LITCHFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATIONSPECIAL MEETING MARCH 15, 2005 |
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A special meeting of the Litchfield Board of Education was held on Tuesday, March 15, 2005, at 7:00 p.m. in the Center School gym.
Present were: Mrs. Knox, Chairperson; Messrs. Costa, Doyle, Fairchild, Falcetti, Shuhi and Simone; Superintendent Chittum; Mrs. Perusse; Dr. Breslin; Dr. Stuhlman; Mrs. Longobucco; Mr. Zaremski; the public and the press.
MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Simone: to approve the minutes of the February 22, 2005 meeting with the following correction, include that Mr. Doyle arrived at 8:00 p.m.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Falcetti and seconded by Mr. Costa: to approve the minutes of the March 3, 2005 special meeting with the following correction on page 2371 last bullet should read “Contingency: $3,399,491 for both schools is included in the $33,000,000 total.”
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Doyle and seconded by Mr. Shuhi: to add to the agenda as II c. a discussion on speakers or retreats.
Board members commented on the following: Board’s responsibility; Superintendent’s responsibility; possible updates needed; CABE support; timing; new Superintendent arrival; good way to interact; sooner better than later; conjunction with regular Board meeting; possible retreat; need for discussions; concerned about legitimacy; and confusion.
Board consensus was to revisit the topic at the next meeting. It was also noted that no agenda change should take place in the special meeting.
Public Comment
Angela Penny commented on the building project meeting the Ed specs that the Board created.
Board members discussed the following: Board of Ed sets the Ed specs; plan meets the Ed specs; Ed specs are a description of the program not the building; they are a public document and available in the Central Office; plan in the flyer and this plan both meet the Ed specs; based on number of students; complex formula; evolved based on enrollment; goal to separate 7 & 8 grades from high school; price escalation affects new gym and auditorium; games will still be
Winnie Harrison commented on the heating issue if boilers are not replaced and also noted that public comment was not included in the Board of Ed minutes from the special meeting.
Building Committee Update and Discussion
Mr. Waugh reported on the following: state review of plan tomorrow; 6 weeks of study; go to bid in June or July; have firm estimate at that time; can decide to include items on hold or not; Ed specs are fulfilled; definition of space and program; choice of new gym or renovations to meet the program needs; have gym, loose parts of project that would facilitate Ed specs; will have new boilers; will be proud of plan; State would not approve renovations that would not withstand 20 years; Center School is 20 years since renovation and is still very functional; and Board of Ed minutes not the same as Building Committee where public comment was included.
Committee/Liaison ReportsCurriculum Committee
Mr. Costa reported that the committee met the evening of March 1st and discussed two items that will be covered in the agenda.
Finance Committee
Mr. Doyle reported that the committee met last night and is progressing in the process.
Facilities Committee
Mr. Shuhi reported that the committee met and walked through all the buildings to note different capital projects that might be coming up.
Liaison Reports including Technology
Mr. Shuhi reported that the committee met with an accounting software representative and will discuss this with Mrs. Perusse and Superintendent Chittum and bring a summary to the Board soon.
Superintendent Search Committee
Mrs. Knox noted that the committee met last night and will meet again on March 19th at 8:00 a.m. in the Central Office to interview 4 candidates. Info is available in the superintendent’s office. Another meeting will be held on March 23rd at 5:00 p.m. in the LHS Guidance Office to meet with the advisory committee. LHS Program
Mr. Costa reported that the Curriculum Committee met with Dr. Breslin and Mrs. MacDonald and staff at the high school to preview the high school schedule. They are working with Wamogo to align schedules to work in the co-op and update the program of studies along with the creation of a new and renovated school.
MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to support the Superintendent’s recommendation to approve that the high school program of studies be amended so that French will be offered at the high school only as an Honors course staring in the fall of 2005 and that Spanish 5 be offered only as an Honors course starting in the fall of 2005.
Board members discussed the following: reason to shift to honors from CP; honors related to college interest; still CP level in Spanish; 8 sections of French changed to only 4; with small class size, teachers are running two classes in same room; and justifications.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to support the Superintendent’s recommendation to approve ending the high school block schedule starting in the fall of 2006 and direct the high school staff to report to the Board by May 1, 2005, the staff’s recommendation for the implementation of a 50-55 minute period schedule. This recommendation shall include a suggestion for a change in the graduation requirements that is aligned with our current program needs.
MOTION amended by Mr. Shuhi and seconded by Mr. Costa: to change the time to 50-60 minute period schedule.
Board members discussed the following: including 7th and 8th grades; possibly long periods for 7th and 8th graders; possibly using 7th and 8th grade staff as needed in the high school curriculum; some hesitation in this; 7th and 8th graders do take a longer time to get ready so longer periods might be good; administrators being pulled by the Board; Board is supporting the administration; deadline is helpful to move process along; union issues; calendar and schedule is sole prerogative of the Board; can bargain if deleterious impact; is a challenge; opportunity to look at program of studies; block extended graduation requirements that are one of the highest in the State; need to reduce to a more normal requirement; NEASC report; and no action taken yet.
