[0:18] Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Winchester Public Schools Board of

[0:21] Education regular meeting May 12th of 2026.

[0:25] I'd like to call to order the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:31] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[0:37] republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:44] justice for all.

[0:49] » Okay, roll call. >> Joseph Sandoro

[0:53] » Chrissy Rylander >> Shane Centrello

[0:56] » Kurt Warner >> Julie Luby

[0:58] » Nora McCarsky >> Jonathan Morhardt

[0:59] » Carol Keia >> Allie

[1:03] » Allie Bishop >> And we have Allie Bishop on the phone.

[1:06] Thank you. Um on to item two, approval of the agenda. Does anyone have any uh

[1:12] questions, additions?

[1:18] Everyone's good? Okay, on to item three, student

[1:22] participation, student showcase.

[1:26] » We have a big group of third graders here.

[1:31] And I'm just going to let them tell you everything. I don't want to say a word.

[1:34] » Did we approve the minutes? I don't think we approved them.

[1:37] We just went over them. >> That's item five.

[1:41] » Oh. >> Yeah, done that.

[1:42] » Oh, the agenda, sorry. Did we approve those?

[1:45] » I did. >> You would only have to vote if you were

[1:46] making changes. >> Oh, okay. Okay.

[1:51] » Otherwise it is You know what, sometimes we do, so you're not wrong. But

[1:55] technically it's it is the agenda, so. Wow, look at everybody.

[2:02] » Good evening, Board of Education members, and all of our families. So

[2:08] nice to see all of you here. Today, I have the pleasure of

[2:13] introducing third grade students. They're actually

[2:18] going to introduce themselves, and they're going to tell you a little bit

[2:22] about what they've been learning in their reading and social studies classes

[2:26] around the Norse and Viking gods. So, I'm going to ask Luna to start us

[2:33] off. >> Hi, my name is Luna. And

[2:37] one thing I've learned in Norse myths mythology is I

[2:43] um that Loki cut off Sif's hair, and Thor had fire in his eyes.

[2:50] » Thank you. >> Can I just say something I did?

[2:53] » You want to tell them a little bit about the group work that you did?

[2:56] » Yeah. It's where we made a chart of who, where, and questions, and what do you

[3:01] think? And it's kind of telling you about like we read a chapter, and then

[3:07] we wrote about what we heard from the chapter.

[3:10] » And how is that helping you as a reader? >> It helps me remember and kind of like

[3:16] put my ideas on paper to try to like um like look back at it and see if I can

[3:25] » Hi, my name is Emma, and I'm

[3:30] » We're in a different order than we practiced, so

[3:34] go ahead, Adrian. >> Good morning. Um

[3:37] good evening. My name's Adrian, and I wrote about

[3:43] the Viking

[3:47] the Viking One thing that I would like to tell you

[3:53] is that Thrym stole

[3:57] Thor's hammer and buried it 6 mi underground. And this is a picture that

[4:01] I would like to show you about Thrym. >> All right.

[4:06] Okay, now your turn. >> Hi, my name is Emmett and I'm in Miss

[4:11] Corrado's third grade class. One thing that I learned about the Norse

[4:16] gods is Odin drank from the fountain of wisdom and traded his one of his eyes to

[4:23] get more wisdom, so he is very smart. >> My name is Sammy. I am in Miss Corrado's

[4:32] third grade class. One thing I learned about the Viking gods is that Loki is

[4:39] not actually a god. He was invited to live with the gods by Odin. He's a

[4:45] giant.

[4:49] » Good evening. My name is Audrey and I'm from Miss Wickham's third grade class.

[4:56] One thing I learned about the Viking gods is that Thrym

[5:01] is Thrym stole Thor's hammer and won't give

[5:05] it back until he marries Freya.

[5:11] » Hi, my name is Naomi. I'm from Mrs. Camacho's third grade class and one

[5:14] thing that I learned about Viking gods is

[5:19] Balder, the son of Frigga and Odin, actually was killed by Loki.

[5:27] » Hi, my name is Olivia. Um I'm from Mrs. Camacho's third grade

[5:32] class. One thing about the Viking gods were

[5:37] Lo- Loki cut off his hair and Loki made Thor

[5:43] dressed up as a girl because because

[5:47] a a giant stole his hammer and won't give it back until he gets

[5:52] Freya. >> And do you want to tell them about what

[5:56] you guys have made? >> We made some drawings about

[6:00] what we learned about it.

[6:04] » And Naomi, do you want to tell them about your

[6:07] » So, we made Viking hats to kind of see what like the Viking gods wore.

[6:15] And kind of

[6:19] having fun designing our own kind of Viking hats.

[6:23] » [snorts] >> Great. Excellent job.

[6:27] » [applause]

[6:31] [applause] >> Thank you guys. Wonderful. Who

[6:35] Adrian, who is your teacher? >> Miss Rigdon.

[6:38] » Miss Rigdon and Luna? >> Miss

[6:40] » Miss >> Okay, thank you. Awesome job.

[6:44] » All third grade represented. >> Great. Thank you for coming out. I know

[6:48] it's a school night. So, you get you can get to go home and

[6:53] get a good night's sleep. >> You guys did a great job. Thank you.

[7:01] » [applause]

[7:06] » Oh. That's awesome.

[7:11] Okay. Thank you guys. Um Let's move on to item B, student

[7:18] representative report. >> I think it's better than it was.

[7:23] » Yeah, close it if you want.

[7:31] It's the same thing. That's what you're going to be

[7:33] » And I just have the one because it was really fast.

[7:38] » All right, we're going to be nice and loud.

[7:41] Okay? >> And is there a microphone?

[7:43] » This is a microphone. So, I'm going to like talk in that.

[7:47] » Well, you're going to sit normally. It'll pick you up, okay? Go ahead.

[7:50] » Hello, my name is Autumn and I'm in second grade. This month in second

[7:57] grade, we are learning about voting for a cause

[8:00] and the war of 1812. This is when people work together to make where they live a

[8:05] better place. We've also been working on spelling

[8:09] hard words like sad and swirling. Math is really fun. We are our

[8:14] We are learning about 2D and 3D shapes. We are also connecting the dots to make

[8:20] shapes inside of figure shapes. Like we can make like a triangle inside a square

[8:26] or rectangle. Now that the weather is nicer, we are

[8:31] enjoying recess and gym outside. Pre-K has been learning about plants and

[8:38] how they grow with water, sunlight, and soil. They

[8:43] They also learned that plants do an important job by making seeds and

[8:49] fruits that help grow new plants and provide food for

[8:56] people and animal animals, I mean.

[9:00] Kindergarteners are getting ready to learn about taking care of the earth.

[9:06] They will be learning about rescuing items, recycling items,

[9:11] re- re- >> reducing

[9:13] » reducing how much trash we make. In grade one, they just finished reading

[9:20] fairy tales. They are working on hard reading and can now read two-syllable

[9:26] words e- which uh

[9:29] they're makes their reading more fluent.

[9:34] In math, they're working on adding two-digit and

[9:40] two-digit and two-digit numbers. One thing I'd like to see happen at

[9:46] Hansel Playground is adding monkey bars, maybe two so more friends can play.

[9:52] Thank you for having me. >> Thank you, Autumn.

[9:56] Autumn, who's your teacher?

[9:58] » Miss Farrell. >> Miss Farrell?

[10:01] Thank you. >> I don't know. Miss Farrell just had a

[10:03] baby. >> Oh. Okay.

[10:06] All right. >> I think it was I believe.

[10:20] » Good evening, board members. My name is Reed Waters and I'm in fifth grade at

[10:24] Pearson. For school activities and events, all

[10:28] students are working hard on smarter balanced assessments for ELA and math.

[10:33] The fifth grade will be taking the NWEA S science assessment after we are done

[10:37] with smarter balanced. We showed our appreciation for staff

[10:41] during teacher appreciation week last week.

[10:45] The teachers got lots of treats. For our academy highlights, something

[10:49] neat that students have been learning. Third grade, in math and science,

[10:53] students are designing and building their own model bridges.

[10:57] In ELA, third graders are learning about early explorers in America.

[11:02] Fourth grade, in math, students are learning about area, perimeter, and

[11:06] geometry. In language arts, students are learning about the American Revolution

[11:11] and writing historical fiction. In science, students are learning about

[11:16] geology, the his- the history of land forms of the earth, including Pangea.

[11:23] Fifth grade, in math, students finished the unit on geometry, including

[11:27] coordinate graphing, identifying triangles and quadrilaterals, computing

[11:32] volume, and making and reading line plot graphs.

[11:35] In language arts, students are learning about chemical matter and the different

[11:39] states of matter. We will be reading and solving a mystery relating to chemical

[11:44] matter as well. In science, students have been studying astronomy and the

[11:48] Earth's place.

[11:52] Sixth grade, in math, students are studying basic algebra using variables

[11:57] and equations and using the distributive property. In language arts, students are

[12:03] starting a unit on the Titanic and are studying information literacy, learning

[12:08] the difference between primary and secondary and tertiary resources,

[12:13] determining if sources are reliable, and understanding the ethical use of

[12:18] resources. In science, students are learning about

[12:21] Earth's resources and human impact. The driving question is, "How do changes in

[12:26] the Earth's system impact our communities and what can we do about

[12:30] it?" School improvements are needs. One thing

[12:34] that would make our school better is some ideas shared by fifth graders. In

[12:38] ELA, we studied Martin Luther. He didn't agree with the teachings of the church

[12:42] and came up with 95 objections. Fifth graders are working hard on 95 theses

[12:48] about how to make our school better. Here are some theses, like after-school

[12:52] advanced classes, sports teams after school, and a garden or greenhouse.

[12:58] Third graders are writing op- opinions and shared some opinions with Miss

[13:02] Aurelio. One great thing about Pearson. I really

[13:05] like this school because of the vibe. When I walk down a hallway, every

[13:08] teacher says, "Hi." Thank you for inviting me to share Pearson School's

[13:12] happenings with you this evening. >> [applause]

[13:19] » So, Rita's a record holder in school?

[13:23] For? >> The a test.

[13:26] » And how many? >> 77

[13:27] » 77, he set the record last year or did you beat it again this year?

[13:31] » it again this year. >> you did.

[13:33] » [laughter] >> And you're you're a national BMXer?

[13:36] » Mhm. >> So, he's on the national team for BMX.

[13:38] » International or national? >> Um

[13:40] » International. >> Yeah, I raced in Denmark last year, so.

[13:47] » Awesome. >> Would you like to share the opinion

[13:50] writing from third grade? You can give it to one of the board members. This is

[13:53] the opinion writing that the third graders all signed and delivered to Mrs.

[13:58] Silverio.

[14:01] » On the 95 theses? >> No, that was the fifth grade.

[14:04] » Oh, okay. >> The fifth graders dressed up as monks

[14:07] and they had their hoods on [clears throat] and they all came down

[14:09] silently and hung up their 95 theses

[14:13] » all over >> Was it really silent?

[14:16] » They were silent. They did a good job. >> Good job.

[14:19] » That takes some doing. >> Until I started disputing some of their

[14:24] bedtime three-hour delays more often, early dismissals, and nap time. We can

[14:29] talk about three-hour delays. >> How about nap time?

[14:32] » I'm all in for nap time. >> [laughter]

[14:35] » Thank you, Rita. >> You're welcome. Awesome job, Nora.

[14:41] » [applause]

[14:44] » Okay, as we pass it around. Okay, we're going to move on to item four.

[14:49] Uh this is the time for public comment. Uh the Winchester Board of Education

[14:54] welcomes you to its business meeting. There are two opportunities

[14:58] set aside to hear comments from the public. We welcome and encourage public

[15:02] participation as a valued part of communicating input with the Winchester

[15:06] Board of Education. We appreciate your adherence to the following. Complete the

[15:11] requested information on the sign-in sheet if you wish to speak. State your

[15:15] name and address when called upon to speak and you will be allotted three

[15:20] minutes to share your comments. Please be advised that this is not the

[15:24] practice of the Board of Education to engage in dialogue regarding commentary.

[15:28] The Superintendent of Schools will be directed by the chairperson to prepare

[15:33] an appropriate response in a timely manner. We appreciate your time and

[15:37] thoughtful commentary. Does anyone wish to speak?

[15:43] Does anyone wish to speak?

[15:48] Does anyone wish to speak? Okay. Seeing none, move on to

[15:55] Moving on to item five, approval of the minutes, minutes of the regular board

[15:59] meeting April 7th, 2026. Does anyone have any

[16:04] questions? >> I make a motion to approve the regular

[16:08] Board of Ed meeting minutes April 7th, 2026.

[16:10] » Okay. We have a motion to approve. Do we have a second?

[16:13] » Second. >> Second. Jonathan, all in favor?

[16:19] And then Two abstain, two abstentions. Okay.

[16:25] And >> Ellie.

[16:26] » Ellie? Forgot about her.

[16:30] » What'd you say, Ellie? Sorry. >> I'm in favor.

[16:34] » Okay. Perfect.

[16:41] » Correct. >> All right. On to item B, minutes of

[16:44] committee meeting April 28th, budget and finance committee.

[16:51] Motion to approve? >> Motion to approve.

[16:54] » Chris, you? Second?

[16:56] » I'll second that. >> All in favor?

[17:01] So, 1 2 3 4 5, Ellie? >> I'm in favor.

[17:07] » Six. Nora,

[17:10] Carolyn, Nora, abstention. Okay.

[17:13] Item two, approval of the policy and bylaw

[17:18] committee. >> Make a motion to approve.

[17:22] » Tracy. >> Second.

[17:23] » Jonathan, were there anyone else there? >> Uh Frank.

[17:27] » Frank, but he is not there, so two zero.

[17:33] Okay. Uh

[17:36] minutes of special meeting on April 28th, 2026.

[17:43] » Yeah. >> Shane.

[17:44] » Motion to approve. >> Okay.

[17:46] Second.

[17:49] » I don't know what meeting >> Uh second. It's It was the same night as

[17:52] the committee. >> The special meeting?

[17:55] » Yeah. >> Second.

[17:56] » Nora second. All in favor? Yeah, one, two, three, four, five.

[18:01] » Was it the one that I wasn't here for or was it

[18:03] » you were there. >> Oh, I was there then.

[18:04] » Six, Ellie. >> I approve, too.

[18:07] » Seven. Um Carol abstains.

[18:11] Okay. All right.

[18:15] Okay. On to item six,

[18:19] communications, chairperson's comments. Uh

[18:24] for those of you who were not able to attend last

[18:28] night's um public meeting at the Gilbert School,

[18:32] the budget did move on. Um

[18:36] and the referendum is set for May 30th, which is a Saturday.

[18:42] Um so I hope everyone goes out and votes. Um I hope we all vote yes on the

[18:48] budget. Um obviously, you can do what you want, but it's very important that

[18:52] we've gone through a long laborious process for both our Board of

[18:57] Ed, our Board of Selectmen, um and we have a budget presented that

[19:03] we hope everyone is in approval of, um so we can get to work um for the next

[19:09] upcoming school year. Um so

[19:13] that's what I have to say for that. Uh, superintendent's report.

[19:18] » Good evening, everyone. Nice to see you all.

[19:21] Um you have my written report, so I'll just

[19:25] highlight a few things from it. Um

[19:29] I will tell you I attended um the Hinsdale Unified Arts teacher hosted

[19:34] such a fun evening. Um each special area teacher, PE, art,

[19:39] music, and innovation had activities set up um

[19:44] all the way pre-K through second grade, and kids came with their families. Um

[19:49] Tiffany, are there some pictures of that on Facebook?

[19:52] It was spectacular. Every room was just the kids were running around with joy um

[19:58] doing neat things, and uh underlying it was a scavenger hunt idea that they

[20:02] would go and look at artwork and find the answers to questions to be in a

[20:06] raffle for a basket. It was great. Um

[20:10] as uh the students mentioned, Smarter Balanced is underway, and I should also

[20:15] highlight that, and I know many of you saw Beauty and the Beast. It was

[20:19] awesome. >> Amazing.

[20:20] » Fantastic. >> I'm blown away every year by the quality

[20:25] of a production that we're able to put on with fifth and sixth graders. You

[20:28] would expect that to be little kid level, and it's just not.

[20:33] It's really, really great. Um so we're very grateful to Teresa Payton and oh

[20:38] god um >> The music teacher.

[20:41] » Jackie. >> Jackie, thank you. And Jackie for doing

[20:44] such a great job again. Um

[20:47] under operations, I will tell you that we began and concluded food service

[20:52] union negotiations. Um we'll have that to you for the next

[20:55] meeting. Um and I think that's our last union

[20:59] contract for the year, hopefully. >> Yes.

[21:01] » We had like four, I think, that we did this year.

[21:05] Um >> Mhm.

[21:07] and the building committee has been formed and voted on by Board of

[21:10] Selectmen for the Pearson roof. Um and I believe that they have their

[21:15] first meeting right now, actually, as we're meeting.

[21:19] Um so that's a great thing.

