Board of Education Meeting Minutes

January 2, 2008

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools

OTHERS: Ossie Lewis, Finance; Michael Geake, Common Council; Ralph Valenzisi, Norwalk Board of Education IT, Fred Wilms, BET, Stuart Wells, BET, Thomas Hamilton, Finance Director; Bruce Mellion, NFT Union President; Charles Wilhelm, Richard Bonenfant, Common Council, Douglas Sutton, Common Council, Sharon Cadden, Laurel Lindstrom, Mark Gorian, Norwalk Board of Education Facility Manager

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Murray called the meeting to order at 7:55 p.m.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Ms. Murray led the meeting in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

SPOTLIGHT ON NORWALK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

There was no report.

SUPERINTENDANT’S REPORT

Dr. Corda said that Mr. Valenzisi and Mr. Gorian would be giving a PowerPoint presentation of the Capital Budget for Technology.

Mr. Valenzisi said that part of No Child Left Behind included to have technology proficiency by 8th grade. Students need to have strong technology skills in order to succeed. Mr. Valenzisi reviewed the Server 2008 arrangement and explained the online environment for the Norwalk students, which is accessible over the Municipal Area Network (MAN).

Mr. Valenzisi then reviewed the current technological status of the Norwalk Elementary, Middle and High Schools. Mr. Kimmel then asked about the number of computer labs and the use of wireless computers. Mr. Valenzisi explained that there should be at least one computer lab in each school, but that as things progress more will be done on the wireless laptop. The wireless laptops have also given many more students access to computers. One of the largest problems in the secondary level is replacement of the teacher’s computers.

He also outlined the upcoming projects, but stressed that the biggest portion of the plan was the hardware refreshment portion of the plan. Mr. Valenzisi then reviewed last year’s budget with those present and how it was implemented. Following this, he presented the upcoming capital requests for 2008-09 budget and gave a brief overview of each of the items.

Mr. Kimmel asked what happened to the machines were removed from the classrooms. Mr. Valenzisi explained that the machines that are useable continue to be used. However, there is a point where the manufacturers no longer support the software. Windows 95 and 98 operating systems are examples of this. Mr. Kimmel has several other detailed questions about the computers that were being replaced, which Mr. Valenzisi answered for him.

Mr. Burnett then asked if the requests were in priority order. Mr. Valenzisi said that they were not. Mr. Burnett then asked if the list could be put in priority order. He then asked Mr. Valenzisi which projects were directly tied to student instruction. Mr. Valenzisi then indicated those items on the budget plan. Mr. Valenzisi then gave a very general overview of the Projections to 2012.

Ms. Bishop Pullan asked about the Teacher’s Professional Development. Mr. Valenzisi said that he could not access the Internet from this particular room, but that he would be happy to come to a future meeting and review the various Professional Development programs. He then gave a brief overview of some of the resources available online. Once the network is in place, then more programs and resources can be made available.

Mr. Gorian then came forward and introduced himself. He explained that he was the Director of Facilities and Maintenance for the District. Mr. Gorian then gave a presentation of the 2008/09 Capital Budget Requests for Health, Life and Safety. He pointed out that the stage rigging and stage curtains in the various school auditoriums must be maintained for safety. Currently most of the rigging in the auditoriums was installed when the buildings were construction and no longer meeting current code or current industry standards. Mr. Kimmel asked about this and how much of a danger they were. Mr. Gorian said that they did not pose an immediate safety hazard, they need to be replaced. Items like the pulleys are old and still safe, but should be replaced.

Mayor Moccia pointed out that Norwalk High School was currently undergoing renovations, and several of the other school buildings were in the process of being renovated. He suggested that perhaps there was funding already available for these items. The Mayor also commented about a statement regarding the fact that “No funding being provided”. He stated that this was the first time that this issue had been raised. Mr. Opdahl said that there had been previous requests, but that other projects had been given a higher priority.

The folding gym walls were the next item discussed. Currently, there are 13 folding doors in the school buildings. These are old and the parts are increasingly hard to locate. Plus there are safety inspections for the electric motors and other maintenance issues. The new methods involve vinyl fabric panels and operable mesh gymnasium roll up curtains.

Ms. Murray asked about the sound potential of the new panels. Mr. Gorian replied that there is no real sound reduction because the vinyl panels are approximately 10 feet high and that the rest of the area is covered by mesh. He said that there were two Norwalk schools that had them installed and that there had not been any complaints from the school staff.

Mr. Burnett asked about the warranty on these types of doors. Mr. Gorian said that the doors at Silvermine have been in place for three years with no repairs or problems. The maintenance is very low and the inspection fees are also much lower.

The third and final request was for fire suppression systems for the school kitchens. Mr. Gorian informed the group that the current systems no long meet the Underwriter’s Standards. At this point in time, it is no longer possible to maintain the systems because the parts are no longer available. Mr. Kimmel then had several detailed questions about this issue relating to the Central Kitchen. Mr. Opdahl reviewed the details of this with everyone.

