[0:05] And we'll ask Mr. Cicero to please lead us in the [0:10] pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the [0:15] republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and [0:21] justice for all. [0:25] » And before we get started this evening, I'm going to ask for a moment of silence [0:28] uh for Dr. Alfred Letterman. And thank you, Mr. Brown, for uh bringing this up [0:33] for us. Mr. Letterman passed away on July 24th of this year, leaving behind a [0:38] profound legacy of leadership and devotion to public education. Dr. [0:42] Letterman served as the director of secondary education for Southernington [0:46] Public Schools until 1978. Following his successful tenure here in [0:51] Southernington, he assumed the role of superintendent of schools for the East [0:55] Graanby School District until his well-deserved retirement in 1994. Can we [1:00] please give a moment for Mr. Lman? [1:10] » Thank you very much, >> Mr. Brown. [1:12] » Can I just mention um Al Letterman was the guy that actually [1:17] interviewed me. this has got to be 50 years ago and hired me in Southernington [1:23] and one of the nicest men you'll ever meet. We had great conversations and um [1:28] was saddened to see that he had passed away but he is we go way back 50some [1:33] years uh and he was a good man. >> Thank you, Mr. Brown. And Mr. Brown, I [1:38] think you have a motion for us. Uh, I move that we move items 7, B, and C [1:47] to 3, C, and D. We have a motion. [1:52] » Second >> and a second. [1:54] » All in favor? >> I opposed. [1:56] » The motion passes. Okay. Uh, we'll move on to approval of minutes from our June [2:01] 18th meeting. >> So, moved. [2:03] » Second. >> A motion and a second. Any discussion? [2:06] » All in favor? >> Opposed? That motion passes. And then we [2:11] are looking for a motion to approve the July 30th meeting. That is the special [2:15] meeting where uh Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Cardy, and Mrs. Anastasio were present. So [2:21] those are the only three that could vote on that. So I'm looking for a motion. [2:24] » So moved. >> Second. [2:26] » Motion and a second. All in favor? >> I. [2:30] » Any opposed? >> We don't vote. Do it. [2:32] » Right. >> Okay. So the motion passes unanimously. [2:35] » Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Cardy, and Mrs. Anastasia. Yes. [2:39] » Okay. Um, move on to item B. Uh, appointment [2:45] of principal for the Flanders Elementary School. Mrs. Carmy. [2:48] » Yes. I move to appoint Mr. Jason Cecerio as a new Flanders Elementary School [2:54] principal >> at an annual salary of $151,361 [3:00] effective August 6, 2026. >> Second. [3:04] » We have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? Would you call the role [3:09] on this? >> Mr. [3:11] » Yes. >> Mr. Brown. [3:13] » Yes. >> Yes. [3:16] » Yes. >> Mrs. Clark. [3:18] » Yes. >> Mrs. [3:21] » Yes. >> Mr. O. [3:23] » Yes. Congratulations >> and welcome. [3:26] » Welcome. [applause] >> Why don't you come on up and say a few [3:29] words? [3:32] » Oh, good evening members of the board, members of our district team, Mr. Mansy, [3:36] Mr. Pepe and members of the Southernington community. It's with [3:41] great joy and excitement that I begin my tenure as the next principal at Flanders [3:46] Elementary School. Um I am thankful to both the board as well as to the [3:51] district administrative team for the confidence and the trust that you have [3:55] in me to lead out this learning community. And um I was going to say [3:59] like I'm ready to get to work, but it's been about a week now and I've been hard [4:03] at work for the last week. Um, many of you are already aware my family's away [4:07] in vacation on the Cape uh this week and so they're hopefully they logged in on [4:11] time so they can see me. Um, but uh, one of the things that became very evident [4:16] when I did my research on Southernington was how much of a tight-knit community [4:21] this was and through the interview process, there were a handful of [4:25] questions in all of the rounds related to the community that exists at [4:29] Flanders. And uh I've been there for a week exactly as of today and it's been [4:35] evident as teachers are already coming in to get their classrooms set up, [4:38] already having conversations with parents. Um it's a tight-knit community [4:43] and I'm so excited to be able to support them. The bedrock of the work we do in [4:47] education is all about relationships and from the moment I set foot in the [4:51] building and had a long conversation with the custodians and some of the tech [4:54] people, um all of those relationships are already starting. So, I'm looking [4:59] forward to not only a fantastic year, but a fantastic career here