Board of Education Finance Committee Meeting

May 14, 2009

ATTENDANCE: Jody Bishop-Pullan, Chair, Glenn Iannaccone, Amy Jimenez,

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools

OTHERS: Rosa Murray, BOE Chair; Shirley Mosby, BOE

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Bishop-Pullan called the meeting to order at 7:42 p.m.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Ms. Bishop Pullan stated that the Finance Committee had just received the Superintendent’s Recommended Budget last week.

Ms. Marge Costa, who lives at 12 Oxford Lane, and is the PTO President at NHS. She then said that there had been a meeting regarding the construction of a turf field at Naramake. She then said that recently there has been an increase in students at Naramake and was encouraging the Board not to put the portable classrooms where the field is. The High School is in desperate need of additional

Jenny and Kaitlyn Spellman, 4th grade students at Columbus School, came forward to speak to the Board. They then recounted how the teachers and the teachers assistants at Columbus help the student. They then asked that the Board not cut the assistant teacher positions at Columbus Magnet.

Ms. Heidi Keyes of Norwalk came forward and said that she had two children at Columbus. She said that she heard that there might be a reduction of hours and assistant teachers at Columbus. Ms. Keyes said that she had been an assistant teacher and that the teacher assistants co-teach. She then listed a number of benefits that assistant teachers provide.

Ms. Michelle Andreopolous came forward and said that she was the parent of a Norwalk student. She then asked where the incoming students would be put. She named two classrooms, the Art room and the Music room and pointed out how they were not appropriate for use as classrooms.

Mr. Jeff Ortolano of 21 Lockwood Lane came forward and said that he was present to represent Naramake. He said that he was present to speak about the turf field at Naramake. He said that sports played a major role in his high school career, however, he added that he had four daughters at Naramake. The hallways are congested and some of the students are eating lunch in the gym. He said that he did not want to have the field in the parking lot and that while sports were important he was concerned about how the turf field would impact Naramake.

Mr. Garry Scharf of 30 Lockwood Lane came forward and said that he was concerned about the idea of ripping up a parking lot to put in a turf field. Education is really about teaching and that while sports are important, the District needs to spend their dollars wisely.

Ms. Ariana Sobonia came forward and said that she lived in Norwalk that she was a teacher at Columbus but also was present as a parent. Her son went to Columbus and is now a successful student. She said that she believes that her oldest son wouldn’t be the person he is without Columbus. Her other son, Nicholas, is autistic and has a host of challenges. One of the reasons that her family has stayed in Norwalk is because of Columbus Magnet and how well they work with the Special Education students. The parents are pleased with the services at Columbus, but if these

Mr. Steven Colrossi came forward and said that he was the outgoing president of the PTO at Naramake. He said that the only possible way to achieve a manageable class size was to have at least one modular classroom. The space at Naramake is packed. Roton is slated to receive a modular and Naramake should be able to have the same respect.

Mr. Colorossi then said that the study about a turf field was actually an internal memo that suggested that a turf field be put in Naramake because it abuts Norwalk High School. He then suggested a location that would abut the High School property but not interfere with Naramake.

Ms. Sue Remmson, of 18 Tanglewood Lane, said that she had students in the District. She said that she is a teacher and there are difficult decisions to be made. The music room is not a good location for children to learn and the students would be distracted by people passing by. The art room is an interior room and that no one would want their child in there all day

Mr. George Helway came forward and said regarding the portable classroom at Naramake. He has two children enrolled and when he was a student at UConn, he had some classes in rooms without windows and he dreaded the classes. He said that the portables would be preferable.

Mr. Bruce Mellion, the NFT President said that there was a disparity between pages 11 and 12 in the budgets and that the health insurance was contradictory to the email blast that was sent out. Those two documents should line up, but don’t.

Mr. Mellion said that there are some questions about what the Federal Stimulus funding could be used for. The two biggest concerns are the two deans at the high schools and the reduction of the teacher’s assistance hours, which would impact the assistants receiving benefits.

REVIEW OF SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM BID

Mr. Giannitti came forward and said that there was a brief overview of the bid analysis. Currently there are two companies who are being focused on. Ms. Bishop-Pullan then asked Mr. Gianetti to review the analysis sheet. The District is currently in discussion with the two companies that are the front runners in this process. He said that a recommendation would be made on May 28th. Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that at the next meeting, there would be more information about the criteria. Mr. Giannetti said that the criteria is on the sheet and the final analysis will have been completed.

Mr. Iannaccone asked how many bids were received. Mr. Giannetti said that there were four. He then reviewed the formula with the Committee. He said that it would be determined by the food costs, which the District basically controls. These include profits that range from .03¢ per meal to .11¢ meal.

