Board of Education Meeting Minutes

March 6, 2007

ATTENDANCE: Jody Bishop-Pullan, Thomas Vetter, Migdalia Rivas, Susan Hamilton, Robert Polley, Rosa Murray, Gregory Burnett, Richard Fuller, Bruce Kimmel

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools

OTHERS: Michael Chuba, Steve Rudolph, Elizabeth Powers, Dale Watkins, Ruth Rosado, Diane Hatchman, Sharon Cradden, Kyle Seeberg, Lauren DeLong, Marie Binochy, Lynn Massey, Tammy Green, Bruce Dallion, Terry Aliose, Courtney Ellis, Sean Ireland, Steven Est, Tony Tyson.

I. CALL TO ORDER

Due to the large number of parents and students in attendance, the meeting was moved to the Council Chambers. Ms. Bishop-Pullan called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m.

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Ms. Bishop-Pullan led the Board and the audience in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

III. SPOTLIGHT ON THE NORWALK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Ms. Hamilton presented the Spotlight on the Norwalk Public Schools report to the Board.

IV. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Corda greeted the residents in attendance and stated that his report would cover three areas. First, he addressed the issue regarding the transportation of students by volunteer drivers. He pointed out that state law governs the conditions under which the students are transported and that these requirements have been ignored in the past. The schools insurance provider has brought this issue to Dr. Corda’s attention. He then requested an opinion from the Corporation Counsel. Atty. Nolin agrees with the insurance company regarding this practice. Volunteer drivers are required to have a special qualification n their license. He said that his office was working on trying to expedite the process for interested individuals.

Secondly, Dr. Corda addressed the strong concerns expressed about the Norwalk High School parents about the athletic fields. He informed the Board and those present that he had inspected the fields with Mayor Moccia, Mr. Opdahl and others recently.

The problem at Testa Field is ponding. According to the manufacturer, the state of the field shows normal wear and tear. The ponding may be due to the compaction of the material beneath the turf. The manufacturer has agreed to bring in some special equipment that will loosen the compacted base. Dr. Corda stated that the drains have been cleared out to allow for quicker water drainage. According to the manufacturer, the expected life of the turf field will be three more years.

The Strawberry Hill Field has a problem with a soggy outfield. The infield needs to be prepped before use following a heavy rain. Dr. Corda reported that curtain drains will be installed to help with the drainage. The Recreations & Parks Department will rake out the fields after heavy rains.

The third concern is that more space is needed for the teams. Dr. Corda reported that the lower Nathan Hale field will be re-turfed and artificial turn will be installed around the goal areas. The lacrosse teams will be moved to Testa Field and investigations will be made into alternatives, which Dr. Corda then outlined. Two concerns regarding alternative fields are parking and lighting, because of the neighbors.

Mr. Polley asked if any one had investigated whether there were private companies interested in investing in a new field.

Dr. Corda then said that before advocacy starts, it would be important for everyone to wait until the information is located and evaluated. Dr. Corda then moved on to his third point, which concerned the recent BOE budget request. He displayed an overhead of the worksheet that the teachers are required to complete prior to observation for evaluation. Dr. Corda then reviewed this process and commented that the process requires a significant amount of time. He stated that the Norwalk School System is committed to academic excellence. Dr. Corda then displayed a copy of the agenda for the upcoming Superintendent’s Conference Day on the overhead.

The 2007/2008 budget will require some significant reductions, but Dr. Corda did not recommend that these reductions be achieve through reducing the staff. He explained that 3/1% of the increase to the budget was a direct result of salaries already in place.

An additional 2.6% increase will be required for health insurance. Last year, there were some surplus funds that were used to prepay health insurance premiums.

Together, these two items equal an increase of 5.7%. The submitted budget requests a total increase of 6.3%. Mr. Hamilton has stated that the increase be capped at 5.9%. This will require some major revisions.

Mr. Kimmel commented that the ratio of administrators to students or teachers in the Norwalk system is average for Connecticut.

V. PUBLIC COMMENT

Let it be noted that the following comments and remarks by all speakers have been summarized and are not necessarily verbatim.

Mr. Chuba came to the podium and stated that he lives on Marlboro Road. He explained that he had signed up to speak about the transportation issue, but had a quick comment about the field situation first. Mr. Chuba said that the problem with the fields is not a new one that he hoped it would be resolved by the time his daughter, who is currently a freshman, graduates.

