GOFFSTOWN - At least two members of the newly formed Mountain View Middle School study committee have expressed doubts that the group will address the most controversial issues at the school.

“I don't feel like we've confronted, head-on, the negative,” said committee member Elizabeth Dubrulle. “That is the heart of the controversy. If this committee can't deal with it, someone else is going to have to.”

The school administration has come under fire in recent months with complaints about poor teacher morale and alleged intimidation by school administrators toward staff, which some say has negatively affected the professional climate in the school.

Committee member Lori Wamser agreed with Dubrulle, referring to the issue of school leadership as “the elephant in the room.”

At its first committee meeting on July 26, volunteers came up with dozens of questions they want answered concerning Mountain View Middle School, but the issue of school administration, specifcally MVMS Principal Jim Hunt, was not discussed.

School Board member Keith Allard said personnel information cannot be shared for privacy reasons, and the committee will not have access to personnel records.

Instead, the group is being asked to formulate questions about the school, and gather available data to help answer those questions.

The meeting, which was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., was delayed until noon because it was not posted for public review in time, said Allard. State law requires all public meetings to be posted for 24 hours before they are held.

The 26-member committee, made up of school staff, administration and parents from Goffstown, Dunbarton and New Boston, is working on Phase I of a three-phase process.

An educational consultant, expected to be hired by September, will work with staff, students and the community in Phase II to gather any data not collected by the Phase I committee and will analyze all information that is compiled. The third phase of the study will focus on planning and implementation of the consultant's recommendations.

The committee, led by Assistant Superintendents Brian Balke and MaryClaire Barry, was asked to come up with questions in the categories of curriculum, instruction and assessment, leadership and organization, and culture and community.

“This is the chance to ask what you really want to know about this school,” Balke said.

“We assume everyone is going to come to the table with questions,” said Barry.

Questions generated from the group covered a broad range of subjects, including discipline, bullying, morale, academic rigor, the relationship between staff and school administration and professional development for teachers.

The group also wanted to know how teachers are supported; how students are supported when they transition into the school; and school culture, from both a student and teacher perspective.
Communication, public relations and relationships with parents and businesses in the community were also subjects mentioned by the group.

Balke said while the goal is to fix issues at Mountain View, the positive things going on in the building shouldn't be ignored.

“I see so many great things when I'm in this school every week,” he said. “There is much to be proud of and much to celebrate.”

Committee members were able to comment on the process in a debriefing at the end of the meeting.
“I thought it was very well organized in terms of what you were asking us to do,” said Dolly Pauliukonis, staff psychologist for the district.

Committee member Denise Dever asked if there was going to be buy-in from school administration, the superintendent and the School Board.

“I don't know how all of this is going to be implemented,” she said.

Allard confirmed that the School Board supports the study.

“The board does have a feeling about what the problem is here,” Allard said.

The School Board unanimously approved the hiring of a consultant in April, which was initially estimated to cost taxpayers $30,000 to $60,000.

According to SAU 19 Superintendent Stacy Buckley, given the work the committee is doing ahead of time, the cost of the consultant could be lower.

Information pertaining to the committee's work will be posted on the district's website, www.goffstown.k12.nh.us/SAU19/.

The next committee meeting takes place Thursday, Aug. 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

MVMS Study Committee members

Mary Claire Barry – SAU 19 assistant superintendent

Brian Balke – SAU 19 assistant superintendent

Muriel Orcutt – MVMS/GHS teacher

Eileen Mahoney – New Boston parent/GHS teacher

Ken Martin – MVMS teacher

Jenna Burns – MVMS teacher

Andrew Pyszka – MVMS teacher

Barbara French – MVMS special educator

David Armstrong – former MVMS parent

Mary Grassett – MVMS teacher

Amy Cullum – Dunbarton parent

Jane Steckowych – Goffstown parent

Amy Rheault-Heafield – New Boston parent

Elizabeth Dubrulle – Goffstown parent/Budget Committee member

Debra McGeehan – Goffstown parent/paraprofessional at Glen Lake

Kelly Herod – Goffstown parent

Stephanie Jones – Goffstown parent

Dolly Pauliukonis – SAU 19 psychologist

Scott Callander – Goffstown parent

Francis Kent Perry – MVMS paraprofessional

Jen Gillis – MVMS assistant principal

Nicole Doherty – MVMS curriculum coordinator

Lori Wamser – Dunbarton parent

Denise Dever – New Boston parent

Keith Allard – Goffstown School Board member

Maureen Teague – New Boston parent