DRAFT
East Hampton
Board of Education
East Hampton, CT 06424
MINUTES: October 14, 2008
1. The meeting was called to order by the Chairperson, Mr. Vasquenza, at 7:00 p.m. in the East Hampton High School Library/Media Center.
Members present: Mr. Vasquenza, Ms. Robinson, Mr. Hurst, Mr. Laraia, Mr. Coolican, Ms. Barmasse, Ms. Pessoni and Mr. Gemma
Member absent: Ms. Wall
Administration Dr. Golden, Superintendent of Schools
Present: Mr. Reich, Assistant Superintendent of Schools
Mr. Jylkka, Finance Director
Mr. Reas, Director of Support Services
Ms. Asetta, Business Services Coordinator
Mr. Brenton, Assistant Principal of East Hampton High School
Mr. Fidler, Principal of East Hampton Middle School
Ms. Turchi, Principal of Center Elementary School
Dr. Fitzsimmons, Principal of Memorial Elementary School
Dr. Ryan, Assistant Principal of Memorial Elementary School
East Hampton High School Student Council Representative: Walid Ahmad
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Inter-Board Liaisons - None
4. Audience of Citizens
4.1 Ms. Jessica Grant noted that she has a child in the 3rd grade and has concerns with the Everyday Math Program.
5. Consent Agenda
5.1 September 22, 2008 Minutes
5.1.1 Motion by Ms. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Coolican, to approve the minutes of September 22, 2008.
Vote Yes – Mr. Vasquenza, Ms. Robinson, Mr. Laraia, Mr. Coolican, Ms. Barmasse, Ms. Pessoni and Mr. Gemma
Abstain – Mr. Hurst
Motion carried.
6. Student/Staff Recognition - None
7. Committee Reports
7.1 Student Council
7.1.1 Walid Ahmad, Student Council Representative for East Hampton High School reported the following:
· The boys soccer team record is 10-1-2; having beaten Cromwell, Morgan, and North Branford. The team is now ranked at the top of the Shoreline Conference and at the top of the state rankings as well.
· The girls soccer team is having a good season with a record of 7-6-0
· Cross Country – The team is doing fairly well this year; the girls came in 2nd in the Shoreline Meet two Mondays ago, and the boys came in 5th. At the Meet at Wickham Park, the team did extraordinarily well; having out-ran all the teams in the league. The next Meet is the Shoreline Championship meet at Cromwell on Friday.
· Volleyball – Players say that the first half of the season was a learning period, and now after improving gradually, they are beginning to win games. Their record is 2-12-0.
· Last advisory period was Freshman Friends – Seniors were paired with freshmen so that the freshmen may feel more welcomed and acclimated; and also so that seniors may address any questions freshmen may have since the beginning of the year.
· Environmental Club had its first meeting. The idea for the club is accredited to Cora Gingras, and it is administered by Mrs. Lynch. The club has ambitious goals and hopes to make great progress in the community.
· Interact Club also had its first meeting. The club is administered by Mrs. Chambers and the club hopes to accomplish some of the same events as last year, such as Breakfast with Santa and the Senior Citizen Prom, etc.
· Two Fridays ago, a successful pep rally was held in honor of Bellfest. Though the soccer games were cancelled due to inclement weather, the pep rally still went well with M.C. Chase McCabe, a class officer competition, and a student/teacher basketball competition.
· The High School Band's Big E trip was unfortunately cancelled due to inclement weather, and could not be made up because of the fact that the Big E closed after that weekend. The band is trying to organize events at the Center/Middle School so that their marching skills can still be put to use. ~
· The UCONN Model United Nations conference is coming up this weekend, where students will stay at UCONN Thursday through Saturday and debate various global issues in different committees.
7.2 Personnel Committee
7.2.1 Mr. Hurst requested that an executive session be added to tonight’s agenda to discuss Teacher negotiations.
Motion by Mr. Hurst, seconded by Mr. Coolican to add an executive session at the end of tonight’s Board agenda. Voted unanimously.
7.3 Policy Committee
7.3.1 Ms. Robinson had no report at this time.
7.4 Curriculum Committee
7.4.1 Ms. Barmasse had no report at this time.
7.5 Transportation, Buildings and Grounds Committee
7.5.1 Mr. Gemma had no report at this time.
7.6 Financial Reports
7.6.1 Ms. Pessoni noted that the Finance Committee met prior to tonight’s meeting and reviewed the Learning Center update and the financial update. Mr. Jylkka reviewed the Year-To-Date Budget Report for the Board.
7.7 East Hampton Education Association – None
7.8 Liaison Reports
7.8.1 Mr. Vasquenza reported that Ms. Engel, Chairperson of the Town Council had appointed a committee comprised of Ms. Engel, Mr. Vasquenza, Mr. Hintz, Mr. O’Keefe, Dr. Golden, Mr. Tuttle and Mr. Jylkka to discuss the facilities needs of the town and to determine how to address those needs. He stated that use of surplus funds for the H.A.P.P.E. playscape was part of the discussion. Mr. Vasquenza reminded the Board that there is a Board goals workshop on Thursday, October 16th at 6:00 p.m. at Memorial Elementary School.
