ColchesterBoard of Education

Personnel Committee Meeting

Minutes

Date: Thursday, October 20, 2011

Time: 7:30 AM

Location:Colchester Board of Education

Conference Room

Members Present: Chairman Ron Goldstein, Don Kennedy, John Reever

Members Absent:None

Administration Present: Karen A. Loiselle, Superintendent of Schools

Others Present:Jan Shorts, Personnel Secretary

  1. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Committee Chair Ron Goldstein at 7:34 AM.

  1. Citizens’ Comments

None

  1. Approval of Minutes

Motion by:Don Kennedy

To approve the June 20, 2011 minutes of the Personnel Committee meeting.

Seconded by:Ron Goldstein

Abstain: John Reever

Vote: Unanimous

  1. Contract Negotiation Scheduling

Supt. Loiselle gave some background on the schedule that was handed out. The committee will be thinking about the approach they want to take with the three unions whose contracts are up for negotiation – School Nurses, Central Office and Paraprofessionals. Supt. Loiselle expressed her desire to start soon with one of the groups because the closer the expiration deadline gets the more challenging negotiations become. The committee determined that the goal would be to begin the first one early winter, the second one late winter and the final one in the spring. Mrs. Shorts will update the union comparison chart and will also request the DRG and Two Tier comparative data from the attorney’s office.

  1. Job Description – Secretary to the Superintendent

Supt. Loiselle shared with the committee that we didn’t have an accurate job description for this position. With the assistance of the CASBO listserv, we asked members for their job descriptions for this same position. Once we received them, they were reviewed and Supt. Loiselle made some modifications and a preliminary draft was developed. Supt. Loiselle shared the description with Ms. Ingves, the Secretary to the Superintendent, and asked for her input as well. In reviewing the draft, Mr. Reaver suggested that we add the physical requirements (bending, stretching, reaching, etc.) to the position. The revisions will be added and the job description will be brought to the full board at the next meeting.

  1. Time and Attendance Update

Mrs. Shorts informed the Board that CFO Cosgrove has enlisted the assistance of Blum Shapiro to give us a proposal for the cost for them to assist us in researching and implementing a system.

  1. Personal Leave Analysis

The chart that was handed out shows overall improvement in employee use of Personal Leave. The numbers for the most part have declined with the average being 2.3 days per employee.

  1. Pre-employment Requirements

Supt. Loiselle talked about the district requiring potential new hires in custodial positions to have a pre-employment physical before they are officially hired. We currently use Concentra Medical Facility. At Concentra the prospective employee goes through a history and physical. They are also required to complete a series of physical tasks that are relevant to the position. We do not currently perform any type of drug screen. The committee indicated a desire to continue with the current practice.

  1. ELL Program Needs

Supt. Loiselle received information from Director of Curriculum, Barbara Gilbert that ELL students are doing well on the English Language Assessment but their state test results indicate a need for more support. We just recently hired a new ELL teacher due to the resignation over the summer of the previous teacher. Ms. Gilbert will be requesting an additional part time tutor for 2012-2013.

  1. Bacon Academy Drama Club Program Needs

Supt. Loiselle spoke of the importance of this club at this level. She asked that the committee approve Principal Mathieu’s request to provide a second advisor stipend of $1700.10 for the drama program. Chairman Goldstein just wants to make sure the advisors know about the dates that the Community Theatre is putting on their production so there is no conflict.

  1. Personnel Secretary Position

Supt. Loiselle indicated that she will be presenting to the budget committee a need to upgrade the personnel secretary position to that of a coordinator. The current personnel secretary is responsible for managing the personnel files and personnel needs for 748 school system employees. The individual will soon be completing a certificate program in Human Resources from Post University.

  1. Health Insurance Waiver

We currently offer a waiver to employees who do not take health insurance coverage with us. Previously children could only be covered by their parent (employee)until age 25 but with the new law children can be covered until age 26. It was determined that we would also continue offering the employee the waiver for their eligible children up to age 26 in accordance with contractual provisions and our attorney’s recommendation.

  1. Personnel Needs for 2012-2013

The committee talked about prioritizing the needs of the district and programs that are mandated. Chairman Goldstein spoke about having a budget subcommittee meeting with just the building principals. Don Kennedy suggested that a special meeting be held on Wednesday, November 2nd at 7:30 AM for this purpose.

  1. Adjournment

Motion by:Ron Goldstein

To adjourn meeting.

Seconded by:John Reever

Vote: Unanimous

Chairman Goldstein adjourned the meeting at8:58AM.

Respectfully submitted,

Jan Shorts

Personnel Secretary