Norwalk Board of Education Meeting Minutes

January 6, 2009

ATTENDANCE: Rosa Murray, Chair; Jody Bishop-Pullan, Vice Chair; Jack Chiaramonte; Susan Hamilton, Bruce Kimmel Glenn Iannaccone, Shirley Mosby, Migdalia Rivas, Gregory Burnett, Mayor Richard A. Moccia

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools

OTHERS: Rev. Phyllis Bolden, Council President, Council Member Carvin Hilliard, Council Member Douglas Sutton, Council Member Richard Bonenfant; Council Member William Krummel, Council Member Douglas Hempstead, Council Member Amanda Brown, Dan Cook, BOE Finance, Ralph Valenzisi, BOE IT; Frederick Wilms, BET Chair; Stuart Wells, BET, James Feinenbaum, BET

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Murray called the meeting to order at 8:01 p.m.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

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

Ms. Murray said that while the meeting was in session, the weather conditions were being monitored.

SPOTLIGHT ON NORWALK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Mr. Chiaramonte presented the report to the Board. Mr. Chiaramonte then introduced the Center for Youth Leadership Team and certificates were distributed to them.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Corda said that the budget would be presented later in the meeting. He then said that during the Christmas holiday, Norwalk had lost a key figure in Alonzo Virgil, who had started ACHIEVE in a church basement and that the program was now in five different schools. He then requested that all present stand for a moment of silence in memory of Mr. Virgil.

Ms. Murray comments that she appreciated all Mr. Virgil’s work and thanked the Norwalk Public School for having ACHIEVE in the Schools and encouraged everyone to be aware of the students who would be grieving for their mentor.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Mr. Robert McCain came forward and said that he was the principal of Nathan Hale for the last four years and he chronicled the various reductions and changes at the school during this year. He then distributed a document titled “Nathan Hale Middle School 2009-2010 Proposal to Reinstate NHMS to Six Teams, October 20, 2008”. Mr. McCain then proceeded to review the key points outlined in the report. Mr. McCain added that this report was available online at the school site. He said that he had no vested interest in the suggested changes in the report other than to see that that the students received the best education they could.

Ms. Peg Loris, a teacher at Nathan Hale came forward and distributed a statement to the Board. She then read the document to the Board.

Mr. Lewis Socci came forward and thanked the Board for their public service. He said that his father had served in such a position. Mr. Socci then explained that he was a teacher and was on the team at Nathan Hale, which was eliminated in 2007 and now is a member of the split team. He then gave the Board members a quick overview of what it is like to be on the split team. He pointed out the difficulties and problems being on the split team. Mr. Socci explained that Mr. McCain had announced that “Kids come first” when he became principal and that the philosophy still applied.

Mr. Mark Stephenson, the father of two Nathan Hale students came forward. He said that the school previously had a poor reputation, but that due to Mr. McCain’s effort, this had changed. He said that he was present to support the reinstatement of the sixth teaching team at Nathan Hale. He added that he would like to express his respect of the members of the Board of Education. He added that he felt that it was the Board’s job to draw more funds and grants to the City. Every Board of Ed in the state needs funds, but Norwalk represents a major group of students. He then outlined the details of this to the Board. Mr. Stephenson said that he had downloaded the Board of Education mission statement, which he then read to the Board and said that he liked the mission statement. He then asked the Board if they truly believed that putting 28 children in a classroom was the best for the children.

Ms. Marilyn Dolan came forward and said that she was a parent, a staff member and a taxpayer. She then gave the Board a brief overview of the details of her job as a Language Arts teacher. As a parent, she currently has a student at Nathan Hale School. Her child’s CMT scores have improved during the time at the school. As a taxpayer, she would like to have her taxes spent in productive ways that would help the students. She then requested that the five member teaching team be reinstated.

Ms. Hildegard Noonan of Crawford Street came forward and said that she had a student at Norwalk High and one at Nathan Hale. She said that she was present to speak on behalf on the students. Large class sizes are difficult. The teachers made the situation work. Ms. Newman said that her daughter had been in a large class in fourth grade, which were reflected in her CMT scores. She requested that the sixth teaching team be reinstated.

