THESE MINUTES ARE SUBJECT TO BOARD APPROVAL AT THE NEXT BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
ESSEX ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION
NOVEMBER 30, 2011
Regular meeting of the Essex Board of Education was held on
Wednesday, November 30, 2011. In attendance were Lon Seidman, DG Fitton,
Loretta McCluskey, Adam Conrad, Judie McCann. Also in attendance were
Dr. Ruth Levy, Superintendent, Mr. Ian Neviaser, Assistant
Superintendent, Mr. Garth Sawyer, Business Manager, Dr. Joanne Beekley,
Principal, Mrs. Deborah O’Donnell, Assistant Principal and Kelley
Frazier, Clerk. Absent: Matt Cooper
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Lon Seidman at 7:00p.m.
Mr. Seidman asked Ms. McCluskey, Mr. Conrad and Ms. McCann to introduce themselves.
Mr. Seidman led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mr. Seidman asked for the student presentation to be moved up in the agenda.
PRINCIPAL’S UPDATE- J. Beekley
Student Presentation
Dr. Beekley introduced sixth grade students Claire Bauman and Devin
Berlepsch who gave the school update by grade level. Mr. Seidman thanked
the students for their presentation.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Dr. Levy opened the floor for the nominations for the office of chairman.
A motion was made by DG Fitton to nominate Lon Seidman Chairman of
the Essex Elementary Board of Education. Loretta McCluskey seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Chairman Seidman opened the floor for the following nominations:
Mr. Seidman moved to nominate DG Fitton as the Vice Chair of the
Essex Elementary Board of Education. Loretta McCluskey seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously.
DG Fitton moved to nominated Loretta McCluskey as the Secretary of
the Essex Elementary Board of Education. Judie McCann seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Special Committees:
After a brief description of the Special Committee responsibilities, Mr.
Seidman asked for volunteers for the following Special Committees:
Supervision District: Lon Seidman, Loretta McCluskey and DG Fitton
Policy: Loretta McCluskey, Lon Seidman
Curriculum: Judie McCann, Adam Conrad
Negotiations: DG Fitton and Judie McCann
Finance: Adam Conrad and Lon Seidman
Cable Television: DG Fitton
Essex Foundation: DG Fitton and Loretta McCluskey
School Improvement Team: Matt Cooper
CONSENT AGENDA
DG Fitton made a motion to approve the minutes from the September 8,
2011 meeting and the Accounts Payable report. Loretta McCluskey seconded
the motion. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No Comment
REPORTS:
Financial Status Report – Mr. Garth Sawyer
Mr. Sawyer gave a brief update of the financial status for Essex
Elementary School. Fuel oil has not been locked in so we are ordering at
market value. This is more than what we have budgeted and may cause
this account to be over budget. Mr. Sawyer has a meeting on December 9th
and will have an update on the status.
Cafeteria Report – Mr. Sawyer
Mr. Sawyer gave an update on the status of the Cafeteria Budget Updates.
We are still projecting the board subsidy, but no additional funds are
expected.
Finance – L. Seidman
Finance met and had a presentation of the insurance plan for the district. This committee is starting to work on budget numbers.
Joint PK-12 Policy Committee – L. Seidman
Policy reviewed five policies which will be voted on at the Joint Board
of Education meeting on December 1, 2011. Dr. Levy will give a
presentation before the vote on the bullying policy. This group also
discussed the acceptable student and employee use policy for internet
technology. Dr. Levy noted that staff and student computers can be
monitored at all times.
Supervision District – L. Seidman
FLES will be discussed at the December 1, 2011 meeting. The
administration met with CABE to get advice regarding the governance
issues of the Cooperative Agreement.
Curriculum
This committee approved a new Algebra II book. FLES, if funded, will
come back next year. The new guidelines for math will require students
do a quick review of math facts each night. This is similar to the
reading guidelines which students currently do. These new guidelines
were sent to parents in a letter.
ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT - I. Neviaser
Mr. Neviaser reported meeting with all curriculum groups. They are
focusing on the new CT standards. The focus is on literacy across
multiple curriculums. Non-fiction text is also being focused on. FLES
will be evaluated internally. The Math consultants have been meeting
with grade level teams before each unit to develop consistency across
our schools. Our goal is to make sure every student going to John
Winthrop has the same skills and abilities. He noted that internal
assessment is K-6. The current guideline is to have students read for 20
minutes and parents sign off. Math will have a similar guideline. By
the time students leave 4th grade, students should be fluent in all math
facts. Fifth and Sixth grade will also do this, but will also apply the
rules of math for advanced work. The feedback is good so far. The CBAS
is wrapping up. The students third through sixth grade take an online
test. The supplemental CMT testing is going to be online this year. The
TEAM committee will meet next week. The fifth module will involve
technology and connecting with students in the classroom as to what is
appropriate and what is not appropriate. This will be a pilot program.
On December 1 the administrators will be going to the Middlesex
Consortium meeting. Mr. Larry Ainsworth will be speaking.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT - R. Levy
District Update
Dr. Levy said that budgets are already being worked on. We are looking
at full day Kindergarten as the initiative for all of our elementary
schools. Due to declining enrollment, this is the time to implement this
program.
