Board of Education Meeting Mintues Part 1

June 5, 2007

ATTENDANCE: Jody Bishop-Pullan, Chair; Susan Hamilton, Robert Polley, Richard Fuller, Gregory Burnett, Bruce Kimmel, Rosa Murray, Migdalia Rivas, Tom Vetter, Mayor Richard Moccia

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools

OTHERS: Britney Eleck, Daisy Franklin, Rose Emro, Paul Blumenthal, Mary Geake, Sharon Cadden, Sally Cordovan, Bruce Mellion, NFT President; Joanne Romano, Common Council Member, Ralph Valenzisi, Stuart Opdahl, John Keogh

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Bishop-Pullan called the meeting to order at 7:55 p.m.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Ms. Bishop-Pullan led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.

SPOTLIGHT ON NORWALK SCHOOLS

Ms. Hamilton presented the report on the Norwalk Schools.

Dr. Corda then added an apology to two students whose names were inadvertently left off a previous list. He stated that both Fox Run Elementary students had been invited to attend the meeting and were present in the audience.

Dr. Corda then introduced the Board and those present to Alison Messina, who took second place in the Unilever World Poster Contest. Alison’s poster was displayed in the Tate Museum in London, England. The first place winner was a sixteen year old student. Dr. Corda apologized again to Ms. Messina and stated that the District was very proud of her.

Dr. Corda then introduced Janet Pellegrino, who was the second place winner in the Connecticut State Poster Contest sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of State. He said that the District was delighted to acknowledge Ms. Pellegrino’s accomplishment. Dr. Corda then informed everyone that both students were in the artistically talented program.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Corda said that he would be presenting the proposed budget reconciliation for the Board’s consideration. Dr. Corda explained that a finance committee meeting had been scheduled for earlier in the evening, but the meeting was not posted as required by law, and therefore was not held.

Dr. Corda said that an editorial in Sunday edition of The Hour newspaper that criticized the proposed policy that the Board is considering relative to grading. The message was that the District was watering down standards. Dr. Corda said that the paper was incorrect. The information that was included in the editorial and described in a second article was also incorrect. Youngsters under the proposed policy will not have the opportunity to retake any tests, youngsters will have the opportunity under certain and very specific circumstances that have been clearly identified, to take a test a second time.

The second piece of the editorial that was critical referred to the fact that the proposal that the Board is being asked to consider is one that states that the lowest grade that may appear on a quarterly report card is 50. There are certain facts that need to be kept in mind when discussing this issue. Dr. Corda asked that people consider the following:

1- if in fact the District is committed to insuring that youngsters can demonstrate they have performed at a certain level of competent in terms of mastering content, then it was in a student’s best interest to be able to demonstrate that if the student was not successful the first time. Dr. Corda compared to this to the driver’s license test. It is in society’s best interest to make sure that those who drive automobiles have demonstrated a level of competency as judged by an examiner. If a student has not demonstrated that he has met a given level of competency, the intent is to give the student an opportunity again because the District is more interested in insuring that the student can demonstrate that level of competency.

There are those who say that if a student fails the first time that is that because that is how life is. Being a student is not able being out in society where one has to demonstrate that. This is about school, where the dedication is to learning.

2 – The concern about whether it is appropriate to give a student a 50 in the first or second quarter of the year if the student has not earned that grade. Dr. Corda then asked if the passing grade is 65, and if one must earn a 65 in the four quarters, when the grades are averaged, in order to get an average of 65 for the year, the student needs a total of 260 over the four quarters. Dr. Corda then gave an example where a student has for whatever reason a horrendous first quarter. If the student received a 25 for the quarter, in order to pass for the year, the likelihood is that there are circumstances that provide an explanation. The District’s goal is not for students to fail. Dr. Corda stressed that this was not giving grades away, but not to promote failure. It is not to create a situation where because the student’s performance was so bad in the first quarter that the student gives up.

