TOWN OF ROCKY HILL
BOARD OF EDUCATION
MEETING OF MAY 15, 2008
Members Present: William MacDonald (Chairman)
Nadine Bell
Raffaella Calciano-Coler
Charles McMonigle
Maria Mennella
Frank Morse
Rene (Skip) Rivard
Catherine Vargas
Charles Wisnioski
A meeting of the Board of Education was held on Thursday, May
15, 2008 in the Council Chambers of the
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
APPOINTMENT OF NEW
BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER
Chairman MacDonald said the new Board of Education member
will be Maria Mennella.
Jennifer Viggiano has moved out of Town and this created a void on the
Board of Education. Mrs. Mennella
has lived in Rocky Hill for over ten years. Mrs. Mennella and
her husband Mike are the parents of two boys. One of these boys is four and a half
years old and he attends Bright Beginnings at
Moved by Rene Rivard, seconded by Raffaella
Calciano-Coler, that Maria Mennella be appointed as a member of the Rocky Hill
Board of Education.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Chairman MacDonald congratulated Mrs. Mennella and he told her that she could come and join the other Board of Education members at the table.
STATE DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION – MAGNET SCHOOL
Chairman MacDonald said there were individuals from the State Department of Education present this evening to give an update on the magnet school. At this point, Chairman MacDonald turned this meeting over to Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Villar so that he could make a few remarks. Superintendent Dr. Villar said a presentation would be given from three individuals from the State Department of Education who are Jack Hasegawa, Alan Kramer and Bill Magnotta. Superintendent Dr. Villar thought he would get to know these gentlemen quite well over the course of the next few years. There is quite a bit of information coming from the State Department of Education to the suburban districts on the Sheff V. O’Neill settlement. He said these gentlemen have been very informative and helpful. Superintendent Dr. Villar said they have met with him and Assistant Superintendent Boutilier several times to discuss some different options and implications that this town might consider as the K-12 facilities issues are being looked at. Superintendent Dr. Villar asked these gentlemen to come this evening to speak directly to the Board of Education and the Town of Rocky Hill with regards to the option of a magnet school in this town.
At this point, Chairman MacDonald interjected. He said it was his fault and that he should have switched around the agenda. He asked everyone if it was okay with them if they could move ahead with this evening’s recognition and accept this as a minor modification. He told the Board of Education members that they have all been around little children and they all understand the time of the evening. The magnet school presentation will be very enlightening for a lot of people but he just thought there were other things that should be shifted on this evening’s agenda.
Moved by Nadine Bell, seconded by Charles
McMonigle, to move the Recognition of
FAVOR:
ALL
MOTION CARRIED
CORRESPONDENCE
Superintendent Dr. Villar asked Mrs. Cori DiMaggio, Principal
of West Hill School, to share with everyone the great honor that
second grade.
She asked
Superintendent Dr. Villar referred to the gentlemen from the State Department of Education again. Alan Kramer from the Sheff Office of the State Department of Education introduced the two gentlemen who were with him this evening. Mr. Kramer said they were going to talk for awhile and then they would give the Board of Education members plenty of opportunities for questions. He said he was in the Sheff Office. Mr. Magnotta is in the Bureau of School Choice and he is in charge of magnet schools statewide. Mr. Hasegawa is in the Sheff Office and he has worked with choice schools all around the state.
Mr. Kramer told everyone that he would tell them briefly
about the Sheff context in which they will be discussing it and then the magnet
school issues would be discussed.
The Sheff Case is a case that was filed by plaintiffs in 1989. This was won in the Courts of this state
against former Governor O’Neill and the entire state. The next section of the Sheff decision
has just been approved by the legislature and it states that the State of
Mr. Kramer referred the Board of Education members to the
Sheff V. O’Neill Phase II handout they received in their packet with regards to
this. He said what this decision
does is it specifies a certain percentage of students that must be in one of the
reduced isolation settings. There
must be at least 25% minority students or twenty-five students from the suburban
communities in the case of a
Mr. Kramer explained that he would be walking the Board of
Education members through some of the selected elements of the handout that they
have. There are four different ways
within the Sheff settlement that the State Department of Education is required
to approach breaking down the isolation of
Mr. Kramer explained that as an organization they have
resources. They can provide program
and curriculum development. They
can help Rocky Hill design the theme of the school. They will provide academic and social
support services. They are creating
a network of best practices so that the teachers would receive professional
development and support from teachers in other communities that are doing a
similar kind of program to what Rocky Hill would be doing. They are creating a Regional School
Choice Office which will provide outreach and marketing. This office will run the lottery too
that will bring the students in.
Mr. Kramer told everyone to please be aware that when the students come
into an interdistrict magnet school that they don’t get hand picked and they
come in through an open and free computer based blind lottery. He explained that a transportation
network will be provided and presently there is a transportation reimbursement
available. They are organizing a
regional transportation system that is part of their goal. One of the things that the Sheff Office
is doing is that it is creating a Comprehensive Management Plan for all of this
for the next five years and a major element of this is the transportation
network. Mr. Kramer went on to
explain that they will provide funding for construction and if an interdistrict
magnet school was to be built in this town then Rocky Hill would receive 95%
funding for this school from the State Department of Education. This might include up to 15% of an
additional amount for space if the specific theme of the school required it and
he gave an example. Finally,
ongoing financial support would be received from the State Department of
Education. There is an annual
magnet grant that every magnet school receives to supplement the funds that
Rocky Hill would provide for its own students as well as the funds Rocky Hill
would receive for
Mr. Kramer referred everyone to Page 2 of the handout and he said it is called “2008 Proposed Sheff II Overview”. This is where it refers to a Regional School Choice Office that will be created. This handout was created for Superintendents and Superintendent Dr. Villar had received this through the Hartford Area Superintendents Association. This is the overview and it includes a Comprehensive Management Plan. There is a demand based goal and by the last year of this settlement, which is 2012-2013, the State
Department of Education is required to provide places for 80%
of the
Mr. Kramer referred to the section on the handout that stated “Plans For Compliance- Years 1 & 2”. One of their charges is to increase participation by suburban districts in Open Choice. Magnet schools are not the only direction they are moving in and they are looking seriously to increase the number of students in the communities of this area.
This is at the Commissioner’s discretion but Mr. Kramer told everyone that this is something they need to be aware of. Mr. Kramer explained that under the Sheff decision, academic and support services are required. There is an increase of availability of early childhood programs. He said they are charged to develop new interdistrict models including suburban host magnet programs.
Mr. Kramer referred next to the Comprehensive Management Plan. Over the next few months, there will be a Comprehensive Management Plan developed by the Sheff Office and this will be a public document where everyone will be able to see everything that is planned, where it is planned, how it is planned and how the requirements are intended on being met.
Mr. Kramer told the Board of Education members that he wanted to bring this handout to them so that they would have something concrete in front of them that they can refer to. He wanted them to understand that this is not something that the State Department of Education thinks will be a nice idea but they are charged by the decision to make these things happen. He told the Board of Education members that when they work with the State Department of Education, the Sheff Office and the Bureau of School Choice that they will be working with people who have a true mission to do this and a true charge from the decision that has been approved by the legislature and by the Governor. They are serious about this and they think these are fabulous schools. Mr. Kramer said that he, Bill Magnotta and Jack Hasegawa are very excited that Rocky Hill is willing to entertain this with them. They are hoping to have the opportunity to work with Rocky Hill further and to develop something that will be good for the students of this town.
Mr. Magnotta said he would give an executive summary of what is required for magnet schools. When they sit down with the planning groups, they will go into much more detail on a lot of it and they will have some time for questions at the end. He said interdistrict magnet schools legislatively have three requirements in order to qualify for state aid for construction and annual operating funding. These schools have to have a
program reducing racial, ethnic and economic isolation. The state law measures reduction of racial isolation. There isn’t a measure for ethnic and economic isolation that is implied. Any magnet schools opening now are different from magnet schools that opened up three or more years ago. Now, a 75% to 25% ratio is required. At least 25% of the students in the magnet school have to come from outside the district. At least 25% of the students have to be either white or non-white depending on where the magnet
school is located. These are absolute numbers and if these numbers are missed then the town will become ineligible for the annual operating funding. When a magnet school is being planned, it is recommended at a minimum that a 30%-70% split be thought about or a 40%-60% split be thought about so the town doesn’t have to worry about the loss of a few students or a couple of families jeopardizing the funding that the town is eligible for.