in [5:03] Southernington. And thank you all for the confidence that you have in me. [5:06] Thank you. >> Thank you. [5:07] » Congratulations. [applause] [5:12] » We also have the privilege this evening of introducing the new director of the [5:16] Karen Smith Academy, Mr. Mike Drury. Uh Mr. Drury has a long history in [5:20] Southernington of doing a lot of good things for our students and our [5:24] community, and we're really pleased to have you join us in this new position. [5:27] Mr. Why don't you come on up and say a few words? [5:34] » All right. Thank you very much. I'll keep it short. Um, just want to thank [5:38] the board of education, uh, Mr. Mansy, Mr. Pepe, Mr. Aoyan, uh, for kind of [5:42] entrusting me in a very important role within our district. Uh, for the past 15 [5:46] years, Southernington has been home to me. I don't live in Southernington, but [5:50] it I'm I'm in Southernington more than I'm in Bristol, I'll tell you that much. [5:53] Um, also my family's at the Cape, so I can understand that. Um, I'm sure they [5:58] didn't log in because it's probably insanity up there. But, um, I I just [6:03] want to thank this the district number one for the past 15 years to allow me [6:07] grow as an educator, a coach, and now most recently as a leader. Um, I truly [6:11] enjoy waking up every day, coming to school, um, working with the staff, the [6:16] administration second to none, and most importantly, the students. Um this past [6:20] spring I had the opportunity to go down to KSA Karen Smith Academy for the first [6:24] time in my career. Um I was asked to go down there to help out with some of the [6:28] supervision um help the staff and students and the first moment I walked [6:32] in I immediately saw how invested this staff was uh to the students there and [6:37] the students felt at home, accepted, comfortable. So it was a great [6:41] experience. um looking forward to improve and continue to build um the [6:46] culture there and help our students achieve the goals postsecary wise uh [6:52] within high school and help them overcome all the obstacles that may come [6:55] forth. Um so I want to say thank you very much and I'm looking forward I've [6:58] already been at it working hard so we're going to continue on. I I welcome [7:02] anybody to come down visit um spend a day or a couple hours there or half hour [7:08] with the students and I would really welcome it down there. So thank you very [7:10] much. Thank you. Congratulations. [applause] [7:14] » All right, we're going to take a quick recess and so the board members can come [7:17] down and say their words to to you two guys and uh we'll reconvene in about [7:21] five minutes. >> Okay. [7:38] [music] [8:06] » [music] [8:18] [music] [8:53] [music] [9:06] [music] [9:17] [music] [10:05] [music] [10:27] [music] [11:04] » I just say yes to you, but I can't do that, darling. But you are nice and tan [11:07] and I don't like that. >> Okay, come on in. [11:11] » Let's vote. >> All right, there we go. [11:14] » We are going to reconvene uh our meeting and we're going to move into public [11:18] communications. We're looking for communications from members of the board [11:21] of education. Mr. Brown. >> Yeah. I got three things. Uh, first of [11:26] all, the wall of honor. We met several months ago and we finally have notified [11:29] all the people, which takes a while sometimes because they're all over the [11:32] place. I'm going to announce who they are. And then something really special [11:36] this year we're going to do. So, the first person, there's no particular [11:39] order here, Joe Delapora. Uh, if anyone knows, he's very active in the town. [11:43] He's a veteran himself. He's involved with the veterans in town and and the [11:48] school system, but when you look at his resume, I just was going through it, [11:51] it's two pages of volunteer work. So, an amazing guy. Uh, second is Mark Ramsey. [11:57] Again, these are people I think many people in our community know. Mark's [12:01] been involved with Lewis Farms, the Leaf program. Uh, he donates food to all [12:06] kinds of charities in town. Again, another terrific guy. The third one is a [12:11] guy named James Ben, who may not be quite as well known. James Ben is an [12:15] author. He's written 21 books that have been published, which is amazing. Um, [12:20] just talked to him this morning. The fourth one is Austin Florian, the [12:24] Olympian. Uh, we decided not only was he an a sports guy, but he's an [12:30] inspirational speaker also. So, he is going to be inducted. And the last one [12:34] is Donald Dorman. Donald Dorman is the soldier who uh was shot on during World [12:39] War II and was identified just recently. and um had a lot of ser had a ceremony [12:45] in town. So the the special thing this year is normally we have a ceremony at [12:50] the high school and it's very simple. This is our 20th year. We've got a [12:54] little over 50 people on the wall. So we decided to go to the aquaturf make a big [12:59] deal this year. We're going to induct these people and then invite all past [13:02] honores. Uh it's December 8th. Write the date [13:06] down. It's going to be the event of the town of Southernington in the last [13:09] century because the people on the wall are just amazing. So, we'll have more [13:14] information about that as it comes out. Second is the sports hall of fame. We're [13:19] we're also meeting on that one. It's separate from the wall of honor. We are [13:24] reinstituting that. We had our second meeting. We have a great committee. We [13:27] are going to slowly go through the process of having applications and that [13:32] one existed until 2015 and then it was disbanded. We are now going to go back [13:36] to 2015 and continue to now. Um, more on that one. And the last one, I've been [13:43] reading a lot of stuff recently about Scandinavian schools. And one of the [13:48] things I'm reading about is how many of them have realized that we've overdone [13:52] the technology perhaps in the classroom and that they're going back to books and [13:59] writing, a novel idea, no pun intended. Um, [snorts] I don't I'm not saying we [14:04] should do that, but I think we should examine the impact of the technology [14:09] trend and this trend because our job really is to find the best ways to [14:14] educate our students. So, I'm all set. Thank you. [14:17] » Thank you, Mr. P. Anybody else? >> Okay. Uh, looking for communications [14:23] from the administration. >> Thank you, Mr. Oana. Um several items [14:29] tonight, but some are just uh strictlyformational. Uh as you're aware, [14:33] annually we have to uh submit our teacher evaluation plan to the state [14:38] department of education for approval. Um given that there were no changes to it [14:42] this year from last and it was approved last year. It was approved again this [14:45] year. Um and so that's justformational to the board. Um also I had sent out [14:50] some information recently, but I thought it was worth sharing publicly just what [14:53] a great uh summer our students had at Camp Invention. Uh, as usual, it was [14:57] sold out. Um, I we got to see some video of the kids in action. And I just think [15:02] it's great to see it almost leads to I actually responded when I got the video [15:05] to uh the program director. There was no screens in any of the videos. It was [15:09] kids just, you know, hands-on learning, collaborative groups. Um, and so very [15:14] creative thinking. So, just a nice use of time for our students in the summer. [15:18] Um, and so a great opportunity. Um, our summer projects and maintenance work. [15:24] This is always the busiest time of year and Mr. Romano and his team, the [15:28] maintenance staff, um, never cease to disappoint. Uh, one of the big projects [15:33] is the strong elementary school roof being replaced and that is, uh, 90% [15:39] complete and it is on schedule to be finished on time and under budget. So, [15:43] we're proud to share that. >> Um, I think most of us and a lot of [15:46] people have talked about the Aside Barn. Uh, it looks amazing. And so next up uh [15:51] to the barn is we're going to do some site work and there is a former axi [15:55] student uh who owns a landscaping company that's going to donate his [15:59] equipment and labor to do rockhound the uh the top saw and plant grass seed [16:04] there. So, we also had um some members of the the district staff attend the [16:09] open space committee last week and they talked about uh the paddics that we [16:13] would need for the horses and they talked about two paddics and when we [16:17] talked about moving the livestock over there and then getting things set up, it [16:20] it's starting to become more realistic. So, um there was conversation about a [16:24] possible ribbon cutting ceremony during the apple harvest weekend to try and [16:29] just kind of acknowledge a lot of the people that were behind that work in [16:32] making that occur. Um, the tennis courts and parking lot project. I did send the [16:37] board anformational email today. There will be 40 cement trucks on Pleasant [16:41] Street tomorrow lined up ready to pour the concrete for the tennis courts. Um, [16:44] and so that continues to be on schedule. Um, once that concrete is poured, it [16:50] does take 28 days to cure before they put the top coat on it. So, that portion [16:54] of things will will sit for a little bit. Uh, the parking lot itself though [16:57] and the paving is scheduled