Board of Education Meeting Minutes

October 16, 2007

ATTENDANCE: Jody Bishop-Pullan, Chair; Thomas Vetter, Robert Polley, Susan Hamilton, Bruce Kimmel, Shirley Mosby, Gregory Burnett, Rosa Murray, Migdalia Rivas

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools

OTHERS: Bruce Mellion, NFT Union President; Shirley Green, Carol Marinaccio, Roz McCarthy

I. CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Bishop-Pullan called the meeting to order at 7:50 p.m.

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

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

III. SPOTLIGHT ON NORWALK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Ms. Hamilton presented the Spotlight on the Norwalk Public Schools.

IV. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT SPECIAL EDUCATION UPDATE

Dr. Corda said that he had spoken with students at various schools about the new math program that the District had started. The students said that they found the new program much more understandable and they liked it. Dr. Corda also said that he had spent time with a Special Education teacher who was developing concepts for the Special Education student who was participating in the regular classroom.

Dr. Corda then reviewed the “P.J.” case and announced that Norwalk had made significant progress in accordance with the “P.J.” case settlement. The District has been notified by the State that the state monitoring will be discontinued and is currently outperforming most of the other districts in the State in regard to the “P.J.” case.

Dr. Corda then went on to review the situation regarding African American students being over-identified as emotionally disturbed. Dr. Corda reviewed the State’s formula for calculating the number and percentage of emotionally disturbed students and also explained the Relative Risk Index (RRI).

Dr. Corda then gave a PowerPoint presentation about the situation and asked several key questions such as: are too many students identified as emotionally disturbed (ED), are two many black students identified as ED and are too many Black students over identified as ED in comparison with other groups.

In answering those questions, Dr. Corda explained that work has been going on with the State Education Department about this subject since December 2004. This included education for the school administrators, student support service administrators and additional social workers being assigned to schools where there are higher referral rates.

A district protocol for identification of student with emotional disturbances is being developed. Also programs such as TRIBES that focus on responsible behavior have been implemented in the elementary and middle schools.

The goal is not to deny any student the services but to simply see that the students are accurately designated as ED and that the District is proving appropriate services. The over diagnosis may have simply been that the staff wanted the student to receive held. However, working on developing mutual respect throughout the school system has had a significant impact on the issue. Also, the staff is paying stricter attention to the definition of the behavior in order to insure that intervention has taken place when necessary.

As a result of these efforts, the number of Black students identified as emotionally disturbed dropped significantly between the 2005/2006 year and has continued to drop during the 2007/2008 school year.

Mr. Kimmel had several detailed questions about the phrase “intellectual disability” and the State formula for these issues. Dr. Corda reviewed this information with him.

Ms. Murray asked if a list of the programs for behavior could be provided. Dr. Corda said that he would do so, but that some of the programs were simply themes that were emphasized in the schools, such as “Respect and Responsibility”.

V. PUBLIC COMMENT

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

Mr. Mellion came forward and spoke about the information on page 19 of the Operating Budget and the projected enrollment for McMahon for 2007/2008 was 1,524 students. At the last Board meeting, there was a review of these numbers and a few mistakes were identified. In the information packet, the incorrect information is repeated again. He stated that the information regarding Rowayton is incorrect. Mr. Mellion asked that this information be corrected so that everyone has the correct information.

Mr. Mellion then pointed out a discrepancy between the enrollment at McMahon being listed as 1,588 while the budget reflect only 1,524. Mr. Mellion asked if the budget was including Special Education and if it was, he asked about the additional money that McMahon should be receiving. Mr. Mellion then reviewed another set of numbers where there were other problems. He said that there needed to be consistency between all the documents.

Secondly, he pointed out that there was an opportunity to vote on an Associate Teacher for Speech and Language. Mr. Mellion said that the union supports this.

