by Annie Collyer for the Newton-Kingston Taxpayers Association (NKTA)
The Sanborn Regional School District School Board met on Wednesday, September 20, to define the annual goals for the School Board (SB), while welcoming Kingston Resident Larry Heath as a new member of the Board.
The annual goals are normally set in May of each year, but this Spring was consumed with hiring key new members of the District Administrative Leadership Team. Even while completing this task, the SB began implementing goals spoken but not yet formalized. One is a thorough review of the SB policies. The SB has the responsibility for setting the policies and goals for the Superintendent to implement in managing the District. The SB has hired a consultant from the NH SBA to ensure that all SB policies are compliant with RSA’s, and Pam Brown and the Policy Sub-Committee has been incorporating the most recent laws.
A second goal is to define Student Success. Superintendent Tom Ambrose noted that the long-term stated goal of Sanborn being in the top 10% of schools in New Hampshire has no way to be measured without definition. If you look at test scores, Sanborn falls short, while if you look at the number of kids graduating with college credits and trade certifications, Sanborn is very high-ranking, he said. Mr. Ambrose is already at work meeting with teachers to help come up with a definition of Student Success.
Jim Baker of Newton introduced two other possible goals for consideration. One is a Financial goal, of being proactive in evaluating the costs and benefits to students and community in its budget work. Mr. Ambrose asked that discussion be deferred until Business Administrator Michele Croteau will be present, while Pete Broderick, Chairman, suggested that the goal is a possible redundancy in that the SB is charged with this financial goal in the RSA’s. Mr. Baker felt it was important to affirm as a goal, since too often setting the budget has been left to the Administration in many Districts in the state, rather than done by the SB as required by law.
A fourth goal proposed by Baker was implemented, for a Facilities Advisory Commission, to be comprised of Facility Sub-Committee members, residents of Newton and of Kingston, and the Superintendent and Business Administrator. The purpose will be to study the short- and long-term facilities needs of the District and how to fund them. Mr. Baker pointed out that the $9.5 Million Capital Improvement Plan put together with advice of an architectural firm and adopted by the SB last year has no funding plan, yet there is deferred maintenance on District assets.
Both a video and the minutes of the SB meeting are posted at SAU17.org. NKTA provides a summary of some of the issues discussed for the edification of the residents.
Newton-Kingston Taxpayers Association Website: http://www.nkta.vpweb.com