 2018 by the Acting Secretary of Education. In it she rejected the “stand alone” AGS proposals from both schools, because neither was better than a merged district in meeting the goals of Act 46: each had too few students and a too-limited regional focus. --She recommended a merger of the governing boards, operating both schools. In response the Danville Board decided (1) to appeal the recommendation on July19th at a meeting with the State and further argue for “standing alone” and retaining “local control” but also (2) to re-engage with the Cabot Board in fresh discussions with respect to the pros/cons of merger and articles of agreement, anticipating the merger becoming mandatory. At the meeting the Cabot Board outlined its case why it was interested in a merger. It asked us to refresh data on which year-old (706 committee) impressions and decisions had been formed: It addressed (1) its community’s strong interest in a Danville merger, viewing very positively Danville’s strong commitment to the education of its children (as does Cabot), (2) its enhanced commitment to a project-based learning curriculum, viewed as complementary to Danville’s, (3) an improved situation with respect to debt and the condition of the campus infrastructure, etc…. The two boards will meet to continue this exploration at a public meeting in Cabot on Wednesday, July 11th. 2. The Board imposed enrollment cap on the Freshman 2018-2016 class of 45 students. Once the cap is reached resident students continue to be readily be admitted but tuitioning student admission is contingent on resources required to maintain program quality. 3. A review of the dress code section of the Student Handbook as pertained to undergarments was left unchanged from last year’s Handbook. Final review and approval of the Handbook is scheduled for a July meeting, Email
questions/comments to Regular Meeting 5 June 2018
1. Cole Beliveau (Senior) and Eve Codling (Sophmore) have been selected as the new student representatives on the Danville School Board replacing Riley Fenoff and Matt Hauserman. 2. The Acting Secretary of Education's Proposed Statewide Plan for School District Governance ... (June 1, 2018) has recommended the merger of the governing boards of the Danville and Cabot Schools districts. 4. The Board approved the hiring of Emma Taylor as a second grade teacher and Adriana Watrobski as a shared (Danville/Peacham) middle school counselor. 5. The Chair will coordinate the development of access procedures to the building pending the installation of keyless entry systems this summer to enhance building security. 6. The School calendar for 2018-2019 was approved by the Board and is available on the Danville School website. 7. The Superintendent indicated the Administrative Team will issue by the end of this school year an action plan for pursing the CCSU-wide 90% reading and math goals and at its summer retreat would address longer-term plans. 8. Approval of the Student Handbook, especially review to the dress code, will be considered by the Board at its July Retreat meeting. [This review was conducted during a Special Meeting of the Board on 6/18.] 9. The Board is considering an enrollment cap of 45 students, which the Principal recommended, for the Freshman class for School Year 2018-2019. 10. There were continuing discussions of an exploration of a firefighter/paramedic program, the development of the Mission and Vision Fund, and locating safer pathways to the Town athletic fields.
Email questions/comments to
Regular Meetings first Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at Danville School |