THOMPSON BOARD OF EDUCATION
THOMPSON MIDDLE SCHOOL MEDIA CENTER
Monday, April 7, 2008
7:00 p.m.
I. Call to Order and Roll Call
Chairperson Donna Lynch called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
Members Present: Members Absent:
Donna Lynch
Patricia Donnelly
Ellen Corrado
Laurence Consiglio
Jacklyn Bonneau
William Witkowski
Christopher Eichner
Thomas Angelo, arrived at 7:22 p.m.
Joseph Lindley
Josh Kusek, Student Liaison
Also present was Michael Jolin, Marna Hasz, Noveline Beltram, Stephen Mitchell, Barbara Lesniewski, Beverly Caparco, Dan Pisaturo, Bill Birch, Ronald Springer, members of the public, employees of the Board of Education, members of the press.
II. Citizens Comments
Dan Pisaturo reported the recent TNT night went well. Mr. Pisaturo also reported the High School had a teachers’Äô dare fundraiser and if a certain amount of money was raised then different teachers had to do certain things during and assembly. Mr. Pisaturo reported this fundraiser was very successful and was enjoyed by the students.
III. Committee Reports
A. Finance Review
William Witkowski reported on the recent Finance Review Committee meeting. The current budget will have a surplus of $800.00 at the end of the fiscal year if all stays the same. The cafeteria account is doing well. The tuition accounts are negative $140,000.00 but that should be covered by the excess cost grant. Currently the diesel fuel and heating oil accounts are being closely monitored.
B. Building Committee
Laurence Consiglio reported the High School move will be completed over April vacation. Two half days have been scheduled to allow time for the move. Students will be leaving early on Friday, April 11 and coming in late on Monday, April 21. The half days will be for the high school only. The certificate of occupancy should be received on April 8 or 9 and once it is received then tours of the new areas will be given to students and staff.
C. Goals
Joseph Lindley reported on the recent Goals Committee meeting. Mr. Lindley noted the name of the Committee has been changed to the Strategic Planning Committee. The group has reviewed Dr. Ladd’Äôs outline for his proposal on the strategic planning process. The Committee has decided to move forward with Dr. Ladd as its facilitator and will be meeting with Dr. Ladd within the next few weeks.
IV. Reading Presentation-Dr. Hebert.
Dr. Jolin stated Dr. Hebert is ill this evening. Dr. Jolin noted the presentation is complete but will be presented in May.
V. Educational Up-Date
A. Superintendent’Äôs Report
Enrollment/Class Sizes
Dr. Jolin presented information concerning the current enrollment numbers and class sizes. The information included more detailed class size information as well as last year’Äôs enrollment data. Current enrollment is up 1,449 from 1,446. Class sizes will be discussed in more detail during the budget process. Christopher Eichner noted the District has 75 less students than last year. Dr. Jolin stated he is researching the reason for this decline. It was noted there is one less pre-kindergarten class from last year to this year which accounts for some of the decrease.
Administration, Operations and Maintenance
The Administration report and Operations and Maintenance report was included in the Board’Äôs packet for their review. Dr. Jolin stated he is optimistic that the opening of the High School addition will be on schedule. Dr. Jolin stated the cost of fuel has gone up dramatically. Right now the cost for fuel oil is $2.09 per gallon and the increase is anticipated to be $3.45 per gallon or more. Dr. Jolin also noted the building size has increased by 44% which will mean more space to heat.
Disciplinary/Suspension Reports
Dr. Jolin provided a more detailed report of disciplinary referrals. This information is current though March 1, 2008. It was noted there are more disciplinary referrals in the Middle School. Laurence Consiglio asked about repeat offenders. Dr. Jolin will provide this information to the Board. Laurence Consiglio also asked that disciplinary referrals for special education students be provided as well. Patricia Donnelly asked if the bulk of the out of school suspensions could have been handled in house. Mr. Mitchell stated many of these suspensions could have been handled in house. Joseph Lindley asked if the numbers provided are up or down as compared to last year. Dr. Jolin stated the numbers are down from last year. Laurence Consiglio stated since the suspension positions were cut current administration needs to think out of the box to accommodate an in-house suspension program. Discussion was held regarding the possible delay of this State mandate until January. It was noted some teachers in the High School have administrative duty period and those teachers could be considered to provide the in house suspension program. This option is being reviewed.
