WILLINGTON BOARD OF EDUCATION
Minutes
November 13, 2007
Call to Order
H. Arico called the meeting to order in the multi purpose room at Center School at 7:03 p.m.
Present
Board Members: H. Arico, C. Mailhos, T. Gareau, M. Makuch, C. Psathas.
Also: Superintendent, D. Harding, M. Palmer (Water Committee Chair and W.D.T.C. Co-chair), CES Principal C. McNamara, Recording Secretary, N. Page and Community Members.
Absent
D. Tharp, on active duty, L. Semprebon.
Communications
A thank you card from HMS Principal D. Sullivan for visiting during the board breakfast.
A note of congratulations from Nancy Polk, of DemocracyWorks, on receiving the Community Conversations Grant.
Present to Speak
None.
Presentations
D. Harding led discussion on the Strategic School Profile overview including handout of the Profile.
Consent Agenda
MOTION #1
C. Psathas moved to approve the consent agenda, including minutes of the October 9, 2007 meeting, minutes of October 18, 2007 Special B.O.E. meeting and payment of bills with amendment to delete the word transfers. T. Gareau seconded. Passed unanimously.
Committee Reports
Facility Committee reported on reviewing list of issues in the facilities with agreement to work on enhancing the list and assigning time frames to address the issues.
Finance Committee met prior to the meeting and reviewed and approved payment of purchase orders.
Food Service Committee reported on the drafting of a preliminary evaluation and will meet with J. Boudreau and W. Knight on November 26, 2007.
Policy Committee reported on discussion of new policies to be reviewed and some outdated policies to be removed. CABE will be doing a brief presentation on policy services at the December 12, 2007 meeting.
H. Arico reported that EASTCONN met on October 23, 2007 and discussed issues regarding early childhood education and possible high school curriculum reconditioning and changes across the state.
Superintendent Reports
D. Harding reported on agenda items including:
Budget Update: As of November 9, 2007 the expended amount is 99.63 % of the 2007-2008 school year budget. Most of the expended amount reflects money that is encumbered. There is a balance of $27,766.00. D. Harding pointed out a flaw in the current method of reporting and outlined a solution.
Project Updates: placePlaceTypeHall PlaceTypeSchool generator installation and testing has been completed. Generator start up testing was performed on November 12, 2007. The generator will not be run again until the water project is complete.
The Hall School flashing lights are fully functional. They are the first solar lights in Connecticut allowing the district to do its part to be “green”. The lights are programmable for evening events at the school as well. The feedback on traffic speed is positive and cars are slowing down when the lights are flashing.
The water project is now all set. The construction will begin promptly and as long as the weather holds up it is expected that there will be water at Hall School by the end of the year. The contractor has been informed to give several weeks notice before starting work near Hall School so that parents and buses can be informed as to potential traffic problems.
D. Harding is working with C. McNamara and First Selectman, M. Eldredge to put up signs at Center School.
Community Conversations Grant: D. Harding led discussion about the receipt of the Community Conversations Grant for $2000.00. They pledge another $500.00 if the district can raise an equal amount. He has approached the stocktickerPTA about assisting with the matching funds and thinks they will contribute the additional $500.00 to total $3000.00 to begin the community conversations. D. Harding and board member C. Mailhos attended the dinner and were excited about the possibilities the Conversations can bring to the community. They are rethinking how to use the opportunity and discussed something broader than just reading. D. Harding would continue the reading initiative independent of the community conversations. There will more to come on this topic.
The EASTCONN grant for Professional Development for Center School was not received, however, D. Harding will continue to explore ways in which we can support placePlaceTypeCenter PlaceTypeSchool in technology integration.
Reading Update: D. Harding led discussion regarding his meetings with literacy professors from UConn and ECSU. He reported that they are interested in working with Willington to assess our reading program and will make suggestions for strategies that would improve reading scores.
D. Harding explained his continued work on the District Improvement Plan and expects to make a presentation to the Board in December. He is planning a parent night on November 28, 2007 and will send invitations to all parents who responded that they were interested in assisting the district in improving reading scores. At the meeting he plans to update the parents as to the steps the district is taking.
Overview of election of B.O.E. officers: D. Harding congratulated the board members and discussed process of election at next meeting for new officers.
Old Business
D. Harding led discussion of two handouts of Superintendent’s Goals and visionary draft.
MOTION #2
T. Gareau moved to approve the Superintendent’s Goals for 2007-2008. C. Mailhos Seconded. Passed unanimously.
MOTION #3
M. Makuch moved to acknowledge receipt of Superintendent’s long term vision in draft form for review. T. Gareau Seconded. Passed unanimously.
New Business
D. Harding led discussion on rationale for policy recommendations.
MOTION #4
C. Psathas moved to adopt the addition of 6.1 Section 25 of Public Act 07-249 of Policy 3324 Purchasing Procedures. T. Gareau Seconded. Passed unanimously.
D. Harding led the first reading and discussion of the draft of the new Video Surveillance Policy 5131.1. He distributed a handout to board members of professional development opportunities and B.O.E. and District Goals for review prior to December B.O.E. meeting along with the distribution and discussion of a B.O.E. feedback survey.
Present to Speak
Community member P. Monty discussed two articles in the newspaper and two on the news regarding recess before lunch. He also commented on the Community Conversations possibly involving the seniors being involved on Veterans Day with CES students.
Board Comments
The Board likes the Community Calendar and thinks it is valuable. The Board thanked D. Harding on the progress with facility issues and projects and feels it is great to see them getting closed up. The Board thanked C. McNamara for the informative walk through at placePlaceTypeCenter PlaceTypeSchool prior to the meeting. The Board thanked D. Harding for getting the flashing lights completed at Hall School. The Board stated the next Committee Meeting will be on November 27, 2007 at 6:30pm with the transportation committee to convene at that meeting, an agenda will be sent out prior to the meeting. The next committee meetings will be December 18, 2007 and January 22, 2008. The next Board Meeting will be on December 11, 2007. The Board congratulated all the members back and looks forward to the
interesting yet hard work ahead in the next two years.
MOTION #5
C. Psathas moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:42 p.m. M. Makuch Seconded. Passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Nichole Page
Recorder
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