TOWN
OF ROCKY HILL
BOARD
OF EDUCATION
MEETING
OF OCTOBER 26, 2006
Members
Present: Neil Geldof
(Chairman)
Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse
Nadine Bell
Peter Arico
Mark
Rene (Skip) Rivard
Anne Schmidt
Catherine Vargas
A re-scheduled meeting of the Board of
Education was held on Thursday, October 26, 2006, in the Council Chambers of
the
The pledge of allegiance was recited.
APPROVAL
OF MINUTES
Moved by Anne Schmidt, seconded by Nadine Bell, to accept
the minutes of the September 7, 2006, Facilities Committee meeting.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Anne Schmidt, seconded by Nadine Bell, to accept
the minutes of the September 18, 2006, Facilities Committee meeting.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
Moved by Mark Carberry, seconded by Jennifer
Viggiano-Grosse, to accept the minutes of the September 20, 2006, Board of
Education Open Forum.
FAVOR: Geldof, Viggiano-Grosse, Vargas,
Carberry,
McMonigle, Schmidt and Arico
ABSTAIN: Rivard
MOTION
CARRIED
Moved by Anne Schmidt, seconded by Peter Arico, to accept
the minutes of the September 21, 2006, Finance Committee meeting with the
following amendment: Mr. Rivard was
absent from the September 21, 2006, Finance Committee meeting due to medical
reasons.
FAVOR: Geldof, Viggiano-Grosse, Vargas,
Carberry,
McMonigle, Schmidt and Arico
ABSTAIN: Rivard
MOTION
CARRIED
Moved by Peter Arico, seconded by Anne Schmidt, to accept
the minutes of the September 21, 2006, Board of Education meeting with the
following amendment: Mr. Rivard was
absent from the September 21, 2006, Board of Education meeting due to medical
reasons.
FAVOR: Geldof, Viggiano-Grosse, Vargas,
Carberry,
McMonigle, Schmidt and Arico
ABSTAIN: Rivard
MOTION
CARRIED
Moved by Mr. Rivard, seconded by Mr. Carberry, to amend the
minutes of the October 5, 2006, Facilities Committee meeting, to reflect that
the Committee also requested an investigation into any surplus funds due or
available to the Town of Rocky Hill, Facilities Committee, from Homeland
Security.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
CORRESPONDENCE
Dr. Vautour reported on the following
correspondence:
(1)
Letter or resignation to be effective June 30, 2007, from Mr. Robert
Pitocco, Principal of Rocky Hill High School.
(2)
Letter or resignation to be effective November 25, 2006, from Dr.
Dr. Vautour said it has been his
privilege to work with these two outstanding administrators, who contributed
immensely to the Rocky Hill Public Schools and will be sorely missed.
(3)
Thank you notes from Mr. Rivard, Cindy Lefebvre and Jason McKinnon for
flowers being sent at times of illness or loss of family members.
(4)
Thank you notes regarding Lend-a-Paw Day from Maple View Manor and the
Conn. Audubon Society.
Mr. Turansky announced that this is
Mrs. Simons’s last night as Recording Secretary and thanked her for a job well
done.
AUDIENCE
PARTICIPATION
RHTA
Liaison Committee – No Report.
Student
Representatives
Shelby Devanney of
Emma Mulvey of
Daniel Moya and Christopher Le
presented their research and a poster concerning their study of the Aztec and
Mayan Indians.
Alyssa Dale and Sasha Yazdzik of
Brianna Calderon, member of the GMS
Student Council, reported on current events at Griswold including upcoming
field trips, an internet safety lesson presented by Officer Dannahy, and on
November 18, 2006, from 9:00 to 2:00 the Student Council will hold a Holiday
Bazaar in the school cafeteria in which local crafters, teachers, and parents
will sell items and the proceeds will go toward holiday gifts for the six
families they have adopted from the St. Frances Hospital Parent Aide Program.
