Watertown Board of Education

Regular Meeting

Minutes

Meeting Date: April 24, 2006

Meeting Time: 7:30 p.m.

Meeting Place: Watertown High School Technology Center

Members Present: Ms. Mary Dzioba, Board Chairperson

Mr. Todd Griffin, Board Secretary

Ms. Mary Colangelo, Board member

Mr. Chris Lafferty, Board member

Mr. Thomas Lambert, Board member

Mr. James Marks, Board member

Mr. Richard Mazzamaro, Board member

Dr. Joseph Erardi Jr., Superintendent of Schools

Mr. Todd LoFrese, Director of Operations

Mr. Matthew Dzioba, W.H.S. Student Representative

Absent: Ms. Maureen Caine, Vice Chairperson

Ms. Gina Calabrese, Board member

Dr. Philip Pelosi, Assistant Superintendent of Schools

Ms. Amelia Grover, Dir. of Budget and Financial Planning

Ms. Betsy Hackett, Director of Special Services

Ms. Kace Duplissie, PTA/PTO Representative

Press: Jim Taylor, Town Times

Tommy Valuckas, Waterbury Republican American

Guests: Alex Germain

Other interested citizens: Thad Hasbrouck, Kathleen Scully, Sandy and Whitey Greenwood. Charlie Beliveau, Peg Germain and Bob Grady

A. Convene Regular Meeting - 7:30 PM

Ms. Dzioba convened the Regular Board of Education meeting at 7:30 p.m.

B. Salute to the Flag

Ms. Dzioba led the Salute to the Flag.

C. Recognition

Ms. Dzioba: We have a recognition tonight and I’d like to turn it over to the Superintendent for presentation.

Dr. Erardi: Thank you Ms. Dzioba. I know that Alex Germain is here tonight, Alex please stand and come forward. Members of the Board of Education, our audience this evening and our viewing community, Alex Germain is a distinguished senior at Watertown High School. Alex, I need to share with you on a personal note; I have been in the business for a while and I don’t think I have ever been so impressed with the definition of scholar/athlete, and I mean that with great sincerity. Alex’s Mom and Dad are Dr. and Mrs. Albert and Peg Germain and mother is in the audience this evening. Alex is here with us tonight to be recognized for his athletic ability within our very competitive boy’s swim program. Along with his swimming accomplishments and I want to hold onto that for a moment, Alex is a member of our National Honor Society and he will be attending the University of Virginia entering into their engineering Freshmen program and will also continue his swimming career. Alex in four years has been recognized as an All-American swimmer by the National and Scholastic Coaches Association, his expertise is the 100 backstroke and the 50 freestyle. Alex has also been recognized on the State level for four years. To be recognized as a Junior or a Senior is very uncommon, it’s also impressive to be recognized for four successive years. Along with All-State recognition, All Naugatuck Valley League recognition for four years and was recognized as the NVL swimmer of their championship meet for three successive years, and was also recognized by the Naugatuck Valley League as the outstanding swimmer within the entire conference. The records that Alex holds are just again, incredible. Presently he stands before us not only as a scholar, but as a record holder within a community of a very rich tradition of swimming, of seven school records. His legacy, I believe, is unprecedented from any swimmer to ever leave the Watertown High School swim program. Alex, I know that I speak on behalf of the School Administration, your coaches and this Board of Education as a School Superintendent that is awfully proud of your accomplishments in the Watertown Schools, congratulations to you.

Ms. Dzioba presented Alex with a certificate.

Mr. Lafferty: I have been friends and teammates and assistant coach of Alex for four years and I just have to say that watching him swim, everyone says, man it looks like he’s not even trying, and it’s funny because he is blowing them out of the water too as he does that, and that right there just shows that he can put in and he’s really pushing himself and he’s really going after all of his goals. He makes it look easy but that’s because of the countless hours upon hours for over years, because he has been swimming since he was a little kid. So it’s truly, it’s more than just talent, it’s a lot of hard work and a great work ethic which he shows too and that is something also we should be proud of because Alex has been a great swimmer and also a great kid. So, congratulations Alex.

The Board of Education would like to recognize Mr. Alexander Germain, grade 12 student at Watertown High School, for All American – Swim. If Mr. Germain would please come forward, the Board would like to present him with a Celebration of Excellence certificate.

C. Public Participation

No one wished to address the Board at this time.

