A regular meeting of the Litchfield Board of Education was held on Tuesday, May 24, 2005, at 6:30 p.m. at 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. MacDonald; Mr. Zaremski; the public and the press.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Simone: to approve the minutes of the May 10, 2005 meeting with the following corrections on page 2401 the last line should read NEASC and not NEASE.

 

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

 

Recognition of Class of 2005 Scholars

 

            Superintendent Chittum noted that top six 2005 scholars, top two scholar artists, and top two scholar athletes are here to be introduced.  A sample letter, which was sent to the parents, was read to Board members. 

 

            Dr. Breslin introduced the following scholars: Laura Telman and Erik Watkins as Scholar Artists; Meredith McCoy and Alex Newbury as Scholar Athletes, and Elizabeth Clarkin-Breslin, Alexander Regenbogen, Meredith McCoy, Meredith Blake, Dustin Landau and Paul (Galen) DiDomizio as the top six students in the class of 2005.

 

            All the students present talked about their experience at LHS, what was most memorable, what their plans are for the future, and what college/university they will be attending in the fall.

 

            Board members congratulated them and wished them the best.

 

            A brief reception was held at this time.

 

            Mrs. Reardon arrived at 7:00 pm.

            Mr. Noone arrived at 7:05 pm.

 

Certificate of Recognition to Student Council Liaison – Elizabeth Clarkin-Breslin & Kathyrn Blake

 

            Board members presented Elizabeth Clarkin-Breslin and Kathryn Blake with a citation recognizing the students for their hard work as liaisons for this past school year.

 

 

Public Comment

 

            Mrs. Knox commented on the awards night held last evening and how extremely proud she is of the students at LHS.  Seven of the nine top seniors started at Center School and six of the seven started in kindergarten.  Litchfield does a fine job.

 

Building Committee Update and Discussion

 

            Board members received copies of the May 5^th and May 19^th Building Committee minutes.

 

Committee/Liaison Reports

Curriculum Committee

 

            Mr. Costa noted that the committee will meet Tuesday at 8:00 pm in the Guidance Office at the high school.  Dr. Breslin will update the committee on the schedule and future technology in LPS will be discussed.  This is the first meeting since the Curriculum and Technology Committees were combined as one.

 

Finance Committee

 

            Mr. Doyle reported that the sub committee met this evening and the discussion will be presented later in the agenda.

 

Facility Committee

 

            Mr. Noone reported that the committee did not meet since the last Board meeting but there is an ongoing investigation re: the C.S. roof and options for the bus lot.

 

            Mr. Simone reported that the fields will have a path for the road race.  They will have sod soon and ready for the fall.  They will have a softball field and not a baseball field.

 

            Superintendent Chittum reported that the Wetlands Committee will meet on June 8^th and the Planning and Zoning on June 20^th.  The hearings are ongoing and have to be concluded which is why it is highly unlikely that a decision will be made at the next meetings.

 

Negotiations Committee

 

            Superintendent Chittum reported that the committee will meet again on June 6^th for the next session. 

 

Old Business

Final Reading and Adoption – Revisions to Policy #5137.1

  

                        MOTION made by Mr. Fairchild and seconded by Mr. Simone: to accept Policy #5137.1 Participation Fees for Extracurricular Activities for a final reading and adoption.

 

            Board members discussed the following: several documents studied; need for clarification; need for policy with financial hardships; difficulty with lining up activities in policy; jazz band has credit given so doesn’t qualify; theater production is the only activity that can be added to list in policy; programs during flex; programs that pay stipends; need to revisit with the new Superintendent when he starts; perhaps address policy to not include the play; could use for this year and revisit later; need for kids to do the play; volunteers are not included; discrimination against sports participants; was sports only; need to extend policy; now unhappy about extensions; need to move forward and pass policy; can be addressed later and changed next year; need for more research; activity structure looked at more carefully; complex due to contract and negotiations issues; need to include more than one more activity other than sports; if eliminate position need to eliminate activity; play and basketball bring in money; not enough revenue to cover expenses; cloudy issue; parents adjusting to paying for play; charging for play participation is wrong; participants will know in advance; two months spent on changing the policy could be wasted; need for close, in-depth look for next year; flex activities get double pay; and teachers give up prep time to do activities beyond their scheduled course load.

 

                                    MOTION carried.  All votes were in the affirmative except Mr. Falcetti who voted in the negative.  Mrs. Reardon abstained.

 

            Superintendent Chittum noted that the list will be updated and communicated to families as soon as possible.

 

New Business

Change of Date of July Board of Education Meeting

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to approve that the date of the Board of Education in July be changed from July 12^th to July 26^th.

 

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

 

Budget

           

            Superintendent Chittum reported that there was an extensive discussion earlier tonight with the Finance Committee re: the budget ending in the black.  One major area of concern is the Health Insurance Fund, which is in the deficit for the past 2 years.  Funds have not been sufficient due to catastrophic illnesses.  $57,000 unexpended from 2002-03 was redirected to the fund balance.  $87,000 from state grant funding was redirected to the fund also but it still hasn’t made up the deficit.  Long-term subs are higher than estimated along with fuel costs, transportation

costs and special education transportation costs.  The amount of $75,000 as an unexpended balance at the end of the year is recommended to be put towards the health deficit to offset that balance.  The town needs to be notified of that process.  However, if any emergencies occur before the year ends, that money will need to be drawn against.

 

 

            Board members discussed the following; money put in the general fund; money from previous budget; letter to Board of Finance and end of year budget.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mrs. Reardon: to direct the Superintendent to inform the Selectmen of the potential for an estimated unexpended balance of $75,000 in 2004-05 operations budget and that the Board issue a check for $75,000 to deposit in the health insurance fund.

 

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

 

            Superintendent Chittum distributed a memorandum to Board members re: 1.0 FTE program reduction at the high school to include .5 Art teacher and a .5 Business Education teacher.  This was discussed with Dr. Breslin who supports these reductions due to enrollment issues.

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Costa: to approve the 1.0 FTE certified staff reduction of the high school program which was approved in the Board of Education 2005-06 Budget proposal be specified as .5 Art teacher and .5 Business Education teacher.

 

            Board members discussed whether the cuts will affect the 7^th and 8^th grade computer classes and it was determined that it will not.

 

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

 

Payment of Bills

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Falcetti and seconded by Mr. Fairchild: to pay bills in the amount of $204,168.79.

 

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

 

                        MOTION made by Mr. Simone and seconded by Mr. Falcetti: to move to Executive Session at 8:15 pm to discuss Personnel.