[21:22] Um I did invite uh Mrs. Marquardt to join us again this evening because we

[21:27] approved her and introduced her at a committee meeting in Hinsdale school

[21:32] where we weren't um sharing with the full community. So, Sherry is here with

[21:36] us. Um

[21:39] as you know, we ran an extensive search. Um

[21:43] we looked high, we looked low, and we really, I think Sherry will concur, put

[21:47] her through the paces. We had our candidates back multiple times. We had

[21:51] them interact with staff and with students and data and committees and do

[21:56] teacher observations and everything we could think of to be sure we found the

[22:00] right person, and we really [snorts] say, I say with great confidence that we

[22:04] did find the right person in Sherry. Congratulations.

[22:08] » I'm honored and excited to work with staff.

[22:12] They're amazing. I've met so many of them already.

[22:15] Miss Silverio has been amazing in helping me understand the building and

[22:21] the the flow of the building. I'm looking

[22:24] forward to working with the community, building partnerships.

[22:29] And the students have been

[22:31] so personable that I've met, so

[22:34] I'm looking forward to it. >> Welcome.

[22:36] » Thank you very much. >> Sherry

[22:38] » [applause] >> was in town

[22:39] yesterday. She attended our uh grade two to three transition ice cream social,

[22:45] and I know she's coming back to meet the faculty on a different day and spend a

[22:48] day shadowing Barb, so she is graciously taking time from her

[22:53] current position to get to know us so that come July 1, she'll hit the ground

[22:57] running when she begins. Um Sherry, you're going to do a lot of

[23:01] board meetings when you're officially the principal. I would welcome you and

[23:05] encourage you to run right out the door and have a nice

[23:08] evening while you can.

[23:12] » Thank you.

[23:16] » Bye, Sherry. Thank you. Um I'll just highlight a couple of other

[23:20] things. Um we did send to all certified staff um the opportunity to take us up

[23:27] on an increased uh waiver for um hopping off our benefits. Uh Nancy and I

[23:32] affectionately call it the get off our benefits plan. Um

[23:37] we did the math until we figured out um how many people would need to take it if

[23:43] we offered this to make it um a benefit to the district because we

[23:48] have people who already receive a waiver, so theirs would go up. So, if

[23:52] not enough people took it, we wouldn't even cover it. It would cost us more.

[23:56] So, um we should know by the end of this week if um we raised it enough that it

[24:02] encouraged people to hop off. Um the other thing I'll just briefly

[24:08] mention and um Kathy Gabrielson is going to tell you

[24:11] more about in a little bit is that we've been working on developing um a

[24:15] transition program for our 18-to-22-year-old population.

[24:20] Um the impetus really was that the program that we currently send our

[24:24] students to, which was here in Winsted, is moving out of town.

[24:28] And so, there are two things about that we didn't love. One is our

[24:32] transportation bill was going to go up $50,000, which would be unbudgeted

[24:36] because we only just found it out about 2 months ago.

[24:40] And we feel strongly that our students are best served in their own community,

[24:44] where they're learning to use public transportation, where they're making

[24:48] connections, where they're working in businesses in town.

[24:51] So, we are um working quickly to get a program

[24:56] developed, staffed, and um programmed for our students. So, Cathy's going to

[25:01] tell you a little more of the details. Um and then the other thing I wanted to

[25:05] just highlight for you, and I'll send around I brought you a copy of the

[25:08] beautiful flyer that Barb and Rosie sent out. Um one of the things that we um

[25:14] worked on this year was making sure that the transition between second grade and

[25:18] third grade was a smooth one. We know that when students um move between

[25:23] buildings, it can be a time of stress for them and for their parents, and we

[25:27] really wanted to make it seamless. So,

[25:32] um in addition to the things that we

[25:34] already did, which were wonderful, like having the entire grade level come over

[25:38] and having smaller groups of students come more than once.

[25:41] Um Pearson School third-grade teachers

[25:44] scooped ice cream yesterday at an ice cream social for the second graders and

[25:48] their families, which was a great way to be able to put

[25:51] names and faces for the kids to actually see who the teachers were, and uh we had

[25:56] paraeducators participating. Um so, that was a huge hit. And then

[26:00] Barb will be hosting walking tours um for parents who sign up to come in

[26:05] during the school day and just get a walking tour through the school.

[26:09] Um I imagine if you have lots of older kids, that might not feel necessary, but

[26:13] if it's your first child coming to Pearson School, it'll be a great way for

[26:16] families to walk the building, sort of just put aside any butterflies

[26:21] they may have. So, we're really excited about all of that.

[26:25] And then the one other thing I'll add to my superintendent's report is that um

[26:29] when this went to press, there was not a date set yet for the vote, but May 30th

[26:34] um would fall right in this very full list. May is um

[26:38] a very, very busy time for us, and May 30th now will be the vote. Um and my

[26:44] understanding is that at the end of this week, by Friday, absentee voting will be

[26:48] available um and can be accomplished by simply going into the town clerk

[26:54] um during regular town clerk hours and attesting that you don't anticipate

[26:59] being available on um the Saturday of the vote and you can

[27:04] vote right there and then. So. >> Do you know what the hours are on

[27:07] Saturday? So everybody knows.

[27:09] » For the voting, um I believe 8 to 8. >> And the town clerk's hours are Monday,

[27:14] Tuesday, Wednesday 8 to 4, Thursday 8 to 6, and Friday 8 to 12.

[27:22] That was your last opportunity to speak. >> Great.

[27:28] » And I think that's about [clears throat] it for me.

[27:30] » All right. >> For now.

[27:32] We have a nice full agenda, there's plenty more.

[27:34] » Absolutely. Okay. On to committee reports. Finance

[27:41] Committee. Um when we met uh

[27:45] we basically went over uh some of the scenarios we might have been looking at

[27:51] um as far as

[27:55] cuts within the budget um with a million dollar cut that we received from the

[27:59] Board of Selectmen. Um so we went over that and uh that

[28:05] basically took the content of that committee.

[28:10] Um All right. Uh teaching and learning.

[28:17] » We actually did not have a committee meeting.

[28:20] » Mhm. >> Um

[28:22] nothing [crying]

[28:25] We got the minutes. >> Got it.

[28:27] » We got it. >> [laughter]

[28:29] » So there was no meeting. Um so there's nothing to report. Um Policy Committee.

[28:36] » We sent the following policies uh to the full board for deletion, concepts and

[28:40] rules and instruction, COVID-19 emergency measures, extra class

[28:44] activities, and offsite computer use. We sent uh the uh following policies to be

[28:50] under review for adoption. Parent family engagement policy title one, parental

[28:55] access to instructional materials, parent teacher communication, and

[28:58] promotion and retention. >> Thank you, Jonathan.

[29:02] And the Gilbert School Committee did not meet again.

[29:05] Uh so there's nothing to report. Uh

[29:08] item D, liaison report, Gilbert School Court.

[29:11] » Gilbert recently cut $300,000 from its budget subsequent to this budget cut.

[29:16] Policies titled code of ethics, confidentiality, code of ethics

[29:19] development, distribution and maintenance of manual policies,

[29:22] regulations, bylaws, policy adoption, revision, affirmation,

[29:25] amendments to bylaws, uh formulation, adoption, uh amendment of administrative

[29:30] regulations, suspension of policies, bylaws, and regulations, public

[29:33] meetings, time, place, and notification of meetings,

[29:36] public and executive sessions, and construction of the agenda were all

[29:39] approved by the Gilbert Court. >> Okay.

[29:43] Thank you.

[29:46] Okay, on to item seven, information [clears throat] items. Uh we have the

[29:51] enrollment reports. >> Excuse me, Mr.

[29:55] Um enrollment data, most current enrollment, on the over

[30:00] under, the Winchester Public Schools are up six students.

[30:05] I will tell you that it isn't as simple as like which grade went up or down

[30:09] because every grade goes up and down one here and there, and so the net balance

[30:13] is six, and Gilbert is down eight since the beginning of the year.

[30:18] » Okay.

[30:23] On to >> Julie, some of you may have heard about

[30:28] St. Anthony's opening. So St. An- St. Anthony's um is

[30:34] uh sending out I don't know the word I want

[30:37] to say, announcing, I guess, if you will. I don't know if they're formally

[30:39] announcing, but um sending out information and saying that

[30:43] they will be opening not in the coming fall which is fall 26

[30:47] but in fall 27 for pre-K to grade two. >> You think that will affect us in any way

[30:53] or we don't know yet? >> I don't know yet. I would first be

[30:57] curious to know what the tuition will be.

[31:00] You know, if it's inexpensive I would imagine it might have greater impact

[31:03] than if it's more expensive. So I think it's too soon to say.

[31:12] » Attendance report. >> [clears throat]

[31:15] » Attendance report. I am pleased to say that we are trending well. Our average

[31:21] daily student attendance is up just a little bit over last year and up

[31:26] since last month. And similarly our chronic absenteeism is

[31:32] down a little bit um

[31:35] compared to last year at this time. And when you look at the year to date we

[31:40] are trending a little bit better in both areas than we ended the year.

[31:46] So I would say that our work is making a difference.

[31:52] But we are nowhere near satisfied. We're going to

[31:55] keep going on that one till we really get those numbers

[31:59] We're well ahead of state's expectations but not where we want to be yet.

[32:03] » April looks great. It really looks great. Congratulations to the teacher

[32:07] and admin for putting in those efforts to get everyone there. Takes a lot of

[32:11] work. >> There's all kinds of fun things going

[32:13] on. Maybe I'll ask next month for the principals to do a little update but

[32:17] they're doing things like random Wednesday. If you're in school we're

[32:21] pulling a raffle and just all kinds of I'll say silly things to encourage

[32:25] school attendance and then also meaningful things like family outreach.

[32:30] We believe things like the innovation station change that we made and just our

[32:35] reasons for kids to come to school. We're really trying to make sure that

[32:38] they are engaged and excited about their learning.

[32:41] » How about the morning program, you know, where you get kids together? Do you

[32:44] think that's coming into this? >> Absolutely. I think morning meeting

[32:48] makes for a very strong and safe transition into the school day.

[32:53] So, I think it minimizes morning fears and worries.

[32:56] » Mhm. Great.

[32:59] Thank you.

[33:03] » Um to personnel report. >> Um

[33:07] I'll highlight just a couple of quick things for you. Under the current

[33:10] vacancy list, I'm 99% sure I sent you all an email,

[33:15] but I did, right about Nancy?

[33:17] Um let me formally say, look at the face already. Um after, I don't know, 111

[33:25] years of service to this district, Nancy um

[33:28] has finally made the decision to retire [clears throat] at the end of June.

[33:33] Um I have no words. It will be a huge loss for us. Um

[33:38] we're underway with a search. We have applicants coming in and

[33:42] you know, we'll be okay. But, we will sorely miss Nancy, and so we are

[33:47] working on trying to have someone in place by July 1st. Nancy has already um

[33:52] pulled back that retirement idea a little bit and said, "Well, you know, if

[33:55] you don't find any good candidates." So, I I'm not too worried that we'll

[33:59] have a gap because I think her arm is twistable if need be, and I know she'll

[34:03] make for a smooth transition. Um

[34:06] » How many years in our district?

[34:09] » Um 11 11 plus. >> Thank you.

[34:13] » Nancy came in in the midst of um the receivership.

[34:17] Uh to a million dollar in the red hole and

[34:21] was told figure it out, and it took the better part of a year to get the books

[34:25] from the prior [clears throat] year straightened out.

[34:29] » Things were on yellow notepad, I think, if I recall.

[34:32] » It was Yeah, it was remarkable. >> Yeah.

[34:34] » Yeah. Yeah.

[34:38] Yeah. Thank you for all your time, energy, and

[34:40] stress, and willingness to work with it.

[34:44] Persistence. Yeah. Great.

[34:48] Thank you.

[34:51] Um and the other thing I'll just point out is that under vacancies, I believe I

[34:56] still have to do a finalist interview, but I believe we have a special

[34:59] education teacher in hand for um the position of the Gilbert schools. So,

[35:05] we're closing in on at least one of those.

[35:10] » Okay, folks. On to item D, monthly budget summary.

[35:20] » Uh let's see. Um

[35:25] So, that front page, you'll notice the grant money, I think I've explained

[35:30] previously, but it always bears repeating that the way we manage our

[35:34] federal grants, um because they're allowed to span 2

[35:38] years, is that as a safety net, we spend like

[35:43] part of it this year and part of it next year, and we do that every year. So,

[35:46] every year we're spending the full grant amount, but we're spending half of the

[35:50] old one, half of the new one. It's not actually half, but you get the idea.

[35:54] Um so, it will There will always be um a

[35:58] grant balance at the bottom there. It doesn't mean we're suddenly wealthy. It

[36:01] just means that we're being careful, and

[36:07] if the world were ever coming to an end, theoretically, we could spend both years

[36:12] of the grant, the old one and the new one, fully, what was left in the old one

[36:16] and all of the new one, and then really be without a paddle the following year,

[36:20] but that's why we do it that way, so that

[36:24] there would be a safety net if something really unimaginable happened.

[36:28] Um On the second page, page 20 of your

[36:32] packet, um

[36:35] you're going to hear from Nancy and perhaps Kathy as well about pupil

[36:40] transportation and special ed out of district tuition. At the last meeting,

[36:44] Nora, I think it was you who asked for a better understanding of why we're

[36:50] trending spending more than we anticipated.

[36:53] [clears throat] Um

[36:55] And then fortunately, I'll point out that 5XX line, um

[37:00] after we had a budget put together last year, um there was a change made at the

[37:05] state level about the amount of tuition for the Vo-Ag program. So, we have a

[37:10] little bit of a surplus in that line, which is helping us mitigate some of the

[37:14] overage. And our supply line, um

[37:19] I won't [clears throat] say we've done a freeze. I think it just

[37:22] This is one said where we're not used to really having any money, so we naturally

[37:26] freeze ourselves and we have money left in instructional supplies and

[37:30] instructional software. Um

[37:33] it won't go to waste because again, we're

[37:36] out of pocket in the other areas, so um

[37:41] What was the one other thing I was going to point out?

[37:45] That's good enough. >> Approximately, how many people go to the

[37:47] Vo-Ag program? >> 30-ish, I think, right?

[37:51] » I'm sorry. >> About 30 students go to Region 7 Vo-Ag

[37:55] program. >> Okay. Thank you.

[37:58] » And on the last page, I'll just point out that um

[38:03] in this month's um plan, Nancy has been able to really look more closely at

[38:09] what's encumbered. Um early in the year, we encumber funds based on what we

[38:13] expect to spend, and then at this time of year, we go back and and say, "Oh,

[38:17] okay, well, this was encumbered for a tuition for a student who's moved away,

[38:21] or this was encumbered for something that we bought and it turns out it was

[38:25] less money. So, we clean up any encumbrances

[38:29] and um based on all of the work that Nancy's done to figure out where we are,

[38:33] we are back to the full 440 um being available for next year.

[38:39] That could still change. The year's not over, but as we sit here tonight, that's

[38:42] better. There's one new grant on here, the quality enhancement LGP grant. It's

[38:48] just shy of $10,000. We literally were just awarded it. Um we

[38:53] haven't even gotten the money yet, and it can be carried over into next year,

[38:57] and it has to do with the local governance partner.

[39:00] Our Families and Futures Futures and Families Collaborative. I'm butchering

[39:05] it, but those are some of the words, right?

[39:07] » Yes. >> [laughter]

[39:09] » And um the other thing I'll point out is um

[39:13] DRIP was something new this year. It wasn't probably until about February

[39:17] that the state actually sort of figured out what the amounts were per town, but

[39:21] that stands for District Repair and Improvement Program.

[39:25] And um one of the things that we are looking into, I don't know if we'd be

[39:30] able to, but um when Kathy talks about the transition program,

[39:34] we may need to do a little work on a space to make it really fabulous, and

[39:40] so the DRIP money can be used for um school buildings,

[39:45] and so arguably, we're not sure if that means you have to own the building or if

[39:50] it's simply enough that you're educating students in that setting.

[39:53] So, because the places that we're looking for, we're trying not to do our

[39:58] transition program like in Pearson School, cuz that's really not where your

[40:01] 18-year-old 22-year-olds want to be. So, if we have

[40:05] to do some modest work, we would be able to use DRIP money

[40:08] towards it. We hope. We're going to do the research.

[40:12] » But worst case scenario, I mean, they have their separate entrance at Pearson.

[40:17] If we're to have a >> If it went there, we would figure out

[40:21] how to make it work, but >> The worry there would be

[40:23] within the population of the >> How many students are we talking? 18,

[40:26] 22? >> Five to six.

[40:28] » Okay. >> If every student who's currently in our

[40:31] program >> Sure.

[40:32] » stays comes over, which of course is a PPT

[40:35] decision. >> Yeah.

[40:36] » But we think we're developing something spectacular.

[40:38] » Mhm. >> And Cathy's going to tell you all about

[40:41] it in a few minutes. >> Okay.

[40:43] Perfect.

[40:46] Quarterly food service financial summary.

[41:00] » So, this is the food service report that goes through March 30th.

[41:04] » And the reason that you're getting it now is because of the lag time of

[41:07] getting all the information in. And what the uh revenues are like

[41:12] through the third quarter that are anticipated to come in. Um but there's

[41:17] there's a two or three-month lag of the state

[41:19] paying the uh the lunch revenues into our budget.

[41:24] So, it's very tight. Um

[41:27] the lunch receipts have been tracking quite well.

