Present

Elizabeth Bobrick, Sally Boske, Frederick Chappelle, Lloyd Duggan, Daniel Filer, Edward McMillan, Geen Thazhampallath, and Barbara Weiss.

Also Present

Superintendent of Schools Carol Parmelee-Blancato, Associate Superintendent Richard Cormier, Assistant Superintendent John Hennelly, Director of Facilities Ken Jackson, Assistant to the Superintendent/Board of Education Secretary Kathryn Eyles, Board of Education Extern Gwen Eaddy, MSA President Kim Berry, two representatives from the Middletown Federation of Teachers, one representatives from the Middletown Federation of Paraprofessionals, Hartford Courant Reporter Ken Byron, Middletown Press Reporter Laura Kennedy, and seven visitors.

Mr. Chappelle called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m., and the pledge of allegiance was recited.

MOTION Mr. Thazhampallath made a motion, seconded by Ms. Bobrick and the Board VOTED unanimously to approve the minutes of the December 12, 2000 budget workshop.

MOTION Ms. Weiss made a motion, seconded by Ms. Boske and the Board VOTED with four in favor - Ms. Boske, Mr. Chappelle, Mr. McMillan, and Ms. Weiss, and four abstentions - Ms. Bobrick, Mr. Duggan, Mr. Filer, and Mr. Thazhampallath, to approve the minutes of the December 18, 2000 special meeting.

Mr. Thazhampallath asked that under item #G-1, page 3, paragraph 2, "due to the cost of expected and current building projects and the expected impact on the tax base" be added at the end of the first sentence.

MOTION Mr. Filer made a motion, seconded by Mr. McMillan and the Board VOTED unanimously to approve the minutes of the December 19, 2000 regular meeting as amended.

MOTION Ms. Weiss made a motion, seconded by Ms. Bobrick and the Board VOTED with four in favor - Ms. Bobrick, Mr. Chappelle, Mr. McMillan, and Ms. Weiss, and four abstentions - Ms. Boske, Mr. Duggan, Mr. Filer, and Mr. Thazhampallath, to approve the minutes of the December 20, 2000 special meeting. 

Mr. Chappelle reviewed with the public the procedures for addressing the Board.

Mr. Lee Smith, 17 Afton Terrace, addressed the Board about his continued concern with a bus driver using the "brakes" to discipline student. He also expressed concern about a pepper spray incident and whether the school system has safety procedures and hazardous chemical information. Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that all schools have school safety plans.

Mr. Alexander Tucci, Academic Advisor for Middletown High School (MHS) Football and a member of the MHS teaching staff, 56 Red Road, spoke in opposition to any change in Policy #6145.2, Athletic/Extracurricular Activities. He also distributed an Academic Performance Profile of MHS Football for the first marking period of the 2000-2001 school year.

Ms. Kim Berry, MSA President, 797 Ridge Road, said that the MSA believes the requirements of Policy #6145.2, Athletic/Extracurricular Activities, should be enforced for Grades 9 through 12.

 MOTION Mr. Thazhampallath made a motion, seconded by Mr. Filer and the Board VOTED unanimously to add Inter-Disciplinary Course - Interdisciplinary American Studies to the agenda under old business to ask the administration questions about the new course.

MOTION Mr. Duggan made a motion, seconded by Mr. Thazhampallath and the Board VOTED unanimously to move agenda item H-2 forward on the agenda to follow Committee Reports.

 C COMMUNICATIONS

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato mentioned a letter of appreciation she received from the Middlesex Convalescent Center acknowledging and thanking the DECA students for the Ice Cream and Cookie Social they held for the residents.

Mr. Chappelle mentioned a letter he received from Bielefield School Principal Renata Lantos thanking Board member Marie Derosier for presenting the school with a flag that flew over the U.S. Arizona and certificate and a picture of Senior School Physician Dr. Joseph Havlicek's father who was a member of the original Bielefield School Building Committee. 

MOTION Ms. Weiss made a motion, seconded by Ms. Bobrick and the Board VOTED unanimously to approve the following Personnel Action items:

Leave of Absence:

Margo Gordona, an Elementary Teacher employed since August 1993, for the 2001-02 school year, effective date June 26, 2001.

