OSSU School Board Officers
Angelo Odato Randolph Union High School, Chair
Laura Soares Randolph Union High School, Vice Chair
Ann Howard, Braintree, Clerk
Joe Bent, Braintree
Kristin Husher, Brookfield
Lisa Jacobs, Braintree
Scott Lewins Randolph Union High School
Jim Merriam, Brookfield
Laura Rochat, Brookfield
Brooke Dingledine, Randolph Elementary School
Anne Kaplan, Randolph Elementary School
Jenn Messier, Randolph Elementary School
OSSU BOARD GOALS FOR 2011-2012
- Global Ends 1.0:
- In collaboration with the Superintendent, the Board will finalize Ends indicators and the Superintendent will begin the reporting process.
- Board Governance 4.1.4: Orientation of new members …
- The Board will strengthen board orientation and board chair training
- Board Governance 4.2.1: Create and maintain the linkage between the ownership and the operational organization …
- Act 153 REDs: The Board will establish a process to bring this issue to the voters of the districts.
- Board Governance 4.2.2: Create and maintain governing polices …
- The Board will begin a cycle of reviewing Board Management and Governance Process policies. Similar to EL report monitoring, members will review one or two policies and report to the board. The intent is to review each policy every two to three years.
- Board Governance 4.0: Global governance commitment
- Consolidate board meeting
- In coordination with the Superintendent, the Board will look at further district efficiencies through governance.
Click here for board Annual Agenda Plan
OSSU Board Self- Assessment
At the beginning of the year the OSSU board established four goals:
- Establish Ends indicators and finalize Ends monitoring process
- Continuing review of Executive Limitation monitoring reports
- Strengthen the board Governing Process
- Increase community involvement with the schools and with student learning
The OSSU board had a productive year and made significant gains on these goals. We, also, responded to several initiatives from the legislature.
- Establish Ends indicators and finalize Ends monitoring process
- 7 th Grade Challenge survey was conducted.
- The board took a step back and re-worked the ends policy.
- Amended Ends were approved at the Jan. meeting.
- The administration has been developing Ends indicators and B Kay has made presentations to the board.
- The board continued to monitor information from VSAC, UVM and VTC.
Next steps: Finalize Ends indicators and begin monitoring
- Continuing review of Executive Limitation monitoring reports
- The board has been reviewing reports as scheduled. A procedure was developed where board members were designated to take responsibility for a thorough review of EL reports.
Next steps: Continue with established procedures for EL report reviews.
- Strengthen the board’s governing process
- B Kay, L Soares and A Odato have participated in PG training.
- The board has begun a process to evaluate meetings. At each meeting, one board member studies the meeting process and reports to the board at the end of the meeting.
- The board oriented and integrated two new board members.
Next steps:
- Improve board orientation and board chair training.
- Send more board members to PG training.
- Begin monitoring to Board Management and Governance Process policies
- Increase community involvement with the schools and with student learning
- Brookfield hosted Commissioner Vilaseca on 10-12-10. Approximately 50 people were in attendance and the Commissioner answered question for almost two hours.
- RUHS had planned an open house to show its new media center. However, the project has been delayed and will not be completed until spring at the earliest. The open house is still planned after completion.
- A monthly email is distributed listing possible direct inspection activities.
Next steps: Community engagement is difficult and more efforts need to be made in this area.
- Regional Education District planning
- School district consolidation (part of Act 153) allows the establishment of Regional Education Districts (REDs) and requires Supervisory Union boards to have conversations about their formation. In theory, these REDs would be more efficient both financially and educationally. The legislation provides tax incentives (several cents on the tax rate for four years), consulting fees, and some protections for smaller districts. REDS can only be formed by a positive vote of the citizens in each impacted town.
- A sub-committee was formed to look at the possible benefits and concerns surrounding merger. This sub-committee submitted its report at the Feb. meeting. The sub-committee will submit its recommendation at the March meeting.
- At Town Meeting board members presented general information about Act 153, the work the Board had done to date and the steps the Board will take in the future.
Next steps:
- Respond to the sub-committee report and follow through on those decisions.
- Submit necessary report/responses to the state.
- Challenge for Change
- Challenges for Change legislation (Act 146) required $23M be cut from the Education budget statewide. The OSSU was asked to reduce our combined budgets by 1.78%.
- The board asked administration to come as close to the request as possible without compromising student learning. The result was a 0.58% reduction ($102,513) in total spending from the prior year. While this is lower than requested, the boards feel that the OSSU has made many of the necessary reductions over the past decade and that the 2011-12 budgets are responsible ones.
- The federal government has given VT $19M to apply to education funding to save jobs. Gov. Shumlin is directing the legislature to use these funds to cover most of Challenge for Change reduction and ask school board to meet the targets in two years.
- RUHS and RTCC budget were overwhelmingly approved in February. Elementary school budgets passed easily on Town Meeting Day.
Next steps: Again this year, the Board will attempt to meet the DOE’s request for further cost reductions without compromising student learning.
- Advocating for education
- The board participated in the public forum on Education conducted through GMFC. The Governor and the Chairs of the House and Senate Ed. Committees were invited to speak. Representatives and Senators from all districts were invited to attend. Several issues were discussed and all participants agreed to stay in touch with each other through the legislative process.
- The board again met with our legislative representatives to discuss possible education legislation.
- The board had members attend both the regional and state school board meetings.
- Monthly, while the legislature is in session, the board is updated on possible legislation. Several board members have been in contact with representatives on various education issues.
Next steps: Continued communication with representatives and attention to legislation.
- Teacher contract negotiations
- Negotiations for a new teacher contract began this winter. In mid-January, the negotiating teams realized that they were not able to settle on several issues and agreed to go to fact-finding.
Next steps: Reach an amicable settlement in the spring.