[41:31] The reimbursement seems to be tracking well as well to the

[41:36] the budget. Head Start is

[41:40] also tracking. I mean, everything seems to be tracking quite well.

[41:44] If I look at the expense side of this report,

[41:48] that's where things get a little bit uh more concerning, and the cost of

[41:52] supplies and food, of course, has gone up.

[41:55] So, we're looking at being a little bit over there. But um

[42:00] we're also looking at um

[42:04] the anticipated revenue just being enough to cover that we would come in

[42:10] at $400 balance at the end of the school year. So, we'll see how it goes from

[42:16] here. Um but it's it's tough and it's it's

[42:20] very tight and the uh food service managers have been

[42:24] working hard to not run up their hours and sending their folks home and trying

[42:30] to look for sales when they're buying stuff and

[42:33] so Thank you for paying attention to that.

[42:35] I know it's always been tight tight. Last year it was tight.

[42:39] » Two years ago it was terrible. >> That's right. So, I'm glad it's not

[42:44] we're not back to that. >> No, yeah. I mean that two years ago was

[42:47] $40,000 in the red. It was horrible. And we've never been in the red before.

[42:52] So, that was >> Yeah.

[42:54] » Yeah. So.

[42:57] » Thank you.

[43:02] » Um

[43:05] So, that's up next if you want to >> Go for it.

[43:08] » So, next up is the >> Um

[43:10] » in response to your question, Nora. >> Mhm.

[43:13] » We are over budget for out of district um transportation and tuition and

[43:18] Nancy's going to tell you why.

[43:22] That's a big question. >> Matthew, do you have the Can you put

[43:24] that up, please?

[43:32] » Thank you. >> And maybe refresh cuz Nancy was working

[43:36] on it late into the afternoon. >> was.

[43:43] Yes. Okay, good. Good. Good. So,

[43:48] the >> And you may not need to look at that so

[43:50] much, but I asked Nancy to have a visual for you cuz it's a lot of information.

[43:54] » Yeah. >> I'll take you through it, but uh right

[43:57] now if I we look at just the out of district transportation and the out of

[44:01] district tuition, we're looking at a deficit of over for

[44:07] And there are a few primary drivers to that. Specifically, we've had uh new

[44:13] outplacements that have uh cost us money.

[44:18] We have uh folks who have moved into the district

[44:23] with placements that have already been made that have put us over 350 plus

[44:28] thousand dollars. And then we have had uh higher than

[44:33] planned for transportation and tuition costs. When we put together the budget

[44:40] many months ago we did not have that information and gas

[44:44] prices had not gone crazy. Uh not to mention the shortage of drivers. So

[44:49] um those are the primary reasons that we've

[44:53] gone so far over. And we have a few students, three students who changed

[44:57] schools since they were placed. And so that

[45:01] ran their uh their costs up to over what had been budgeted for those specific

[45:05] students. So we've had some come in, some go out.

[45:10] And it's it's over.

[45:13] » Will this hit like account Tell us how that affects like the excess cost shares

[45:19] formula? Can you walk us through that? >> is figured into this. Is it? Yes, it is.

[45:23] So the excess cost that we're getting this year

[45:26] is over uh

[45:30] million dollars. So it's it's helped us a lot. Or we'd be

[45:35] in >> deeper water.

[45:37] » Deep deep doohickey. Yes.

[45:41] » Some districts um in the budget process but you know, we build based on actual

[45:46] students. We obviously don't share their names or publish them in a booklet

[45:49] anywhere, but we know like line one is student JL and line two is student SC.

[45:56] And it we build the budget based on students. Many districts put a blank

[46:01] line for um contingency student one, contingency

[46:06] contingency student two, contingency student three even

[46:10] um based on their ability to do that. We, in an effort to keep a budget number

[46:16] that's going to get through um scrutiny,

[46:20] have zero padding for that, which all of us feel a little bit is like jumping out

[46:24] the plane without a parachute. But, we don't feel that our budget process

[46:29] supports I'll say, you know, imaginary placeholder students. But, the reality

[46:34] is, as you see, kids move in, kids move out. I mean, it is a moving target. And

[46:39] so, it is really complex. You know, may the odds be ever in your favor that more

[46:44] kids move out than move in. Um

[46:48] but, it is fairly typical to budget placeholder students, and we don't do

[46:52] that because we try so hard to get our percent down to something that will be

[46:57] considered um livable in the town. >> I think that's why the the 440 400 440,

[47:04] whatever that fund is, is very important because of this variable that could

[47:07] shift at any moment. That could put us underwater.

[47:10] Um can you walk me through the various

[47:12] parent choice programs? What does that mean?

[47:15] » So, the various parent choice programs would be things like Explorations,

[47:20] um AgriScience magnet. And if you go there

[47:25] and have an IEP, we have to pay for your special education services, which is

[47:31] often as much as about I think grade seven is $28,000

[47:36] that we pay for the special education costs for someone who's attending there

[47:40] for AgriScience. >> This is the the so-called upcharge

[47:43] special upcharge. >> the one way to say that, for sure.

[47:47] » The crack we have 13 kids at crack magnet

[47:50] schools, for example. Um and then we also have kids at uh

[47:55] at Advance and Highlander Transition Academy.

[47:59] » Those are Those are special education placements.

[48:01] » Sorry, I picked the wrong one.

[48:05] I know it's has notes here. >> Which Highlander will

[48:08] » No, that's right.

[48:12] Those are part of the placements, too. >> Those are choice placements, though.

[48:16] You were right the first time when you said Explorations, Region 7, the correct

[48:20] magnet schools are choice placements. >> Yes. Yes. So, these are largely

[48:27] » Largely. We have one or two students in the district. I don't even know if they

[48:31] have IEPs, but we have only one or two students who attend magnet school that

[48:35] are elementary school aged.

[48:39] » Okay.

[48:41] So, if they're elementary, they're staying with us. If they're secondary,

[48:45] they're largely leaving us. >> There's a lot more options for secondary

[48:49] students than there are elementary between the AgriScience, um

[48:53] which is our tech school, Abbott Tech. >> Wilcox, Oliver Wolcott Tech.

[48:57] » Oliver Wolcott Tech. Um so, there are definitely more

[49:01] explorations and >> Pratt.

[49:04] » Okay.

[49:09] Hm.

[49:13] » So, our for the budget for the upcoming year,

[49:17] we've kind of prepared.

[49:22] » So, we cut it close again. >> We cut it close.

[49:24] » We We budgeted based on the actual students we know about now.

[49:28] Um and we did put in uh I think 7% increase or something for

[49:33] the tuition. Last year, Kathy started at like 7 or 8, and

[49:38] Nancy and I pooh-poohed her, and we were like, "You put in 10." And we were like,

[49:41] "Ridiculous. We can't go out with this budget." And we took her numbers down to

[49:45] maybe 5%. We wanted to go to three. Um because

[49:51] the things that you're guessing on we're saying we need to

[49:56] gamble because we can't go forward with a 10% increase on the budget.

[50:00] » I mean we're over 712,000 >> in the hole.

[50:05] » So how does that get paid? >> Uh because we didn't spend all the

[50:09] supply money, because >> have money to cover it.

[50:12] » Yes. >> It's not going to be carried over into

[50:14] the next budget. >> no, no, no. It can't.

[50:16] » No, no, but I mean it it has to be paid though, right?

[50:19] » If we try Well, so at one point Nancy had us using about $100,000 of the 440

[50:25] line break even.

[50:28] » [laughter] >> Because we have to get even. If we were,

[50:32] let's say at midyear and we were like, "Wow, we are really upside down." We'd

[50:38] be putting a budget freeze. We would stop buying the things we need.

[50:41] Theoretically, we would have to lay people off.

[50:44] » and you make it up in other ways. >> Right.

[50:47] » Pull it from other places. >> Okay, got it. There have been instances

[50:50] where, um, I think it was Shelton a few years back had to let go tons of

[50:56] employees in April because they weren't going to meet their budget. You Like,

[51:00] you don't get to not meet your budget. So you have to make midcourse

[51:02] corrections if your costs go haywire. >> With all the money.

[51:06] » Yeah, but the other alternative is to go back to the town for a supplemental

[51:11] appropriation, which is not a popular thing to do.

[51:14] » That'd be like this town. >> I I'd be scared to.

[51:17] » [laughter]

[51:21] » I haven't slept in 2 years for exactly this reason.

[51:24] » How much can this be mitigated by tier two and tier three intervention

[51:27] programs? >> I think that's a question for Kathy.

[51:31] » Okay.

[51:36] But when they go to Region 7, I mean, that's just people going to school

[51:40] there. It's not per >> Right. The Region 7 program

[51:45] » They have the options to do that. Or well, or well try, right? But they have

[51:48] the option they could just say I want to go to that school.

[51:50] » Well, they have >> They have to apply.

[51:52] » With region seven, they have to apply. Same with Oliver Wolcott, I'm sure. They

[51:54] have to be accepted, but whether or not they have a special education program

[51:58] can't be a factor in whether or not we send them and whether or not they're

[52:02] admitted. If they're admitted and they go, then we

[52:05] have to pay the special education piece of it in addition to the

[52:09] » tuition, but the tuition is below 5,000.

[52:13] » Can they choose region 20 as well? >> Yeah, Ag Sci program? No, because we

[52:17] have region seven. >> So,

[52:20] unless this has changed, cuz I was an Ag principal back in the day, you must go

[52:24] to the Ag school that >> is

[52:27] » It's not necessarily the closest, but the one that you're connected with. Your

[52:30] district has to declare one. The one exception is that if your

[52:35] Ag program that your district is associated with doesn't offer the

[52:38] strand, you can get special exception to go to a different one.

[52:44] » Gotcha. >> For example, um, Trumbull High School

[52:46] had the large animals and someone else didn't, you could go there.

[52:52] » It's called Nexus, isn't it? >> Um, you could use it that way, but

[52:57] that's a little bit different for the Ag

[53:00] program.

[53:04] So, >> Are we ready for

[53:06] » Well, I just had a question >> tier two, three

[53:08] » Tier two and tier three were designed to help

[53:11] reduce the number of referrals that you put through to special education?

[53:15] » Yeah. >> Um,

[53:18] depends on your fidelity your fidelity of instruction and the consistency of

[53:22] it, whether or not you're able to provide

[53:25] the supports that students need in the areas that they need it.

[53:28] » What's that? >> The staffing.

[53:29] » Mhm. >> Bottom line.

[53:31] » And the staffing and and material resources.

[53:34] » And the professional development for the regular ed teacher to be able to bring

[53:37] in the student into the classroom for for instruction,

[53:42] full instruction. >> That's me.

[53:45] Don't have that, but you go to where the help is.

[53:49] » Mhm. Mhm.

[53:53] » We'll get there.

[53:56] » Yes, we will. >> One day.

[53:59] » Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you.

[54:01] » Kathy's sitting in there, maybe you want to just step over and go to transition

[54:04] program? >> Um

[54:06] » [sighs and gasps] >> yeah, so we're going to we're going to

[54:09] swap out G for H, H for G right now. Um and we'll have

[54:16] Kathy talk about the transition program. >> Nancy, thank you for the research.

[54:22] And Kathy, [clears throat] that was definitely a joint effort on their part.

[54:25] » We spent some good hours together. >> Mhm.

[54:28] Um so, I just I want to say thank you for having me in tonight to share with

[54:33] you the exciting news that we are launching or trying to launch the

[54:37] Winchester Transition Academy. Uh we did look at the students that we

[54:41] have going out into transition academies and while we have more than five or six,

[54:47] the students, the young adults that we think that we

[54:50] can focus on are largely going to our the in-district program that we have

[54:54] now, Highlander Transition Academy by uh we did shared services.

[54:59] Um we are in the process right now, the

[55:01] very beginning stages of it. We are looking at locations, and when I say we,

[55:05] I, Julie, myself, Sarah Shackner, my assistant director, have been out to

[55:09] look at numerous locations between the college and some local entities here in

[55:14] town. Um we have met with transportation

[55:18] companies to talk about whether or not what they could provide to us would be

[55:22] financially viable in the footprint that we budgeted for for next year,

[55:26] and looking at we you know, we've made some postings and some job descriptions

[55:30] for a special education transition teacher,

[55:33] a stipend for a transition coordinator position, and job coaches.

[55:38] Um all of the young adults that we have going out to work sites right now

[55:42] um do have job coaches that go out with them so that they can be supervised,

[55:47] managed, trained, modeled, and directed when they're on the work site.

[55:53] So, that's what we're excited to be working on right now.

[55:55] » How many kids do you think you'd have in that program?

[55:59] » We're looking at five to six potential. And as Julie shared earlier, these are

[56:03] all PPT decisions. They're not automatics just because we have it

[56:09] we're going to have them, but we would be going to PPT probably over the summer

[56:13] with families. >> Now, um when this is built out, is there

[56:16] an opportunity to, you know, expand other towns and offer this

[56:20] as like a service that we provide or is >> So, that would be a very long-range

[56:24] plan, in my opinion, but yes, it could develop into that.

[56:27] » Okay. That's a a revenue stream.

[56:30] » One of the things that I was just going to add to is so, we're not adding

[56:34] positions into the budget freely. What we've done is said, "Well, this is how

[56:39] much we budgeted for the tuition, so that's our footprint. We can take the

[56:44] tuition money that we had budgeted to pay for the teacher and the assistants

[56:49] and have it pay for itself." >> So, the Highlander program

[56:54] chose not to continue. They were going to move it to Torrington.

[56:58] » They are moving to Torrington. >> They are moving to Torrington. Oh, so

[57:01] the program's still moving. >> Yes.

[57:03] » And but we're deciding to to try and create a program to keep our own

[57:07] students here. So, yes, there is potential down the road to

[57:12] to potentially Can you talk a little bit about

[57:16] the everyday of the students? >> Yes, so um

[57:20] one of the things that Julie was mentioning earlier is doing a little bit

[57:22] of renovation wherever we go. As a core portion of a transition

[57:27] program is working on independence and daily living skills, and that

[57:31] incorporates doing laundry, um um, preparing, planning, and prepping

[57:36] meals, and making meals. So, most of the young adults

[57:39] will have breakfast or make breakfast at the academy. They'll make their lunch to

[57:44] take to their work site, and they'll go out on work sites.

[57:49] Generally speaking, they're out on work sites 5 days a week.

[57:52] There are times when we might say, "Hey, you know what? This isn't This is going

[57:55] to be a week where we only go out two or three days a week because we're planning

[57:59] for a holiday, and we want to make a big holiday meal, and so we need time to do

[58:03] that here on site." Um, a transition program can include looking at, um,

[58:09] training people and and practicing role-playing job interviewing skills,

[58:13] completing resumes, how do you search online for a job that looks feasible for

[58:19] you. Um,

[58:21] working with young adults to help determine what is feasible for them,

[58:26] bringing, um, outside agencies in to meet with young adults and their

[58:30] families, like the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services and the

[58:33] Department of Developmental Services to say, "Here's what we can offer you

[58:38] once you're done with this."

[58:41] Because what we don't want is for kid for young adults to get to the edge of

[58:44] 22 and then fall off a cliff and not have something to go into.

[58:50] So, that's that's the big

[58:53] orchestra mezzanine view. So, you work on on

[58:56] placing them when they hit like 20 We don't We don't place them. We work on

[59:00] helping to develop job skills. We connect them with outside agencies,

[59:05] adult agencies that may be able to place them.

[59:09] » You mentioned college. Excuse me, [clears throat] are you talking about

[59:12] maybe Northwestern type? >> Yes.

[59:13] » Yep. Okay. >> Yep.

[59:15] » They've been very open to the possibility of hosting us on campus. In

[59:18] fact, I learned that our we had a transition program back in the day, and

[59:22] it was in fact housed at the college. >> Yeah.

[59:26] » So, there's precedence for it, and we think that that would be um potentially

[59:30] a really nice connection and feel really um

[59:34] positive for our [clears throat] students

[59:36] who would be graduating or leaving high school and

[59:39] heading out to a college setting just feels right.

[59:43] » Does Edvance do any of this at all? Would you be competing with them?

[59:47] » No, we'd be competing with Shared Services.

[59:49] » Shared Services. >> Okay.

[59:51] » [clears throat] >> Okay.

[59:53] » So, as Dr. Levine had mentioned, um since it was transitioning to Tor- to

[59:59] Torrington, a lot of the students from Winsted still

[1:00:03] had placement jobs in Winsted. So, the transportation costs from Torrington to

[1:00:08] Winsted would be a little bit more than

[1:00:12] than it was when it was here in Winsted. So, um building out this program

[1:00:18] seemed a better idea.

[1:00:21] So, thank you. >> To the point Nora about competition, I

[1:00:24] will say just as an example because one of our upcoming topics is preschool. Um

[1:00:29] as an example, Shared Services does host a preschool program for the towns that

[1:00:34] they serve, but some of the towns that they serve have their own in-house

[1:00:39] preschool programs. So, I don't think it's I don't They're you know, they're

[1:00:43] not [clears throat] a for-profit industry. They're here to serve and so I

[1:00:46] don't see it as conflict-inducing

[1:00:50] to I don't see it as competition. I see it

[1:00:53] as good on us if we can do this for ourselves.