What the proposed policy does is acknowledge that the student failed the quarter. The grade of 50 still allows the student who works hard, the opportunity to pass the course. Dr. Corda said that it was important to understand the rationale that went into the proposal. It is not about lowering standards, it is not about No Child Left Behind; it is about asking the question what is the best that can be done for a child.

People may have differing points of view, but Dr. Corda suggested that people be thoughtful about this, and engage in reasonable discussion and dialog before any conclusions have been made.

Dr. Corda explained that he takes very strong exception to the criticism that suggests that the Norwalk Public Schools are not committed to the success of its pupils. The absolute contrary is true.

Dr. Corda said that with the Board’s permission, he would present the budget. Dr. Corda then distributed copies of the Budget to the Board and said that copies would be available to the public.

He stated that the budget had been reduced by 6.1 million and done it in a way that would have minimal impact on the programs. Some of the reductions were known in advance and were planned for, so they did not impact the numbers or programs at all. He also pointed out that some of the information that is included in the report is preliminary.

The Board of Education approved a budget of 147.6 million dollars. The Common Council and the Board of Estimate adopted a budget of 141.5 million dollars. That required a 6.1 million dollar reconciliation.

It was also discovered that the budget needed adjustments in three areas. The first was related to cost for food service workers, the second were costs related to electrical costs and the third was an additional part time nurse because of the specific medical needs of a certain student in the District. Those three items added $625,000 to the budget.

Dr. Corda then said that the District was not sure, but the staffing at the elementary schools might be reduced. There are numerous aspects that have to be considered before this is done, including the number of students that may be retained. If the elementary staffing can be reduced by two, this would reduce the budget by $153,000. The number of teachers at Nathan Hale and West Rocks can be reduced purely on enrollment. There would be no impact on any of the programs whatsoever because it is based strictly on enrollment. He then reviewed the numbers of staff reductions at the high schools. Dr. Corda also stated that the District would not be filling the parent information center registration officer.

Dr. Corda then reviewed additional staffing cuts with the Board, including clerical positions, reserve elementary teachers, and others.

Currently, there are sixteen literacy specialists. Four schools have two assigned. Twelve of the sixteen are funding through the grants. Those grants will continue. Because of a change in the law, the position of literacy special needs to be modified to that of literacy coach. The most significant difference between literacy specialist and literacy coach is that literacy coaches can not provide direct services to students. Part of the issue that is being examined is how the District can provide direct services to the students if there are no literacy specialists.

Dr. Corda then stated that Norwalk may receive between two and five hundred thousand dollars from the State. Mayor Moccia has indicated that if there were dollars that are given to the District as a result of the budget and were marked for education, they would go to education. If this does happen, the literacy specialist would be the District’s number one priority.

Dr. Corda continued to review the various budget allocations and staff reductions with the Board.

Dr. Corda said that currently the Board has a contract for the recorded minutes. After checking with counsel, Dr. Corda said that all that is required by the State is what time the Board meeting is opened, who was present, what resolutions were voted on, who voted yes or no, and what time the meeting adjourned. Dr. Corda said that he believed this could be done internally. All of the meetings are recorded, so there is a record of what was said. This would save over $6,000 dollars.

Approximately $130,000 a year is spent for police supervision at athletic events and in the parking lots. The District is exploring the use of private security for some of the events. Dr. Corda reviewed the details of this proposal.

He then reviewed the details of Special Education students who are returning to the District or aging out of programs and further reductions in this area.

Dr. Corda said that this budget reconciliation would be discussed with the Finance Committee and other parties. If the State Budget was approved by June 8th, Dr. Corda said that the additional information would be then be factored in.

Mr. Fuller said that he hoped people would view this budge as preliminary and that the Board was not looking for a full discussion at this time. The document is not for final approval, but for information only. Dr. Corda said that because of the time of year, it has been difficult to get everyone together. He would not have presented this to the Board otherwise.

Mr. Burnett said that the Finance Committee has not met to review this, but at the last meeting that was held, the Committee requested that any reductions be listed in priority order. He said that he did not see that in Dr. Corda’s presentation. Mr. Burnett then asked that the budget be presented to the Finance Committee with the reductions grouped in priority order in terms of student impact. Dr. Corda acknowledged that the present listing was not in priority order, but repeated that the number one priority would be the literacy specialists.