Board Rules and Responsibilities
Dr. Jolin reported CABE is going to facilitate a review of Board roles and responsibilities on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Name of New Facilities Policy
The current policy in place regarding the naming of school facilities was read for the record. This policy does not include the naming of rooms. Donna Lynch suggested the Policy Committee meet to discuss this policy and update it now that the Board is considering naming fields and rooms. The Policy Committee will meet before the regular Board meeting on May 12, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. The Finance committee will meet at 6:30 on May 12, 2008.
Board of Education Meeting Room
Discussion was held regarding possibilities of using different locations for the Board’Äôs monthly meetings. Joseph Lindley stated the room where the Board is meeting now is inconvenient and there may be a more appropriate venue in light of the building project being completed. Laurence Consiglio suggested the media center in the High School. Donna Lynch suggested trying different locations throughout the building to find what fits best. Bill Birch suggested the general purpose room in the High School. Bill Birch, William Witkowski and Laurence Consiglio will discuss this and determine possible locations.
Strategic Planning
Discussion was held regarding how the strategic planning process will work. There is money in the Graustein Grant for this purpose as well as other grant money and no impacts will be made on the budget.
2008 Graduation Date
Dr. Jolin explained the Project Graduation committee and the event it provides for seniors immediately following graduation. Currently, graduation is scheduled for June 20, 2008. The Project Graduation committee has found the price for their proposed trip to be exorbitant if the gradation is held on that day as opposed to having graduation on June 19, 2008 and they are requesting graduation be scheduled for June 19, 2008. Dr. Jolin stated he researched State law and June 20th is the 180th day of school for seniors. The concern is if they graduate on June 19 they will be one day short. Discussion was held. The State law was read and interpreted differently by several Board members. Concern was expressed over not having the seniors complete 180 days of school. The law reads that if students cannot complete 180 days they are to be invited back in order to comply. The date that a firm graduation date could be set was discussed. There are different time frames if the Board sets the graduation date in the fall as opposed to setting it after April 1 of any given year. Discussion was held regarding whether or not the invitation to come back after graduation was voluntary or mandatory in order to comply with State law. It was noted the students cannot be required to come back on that day but the invitation must be extended. Mr. Keefe suggested inviting the seniors back on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 and not Monday, June 23, 2008 since that day is exam day for underclassman.
Motion by Laurence Consiglio, seconded by Christopher Eichner to add 2008 graduation date to the agenda as an action item. Motion--Passed.
New Auditorium Audio/Lighting Coordinator
Dr. Jolin stated the new auditorium has a sophisticated lighting and sound system. Someone needs to be designated as responsible for these systems. Dr. Jolin will conduct research to determine how other school districts handle an auditorium with this type of equipment. Dr. Jolin will have a proposal at the May meeting regarding this issue. It was suggested that three or four staff members be trained on how to use the auditorium systems. It was also suggested there be a significant fee charged for outside groups who want to use the auditorium to cover the cost of the staff member or members who will need to be available during use of the auditorium. Laurence Consiglio suggested sending out a communication to determine if there are any staff members interested in taking on this responsibility.
Special Education Policy Manual
Dr. Jolin stated staff is in the process of reconciling the new Special Education policy with the old one. This is currently in process and he will have a report at the next meeting.
VI. Action Items
Motion by Jacklyn Bonneau, seconded by William Witkowski, to approve the minutes of the March 10, 2008 Regular Board of Education Meeting. Joseph Lindley questioned the accuracy of the minutes on page 4 in the third paragraph regarding mention of the incidents of guns being brought to the Board’Äôs attention. Discussion was held. It was noted the minutes do reflect the fact that the gun was found to be a plastic toy gun. Joseph Lindley asked for a change regarding the alumni fund on page 5 where Jacklyn Bonneau said guidance ’Äúwould’Äù handle this type of organization. Mr. Lindley stated the word ’Äúshould’Äù needs to replace the word ’Äúwould’Äù. The motion was amended to accept the changes. Motion-Passed.
Motion by Jacklyn Bonneau, seconded by William Witkowski, to approve the minutes of the March 4, 2008 Special Board of Education Meeting. Motion-Passed.
Motion by Laurence Consiglio, seconded by Christopher Eichner to set graduation on June 19, 2008 and all seniors are invited to attend school on the Tuesday of the following week as required by State Statute for this year and this year only. Jacklyn Bonneau stated she is not comfortable with this due to the way the State Statute is worded regarding the required days of school needed to comply. Mr. Mitchell stated the school has always been consistent in following the 180 day rule. Laurence Consiglio noted this year there were lost days of school time due to the building project which was an unusual circumstance. A roll call vote was taken. All members voted yes with the exception of Jacklyn Bonneau who voted no. Motion-Passed. Jim Oleksiak thanked the Board on behalf of Project Graduation for accommodating this request.