Sarah Beaudoin and Liz Kemp reported on
current events at RHHS including, open houses, spirit week, and that the
volleyball team is one victory away from making it into the State Championship
– a game will be played tomorrow night at
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 Peter Arico, seconded by Anne Schmidt, to accept
the consent calendar for October 26, 2006.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
COMMITTEE
REPORTS
2. Personnel and Negotiations
Mr. McMonigle reported an agreement has
been reached with the Rocky Hill Administrators’ Association. It is a three year contract running from
July, 2007, through June, 2010, with the major provisions being salaries and
insurance. The agreement calls for
salary increases of 3.25% in the first year, 3.75% in the second year, and
3.75% in the last year of the contract, along with substantial changes in the
medical insurance program which aligns this program with the program offered to
teachers. Mr. McMonigle explained in the
state there are only five other administrators’ contracts that were settled and
one was in our ERG - it settled at 4% per year for three years. The Rocky Hill contract has been ratified by
the union and Mr. McMonigle requested a motion for the Board to ratify it as
well.
Moved by Nadine Bell, seconded by Peter Arico, to ratify the
contract with the Rocky Hill Administrators’ Association as outlined by Mr.
McMonigle.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
3. Policy
No report.
4. Finance
Mrs. Schmidt reported the Finance
Committee met this week and had two items on the agenda. The first item
concerned a cost overrun that they experienced with the installation of some
basketball hoops that will be installed in the high school. She said it was felt that the cost could be
covered within the budget, so there was no problem with allowing that to go
through.
The second item concerned a $265,000
development in our insurance account.
Our insurance policy allows us to accumulate a surplus or a deficit
depending on the experience that we have in our health coverage. We were fortunate this year in having a
positive experience which will allow us in November to take a “premium holiday”
– the Board of Ed will not be making the expenditure for that month’s premium,
instead it will be covered out of this account where the money has accumulated.
5. Curriculum
No report.
6. Professional Development
No report.
7. Facilities
Mr. Arico thanked the public for
attending the August and September Public Forums and for their input. He explained the Facilities Committee will
meet sometime after November 10th to discuss current enrollment
projections supplied to the Board from the State Department of Education. They should conclude their recommendations upon
completion of this review.
Mr. Arico wished to share some
editorial comments contained in the current issue of the high school newspaper.
It is the beginning of the school year, and as freshmen
become seniors, the school seems to be getting smaller and smaller. This year the number of students enrolled is
close to 750. This number seemed to cause
speculation in the size of the high school.
“There is so much congestion in the hallways during passing
time…it is difficult to get to class.”
The students are noticing an uncomfortable environment
because the school is just too small.
“Something definitely needs to be done, it’s just too crowded. I think I want to live in Rocky Hill when I’m
older, and by then the school will definitely need some improvements for the
next generations…”.
Not only has the size of the school caught the attention of
the town, but also the condition of the building. The Board of Education recognized the
inadequate parking at the high school.
Not every student with a license is guaranteed a parking space.
The school facilities need updating as well. The ceiling panels are in poor condition, and
the kitchen needs upgrading.
The school also needs improvement in its handicapped
facilities. There is no handicapped
seating in the gym, or in the pool area.
The pool area also has moisture penetrating through the walls, and the
roof beams have noticeable rust on them.
“It gets so hot in the school during the spring and
summer…it makes it impossible to even pay attention…”.
Programmatic inadequacies include the lack of an auxiliary
gym. There is also a need for two new team
locker rooms. Student athletes are
cramped in every bathroom at the end of the day while suiting up for practice
or a game.
The school has insufficient science labs as well. “Space is the biggest problem…it is hard to
teach in the lab because the benches are too high, so it can only be used as a
lab. There are also too many classes, and not enough labs. The classes are always switching to get lab
time. We need more flexibility.”
More space is needed in the guidance office for multiple
uses. “Space is an issue. We have so
many records to keep and such a tight space for all the records. The conference room is also too small for us
to do all we need to do…”.
Mr. Arico concluded that he wanted to
cite these comments because everything identified here is what the Facilities
Committee covered. We have researched
all of this and have concluded our findings, pretty much. We need to do a little more homework
regarding current population and future population growth and you will be
hearing shortly on our conclusions.