Diane Zukowski, an Elementary Teacher employed since August 1998, for the remainder of the 2000-01 school year and the 2001-02 school year, effective date May 13, 2001.

Appointment:

Julie Machol, Mathematics Teacher (one year only), Step 2, Bachelor's Salary Scale, $35,666 prorated. 

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that the budget will be sent to the Mayor on Friday, January 12, 2001 because, by Charter, it must be there by January 15^th which is a holiday. Included in the budget is a letter of transmittal to the Mayor, Common Council and Board members.

Mr. Boske said that the Macdonough School Advisory Committee will submit a report to the Board at the February 13, 2001 Board meeting. A decision not to hold future meetings was made by the committee because they came up with options to submit to the Board. Mr. Chappelle commented that Macdonough parents had asked to be notified of the Board meeting at which the report will be presented. Mr. Thazhampallath suggested having the meeting at Macdonough School.

Review Policy #6145.2 - Athletic/Extracurricular Activities

Ms. Weiss said the reason this policy was brought before the Board is because a couple of Board members asked for it after reading an article in Blue Prints. She said that she does not want to focus on the article because the students would still have been able to play sports; however, they would have been part of a support system. Ms. Weiss said that it is always good to review our policies, and she is anxious to hear from Board members why they are negative about it. Ms. Weiss said that she feels this policy has been supportive, not punitive.

MOTION Mr. Thazhampallath made a motion to reject Policy #6145.2, Athletic/Extracurricular Activities, as written for Grade 12 and to repeal Policy #6145.2, Athletic/Extracurricular Activities, for Grades 9, 10, and 11, seconded by Mr. Duggan, and Mr. Chappelle asked for discussion.

Ms. Bobrick said that she was puzzled by the rapid turn of events. Ms. Bobrick indicated her respect for Mr. Tucci; however, she did not feel that the Board should overthrow a policy based on the word of one person. She said that this policy is supported by the MSA and that the Board talks about setting the bar higher and now we are sending the opposite message. She said that she does not support the motion. Mr. Duggan said he felt Mr. Tucci presented a very convincing argument and information. He said he would like to see research that refutes this. Mr. Duggan said that the article brought to light loopholes, and strongly supports this motion. Ms. Weiss said that data was presented at the May 9^th meeting and asked the Board to give the Policy Committee the chance to come forward with necessary data. She said that if you retreat from this policy you are saying that you are satisfied with CIAC rules and students can play sports with 4 D's and an F. Ms. Weiss asked Board members not to hastily make a motion and negate all of the hard work done. Mr. Thazhampallath said he agrees that the Board should work toward closing the loophole, but feels the policy committee has created a solution not linked to the problem. He feels there should be a policy geared toward students not playing a sport.

Ms. Boske said this policy came forward because parents were outraged that students could flunk a course, get 4 D's and still play a sport. She said that at her request former superintendent David Larson created a committee to discuss this because it is a reflection of what we want for our kids. Ms. Boske said Board policies are a reflection of what we expect from our school system. She said that the initial policy the community wanted was much stronger and including Grades 7 and 8 was discussed. Mr. Filer said he was not pleased with the results we were getting six months ago, but he is quite pleased with the results he sees tonight. He said that he feels the policy is redundant and should be discarded. Ms. Eaddy expressed her concern, and said she would like to know a standard is in place.

MOTION Mr. Thazhampallath made a motion to call the question, seconded by Mr. Filer and the Board VOTED with two in favor - Mr. Filer and Mr. Thazhampallath, and five opposed - Ms. Bobrick, Ms. Boske, Mr. Duggan, Mr. McMillan, and Ms. Weiss, and the motion was defeated.