Mr. Kimmel had a brief comment about the staffing numbers on pages one and two of the budget presentation. Mr. Kimmel also said that he had sent out a list of suggestions where savings could be realized and asked if anyone had considered his suggestions. Dr. Corda said that the suggestions had been considered, and some of the suggestions utilized. He then reviewed the details of the budget items with him and said that the more in depth discussion should be held at the Finance Committee.

Ms. Murray said that if Board members had input, it should be submitted to the Finance Committee. Ms. Bishop-Pullan agreed, saying that it should be submitted to Mr. Vetter, and copy the rest of the Board and Dr. Corda.

Ms. Rivas said that she also wanted the budget reductions listed in priority order according to the degree of student impact.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Britney Eleck came forward and introduced herself to the Board. She said that she was a member of the Seniors Community Foundation, which is part of the Senator Youth Leadership program at Brien McMahon High School. She said that the group was grateful for the Board’s approval of the background checks being run on the volunteers for public schools.

Ms. Eleck then listed three recommendations, which she said had been sent to the Board on March 19th. The recommendations are based on the Board’s job policy dated February 6th.

1- The group believes that there needs to be a uniform definition of background checks. She then suggested the following “Background checks include a review of the national databases for involvement with departments of police services, child protective services and when necessary, the department of motor vehicles.

2 – The group recognized that it was difficult to balance child safety and welcoming volunteers. It was suggested that the Board lean towards caution. The policy should state that any adult who wants to volunteer in the Norwalk Public Schools other than the person who performs a one time service in the presence of the school administrator or teacher will submit to a background check that includes a review of national databases for involvement in departments of public services, police services, child protective services and when necessary, the department of motor vehicles.

3—The group recommends that volunteer service at a school can not begin until all background checks have been returned and the school administrators are satisfied with the results of the checks. Other areas that need to be discussed are the frequency of the check and who pays for the checks, which should be excluded from volunteering and activities that will require a check. A complete list of the recommendations will be found in the memo that was sent on March 17th.

Ms. Eleck then said that if the Board votes to accept the policy dated February 6th, the group would be more than willing to work with the Board to strengthening the policies for 2007-2008 school year.

Ms. Eleck then thanked the Board for allowing her to speak.

Ms. Daisy Franklin then came forward. She greeted the Board and stated that she was present to speak on the topic of the intercoms at Norwalk High School and the safety issues associated with that. Ms. Franklin asked how the students, staff and teachers would be able to contact everyone in the school in the event of an emergency without an intercom system that worked. Ms. Franklin said that the intercom system supposedly has not been working for three years. She asked what would happen if there was a lock down and half of the school knew about it and the other half did not. The students at Norwalk High need to be safe.

As a resident and a parent of a Norwalk High School student, Ms. Franklin said that she would like the intercoms fixed immediately.

Ms. Rose Emro came forward and said that she was a parent of a Norwalk High School student. She said that she was also present to discuss the intercoms and the safety issues at Norwalk High. Ms. Emro said that she did not think that the intercom system should have been included with the renovations for the school. Beccause it is a safety issue, it shouldn’t be grouped with renovations because of the level of violence occurring at the schools today. This is unacceptable to Ms. Emro.

Mary Geake came forward and stated that she lives at 39 Elmwood Avenue. She said that she has worked for law enforcement for fourteen years. Ms. Geake said that she was appalled when she heard about a recent lock down where part of the school was not aware of the situation because of the intercoms being broken for three years. Ms. Geake asked whom the school would answer to if anything had happened to any of the students during this lock down. Ms. Geake said that she had been told that someone had contacted the Governor’s Office about this and had been told that Homeland Security had funding available to take care of the issue. The students should come first. Ms. Geake said that she had been told that all the Board would have to do is ask and that the Finance Committee would approve the money. It is scary, Ms. Geake said, to think that in this day and age that there are schools with such outdated equipment.