Mr. Magnotta said the second requirement for a magnet school is that there needs to be a high quality curriculum in the school that is capable of attracting the diverse student population. Basically in the school, a program is trying to be presented that is so unique that it would be difficult for other schools to offer it to their students without it costing them a lot.
Mr. Magnotta said the last requirement is that the program needs to be offered at least half time although for the most part, all of the magnet schools are full time programs.
Mr. Magnotta went over a few rules that there are for magnet schools. He said the first is there has to be a written agreement with the other districts. At some point, the other districts will be met with and it is good to have them as part of the planning process. He explained some more. He went on to say that there will be a representative governing body which will include a representative from each of the districts at the very least. This could include the Superintendent, the Superintendent’s representative, a Board of Education member or it could be a combination depending upon the number of partners there are and the size of the governing body that there wants to be. Partners from the school can also be included. There may be some from community groups, local industry and business and sometimes even parents. This will be set up when the Operations Plan is done for the school. The students are registered through their own school district and they are still residents of the town that they come from. When the ECS Grant is determined, the ECS dollars will be going back to the student’s home school district and this is where the dollars will stay.
Mr. Magnotta said as was mentioned earlier that the total enrollment can’t fall less than the 25%. If it does in any given year because of some catastrophic event then the Commissioner can grant a one year waiver for the school to take corrective action so that it can get back on board. This can only be done one time though. The state aid can exceed the operating expenses of the school and he said that obviously the state dollars aren’t doing this. He didn’t think too many schools are being operated for less than the money that is being given to them.
Mr. Magnotta spoke about the Operations Plan. This is a document that will be put together and filed with the State Department of Education stating that this town wants to operate a magnet school. In this plan will be the following items: the mission and the vision of the school; the curriculum in the school will be detailed; the transportation and enrollment will be spoken about; the recruiting practices will be given; the school
governance will be spoken about and the evidence and support from other districts will be shown. The State Department of Education will review this plan and they will look at it for all of the elements that are necessary under the law. It is given to curriculum consultants to make sure that the curriculum being offered is high quality. Ultimately, once the State Department of Education is satisfied with the Operations Plan then it will go to the Commissioner for his approval. Once approval is received from the Commissioner then the magnet school is set to open and operate as described in the plan. The approval is only done once and the town wouldn’t have to go in annually for this. If a school building is built as a magnet school then it will be known that this will have to be a magnet school for a long period of time.
Mr. Magnotta went over the building options. When a magnet school is being looked at that is being built, the particular theme is looked at. He gave an example of an arts theme and he said that theater space, and practice space, etc. would be needed. If there was a science theme then special labs would be needed, etc. He explained that this needs to be included in two places. This has to be detailed in the curriculum of the program that is described in the Operations Plan and also when the building grant is filed then there are educational specifications in this and any of these spaces need to be described in the educational specifications as they refer back to the Operations Plan.
Mr. Magnotta referred to the reimbursement rate for magnet schools and he said it currently is 95%. The 5% difference, which is the local contribution, has to be in place
before the State Department of Education will grant a building grant and go to the legislature for approval.
Mr. Magnotta said it is recognized that magnet schools do need unique spaces. If the curriculum spaces can be identified, if the need for them can be detailed and if these can be shown in the curriculum of the school then the town can go up to 15% larger than the typical school for the grade level that the town is coming in for. The town can go to the Commissioner for this waiver.
Mr. Magnotta referred to the enrollment of students in this school. All students in the region, particularly in the towns that this town would be enrolling students from, would need to be informed on a good time base so that they have enough of a notice. Sometimes certain populations have to be targeted (i.e. recruiting materials in different languages). Everybody has to be gotten to so that they are well informed and so they can apply because the enrollment into the magnet school can’t be exclusive. It is open to anyone who wants to apply. Whatever services they may need, be it academic or Special
Needs, then these will be accommodated for in the school. For any Special Needs that are for students who are coming from out of district, the excess costs will be billed back to the sending district. Tests may not be administered for someone to get into the magnet school. If students need academic assistance to meet the requirements within the school, then sometimes programs can be set up before they come into the school. It has to be ensured that every student who is enrolled in the school has an opportunity to succeed.
Students can’t be charged to participate in the schools. The districts they come from would be responsible for the cost of their education if there is tuition involved.
Mr. Magnotta explained that the operating grant would come to this town annually. The town would file in June of each year with the State Department of Education. In the operating grant, the town will give the budget for the year and the student enrollment that is anticipated from each of the districts by grade level. For each in-district student, $3,000 will be given to the town. This past year it was $6,016 for each student coming in from out-of-district and this amount will be going up each year until 2010-2011 when it will reach $8,158. The actual student count is taken on October 1st. When the State Department of Education looks to make a payment to the town for the magnet school program for the per pupil count, it will look at the students that were enrolled on October 1st. It is important to make sure that any student coming into the program is enrolled by October 1st.
Superintendent Dr. Villar told the Board of Education members
that it would be appropriate for them to ask questions at this time. Mr. McMonigle asked if the 95%
reimbursement covers land acquisition costs as well. Mr. Magnotta said it does. Mr. McMonigle said if something was to be
set up, it would be that a school would be built that would not only accommodate
the needs of Rocky Hill students in terms of numbers but also children from
outside the district. He asked what
happens to the students who come from other districts at the end of their
elementary school years and he asked if they would return to their own
districts. Mr. Magnotta said
ideally in the region they would like to have enough programs so that there is a
continuum so that as students graduate from one magnet school there is another
magnet opportunity available probably in other districts. At this time, there are over twenty
magnet schools in the
Mrs. Bell referred to any students with Special Needs and how it was mentioned that the sending school would pay the cost of this and she asked who would determine what the services are. She asked if the PPTs within the magnet school would handle this,
determine this and then if the sending school would pay this. Mr. Magnotta said under the law that the responsibility for the PPT resides with the sending district or the home district. He explained some more.
Mr. Wisnioski said this town has a Teachers Association and he asked what Association the teachers at the magnet school would belong to. Mr. Magnotta said magnet schools
are regular public schools so this would be the same as all
of the other schools within the district that is operating the magnet
school. The teachers in a magnet
school in Rocky Hill would likely be under the same contract as any other Rocky
Hill teacher is under. Mr.
Wisnioski asked Mr. Magnotta if he had an example of a magnet school within
Mr. Wisnioski referred to how it had been stated that 25% of
the students had to be white or non-white depending upon where the school
resides. For Rocky Hill, he asked
if 25% have to be from
Mr. Wisnioski asked if there would have to be a lottery for someone to attend the magnet school within Rocky Hill. Mr. Magnotta said every student in the magnet school has to apply to the school and if there are more applications than spots then there would have to be a lottery. If someone doesn’t want to go to the magnet school that happens to be across the street from them then they would have to have another opportunity to go somewhere else. Mr. Wisnioski asked what would happen in this town if there aren’t sufficient students who want to attend the magnet school. Mr. Magnotta said this problem has not been run into anywhere. For the most part there have been substantial waiting lists for all of the magnet school programs in all of the districts, especially from the local populations. Mr. Kramer said there is something that is called Parent Choice.
This is a new piece of legislation and if all of the spots are not filled then other people from other communities can apply and those districts must pay for their students. He said
that Rocky Hill is part of the Sheff region. The Sheff Office is looking for Rocky
Hill to provide a real support for their need to absorb
Kramer said they were trying to be as clear as they could that this is what they are looking to do. There are resources lined up to support this town. What they need back is help with this particular settlement for which they have an obligation.
