Board of Education Regular Meeting Minutes

August 18, 2009

BOARD OF EDUCATION

REGULAR MEETING

AUGUST 18, 2009

ATTENDANCE: Rosa Murray, Chair; Jody Bishop-Pullan, Vice Chair; Jack Chiaramonte, Secretary; Glenn Iannaccone; Susan Hamilton, Amy Jimenez, Greg Burnett, Shirley Mosby

STAFF: Dr. William Papallo, Interim Superintendent of Schools

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Murray called the meeting to order at 7:52 p.m.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

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

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Papallo said that the first item was on the Columbus traffic pattern and that Dr. Corda had made most of the modifications. The only remaining thing is confirmation from the Housing Authority. This information is needed for the opening of school.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Ms. Roz McCarthy came forward and said that she was the director of the Center for Global Studies. She said that in past years, the Center had exchange teacher for a year to teach world languages. This exchange program worked out well last year and this year the Center has Mr. Hussain Sahan from Egypt who will be team teaching Arabic. Last year, the exchange teacher was able to go into the middle school and meet with the sixth graders to talk about Egypt.

Mr. Tony Ditrio came forward and said that he would like to mention that an aide was cut from each of the elementary schools. The first problem is that there are no 27.5 hour aide at his school, there is only a 25 hour utility aide that works in the office and an aide in kindergarten. This will mean that the kindergarten aide will have 20 hours or less and office will be reduced to one person without relief.

Secondly, he would like to address the Assistant Principal positions. It is NASA’s position that every elementary school needs that position and he would encourage the Board to get back to that.

Mr. Bruce Mellion came forward and distributed a document regarding the Dean of Students for Brien McMahon. He then said that there were a number of items that were cut from the budget, along with the aides that would have an impact on the student body.

Based on the Dean of Student’s Incident data, there were 1,683 incidents that were handled by the Dean where the House Masters did not have become involved. He also pointed out that there was a total of 970 students who were involved in Saturday detention. He said that if this was not reconciled, there would be some consequences

Ms. Loren Rosotto, president of the Norwalk Education Foundation came forward and thanked the Board for the work that they do and the long hours.

ACTIONS

Consent

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED THE PERSONNEL ACTIONS. ** MR. CHIARAMONTE SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Mr. Iannaccone said that he did not know if anyone read the consent items, but Mr. Jeff Smith’s retirement as Band Director from Norwalk High School was included. The District will miss Jeff and it will be very difficult to fill his shoes.

Ms. Murray said that many people had been involved as band parents. Mr. Smith graduated from NHS in 1971, and had already started the Jazz Band in 1970 as a student leader. This will be his last band camp and his last Spirit Week.

Ms. Jimenez said that there would be many accolades and he deserves every one.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES (AUGUST 4, 2009)

** MS. BISHOP-PULLAN MOVED THE MINUTES OF AUGUST 4, 2009 ** MS. MOSBY SECONDED. ** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF AUGUST 4, 2009 AS SUBMITTED PASSED WITH SEVEN IN FAVOR (IANNACCONE, JIMENEZ, CHIARAMONTE, BISHOP-PULLAN, MURRAY, BURNETT, RIVAS AND MOSBY) AND ONE ABSTENTION, (HAMILTON).

APPROVAL OF SIGNATURE CHANGES FOR ED 099 AGREEMENT

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

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVE THE SIGNATURE CHANGE FOR ED-099 AGREEMENT FOR CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM.

** MR. IANNACCONE SECONDED.

Mr. Burnett said that it appears that from a title stand point in that Dr. Papallo was not noted as “Interim”, while Dr. Cook was. Dr. Papallo agreed and said that this would be changed promptly.

** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

APPROVE CONTRACT FOR CHANGES IN COLUMBUS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TRAFFIC PATTERN

** MR. BURNETT MOVED THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED, UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AUTHORIZE THE SUPERINTENDENT TO SIGN THE CONTRACT BETWEEN NORWALK BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE NORWALK HOUSING AUTHORITY FO USE OF ITS PARKING LOT PENDING FINALIZATION AND FINAL APPROVAL BY OUR COUNSEL.

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

INFORMATION REPORTS

Elementary Assistant Principals

Dr. Papallo said that the economic difficulties had trickled down even to the family pets, and that while he would like to say that it was the last year this budget situation would happen, but he couldn’t. There are limited resources. He reminded everyone that budgets are not finite documents, they are always fluid. The budget matrix that was sent out on Friday was fluid. The students that were going to Wright Tech have the right to attend Abbott tech, which is 24 plus miles away. Because of this, the answer to what happens to the funding is still in flux. Dr. Papallo said that he had counted on that money which would have provided one full time assistant principal at an elementary school.

Now, Dr. Papallo said that when the budget was reduced, he was sure it was under the pressure of time. It is very legitimate to revisit the budget. Other items have come to light and revisiting some of theses positions is very important. In the interim, there will be some bids coming in and until there are some final numbers from Hartford, it will be difficult to tell. Some ARRA money should be arriving in early October. He added that if the funds become available, he felt that the Board would support reinstating the assistant principals in the elementary schools.

Mr. Burnett asked if that would be the only item that he would recommend. Dr. Papallo said that he would look first at the assistant principals and then reinstating the H.R. assistant position.

