Marchese said that R.L. Ruprecht Associates will provide the snowmobile on consignment at the wholesale price of $4,900. The actual retail value of the vehicle is $8,000. Marchese had already done his homework and met with Dover School principal Bill Anton, and he told the board that the raffle tickets will cost $10 each and the only outlay of money will be the cost to print the tickets. “Once we’ve sold 490 tickets to pay for the sled, the rest is profit,” said Marchese.
While board members agreed on the basic concept, they felt it necessary to play devil’s advocate and present several “what-if” scenarios. “Suppose you don’t sell enough tickets to cover the cost of the sled,” asked board member Vicki Capitani. “Who will be in charge of issuing refunds if that becomes necessary?”
School board chairman Rich Werner suggested that if ticket sales are not enough to pay for the snowmobile, then it could be turned into a 50/50 with the winner receiving half of the funds collected and the other half going toward the class trip. Marchese agreed to present that idea to the fundraiser committee.
Having expressed their reservations, the board voted unanimously to approve the raffle. Tickets will go on sale as soon as they’re printed and the winning ticket will be drawn on February 19 at morning sing.
In his principal’s report, Anton said that an action research team has been created to “study the instructional pathway and protocols of the Dover School instructional system.” The team consists of K-3 teachers whose goal is to document successful learning procedures practiced in the school and share them with others in the Windham Central Supervisory Union.
According to Anton, the team will articulate the process by which educators collaborate to reduce the number of students in special education and provide the most efficient classroom instruction for each student. “We’re already doing this,” said Anton, “and our goal is to put our findings in a form that can be used as a model for the district.”
Anton also told the board that the windmill turbine has been repaired and returned and that he will coordinate a time with Werner “when we can bring down the windmill and make the change.”
In his superintendent’s report, WCSU superintendent Steven John discussed the district’s proposed financial budget and presented the board with copies of an article written by John McClaughry along with a letter from Armando Vilaseca, Vermont’s Commissioner of Education, and Jim Reardon, Commissioner of Finance and Management, expressing opposing views on the future of education in Vermont from a financial standpoint.
The letter from Vilaseca and Reardon noted the effect the recession has had on Vermont, citing the high unemployment rate and a reduction in property values resulting in less revenue for education funding. The letter advised school systems to tighten their belts and reduce spending. Among the ideas they plan to present to the Legislature in January are the phasing out of the state’s small schools grant in favor of consolidation, and requiring all licensed education professionals to contribute a percentage to their own health care plans.
In contrast, the article written by McClaughry maintained that “a policy of creating an ever-enlarging system directed from the top down, populated with thousands of teachers, administrators, and bureaucrats controlling the annual expenditure of 1.45 billion taxpayer dollars is a policy headed in a totally wrong direction.”
McClaughry also said that the Commission on Rebalancing Education Cost and Value recommends the creation of charter schools similar to those that operate in several states. “Moving to a competition and choice model,” the report says, “will stimulate a vibrant, dynamic educational marketplace that will help our children acquire the skills they need to flourish in the 21st century.”
Addressing the quality of education in Vermont, board member Laura Sibilia said she thinks it’s exceptional and that she would like to see more media coverage of the “good things” that are happening in our schools. Board members concurred with the idea, as did John, who said he believes more positive attention will boost the morale of both staff and students and let people know “what a good job we’re doing.”
The board agreed to revisit the topic in February.
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