Board of Education Meeting Minutes

February 4, 2008

ATTENDANCE: Susan Hamilton, Chair; Jody Bishop-Pullan; Glenn Iannaccone, Shirley Mosby; Bruce Kimmel, Greg Burnett, Mayor Richard A. Moccia, Migdalia Rivas (8:23 p.m.); Jack Chiaramonte (8:30 p.m.); Rosa Murray (8:43 p.m.)

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools

OTHERS: Dr. Karen Lang, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction; Tony Daddona, Director of Secondary Education, Bruce Mellion, NFT President, Nicholas Kydes, Common Council; Leonard Mecca, NHS principal; Michael Garcia, YMCA; Michael Renick; Wolfpit School parent; Sharon Cadden, NHS parent; Ms. Chubba, Wolfpit School parent; Roz McCarthy, Brien McMahon Center For Global Studies Director

I. CALL TO ORDER – 7:45 P.M. – NORWALK HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY

Ms. Hamilton called the meeting to order at 7:51 p.m.

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Ms. Hamilton led those present in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

III. SPOTLIGHT ON NORWALK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Mr. Iannaccone then presented the Spotlight on Norwalk Public Schools. A number of students came forward to be presented with certificates for their achievements from the Board.

IV. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Corda greeted all those present and congratulated all the students who had received certificates of achievement.

Dr. Corda then said that there had been a terrible tragedy over the weekend where one of the Norwalk teachers had been involved in an accident, which resulted in the loss of his wife and serious injury to his twelve year old daughter and himself. Dr. Corda said that Norwalk is the sixth largest school system in the state and has about 11,000 students. However, Norwalk is like a small town and that the entire District is concerned about Mr. Festa.

Dr. Corda then commented that this is also reflected in the same level of caring at Briggs High School, which is where the students who received the awards were from. These students needed a smaller community rather than the larger communities at Norwalk High School and Brien McMahon. The District has provided this for them through Briggs High School.

There were also two retirements on the agenda for this meeting. One was Dr. Karen Lang and the second was Ms. Marilyn Lieberatore, the principal of Columbus Magnet School. Dr. Corda said that the District will miss both women greatly. Dr. Corda then welcomed Mr. Michael Caseri, the new Ponus Ridge Assistant Principal.

Dr. Corda said that there had been some concern about the safety and supervision of the students. He then called Mr. Mecca forward to address everyone present.

Mr. Mecca came forward and said that there had been concerns about the students not being supervised or being cared for. Mr. Mecca said that when the first marking period happened, there was construction going on and portions of the building were closed. During the first marking period, the focus was moving the students to areas of the building that were open and working on the internal problems. Once that happened, meetings occurred because there were complaints that the students were leaving campus unsupervised. There were calls from local merchants regarding high school students being in their stores during school hours.

Several measures were taken, and the wayward students identified. Mr. Mecca said that in more that two months, there has not been a phone call to Detective Murray regarding students off campus. Mr. Mecca said that this does not mean that there are no students off campus, but that the number has been greatly minimized. The staff has also worked very hard to overcome the hurdle of having two principle corridors in the center of the building. The Security staff has been assisted by the teaching staff in this area.

Mr. Mecca said that there would be future discussion about the attendance policy, the class cut policy, graduation policies and the number of credits needed. Mr. Mecca said that the plan will not start with this presentation, but these discussions will go forward. He then thanked the Board for listening to him.

Mr. Iannaccone said that he happened to be on site last week when the classes changed that there seemed to be a lot of students in the hallway. He asked if the students were marked absent if they were late to class. Mr. Mecca said that the students who were tardy to class were marked absent. Mr. Kimmel said that he believed that the students were supposed to leave the building immediately if they had open end. Mr. Mecca said that this was being worked on.

Ms. Mosby then asked how involved Mr. Mecca was in the day to day functioning of the school. Mr. Mecca replied that he was present in the cafeteria every day, and was also in the hallways and in the office. Mr. Kimmel had a question about the number of credits required for seniors, which Mr. Mecca then reviewed with the Board. Mr. Kimmel said that he had several concerns about students with several study halls and the old “H” policy. He asked that this be discussed. Ms. Mosby said that this issue had been going on for a number of months and that Mr. Mecca had been working with Mr. Daddona, the Director of Secondary Education. She said however that she did not want a temporary solution, but a permanent fix. Mr. Mecca said that he had begun to address this issue months ago.

