Board of Education Meeting Minutes

May 19, 2009

ATTENDANCE : Rosa Murray, Chair; Jody Bishop-Pullan, Vice Chair; Jack Chiaramonte, Mayor Richard A. Moccia, Amy Jimenez, Susan Hamilton, Glenn Iannaccone, Rosa Murray, Greg Burnett

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Murray called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

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

SPOTLIGHT ON NORWALK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Mr. Chiaramonte then read the Spotlight on Norwalk Public Schools report to those present. Four students: Olivia Rosado from Brookside, Neil Modi, Rick Buellesback and Michael Roca from Brien McMahon were presented with certificates.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Corda said that he would be giving a brief update on the flu concerns. There were articles in the newspaper regarding the H1N1 virus and said that the outbreak of this virus has been milder than originally feared. He acknowledged that there had been a recent death in New York City. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta has recommended that the school not close unless there is actually an outbreak. One preschooler in Norwalk that does not attend the Norwalk Public Schools has been diagnosed as H1N1. No one from that family attends the Norwalk Public School system. Two other cases in the District that have been determined to be Influenza A, but are not the H1N1 strain. A third case is pending, but is believed to Influenza A.

On May 21st, there will be a meeting in the Common Council Chambers there will be a meeting to hear the public comments about the budget reconciliation.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Mr. Steve O’Connell came forward and distributed copies of his remarks to the Board. Mr. O’Connell said that he was the Columbus Magnet School NFT School Building Steward. (See Attached #1)

Ms. Christine Limone, who lives in Norwalk and has children in the District came forward. She said that she was the President to the Columbus Magnet PTO. She said that she chose to have her children take a 30 minute bus ride to attend Columbus, which utilize the Bank Street style of teaching. This style of teaching requires having two teachers in the classrooms. Cutting the assistant teacher’s hours and benefits, will result in Columbus’ not being the unique school that it is. When the BOE members were elected they were elected to do what was best for the children. Ms. Limone did not believe that this was the best choice for the children.

Ms. Toni-ann Mattera at 5 Sasqua Pond Road, a 7th grade student in the District came forward and said that she had attended Columbus. She then listed some of her experiences, including all the field trips that the classes were able to take during her time at Columbus. She said that she wanted her younger sisters to have the same experience and asked the Board not to cut the assistance’s hours.

Ms. Elizabeth Mattera, of 5 Sasqua Pond Road, then came forward and said that she was a 5th grader at Columbus. She listed the various activities that she was able to take part in at Columbus and said that she wanted her teachers to continue to work at her school.

Ms. Nicole Mattera, a second grader at Columbus Magnet came forward and described her teachers at Columbus. She said that when she was sick, her first grade teacher called to see how she was feeling. Her second grade teacher buys special things for her class and she asked the Board not to cut the hours.

Ms. Delores Scott came forward and said that she was an assistant at Columbus. She then read a short section from the “Giving Tree” to the Board and said that this is what is done at Columbus Magnet. She said that she had been part of the initial effort when Columbus started, despite the injuries from accidents at the school. She then asked that the Board let the assistances stay to educate the students.

Mr. Anthony Pavia, 25 Cottage Street, a counselor at Brien McMahon. He said that he was present to speak about the Dean of Students at Brien McMahon. As a counselor, Mr. Pavia works closely with him to settle disputes. The Saturday detentions are supervised by the Dean of Students and the House Masters. Mr. Pavia, a soccer coach, said that the Dean had helped students to learn how to maintain their grade average so that they could play soccer.

Mr. Michael Sgarlata from Brien McMahon came forward to speak about the position of Dean of Students. He said that it was obvious that it was important when it was created and that the student body benefited from the position.

Ms. Sheila Wolfe, an Art teacher at Brien McMahon came forward and said that she didn’t know where to start to list all the benefits for the Dean of Students. The current Dean helps out so many people, starting with the students. This helps the teachers.

Atty. Jeffrey Spahr, who is parent of two students at Columbus came forward. He said that he lives in the Cranbury section of Norwalk and said that it was important to note that he would took his children out of their normal situation and sent them to Columbus. He said that the assistants would lose pay, but would continue to help the teachers. He said that the statement that it was a reduction of benefits was actually a total removal of the benefits. Not all schools have pools, not all schools have planetariums, so having the assistants in the classrooms is part of the special aspect of Columbus Magnet school that draws students from the entire District.