Dr. Jolin distributed a draft policy regarding the taping of PPT’Äôs. It was suggested this policy be reviewed by the Board. Laurence Consiglio suggested this policy be sent to the Policy Committee for review.
Action on the policy regarding taping of PPT’Äôs was tabled.
Dr. Jolin presented the proposed 2008/2009 school calendar. Jacklyn Bonneau expressed concern that the half days before Thanksgiving and Christmas are a waste of time and this has been brought up as an issue in the past. She stated those days should be full days or they should be days off. It was noted the State mandate to start school after Labor Day is pending. Discussion was held regarding adding more snow days to the calendar. Discussion was held regarding Christmas vacation and whether or not the days taken off during that time could be lessened. Discussion was held regarding February vacation. Discussion was held regarding the possibility of moving April vacation to the week with Good Friday in it. Dr. Jolin will research other school districts regarding the vacation weeks and provide that information to the Board.
Action on approval of the 2008/2009 school calendar was tabled.
The 2008/2009 budget was discussed. Dr. Jolin stated the Board approved a budget of $17,685,000.00 or a 15.4% increase from the prior year. Last Thursday the Board of Finance cut the proposed budget by $1,800,000.00 for a total overall budget of $15,885,783 or a 3.7% increase. The $1,800,000.00 needs to be cut from the budget and very significant decisions need to be made. Dr. Jolin stated he met with principals and administrators regarding proposed cuts. Dr. Jolin distributed a proposal which includes cutting all the proposed new teachers and cutting the following current positions: 2 bus paras, a custodian, a nurse, 3 paras, 10 teachers, 1.5 clerks, .5 technician, a crossing guard and the afterschool program. In addition, cuts are proposed for technology, equipment, textbooks, software, Vo.Ag. tuition, athletics and supplies. In addition, several alternatives were proposed included cutting an assistant principal, a high school secretary and additional money for textbooks. Sports was also suggested as an area where cuts can be made. Discussion was held. Laurence Consiglio stated all alternatives need to be explored. Mr. Consiglio would rather cut an assistant principal than cut a teaching position. Jacklyn Bonneau suggested the new configuration at the High School would allow for a secretary to be cut. Ellen Corrado asked what program must be offered. It was noted Pre-K must be offered to special education students and they have to have other students in class as peer role models. Ellen Corrado suggested making some kindergarten classes half day. Many on the Board were not in favor of this move backward. Josh Kusek stated the guidance secretary has been a great help to seniors with their college applications. Mr. Kusek also noted he found that it is very important when applying to college to have taken a foreign language. Christopher Eichner stated all departments need to take hits during this budget process and the District is on the road to regression no matter what happens. Patricia Donnelly stated the District cannot afford to lose any curriculum and other things will have to be cut first before curriculum is affected. Discussion was held regarding the teachers’Äô union conceding some increases this year to help with this budget so that teaching positions did not have to be cut. Dr. Jolin noted he had preliminary conversations with the teachers’Äô union and they are not willing to go that route at this time. Thomas Angelo asked if any tenured teachers have expressed interest in early retirement packages. The early retirement requirements by the teachers union included several years of paid health benefits which is too costly. Ellen Corrado stated it may help if a Board member explained the situation to the teachers’Äô union to make sure they are aware of the ramifications of this budget year and that their peers may be in jeopardy of losing their jobs if a compromise cannot be reached. Discussion was held regarding pay for play sports. Joseph Lindley expressed concern over this and stated that recreation programs are different than High School athletics. Deb Spinelli explained how some Districts have been unsuccessful fielding teams when they have gone to pay for play.
Donna Lynch asked the public for their input on the proposed cuts. Barbara Lesniewski stated she cannot see cutting teachers or guidance counselors. Jody Houghton agreed and stated she does not want to see class sizes increase. Mrs. Houghton suggested keeping High School sports but not offering any sports at the Middle School. Mrs. Houghton stated if sports are cut then all other extra curriculur offerings need to be cut as well to be fair. Mike Olson stated that maybe an uproar within the community needs to happen over the pay for play proposal and then citizens won’Äôt be so insistent on cutting $1,800,000.00. Marna Hasz stated the decisions on what to cut was not made lightly or carelessly. Dr. Jolin thanked the administrators for their work during this process. Barbara Lesniewski suggested looking at how much money is spent on professional development and maybe some cuts could come from line item by not having expensive professors come in and using some of our own staff to provide professional development.