Ms. Rivas joined the meeting at 8:23 p.m.

V. PUBLIC COMMENTS

Mr. Garcia said that he was present to represent the YMCA, which had applied to have the YMCA summer program at Silvermine School for YMCA 2008 Summer Program.

Mr. Michael Renick, a parent of a Wolfpit student, came forward and said that that he would like clarification on a statement that Dr. Corda made on January 4th, regarding possibly closing Wolfpit. This was major concern for a number of parents present.

Alonzo Virgil, from the ACHIEVE program, came forward to introduce himself to the Board and offered to answer questions about ACHIEVE’s request to use Jefferson School for ACHIEVE 2008 Summer Program

Alexia Harris, the president of the Norwalk High Student Government, came forward and introduced herself to the Board. She reported that the NHSG had held a discussion in January regarding the bathroom conditions. This includes the bathrooms cleanliness and the lack of paper towels. She has several suggestions, including the addition of four new plastic trash cans or the possible use of electric hot air hand driers to cut down on paper waste.

Sharon Cadden, an NHS parent, came forward to say that her son has a late start time and also a open ended period that were a real advantage because of his various activities that include participation in Crystal Theater and taking AP courses. Mr. Kimmel had suggested that the rotating eight period schedule be changed. Ms. Cadden said that with the rotating schedule, everyone gets a chance to have a late start time and the open ended period.

Ms. Cadden said that when she was sitting across the street the other day, she watched eight students leave the building. She said that the tone of the building needs to change so that the students don’t just wander off the campus. Ms. Cadden said that the staff and Mr. Mecca have worked very hard to correct this problem but the parents need to talk to their children about this issue.

Mr. Mellion, the NFT president, came forward and distributed copies of documents regarding NFT Attendance Policy Survey Results March 2006. Mr. Mellion encouraged everyone to examine the documents and to have discussions about these issues at a future time.

Ms. Chubba said that she was a parent of a Wolfpit student and that they would have put in almost 20 years at the school when their last child leaves Wolfpit. She said that she was aware that Wolfpit attendance was dropping, but also said that one of the reasons that they lived in their neighborhood was so that her children could go to Wolfpit.

Dr. Corda said that he would like to clarify for the parents present, that there are no plans to close Wolfpit. Closing a school is a very serious issue. Any school that was being considered for closing would be brought to the public and the Board would consider issue carefully. He said that there is decline in elementary schools enrollment across the District.

Dr. Corda explained that Wolfpit just happened to be the school under discussion when the question was asked by someone. Dr. Corda said that there had been some consideration of utilizing the space within the various schools with an expanded pre school and a welcome center. Ms. Bishop Pullan commented that these two items would be in addition to the elementary classes.

Ms. Murray joined the meeting at 8:43 p.m.

Mayor Moccia immediately said that he would like to extend his condolences to the Festa family.

Mayor Moccia said that he would like to add his voice to what Ms. Cadden said regarding the fact that parents have to be involved in the issue regarding the students leaving campus. When the students know that there are consequences, this problem won’t continue. There is only so much that the schools can do and the parents have to work with the schools on this.

Secondly, Mayor Moccia said that he had recommended in the Capital Budget that a half million dollars be allocated for the replacement of the turf field at Testa Field. The other fields will be done in the future.

VI. ACTIONS

A. Consent

1. Personnel actions

** MS. BISHOP PULLAN MOVED TO REMOVE THE PERSONNEL ITEMS FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR. ** MR. IANNACCONE SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Ms. Bishop Pullan said that she had served on the Board for many years with Dr. Lang and deeply appreciates all her hard work. Ms. Hamilton commented that she had also had the privilege of working with Dr. Lang.

Ms. Bishop Pullan said that Ms. Liberatore had come to work at the Columbus Magnet School to replace Art Perschino and that she would be greatly missed.

