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

 

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

 

            Also present were Dr. Vita; Mr. Johnson; Dr. Breslin; Mrs. Longobucco; Ms. Marinelli; Mr. Zaremski and members of the public.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Gorman and seconded by Mrs. Reardon: approve the minutes of the September 26, 2007 meeting as submitted with the following correction on page 2637 in the middle of the page, “yea;” should be “year.”

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative.  Mr. Gorman and Mr. Fairchild abstained.

 

Public Comment and Correspondence

 

            Rachel Clarkin-Breslin reported on the student council activities at the high school. 

 

            Mr. Murray commented on Dr. Vita being a true educator and a gentleman and should be given a high evaluation.  Also, he wondered if the Curriculum Coordinator would be a permanent position and if six months from now a public presentation on the accomplishments could be presented. 

 

            Dr. Vita noted that the Director of Curriculum position was created in exchange for the Language Arts Supervisor position and perhaps the Director of Curriculum and Instruction could use the question and answer feature on the school website.

 

            Mr. Katzin commented on an article from the NY Times where a teacher gives homework to parents as well as students.  When parents are involved it is better for the student and this is an interesting approach/concept. He also commented on a debate with a 10-year-old student regarding the high holy Jewish holidays.  The student’s concern was that the school was sensitive to Easter and other Christian holidays and not to the Jewish holidays.  The administration needs to be sensitive to this and possibly have an interfaith calendar to share with all students as the holidays occur. 

 

Mrs. Penny commented that the schools need to be more educated and sensitive to these issues and students should be allowed to have the time off to celebrate their holidays.  Perhaps Good Friday could be eliminated to be fair and follow the separation of church and state idea.

 

Mr. Shuhi circulated the annual report from Education Connection.

  

New Business

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Tourtellotte: to approve the payment of invoices and adjustments to line item expenditures for the 2007-08 budget as required.

 

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

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Katzin: to accept the resignation of Valerie DiLorenzo – Library Media Specialist LHS with regret. 

 

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

 

            Dr. Vita presented the “Success Strategies for Leadership Team Evaluation: Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools” document.  The Board and Superintendent are part of the leadership team.  Board functions and Superintendent functions are covered and working together to accomplish the same goals. 

 

            Board members discussed the following: measurable goals; district goals; superintendent goals; more specific goals; benefits of using a schedule; importance of Board’s own self assessment; reflection is good; input from Policy and Personnel Committee; and need to review the document more. 

 

Old Business

 

            Dr. Vita presented the school calendar options for 2008-09 including:  08-09 problematic for a regional calendar; need to align with Wamogo; alignment with Torrington; 08-09 draft is good; issue with PD days; better PD days if combined with several districts; next meeting November 2^nd; need to do calendars 2 years out; sensitivity to religious holidays; currently following legal holidays; possible cultural curriculum; and calendar’s impact on families.

 

            Board members discussed the following; possible discussion in policy committee regarding sensitivity issue with homework assigned during holidays; and need to be aware of needs of religious beliefs.

 

Superintendent’s Report

            Dr. Vita reported on the following:

·         Reminder of reception Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Ed Connection.

·         STPC and PTO parent academies to be scheduled.

·         Cable meeting schedule waiting for response from letter sent.

·         Update on buildings.

·         Lack of storage space and possible solutions.

·         Budget calendar distributed.

  

Board members discussed the following: approaching final building process; punch list; siding; kitchen; gym, and tile.

 

Committee Reports

Finance and Facilities Committee

 

            A meeting is needed to review specifications for Center School roof project and will be set when Mrs. Perusse returns, possibly at 6:30 p.m. before the next scheduled meeting on the 24^th.

 

Negotiations Liaisons

 

            AFSME negotiations are in the process with updates to come at the next meeting.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Gorman and seconded by Mr. Tourtellotte: to move to Executive Session at 7:55 p.m. to discuss the Superintendent’s evaluation. 

           

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

 

Executive Session

 

Present:  All the above Board members and Dr. Vita.

 

Open session resumed at 9:20 p.m.

 

No action was taken.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Tourtellotte and seconded by Mr. Gorman: to adjourn the meeting at 9:22 p.m.

 

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

 

                                                            Respectfully submitted,

                                                            Donald Falcetti, Secretary

                                                            Joanne Bertrand, Recording Secretary