Town of Rocky
Hill
Board of Education
December 12, 2002
Page 1
TOWN OF ROCKY HILL
BOARD OF
EDUCATION
MEETING OF
DECEMBER 12, 2002
Members Present: Nadine Bell
Raffaella
Coler
Tina
Lionetti
Charles
McMonigle
Anne Schmidt
Frank Szeps
(Chairman)
Marinella Tirillo
Catherine
Vargas
Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse
Members Absent: None
A
meeting of the Board of Education was held on Thursday, December 12, 2002, in
the Council Room of the Rocky Hill Town Hall.
Chairman Szeps called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
The pledge of allegiance was recited.
Moved by Mrs. Lionetti, seconded by Mrs. Bell, to accept the minutes of
November 7, 2002, as presented and the minutes of November 21, 2002, as
corrected.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
On
Page 6, last paragraph, fifth line, change “workbooks” to “textbooks”.
Town of Rocky
Hill
Board of Education
December 12, 2002
Page 2
Dr. Vautour noted the November 2 correspondence addressed to Ms. Marino, secretaries and students of Griswold Middle School, from Richard and Lorraine Lewis, thanking the students for raking leaves during the Griswold Give Back Day.
AUDIENCE
PARTICIPATION
RHTA Liaison Committee
No report.
The high school student representative reported on recent Student Senate events, which included the Turkey Day fund raising which benefited the local food pantry. The group decorated cards for the elderly. The Thanksgiving football game, although a loss, was well attended. Fall sports night was held last week. Winter sports are beginning. The junior ring dance will be held tomorrow night, with a luau theme. A multi-media assembly was held on December 4 which highlighted the differences between people. The Jazz Band played at Cold Spring Commons today.
Meeting Open to the Public
Tony Cozza, 335 Farmstead Road, addressed the Board, pointing out that a lot of Rocky Hill residents feel strongly about the importance of athletics. He asked the Board not to lose sight of that.
1. Personnel and Negotiations
The
recently negotiated contract between the teachers and the Board of Education
was ratified and submitted to the Town Manager’s Office on Friday. There is a thirty day
Town of Rocky
Hill
Board of Education
December 12, 2002
Page 3
period
in which the Council may allow the contract to stand or elect to challenge it
by going to arbitration. Mrs. Bell asked
Dr. Vautour to call the Town Manager to find out if there were any questions so
that the Committee could be prepared in advance to answer them.
2. Policy
Dr.
Vautour reported that three policies were reviewed. The Committee reviewed the proposed policy on
bullying as submitted by the Board Attorney.
They also reviewed the policy dealing with suspected abuse and neglect,
which now requires coaches to act as mandated reporters. Abuse may include placing of the child in
eminent danger. The third policy clarifies
the Board’s position relative to the Pledge of allegiance. Students may elect
not to participate in the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and they are
not to be penalized. The first reading
of the three policies would be done at the January meeting, with possible
adoption in February. The administrative
regulations are in place already.
Mrs.
Schmidt reported that the Finance Committee met and discussed the Pay for Play
policy. She stated that during the
Board’s budget process, it was clearly delineated as to how the Pay for Play
fees were going to the coaches’ stipends.
The previous budget documents are at the Board of Education office for
any member of the public to review.
There is a sub-chapter in the budget report entitled “Athletics and Pay
for Play”.
Mr.
Turansky had prepared a list of the questions raised at the last meeting with
explanations. The questions dealt with
fees charged for sporting events at the RHHS, including: who collects the fees, do they volunteer, are
they paid, how much and do the need to qualify; where are the monies deposited;
where does the money go, who spends it, does it defray BOE athletics costs; are
people who do the stats and film compensated, and by whom.
Mr.
Turansky discussed the question raised about football players changing in a
make-shift locker room in a garage area that formerly housed lawn and grounds
maintenance equipment. He noted that there is no other facility available for
this purpose.
Mr.
Turansky pointed out that $6,000 was projected to be collected from parking
fees this year, and those fees would be used to pay for a portion of the hall
monitors’ salaries.
Town of Rocky
Hill
Board of Education
December 12, 2002
Page 4
Another
topic raised by parents at the last meeting dealt with students paying for
playing on a team, and getting no playing time. He pointed out that payment does not
guarantee that the student would be a starter or receive significant playing
time.
Mr.
Turansky explained that fall and winter cheerleading squads have always been
considered separate squads, and therefore students are charged separately for
both squads.
A
comment had been raised about not enough gym time being given to the freshman
basketball team to practice, and that coaches were threatening to quit. Mr. Turansky explained that this year, the
school is now in another conference, and the freshman games are scheduled prior
to the JV and varsity games at the same site.
