Enfield Board of Education s7

ENFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATION MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING February 7, 2006

A Special Meeting of the Enfield Board of Education was held at John F. Kennedy Middle School Cafeteria, 155 Raffia Road, Enfield, CT. The meeting was called to order by Mrs. Racine at 7:00 PM.

MEMBERS PRESENT Judith Apruzzese-Desroches, Donna Corbin Sobinski, Andre Greco, Joyce Hall, Albert Harrison, Charles Johnson III, Susan Lavelli-Hozempa, Samuel McGill, Sharon Racine

MEMBERS ABSENT none

ALSO PRESENT Dr. John Gallacher; Superintendent of Schools, Anthony Torre; Assistant Superintendent, Christopher Drezek; Business Manager

1. CALL TO ORDER Sharon Racine

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Sharon Racine

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Ms. Hall moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, that the minutes of the Special Meeting, January 24, 2006 be approved. There was one spelling correction on page 3, paragraph nine; change Coral to Choral. There were no other corrections, omissions or changes.

A vote by show of hands, 8-0-1, with Mr. McGill abstaining, motion passes.

4. BUDGET PRESENTATIONS:

a. Athletics & Intramurals

Trish Witkin, Athletic Director, presented a budget request for the 2006-2007 school year in anticipation of field renovations beginning this summer at FHS.

A summary of the Athletic & Intramural budget request is as follows:

Transportation: $10,530 OT for Athletic Trainer 870 Mileage for Athletic Trainer 450 Total: $11,850

Mrs. Racine asked if it should be the responsibility of the contracted service, Johnson Memorial, to pay the additional OT and mileage for the Athletic Trainer. Mrs. Witkin stated that she feels it would be the responsibility of the Board for the additional travel and OT because of the displacement of the teams that the AT is contracted to service. Typically, travel is minimal for our AT’s because they travel with the team on the bus. This situation is different because the AT’s will be driving around to different fields for practices.

Mrs. Witkin added that the transportation increase is for transportation one way to the temporary practice site. Parents would be instructed where to pick up their children. Sites that have parking to accommodate students who drive to practice will be a priority because there will be no bus to return students to FHS after practice.

1 February 7, 2006 b. Ancillary

Art: Richard Fahey, Visual Arts Department Chairman

A summary of the K-12 Visual Arts Department budget request is as follows:

Instructional Supplies K-12: $3,000 1 EHS Art Teacher: $58,500 Total: $61,500

Mr. Fahey stated that a request for an additional art teacher at EHS would offer more equitable course selections between the two high schools. Currently there are 2.5 teachers at FHS and only 1 teacher at EHS.

Music: Marilyn Goodnite

A summary of the Music Department budget request is as follows:

2 Elementary General Music Teachers: $117,000 Repairs: 5,000 Equipment (platform risers) 7,500 Total: $129,500

Ms. Hall asked that if the shortage of space at EHS could be helped by moving the equipment to another area of the building and freeing up that room for practice space. Ms. Goodnite stated that it would be helpful but there is no space to move the equipment.

Mr. McGill asked what the average cost is for repair and/or overhauling of equipment. Ms. Goodnite stated that the average overhaul on woodwind instruments is $200. She has been doing a lot of minor repairs but some of the instruments are more than 20 years old.

Mrs. Lavelli-Hozempa asked if there are any grants available for musical instruments. Ms. Goodnite stated that she researches and applies for any music grant that our district would qualify for. She has in the past received some small awards.

Ms. Goodnite stated that there are a lot of opportunities for lease to own programs, but those are not very beneficial.

Mr. Johnson asked if there is any data that supports the correlation between test scores and music classes. Ms. Goodnite stated she has an abundance of information on studies that document a correlation between music classes and test scores for elementary students. The most impressive reports are the ones that study infusing the Arts into daily curriculum.

PE/Health: A. J. O’Brien

A summary of the PE/Health Department budget request is as follows:

Equipment (PE) $2,000 Curriculum Materials (Health) $1,000 Total: $3,000

Chairman Sharon Racine asked if anyone has considered checking out Dick’s Sporting Goods for discounted or donated floor merchandise and stock. Mr. O’Brien stated he could check it out but he doesn’t think that’s possible.

2 February 7, 2006 Mr. McGill asked how many staff members work with ALC. Mr. O’Brien stated that he is the staff member that gives instruction every Friday, lugging equipment from the high schools because there is no budget for equipment for ALC.

Industrial Arts:George Rypysc

A summary of the Industrial Arts budget request is as follows:

Equipment: $10,000 Supplies (10% - estimate of 3 accounts) $ 1,500 Total: $11,500

Mrs. Corbin Sobinski asked what the 10% increase would come to and if she could get an accounting of each budget line at the three secondary schools. Mr. Rypysc stated the estimate is about $1,500 and he will get actual amounts to the Board.

Mrs. Lavelli-Hozempa asked if you could transfer funds between schools to balance out the inequities. Mr. Rypysc stated he could except that each school needs the funds that are already there.

Libraries: Jim Bowman, Elementary

A summary of the Elementary Department budget request is as follows:

Books and Resource Materials: $18,297 Supplies: 300 Total: $18,597

Additionally, a request has been submitted to the Technology Department to update the needs for the nine elementary schools for a total of $37,728.

