MINUTES OF THE CORNWALL BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
HELD ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2005 AT 5:00 P.M. AT
CORNWALL CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL

Board members present were: Barbara Gold; Phil Hart, Becky Hurlburt, Wynne Kavanagh, Catherine Tatge and Jim Terrall. Others present were Patricia Chamberlain, Superintendent of Schools; Tom Gaisford, Assistant Superintendent of Schools; Kathleen Fitzgibbons, Principal; and one member of the press.

Mrs. Gold called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m.

Ms. Chamberlain opened nominations for Chairperson of the Board. Mr. Terrall nominated Mrs. Gold. Ms. Tatge seconded the nomination. On the motion by Mrs. Kavanagh, seconded by Mr. Terrall, nominations were closed. Mrs. Gold was elected unanimously.

Ms. Chamberlain opened nominations for Secretary of the Board. Ms. Tatge nominated Wynne Kavanagh. Mr. Terrall seconded the nomination. On the motion by Mrs. Gold, seconded by Mr. Terrall, nominations were closed. Mrs. Kavanagh was elected unanimously.

On a motion by Mr. Terrall, seconded by Ms. Tatge, the following items were added to Old Business on the Agenda: a. Curriculum Workshop b. Contract
c. Correction of Minutes d. Middle School Athletic Program Scheduling

On a motion by Ms. Tatge, seconded by Mrs. Kavanagh, the minutes of the October 20 meeting were approved with the following addition and correction from Mrs. Kavanagh: paragraph 6 - …three Cornwall students – Julien Lasseur, Sarah Freedman, and Radha Patel - will be representing HVRHS at the QuizNet competition National Academic Championship in Washington, D.C. The minutes of the November 1 Special Meeting were approved.

Mr. Terrall said that some parents had spoken with him about the seating policy at lunch time. Mrs. Kavanagh mentioned that the PTA had sponsored a program by Dr. Fitz at the Cornwall Library on children’s books and different types of literature that was well received.

The budget remains in order to date.

There are no Region One Board meeting items to report as the next meeting is Monday, November 21.

There was no Board of Finance report.

Board of Finance meetings: November – Mrs. Gold; December 15 – Ms. Tatge

Ms. Chamberlain – Superintendent’s Report

• Schools will be reporting the number of instances of asthma to the Department of Public Health

• There will be an All-Boards meeting in January (perhaps the 17^th) on the roles and responsibilities of board members

• The cost of fuel oil was set at $2.02

• Congratulations were extended to Trey Hatcher for being the Student of the Year at CCS

• HVRHS Principal Dr. Gretchen Foster was recently awarded Outstanding First Year Principal

• The Gabriel Seymour lawsuit was dismissed

• A press release was distributed $200,000 Anonymous Gift to Region One Schools – this is a matching grant to the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation to help fund six endowed enrichment funds, including the Cornwall Consolidated School Fund for Excellence.

Mr. Terrall reported for the Building Committee that the punch list is getting shorter. West State Mechanical will be returning to work on the hot water/boiler issue.

Mr. Gaisford discussed UBD (Understanding By Design) curriculum development and passed around as an example a third grade science unit developed by CCS 3^rd grade teacher Joyce Samson and another science teacher in Region One. UBD “unpacks” standards set by the State Department of Education so they make sense on an instructional level, and is based on activities and assessment. A second team of teachers then reviews and makes recommendations on each unit. He said that although this regional initiative was introduced just four years ago, 27 units have been developed over recent professional in-service days.

Dr. Fitzgibbons – Principal’s Report

• The fifth graders raised $1,379.02 to send to AmeriCares to help victims of Hurricane Katrina

• A University of Connecticut survey was distributed to all parents and teachers with questions about CCS

• Parent/teacher conferences were held this week

• Board members were invited to the annual Kindergarten Thanksgiving dinner on Friday the 18^th

• Strategic School Profiles for 2004-2005 were distributed

Old Business

Curriculum meetings will be held on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. The first would be on math on January 17.

The teacher contract has been signed and will go to the Town Hall for 30 days before final acceptance. Mrs. Gold and Mrs. Kavanagh were applauded for there time and attention to the process.

Mr. Terrall discussed the need for an athletic director for middle school teams. Bruce Adams of Kent sent a tentative job description to Region One coaches, administrators, and the RSC. Support from local boards would be necessary to justify the $6-8K cost of the position.

On a motion by Ms. Tatge, seconded by Mrs. Hurlburt, the Board approved the following: that the minutes of the regular May 20, 2004 meeting be corrected to read that Mr. Hart’s position as Region One Board representative from Cornwall extend through November 2006. (previously November 2005)

On a motion by Ms. Tatge, seconded by Mrs. Hurlburt, the following was added to the Agenda under New Business: e. Discuss State Suit Against NCLB Act.

It is the opinion of the attorney general that there is not enough federal funding to comply with NCLB requirements.

On a motion by Mr. Hart, seconded by Ms. Tatge, the Cornwall Board of Education endorsed the Attorney General’s NCLB suit against the U.S. Department of Education concerning the funding and yearly requirements of NCLB.

Under additional comments it was reiterated that Board members should remind people that written (rather than verbal) comments and communications have more impact.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:44 p.m.

Susan F. Gingert

Board Clerk