In the past, that was not the case, and practice time was available when
varsity and JV teams were at away games.
At
the last meeting, parents had mentioned that a fundraising golf tournament was
held over the summer to raise money to buy new uniforms. Those parents were told to return the sponsor
money because the new uniforms were covered in the next year’s budget; Mr.
Turansky understood that a general fundraiser was held, which did not
specifically identify the purchase of uniforms as the reason for the
activity. Basketball is funded by the
Board of Education, and uniforms are replaced on a five-year cycle.
Parents
had also felt that Pay for Play and the parking fees were targeting certain
parents; Mr. Turansky noted that the fees were not intended to target anyone.
Another
topic that had been raised was that if football players do not pay for their
parking, they get a Saturday detention which keeps them from playing in the
games. Mr. Turansky pointed out there
were other ways to get to school, besides driving one’s car.
A
parent had noted at the last meeting that the baseball budget had not increased
over the years; Mr. Turansky’s reply was that baseball is fully funded by the
Board of Education. Since 1996-97, the
supply budget has been increased by 11.1%.
Coaches’ salaries continue to be paid, increasing each year. Uniforms have been replaced (2001-02),
aluminum bats have been purchased (2001-02), helmets and catchers’ equipment
have been replaced (1999-00). A batting
cage net and screen pitcher protected were provided in 1997-98.
Mr.
Turansky discussed the subject of parents paying athletic fees as well as
providing support as boosters. He noted
the importance of the booster support, pointing out that booster funds could
not replace the Board-funded baseline expenses of each sport, and that
participation fees could not be ignored.
Town of Rocky
Hill
Board of Education
December 12, 2002
Page 5
Even
though the subject had not been raised at the last meeting, Mr. Turansky
mentioned the incident that happened last year when athletes were punished and
not allowed to play in their next game, and band members who were at the same
party were not punished. Since then, the
Board policy has been changed to extend behavioral expectations to all students
participating in any extracurricular activity.
Mr.
Turansky explained that athletic expenditures have increased by 27% over the
last five years. In 1998-99, athletic
budget expenditures totaled $250,289; in 2002-03, the costs were expected to be
$318,288. He would provide a detailed
breakdown if requested.
Mrs.
Viggiano-Grosse asked about the $28 paid per event to the ticket takers, and
whether that fee comes out of the student activity fund; Mr. Turansky said it
did. Mrs. Viggiano-Grosse questioned how
much was generated from the ticket sales; Mr. Turansky said the information was
maintained at the high school in the student activity fund and is audited each
year.
Mrs.
Bell asked about the cheerleaders having to pay for each sport they cheer
for. She asked if they were paying for
each season, or for each sport; Mr. Turansky the breakdown was for fall and
winter sports. The fee is per season,
and not per sport.
Chuck
Lukas, 98 Martin Drive, discussed the topic of losing students due to Pay for
Play. He felt the reality was that, as a
parent, the parent would not deny his child the opportunity to play a sport,
and would pay the $75. For a lot of
people the $75 is a lot, for others it is not much. For a parent of three children, it becomes
$300 quickly.
Mr.
Lukas discussed the item concerning the fundraiser held for the freshmen
basketball team uniforms. He noted that
there is only one regulation sized gym in the Town of Rocky Hill. The community center gym is not an adequate
basketball court. Rocky Hill now plays
in the Northwest Conference. Berlin has
three regulation sized gyms. As far as
uniforms, his son has not had a new uniform in four years. No new uniforms were issued in 2001/02.
Regarding
the subject of the incident last year, and the punishment of athletes, Mr.
Lukas did not know where the Board was going with their new policy of
disciplining students participating in any extracurricular activities. He was not sure that the Board should be
concerned about what the kids are doing on Saturday evening.
Mr.
Lukas noted Mr.Turansky’s explanation of the dollars spent on athletics over
the last five years; he pointed out that 76% of the money spent in the athletic
budget goes back to
Town of Rocky
Hill
Board of Education
December 12, 2002
Page 6
the
coaches or timekeepers. That is the same
problem in the overall Board budget, where 85% of the budget goes to
salaries. He noted Mr. Turansky had
stated there was a 27% increase over the past five years; he asked if football
was included in the numbers. Football
was a new sport in 1998/1999. Mr. Turansky
did not recall if football was included; he would check on that. Mr. Lukas felt the bulk of that budget
increase amount went to football. The
27% seemed like a large number, but it was not that big if the school did not
have football in the budget, and now had it.