Laurence Consiglio stated the situation is not going to change and the Board should make cuts now rather than later. Cuts should be made starting tonight so as to not prolong the inevitable. Mr. Consiglio suggested starting with positions and other line items other than teachers at this time. Thomas Angelo agreed with Mr. Consiglio regarding making cuts now that can be made at this time. Christopher Eichner stated he is in favor of waiting in order to have more information.
Motion by Jacklyn Bonneau, seconded by Patricia Donnelly to cut a special education teacher. All members voted yes with the exception of Christopher Eichner who voted no. Joseph Lindley abstained. Motion-Passed.
Motion by Laurence Consiglio, seconded by Patricia Donnelly to cut an assistant principal. It was noted the Middle School offices and the High School offices will be located in separate areas. Donna Lynch expressed concern about making this cut at this time without all information available. William Witkowski stated he feels the administration has not taken the same type of hits for reduction of staff as the rest of the departments and this area should be further reviewed before the final cuts are made. Three Board members voted in support of the motion and six Board members voted in opposition of the motion (no roll call vote was taken.) Motion-Failed.
Motion by Jacklyn Bonneau, seconded by Laurence Consiglio to cut a high school secretary. All members voted yes with the exception of Christopher Eichner who voted no. Motion passed.
Motion by Jacklyn Bonneau, seconded by William Witkowski to cut the following from the proposed budget: technology--$107,004; equipment--$97,607; textbooks--$13,157; software--$18,000; Vo. Ag. Tuition--$15,938; athletics--$20,000; supplies--$46,869. Motion-Passed.
Motion by Laurence Consiglio, seconded by Patricia Donnelly to cut the following from the proposed budget: bus paras (2)--$23,252; custodian (1)--$56,802; nurse (1)--$34,044; paras (3)--$61,760; clerk (1.5)--$66,761; technician (.5)--$16,022; crossing guard (1); $6,236. All members voted yes with the exception of Christopher Eichner who voted no. Motion-Passed.
Motion by Jacklyn Bonneau, seconded by Ellen Corrado to cut three Elementary School teachers. Discussion was held. Patricia Donnelly suggested asking the union to forgo raises this year to help overcome some of the budget issues. All members voted no with the exception of Ellen Corrado and Jacklyn Bonneau who were in favor of the motion. Motion-Failed.
Motion by Jacklyn Bonneau, seconded by Patricia Donnelly to cut all proposed new positions totaling $608,596. Motion--Passed.
VII. Correspondence
Motion by Jacklyn Bonneau, seconded by Christopher Eichner to accept the following resignations: Pat Rowan, Middle School teacher; Pamela Santerre, High School teacher; Jean Carlson, Middle School teacher. Passed-Unanimous.
Motion by Jacklyn Bonneau seconded by William Witkowski to accept, with regret, the retirement of Jean Donovan, Bus Driver. Passed-Unanimous.
VIII. CITIZENS COMMENTS
Donna Lynch reported the Thompson School Readiness and Discovery Group has invited the Board to reserve a table at the second annual Early Childhood Fair which will be held on Saturday, June 7, 2008 from 12:00 to 2:00 at the Thompson Public Library. The Board participated in this event last year.
Donna Lynch read a letter in to the record from the Thompson Education Association regarding the sick bank. Discussion was held. Donna Lynch noted the Board is not seeking to start a sick bank. It was the consensus of the Board that they do not want to open the contract for negotiations at this time. This issue can be discussed when the contract is open for negotiations on the regular timetable.
IX. Board of Education Comments
Josh Kusek reported the Mr. Tourtellotte event will be held Friday, April 11. Mr. Kusek also noted the yearbook has some financial issues and this event is planned as a fundraiser to help raise money for the yearbook. Admission is $5.00 in advance and $10.00 at the door
Next month’Äôs agenda:
¬… Special Education Manual
¬… Disciplinary report
¬… Reading presentation
¬… Recording of PPT policy
¬… 2008/2009 school calendar
¬… Update on yearbook
¬… Retention numbers
¬… 2008/2009 Budget
¬… Alumni Association
X. Executive Session-Collective Bargaining/Personnel Litigation
None needed.
XI. Action as a Result of Executive Session
None.
X. Adjournment.
Motion by Jacklyn Bonneau, seconded by Ellen Corrado to adjourn the meeting. Motion-Passed.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:49 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Roberta Baublitz
Recording Secretary
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