Board of Education Special Meeting Minutes

September 2, 2008

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

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Hamilton called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

EXECUTIVE SESSION – DISCUSSION ABOUT THE SUPERINTENDENT’S WRITTEN EVALUATION

The Board returned to public session at 7:15 p.m.

DISCUSSION WITH COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION MARK MCQUILLAN REGARDING THE DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN.

Commissioner McQuillan introduced himself to the Board and gave a brief background of his work in Education. He expressed concern about the situation that had been brought to his attention via emails and said he had concerns regarding the Board being able to work together to promote the District Improvement Plan. He reminded everyone that what is said publicly and actions that are done publicly need to be viewed the lens of the public. Commissioner McQuillan said that he was present at the meeting to help the Board focus on the District Improvement Plan and to hear from the Board.

Mr. Chiaramonte said that everyone had signed onto the CALI model and that he had not heard the type of disunity that Commissioner McQuillan was speaking about. He also said that he did not appreciate being told how to do his job. Commissioner McQuillan said that he was present to help the Board, which is what he was mandated to do by law.

Ms. Rivas said that she was shocked and that the Board was stressing accountability and that they were doing their jobs. Ms. Mosby said that the Board was working together and starting to listen to the community. She went on to say that it would be important to have the community come back to the Board with input. Questions were being asked by various people and the Board was demanding answers. She felt that the Board had been starting to pull together.

Commissioner McQuillan said that he believed that everyone on the Board was well intentioned but that he would like the Board to consider whether it was functioning in a way that supports the Superintendent and working together with the Superintendent as a team. He suggested that the Board could do more work to unify themselves.

Ms. Mosby replied that the Commissioner had not attended any Board meeting prior to this one and arrived stating that the Board needed to work together. She reiterated that the Board was holding the Superintendent accountable. Ms. Mosby said that while she knew that the Commissioner did not come to offend the Board, she was offended because the Commissioner was portraying the Board as fighting with the Superintendent. Commissioner McQuillan pointed out that there had been a major confrontation with the Superintendent in June that was well documented. Ms. Mosby replied that the Commissioner did not have the full picture. When the Commissioner asked for clarification on this point, Ms. Mosby gave examples of when the Board had asked for information and said that the Superintendent had not always provided the information requested. Commissioner McQuillan commented that Ms. Mosby’s comments alone led him to believe that that Board did need to work on issues.

Mr. Kimmel then asked several questions about the Commissioner’s previous meeting with the Executive Committee. Commissioner McQuillan said that there had only been one meeting. Mr. Kimmel then asked if the meeting that had been reported as a confrontation was the meeting about the budget. Commissioner McQuillan said that it was. Mr. Kimmel then stated that he felt the budget meeting was very productive and that there had been a lot of dialog about the budget with a healthy exchange of ideas.

Commissioner McQuillan then asked Mr. Kimmel if the raucous meeting was the productive budget meeting that Mr. Kimmel was referring to. When Mr. Kimmel said that it was, Commissioner McQuillan said that the meeting could have been held without the level of rancor.

Mr. Kimmel then presented a hypothetical situation by asking the Commissioner if he would accept a report where all the slots on a particular evaluation team were white. Commissioner McQuillan said that he would have to read the report first before deciding whether to accept it or not and reminded everyone again that he was obligated by law to address issues occurring in the District.

Ms. Rivas said that Commissioner McQuillan had come into the meeting having heard negative things about the Board and had already prejudged the Board. Commissioner McQuillan denied this. Ms. Rivas then said that Commissioner McQuillan had prejudged her already simply by looking at her and she demanded to know what she had done wrong.

Ms. Richards then pointed out that there was disagreement over the District Improvement Plan, which was supposed to be a core document for the Board. She commented that she could see a large degree of distrust, which was reflected in the comments that had already been made. Ms. Richards said that it was important that everyone be aligned and working together to get the work done. This type of work does not happen overnight, she reminded them.

Ms. Rivas reiterated that she felt Commissioner McQuillan had already prejudged the Board and said that she understood what Ms. Richards had just said. Ms. Rivas then said that she wished to see the memos that Commissioner McQuillan had received about the Board and that she had a right to see them under F.O.I.

Commissioner McQuillan said that he had obviously touched the wrong chord and apologized for this.

Ms. Bishop Pullan said that the Board had come together because they were concerned about their communities. The Board needs to find a balance between community academic needs.

Ms. Richards said that she often receives emails from PTOs regarding how to communicate with various levels of the administrations. It is important to have a system in place that allows everyone in the community to have access to the communication. Ms. Richards said that she sensed that it was confusing to the community as to how they should communicate with the Board.

Mr. Chiaramonte said that when the A.S.I. position was being discussed, the Board had clearly stated how they wanted the position to be set up. However, the Superintendent had not followed through on their direction. He then listed other examples of this to the Commissioner.

Commissioner McQuillan said that communication was a two way street and that work needed to be done regarding the relationship with the Superintendent. Mr. Chiaramonte said that respect runs both ways and that respect is earned.

Ms. Murray commented that she was on the Executive Committee and had attended the meeting with Commissioner McQuillan. She also said that she was the one who had suggested that the Commissioner come down to meet with the Board.

Commissioner McQuillan then informed the Board that he had compiled a list of names of those who would be willing to work with the Board regarding these issues and to help the Board build and develop the District Improvement Plan. When a new Board comes in, it often takes time to pull together. He said that he felt that there were many good things on the horizon and that the Plan would bring the District towards their goal.

Ms. Rivas said that it was not the new members of the Board that were not working together. The Board was working together amongst itself. Ms. Rivas said that she had all her copies of her emails to prove this, which the Commissioner could see under F.O.I.

Commissioner McQuillan said that the District Improvement Plan was complex and would need a lot of focus.

Ms. Mosby asked what items would be put in place for the Superintendent to work on since the Board would be working on various issues. Commissioner McQuillan said that he envisioned the Board and the superintendent working with the same facilitator.

Ms. Hamilton said that the Board would be following up on the Commissioner’s suggestions. Commissioner McQuillan said that he would be expecting the Board to contact some of those on the group he had compiled to work on the various issues with the Board.

Commissioner McQuillan then thanked everyone for their time.

ADJOURNMENT

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

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Services

Category: Minutes