Ms. Gloria Falcone came forward and distributed a statement to the Board. She said that she lives at 9 Christopher Lane and had a number of students in the various Norwalk schools. When Mr. McCain became principal at Nathan Hale, new leadership helped to focus the school. She then spoke about RTI, which is a standard model that has been instituted at Nathan Hale. The State will be requiring this in all the schools. Mr. McCain would not ask for more teachers if it were not necessary. She then requested that the six teaching teams be in place next year.

Mr. David Gibson came forward and said that he was an eleven year teaching veteran at Nathan Hale. He said that he had worked for nine years with six full teams, but that the damage of not having the sixth team available. Students that need extra attention can not get the attention that they need. He then requested that the sixth team be reinstated and pointed out that the enrollment at Nathan Hale was

Ms. Rhondi Olsen came forward and said that she had worked with the Norwalk schools for many years. She said that she was struck by the differences between the teams at Nathan Hale and those of other schools. The other school staff were frustrated with the inability to provide the services, while Mr. McCain had provided innovative programs to provide the support that the staff and students need.

Mr. Ted White came forward and said that he was a Nathan Hale teacher. He then urged the Board to reinstate the sixth teaching team. Nathan Hale has become a spotlight school.

Ms. Michelle Burnham came forward and said that she had two students in the Norwalk Public Schools. She thanked the dedicated teachers and others who made the positive school experiences for her daughters. She said that she understood that times were difficult, but that the City was investing in the future of its children. She then requested that the sixth teaching team be reinstated. This would help the school maintain its top ranking.

Dr. Lynne Moore came forward and said that she was the principal of West Rocks Middle School. She said that she had spoken at an earlier meeting regarding a redistricting of the West Rocks Middle School. She then referred to page 9 of Mr. McCain’s report regarding bus transportation. She said that the West Rocks community had never been contacted about this.

Mr. Bruce Mellion, president of the NFT came forward, and said that on January 20th there would be an inauguration day that he felt all the students should watch and have a lesson prepared about the historical aspect.

Mr. Mellion said that first the there was Cambridge, then CREC and now Speech and Language Pathologists issues. On the list yesterday, the District is still short a number of speech and language pathologists. Mr. Mellion said that the changes were made without discussion or dialog and should be put on hold until there was a full discussion.

Regarding the budget, Mr. Mellion said that the Board should be given detail of the job description information on pages 11 and 12 of the proposed Budget presentation. He pointed out that a number of positions had been reduced or eliminated without adequate explanation. He repeatedly asked where the supporting data was for each of the positions listed. He then requested real information and real data.

Mr. Paul Blumenthal said that he appreciated both Mayor Moccia and Dr. Corda for trying to get funding from the State and Federal government along with other resources, but wondered if the funding was available anywhere. He reiterated that every town and city was facing the same situation. Mr. Blumenthal said that there would be a need to involve the parents in a real way. It would be important to look at what the City wants for its students in terms of class size. Having cooperation with the teachers and parents would be important, including details levels of communication.

Ms. Missy Conrad of Mary Austin Place came forward and said that she had been involved in education for a long time. She stated that she was a Quaker and felt that the churches had not spoken up enough. She then stated that SWRPA works on the roadway system, but that it should be working on the schools. She stated that the schools were unequal because Wilton, Weston and Westport had much more funding. Greenwich also has an inequality in terms of funding.

There was no one else present who wished to address the Board at this time.

ACTIONS

APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR DECEMBER 16, 2008

** MS. BISHOP-PULLAN MOVED THE MINUTES FOR DECEMBER 16, 2008.

The following corrections were noted:

Page 1, Under OTHERS: please change “Susan Long” to “Susan DeLong”

Page 1, CALL TO ORDER: please change the following header from:

I. CALL TO ORDER – 7:45 P.M. – COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS

I. CALL TO ORDER – 7:45 P.M. – A300

Page 4, please change the following in the paragraph under Approval of policy #5131.91 Bullying from “the activities that occur on school grounds” to “the activities that occur off school grounds”

Page 7, paragraph 4, line 3: please change the following from:

“Mr. Burnett said that the City would have to find a way of funding the $65,000 if they wanted to bring it back.”

