Board of Education Meeting Minutes Part 2

April 24, 2007

Dr. Corda also reviewed this portion of the written report with the Board. Mr. Burnett asked if there was a break out of the out of district school pupils’ racial orientation for Jefferson Magnet. Dr. Corda said that there were 7 white students, 6 black students, 5 Hispanic students and 3 Asian students. Mr. Vetter asked if the Administration had considered a policy regarding admitting the siblings of students already enrolled at Jefferson. Dr. Corda said that this would be an important point to consider. Mr. Kimmel said that he felt this was a wonderful idea and suggested that perhaps Silvermine would consider working with the Silvermine Art Center. Dr. Corda took this opportunity to announce that the Silvermine Assistant Principle Kimberly Beck had resigned to take a job as a principal elsewhere.

Mr. Polley commented that the Maritime Center was working on boat building with one of the schools and this was a wonderful partnership. Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that it was good to have the programs achieving racial balance in the various schools.

C. Utility Pricing

Mr. Gorian came forward and greeted the Board. He then distributed a six-page document on the utilities and energy use. Mr. Gorian stated that he and Mr. Opdahl have been working on conservation to lower energy use. Unfortunately, deregulation has not benefited the District at all. Rates have doubled and in some cases, actually tripled. The deregulation, in Mr. Gorian’s opinion, failed to provide what it was intended to achieve.

Regarding electricity, Mr. Gorian reminded everyone that the District has no control over the rates, which have jumped from 12¢ per kwh to 18¢ per kwh. This has also created a generation fee. The District has been able to lock in a price of 11¢ per kwh. Mr. Gorian said that conservation measures were incorporated at Brien McMahon and a program is ongoing to retrofit the lighting and replace motors at the various schools, which he hopes will result in a savings of 3000 kwh. Jefferson is all electric and there are plans to convert the school to gas hot water and heat. Norwalk High School will have its own Cogeneration unit.

Mr. Gorian then reviewed the fuel oil situation and informed the Board that there will be a conversion to #2 fuel oil, which will reduce the price of fuel. Also Mr. Gorian said that by converting the schools to both natural gas and oil heat, the District will be able to save even more. Natural gas has been deregulated also and this has worked out with more favorable rates. Mr. Gorian said that the District was able to come to an agreement with Standard Oil for a locked in price of $2.00/gal for #2 fuel oil.

Currently, the District uses about 17 million gallons of water for the facilities. This is being monitored via the monthly billing. Mr. Gorian said that he is considering converting some of the coolers, which he believes will save 2.5 million gallons of water. Covering the NHS pool will also save both heating oil and water. The NHS pool is one of the biggest consumers of energy. Competitive swimming can take place with the water heated only to 78 degrees, but aerobics requires the pool to be heated between 82-84.

Mr. Gorian also informed the Board that the new indoor air quality standards will be quite expensive to implement. D. Microsoft Migration Overview

Mr. Valenzisi informed the Board that the conversion to Migration Overview has begun. Mr. Valenzisi also explained that he has been appointed to the Microsoft Steering Committee because Microsoft is very interested in knowing what the educational needs are for the future. When asked, Mr. Valenzisi stated that he will not be receiving any enumeration for this position. However, he did say that since he is part of the Board, a white paper on the Norwalk School System will be developed for an upcoming conference. He also said that the District is receiving strong IT support and good training.

Mr. Valenzisi then reviewed his written report and provided some technical data for the Board to consider. Mr. Polley asked if everyone has been able to adjust to the switch from Novell to Microsoft. Mr. Valenzisi said that the excellent support Microsoft is providing is helping with the transition. He also explained that one of the techs is being flown out to the West Coast for training. Another benefit of being one of the first districts to convert to Migration is that when calls are made for assistance, they will go to the top level of the help department.

E. Consideration of lunch price increase

Mr. Opdahl informed the Board that the luncheon prices have not been raised in the Norwalk School System in the last six years. Mr. Opdahl then reviewed the current and proposed prices. Mr. Burnett asked how the present performance has been for the food service since it was just changed. Mr. Opdahl said that he would bring an analysis and then provide a resolution for the Board to vote on. Ms. Murray asked what the students were receiving for their money. Mr. Kimmel said that he would like to see a menu also. Ms. Rivas said that she was under the impression that the food service was saving money. Mr. Opdahl explained that while the District is looking at a possibly breaking even or a possible deficit of $20,000, this loss would be significantly less than it was with the previous arrangement. Mr. Burnett said that he felt that it was important to take care in imposing a price increase on the student lunches because of the strain it might put on families. It was agreed that Mr. Opdahl would compile the information requested and present it to the Board by May 15th.

F. Board Members announcements

Mr. Fuller said that he was disappointed that President Bush was advocating the No Child Left Behind program but the District was not receiving the support it should from Hartford. During his twenty-one years on the Board, he is seeing an increase in unfunded mandates from the Federal Government while everyone is becoming an educational expert. Regrettably, the students are the ones who are suffering and in great need.

Mr. Fuller left the meeting at 9:20 p.m.

VIII. DISCUSSION OF NFT GRIEVANCE, MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT GOVERNING CERTAIN EMPLOYEES CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT & REVIEW OF CONTRACT AGREEMENT -UNITED FEDERATION OF TECHNICIANS

** MR. POLLEY MOVED TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR A DISCUSSION OF NFT GRIEVANCE, MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT GOVERNING CERTAIN EMPLOYEES CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT & REVIEW OF CONTRACT AGREEMENT -UNITED FEDERATION OF TECHNICIANS

The Board moved into executive session at 9:20 p.m. and returned to public session at 10:15 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT

** MR. VETTER MOVED TO ADJOURN. ** MR. POLLEY SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting adjourned at 10:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Service

Category: Minutes