Mr. Wisnioski said he didn’t understand the annual grant. He explained that taxpayers will have to go to a referendum to vote to have the school built. He wasn’t clear as to the State Department of Education’s continuity and he asked how it would be known that there will always be this grant. Mr. Magnotta said basically that since this program has begun there has never been a reduction and this has increased over the years. The commitment on the state’s part just on infrastructure alone is $1,500,000,000 in school construction and once a school district creates a magnet school and builds that building it is required to keep a magnet school in that structure for at least twenty-five years or the life of that building. There is a commitment on the state’s part that they will pay 95% for the building and the state expects the town to keep a high quality magnet program in there. If the magnet program isn’t effective any more five years down the road, then the state will sit down with the town to figure out what it can do with it differently to bring the attraction back to the magnet school. He gave some examples. He explained about the students who have been identified who come in and fill empty seats that may not have been filled by the other districts who committed sending students there and he said there will be a tuition charge to them only if tuition is being charged to the other districts that are coming in and it is exactly the same amount. He explained a little more and he referred to the host magnet concept. If this town was to have a 2 to1 ratio (two students in district for every student coming in from out of town) then by 2010-2011 this town would be receiving $14,158 for these students. If the town continues to support its own children in this school as they are supported in the other schools then it can be seen that there are sufficient dollars to support the magnet school without charging a substantial tuition to fund this program.
Mr. Wisnioski asked if there are pro forma operating statements for such a school. Mr. Magnotta asked Mr. Wisnioski what he would be looking at that would be an operating statement. Mr. Wisnioski said how it had been mentioned that there are steps with regards to the payment for the students and he said operating expenses don’t necessarily change in a standard 3% per year. Mr. Magnotta said there are a lot of things that could change. Quite often a school is opened on a phase in basis. It is going to increase in cost especially if it is opened with one to two grades at a time and built to a full school enrollment. If certain aspects of the curriculum are implemented in later years then that won’t be taken care of until later on. When the town fills out its Operations Plan, it will
submit a budget to the State Department of Education that will show the operating costs of the first year and a projection out to full enrollment where it is expected to be.
Mr. Wisnioski gave an example of Rocky Hill having pro forma 450 students in the magnet school. He said in order to meet the standards that were suggested this evening that there would then have to be perhaps 200 students in this school who are from
Understanding that there is a waiting list, Mr. Rivard asked
how often it has been found that the school fall below the 75%-25% ratio that is
required. Mr. Magnotta said the
Mr. Rivard referred to the schools that are outside of
Mr. Rivard asked during construction if the reimbursements are made based on the opening of the school. Mr. Magnotta said reimbursements during construction are based on a schedule of completion that is filed with the school facilities unit in the State Department of Education. As the town pays its bills, the State Department of Education pays the town. Mr. Rivard asked if there has ever been a delay in the payment of the bills and he asked how the state’s reimbursements have been for these schools. Mr. Magnotta said most of them have been good but there are some extraordinary circumstances that come up. He gave some examples. If all of the approvals are lined up then this goes
smoothly. If the school is being built quickly in an area that needs remediation then it can go a little slower. A very high percentage has been on schedule. Mr. Rivard asked if
the town would ultimately have to be prepared to be responsible for all payments. Mr. Magnotta said ultimately the town would be responsible for all payments and especially the 5% that is the town’s share.
Mr. Rivard gave an example of a worst case scenario and he asked what would happen if the ratios fell down, the agreement was broken and the town no longer wanted a magnet school. Mr. Magnotta gave an example of if five years down the road this wasn’t working and all of the partners didn’t want to do this. There are a couple of options. One of the options is that the town can go to the State Department of Education and say that it still needs the school so it will pay the difference in whatever the construction grant was. Also the town could tell the State Department of Education that it can’t afford to buy the school so it is the state’s and the state would then have offices in this town. Mr. Rivard asked if this hasn’t happened. Mr. Magnotta said it hasn’t happened and the likely scenario is the state will try to find something that will work in that school.
Mr. Wisnioski said he had a daughter who attended the Greater
Hartford Academy of Math and Science for four years. Initially there were some glitches with
the busses but he couldn’t think of a better experience for his daughter. It was a wonderful facility and he said
that magnet schools really have a lot to offer. Mr. Magnotta said it really has to be
looked at to have a Regional Transportation Plan developed and this is something
that has begun because the fact is recognized that there are so many programs
going on in the
Mr. Kramer said from the Sheff perspective that everyone is
being very careful about the
Mr. Morse said the goal for year five is 80% and he asked the State Department of Education what they thought was possible for a district like Rocky Hill’s from getting an Operations Plan to getting a shovel in the ground and to getting a school open. Mr. Magnotta said this goes back to the Sheff settlement that was just implemented and some “tweaks” in the state law that are allowing them to accelerate some of what is going on so far in terms of getting the school building project approved. The building project would have to come in by June 30th under a normal time sequence. This would include the local authorization and the complete Operations Plan would be looked at and approved. This
would put the town on the priority list for consideration in the next spring’s legislative session and this would make the money available that next summer. They are looking at ways to have this extended into the fall and perhaps even longer. It then becomes a question of how long everything will take and whether it is a renovation
project or whether it is a complete project, etc. The more the process can be sped up if more of these things can happen concurrently. The best case scenario is three years even with the sped up process.
Mrs. Bell said in order for a magnet school to be a success then obviously community buy-in is needed. She asked how the Board of Education can assess the community’s readiness to accept and embrace this concept. Mr. Magnotta said in the planning process that community members can be invited in that will be part of the planning process. The community can become involved as a partner within the school itself and the specialized curriculum within the school. If the Board of Education is trying to get a feel as to how the community feels about things then specific surveys can be done.
Chairman MacDonald asked outside of being a host and outside of the one seat on the governing board that was spoken about what the governance control responsibilities would be of this Board of Education if this town was to host a magnet school. Mr. Magnotta said generally in a magnet school that is run by a district, the governance agreement that is signed on by the partners leaves the day-to-day operations, procedures and policies of the school up to the host district. He said the Board of Education would function for the magnet school as it would for any other schools. Chairman MacDonald thought this was a critical component that he wanted to get more clarity on. He would hate to be in a position where they abdicate control, or governance, etc. Mr. Magnotta said all of this detail will be laid out in the Operations Plan that is filed with the State Department of Education. When the partners sign on, they are signing on accepting this Operations Plan as it is written. Chairman MacDonald said his understanding was that the development of the theme is a critical component of this and it is a very lengthy process to come out with the theme. He asked if the best case scenario of three years that Mr. Magnotta referred to would be after the theme is developed or he asked if this is from inception now. Chairman MacDonald said he was trying to get a gauge on the length of duration of this compared to a regular school if the town was to build one. Mr. Magnotta said the theme can affect the time period very much. He explained some more about this.
Chairman MacDonald knew there were some indications of potential or larger reimbursements or grants down the road. He didn’t see anything about the Open Choice Program and he said there are in excess of twenty students in this town who participate in the Open Choice Program and this town receives a fraction of the cost of what it costs to educate them. He said as a taxpayer and as someone who is on the Board of Education that to him it is disheartening when there is program from the state from which this town receives a fraction of what it costs to actually educate them.
Chairman MacDonald said he is very encouraged. He said this is a fiscal matter as well as a quality of life issue. He is really concerned about the long term financial stability
and the promises made today versus what will be received down the road because this will be impacted by the taxpayers of Rocky Hill. He thought Open Choice is an example
of where it is a great project and a great program. He didn’t think anyone could disagree with it on the basis of it but the lack of the way it has been funded is something that he has in the back of his mind and he wants to make sure that this town doesn’t get into another component of down the road regardless of where this town goes. He told Mr. Magnotta that he hears this from everyone else with regards to the Open Choice students coming in that there is room being found for them in overcrowded buildings already. It costs this town approximately $10,000 to $11,000 per year to educate this student and the town gets a fraction of this in reimbursement. Mr. Magnotta said every year the state is increasing programs and supports for the Open Choice program and it will continue to.
