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ENFIELD BOARD OF EDUCATION SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 3, 2008

A special meeting of the Enfield Board of Education was held at Enfield Town Hall in the Enfield Room located at 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, CT on January 3, 2008. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Greco at 6:32 PM.

1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:32 PM by Chairman Greco

2. ROLL CALL

MEMBERS PRESENT Joyce Hall, Vincent Grady, Judy Apruzzese-Desroches, Tom Arnone, Patrick Droney, Greg Stokes, Susan Lavelli-Hozempa, Charles Johnson III, and Andre Greco

MEMBERS ABSENT None

ALSO PRESENT Dr. John Gallacher, Superintendent of Schools; and Tony Torre, Assistant Superintendent of Schools

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chairman Greco

4. FIRE EVACUATION ANNOUNCEMENT Chairman Greco announced the fire evacuation announcement.

5. DISCUSSION ON BUDGET WITH BOARD GUEST DR. ARMAND FUSCO

Chairman Greco introduced Dr. Armand Fusco to Board members. Dr. Fusco is a retired superintendent who has also written book titled School Corruption – Betrayal Children and the Public Trust”. Chairman Greco stated that Dr. Fusco has received negative feedback from CABE and CAPSS. Chairman Greco stated that the mere fact that he is here tonight has caused some anxiety among certain parts of the community. When you hear the word corruption, you assume the worst. Chairman Greco stated that he read Dr. Fusco’s book and does not agree with everything he said. Chairman Greco further stated that he does not believe there is any corruption in the Enfield Public Schools. Board members will not be seeing a presentation regarding corruption tonight. Chairman Greco stated that he hopes we can get past the word corruption and listen to what Dr. Fusco has to say. Dr. Fusco will be giving Board members a training workshop on how to view and analyze a school budget. Chairman Greco explained that the past few years, Board members have conducted the budget in the same way. Board members are trying to look at the Budget in a different perspective. We need to look outside of the box in order to move our district forward and enhance the educational experience.

Dr. Fusco thanked the Board for inviting him and welcoming him back home. He explained to Board members that he and his wife consider Enfield their home. They lived here for 30 years. Their four children attended and graduated from school in Enfield. Dr. Fusco and his wife started the Country Day School. Dr. Fusco wrote a column for the Enfield Press called “Our Schools”. Enfield has grown tremendously.

Dr. Fusco explained to Board members the importance of reviewing and analyzing a budget. Board members need to ask the right questions. Board members in New York must now be trained, educated and certified. Several other states also require this. They also require Boards to have an external audit committee. Dr. Fusco stated that a school budget is a strategic plan for the year. It is a critical plan to achieve educational goals while maintaining fiscal solvency. Dr. Fusco explained the differences with reviewing and analyzing a budget. Dr. Fusco stated that school audits are not designed to completely audit all school controls. A school audit only looks at the financial controls. Dr. Fusco explained a zero based budget starts with zero dollars and you build from there. This must be done gradually. It can take around three years. The Board needs to conduct an environmental scan. Dr. Fusco stated that Board members need outside help from the community in order to run a top notch school system. Dr. Fusco explained transparency by publishing your accounting system online for community members to view. Dr. Fusco explained the area of Board member liability. Dr. Fusco urged Board members to look at declining

Special Board of Education Meeting January 3, 2008 Page 1 enrollment numbers, plan ahead and to look at special interest groups. Look at your own personal issues. Board members have to face taxpayer opposition, demographics and the economy. Dr. Fusco stated that if Board members do not look at these issues, the students will be the ones who will lose.

Dr. Fusco stated reviewing and analyzing the school budget requires detailed analysis. It takes time, patience and objectivity. The first question you need to ask is the proposed budget designed to achieve particular goals/priorities based on identified needs. The second question is who determined these identified needs.

Dr. Fusco stated the most important job for a Board is to provide safety and security to the students, staff, parents and visitors. Maximize and monitor school resources. Dr. Fusco asked Board members to view lost or damaged school assets. Look at your fixed costs and review them closely. Dr. Fusco explained “needs and wants” to Board members. Dr. Fusco urged Board members to look at custodial supplies costs, library staff costs, speech therapy costs, office supply costs, and substitute costs. Hire interns instead of substitutes. There are many ways to look at fixed costs.

Dr. Fusco stated when reviewing your previous budget history, Board members need to look for patterns of over and under budgeting; look for patterns of line item transfers; look at the textbook account; look at budget history outcomes; and list your goals and priorities that were achieved and those that weren’t.