[1:00:56] » And then in an effort to maintain positive relations and the fact that I

[1:01:00] do see myself as a colleague of the administration of Shared Services, I did

[1:01:04] have a conversation with them and shared with them that we were undertaking this

[1:01:08] and looking to try and have something open for the fall.

[1:01:11] » Okay. >> And this would be more convenient for

[1:01:14] for our parents as well. >> And some of our young adults are not

[1:01:17] crazy about being transported all the way to Torrington. Some of them walk to

[1:01:21] St. Anthony's where HTA is currently located because they don't want to be

[1:01:24] transported. So,

[1:01:27] there's there's a lot of ups to doing this.

[1:01:31] » We see potentially um learning to use the local bus system that runs through

[1:01:36] and around Winsted as being part of the program because again we are hoping that

[1:01:42] our young adults will become as independent as they possibly can be

[1:01:46] here in our community. Meeting people, finding work.

[1:01:51] The work that they do, I'll just point out um their job sites

[1:01:54] are job training. They are not being paid for their time there. They are um

[1:01:58] using it as a learning environment and that So, the job coach goes with and

[1:02:02] works with them there. Um and I think in time some students

[1:02:07] develop um that as a future employment, but they're

[1:02:11] learning employability skills through that.

[1:02:14] » How consistent is the number 5-6, you know, in the program? Would that be

[1:02:18] probably what you would anticipate for 10 years, 2 years? We don't know yet.

[1:02:23] » In in the year and a half that I've been here,

[1:02:25] » [laughter] >> we've had five young adults both years

[1:02:28] and we've had people graduate and new people enter both years.

[1:02:32] » Okay.

[1:02:37] What's the average tuition cost? Just just curious.

[1:02:40] » For HTA? >> Uh yeah, for

[1:02:43] yeah, just curious. >> For the transition program, I believe

[1:02:46] this year it's about $51,000 in change. And next year it's about 54

[1:02:51] in change, 50 in change. >> or is that for all five?

[1:02:54] » per student. That's low.

[1:02:56] » Really? >> Yeah.

[1:02:58] » It's probably the least expensive out of all the places we have.

[1:03:00] » tuition that we pay for any student out of district other than parent choice

[1:03:05] programs. If you're placed by PPT, you're paying

[1:03:08] quite a bit of money for tuition. >> Well, I'm encouraged that it's in

[1:03:12] district. Chances are we can try to save some money as we bring programs in.

[1:03:17] Yeah, that's important. >> Okay.

[1:03:19] » I think in this case and certainly we hope that it will lead to savings, but

[1:03:23] that wasn't our goal. Our goal really was um a strong belief that our students

[1:03:27] would be best served within our own community.

[1:03:29] » Mhm. >> Which is why we weren't

[1:03:32] running down this road when it was at St. Anthony's because

[1:03:35] » Mhm. >> it was in our community, it was perfect.

[1:03:37] But if it's leaving town, it felt like now's the moment we should do this.

[1:03:42] » And you literally just found out what? Month and a month

[1:03:46] » Found out in March. >> Month and a half.

[1:03:48] Yeah. >> Kathy looked at me when I walked in the

[1:03:52] and I was like, "Okay, we got to" She's like, "What?" [laughter]

[1:03:54] » I I've never had morning sickness before that day.

[1:04:00] » And I'm quoting her. She asked me about that, otherwise I

[1:04:04] would never have said that. >> How's your sense of humor today, Kathy?

[1:04:06] » Guess what we're doing. >> And she's like, "What? For now?" And I'm

[1:04:09] like, "No, no, for for the fall." >> It took me about 10 minutes to figure

[1:04:13] out what she was actually saying to me because I just sort of

[1:04:17] was like >> Well, you're in the midst of the budget,

[1:04:20] too, so all that. >> Oh, yeah, it's fun.

[1:04:22] » Credit to um we met with Paul Harrington and talked

[1:04:26] about ideas around town. He was um excited to tell us he was negotiating

[1:04:31] improvements to the bus line so that it wasn't constantly just going to

[1:04:34] Torrington that but that it was actually doing loops through Winchester. And he

[1:04:38] also put us in touch with someone who owns a lot of properties here in town um

[1:04:43] who has graciously met first with me and then with Kathy and Sarah and is one of

[1:04:49] our potential locations. Um we're hoping to find something that's

[1:04:54] either no rent or very little rent. Um

[1:04:59] So, we really the community has been very helpful.

[1:05:03] » Yes. >> Mhm. Well, thanks for pivoting.

[1:05:06] » I'm the director of student services, it's what we do best.

[1:05:08] » It's your middle name. Best trait, right?

[1:05:11] » That's it. >> Patience and flexibility.

[1:05:14] » We work on both of those on a daily basis.

[1:05:16] » [laughter]

[1:05:18] » Thank you. >> You're welcome. Thank you, Jenny.

[1:05:21] » And I'll ask Cathy next month when we know so much more.

[1:05:25] Um by next month, hopefully we will have settled on a location and have a little

[1:05:30] more information. Which case maybe [clears throat] we'll

[1:05:33] draw up some pictures of where we're going and

[1:05:36] all the cool things we're doing to get it ready for our students.

[1:05:39] » Great. >> The more she talks about it, the more I

[1:05:41] just want to be part of the program. I mean, it just sounds amazing.

[1:05:45] I'm like, I'll get my special ed certification and just do that instead

[1:05:48] of this.

[1:05:52] » All right. Moving on to the long-term study update.

[1:05:58] » Yes. Um I'll reiterate a couple of things I

[1:06:01] shared on committee night because again we were at committee, but we have

[1:06:06] identified and onboarded uh two consultants that are

[1:06:11] working as a team. Jack Zamary and Tom McMoran. Both are

[1:06:17] former superintendents. Jack actually is still a practicing superintendent

[1:06:22] um in retirement because you can do that

[1:06:25] just under half time. Um

[1:06:28] Jack, in addition to being a former superintendent

[1:06:31] and a former director of finance and operations,

[1:06:35] is also currently serving as a superintendent in a district that

[1:06:39] successfully has an arrangement with an endowed academy.

[1:06:42] So, he brings that background knowledge of

[1:06:45] what an endowed academy is and what that relationship works like.

[1:06:49] Um Tom was a regional district superintendent, so he brings that. He

[1:06:54] also has construct um experience working with DAS on

[1:07:00] construction projects and is currently a student at

[1:07:04] Yale Divinity School. Um so, we're going I'm thinking he's

[1:07:08] probably a very honest man. >> [laughter]

[1:07:12] » Um, and to be doing a program like that after retirement is just really cool.

[1:07:17] Um, so we've had one initial meeting um, and

[1:07:20] have a second meeting um, day after tomorrow.

[1:07:24] And after that they will leave me with um, their marching orders to start going

[1:07:30] and having conversations. I will make introductions for them um, with Mike

[1:07:35] Soucy. Um, and they'll reach out to him to try

[1:07:38] and get a meeting with him. >> [clears throat]

[1:07:40] » Um, I'm going to suggest to them that they

[1:07:43] offer a couple of opportunities for a Zoom with any board members who want to

[1:07:48] share ideas they have for possible outcomes.

[1:07:51] Um, I'll probably have them talk with Paul.

[1:07:55] Um, in order to keep the price of this

[1:07:58] reasonable, I'm trying to keep them very focused on the future.

[1:08:02] So that they are really looking at where we are today and what the options are.

[1:08:07] Um, and only looking backwards to the extent that it's necessary to inform the

[1:08:12] options. Because if they start looking into For

[1:08:15] example, they said, "Well, do you want us to do a study of sort of like all

[1:08:18] school districts this size?" And I said, "Thank you, no thank you." Because we

[1:08:22] are at this point looking at a cost that's under $20,000 and I'm really

[1:08:27] trying to keep it that way. Um, I'm also going to try and talk Paul into

[1:08:31] paying for it with town funds, but if not um, this would be a 440 type

[1:08:36] one-time-only expense we would have to come up with.

[1:08:40] Um, so that's where we are with that. Oh, and the other thing I'm wanted to

[1:08:43] point out is that um, we are Originally we had asked them to get me something in

[1:08:49] August so that I could make sure it looked nice and nice for

[1:08:52] presentation um, at the September board meeting. We're going to try and um, have

[1:08:57] it to the board in August. I I know that it's realistic to have it to the board.

[1:09:02] The August board meeting is like August 11th or something really early. We may

[1:09:06] need to add a meeting a little bit later in the month, but we're going to try and

[1:09:09] get that out of the way before school starts and things get

[1:09:12] amped up. So, they they know that that's a timeline we're hoping to achieve.

[1:09:16] » And there was a request that we get the report before it's presented to us so we

[1:09:21] can digest it before it's presented to us. So,

[1:09:24] » Will they also meet with us as a board? We talked about that once before.

[1:09:27] Interviewing us, speaking with us. Can >> That was what I had just mentioned, but

[1:09:31] I won't have them We're not going to plan a special board meeting for it.

[1:09:34] They'll create opportunities for a couple of board members at a time.

[1:09:39] » So, it's not a meeting. >> In other words, they could talk to four

[1:09:42] of you at once and it's not a meeting. So, if they say we're going to do a zoom

[1:09:46] with >> groups, if you will.

[1:09:47] » Yeah. >> Of sorts.

[1:09:49] » Right. So, that if any board members wish to speak with them, there's an

[1:09:51] opportunity, but it's not a board meeting.

[1:09:54] In the spirit of easy. >> Okay.

[1:09:56] Um you mentioned that you're going to do the introductions of the two people to

[1:10:00] the head of schools. Um Zach's been involved in academies. Do they know each

[1:10:05] other at all academy routes and conversations?

[1:10:09] » I don't think so. >> Okay.

[1:10:12] » I'm almost certain I would have asked both Zach and Tom, I'm sure we went over

[1:10:16] a sort of the list of who the people in the our community were

[1:10:19] and they did not know people here. >> Okay.

[1:10:21] » Which I think is good. >> Yeah.

[1:10:23] Okay. Thank you. >> They were recommended by um actually a

[1:10:26] couple of different people. So, they know Connecticut. Between them, I

[1:10:30] think they know all the right pieces. >> Okay.

[1:10:35] » Good. Good.

[1:10:38] Any other questions?

[1:10:42] Ellie, you still with us?

[1:10:47] » Yeah, I'm here. >> Okay. All right, perfect. Just checking.

[1:10:50] All right, uh on to item I, policies for first

[1:10:54] read. Hopefully everyone had a chance to

[1:10:58] take a read of these beforehand.

[1:11:12] » I see yours is all written up. Jonathan, are you going to present them

[1:11:16] or I'd be willing to do that.

[1:11:21] » You have a few? >> I'd be happy to do them for you.

[1:11:24] » Yeah, you want to >> give us two in the meantime.

[1:11:26] » Okay. >> Just patience.

[1:11:30] » So, starting off with the parent and family engagement policy.

[1:11:34] » So, Title 1 for us, you know, I think there are probably large districts where

[1:11:40] like one school is a Title 1 school. We are Title 1 as a district, so some of

[1:11:46] this is a little bit different. Like our school climate committee fulfills

[1:11:50] aspects of this. Our Just say it. Futures

[1:11:55] » Winchester Futures and Families >> F and F, Futures and Families. Like

[1:12:00] those groups fulfill a lot of the aspects of this.

[1:12:04] Um this policy has a lot in here about

[1:12:07] things we're supposed to do. I think that um

[1:12:11] we really do do these things, but we need to do a little bit of a crosswalk

[1:12:14] to make sure that we're hitting all of the points because it is about family

[1:12:18] engagement. And I think we're doing a great job with

[1:12:21] family engagement, but this policy is very prescriptive. And I do think we've

[1:12:26] nailed it, but when I read it, it made me twitch a little just at all the

[1:12:29] specificity to make sure we're hitting everything.

[1:12:31] » You got a number of meetings that you need to meet. Like you know, it seems

[1:12:35] like to me that you're going to look at 120 meetings a day. Like if you got to

[1:12:39] keep up that rate with the families. I mean, we got 20% of families involved in

[1:12:43] special ed. Right? It calls for a certain number of

[1:12:47] meetings a year. So, that's about a

[1:12:52] » Where are you looking, Nora? Uh Title I facilitate parental

[1:12:57] communication. It talks about Let me see if I can give you the right specific

[1:13:00] paragraph. That conduct a meeting at the bottom of

[1:13:04] that last page underneath three strategies to support successful school

[1:13:07] and family interactions each year within the district involved in Title I, we

[1:13:12] shall conduct a meeting at convenient time to involve parents planning,

[1:13:16] review, improve programs funded by Title >> Right. So, those aren't like PPTs for

[1:13:21] individual students. That would be like our school climate committee meeting

[1:13:24] where we're bringing in families

[1:13:26] » Okay. So, we'll hit it that way. >> Right.

[1:13:29] » Cuz you got to present curriculum, forms of assessments, academic achievement

[1:13:33] levels, standards, importance of parental involvements. In addition to

[1:13:37] the required annual meeting, right? So,

[1:13:42] um shall opportunities for regular meetings

[1:13:46] at flexible times during the day. I mean, I'm just looking at this and I'm

[1:13:49] thinking This screams of time needed for >> And yet it's a required policy.

[1:13:55] » to me, you know, I get it it's it's required, but I'm looking and I'm

[1:13:58] playing some a little bit of math. I mean, if we've got 20% of our population

[1:14:02] involved in Title I funds >> Oh, no. We have the entire district

[1:14:05] involved in Title I. >> Okay.

[1:14:07] » Nancy, how much Title I money do we get? >> About 200,000

[1:14:14] » So, for $200,000 >> $284,000 carryover and $300,000 Title I.

[1:14:20] Right? So, that's our district. I mean, I just

[1:14:23] looked at the budget. >> Right. So, we get about 200 a year. So,

[1:14:27] for $200,000 we will stand on our head and spit nickels if that's what they

[1:14:30] need us to do. Um

[1:14:34] But yes, to your point, we are reviewing this closely to see what we do that

[1:14:38] fulfills it and what we would need to add because yikes.

[1:14:41] » This is new as of when? 20 >> No, after you. I just have a quick

[1:14:46] question. >> I mean, it's

[1:14:47] copy written 2020 but this is new as of right?

[1:14:50] Like this >> Um

[1:14:52] So we are just getting to the 6000 series that are switch over.

[1:14:57] Um All right.

[1:15:03] » Wow. >> I'm just I'm just um

[1:15:05] » Yeah. >> I empathize is what I'm trying to say is

[1:15:07] I simply empathize the amount of workload that this puts on people to be

[1:15:11] able to meet this >> Yep.

[1:15:13] » series 6000 instruction given how prescribed this is and the number of

[1:15:18] prescribed meetings that you've got and what you have to convey at those

[1:15:21] meetings. I mean it's not just like you know, having a meeting to talk about

[1:15:24] open house. It seems like you got to share curriculum assessment standards.

[1:15:31] Um and and wow. That's all I have to say is just simply wow.

[1:15:35] When we need special ed teachers we're struggling to find them to employ them.

[1:15:41] I mean I I I think the initiative is is good and all but the prescription of

[1:15:45] this is just wow. >> Well, and it's separate from special

[1:15:48] education. >> Yeah.

[1:15:50] » I mean it actually has theoretically no overlap with it.

[1:15:53] » So yeah. Wow.

[1:15:59] » Go for it. >> It does say um all parents participating

[1:16:03] children must be invited and encouraged to attend. Um there's no stipulation

[1:16:07] that says we have to have a certain amount of parent involvement to fulfill

[1:16:09] this or is it they just have to be invited?

[1:16:12] » Right. >> Okay.

[1:16:18] » And then you have to like if they're unhappy with the Title 1 program

[1:16:21] opportunities to make comments for review for the district level, you have

[1:16:24] to to figure out who's going to handle that.

[1:16:27] » We'll just reach out to the Title 1 coordinator and put them right on it.

[1:16:30] » Okay. >> Oh wait, we don't have one of them.

[1:16:32] » Right. I was just saying who would be in charge of this sort of bit?

[1:16:37] Given the number of meetings and the prescription.

[1:16:39] » Be ever nice. >> Um

[1:16:43] » It's okay. We'll figure it out. It's what we do.

[1:16:47] » Okay. >> It It hurts. Don't read it. Just

[1:16:49] » All right. All right. >> Just

[1:16:52] It hurts. When I first read it, I put it back down on the table. It's like I'm

[1:16:55] not even bringing this one to the board. >> Wow.

[1:16:57] Wow. >> Yeah, there's a lot in there.

[1:17:01] » All right. >> And it's a federal S is the federal,

[1:17:04] right? Every student succeeds act? >> Yep.

[1:17:08] » Okay.

[1:17:10] Thank you. >> Let's move on to parental access to

[1:17:14] instructional material. >> Yeah, this one's another doozy.

[1:17:20] Do you Do you want to um a motion for I know it says policy is first read. Do

[1:17:25] you want to motion to accept? It seems like our hands are tied. It's federal

[1:17:28] mandate. >> Well, they're not on as an action item.

[1:17:31] » Okay. So, it's a different part of the Got you.

[1:17:34] » the four policies next month for adoption.

[1:17:37] » Sure. Okay.

[1:17:40] » For what it's worth, we're in the sixes. We are so close to done. Just so you

[1:17:44] know. >> Just a little bit of a heart attack

[1:17:46] along the way. So, okay. This is

[1:17:49] » And then there'll be a whole bunch of them coming right back.