ELEMENTARY CLASS SIZE, PROJECTED NUMBER OF CLASSES 2009-2010

Dr. Corda said that the information in the packet gives the Committee the current status regarding the Kindergarten enrollment. Each of the schools have been asked to contact the families that have not yet responded and these calls have been started. The key issue is the placement of youngsters who fall into the 99 category.

Ms. Jimenez asked about the projections including the 99 category. Dr. Corda said that there is a level of estimation included. The company that does the demographic analysis for the District understands that the number of 99 students may vary from year to year. They are accounted for to a certain extent. Ms. Jimenez said that she was not clear on these projections. Dr. Corda said that the number in the projected column is the number that was used in the budget and prepared in December. He then went on to explain that the survival ratio, which is the actual number of kindergarten students enrolled. Ms. Jimenez asked if the projected number had been updated. Dr. Corda said that the projections were given to give the Committee an idea of how the projections and numbers were matching up.

Mr. Iannaccone asked what the class size was. Dr. Corda said that the number of students were 22. Out of the original packets that were distributed, there were 19 packets that were not returned. There will be 3 sections of kindergarten at Naramake. If the remaining 19 students were to enroll, that would give a total of 81 students, which would mean there would need to be four sections of kindergarten, but the District had anticipated 68 students. Until there is a better return on the remaining students, the only firm number is that there are 62 students and 19 potential students. The District always tries to leave space for families who may move to Norwalk mid-school year.

Dr. Corda said that there were a few factors that needed to be considered. First of all, he did not believe that Naramake would get by with three sections of kindergarten. If the kindergarten enrollment size was increased to 69, it would make more sense and possibly be wiser to have another teacher rather than three aides. He said that he had expected to have four kindergartens rather than three and that this had been budgeted for. If the dollars were spent on a portable, that means that those dollars would not be able to spent on something else during the reconciliation.

Ms. Jimenez asked if the aides had benefits at 27 hours. She was told that the aides would have half of the individual benefits and would have to purchase the family benefits.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan asked if the current economy would have an impact. Dr. Corda said that the economy was what it is and that he expected families that have children in private school to put them into public school, but did not know what that this would look like. It would change demographic in the city. Five years ago, Rowayton was one of the smallest schools in the district and the enrollment at that school has just ballooned. He then gave a brief overview of the elementary schools and indicated which ones had increase enrollment. Kindergarten is the most difficult to predict. The narrower the projection window for the incoming kindergarten students, the larger the chance for variance. Earlier projections from this year were within 3% of the actual numbers. Dr. Corda said that he felt that elementary enrollment would grow.

Ms. Jimenez said that there were a number of other items that the Committee has not discussed in terms of budget recommendation. The conversation then turned to the music room at Rowayton. Dr. Corda said that the music room was too small to convert to a classroom.

Dr. Corda then said that he would like to respectfully remind the Committee that the buds for the portable were already coming in and the portables would have to be in place in time for school opening. Dr. Corda said that the budget reconciliation might not take place in early June, but that it might be delayed until the later part of the month.

Ms. Jimenez said that budget reconciliation was extremely difficult and that was what the Committee was present to do. She said that the pricing showed that this was a very fluid economy and that the bidding market was slow. However, she said that she didn’t think it was good to do this separate from the rest of the budget.

UPDATE ON THE ARRA FUNDING

Dr. Corda said that there would be an update on the funding in the Friday Report, which will be and that there was not much to report. Title One funds may not be used to supplant items in the Operating budget, and this is also true of IDEA funding

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that the Committee was interested in knowing the process of how the staff input was being gathered. Dr. Corda said that it would be in the report. Ms. Jimenez said that she would like to know what other Districts are doing. Dr. Corda said that the other districts are also waiting to hear from the State as to how the funding could be used. Other than what the District has been told thus far regarding the Title One funding.

DISCUSSION OF THE 2009-2010 OPERATING BUDGET.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan asked about policy and support. Dr. Corda said that he would look into this.

Mr. Iannaccone said that he would like to thank Dr. Cook for the information on the Norwalk High School pool. He then asked how much the High school uses the pool. Dr. Corda said that there were four classes using the pool. The remaining use is Recreation and Parks, the Y and other programs.

Ms. Jimenez said that she would like to have a list of concessions that were being given by the employees. She said that she had heard about a city employee who was taking a week furlough, which would equal a 2% reduction in pay. A 2% reduction in payroll might reduce the budget gap. While she totally understood the union position, she felt that this needed to be discussed. Dr. Corda said that it was a good point and that he would collect some data from other cities that had done this. He said that if people are willing to take less and take care of each other, then it might not mean job losses. He said that he agreed with the concept. Staff from many different sectors had indicated a willingness to do this. He said that he could send in a request to the State Superintendents regarding concessions that have been made in other cities and towns.

