A regular meeting of the Litchfield Board of Education was held on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. in the Center School Library.

 

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

 

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

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Simone: to approve the minutes of the January 10, 2007 meeting with the following corrections: on page 2557 the last paragraph under “special presentation” it should also include that the state did not have it noted in their database; on page 2559 the first paragraph should include that it excludes the teacher who is employed by the LEA; and on 2560 it should read 2.05/gallon.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  Mrs. Reardon abstained.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Simone: to add to the agenda as item C under old business a discussion on purchase of the Impact Math Series as recommended by the administration at the Curriculum & Technology Committee meeting.

 

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

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Tourtellotte and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to add to the agenda as item F under old business a discussion and vote on continuing royal blue as the school color.

 

            Board members discussed the following: ill considered; no historical evidence; no consensus today or over the years; excluding part of the community; kids should decide; superfluous item and should not be added to the agenda.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative except for Mrs. Reardon, Mr. Costa and Mr. Gorman who voted in the negative.  There were no abstentions.

 

Public Comment and Correspondence

 

            Mr. Waugh reported on the school building committee including the following: status of outside skin of building; alternate provider was chosen; technology plan and proposal to be presented to the Board this evening for approval; parking updates; possible acoustical standard test administered; and opening of gym.

 

            Board members discussed the following: brick wall on sides of gym; glare issue; gym door issue; padding issues; and issues with the shelter needed.

 

Board members received the following communications:

• Packet from CABE regarding negotiation information.
• A letter from Dave Wilson regarding all day Kindergarten.
• Email asking whether the draft copy of the minutes can be posted on the web site before waiting for the approved minutes to be posted days later.
• A copy of a letter with signatures from Mrs. McCarthy who read it at the last meeting.
• Comment that if people want their emails brought before the Board they should make that known at the bottom of the email. Minutes only need the Board’s actions recorded and everything else is not required.

 

Mr. Murray commented on the minutes from the December 7^th special meeting where his comments were not included in the minutes while the LEA rep was.  His comment was that the Board should include a member of the public to attend the negotiations.  He congratulated the board on the contract with two Board members abstaining from the vote. He commented that the meeting to vote to approve the contract was brief.

 

            Mrs. Shipp introduced herself as the writer of the open letter to parents regarding the possible changes to take place at the Intermediate School.  She indicated that the data in the letter was not made up but came from reliable sources.  There needs to be improved communication with the community perhaps even getting the meetings on the television. 

 

            Mrs. Penney commented on the survey given to incoming Kindergarten parents and feels that the same survey should have been available to all community members since this is an important issue that would affect the entire community.  Also, she commented that the questions on the survey did not seem fair since the questions were open to interpretation.

 

            Mr. Fabbri noted that he met with Mrs. O’Neil today and feels that the Impact textbook is a positive step in the right direction. 

 

            Mrs. Moreau expressed regret on the reassignment of Dr. Stuhlman. 

 

            Mrs. Fischer expressed the same regret and presented questions that should be considered to the Board and signed with children’s names.

 

            Mrs. McKenna clarified that she had misinformation regarding the number of students qualifying for the head start program in Litchfield. She also commented on the socio-economic status of Litchfield, and that she did not feel a full day kindergarten is needed.  She suggested other models of kindergarten be explored.

 

Mrs. Small, who works at the Park and Recreation kindergarten program, asked when the Board would decide on the all day program because that will affect her employment. 

 

            Mrs. DiDomizio, who lived in Wolcott where they have all day Kindergarten, commented that her kids loved it and her special needs child needs it in Litchfield. 

 

            Mrs. O’Leary agreed with the comment above and said that all day Kindergarten will be beneficial for her child.

 

            Mrs. Luzi commented that trying to have the entire community in on all decision-making issues is not practical.  It is not practical to see if the whole town should want all day Kindergarten.

 

            Mrs. Wilson commented that her student is ready for Kindergarten but not all day Kindergarten, and that she felt uncomfortable about the survey used.

 

            Mrs. Beauve read a letter from her 10 year old 5^th grader entitled, “Why there should be all day Kindergarten,” by Madeline Beauve.

 

            Mrs. Legendre noted that all day Kindergarten would have positive peer interaction. 

 

            Mrs. Warner commented that the issues being discussed are overwhelming and the Board needs to find a way to let the community know what is going on especially since some do not have the Internet and no Cable 5 to preview.

 

            Mrs. Weik commented that kids need to play every day and if there is all day Kindergarten there should be time made for the students to play together.

 

            Mrs. Brady asked if there was going to be a guidance counselor at the Intermediate School next year. 

 

            Dr. Vita commented that counselors have been interviewed all year and one has not been found yet but the position will be replaced.  Nothing has been cut out just reorganized to make our system more efficient and to enhance the programs. 