[1:17:51] » this. >> Okay.

[1:17:53] » Jonathan's [laughter] having way too much fun with this.

[1:17:55] » It was It was fun though. >> Yep.

[1:17:57] » He loves this. >> Yeah.

[1:17:59] » He's really good at it, too. >> Jonathan?

[1:18:02] » Absolutely. All right. Parental access to

[1:18:04] instructional materials. >> Again, required. We have to get things

[1:18:09] up on the website. Some of them don't exist, but as we create them, we'll be

[1:18:13] putting them on there. >> Okay.

[1:18:16] » Make the July 1 deadline. >> Right?

[1:18:19] » No. There's no way. I mean, if we don't have a written math curriculum, then

[1:18:24] what I mean, we can put on there the resource that we use and call that a

[1:18:27] curriculum, but um

[1:18:30] we can't do what we can't do. I mean, what we have, we will make accessible to

[1:18:34] people immediately. >> Okay.

[1:18:36] » Um we'll create a section of the website. There is a section already that

[1:18:40] has some >> How far are we to be completed then?

[1:18:44] What percent can you give a ballpark percent? Like we're at 37% there?

[1:18:47] » For written curriculum for everything we did?

[1:18:51] » Yeah, that's I don't think there is a lot of written curriculum here.

[1:18:55] We have science. >> you approve it and have curriculum you

[1:18:56] have to put it on. You haven't approved it yet.

[1:18:58] So I can't put >> Right.

[1:19:00] We got nothing. Yeah.

[1:19:04] » It says it says means any instructional materials any instructional content

[1:19:08] that's provided to a student that's that's like classroom assignments and

[1:19:11] homework assignments. Is that part of that?

[1:19:13] » So that's not what needs to be on the website. The curriculum scope and

[1:19:17] sequence has to be on the website. The other stuff

[1:19:21] it means if a parent says, you know, I want to see this book they're reading,

[1:19:26] we have to make it accessible. I want to see this homework assignment my child

[1:19:30] did or I want The only thing that we wouldn't share would be

[1:19:35] tests and assessments. But you know, a lot of these policies

[1:19:39] come out of things where school districts just made bad decisions. You

[1:19:43] know, a parent said, well, I want to see that thing and they said, no, you can't

[1:19:46] see that thing. And then next thing you know, we're in court over it.

[1:19:50] So we passed the policy, but the reality is we would not have turned parents away

[1:19:54] anyway if they wanted to see something we do.

[1:19:58] We welcome that. We encourage family involvement. So

[1:20:01] » But we have CKLA? >> We do for language arts.

[1:20:04] » isn't that something that could be posted pretty quickly like an overview

[1:20:08] page with general objectives? >> So that's not a curriculum, it's a

[1:20:11] resource, but in the absence of a written curriculum that is what we'll

[1:20:15] put on the website because we're following it. So

[1:20:18] » It's a de facto curriculum I guess you'd say.

[1:20:21] » Okay. >> Okay.

[1:20:24] Parent teacher communication. >> Um, we do this and we do this well. We

[1:20:28] do conferences twice a year. We get 95% of our parents in. We dog parents to

[1:20:34] make sure they come. Our principals keep track. They ask the teachers to report.

[1:20:39] They go after anybody who didn't come and try and reschedule them.

[1:20:43] Um again, we love parent involvement, so

[1:20:47] this is a required policy, but we're in this one

[1:20:52] was an easy one for us. >> Good.

[1:20:56] Promotion and retention. >> Um and this too, I would say to you

[1:20:59] again, required policy, but we um go a little further than this policy. They

[1:21:03] talk about um So, the research on retention is that on

[1:21:07] the over under, it's not a good idea. The research says that um

[1:21:13] retention does not typically get you where you meant to be.

[1:21:18] Um that said, every child is an individual, and I'll tell you even

[1:21:22] though I've read all the research, I did retain one of my children. It's not that

[1:21:25] we're going to say you never retain, but you don't do it casually. It it's a big

[1:21:30] decision. It has ripple effects, and so um if we're making decisions about

[1:21:35] retention, um this policy says that it's the

[1:21:38] principal, the teachers, the guidance counselor, and other support personnel.

[1:21:42] We include parents in that decision, because if you are considering

[1:21:45] retention, it won't be successful if the parents don't agree with that decision.

[1:21:49] Um so, we view that as a team decision, and

[1:21:53] one that we don't take lightly, and one that we go into

[1:21:57] knowing we're not huge fans, but also open to the possibility that sometimes

[1:22:01] it just makes sense.

[1:22:04] » Can we Can we just uh quickly go back to page 29, the previous policy,

[1:22:08] parent-teacher communication? Just so [clears throat] I understand it.

[1:22:12] For conducting a parent-teacher conference,

[1:22:15] that last paragraph. >> [snorts]

[1:22:17] » Um to provide a copy of the document developed by the Department of Education

[1:22:21] private information, la la la, available for students and their families prior to

[1:22:25] the parent-teacher conference. Do we Do we normally do that or is that going

[1:22:29] to have to be a shift in practice?

[1:22:48] That last paragraph.

[1:23:01] It's >> Section B.

[1:23:03] » Yeah, it's the same thing. >> Section B is for remote when we If we're

[1:23:06] in a closure. Section B is if schools close you do

[1:23:11] remote learning. >> talking about the paragraph at the very

[1:23:13] end underneath Section >> No, but it refers to

[1:23:16] remote learning in Section B. >> Okay.

[1:23:19] I got you. >> So, it's a reference to B above to

[1:23:22] provide by the >> Which the state does not

[1:23:24] » Okay. >> want us to do, so.

[1:23:26] » Okay. Thank you. >> That's

[1:23:28] » Yeah. >> Right?

[1:23:30] » You're thinking about yourself. >> I was thinking like, okay, another one

[1:23:33] of those added on duties. >> Okay, that's great. Thank you.

[1:23:38] Okay. >> Moving on. Action items uh in May,

[1:23:42] policies for possible deletion, concepts and roles and instruction.

[1:23:47] » So, as you know in our policy cleanup, we are pulling any policies um if they

[1:23:53] are just naturally replaced by a new one, we just do that. But, if they're

[1:23:56] not necessarily clearly replaced by something else, we're bringing it to you

[1:24:00] to officially delete. Each section in our old policy manual

[1:24:04] had a concepts and roles fluffy statement that doesn't really say

[1:24:09] anything, and the one that we have now is from 1996, and it's my recommendation

[1:24:14] that we let that go. >> So, we're going to

[1:24:17] have her review all these, and then we'll vote on a grouping.

[1:24:22] And and we need to pull one out if somebody has we'll do it that way so we

[1:24:25] don't vote on any any good ones. >> Okay.

[1:24:28] » All right. All right. COVID-19 emergency measures.

[1:24:33] » So, um we're advised by council that they and

[1:24:38] everyone else have made COVID policies um

[1:24:41] defunct at this stage. Someone who has COVID would interact with the world the

[1:24:47] same way they would do if they had the flu or strep throat or anything else.

[1:24:51] Um this is not a required policy. Um

[1:24:59] You're being facetious. Sorry, I got you.

[1:25:02] I wasn't looking. Um so, we're not expected to maintain a

[1:25:06] COVID policy any longer. >> After class activities.

[1:25:14] » I don't have a lot of words for this one, but it's from 1996.

[1:25:17] Um >> In here.

[1:25:20] » Well, here you go. >> No, that's what I need in here.

[1:25:23] » Oh, well, the way >> I'm coming up on my 30th reunion.

[1:25:26] » Oh, okay.

[1:25:29] No, I knew that. That was just bad math on my part. Just the way he said it.

[1:25:33] Um So, this is very secondary. We don't

[1:25:37] have student officers. Um we definitely don't have extracurricular secret clubs.

[1:25:42] Um this There are million different ways that we

[1:25:46] have other policies that would keep us from

[1:25:49] having clubs overtake the Yeah.

[1:25:52] » And this is K through 6. >> Yes.

[1:25:54] » We're not talking high school. >> Right. Our policies only apply

[1:25:57] » what I'm saying. Like, I mean, I can I can just see this something in high

[1:26:00] school, but not in elementary.

[1:26:02] » And in fact, there are policies um for extracurricular activities and

[1:26:09] » Yeah, so we already have them. >> This is

[1:26:12] not where we want to be. Um

[1:26:15] » Outside computer use. Is is this something that we hold

[1:26:19] » [clears throat] >> Hold that.

[1:26:20] Is anyone Okay. >> There was one that

[1:26:23] » That was kind of a >> It had something to do with like loaning

[1:26:25] out or something. This That was in the financial policies, I think, actually.

[1:26:29] So, this policy is 28 years old and it's about computers.

[1:26:32] » Which were brand new in those days. >> So, and rare.

[1:26:35] » Hopefully, you don't need me to say much more except that like back then nobody

[1:26:39] took computers home. Now, [clears throat] not only do we allow it,

[1:26:42] we encourage it. Like, that's how we operate. So, this is

[1:26:46] as outdated as a policy can possibly be.

[1:26:51] » Okay. >> Okay. Any questions on that one?

[1:26:53] » Mhm. >> All right. So, let's um

[1:26:57] Let's see. We vote policies for possible deletions for

[1:27:02] concepts and roles and instruction, COVID-19 emergency measures, extra class

[1:27:07] activities, offset computer use. Would Anyone like to make make a motion

[1:27:12] for deletion? >> Make a motion for deletion.

[1:27:14] » Second. Jonathan second. All in favor?

[1:27:18] Ellie? >> I'm in favor, too.

[1:27:21] » All right. So, 8-0.

[1:27:25] Perfect. On to item B, policies for adoption.

[1:27:30] Meal charging. >> So, if it feels like this feels out of

[1:27:34] the blue, I apologize. Um we're in May. So, in March, these were on for first

[1:27:39] read and because I am a horrible executive assistant, they didn't get on

[1:27:44] to the April agenda. Um but these were on for first

[1:27:49] read in March. They should have been on for

[1:27:52] adoption in April. You've already seen them at committee,

[1:27:56] seen them for first read, reviewed them closely.

[1:28:00] Um we just missed a month. So, that's how they've floated back to you now for

[1:28:05] adoption. Um [clears throat]

[1:28:07] but you have already spent time with these previously.

[1:28:10] » Make a motion to accept the fuel charging policy.

[1:28:15] » All right. Jonathan second. All in favor?

[1:28:19] Ellie? >> Me, too.

[1:28:21] » Okay. All right. Purchasing.

[1:28:28] Same thing. >> Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I was speaking of

[1:28:31] both of them. They were traveling together and I just

[1:28:34] » I'd like a motion to accept purchasing.

[1:28:38] Jonathan? >> Second.

[1:28:40] » Jonathan Sorry. Joseph, Jonathan. All in favor?

[1:28:46] Ellie? >> Um yep, me, too.

[1:28:48] » Okay. 8-0.

[1:28:51] All right. On to item C, approval of the Board of

[1:28:55] Education revised budget. >> Okay.

[1:29:00] So, you if you hearken back to many moons ago, I presented a budget to you.

[1:29:06] You then worked with it. You um tinkered. You made a reduction and

[1:29:10] ultimately someone of you made a motion to approve

[1:29:14] the Board of Education budget in the amount of I guess it would have been

[1:29:17] 26,550,000 blah blah blah, you know, something like

[1:29:21] that. Um it then left your hands, went to the

[1:29:25] Board of Selectmen. Since the amount has moved, I wanted to just remind us

[1:29:30] what has changed in the budget since you approved it. Um and then ask you to just

[1:29:35] approve it as the Board of Education's revised budget and I have the number

[1:29:39] here for whomever wants to make that motion.

[1:29:42] » Are we moving any money out of >> So, why don't you explain

[1:29:46] » Right. So, I'm going to tell you without [clears throat] We are actually

[1:29:51] working on um updating the budget book. Um

[1:29:56] because we should have an accurate book, but that takes a little longer, as you

[1:30:00] might imagine, than the pace of things and how they're

[1:30:03] moving. So, in the short term, we've updated, you know, the cover sheet and

[1:30:07] we know where everything is coming and going from, but

[1:30:10] um when it let since it left your hands it has been reduced by a million

[1:30:13] dollars. So, to mitigate that, um we had

[1:30:19] a reduction in our tuition bill from Gilbert for $285,714

[1:30:25] and we have received the good news that we will get $320,998

[1:30:30] in state aid. Um the information I'm reviewing is the

[1:30:34] same information that I handed you at the special meeting last week.

[1:30:38] Um the long and short of what's no longer

[1:30:42] in the budget that was in the budget when you last approved

[1:30:46] it is that we have eliminated the position special education assistant

[1:30:50] director. We've eliminated a grade two teacher.

[1:30:54] We've eliminated two interventionists. We've eliminated the position of

[1:30:58] director of data and information. >> [clears throat]

[1:31:01] » We've eliminated one preschool teacher and one corresponding paraeducator.

[1:31:07] Those are things that are no longer in the budget that were there when you last

[1:31:10] approved it. Um

[1:31:15] we are maintaining the school safety officers by

[1:31:21] utilizing the 440 account funds. The way we've done that is I asked Nancy

[1:31:27] to leave just a couple of thousand dollars in the budget so that when we're

[1:31:31] looking like at a list of who works here they still appear, but they are largely

[1:31:35] being funded through the 440 account. But, just like

[1:31:40] for example our reading teachers are funded through grants, but we have like

[1:31:43] $3,000 in the budget for each of them. So, again, they just appear so that

[1:31:48] they're not invisible.

[1:31:51] Um we have um

[1:31:56] also in that work with the million dollars fixed some things that have

[1:32:00] changed since the time that you saw the budget just in terms of things that went

[1:32:06] up and down. Um

[1:32:09] there is a line in the budget called unawarded reserve. We use that um

[1:32:14] because we're in contract negotiations. Those are raises for positions that we

[1:32:18] don't know what those raises will be cuz we haven't negotiated the contract. It's

[1:32:22] for people whose jobs are not in a union, so there is no set raise for

[1:32:27] them. So, we decrease the amount in that line

[1:32:30] because there's nine less people work seven less nine

[1:32:35] less one seven less people working here now that we put back the SSOs.

[1:32:40] Um what else?

[1:32:44] Um

[1:32:47] one of uh what else can I tell you? So, we know our federal grants went down.

[1:32:51] So, we've made the adjustments, but the things that are changed the significant

[1:32:56] changes in the budget are the reduction of those positions. The one offset to

[1:33:00] the director of data and information is that work doesn't go away. So, we are

[1:33:05] contracting with Twin Lakes, which is a company that does remote servicing of

[1:33:11] all of your student data and state reporting.

[1:33:13] There are other aspects of that position that we'll lose and some of us will

[1:33:18] absorb the work of um because that's what we do.

[1:33:22] So, if someone were willing to motion to approve the Board of Ed revised budget

[1:33:27] in the amount of 25 million 50,562

[1:33:33] then it would be official that that was the Board of Ed's budget.

[1:33:36] » I have a question about the elimination of the special ed assistant director's

[1:33:40] position. I mentioned before that's an administrative position. And our bylaws

[1:33:44] say that we should be making a motion to approve or not

[1:33:48] approve administrative positions. I To my thinking, that's So,

[1:33:53] » you're approving the budget that knowingly does not include that

[1:33:56] position. If you wish to motion it separately. You

[1:33:59] » I think the bylaws reference if it was a termination

[1:34:05] if it was more of a termination aspect and not

[1:34:09] a cut a cut aspect. Um

[1:34:13] it it does reference that the board um

[1:34:18] could vote on when it deals with administrator but I I feel like and

[1:34:23] maybe we should look at that language. >> Which section is that?

[1:34:28] » The bylaws are on our webpage >> Yeah, but what section?

[1:34:30] » under bylaws of the board November 12th, 2024.

[1:34:35] » Yep. >> Okay, and if you go to

[1:34:39] » [clears throat] >> Yeah.

[1:34:43] » So I think the language needs to be clarified for future.

[1:34:46] » It's under >> cuz it can be interpreted.

[1:34:53] » Well, that's a whole 'nother conversation about

[1:34:55] » Yep. >> Superintendent will also make

[1:34:57] recommendations for termination administrator

[1:35:00] the board will also have the right to approve any hiring and the terms and

[1:35:04] conditions of such administrator's contract. The

[1:35:07] board shall have the right of approval of any involuntary termination. Is this

[1:35:11] an involuntary termination? >> This is not a termination.

[1:35:13] » of an administrator's employment. >> Not a termination.

[1:35:16] » It's not a termination.

[1:35:20] Such personnel shall have the aids duties of such other duties

[1:35:23] superintendent shall prescribe. >> Maybe the language needs to add

[1:35:27] that it doesn't deal with budget cuts. >> So what is involuntary termination?

[1:35:32] Firing? >> Yeah.

[1:35:33] » Termination is definitely a specific >> That is when the board has to

[1:35:38] » [cough] >> So this would be classified as a layoff

[1:35:40] then, correct? >> Mhm.

[1:35:41] » Reduction in force, yes. >> So what does that mean her position is

[1:35:44] held for

[1:35:48] future for future or is it Uh, in that sense?

