TOWN OF ROCKY HILL

BOARD OF EDUCATION

MEETING OF NOVEMBER 17, 2005

 

Members Present:  Neil Geldof (Chairman)

                                     Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse

 Nadine Bell

                                     Peter Arico

                                     Mark E. Carberry

                                     Charles McMonigle

                                     Rene R. Rivard

                                     Anne Schmidt                                  

                                     Catherine Vargas

 

Members Absent:   None

 

A meeting of the Board of Education was held on Thursday, November 17, 2005, in the Council Chambers of the Rocky Hill Town Hall.  The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.

 

The pledge of allegiance was recited.

 

Election of Officers

Dr. Vautour called for nominations for the position of Chairman of the Board of Education.

 

Moved by Mr. Arico, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt to nominate and appoint Neil Geldof as Chairman of the Board of Education.

 

                                                                                                            FAVOR:  ALL

                                                                                                            MOTION CARRIED

 

Chairman Geldof called for nominations for the position of Vice Chairman of the Board of Education. 

 

Moved by Mr. Carberry, seconded by Mr. Arico, to nominate and appoint Mrs. Viggiano-Grosse as Vice Chairperson of the Board of Education.

 

FAVOR:  ALL

MOTION CARRIED

 

Chairman Geldof called for nominations for the position of Secretary of the Board of Education. 

 

Moved by Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Mrs. Viggiano-Grosse to nominate and appoint Nadine Bell as Secretary of the Board of Education.

 

FAVOR:  ALL

MOTION CARRIED

 

Chairman Geldof welcomed new Board members, Rene Rivard and Mark Carberry.  He addressed Rocky Hill citizens stating that aside from changes in seating, the Board will remain much the same as it’s been over the past two years when it earned the reputation for non-partisanship and cooperation.  He said the Board will (a) always try to develop a reasonable budget which provides for needed educational resources of students in concert with the town’s acceptable level of expenditures; (b) continue to implement all of the curriculum initiatives that have been initiated over the last two years; and (c) within the next couple of weeks the Board will receive the facilities report on all five school buildings which will serve as a building-block and plan of development for many years and allow the Board to begin to prioritize and plan a course of action on infrastructure improvements.

 

He expressed pride in the work of Mrs. Bell as Chairman over the past two years and concluded by stating that if he can be half as competent and professional as Mrs. Bell was, things will be okay.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

 

Moved by Mr. Arico, seconded by Mrs. Vargas, to accept the minutes of the October 20, 2005, Facilities Committee meeting.

 

FAVOR:  Geldof, Viggiano-Grosse, Bell,

Arico, Mcmonigle, Schmidt, Vargas

ABSTAIN:  Carberry, Rivard

MOTION CARRIED

 

Moved by Mr. Geldof, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt, to accept the minutes of the October 20, 2005, Board of Education meeting.

 

FAVOR:  Geldof, Viggiano-Grosse, Bell,

Arico, Mcmonigle, Schmidt, Vargas

              ABSTAIN:  Carberry, Rivard

MOTION CARRIED

 

 

 

CORRESPONDENCE

Dr. Vautour reported receipt of the following correspondence:

 

(1)  Governor Rell letter of recognition to West Hill School for being named as President’s Challenge State Champion.

 

(2)  Thank you note from Kathy Kennedy for flowers.

 

(3)  Thank you note to Mr. Pitocco and Mrs. Hayward from Kristen Driscoll, a senior class officer.

 

(4)  Letter from Mark Valenti of the Conn. Student Loan Foundation, Sheila G. Houle Memorial Scholarship fund to Kathy Hallett stating that CSLF will provide a maximum of five scholarships in the amount of $500.00 each to graduating RHHS seniors who have participated in the schools mentoring program and are planning to continue their education.  The students who qualify are currently in their Junior year.

 

(5) Received the Arbitrator’s Stipulated Award with respect to teacher negotiations.

 

(6)  The Ed Foundation has announced that February llth is the date for their Renaissance Ball No. 8.

 

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

RHTA Liaison Committee – No report.

 

Student Representatives

Jessica Patek and Tasneem Ahmed of West Hill School presented a report prepared by the West Hill School Newscasters, which reported Bright Beginnings took a field trip to see Sesame Street Live, Halloween activities have been enjoyed by all grades, the National Guard visited their school for Red Ribbon Day, and the fire department made a presentation concerning fire prevention.

 

Jonathan Baez and Caitlyn Bogus from Stevens School reported students in all grades have been learning about pilgrims and native Americans and they invited Board members to attend the 5th grade chorus and the 4th and 5th grade band concert on December 7th @ 7 p.m. 

 

Kevin Ellegard reported Griswold Middle School‘s GMS Cares activities and the sports teams.

 

Chris Flowers from RHHS reported the football team will hold it’s final game on Thanksgiving morning at 10 a.m. and with their record of 8 and 1 they could be on their way to the playoffs for the first time in school history.

 

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

 

Moved by Mr. Arico, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt, to approve the consent calendar for November 17, 2005.

 

FAVOR:  ALL

MOTION CARRIED

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Chairman Geldof announced the following appointments to the Committees for coming year:

 

2. Personnel and Negotiations:  Chaired by Charles McMonigle with members Catherine Vargas and Rene Rivard.

 

3. Policy:  Chaired by Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse with members Mark Carberry and Nadine Bell.

 

4.  Finance:  Chaired by Anne Schmidt with members Peter Arico and Rene Rivard.

 

5.  Curriculum:  Chaired by Rene Rivard with members Catherine Vargas and Mark Carberry.

 

6.  Professional Development:  Special Representative, Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse.

 

7. Facilities:  Chaired by Peter Arico with members Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse and Nadine Bell.