 

New Business

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: 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.

 

            Dr. Vita noted that the Litchfield Plan of Conservation and Development Draft for 2006 begins with the educational components on page 20.  There are great recommendation but with significant implications to the Board.  This will be put on the Finance Committee’s agenda for January 31^st at 6:00 p.m. in the Central Office.

 

Old Business

 

            Dr. Vita noted that the policy committee needs the Code of Conduct policy back for review further. 

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to table the discussion on the Code of Conduct policy.

 

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

 

            Dr. Vita reported on the Organizational Enhancement Plan including the following: the rationale; K-12 fine-tuning the organization and resources; consistent with long term plan and needs of district; Dr. Stuhlman and Mrs. MacDonald both associate principals at the high school; new program at the high school; re-deploy the library media assistant to information technology specialist; re-deploy the teaching assistant staff to fill the void in the library; the Language Arts supervisor will become the interim principal at the Intermediate School until the end of the year; a search for a principal at the Intermediate School will begin; the Language Arts supervisor position will not be filled; the Language Arts Coordinator will function in the role along with interim principal; and re-deployed staff will cover all of the student needs.

 

            Mr. Costa outlined the items covered at the Curriculum & Technology and Policy and Personnel Committee held last evening including: planned program enhancement for next year depends on the budget; Science teacher specialist at Center School to cover the new Science framework; create a Science equipment room to be more efficient; the teacher will have enough variety because they will teach all levels; full day kindergarten with an early dismissal option of leaving at 1:00 p.m.; resource based world language program; 2 major blocks at the Intermediate School with Language arts/social studies, and math/science; enhanced specials will be in the middle of the schedule; students will change for subjects no more than this year; combine times with natural overlaps; more coherence and more opportunity; new math series begins in grade 6; first implementation in the 6 – 8 range; Impact Math; reducing leveling in the Intermediate School; small group interchange; gives greatest amount of flexibility; middle school revision of extra curricular specials; high school course description; needs for new schedule; made adjustments in curriculum and content to maximize the curriculum; and impact of the NEASC report. 

 

            Board members discussed the following: incorporation of support programs in math and language arts so every student has options at the high school; open period for support in subjects; identify kids at risk; graduate with successful skills; afternoon activities for the all day Kindergarten; responsibilities of new administrators; and student needs will be covered.

 

            Mr. Costa reported on the second part of the meeting including the recommendation to purchase the Impact Math books and program.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Reardon: to approve the purchase of the Impact Math Series as recommended by the administration at the Curriculum and Technology Committee meeting. 

 

            Board members discussed the following: presentation by Mrs. O’Neil; mature math standards in the State; textbooks published that align with CT State standards; 6-8 most immediate need; begin now to prepare for next year; testimonials very positive; inspires all kids to get up where they should be; earn credit towards algebra; good enhancement for rest of year; available on line; program is rigorous; transition needs to be done in a sensitive way; integrate in 7^th grade to adjust for next year; written curriculum needs; frameworks and purpose for CAPT; textbooks not published for the State of CT; align curriculum with state standards and text series; in the past the curriculum was written by the book; resources are available because series is so aggressive; academic resource component needed at the middle school and the high school; teachers addressing students at both ends of the spectrum; differentiation; need for restructuring for 4-6 grade; need to be sensitive to different learning styles; develop our structure in the same way; enrichment and support; keep as simple as possible but give broad experience; some changes in the elementary school; issues for 8^th graders; 8^th grade will be supplemented with the Impact series; integrating aspects of all 3 books; supplementing; use as adjunct program; resources to purchase; and is in the budget and are needed now for transition purposes.

 

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

           

            Mrs. Perusse noted that the Technology Bid Specifications document was complete with some flexibility in tact.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to approve the Technology Bid Specifications document for submittal to State Department of Education. 

 

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

 

            Dr. Vita reported that the Finance and Facilities committee will meet on the 31^st at 6:00 p.m. to put budget specifics together.  A meeting was held with Paul Parsons to discuss various financial issues. 

 

            Mr. Tourtellotte reported on the controversy and feedback on the school color being royal blue.  This needs to be put to rest because there are concerns about the variations and the traditions.

 

Board members discussed the following: students sometimes order navy blue; most don’t care as long as it is blue; not a Board of Education decision; teams need to look all the same; athletic director, coaches and kids should decide; keep only two shades of blue; how to enforce school color chosen; color enforcement czar; some uniforms are special order and don’t come in royal blue; need student representation tonight; bad communications; this vote will not end the

issue; school colors do not make a student play better or become smarter; predominant color for many years is royal blue; nothing will have to be undone if decision made; current students can’t represent students from the past; strong community input; and need to act on what community members request.