** MS. BISHOP PULLAN MOVED TO ACCEPT THE RESIGNATIONS OF DR. KAREN LANG, THE ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION AND MS. MARILYN LIBERATORE, THE PRINCIPLE OF COLUMBUS MAGNET SCHOOL FOR THE PURPOSE OF RETIREMENT, EFFECTIVE JUNE 30, 2008 AND THE REQUEST TO RESCIND THE RETIREMENT OF MS. MERCEDES TALARICO, PONUS RIDGET MIDDLE SCHOOL SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER ON JUNE 30, 2008.

** MR. IANNACCONE SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

B. Budget transfers

** MS. MURRAY MOVED TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDED BUDGET TRANSFERS:

THE AMOUNT OF $185.00 FROM THE BMHS IND. ARTS INSTR. EQUIP (ACCOUNT # 1031110073003) TO BMHS IND. ARTS INSTR. SUPPLIES. (ACCOUNT # 1031110061103) FOR INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPLIES FOR INDUSTRIAL ARTS CLASS.

THE AMOUNT OF $150.00 FROM THE BMHS SCIENCE INSTR. SUPPLIES (ACCOUNT # 1031113061103) TO BMHS SCIENCE INSTR. EQUIP. (ACCOUNT # 1031113073003) FOR TWO SHELF SERVICE CART FOR SCIENCE DEPARTMENT.

THE AMOUNT OF $3,000 FROM NHS SCIENCE INSTR. EQUIP. (ACCOUNT # 1041113073005) TO NHS SCIENCE INSTR. SUPPLIES (ACCOUNT # 1051113061105) FOR SCIENCE INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPLIES (BEAKERS, GOGGLES, ETC.)

THE AMOUNT OF $610.00 FROM NHS SCIENCE AUDIOVISUAL (ACCOUNT # 1051113064305) TO NHS SCIENCE INSTR. SUPPLIES (ACCOUNT # 1051113061105) FOR SCIENCE INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPLIES (BECKERS, GOGGLES, ETC.)

** MR. BURNETT SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

C. Approval of minutes (January 7, 2007 & January 15, 2008)

January 7, 2007

** MS. BISHOP PULLAN MOVED THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 7, 2007. ** MR. CHIARAMONTE SECONDED.

The following corrections were noted:

Page 2, paragraph 7, line 1: please correct “Angela Cinci” to “Angela Vincenzi”

Page 3, paragraph 7, line 6: please correct “Mr. Kimmel said that his school has dropped from 1,300 pupils” to “Mr. Kimmel said that his school in New York has dropped from 1,300 pupils”

Page 6, paragraph 2, line 2: please change “Dr. Corda said that this was an accurate.” To “Dr. Corda said that this was accurate.”

** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS CORRECTED PASSED WITH EIGHT IN FAVOR (CHIARAMONTE, BISHOP PULLAN, KIMMEL, IANNACCONE, MURRAY, HAMILTON, BURNETT, AND RIVAS) AND ONE AGAINST (MOSBY).

January 15, 2008

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 15, 2008. ** MR BURNETT SECONDED.

A question arose about the wording of one of the statements that had a word inadvertently left off a sentence. The secretary will check the notes regarding this.

** MS. BISHOP PULLAN MOVED TO TABLE THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 15, 2008. ** MR. BURNETT SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

D. Approval of field trips

1. Brien McMahon High School to Baltimore & Washington

** MS. RIVAS MOVED TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE BRIEN MCMAHON HIGH SCHOOL (48 STUDENTS) TO BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON ART MUSEUM ON MAY 15 THROUGH MAY 17, 2008. ** MS. BISHOP PULLAN SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

2. Brien McMahon High School to All New England Music Festival

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR BRIEN MCMAHON HIGH SCHOOL (10 STUDENTS) TO ALL NEW ENGLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL ON MARCH 13 THROUGH MARCH 15, 2008. ** MS. RIVAS SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

3. Brien McMahon High School CGS to Kojo H.S. & Nagasaki, Japan

It was noted that there was a small date change and that the group would be leaving a day later and returning a day earlier than originally planned in order to keep the cost under $2,000.

