New School Board Meeting June 9, 2015

The Windham School Board will be holding a meeting on Tuesday, June 9, 2015 at 7:30 PM at the Windham Town Hall.  Please join Windham LINK at the meeting to show your support for our schools, teachers, and administrators.  Following is an update from the June 2, 2015 School Board Meeting.


Administrator Contracts
During public input it was asked if all of the Windham School District Administrators and Directors have been offered contracts for the coming school year. Those who are certified were renominated in April and typically would expect to see their contract in April or early May with a July 1 start date. Administrators and Directors are part of the non-union pool of School District employees and have been working with the District to amend the terms of their compensation and benefits for over a year.

The district’s Business Administrator, Adam Steel, who has been acting as a liaison between the Administrators and the Board, stated the negotiations began because in his opinion the “Administrators wanted to be adequately compensated.” He went on to say, “They (the Administrators) would prefer contracts. They are nervous and anxious about it.”

After public input and Board discussion, Dennis Senibaldi made a motion “To approve the signing of Administrator's contracts, as they currently are, with revisions to happen as soon as possible that are considered fair and equitable by Administrators and the District.”  The motion was seconded by Rob Breton. The motion failed 2-3. (Tom Murray, Daniel Popovici-Muller, Ken Eyring opposed.)

Roofs
Business Administrator, Adam Steel, along with Russo Bar, a professional firm hired by the District, recommended the replacement of Windham Center School roofs sections “C & E” this summer. A motion made by Dennis Senibaldi, "to replace the roofs as outlined by the Business Administrator for Windham Center School roof sections C & E.”  The motion was seconded by Rob Breton. The motion failed 1-4. (Tom Murray, Daniel Popovici-Muller, Ken Eyring, Rob Breton opposed.)

Survey
The Board discussed conducting a survey to get information from school staff and the public about education issues, including public opinion about facilities. Preliminary quotes for the survey range from $8,300 - $27,000, depending on the scope of outreach. Based on these quotes, the Board voted to 3-2 to move forward with the survey with Panorama Education as proposed. (Rob Breton, Dennis Senibaldi opposed.)

Superintendent Search
The School Board is creating an Interim Superintendent Search Committee.  Interviews of potential candidates will begin in mid-June.  If the Board does not find a suitable candidate at that time, the Board will appoint an acting or interim superintendent.  Rob Breton suggested that the Board appoint Adam Steel as acting superintendent to take advantage of the time that Superintendent Feneberg is still here.

One resident expressed disappointment that the Board did not take into consideration the extensive public input that encouraged the Board to appoint an interim superintendent, rather than going through a search process.  Mr. Feneberg said that he does not want the Board to underestimate the job at hand.  He stated, “It is a complex job”, and went on to say the Board should, “be mindful that as much transition time as you can give whoever comes in is going to be beneficial to the District as well as the person.”

Golden Brook School Facilities/Option 2+
During last week’s meeting, Tom Murray asked that other professionals be brought into the Option 2 review process. He also noted that he would like to use the survey data and information to then make an informed decision.  

A motion was made by Dennis Senibaldi "to move forward with Phase 2 of Option 2 as prescribed by the Business Administrator." The motion failed 3-2. (Tom Murray, Daniel Popovici-Muller, Ken Eyring opposed.) A second motion was made by Tom Murray "to engage groups B & C with K-8 educational experience and disclose that they have worked for or with any school board member in the past."  The motion passed 4-1. (Dennis Senibaldi opposed.)

There is a lot going on in the Windham School District.  Windham LINK would like to encourage you to be part of the process and attend a School Board meeting, write a letter, and/or thank a teacher TODAY.  Your support matters and does make a difference.  Thank you!

The next School Board meeting is at 7:30pm on Tuesday, June 9, 2015 at the Town Hall.