Mr. Iannaccone said that he agreed with Ms. Jimenez, but that the District was running out of time.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that she appreciated the questions, but wanted to know if there was any data on the numerous _________ at the various schools. Dr. Corda said that he would speak to Mr. Keough about this.

Mr. Iannaccone asked if the City had been asked to donate towards financing the pool costs. Dr. Corda said that he had spoken to the Mayor about this. He reminded everyone that there were other programs that use the program, like Zeus, which is a 5013c non-profit program.

Mr. Iannaccone asked about the two plumbers on staff. Dr. Cook said that he believe that there were at least two plumbers. Mr. Iannaccone asked for a breakdown of the plumbers’ job during the year. Ms. Jimenez asked for a breakdown of all of the trades. Ms. Bishop-Pullan asked about the comparison of the jobs that are done in-house and those that are done by other contractors. Dr. Corda said that he would speak with Mr. Gorian about this.

Ms. Jimenez said that she would like to know how many new grants the District has received this year and what the success rate was. She would like to know about extra curricular stipends and why the coaching account decreased while the extra curricular stipends increase on page 112. She was told this included band directors, year book directors, plays and such. The other account was under funded by $80,000 and by separating the coaches out, the new stipend account presented a clearer picture. Dr. Cook said that when work with the coaches started to work on their budgets, there were co-mingled funds for class advisors and other activities that were not athletic. Ms. Jimenez asked what term “revised” meant. She was told that as of December of last year, there was an estimate and with finance being short staffed, a totally revised budget was never completed.

Ms. Jimenez then asked about page 88 regarding custodians. She was told that the information would be forwarded to her.

Mr. Iannaccone then asked about travel reimbursements for the custodians on page 88. Dr. Corda said that this was part of the contract and that it had been analyzed before the last negotiations and decided this would be the best practice.

Ms. Jimenez asked for the answers to the questions that had been forwarded to Dr. Corda electronically. Dr. Corda explained that the information on many for many of the questions had been gathered, but that all the information had not been received yet. One of the staff members then read out the answers to the questions where the information was available.

Ms. Jimenez asked what was included on Student Services. Student Services include social workers, speech and language pathologists, and psychologist. Ms. Jimenez then asked about Kendall as an example, and what would be involved. The instructors move around to meet the needs of the students. Some of the increase is due to contractual issues.

Dr. Corda said that there was a breakdown of the middle schools, but the numbers reflected in that answer were the averages, not the actual number of students. There was also a number of teachers that were bi-lingual.

Mr. Iannaccone said that he was concerned about Fees, Dues and Memberships. Dr. Corda said that the reconciliation removed that category. This item is something that the principals handle. The allocations for the various schools is summarized on page 17 of the budget. Dr. Corda then reviewed the costs as presented on that page.

Mr. Iannaccone asked about the last two pages of the budget book, which listed some allocations regarding some of the transfers. Mr. Iannaccone then asked for clarification on some of the line items. Dr. Corda directed everyone’s attention to pages 96 and 97 of the budget book. He then reviewed the numbers and explained that the pages in the back grouped the accounts such as 810 together with their total allocations. Dr. Corda said that the budget requests would be pulled up and listed for the Committee.

Mr. Iannaccone then asked if the reduction of the staff from full time to half time, what that retailed. Dr. Corda said that the utilization of that time should remain flexible. He then gave an example. Mr. Iannaccone asked why the benefits were untouched. Dr. Corda said that it was the District practice. Ms. Jimenez said that the Committee should look at this in terms of budget.

Mr. Iannaccone asked for clarification regarding the classroom aides that had benefits were the aides at Columbus. There are some Special Education aides that are required to ride the bus with the student. The others have the half benefits in the contracts.

Ms. Jimenez said that there were two items that hadn’t been discussed. She said that she would like to understand how many out of district students were in Norwalk this year and what grades they were in. Dr. Corda said that the only students that are allowed to attend school in Norwalk that are not residents are the children of the teachers and administrators. These students are place in classes that have space available. Dr. Corda said that he would check with Mr. Daddona about the students, but did not believe that there would be any new Naramake students.

Dr. Corda said that in the past, a Norwalk teacher who was a parent and a resident of a Norwalk could request that their child attend the school they were teaching in . In the past this had been granted as professional courtesy. The Board decided to extend this policy.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF APRIL 23RD (TABLED) AND MAY 7, 2009

Ms. Bishop-Pullan stated for the record that there were no minutes available to approve.

ADJOURNMENT

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

The meeting adjourned at 9:38 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon Soltes Telesco Secretarial Services

Category: Committee Minutes