Chairman MacDonald asked the audience if they had any
questions. Mr. Peter Parrotta,
Mr. Parrotta asked when the towns buy into this and they have to meet their quota to this town what happens when they don’t meet their quota and he asked if this town is responsible to make up the difference. He also asked how it would work if this town doesn’t make the difference if the funding is changed each year or if the towns owe this town and they guarantee that they are going to send ten children from Cromwell for example and they pay up front for this. He asked how all of this works. Mr. Magnotta said this is all worked out in the agreement that is “hammered out” between this town and the sending districts. He explained some more about this and he referred to how Mr. Kramer had spoken about the new Parent Choice option. He said if the district commits to ten seats and doesn’t fill them then these seats can be offered to the other member districts and if they are not filled there then they are opened up to the region. Applications would be taken from all of the other districts and in most cases what has had
to be done is a lottery had to be run for students to fill the empty seats that have been identified. The school is always trying to be filled to capacity. Mr. Parrotta thanked everyone and he was glad that at least further conversations with regards to this are being pursued.
Mr. Bill Pentland, 325 Old Main Street, R.H. said there are very unique circumstances in this town and he said the facilities are run by the town side of the budget and not the Board of Education side. He asked how this would affect all of this and he asked if this is something that would be worked into all of the paperwork. Chairman MacDonald said this was an excellent question and he said Rocky Hill is atypical. He said the facilities are managed under the direction of the town and not under the Board of Education. He asked if there are any magnet schools operating in this type of an environment. Mr. Magnotta said because there are magnet schools all over the state, they have seen every combination of certain services provided by the district. They are working on a form right now with the state to try to equalize the types of services that are provided to each of the magnet schools and it is trying to be identified as to what part of the budget within the district that these are coming from, whether it is the school or the town. He said it is not unusual to have some of the services provided elsewhere. This becomes part of the overall budget that is shown for operating the school and it doesn’t all have to be within the school budget.
Ed Chiucarello,
Ed Chiucarello said hypothetically that Rocky Hill’s school
system is 10% minority. He asked if
this meant that 15% more would be needed to fill the minority in or if 25%
beyond the 10% is still needed. Mr.
Kramer explained that there are two parts that fit together and the numbers seem
to be very much the same so it gets a little confusing. The Sheff responsibility is looking at
25%
said there is no reason why there can’t be 10% of the Rocky Hill students who are minority.
Chairman MacDonald knew that the rest of this evening could be spent discussing percentages, etc. and he said that it is a critical component but he said at least for himself
that he had a little better clarity on what the process is for a magnet school as well as some of the information. He said that Mr. McMonigle had a question and then he would turn this over to Superintendent Dr. Villar. Then maybe Phase I of this discussion can be concluded.
Mr. McMonigle asked if Mr. Hasegawa had a presentation that he was going to give to the Board of Education. Mr. Hasegawa thanked him for asking but he said that he was just the oldest member of this team and the other gentlemen knew that he liked to come along with them because he likes to visit Boards of Education.
Mr. Morse asked if the state grant is different from what the
City of
Mr. Morse asked if
At this point, Chairman MacDonald turned the meeting over to
Superintendent Dr. Villar to conclude this part of this evening’s meeting. Superintendent Dr. Villar thanked the
gentlemen from the State Department of Education for being here in order to help
educate everyone to the important concepts around magnet schools. Superintendent Dr. Villar clarified that
by inviting them here this evening that it was not an endorsement that this in
fact is the best option for the district but it is an option. He said as Chairman MacDonald indicated,
everyone has a lot of research, examination and thinking to do. Superintendent Dr. Villar said his
understanding is that ultimately this would be a decision of the Board of
Education and it would need to spend more time before it makes a decision. He alerted the Board of Education
members and the public that in the last two days he attended two different
meetings in
evening and he said their presentation was very informative. He looked forward to talking to them in the future.
UPDATE ON HIGH
SCHOOL PRINCIPAL SEARCH
Superintendent Dr. Villar said a search process was put
together for the high school principal and this position was advertised
for. There was a first round of
interviews and there was a follow-up second interview of the candidates. At that time, no candidate that fit the
description and the needs of this school system was found. He made the decision to post out again
and continue the search. The area
will be canvassed and the highest quality candidates will continue to be looked
for to lead
APPROVAL OF
MINUTES
Chairman MacDonald referred to a set of minutes for a March 13, 2008 Board of Education meeting that was not on the agenda. He said that Mr. Rivard brought this to his attention and it might have just been an oversight. Superintendent Dr. Villar believed that it was. Some of the Board of Education members couldn’t find this set in their packet.
Moved by Rene Rivard, seconded by Raffaella
Calciano-Coler, to table the approval of the minutes of the March 13, 2008 Board
of Education meeting.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Moved by Nadine Bell, seconded by Charles
Wisnioski, to approve the minutes, as amended, of the March 20, 2008 Board of
Education meeting, the March 25, 2008 Facilities meeting, the April 1, 2008
Board of Education special meeting and the April 21, 2008 Finance Committee
meeting.
FAVOR:
ALL
MOTION CARRIED
CORRESPONDENCE
Superintendent Dr. Villar said he had quite a bit of correspondence this evening. The Board of Education received a very nice thank you note from former Interim Superintendent Carol Parmelee-Blancato. She thanked the Board of Education members for their kindness and generosity. She also thanked them for the opportunity to have served as an Interim Superintendent.
Superintendent Dr. Villar said a very fond letter had been
received from Jennifer Amo who thanked Assistant Superintendent Boutilier and
the entire staff of
Superintendent Dr. Villar said a letter was received from
Superintendent Dr. Villar said a letter had also been
received from St. Vincent’s Soup Kitchen and they thanked the
Superintendent Dr. Villar said a letter was received that
thanked Principal Hayward and the
Superintendent Dr. Villar said he received an e-mail thanking
Superintendent Dr. Villar said he received an e-mail from
Mrs. DiMaggio, Principal of West Hill, who informed him that their recent
fundraiser (the pasta dinner for Kaitlyn Dillon) raised in excess of $15,000 for
the family. Superintendent Dr
Villar said this was amazing and he thanked Principal DiMaggio and her entire
staff as well as the
Superintendent Dr Villar said one of Rocky Hill’s teachers, Ms. Lee-Ann Flynn had an article of hers published in Science & Children magazine. Ms. Lee-Ann Flynn wrote a
magnificent article titled “In Praise of Performance-Based Assessments”. Superintendent Dr. Villar said as the Superintendent that this made him very proud to be able to talk with colleagues and tell them that he has someone working in his staff who had an article published and who is “walking the walk and talking the talk” as well as being a professional out there nationally. Mrs. Bell asked if the Board of Education members could get a copy of this article. Superintendent Dr. Villar said he would make certain that a copy of this would be distributed to all of them.
AUDIENCE
PARTICIPATION
RHTA LIAISON COMMITTEE – No report was given.
Chairman MacDonald asked if there was anyone from the public
who would like to speak on a topic that wasn’t on the agenda. Mr. Bill Pentland,
Mrs. Laura Pentland invited the Board of Education members to
the Town wide Bridging Ceremony for Girl Scouts which will be held on June 2,
2008. This will be held at
Mrs. Vargas said on April 27, 2008 that she and her husband
went to the Bushnell to watch the 50th Anniversary of the Music
very exciting because the students were on the same stage with Shirley Jones. Mrs. Vargas said the students did a marvelous job. She then mentioned how she and Superintendent Dr. Villar had attended a CREC meeting last week and they happened to be sitting with a woman who is in charge of the public relations for the Bushnell. This
woman could not say enough good things about how the Rocky
Hill students were so professional.
She mentioned how Rocky Hill had been one of four high schools in this
state that were asked to do this.
It couldn’t be advertised that the
Ed Chiucarello, 40 Riverview Road, R.H. said he went to the Stevens School concert last night and his son who is a third grader played the violin for his first year. There was standing room only at this event. There were a tremendous amount of musicians on the gym floor. There were also some high school students who came to this to sit in with the elementary students. He “tipped his hat” to the music teachers. The chorus was exceptional.