to be completed on time uh, for the start of [17:01] school. And then the intention there is to shift the zoning in the surrounding [17:04] neighborhoods in terms of the parking restrictions during school hours. So, [17:08] we're excited and grateful for the additional space that we have and also [17:12] that it's going to be ready on time. And we have uh the high school solar [17:18] project um that is also on schedule to be completed on time. Um also under [17:24] budget, so we're proud to share that. And it's uh something that this is a [17:28] unique one for us that we'll watch closely because this is the first array [17:31] in town that we own versus leasing um and and paying a portion to the company [17:36] that had initially purchased and installed the panels. So it'll be [17:39] outright savings for us. Um and so we'll keep the board apprised of that. And uh [17:45] the last is the locker rooms at the high school. Uh again, internal work by the [17:49] maintenance department and just really try to overhaul and improve the [17:54] condition of the boys locker room. Um one of the things I've charged the [17:58] athletic director with and the coaches is to make sure it stays that way. Um [18:02] it's easy for all for it to fall in disrepair if you know kids don't have [18:06] pride in the space and they think someone else is going to take care of [18:09] it. Um, so now that we've got it to a baseline where it's clean, it's [18:13] wellmaintained, and it should be kept as something they should be proud of. And [18:17] so coaches need to please it before and after practice. Coaches need to hold [18:21] kids accountable that abuse the space. Um, and kids need to have some pride in [18:25] that because a lot of people were behind the scenes this summer trying to provide [18:28] them that space. And so, uh, we're thankful for that. Also, uh, tomorrow we [18:34] have our admin retreat. Uh we all we started uh we do some time in two days [18:38] in June typically to start the summer and then we do uh a third full day in [18:43] August when all of the administrators are due back and I've asked Mr. Pepe to [18:46] speak about tomorrow's topics for all of you. [18:49] » Thank you. So the majority of Tuesday afternoon [18:54] release days are dominated by professional development. that [18:57] professional development is planned by our administrators and this year we'll [19:02] continue with two major topics. Um and tomorrow we have two gurus of one of the [19:09] topics uh Joanne Fryberg and Pat Chicone and they'll be with us to talk about [19:16] restorative practice uh specifically restorative circles and it's a great [19:22] resource for our administrators. So the learning that will come from tomorrow [19:25] with with these two folks will be used to plan PD for our teachers throughout [19:30] the year. The second is we have Dr. Ross Green and you've heard me talk about the [19:36] green team. Uh and that's a cross sampling of people in district. Um but [19:44] our our administrators aren't all in tune with Dr. Green's work. So tomorrow [19:50] Dr. Green himself will be with us for a few hours to give an overview of his [19:56] theory, his processes. Um, and we have next year planned two uh site groups, [20:04] one at J A and one at DEES where we'll have six total staff members who will be [20:11] trained bi-weekly, six week intensive training on his model. Um, and we'll [20:18] also have myself and one other person yet to be named uh go into a [20:25] [clears throat] 24-week intensive uh training that ends up being a a trainer [20:31] of the trainers. If we're successful the first 10 weeks, [20:36] we get invited back for the next 14 weeks. I do plan to be successful. So, [20:42] it'll be an experience and one that will yield support for our teachers and our [20:47] students. So, pretty excited about tomorrow. [20:50] » Nice. >> Thank you, Mr. Pepe. Uh, another item [20:54] informational to you. You may recall uh two years back we were part of the [20:59] science of reading master class that um CAPS in the state department of [21:03] education put on. We applied again and were accepted to the cohort six. So we [21:08] have a whole full whole another team of um staff attending the science of [21:12] reading master class this year. So it's it's a pretty intensive comprehensive [21:17] professional development series that Mr. Pepe and I both attended the first uh [21:21] cohort when we were part of cohort 3 and found it to be extremely beneficial. So [21:25] I think that'll help our students you know and as we continue to focus on the [21:28] science of reading. And then lastly just some dates that areformational. We [21:32] talked about tomorrow's admin retreat. Next Thursday and Friday is always