Suzette Reading, JFK

A summary of the Middle School Library Department budget request is as follows:

Books and Resource Materials: $11,713 Supplies: 625 Total $12,338

Additionally, a request has been submitted to the Technology Department to update the needs of JFK Middle School for a total of $4,628.

Jennifer Ellis, EHS

A summary of the EHS Library Department budget request is as follows:

Books and Resource Materials: $6,420 Supplies: 175 Online renewal Database subscriptions 322 Total: 9,742

Patricia Roehl, FHS

A summary of the FHS Library Department budget request is as follows:

Books and Resource Materials: $9,725 Supplies: 500 3 February 7, 2006 Technology Hardware: 28,000 Software/Online Database subscriptions: 8,067 Total: $46,292

Mr. Harrison asked how many computers are in the EHS library. Ms. Ellis stated that she has 36 computers in the new library media center. That is slightly more than twice as many as at FHS.

Substitutes: Craig Cooke

A summary of the Human Resources Department budget request is as follows:

Substitute Teachers/Nurses $30,500 Building Substitutes 5,430 On-line Application System 4,000 Total $39,930

Ms. Hall asked if the on-line application system would be accessible through the school district website. Mr. Cooke stated it would be accessible by logging on to our website and selecting the link. The site would be accessible to all Principals and Department Heads for viewing of potential candidates.

Ms. Hall stated that she is aware of the substitute shortage. How much of a gap do we have in Enfield? Mr. Cooke stated that there have been days where there are up to 8 vacancies.

Chairman Sharon Racine asked what the substitute rates are in the surrounding districts. We are slightly ahead of Somers and Suffield who pay $80.00 per day.

c. IT Department – Joanne Kneiss

A summary of the IT Department budget request is as follows:

Upgrades and Equipment $84,000

The IT Department has also suggested that the Board enter into discussions with the Town Council to see if hardware and wiring can be viewed as CIP expenditures in future budgets.

Ms. Hall asked if we have considered going wireless in any aspect. Mrs. Kneiss stated that first we need the foundation set and currently there are some buildings that have not yet been wired. The wireless function will be considered internally for some of the buildings at some point.

Ms. Hall stated that if the State plans on CMT testing online, we will need 1 on 1 computers for every class in grades 3 through 8. Mrs. Kneiss stated that possibly a lab for each school would be considered or laptops for classrooms because of insufficient wiring.

Mrs. Apruzzese-Desroches asked how the replacement plan guarantees us a roll on new equipment every three years if there is a dollar buyout at the end of three years. Mrs. Kneiss explained that at the end of the lease we could purchase these machines to add to our inventory and also replace some older models. The lease would allow for 800 new machines each year. That could double our inventory in 3 years and allow us to create additional labs and enable each classroom to have a computer.

Mr. Johnson asked if there would be a cost adjustment to replace a technician with a programmer. Mrs. Kneiss stated there would not be any differential in cost.

Mr. Harrison asked how we would accomplish the wiring without a wiring technician. Dr. Gallacher stated that administration is talking with Art Pongratz about using our in-house electrician to finish the wiring. He is checking to see if there is any additional licensing or certification requirements for our electrician to complete the job. 4 February 7, 2006 Ms. Hall questioned what we would do if we are unable to follow through with the leasing and bringing in new machines. Mrs. Kneiss stated we are in a serious financial situation. Dr. Gallacher stated that we have a major commitment to stay up to date with technology. The State and the Town have to commit to it as well. It is mind boggling how much the costs are for technology. The State has not released the funding it approved for this year. Grants will not cover all the updates needed on a constant basis. We have been creating labs and teacher stations in good faith and now the State is hinting at requiring computers for students from grades 3 through 8. It is impossible to expect local boards to shoulder the cost of these unfunded mandates.

d. Miscellaneous

Dr. Gallacher reviewed the prior requests as follows:

Virtual High School Program increase $1,400 New Directions $24,000 LEAPS Program $30,000 Magnet Schools recommendation is to stay with current level of funding for next year unless you feel you can add to the budget line.

Suffield Vo-Ag contract is up for renewal by September 15th of this year. Dr. Gallacher clarified several informational questions regarding the procedures for Magnet Schools

Chairman Sharon Racine requested that Dr. Gallacher prioritize his recommendations for next year’s budget in 1% increments.

5. RECOMMENDED POSITION CHANGE IN CURRENT IT DEPARTMENT

Mrs. Corbin Sobinski moved, seconded by Ms. Hall, that the Enfield Board of Education authorizes the administration to not replace the retired Technology Technician and utilize the funds available from that reduction to fund an Assistant Programmer to our Program Analyst.

Votes by roll call 5-4-0, with Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Lavelli-Hozempa, Mrs. Apruzzese-Desroches and Mr. Greco in dissent. Motion passes.

6. ADJOURNMENT

Mr. Harrison moved, seconded by Mr. Greco, to adjourn the special meeting of the Enfield Board of Education.

All ayes, motion passes unanimously. The joint meeting stood adjourned at 8:45 PM.

Donna Corbin Sobinski Respectfully Submitted, Secretary Enfield Board of Education Patricia West, Recording Secretary

5 February 7, 2006