Ms. Sharon Cadden came forward and stated that she lives on Saxon Road. Ms. Cadden said that she wanted to thank all the Board members who did make the trip to Norwalk High School to check on the pipes, the intercoms and to look at the painting of the pipes. Ms. Cadden said that there was a lot of communication that happens that many people are not aware of over the last three years. Ms. Cadden said that there have been efforts made to fix the intercom system. It is clear that the system can’t continue to be repaired anymore.

Ms. Cadden said that she wanted to thank the Board for listening to the presentations by Mr. Opdahl, Mr. Gorian and Mr. Valenzisi and taking action on Agenda Item V. She then encouraged everyone to vote yes to move forward on the project. Ms. Cadden said that it is going to have to be a completely new system.

Ms. Cadden said that she would also like to thank everyone who spoke about the fact that there are no bathrooms in the new Science wing. She then reiterated all the details about this and said this was a disservice to the students and the teachers in the wing.

Regarding the volunteer policy, Ms. Cadden said that she had heard a lot of commentary that Pandora’s box is being opened. Ms. Cadden said that the students from McMahon had given the Board some great suggestions, but they were not included in the proposal. Ms. Cadden suggested that instead of voting on the policy, that there be additional discussion and dialog.

Regarding the other policies that were on the agenda, Ms. Cadden said that she believed more dialog was needed. Ms. Cadden said it would be important to know the specifics. She then suggested doing a pilot program somewhere to test some of the policies instead of implementing it across the District.

Ms. Cadden said that she considered a core test to be very similar to a driver’s test. The District is looking at taking students who fail an entire year of core class and promoted to the next grade. Those students need to attend summer school. It is impractical for the District to say that it has high standards and wants every student to pass the exams except in middle school where the students are just passed along when they don’t pass one core class. This pushes all the responsibility on the high school because they can have a student come in that failed three years of a core subject and now the student can’t pass the CAPT.

Ms. Cadden concluded by saying that while she applauds the Board for the work on the intercom system, she would like to see more discussion on the volunteer policy and the other policies.

Sally Cordovano came forward and stated that she resides at 134 Highland Avenue. She said that she would like to speak as a parent of a Roton Middle School student and on behalf of the Roton PTC. She then thanked the Board and the City for the long overdue improvements currently underway at Roton. Ms. Cordovano said that everyone is looking forward to the new improvements. Ms. Cordovano said that she would like the Board to continue their support by providing the funding for new auditorium seats. There are dozens of severely broken seats throughout the auditorium. It is not only unsightly, but also dangerous.

As the outgoing PTO co-president, Ms. Cordovano said that on behalf of the PTO Council Board, she would like to say that the Council is aware of the research that has gone into the Board policies presented at the last special Board of Education meeting. Ms. Cordovano said that the Council appreciates being able to review the policies and to speak to them publicly.

Regarding the testing and grading polices, Ms. Cordovano said that the Council seems merit in many of the points presented, but are concerned with creating policies that could be seen as lowering standards. Sometimes perception can become reality. She then urged the Board to be cautious in setting these policies. Ms. Cordovano then outlines some specific guidelines for these policies. She then thanked the Board for their efforts in refining these policies.

Mr. Bruce Mellion came forward and stated that the NFT was strongly supportive of the Norwalk High School renovations.

Mr. Mellion said that Mr. Kimmel had mentioned at the previous meeting “extraordinary circumstances” when certain events happen in a student’s life. Mr. Mellion said that while these situations do occur, they should be the exception, not the rule. Codifying these in the policy is a good thing, but making them a rule across the board is not. Poor performance is not always related to extenuating circumstance. He then encouraged the Board to have more discussions about these policies.

Ms. Joanne Romano came forward and identified herself as a member of the Common Council. She stated that she had come to the meeting to urge the Board to move the replacement of the PA system at the High School forward. She said that she understood that the City did not give the Board of Education all that money that was requested, but that should not put the students in harm’s way. Ms. Romano said that it was unacceptable to have a lock-down when half of the school was unaware of the situation.

