The Manchester Board of Education, at their January, 18, 2012 meeting, passed a resolution to move school board elections in Manchester to November and to eliminate the vote on the annual school budget provided it is within the state-imposed cap, in accordance with a new state law signed by Governor Christie on January 17. [see full article]
More BOE Highlights
School Board Recognition Month
Superintendent of Schools, David Trethaway, thanked BOE members for their service in observance of School Board Recognition Month. [see related article]
Harassment, Intimidation & Bullying Report
Mr. Trethaway and Kevin Burger, Director of Student and Administrative Services, reviewed the progress of the district's procedures related to the new state Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) regulations. They reported that, district-wide, 66 HIB incidents were investigated through December, with 40 of those incidents determined to be violations of the HIB policy. There were 16 confirmed HIB incidents at the high school, seven at the middle school, five at Ridgeway Elementary, four at MTES, nine at Whiting Elementary and three at Regional Day School.
Mr. Burger, who serves as the district's Anti-Bullying Coordinator, said that the number of incidents may seem large but it shows the schools are doing a good job investigating all perceived incidents of HIB. "I think it says that the district is very serious about this," he said.
The district continues to improve its HIB procedures, said Trethaway, including ongoing training and identifying problem areas. One area identified as an area where multiple incidents occur is on the school bus. To address this, the district is using a recent safety grant of $8,000 to install video cameras on all of the district's large buses that do not yet have them.
Bond Refinancing Saves $
The board also approved two resolutions that would allow the district to begin the process of refinancing bonds issued in 2004 in order to obtain a lower interest rate. Business Administrator, Craig Lorentzen, said the estimates he received indicate that the district could save half a million dollars ($500,000) or more by refinancing.
[See full Agenda] [See BOE President's Report]
