December 9, 2009 at 7:00 PM - Regular Board Meeting

Rationale: 

Rationale:  In accordance with the guidance from the Town Attorney, Bill St. Onge, and the BOE Attorney, Richard Mills, it is the responsibility of the Board to fill the vacant seat caused by Dr. Robinson's death.  [See attached opinion letters from the attorneys.]  The Board, after having conducted interviews at the special meeting earlier this evening, may be prepared to appoint an individual to fill the two year term.



MOTION:  to appoint _____________ to the vacant Board of Education seat for the duration of December 9, 2009 through the first Monday in December 2011.

Rationale:  In accordance with BOE by-law 9120, election of board officers, and by-law 9110, terms of office, Mr. Murray will continue to chair the meeting until the completion of election of a new chairperson.  Voting for officers are by written ballot, as required by statute and by-law.

Rationale:  MOTION:  to nominate _____________ as Chairperson of the Killingly Board of Education.


Voting will be done by written ballot.  Please be sure to sign you name to your vote.

Rationale:  MOTION:  to nominate ______________ as Vice-Chairperson of the Killingly Board of Education.

Rationale:  The following students and their families have been invited to attend the Board meeting so that they may be publicly recognized for being chosen as the CAPSS (CT Association of Public School Superintendents) Superintendent/Student Award recipients.

They are:  Andrew Bertorelli (KHS), Brittany Bissonnette (KHS), Emma Guillot (KIS), Desiree Penrod (KIS), Sage Auger (KMS), Alexandria Conde (KMS), Silvia Cote (KCS) and Brennan Young (KCS).

Rationale:  Both Brenda vanderEnde and Sandhya Srinivasan have been invited to be publicly recognized for being chosen as October and November's Employee of the Month, respectively.

Rationale:  This item is placed on the agenda from last month.  It is possible, however, that Barbara Otero, Food Services Director, may still not be able to attend.

Rationale:  Lynda Fosco will be giving a brief report on the happenings at Goodyear.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  This item is included so that any board member who attended the CABE/CAPSS Convention who wishes to share information gathered at the convention can do so.  It was suggested that each member in attendance be prepared to briefly share one significant learning with the board.

Rationale:  A brief project update will be given, along with the recommendations of the Joint Facilities Committee for alterations to the existing high school.  The most important recent news was the approval by the SDE Bureau of School Facilities to go out to bid for FF&E and technology.  Bids are due back on December 22.

Rationale:  After the first wave of the H1N1 flu, attendance has returned to normal.  The Northeast DPH has started flu clinics - the first was at Goodyear on December 3.  Clinics in the other schools will be held after the holiday vacation.

Rationale:  MOTION:  to approve the consent agenda:

a.  regular meeting minutes of November 4, 2009 and November 18, 2009
b.  payment of bills for the 2008-2009 year in November in the amount of $6,108.65 and for the 2009-2010 year in November in the amount of $959,641.57
c.  Employee of the Month for December 2009
d.  Dropout Prevention Incentive Grant Application

Rationale:  As required by law, the Board must approve its regular meeting dates for the next calendar year.  The proposed regular meeting dates are attached.  As has been our practice, the first meeting of the month is our business meeting and the second meeting is focused on curriculum and instruction.  Please note there are several meetings with options for dates due to other conflicts.

This list of proposed dates is for 2010.  When we develop the school calendar for 2010-11 this spring, we will list anticipated meeting dates for January through June, 2011.

Rationale:  The chairperson may choose to make committee assignments, in accordance with Policy 9121(a), at this meeting, or wait until the January meeting.  Standing committees are:
- Fiscal
- Policy
- Curriculum

Ad hoc committees that have been in place:
- Community Engagement
- Negotiations
- Student Board Members

Rationale:  As was reported last month, the physical condition of the White House has deteriorated significantly this fall.  The Town Building Inspector has asked us "how quickly can you move people off the second floor?"  We have looked at four options to ensure the safety of central office staff:

- identify existing usable space in the district (including at the new high school)
- renovate the vo-ag wing of the existing high school
- renovate the former warehouse space at the rear of the White House
- lease available office space

See attached materials for detailed information.  In brief, we believe the best solution, right now, is leasing office space.  We've identified the former Brooklyn Savings Bank on Main Street, Danielson as a cost-effective option.  It has the additional advantages of being across the street from Town Hall, creating a municipal complex in the heart of Danielson; adding daily traffic for businesses in the downtown area; and preserving a historic building of significance located between Town Hall and the Bugbee Building.  Although there would be some budgetary costs this year, it would likely be budget neutral for FY11.

The goal for this evening is to see if there is a consensus around one particular option, so that administration can gather additional information necessary for Board action.

Rationale:  We have seen a net increase in the number of special education students during the past two years.  Last year, this was caused largely by identified students moving into the district, and the greatest impact was on our out-placement tuition line items.  PPS was able to absorb the instructional needs of in-district students with existing staff.  This year, there has been a smaller increase in numbers of special ed students, but a significant change in the degree of disability and impairment.  Consequently, there are more students who require, as determined at their PPT meetings and included in their IEP's, 1:1 aide support.  After stretching our support staff as far as possible, there is the need to add 2.0 FTE instructional assistants at KCS. Additionally, granting me the authority to hire 1.0 FTE more in the future, if needed, will provide some needed flexibility to absorb some students anticipated at Goodyear this winter.  Funding for the first 2.0 FTE would come from already budgeted funds for PIXI staff, no longer needed since we received grant funds to cover that program.  See the attached materials for background.

MOTION:  to approve the addition of 3.0 FTE special education instructional assistants.