TOWN
OF ROCKY HILL
BOARD
OF EDUCATION
MEETING
OF
Members
Present: Nadine Bell (Chairman)
Peter Arico
Kirk Bostwick
Neil Geldof
Francis Palazzolo
Anne Schmidt
Catherine Vargas
Charles McMonigle
Dr. J.A.
Members
Absent: Jennifer
Viggiano-Grosse
A meeting of the Board of Education was
held on
The pledge of allegiance was recited.
APPROVAL
OF MINUTES
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. Bostwick, to accept
the minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Mr. McMonigle, to accept
the minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
Moved by Mr. Palazzolo, seconded by Mr. Arico, to accept the
minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Mr. Geldof, seconded by Mr. Palazzolo, to accept
the minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. Arico, to accept the
minutes of the
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
CORRESPONDENCE
Dr. Vautour reported on the following
items of correspondence:
(1) Ginny Currie and Dolores Callegher
sent a thank you for retirement gifts they received.
(2)
Mr. Mark Williams of Human Services sent a note of appreciation for the
food pantry donation made by the high school, and for the hard work students
have done.
(3)
Mr. Wisniowski submitted two letters raising concerns over auditorium
use and general maintenance at the high school. Dr. Vautour said will investigate
and prepare a response, which he will share with the Board, addressing Mr. Wisniowski’s
concerns.
(4)
Conn. State Department of Education letter stating
(5) Pat and Tony Cozza note commending
the excellent education their son received during the thirteen years attending
school in Rocky Hill, and who graduated and will attend
AUDIENCE
PARTICIPATION
RHTA
Liaison Committee – No Report.
Student
Representatives – No report.
Meeting
Open to the Public – There was no one from the public wishing to address the
Board on any item not on the agenda.
1.
Consent Calendar
The consent calendar included (a)
resignations of Alicia Mezritz, Anna Norland, Margaret Szmolda, Melissa Walden,
(b) 2005-06 Tuition Rate of $9,528.00, (c) 2004-05
Closeout Report, (d) Washington trip and (e) student accident/excess sports
insurance bid.
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. Arico, to accept the
consent calendar for August 18, 2005.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
COMMITTEE
REPORTS
2. Personnel and Negotiations
Mr. McMonigle reported that an
agreement had been reached with the union representing the nurses; a three-year
deal with wage increases of three (3%) percent for each year and calls for the
nurses to pick-up a higher percentage of their medical costs. The net costs to the Board will be 2.81% the
first year, 2.57% the second year, and 2.52% the third year.
Moved by Mr. Arico, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt, to ratify the
nurses’ contract.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Mr. McMonigle stated that agreement had
been reached with a group not represented by a union and consists of eleven,
full and part-time, hourly and salaried employees. Contracts between 1 and 3 years in duration
with an average raise in the first year being three and one-half (3.5%)
percent.
Moved by Mr. Arico, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt, to ratify the
non-bargaining unit contracts.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
3. Policy
No report.
4. Finance
Mrs. Schmidt reported the Committee met
to wrap up the books with Mr. Turansky.
Everything looked great, all details of the expenditures report were
covered, everything was well-documented to wrap-up the year. The Board ended the fiscal year with the
anticipated $90,000 surplus which was turned over to the town with the
agreement that the flooring at
5. Curriculum
No report.
6. Professional Development
No report.
7. Facilities
Mr. Bostwick thanked Mr. Cooke for
working so hard to get the
Regarding the Feasibility Study, he
said that on
8. Technology
No report.
9. Transportation/Accommodations
No report.
OLD
BUSINESS
None.
NEW
BUSINESS
10. Teacher Evaluation & Professional
Developments
Mrs. Boutilier said she was very
impressed by the amount of work and the commitment of staff devoted to the
program and she and Dr. Vautour decided that the best way to present the report
this year was to hear from some of the staff.
(a)
Karla Harding, social studies teacher at the middle school and first
year teacher in the district with experience from another district, said she
was very impressed with the evaluation process and found the district’s
expectations and goals for new staff to be clearly delineated and consistently
evaluated.
(b) Lee-Ann Flynn, grade 2 teacher at
(c) Tammy Devine, English teacher at
the high school and member of the new teacher evaluation plan committee, explained
she was involved in the revision of the plan saying the committee worked hard
to ensure the evaluation process proved to be growth-producing for
teachers. The new evaluation document
incorporates self-reflection, since it is an integral component of improved
student learning, and recognizes the importance of collaboration among
teachers.