 

8.  Technology:  Special Representative,  Mark Carberry.

 

9. Transportation/Accommodations:  Chaired by Mark Carberry with members Anne Schmidt and Charles McMonigle.

 

Special Representative to the Capital Region Education Council, Charles McMonigle.

 

 

OLD BUSINESS

None.

 

NEW BUSINESS

10.  Recognitions

Dr. Vautour and Chairman Geldof recognized and thanked Francis Palazzolo and J. Kirk Bostwick, for their distinguished service as members of the Board of Education for the past two years.

 

11.  Teacher of the Year Awards

Dr. Vautour presented and congratulated the following Teacher’s of the Year:

 

            Rocky Hill High School:  Kathy Oryell;

            Griswold Middle School:  Lisa Cooney;

Mosier/Stevens School:   Pat Saponare; and

West Hill School’s Teacher of the Year and District Teacher of the Year:  Margot Dagata.  Mrs. Dagata said she was raised in Rocky Hill and is a product of the Rocky Hill school system.  After completing her education, she returned to Rocky Hill to begin a 35-year teaching career.  She said her dad was on the Board of Education in the 1960’s and that the Dagata family has always held education in the highest esteem.

 

12.  CAPSS Awards

Dr. Vautour presented and congratulated the following “outstanding” students who were chosen as recipients of the CAPSS award: 

 

            From Stevens:   Malory Monaco and Evan Choquette;

            From West Hill:  Katelyn Seaver and Stephen Lamari;

            From Griswold:  Michael Mancini and Kevin Ellegard; and

            From RHHS:      Diane Chaniewski and Giuseppe Buonannata.

 

Moved by Mrs. Bell, seconded by Mrs. Schmidt to recess.

 

FAVOR:  ALL

MOTION CARRIED

 

Moved by Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Mrs. Viggiano-Grosse to return from recess.

FAVOR:  ALL

MOTION CARRIED

 

13.  Education Foundation Donation

Mr. Peter Parrotta presented Griswold Middle School with a $10,000 donation from the Education Foundation which is being utilized for a stage.  He stated he enjoyed the many fundraising activities which took place and looked forward to seeing everyone at the February 11th Foundation Ball.

 

Mr. Watson thanked Mr. Parrotta and the Education Foundation and the many parents who supported the fundraisers. He said the stage has arrived and will be assembled in place for use at the beginning of the new year.

 

14.  Strategic School Profiles

Mrs. Boutilier reviewed the Strategic School Profiles 2004-2005, stating copies are available both online and at all schools.

 

She stated that the bad news is that at the elementary school level the ratio of students to computers is below the state average but the instructional time is well above the state average, and at the middle school and high school levels computer to students ratio is above the state average but the percentage of computers considered to be of “high power” is below the state average.  She stated they are aware that this is an area where improvement is needed.

 

She stated that the good news is that the there is a greater percentage of RHHS students enrolled in high school level courses than that of the ERG D or the State.  At the middle school the number of students taking high school level math and world languages is well above the state averages.

 

Mr. Geldof asked the significance of tracking the “percent of elementary and middle school students above entry grade who attended this school the previous year,” and do you want it to be above or below the ERG and the State.  Mrs. Boutilier said it would be good to be above the ERG and the State for stability and that this concerns school districts where there are a lot of students moving in and out of the district which makes the job of teaching more difficult.  Dr. Vautour explained that when you are able to point out that there is consistency within the district, you are suggesting a greater likelihood of better performance of consistency in education.

 

15.    Infrastructure Grant

Mrs. Boutilier stated she will address some of the bad news from the Strategic School Profiles and thanked Ann Marie Soma from the article in the The Hartford Courant that synopsized our internet needs and why we are seeking this grant.

 

In 2001 the Town provided internet access to the schools through a wireless hook-up that was meant to be a three year solution - we are now in the fourth year.  What this grant will do is allow us to contract with Cox Cable who will provide all connections and we will pay a monthly service fee.  It will help us meet the need of increased speed at all our schools and brings on line the Clinical Day Pathways program and Moser School.

 

Mrs. Boutilier cautioned that they are hopeful, but there is only $5 million available, and $11.8 million requests have been submitted. We will know in January whether or not we will receive the $126,000 we’ve requested.  If so, we will have things up and running during this school year.

 

16.  Class Size Report

Dr. Vautour stated that twice a year he is required to submit to the Board a summary of the class sizes across grade levels and subjects which he has done.  At this time he is not recommending any staffing adjustments.  At Stevens, grade 3, there are three instances where classes are over by one student in each classroom which is typically addressed through the allocation of paraprofessional assistance.  He also pointed out that this year they have significantly increased the number of honors level offerings and explained that they are in the process of sorting out enrollment information for these courses which he will later provide to the Board.

 

17.  Extended Duty Positions

Mr. Turansky stated the Board has been provided with a list of all extended duty positions throughout the district.  Board policy requires that any position vacant for two years is subject to elimination, and none of the positions on the list have been vacant for two years.  Therefore, all positions remain viable and no action is required.

 

18.  Enrollment Projection Report

Dr. Vautour requested this item be tabled.

 

Moved by Mrs. Schmidt, seconded by Mrs. Vargas, to table the Enrollment Projection Report. 

 

FAVOR:  ALL

MOTION CARRIED

 

Moved by Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Mrs. Viggiano-Grosse, to adjourn the meeting (8:40 p.m.).

 

FAVOR:  ALL

MOTION CARRIED

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Juanda Simons

Recording Secretary

 

 

Accepted by: ____________________               Date:  _____________________