When
Mr. Lukas was first against Pay for Play, the fee was $75; he was concerned
that the fee would rise to $100 and would eventually go beyond sports. He thought the way this started was because
of a deficiency in funding.
Mr.
Lukas noted that high school applications ask applicants what extra-curricular
activities they participate in, and what they do inside the school and outside
of it. He read the mission statement
from Middlebury College. He recommended
that when the high school programs are put together, that extra-curricular
activities are included. He pointed out
that students’ self-esteem was very important.
He recommended there be a student of the month, which would help a
student feel good about himself. He
asked the Board what position they placed extra-curricular activities in; he
asked if it was in the same category as AP courses. He asked that
extra-curricular activities, whether they be sports or another activity, such
as the Drama Club, be given more weight.
He pointed out that some students may not excel in their scholastics,
but may have athletic talent.
Dr.
Vautour was in agreement with much of what Mr. Lukas had said. During the budget process, the Board made
some painful decisions. He recommended
that parents read carefully the mission statement and goals for the Board of
Education, where they would find some parallels to the Middlebury College
mission statement.
Mr.
Lukas asked what would happen if the budget deficit continues to grow. He asked if parents would be charged a fee
for the AP courses. Mrs. Schmidt pointed
out that public schools cannot charge for academics, but can charge for
extra-curricular activities.
Mr.
Lukas stated that parents who have students who participate in sports are a
special interest group. The problem is
that the Board is now citing a certain group of parents in Town, and that
should not be happening. Mrs. Schmidt
asked Mr. Lukas to look at the budget, so that he could understand how this was
happening. The Board is strongly
dictated by law. The band students earn
a credit. The only things left are the
clubs, such as the Art Club and Tech Club, many of which are led by teacher
volunteers. There are only minor supply
costs associated with those. When the
Board was running a shortfall in their budget, they had to make up the funds
somewhere. They did not want to
Town of Rocky
Hill
Board of Education
December 12, 2002
Page 7
eliminate
athletic teams at the middle school or the JV teams or the freshmen teams. The next area to be impacted would be the
classroom size guidelines. It was noted
that the Town just voted for $3 million in funding to redo the fields in Town;
last year the track was redone at a cost of $1 million. The auditorium was just updated.
Dr.
Vautour asked the parents in Town to assist the Board in deciding what is
needed for the children and how to get the resources.
Helen
Palazzo, 10 Lavender Lane, thanked Mr. Turansky for replying to the parents’
questions from the last meeting. She was
in favor of the decision regarding the disciplinary action for all students
participating in extra-curricular activities, rather than just targeting the
athletes. As far as the money being collected at the games, and people being
paid, she thought that four people being paid $28 at each game was a lot of
money. She thought parents would
volunteer to collect the money.
Volunteers now run the concession stands. She did not think people had been asked. Her freshman son never heard anything about
getting paid for collecting at the gates.
She noted that Project Graduation volunteers asked to collect the fees
and be allowed to keep the fees for that event.
Project Graduation costs over $20,000.
Those parents were told that could not happen. She had not seen anything asking for fee
collectors; her children have not seen anything. She felt the school needed a better way to go
about this.
Mrs.
Palazzo was confused about the basketball team uniforms; if the team needed the
uniforms, and parents collected the money, she did not think the money should
have been turned away.
Tony
Cozza noted that Dr. Vautour had mentioned that the Town needs to work together
to get the funding; he asked if the Board would promise to debate the issue of
Pay for Play in their deliberations. Dr.
Vautour said he would be sure that the subject was properly aired.
4. Curriculum
Mrs.
Bell reported that the Curriculum Committee meeting was held yesterday, and the
new course requirements were discussed.
Staff initiated a number of new course requests. No new courses would be considered because of
budget implications. Four new classes
were brought forward, including a math problem solving class, and a financial
investment strategies class, and the second Project Lead the Way class. The Board
was hoping to secure grant money ($15,000 for the equipment), and
forensics science. They discussed
textbook requests. The Committee was
performing an ongoing
Town of Rocky
Hill
Board of Education
December 12, 2002
Page 8
curriculum
review and would attend an upcoming staff meeting relating to curriculum
issues.
Mrs.
Tirillo left the meeting at this time.
5. Professional Development
The
next meeting would take place in January.
6. Facilities
No
report.
7. Technology
No
report.
8. Transportation/Accommodations
No report.
9. Liaison Committee
No
report.
NEW BUSINESS
10. District Teacher of the Year
The
Board honored Michelle Simon as the district’s Teacher of the Year.
Town of Rocky
Hill
Board of Education
December 12, 2002
Page 9
11. Strategic School Profiles
Dr.