** MS. BISHOP PULLAN MOVED TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR THE BRIEN MCMAHON CENTER FOR GLOBAL STUDIES TO KOJO HIGH SCHOOL AND NAGASKI, JAPAN ON MAY 14 THROUGH MAY 29, 2008. ** MS. MURRAY SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

4. Brien McMahon High School CGS to Bunkyo School & Kyoto, Japan

** MS. MURRAY MOVED TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR THE BRIEN MCMAHON CENTER FOR GLOBAL STUDIES TO BUNKYA GAKUIN UNIVERSITY SENIOR SCHOOL AND KYOTO, JAPAN ON MAY 7 THROUGH MAY 20, 2008. ** MS. BISHOP PULLAN SECONDED.

Mr. Kimmel commented that it was important that those present know that this was not a rubber stamp process and that the applications had been presented at previous meetings and thoroughly discussed earlier.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

E. Approval of policies

1. 5141.1 Accidents

** MR. BURNETT MOVED TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERTINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR POLICY #5141.1 – ACCIDENTS ** MR. KIMMEL SECONDED.

Mr. Iannaccone asked for some clarification regarding whether the policy now consisted of only the first paragraph. He was told that this was so.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

2. 5141.21 Administration of Medication

** MS. RIVAS MOVED TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERTINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR POLICY #5141.21 – ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION AS PRESENTED TO THE BOARD. ** MS. BISHOP PULLAN SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

3. 5141.25 Students with special health care needs

** MS. BISHOP PULLAN MOVED TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERTINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR POLICY #5141.25 STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS AS PRESENTED TO THE BOARD. ** MR. BURNETT SECONDED.

JBP said that the previous policy had only addressed allergies, but this new policy covers a much wider spectrum of medical problems.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

4. 5141.3 Health assessments and immunizations ** MR. BURNETT MOVED TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERTINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR POLICY #5141.3 HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND IMMUNIZATIONS AS PRESENTED TO THE BOARD. ** MS. BISHOP PULLAN SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

5. 6154 & 6154(a) Elementary homework

** MR. KIMMEL MOVED TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERTINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR POLICIES 6154 & 6154(A) ELEMENTARY HOMEWORK AS PRESENTED TO THE BOARD. ** MS. BISHOP PULLAN SECONDED.

Mr. Burnett said that he wanted to insure that everyone had received copies of the homework policies. The updated copies were sent electronically. Mr. Kimmel commended the Policy Committee on this new policy.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

F. Use of Silvermine School for YMCA 2008 Summer Program

** MS. BISHOP PULLAN MOVED TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERTINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR THE USE OF SILVERMINE SCHOOL FOR YMCA 2008 SUMMER PROGRAM FROM JUNE 23, 2008 UNTIL AUGUST 15, 2008. ** MR. CHIARAMONTE SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

G. Use of Jefferson School for ACHIEVE 2008 Summer Program

** MS. RIVAS MOVED TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERTINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR THE USE OF JEFFERSON SCHOOL FOR ACHIEVE 2008 SUMMER PROGRAM FROM JUNE 23, 2008 UNTIL AUGUST 15, 2008. ** MS. MURRAY SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

VII. INFORMATION AND REPORTS

A. Mentor Program update

Ms. McCready came forward and said that the District was in the final year of the three-year funding. Ms. Penn Williams, Ms. Arnold and Ms. Salas came forward and said that they had prepared a six minute video on the Mentoring Program for the Board.

After the conclusion of the video, Ms. Arnold pointed out that social workers play a critical role in this program. Students face a multitude of challenges. It is the job of the social worker to create something better. Mentoring is one of the most powerful tools that exist. Following the recent death of a young man from stabbing, the social workers listened, and provided support in this crisis. One of the young people related a story about another young man who is making progress with his life. The young man felt this was because of the mentoring program. A strong, well managed mentoring program in the Norwalk School district will serve the youth of Norwalk well.

Ms. Penn-Williams came forward and thanked the Board for their time. She said that the program funding will end on May 31st, but many other field trips have been planned.

