Meeting Highlights: Monday March 27, 2017
Board Business. Co-chair of the Board Policy Committee Kim Macaulay guided the Board and the public in attendance in an extensive and lengthy first reading of some 15 Board Bylaws, Policies, and Regulations that require changes, modifications, and/or introduction for 2017. As for the Bylaws, Policies, and Regulations passed on February 27, a large majority of these new Bylaws, Policies, and Regulations are required by state legislative mandates. The topics read at the March 27 meeting are largely devoted to special education matters.
The Bylaws, Policies, and Regulations are posted on the Board website: www.hardingtwp.org.
A second reading and passage will occur at the April 24 meeting.
Superintendent Report. Superintendent Matt Spelker reported that his next articulation meeting with the Madison school interim superintendent would be on March 30.
Superintendent Spelker reported that the Harding Middle School play was hugely successful.
The Superintendent also reported that the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career) exams for 7th and 8th grades began on April 27.
The public hearing on the Harding school budget will occur at the regular Board session on April 24. Budget materials as presented at prior Board meetings are contained on the Board website.
Facilities and Finance. The Board approved unanimously the partial March 2017 bill list in the amount of $845,361.89.
The Board approved the summer use of the school facilities for a Next Gen STEM Camp. The Camp will utilize Middle School classrooms and outdoor spaces for five weeks: two week periods on July 10-21 or August 14-25 and a one-week period on July 31-August 4. The two, two-week periods will be for entering 6, 7, 8 grades. The one-week interval will be for a junior Camp (entering 3, 4, 5 grades). The cost will be $400/week.
Material presented to the public at the Board meeting indicated that the hands-on, project-related Camp activities will cover both physical and biological sciences, such as water rockets, coding A-Z for beginners, 3-D printing concepts, growing fast plants, 3-D printed prosthetic hand construction, and CAD and mechanical drafting.
(Note: the purpose of this brief report is to help Harding residents connect with the School by highlighting significant items addressed by the Board and are not “meeting minutes”. Those are filed by the Board Secretary and placed on the Harding School website for all to view, generally about a month after the meeting date.)