Board of Education Meeting Minutes Draft Part II

June 2, 2009

Ms. Murray said that the District should be investigating the other services and include the translation into Spanish, French, and Creole.

Ms. Murray said that when there is business at the table, it appears that the item is not discussed but voted on. She said that the detailed minutes will keep on top of that. She said that there were discussions in the community about being transparent, but that the issues needed to be detailed.

Ms. Rivas said that the public comment is only three minutes and that the community sees the response of the Board in the minutes and it is the only feedback that they get.

Dr. Corda said that he would look into translation services, work on a bid package and report back to the Board.

DISCUSSION OF 2009-2010 BUDGET

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that she had worked very hard to look at every issue and that at the last meeting, the Board had asked Dr. Corda to follow up on the issue of the NHS pool.

She then asked if anyone had any new information about the Wright Tech situation. Dr. Corda said that if Wright Tech is closed, then the transportation costs would have to be reallocated. Originally, it was announced that Wright Tech would be closed and the transportation funding was removed from the budget. When the announcement was made that Wright Tech would be open, the funding for the students’ bus service to Wright Tech had been restored to the transportation account.

With respect to the pool, Dr. Corda said that he had met with Dr. Cook, Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Mocciae and the Mayor about the pool. He said that he was encouraged by Ms. Wargo’s statement regarding the solar blanket donation for the pool. He added that there had been a discussion with CL&P about having an energy audit. Ms. Murray said that she would like to have this all in writing.

Dr. Corda said that there had been two meetings with the Central Office staff regarding further reductions for the Central Office staff.

Ms. Mosby asked if they were looking at every single job and all the responsibilities. Dr. Corda replied that they were evaluating all the positions.

Mr. Burnett then asked about the discussions that had taken place. Dr. Corda said that the discussions about the pool had been very general and gave some very general illustrations regarding estimating the costs and possible contributions by groups that use the pool. The idea of opening the pool to outside agencies during the school day raised concerns. The Mayor said that the Administration was exploring all the options and repeated that CL&P was going to do an energy audit to determine possible cost saving methods.

Ms. Murray said that there had been concerns about where the portable at Naramake would be located and whether it would not interfere with the proposed turf field. Dr. Corda said that while there had been verbal assurance, the written documents had not been received as of yet. However, the general site plan was included in the information packet for the Board to consider.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that she had been reluctant to vote that early on an issue involved with the budget, particularly when the budget reconciliation was not finalized, but that in order to get the portables ordered in time for the opening of the school year, the vote was necessary.

Mayor Moccia said that the budget was difficult this year because the State has not announced how much State funding the District or the City will be receiving. The Mayor said that he appreciated the courtesy that everyone has had during this process. He added that when the students visit, they often ask what the most difficult part of his job is. He said that he tells them that it is when he has to say “No” to a proposal.

COMMITTEE/REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS

Finance Committee –

There was no report. Copies of the recent minutes were included in the packet.

Norwalk Facilities Construction Committee (NFCC) –

Mr. Iannaccone announced that the meeting that was scheduled for June 3rd had been cancelled.

Policy Committee –

Ms. Hamilton reported that the committee had met and discussed the changes to the Family Medical Leave Act. This will be brought up for an action item on the 16th.

CES –

There was no report.

BET/BOE Joint Services Study Group –

Mr. Chiarmonte said that the group had discussed several techniques for combining the mail room services. A copy of the April 30, 2009 minutes was included in the packet

Human Services Mentoring Advisory Board -

The Advisory Board met on May 22nd, and the bulk of the meeting was focused on the end of the year Celebration that will take place on June 3 at Calf Pasture. All the Board members are invited.

Adult Education -

Ms. Rivas announced that the Adult Education Program would be having the graduation next week on June 10th at the Center for Global Studies located at Brien McMahon High School.

Curriculum Committee –

Ms. Mosby reported that the most recent Curriculum Committee meeting was held on May 13th. She said that School To Career Program had given a PowerPoint presentation that was excellent. Ms. Mosby said that she would like to have the School To Career Program representatives come before the full Board to give the PowerPoint presentation . The next meeting of the Curriculum Committee will be on June 17th.

BOARD MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

There were no Board member announcements at this time.

ADJOURNMENT

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

The meeting adjourned at 10:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Services

Category: Minutes