Dr. Fusco asked Board members to look at your proposed budget to see if it was analyzed for cost efficiencies, effectiveness and best practices.

Dr. Fusco stated that performance audits should be done objectively and independently. By conducting audits, Board members will come up with best practices without cutting services to the students. An external audit committee will find ways to save money. They will require training.

Dr. Fusco stated Board members should start with one item at a time. Look at your master teacher schedule. Review how teachers are used. Look at class loads. Review your non-consumable assets, payroll rosters, stipends, benefits, insurance contracts, consulting contracts, entitlement grants, discretionary grants, student activity funds, petty cash, board spending, maintenance supplies, and cash collections.

Dr. Fusco reviewed the credible questions Board members need to ask. Board members need to start with their goals and priorities and ask if they long term or short term. What are the objectives to the goals and priorities? Do they show what you are going to do or accomplish? Do they address any of the results from the budget out comes? Do any carry over from the previous budget? Does the budget provide resources to conduct performance audits? How does the proposed budget line items compare with current and prior budget years? Do they show actual budget line items? What are the spending patterns? What are the prior and present budget increases? Is documentation provided for past and present programs? Do documents show reasonable budget requests and what changes were recommended by the Superintendent? How many of the fixed costs line items are necessary? Have benchmarks with similar districts been conducted? Are special education costs realistic? What consultants are used; why are they used; how are they monitored – work load. Does the budget enhance safety and security resources? Are internal controls evaluated for effectiveness? Is your financial management plan soluble? Is there a policy in place relating to reimbursing expenses? Are student activity accounts and cash collections monitored and cash deposited daily? Is the vendor report analyzed independently? Have bidding procedures been followed and verified and do they comply with standards 99 and 34? Do part time teachers receive the same pay/benefits as full time teachers? Has technology been reviewed to enhance school learning? How are maintenance supplies purchased and who monitors the purchases? How effective is the energy conservation program? Have your transportation expenses been reviewed for maximum efficiencies? Have your special education costs been reviewed and analyzed? Have the prior budget line items been reviewed for over and under budgeting? Has in-house spending been reviewed and monitored? Have the current resources been reviewed for loss and misuse? What training has the Board and staff received? Is there an asset management program in place and being monitored?

Dr. Fusco stated that audits come in many different forms i.e. financial, performance, school curriculum and management. Dr. Fusco reviewed auditing questions that Board members should ask. What do the audits cover? Analyze, check, balance, investigate, report, use, scrutinize and verify. What types of audits have been conducted over the past three years, who conducts your audits, what do the audits provide? What recommendations did the audit provide and have they been implemented? What issues have the audits raised and have they been addressed?

Special Board of Education Meeting January 3, 2008 Page 2 What areas of loss have occurred? Has auditing standard 99 and 34 been implemented? Have non-consumable items been audited each year? Has an inventory audit been conducted independently each year? Does an assets list compare with purchase orders? What has been the drop out rate for each course and has it been monitored? Are on-line courses offered? Is staffing and absences monitored? Review and analyze master teaching schedules. Is your school budget being augmented by grants?

Dr. Fusco stated Board members need to change their procedures and practices otherwise you will always get the same results. If a performance audit is done correctly it will be a win-win situation for Board members, administrators, students, staff, parents, taxpayers and the community.

Dr. Fusco stated that Board members should be aware of the Serbians Oxley act and how it applies to a school. Board members need to create an active audit committee. Have superintendents and business managers attest to adequacies of districts internal accounting controls. Publicly display that you follow a code of ethics. Ensure auditor compliance with GEO independent standards codes. Establish an external and internal auditing committee. Require audits to abide by 99 and 34. Adopt policies that create accountability. Provide independent performance audits. Analyze budget reports monthly. Eliminate credit cards. Establish reimbursement guidelines and verify requests. Analyze federal state grants. Effectively monitor student activity accounts. Implement an assets management program. Create and analyze a vendor management report. Provide transparency. Analyze staff assignments and allocations. Review fixed cost lists.