Ed Chiucarello mentioned how
Ed Chiucarello explained that the Cub Scout Den that he
belongs to will be holding a cleanup day at
1. Consent
Calendar
Moved by Charles McMonigle, seconded by
Rene Rivard, to accept the consent calendar of May 15, 2008.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
COMMITTEE
REPORTS
2. Personnel and
Negotiations
Mrs. Calciano-Coler said this Committee met to discuss the Food Service Management Contract.
Moved by Raffaella Calciano-Coler, seconded
by Rene Rivard, that the Board of Education authorize the Director of Finance
and Operations to enter into negotiation with Sodexho School Services for
purposes of having a Food Service Management Contract in place for the 2008-2009
School Year.
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
3. Policy
No report was given.
4. Finance
Chairman MacDonald said towards the end of this meeting this evening that Superintendent Dr. Villar would give a brief update on where the Board of Education’s budget ended up.
5. Curriculum
No report was given.
6. Professional
Development
No report was given.
7. Facilities
Mr. Wisnioski said the Board of Education members as well as
some of the public know that there have been a number of Joint Facilities
Committee meetings that have addressed the proposed school construction and
renovation of the
elementary schools as well as to discuss future planning. Mr. Wisnioski said the next step in this process is what Superintendent Dr. Villar is doing and this is that the Architects are to complete educational specifications. Once this is done, O & G Industries, Inc. will review these and they will prepare costs. All of this has to be done by the end of July 2008 at the very latest. This will leave the Town Council
approximately one month to introduce the Bonding Resolution, complete public hearings and adopt or modify. If there is any modification of the process of introduction of the public hearing and adoption then everything has to be repeated again in a very established manner. In order for this to be put on the ballot for November, all of this needs to be completed no later than Labor Day. Friar Associates and O & G Industries, Inc. is moving forward and they have met with Superintendent Dr. Villar. Mr. Wisnioski said his understanding is that “everyone will run as fast as they can” in order to resolve all of this. There also had been a discussion at the meetings with regards to work that has to be done that will not be part of the referendum. He didn’t know if there was enough time to get this issue resolved and he mentioned how TABS was looking for this. The Board of Education will report back as soon as they can. Superintendent Dr. Villar said he has been working closely with Rich Cooke (Director of Facilities) and Town Manager Barbara Gilbert. Superintendent Dr. Villar said he met with Town Manager Gilbert this afternoon about the outstanding items. There has been quite a bit of work that has been done on the facilities and there is still outstanding work that is being tracked.
Mr. McMonigle referred to the timeline that had been described with regards to the referendum and he asked if this would give enough time for the magnet school option or he wanted to know how this would all fit into the financing piece. Mr. Wisnioski said he didn’t know and he believed that Town Manager Gilbert and the town side need the Board of Education to adopt the educational specifications. The Board of Education also has to determine if there is going to be all day kindergarten and Pre-K as well as how this will be phased in. The enrollment projections have to be determined as well. The magnet school is a further complication and this might end up putting off the whole process. He thought the Board of Education might have to make this decision. There is a lot of uncertainty and there are a lot of questions about financial obligations by all parties. Some questions were answered this evening (i.e. with regards to the teachers being in the Teachers Association that the Rocky Hill teachers are in). Chairman MacDonald said maybe Superintendent Dr. Villar could get more clarity on this and get it out to the Board of Education. Chairman MacDonald was sure that there will be periodic meetings throughout the upcoming months.
8. Technology
No report was given.
9.
Transportation/Accommodations
No report was given.
10.
Liaison
No report was given.
OLD
BUSINESS
11. Second reading and adoption of Policy
#5118 (1-3)
Chairman MacDonald told the Board of Education members that this was in their packet. Superintendent Dr. Villar understood that this was brought forth by former Interim Superintendent Carol Parmelee-Blancato for the first reading. There are some changes in the residence portion of this.
Moved by Raffaella Calciano-Coler, seconded
by Frank Morse, to approve and adopt Policy 5118 (1-3) Policy Regarding
Residence/School Attendance.
FAVOR:
ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
12. Healthy Food Certification
Statement
Finance Director Turansky said Public Act 06-63 (An Act Concerning Healthy Food and Beverages In Schools) went into effect in July 2006. There are two components to this Act. One is a mandatory portion involving beverages that are available for sale and the other component involves food that is available for sale (this is an optional category for this Act). The Act for beverages prevented the sale of sodas, coffee, tea, sweetened water, and sports drinks during the school day. This portion of the Act also allowed for an exemption to take place for afterschool activities and for events as well as for the weekends. An event would mean a school play for example as opposed to a rehearsal for that play or a football game as opposed to a football practice. Sales of these beverages are allowed at the location of the event. The sale can’t take place though through a school store or through a vending machine. If this criteria is met, then the “banned beverages” are able to be sold. This allows for the concession stands to be continued at the events.
Finance Director Turansky said at the time that the school system enacted the beverage part of this Act that it decided not to opt for certification with regards to the food portion which he mentioned once again about being optional. One of the reasons that this was decided was because of the concern about the fundraisers that occur in the schools and particularly because of the Bandbackers, the Athletic Boosters and Project Graduation at the high school. The school system wanted to take time for the Wellness Committee to become more educated on this Act and for it to be able to provide assistance to the fundraising groups. Dr. Riggs, who was hired last July, took over the Wellness Committee. This Committee has been meeting on a regular basis throughout this school
year and they believe this school system is ready now to certify for the healthy foods. The school system right now is essentially meeting the requirements of the guidelines through the cooperation of the Food Services Management Company. All of the changes that are necessary to meet the certification have been made by this school system. There will be an additional 10% per meal reimbursement from the state that will accrue back to the food services program which will allow the enhancement of this program in Rocky Hill even further than it is now in addition to the endorsing of healthy eating habits in the children. He suggested that the Board of Education approve pursuing the certification for the food portion of the program and also approve the same exemptions that are available for the beverage portion for the food portion. He explained a little more about this. He proposed that the Board of Education authorize Superintendent Dr. Villar to pursue this certification.
Chairman MacDonald asked the Board of Education members if they had any questions or comments. Mr. Rivard asked along with the exemption if the Board of Education has to approve anything if it is sold. Finance Director Turansky said no and he said as long as the Board of Education grants the exemption then the concession stands can be allowed to operate as long as they meet the criteria. There don’t have to be specific exemptions for each event or for any particular items. Mr. Rivard referred to Section 27 in this Act where it stated “The Board of Education or governing authority must take action to permit the sale of these other food items”. Finance Director Turansky said this is what the overall exemption does.
Mrs. Vargas asked if this goes into effect this September when the school year starts again. Finance Director Turansky said yes. The additional reimbursement is based on the number of meals that were served in the prior year so the reimbursement will come during the course of the next fiscal year based on the current year’s lunch sales. Chairman MacDonald asked if this would result in approximately $15,000 (reimbursement). Finance Director Turansky said they are estimating between $15,000 and $18,000.
Moved by Catherine Vargas, seconded by
Nadine Bell, to authorize Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Villar to pursue the
certification for the food portion of the program (with regards to Public Act
06-63, An Act Concerning Healthy Food and
Beverages in Schools) and to approve the same exemptions there are for the
beverage portion for the food portion for afterschool activities and
fundraisers.
FAVOR:
ALL
MOTION
CARRIED
13. Authorization for Superintendent to
Sign Agreement for Child Nutrition
Programs (ED-099)
Superintendent Dr. Villar said this request was to authorize him to sign the document that Finance Director Turansky just explained and that the Board of Education voted to accept.
Moved by Nadine Bell, seconded by Raffaella
Calciano-Coler, to authorize Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Villar to sign the
ED-099 (Agreement for Child Nutrition Programs).