Mr. Chuba then reminded everyone that the transportation issue not only affects the high schools, but also has an impact on the elementary schools. He also pointed out that the band guard program currently has a $500 assessment and if additional costs are incurred by hiring buses, the assessment will increase. This, he believes, is an undue hardship.

Mr. Rudolph then came to the podium and identified himself as the Vice President of the Marching Bears. He stated that the transportation issue is actually threatening the program. Mr. Rudolph then said that after several conversations with State Senator Duff, it was his understand that the CT State Statute 14-212 sub. 2 specifically mentions “carriers” under contract and section b mentions “for compensation”. He pointed out that no volunteer parent is under contract or receives compensation. He also commented that the volunteer drivers are cost effective and known to the parents.

Mayor Moccia said that he was not contesting Mr. Rudolph’s statements, but respectfully requested that Senator Duff request an opinion from State Attorney General Blumenthal on those points.

Ms. Powers came forward and informed the Board that the Marching Bears receive a very small amount of funding for a program that performs for academic credit. She then listed the various credits that were applied to the program.

Mr. Watkins came forward and identified himself as the treasurer for the Marching Bears. He stated that that budget was already in place and that preventing the previous program to continue would be a hardship. He asked the Board to return to the previous system.

Ms. Rosado then came to the podium and identified herself as the Recording Secretary for the Marching Bears. She stated that it was important to bridge the achievement gap and that by limiting the parents, it would hamper the Board and the schools from providing programs for the students.

Ms. Hatchman then addressed the Board. She stated that she lived on Piney Drive and assisted the PTO in fund raising. She said simply that the Board and the School system need to repair the fields now, not in three to five years.

Ms. Cradden then came to the podium and informed the Board that she would speak on the subject of the budget. She said that the parents will support Dr. Corda when the formal presentation of the budget is made. Ms. Cradden then thanked Dr. Corda for the update on the fields. She stated that the High School needs an on site trainer, and equipment storage. Mr. Seeberg came forward and stated that he was a teacher and a coach. He commented that Dr. Corda had presented solid information, but requested that Dr. Corda give the students some input. Mr. Seeberg said that it was important to have both academics and athletics. He concluded with a comment that he did not see parking as a strong concern.

Mayor Moccia responded to this by reviewing the reasons why parking and lighting would be a concern for the neighbors.

Ms. DeLong came forward and introduced herself to the Board. She stated that she was a teacher and an Assistant Varsity coach. She explained that the rescheduling of games because of field conditions was difficult. The Spring Sports season is the shortest time. With the rescheduling, the teams have had to play doubleheaders or they are forced to travel to other fields, and have also been forced to practice in the gym, where there are more injuries because of the hardwood floor.

Ms. DeLong also pointed out that time was lost in preparing the fields and raking the water off. When the rain starts, the fields quickly flood. Ms. DeLong then passed out several large photographs of the water on the fields at Norwalk High School for the Board to view.

Two NHS students came forward to address the Board. Leila stated that she was on the girls’ lacrosse team. Practice at Nathan Hale was very difficult because the coaches are not allowed to drive the players. It takes too long to walk to the site with all the equipment. The players then cram all the equipment and as many passengers as possible into team member’s cars. She also said that injuries abound because of the poor playing surface and concluded by saying that Norwalk High School needs another turf field.

The second NHS student, Tony, explained that she was a tri-captain for soccer. This is a small team, but there are only three cars available for transport. Their games are usually scheduled for night on a grass field. Injuries are happening to girls as young as 11, she reported. The Junior program doesn’t have access to the field. She concluded by saying that it was sad that the school had to ask other teams to use their fields because the school’s fields are unusable.

Mr. Polley commented that he was delighted to see Ms. DeLong as a teacher and a coach because he had her as one of his students. Ms. Binochy then came forward and stated that she had concerns about the safety in the athletics program. She reported that many practices had been cancelled the previous year because of field conditions. Ms. Binochy also said that many of the girls’ field hockey players had slipped and injured themselves.

Another Norwalk student, who had been a Junior Varsity captain last year, came forward and said this was a matter of school pride. These types of conditions were a deterrent to the Varsity players because the students who would have enrolled in the JV program were not getting field time. She concluded with the statement that the school needs new fields on site for the home field advantage.