Dr. Levy discussed a meeting with the lead attorney regarding the
Cooperative Agreement and the details to unite our three towns. They
also discussed the pitfalls and wording from a statutory standpoint. Dr.
Levy noted that regional efficiency will be looked at positively by the
Commissioner. We hope to make headway this year.
Dr. Levy said that all schools will be on the website and that each
school will have individual links. Ms. Murphy has been working very hard
to make navigation through the web page much easier. Ms. Murphy would
like continued feedback and suggestions. Streaming will also be part of
this update.
We are supporting Sisters City and our sister city of Deschapelles,
Haiti from an education standpoint. Teachers from all five schools will
be involved in training teachers from this city.
Administrators are looking at instructional strategies to keep
everyone on the same page as to what good teaching and good learning
looks like. They are looking to begin teacher training which will
include instructional rounds of coaching in one another’s classrooms.
Recess before lunch is being piloted in Chester and will be brought
to the other elementary schools next year. We are eliminating recess in
sixth grade next year. There is a preliminary committee to have the
middle school accommodate sixth, seventh and eighth. This is a few years
down the road.
Review of Roof Repair:
Dr. Beekley discussed the report given to the school on the status of
the roof. She noted that after the inspection, the largest repairs have
been made, and the smaller repairs are being done by Tom. In the gym the
skylights leaked horribly during Hurricane Irene. These have been
re-caulked and at this time, the leaks have been taken care of. There is
concern about some of the older seams. Based on this report we have a
life span of approximately two years.
Mr. Conrad asked if the structure integrity of the roof was
evaluated? We do know that under the membrane there will be places that
need to be repaired. Mr. Marzi, town Selectmen, discussed at the time
that the Renovation Plan was approved in 1999, the roof was not done due
to budgetary reasons. What has to be done must be done in the summer.
This will be a very expensive endeavor. Mr. Marzi would strongly
recommend going to the Board of Finance to get approval to make sure the
roof is secured for the next two years. Estimates will need to be done
for work being done during the summer of 2013. Mr. Sawyer noted that the
state has guidelines regarding reimbursement. He will review the
guidelines. Because we have the preschool under a cooperative agreement,
we may be eligible for additional funding. Mr. Needleman noted that he
feels a full roof evaluation is not needed at this time because the roof
seems stable. Mr. Marzi noted that the Building Committee has not been
disbanded, but a meeting has not been called in a few years. Mr.
Needleman commented that the Town Hall may also require work so a
capital need may be justified in the next two years. Mr. Seidman thanked
Mr. Marzi and Mr. Needleman for attending the meeting.
Superintendent’s Presentation of Major EES Budget Drivers 2012-12
Dr. Levy presented a high level helicopter view of the Essex Elementary
School budget for next year. Essex ’s total enrollment for 2011-12 has
increased slightly from 552 to 555. After this year there is a
considerable decline. All three schools are in the same pattern of
decline.
There is a contractual step movement with the teacher and other
increases in other union positions. Health insurance may increase 12%
which is an industry estimate this will change as the budget process
moves forward. Heating costs will increase, but we are unsure at this
time because prices have not been set. Supervision District will need to
fund a .2 position for a social work. The elementary budgets are
looking at full day Kindergarten. A K-12 math coordinator may be needed.
Special education is the most volatile portion of the budget and weighs
heavily. Many districts outlook this sort of expense and we do not do
this, but it would be beneficial. A possible FLES teacher may be
required depending on the recommendations that are finalized later this
year. There will be normal maintenance of the building and classrooms.
Staffing increases include 1.0 FTE Kindergarten paraprofessional and .2
FTE for a TLC coordinator to make 1.0 FTE. Technology will be reviewed
so that classrooms are 21st century ready. A unified phone system
through out our district is in the plan. There will be one additional
special education out of district placement. The Capital improvements
budget was reviewed by Dr. Beekley. Dr. Levy reviewed the budget meeting
workshop schedule.
Board and Community Input on 2012-13 EES Budget
Mr. Seidman asked to have Board members reach out to citizens for feedback.
PUBLIC COMMENT
On a motion made by DG Fitton and seconded by Loretta McCluskey, the
Board unanimously voted to add an Executive Session to the agenda. The
motion passed.
On motion duly made and seconded, the Board unanimously VOTED to move
into Executive Session at 8:51pm to discuss a student matter. Dr. Levy,
Mr. Neviaser, Dr. Beekley and Mrs. O’Donnell were invited to attend the
Executive Session.
The Board Moved out of Executive Session at 9:03pm.
ADJOURNMENT
On motion duly made and seconded, the Board unanimously VOTED to adjourn at 9:04pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kelley Frazier, Board Clerk
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
8.1 Next regular Essex BOE Meeting (January 12, 2012 @ 7:00pm)
8.2 Presentation of Draft EES Budget for 2012-13 (Jan) R. Levy
8.3 Review Strategic School Profile (if available from State) (Jan)-I. Neviaser
8.4 EES BOE 2012 Budget Workshops (Feb 1st, Feb 15th, March 5th)
8.5 Vote to adopt EES Budget for 2012-13(Mar)
8.6 Vote on Staff non-renewals (Mar)
8.7 Present EES 2012-13 Budget Town Meeting (TBD)