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LITCHFIELD BOARD OF
EDUCATION
REGULAR MEETING
MARCH 26, 2008 |
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A regular meeting of the Litchfield Board of Education was held on Wednesday, March 26, 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. Della Volpe; Mr. Crowe; the public and the press.
MOTION made by Mr. Shuhi and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to move agenda item VII c. to item IV h.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Falcetti and then withdrawn: to approve the minutes of the February 27, 2008 meeting as submitted.
MOTION made by Mr. Falcetti and seconded by Mr. Shuhi: to approve the minutes of February 27, 2008, March 5, 2008, and March 20, 2008 as submitted with the following corrections on February 27th, Mrs. Fabbri was present; on page 2676 right before Committee Reports, it should read “except” and not “accept.”
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
Public Comment and Correspondence
Mr. Waugh reported on the school building committee including the status of the FF&E amounts; parking lot; completion dates; punch list items; and the plan for work during the April break. Mrs. Fabbri reported on the STPC activities and events.
Mrs. Harrison commented on her displeasure with the reduction of the FF&E amount and the exact figure for the parking lot costs.
Mrs. Glassman commented on her concerns with the proposed parking lot and long term costs to maintain and secure; the effect on the aquifer where 3,000 people get their water; the deteriorating sidewalks; the erosion and sedimentation issues; land use permit conditions being met; and care of the retention basin.
Mr. Murray commented on the reasonable 2008-09 budget and the contractual obligations that will eventually in future budgets affect class size and staffing of the schools.
Mrs. Penney commented that she hates to see class size increase and to lose qualified teachers if they are not paid well.
Mr. Waugh welcomed Mrs. Fabbri to the Board.
Mr. Katzin commented on the breathtaking art show at Center School and how few works of art are in the Intermediate School; how many students are on the Honor Roll in grades 7-12 (50%) which needs to be changed; and the girls to boys ratio is 2:1 on outstanding honors which needs investigation. Administrative Reports
Dr. Vita reminded the Board of the “Healthy Foods”
program for parents going on at Education Connection this
evening.
Ms. Della Volpe updated the Board on the High School’s
events and activities including: a successful presentation of
the scheduling process to STPC with Mr. Johnson; Guidance is now
in the process of scheduling students; training juniors for a
new college career search program; and a meeting to be held on
Friday to meet with all class officers.
Mr. Johnson updated the Board on the STPC presentation;
scheduling a presentation for 6th grade families and
8th grade families; and a grant application for
digital story telling writing technology.
Mrs. Perusse updated the Board on the projections for the
end of the year and W-2 issues.
Mr. Crowe updated the Board on the FF&E money; punch
list; gym status summer plans for cleaning and efficiency.
Board members reviewed the resume from Pasquale
Buccitelli who is being considered for the Director of Business
Services position.
MOTION made by Mr. Falcetti and seconded by Ms. Carr:
to act upon the recommendation of the interview team to appoint
Pasquale (Pat) Buccitelli to the position of Director of
Business Operations.
MOTION carried.
All votes were in the affirmative. There were no
abstentions.
Board consensus
was to have further discussion during an Executive Session
regarding contract specifications.
MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Ms. Carr:
to add to the agenda an Executive Session to discuss the
contract of employment of Pasquale (Pat) Buccitelli.
MOTION carried.
All votes were in the affirmative.
There were no abstentions.
Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Vita reported on the following: a reminder to the
Board of the retirement dinner scheduled for May 22nd
at the Elks Club in Torrington; the high school graduation is
scheduled for Thursday, June 19th at the Warner
Theater; April 30th is the budget hearing followed by
a special Board meeting for any discussion or action; a request
from Brandywine to donate a sign for the campus which could be
added to the next Facilities Committee meeting; due to the tight
cleaning schedule over the summer activities other than those
conducted by the schools or town will not be scheduled.
Old Business
MOTION made by Mr. Noone and seconded by Mrs. Reardon:
to approve the proposed 2008-09 operating budget with the
$100,000 reduction required by the Board of Finance.
Dr. Vita indicated that the reductions would include
staffing at the high school and some money from other areas of
the budget but would not affect programs. Next year, after
retirements are finalized, the district can reconfigure as
necessary.
Board consensus was to have the reductions decided in
time to present at the town hearing.
MOTION carried.
All votes were in the affirmative except Mr. Gorman and
Mr. Simone voted in the negative.
There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Shuhi and seconded by Ms. Carr:
to table the agenda item to vote on the revised Board policy
#5127.1 “Graduation Requirements” pending further discussion of
the policy.
MOTION carried.
All votes were in the affirmative.
There were no abstentions.
Board members reviewed and discussed the revisions to
Board policy # 5141.21 – Administration of Medication, updated
to meet State statutes, for a second reading.
Board members reviewed and discussed the 2009-10 school
calendar. Dr. Vita indicated that this aligns with Region 6.
Board consensus was to start the school year for students
on Wednesday, September 2nd
rather than Monday,
August 31st.
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.
Dr. Vita indicated that John Lang has been an integral
part of the Litchfield Public Schools for 35 years in the
maintenance and technology departments.
Board members wished him well as he prepares to retire on
March 31, 2008.
MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Noone:
to accept the resignation of Ms. Stacey Glanz (Special Education
teacher – LHS) effective June 30, 2008.
MOTION carried.
All votes were in the affirmative.
There were no abstentions.
Committee
Reports
Mr. Shuhi reported that the Facilities and Technology Committee will try to set another meeting in late April. Mr. Noone reported that the Finance Committee met last week and discussed the $100,000 reduction requested by the Board of Finance. Ms. Carr reported that the Policy Committee met today to go through the operations and procedures of the student activities book and determined that further discussion is needed to finalized the graduation requirement policy. MOTION made by Mr. Shuhi and seconded by Mrs. Reardon: to move to Executive Session at 8:45 p.m. to discuss Personnel. MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions. Executive SessionPresent: All the above Board members and Dr. Vita. Open session resumed at 9:00 p.m. No action was taken. MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to adjourn the meeting at 9:01 p.m. MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions. Respectfully submitted, Tina Reardon, Secretary Joanne Bertrand, Recording Secretary
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