To “Mr. Burnett said that the Board would have to find a way of funding the $65,000 if they wanted to bring it back.”

Page 9, paragraph 5, line 2: please change the following from “the report received” to “the corrected report received.”

** MS. RIVAS SECONDED. ** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 16, 2009 MINUTES AS CORRECTED.

APPROVAL OF FIELD TRIPS

Roton Middle School to Washington D.C.

** MS. RIVAS MOVED TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE ATTACHED FIELD TRIP: ROTON MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADE 8 GREEN & BLUE TEAMS TO WASHINGTON, D.C. – APRIL 22-24, 2009.

** MR. KIMMEL SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Brien McMahon to Washington, D.C.

** MS. BISHOP-PULLAN MOVED TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE ATTACHED FIELD TRIP: BRIEN MCMAHON (10 STUDENTS IN GRADES 11 & 12) TO MODEL UNITED NATIONS, WASHINGTON, D.C. FEBRUARY 12-15, 2009.

** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Brien McMahon to France

Mr. Kimmel stated that he would be voting in favor because the trip involves in language acquisition. Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that she would be in favor even though it was submitted late. She stressed that it was very important for the teachers to provide the Board with the field trip information in a timely fashion.

** MS. RIVAS MOVED TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE ATTACHED FIELD TRIP: BRIEN MCMAHON FRENCH CLUB 9GRADES 10-12) TO AIX-EN-PROVENCE, FRANCE, APRIL 10-19, 2009

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

Norwalk High (Winter Guard) to Dayton, Ohio

** MS. HAMILTON MOVED TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE ATTACHED FIELD TRIP: NORWALK HIGH SCHOOL WINTER GUARD TO WINTER GUARD INT’L OLYMPICS, DAYTON, OHIO, MARCH 31-APRIL 5, 2009.

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

Norwalk High (Percussion) to Dayton, Ohio

** MS. RIVAS MOVED TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE ATTACHED FIELD TRIP: NORWALK HIGH SCHOOL WINTER PERCUSSION TO WINTER GUARD INT’L OLYMPICS, DAYTON, OHIO, APRIL 15 - 18 2009.

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

Approval of Settlement Agreement Between Norwalk Board of Education and Norwalk Federation of Teachers RE: Evaluation of Coaches.

** MS. HAMILTON MOVED TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE ATTACHED SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE NORWALK BOARD OF EDUCATION AND NORWALK FEDERATION OF TEACHERS RE: EVALUATION OF COACHES.

** MS. RIVAS SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Approval of Policy #5114 Suspension/Expulsion

** MS. BISHOP-PULLAN MOVED TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE POLICY #5114 SUSPENSION/EXPULSION.

**MS. RIVAS SECONDED

**MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

Approval to Reserve Heating Assistance Funds

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THAT $126,485 IN SCHOOL HEATING ASSISTANCE FUNDS BE RESERVED WITH THE INTEND OF RETURNING THIS TO THE CITY AS FUND BALANCE.

** MR. KIMMEL SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED WITH SEVEN IN FAVOR (MOSBY, RIVAS, CHIARAMONTE, KIMMEL, HAMILTON, IANNACCONE AND BISHOP-PULLAN) AND ONE ABSTENTION (BURNETT).

APPROVAL OF 2009-2010 CAPITAL BUDGET

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE PROPOSED CAPITAL BUDGET IN THE AMOUNT OF $675,000 IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ATTACHED.

** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Mr. Kimmel commented that all the action items had been discussed at previous meetings.

INFORMATION AND REPORTS

Committee Reports

Ms. Murray asked for a brief report from the Chairs of the Committee and also reminded everyone to have minutes of each of the committees on file.