Report from Student Council Representative – Mr. Matthew Dzioba

Good evening. As you all know, students and staff of the Watertown school district have just come back from a safe and restful spring break, and I hope it was enjoyed by all. As there are no reports from the student body concerning the past two weeks, tonight I hope to be able to present the board with a quick insight into what they can expect for the remainder of the school year.

First off, I have some upcoming events that I feel the board should be aware of. On Monday, May 1st, the National Honor Society will be holding its annual induction ceremony in the WHS cafeteria, at 7 pm. This year, honor society applicants were required to collect numerous recommendations from teachers and members of the community, write an essay and more, all while maintaining a solid academic standard. Both junior members accepted last month and senior members accepted this past fall will be inducted.

On Thursday, May 11th, the WHS Senior Class will be sponsoring "Music Under the Stars", an outdoor concert to raise money for lighting in the HS auditorium. So far, the set list contains a variety of musicians that are members of the WHS family, including several student bands and performers, and members of the faculty and administration. Unfortunately, we still haven't heard back from Mr. Hasbrouck's agent yet, but I hear he's been working on something for us. Tickets are $10 a carload (2-6 people) and can be purchased now at the High School.

As I've already mentioned, there are only two more months left in this school year. However, May brings the beginning of the budget referendum process, something our high school students are very familiar with. Tomorrow's town meeting is the beginning of a process by which the members of this community familiarize themselves with the hard work of the members of the school administrations, and the members of the board that I sit with tonight. If tomorrow night's meeting results in a move for referendum, the student council is completely prepared to aide in a meaningful budget referendum process, one in which the various aspects of next years budget are discussed and realized. At WHS, we are not merely students who show up every day, but we are citizens of our community and we are the lifeline of this town. It is my hope that amid all the controversy that inevitably surrounds and budget vote, the citizens of Watertown and Oakville will respectfully listen to what we have to say in the coming weeks.

That concludes my report for tonight, thank you.

E. Budget Summary – (Information Only – No Action Required)

Ms. Dzioba: Budget Summary is in the packet for all Board members.

F. Committee Reports:

1. Advertising Committee, Todd Griffin, Chair

Mr. Griffin stated there was no Report this evening.

2. Athletics Committee, Chris Lafferty, Chair

Mr. Lafferty stated there was no Report this evening.

3. Budget Committee, Todd Griffin, Chair

Mr. Griffin: For the Report this evening I’ll defer to later in the Agenda when Dr. Erardi will give an update of the 2006-2007 proposed Budget. I would also like to remind everyone of the public hearing scheduled for tomorrow evening at the Watertown High School auditorium for the actual Budget presentation, please come out and show your support. If anyone has any questions or concerns they can be voiced at that time.

4. Curriculum & Instruction Committee, Gina Calabrese, Chair

Ms. Calabrese was absent.

5. Facilities Committee, Rich Mazzamaro, Chair

Mr. Mazzamaro stated there was no Report this evening.

6. Policy and Labor Committee, Maureen Caine, Chair

Ms. Caine was absent.

7. Cablevision, James Marks

Mr. Marks: There has not been a meeting of the Board but I am happy to report that after talking to Debbie Hutton, who is the in-house attorney in charge of government relations for Cablevision, I was able to help Todd actually get to talk to some real-live human beings at Cablevision after two years of failing to get through the phone tree. He reports that we are making progress in getting the cable hooked up again at Judson School after it’s been down for a couple of years, correct Todd?

Mr. LoFrese: Correct.

8. PBC Representative, Rich Mazzamaro

Mr. Mazzamaro: A couple of updates; on the Watertown High School track, the storage building is moving forward, zoning approval and building permits have been issued for the construction. The School District is exploring two options for completing the foundation work, once the most effective option is chosen, construction should begin.

Swift Middle School; the Committee was given a status report by O & G , asbestos abatement work was occurring last week when the school was not in session and significant site work has been completed and some internal renovations are nearly complete. The Committee approved building invoices and change orders needed to keep the project moving forward. A change order for the relocation of electrical service to the school was discussed; the change orders for the new electrical and site work were Tabled until our architect and project manager work to secure a better price.

John Trumbull Primary School; work began last week to fix the roof and gutters, this is Phase I of the repairs, the Committee is waiting on more information about a change order for bird control outside of the pre-school area and in front of the rear entrance.

9. Education Connection Representative, Mary Dzioba

Ms. Dzioba stated there was no Report this evening.

G. Communications - Secretary

Mr. Griffin stated there was no correspondence this evening.

