Board of Education Finance Committee Meeting Minutes

August 13, 2009

BOARD OF EDUCATION

FINANCE COMMITTEE

AUGUST 13, 2009

ATTENDANCE: Jody Bishop-Pullan, Chair; Amy Jimenez; Jack Chiaramonte (7:40 p.m.)

STAFF: Dr. Dan Cook, Interim Chief of Operations; Mr. Mark Gorian, Donna Vaccarella, Interim Budget Coordinator; George Giannitti, Norwalk Public Schools

OTHERS: Susan Hamilton, Board of Education; Rosa Murray, Board Of Education; Dr. Lynn Moore, West Rocks Middle School Principal

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Bishop-Pullan called the meeting to order at 7:37 p.m.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JULY 16, 2009

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that she would defer approval of the minutes until either another member of the Committee arrived or the next meeting.

REVIEW OF TITLE I BUDGETS WITH CAROL MARINACCIO

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that Ms. Marinaccio was not able to attend the meeting, but that Dr. Cook has information for the Committee to review before the next meeting on September 10th. Any questions that the Committee has should be forwarded to Ms. Marinaccio.

Mr. Chiaramonte joined the meeting at 7:40 p.m.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JULY 16, 2009 CONT’D

** MR. CHIARAMONTE MOVED THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 16, 2009 MINUTES. ** MS. JIMENEZ SECONDED.

The following change was noted:

Page 1, under REVIEW OF THE MINUTES OF THE BOE MEETING OF JUNE 18TH AND FINAL RECONCILIATION DOCUMENT (see attached), line 7; please change the following from:

“figures listed in the budget to the figures in the minutes.”

TO: “figures listed in the budget to the figures in the minutes and she questioned three items. Dr. Cook and Ms. Vaccarella will verify these numbers and report back to the Committee.”

** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JULY 16, 2009 AS AMENDED PASSED WITH TWO IN FAVOR (BISHOP-PULLAN AND CHIARAMONTE) AND ONE ABSTENTION (JIMENEZ).

A. REVIEW OF THE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM –

INCOME AND EXPENSES

Dr. Cook distributed a copy of a document with a two year summary financial recap for the income and expenses for the School Lunch program. He explained that there were basically two sources of income, the reimbursement from Title One lunches and the second source of revenue is generated when students purchase meals, ala carte items or catering income. Dr. Cook then reviewed the various items listed under the expenses. This year, the program has a total deficit of $65,934.18, of which approximately $42,000 was from uncollected meals.

Mr. Chiaramonte asked for more detail regarding the repair and maintenance expense line. Mr. Giannitti came forward and explained that one boiler had been repaired, along with a convection oven at Norwalk High School. Dr. Cook said that if the lunch program moves into the black next year as expected, the District will begin to replace the older equipment before it becomes a liability. Dr. Cook added that there were two times when some heating pipes broke at Norwalk High and contaminated the stored food.

Ms. Jimenez asked if there was a replacement cycle on the equipment. Dr. Cook said that as far as he knew, there was not one. He and Mr. Giannitti have been considering this and determining which pieces of equipment will be replaced first. Ms. Jimenez asked what type of reserve was built into the budget. Mr. Giannitti said that a certain amount had been set aside and if the boiler at NHS had not broken down, the District would have been within their projected repair budget.

Ms. Jimenez then asked for clarification on the bar charts on the handout. Dr. Cook, Mr. Giannitti and Ms. Vaccarella reviewed the details of the charts with Ms. Jimenez.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan asked about the equipment that was covered in the Whitson’s contract. Mr. Giannitti said that the equipment that was covered in that particular contract was service equipment similar to beverage dispensers. Whitson’s made the initial investment on the equipment and issued the District a $37,500 payment and forgave the $75,000 in outstanding debts. Mr. Giannitti then reviewed the details involved in this type of standard proposal between the food service group and the District.

Ms. Murray asked about the repairs on the NHS convection oven and whether or not that equipment was replaced during the renovation. Mr. Giannitti said that the equipment that was replaced during the renovation was not brand new. The oven that failed was not part of the cooking equipment that was replaced during the renovation. Ms. Murray said that she would like a list of the equipment and its age. Mr. Giannitti said that he would provide the Committee members with this information.

Ms. Jimenez said that businesses that operate in a deficit can’t survive. She said that she would like more detail about how the District plans to arrive at a positive cash flow. At the beginning of last year, the District was at about 30% participation rate for the school free and reduced lunch program and in the past year, 700 additional students have been added to the list, which will bring the District to about 34%. Dr. Cook said that he believed that the District could have a participation rate as high as 40%. Ms. Jimenez said that she wanted to see the assumptions that were used to create the projections by the next meeting. Dr. Cook said that he would keep this on as an agenda item and provide the information to the committee.

B. UPDATE ON LUNCH COLLECTIONS, RECOMMENDATION OF HS AND MS PROTOCOLS FOR SEPTEMBER 2009

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that at the last meeting, the Committee had reviewed the proposed guidelines for collections of lunch fees. Dr. Cook distributed updated copies of the Procedure Recommended for Elementary, Middle and High School Lunch charges. Dr. Cook then reviewed the changes that were made in the document after the last meeting along with input from Ms. Liberatore and Mr. Daddona. Dr. Cook said that last year, there was $70,000 in uncollected debt and this year, this was reduced to $42,000 in uncollected debt.