Dr. Fusco reviewed the format that will be needed to create an external audit committee. Members will be permanent. The audit committee is independent from the school board, but they will work cooperatively with the Board. The audit committee can be disbanded by the majority of the school Board. The audit committee should meet at least once a month or more often if needed. Audit committee members have no authority. They can not change anything. Audit members will not be allowed in the schools or to question staff members. A Board member from the finance committee and a member from the minority committee will be on the audit committee. Once the Board approves community membership, they will appoint on a majority basis a chair, vice chair, secretary and treasure of the audit committee according to bylaws of the audit committee. The length of membership will be in the bylaws. School Board by majority will select membership of the audit committee. Dr. Fusco recommends 13- 19 members. Meetings will be open to the public, subcommittee meetings will not. The internal audit committee will have access to all school data, records and documents except for confidential or personal information. The committee has no authorization to make changes in school operations or procedures. The internal audit committee will need some financial support that can come from local businesses.

Dr. Fusco stated that the primary responsibility of the internal audit committee is to review and analyze practices, procedures, activities and overall performances of the schools and school district to determine cost effectiveness, efficiencies and added value results and most important to verify financial and other data and documents. Based on the review and analysis, the audit committee will make recommendations to the Board. The audit committee can create subcommittees such as asset management, budget, purchasing, safety and security, performance audit, spending reports or other subcommittees.

Mr. Arnone asked Dr. Fusco if he had anything positive to say about school boards, schools, and teachers. Everything you have said tonight is out of the Yankee Institute’s rhetoric. Mr. Arnone commented on the picture of a school with the roof open handing money out of it and stated this is not what is happening in Enfield, Connecticut. Mr. Arnone stated that we were told that we would not have to listen to corruption stories and that is exactly what we heard. According to the New Haven Register, four out of the five examples of corruption Dr. Fusco used were found within internal audits. Mr. Arnone stated both Dr. Fusco and his wife are 30 year employees of school districts. During that time did either you or your wife find and report corruption or mismanagement? Dr. Fusco stated yes. Mr. Arnone asked if Dr. Fusco was a whistle blower and did you report this to the newspapers? Dr. Fusco responded yes but he did not report it to the newspapers. Mr. Arnone stated that Dr. Fusco bashes PTA’s, binding arbitration, superintendents, and teachers. You instill fear in the people in order for them to buy your book. That is why you are here today. Dr. Fusco stated he did not come here to sell books. He was invited here by your Board to show the Board how to prevent these things from happening. Mr. Arnone stated every story you told us was negative. Dr. Fusco stated he gave the Board examples.

Ms. Hall asked what type of training Board members received in New York. Dr. Fusco stated they received training of fiscal management.

Special Board of Education Meeting January 3, 2008 Page 3 Mrs. Lavelli-Hozempa thanked Dr. Fusco for coming and presenting your wonderful slide show presentation. Mrs. Lavelli-Hozempa stated as an elected official, it is very important that she takes due diligence and appreciates what information was provided to Board members by Dr. Fusco. Mrs. Lavelli-Hozempa has been saying this for the past three years and expects to be accountable as a school board member and wants that accountability. The information provided tonight by Dr. Fusco will help her to become a better elected official. Thank you.

Mr. Stokes appreciates Dr. Fusco being here tonight. Mr. Stokes stated he has learned a tremendous amount tonight and thanked Dr. Fusco. The information received is a bit overwhelming. As a Board member who is elected for only two years, without offending teachers and staff and disrupting staff every two years, we would not be able to address all of these areas. Each Board member has their own ideas. Board members come in and recreate the wheel and disrupt everyone. What would be your recommendation for us to work on first? Something that is fair and accountable. Something that does not create division. We need to create a budget that works and rewards that staff at the same time is accountable. Mr. Stokes asked for Dr. Fusco to give them 3 or 4 areas to concentrate on.

Dr. Fusco responded that Boards can not do it all at once. Boards should concentrate on certain areas. Dr. Fusco suggested the Board concentrate on (1) Safety and Security; (2) Asset Management; and (3) Review certain parts of the budget – analyze purchasing or salaries. An audit committee can help you with cost controls. It will take some of the burden off of Board members. Look at best practices. Board members need to pick and chose.

Mrs. Apruzzese-Desroches responded to what Dr. Fusco said and how he said it. A lot of what Dr. Fusco says is meant to shock and awe and many of the things you mentioned, we have already done or have started with either this Board or previous Boards. Mrs. Apruzzese-Desroches stated she did not see anything that she hasn’t seen before. Mrs. Apruzzese-Desroches stated that she hadn’t heard the stories but most of what you presented wasn’t new or exciting. How many school Boards have you worked with and how many audit committees have you trained and what were the results? Dr. Fusco responded that he has not worked with any school Boards or trained any audit committees because CABE has prevented him from doing this. Dr. Fusco stated he does not charge school boards. Dr. Fusco stated he is not looking for a job or a political office. Dr. Fusco does not have an obligation to the Board only to the children. Dr. Fusco stated he resigned from a job not from education. This is his motivation. Dr. Fusco stated he has no personal ambitions for helping Boards. CABE does not want school boards to be helped.