Ms. Barmasse noted that she attended a LEARN meeting last week.
Mr. Coolican who also serves on the State Board of Education reviewed the proposed High School Reform Bill for the Board. He stated that if approved high school students would have to take four years of Math and English and three years of Science including Chemistry. Students would also have to pass a state test in each of these subjects and they would need a minimum of 24 credits to graduate. He noted that the State Legislation can adopt all, part or none of this proposal. This will have tremendous staffing ramifications.
8. Communications
8.1 Dr. Golden reviewed the student enrollment figures as of October 1, 2008.
8.2 Dr. Golden reviewed the following communications for the Board:
· An article entitled Careers of the Future.
· Memorial’s Bulletin Board, October 10, 2008 and September 26, 2008.
· The Center School Chronicle, October 10, 2008, October 3, 2008 and September 26, 2008.
· The Middle Ground, October 2008.
· There will be a Recognition Ceremony on Monday, November 17th at 6:30 p.m. at the Middle School.
· Dr. Golden noted that she met with Ms. Vasquenza, a parent on the Project Graduation Committee. They discussed the possibility of setting the date for graduation. Dr. Golden stated that it is possible to fix the graduation date to the 3rd snow date because once the three days are used up snow days come out of April vacation.
9. Program Presentation
9.1 Technology Presentation – Update from Mr. McMahon, Mr. Pont and Ms. Dzagan
9.1.1 Mr. McMahon, Mr. Pont and Ms. Dzagan, the district technology staff, updated the Board on the status of technology within the district and shared plans regarding the future of technology within the district.
10. Unfinished Business
10.1 Review of Recommended Board of Education Policy 1112.6, Community Relations – Videotaping of Staff/Students (Second Reading)
10.1.1 Motion by Mr. Hurst, seconded by Mr. Laraia, to approve Policy 1112.6, Community Relations – Videotaping of Staff/Students as recommended by the Policy Committee and the administration. Voted unanimously.
10.2 Review of Recommended Board of Education Policy 1212, Community Relations – School Volunteers (Second Reading)
10.2.1 Motion by Mr. Hurst, seconded by Ms. Barmasse, to adopt the revised Policy 1212, Community Relations – School Volunteers as recommended by the Policy Committee and the administration. Voted unanimously.
10.3 Review of Recommended Board of Education Regulation 4118.112/4218.112, Sexual and Other Unlawful Harassment – Personnel (Second Reading)
10.3.1 Motion by Ms. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Laraia, to approve the addition of regulation 4118.112/4218.112, Sexual and Other Unlawful Harassment – Personnel to the policy as recommended by the Policy Committee and the administration. Voted unanimously.
10.4 Review of Recommended Board of Education Policy 5141.27, Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) (Second Reading)
10.4.1 Motion by Mr. Hurst, seconded by Mr. Laraia, to approve the adoption of the Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) policy 5141.7 as recommended by the Policy Committee and the administration. Voted unanimously.
10.5 Review of Recommended Board of Education Policy 5145.4, Equal Education Opportunity – Students (Second Reading)
10.5.1 Motion by Ms. Robinson, seconded by Mr. Laraia, to adopt the revised Policy 5145.4, Equal Education Opportunity – Students as recommended by the Policy Committee and the administration. Voted unanimously.
11. New Business
11.1 2008-2009 Consolidated Education Grant
11.1.1 Dr. Golden and Mr. Reich reviewed the 2008-2009 Consolidated Education Grant for the Board and answered questions.
12. Future Business - None
13. Personnel Actions - None
14. Goal Report - None
15. Audience of Citizens
15.1 Ms. Kjellquist, Chairperson of the Townwide Technology Committee and Liaison for the Board of Finance, congratulated the Board, Dr. Golden and the Technology Department for their fine work to help the school system grow.
Motion by Mr. Hurst, seconded by Ms. Barmasse, to enter Executive Session at 8:05 p.m. to discuss strategy with respect to ongoing collective bargaining for a contract with teachers’ bargaining unit. Voted unanimously.
Members present: Mr. Vasquenza, Ms. Robinson, Mr. Hurst, Mr. Laraia, Mr. Coolican, Ms. Barmasse, Ms. Pessoni and Mr. Gemma
Members absent: Ms. Wall
Motion by Mr. Laraia, seconded by Ms. Pessoni, to leave Executive Session at 8:54 p.m. Voted unanimously.
16. Adjournment
16.1 Motion by Ms. Robinson, seconded by Ms. Barmasse, to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m. Voted unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Joanne Barmasse
Secretary
JB/JAG/rs
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