a fun [21:36] day. It's the new teacher orientation. Um, our entire admin team shows up first [21:40] thing that Thursday morning. We meet and greet all of the new teachers. It's [21:44] great to see I mean I look at the group and I always I feels like yesterday that [21:47] I was one of them. Um, how excited they are for their first teaching job and you [21:51] know and also maybe a little naive. Um, but you know we have great hires this [21:55] year. Uh, we're pretty much fully staffed at this point minus any last [21:59] minute resignations that we're getting. So they're uh well positioned for that [22:03] orientation. And then our staff return on Monday the 24th, 25th, and 26th for [22:09] three days of professional learning. And then our students will be here on the [22:12] 27th. So it's all coming to a close pretty quick. Um, and so I I'm proud to [22:18] share that a lot of the work that we needed to get done this summer in order [22:21] to be ready has been completed. And that concludes my report. [22:24] » Any questions for the administration? >> Just one. No, no, you go. [22:29] » Um, I I had one quick question. Um, so I received uh from Mr. Oyan um essentially [22:36] the new cell phone policy, what the expectations are for students. Um, which [22:40] I think is great. Um, one of the things that I had a question about though, um, [22:46] you did mention students with individualized plans which require the [22:50] use of a cell phone will still be allowed to in classrooms. Can you [22:54] » sure through like what that would entail? [22:56] » Yep. Yeah. For some students, they have apps that are associated with their [23:00] phones. For example, diabetes. Um there's like blood sugar monitors and [23:05] things like that. So, there are some specific circumstances um that there are [23:10] specific apps whether they're related to mental health, physical health, you [23:13] know, ailments and whatnot, but that has to be programmed for through the AP. [23:16] That's not a teacher saying yes or no based on, you know, a preference to a [23:20] student. >> Gotcha. And is that something where I [23:23] guess at at some point in a perfect world where we could essentially supply [23:27] devices that only have that particular app on it to make sure that [23:33] » Yeah, I think the challenge there is you have students monitoring their blood [23:35] sugar in two different ways. They'll be monitoring it one way at home and one [23:38] way at school. >> That that's a different situation in my [23:42] opinion is more like medical but more of like maybe if it's a learning related [23:46] program or >> most of the learning related needs we [23:49] are able to cover with the technology that we do provide them. [23:52] » That's great. >> All right. Thank you. [23:55] I know this isn't our area, but have the neighbors been notified up at the high [24:00] school? >> So, yes. Yeah. Nope. Good, great point. [24:04] And the the correspondence that I had shared yesterday indicates that it was [24:09] going to be blasted out when they were closer to the completion date to let the [24:12] neighbors know when it would be starting. I think there's been a general [24:15] awareness in terms of it's coming. Um, I'm not quite sure how it's going to [24:19] work logistically yet because it basically says students can't, but [24:22] neighbors and guests and stuff in their neighborhood can. And I don't know how [24:24] you'll discern who's visiting a house and who's a student, you know. Um, but [24:29] I'm going to leave that to the folks that handle parking and and you know, [24:33] that type of enforcement because it is off school property. Um, we will [24:36] certainly cooperate and support any way we can and if that means continuing to [24:40] communicate with families and students uh that may we do sometimes see kids [24:45] walking from certain spaces and they don't live on that street. You know, [24:47] those are examples where if we can offer dual enforcement based on what we can [24:51] see tangibly, we will, but we won't be pleasing those streets. Um, that we're [24:55] going to leave that to the authorities. There is signage uh quite a bit of [24:58] signage that's going to be installed uh to make that very apparent. And quite [25:02] honestly, the amount of spaces we are adding, I'd be surprised if it if it [25:07] does become a challenge. Um, every kid now will have an assigned parking spot. [25:11] And when we did the math based on the kids that didn't get parking passes last [25:15] year, mostly juniors, all seniors got them. [25:17] » Um, we believe we will have enough um to accommodate all the students that are [25:21] going to drive. neighbors. Okay. >> And about tomorrow with the parade of [25:26] cement