Mr. Droney stated he is impressed that your number one priority is safety and security this is also my priority. Mr. Droney stated he does not believe there is any kind of corruption in the Enfield Public School system. Mr. Droney stated that by going through the budget to see if our money is being effectively and efficiently used. I do not believe we are doing anything wrong; Prior Boards have only had the best interests of the students. If we are doing something wrong, we owe it to the students and the taxpayers to look at everything closely.

Dr. Fusco stated he has not accused anyone. Boards can learn by example. This is what you are trying to teach your students.

Mr. Johnson stated that a lot of time was put into Dr. Fusco’s presentation tonight. You are very motivated in trying to get this information out to Board members and the community. Mr. Johnson stated that the information presented tonight was not meant to harm anyone, it was informational. Mr. Johnson greatly appreciates your time and effort.

Dr. Fusco stated that when his book came out he contacted CABE. The CABE administrator he contacted was a superintendent in Connecticut and his financial director embezzled money. Dr. Fusco knew that he would not want anyone else to go through what he did. Dr. Fusco thought he could introduce his book to CABE, but never received word from CABE. Dr. Fusco stated that he submitted a workshop for the CABE convention on school corruption and CABE chose not use my workshop.

Dr. Fusco stated that Board member recently received a letter from CABE and he responded to that letter. Dr. Fusco does not work for the Yankee Institute; he works for no one and is not on anyone’s payroll. Dr. Fusco further stated that he has no hidden agendas. No one is making any money off of his book. CABE then inferred that Dr. Fusco’s interpretation of corruption is a lie. The definition of corruption comes for the 21st Century Thesaurus. CABE stated that the examples Dr. Fusco used are from different states with different fiscal responsibilities. Dr. Fusco questioned what is so different from one state to the next. If you read the book, you will see the cases Dr. Fusco referred to. Dr. Fusco stated that the American School Board Association feels that corruption is important. The

Special Board of Education Meeting January 3, 2008 Page 4 District Administrators magazine also mentioned school spending in an article that is received by administrators across the state. CABE also reports that Dr. Fusco is making attempts to contact school boards. Dr. Fusco responded that you contacted him.

Chairman Greco stated that he appreciates the time you put into your presentation to help educate us. This is an emotional subject. When we discuss fiscal management of the school budget, we are questioning the school budget. It is a very emotional subject. Chairman Greco stated that the prior Board and the current Board are both very dedicated individuals. That team is completely dedicated to the students by furthering their education and making it a place where parents want to send their children to school. Chairman Greco stated that he absolutely does not believe there is any corruption in the Enfield Public School system. Board members received a tremendous amount of information. Chairman Greco agrees with Mrs. Apruzzese-Desroches that we have done some of the things Dr. Fusco said or we are in the process of doing them. Chairman Greco further stated that there are areas we can find some efficiencies so the money can be funneled back to the students. Board members found last year by reviewing the budget, approximately $100,000 was a one-time expenditures that were carried over to the next year. Chairman Greco stated that when you are dealing with a budget, it is prudent to look deeper into it to see the areas of efficiencies that can be met.

Chairman Greco thanked Dr. Fusco for his presentation and appreciates the information received tonight and will forward the information from the power point presentation to the Board and administration.

6. BOARD ACTION, IF ANY, ON ENFIELD HIGH SCHOOL WATER PIPE BREAK

Chairman Greco stated that a water main pipe broke approximately 10 feet under the floor of the new conference room at Enfield High school sometime during the evening on Tuesday, January 1, 2008. The break was discovered early Wednesday morning. Wednesday, January 2, 2008, EHS Principal Tom Duffy, Assistant Principal Bruce Barmak, Dr. Gallacher, Mr. Torre and Chairman Greco met at 11:00 AM regarding the displacement of the EHS students and staff. Chairman Greco stated that the five of us decided that the least disruptive thing to do was to close school on Thursday and Friday, January 3 & 4. The administration is optimistic that we will reopen Enfield High school on Monday, January 7, 2008. Woods Restoration has a cleaning crew of approximately 35-40 people cleaning up water and dirt. The administrative staff at EHS has been very proactive. We will lose the use of the gym. Mr. Bernstein has rescheduled athletic events to other venues. EHS students will use St. Adalbert’s, Alcorn and a couple of other elementary schools for practices. We will also lose the use of the auditorium for a time. These events have also been moved to other venues. It has been a tremendous team effort from everyone. We will also lose use of the conference room where the teen leadership class is conducted. This will be relocated to the library. The administrative staff is 100% confident that we will be able to offer a full and complete curriculum when the students come back to school on Monday.

