A regular meeting of the Litchfield Board of Education was held on Wednesday, November 15, 2006, at the Center School library. 

 

            Board members present were: Mr. Shuhi, Chairperson; Mrs. Reardon; Messrs. Costa, Fairchild, Falcetti, Gorman, and Simone. Mr. Tourtellotte arrived at 7:15 p.m. and Mr. Noone arrived at 7:35 p.m.. 

 

            Also present were: Dr. Vita; Mrs. Perusse; 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 special meeting of November 1, 2006 meeting as submitted with the following correction on page 2532 Matt Donne should be Mark Donne.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Simone: to add to the agenda as V e. a discussion of approving and submitting the FFE application related to the building project and to submit this to the state department.

 

                                    MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions. 

 

Public Comment and Correspondence

 

            Mr. Shuhi thanked the PTO, STPC and all involved in the code of conduct hearing last night. 

 

            A letter was received from Mr. and Mrs. Wilson concerning the all day Kindergarten discussion and plans for the future. 

 

            Dr. Vita introduced Bill Burgess who will be presenting a new proposal for a farmers market in Litchfield in collaboration with Litchfield Education Foundation, Litchfield Economic Development Committee and others to combine an agricultural community with the educational community.  The Board needs to be kept in the loop since it will involve our food service from Education Connection and the lunch program. 

 

Board members received copies of the following:

·         Agriculture Viability Grants

·         Proposal School Food Service “Demonstration Project”

·         Mission: Litchfield Hills Food System

·         “Process for Change”-School Food Service

·         School Food Service-Concept Statement

·         Sustainable Food System, LLC

·         Helping Students Learn to Eat Healthy

·         Letter from William Davenport, Director Ellis Clark Regional Agriscience and Technology Program

·         Litchfield Hills Food Systems, LLC

·         Why Roots Mean More from the NYT 11/15/06

·         Letter from State Senator Andrew Roraback

·         Litchfield Hills Food System-Food Service Project Briefing

 

Bill Burgess reviewed the packets of information including: town sponsored event; matching grant from the state; involvement of education community; match up with Education Connection; timing; project at LHS; juniors and seniors become mentors to elementary students; change in school food service; learn connection from seed to table; products from local geography; Dean Birdsall, LHS science teacher, wrote the goal; proposal; recommendations; demonstration project; target Center School, more trainable; ground breaking and innovative; and support from Senator Roraback.

 

            Board members discussed the following: outstanding project; outlined the process of a farmers market; launched the same week as CJR open house; need for Board’s openness for the school system; and need for funding in order to participate.

 

            Mr. Murray commented on the following: community conversation went well; good meeting last night; two different perspectives heard; possible science teacher for the lower grades is good idea; possible needs for social worker and psychologist positions; minutes regarding negotiations meeting; no negotiations at this time; involvement of Board of Finance, Board of Selectmen and community member; thanks for SSP; suggest publishing salaries since they are public record; and informed people will be better able to vote on the budget.

 

            Dr. Vita noted that negotiation liaisons have been identified and pre-negotiations meetings have taken place and they are not public meetings. 

 

Special Presentation

 

            Dr. Vita noted that this is the first time the Board has had a presentation on all day Kindergarten for their consideration.

 

            Mrs. Longobucco presented an overview of the proposal for an all day Kindergarten Program for 2007-08 including: history of the previous full-day Kindergarten program loss; research supports the value of full-day Kindergarten; what does a full day Kindergarten look like; sample day; advantages of full day Kindergarten; recommendation/proposal; differences between previous program and proposed program; what do we do next; and starting point to talk.

 

            Board members discussed the following: possible survey of existing parents; get numbers information; registration in February for Kindergarten; enrollment in classes would be 15-16 rather than 25-26 as in the past with an aid; social concerns letting kids be kids; including rest and recess time; developing rich language programs; play programs; social programs; developing readiness skills; students who don’t attend preschool program; programs are varied; broad range of educational exposure; getting a good foundation; elementary education is best value for the money; need for free expression; full day have more opportunity for kids to be kids; more relaxed day; kitchen area allows for huge language development; playtime structured with a purpose; expectations of a first grader very different today; expectations are more difficult now; budget issues; possible introduction of world language in full day Kindergarten; results of grant cuts; work a little at a time to get world language in the lower grades; need for parent forum; possible option to opt out; survey or interview parents; budget implications; need for redeployment of staff; need to be fiscally responsible; if student opts out of full day what learning will be missed; parent input; value differentiation and individualization; and over 100 schools in Connecticut have extended or full day Kindergarten.

 

New Business

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Tourtellotte: to approve the payment of invoices and adjustments to line item expenditures as required.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  Mr. Simone abstained.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Costa: to recommend to the Board of Selectmen that Diane Knox be appointed to represent the town and school district on the Cablevision Advisory Council replacing Cynthia Tompkins.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions.