H. Minutes

1. Regular Board of Education Meeting – April 10, 2006

Motion presented by Mr. Mazzamaro, seconded by Mr. Griffin to accept the Regular Board of Education Meeting Minutes of April 10, 2006.

Motion Passed

(6-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 1-Abstained)

In Favor: Ms. Colangelo, Ms. Dzioba, Mr. Griffin, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Lambert, and

Mr. Mazzamaro

Abstained: Mr. Marks

I. Superintendent's Recommendations and Report

1. Appointments – (Information Only – No Action Required)

a. Mr. Joseph Walluck to the position of Boys’ Assistant Varsity Soccer Coach at Watertown High School for the 2005-2006 school year at a contractual stipend of $1,719.00 payable at the end of the season.

c. Mr. Joseph Walluck to the position of Girls’ Junior Varsity Track Coach at Watertown High School for the 2005-2006 school year at a contractual stipend of $1,844.00 payable at the end of the season.

2. Resignations – (Information Only – No Action Required)

a. Ms. Kathleen Kottwitz from the position of Business Education teacher at Watertown High School effective June 30, 2006 for the purpose of relocating out of state.

b. Ms. Eleanor Roxby from the position of Grade 4 Teacher at Polk School effective June 30, 2006 for the purpose of retirement.

3. Update on 2006-2007 Budget

The Superintendent will give an update on the 2006-2007 proposed budget.

Dr. Erardi: This last item on the Superintendent’s report was really placed there as a place-holder, as we were on vacation last week if there was additional information that I needed to share with the Board, I wanted to make sure that I had a place to do that. My only further thought on the 2006-2007 Budget is that I’ll be recommending to the Board Chair, through the Labor and Policy Sub-Committee Chair, that we schedule a meeting to talk further about the hiring timeline of the pieces of the 06-07 Budget that affect personnel; i.e.: within our NEASC upgrade for the High School we have a placeholder for three teachers and the Superintendent would like direction from the Labor and Policy Committee on when to go forward with that hiring process.

Just to reiterate Mr. Griffin’s remarks we are hoping that the community comes out to be a part of the democratic process of expressing and participating in the town meeting tomorrow evening scheduled for 7:00 in the Watertown High School auditorium.

J. Report from the Chairman

Ms. Dzioba: I don’t really have a formal report tonight except to also invite everybody to tomorrow’s meeting and to ask you to please bring everybody you know.

K. Action Items – Adoption of Items to be Approved by Consent

a. Consideration of Approval of Use of Beepers (Paging Devices)/Cellular Phones – Second Reading

The policy for use of beepers (paging devices)/cellular phones in the schools was presented to the Board at its meeting on April 10, 2006 for the first reading. This policy was reviewed by the Policy and Labor Committee at its meeting on Wednesday, April 5, 2006 and is presented tonight for the second reading and for Board approval.

(See Attachment A.)

It is recommended that the Board approve of the policy for use of beepers (paging devices)/cellular phones in the schools effective with the 2006-2007 school year.

Motion presented by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Mr. Lafferty, it is recommended that the Board approve of the policy for use of beepers (paging devices)/cellular phones in the schools effective with the 2006-2007 school year.

Discussion:

Mr. Lafferty: I would like to suggest that the Board send this back to the Policy and Labor Committee for just review, especially with three members absent from the Board tonight, this way also we can send it back and work out what I feel are kinks in the policy. So, do I have to move to withdraw the Motion?

Ms. Dzioba: Todd can withdraw the Motion if that is what we want, do we Table it?

Ms. Colangelo: Before we get into that, can I ask why you are requesting? The Policy Committee has reviewed this several times and this is the Second Reading of the policy.

Mr. Lafferty: Yes, after I received it for approval tonight I read it over and I ran over a few more scenarios, of just reading it over it I found just too many more questions that need to be answered from it that I didn’t pick up after the First Reading. Some of them that I had were, just based on I think there should be more guidelines as far as how we control how the staff knows who does and doesn’t have permission from their parents to possess the cell phones or use them. Also, guidelines as far as designated areas where cell phones can be used, I think there are too many gray areas in this policy.

Ms. Colangelo: Guidelines don’t have to be approved by the Board, only the policy needs to be approved by the Board, guidelines can be added at any time to the policy.

Mr. Lafferty: Do you think my suggestions would be considered to be guidelines or part of the policy?

Ms. Colangelo: I think they are guidelines. The Policy Committee reviewed this two or three meetings and this is the Second Reading for it here.

Mr. Lafferty: Well, if you feel they are guidelines and guidelines can be amended later then we should move forward with it, I have no problem with that, I just feel that it is too vague to have it finalized without the option of having guidelines put in.