Ms. Murray asked if there was anyone else who wished to address the Board. Ms. Shirley Green came forward and said that she was a resident of Norwalk with a son that attends Ponus. Ms. Green said that she had a few comments regarding behavior of the black students. She said that she did not know what was initially meant by the behavior of the black students but she reminded everyone on the Board that there was an incident last year where two students glued the doors of thirty five classrooms at Norwalk High School. Ms. Green pointed out that these were not black students who did this. There was also an incident this year where a student started a fire at Andrews Field and destroyed Norwalk High School Band instruments. She then asked what the issue was that the City kept bringing up regarding the black students. Ms. Green said that this was not an issue of just black students having emotional disturbances, but that there were other students who needed attention, such as the students who glued the doors shut at Norwalk High School. Ms. Green said that every time she read the paper, there would be an issue about a black student doing this or that. There are other kids in the City and this is not just a “black” thing, but the City is making it sound like this is a racial thing. Ms. Green said that she was surprised that there were a few people of color on the Board that did not seem to see this. She said that she was just making a point. Ms. Bishop-Pullan thanked Ms. Green for bringing this to the Board’s attention.

Ms. Murray asked if anyone else who wished to address the Board at this time. There was no one present who wished to do so. Ms. Murray then closed the Public Comment section of the meeting at 8:40 p.m.

VI. ACTIONS

A. Consent 1. Approval of Personnel Actions

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that there was an additional item to be added to the Personnel agenda to rescind the resignation of Vlasta Grech from the Nathan Hale French and Spanish Department.

** MR. POLLEY MOVED TO APPROVE THE ADDITONA OF A PERSONNEL ITEM TO THE AGENDA CONCERNING THE RESCINDING OF MS. GRECH FROM THE NATHAN HALE FRENCH AND SPANISH DEPARTMENT. ** MS. MURRAY SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

**MR. VETTER MOVED TO APPROVE THE PERSONNEL ACTIONS. ** MS. MURRAY SECONDED.

Mr. Kimmel had a question about the Literacy Specialist/Coach regarding her qualifications and her duties. Dr. Corda reviewed these with Mr. Kimmel. Mr. Kimmel said that he would prefer that people have a degree as a literacy specialist.

** THE MOTION PASSED WITH EIGHT IN FAVOR (POLLEY, VETTER, HAMILTON, MURRAY, BISHOP-PULLAN, BURNETT, RIVAS AND MOSBY) AND ONE ABSTENTION (KIMMEL).

B. Approval of field trip(s)

1. Nathan Hale Middle School – Gettysburg, PA

2. Norwalk High School – Smuggler’s Notch, VT

3. Nathan Hale Middle School – Ivoryton, CT

** MR. VETTER MOVED THE FIELD TRIPS AS FOLLOWS:

1. NATHAN HALE MIDDLE SCHOOL – GETTYSBURG, PA

2. NORWALK HIGH SCHOOL – SMUGGLER’S NOTCH, VT

3. NATHAN HALE MIDDLE SCHOOL – IVORYTON, CT

** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED.

Mr. Burnett commented that there were no dollar amounts listed for the field trips. He said that before these were authorized, the costs needed to be included. Ms. Rivas pointed out that it was up to the school to raise the funds for these trips and it is not an issue for the Board. Mr. Burnett said that he wished to make sure that due diligence was done. Ms. Mosby pointed out that often the costs put a burden on the parents. Ms. Rivas agreed and said that it was a shame that the Board could not provide funding.

Mr. Kimmel said he felt that the trip to Vermont was curriculum based and would vote against it.

** MS. MURRAY MOVED TO TABLE THE FIELD TRIPS TO THE NEXT MEETING IN ORDER TO HAVE MORE INFORMATION. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

C. Approval of minutes (June 5 & 26, 2007)

June 5, 2007

** MR. POLLEY MOVED THE MINUTES OF JUNE 5, 2007. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED.

The following corrections were noted:

Page 1, under ATTENDANCE: Please add Thomas Vetter to the Attendance.

Page 8, paragraph 1, line 5: please change “CAP.” To “CAPT.”

** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE JUNE 5, 2007 MINUTES AS CORRECTED PASSED WITH EIGHT IN FAVOR (POLLEY, VETTER, KIMMEL, HAMILTON, MURRAY, BISHOP-PULLAN, BURNETT, AND RIVAS) AND ONE ABSTENTION (MOSBY).