[1:35:51] » So if she were say a teacher in the teachers union, there's language in her

[1:35:54] contract that would say, um, if we reduce our force and you're laid off,

[1:36:00] there's a recall list. Because this position is not a union position,

[1:36:04] technically there probably isn't any language that says she needs to be

[1:36:09] brought back if we bring back the position. The reality is, more than

[1:36:13] anything, we don't want to lose this position.

[1:36:16] Um, and we don't want to lose the person either.

[1:36:20] Why am I not getting this to load? Um,

[1:36:24] so if, you know, Santa Claus drops off

[1:36:28] » [snorts] >> a hundred thousand dollars, we would put

[1:36:31] the position back and put the same person in it, for sure.

[1:36:34] » You've given up on the uncle? >> Um, yeah, the rich uncle, I'll take

[1:36:40] really any source at this point, sure. Um, you know, should [clears throat]

[1:36:44] something change in grants and there's more money than we're aware of, um,

[1:36:48] that's probably the next thing I would put back. I mean, it's a huge loss.

[1:36:52] » How How about notice in the contract in the state law? I mean, these

[1:36:56] persons have been noticed, like May 1st was notice by the state law. That's

[1:37:01] different. >> May 1st is for non-renewal of contract,

[1:37:05] meaning, um, Nora, you're in your first four years, you're not tenured, and

[1:37:11] you're lovely, but you don't meet the standards of the district, and we are

[1:37:13] not going to offer you a contract next year.

[1:37:15] » Okay. >> That's the May 1st.

[1:37:17] » All right. >> Reduction in force can happen at any

[1:37:19] time that your budget can't support a position.

[1:37:22] » And you don't need to notice that. Or do you have notice?

[1:37:24] » have to pink slip it, but it's not a May 1st thing. It's a

[1:37:27] » Okay. And there's nothing in the admin contract that speaks of anything like

[1:37:32] » This position is not in the admin contract.

[1:37:35] » Oh. >> It's a individual contract. It's an

[1:37:38] at-will employee contract. I don't know what's going on with the

[1:37:41] Wi-Fi. >> Okay.

[1:37:46] Okay. Any other questions or concerns on that?

[1:37:49] » Um I will make the motion to approve the Board of Education revised budget of 25

[1:37:56] million $50,562.

[1:38:00] Do we have a second? >> Second.

[1:38:02] » Carol. Uh all in favor?

[1:38:07] Ellie? >> I'm in favor.

[1:38:09] » Okay. 8 to 0.

[1:38:11] » With Carol the second on that. >> Yes.

[1:38:14] » Okay. >> Okay. On to adoption of a preschool

[1:38:20] tuition rate. >> Okay.

[1:38:22] I Um

[1:38:25] so, let me give you a little background first.

[1:38:27] Um we have been

[1:38:31] talking about um our preschool program. We charge no tuition for any students,

[1:38:36] and that's something that's been brought up um

[1:38:39] a few different times, I think, with the board.

[1:38:42] We did the research to see what other people charge. It does seem that most

[1:38:47] districts do charge. Um so, I'm going to share with you, and

[1:38:52] I think Matthew, you have a chart as well. Um

[1:38:54] what our research showed us, you know, we could go [clears throat] broader, but

[1:38:58] we felt the most relevant would be the towns sort of around us.

[1:39:02] Um so, preschool programs can

[1:39:07] um look different in different communities.

[1:39:10] Sometimes they are half day only, sometimes they're 4 days a week,

[1:39:15] sometimes they're full day only, sometimes you have both options,

[1:39:18] sometimes it's 3-year-olds are half day, 4-year-olds are full day.

[1:39:23] So, if it doesn't say anything, you can assume it is full day, well, not full

[1:39:28] day, cuz I've separated full day and half day, but you can assume it's 5 days

[1:39:31] a week. For the ones that are regions, I've

[1:39:34] listed for you the participating towns, so that you can sort of

[1:39:38] see comparables. Um

[1:39:43] so, Region one [clears throat] is a four-day a week program and it's only

[1:39:46] half days. Region 10 is a five-day a week, but it's only half days.

[1:39:52] Region 20 >> No, preschool.

[1:39:55] Go ahead. >> It is a half-day program. Shared

[1:40:00] services hosts um

[1:40:02] the full-day program is five days a week, the half-day program is four days

[1:40:06] a week. Um Torrington's is a five-day full day.

[1:40:13] So, because we are um eliminating a

[1:40:18] preschool teacher and paraeducator, instead of having three teachers and

[1:40:21] three classrooms, we have two teachers, two classrooms. Our intention for next

[1:40:27] year will be to have one full-day class and two half-day classes.

[1:40:32] We don't really have a choice about that because

[1:40:35] one of the purposes of hosting a preschool program is that allows us to

[1:40:39] deliver special education services to three-year-olds and four-year-olds

[1:40:44] um in an integrated setting. Based on the number of students

[1:40:49] who will need spots in that program, we need three places because you can't

[1:40:55] have more than a 50% ratio. So, there will be three classes, one full day, two

[1:41:00] half days. The team at the school will look, along with Kathy, closely at the

[1:41:05] ages of the kids and decide if they are specifically age-driven or um

[1:41:12] skill-driven or who knows what, but we'll navigate that.

[1:41:18] Um because there are less spots, it feels like it, you know, supply and

[1:41:21] demand. It might be a good moment to um test pilot having a modest tuition.

[1:41:28] Um students who are placed in the program because their IEP needs a place

[1:41:33] to be um achieved will not pay, and that is

[1:41:38] similar across districts. Um because they're there because we

[1:41:43] placed them there in order to meet their IEP goals.

[1:41:47] Um but for the half of the students or more than half the students who are

[1:41:51] there um

[1:41:53] because it's a great preschool experience, they would be charged

[1:41:56] tuition. Um

[1:41:58] » So, this is we already have a lottery, correct?

[1:42:02] » So, we ask people to sign up and request a spot. And

[1:42:06] » So, this is now shrunk because we're pulling my attention.

[1:42:10] » less spots to offer. >> Right.

[1:42:12] » And when we did that, we did not say we'd be charging tuition. So, what we

[1:42:16] would likely do rather than have people re-sign up is start with

[1:42:22] um the full-day spots because that's typically well, I shouldn't say that.

[1:42:26] There's some people who ask for a half-day spot, but we would start with

[1:42:29] what, you know, run a lottery, pull the numbers for the

[1:42:32] first, you know, eight people for the full-day

[1:42:35] section, saving spots for the kids who are identified, and um

[1:42:40] eight spots in each of the half-day classes or 10 in each of the half-days.

[1:42:44] Um and offer them to people and say,

[1:42:47] "You've you're you got lucky. You've gotten a

[1:42:51] spot in this um but there is a tuition due. Accept or not accept." And then if

[1:42:55] they don't accept, move on to the next and

[1:42:58] um >> Wait, this is a change from the past. We

[1:43:01] haven't >> charged tuition. We have as far as I

[1:43:05] know, never charged tuition. Um something I think is wonderful.

[1:43:10] » Yeah, everybody else is doing it, though.

[1:43:11] » But >> because

[1:43:14] one of the things that I'm worried about is when you start charging tuition, you

[1:43:18] start to you know, you're talking about resource-rich families versus

[1:43:22] resource-not-rich families. And that perpetuates who gets access to

[1:43:26] a program, and often persons that are not resource-rich really needs this

[1:43:31] program. That's what I'm worried about. >> Um so our thoughts were also I would say

[1:43:36] does anybody remember from our conversation like when Sedaria child

[1:43:39] care costs $8,000

[1:43:44] for the year? I a lot more money.

[1:43:48] Um So compared to

[1:43:52] » And there's >> child care programs

[1:43:54] » There's sliding scale. >> That's the other thing. So um

[1:43:59] You're talking with a couple of people in other districts what I would

[1:44:02] recommend is rather than if you're doing this with federal funds,

[1:44:08] you have to use the sliding scale which is just a little bit complicated and it

[1:44:12] puts us in a position of having to determine who's eligible for what.

[1:44:16] Um in speaking with a business director from another district, since we don't

[1:44:20] accept federal funds, we could do what they do which is you say if you're Husky

[1:44:25] part A um I'm going to say this backwards. I

[1:44:28] forget which is a higher level of need but if

[1:44:31] you qualify for Husky A then you get free tuition. If you're Husky B, you get

[1:44:35] half price tuition and if you're neither, you pay the full boat.

[1:44:39] What's different about that is it puts the state in the position of figuring

[1:44:42] out who qualifies for the reduced rather than us and again

[1:44:46] you're looking at our business office, the entire department sitting there. So

[1:44:50] the thought of also now taking on the role of determining

[1:44:54] » administrator of that >> Right, the finances of each family and

[1:44:58] who qualifies for what. So using something where the state makes those

[1:45:01] decisions keeps us out of conflict with our families.

[1:45:06] Which I think is important. So if we adopt a tuition, I would suggest that we

[1:45:11] also adopt >> that

[1:45:13] » that the Husky determinant for reducing the tuition. I also So if you think

[1:45:19] about it um just to pick a number, if we did say

[1:45:23] $2,000 a year that's roughly $200 a month or $50 a

[1:45:28] week. >> So, we currently don't

[1:45:31] um >> We charge zero.

[1:45:32] » And if we do charge, then it's a net benefit, correct?

[1:45:37] Because we're generating income. >> We would be generating a benefit to the

[1:45:39] district, not to the family. >> Well, and but if

[1:45:43] let's say nobody um signs up because of financial

[1:45:46] constraints, what's the financial impact?

[1:45:51] » I guess if we couldn't fit Well, so right now we didn't budget based on this

[1:45:55] income, and I would not recommend that we suddenly weave it into our financial

[1:46:00] plan cuz we really uh we didn't know this until today that we're thinking of

[1:46:05] it, right? Um I see this is sort of a test case,

[1:46:08] and if it generates some income, then we could look at going forward, we'd be

[1:46:13] able to predict if we're able to fill sections

[1:46:17] um with a tuition rate attached to it, and

[1:46:19] then we could build that into defraying the cost of the preschool teachers.

[1:46:24] » Um so, are we able to like make a motion at any point or

[1:46:27] » I'd like to suggest [clears throat] that before you make a motion

[1:46:30] that you discuss A, your appetite to do it at all, and B, if you're going to do

[1:46:35] it at all, what you feel um a reasonable rate.

[1:46:39] And again, my thought would be that we're sort of piloting right now, see

[1:46:42] how it goes. Um you know, it also puts us in the position of charging money,

[1:46:48] collecting money. Um we do that currently for the Champs program, and

[1:46:52] that's no little job um at all. So, there's a lot that goes with it that as

[1:46:58] a very um thinly resourced district in terms of

[1:47:01] staffing, we want to make sure that we can handle it appropriately and well,

[1:47:05] and you know, you end up having to um follow up and pursue families that

[1:47:10] haven't made payments, and that's not a great dynamic. So, there's a whole bunch

[1:47:14] about it that I think will require us to make a decision

[1:47:18] tonight, try it out, and then revisit whether or not it was successful.

[1:47:22] » All right, listen. >> Nancy, how long have we not charged for

[1:47:26] for preschool? >> No.

[1:47:28] » As long as >> 11 years at least, right?

[1:47:30] » Yeah. >> Um I think that this direction

[1:47:36] is not acceptable.

[1:47:39] I think that in a in a community such as ours, we've long held the value of

[1:47:45] ensuring that there's access for every kid and that finances are absolutely not

[1:47:50] a barrier, nor are finances it could lead it to it even a chilling

[1:47:55] effect for a family who who would be worried about even

[1:47:59] applying for it because they are not sure about next month's bill.

[1:48:03] And I think that this would be and I'm not sure how much you would actually

[1:48:07] generate in revenue and I don't think we should be a revenue-based

[1:48:10] decision-making here on this about whether it's going to help us. I don't

[1:48:12] think it will help us much. >> We're cutting our budget by a million

[1:48:15] dollars, so we have to figure something out.

[1:48:18] » But it's peanuts. It's peanuts and when we're talking about this age group,

[1:48:22] we're talking little ones, babies, who absolutely need to have the services in

[1:48:29] such a a needy community as ours, changing a policy that we've had for 11

[1:48:34] years to me is abhorrent.

[1:48:40] I will not support this.

[1:48:44] » Um do we have

[1:48:47] an estimated number of of students for pre-K 3 and 4 right now?

[1:48:54] » So we have we will have 16 16 16. We will have 48 seats and we

[1:49:00] have like people we could put names to for

[1:49:04] special education, if that's what you're asking, for 16. We anticipate that that

[1:49:08] number >> asking like do we have an idea of what

[1:49:11] the estimated enrollment would have been for the upcoming year?

[1:49:16] Cuz we were anticipating four sections. >> Right. So, we

[1:49:21] » So, there there is an overflow, right? >> We filled the the full day sections.

[1:49:26] There is no question about it. The full day section will fill. The unknown for

[1:49:30] me is our half day sections are not at 16. People don't love half day.

[1:49:36] » Right. >> But, when we eliminate 16 full day

[1:49:40] sections, I think it's more likely that we will fill the half days because there

[1:49:43] are some people who got full day who will accept half day now that there are

[1:49:48] less full day spots. >> So, not only are there fewer spots for

[1:49:53] our community. I mean, have we filled in these spots in the past?

[1:49:57] » Again, we fill the full day spots always.

[1:49:59] » 100% and we've had four sections and we've

[1:50:03] 100% filled them with tuition free kids. >> No.

[1:50:07] No, we don't fill the half day sections fully. We fill full day sections. I

[1:50:11] think if we offered four full days, we would fill those.

[1:50:14] » Okay. >> But, the half we've done two Recently,

[1:50:17] we have done two full days and two half days with three teachers.

[1:50:22] And we fill the full days. The half days get to maybe nine or 10 in a class, not

[1:50:28] the full 16. >> Okay. So,

[1:50:31] reducing it down to one full day, two half days most likely will fill.

[1:50:36] I think is what you're saying. >> I'm speculating because we'll have 16

[1:50:40] less full day spots. >> What's the percentage of students in

[1:50:44] like that So, there's 16 in the full day class.

[1:50:47] Our eight would be tuition free because they're special ed.

[1:50:51] Place students. >> wouldn't place more than eight

[1:50:54] identified students, right? >> Okay. So, then we're looking at eight

[1:50:59] eligible tuition students. >> 48

[1:51:03] seats. >> So, then you'd be half.

[1:51:06] » We would fill theoretically if we have enough kiddos, we would fill at At 24 of

[1:51:11] them with tuition paying students. >> And then we have the Husky A and the

[1:51:14] Husky B. So, some of those might not be eligible.

[1:51:17] » For the state takeover? >> They would

[1:51:20] If they are offered a spot and accept it, and then they are reduced tuition,

[1:51:25] they >> I'm just saying $24,000 isn't going to

[1:51:28] put it down in the million and a half, but it's going

[1:51:32] » No, 16 is the absolutely most. In a perfect world, I would cap it at 14, but

[1:51:38] The other thing I'll Something you said reminded me. There's something else the

[1:51:41] state offers called Care for Kids, which we're in the process of enrolling for.

[1:51:46] What Care for Kids is is families directly contact with the state, and if

[1:51:51] their finances make them eligible, the state says, "I've got you. You pay this

[1:51:57] piece, and we'll pay the rest of it." And so, we get the full tuition, but the

[1:52:00] state makes up the difference that they feel the parents can't.

[1:52:03] » And we don't have to do the administrative side of that. That's all

[1:52:06] on >> We just have to do the setup, and I

[1:52:08] imagine we probably have some billing work with that with the state as well,

[1:52:12] but but the state pays part of the family's tuition in that case.

[1:52:17] » So, if you did, all right, 16 kids half day at $2,000 a kid, it would be

[1:52:22] $32,000. If you did the eight full day, I'm just

[1:52:27] running >> Yeah, we want to do a 2,000 for half

[1:52:29] day, right? >> It'd be 1,000 for the half day.

[1:52:32] » for half day. How much? 1,000 for half day.

[1:52:34] » Okay, so then cut that in half. Cuz I would if you go up with the 2,000, which

[1:52:37] is basically here, and then if you go up with the 5,000 for the full day, that's

[1:52:41] another 40,000. So, if you did 2,000 and 5,000

[1:52:45] for eight kids and 16 kids, it comes to $72,000.

[1:52:49] » We want to do 5,000 for full >> just saying that would replace one of

[1:52:53] the positions we're eliminating. >> Yeah, we would be We'd do 2,000 for full

[1:52:56] day, 1,000 for half day. >> But

[1:52:58] I would cover with my

[1:53:01] » It could a paraprofessional. >> a good position we're eliminating cuz we

[1:53:05] don't have to fund >> Two players.

[1:53:07] » And and again, we I mean, I feel like I know I mean,

[1:53:11] nobody Everybody else charges. Like, why are we not charging?

[1:53:14] » So, I didn't have I didn't have a pot to piss in when my kids were babies, and my

[1:53:18] kids still went to nursing school. I paid for it out of my pocket, actually.

[1:53:21] » So, >> And I didn't have a pot to piss in. I

[1:53:24] spent $20 a week on groceries, okay? >> So, Nora, I have a question for you, cuz

[1:53:28] you brought issue with it. What Why would you if they could be funded from

[1:53:34] the state, why would you then have an issue?

