Board of Education Meeting Minutes

June 26, 2008

ATTENDANCE: Susan Hamilton, Chair; Rosa Murray, Vice Chair; Glenn Iannaccone, Secretary; Shirley Mosby, Migdalia Rivas, Greg Burnett, Bruce Kimmel, Jody Bishop-Pullan, Jack Chiaramonte

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Hamilton called the meeting to order at 7:54 p.m.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

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

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Let it be noted that the following comments and remarks by all speakers have been summarized and are not necessarily verbatim.

Central Office Reorganization

Dr. Corda came forward and explained that at the last Board meeting, the District was asked to develop a plan for reorganization with the understanding that the positions of Director of Elementary Education and Director of Secondary Education would be combined into one position with the role and responsibilities of the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction.

Dr. Corda then gave a Power Point presentation on the Arenas of Change from Harvard University. The challenge was to create a new central office model that would incorporate this new position.

Dr. Corda then gave a brief overview of the various responsibilities handled by the previous positions and the new responsibilities. Mr. Kimmel had several concerns about some of the responsibilities listed in the presentation.

Ms. Rivas said that she believed that the position of Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction had already been agreed upon and the list of responsibilities being presented was not what the Board had requested. She said that this was not what the Superintendent was asked to do. She then asked why the information was being presented. Dr. Corda explained that the list of the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction was to make the Board aware of the current responsibilities. Ms. Rivas said that the budget needed to be reconciled and that the focus should be on the reconciliation. Mr. Kimmel agreed. He said that there had not been a final decision on combination of the two positions.

Ms. Mosby said that at the last meeting the Board asked to have the two positions to be combined so that the Board could see the savings. She said that the Board needed to address the Title One issues, along with the issue of the Assistant Principal positions and the combination of the two Curriculum Superintendents positions at this meeting.

Ms. Murray said that she did not ask for a Director of Education, but for a combined position. Dr. Corda said that he was using the title as a placeholder. He then proceeded to review the finances of the positions and five a short breakout. Given the comments of the Board, Dr. Corda said that his presentation would stop at this point.

Ms. Murray asked about the Title 1 program. Dr. Corda said that Mr. McKiernan was present to address the Board about the program.

Mr. Burnett said that he wished to hear the rest of the presentation because it contained information. After a brief discussion, it was the consensus of the Board to move to hear about the Title 1 Budget.

Mr. McKiernan came forward and distributed a document to the Board. Because the District is a District in need of improvement, this means that 20% of the total budget must be set aside for school choice, 5% for parental involvement and an additional 1% for other issues. The number of schools eligible schools has increased from 7 to 9, which reduces the amount of Title 1 funding each school is allocated. The District pays for 2 literacy coaches out of the Title 1 budget.

Last year, there was an unfunded mandate from the State for two literacy coaches. This year, a full time Literacy Coach was at each school. This coming year, the District will be returning to the model used before this year with a part time Literary Coach position and a part time Direct Services position. He then reviewed the details of this and how the services would be delivered to the students with the Board. He encouraged the Board to allow the various schools to have their autonomy to use the money as needed because each school is different.

Ms. Rivas asked if the information was in accord with the Title 1 changes that were made in April of 2008. Mr. McKiernan said that he believed that this was so.

Ms. Mosby asked about the autonomy of the schools and expressed concerns about having the schools being able to direct their own funding at the expense of literacy coaches. Mr. McKiernan said that each of the schools have already implemented most of the money towards direct services. Dr. Corda then gave several examples of how various schools use their funding to utilize literacy funding.

Mr. Kimmel expressed some concerns about Jefferson School and Mr. McKiernan reviewed the numbers for that School with the Board. Mr. Kimmel then asked for clarification on the Consultant help for District and School Improvement Planning, which was indicated in the PowerPoint presentation. Dr. Corda said that he had contacted the CES for suggestions about how to continue the consultant role to support the CALI model.