Ms. Lorraine Larusso of Sunrise Hill Road, said that she had applied to work as an assistant at Columbus for a long time. The reduction says that the District values the work the assistants do, but not enough to pay for it. Reducing the pay, benefits and retirement hurts the assistants and is unfair. Some assistants have been providing parental and staff support for a long time and urged the Board to look for reductions elsewhere. Parents and students are the customers and should have access to the full spectrum of services.

Mr. Robin Beauers, head of security at NHS came forward. He said that the position was instituted at NHS two years. The current Dean works with the House Masters, with the principals, and with the security. He works in the lunch room for all three shifts and has been a tremendous benefit to the school. He then asked that this position be retained.

Mr. Jimmy Napoli, of Yew Street, came forward. He said that his children were in the lottery for Columbus. He said that he was present to voice his concern about reduction of hours. The Bank Street model requires two educators in each classroom and reducing them would hurt the school. Instead of cutting the hours, Columbus should be used Columbus as a model for all the elementary schools in the District.

Mr. Tom Seuch, from Brien McMahon, came forward and said that at budget time, it comes down to columns and rows on a spreadsheets. He then spoke about Mr. Constantinople, who occupies that position. Lou is an important part of the education process and meets with about 50 students one on one every day. While the students may arrive in an argumentative mode, they leave for the most part in a good frame of mind. Losing Lou would be disaster for everyone.

Ms. Ahahmit Pivazyan, a Chemistry teacher at Brien McMahon, came forward and distributed a chart with pros and cons regarding the Dean’s position. She said that she worked in her native country in the same type of position, but that her native country school eliminated the Dean of students and now the education system is a disaster. She does not want to see that happen in Norwalk. (See attached #2) The position of Dean of Student is critical because he handles discipline.

Ms. Diane Cano, of 10 Old Well Court, who has children in the Columbus School, asked that the hours of the assistant be retained. Ms. Connell said that she lives in the Marvin district and made the decision to send her children to Columbus. Columbus is a magnet school and the idea is to draw students from all over the District and using the Bank Street model is why people go to the school. Children work on large, grade wide projects and are encouraged to interact with others. This requires a team approach and much planning by the teachers, and this is why the Bank Street model requires two teachers in each room. The assistants have been highly trained and the training has been paid for by the taxpayers of Norwalk. If the system is not broken, don’t fix it.

Mr. Harry Makowsky, from Columbus 4th grade came forward. He said that he was concerned about his assistant teachers because they need their insurance. They help with school work and his first grade teacher helped him learn to read and in third grade, he learned to write in script. He said that he felt that the District should find a new way to save money.

Mr. Bruce Mellion came forward and said that he would like to reiterate what he had said last week. The reconciliation originally was $750,000, and the new reconciliation is over one million dollars. The positions listed in both budgets are not the same. Mr. Mellion then went on to list several discrepancies that he found in the December budget and the May. Transparency, clarity and honesty are key, he said.

Dr. Lynn Moore came forward and said that she lives at 813 Foxboro Drive in Norwalk. She said that she would like to point out two examples in the budget, such as page 84 of the budget book, where the salaries of the clerks are lumped together and the benefits are also lumped together. The budget document is constructed in a way that an every day person would not be able to understand. On page 86, the Department of Human Resources does not list the salaries or the benefits; but the two assistance are listed. She said that perhaps this information was omitted so that the Superintendent’s recommendations for reconciliation would be the only one available.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan asked if there was anyone else who wished to address the Board. No one came forward

Mr. Harry Makowsky then distributed packets of letters from the various students to the Board members. (See Attached #3)

Mayor Moccia left the meeting at 8:55 p.m.

CONSENT

1. Approval of personnel actions

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

GRIFFIN, ELIZABETH, -- SILVERMINE – GRADE 2 DUAL LANGUAGE.

POGGI, KAREN – SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST

WARBURTON, DAWNETTE – ROTON – SPECIAL EDUCATION

EFFECTIVE AUGUST 28, 2009.

