MINUTES OF THE CORNWALL BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING
HELD ON THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2004 AT 5:00 P.M. AT
CORNWALL CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL

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

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

Board of Finance Meetings: April 15 – Mrs. Gold - Board of Education Budget review

On a motion by Mr. Terrall, seconded by Mr. Hart, the minutes of the March 11 Special meeting were accepted with the following amendment. Under PTA report: Proposal for After School Program has been presented to the Board of Finance.

Mrs. Bramley reported that the PTA is deciding on a gift to give to the school related to the building project.

There is no Region One report because of an RSC joint meeting with Region One.

Expenditures for March are in line with the budget.

There was no Board of Finance report.

Mr. Terrall reported from the Building Committee that foundations have been poured for the music room addition and the stairwell, and work in the old gym and stage area begins tomorrow. A temporary back wall will be installed in the music room over the spring vacation. Mr. Terrall, on behalf of the Building Committee and contractors, thanked the school for their cooperation and willingness to give up the gym before the end of school. Bill Wadsworth is the new project manager for Casle Corporation and work is progressing well.

Superintendent’s Report

· Ms. Chamberlain asked the Board to act on the Regional School District Governance resolution.

On a motion by Mr. Terrall, seconded by Mrs. Kavanagh, the following resolution was passed:

REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT GOVERNANCE

WHEREAS, the existing statutory framework for regional school districts have served the participating committees well for many years; and

WHEREAS, proposed legislation to allow regional boards of finance will create another layer of bureaucracy for regional school districts; and

WHEREAS, a regional board of finance will create a gap between fiscal authority and accountability; and

WHEREAS, the proposed legislation will exacerbate existing tensions between towns participating in regional school districts, which could cause the regional district to disband; and

WHEREAS, there are other ways to solicit community and town government input short of creating a regional board of finance which we are currently using and plan to continue;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cornwall Board of Education respectfully requests that the Connecticut General Assembly reject proposals to modify the governance structure of regional boards of education.

· A letter of resignation was read. Micheline Guilman will be moving from the area.

On a motion by Mr. Hart, seconded by Mr. Terrall, the Board accepted, with regret, Micheline Guilman’s resignation from the position of Physical Education/Health teacher.

· Ms. Chamberlain sought input for the RSC regarding the 2004-2005 school calendar. Salisbury has asked for a revision because of the very late April vacation next year. It was originally established because of the CAPT tests given at the high school in April. The suggestion was made to move the vacation to the week of March 21, with the teacher workshop moved to April. The Board agreed and recommended this change.

Dr. Fitzgibbons – Principal’s Report

· Working on Extended Day Learning Program (new name for after school program)

· Applauded social studies teacher Bob Coppola for arranging stagecoach rides – related to the Social Studies curriculum – for entire school

· Quiz Bowl with students and parents, also arranged by Bob Coppola, was a great success

· Eleanor Roosevelt (Elena Dodd) visited the school and presented two programs – Hannah Colbert’s grandmother (Jean Leich) was a member of the women’s press corps in the 1940’s and spoke about meeting with Mrs. Roosevelt

· The Youth Audiences of Connecticut and the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai Brith presented a play and workshops dealing with tolerance

· Girls’ Learning International – a program stressing the importance of girls’ education, will be working with 6^th,7^th, and 8^th grade girls

· On Arbor Day, April 30, Tom Zetterstrom will be at the school to help plant an elm tree

· International Day will be held in the classrooms on Wednesday, April 28.

· At a meeting with 8^th grade students and parents, it was decided that the awards assembly, normally part of the evening graduation ceremony, will instead be held at 10:00 a.m. on the day of graduation at the school. Graduation will be held on Tuesday, June 15, with a reception at Mohawk Mountain Ski Area.

· Students sent thank you letters to Carol Lugar at Mohawk for the privilege of having winter ski passes

· On May 24^th, the first annual CCS Walk-a-Thon will be held, rain or shine. One half of the proceeds will go to a charity or local cause, and the other half will be divided amongst all the grades to build balances in each class account to be used towards the annual 8^th grade class trip. This year half of the proceeds will go to the Retts Foundation, in honor of Elizabeth Watts, who will leave CCS and attend the high school next year.

On a motion by Mr. Hart, seconded by Mrs. Kavanagh, a new account, the CCS Walk-a-Thon, will be set up at National Iron Bank.

On a motion by Mrs. Kavanagh, seconded by Mr. Terrall, the Superintendent of Schools, or his designee, was authorized to enter into a contractual agreement with Strategic Energy Limited, for the purpose of consortium purchasing of electricity.

Mr. Hart brought the Board up to date on negotiations meetings with the classified staff. One session with the state mediator has been held, with another scheduled.

Ms. Chamberlain handed superintendent evaluation forms to Mrs. Hurlburt for the next meeting.

Mr. Terrall asked that a discussion of the D.A.R.E. program be included on the May agenda. He also asked that a discussion be held on the Board of Education’s response to NCLB.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:12 p.m.

Susan F. Gingert

Board Clerk