LITCHFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATIONREGULAR MEETING June 14, 2006 |
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A regular meeting of the Litchfield Board of Education was held on Wednesday, June 14, 2006, at 6:30 p.m. in the Center School gym.
Board members present were: Mr. Shuhi, Chairperson; Messrs. Costa, Fairchild, Falcetti, Noone, Simone and Tourtellotte. Mr. Gorman was excused. Mrs. Reardon arrived at 6:55 p.m.
Also present were: Dr. Vita; Mrs. Perusse; Dr. Breslin; Dr. Stuhlman; Mrs. Longobucco; Mrs. MacDonald; Mr. Zaremski; the public and the press.
MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to approve the minutes of the May 24, 2006 meeting with the following correction to include Mr. Tourtellotte as present.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
Public Comment and Correspondence
Jennifer Kalita reported on the Student Council activities at the high school.
Board members received the following correspondence:
Mrs. Harrison expressed her concern for losing Mr. Brookes as the high school Instrumental teacher.
Mr. Murray commented on the 8 early dismissal days planned for next year and the need for instructional time to increase and not decrease. He also complimented Dr. Vita’s contract.
Dr. Vita commented that the 8 early dismissal days include 2 for parent conferences and 6 for professional workshops. With the schedule adjustments for next year the instructional day will be longer than in the past.
Special Presentations
Dr. Breslin introduced and recognized the following students and the awards they received:
Mrs. Reardon arrived at 6:55 p.m.
A brief recess followed for a reception to recognize the LHS student award recipients.
MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to add to the agenda under New Business as “m.” and “n.” to discuss a resignation and a new hire.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
Dr. Vita noted that the Building Committee will meet tomorrow evening to review the technology presentation and discussion.
New Business
MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to approve the payment of invoices and adjustments to line item expenditures as required.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Tourtellotte: to table the discussion and vote regarding Substitute rates for 2006-07 (until the next meeting).
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Noone: to extend the contract of employment with the Superintendent of Schools for one year (July 1, 2008 through June 2009) with compensation and benefits not less that that of the 2007-08 school – contract to be negotiated in Spring 2007.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to authorize the Superintendent to issue salary agreements to all unaffiliated school district employees in accordance with the parameters of the Board.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Falcetti and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to authorize the Superintendent to submit all state and federal grant applications (Consolidated grants, IDEA, Adult Education, Titles I, II, IV, V, Perkins, Technology, BESB, Special Education Excess Cost, Transportation, E-rate, etc.) as necessary to meet required submission dates.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to accept with regret the resignation of Nancy Basti (Guidance Counselor) effective June 30, 2006.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Tourtellotte: to accept with regret the resignation of Stephanie Dunn (Special Education Teacher-PK) effective June 30, 2006.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
Dr. Vita commented that with the resignation of the guidance counselor at Center School a review of staffing was done. It was determined that by hiring a school psychologist to replace the guidance counselor the students will get the same service including added testing services. Donna Begley will cover K-6 and the psychologist will pick up some of her intervention duties.
MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to authorize the establishment of 1.0 FTE School Psychologist position to replace 1.0 FTE Guidance Counselor position due to resignation.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mrs. Reardon: to authorize the Superintendent to accept and act upon all resignations and to recruit and appoint certified and non-certified staff as necessary through September 2006.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Noone: to authorize the superintendent to implement the recommendation of the Personnel/Policy and Finance/Facilities Committees regarding positions and assignments to meet the instructional and organizational
needs of the school district for the 2006-07 school year within the authorized 2006-07 budget.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to establish the tuition rate for non-resident students to attend the Litchfield Public Schools for 2006-07 at $4,200 for Kindergarten, $8,300 for grades 1-6 and $9,600 for grades 7-12.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to add to the agenda as item “o.” a discussion on disbursement of assets.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Noone: to accept the resignation of Stephen Brookes with regret.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to approve Shennen Flannery as an English teacher at the high school at BA step 2.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Tourtellotte: to authorize the administration to dispose of unusable and excess equipment and “vintage” furniture, which is no longer needed in the schools.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
Old Business
MOTION made by Mr. Falcetti and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to authorize the purchase of the financial software package as recommended by the administration based upon the Request For Proposals opened on May 30, 2006.
Mrs. Perusse reviewed the memorandum regarding the financial software and outlined the process that was involved in choosing Unifund/Budget Sense (BudgetSense) for a total cost proposal of $67,927. The recommendation will be sent to the Board of Selectmen.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Tourtellotte: to restrict access to all school facilities when a custodian is not on duty for safety and security reasons.
Board members discussed the following: result of the Facilities/Finance Committee meeting; alarm system; summer issues; need to preserve the facility; activity needs a custodian; and special arrangements can be make by teachers.
MOTION amended by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Tourtellotte: to include, “custodian or administrator.”
AMENDMENT carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Vita reported on the following:
Administrative Reports
Mrs. MacDonald reported on the following at the high school: scheduling status; room assignments; class sizes; girl’s softball made class S semi finals; transition update; 5 point plan included in the process; parent feedback forthcoming; senior class this evening; 7th grade class trip to Lake Compounce on Friday; 8th grade moving up on Friday evening with dance following it; 8th grade class trip to Holiday Hill on Monday; exams on the 20th and 21st; last day of school is Thursday the 22nd; graduation will be that evening at the Warner Theater.
Dr. Stuhlman reported on the following at the Intermediate School: moving up for the 6th graders next Wednesday at Wamogo auditorium; field days were held on dry days; read out was held inside; choral and band concerts were very impressive; Bronx Zoo trip this Friday; and packing completed by the 23rd.
Mrs. Longobucco reported on the following at Center School: Flag Day celebrated today; interviews taking place for the many openings; Kindergarten trip to Stop & Shop to purchase healthy food; moving up for 4th grade on Monday at 2:00 p.m. and for the 4 year olds on Friday at 2:15 p.m.; field day will be held on Tuesday at Community Field; town meeting held on the last day of school where reading, writing and math packets are handed out; and if completed students get a position on the Center School Hall of Fame in the fall.
Mrs. Longobucco reported on the following technology: moving according to deadlines; deadlines moving up a week; presentation tomorrow evening to the Building Committee; and David Flynn (NEASC) will have to reschedule his recognition for Center School.
Mr. Zaremski reported on the following: 4 youngsters with disabilities will be graduating this June and deserve credit for all their efforts. Congratulations to all graduates and especially these four.
Mrs. Perusse reported on the following: auditor arriving tomorrow to begin year-end activities; boxes are being ordered for moving purposes; help will be hired to move things; no summer help from students will be required; O & G sensitive to our needs; sidewalks paved; site is off limits and high school gym roof has a new surface; projected end of year budget status is really close but it will be in the black.
Committee ReportsFinance and Facilities Committee
Mr. Noone reported that the committee met June 6th with the Personnel and Policy Committee to discuss the Center School roof progress and the bus lot update.
Dr. Vita reported that the Finance and Facilities Committee should meet to discuss carpeting at Center School, the roofing project and the bidding process.
MOTION made by Mr. Falcetti and seconded by Mr. Tourtellotte: to move to Executive Session at 8:35 p.m. to discuss matters of pupil personnel/security.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
Executive Session
Present were all the above Board members and Dr. Vita.
Open session resumed at 10:20 p.m.
No action was taken.
MOTION made by F. Simone and seconded by R. Tourtellotte: to adjourn the meeting at 10:22 p.m.
MOTION carried. All votes are in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
Respectfully submitted, Donald Falcetti, Secretary Joanne Bertrand, Recording Secretary
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