Ms. Romano then presented the Board with copies of the grants available from the Internet.

There were no additional members of the public who wished to address the Board, so the Public Comment section of the meeting closed at this time.

VI. ACTIONS

A. Approval of minutes (January 2, 2007; May 1, 2007; May 15, 2007)

Minutes of January 2, 2007

** MR. POLLEY MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 2, 2007. ** MS. MURRAY SECONDED.

Page 1, under ATTENDANCE: Please add “Gregory Burnett” to the list of attendees present.

Page 11, please change “Mr. Grant” to “Mr. Burnett”

** THE MOTION TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 2, 2007 AS CORRECTED PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Minutes of May 1, 2007

** MR. POLLEY MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MAY 1, 2007. ** MR. KIMMEL SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Minutes of May 15, 2007

** MR. POLLEY MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MAY 15, 2007 SUBJECT TO THE ADDITION OF THE ADJOURNMENT TIME FOLLOWING THE EXECUTIVE SESSION. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED WITH EIGHT IN FAVOR (BISHOP-PULLAN, VETTER, POLLEY, MURRAY, HAMILTON, FULLER, BURNETT, KIMMEL) AND ONE ABSTENTION (RIVAS).

B. Planning approval for trip to China

** MS. MURRAY MOVED THE ITEM. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED.

Mr. Kimmel said that he was unsure if he was able to approve the trip. He indicated that the trip was two weeks long, but the funding was not indicated on the form. Dr. Corda explained that all that was being sought from the Board was planning approval. There is still a significant amount of information that is not yet available.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan pointed out that the policy states that the teachers cannot start planning the trip without Board approval. The teacher needs the approval of the Board in order to get more information.

** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE PLANNING FOR A TRIP TO CHINA PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

C. Approve curricula and textbook proposals for new course offerings 2007-2008

** MR. VETTER MOVED THE ITEM. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

D. Approval of Bid Award for the contract(s) for Special Needs Services with People to Places, Inc. and ECS Transportation for the contract period of 7/1/07-6/30/10

** MR. VETTER MOVED THE ITEM. ** MR. FULLER SECONDED.

Mr. Kimmel reminded everyone that one of the bids had arrived unsealed and a second one did not meet the specs. Mr. Kimmel said that he was not comfortable with the process used to resolve this issue and therefore would abstain from voting.

** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE BID AWARD FOR THE CONTRACT (S) FOR SPECIAL NEEDS SERVICES WITH PEOPLE TO PLACES, INC. AND ECS TRANSPORTATION FOR THE CONTRACT PERIOD OF 7/1/07-6/30/10 PASSED WITH EIGHT IN FAVOR (BISHOP-PULLAN, VETTER, POLLEY, MURRAY, HAMILTON, FULLER, BURNETT AND RIVAS) AND ONE ABSTENTION (KIMMEL).

E. Approve agreement between Norwalk Board of Education and United Federation of Technicians 7/1/06-6/30/09

** MR. BURNETT MOVED THE ITEM. ** MS. MURRAY SECONDED.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan commented that Mr. Valenzisi was able to provide the language as the Board had requested and that this contract was similar to others that the Board has signed.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

F. Approve change of date for June 19, 2007 BOE meeting

** MS. MURRAY MOVED TO CHANGE OF DATE FOR JUNE 19, 2007 BOE MEETING TO JUNE 26, 2007. ** MR. FULLER SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

G. Approve Policy #1240 Volunteers in Norwalk Schools

** MS. HAMILTON MOVED THE ITEM. ** MR. VETTER SECONDED.

Mr. Burnett said that he felt that the spirit in which the Board has spent an enormous amount of time looking at the volunteer policy brought the Board to a more current way of managing the volunteers in the school system and providing a more secured environment. Mr. Burnett then said that based upon the number of comments that were made and the input from the student body, he felt that it appropriate to table the item to allow the Policy Committee and the administration can review all the input.

