Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 6/6/2017 - P42
Special Board of Aldermen Public Hearing Page 42
Mike Gallagher
Special Board of Aldermen Public Hearing Page 42
Mike Gallagher
Special Board of Aldermen Public Hearing Page 41
Paula Johnson
May | ask a board member the same question?
Mayor Donchess
What’s the question?
Paula Johnson
The question is how do we justify - maybe you should have been listening to what I’m saying — how
do we justify no textbooks for students in Algebra | and II, none for Geometry, and none for Spanish II
and III?
Mayor Donchess
All right does any board member have a different answer than the one that Dr. Brown gave if its’ the
same.
Paula Johnson
Special Board of Aldermen Public Hearing Page 40
Superintendent Brown
| would have to get the chart. | don’t have that standing here. | wasn’t prepared to answer that.
Paula Johnson
Then let me ask you another question here differently. | was reading the paper and this will probably
fall into next hope we'll see that 2 teachers were supposedly had moved on to pursue other
opportunities but now we find out that they’re employed and being paid. One is almost $3,000 a
month and on is almost $4,000 a month.
Superintendent Brown
Special Board of Aldermen Public Hearing Page 39
Paula Johnson
So you're going to use all 10.
Superintendent Brown
We're going to have 42 kindergarten teachers. We currently have 32.
Paula Johnson
Special Board of Aldermen Public Hearing Page 38
Superintendent Brown
We do have overage language in a collective bargaining agreement. | don’t believe that has been
exercised for quite a while not since I’ve been here in the last 9 months. | can’t speak to when it was
used before. We are trying to keep our class sizes as Mr. Farrington said at reasonable levels and
we’re hoping to keep all of them below 25 to the extent that we can.
Paula Johnson
What do you define reasonable levels?
Superintendent Brown
Special Board of Aldermen Public Hearing Page 37
Mayor Donchess
Mr. Farrington or Dr. Brown do you want to answer? One thing we should make clear about the
kindergarten, right now there is full day kindergarten in 5 of the 12 elementary schools. So this would
equalize the education offered in all the schools.
Paula Johnson
There’s no such thing as equalization. One person can be always be smarter or less smarter than
the other person. Life is not equal.
Mayor Donchess
Special Board of Aldermen Public Hearing Page 36
George Farrington
I’ve experienced that this evening. Thank you.
Chairman Dowd
Anything else on the school department?
Scott Takewith
Special Board of Aldermen Public Hearing Page 35
Fred Teeboom
Earlier on | made the statement, some could say accusation, that the 20 percent less attendance in
the school today than in the year 2000. When NASDQ did a study in 2008, it was something like 15
percent less and (inaudible) have so many in the school department. Outside of the comfort of their
own little School Board meeting, Superintendent — not you Mr. Mayor, somebody in the school
department tell us why aren’t they closing at least one school?
George Farrington
Special Board of Aldermen Public Hearing Page 34
us different that it was going to cost $550,000. Certainly we should have asked the Renaissance
project to reimburse the City of Nashua for the destruction of the skateboard park on Bridge Street. If
that was measured to be $270,000 that’s what you needed on top of the $150,000 you already had,
fine. Let it be $270,000. If somebody wants to make an assessment of what that skateboard park
was assessed for at that time, it’s a much smaller skateboard park than they’re building now then
Special Board of Aldermen Public Hearing Page 33
skateboard park expenses would be “borne by the project”. That maybe done by discounting the way
that the property is sold or whatever. | don’t think we’ve trued that up yet. When I’ve gone and
looked at the transfer that was done out of contingency, it was with the necessity of moving the
skateboard park before the second phase of the project takes place. So! don’t think we’ve seen the
final chapter on how that’s getting paid for.
Paula Johnson