MINUTES OF THE CORNWALL BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
HELD ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2008 AT 5:00 P.M. AT
CORNWALL CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL

Board members present were: Barbara Gold, Chairperson; Phil Hart, Becky Hurlburt, and Wynne Kavanagh. Irene Hurlburt and Tom Levine were absent. Others present were Patricia Chamberlain, Superintendent of Schools; Kathleen Fitzgibbons, Principal; and Wendy Frith, PTA.

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

On a motion by Mr. Hart, seconded by Mrs. Hurlburt, the Agenda was accepted as presented.

On a motion by Mr. Hart, seconded by Mrs. Hurlburt, the minutes of the November 20^th meeting were approved.

There were no communications to the Board.

Mrs. Frith said that many new members have joined the CCS PTA and that there is a lot of energy in the group. Ms. Chamberlain added that Cornwall has the largest PTA in Region One.

Mr Hart reported that Judge Manning was once again elected chairman of the Region One Board. The Long-Range Planning Committee continues to meet. The Housatonic football team was recently written up in Sports Illustrated and Cornwall’s Will Kennedy was quoted! The holiday concert was great, partly due to CCS’s Alicia Simonetti-Shpur’s work with several singing groups. The new science and technology center presently needs another $200,000 outside of the regular budget.

There was no Board of Finance report.

The Standing Building Committee met in early December. Mike Root will be pruning obvious dead limbs (hazards) from the trees in front of the school. Other pruning will be postponed until spring.

On a motion by Mrs. Hurlburt, seconded by Mrs. Kavanagh, the Board accepted Business Manager Sam Herrick’s recommendation to accept the low bid (opened December 5, 2008) submitted by William Perotti & Sons, Inc. in the amount of $18,715 for boiler replacement at Cornwall Consolidated School.

Mr. Hart commented that this particular boiler can tie in to an air-handler heating system should that become necessary.

Ms. Chamberlain – Superintendent’s Report

• Due to the current state financial difficulties, some previous mandates will be pushed back by the Commissioner of Education.

• The CABE/CAPSS meeting was excellent

• An article - Breaking It Down: Looking at DI (differentiated instruction), UbD (Understanding by Design), and WWIS (What Works in Schools) was distributed and explained.

Dr. Fitzgibbons – Principal’s Report

• The 3^rd Brown Bag Concert was a success

• The Boys’ Soccer Team will be honored next week with a Region One Champions banner to hang in the gym.

• Alliance Energy will be at the school during the holiday break to convert 4-tube fixtures to 2-tube fixtures with reflectors and install energy efficient lighting in the gym, as agreed last spring

The next Budget Work Session will be held on Wednesday, January 14^th at 4:00 p.m.

The Bullying Policy 5131.911 was reviewed as a first reading. Mrs. Gold requested that all Board members read through the policy carefully and submit any legal questions to the Superintendent.

On a motion by Mrs. Hurlburt, seconded by Mrs. Kavanagh, the Board adjourned to Executive Session to discuss the Superintendent’s Evaluation at 5:33 p.m..

The Board came out of Executive Session at 5:49 p.m. and adjourned immediately after at 5:50 p.m.

Susan F. Gingert

Board Clerk