[1:53:37] Because it would be funded from the >> state, it's a different story, cuz

[1:53:41] that's how sometimes we've we've paid for this in some other ways. And Care

[1:53:45] for Kids is totally different story. But I'm talking about out of the parents'

[1:53:49] pocket. >> I agree with you.

[1:53:50] » You're going to find parents saying, "Sorry, I'm not even going to apply."

[1:53:54] And so then you don't know how much their Husky would be. And And will they

[1:53:57] know that they can kind of get a reduced cost for Husky? Great. Fine, it might

[1:54:02] reduce some cost, but the point is you're sending a message that is not

[1:54:05] going to be clear to parents, and they don't know where they're going to see it

[1:54:09] stand in the summer fiscally. And how it's going to roll out for

[1:54:14] budgetary purposes, you're going to dissuade people.

[1:54:19] And in this community, remember, we're an alliance district for a reason, or

[1:54:22] we've been and we still are. Um we're absolutely We've been talking about the

[1:54:27] needs for a budget and passing our budget and needy families and fixed

[1:54:30] incomes. Um this is the most vulnerable group of

[1:54:34] people that we need to invest in the most.

[1:54:38] And as I said, we've done it for 11 years.

[1:54:42] And so we can raise $70,000, but I think the cost in the long term

[1:54:48] and tier two and tier three needs are are going to be in the long term more

[1:54:53] costly. >> So, Nora, to your point, um

[1:54:57] just the public perception, I'm saying a lot of parents are saying they need to

[1:55:00] raise the school budget, correct? You know, for all this stuff. So, I would

[1:55:04] say, you know, parents, if they're willing to raise the budget unilaterally

[1:55:08] for, you know, every you know, town member that, you know,

[1:55:13] they'd be more than willing to pay for their child's,

[1:55:16] you know, preschool. >> If they can.

[1:55:19] » So, but you're saying with that, you know, if they can't afford preschool

[1:55:23] now, how would they afford the proposed increase in

[1:55:28] their taxes? >> Well, they're going to be paying the

[1:55:29] increase in the taxes, and then if they want their kids to go to this, they're

[1:55:32] also paying on top of that. And so, that's a double burden on a family that

[1:55:37] is trying to feed their kids in a household that I think that would

[1:55:43] going to get lost is the message is that's going to cost family monies. And

[1:55:48] I think that's going to have a chilling effect on families.

[1:55:51] And for 11 years, we've been managing this.

[1:55:54] » So, before we get lost in the weeds on that, I think one of the things is, just

[1:55:58] like we would advocate for a budget, we should then advocate for the proper

[1:56:04] information to the families to know that those that are not in a financial

[1:56:08] position where they can, and those that are in a financial position where they

[1:56:12] right? Where they can't afford, have options, and those who can

[1:56:18] do have options as well, and they would pay a tuition. So, you're you're going

[1:56:23] to advocate for and provide information for. So, from my standpoint, as long as

[1:56:30] there is the proper information disseminated to the parents to be able

[1:56:34] to have the option, uh if they cannot afford, that they do

[1:56:38] have an option to have their children in that program just the same.

[1:56:42] » Yeah, I like your I like your if they're on Husky A and Husky B.

[1:56:46] I like that, cuz one is family, one is one is complete family, one is just the

[1:56:50] kids, right? Um I don't know I think Husky has you

[1:56:54] would make it a funny, so you are on it, like on it.

[1:56:57] And the other one is you make enough money, but your kids can be on it.

[1:57:01] Right? >> Right. So, that sets your two levels.

[1:57:03] » So, it's A and B, whichever which is which.

[1:57:06] So, there is a level there. I like that with you. What you're saying is like

[1:57:10] okay, if you have Husky A and your Husky B, you know, please contact us for it's

[1:57:14] going to be reduced or whatever we decide.

[1:57:18] » If we look at the math of it though, like so if we're charging $2,000

[1:57:23] for the full day, that's eight kids. That's $16,000.

[1:57:28] And then we're charging $1,000 $1,000

[1:57:32] for eight kids twice for the two half days, we're looking at $32,000.

[1:57:37] Assuming all of none of those students qualify

[1:57:42] for any of the Husky programs. Like why are we going to put the families through

[1:57:46] that additional stress for $32,000? Like we're here to support

[1:57:54] the members of our community, in particular the students of our

[1:57:57] community. Adding an additional burden for at the most $32,000

[1:58:03] seems I could see if it was going to be 80,

[1:58:07] 90,000 dollars, we'd think about it. $32,000 doesn't seem like it's worth it.

[1:58:13] And all it a little bit seemed the parents of this community have been

[1:58:17] slapped in the slapped in the face through this entire

[1:58:20] budget process. So, have the

[1:58:24] the members the staff members of all of our schools.

[1:58:27] The board of of selectmen selectmen referred to all of our our schools as

[1:58:32] failing. Um which is incredibly disrespectful to

[1:58:36] our superintendent who has been disrespected continually for the last

[1:58:42] two months, and that was a disrespectful statement that was made towards every

[1:58:47] staff member in our schools. Um our schools are not failing.

[1:58:53] The staff in our schools are not failures. They're actually being failed.

[1:58:58] They are not failing, they are being failed.

[1:59:01] The parents of our community were also

[1:59:03] incredibly disrespected during that May 20th meeting when they were all their

[1:59:08] concerns were completely ignored. To slap the community in the face again for

[1:59:13] maybe $32,000 is something I will not support.

[1:59:17] » I I agree with what you're saying, but I also it's about it's about putting money

[1:59:22] back in the budget. And that's what this whole craziness for the last 2 months

[1:59:26] » But $32,000, $1.5 million. >> here and $20,000 there and $30,000

[1:59:31] there. >> It adds up over time.

[1:59:32] » And and making income on I'm not dissing you, Manzi. On our 440, I mean, there

[1:59:37] all these little things add up and you're fighting over money all the time.

[1:59:42] Like, I literally just went this for 2 months of my life. And like, we're

[1:59:46] looking at an option where every other town is doing it. It's not It's not just

[1:59:50] us coming up with this idea. >> They're larger I'm assuming they're

[1:59:54] making more than $32,000, potentially $32,000.

[1:59:59] » Well, I mean >> That's per student. It's not telling us

[2:00:01] how many students are paying those tuition.

[2:00:02] » You're talking me These are two These are apples and

[2:00:07] oranges. Region 10 is a different DRG. Region 20 is a different DRG. Region 1

[2:00:13] is a different DRG. New Hartford's a different DRG. The one that I see that's

[2:00:17] comparable is Torrington. >> to agree with you. I think we should

[2:00:20] have, you know, prices comparable to

[2:00:22] Torrington. I mean, I always thinking, you know, if we you know, maybe undercut

[2:00:26] Torrington a little bit because I don't know what can we do with the money? Do

[2:00:29] we have to uh appropriate that money towards something

[2:00:32] or can that go into a non-lapsing fund or our 440 fund?

[2:00:36] » Uh, the income would be revenue, you know, when we do our um

[2:00:42] budget book, there's a page there with um uh,

[2:00:45] not revenue, resources. And amongst the resources is revenue.

[2:00:50] So, for example, the Champs program brings in money, and that money is used

[2:00:54] to pay for the Champs program, but revenue [snorts] from the preschool

[2:00:58] arguably could be used to defray the cost of preschool, but it's

[2:01:02] un- un- um, unassigned money, if you will.

[2:01:07] » So, theoretically, we could put this into the non-lapsing fund or the 440

[2:01:10] fund to to grow that. So, we could even do, you know, maybe

[2:01:15] $600 for a half-day rate and $1,200 for a the for a full-day rate, and just

[2:01:20] stock that money away for, you know, issues that arise. We

[2:01:24] don't have to appropriate this money for the special education, or not special

[2:01:28] education, sorry, the uh, preschool, because we we haven't been

[2:01:32] paying, you know, tuition now, so for the future,

[2:01:37] you know, we can just assume that they're zero and stockpile that money

[2:01:40] away for a rainy day fund that actually generate income.

[2:01:47] » And how would the billing go to the families? Would it be monthly, weekly?

[2:01:51] » Probably monthly, just based on our research with surrounding communities,

[2:01:55] they seem to do it monthly. Some places do like by the semester, but

[2:01:59] I don't know that that's realistic for people.

[2:02:01] » That Yeah, cuz it's there's big difference between them having to pay

[2:02:05] the bill every month and them having to pay

[2:02:08] and one large bill at the beginning. >> Another caveat to this is, so like our

[2:02:12] preschool program, correct? Um, it's not just for Windsor, we can open it up to

[2:02:17] other towns, correct? >> So, we

[2:02:21] the board would need to adopt a policy about out-of-town students, but with

[2:02:26] just two teachers, we will not be in a position to do that, but if we, you

[2:02:31] know, we are working really hard on our Naya accreditation and growing the

[2:02:34] program, we have the physical space to have four

[2:02:39] preschool rooms. So, if we add sections because we think there's demand, we can

[2:02:46] take out-of-town students after we've accepted all of our own students.

[2:02:50] » Okay. So, then

[2:02:51] » And we could charge an in-town rate and an out-of-town rate, or we could charge

[2:02:54] the same rate. >> Cuz my my feeling is, you know,

[2:02:57] Torrington would be our closest ally cuz they're the closest. If we, you know,

[2:03:01] have our tuition rates lower than that, that could potentially draw students

[2:03:04] from Torrington to us too, you know. >> Families do the transportation, is that

[2:03:08] right? >> Out-of-town families would absolutely.

[2:03:11] [clears throat] In-town actually transport our kiddos on

[2:03:14] the same buses with our big kids. >> Where does [clears throat] the slap in

[2:03:17] the face come from in the fact that it would still be provided for those

[2:03:21] families [clears throat] that do not have the financial means, and those that

[2:03:25] do could so that we could offset some of these costs, and when you look at it and

[2:03:31] we go back and forth and have long

[2:03:35] drawn-out meetings that go nowhere and we're talking about budget cuts, which

[2:03:38] are very unfortunate, and we have a way to offset or defray those

[2:03:43] budget cuts, we shouldn't be turning uh our face to that and say, "How

[2:03:48] disrespectful." Even if we've done that, we do not not ever want to go back, nor

[2:03:53] are you You mentioned this in the special meeting, I believe. You said we

[2:03:56] had $18 in the account. Just because we had it at one time means we never want

[2:04:00] to go back there. Let's not revisit the past. Let's look to the future. How do

[2:04:04] we not go back? I think this is great to

[2:04:07] think of, and it's not perfect, right? It's There's going to be some people

[2:04:11] that are disgruntled, but we have to look at all options.

[2:04:14] Um I think keeping those in district, like was mentioned

[2:04:18] before, uh thank you, Kathy. I think that that's another great thing, not

[2:04:23] just cost-wise, but just looking to keep it in our district as much as possible,

[2:04:27] and how could we get back to having a third uh

[2:04:33] uh teacher for, right? So, we we let go of one of our pre-K teachers, Did we not

[2:04:38] do this? >> We lost a staff.

[2:04:39] » So, if we do this, could we not at some point bring back that teacher and now

[2:04:44] have more to offer? So, I think looking at it from the standpoint of it's a slap

[2:04:48] in the face, I think is the wrong way to look at it. I think it's trying to look

[2:04:52] and say, "Okay, what we've done maybe has worked

[2:04:56] somewhat, but there might be a better way."

[2:04:59] » So, 30,000 could be a paraprofessional. It could be field trip experiences. It

[2:05:04] could be things that we

[2:05:08] look to eliminate

[2:05:12] when we come into budget season. So, it could be something that could provide

[2:05:17] for the entire student population to

[2:05:20] benefit. Um we have very little opportunities to

[2:05:24] create revenue as a public school um other than grants.

[2:05:29] Um and we all know grants dry up, grants go away.

[2:05:35] Um and

[2:05:38] as we saw this year, our district is not the only district that's hurting.

[2:05:44] All districts in this state are hurting. All districts are trying to find ways to

[2:05:49] um cut, ways to you know, maximize our costs.

[2:05:55] And I don't see that going away.

[2:05:59] So, we need to be creative. We need to think outside the box. That's what we

[2:06:05] tasked Julie to do.

[2:06:09] We need to start thinking outside the box and

[2:06:12] this isn't out of the box. Just because we haven't done it, doesn't

[2:06:16] mean that we shouldn't consider it. >> I do appreciate the creativity and that

[2:06:21] was one of the charges is to try to figure out some creative ways. Um but I

[2:06:24] think this is the most vulnerable part of that. And I think that we're going to

[2:06:27] lose some kids in the process and our families because it it it yeah, it's

[2:06:32] going to be you know, we got care for kids, some families will qualify. We've

[2:06:35] got Husky A and B, some parents will qualify. It's the marginal family that

[2:06:39] qualifies for neither one that I'm afraid we will lose

[2:06:43] because all of our kids, you know, need need help and support and this I'm

[2:06:47] afraid we'll lose that the third tier of parent.

[2:06:52] And um

[2:06:53] » So then why don't we >> Yes, you can communicate and tell the

[2:06:56] parents if you qualify, but it's going to it's

[2:06:59] kind of reminiscent of how some families don't get financial aid, would love to

[2:07:03] have, but they're caught in that financial zone in terms of income and

[2:07:07] they don't get any financial aid, but they want to send their kid on to

[2:07:10] college. This is kind of I'm worried about that kind of family who

[2:07:14] just needs to hit the groceries. And so yeah, they don't qualify for Husky, they

[2:07:18] don't qualify for the care for kids and would love to send my kid, but now I

[2:07:23] nope. >> So then we eat it, we just accept them

[2:07:25] and don't charge them. >> the long-term cuz I'm thinking penny

[2:07:28] wise, pound fuel foolish. Long-term consequence of this

[2:07:32] if you if you talk about what cover, I mean this is not about COVID, but

[2:07:36] when you're talking about learning at this vulnerable age, the growth is

[2:07:40] tremendous and if they're not up with their age level peers in each of the

[2:07:45] grades and matriculating in each of those on level,

[2:07:49] it's going to show up in secondary schools, middle school and that is one

[2:07:55] of the things that has helped this community with about average or above

[2:08:00] average on our standardized tests year in, year out is the investment in

[2:08:05] preschool. >> But if we don't do this, who knows next

[2:08:07] year we could lose that preschool teacher and then have nothing.

[2:08:10] » But I'd rather put maybe three more kids in a teacher's room than to dissuade a

[2:08:15] family that absolutely needs to get kids in those programs.

[2:08:19] » Three kids versus maybe 16 losing out on the opportunity.

[2:08:22] » I would talk to the experts. I mean when you talk about investment in education,

[2:08:26] the most vulnerable is in the elementary levels.

[2:08:29] » Exactly. And we're giving we're providing support financially for the

[2:08:33] people that can't pay. >> If they qualify, but we like for as I

[2:08:36] said, 11 years this has been free for everyone.

[2:08:40] » And we also cut a million dollars in our budget.

[2:08:43] I don't I mean I'm just this is a way to fix a potential problem long term.

[2:08:47] » I would rather find some other creative way to find savings in sixth grade.

[2:08:51] » Hold on. Am I

[2:08:53] wrong that we had the option of going through our programs, I think

[2:09:00] they were called the owl or whatever. >> Little owls.

[2:09:04] » Little owls or doing at advance and at advance charged on a sliding scale. Am I

[2:09:10] right in that in that still was within our building when at advance ran

[2:09:15] a preschool. >> At advance has two preschool classrooms

[2:09:19] that are housed at Pearson. >> And those are the front doors and one in

[2:09:23] the locker room. Those are paid. >> One is head start, they accept a sliding

[2:09:27] scale and the other is >> That's what we did.

[2:09:31] » Something. And they also are >> We we chose

[2:09:35] early start. >> Which were supported by

[2:09:40] Parents didn't have to pay. >> No, they did.

[2:09:43] » Early start. >> Sliding scale.

[2:09:45] » For a Husky B, a family of four, if you make under $121,000

[2:09:51] a year, you qualify for Husky B for a family of four, $121,000.

[2:09:58] So, most of the kids are going to qualify.

[2:10:00] » $121,000? >> Yeah, for a family of four, you qualify.

[2:10:04] That's the limit. >> I see. That's it.

[2:10:06] » That's the That's what I'm saying. >> And Husky A So, that's your

[2:10:11] » Husky A is a lot less. This is Husky B. Husky B is just for the children. Husky

[2:10:15] A is for the entire >> So, I'm saying the town has have

[2:10:19] programs like this that they've chosen outside of the school program. So,

[2:10:25] families have had this choice. And

[2:10:30] it's not like it's it there is a concept to it already in this

[2:10:34] town.

[2:10:37] » Can I say something? >> No.

[2:10:40] » [laughter] >> Yeah, go for it.

[2:10:43] » Um I think preschool, if you're just paying

[2:10:47] out of pocket, um is you know, usually pretty expensive. I

[2:10:52] remember paying $1,000 a month and making it work.

[2:10:57] Um I think making sure that we're I think

[2:11:03] if we follow the MassHealth, so if we follow HUSKY A, HUSKY B,

[2:11:08] um those recommendations, I think we will

[2:11:12] catch a lot of the most vulnerable, um members of

[2:11:20] you know, that age group in our town.

