MINUTES
REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT #10
BOARD OF EDUCATION
July 10, 2006
Members Present: Joseph Arcuri, Barbara
Gilbert, Paul Omichinski, Elaine Schiavone, Ray Sikora, Jayne Stocker,
Karen Sullivan-Shepard, Peter Turner
Members Absent: Catherine Bergstrom, Beth Duffy
Also Present: Paula Schwartz - Superintendent
David Lenihan - Business Manager
I. Call to Order - The regularly scheduled
Board of Education meeting was held in the Harwinton Consolidated School
cafeteria, and was called to order at 7:35 pm by Vice Chairperson Peter
Turner.
II. Pledge of Allegiance - The Pledge was recited.
III. Communications, Resignations –
Superintendent received retirement notification from Klaus Gorski, tech
teacher at Har-Bur effective 6-30-06. Received resignation letters from
Donald J. Wood, 7th grade social studies teacher at Har-Bur
and from Lee Bracken, LSM math teacher. P.E. instructor, Gina
Ventaloni, decline acceptance of position and another candidate has been
selected. Received letter from Constance Campori, Director of the
Connecticut Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and
Dance (CTAHPERD), designating Margaret Tieman as the 2006 PE teacher of
the year. The awards ceremony will be held in November 2006.
Superintendent mentioned the recent automobile accident in which a
former student, Nicholas Biancucci, was killed.
IV. Consent Agenda - A motion to accept the following meeting minutes:
District Meetings – June 7, 26, 2006
Regular BOE Meeting – June 13, 2006
Special Meetings – June 15, 20, 26, 28, 2006
was made by K. Sullivan-Shepard and
seconded by E. Schiavone. All in favor none opposed, B. Gilbert
abstained. Correction to the Special BOE meeting of June 26th – Beth Duffy’s last name was missing in the Members Present section.
V. Public Participation – Ed Gasser of
Burlington asked if the Board was considering making the recent
breathalyzer trial run, permanent. Superintendent stated it will be an
agenda item for the August meeting.
P. Turner suggested that action items be discussed prior to the business item.
VII Action
A. Discuss options and possible
action on budget figure for 2006-2007 school year. P. Turner asked that
Board members discuss the issue and then open the floor to the public.
Information on enrollment was distributed to Board and public. It
included the State projections and actual enrollments as of this date.
The table included the class size as it would be if another 4th grade section were added to Lake Garda, for a total of six 4th grade sections.
P. Omichinski stated
that after discussions with D. Fortin, he was comfortable with the
proposed $11K cut in Repair and Maintenance. This was one of the items
in the June 28, 2006 special budget meeting listed as part of additions
and cuts proposed. He was not comfortable with reductions to the
contingency fund. With retirement of Klaus Gorski, it was estimated
$35K could be saved by hiring a replacement at a lower step.
E. Schiavone stated she had no problem adding another 4th
grade teacher. However, stated that if the budget goes up, citizens of
Harwinton will not vote yes and it is not only fixed income citizens,
but also parents and professionals who are concerned about costs and
taxes. Additional feedback indicates many Harwinton residents are not
pleased with the 3-tiered bus system. B. Gilbert concurred.
J. Stocker stated she does not have a child in the 4th grade but felt this was an important issue for many Burlington parents. Supports adding the 4th grade teacher to Lake Garda if it will get the budget passed. She also pointed out this is the 18th meeting this year for the ’06-’07 budget.
J. Arcuri felt the budget amount was more of an important issue than adding a 4th grade teacher.
K. Sullivan-Shepard did
not feel it was equitable to cater to one group of parents. She is
concerned this will set a precedent for parents of other classes to do
the same in the future.
P. Omichinski proposed the following modifications to the budget: Add the 4th
grade Lake Garda teacher, reduce budget to 3.6% over last year, without
any reduction in programs, reduce Repair and Maintenance by $11K,
reduce teacher’s aides by $20K, recognize a $35K retirement savings of a
top step instructor, and find additional cuts (D. Lenihan and P.
Schwartz to determine where to make the cuts).
When questioned, D.