Mrs. Reardon arrived at 7:50 p.m.
AMENDMENT carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
New BusinessOut-of-State Field Trip Requests
MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mr. Simone: to support the Superintendent’s recommendation to approve the out-of-state field trips for the 7th grade to the Museum of Natural History on May 26, 2005 and the LHS Technology Student Association to Orlando, FL, June 28 to July 2, 2005.
Board members discussed the following: insurance issues during vacation time; connection to school; previous trip not connected to school and seniors had already graduated; tech students did go and it worked out fine.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
Resignation
MOTION made by Mr. Shuhi and seconded by Mr. Simone: to support the Superintendent’s recommendation to accept the resignation of Richard Brunelli effective March 25, 2005 or sooner if an appropriate replacement is hired.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
New Hire
MOTION made by Mr. Costa and seconded by Mrs. Reardon: to support the Superintendent’s recommendation to hire Mary Lou Hunchak as .4 School Psychologist.
Board members discussed the following: how the hiring process works; need to go to the Personnel Committee; administration make recommendation for hires; Personnel Committee input; goes before the Board; and need to get packets to the Personnel Committee before they meet.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. Mr. Shuhi abstained.
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Chittum reported on the following:
Board members discussed the need to clarify budgeting $1,100/computer when Dell’s are advertised for $499. People need to know the funding breakdown for fees and licensing.
2005-06 Budget Discussion Adjustments to Superintendent’s 2005-06 Proposed Budget
Superintendent Chittum noted that $39,363 reduction is the result of a refinement of estimates in various line items plus new information, which decreased the 6.3% budget figure to 6.0%.
Technology Hardware Replacement Schedule
Superintendent Chittum noted that the Tech Plan Goals are from 2003-2008. An outline of the replacement plan includes $100,000 over 5 years to replace all computers (423) and update peripherals and servers. Of the 423 computers, 200 are over 4 years old so replacement needs to get started soon. By the end of the schedule the newer computers we have now will need to be replaced because they will be 4 years old by then. The State Technical Grant was approved and received. This allowed us to hook into the CT education network, which is a free server so we don’t have to pay for Internet service. Also, $18,000 was used to focus on improving switches. $10,000 of the grant allows us to crate a fiber connection at C.S.
Board members discussed the yearly connection rate for 20 years as a cost saving possibility; possible Board level Technology Committee to be combined with the Curriculum Committee; and good thing to have.
Board consensus was to add to the agenda at the next Board meeting a discussion on forming such a committee and attendance at Board meetings by the administrators.
Discussion by the Board
Superintendent Chittum reported that the Finance Committee reviewed budget adjustments and requested a reduction that would result in a total increase of 4.8%, which means another $168,748 reduction. The following options were outlined:
Board members discussed the following: need for Board to consider options; these are suggestions; teacher from 9-12 level; need for more analysis for class size; lower enrollment in class size; are trade offs; do not recommend cut Special Ed at high school; community will be looking for more; need to respond to Board of Finance; difficult year; we are below where we were last year; 5th budget below every year; are responding responsibly; difficult to sell; concern for AP classes refund for test; may decrease enrollment in AP classes; high school teacher depends on master schedule; limiting AD position to one person who will be hired as the new PE teacher; release time needed; all doable situations; possible certified employee cut; possibility to get to 4.8%; these cuts accommodate better in operating school system; Special Ed bounded by IEP service; PD does not cut into the literacy goal; are comfortable with this list at this level; need to vote on budget next meeting; need to take a look at other items; Board of Finance interpretation of cuts at 3%; concerns about impact of 3% increase; @$230,000 more in cuts; difficulty in coming up with $230,000 in more cuts; need to see more options; need to prepare a budget for the Board of Finance that could be used for educational purposes; 3% is 5 or 6 staff people; need to see reduction numbers and description as to the affect on programs; budget is honest; budget needs to serve the kids; 4.8 is not 6 or 5 percent that the Board of Finance said they would not support; voters vote no for budgets that are too high or too low; CABE gives us a voice; 30 – 40 percent are voting and don’t support the budget; voting public controls the budget; parents of students don’t always vote for the budget because can’t afford the increase; painful to come up with list of options; will have text on impact; feel level of discomfort; and quality to acceptability by the town.
Board consensus was to see more options to include in reductions at the next Board meeting.
Consideration of Special Meeting Dates
Superintendent Chittum reminded the Board of a possible special meeting date on May 3rd, if needed at that time.
Payment of Bills
MOTION made by Mr. Shuhi and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to pay bills in the amount of $101,220.46.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions. MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Shuhi: to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m.
MOTION carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.
Respectfully submitted, Donald Falcetti, Secretary Joanne Bertrand, Recording Secretary |