Ms. Massey came forward and identified herself as a member of the PTO Council. She said that it was a priority to establish communications with the Representatives about upcoming policy and maintain communications with the parents of the students. She also stated that on March 28th, there would be a forum for the budget.

Ms. Green came forward to the podium and stated that she was an RN and informed the Board that there is no permanent substitute school nurse position due to lack of funding. When a school nurse is out for whatever reason, there is no pool of substitutes. The students in the building then do not have access to professional medical help. She cited a recent fight at Norwalk High School, which happened on a day when the school nurse was at a conference.

Mr. Mellion came forward and identified himself as a member of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers. He first commented on the transportation issue. He said that it puts the coaches in a very precarious position. The coaches spent a lot of time dealing with transporting equipment and dealing with field conditions. Because of the transportation issue, it becomes difficult when the matches are held in the evening with the issue of how the students are being returned to the school and then to their homes.

Regarding the operating budget, the NFT feels that the parents should be talking about a massive showing on March 28th to support the operating budget rather than talking about cutting the budget. This will send a clear message to the Board of Estimate and the Common Council that the parents support this fully.

Mr. Mellion said that when the budget reconciliation was published, there were two people who composed it that same day. However, Mr. Mellion felt that there should have been administrative input, teacher input and parent input regarding where the reductions should be made. Mr. Mellion referred to the overheads that Dr. Corda had presented and said that the lesson had been prepared and taught by a teacher not an administrator. He then stated that on a different day and a different time, the NFT would talk about that again as part of the discussion.

Mr. Mellion then asked the Mayor that if the information given by Dr. Corda the previous week regarding the original budget for 7.7% is reduced to 6.2%, with a cap of 3.8% is correct. Mr. Mellion then suggested that the numbers be further broken down to the amount it would cost the individual home owners by district to let the public know how it will impact them. This will allow people to have objective and factual information. Any reductions made on March 28th should be fair, equitable and across the board.

Mayor Moccia then replied to Mr. Mellion that some of the information Mr. Mellion mentioned was available, but that he would ask Mr. Hamilton to come up with those numbers for Mr. Mellion. He then went on to say that the budget process was going to be difficult because the Council cut the cap even more than the Finance Director recommendation. Capital budget recommendations are required by March 15th. The Planning Commission cut approximately $200,000 out of the technology budget, which the Mayor said he disagreed with.

The Operating Budget will be difficult because the Mayor is currently negotiating with five different unions regarding their contracts. He then reviewed the budget process. He stated that he has tried to work with the Board of Education in a cooperative manner in the past year and in this year. The Mayor said that he would do his best to achieve a balance between the taxpayers and the students. He pointed out that it is not easy to come up with 1.3 million dollars and then just slap a field in. It is important not to do the wrong thing that will cause the community and the neighborhood to oppose the field. It needs to be well thought out plan. In the meantime, repairs will be made to Nathan Hale.

The Mayor then held up the copy of the Capital Budget for the City of Norwalk. He stated that the requests are in excess of 20 million dollars but that has to be reduced to approximately 6 million dollars. Mayor Moccia said that even with the Governor’s proposed State aid for Norwalk, which is 2.1 million dollars, while the City is getting more than any other legislator, that Norwalk is getting the least amount of all the major cities in the State. There are towns that have only one third the student population but receiving the same allocation. He stated that he would be contacting the Governor about this. He then urged the members of the public present to write to their legislators about this. In conclusion, the Mayor said that he will deal with the budget situation in the best manner that he could in being fair to the teachers, the administrators, the Board of Education and the taxpayers. He said that Dr. Corda made a good presentation about the field conditions and said that while it wasn’t perfect. While the repairs were being worked on, there will be planning and collecting of some input from the students and the coaches. At the most recent meeting when there were speakers who advocated holding the line on spending, everyone was for the most part respectful and courtesy, which the Mayor said he appreciated that. He also thanked Ms. Bishop-Pullan for the opportunity to speak about the situation.

Mr. Aloise came forward and addressed the Board. He stated that he has been the Vice President and Director of Operations for the Norwalk Athletic Association’s Girls Softball League. He stated that there has been an increase of 40% over the last few years. This is one of the most successful recreational programs in town. Despite that, the League has had to cancel over 50 games due to unplayable field conditions.