Ms. Jimenez asked whether there was a possibility of overlapping phone calls to the same parent regarding the lunch debt. Discussion followed about the possible procedure followed. Dr. Cook reminded everyone that this procedure was still in draft form and that he anticipated additional changes. He added that the principals would most likely to have a response from the parent than a Central Kitchen secretary.

When asked about the decision to serve the middle school students with outstanding balances Special K cereal, Mr. Giannitti explained that generally the students did not like Special K, whereas they might be more than content with just the cheese sandwich. By reviewing this procedure with the various school principals, he felt that the next draft would be close to a final draft.

Mr. Chiaramonte expressed concerns about the middle school students having a significantly different lunch. Dr. Cook suggested that the individual principals be allowed to decide whether alternative lunch would be a cheese sandwich or cereal. Dr. Moore suggested that the Draft be sent out to the principals in advance so the principal will be able to consider this.

Dr. Cook said that the largest amount of debt was at the elementary school, followed by the middle school and lastly, the high schools. Dr. Cook said that he had taken the comments down and would speak to Mr. Daddona and Ms. Liberatore. He then asked if the draft procedure could be piloted at the schools since the next meeting will be after the opening of school.

Ms. Jimenez asked whether the parents had been notified of these changes. Mr. Giannitti said that no letter has been sent out because Dr. Cook was waiting for approval. Ms. Bishop-Pullan suggested that this wait until the September 10th meeting. Ms. Murray suggested that this be presented as information in the Friday Board packet to the full Board on September 1st. The procedure will come back to the Finance Committee on the 10th for finalization. Ms. Jimenez said that she felt it could be communicated to the parents at the various open houses and that the implementation target date would be October 1st. Ms. Hamilton requested that the letter also be translated into Spanish.

Ms. Jimenez asked about how the debit card payments were being promoted. Mr. Giannitti said that the debit card system was not yet installed. She was told that information was sent out in the welcoming packet to the parents. Parents are encouraged to prepay the lunches because this moves the line faster. The online company payment company is expected to connect the system before the start of the school year. Flyers will be sent out when this system is functional. Mr. Giannitti said that he had been working on this with Mr. Valensizi. Ms. Jimenez said that she wanted a firm date and assurance that the system will be function before the school year begins. Dr. Cook said that he would include the information in the Friday packet.

UPDATE ON THE SCHOOL FACILITIES PLAN THAT WAS REVISED BY THE CITY AND BOE STAFF WITH PRINCIPALS INPUT.

Mr. Gorian then distributed copies of the Facilities and Maintenance Department executive summary of the five year plan that originated in 2004.

Mr. Gorian said that the 2004 original plan has been updated and that there had been a 90 million dollar upgrade, which included seven schools (Norwalk High School, Brien McMahon, Ponus Ridge, Roton Middle, Nathan Hale Middle, Columbus Magnet, Kendall Elementary and Tracey Elementary). Currently there is about 6.2 million remaining in the account. It was decided to halt the plan for updating and reassessment.

Ten schools still need attention. The various needs have been ranked in order of various criteria. The discussion then moved to the State reimbursable expenses and what types of projects are covered by them. By focusing on projects that the State will reimburse first, the District can stretch the money a bit further since the State will reimburse a set percentage of the project cost.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that the next step would be to bring this plan to the Board for discussion. Following a vote by the full Board, the plan would go to the Norwalk Facility Construction Committee. Mr. Gorian pointed out that 6. 2 million dollars could cover a number of Priority 5 work projects in the plan.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan asked if there were any additions considered. Mr. Gorian said that he had been told by the City not to consider any additions at this time. The discussion then moved to enrollment projections, which are collected on October 1st.

Ms. Jimenez asked whether there would be energy savings in the plan. Mr. Gorian explained that the new windows would be a major improvement, along with converting Jefferson from electrical heat to another heating option. Tapping into alternative energy sources will have require an financial outlay. The State does not reimburse for energy conservation. Ms. Jimenez asked about geothermal heating. Mr. Gorian said that it had been considered for the Brookside, but the electrical rates and the drilling costs are prohibitive.

UPDATE ON SCHEDULE OF MODULAR CLASSROOM AT ROWAYTON AND NARAMAKE

Mr. Gorian asked if the Board had received an update in the Friday packet. Ms. Jimenez said that she did not recall. Mr. Gorian said that NPS had completed all the site work in preparation for the contractors. Both buildings are scheduled to be completed tomorrow in North Carolina and will arrive in Norwalk on Monday or Tuesday. Footings and foundations have been poured at Rowayton, and will be started very soon at Naramake. The buildings should be ready for occupancy on the Monday, September 14th. Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that this means there will be an eight day overlap from the start of the school year. Dr. Cook said that at Naramake, the music room will be utilized temporarily. At Rowayton, the Art room and the library will be utilized temporarily. A discussion followed regarding which space at Rowayton will be used during the overlap period. Dr. Cook will verify this for the Committee. Furniture delivery should be sometime next week.

ADJOURNMENT

** Mr. CHIARAMONTE MOVED TO ADJOURN. ** MS. JIMENEZ SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Services

Category: Committee Minutes