January 30, 2013 BARNSTEAD — The Barnstead School Board met on Tuesday, Jan. 22, and the meeting started with a discussion about parking in the fire lanes at Barnstead Elementary School.
Joyce Parsons voiced concerns about the safety of the building and questioned if the fire lanes were being blocked by parents picking and dropping off students at the school.
Chair Diane Beijer talked about the attempt by the school board to remedy the issue of parking with a warrant article that failed in the past.
A suggestion was made for the police to monitor the parking during the day and to issue tickets, as suggested by vice-chair Eunice Landry.
Principal Tim Rice said that a request to expand the Internet pipeline at BES will be coming soon. Rice said quotes are coming in and that issue needs to be fixed soon because the network is very slow during the day.
The board approved maternity leave for Heather Deluca, Jennifer Miller, Christine Vaillancourt, Gretchen Haddock and Annah Kelley.
Assistant Principal Scott Young gave the board a detailed presentation on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and School Wide Information System (SWIS) data. He showed the school board how referrals have gone this year, with an average of 3.23 referrals a day at BES.
Young also compared the school to other schools in the state. He talked about different surveys that will be going out to students.
Landry asked, "My question is how do we get better?"
Rice reported that current enrollment at BES was 519 students.
Misty Lowe, the Director of Special Education, reported that there are a total of 88 identified students in special education and the numbers are only increasing.
"Not only has the number increased, but the intensity of the need has increased as well," Lowe said about the program.
Lowe stressed that the current staffing levels won't be able to meet the needs of the students in the near future.
"I am very soon not going to be meet the need of the students," Lowe added.
The board reviewed the warrant articles, adding an article to meet for a special meeting if the article regarding an increase in benefits for the teachers at Prospect Mountain High School doesn't pass.
The board discussed updating some outdated policies. A total of 15 policies need to be revised and the board will be addressing these issues at future meetings in the coming months.
The next scheduled meeting of the Barnstead School Board is on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. at the Barnstead Elementary School library.
Tim Croes can be reached at tcroes@salmonpress.com or 569-3126
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