Mr. Aloise then stated that he was the founder and the head of the Fairfield County Fastpitch Softball League. There are over 40 teams from all over Fairfield County involved. He stated that while Barry field is one of the best venues to watch a game, it is one of the worse in terms of field conditions.

His daughter who is currently in college, email Mr. Aloise about this and related an incident that occurred last year when she was a camp counselor in July. She wished to have this read into the record. The town had a two-week softball camp. The first day of the camp it rained. The rest of the week, the weather was clear but the field remained unplayable. This forced the camp counselors to teach softball on the track surrounding the football field and in the grass behind the high school.

Mr. Aloise then suggested that the Board seek acknowledgement that the drainage problems will not go away and most likely become worse if nothing is done.

He also pointed out that that field situation between Brien McMahon and Norwalk High is inequitable.

Mr. Aloise then wanted to know when the girls softball facilities would be brought up to par with the boys baseball program as required by Title IX Regulations. He then suggested that everyone consider the alternative of installing a multi use turf facility that would encompass the NHS softball and adjoining freshman field hockey fields, which would fix the drainage problem and alleviate the current overcrowding of the practice fields and NHS.

Mr. Aloise then distributed copies of his remarks to the Board of Education.

Ms. Ellis then came to the podium and stated that she was a sophomore at NHS and has been playing softball for nine years. She stated that during the time she has played softball, many of her practices and games have been held at NHS, including Ray Barry Field. Often the practices and games were cancelled when the fields were flooded and in an unplayable condition. However, on days when Barry Field is unplayable, Ms. Ellis has played on other fields such as Waveney Park in New Canaan and Cove Island Park in Stamford. The drainage problems on Barry Field limit its use. Speaking for female athletes at NHS as well as girls of all ages at Norwalk involved in sports, she respectfully requested that the Board of Education consider providing appropriate funds for the sports fields to drain properly to allow more play on the fields. It would be nice to be on the same competitive platform as the FCI peers and having facilities that are equal to others that provide a reasonable and safe place to play.

Mr. Ireland then addressed the Board and stated that he was a varsity football coach at NHS. In looking around the room, he saw a number of students. He pointed out that some of the practices finish up this late in the evening. He then reminded the Board that there were students that were not able to go home between school and practice. This meant that the student was often at school from 7 in the morning to 10:30 at night. He stated that the repairs would be a short-term fix rather than a long-term solution and that the project should move along quicker than what is being stated.

Mr. Est came to the podium and stated that he works in New York City. This means that he must be up at 4 in the morning for his commute to his job. He said that he has lived in Norwalk since 1999 and the Connecticut Babe Ruth State Commissioner. He has worked with the Norwalk Athletic Association for the last five years. They have the second highest level of participation in the State. One of Mr. Est’s responsibilities is to appoint state tournaments for various age groups. In the last three years, Norwalk has hosted the 16 and under program at NHS. Mr. Est said that he has seen many different fields and that in his opinion; the NHS fields are average at best on good days. He stated that both the Recreation and Parks staff along with the volunteers work very hard to make the playing conditions favorable. If the weather is rainy, this causes problems since there is another level of tournament that has to be played at the regional level. Despite the best efforts of the Recreation and Parks staff, games still had to be cancelled because of the field conditions.

Mr. Est also coaches two teams in the NAA. When it rains, the water collects quickly on the fields. When awards for the Babe Ruth Tournament select Norwalk simply because of the volunteers and the playing fields come in second. Norwalk has won many State titles and regional softball titles.

The high school teams in Norwalk are second to none and produce State championships. When Mr. Est sees other towns with less participation, less success but better facilities, he wonders why this is. The girls in the community deserve a better field and better opportunities as do the volunteers who help promote the softball program.

At this point there was no one from the public who wished to make any further comments.

Mr. Fuller then said that the Mayor is in support of the Board of Education during his terms. When Mr. Fuller attended the Council meeting, he said that there was very little representation from the parents about these issues. Mr. Fuller said that the residents affected by the flooding were present along with many others to express their concerns. At the Council meeting, there were bipartisan issues and support. Mr. Fuller said that he felt the most hostility he ever had for the Board of Education and what the Board was trying to do. Mr. Fuller said that he was frustrated, particularly when a presentation was made and the Mayor was in support and there was hostility about the line item control. Mr. Fuller said that although the Mayor had encouraged the parents to contact their State legislators, Mr. Fuller was urging them to also contact their Council representatives about the issues and attend some Council meetings.