Ms. Dzioba: I guess it is really up to other Board members if it should be Tabled or should the Motion stand. If the guidelines can be, this being the policy and guidelines being for each school but it’s just, is it clear that cell phones are not to be used during the academic day?

Dr. Erardi: I would suggest a couple of things and the first would be that if the Board does take action this evening and this policy is supported this evening, that part of that Motion would be that this policy goes into effect for the start of the 06-07 school year. We are now rounding into May with about 6 or 7 weeks of school left, that would give the Administration ample time and I think it would allay the concerns Mr. Lafferty that you are bringing forward, of the guidelines that would follow this policy. So to start the new school year, the policy and guidelines would be established, we would have the opportunity to print them in our Student/Parent handbook and certainly for the Board’s review of the policy and the following guidelines that would be attached to our K-12 District.

Ms. Dzioba: So Todd can amend his Motion to accept, if that is alright with you or do you want to Table it?

Mr. Lafferty: No that is fine, we can move along.

Ms Dzioba: So we can move along with an amended Motion Todd.

Motion presented by Mr. Griffin, seconded by Mr. Lafferty to amend the Motion to include the timeframe as the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year and also that future guidelines can be added.

Discussion:

Mr. Griffin: I would consider this a live and working document and we can feel free to make changes to this at any time.

Ms. Colangelo: If it is a change of policy it has to come back to the Board so if we are not happy with it, we should Table it.

Mr. Griffin: We can also review it periodically as well.

Ms. Colangelo: Yes, most definitely.

Mr. Lafferty: My only concern before is that we didn’t have the option to add guidelines or add any corrections or guidelines to it, so I didn’t think that policy we had would be good enough if it was set in stone, so as long as we have the options to add guidelines later then I have no problem with it.

Mr. Griffin: Sure, I mean the policy we had before was only a two-line sentence so it’s definitely an improvement.

Motion Passed Unanimously

(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)

b. Consideration of Approval to Allow St. John The Evangelist Church Permission To Use Schools in 2006-2007 To Conduct Religious Education Classes

Ms. Theresa N. Morgado, Director of Religious Education, is requesting permission for St. John The Evangelist Church to conduct religious education classes, during the 2006-2007 catechetical year, at John Trumbull and Fletcher Judson Elementary Schools. This has been permitted for the past thirty-three years.

It is recommended that the Board approve of granting permission to St. John The Evangelist Church to conduct religious education classes, during the 2006-2007 catechetical year, at John Trumbull and Fletcher Judson elementary schools.

Motion Presented by Ms. Colangelo, seconded by Mr. Marks that the Board approve of granting permission to St. John The Evangelist Church to conduct religious education classes, during the 2006-2007 catechetical year, at John Trumbull and Fletcher Judson elementary schools.

Motion Passed

(6-In Favor, 1-Opposed, 0-Abstained)

In Favor: Ms. Colangelo, Mr. Griffin, Mr. Lafferty. Mr. Lambert, Mr. Marks and

Mr. Mazzamaro

Opposed: Ms. Dzioba

L. Future Agenda Items and Board Members’ Comments

Mr. Lafferty: After speaking with a few parents after the meeting that Dr. Erardi held two weeks ago about the bomb threat that we had, I felt that there is a need for better communication within the schools as far as how notices and notifications of emergencies such as this magnitude reach the parents. After talking with the parents we came to a consensus that there should be three means of communication so that everyone is notified of any emergency or potential emergency. So, I would just like to recommend to the Policy and Labor Committee that we draft up a policy which would address better communication as far as emergency notices.

Ms. Dzioba: OK we can send that along to the Policy and Labor Committee.

Ms. Colangelo: Yes, I would like an update on the Advertising Committee and what is happening with our signs, if we can have a meeting or an update at a future Board meeting.

Dr. Erardi: On our millions of dollars that are rolling in?

Ms. Colangelo: Yes I want to see that.

M. Public Participation

No one wished to address the Board at this time.

N. Executive Session

Ms. Dzioba: There is no need for an Executive Session tonight.

O. Adjournment

Motion presented by Mr. Lafferty, seconded by Mr. Marks to adjourn the Regular Board of Education Meeting of April 24, 2006.

Motion Passed Unanimously

(7-In Favor, 0-Opposed, 0-Abstained)

Meeting adjourned at 7:53 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted

Todd Griffin, Board Secretary

Barbara Mordenti, Board Clerk