Lenihan stated it would be a challenge to find an additional $49K to cut
out the budget. There was some discussion on what the operating costs
will be for the new 90,000 square foot addition. It is not known what
cost savings there will be due to new efficient systems and equipment.
J. Arcuri asked T.
Scheidel and Frank Chiaramonti for their input. T. Scheidel felt the
Asst. Superintendent shouldn’t have been hired at this time, that
Superintendent’s salary was an issue with the community, that 25
students in a classroom is okay, that no votes in Harwinton have
increased at each referendum, and that the public is looking for a
“bottom line number.” F. Chiaramonti agreed with all of these points,
adding that people are anxious about increased costs in gas, heating and
other utilities.
P. Turner reiterated
that there will be no additional taxes due to the building project and
explained what debit service meant and that it does not effect the
school district’s operating budget. He recommends adding the 4th
grade teacher at Lake Garda. If referendum fails then “all bets are
off.” Dave Crompton of Harwinton supports making only one change to the
budget at a time, to see what will work.
Liz Cornish of
Burlington stated she will be calling families in Harwinton to encourage
them to vote. She asked if the Superintendent had information on the
number of families in both towns who voted at the last referendum. P.
Schwartz responded that of the 563 families with school-age children in
Harwinton, 158 had one member vote or 28%. Sixty-three families had
more than one family member vote. Of the 1,143 families of school-age
children in Burlington, 446 had one parent vote, or 39%, and 112 had
more than one family member vote.
Jane Perkins of Burlington felt adding the 4th
grade teacher should have been done months ago. She was concerned that
now is the time when many families are on vacation and may not have the
opportunity to vote. P. Turner pointed out that absentee ballots will
be available beginning this Friday, and people will have the next two
weeks to obtain them and cast their vote.
Marion Thierry of
Harwinton stated that Harwinton residents are upset over administrative
salaries, that adding the additional teacher will be a problem, and that
many people think teachers receive both an annuity and social security
benefits. It was pointed out that teachers do not pay into the social
security system and that they are covered by a State Teacher Retirement
pension fund.
Bob O’Connor of
Harwinton stated he has opposed the referendums because the
administrative costs have come at the expense of programs.
P. Omichinski made a motion to lower the budget to 3.6% over last year, add a 4th
grade Lake Garda teacher, eliminate $11K from the repair and
maintenance budget, recognize a retirement savings of $35K, eliminate
$20K from the 4th grade teachers’ aide positions, and ask D.
Lenihan and P. Schwartz to find an additional cuts from the budget that
will not impact programs. J. Stocker seconded the motion. Those in
favor include J. Stocker, P. Omichinski, E. Schiavone, and B. Gilbert.
Those opposed were J. Arcuri, K. Sullivan-Shepard, and R. Sikora.
Motion passes.
B. A motion to
approve the CALL of the Region 10 Budget Meeting on Monday, July 24,
2006 at Lake Garda School for $30,334,361, and referendum to be held on
Tuesday, July 25, 2006 from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm at the Harwinton and
Burlington Town Halls, was made by P. Omichinski and seconded by B.
Gilbert. All in favor none opposed. Motion carries.
VI. Business –
A. Discussion of review process for clubs and sports. This was equivalent to a 1st
reading of a regulation as opposed to a policy and procedure. P.
Omichinski pointed out flaws in the flowchart and volunteered to work on
a new one with assistance from K. Sullivan-Shepard. This issue will be
revisited at the August meeting.
VIII. Board Committee Reports
A. Facilities and Grounds Committee – Nothing to report.
B. CREC Committee – Nothing to report.
C. Curriculum Committee – Nothing to report.
D. Transportation Committee – Nothing to report.
E. Negotiations Committee – Tentative agreement with teaching assistants.
F. Technology Committee – Nothing to report.
G. Building Committee – On schedule and within budget.
H. PR Committee – Hasn’t met yet.
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by P. Omichinski and seconded by R. Sikora. Meeting ended at 9:30 pm.
The next regularly scheduled Board of Education
meeting will be held on August 28, 2006 at the Learning Center of
Har-Bur Middle School.
Karen Sullivan-Shepard, Secretary