FAVOR: ALL
MOTION CARRIED
14. Full Day
Kindergarten/Preschool
Assistant Superintendent Boutilier said she had Mrs. Mary Jane Skelly, who is a staff member, with her this evening. Assistant Superintendent Boutilier told the Board of Education members that when they were presented with the Proposal For Elementary Educational Programs and Facility Utilization that they noted that full day kindergarten and an expansion of the Pre-K program were being requested. At that time, no background was given on this with regards to where the proposal was coming from. She said their attempt is to do this tonight. She told the Board of Education members that she provided each of them with a copy of the most current research, which was from 1992, with regards to full day kindergarten and the impact on academic, social and emotional development. In this piece of work, John Cryan (the Author) finds that children who attend all day kindergarten scored higher on standardized tests, had fewer grade retentions, engaged in more child to child interactions, made greater progress in the learning social skills and were better prepared for first grade, etc. Assistant Superintendent Boutilier said the second article that she gave to the Board of Education members was a story about a school district that implemented full day kindergarten and it explained the process that they used. That school district ended up doing its own research and it had the opportunity to compare within that district full day kindergarten and half day kindergarten. She said more important than any of this is this town’s own experiences. Instead of doing a PowerPoint presentation, she had Ms. Skelly present. Assistant Superintendent Boutilier explained that from the day she moved into her position that Mrs. Skelly and her kindergarten colleagues have been passionate about the need for more time for the kindergarten students.
Mrs. Skelly said all of the kindergarten teachers are passionate that the children get the best education that they can get from them. With the state’s standards and with Rocky Hill’s new standards-based report card, it has become evident to everyone how much is in the curriculum now. She explained a little more about this and she said there was an article this past January in Rocky Hill Life with regards to how kindergarten has changed so much. There is more dust in her kitchen center and in her doll center than there has ever been before and this is because the children can’t get to these centers. She explained that there is so much that has to be packed into the curriculum. The teachers are getting
in what they have to get in but they are not getting in the
social part that the children really need.
This is just as important for the children as the academics are. In
the parents were shown what the children are supposed to be able to do after the first trimester. The teachers want the parents to understand that the expectations have come way up. The teachers have to start at Step 5 now instead of Step 1 in order to get everything in. Unfortunately they have to get everything in, in two and a half hours per day. The state standards are based on a full day kindergarten program. Mrs. Skelly said she is amazed every day at how much work these children can do. She explained that there is only so much that can be expected of a four year old developmentally. Even for children who are six years old, there might be some things that they haven’t been exposed to in their background that they will need a little more help with.
In this time, especially while the Board of Education is thinking of building a new school and with the new initiatives, Mrs. Skelly asked the Board of Education members to really take into consideration the importance of a full day kindergarten. She explained that everyone has worked so hard at the standards-based report card that there is now and the teachers want to be able to meet all of the things that are on this report card with the consideration of the children. The children have to have time to socialize and to experience things on different levels with multiple intelligences. She explained some more about this. Her biggest argument is that the children really should love kindergarten and they shouldn’t feel stressed out at five or six years old. She said it was sad to say that they do see some of the children stressing out over certain things. She said they shouldn’t feel this way and they should be given the time to be able to achieve what they can. They should be prepared to go onto first grade and be ready. The teachers also would like to try to lower the retention children. This can be attacked in a full day kindergarten program where the OT, PT, and speech people, etc. can be brought in so that they can get to these children in a full day program and differentiate for these children to give them the tools that they need so that retention doesn’t have to be thought about.
Mrs. Skelly invited the Board of Education members to come
into her classroom (Room # 4,
Assistant Superintendent Boutilier said as Mrs. Skelly had mentioned that the state has developed standards for kindergarten and Pre-K. The document for this has the requirements and the expectations for the children who are as young as four and five
years old. She
explained that the case has been made.
She called the state to find out what other districts are doing. The newest data the state has is from
2005. At that time, there were
thirty-nine school districts and five charter schools with full day
kindergarten. Primarily these were
in the urban areas but
kindergarten. She told the Board of Education members that she hoped they would give full day kindergarten a consideration as they are making a decision on the facilities.
Assistant Superintendent Boutilier said likewise that the increase in request for programs for the preschool is reflective of the numbers. In 1998 when the Bright Beginnings Program was begun in Rocky Hill, there were six students who were three years old and they were identified as having Special Needs. Once a child is identified at age three, then this town is obligated to provide services for them as well as provide services for them with their non-disabled peers. Since 1998, this number has grown to twenty-one students and now forty-nine students are being accommodated in three sessions of the Bright Beginnings Program. These children also have standards that are identified by the state. It is anticipated that this number of children will climb and that is why there is a request to have the number of preschool programs doubled in whatever facility solution the Board of Education is able to determine.
Chairman MacDonald asked the Board of Education members if they had any questions or comments. Mr. McMonigle said one of the articles that Assistant Superintendent Boutilier had given to them referred to Chapter 1 placement and he asked what this was. Assistant Superintendent Boutilier said this is remedial services for primarily literacy for reading services. To qualify for Chapter 1, it became Title 1 in which certain income requirements had to be met and Rocky Hill no longer qualifies.
Mr. Rivard asked if Rocky Hill goes to all day kindergarten if it becomes mandatory that all children attend. Superintendent Dr. Villar said as Assistant Superintendent Boutilier had mentioned that there are different models in different towns. Superintendent Dr. Villar said this Board of Education may discuss and decide that they would like Rocky Hill to have an optional full day program and phase in full day. He said in his discussion with the State Department of Education about the building project and even with Friar Associates this morning that they spoke about reimbursement rates. There are additional funds that will be available for the building of full day kindergarten rooms. He explained some more about this. Mr. Wisnioski asked if there is a straight rate and he mentioned how former Interim Superintendent Carol Parmelee-Blancato had mentioned 5%. Mr. Wisnioski said Superintendent Dr. Villar had sent an e-mail in which 10% was mentioned. Superintendent Dr. Villar said the 10% would be for prior used school districts. The 5% is a ballpark estimate and it will depend on the size of the facilities, the number of rooms and the square footage, etc. Roughly 5% of the space used for full day kindergarten could be additional reimbursement for the town. There are lots of little factors that impact this. Mr. Wisnioski asked Superintendent Dr. Villar at some point in
time if he will bring to the Board of Education what the marginal costs will be under the different scenarios. Mr. Wisnioski asked if it would be simply doubling the teacher and classroom aide cost, etc. He asked how this would compare in a cost benefit analysis and he explained a little more. He also asked if there is a likelihood that all day kindergarten will be mandated if only thirty-nine districts have it now. He said there are a lot of things to be figured out and he asked if this could be done in Town Manager Gilbert’s timeline.
Superintendent Dr. Villar said he had met earlier this week with Assistant Superintendent Boutilier, Finance Director Turansky and Dr. Riggs to begin to discuss the potential cost of not only full day kindergarten but the recurring costs for faculty of an elementary school in general. Superintendent Dr. Villar said this concern was made very clear to him when the Board of Education gave its presentation to the Town Council. He will be prepared to start to share costs of an all day kindergarten perhaps as early as the next Board of Education meeting. With Chairman MacDonald’s discretion, Superintendent Dr. Villar said he would like to ask that the discussion with regards to full day kindergarten be continued at the next Board of Education meeting as well as the discussion with regards to other facilities issues. Superintendent Dr. Villar said some more solid numbers can be brought forth at that point.
Mrs. Mennella said that Mrs. Skelly had mentioned at the
Chairman MacDonald asked Assistant Superintendent Boutilier to help him to understand what an extended day program is. He said he went on the same website that she had and he noticed there are twenty-seven districts that have extended day programs which are between 450 hours and 900 hours. Assistant Superintendent Boutilier said if it is found that there are students who are not able to obtain or make the growth that they are expected to in the two and a half hours then they may extend their day based on whatever configuration they can come up with probably based on transportation needs. The thinking for this is that not all children learn at the same rate and some need a greater length of time. It is up to the individual school district as to what is done with these children during this time. Ideally, it would be additional services that are delivered by a different teacher and not necessarily that they would sit through the same class, the same activity and the same lessons with the same teacher. This is something that has been made available to Special Education students in some instances or students who are not Special Education students but who developmentally need this additional time.