trucks um that I just had a thought. Do people in the neighborhood [25:31] know? >> We did notify the police department. [25:33] » Did they put it I >> Jimmy Armarmac was notified. So we leave [25:36] it to them to deal with the >> I know it's not our it's not our thing, [25:39] but I was just curious to see if >> we did put it out to to the police [25:42] department. >> Okay. Okay. Hopefully they'll put [25:44] something on Southernington talks. >> It'll be around town. I'm sure. [25:48] » I'm sure it will. I'm sure within 15 minutes it'll be [25:51] » Yeah. >> Do you know which company is supplying [25:54] the concrete? >> I do not. [25:56] » I'm just My cousin works for Telcon so [laughter] [25:58] or FNF rather. So I was just wondering I I would imagine it's a combination of a [26:02] lot of companies. >> I can't wait. I'm really excited. [26:04] » Yes, me too. Lots to do. >> 40 is a lot. That's a lot. 40 is a lot [26:08] of trucks. I'm very excited. >> Okay. All right. Next on the agenda is [26:12] uh communications from the public on items on the agenda. Is there anybody [26:16] that would like to speak on an agenda item this evening? [26:21] Okay. No, we will move on then to excuse [clears throat] me, the superintendent [26:25] report uh the personnel report. >> I recommend that the board of education [26:29] approve the personnel report as submitted by the human resource [26:34] department. >> Second. [26:35] » We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? [26:38] » All in favor? >> I opposed. Motion passes. Uh old [26:42] business, any town government communications, Mr. Bansancy? [26:46] » Done. >> Okay. Excellent. Thank you. Um, new [26:49] business, uh, the class size report, initial class size report. [26:52] » Sure, I can speak to that. Um, proud to share that we are within the board [26:57] guidelines across the district at all schools in all grade levels. Some are [27:01] pushing up against the fringes, but still within or under the guidelines. [27:06] Um, and I think we were able to do a well enough job, especially in the early [27:10] grades, to try and maintain the best that we could with the staffing that we [27:14] have. Um, as I say every year, you know, this time of year, the next two weeks is [27:19] a very much a flurry of registrations and withdrawals. So, this is really a a [27:24] very fluid document at this point in time. So, we can give you definitely a [27:28] more concrete look at these numbers again at the September board meeting [27:31] once the school year has started. Great. >> Excellent. Anybody have any questions on [27:35] the report? >> I was going to say how many um I'm 10. [27:39] We're down 10 teachers from last year in the FTE total. Um, [27:45] have we been going down? >> Yes. [27:47] » Over the We have. Okay. >> So, I I want to say and I I should I [27:53] looked at the current one 154 to 144. We went from 159 the year prior. So, we [27:59] went from 159 to 154 to 144. >> Okay. Okay. Well, we won't have the [28:03] actual number of students and number of teachers until the October. You have to [28:08] report it October. >> The state uses October one as kind of [28:10] the hard guideline for the student counts and pieces. It's that that [28:13] student information system where they do all their accounts. [28:16] » That's what's used to determine like education cost share formulas in terms [28:20] of the enrollment for students and all that. The October one is when they truly [28:22] finalize it. >> Okay. [28:24] » Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. Any other questions on the report? [28:29] » Okay. Hearing none, we'll move on to public communications on items that are [28:33] not on the agenda this evening. Is there anybody like to speak about an item that [28:37] was not posted on the agenda this evening? [28:41] Okay. Seeing none, uh, we're looking for a motion to adjurnn. [28:45] » So moved. >> Second. [28:47] » A motion and a second. All in favor? >> Opposed? We are adjourned. [28:51] » Okay, [28:54] » 7:29. >> Steve, they're coming in. They're coming [28:58] at 6 a.m. >> Can Can I Can I go? Can I show up? I [29:04] love to watch them. I love them. >> Did you see all the rebar laid out and [29:08] stuff? >> No. Can I Can I really Can I really go? [29:10] So, wait. 6:00 a.m. like tomorrow 6:00 a.m. Right. [29:13] » Little kids. >> My cousin works for FNF. He really does. [29:16] » I'm not I'm not sure exactly what time the trucks are coming. I think might [29:20] have been in the update. >> Yeah, it is 6 a.m. [29:21] » But um >> I can go. I don't get wet. [29:24] » It's not closed. It's not closed. >> Yeah. [29:26] » Even if you parked on Analise, you'd be able to watch the whole thing. [29:28] » I'm really excited about it.