Mrs. Boutilier concluded stating she
felt these teachers are reflective of what others would say and thanked the Board
for putting professional development back into the budget.
Dr. Vautour commended the speakers as
well as other Rocky Hill teachers for their professionalism stating the evaluation
process is extremely labor intensive and hard work done by staff and administration
is probably why we are seeing positive results and pushes us towards our goal of
excellence for the district.
11. Strings Presentation
Dr. Vautour stated that he has always
been an advocate for providing increased opportunities for students and one of
the areas being explored is an enhancement to the music program by the re-introduction of a strings
program.
Mrs.
Mrs. Burnett introduced Mr. Edward
Coming, music director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, was here to speak as
a passionate advocate for string programs.
(He is a strong advocate for string music in the State of Conn.,
conducted Conn. Allstate Orchestra, participated in Careers in Music seminar
for the Tri-Am State Conference, prior to coming to Hartford he was conductor
of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra which had many outreach programs for youth
and concerts in the area, and he conducted the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony
Orchestra.)
He said he studied the violin for one
year in college and that was enough - it was way too late. He said putting together the components of
playing is wonderful for a kid and string players are like part of a club they
can always be part of no matter where they go in the world.
Mr. Coming also stated if Rocky Hill
would pay for the busses to the Bushnell, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra would
pay for the tickets for students to attend a Hartford Symphony concert and a
pre-concert talk, they could see where they could end up if they keep up with
their instrument playing.
Rebekah Harding spoke highlighting the scheduling/facilities
portion of the report saying there is room to include string lessons and
ensembles in all schools. One component
of a successful program is to include weekly instrumental lessons at the middle
school which would, in turn, improve instrumentation at the high school level.
Mrs. Burnett presented an overview explaining
one additional full-time staff person would be needed, but this doesn’t have to
be one person because some existing staff at the elementary school also does
instruments.
Mr. Arico asked if a student could be
in both orchestra and chorus and what incentive a student would have to get
involved with one over another. Mrs.
Burnett said this is about providing a variety of opportunities for students.
Susan Kohanski spoke about the budget
and curriculum portion of the proposal stating the budget would be desirable
for a string educator starting a new program.
She spoke about how important it is for the instructor to have one of
each instrument being taught because modeling is very important when learning
to play.
Mrs. Burnett said that she hoped the proposal
has been clear, the Committee worked hard to provide the data and look at all
aspects of the program and she thanked the Board for their time.
Dr. Vautour commended the presentation
and said he believes the addition of a strings component would make our music
program an excellent one, and would enhance student learning, and that it is
intent, in the upcoming budget, to put in the necessary requests for staff and
equipment.
12. Elementary Schools Enrollments – 2005-06
After monitoring school enrollments
throughout the summer to determine if Rocky Hill would have adequate staffing, it
has become a problem in grades 1 and 4 at
After a discussion about actual
enrollment numbers as compared to enrollment projections, redistricting,
location, and funding for adding two classes at
Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. McMonigle, to put two
teachers in place to cover the excess sizes in classrooms at Stevens grade 1
and Stevens grade 4.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
13. School Leavers Report
Dr. Vautour was pleased to report that
the analysis of where students are attending school after leaving Griswold
Middle School this year indicates that only eight students out of a graduating
class of 179 (4.47% as compared to a number as high as 17.98% over the past 12
years) will not be attending Rocky Hill High School. This is the smallest number in the past
twelve years. Of the eight students,
five will attend parochial schools, one will attend University High School of
Science and Engineering, and two will attend private school.
14. Annual Yearly Progress
Dr. Vautour requested the report be
tabled.
15. Additional Correspondence
Dr. Vautour said that during the course
of this meeting he received correspondence and requested that it be acted upon
immediately. He received a letter of
resignation from Anthony Kydd, Speech and Language Pathologist, has accepted a
position as vice principal of
Moved by Mr. Arico, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt, to accept the
resignation of Mr. Anthony Kydd.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
Mrs. Bell stated that school open
houses will begin soon and asked that everyone read newsletters their children
bring home; the next Board of Education meeting is
Moved by Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Mr. Palazzolo, to adjourn
the meeting (
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
Respectfully submitted,
Juanda J. Simons
Recording Secretary
Accepted by: ____________________ Date: ______________________