 

            Board members previewed the caregivers policies #4118.16(a), #4213.16(a) for a first reading.  This went to the attorney first before the policy committee.

 

            Dr. Vita presented the Strategic School Profile for 2005-06 and highlighted the following: how we compare to other districts and the state; percent of student population is 88.7%; hours of instruction; student performance compared to the state; promote student achievement; expenditures; profile of staff; school level; Center School profile; Intermediate School profile; High School profile; library medial materials; and technology.

 

            Mr. Zaremski presented the Special Education Strategic School Profile for 2005-2006 and highlighted the following: numbers placed out of district; prevalence trends; disability prevalence; time with non-disabled peers; out of district placement; extra curricular participation; high school diplomas; staffing ratios; expenditures; and percentages of expenditures for special education.

            Board members discussed the drop out rates and possible reasons for the numbers.

 

            Mrs. Perusse reviewed the list of FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) and the need to send it to the State so that the building committee could release the funds. 

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mrs. Reardon: to approve the submittal of the FF&E as recommended for approval to the State Department.

 

            Board members discussed the scoreboard item and the status of EDO42.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions. 

 

Old (Unfinished) Business

 

            The code of conduct hearing went very well.  The people were very helpful and enlightening and their feedback is appreciated.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Tourtellotte and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to approve that the code of conduct go to the Policy Committee to further review and to formulate some standards.

 

            Board members discussed the following: need for policy or not; legal issues; challenge for school boards; possibility of eminent harm; issues of expelled students; consistency with legislation; information from legal advisor; case in Thomaston and outcome of case in Supreme Court; many last night did not want Board involvement; parent calls have been made wanting more involvement and even zero tolerance; use of current policy for upcoming season; take teachable moment now; Board cannot do anything with the code because it is not a Board policy; intervention when incident occurs; change to “may” for now until something is approved; both pages of code; chance of suspension; timing for new decision around March before spring sports begin; avoid favoritism; detentions not determined by the Board;  administration input and mandates to be followed; 17 parents spoke with 7 advocating no policy, 3 yes they like it and 7 some policy but tweak it; need to be consistent with philosophy of community; and need for a policy committee meeting as soon as possible with February 7^th to be discussed with the Board.

 

                        MOTION withdrawn by Mr. Tourtellotte and second was withdrawn by Mr. Falcetti.

 

MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  There were no abstentions. 

 

            Dr. Vita outlined the 2007-08-budget development process including the following: numerous meetings; central office and administrators on top of things; variety of efficiency measures; program importance; long term plan is the guiding map; not going to dismantle effective programs; everything is on the table; high school a hot bed of creativity; can be ideal

school system; applied experience; variety of programs; different avenues; need to meet everyone’s needs; first step of 3, 4, 5 year of evolution; budget numbers will be consistent with where we have been in the last 2 years; some preliminary information will be ready in January; benefit package and insurance numbers come in February; tradeoffs; only so many hours in a day; need to balance; programmatic issues; budget linked to what we do every day; variables are staffing and retirements; and Kindergarten, science and specials at the elementary level.

 

Superintendent’s Report

 

Dr. Vita reported on the following:

• The bus parking lot is now in use with the fencing budget moving forward and the office still having issues. 
• Center School pointing is being done, the bricks are being replaced where needed and the hallways have the new carpet squares now.  The conference room and office have a problem with an odor that needs to be corrected.
• The town is submitting all capital budget requests and the committee will pick and choose what gets funded.
• Community conversation went well with approximately 75 people.  There is a follow up committee with a report due on November 30^th and further meetings scheduled during the New Year to continue the dialogue.

 

Administrative Reports

 

            Mrs. Longobucco reported on the following at Center School: conferences held last week; professional development held last Thursday was very successful with high school science teachers helping the elementary teachers with the inquiry method; and Center School learning center students have a tree on display at LARK.

 

            Mrs. Longobucco reported on the following technology: moves are constantly going on during the construction process; constantly meeting with the project manager to put things together correctly; list is going to the State for approval then back to the Building Committee to release the funds.

 

            Dr. Stuhlman reported on the following at the Intermediate School: very successful Veteran’s Day celebration with 5 enlisted soldiers attending; peer mediators will be attending a low ropes course at Camp Sloan with Lisa Heuschkel (school social worker); fifth graders sat for the first time today as a full band and were very excited; health classes with Mrs. McCormick are emphasizing healthy food choices; 57 students will be going on a field trip to CCMC; and the leadership council will be sponsoring a healthy breakfast this Friday. 

 

            Mrs. MacDonald reported on the following at the high school: fall sports awards were held this evening; fortunate to have coaches and students involved; all 4 teams have had the best records in the history of the high school; all made it to state tournaments; winter teams are ready to go; debate team Samantha Regenbogen and Jamie Blake won the Greater Connecticut High School Debate; Kathleen LaVoie was chosen to be the Youth Leadership Ambassador; student