MINUTES
REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT #10
BOARD OF EDUCATION
February 13, 2006
Members Present: Catherine Bergstrom, Beth Duffy, Paul
Omichinski, Elaine Schiavone, Ray Sikora, Jayne Stocker, Karen
Sullivan-Shepard, Peter Turner
Members Absent: Barbara Gilbert
Also Present: Paula Schwartz - Superintendent
Jeffrey Linton - Director of Curriculum and Instruction
David Lenihan - Business Manager
I. Call to Order - The regularly scheduled Board of Education
meeting was held at Harwinton Consolidated School, and was called to
order at 7:34 pm by Chairperson Beth Duffy.
II. Pledge of Allegiance - The Pledge was recited.
III. Communications, Resignations - P. Schwartz attended the
second round of the Quiz Kids competition held at Lake Garda School on
Saturday, February 11, 2006. State Comptroller Nancy S. Wyman also
attended.
Superintendent received retirement request from Linda
Jones of Lake Garda School, effective June 2006. Also received letter
of resignation from high school tech support Ron Varecka, effective
March 10, 2006.
IV. Consent Agenda - A motion to accept the meeting
minutes of January 9, 2006, Special BOE meeting minutes of January 6,
and February 2, 2006 and financial report of January 31, 2006, was made
by P. Omichinski and second by R. Sikora. All in favor none opposed.
Motion passes.
V. Public Participation - Meredith Brown of Harwinton,
representing the Friends of Burlington/Harwinton Soccer Group, spoke of
their endeavor to obtain outdoor lighting for Nasssahegan Park for night
games. They may ask the schools for students to assist with clerical
and other tasks. Ms. Brown also sits on the athletic committee formed
over a year ago for the towns and schools to determine how best to
manage and share all athletic space.
Action item A was moved to this portion of the meeting.
VII Action -
A. Review and approval of Specifications and
Project Budget for Submission to the State Department of Education for
Phase IV LSM/Har-Bur Building Project. Chuck Boos of KBA, the
architectural firm designing the new building/renovation at the Har-Bur
Complex, discussed the last phase of the project, which is the
Furniture, Fixture and Equipment
purchase. The FF&E plan and budget
needs to be submitted to the State for approval. The purpose of the
presentation was to seek the Board's approval to bring the plan and
budget to the State.
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The FF&E presented to the state is for
$768,810. This is based on list price of items. The FF&E items are
not scheduled for actual purchase until 2007. It is anticipated that
the actual cost will be 15 to 20% less than list price once it is sent
to bid. The total budget for FF&E in the project is $675,00 and
will not be exceeded.
Renee Higgins of KBA gave a presentation on
the color schemes planned, provided samples of fabrics and other
materials to be used. Durability of items such as cafeteria chairs and
tables were questioned with her assurance they have stood up well in
other schools.
A motion was made by P. Turner and
second by R. Sikora that Regional School District #10 Board of Education
certifies that the final plans and project manual for Phase IV as
prepared for bidding and dated January 19, 2006 and the professional
cost estimate dated January 19, 2006 for the Lewis S. Mills/Har-Bur
Complex project #210-0036 have been reviewed and approved for submission
to the State Department of Education. All in favor none opposed.
Motion passes.
VI. Business -
A. K-12 presentation of proposed '06-'07 budget.
P. Schwartz gave a PowerPoint presentation on the proposed budget of
$2,097,181, representing a 7.16% increase over last year. Some of the
increase is due to energy costs for the current building as well as
increased energy costs due to the Lewis S. Mills/Har-Bur complex
expansion. Other increases are due to salary and health insurance.
The budget is also affected by the needs of
the various schools as follows: At HCS and Lake Garda there is a need
to add additional staff in the English Language Learner area. A
reduction of one Kindergarten position in Harwinton Consolidated School
is anticipated due to changes in enrollment.