Vautour reported that each year the Board of Education is required to review
the strategic school profile and provide information on the CAPT and CMT
testing. The document confirms that the
district is continuing to go in a positive direction. Distribution of the profiles was delayed by
the changes caused by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The information contained in the strategic
profile will serve as a baseline and as the measure against which comparisons
for adequate yearly progress will be made.
Chairman
Szeps asked if the district has reported the information to the State
Department of Education; Dr. Vautour said it did. The district was in the process of verifying
the data, to make sure it is correct.
12. SAT Report
Mrs.
Hayward reviewed the plans for the future:
(1) A renewed focus on SAT type questions and problems to be imbedded
into the curriculum; (2) In-service training for all teachers on the upcoming
changes to the SAT as well as test-taking strategies; (3) Increased
articulation of the curriculum K through 12 with emphasis on 6 through 12; (4)
Additional focus on SAT preparation through developmental guidance
program. Special attention will be
placed on the lower 25th percentile of students. New materials are now available which focus
on familiarization as well as specific test-taking strategies and
Town of Rocky
Hill
Board of Education
December 12, 2002
Page 10
skills. Those will be purchased and utilized as part
of the guidance program; (5) Continue to improve the rigor of the general and
remedial courses.
Mrs.
Hayward added that administration would continue to monitor the SAT
scores. They would continue to encourage
students to take the SATs. Practices and
procedures are in place. The faculty is
provided with an item analysis of the PSAT scores. SAT type questions and problems are imbedded
into the curriculum. Last year, the
district did a half-day in-service on the PSAT preparation.
Mrs.
Bell added that with the new math review coming forward that Mrs. Boutilier and
the committee are looking at, they are also looking at bringing in a highly
recommended consultant to see how these issues relate to SAT preparation.
Tony
Cozza asked how large the senior class was, of which 91% students took the
SATs. Mrs. Hayward noted that 140
students graduated last year, and 136 took the test.
13. CAPT Results
The report had not been distributed to the Board members in time for this month’s meeting; it would be discussed at the next meeting.
Moved by Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Mrs. Lionetti, to table the
discussion of the CAPT results.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
14.
Computer Donations to Close
Digital Divide
Dr. Vautour noted the December 2, 2002, memo from Mrs. Boutilier recommending that 200 Macintosh computers be made available to families within the community, who may be in need. The 200 computers are being taken off-line as part of the district’s replacement plan.
Moved by Mrs.
Schmidt, seconded by Mrs. Vargas, to authorize the donation of computers to
students on free or reduced lunch or other needy individuals.
Town of Rocky
Hill
Board of Education
December 12, 2002
Page 11
FAVOR:
ALL
MOTION CARRIED
15.
Quebec
Field Trip
Members of the World Languages Department have requested permission to take a group of students to Quebec. Dr. Vautour recommended support.
MOTION by Mrs.
Schmidt, seconded by Mrs. Lionetti, to approve the field trip by high school
world language students to visit Quebec.
FAVOR:
ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Tony Cozza asked how closely the students would be watched; Dr. Vautour said the students would be in groups at all times; there were several parents going on the trip. If there were any extenuating circumstances, the trip would be canceled. A parent who is not selected as a chaperone may pay his way to go on the trip.
16.
Committee
Appointment
The vacated position of BOE/Town Liaison Committee would be filled by Mrs. Viggiano-Grosse, and the Committee would be chaired by Mrs. Lionetti.
17.
Extended
Duty Positions
The Board is required to periodically review the list of extended duty positions. The Core Skills Coordinator position was eliminated as part of the creation of the subject area/grade level supervisor positions in the current budget. Dr. Vautour recommended dropping the position from the roster.
The positions of Freshman Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer Coaches have been reviewed; those positions have been vacant for two years. When a position is vacant for two years, it is to be considered for removal from the stipend list.
Town of Rocky
Hill
Board of Education
December 12, 2002
Page 12
MOTION by Mrs.
Viggiano-Grosse, seconded by Mrs. Lionetti, to approve the elimination of the
Core Skills Coordinator position and the positions of Freshman Boys and Girls
Soccer Coaches.
FAVOR:
ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Mrs.
Schmidt questioned whether there were not enough students, or no coaches; Dr.
Vautour said there were not enough students.
The
next Board of Education meeting was scheduled for January 16; budget workshops
were scheduled for January 14, January 21, January 23 and January 28. The Budget workshops begin at 5:30 p.m. at
Griswold Middle School.
Moved by Mrs.
Vargas, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt, to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Rosalie
W. O’Neill
Recording
Secretary
Accepted
by: _________________