A regular meeting of the Litchfield Board of Education was held on Wednesday, January 10, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. in the Center School library.

 

            Board members present were: Mr. Shuhi, Chairperson; Messrs. Costa, Fairchild, Falcetti, Gorman, Noone, Simone and Tourtellotte.  Mrs. Reardon was excused.

 

            Also present: Dr. Vita; Mrs. Perusse; Dr. Breslin; Dr. Stuhlman; Mrs. Longobucco; Mr. Zaremski; the public and the press.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to approve the minutes of the December 7, 2006 special meeting and December 13, 2007 regular meeting with the following corrections on page 2549 the second motion should have the word “seconded” changed to “second” and on page 2553 the last sentence should have the word “concerts” changed to “any activities.”

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative. Mr. Costa abstained for the 7^th and Mr. Simone and Mr. Falcetti abstained for the 13^th.

 

Public Comment and Correspondence

 

            Mr. Waugh outlined the School Building Committee activities and  reported on the following: 68% completion at the high school; 78% completion at the Intermediate School; $600,000 contingency left; hired firm for advice for the parking lot plan; color selection issues; accent colors; wall panels issues; FF&E list for end of month; on time and on budget.

 

            Board members discussed the following: danger of glass doors to gym; water fountain issues; fine tuning committee to include Board members; shelving issues in library; design issues; communication with the architect; and opening of gym needs to be safe for occupancy.

 

            Mark Donne reported on the student council activities at the high school.

 

            Mrs. Fabbri reported on the STPC activities including the following: next meeting Thursday, January 18, 2007, 6:30 p.m. at the high school; speakers include Dr. Vita, Mrs. MacDonald and Mr. Crowe; parent academy addressing school wellness policy on Monday, January 29, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at Center School; start of basketball concession fundraiser with opening of gym; issue of school colors discussed; and need for the Board to address that issue.

 

            Mrs. McCarthy read from a letter regarding all day Kindergarten asking the Board to refrain from approving this and outlining the reasons for this request.  Signatures will be added and the letter will be mailed to the Board.  

 

            Mr. Fabbri noted that a letter was sent to Board members regarding the math program in 7^th grade.  He outlined the information in the letter including the issues regarding the textbooks, curriculum and needs for correcting the program soon. 

 

            Dr. Vita noted that this is a complex issue and will be discussed on the 23^rd at the Curriculum and Technology committee meeting.  We are in the process of transitioning the math program and books will be approved accordingly. 

 

            Mrs. McKenna read a letter to the Board asking the Board to research further the all day Kindergarten idea and outlined the reasons why it should not be approved for Litchfield.  She also asked that this discussion be brought before the Community Conversation follow-up to be held on January 25^th at 7:00 p.m. at the Community Center.

 

            Mr. Costa noted that the 25^th is an extension of the previous conversation that was held.

 

            Mrs. Penny asked Board members to represent the community when it comes to the all day Kindergarten and 80% are not in favor of it.  Also, that the Board should think about giving absolute power to Dr. Vita.

 

            Mr. Costa responded that at the January 23^rd curriculum meeting all ideas regarding program improvement will be discussed and prioritized and the community is welcome to attend this meeting. 

 

            Mr. Murray commented that Dr. Vita uses a more consensus style leadership and not dictatorial.

 

            Mrs. Harris commented that people should have attended the building committee meetings in order to have their opinions heard on the color choices and not complain after the fact.

 

            Board members received the following correspondence:

• A letter from the department of motor vehicles regarding bus license holders.
• 3 thank you notes from the schools for the Christmas cookies.
• A letter from Mr. And Mrs. Fabbri regarding the math program issues.
• A reminder to check both school emails and personal emails if both were given as a contact address.

 

Special Presentation

 

            Dr. Vita reported on the collaborative efforts with Litchfield Hills Food System project including: it’s getting larger and larger; impact on the school district; collaborative in many ways; farmers market; educational activities involved at the high school; wellness component; locally grown, unprocessed, whole foods; food service; involvement with Education Connection; food service at the schools; input from the Economic Development Council; and the use of grant money.

 

            Mrs. McCormick reported that the wellness component and food initiative would be discussed at the education forum on January 29^th.  A research angle with Yale is also possible.

 

            Dr. Breslin noted that an important part of all of this is to have the students see what is available in this subject area including opportunities in the food industry.  A possible club could be formed along with designing a course to cover the educational component. 

 

            Dr. Vita reported that a relationship with Wamogo would develop further regarding the Vo Ag and Ag Tech program.  Students could learn about high tech nutrition, food systems and vocational exploration. 

 

            Mr. O’Connell noted that nothing will be imposed on the students and student interests and careers will be developed from that.

 

            Mr. O’Connell reviewed the NCLB District and School Reports for 2005-2006 including the following: average yearly progress report from September; report based on entire district; all schools collectively; CMT safe harbor definition; ok for where we are right now; testing additions; number of student with disabilities is more than 40; CAPT results better than general ed; and accountability issues.

 

            Dr. Vita noted the statistical pitfalls with students with disabilities and that by 2010/11 the average yearly progress may not be met by most districts. 

 

            Board members questioned the not highly qualified teachers’ category.

 

            Dr. Vita explained that every teacher hired is competent and effective.  The federal government came up with a requirement and some teachers were not recorded in their database and the state did not have it noted in their database.  This year every teacher must meet the Federal government requirements.

 

New Business

 

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

 

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

 

            Board members reviewed the out-of-state field trips for spring of 2007 including one additional one for the Costa Rica rainforest.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Noone:  to approve the out of state field trips as listed and include the addition as presented.

 

            Board members reviewed the Costa Rica field trip and discussed the following: long term commitment; start in the beginning of the year; application process in the spring; curriculum in nature; excellent opportunity for students; legal concerns and liabilities; and need to have discussion before the process begins.

 

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

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Noone: to accept teacher resignations from James Tucker and Rita Caruso for the purpose of retirement as of June 30, 2007 with gratitude for their service.

 

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

 

            Dr. Vita discussed the variety of suggested programs and improvements including: middle school specials; high school program of studies to reflect changes in the long term plan; Center School issues; facility expansion; code of conduct; intervention and continuum of intervention; not to bypass usual process for curriculum improvement; so many functions occasionally require some fine tuning; options to re-deploy, reconsider, reassign existing resources; staying within budget and staffing allocations; no reductions in positions; impact every area and refinement.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Gorman: to authorize the Superintendent to immediately implement an organizational enhancement plan to facilitate the transition, improvement and enhancement of educational programs and other related activities at the secondary level and authorize the Superintendent to make permanent and temporary assignments to new and existing positions as he determines appropriate in the best interest of the school district.

 

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

 

Old Business

 

            Dr. Vita reported that the “Code of Conduct” issue will be discussed at the next policy committee meeting.

 

            Board members reviewed policy #4118.16(a) and #4218.16(a) for a third reading with revisions in italics.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to approve policy #4118.16(a) and #4218.16(a) as presented with one change as noted in italics.