Mayor Moccia left the meeting at 10:00 p.m.

VI. ACTIONS

A. Consent

** MS. MURRAY MOVED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT ITEMS. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED. Mr. Kimmel the stated that he had not been able to review the budget transfers and wished to abstain from that vote.

1. Approval of personnel actions

** MS. MURRAY THEN MOVED TO APPROVE THE PERSONNEL ACTIONS. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

2. Approval of budget transfers

** MR. FOLEY MOVED TO APPROVE THE BUDGET TRANSFERS. ** MR. FULLER SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED WITH EIGHT IN FAVOR (POLLEY, FULLER, HAMILTON, MURRAY, BISHOP PULLAN, VETTER, BURNETT AND RIVAS) AND ONE ABSTENTION (KIMMEL).

B. Approval of minutes for February 6, 2007

** MR. BURNETT MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 6, 2007 MEETING. **MR. VETTER SECONDED.

The following change was noted:

Page 8, paragraph 2, line four: please change the following: “he hoped the Board had a better handle” to “he hoped the City had a better handle”

** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS AMENDED PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

C. Approval of minutes of February 27, 2007 ** MR. POLLEY MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 27, 2007. ** MR. FULLER SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

D. Approval of field trip(s)

** MR. VETTER MOVED TO APPROVE THE FIELD TRIPS. ** MS. RIVAS SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

E. Approve use of school facility for summer program- ACHIEVE at Jefferson

** MS. RIVAS MOVED TO APPROVE THE USE OF SCHOOL FACILITY FOR SUMMER PROGRAM- ACHIEVE AT JEFFERSON. ** MS. MURRAY SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED WITH EIGHT IN FAVOR (POLLEY, KIMMEL, HAMILTON, MURRAY, BISHOP PULLAN, VETTER, BURNETT AND RIVAS) AND ONE ABSTENTION (FULLER).

F. Approve use of school facility for summer program- YMCA at Silvermine

** MS. HAMILTON MOVED TO APPROVE THE USE OF SCHOOL FACILITY FOR SUMMER PROGRAM - YMCA AT SILVERMINE. ** MR. VETTER SECONDED.

Mr. Burnett asked why the program was moved from Marvin School to Silvermine. He was concerned that the change would result in loss of beach access. Mr. Tyson, the coordinator for the program came forward to the podium and explained that the location had been changed because the Marvin principal’s relationship with a former YMCA administration. Discussion followed about this issue and many concerns were expressed.

** MR. POLLEY MOVED TO TABLE THE ISSUE PENDING FURTHER INVESTIGATION. ** MR. FULLER SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. G. Approval of policy #5145.123 – Use of Metal Detectors

** MR. KIMMEL MOVED TO APPROVE POLICY #5145.123 – USE OF METAL DETECTORS. ** MR. FULLER SECONDED.

Mr. Kimmel commented that he like the new wording.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

H. Approval of policy #5145.124 – Breathalyzer Testing

** MR. VEDDER MOVED TO APPROVE POLICY #5145.124 – BREATHALYZER TESTING. ** MS. RIVAS SECONDED.

Mr. Kimmel asked what would happen if a student had a sip of wine. Dr. Corda replied that any intake of alcohol would result in a positive reading. A short discussion about his followed.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

I. Approval of policy #3517 – Electronic Surveillance

** MR. FULLER MOVED TO APPROVE POLICY #3517 – ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED.

Mr. Polley asked if the unions had commented on this. Dr. Corda replied that they had.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. J. Approval of policy #3542.45 – Vending Machines

** MS. RIVAS MOVED TO APPROVE POLICY #3542.45 – VENDING MACHINES. ** MR. VEDDER SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

K. Approval of policy #5142.4 – School Resource Officer

** MS. MURRAY MOVED TO APPROVE POLICY #5142.4 – SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER. ** MR. FULLER SECONDED.

Dr. Corda gave a quick overview of the school resource officer’s role.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

VII. INFORMATION AND REPORTS

There were no Board Announcements.

VII. EXECUTIVE SESSION

** MR. POLLEY MOVED TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS THE HUMAN RELATIONS OFFICER POSITION. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The Board of Education entered into executive session to discuss the Human Relations Officer position at 10:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Service

Category: Minutes