LITCHFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATION

REGULAR MEETING

MARCH 5, 2008

 

A regular meeting of the Litchfield Board of Education was held on Wednesday, March 5, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. in the Litchfield Intermediate School art room. 

 

            Board members present were: Mr. Katzin, Chairperson; Ms. Carr; Mrs. Fabbri; Mrs. Reardon; Messrs. Falcetti, Gorman, Noone, Shuhi and Simone. 

 

            Also present were: Dr. Vita; Mrs. Perusse; Mr. Johnson; Ms. DellaVolpe; Mrs. Longobucco; Ms. Marinelli; Mr. Zaremski; Mr. Crowe; the public and the press.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Gorman: to approve the minutes of the February 27, 2008 meeting as submitted.

 

                        MOTION withdrawn and second withdrawn.

 

            Board consensus was that the approval of minutes will be tabled until the next meeting.

 

Public Comment and Correspondence

 

            Rachel Clarkin-Breslin reported on the Student Council activities at the high school.

 

            Mrs. Fabbri reported on the STPC activities and events.

 

            Mrs. Penney commented on the difficulty of scheduling parent/teacher conferences for the Intermediate School compared to Center School; the objectives of the art program for the Intermediate School; the policy for graduation requirements for Physical Education; and the possible cuts needed in the budget and where these cuts will come from. 

 

            Mrs. McKenna commented on the policy change for Exercise Science and questioned the legality of the policy, fairness for students and other disciplines, and state statutes.

 

            Mrs. Parsons commented on the difficulty of scheduling parent/teacher conference at the Intermediate School. 

 

Administrative Reports

            Mrs. Longobucco updated the Board on Center School’s events and activities including: CMTs beginning and going through next Friday; and parent/teacher conferences taking place next week.

            Ms. Marinelli updated the Board on the Intermediate School’s events and activities including: CMT’s taking place all week through next Thursday; letter sent home to parents regarding the testing; parent/teacher conferences taking place next week; and an upcoming Parent Academy on healthier food in conjunction with Torrington will be held at the end of the month at Education Connection with five speakers presenting.

 

            Ms. DellaVolpe updated the Board on the High School’s events and activities including: state testing presently being held with CAPT and CMTs ending on March 13th; maintaining instructional time during testing; scheduling students will begin next week using the revised Program of Studies; and coordinators have already presented their discipline choices to the students.

 

            Mr. Johnson updated the Board on a state grant with a focus on math in the middle school with summer workshops, enhanced instruction in the school year and summer math support.

 

            Mrs. Perusse updated the Board on the budget and insurance.

 

            Mr. Crowe updated the Board on the next Building Committee meeting to be held on Thursday with FF&E on the agenda and hopefully money will be released then.

 

Superintendent’s Report

 

            Dr. Vita distributed the Torrington School District calendar for 09-10 which will be brought to the Superintendent’s meeting on Friday with input from the Board.  For Board Member Appreciation Month, each member received a travel coffee mug from CABE.  Dr. Vita reported that there is problem with the roof on the bus office that the town is leasing for our use.  Because it is an emergency, Mr. Crowe will look into getting it resolved.  Further discussion will be held with the First Selectman. 

 

Old Business

 

                        MOTION made by Mrs. Reardon and seconded by Ms. Carr: to table the vote on the 2008-09 budget.

 

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

  

            Board members discussed the next steps to be taken in the budget process.  Additional documentation and budget information will be sent to the Board of Finance prior to the March 10th meeting.

 

            Dr. Vita indicated that there are no additional program enhancements pending the status of the budget and high school course enrollment.

 

            Board members reviewed and discussed revisions to policy #5127.1 “Graduation Requirement” for the second reading. 

 

            Board members reviewed and discussed revisions to policy #5141.21 Administration of Medication for the first reading. 

 

New Business

 

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

 

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

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to approve a request for a six-week tuition waiver for the beginning of the 2008-09 school year, requested by Matthew and Nadene Stevenson (construction of home located at 143 Prospect Mt. Road, Litchfield).

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative except Ms. Carr who voted in the negative.  There were no abstentions.

 

Committee Reports

 

            Mr. Noone reported that the Finance Committee just met earlier this evening (6 p.m.) to prepare for the upcoming meeting on Monday with the Board of Finance.

 

            Mrs. Reardon reported that the Programs and Personnel Committee met at 6 p.m. this evening to discuss personnel related to the budget, pending future budget discussion. 

 

            Ms. Carr reported that the Policy Committee met to discuss policies and will meet again before the next Board meeting on March 26, 2008.

 

2677

 

Litchfield Board of Education Regular Meeting, March 5, 2008                                                     

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 p.m.

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

                                                                        Respectfully submitted,

                                                                        Tina Reardon, Secretary

                                                                        Joanne Bertrand, Recording Secretary