Ms. Rivas said that the position of the consultant should have been addressed before. Dr. Corda said that when the budget was developed, the District had not begun work with the State on the CALI model. He then reviewed the additional changes that were created by the introduction of the CALI model. Ms. Rivas asked why the consultant was not introduced when the District was first identified as a District in need. Dr. Corda said that the research model in the first year would indicate the elements of the CALI model but the current work that the District has been doing was the education and implementation of the CALI model. The implementation of the model was when the consultant was introduced.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Let it be noted that the following comments and remarks by all speakers have been summarized and are not necessarily verbatim.

Mr. Robert Sodario came forward and stated that he has two children in the district. He said that he would like to see fewer people at the top of the chain and more teachers in the classroom. At the end of the day, the main concern has to be educating the students.

Mr. Brian Ruther came forward and said he lives at 16 Lakewood Drive. He said that he was a math teacher in the District. He said that his son had been in an AP class in Norwalk High School where there were only 16 students in the class. His son was able to form a relationship with the teacher. Mr. Ruther said that the formation of relationship was the most important thing in education.

Ms. Suzanne Korshetz came forward and said that she was a Norwalk resident. She thanked the Board for doing their job. She said that her father was a member of the Board of Education in Stamford. Much of his information came from the public giving input, so she appreciated being given an opportunity to express her thoughts. She said that administrators enable the teachers to do their jobs better. As part of the data team, it was key to have accountability. The role of the directors and the ASI is critical to the CALI model. She said that it was exciting to be part of the process and requested that the Board consider the original budget reconciliation proposal

Mr. Alec Judkins came forward and said that he was an incoming eighth grader at West Rocks. He then mentioned one of his teachers at West Rocks and said that she was irreplaceable. He pointed out that the transition from elementary to high school is one of the biggest impacts on a student.

Ms. Allyson Vallerie who lives at 30 Valley Road came forward. She has two girls in the Norwalk school, and said that she feared that Board was not hearing the public on where the savings should be spent. West Rocks is one of the largest middle schools in the District, and that West Rocks Middle School needs staff for flexibility. She said that agreed that with Mr. Kimmel that the schools should be touched last. The savings should be directed towards eliminating cuts. The idea of creating a new position while removing two teachers from West Rocks was not wise.

Christopher Weiss who lives in Bridgeport but is an Assistance Principal at Wolfpit came forward. Assistant principals impact student achievement at the elementary level. He then said that the gap is closing in the elementary education on the CMT scores. He then read the percentages that had increased to the Board. He said that there are many requirements under NCLB with the CALI model and that taking an assistant principal position and splitting the position between two schools will have a serious impact. Just reducing two positions will affect four schools.

Ms. Sara Reilley came forward and said that she lives at 11 Rowayton Woods Drive. She said that she was the Principal at Rowayton School. Ms. Rilley said that there have been a number of comments from limited people who do not work directly with the students. She then listed reasons why the CALI model would be successful with the support of the District. She also pointed out that it was important to clarify the role of the assistant principal and she then gave the Board a brief overview of that job position. People come to Norwalk for the many resources that the City has to offer. It is not right to deny the students access to these resources. The success can only be attained by having a committed team. She then requested that the Board maintain all the principal positions.

Ms. Georgie Farrar came forward and said that she lived in Norwalk. After looking at many private schools, she learned that Rowayton School had more to offer her children than the private schools. She also learned that the Assistant Principal had brought a literacy program to the school from Columbia University. She then recited the improvement statistics associated with this program in reading. Ms. Farrar said that she volunteers at the school and sees the support the Assistant Principal provides. Rowayton School is one of the fastest growing schools in the District and can not afford to lose the Assistant Principal.

Ms. Farrar said that Leslie Lawrence, the Rowayton PTA president was not able to be present and then read a statement from Ms. Lawrence. Ms. Lawrence said that she had been working with the Assistant Principal Mary Beth Crupi at Rowayton School in writing grants. She also said that Ms. Crupi has a deep understanding of under privileged children and the CMT scores have continually improved since she joined the school. This is a direct result of the literacy program put into place by Ms. Crupi. With the programs in place, the school has become a professional place. She ended by encouraging the Board to focus on the basic items of making the students successful by retaining the assistant principals.

