Present

Elizabeth Bobrick, Sally Boske, 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 Food Services and Transportation William Pillarella, Director of Facilities Ken Jackson, Assistant to the Superintendent/Board of Education Secretary Kathryn Eyles, two representatives from the Middletown Federation of Teachers, one representative from the Middletown Federation of Paraprofessionals, Hartford Courant Reporter Ken Byron, Middletown Press Reporter Laura Kennedy, and twenty-six visitors.

Mr. McMillan called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m., and the pledge of allegiance was recited.

Mr. McMillan mentioned the passing of Joe Pessoni who was an outstanding citizen. In addition to Mr. Pessoni’s service to Middletown, his church, and various organizations, he served as reunion chairman of his Middletown High School class.

MOTION Ms. Weiss made a motion, seconded by Ms. Boske, and the Board VOTED unanimously to approve the minutes of the March 28, 2001 Special Meeting.

Mr. James Streeto, Middletown Common Council member, addressed the Board about the proposed Living Wage Ordinance. He said that this legislation was initiated to assist Connecticut’s less advantaged citizens. The department maintaining the contract would be responsible for enforcement and monitoring of this ordinance. Councilman Streeto said the Contract Compliance Committee would like the Board’s input prior to their next meeting that would be held on Thursday, April 11, 2001.

A consensus of the Board agreed to move items H-1 and H-4 forward on the agenda.

1) Ms. Parmelee-Blancato mentioned a letter received from Mike Awdziewicz, Marketing Education Coordinator and DECA Advisor at Middletown High School (MHS), notifying her that 30 MHS students attended the 49^th CT Association of DECA State Leadership Conference. Sixteen MHS students were award winners and nine will be attending the National DECA Conference held in Anaheim, CA in April.

2) Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that she had met with Dr. Susan O’Brien, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for West Hartford Public Schools, concerning the Magnet School (Unique School) concept. After meeting with Ms. O’Brien, it was decided that a workshop with the Board would be the best way to explain the Magnet School concept. Board members agreed and a workshop was scheduled for Thursday, May 10, 2001, at 7:00 p.m.

3) Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that Arthur T. Muldowney, Jr., Director of Adult and Vocational Education, ask that she mention to Board members that the Adult Education Graduation will be held on Wednesday, May 23, 2001, at 7:00 p.m., at Middletown High School.

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato asked the Board to approved the personnel action items and said that John Ryan’s retirement letter would read; "resignation effective after July 1, 2001."

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

Resignation:

Kimberly Buckley, an English Teacher employed since August 1998, has submitted her resignation effective June 30, 2001 for personal reasons.

Daniel Digiulio, the Director of the Vocational Agriculture Center employed since July 1973, has submitted his resignation effective July 1, 2001 for the purpose of retirement.

John Ryan, a Teacher employed since February 1980, has submitted his resignation effective after July 1, 2001 for the purpose of retirement.

Leave of Absence:

Amy Radikus, a Reading Recovery Teacher employed since August 1994, until January 2, 2002, effective date August 22, 2001.

Appointment:

Tanya Saverick, Title I Teacher (one year only), Step 1, Bachelor’s Salary Scale, $34,413.00 prorated.

Kiley Sullivan, Title I Teacher (one year only), Step 2, Bachelor’s Salary Scale, $35,666.00 prorated.

There were no items.

1. Financial Statement

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said the administration is closely monitoring the projected deficit in Purchased Services, due to Special Education Transportation costs, and Equipment and Maintenance, due to unanticipated replacement costs, as well as, Fuel Oil and Diesel Fuel. At this time, the administration anticipates a balanced budget.

Mr. Thazhampallath expressed concern about the way the public hearing of April 12^th was handled. He also felt the current financial statement does not give enough information. Mr. Thazhampallath requested that three sources of information be attached to all financial monthly statements – 1) overtime costs by program, person, and project; 2) number and cost of all consultants in each program and, 3) listing of all transfers between accounts. He suggested a joint workshop between the Board and Council that would include people from the Finance Department and the Risk Manager’s Office.

2. Building Projects
1. Bielefield School

Mr. Jackson said the majority of punch list items have been completed; however, several of the items will be addressed over April vacation. The playscape is being installed and should be operational when students return from April vacation. Mr. Jackson also mentioned ongoing problems with the sewer ejector pump that the building committee is dealing with. Ms. Weiss asked if the pump installed was a mistake because it has not been working well. Mr. Jackson said it involved a change order to the project because the architect based the design on the existing plans that contained incorrect information about the elevation of the sewer pipe located under the school. The architect should have gone through the Water Pollution Control Authority with the sewer plan and did not. The committee is grappling with this problem and currently dealing with the City engineer.