** MR. BURNETT THEN MOVED TO TABLE THE APPROVE POLICY #1240 VOLUNTEERS IN NORWALK SCHOOLS. ** MR. KIMMEL SECONDED.

There were several questions on the procedural issues and points of order from the Board.

** THE MOTION TO TABLE FAILED WITH THREE IN FAVOR (POLLEY, BURNETT AND FULLER) AND SIX AGAINST (KIMMEL, HAMILTON, MURRAY, BISHOP-PULLAN, VETTER AND RIVAS).

Ms. Hamilton said that she would like amend the motion to say that the Board would review the policy during the 2007-2008 school years with possible revisions.

** MS. HAMILTON MOVED TO AMEND AGENDA ACTION ITEM G -- POLICY #1240 VOLUNTEERS IN NORWALK SCHOOLS SUBJECT TO REVIEW BY THE BOARD DURING THE 2007-2008 WITH POSSIBLE REVISIONS. ** MS. MURRAY SECONDED.

Mr. Burnett said that his reason for tabling was to allow discussion for the overall policy. He wished to send the policy back to Committee for further work. Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that the amendment was to adopt the policy as it was with review after the policy.

Mr. Polley asked whether all the Board’s policies were open to review. Ms. Bishop-Pullan agreed but pointed out that this would make the policy a priority. Mr. Fuller then asked what policy the District would be operating under during the year. Ms. Bishop-Pullan replied that the District would be operating under the revised policy.

** MS. RIVAS MOVED TO TABLE POLICY #1240 VOLUNTEERS IN NORWALK SCHOOLS. ** MR. BURNETT SECONDED.

Mayor Moccia pointed out that there was a motion to amend on the table.

** MS. RIVAS WITHDREW HER MOTION TO TABLE POLICY #1240 VOLUNTEERS IN NORWALK SCHOOLS.

Mr. Vetter said that this policy was a big step forward and that he had two concerns. The policy can be revised, but that might mean the Board and the District would be trying to implement this during the school year. Mr. Vetter said that he was concerned that the District might be scaring off volunteers. He also said that there was a fine line because it was important not to let people in that shouldn’t be let into the school.

Mr. Fuller asked that a specific date and time be included in the motion to table.

Ms. Hamilton said that it was important to have the policy in place by July 1st in order to allow the volunteers to have time to be fingerprinted.

Mr. Kimmel stated that many elected bodies do not make a habit of calling the question, which is also not debatable, until well into discussion. Mr. Kimmel said that his vote against tabling the motion was because it was too early in the discussion.

There was further discussion on the details of this motion.

** THE MOTION TO AMEND AGENDA ACTION ITEM G -- POLICY #1240 VOLUNTEERS IN NORWALK SCHOOLS SUBJECT TO REVIEW BY THE BOARD DURING THE 2007-2008 WITH POSSIBLE REVISIONS FAILED WITH FOUR IN FAVOR (HAMILTON, MURRAY, BISHOP-PULLAN, AND VETTER) AND FIVE AGAINST (POLLEY, KIMMEL, BURNETT, REVAS AND MOCCIA) AND ONE ABSTENTION (FULLER).

** MR. BURNETT MOVED TO TABLE AGENDA ACTION ITEM G -- POLICY #1240 VOLUNTEERS IN NORWALK SCHOOLS SUBJECT UNTIL THE JUNE 26, 2007 BOARD MEETING. ** MS. RIVAS SECONDED. ** THE MOTION TO TABLE PASSED WITH FIVE IN FAVOR (POLLEY, KIMMEL, FULLER, BURNETT AND RIVAS) AND THREE AGAINST (HAMILTON, BISHOP-PULLAN, VETTER) AND ONE ABSTENTION (MURRAY).

Mr. Kimmel stated that he believed that the motion and some of the votes were predicated on the expectation that the policy committee will do its best to meet and discuss this policy. Ms. Bishop-Pullan stated that the policy would be referred back to the Policy Committee.

H. Approve Memorandum of Understanding (CGS secretary/NFEP)

** MR. FULLER MOVED THE ITEM. ** MR. VETTER SECONDED.

Category: Minutes