Mr. Tony Ditrio came forward and said that he was a Norwalk resident and the principal at Kendall Elementary School. He is also the president of the Administrator’s Union. His union is very supportive of class size. He said that he was in support of West Rocks retaining their two teachers and two teachers at Ponus without removing the two elementary assistant principals. Evaluations are important, but the Assistant Principals are involved in all aspect of the education. He said that the Cambridge Report did not mention having two administrators in each elementary school.

Mr. Ditrio said that he wanted to address one issue regarding remarks made about Cranbury Elementary School, which only had a principal 10 years ago. Mr. Ditrio said that Cranbury School is a much different school than it was 10 years ago and that the needs of the students have changed also.

Mr. Ditrio said that regarding Title 1 funding, it is not a free checking account for him to spend as he wants. It’s federally mandated money and he needs that funding to be creative. Mr. Ditrio then said given the choice between a literacy specialist and an assistant principal, there was no choice in his mind. He would like to have literacy specialist, but he needs his assistant principal. He would like to have a literacy specialist, but he would not want that at the expense of West Rocks.

Mr. Jamie Snedaker of Highland Avenue came forward and said that he had just received his tax bill. He said that he was here as the spouse of a substitute teacher. He said that he would be the co-president of the Roton PTA and had three children in the District. Two of his children received assistance with reading when they were at Rowayton and he was pleased with their progress. He encouraged the Board to retain the teaching positions.

Ms. Lisa Henderson came forward and said that she lives on 21 Apple Tree Lane in Norwalk and has four children in the District. She said that she was proud of the education her children were receiving. She said that she was happy to see so many West Rock parents here. By reducing the teachers at West Rocks the students at West Rocks going to High School would be at a severe disadvantage. She then referred to an email which she had sent to the Board earlier and reviewed the number of students in the various schools. She expressed concerns about the students at West Rocks not receiving a fair and equitable situation. She said that the school could not afford a cut in clerical worker staff. She concluded by asking the Board to reconsider the students and the staff at West Rocks.

Sue O’Shea came forward and said that she was the Assistant Principal at Kendall and splits her time between two schools. Eliminating two Assistant Principal positions is a big step backwards. Ms. O’Shea said that most of her time is spent in playing catch up at each of the schools she serves. Because of this, she was not able to make any impact on the teachers, because she was involved in discipline issues. She said that Kendall has the highest scores in the Hispanic population. This did not happen overnight, it took years of planning and work. Ms. O’Shea said that the principal at the Cranbury ran a wonderful program by working with various committees. She said that the teachers at Cranbury worked over their allotted hours by the unions. However, the job is now different and would not be possible to do today.

Mr. Bob Casino from Ponus Avenue came forward and said that his daughter was an average reader, but this year, she scored very well after using the AM Reading Academy that was used at Fox Run School. These Assistant Principals give added value to the schools and help the students move forward. He asked the Board to keep the Assistant Principal positions.

Ms. Kathy Lesko came forward and said that she had a child at Fox Run. She said that currently her school has no principal. To think about eliminating Assistant Principals when there are schools without principals, would be detrimental. She said that she has 19 years in cost reduction and deferment. She then said that she would ask the Board to look at reducing costs other than personnel and offered to help with this.

Mr. Joe Devellis came forward and said that he was the guidance counselor at West Rock School. He then read the list from the hand out, where the diagram lists high achievements and said that the teachers, counselors and all the staff members do this every day. Without good coaches and teachers, the students lose. He said that the part time clerical staff is needed, and thanked the Board for giving back the part time counselor.

Dr. Lynne Moore, the principal of West Rocks came forward and said that she wanted to give some updated information on the West Rocks restorations. Dr. Moore then informed the Board that she had been told earlier in the day that the guidance counselor would be retained for both West Rocks and Ponus. She then reviewed the statistics for West Rocks and requested that the two teaching positions be maintained for the next year only.

Dr. Moore then stated that at the recent in-service CALI workshop, a significant amount of time had been devoted to a discussion about what was happening with the budget and the politics of the Board. Dr. Moore said that she felt these discussions should not have been part of the meeting and should have taken place outside of the staff development meeting. She added that less than 24 hours after Mr. Daddona had been appointed to his new position, the position was being reorganized.