At Har-Bur there is a need to increase
staff in the World Language area, increase in science supplies, the
hiring of an RN to replace a retiring LPN. To reach children that are
not involved in sports or community activities, there will be a new
program instituted called "Kids in the Middle," with a coordinator
position partially funded by the United Way. Other changes include
longer instructional periods, and the purchase of hand held digital
recorders for World Language courses.
At Lewis S. Mills staffing increases are
proposed in Language Arts, science, world languages (including the
introduction of Mandarin Chinese), math, wellness and art due to
increasing enrollments.
VII Action -
B. Approval of field trip to Detroit -
Patrick Howley, a guidance counselor at LSM has been involved with the
Skillman Foundation of Detroit, developing and implementing leadership
training programs in high school and beyond. He was invited to
participate and take two students with him to a two-day leadership
presentation in Detroit in April, leaving on a Friday morning and
returning either Saturday or Sunday. He is asking the Foundation to pay
all expenses. He is seeking approval from the Board to participate in
this program if the foundation pays all expenses and if the two students
in question receive parental permission.
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A motion to approve the Detroit trip was made by P. Turner and second by E. Schiavone. All in favor none opposed. Motion passes.
C. Second reading of Supervisor of Language Arts and Library Media position. A motion to approve the second reading was made by P. Turner and second by R. Sikora. All in favor none opposed. Motion passes.
D. First reading of the fingerprinting,
criminal history records and employment reference checks policy #4111.2
and 4211.2. One policy is for certified staff and the other is for
noncertified. Anyone hired by the District or working on-site under
the auspices of another agency, and who has direct contact with students
will be required to undergo fingerprinting and submit to State and
Federal background checks. A motion to accept the first reading
was made by P. Turner and second by K. Sullivan-Shepard. All in favor
none opposed. Motion passes.
E. Kelly Pergola, third grade teacher at
HCS has requested a 1-year family leave of absence for the 2006-07
school year. A motion to grant the leave was made by P. Turner and second by K. Sullivan-Shepard. All in favor none opposed. Motion passes.
F. Completion of Fiscal Year '04-'05 audit and refund of
operating surplus to Towns. D. Lenihan reported the 04-05 has been
completed and a $73,160 surplus has been determined. Over the past two
years, surplus money was returned to the two towns unless it is urgently
needed as it was last year to hook up and complete installation of the
water lines to HCS and the Har-Bur Complex.
A motion to direct the Superintendent of Schools to provide a
refund of the fiscal year 2004-05 operating surplus of $47,247 and
$25,913 to the towns of Burlington and Harwinton, respectively was made
by P. Omichinski and second by P. Turner. All in favor none opposed.
Motion passes. Such refunds will be reflected as credits against the
March 2006 payments due Region 10 from the towns.
G. Board Retreat - Because of scheduling conflicts
not all Board members can attend the annual Board retreat if it was held
in March or early April. P. Schwartz to contact members to see what
other weekend dates in April are compatible with all members' schedules.
VIII. Board Committee Reports
A. Facilities and Grounds Committee - Next meeting will be March 14.
B. CREC Committee - B. Duffy will be attending a CREC Conference
in April and would like recommendations from Board members as to what
workshops to attend.
C. Curriculum Committee - Met last Monday. During tour of 5th
grade classrooms, committee attended presentation by Leigh Pont on
Region 10's technology - where it has been and where it is going.
Received feedback from 5th graders on what their technology needs are
such as laptops, upgraded computers, etc.
D. Transportation Committee - Nothing to report.
E. Negotiations Committee - Negotiations with paraprofessionals upcoming.
F. Technology Committee - Nothing to report.
G. Building Committee - Meeting regularly. When weather gets better will arrange field trip to work site.
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H. Communications Committee - Working with
Ned Mann and Rosemary Simko in getting out a newsletter at the end of
March.
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by K. Sullivan-Shepard and second by P. Turner. Meeting ended as 9:23 pm.
The next regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting will be held at Lake Garda School at 7:30 pm on March 13, 2006.
_________________________________________
Karen Sullivan-Shepard, Secretary