8. Technology
No report.
9. Transportation/Accommodations
No report.
OLD
BUSINESS
None.
NEW
BUSINESS
10.
AP Test Results
Mr. Pitocco made the following
corrections to his September 26, 2006, memorandum: The second paragraph, last sentence, should
read “twelve” not “eleven”; and in the chart on the next page under 2005-06, #
of Exams, should read “11*****.”
Mr. Pitocco reported that AP continues
to do well at the high school and has grown to twelve courses. He pointed out the executive director in
charge of the AP courses tells them they don’t want to see high 4’s and 5’s
because that may be a question of whether you are limiting opportunities for
students who want to advance or stretch themselves. However, if students score a 4 or 5 they will
receive college credit for the course.
The second page indicates the growth of the program, indicating that in
1997-98 there were twelve students taking two exams and provides the scores of
those receiving a 3 or better and that in 2005-06 there were 51 students taking
11 exams and the number of students scoring a 3 or better.
Mr. Pitocco concluded they are happy
with the programs and continue to look at expanding them. This year they will be required to register
their syllabi because requirements are tightening up. He sees no problem meeting the criteria they
have established for next year.
Mr. Arico asked if students who may
have difficulty financing the course may be reluctant to take the course. Mr. Pitocco said they are few and far between
and when that information comes to the attention of the staff they find a way
to subsidize the cost of the test. Mr.
Arico asked if that is something we should fund for students who are in need
financially. Mr. Pitocco said they are
few and far between so they find a way within the budget to cover the fee.
11. Give Back Activities
Mrs. Hayward reported that on October 6th,
RHHS hosted their community service Lend-a-Paw Day for the sixth year and it
has continued to grow each year. This
year they had 275 student volunteers with 40-45 adult chaperone
volunteers. Mrs. Hayward said the only
thing keeping them from sending more kids into the community – they had a
waiting list of approximately 50 students - was the number of buses and the
number of chaperones available that day. They did service nineteen different sites with
various beautification activities. It is
a wonderfully popular event and signups began at 7:00 a.m. and booked up in
approximately three minutes. Mrs.
Hayward said they received many thank you notes and are very happy with this
event.
Mr. McMonigle recommended to Mrs.
Hayward that during the next budget proposal she request more money for busses.
Mr. Watson reported that the GMS Cares
Program has been expanded to a month long activity. A food drive that will benefit the Rocky Hill
Food Bank began on October 17th and will end on November 17th. On Saturday, October 21st,
students assisted with the Rocky Hill Junior Women’s Club Craft Fair, and this
past Wednesday, Family and Consumer Science prepared their traditional luncheon
for 15 seniors, this Saturday, students will visit local nursing homes and the
annual raking of leaves will be November 4th. Mr. Watson stated if you know of anyone who
needs their lawn raked please give us a call, we have 150 kids volunteering.
12. November 7th Professional
Development Activities
Mrs. Boutilier reported this is Rocky
Hill’s sixth year of collaborating with staff from the towns of
Mrs. Boutilier thanked the following
staff members who will be presenters:
John Cogoli, Mike Fagan, John Colonghi, Kelly Mota,
Mrs. Boutilier invited Board members to
attend any workshops. Mrs. Viggiano-
Grosse asked if she could just show up or had to register prior to
attending. Mrs. Boutilier said if a
group of five or six would be attending the same course she would need to know
in advance to make sure there is enough seating. If one person wants to attend, they are
welcome to just show up.
Dr. Vautour invited Board members to
attend a presentation on Monday, November 13th at 1:00 p.m. at RHHS
in which Dr. Martel from the
13. Grant Applications
Mrs. Boutilier spoke about her report
concerning the Consolidated Grant over the last five years. Over five years we have received $155,000
less in federal funds, and explained that the grants are based on demographics
in the community and are formula driven.