June 26, 2007 ** MR. POLLEY MOVED THE MINUTES OF JUNE 26, 2007. ** MR. VETTER SECONDED. ** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF JUNE 26, 2007 AS SUBMITTED PASSED WITH EIGHT IN FAVOR (POLLEY, VETTER, KIMMEL, HAMILTON, MURRAY, BISHOP-PULLAN, BURNETT, AND RIVAS) AND ONE ABSTENTION (MOSBY).

D. Approval of Budget Transfers

** MR. BURNETT MOVED TO APPROVE THE BUDGET TRANSFERS AS PRESENTED. ** MS. MURRAY SECONDED.

Mr. Kimmel said that he was pleased to have the additional information and felt that there was greater transparency.

** THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE BUDGET TRANSFERS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

E. Cancellation of November 6, 2007 meeting, possible rescheduling

** MR. BURNETT MOVED THE CANCELLATION OF NOVEMBER 6, 2007 MEETING, WITH POSSIBLE RESCHEDULING. ** MS. HAMILTON SECONDED.

There was a brief discussion about rescheduling the meeting and it was decided by the Board that the meeting would be rescheduled for November 7th.

** THE MOTION TO CANCEL THE NOVEMBER 6, 2007 MEETING AND RESCHEDULE IT FOR NOVEMBER 7TH PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

F. Approve posting for Associate Teacher Speech and Language ** MS. HAMILTON MOVED TO APPROVE THE POSTING FOR ASSOCIATE TEACHER SPEECH AND LANGUAGE. ** MR. POLLEY SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

VII. INFORMATION AND REPORTS

A. Title I Update

Ms. Marinaccio, the Grants Specialist, came forward and gave a PowerPoint presentation about the status of Title 1 programs in the Norwalk Schools. She distributed copies of the PowerPoint presentation to those present.

Mr. Burnett pointed out that the number of students when he had come onto the Board was about 2,100 and now it was around 2,400. Mr. Kimmel said that it was important to get accurate numbers for the lunches because this affects the funding for Title 1 and the e-rate.

Ms. Rivas left the meeting at 9:20 p.m.

There were some concerns expressed about the amount of parental participation and how the parents were informed about the Title 1 funding. Ms. Marinaccio reviewed the efforts that have been made to reach out to the parents and get them involved.

B. Discussion of Egypt trip

Ms. Roz McCarthy came forward and informed the Board that this trip to Egypt was similar to the type of trips that were planned for Japan and China. When asked how the funds would be raised, Ms. McCarthy said that the Center for Global Studies does have some funding for this and there would be additional grants.

Mr. Burnett expressed concerns about travel security. Ms. McCarthy said that she had checked the State Department website and there were no advisories for Egypt. It is a high tourist area and the group will not be going to the Sinai Peninsula and will be on a cruise between Cairo and Luxor, which is where there have been some difficulties.

Ms. McCarthy reminded everyone that this item would be on the agenda at the next meeting for a vote.

C. Board members’ announcements

There were no Board member announcements.

VIII. DISCUSSION OF NFEP GRIEVANCE (EXECUTIVE SESSION ANTICIPATED)

** MR. POLLEY MOVED TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISUCSS THE NFEP GRIEVANCE. ** MR. VETTER SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The Board entered into executive session in order to discuss the NFEP Grievance at 9:40 p.m. The Board resumed the Public Session at 9:54 p.m.

IX. RESUME PUBLIC SESSION FOR POSSIBLE VOTE ON NFEP GRIEVANCE

** MR. POLLEY MOVED TO DENY THE NFEP GREIVANCE OF MS. K. PICCO DATED JUNE 26, 2007 FOR THE REASONS IDENTIFIED BY DR. SALVATORE CORDA, THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, IN HIS WRITTEN RESPONSE OF AUGUST 13, 2007. ** MR. VETTER SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED WITH SEVEN IN FAVOR (POLLEY, VETTER, KIMMEL, HAMILTON, MURRAY, BISHOP-PULLAN, AND BURNETT) AND ONE ABSTENTION (MOSBY).

X. ADJOURNMENT ** MR. VETTER MOVED TO ADJOURN. ** MR. BURNETT SECONDED. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting adjourned at 9:56 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon L. Soltes Telesco Secretarial Service

Category: Minutes