Jamestown Daily Record New Media Reporting

School Committee Meeting
March 4, 2010

                    Agenda Summary with Video Links

Pledge of Allegiance
Call to Order
Roll Call
1.0 Public Forum
2.0 Presentation by Paul Morse, Board Member of the Green Charter School (Link to The Green School website)
(Charter Schools are public schools, open to all eligible students statewide and are tuition-free. They provide an alternative education opportunity from traditional public school systems. Enrollment is limited in size therefore in some cases, not all students wishing to attend can be accepted.)

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3.0 Workshop Topics
3.1 Health and Wellness Committee Membership
3.2 Update: School Bus Parking
(The School Department has been trying to find a new location to park the buses that are now managed under a statewide program . By providing a local parking site for the buses Jamestown's costs will be reduced.)

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3.3 Report on NECAP Scores
( State testing in Rhode Island has changed in response to the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). To meet these requirements, Rhode Island partnered with Vermont and New Hampshire to develop Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) and to design the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP). One of the most important goals of this partnership was to make these assessments instructionally relevant by providing information to school administrators, teachers, and parents to help them make informed decisions about student instructional needs.)
     (State NECAP website)
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3.4 Policy: Cap on Unreserved Funds
( The School Budget carries an account titled Un-reserved Fund similar to the Town Budget. The fund is typically used as a "cushion" should unexpected expenses occur throughout the budget cycle. The fund balance is mostly supported by excess revenue from the previous budgets. There is an ongoing discussion regarding how large this fund should become in relation to the Annual budget before passing the excess back to the Town to reduce the overall tax burden.)


	School Committee Meeting March 4, 2010 Agenda Summary with Video Links Pledge of Allegiance Call to Order Roll Call 1.0 Public Forum 2.0 Presentation by Paul Morse, Board Member of the Green Charter School (Link to The Green School website) (Charter Schools are public schools, open to all eligible students statewide and are tuition-free. They provide an alternative education opportunity from traditional public school systems. Enrollment is limited in size therefore in some cases, not all students wishing to attend can be accepted.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.0 Workshop Topics 3.1 Health and Wellness Committee Membership 3.2 Update: School Bus Parking (The School Department has been trying to find a new location to park the buses that are now managed under a statewide program . By providing a local parking site for the buses Jamestown's costs will be reduced.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.3 Report on NECAP Scores ( State testing in Rhode Island has changed in response to the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). To meet these requirements, Rhode Island partnered with Vermont and New Hampshire to develop Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) and to design the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP). One of the most important goals of this partnership was to make these assessments instructionally relevant by providing information to school administrators, teachers, and parents to help them make informed decisions about student instructional needs.) (State NECAP website) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.4 Policy: Cap on Unreserved Funds ( The School Budget carries an account titled Un-reserved Fund similar to the Town Budget. The fund is typically used as a "cushion" should unexpected expenses occur throughout the budget cycle. The fund balance is mostly supported by excess revenue from the previous budgets. There is an ongoing discussion regarding how large this fund should become in relation to the Annual budget before passing the excess back to the Town to reduce the overall tax burden.)