Through the Chair, Ms. Weiss asked Mr. Fontaine to speak about the importance of raising standards for students in regards to this policy. Mr. Fontaine said that it is difficult to argue against raising the bar or standards. He feels the current policy provides support for students in Grades 9, 10, and 11, but he sees merit in "cutting the strings" for seniors to foster independence. Mr. Fontaine said that it seems strange to have a policy for only three grades, but said he likes the policy as it exists now. Mr. McMillan said that this is not a question of whether we would like to see standards higher or lower, it is question of how it is done. He said that we should listen to the people who work there and know what they are talking about. Ms. Bobrick said Ms. Weiss and Ms. Boske have not been allowed to bring forward their data and reminded the Board that many people in the community support this policy.

Mr. Chappelle said he has concerns about data presentation and making a determination based on information from a single sport. Mr. Filer said that Mr. Tucci is the only one to give the Board data. He asked where is the data from Mr. Koritkoski or the Policy Committee? Ms. Weiss said she wanted to clarify that the reason this item was put on the agenda was not to elicit a motion but to discuss an article. Mr. Filer asked why it was submitted as an action item if it was only for discussion? Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said it was on as an action item because if the Board wanted to pursue bringing this to Grade 12.

Ms. Boske said that when this item was tabled last time, the Policy Committee asked Board members to send them their concerns and questions. She said that they did not receive anything. Ms. Boske said that the Policy Committee discussed it extensively again; however, because they had no response from the Board, it was their job to bring the policy forward again for discussion because they had not received direction from the Board. Mr. Filer said the Board does not have data to support continuing this policy. He asked where the data was from the Policy Committee. Ms. Boske said they provided it last time. Mr. Chappelle said, from his perspective, when you get into rescinding a policy, you need to have justification. He said he is concerned that a policy implemented and revised is now going to be rescinded based on limited information.

After a lengthy discussion, Mr. Chappelle called the vote and the motion continued. The Board VOTED with four in favor - Mr. Duggan, Mr. Filer, Mr. McMillan, and Mr. Thazhampallath, and three opposed - Ms. Bobrick, Ms. Boske, and Ms. Weiss, and the motion was approved to reject Policy #6145.2, Athletic/Extracurricular Activities, as written for Grade 12 and to repeal Policy #6145.2, Athletic/Extracurricular Activities, for Grades 9, 10, and 11.

2000 Fall Athletics Report

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that this fall 483 students in Grades 6-12 participated in our athletic programs representing approximately 22% of our 6-12 student body.

Teacher Attendance

Mr. Cormier distributed an Attendance Report created to share with the Board of Education the status of teacher attendance by level and on a school-by-school basis and covering the period from September through December 2000. He said that this report was created because the Board asked for information on teacher attendance; however, he cautioned Board members that this report is based on only 75 days of attendance. Mr. Cormier said that teachers absent due to long-term health issues have been removed because they would have skewed the data. Also, teachers on maternity leave were removed because it is not an issue why they are out of work. Based on approximately 400 teachers, Mr. Cormier said that teachers are in work 95.6% of the time or, on an average, 15 to 20 teachers are out on any given day. He said that the ERG Comparison done for the 1998-99 year indicates that out of 13 towns our elementary and high schools are above average and our middle school is below average. The report also contains a number of contractual articles that effect teacher attendance.

Ms. Weiss asked if Mr. Cormier was concerned with any part of the report. Mr. Cormier said no. She also asked if we had any problems with substitutes. Mr. Cormier said we always try to have a good number of substitutes; however, we have been stretched and classes have not been covered at times. Mr. Duggan asked how building principals use this information. Mr. Cormier said as a staff management tool. Mr. Chappelle asked if this was a new report. Mr. Cormier said yes. Ms. Weiss commented that she was interested in this information to see if we need to increase substitute teacher pay, should we build in another education day, and for negotiation issues. Mr. Filer asked how many days teachers can have off in addition to sick leave and vacation and can they be carried over. Mr. Cormier said they can have up to 5 additional days, but they cannot be carried over. Mr. Duggan asked what the building principal's role is in this area. Mr. Cormier said they are empowered to discuss this issue with teachers. Ms. Boske asked when the next report would be generated. Mr. Cormier said January 2002.

Financial Statement

Building Projects

 G OLD BUSINESS

 H NEW BUSINESS (continued)

All Board members and the Superintendent remained for executive session.

REMINDER The next Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 23, 2001, at 7:00 P.M.