Despite the loss of funds, they have been able to continue some of the
programs with the Board absorbing the costs especially those providing tutorial
support to younger students. This year
the funds will provide Wednesday Workday Subs for staff to receive training and
a program we are piloting this year, the
Mrs. Boutilier received notice today
that the technology grant they applied for was granted. It is through the state and provides
professional development for staff which will be include the 8th
grade staff helping them with a new software program called “My Access” that
gives students immediate responses and feedback on their writing.
Mrs. Boutilier reported a grant they
are in the process of putting together is a proposal with Wesleyan University
and Glastonbury and Hartford school systems for a teacher quality partnership
grant that could be as high as $100,000 which would be geared towards middle
school science, developing strategies for teachers and providing them with
support and professional development.
Mrs. Boutilier reported we are in the
second year of the Central Grant that we were granted last year and were able
to get three teachers into the program who
have greatly enjoyed and benefited from it.
Mr. Rivard asked with regard to not
getting funding for software, in the system that we have now do we have a file
server with multiple use licenses and is it open to all the schools. Mrs. Boutilier said we have multiple file
servers but we load any of the software that is used in multiple subject areas
on the central file server and it is accessible to all the schools and
students.
14. School Calendar 2007-08
Dr. Vautour submitted a proposed school
calendar for 2007-08 and indicated that it does conform to the CREC
recommendations which are an attempt to have the CREC member towns coordinate
their schools due to the magnet schools.
Dr. Vautour requested a motion for adoption of the proposed calendar.
Mrs. Schmidt requested the following
changes in Board of Education Meeting Dates:
(1) June 19th is the day of graduation she suggested that it
be changed to June 12th; and (2) the July 19th meeting be
dropped since July meetings have been cancelled over the past couple of years
and suggested that if an emergency arises, subcommittees could be convened.
Moved by Peter Arico, seconded by Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse,
to adopt the proposed 2007-2008 School Calendar after incorporating the
following changes to the Board of Education Meeting Dates: (1) the June 19th meeting be
changed to June 12th; and (2) the July 19th meeting be
deleted.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
15.
Status Report on Facilities Committee Deliberations on the Schoenhardt
Report
Dr. Vautour and Mr. Arico felt Mr.
Arico’s previous comments were sufficient for this evening.
16. Class Size Analysis
Dr. Vautour said Policy 6113 requires
he submit to the Board a semi-annual analysis of enrollments by grade and
subject area which he has done. He
explained that his report contains the Board range for recommended guidelines,
the actual class sizes and the number of times that we have exceeded class size
guidelines. He not making any
recommendations at the present time concerning adjustment of staffing and if he
did there would be no space to accommodate the additional staff.
17. CAPT Annual Yearly Progress Results
Dr. Vautour reported they have received
the CAPT Annual Yearly Progress Report and at the present time with respect to
RHHS, we have met the AYP in all subjects.
He cautioned, as he has done in the past, that it is simply a matter of
time before we do not meet the AYP because the standard is moving and
ostensibly requires a 100% meeting of the goal which is impossible to
achieve. We continue to work diligently
in the area of the CAPT and CMT tests but there is a flawed assumption within
the federal law.
Mr. Rivard commended the RHHS staff. This past week he had a family tragedy that
resulted in a death. His daughter was
supported by the staff at the high school who demonstrated compassion and
professionalism and he applauds and thanks them.
16. Executive Session
Moved by Peter Arico, seconded by Jennifer Viggiano-Grosse,
to move the meeting into Executive Session to which Mr. Pitocco was invited
(8:03 p.m.).
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
Moved by Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Mrs. Bell, to come out of
executive session (8:28 p.m.)
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
Moved by Mr. Carberry, seconded by Mrs. Bell, to approve the
disciplinary measures recommended by the superintendent of schools concerning
Student X and instruct administration to implement such measures consistent
with State law and Board policy.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
Moved by Mrs. Vargas, seconded by Mr. Arico, to adjourn the
meeting. (8:30 p.m.)
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
Respectfully submitted,
Juanda J. Simons
Recording Secretary
Accepted by: _______________________ Date: _____________________