Dr. Papallo said that he believed that it may be possible to identify enough funding to replace one elementary school assistant principal.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that there had been a lot of feedback from the community about the assistant principals, and she said it would be important to have good data on which schools should have the assistant principals. She added that there was still uncertainty about the various class sizes. Dr. Papallo said that the class sizes would be unstable until about the first or second week of school. He pointed out that the demands on the school staff has increased dramatically and that there is much more process and substances because of the State and Federal requirements.

Ms. Jimenez asked what would happen at the beginning of school. Dr. Papallo said that he did not have an answer right now, because there are no absolutes. As the District moves forward, the issue will be resolved, but it will have to be patched together. It will not be easy, but there should be more patience since there is the possibility of an assistant principal. He said that he hoped to have some firm information about the transportation costs and other financial issues soon.

Human Resources position

Dr. Papallo said that while people know what an assistant principal does, but not many know what Human Relations does until they have an issue. There are many details for benefits, leaves of absence, employment and verification of degrees for pay grades. Because of this, he recommended the Board strongly consider this position for reinstatement. Mr. Chiaramonte asked about the “non-certified” assistant, who handles the substitutes. Dr. Papallo clarified the position and then requested that the Board consider extending the time for this position

. Ms. Jimenez said that she had read the information supporting this position, she said that there were numerous tasks, but it was unclear about the frequency of those tasks. She said that there was a need for automation and tracking for frequency. Ms. Jimenez said that the District was in a transition for IT Director, and perhaps a new IT director would bring new ideas on how to do this.

Ms. Jimenez said that while she was committed to the assistant principals and the deans of student and was not 100% on board on this. The idea during the budget cuts was to reduce the staff on the third floor and keep the staffing at the schools. She said that the Board had discussed shifting around job duties and responsibilities. Ms. Mosby said that the Board had asked for a list of the job responsibilities that would be reallocated. Until she receives that, she can’t make a reasonable decision.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that the Board had voted once to extend the positions and that the Board could vote on September1st, which would make her more comfortable.

Mr. Burnett said that it was refreshing to have the tasks listed, but he would like to see the priority tasks indicated.

Ms. Murray said that there were some tasks that could be done by other members of the staff and she realized that there were tasks that need to remain in HR, but that Dr. Cook had mentioned “bringing the walls down” and see some cross training done of the staff.

Dr. Papallo thanked the Board for their comments

Update on Portable Classrooms

Dr. Papallo said that the classroom units did not arrive at the schools as promised. There was a problem with the HVAC system on one of the units. He said that he believed that they would be on site on Friday. In the years that he has dealt with portables, he had never seen one arrive on time and suspected that this might be an industry standard. He then gave a brief overview of the contingency plans for the two schools. Ms. Jimenez asked that the Board be notified when the classrooms arrive.

Central Kitchen The work at Central Kitchens is moving according to schedule. Mr. Iannaccone asked about the Culinary Arts kitchen. Dr. Papallo said that there was an issue with the flooring and the issue will be corrected and the area should be ready for the opening of school.

Mr. Iannaccone asked about the storage issue at the Central Kitchen. Dr. Papallo said that he had toured the facility after the last meeting and that the kinks had been worked out and both parties were satisfied with the space allocation.

He added that he had forgotten to mention earlier that interviews are being held for the assistant principal at West Rocks.

Creation of Board Search Committee

The chair has the responsibilities for forming committees. Ms. Murray said that the Board needs to look at the time frames and the level of involvement of the community and the staff. At the September 1st meeting, Ms. Murray said that she would have the list of the appointees to the search committee. Confidentiality is very important in order to attach the best candidates.

Dr. Papallo said that he would like to make a comment regarding this area. Norwalk has a reputation of having a grueling interview process and he would recommend that it be modified. It is hard to attract quality professionals if the confidentiality is not upheld. While he recognizes that the Board wants as much transparency as possible, he pointed out that privacy is key because out of all of the applicants, only one will get the job.

Mr. Iannaccone said that he felt it would be important for the Mayor to be on the committee. Mayor Moccia agreed and said that he thought that it would be important to have a good working relationship between who ever is the Mayor and whoever occupies the position of Superintendent of Schools because of the financial issues involved.

COMMITTEE/REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS

Norwalk Facility Construction Committee -

No report.

Policy Committee –

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 20, 2009.

BET/BOE Joint Services Study Group –

The next meeting will be on August 27, 2009.

Finance Committee -

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said the Finance Committee met last week and spent time talking about the food service program and the outstanding unpaid meals balance. At this point, Dr. Cook will be meeting with the principals regarding the type of communication they would like and the cut off procedure. The board will be informed because this is a procedure

Human Services Mentoring Committee –

Mr. Burnett said that the Human Services Council met with Dr. Papallo today about the mentoring program.

Curriculum Committee –

Ms. Mosby announced that the next meeting is scheduled for August 19th at 7:30, with updated for CREC and Special Ed. The ADHD Awareness week is coming and more information

BOARD MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mr. Iannaccone announced that Mr. Gorian’s father had passed away.

The Mayor announced that Northrup Grumman will be allowing 10 Norwalk teachers to experience weightless training like the astronauts.

Ms. Murray said that she knew that Dr. Papallo would be updating the Board on the various speaking engagements he has received. Dr. Papallo gave a quick summary of the speaking engagements he currently remembers, and said that he would update the Board on the other requests.

ADJOURNMENT

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

The meeting adjourned at 8:51 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Services

Category: Minutes