Following the conclusion of Dr. Moore’s remarks, Ms. Murray asked if there was anyone else present who wished to address the Board. Hearing none, she closed the public portion of the meeting.

ACTIONS

Approval for the Budget Reconciliation for 2008-2009

** MS. RIVAS MOVED THE ITEM. ** MS. MURRAY SECONDED.

** MS. BISHOP PULLAN MOVED TO AMEND DECREASE $231,000, BY COMBINING THE TWO DIRECTORS POSITION INTO A POSITION DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION AND RETAINING THE SECRETARY. ** MR. KIMMEL SECONDED.

Ms. Murray said that she would like to make a friendly amendment to have the position combined into the Director of Administration.

Discussion then followed about where the funding that would be freed up by reducing the positions would be used.

** THE AMENDMENT DECREASE $231,000, BY COMBINING THE TWO DIRECTORS POSITION INTO A POSITION DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION AND RETAINING THE SECRETARY PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

** MR. KIMMEL MOVED TO AMEND USED $210,510 FOR THE ELL PROGRAM AND $24,667 FOR THE CLERICAL POSITION WITH THE REMAINING NEEDED FUNDS TRANSFERRED FROM OBJECT CODE 810, (DUES, FEES AND MEMBERSHIPS). ** MS. MOSBY SECONDED ** THE MOTION FAILED WITH TWO IN FAVOR (KIMMEL AND IANNACCONE) AND SEVEN AGAINST (CHIARAMONTE, BISHOP-PULLAN, MURRAY, HAMILTON, BURNETT, RIVAS, AND MOSBY).

Mr. Burnett said that there was an amendment to add two literacy specialists. He then asked Dr. Corda to give a priority listing, which Dr. Corda did.

** MR. BURNETT MOVED TO RESTORE $1564,00 IN ORDER TO REINSTATE TWO TEACHERS AND THE GUIDANCE OFFICE CLERICAL WORKER. ** MR. IANNACCONE SECONDED.

A discussion then followed about establishing parity at the various schools.

** THE MOTION FAILED WITH ONE IN FAVOR (BURNETT) AND EIGHT AGAINST (CHIARAMONTE, BISHOP-PULLAN, IANNACCONE, MURRAY, HAMILTON, RIVAS, AND MOSBY)

** MR. CHIARAMONTE MOVED TO REINSTATE THE TWO TEACHERS AND ONE CLERICAL POSITION. ** MR. IANNACCONE SECONDED.

A discussion followed about the funding.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

** MR. BURNETT MOVED TO ADD A TECHNICIAN TO THE BUDGET AT A SALARY OF $74,137 WITH THE ADDITION FUNDING FROM OBJECT CODE 8-10 (DUES, FEES AND MEMBERSHIPS) ** MR. KIMMEL SECONDED.

Mr. Kimmel spoke briefly on the importance of technology support. Ms. Rivas said that perhaps that they could find some grants for a technology position.

** THE MOTION PASSED WITH FIVE IN FAVOR (CHIARAMONTE, KIMMEL, IANNACCONE, BURNETT AND MOSBY), TWO AGAINST (HAMILTON AND BISHOP PULLAN) AND TWO ABSTENTIONS (MURRAY AND RIVAS).

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED TO ADOPT BUDGET AS AMENDED. ** MS. BISHOP PULLAN SECONDED.

Mr. Kimmel said that he was pleased that the community was able to come to the board and express their concerns.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Discussion of and possible action regarding the Superintendent’s evaluation, the 2008/2009 Salary proposal, the contract extension/non-extension and the determination of a date for a special meeting in compliance with the Superintendent’s contract

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION REGARDING PERSONNEL ISSUES. ** MS. RIVAS SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The Board entered into Executive Session in order to discuss the Superintendent’s evaluation, the 2008/2009 Salary proposal, the contract extension/non-extension and the determination of a date for a special meeting in compliance with the Superintendent’s contract at 10:58 p.m. and returned to public session at 12:14 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT

** MS. RIVAS MOVED TO ADJOURN. ** MS. MOSBY SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Services

Category: Minutes