Last week’s School Board meeting offered some closure on a few topics, and advertising some new events for parents.
Member Steve Young told the board about the retirement of Londonderry High School history teacher, John Vaughn. He expounded on Vaughn’s ability to encourage civic engagement through campaign involvement, and how Vaughn could teach politics without his students knowing his own political stance.
“John is known for his excellent manner in which he encourages students to become excited, not just for learning history, but more importantly learning from history,” said Young.
Vaughn was also known for his work as a coach. He helped young athletes develop and hone their skills on the softball, volleyball and baseball teams he coached.
“John is the consummate educator, the kind of teacher every student should have the honor of experiencing,” said Young.
Teacher Liaison, Mary Wing Soares reported to the board that South School will be having a “Social Media Safety Workshop” for parents. It will be held on Nov. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the South School.
School Resource Officer Adam Lane arranged for the informational event for parents of fifth graders. Soares explained that some of the material being presented may not be suitable for children, so Officer Lane is asking that all kids stay at home. If that is not an option, the LHS Pay-It-Forward Club will be on hand to provide free babysitting during the event.
There was a vote to accept the second reading of the new Food Services Management proposal during the meeting. No changes were introduced since the last reading, so the board moved on.
Vicechair Jenn Ganem reminded everyone that the next C3 meeting will not be until January. It will be held at the high school library on Jan. 10 at 4 p.m. The topics under discussion will be “The over-scheduled child,” and “Students of trauma.”
Speaking of trauma, the sting of last meeting’s bombshell about the need for more space at the Moose Hill School could still be felt during the board’s discussion of what it should do to accommodate six new students into its Friends Program, which is geared towards 3 to 5-year olds diagnosed with Autism. The board eventually voted for a new 8 x 40 foot trailer that will house the “Tiger Room,” which currently offers small group and individual instruction to special need students, as well as a spot for traditional students to follow parts of the their behavior plans.
The trailer would cost $11,500 to install and would be in place from December to next July.
“That was something that needed to be done,” said Chairman Dan Lekas.
Another thing that may need to be done is providing an alternative space for the employees of the school district building. Building and Grounds Director Chuck Zappala said the building’s HVAC system was not sufficiently dealing with the carbon dioxide and mold issues and that was making people sick. He said the 35-year old system was built to handle 14 people, not the 24 that are in there today.
Superintendent Scott Laliberte said leasing an off-site space would be the best short-term solution, especially with the district needed to fork over money to deal with Moose Hill’s over enrollment.
The district will be presenting its 2018-2019 budget to the board at the next meeting on Nov. 21. Three budget meetings are scheduled on Dec. 7, 14 and 21 at the town offices.