Mr. Burnett then asked about the concerns regarding the program continuing because of the problems of funding. Ms. McCready said that there have been a number of banks and other organizations that had been approached, but currently, there are no additional funds. Ms. McCready said that the City cannot re-apply for the grant until a time period had passed without funding. The program has had as many as 500 mentors, but because a number of companies relocating from town or personal job transfers, the number has dropped to about 165. There is a long list of young people hoping for a mentor.

B. Policy – Graduation requirements

Ms. Bishop Pullan then directed the Board’s attention to the appropriate document in the information packet and reviewed the changes. The State now requires the students to have three laboratory sciences for graduation. This would be an excellent starting point for the change.

Ms. Bishop Pullan said that NCLB requires that all teachers have certification in the classes that they are teaching. Mr. Kimmel has some strong concerns about some of the language included in the proposal. Mr. Daddona then reviewed the current policy with the Board.

C. Brien McMahon CGS lottery proposal

Ms. McCarthy came forward and said that the CGS had the capacity to hold 350 students and that while the program will not need a lottery this year, they may next year. This would allow for a entering class of 80, 50% Norwalk students and 50% out of town students. Mr. Kimmel said that he had some concerns about the percentage assignments because it might be much harder for a Norwalk Student to get in than a student from another town. Ms. McCarthy said that the current State percentage for magnet schools is 30%. For each Norwalk student, the District receives $3,000 but for each out of town student the District receives $6,000.

Ms. Bishop Pullan asked about the break down of the student body. Ms. McCarthy said that there were 236 students at the CGS. She then reviewed the residential break down of the student body, which encompasses 100 out of town students and around 140 out of town students. The out of town students get $1,300 per students for transportation that is separate from the major funding.

Ms. Mosby has several questions about whether the Norwalk students are aware of the CGS program. Ms. McCarthy said that she had spoken at all four middle schools about the program. She pointed out that for a Norwalk High School student, it is harder because they are leaving their friends and the familiar area, whereas BMHS students still have all their friends present and if they want to transfer back to Brien McMahon, it’s just a matter of changing classes.

D. BMHS diplomas for CGS students

Ms. McCarthy then reviewed the details about the CGS students receiving diplomas. In the beginning the students only stayed for a year and returned to their home school. Ms. McCarthy said that there were times when students received a diploma from CGS and from their home district. There are also other problems when there are requirements of their home district and the CGS does not offer that course or may not have as many requirements. There are also problems with transcripts.

Now that around 80% of the CGS students stay for four years, it would be good to give them a BMHS diploma. The student could chose to receive a home district diploma or a BMHS diploma.

Mr. Burnett asked if it would be possible to see the guidelines that the students have in order to decide what diploma the student wants. Ms. McCarthy said that students met with their guidance counselors during the year.

Ms. Rivas has several questions about the diploma program, which Ms. McCarthy reviewed with her. Ms. McCarthy explained that the different districts have different requirements. Every district must meet a minimum number of requirements, but after that, it is up to District to set their standards.

Dr. Corda suggested that the Board be provided with the documentation that would be used for the program. Ms. Rivas said that she would like copies of all the various towns requirements. Ms. McCarthy said that she would get a representative sample of the more stringent districts.

E. 2008-2009 School Calendar

Dr. Corda said that there had been a draft of the calendar in the packet. He said that NASA had recommended that the Feb. recess be moved to Feb. 9 through Feb. 16th for students. The teaching staff would return on Feb. 16th, a holiday, for professional development day in lieu of the March 20th date. Dr. Corda then outlined several pros and cons for this date change.

The NFT recommended that the dates of the Dec. recess begin on Dec. 19th and go for two full weeks, until the week of December 29th. Two days would have to be made up. These would have to be added at the end of the school year. Dr. Corda then outlined several pros and cons associated with this schedule change.

Mr. Burnett asked if there were any cost savings associated with having the schools closed for two whole weeks. Construction would still go ahead. Dr. Corda said that he believed that there would be some cost savings and outlined them for the Board.

Ms. Rivas asked about President’s Day being a legal holiday. Dr. Corda said that he was going to check as to whether it is a legal holiday. If it is not, the District could require the teachers to come in.

