March 28, 2019 at 7:00 PM - Bethel Board of Education Regular Meeting

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This is the highest award given by the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) to companies not directly involved in public education.

This award is given annually to a business or organization outside the field of education which has improved educational opportunities and outcomes for students in Connecticut. Ingersoll Auto has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to enriching the lives and learning of children throughout the greater Danbury area. As stated in his nomination letter, Mr. Troetti, Principal, Bethel High School, your “immeasurable impact on the entire district” and your generosity in helping to “grow and enhance programs, support students in need, and provide opportunities for staff to feel appreciated and supported.” Ingersoll Auto is an exemplar of what CAS considers to be a “Distinguished Friend of Education” and we thank you for the wealth of resources and opportunities that you have so selflessly afforded to the students of Bethel.

Rationale:  Jeffrey Kitching, Ed.D., Executive Director, EdAdvance, will give a brief presentation on the services provided.

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Our Board of Education Chairman, Mr. Larry Craybas has resigned from the Board due to personal reasons.

I would personally like to thank Mr. Craybas for his service to both the schools and the Bethel community and for his ability to make decisions, keeping what is best for children always uppermost in his mind.   

Larry’s dedication, commitment, patience, hard work, and professionalism as Chairman have significantly helped to improve the educational experience for the children of Bethel and have taught many the meaning of being a responsible member of this community.  Mr. Craybas is consistently school and community minded and a positive role model for the children, parents, community members, and leaders of Bethel. 

Mr. Craybas will continue to be a champion for Bethel Schools and community.

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Our Board of Education Chairman, Mr. Larry Craybas has resigned from the Board due to personal reasons.

I would personally like to thank Mr. Craybas for his service to both the schools and the Bethel community and for his ability to make decisions, keeping what is best for children always uppermost in his mind.   

Larry’s dedication, commitment, patience, hard work, and professionalism as Chairman have significantly helped to improve the educational experience for the children of Bethel and have taught many the meaning of being a responsible member of this community.  Mr. Craybas is consistently school and community minded and a positive role model for the children, parents, community members, and leaders of Bethel. 

Mr. Craybas will continue to be a champion for Bethel Schools and community.

Rationale:  A globally recognized standard of excellence, NEASC Accreditation attests to a school’s high quality and integrity. Public high schools seek the accreditation on a 10 year cycle.   The format for accreditation has changed dramatically.  Bethel High School was one of the first high schools who experienced this new process.  Mr. Troetti will review with you the new process, how it aligns with our district work, and the accolades/recommendations from the team.  Please note, the report is still in draft format.   It will not be formal until the commission votes in April.   

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• Email-  PLEASE EVALUATE AND HOPEFULLY STOP COMMON CORE - J. Gangi-1
• Email - Repeal common core! - J. Gangi-2
• Letter - Regarding Chairman, Larry Craybas - CABE

 

Rationale:  (Please note:  The Board welcomes Public Participation and asks that speakers please limit their comments to 2 minutes.  Speakers may offer objective comments of school operations and programs that concern them.  The Board will not permit any expression of personal complaints or defamatory comments about Board of Education personnel and students, nor against any person connected with the Bethel Public School System.)

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Shed - In Claris put in the pad for free - In budget for this year - Custodial equipment 

Shepaug Update/Question from district.  

Culinary Kitchen - Perkins Grant $18,000 new hood vents for convections oven - Develop a commercial kitchen -Phase 1

Military Ball - Timeline

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Key Points of the Briefing:

1. Bethel High School would like to organize a trip to Costa Rica for those students interested in the study of culture, language, biodiversity, nature, business, and international cuisine.

2. We will use the tour company, EF Tours, which we have worked with in the past and the company has been organizing student tours for years.  

3. The anticipated dates of the 11 day trip would be July 6, 2020 through July 17, 2020.

4. The anticipated cost of the trip for our students would be $2999 (quoted for a minimum of 30 students), which covers roundtrip airfare, hotels, meals, tours and admissions, transportation, service of a full time EF director, and basic insurance).

5. The goal is to have 36 students and 6 chaperones for the trip.

6. As of January 2019, there are no travel alerts or travel warnings to Costa Rica.

Rationale:  At the last meeting the Committee discussed the need to be sure the policy/reg align with the Town's Charter.  Discussed and reviewed the current policy and procedures.   