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

APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF APRIL 28, 2009 SPECIAL MEETING AND MAY 5, 2009.

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 28, 2009 SPECIAL MEETING. ** MS. JIMENEZ SECONDED. ** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 28, 2009 SPECIAL MEETING AS SUBMITTED PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 5, 2009 MINUTES. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED.

Several changes and corrections were noted. Ms. Jimenez said that she felt that the minutes should be clarified from the audio tape and contain more detail. Ms. Bishop-Pullan agreed. Ms. Jimenez pointed out that the Committee Reports did not have the Committee titles attached as she had requested and stated that it should be a simple thing for the secretarial service to fill out a form. She said that this should be done from now on.

**THE MOTION TO HAVE THE MINUTES OF MAY 5, 2009 CLARIFIED FROM THE AUDIO TAPE AND CONTAIN MORE DETAIL, ALONG WITH THE ADDITION OF COMMITTEE TITLES AND THE OTHER CORRECTIONS NOTED BY THE BOARD PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

APPROVAL OF FIELD TRIPS

BMHS Italian Class to Italy.

** 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 H.S. ITALIAN LANGUAGE CLASSES GRADES 9-12 TO ITALY, DEPART JULY 2-5, 2010 RETURN JULY 12-17, 2010.

** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED.

Ms. Jimenez said that the cover sheet did not address the costs and said that the cost was considerable. Dr. Corda said that the cost information was on the attached information form.

Ms. Jimenez said that this was a school trip that was happening when school was not in session and she wanted to know why this was not a private trip. Dr. Corda said that the trip was being offered by the District for the students and was close enough to the end of the year to attach students. He added that it also would not take the students out of school during instruction time.

Ms. Jimenez said that Dr. Corda had not signed off on the trip to Nature’s Classroom. Dr. Corda said that the copies were made before he had signed the form.

** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE BRIEN MCMAHON H.S. ITALIAN LANGUAGE CLASSES GRADES 9-12 FIELD TRIP TO ITALY, DEPART JULY 2-5, 2010 RETURN JULY 12-17, 2010 PASSED WITH SIX IN FAVOR (IANNACCONE, HAMILTON, CHIARAMONTE, BISHOP-PULLAN, BURNETT AND RIVAS) AND ONE OPPOSED (JIMENEZ).

West Rocks Middle School to Nature’s Classroom

** MR. IANNACCONE 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: WEST ROCKS MIDDLE SCHOOL TO NATURE’S CLASSROOM. COLEBROOK, CT OCTOBER 5-9, 2009.

** MS. JIMENEZ SECONDED. ** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE WEST ROCKS MIDDLE SCHOOL FIELD TRIP TO NATURE’S CLASSROOM. COLEBROOK, CT OCTOBER 5-9, 2009 PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

APPROVE USE OF COLUMBUS SCHOOL BY NEON/SOUTH NORWALK COMMUNITY CENTER FOR SUMMER DAY CAMP.

** MS. JIMENEZ MOVED THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE NEON/SOUTH NORWALK COMMUNITY CENTER REQUEST FOR USE OF COLUMBUS SCHOOL FOR SUMMER CAMP JULY 6TH – AUGUST 14TH 2009.

** MR. BURNETT SECONDED.

Mr. Iannaccone said that there were concerns about the Y programs at two schools and the fees associated. Dr. Corda said that Ms. Liberatore had met with the principals and parents about this issue. Ms. Jimenez said that she would like a report at the end of the year.

** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE REQUEST FOR USE OF COLUMBUS SCHOOL FOR SUMMER CAMP FROM JULY 6TH – AUGUST 14TH 2009 BY NEON/SOUTH NORWALK COMMUNITY CENTER PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

APPROVAL OF AFTER SCHOOL PROVIDERS FOR 2009-2010

** MS. RIVAS MOVED THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATION:

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE USE OF THE SCHOOLS BY THE COMMUNITY BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL PROVIDERS AS DETAILED ON THE ATTACHED LIST. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

COMMITTEE INFORMATION REPORTS

Norwalk Facility Construction Committee (NFCC) -

Mr. Iannaccone said that the NFCC meeting was rescheduled from May 6th to May 7th and the discussion of the NHS and the Nathan Hale and Ponus renovation projects were reviewed. The culinary arts project was reviewed and sent to the Land Use Committee. They must approve this before the contract can be awarded to the contractor.