Mr. Chiaramonte has some questions about how often the auditorium stages are used in the various schools. Mr. Gorian said that he did not have a firm number on the actual usage but that they were active areas.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Mr. Charles Wilhelm of 2 Rising Road came forward and said that while the numbers that are presented to the public and the presentations are very nice, he would like to see more transparency. He said that the budget binders complete with line items could be put on the Web in a pdf format.

Mr. Wilhelm said that he hoped that the Board would discuss publicly financial management. He said that he wondered if the numbers are accurate, and if the budgets are adhered to as stated. He reminded everyone that he had previously requested that a Financial Manager be added to the staff. Mr. Wilhelm said that the idea of a financial manager is not new and that this was his major concern.

Mr. Bruce Mellion came forward and said that there was a fairly detailed discussion on the Wellness program included in the Friday report. Mr. Mellion said that the report states that the District is not in a position to support the cost of the wellness program as described by the City. There has been an ongoing discussion about the benefits of a Wellness program and how it cuts the cost of insurance. By offering financial incentives, the City could reduce the second largest expense

He also pointed out that on page 8 of the Capital Budget there is a statement about the cost of health care. Mr. Mellion then said that in further references to health care, there was no acknowledgement of the premium health care portion. He said that this would be important to include in the final budget proposal.

ACTIONS A. Consent

1. Approval of Personnel Items

** MS. BISHOP PULLAN MOVED TO APPROVE THE PERSONNEL ACTIONS. ** MR. CHIARAMONTE SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

B. Approval of Field Trips

1. Roton Middle School to Washington D.C.

** MS. BISHOP PULLAN MOVED TO APPROVE THE ROTON MIDDLE SCHOOL FIELD TRIP TO WASHINGTON D.C. ** MR. IANNACCONE SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

2. Brien McMahon CGS to China

** MR. KIMMEL MOVED TO APPROVE THE BRIEN MCMAHON CGS FIELD TRIP TO CHINA. ** MS. BISHOP PULLAN SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

C. Approval of minutes (December 18, 2007 Special Meeting)

** MS. BISHOP PULLAN MOVED THE MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 18, 2007 SPECIAL MEETING. ** MR. BURNETT SECONDED.

The following corrections were noted:

Page 1, under OTHERS: please change “David Davidoff” to “David Davidson”.

Page 1, under PUBLIC COMMENT : please change “NFPE” to “NFEP” throughout.

** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 18, 2007 SPECIAL MEETING AS CORRECTED PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

VII. INFORMATION AND REPORTS

A. 2008-2009 Operating budget presentation – Part I

Mr. Burnett that his email address is posted on the website and also has been made available via other media. He requested that questions be emailed to him and they would be forwarded to the Board and the Central Office.

Dr. Corda said that the District was trying to provide the Board, the Council and the public with more information. Previously, the information included in the budget was in response to the Board’s questions. He added that the entire budget binder would be posted on the District website by the end of the week.

Part I of the budget would be presented at this meeting and would include the material in the budget other than the Instructional area.

He then reviewed the various financial planning models, including zero based budgeting. Dr. Corda said that in trying to approach the development of the budget, many of the models were examined. However, there are contracts and other non-negotiable items that are covered. Dr. Corda then listed the various steps that are taken in the Budget Development Process. There are three key objectives, including meeting the State and Federal Requirements, supporting the curriculum and providing programs that are necessary in increasing the achievements of all students.

The total of the Operating Budget is $142,518,197, which is a 4.94% increase. The District has a salary scale for the teachers and as each step is achieved, the salary increases. Mr. Kimmel had several detailed questions about the exact calculation of the salary figures mentioned. A discussion regarding this then followed.

Dr. Corda then pointed out that one of the reasons for the increase in costs is the ever-increasing cost of oil. There was also a brief discussion about the number of student enrollments.

The school staff allocations were then reviewed.

The Mayor left the meeting at 10:10 p.m.

Dr. Corda pointed out that the cost for the State Assessment that was done will not be included in the budget next year.

Mr. Kimmel said that he believed that the Chief Operating Officer was spread too thin and that the District needed a Financial Director. He pointed out that he had requested in the past that another position be added to the Administration. Mr. Kimmel said that even if it was just a token amount of $1.00, he would like to have it included in the budget and planned to continue to bring this issue up. Mr. Kimmel said that he felt that both Dr. Corda and Mr. Opdahl were overburdened with the financial planning of the budget along with all their other tasks. Dr. Corda replied that he believed the appropriate time for this proposal to be added would be when the Board was ready to vote on the budget.

Dr. Corda then proceeded to review the remainder of the budget with the Board and reviewed the details with the Board on specific areas.

There was also a question about the declining enrollment at Wolfpit. Dr. Corda said that the District was watching the situation at Wolfpit and that there were some possible alternatives, such as early childhood education programs or possibly a welcome center. However, it is still too early to do anything but consider possible alternatives.

B. Board Member Announcements

Ms. Murray reminded everyone that the second part of the presentation would be made on January 3rd in the Community Room.

ADJOURNMENT

** MR.BURNETT MOVED TO ADJOURN. **Mr. IANNACCONE SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting adjourned at 10:42 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Service

Category: Minutes