WILLINGTON BOARD OF EDUCATION
Minutes
December 11, 2007
Call to Order
D. Harding called the meeting to order in the lower level conference room at the Town Office Building at 7:07 p.m.
Present
Board Members: C. Mailhos, T. Gareau, M. Makuch, C. Psathas, L. Semprebon
Also: Superintendent, D. Harding, V.Mustaro (Senior Staff Associate for CABE), HMS Principal D. Sullivan, CES Principal C. McNamara, Recording Secretary, N. Page and Community Members.
Absent
D. Tharp, on active duty, H. Arico.
Election of Board Officers
MOTION#1
D. Harding moved to hold election of Board officers starting with Chair Person for the Board of Education. L. Semprebon seconded and nominated M. Makuch. All members voted in favor, passed unanimously. M. Makuch elected as the Chair Person of the Board of Education.
MOTION#2
D. Harding moved to nominate a Vice Chair Person for the Board of Education.
Mark Makuch seconded and nominated L. Semprebon. All members voted in favor, passed unanimously. L. Semprebon elected as the Vice Chair Person of the Board of Education.
MOTION#3
D. Harding moved to nominate a Secretary for the Board of Education.
L. Semprebon seconded and nominated C. Psathas. All members voted in favor, passed unanimously. C. Psathas elected as the Secretary of the Board of Education.
D. Harding then turned over the meeting and Robert’s Rule book to M. Makuch to chair.
Communications
D. Harding received a letter from Hall Memorial School’s fifth grade teacher, Sue Evageliou, expressing her intent to retire at the end of the school year in June 2008.
D. Harding received a letter from Center School Nurse, Theresa Palmer, expressing her intent to retire as of March 1, 2008.
Present to Speak
None.
Presentations
Vincent A. Mustaro, Senior Staff Associate for Policy Services at Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) distributed handout and presented on available policy services offered through CABE. Presentation followed by discussion of options by the Board.
D. Harding distributed handout on District Improvement Plan Template. Discussed and reviewed the plan for Board approval to be sent to the State of Connecticut.
MOTION #4
L. Semprebon moved to accept Superintendent’s District Improvement Plan. T. Gareau seconded. Passed unanimously.
Consent Agenda
MOTION #5
C. Psathas moved to approve the consent agenda, including minutes of the November 13, 2007 meeting, minutes of committee meetings, and payment of bills. T. Gareau seconded. Passed unanimously.
Committee Reports
Facility Committee reported on discussion of obtaining capital improvement list on Center School and having a meeting with the head custodian to review and prioritize lists from both schools. The committee will review district items currently in the town’s Capital Improvement Program budget.
Finance Committee met prior to the meeting and reviewed the bills.
Food Service Committee reported on the meeting held with Food Service Director J. Boudreau and Food Service Assistant W. Knight on November 26, 2007 to review and discuss draft the Food Service Evaluation.
Policy Committee reported on discussion of the policies: Existing Purchasing Procedures Policy #3324 and the new Video Surveillance Policy and revisions to Board Bylaw #9110.
Transportation Committee reported on the receipt of a parent concern regarding high school transportation. Committee will schedule site walk and meeting.
Liaisons; Health and Safety Committee reported on review of purpose and function of safety committees. Recommendation to purchase defibrillators. Recommendation was made to form a Wellness Advisory Committee to measure and evaluate progress of wellness policy. Discussion of building administrators to review emergency preparedness procedures, conduct drills and report back to committee.
Superintendent Reports
D. Harding reported on agenda items including:
Project Updates:
The water project is almost complete. The original consent order called for completion by December 31, 2007. Mike Eldredge has requested an extension until the end of February. This will allow for testing to be tentatively scheduled for February School Vacation.
Reading Update: D. Harding to meet with Dr. Coyne and Dr. Ruby on December 13, 2007 to discuss implementation of the partnership with ECSU and UConn. D. Harding led discussion regarding his parent meeting held last week to address the parents who had responded to the AYP letter sent earlier this year.
CAPSS Awards: Hall Memorial School eighth grade students Aaron Lopez and Lisa Pinatti were presented the CAPSS award at a reception in November at the RHAM High School.
D. Harding has scheduled a visit to Hall Memorial School with Congressman Joe Courtney for January 9, 2008. Congressman Courtney is interested in seeing the high level of sophisticated technology integration. He will visit several classrooms and meet with D. Harding and D. Sullivan to discuss education issues faced by rural school districts.
Old Business
MOTION #6
L. Semprebon moved to add “Approval of Board Calendar of Meetings” to Old Business Agenda items. C. PSathas seconded. Passed unanimously.
MOTION #7
L. Semprebon moved that the Board accept and ratify a new three year contract with the Willington Education Association as presented to the Board as modified, and that the chair is authorized and directed to sign the new contract for and on behalf of the Board of Education.
T. Gareau seconded. Passed unanimously.
Board reflected on CABE/CAPPS annual conference. Discussed speakers, workshops and materials offered.
Second Reading of policy #5131.31, Video Surveillance. D. Harding led discussion on possible language being added to policy and suggested rewording. Recommended looking into policy further in sub committee meeting.
First Reading of Bylaws of Board #9110. Review of handout which meets state statute from CABE.
MOTION # 8
L. Semprebon moved to revise Bylaws Policy #9110 as recommended by policy committee. C. Psathas seconded. Passed unanimously.
D. Harding led discussion on status of School Growth Committee and dissolution of said committee. Made recommendation to incorporate sub committee to make this one topic of Community Conversations.
M. Makuch led discussion of Board of Education Meeting Calendar to change November 11 date to November 18 and remove the question mark from the July 8 date.
MOTION #9
L. Semprebon moved to approve the Board of Education Calendar of Meetings for 2008 as modified by M. Makuch. T. Gareau seconded. Passed Unanimously.
New Business
D. Harding led discussion on Board/District goals and the alignment of district, Board, staff, and superintendent goals.
Present to Speak
None
Board Comments
The Board thanked L. Semprebon for her past work as Chair and congratulated the newly elected officials. The Board thanked M. Makuch, L. Semprebon and the teachers that worked on the WEA contract. Reminder for the Hall Memorial School Winter Concert tomorrow night at 7pm in the gym at HMS. The Board thanked J. Meyers, B. LaFemina-Weber, G. Stebbins and the PTA and D. Harding for new artwork in the meeting room. It makes a big difference and is appreciated greatly. The Board congratulated all Willington students at E.O. Smith that made the honor roll and high honor roll this semester. There were twenty two ninth graders from Willington on the honor and high honor roll this semester alone. The Board said the Shakespeare play “As You Like It” was a fun play and
noted that J. Meyers did a great job on the scenery and that there were a lot of kids in the cast and they all did a nice job. The Board thanked the PTA for putting on the UConn Skate, the kids love it. The Board also wants it’s members to promote sharing in each discussion as they are considering issues because everyone has a different and good perspective to offer.
C. Psathas asked for consensus to adjourn the meeting at 9:30p.m. Respectfully submitted,
Nichole Page
Recorder
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