Ms. Hall asked about the kitchen at Enfield High. Chairman Greco stated that the Department of Health came in and confirmed that there have been no compromises in the kitchen. Accommodations have been made at Fermi for them to provide school lunches to the elementary schools.

Mrs. Apruzzese-Desroches asked if the fire prevention systems have been compromised. Chairman Greco stated that the fire prevention systems were slated to go back online this afternoon. Dr. Gallacher responded that he does not believe they are up and operating yet. If they are not up, a fire watch will be put in place where fireman will be in the building to monitor the building. Mr. Grady stated that he spoke to the Fire Marshall today and they have some alternative plans to get the sprinkler system up and activated today.

Chairman Greco stated that Woods Restoration is working two shifts currently. They will be there on Saturday and Sunday and if needed, they can go to three shifts in order to get the school ready for Monday.

Mr. Arnone asked if someone noticed a loss in water pressure when the pipe ruptured. Mr. Grady stated the valve keeps the pressure and a loss in pressure was not noticed. Mr. Arnone stated we should look at all of our schools to see if any other pipes are running underneath them and monitor the flapper valves. Chairman Greco stated this was an accident, it is not a common thought and we should look into this.

Mr. Grady would like to thank the Enfield Fire Departments for their quick response to pumping the water out of the building.

Special Board of Education Meeting January 3, 2008 Page 5 Chairman Greco stated there was a lot of water in the building and we he arrived at Enfield High on Wednesday, 90% of the water had been pumped out of the building. They have a dehumidifying system running now along with floor blowers.

Ms. Hall stated we will have to watch the school for the potential of mold. Chairman Greco stated we will be doing that.

Mr. Stokes agrees with Mr. Grady, the Fire Departments did a great job. Rumors are flying regarding graduations. Is there an area where parents can receive information such as our website. Chairman Greco stated we have added this to our BOE agenda for Tuesday. We will discuss this with administration on Tuesday. Dr. Gallacher stated the calls we have received ask if they have to make the days up and athletic events. Dr. Gallacher state that yes, the students will have to make the days up and Barry Bernstein has done a great job of getting the information out regarding athletic events. He is willing to meet with coaches and parents. If there are questions you would like answered, please get them to us and we will post them on the website. We have posted an update on the website explaining what we have done up through Sunday. We are optimistic that students will be back in school on Monday.

Mr. Grady asked if we will be able to corner off the section so students can not get into that area. Dr. Gallacher stated that the doors will be locked and we can put construction paper in the door so students/onlookers can not look in or get injured. Mr. Drezek stated they will build a wall around the area so there will be no way for the students to get. You will need to go through the locked outside door to gain access to this area.

Mr. Grady asked about the contents of lockers, i.e., sneakers, books and student clothing. Dr. Gallacher stated the insurance agents were making lists of damaged items. We are optimistic that most of this will be covered by our insurance. Mr. Drezek stated along with the insurance adjustors, we will inventory all damaged items including the lockers, uniforms, books and other items.

Ms. Hall asked about physical education. Chairman Greco stated there is a health curriculum that needs to be delivered. This will be delivered in a classroom setting while the gymnasium is unusable. During Fermi’s field renovations, the administration was able to work around this just as Enfield High will.

Chairman Greco stated the amount of work that has been done at Enfield High is incredible. No one will be allowed back into the building unless it is a safe environment for the students and staff.

Mr. Johnson asked when Woods Restoration would be done. Chairman Greco stated they are estimating they will be done on Sunday. They will look at where they are on Friday and Saturday to determine if three shifts are needed.

7. ADJOURNMENT

Mr. Grady moved, seconded by Mr. Arnone to adjourn the Special Meeting of January 3, 2008. All ayes, motion passed unanimously.

Meeting stood adjourned at 9:10 PM.

Joyce P. Hall Respectfully Submitted, Secretary Enfield Board of Education

Kathy Zalucki, Recording Secretary

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