Mr. Wisnioski referred to DIRK and he asked if there are twenty-five towns. Assistant Superintendent Boutilier said there are twenty-six towns. Mr. Wisnioski asked what types of kindergarten programs they have. Assistant Superintendent Boutilier said that she didn’t know this and she said that she could do a quick e-mail to the DIRK towns to find this out. Mr. Wisnioski wasn’t sure how long there has been all day kindergarten but he asked if there was any way to measure if the children’s SAT performance was better if
they had attended all day kindergarten or he asked if all of this just washes out four or five years later. Superintendent Dr. Villar said in his previous district that they began to study this question. There had been a full day kindergarten program in one of the eighth facilities. That program was outperforming its peers annually for a great period of time. Over a longer period of time though two things happened. One thing was that it was an urban center so there was a higher mobility rate. For the students that did stay in, there
was a normalization period that started to occur. He explained some more. He then said what is happening is that the curriculum is accelerating at all grade levels. By not having a full day kindergarten, one of the disadvantages as was heard this evening is that Rocky Hill is attempting to “put an awful amount of water in one bucket”. He said there is a human cost to not having it.
Mrs. Bell said from the research that she has done by reading various articles, she found out that the equalization is around fifth grade. She then referred to the extended day program and she asked if Rocky Hill wasn’t doing this in some very small and unique situations. Assistant Superintendent Boutilier said there are a couple of students in all of the elementary schools who need a transitional program. There is no transitional program in this town so these students stay through lunch or however long the transportation can be worked out for them. This is based on the space that is available.
Chairman MacDonald thanked Assistant Superintendent Boutilier and he said this was very informative. Assistant Superintendent Boutilier thanked Mrs. Skelly and Mrs. DiMaggio for staying for this and she said they are both passionate about this.
15. Elementary Educational Programs &
Facility Utilization
Superintendent Dr. Villar said he was able to present the four options for the elementary portion of the program that was adopted by the Board of Education which was the full K-12 Facilities Utilization Plan at the recent presentation to the Town Council. He said that it became clear that it would be helpful if the Board of Education could make a motion this evening to formally adopt Option 1. This is the option of three equal size elementary schools. He said while he presented the plan that he didn’t make it quite clear that Option 1 was the option that the Board of Education brought forth. He felt by having a formal motion made this evening that it could be communicated to the Town Council that it was the Board of Education’s intention that Option 1 was the option that was most supported by it.
Mr. Wisnioski believed that Option 1 anticipates an all day kindergarten and a Pre-K for each of the elementary schools. He thought it was always believed that both plans (the elementary educational plan and the secondary school plan) are living documents. He wanted to make sure that just as long as someone doesn’t believe that if there is the motion as Superintendent Dr. Villar stated and it is approved that the Board of Education decided on the item that Assistant Superintendent Boutilier just presented. He asked if this wasn’t the case. Superintendent Dr. Villar said this was correct and he told the Board
of Education that they would have to have a separate motion approving full day kindergarten which would be premature at this time to make.
Mr. Wisnioski told Superintendent Dr. Villar that he didn’t see this on the agenda but he knew that he was working on the plan of three equal elementary schools that is based on an enrollment projection that is subject to modifications. Superintendent Dr. Villar said
this is correct and the enrollment projection must be approved by the Board of Education prior to submission of the grant on June 30, 2008 for reimbursement. He said this is a slight change in the regulations that just came out. This is one of the “to do” items that came out of this morning’s meeting with Friar Associates. There will certainly try to be an enrollment projection before the Board of Education for approval at its next meeting.
Mr. Wisnioski believed that the motion’s intent would be that Option 1 is the three approximately equal size schools subject to sorts of items to be determined by the Board of Education and the administrators as the process moves forward. Superintendent Dr. Villar said this was correct. Mrs. Bell said this would be as it relates to the primary component of the Board of Education’s recommendation. Mrs. Vargas asked if something should be added into the motion with regards to this being in addition to the secondary school program because she didn’t want the Town Council to think that the Board of Education just wants three equal elementary schools and that the secondary plan was decided on not being pursued.
Superintendent Dr. Villar suggested that how all of this could be communicated is that Chairman MacDonald could author a letter to the Town Council or the Board of Education could direct him to author a letter. This letter would communicate the result of the motion to the town indicating this is the preferred option for dealing with the elementary portion of the K-12 Facilities Plan. Chairman MacDonald thought there should be a letter clarifying that this is an integrated K-12 plan to make sure that there is no misunderstanding. There was some confusion as far as Option 1 for which the Board of Education moved ahead but the motion that was made a couple of months ago did not clearly articulate this. He thought Superintendent Dr. Villar would just be refining what the Board of Education agreed to. Mr. Wisnioski suggested adding a sentence that states there is now an Architect and a Construction Manager. There has been a presentation about magnet schools and he said the Board of Education is concerned about the operating costs of adding an all day kindergarten and a Pre-K. He suggested also leaving some type of “open sentence” that will permit the Board of Education to change this. Chairman MacDonald told Mr. Wisnioski this was fair. Chairman MacDonald told Superintendent Dr. Villar that he heard where they are coming from and he has full confidence that an appropriate memo will be drafted. Superintendent Dr. Villar said the portion of a full day kindergarten will have to be determined before the Board of Education can approve the educational specifications for the building. He said this will be the drop date time for that decision.
Mrs. Bell asked if a motion and a vote were needed. Chairman MacDonald said the Board of Education is directing Superintendent Dr. Villar to clarify the motion that was approved by all of them previously.
16. Early Dismissal for NEASC
Accreditation
Superintendent Dr. Villar said the high schools throughout
a rigorous review by NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) every ten years. Rocky Hill will begin this process this fall and it is a two year study that this town will engage in and then there will be a visitation committee that will come to this school. It is critical to put the best foot forward in this process. The accreditation of the high school is at risk and this impacts all of the students who attend this school and their potential for moving on in higher education. Historically, ten years ago there was an authorization of up to ten early dismissals in order for the high school to begin the work on this process. In the schedule for throughout the school year, six professional development days have been allotted. After talking with Assistant Superintendent Boutilier, he was able to secure four of these days for the high school to work on the accreditation process. Superintendent Dr. Villar said he would like authorization from the Board of Education to identify additional days, up to five days total, where there could be early release time at the high school so there can be ample time during this school year to complete the process. He wants to sit with the Chair of NEASC, identify these days and work with Finance Director Turansky to make sure that this doesn’t negatively impact the systems that are in place (i.e. lunch, transportation, etc.).
Chairman MacDonald asked if every teacher in the high school needs ten days to prepare for this. Superintendent Dr. Villar said it wouldn’t be ten full days and he explained that every teacher will participate in different committees. The Chair of the school team will work with the principal to delegate the large amount of self review work. The documents will then be brought together and there is a lot of compiling, conversation and word processing, etc. This is an extremely intensive process. He said to put anyone under a time pressure would make him concerned that the best foot wouldn’t be put forward on this and he stressed that it is critical to do this right the first time. He saw high schools that didn’t do this right the first time and he explained what happens.
Mrs. Bell said that she had chaired the Leadership and Organization Committee at the high school. She said there is a tremendous amount of work that goes into this process of accreditation. She explained some more and she thought it was time well spent to do an effective job and she totally supported the release time.