Finance – Mr. Kimmel said that Finance Committee had met with the BET for the second time. He said that there was continuing discussion about mid year cuts. Another suggestion was a joint working group between the City and the Board for purchasing savings. He added that he would like to thank those on the Finance Committee for attending the

Ms. Bishop-Pullan announced that the next Policy Committee meeting will be on the 15th and the following one on the 29th.

Ms. Mosby said that the Curriculum Committee will be having the first meeting on the 14th.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that she had tried to get the meetings posted on the website calendar. Mr. Valenzisi assured her that the difficulty had been fixed.

Discussion of Stamford International Environmental Inter-district Magnet School

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that the Board had previously voted to participate in the program four years ago and the Board may want to reconsider that decision at this time. Ms. Murray then asked Dr. Corda for a recommendation for the Board in order to facilitate a discussion.

2009-2010 Budget Presentation

Dr. Corda then explained that copies of the budget were available for the public if they needed it and that it would also be on the website. There would be a second portion presented tomorrow night. He added that he was being mindful of the weather and also of the time.

The budget has been approached with the idea of having as minimal impact on the school as possible, but it was not possible to mitigate all impact. Dr. Corda said that there was a recognition that the District may need to do more with less. No one is happy about it but this is just the way it is. Developing a financial plan to meet the objectives as completely and economically as possible.

A budget increase of 5% was not possible, nor was it acceptable. Three key principles need to be acknowledged. There are Federal regulation, contracts and additional policies. The academic progress that has been made across the district needs to continue. This had to happen with the lowest possible increase. The Common Council, the BET and the Board had an expanded budget document. Dr. Corda thanked those who send in questions to the Central Office, which helps the administration provide accurate and complete information to the Board.

The assignment of enrollment was done as carefully as possible. There is a small increase in the number of ELL staff because the District is required to provide equity to all the schools.

Dr. Corda then explained that a modified zero-based budgeting was used. There are legal or contractual requirements that did not allow for zero based budgeting. Staff has been reduced wherever possible.

The first draft of the budget called for a 3.94% increase. Dr. Corda then reviewed the details of the budget. He explained that the elimination of the deans at Brien McMahon and Norwalk High was not done because the deans were not doing their jobs, but because it was an unfortunate outcome of the necessary cuts. The reduction of technology teachers was a result of a declining enrollment. The elimination of the clerical positions will impact the type of services provided. The elimination of head custodians at Brien McMahon and Norwalk High was done with the idea of reorganization of the functions.

Dr. Corda then reviewed the other staff reductions with the Board. Dr. Corda explained that when the enrollment at Nathan Hale decreased, reductions were made in the staff. Now the enrollment had increased and Dr. Corda said that he would give more detail when he spoke about Nathan Hale.

Dr. Corda then went on to review the additional adjustments that were made since December 31, 2008. He then reminded everyone that the educational system is a people heavy system and that most of the increases occurred in the salaries. He then displayed a chart indicating a break out of the finance. 56% of the entire City budget is devoted to education.

Norwalk has neighborhood schools at the elementary level, and area middle school and regional high schools. Mr. Kimmel said that it would be important to look at all four middle schools to evaluate the staffing. The District is limited in terms of enrollment in regard to K-2. Dr. Corda then reviewed the projected enrollment for the middle schools and high schools.

Dr. Corda then gave an overview of the situation at Nathan Hale and how the addition of the sixth teaching team would facilitate the students. Mr. Kimmel had several questions about the addition of this team. Dr. Corda then said he felt that the situation would be clarified with some charts and additional figures. Mr. Kimmel agreed.

Ms. Mosby said that she had spoken with the other middle school principals about this issue and was in agreement with Mr. Kimmel about the concerns about the additional staff. Dr. Corda explained that the ELL students in the Nathan Hale district would be increasing. A brief discussion followed about the services available to the ELL students at Nathan Hale. Ms. Murray requested that data be included in the report tomorrow.

Board Member Announcements

There were no additional Board Member Announcements at this time.

ADJOURNMENT

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

The meeting adjourned at 10:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Services

Category: Minutes