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UNAPPROVED

STAMFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT

Stamford/Clarksburg Interstate Committee Meeting

held at the

Stamford Elementary School

986 Main Road

Stamford, VT 05352

September 10, 2018

6:30 pm

Members Present:

Stamford – Micah Hayre, Principal; Cynthia Lamore; Katelyn Millard; Kimberly Roberts-Morandi.

Clarksburg – John Franzoni, Superintendent; Tara Barnes, Principal; Patricia Prenguber and Jennifer Stratton.

Visitors: None

Cindy Lamore called the meeting to order at 6:38pm.

The committee reviewed the last meeting to bring everyone up to speed.

Jen Stratton brought in copies of three RFP’s (request for proposal) she found online for the committee to consider. She stated that she could not find a situation that reflected a merger such as ours, but at least similar school sizes.

Pat Prenguber reported on the three firms she and Carl McKinney contacted. MARS (Massachusetts Association of Regional Schools) is affiliated with BRPC (Berkshire Regional Planning Commission). Barbara Ripa spoke with Pat Prenguber but the person she would need to speak with, Steve Hamman was on a cruise. He was scheduled to be back on September 11 and could contact Pat then for further discussion. NESDC (New England School Development Council) told Pat that they had worked with Steve Hamman from MARS before. Pat’s sense is that all of these firms work together or will work together. Inevitably, going with MARS would be advantageous.

John Franzoni said that the grant money has been rolled over and the balance of $20,900.00 is available to us again. John Franzoni also said that Carl McKinney has applied for a grant through the Department of Housing and Economic Development for $30,000.00 and we should have word on that by the first week in October. Together with the $25,000.00 from the State of Vermont, we should be in very good shape to get the RFP done and factor in other legal expenses. Kim Roberts-Morandi will discuss with Rep. Laura Sibilia on the legal guidance that we were told would be available to Stamford when we were at the State House in February. John Franzoni’s office will send our sincere thanks to Sen. Hinds and Rep. Barrett.

Cindy Lamore told the group that she had taken the outline RFP that Kelly Holland had shared by email at the last meeting and filled in the blanks based on discussion from the last meetings. She read through some highlights.

- Contact information and questions should be directed to the Northern Berkshire School Union office

- A note stating the district understands that a Massachusetts/Vermont merger has not been attempted before, but the district is looking for as similar as possible, a configuration of buildings, staff and students with enhanced programs that will provide the best opportunities.

- Dates for RFP distribution, RFP questions and answers, committee review and a contract being issued were put in place, but will need review

The scope of work was explained in three separate proposals:

- A proposal that keeps both buildings functioning with a model of grade configuration, shared services, enhanced educational opportunities, special education opportunities, impact on Clarksburg’s school choice, could transportation be combined under one contract and the impact on each towns’ budgets.

Kim Roberts-Morandi asked to add any impact on teacher contracts.

The second proposal:

- To show each school operating as is and the different areas that sharing services could be applied, such as special education, teachers in art, music, physical education and technology, transportation, bulk buying for supplies and food service.

The third proposal:

- For Clarksburg to stay its course without any change. This proposal is not advantageous to Stamford, as it does not follow the Act 46 guidelines. However, there are committee members that feel it is important to show this aspect to the voters in Clarksburg.

Tara Barnes asked if we knew how many people might bid on this. Kim Roberts-Morandi stated she recently had an RFP sent to four firms and only two of them sent bids.

Kim Roberts-Morandi offered to put the RFP in google.doc for the group to read through and post conversational notes by or before our next meeting. Pat Prenguber asked if we should include advice from Steve Hamman in the RFP. Kim Roberts-Morandi said that she would look into a contact in Maine and will also follow through with Rebecca Holcombe, former Secretary of Education in Vermont and author of the Vermont/New Hampshire interstate compact, to see if she is interested in looking over the RFP. The committee also discussed how to inform the towns and get information to as many people as possible. Tara Barnes thought another brochure or mailing of some type, also information could be sent home with report cards. Town meetings could also be held for reporting updates. It was agreed to wait for the RFP to have more information and answers.

The committee agreed to meet again on September 20, 2018 at 7:00pm at Clarksburg School.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:30pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Cindy Lamore, Chairman

Stamford School Board of Directors

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