Mr. Wisnioski asked if this had to be approved this evening. Superintendent Dr. Villar said it didn’t necessarily have to but it would be helpful. Mr. Wisnioski said he heard of so many days where the children are out of school (i.e. for standardized testing for the state). He asked at what time the children would be dismissed if it is half a day. Superintendent Dr. Villar said this would have to be one of the logistics that he would
want to work out with Finance Director Turansky. Superintendent Dr. Villar said the high school bussing would impact the middle school bussing which would impact the elementary school bussing so all of this has to be coordinated. Mr. Wisnioski said this could affect labs, etc. and he said whatever is going to be done that he was not going to vote for it because he thought there are too many days where the children are out of school. He said there should be some academic requirements that engage the students on their own. Mr. Wisnioski then asked if there is a file with regards to the work that was done ten years ago. Superintendent Dr. Villar said yes. He hasn’t read it but there is a record of the NEASC visitation and the suggestions that came out of that. He agreed that everyone has to be very mindful of the time that instruction is interfered with. It has to be made sure that the minimum state requirements are met in this area. He said this is one of the reasons why he stressed with Assistant Superintendent Boutilier that some of the professional development days really need to be used and he explained that this would be a form of staff development. This wouldn’t impact the instructional time and this is why he wanted the bulk of the work to be done during these days. Mr. Wisnioski said he would attempt to have this coordinated with some other activity where the students are dismissed early (i.e. for exams).
Mr. Rivard was curious as to how other districts handle this. He said he has been involved as a Commissioner on accreditation teams and as part of the NEASC at college as well. He asked how other high schools handle their NEASC accreditation. Superintendent Dr. Villar said he has seen this handled in various ways. In his previous district, a lot of this was handled during professional development days. He has seen other districts that have an early dismissal every Wednesday which is for professional development in general and this time has been used for NEASC. By Statute, he said everyone is obligated to have a certain number of school days. It also has to be made sure that the school district is mindful of the contracts with the Association to make sure that teachers will be provided with ample time to complete this. He explained some more and he said he is proposing the method that he is because he sees it as a mixture of two and he is trying to reduce the disruption to the educational process. Mr. Rivard thought it was critical and essential that Rocky Hill maintains its NEASC accreditation and he thought this town was somewhat unique within the state by having this. He endorsed anything that has to be done in order to work towards this goal.
Mr. McMonigle asked if it was necessary to have the entire staff working on this at the same time everyday or he asked if it was possible to segment part of the faculty and release them from class time and then fill these classes with substitutes in order to keep the children in the classrooms. Superintendent Dr. Villar said it is not necessary to have the teachers all released at the same time. He thought it would be difficult from an operational standpoint to acquire the number of substitutes to do this. This could be explored and he mentioned some creative scheduling as well. He went into a little more detail about this. He said this would be a good suggestion if the school system could get the substitutes.
Chairman MacDonald was all in favor of the accreditation and he said this is a “no-brainer”. He said it isn’t time critical that a decision be made on this tonight. He said he would like to talk about this at the next Board of Education meeting and he told Superintendent Dr. Villar that maybe he could bring back some thoughts with regard to how disruption could be minimized. Chairman MacDonald said maybe a little more detailed plan could be laid out. He told Superintendent Dr. Villar that he would be remiss if he didn’t ask him to push for a little more to see how this could be done with minimum disruption.
Chairman MacDonald said there was an item in the minutes from last month’s Board of Education meeting and he said that Superintendent Dr. Villar was going to provide an update with regards to the high school graduation location. Superintendent Dr. Villar said it was brought to his attention that this town had a phenomenal facility in the Amphitheater. He arranged a visit to this with Mrs. Lisa Zerio (Parks and Recreation Director), and Principal Donna Hayward. Superintendent Dr. Villar said they went to this facility to look at it to see if it would meet the needs for graduation this year. He said it truly is a beautiful site. They took measurements. They looked for seating, lighting and power. After meeting at the Amphitheater, which took approximately one and a half hours, he asked Principal Hayward to meet with the senior class to share with them the possibility of using the Amphitheater as a graduation site as opposed to it being in front of the high school. Superintendent Dr. Villar said he also asked Principal Hayward to put together a letter for the senior parents to inform them that this option is being explored.
The feedback from the students was that they were more interested in having the graduation in front of the high school. Mrs. Zerio had told Superintendent Dr. Villar that there would be an issue with the current configuration of the class and the number of students on the actual stage area of the Amphitheater. Superintendent Dr. Villar didn’t think this would be an unsolvable problem but he didn’t think there would be enough time from now to graduation to do a thorough job planning this. He said he certainly didn’t want any mistakes to happen at a student’s high school graduation. They elected not to use this venue this year. This didn’t preclude this though from being looked at and explored to see if this facility could be used next year and he communicated this to Mrs. Zerio and Town Manager Gilbert. He said this is a facility that would be wonderful to take advantage of.
Superintendent Dr. Villar reported on the budget next. He explained that the Town Council voted to add $165,000 to the Town Manager’s recommendation of $27,027,227.
The Board of Education’s appropriation for the 2008-2009 school year ends up being
$27,192,227. This represents nearly a $600,000 reduction in the amount that was requested formally by the Board of Education. This has resulted with him working with his administration to begin to determine what the best recommendations are for the Board of Education and proceeding in balancing the budget. He said he already shared with the Board of Education, the Town Council and the general public his philosophy in moving forward. He will be looking at all items in the school to look at need and to base
recommendations on how the largest number of students can be impacted while offering the highest quality of education that can be offered to all of the students. It is his anticipation that at a Finance Committee meeting with a date to be determined that the recommendations he has will be able to be shared with the Board of Education as well as how the budget can be balanced. He said hopefully at that time that the Board of Education will see the wisdom of the recommendation and they will endorse this. He explained that this is something they will continue to work on. Chairman MacDonald told Superintendent Dr. Villar that he knows he has had tough discussions and that he is going to have tough discussions so they will look forward to the Finance Committee meeting.
Chairman MacDonald said he had one last item as it relates to the budget. He mentioned how several individuals have asked him to look into why the cheerleaders are doing fundraisers in order to purchase safety mats. Superintendent Dr. Villar suspected that this was a result of these mats not having been requested or budgeted in the previous school year. He said he will work with Finance Director Turansky to look into this situation to see if they can identify existing funds to assist the cheerleaders in order to ensure that they have a safe practice area. He said that safety is number one. As the next budget is being constructed, Superintendent Dr. Villar hoped that he would have the Board of Education support with regards to looking for ways of identifying funding for more equipment. He went on to explain that he has been to just about every PTA and PTO in this town. He thought it was wonderful to see how generous they are in supporting the schools but for some of the items that they are purchasing he is wondering how come ways have not been found to budget for those items. He wants to work on this and then hopefully get support of the Board of Education as well as of the town to make sure that these items can be budgeted for. Mrs. Bell asked what the cost is for the safety equipment for the cheerleaders. Chairman MacDonald explained that the cheerleaders have already raised in excess of $1,500. He said the Athletic Director, Principal Hayward and the cheerleaders would have to be asked for the exact details. Chairman MacDonald said these aren’t overly expensive items. There was a brief discussion that took place. Superintendent Dr. Villar said his understanding of this was that this probably wasn’t brought forth. He said this will be looked into and he will make sure that a way is found to adjust this. Chairman MacDonald said this is another reason why there is going to be a meeting next week on the Athletic Director position. The inventory of equipment and supplies for all athletic events and teams is a critical component as well as the high school principal’s awareness of what is going on. He wanted to bring this to everyone’s attention and he said he would be remiss if the cheerleaders continue to try to raise money for safety equipment. He didn’t think that it was appropriate.
Superintendent Dr. Villar introduced everyone to Mrs. Christine Flynn, who was recently elected to become his secretary. Superintendent Dr. Villar said Mrs. Flynn will help him get organized and keep him organized. Superintendent Dr. Villar explained that Mrs. Flynn’s day ended at 4:00 p.m. today and it was now 9:30 p.m. Mrs. Flynn elected to be here on her own to learn how this Board of Education operates and to learn about the
information that is here. Superintendent Dr. Villar said this says a lot about her professionalism and this was one of the reasons that he selected her. He thanked Mrs. Flynn.
Moved by Catherine Vargas, seconded by
Nadine Bell, to adjourn the meeting at 9:31 p.m.
FAVOR:
ALL
MOTION CARRIED
Respectfully submitted,
Jo-Anne Booth
Recording Secretary
Accepted by: ________________________ Date:___________________________