2. Lawrence School

Mr. Jackson said the referendum date is set for Tuesday, May 1, 2001.

Mr. Jackson said the referendum date is set for Tuesday, May 1, 2001.

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that due to the projected increase by CIGNA of 40% in the cost of health benefits the administration asked Mr. Robert Lindberg from the firm of Lindberg & Ripple, Inc. to look for other options. At this time, Mr. Lindberg explained that after speaking with Mr. Cormier, they agreed that there was a need to conduct a comparative study. RFP Proposals were sent to Aetna (who did not respond), Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and United Healthcare (who declined to submit a proposal). Ms. Weiss asked where Mr. Lindberg saw the largest amount of usage. He said in the retired population. He also said that prescription drug use was up in the entire program.

MOTION Ms. Weiss made a motion seconded by Ms. Boske, and the Board VOTED unanimously to approve and accept Blue Cross/Blue Shield as its primary health carrier beginning July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002.

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that in March she was informed by Deputy City Attorney Timothy P. Lynch that the City’s Ordinance Study Committee, a sub-committee of the Common Council, is considering the adoption of a Living Wage Ordinance. This ordinance would mandate the payment of a certain level of compensation to employees of vendors having service contracts with the City and would like the Boards’ comments on this proposal prior to recommending it to the Common Council. Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said she responded indicating that the Board of Education has the only service contract for the City that could be affected by this ordinance – the DATTCO Bus Company (DATTCO) that provides student transportation. In a recent conversation, DATTCO indicated that financial ramifications of this proposed ordinance to the transportation contract could be an increase of 6 to 7 percent and would also impact the cost of field trips.

Mr. Thazhampallath asked if the Board was required to provide health insurance to DATTCO drivers. Councilman Streeto said the Board is not required to provide insurance for non-City employees. DATTCO is also not required to provide insurance.

Mr. Kevin Hunter, a DATTCO Bus Driver, expressed support for the living wage. Mr. McMillan asked if the Board was in agreement with the proposed Living Wage Ordinance. Ms. Parmelee-Blancato suggested to the Board that she write a letter, on behalf of the Board, to the City Attorney indicating the impact this ordinance would have on future budgets. A consensus of the Board agreed. The letter would also indicate that if the ordinance passed, the Board of Education would closely monitor the ordinance to insure compliance. Mr. McMillan indicated that he did not agree with it.

This report was submitted to the Board prior to the Board meeting. Four hundred students participated in the winter programs this season. Our students performed admirably and represented the Middletown public school system well. Director of Athletics and Student Activities Henry Koritkoski was present to answer any questions.

Dr. Hennelly noted that this was his first opportunity to work within the district’s curriculum cycle. He thanked the committee and recognized Amanda Amtmanis and Robert Smernoff who were present in addition to Mr. Koritkoski. Mr. Koritkoski said that highlighted in the report were the program objectives which are keyed to the State Department of Education (SDE) objectives, a description of the K-12 programs, a status report of the recommendations from the 1995 report, data gathered from an alumni study and our Education Reference Group, a description of the professional development of health/physical education teachers for the past five years, and results and summaries of survey results. The committee’s recommendations were more class time, more space, addressing 8^th and 9^th grade motivation, providing HPER workshops, the five-year plan, expansion of the project adventure programs, incorporating technology into health/physical education, and interdisciplinary studies.

Ms. Weiss asked Mr. Koritkoski to comment on the Program Evaluation Conclusions and Recommendations. Mr. Koritkoski said students do have a healthy attitude through physical education classes. Students would like to see more emphasis on health, and the state is currently working on that. Teachers have kept current with their Red Cross certification, and the aquatics teachers are all lifeguards. The physical education program is moving toward project adventure (cooperative activities) that is a team building experience where everyone on a team wins and there are no losers. Mr. Koritkoski said the committee recommends more class time because we will not be able to address the fitness needs of our students until we offer 30-40 minutes of vigorous physical activity every other day. The SDE recommends 60-100 minutes per week, and the National Association of Sport and Physical Education Standards recommend 150 minutes per week. At this time, students in Grades K-2 receive 40 minutes of instruction once a week, and students in Grades 4-5 receive 45 minutes of instruction once a week. Mr. Koritkoski also indicated that class space varies from school to school.

