Windham – The Windham BOE met for their monthly meeting at a special time and date to accommodate holiday schedules. All the board members along with the treasurer and superintendent were in attendance.
The meeting was called to order and students of the month were recognized, along with other student achievements for the month of November.
Board President Danny Burns reported that Pat Stevens has been organizing the Giving Tree, which supplies gifts, coats, gloves, hats, etc. for those families in Windham. They are still collecting items and cash for the Giving Tree.
Darryl McGuire reported that Maplewood raised $14,000 at the Christmas in the Woods event. The proceeds from Christmas in the Woods go toward scholarships.
Superintendent Gregg Isler reported that they are working with the teachers on preparing them for the state mandated teacher evaluations. He also said they are working with the computer consortium for their online testing that will be required. The server says its new fiber optic lines can handle the load. They will start testing the system soon to make sure it can handle the volume of usage. Online testing is slated to begin in 2014.
Principal Mike Chaffe reported that they held an Alert, Lockdown, Information, Counter and Evacuation (ALICE) Training for high school students and junior high students recently. ALICE Training teaches one how to respond to a violent intruder. The program was provided by the Portage County Sheriffs Department. Chaffee said they will have a mock drill coming up soon as well. A parent at the meeting questioned the BOE on the use of ALICE training and thought the parents should have been notified of the content of the training. The parents also questioned how the district handled the threat it received recently and why school officials didn’t notify the students and their families. The BOE defended its policies and procedures and said that they could not discuss student’s names and actions in an open session; however, they would address some of the issues in executive session. Board member Danny Burns said he would call the family on Friday for further discussion on the issue after the executive session.
Special Education Director Bob Kujala reported that they had smart boards up and working. They are using the boards for IEP meetings to save paper and ink. He explained that everyone who attends an IEP meeting including, school personnel, and parents receive a copy of the IEP for the meeting. After the meeting is over they collect the papers and shred them leaving a hard copy for the school’s records and a hard copy for the parent’s records. The smart board will save the district paper and ink as they only need a couple hard copies of the reports.
In Maintenance and Transportation, Craig Alderman reported that the floors at Katherine Thomas Elementary will be resurfaced over Christmas break. He also reported that he turned in the specs for a new bus and saw that it was on the agenda. The board voted later in the meeting to purchase a new 2014 model, 71-passenger bus for the district at a cost of $78,750. The new bus will replace a 1996 bus. If the district receives a grant, they could receive $25,000 for the documented disposal of the old bus. The grant is done by a random draw and Windham has already applied for it.
Other BOE actions were approval of a $1000 donation and a flag donated by Boy Scout Troop 63. They also approved five certified substitutes, three non-certified substitutes, along with eight open-enrolled students from other districts. The district now has 46 incoming students under the open enrollment.
The BOE meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at 7pm a cross the hall from the board office.