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The Connecticut General Assembly passed a bill AN ACT CONCERNING REVISIONS TO THE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS, which has been delayed in implementation and significantly revised.  The current version places the requirements for the class of 2023, which is our current 8th grade class.    While this is a regulation, we do think it is important to be aware of the requirements.  Full access to the bill can be found at:  

https://www.cga.ct.gov/2017/ACT/PA/2017PA-00042-R00SB-01026-PA.htm

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• *Raising student lunch prices a modest amount (5 cents) at all schools. Elementary will be

  $2.95 insuring that the district meets the minimum required Paid Lunch Equity by the USDA and Middle School and High School will be $3.30. All student lunch prices include milk.

• *Leaving all student school breakfast prices at $2.30.
• *Leaving Adult meal prices as we do comply with CSDE guidelines. Adult breakfast will remain at $2.75 and Adult Lunch will be $4.00. Adult lunch prices do not include a beverage.
• *Bethel’s prices are similar to other school districts in this area and across the state.

   

  Summary of the Briefing:

  1. To raise the school meal prices to cover increases in labor and food costs and continue to have the school lunch program run at or above break-even and to meet the USDA Paid Lunch Equity requirements.
  2. To set the price for reduced priced breakfast at $0.00 instead of $0.30 for the year 2019-2020. This will continue to encourage participation in the breakfast program and insure that our neediest students are fed each morning. The cost to the board should be less than $2,000. This year we are on pace to serve over 6,000 reduced-priced breakfasts.

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• *CSDE requires annual certification by the Board of Education for participation in the Healthy Foods Certification Program
• *In participating, Bethel can only serve beverages, foods, snacks and a la carte items that have been specifically approved by the CSDE.
• *For participation, the District receives and additional 10 cents reimbursement from the State on each meal served. This is important to the financial success of our program which has always been self-sustaining.

Rationale:  Upcoming bargaining unit negotiations: Nurses, Custodians.

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• *The audit was completed in February 2019 for both the Town of Bethel and the Bethel Board of Education.
• *The audit process went very smoothly again this year as the School Business Office and Town Finance work professionally and collaboratively to close the books, prepare financial statements and provide data to our auditors.
• *No management letter findings have been issued by the Audit firm of PKF O’Connor Davies
• *The auditors had one adjustment to our $46M filing of an amount around $7,000 which was immaterial in nature and amount
• *This was the first year of the new EFS filing with the State. It was a complex process but handled extremely well within the Business Office and the filing was completely accurate and timely in its first submission. This EFS filing replaced the annual ED001.

Rationale:  To have a preliminary discussion regarding the impact of the Board of Selectman & Board of Finance reductions, with additional state mandates.  

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Groundbreaking Ceremony, April 11, 2019 at 11 AM.  Snow/Rain Date - April 23rd

 

We wanted to let you know that the renovate-as-new projects for Johnson and Rockwell are beginning the week of  Monday, April 1, 2019.  We have provided updated phasing plans on our website.   I would encourage you to review them.   This is an overview of what you can expect from now until the end of the summer:

Rockwell School

• Site clearing - trees to right of current playground (facing school) and behind school.  

• Partial removal of hillside behind school (any blasting will be while school is not in session).   

• Fencing of construction areas and removal of current playground.   Fencing of playground next to athletic field.

• Removal of underground tank and relocation of loading docks.

• Prep and installation of portable classrooms with full utilities.  

• Environmental abatement of the entire building (summer).

• Relocation of administrative suite, installation of new rear staircase and elevator.  

• Raising the front Rockwell parking lot.  

Johnson School

• Site clearing, service road and fencing - Some partial tree removal.  Service road to around entire building. Construction fencing installed.  

• Gym demolition and construction.  

• New addition begins (5th grade wing, including STEM room and media center).  

• Environmental abatement of the entire building (summer).

With all of this activity on campus, we will undoubtedly encounter challenges.  Good communication can mitigate those challenges. If you have any concerns during the construction phase, please do not hesitate to reach out to our building principals, Mrs. Salerno at Johnson or Ms. Soucy at Rockwell.  

I will be hosting another parent session on what to expect for new Kindergarten parents after they receive school placement at the beginning of June.  Any parent or community members can attend that session. A date will follow shortly.

Lastly, we will be hosting a groundbreaking ceremony on April 11th at 11:00 AM (rain date April 23rd), in the side parking lot.   We would encourage any parent or community member to attend the ceremony.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any immediate questions.  

Rationale:  Groundbreaking Ceremony, April 11, 2019 at 11 AM.  Snow/Rain Date - April 23rd