LITCHFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATIONREGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 27, 2006 |
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A regular meeting of the Litchfield Board of Education was held on Wednesday, September 27, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. in the Center School library.
Board members present were: Mr. Shuhi, Chairperson; Mrs. Reardon; Messrs. Costa, Fairchild, Falcetti, Noone, Simone and Tourtellotte. Mr. Gorman was excused.
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. Falcetti and seconded by Mr. Tourtellotte: approve the minutes of the September 12, 2006 meeting as submitted with the following correction on page 2522, delete the Negotiations statement near the end of the document.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. Mrs. Reardon and Mr. Costa abstained.
Public Comment and Correspondence
Betsey Fabbri reported on STPC including the following: candle sale going on now; coordinating efforts with the desktop publishing classes for a yearbook design; and future plans for parent academy.
Mark Donne reported on the Student Council activities at the high school.
Mr. Shuhi read a letter from the Litchfield Park and Recreation Department requesting consideration of the custodian fees when using the facilities for their basketball program.
Board consensus was to put this discussion on the agenda and try to find out the number of sessions and likely costs involved and to have this information for the discussion.
Ed Fabbri, Park and Recreation commission member, commented that the Park and Recreation programs reach many in the community and is limited in its budget so the extra fees will affect many who participate.
Winnie Harrison commented on the status of the building project including timing; ceilings; parking issues; cutting trees; and possible participation in the joint meeting that is planned.
The joint meeting will be held on October 11th before the regular Board meeting.
Mike Murray commented on the following: Tony Crowe a good hire; minutes from Sept. 9, 2003; negotiations committee appointments; community participation; Board of Finance participation; private meeting; issue of non union members to negotiations committee; and 6 out of 9 members are union members.
Angela Penney commented on the facilities use fee and if we have one. Issues of weekends and evenings and liability were also discussed.
Special Presentation
David Flynn from NEASC presented Mrs. Longobucco a certificate for all she has done over the three, ten year NEASC processes in which she has participated.
Mrs. Longobucco thanked the faculty and staff for carrying the process through completely.
Lori Shuhi, K-6 Math Coordinator, distributed copies of the K-6 Math Curriculum and presented an overview of the math program including: parent presentation tomorrow evening; Connecticut frameworks; big ideas; trace maps; standards; suggested assessments; suggested strategies/activities; dates of document; meet the needs of IEP through enrichment students; tools in classrooms; need for differentiation; need for primary source; Connecticut recommended primary sources; curriculum is foundation; supplementary sources; math activities; company presentation on primary sources; and need to look further.
Patti O’Neil, 7 – 12 Math Coordinator presented an overview of the math program including: cohesive K-12; previously disjointed; advantages to common planning time; developing missions or charges; understand content; ability to compute math; math like a third language; repertoire of strategies to solve problems; knowledge in and out of the classroom; curriculum focus, cohesive document; assessment and benchmarks; influence of technology; and advantages of K-12 whole unit.
Board members discussed the following: state’s recommended sources; scope and sequence not placed in the book; need to go through the same process in other curriculum areas; central core of competencies; need to be as rigorous as can be; evolving process; need to get fundamentals; inquiry approach; application to situations; and dramatic upgrade of educational expressions.
New Business
MOTION made by Mr. Falcetti 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 approve out-of-state field trips first half of the year 2006-2007 as presented.
Board members discussed the following: number of participants for some trips; students who don’t have this type of experiences really need it; costs for D.C. trip; fundraising efforts; and great trip for mixed group of students.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
Dr. Vita reported on the Vo-Ag program at Wamogo including the following: need for admissions process to be earlier in the year in order to budget the tuition costs; 20 students this year; Wamogo has 25 students; need to make available to our students but not necessary to fund all programs; Wamogo asking to pay by November 1st with no refund if the student drops out; personnel issues at Wamogo; possible replacement for student who leaves the program; possibly broker seat from another district; whole range of adjustments; and need to know well in advance to budget accurately.
Board members discussed the following: numbers that withdraw; student interest in Vo-Ag program; changes in program are appealing to a lot of students; no more stigma of being enrolled at Wamogo; need for alternative classes at LHS; non-traditional program structures; Vo-Ag has tuition Tech schools do not; Vo-Ag costs are heavy; no cap should be put on student attendance; and need to be updated on the process and its affect on the budget.
Old Business
Dr. Vita reported on meeting with the STPC and PTO seeking parent input on the “Code of Conduct.” A November 14th special Board meeting is scheduled at Center School in the gym to solicit parent input.
Board members discussed the following: possible moderator; need for parent feedback; possible survey on line for parents to express themselves ahead of time; way to collect data; need to participate in person for greater understanding; compelling arguments; all people won’t be happy but will appreciate the Board’s efforts; and possible moderators are Bob Petricone and/or Cleve Fuessenich.
Dr Vita presented the status and issues related to the school construction project including: joint meeting to be held on October 11th with the building committee; list of talking points to share with them; school design meetings occur weekly; talk about refinement to design and concerns in the project process; moving into the middle school wing; and gearing up for taking over areas.
Board members discussed the following: electrical and phone done during the same weekend; stage status; cleaning routine; resealing cement floors regularly; status of roofers; night crew status; punch list vs. design meetings; work in progress; and conflict in running the school and building the school.
Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Vita reported on the following:
Board members discussed the following: possible temporary trailer to be used as an office space; cost of $5,000; need for town to update the pump house; need for transfer of funds; money in the capital funds; outstanding issue of fence; fence not in the budget; and town responsibility in completing the facility.
Administrative Reports
Dr. Breslin reported on the following at the high school: college application process; career education; move to the new wing; great science labs; kids taking all quite well; issues with schedule; and common planning time is important.
Dr. Stuhlman reported on the following at the Intermediate School: floors waxed; hallways brighter; heater unit ventilators being installed; mile run coming up; Lisa Heuschkel’s peer mediator seniors are working with 6th graders; and she is stepping up to help out since we don’t have a guidance person.
Mr. Zaremski reported on the following: thanks to Mrs. Smith and the Litchfield High School staff for their efforts in covering the high school students’ needs until a new person was hired; and for the first time grades 4, 5 and 6 students with disabilities will exceed 40 and therefore, the state will be providing the district with additional information regarding the CMTs.
Mrs. Perusse reported on the following: working on compilation of consolidated grant; FF&E for both buildings; Unifund Financial Software; technology details; orientation for school secretaries; eliminate a lot of duplicate work; budget calendar developed; wonderful group of custodial staff; and compliments from the contractors regarding the cooperative custodians.
Committee ReportsCurriculum and Technology Committee
Mr. Costa reported on the following: committee met Monday; discussion of reduction of graduation requirements; follow timeline proposed by Dr. Breslin and Dr. Vita; technology allocation put in FF&E; math night tomorrow evening; and discussion of NEASC update.
Finance and Facilities Committee
Mr. Noone reported on the following: schedule for budget process done; begin late October; future meeting with the new public works director and Tony Crowe; Center School roof out to bid; insurance risk management inspector to look at the kitchen; and possible use of the inspector for different things since there is no charge for the service.
Policy and Personnel Committee
Mr. Fairchild reported that the next meeting will be held on November 14th to discuss the Code of Conduct issues.
Other
Dr. Vita reminded the Board of the CABE Symposium on 21st Century learning on October 23rd. There will be an additional meeting in November.
MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 p.m.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
Respectfully submitted Donald Falcetti, Secretary Joanne Bertrand, Recoding Secretary
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