Mr. Kimmel then had questions and concerns about the calendar.

Dr. Corda commented that he would like to have more input from the parents groups.

Mr. Chiaramonte said that he had heard parents complain about having the students start before Labor Day. Dr. Corda pointed out that this would mean adding on time in June.

Dr. Corda said that he would like to get a sense of the Board regarding closing the schools for two weeks. Mr. Burnett asked about the cost savings of having the air conditioners on for two additional days would cost more than heating the building for two additional days in the winter.

Ms. Murray asked if there was a problem impacting student instruction and achievement. Dr. Corda said that for just a minimal amount of time, he did not think that it could be measured, but he did not know.

Mr. Kimmel said that it would be important not to give people the idea that the school vacation was now two weeks long. Dr. Corda said that the reason it was two weeks was because of the way that the Christmas and New Year holidays occur on a Wednesday this year.

Mr. Kimmel had concerns about the fact that the very young students who would have two weeks off in December and then there would only be five weeks until the February break. He said that it was broken up so much already and this would be an added break. The young students need the continuity and integrity of the school year.

Ms. Mosby said that she would like more information on the options at once rather than in pieces in order to make a rational and informed decision. Mr. Chiaramonte said that he would like more input from the parents. Dr. Corda replied that he would get more information for the Board.

F. Location of future board meetings

Dr. Corda said that if the document in the packet met the Board’s approval, he would work on identifying a middle and elementary school where the Board meetings could be held in the future. Dr. Corda said that he just wanted to be sure that the Board was happy with alternating between City Hall and a location in the community. This was agreeable to the Board.

G. Class size report

Dr. Corda said that the report was included in the packet. Mr. Kimmel had concerns about the number of classes that are offered and he said that he did not want to have students locked out of classes and forced into study halls. He said that he still had concerns about the numbers of the study halls. Dr. Corda said that there were ways of addressing and putting limitations on study halls. This could be scheduled for a future discussion.

H. Board members’ announcements

Mr. Iannaccone said that the Executive Board Committee was working on the agenda, but before it is actually printed, it should be sent to the secretary for a check in order to insure that all the items have been included.

Mr. Burnett said that the Norwalk High School Building Committee will be meeting in the Norwalk High School Library on February 13th at 7:30 p.m.

Ms. Mosby said that she wished to know what the process is regarding bring something to the Board because an issue was brought to the Executive Committee but it was never forwarded to the full Board. Ms. Mosby said that she had sent an email out but had not received an appropriate response. Ms. Hamilton said that she had responded to Ms. Mosby’s email, but if Ms. Mosby was not happy with the response, she needed to inform Ms. Hamilton of this. Ms. Mosby said that other Board members did not know what was going on about this issue. Ms. Hamilton said that there were times when discussions were confidential and the entire Board should not be privy to it because that would violate someone’s confidentiality request.

Ms. Bishop Pullan said that it would depend on the issue. If it was a general issue, it could go on the agenda, while there may be discussions that require more information from the administration.

Mr. Kimmel said that the Executive Committee is under FOI regulations and whatever is discussed should appear in the minutes. The meetings are open and the meetings must conform to FOI regulations.

Ms. Rivas said that that the Committee minutes are included in the packets. She said that the community might be aware of something but the Board is not aware. She said that she likes to be in a position so that she can respond accordingly.

Ms. Mosby said that regarding the confidential issues; she had no way to know whether or not something is actually being done. Ms. Hamilton said that the Executive Committee had received a communication from someone with a request that the issue be kept confidential. Ms. Mosby said that this was not satisfying answer. She said that she needed to feel confident that the Executive Committee would handle the situation.

Dr. Corda said that there may be times when a Board member is told of something that needs to be addressed. Dr. Corda said that the Board member should come to him and trust that the administration’s assurance that has been addressed is accurate. Sometimes, when matters are brought to individuals without addressing it through the administration, it puts the Board in a difficult position that it was never meant to be. Notifying the Superintendent with a request that when the matter has been attended to, contact regarding the fact that the matter has been handled would be the best policy. This way, confidential matters would not be addressed in a public arena.

Ms. Mosby said that the last issue was p Category: Minutes