Ms. Bobrick complimented Mr. Koritkoski on the report and expressed her support for more physical education time. She suggested that students have less unstructured time at recess and lunch. Mr. McMillan said he has observed students at the elementary level playing on their own and suggested that some students to spend this time alone. Mr. Thazhampallath asked Mr. Koritkoski for his thoughts about the DARE Program. Mr. Koritkoski said that the police cooperate well with the school system. This program begins in Grade 6 and is phased out in Grade 7. Mr. Thazhampallath asked if consideration was being given to expanding the Wrestling Program to the middle school level. Ms. Bobrick also expressed her support for this program that has generated strong community interest. Ms. Weiss said that not all funds allocated to stipends are used. Ms. Parmelee-Blancato directed Mr. Koritkoski to research the cost of a Wrestling Program, and said that she would review all stipends and report back to the Board.

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that state statute requires the Board to confirm the transfer of all budget lines from one account to another. Every year 10% of the each schools’ budget is held in reserve for emergencies. When it appears that this money can be released (usually in the spring), the superintendent asks the Board to do so to assist the schools.

Mr. Thazhampallath asked if this was 10% of the schools’ budget and how was the amount determined. Mr. Cormier said it represents 10% of the schools’ budget, and it is determined using the per pupil allocation at each level.

MOTION Ms. Boske made a motion seconded by Ms. Bobrick, and the Board VOTED unanimously to approve the superintendent transferring the current 10% hold to all eleven schools’ budgets.

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato said that graduation must be scheduled on the 180^th day of school. State Statute mandates that this only be done in April. Once the Board has established the date in April, if school has to be cancelled because of inclement weather, the graduation date does not have to be changed.

MOTION Ms. Weiss made a motion seconded by Ms. Bobrick, and the Board VOTED unanimously to establish Thursday, July 21, 2001, as the graduation date for Middletown High School.

An addendum to this agenda item was distributed. Dr. Hennelly said that for the 2001-02 school year, money has been budgeted for these texts. This is the first reading of this motion to adopt textbooks recommended for the 2001-02 school year.

MOTION Ms. Boske made a motion seconded by Ms. Bobrick, and the Board VOTED unanimously to approve the first reading of the following textbook adoptions:

Schultheis, Kaliski, Passalacqua; Keeping Financial Records, Southwestern, 2001

Lamb, Hair, McDaniel, Marketing, fifth edition, South-western, 2000

Ferett, Preston, Preston; Access 2000 Essentials, Prentice Hall, 2001

Fox, Metzelaar; Excel 2000 Essentials, Prentice Hall, 2000

Levitt, J.; Your Career—How to Make It Happen, South-Western, 2000

Hoggatt, Shank, Robinson, Computer Applications and Keyboarding, 2002

Holt, Rinehart and Winston, World Literature, 2001

Hildebrand, Dr. Verna; Parenting: Rewards and Responsibilities, Glencoe/McGraw Hill 2000.

Rongieras d’Usseau, Emmanual; Allez, Viens!, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2000

Humbach Nancy and Ozete, Oscar; ¡Ven conmigo!, Holt Rinehart and Winston, 2000

Ecce Romani I, Second Edition, Longman, New York, 1995

Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Algebra 2, 2001

Holt Science & Technology, Physical Science, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2001

Holt Science & Technology, Life Science, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2001

Malfas, Brown, Presley; An Introduction to Desktop Publishing Using Adobe Pagemaker, Lawrenceville Press, 1998

Kuhn, Jerry; The CADKEY 99 Cookbook, Tech Ed Concepts, 2000

MOTION Ms. Weiss made a motion seconded by Mr. Thazhampallath, and the Board VOTED unanimously to authorize the administration to apply for Family Resource Center Grants for Farm Hill School, Macdonough School, and Snow School.

MOTION Mr. Thazhampallath made a motion seconded by Ms. Weiss, and the Board VOTED unanimously to authorize the administration to apply for funding under the Primary Mental Health Grant.

MOTION Ms. Weiss made a motion seconded by Ms. Bobrick, and the Board VOTED unanimously to authorize the administration to apply for funding under the Young Parents Grant.

MOTION Ms. Bobrick made a motion seconded by Mr. Thazhampallath, and the Board VOTED unanimously to authorize the administration to apply for funding under the Even Start Family Learning Grant.

Dr. Hennelly said he would convene a small committee that included Board representation to review Professional Improvement Grant proposals. Ms. Boske and Mr. McMillan will represent the Board at the meeting that will be held on Tuesday, April 24, 2001, at 12:00 p.m.

Ms. Parmelee-Blancato asked the Policy Committee to set a meeting date. They will meet on Thursday, April 26, 2001, at 12:00 p.m.

MOTION Ms. Bobrick made a motion seconded by Mr. Thazhampallath, and the Board VOTED unanimously adjourn.

With no further discussion, Mr. McMillan adjourned the meeting.

Time: 9:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara M. Weiss

Secretary/kce

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