REGIONAL DISTRICT #11 BOARD OF EDUCATION Chaplin, Connecticut Special Meeting Minutes February 23, 2010

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1 Note: Per C.G.S , Board of Education meeting minutes are provided in a draft format within 48 hours of the date the meeting was held. With the exception of motions and votes recorded, these minutes are unofficial until they have been read and approved by a majority vote of the Board. Should edits be necessary, they will be made at the next regularly scheduled meeting, noted in the meeting minutes, and voted upon. REGIONAL DISTRICT #11 BOARD OF EDUCATION Chaplin, Connecticut Special Meeting Minutes February 23, 2010 Chairperson George Askew called the meeting to order at 7:13 PM. Present were Board members Kate Donnelly, Sally Ireland, Steve Dunn, Ted Decyk, Jennifer Jones, Kathleen O Callaghan, Jennifer Nelson and Christina Moore. Administrators present were Interim Superintendent Ken Henrici and Principal Joseph Fleming. George Askew led the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. COMMUNICATION WITH THE AUDIENCE: Maryellen Donnelly encouraged the Board to do more research and embrace the Magnet School. George Askew commended her for work on the Magnet School plan. 3. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS TO THE BOARD: A letter was received from Superintendent Janet Tyler regarding Parish Hill as a designated school of choice for Canterbury students. A letter was received with a parent request regarding acceptance of student at Killingly Regional Agricultural Center that is not the designated high school. The issue will be discussed during Executive Session. 4. STUDENT REPORT: Senior Darcy Rose presented the student report. Empty Bowl will be held on March 9 th. Junior Planning Night will be held on March 9 th with an insight presented on post secondary education and graduation. CAPT and CMTs will begin the first week in March. A multicultural musical will be held with percussion on the drums. The music department will be taking a trip to New York City to see The Lion King. Girls Varsity Basketball Semi-Finals will be held February 23 rd in New Haven. The Girls MS Quinebaug Valley tournament has ended. Senior Night will be held this evening in Coventry. The next Blood Drive will be held on March 29 th. 5. PRESENTATION OF PRELIMINARY FY BUDGET: The preliminary budget was presented with a 0% increase for the fourth consecutive year of level funding. Student enrollment is slightly declining. Staffing was reviewed and staff reductions were made without adversely impacting education. Mandarin Chinese will be added if approved by the College Board. French enrollment is declining and courses will be staffed accordingly. The biggest challenges to the budget are fixed contractual increases, increase for a health insurance (approx 12.5%), and adjustments made for student with particular needs. May 3 rd will be the Tri-town Hearing followed by a referendum on May 4 th.

2 Regional District #11 Board of Education- Page 2 of 5 6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: January 19, 2010 Motion to approve the minutes of January 19, 2010, was made by Christina Moore with the following correction: Item #10F should read The Committee accepted the bus bid, Financial Statement with certain condition and the maintenance report. The motion was seconded by Jennifer Nelson and carried with the following vote: YES: K. Donnelly, T. Decyk, S. Dunn, G. Askew, J. Nelson, C. Moore, J. Jones, ABSTAIN: S. Ireland. 7. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS/ADMINISTRATIVE REQUESTS FOR BOARD ACTION: A. Principal: CAPT/CMT testing will be done during the entire month with Math last to be tested. Juniors and seniors will be available for extra help with AP and Project Opening Doors. Most 8 th graders have submitted enrollment forms for next year. The priority is to retain 8 th graders especially with the smaller number of students. Christina Moore suggested that students that were concerned with graduating from Parish Hill due to possible dissolution talk to 8 th graders about their positive feelings about the school. These students stayed at Parish Hill, thrived and went on to college. Kate Donnelly suggested parents talk to other parents as well. B. Superintendent: The Board Newsletter will be out soon thanks to Barbara Anderson, Jennifer Jones and George Askew. Superintendent Henrici is confident about the results from the Writing Lab. Tiffany Smith has done a phenomenal job with many assessments of student writing. Fiscal & Plant is working on bids, including security cameras and the roof. An application was submitted to the College Board for Mandarin Chinese. The program would provide a teacher with a tuition stipend. The teacher may be available to the elementary school as well. 8. OLD BUSINESS/NEW BUSINESS: Motion to move Item #8C to here, was made by Kate Donnelly, seconded by Ted Decyk and carried with the following vote: Jerri Tarr presented information on the Carl D. Perkins Innovation Grant. The grant would cover facilities, PD, workshops, field trips, internships for students, and a career pathway. The focus will be wellness and public health. The $40,000 grant would replace cabinets and counters with stainless steel and increase the size by 25%. The renovation will include a small take-out restaurant with hopes to expand to the community. Motion to approve Carl D. Perkins Innovation Grant Application and continue with grant initiatives developed with this award, was made by Christina Moore, seconded by Sally Ireland and carried with the following vote:

3 Regional District #11 Board of Education- Page 3 of 5 Jennifer Nelson reported that there is a CT Cake Competition in Hartford on March 27/28 th at the Marriott. A. Request Approval of Financial Statement: The budget is in good shape with 53% of the budget spent so far. Motion to approve the Financial Statement, was made by Jennifer Nelson, seconded by Kate Donnelly and carried with the following vote: YES: K. Donnelly, T. Decyk, S. Ireland, S. Dunn, G. Askew, J. Nelson, C. Moore, J. Jones, Kathleen O Callaghan asked for clarification of technology work performed by a former PHHS student. Superintendent Henrici reported that the Technology Coordinator has many responsibilities including Connect Ed, PSIS, Powerschool and CBAS. This former student assists after school with small jobs. B. Request Leave of Absence Melissa Cannon: Motion to approve Leave of Absence for Melissa Cannon from March 17 th to May 17 th, was made by Kate Donnelly, seconded by Ted Decyk and carried with the following vote: YES: K. Donnelly, T. Decyk, S. Ireland, S. Dunn, G. Askew, J. Nelson, C. Moore, J. Jones, C. Board Approval of Carl D. Perkins Innovation Grant Application RFP #116: Moved to beginning of Item #8. D. Formal Approval of Amendment to Weighted Grades Policy : Refers specifically to weighted grade reference grid. Motion to amend Weighted Grades Policy to refer to class rank with point increase dated February 23, 2010, was made by Christina Moore, seconded by Kate Donnelly and carried with the following vote: YES: K. Donnelly, T. Decyk, S. Ireland, S. Dunn, G. Askew, J. Nelson, C. Moore, J. Jones, E. Diversity Discussion: A Diversity Plan was presented from Assistant Principal Dori Smith. It includes the Diversity Club, annual student attendance at the MOSAICS workshop, April multi-cultural month, staff attendance at diversity workshops and diversity training by SDE. Kate Donnelly suggested diversity training be held during Teacher Orientation Day. The information will be presented at the March meeting. 9. COMMITTEE REPORTS: A. CABE/EASTCONN: EASTCONN meets the 4 th Tuesday of the month. The annual meeting will be held on May 25 th from 4-6 pm at the Capital Arts Theater in Willimantic to celebrate their 30 th anniversary. There will be a program on April 6 th with Attorney Ann Littlefield regarding electronic access with electronic forms of communication including Facebook, Twitter and texting. Kate Donnelly suggested taking advantage of the many programs available for students at EASTCONN.

4 Regional District #11 Board of Education- Page 4 of 5 B. Personnel & Supervision: Secretary negotiations have stalled due to cancellation of meetings. The next meeting is March 2 nd. C. Central Office: The next meeting is Wednesday, February 24 th at 5:30 PM. D. Board Newsletter: The Board Newsletter is ready for mailing. E. Educational & Board Policies: The Weighted Grades Policy was reviewed and amended. There is legislation pending regarding communication between the staff and students monitoring classroom electronic bulletin boards as part of actual classroom course work. F. Fiscal & Plant: The Committee reviewed the budget and approved the financial statement and maintenance report that includes the issue of the roof needing work. Additional snow has caused new seams on the roof to open up. Discussion was held regarding cameras and door buzzer system. G. Technology: A quote from one vendor for cameras was $34,000 and does not include air phone buzzer system. Adding a camera to the student parking lot could be expensive due to the lack of existing wiring. Most schools use a buzzer at the front door. H. Magnet Committee: A Tri-town Forum will be held tentatively on March 22 nd. Kate Donnelly asked about advertising the forum since it was not included in the newsletter. Jennifer Nelson suggested stuffing a notice in with the newsletter. A meeting will be held Friday, February 25 th. 10. EXECUTIVE SESSION DISCUSSION OF PERSONNEL AND LEGAL MATTERS: Motion to move the Second Audience for Citizens before Executive Session, was made by Jennifer Nelson, seconded by Christina Moore and carried with the following vote: 11. SECOND AUDIENCE FOR CITIZENS: Maryellen Donnelly expressed concerns with the lack of clinical staff at Parish Hill and suggested having staff in house to service students instead of outplacement. Superintendent Henrici reported that there was a reduction in the number of outplaced students. Mary Donnelly reported that several plans have been developed including the Behavior Modification plan to reduce this number. Motion to enter into Executive Session (9:34 PM) for the purpose of discussing Personnel and Legal Matters and invite the Superintendent and Special Ed Director, was made by Christina Moore, seconded by Jennifer Nelson and carried with the following vote:

5 Regional District #11 Board of Education- Page 5 of 5 Mary Donnelly left the meeting at 10:05 PM. The Board came out of Executive Session at 10:30 PM. Motion to deny request to provide tuition for the student request to attend Killingly Vo-Ag program since it is not Parish Hill s designated Vo-Ag program, was made by Sally Ireland, seconded by Steve Dunn and carried with the following vote: 12. ADJOURNMENT: Motion to adjourn (10:33 PM) was made by Sally Ireland, seconded by Steve Dunn and carried unanimously. Respectfully Submitted by Kathleen Scott Recording Secretary