Mr. Burnett said that he understood from when he was on the Building Advisory Committee (BAC) that the project has been moved past this point. Mr. Iannaccone said that the hood system needed to be reviewed by the Land Use Committee. Mr. Burnett said that clarity was needed on this because it was presented to the Council as a complete package.

Dr. Cook said that a bid had been sent out for the hood and that the Land Use is needed to approve this so that the contract can be awarded. He said that he felt this would be ready for August. Ms. Murray asked if there was a change in what was discussed in the BAC from the issue that is being submitted. Dr. Cook said that it was not a significant change. Mr. Burnett said that any changes should be communication to the BAC. Dr. Cook said that he did not believe there was a change from when the program from when the bid went out, and the bids were brought to the NFCC. That was when he was told that it had to be brought to the Land Use. Dr. Corda said that this was a purchase of equipment. Dr. Cook said that this was so. He added that Mr. Lo had said that it had to be approved by the Land Use Committee for approval before the purchase order could be issued.

Ms. Rivas asked if this was the first time that this was being done this way. Dr. Cook then reviewed the process regarding the purchase of the equipment for the culinary program. Ms. Rivas asked if there was a booklet that outlines the process. Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that she was concerned about the fact that after Land Use, the bid would have to go to the Common Council.

Ms. Rivas asked if that was the same process that the bathrooms at the Norwalk High School went through during the renovation.

Ms. Murray asked Dr. Cook to get this process in writing for the Board. Dr. Corda said that he did not believe that there were any changes, but Mr. Iannaccone said that there was some rerouting of the venting, which was originally through the woodshop to the new route, which will vent directly outside.

Ms. Jimenez said that she did not see any report that listed the process of the project. She said that there should be a projected timeline for the project. Dr. Corda said that he believed that this had been provided periodic reports to the Board on this project. He said that he would prepare a report.

NEF Liaison -

Ms. Hamilton said that the NEF had been recognized by Coastal Fairfield County and Ms. Hamilton will be attending a breakfast regarding this in the near future.

Policy committee -

Ms. Hamilton said that the next meeting of the Policy Committee will be on May 27th.

Joint Services -

Mr. Chiaramonte announced that the next meeting will be on the 25th.

Finance Committee -

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that the Committee has been meeting weekly to go through the proposed reconciliation. A full Board Hearing will be on the 21st so parents and residents can have input on proposed reconciliation, with hopes of making some recommendation to the full Board regarding the Reconciliation. The Committee will also hear updates on the school lunch program and a recommendation from Finance will be made to the full Board.

Human Services Mentoring Committee –

Mr. Burnett said that the celebration event will be on June 3, from10-1 at Calf Pasture. All Board members are welcomed to attend.

Adult Education, -

Ms. Rivas will attend the meeting before the end of the year. The meeting date has yet to be announced.

POLICY 0521 & 6121 EQUAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY.

Ms. Hamilton explained that there were legal changes that were needed in the policies. Mr. Daddona said that there were updates to reflect the current law.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that the regulation portion was taken from the manual and that the difference is that the handbook document must name the person responsible, while the policy manual is not required to list the specific employee’s name.

Ms. Rivas asked about the 504’s. Mr. Daddona said that the 504 students have a right to have a hearing.

DISCUSSION OF MODEL FOR ASSESSMENT OF SCHOOL GROWTH PLAN

Dr. Corda said that the plan had been outlined and that it had been sent to the District Data Team, who will meet on Thursday.

Ms. Murray asked if someone would be reviewing this before it is presented. Dr. Corda said that the Board had not made any suggestions, but if the District Data Team had suggestions, these would be presented to the Board. He added that it was the end of the school year and that this would be an ongoing process.

BOARD MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT

Ms. Hamilton announced that she had spent the morning with Ms. Joan Glass and they visited Social Studies programs. Ms. Hamilton said that she was able to interact with the student and that it was a good time to spend with the teachers. The invitation to do this has been extended to all of the members of the Board.

ADJOURNMENT

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

The meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m.

Category: Minutes