[2:11:23] I think keeping the cost still low,

[2:11:29] I think you know, also maybe even for the people

[2:11:33] that are not on HUSKY A, HUSKY B, making it so that they can apply for

[2:11:39] financial aid or hardship or have some sort of program for them, too.

[2:11:45] And I mean, I I think that would

[2:11:49] I think probably the majority of our kids are going to be on HUSKY A and

[2:11:53] HUSKY B, honestly. And for the rest of them, I think

[2:11:59] keeping the cost low is a wise choice.

[2:12:04] Um of course, we want to give all all the young ones

[2:12:09] a chance at preschool because really it sets such a foundation for them. You

[2:12:14] know, we've talked about all of the the price that we pay further

[2:12:18] down the line. Um Special education and IEPs and

[2:12:22] everything. If we can help make that foundation for them at a reasonable

[2:12:28] cost, I think that will greatly help us in the

[2:12:32] long run. So, I I

[2:12:35] I don't think charging is a bad idea, but I do think we need to be careful

[2:12:41] about the amount and provide like a financial hardship kind of option

[2:12:47] for the people that are not caught in um eligible for Husky A O B.

[2:12:53] The extra expenses.

[2:12:56] » Okay, so if if we were to do this,

[2:13:01] let's let's discuss a a reasonable rate. You you see the

[2:13:06] numbers there. Um

[2:13:09] Torrington is at 1,600 for a year. >> I think we would match Torrington and do

[2:13:14] half year. We do N and do 800

[2:13:17] » I would say 1,200. >> No, I would stick with stick with

[2:13:20] Torrington. I mean, Torrington's not

[2:13:24] any better >> any better

[2:13:25] » Right. They're as equal as we and their taxes are super

[2:13:28] » So, let me let me ask you a question. Do we know how many are enrolled in a class

[2:13:34] for Torrington? Like how many kids are in a class?

[2:13:37] » I don't know, but I would speculate that it's got to be give or take 16. Most

[2:13:41] districts cap either at 14 or 16. You get to 16, people start looking at you

[2:13:46] sideways. It's a lot of 3-year-olds in one place.

[2:13:49] » For sure. Well, I was just I I guess mostly I was just wondering the amount

[2:13:53] of kids because I think the original proposed cost like so if you're saying

[2:13:57] 2,000, 1,000, though it would be more than Torrington, I know in

[2:14:02] I would assume in Torrington some of their class sizes can be quite large.

[2:14:08] I don't know if they're more or less, but

[2:14:10] No, you're shaking your head no. >> I have no idea.

[2:14:13] We don't know that data. >> So I'd be interested

[2:14:16] » than we do because they're just a bigger community than we are.

[2:14:19] » Sure, and they have far more people, right? Like it's five or six times.

[2:14:24] Yeah, much bigger. >> The classes still could be 16, but we

[2:14:27] don't know. >> Yeah.

[2:14:29] Um Do we have to Can we like workshop this

[2:14:33] a little bit more and or now we have to do it now because

[2:14:36] » We really need to tell families they're in or not in

[2:14:40] » Got it. >> because they need to make their Right

[2:14:41] now we're late in terms of like if they're not getting a spot with us,

[2:14:46] » Sure. >> they're behind the eight ball getting a

[2:14:47] spot somewhere else if they need child care.

[2:14:50] » Yeah. Got it.

[2:14:51] » So should we vote on it and then also what if

[2:14:54] what would we charge? Cuz you're we could do 2,000 1,000

[2:14:58] do 16 and eight. >> I think we match Torrington's, you know,

[2:15:03] comparable. >> I think Torrington's would be good.

[2:15:06] Okay, so they're 16 so and they don't have a half day. So just half day now.

[2:15:11] So 16 and eight. Right?

[2:15:13] » Torrington's mill rate is much higher than ours. Also to take into account

[2:15:17] their tax their tax their tax base is a lot more. So more people but

[2:15:22] » I mean negligible. I mean mill rate's a variable that's [snorts]

[2:15:24] » So okay,

[2:15:25] » Okay, but they pay more in taxes >> in taxes plus they're paying

[2:15:28] » So so my point being if those that are able

[2:15:34] and willing and if you if you uh if you are in the

[2:15:40] uh Husky A Husky B and you apply for that

[2:15:43] and you can get that, you're going to have that financial aid.

[2:15:47] For those that are able and willing, I mean

[2:15:52] again, so what would that be over a monthly

[2:15:55] rate? Cuz I was looking at the >> So you were saying 2,000 would be about

[2:15:58] $50 a month if you did the yearly. >> Not quite.

[2:16:02] » 2,000 is $200 a month is $50 a week is $10 a day.

[2:16:08] It's $10 a day. >> Which is

[2:16:10] inexpensive for what that is. Now we want preschool costs.

[2:16:15] And that's a that's a full day rate. I know that for a two-day half-day rate,

[2:16:20] it it's a lot more than

[2:16:23] » I would say what are you paying right now?

[2:16:25] » So >> It's got to be a ton.

[2:16:27] » So point being, those that [clears throat] do not have the means to

[2:16:30] do so will have an opportunity. And again, I appreciate the

[2:16:35] out of the box thinking. And because again, those that do it

[2:16:41] because again, while we haven't done it for 11 years, clearly

[2:16:45] what we have been doing from a financial basis is not working. And

[2:16:51] the only thing that I would love to hear is the parents have been very vocal. And

[2:16:56] I think that's a good thing because you're invested in your children's

[2:17:00] education. And I would love to hear what like

[2:17:06] what they would have to say. I know we're out of time. I wish we had more

[2:17:09] time for this, but personally, so if I was I would say

[2:17:12] 2,000 1,000 because I think that's still a fantastic deal. It would be a big

[2:17:16] jump, but I would only vote yes on that based upon the idea that we have

[2:17:24] we're really sure about the financial aid for those that do not have the

[2:17:27] means. And that it is easy enough and the information so that they're not

[2:17:32] dissuaded in any way. Because I do agree with you, Nora.

[2:17:35] Uh this is a extremely important developmental age and you're either

[2:17:40] setting yourself back or you're jumping forward based upon how

[2:17:45] these ages are. So I agree, it's very important.

[2:17:50] But also, we've heard a distinct amount of parents come out and say

[2:17:54] I will pay for my kids' education like in a tax increase. And that lack of a

[2:18:01] better term

[2:18:05] the those that are financially able can put their money where their mouth is in

[2:18:09] this particular case and I would do so as a parent in the town and I would I

[2:18:14] would back that because even if it off offset one teacher's

[2:18:18] salary we're looking at advancement not regression.

[2:18:23] » Care for kids would pay, right? Care for kids has their own like sliding

[2:18:28] scale and they make up the difference. So we would that would come into a

[2:18:31] pocket here. Right. And then Husky A B would just be a reduced rate.

[2:18:34] » Correct. >> So this community would still have to

[2:18:36] our taxes still have to pay for that one student.

[2:18:38] » So Husky B is 121,000 and change for a family of four.

[2:18:42] That's Husky B. Husky A is 44,000 for a family of four.

[2:18:46] » So >> So if they're not So if you're applying

[2:18:48] for for A I mean not your willing poverty rate if you're getting Husky.

[2:18:52] » So Husky A would be a reduced rate. Let's just say

[2:18:55] » No, Husky A is free.

[2:18:58] » Free. >> And then Husky B is

[2:19:00] » would have a reduced So free does Husky A free does that

[2:19:06] revenue come from to us in any >> Nope.

[2:19:08] » So we have to we have to comp that. >> We need to comp that. I need to learn a

[2:19:13] little bit more about Care for Kids to see if Care for Kids would kick in at

[2:19:17] all with that. I don't know. >> If it's Husky B we're comping that.

[2:19:21] » Again, I don't know if we can get families to apply for Care for Kids to

[2:19:26] make up any of the difference. Care for Kids is a new concept for us. We're not

[2:19:29] up with them yet. >> So we don't know what the reimbursement

[2:19:32] rate would be. >> Assume that we're getting nothing for

[2:19:35] Husky A and Husky B we're getting half price. And if we can recoup some of that

[2:19:40] through Care for Kids good on us. >> So if we can recoup for Care for Kids as

[2:19:44] much as possible, we're still going to have to comp Husky whatever that's going

[2:19:47] to be and then we're going to have parents

[2:19:50] paying for the those that don't qualify. Like in

[2:19:55] bucket three. >> Yeah.

[2:19:57] » So the the savings of this program for this community for the board of that is

[2:20:01] what do we say? $32,000? Because we're going to have to pay the

[2:20:07] other half of whatever Husky doesn't pay.

[2:20:10] We don't know what Care for Kids pays, but we still have to pay for the other

[2:20:13] half to run the program. We have to pay for the program.

[2:20:15] So, in the end, I really don't think the cost is a mean it's not you know it's

[2:20:20] not amazing. And I think what's going to happen is as I said, we're going to

[2:20:25] dissuade even it's $10 a day, but there's some families that can't even do

[2:20:29] that. >> The one thing I do is I I appreciate

[2:20:33] these discussions because there's something Kurt said that actually really

[2:20:37] stuck out to me is it's not going to bring us really

[2:20:42] back another staff member, but it can bring back some experience for our

[2:20:46] students, which is not something I had pre- previously thought about.

[2:20:51] Um so, even bringing something like that back for our students could be valuable.

[2:20:58] And >> Any money back in the budget.

[2:20:59] » And currently you >> And you're also cutting I mean right now

[2:21:02] first of all, the money's already allocated. We already have it in our

[2:21:04] budget. So, anything we make on top of that is gravy, right? Okay. And we just

[2:21:10] cut a pre- a preschool class. So, all those kids that were where are they

[2:21:14] going to go? I mean, you know, we got to start thinking out I mean, you're

[2:21:18] worried about all the the little ones, but you we just cut a pre-K class.

[2:21:22] » Listen, the the parents the kids are going somewhere.

[2:21:25] » Right, they're going somewhere. >> to be going somewhere.

[2:21:28] Um and it's whether it's at a reduced rate with us

[2:21:33] or they're they're going to have to find

[2:21:36] other especially if it's it's for child care.

[2:21:39] Um let's let's not all of it is academic for some of

[2:21:43] these parents. Some of these parents they it's there for child care.

[2:21:48] Um and it it's free child care now, but I mean

[2:21:53] it it's it is what it is and they're going to

[2:21:56] have to find child care somewhere. >> And we're currently paying for the full

[2:21:59] bill. Why not help reduce that cost a little bit?

[2:22:02] » It's just going to defray. I mean it's minuscule. I'm not saying it's going to

[2:22:06] it's minuscule, but again it could it can create something good out of it.

[2:22:11] » also arguably make it easier to add the teacher back next year if we know that

[2:22:16] we have the cost of the para and only have to do

[2:22:20] the teacher or >> Right.

[2:22:21] » I would have loved the idea of shifting some of the burden onto the parents for

[2:22:27] our budget. Um I understand

[2:22:31] and my heart breaks for those parents who are going to be really, really hurt

[2:22:34] by this and their kids who are this is going to

[2:22:37] they're going to struggle with this because one of the I do before I moved

[2:22:42] to Winsted, one of the things was free pre-K.

[2:22:45] » Yeah. >> So it is something that parents in

[2:22:49] surrounding areas know about. Um taking that away I don't think is awesome. I

[2:22:53] understand other districts are doing it. Um I do

[2:22:57] see that it's it is less expensive than other pre-K programs.

[2:23:02] Um again, I don't love it, but Kurt something Kurt said really did stick out

[2:23:07] to me where we could give back some of the things that our students lost in

[2:23:11] this catastrophic cut in the last month and a half.

[2:23:16] » I would want to know what parents are thinking. I'd want to know whether or

[2:23:20] not this affects the number of persons enrolled and applying for it. I'd want

[2:23:24] to know what the numbers would be in the last say, you know, 11 years and whether

[2:23:29] or not this makes it change. The impact. I'd want to try to measure

[2:23:33] the impact >> [snorts]

[2:23:35] » in some way. Um I'm not in favor of it and so we

[2:23:38] could just move ahead on a vote because um I think it's unfortunate that we're

[2:23:42] looking to the most vulnerable population for moneys and savings when

[2:23:46] we should look to and we have been, the state of Connecticut doing more with

[2:23:50] their ECS money. Um other ways to just look at costs, uh

[2:23:54] charging for other things, uh maybe after school programs as opposed to

[2:23:58] looking at the most vulnerable group of kids.

[2:24:02] As a profit way or way to save money. >> Well, we we have to take initiative.

[2:24:06] We have to take initiative as a district and not rely on the state because

[2:24:11] the state's not reliable. >> And you're talking you're talking 24

[2:24:14] kids, and half of those are are special, right?

[2:24:20] » We're uh we're looking at for the coming year 48

[2:24:23] seats, of which >> 24, well.

[2:24:26] » Well, we probably wouldn't need to hold all 24. We [snorts] probably would hold

[2:24:30] maybe 20 spots so we could theoretically charge for 28 spots.

[2:24:35] » 28 spots. So, we're we're talking 28 kids. And don't forget, we just nixed

[2:24:39] made a classroom of What's the average

[2:24:42] classroom for the pre-K? >> 16.

[2:24:44] » 16. >> You just nixed nixed made 16 kids that

[2:24:46] got cut from other stuff. >> So.

[2:24:48] » So, it's not like we're >> So, I'm going to move I'm going to move

[2:24:51] this I'm going to move this to a vote I'm going to first move this to a vote

[2:24:56] on whether to proceed with it, and then we can vote on how we want to set the

[2:25:01] tuition if if we approve it.

[2:25:05] » I'll make a motion. >> Go hold on. Go ahead. You I'll give you

[2:25:08] one more. >> Just to the point that

[2:25:13] we cut the class, if this gives us any opportunity of bringing it back, you

[2:25:18] talk about the most vulnerable, is that not an opportunity to then work towards

[2:25:24] better, right, and bring back students? Possibly?

[2:25:29] » Bringing them back to what? Like grade three because you're hiring another para

[2:25:33] or >> No, eventually getting that teacher that

[2:25:37] we lost >> back.

[2:25:38] » Yes, 16 that we lost. So, >> Due to the budget.

[2:25:43] » Okay. Anyways, so >> All right. So, I'm going to move this to

[2:25:47] vote on whether to adopt a pre-script pre-K

[2:25:52] school tuition rate. Um

[2:25:55] Would anyone like to make a motion? >> So moved.

[2:25:58] » Joseph? >> So, Joseph is making a motion to adopt a

[2:26:02] tuition for preschool. >> A tuition for preschool.

[2:26:05] » Second. >> Anyone?

[2:26:06] Uh Shane second. All in favor?

[2:26:11] » I'm in favor. >> Okay.

[2:26:13] Opposed? Okay.

[2:26:16] All right. Uh being that that has been approved, we now will s-

[2:26:21] We'd like to I Would anyone like to So,

[2:26:26] I think we're settling on 1,600. >> And half And half of that for

[2:26:30] » And 800 for half day. >> Yeah, that sounds fair.

[2:26:33] » Up. >> And then Husky A would get free

[2:26:37] » We I mean, that's not that's Yeah, that's That's that's not that's not us.

[2:26:42] So, 1,600 >> But wouldn't that wouldn't be set

[2:26:45] » We're just setting We're just setting >> Probably more operational, but I'm

[2:26:50] telling you that we would use Husky >> Instead of No, not the sliding scale.

[2:26:54] The Husky >> I know on the A and B.

[2:26:55] » Yes. Yes. >> But we're not That's not our decision

[2:26:58] » And she'll also research the >> Care for kids. We're already underway of

[2:27:02] figuring that out. >> We're just We're setting what the cost

[2:27:04] » The tuition rate for the people that will be paying.

[2:27:07] » Okay. >> Um so, 1,600

[2:27:10] for uh for full day and 800 for half day.

[2:27:15] Okay. Would anyone like to make a motion to set a rate of 1,600 for full day,

[2:27:21] 800 for half day? >> Motion to set the rate at 1,600, 800 for

[2:27:24] half day. >> Jonathan?

[2:27:25] » I'll second. >> Joseph second. All in favor?

[2:27:30] » I'm in favor. >> Okay. All

[2:27:33] opposed? Okay.

[2:27:35] So moved. Okay.

[2:27:41] All right, on to item E of action items. Superintendent evaluation. This will

[2:27:48] require executive session. >> Yes, we'll require someone to make a

[2:27:51] motion to go. >> So, would anyone like to make a motion

[2:27:54] to go to executive session? >> a motion to go into executive session

[2:27:58] inviting Superintendent Judy Luby at 9:28 p.m.

[2:28:04] » Would anyone like to second? >> Second.

[2:28:07] » Jonathan. All in favor?

[2:28:11] Al? >> We can bring Ellie with us.

[2:28:13] » You good? >> We can bring Ellie with us. Um you all

[2:28:16] should go home. Thank you. I just want to say I can um it's safe to

[2:28:21] say there's not going to be any public comment.

[2:28:24] I'll do the rest of this. You should go home.

[2:28:27] Matthew, you really you can thank you. I don't

[2:28:31] know how to get us out of this. >> Good night.

[2:28:33] » Good night. Good night.

[2:28:34] » Good night. >> Good night.

[2:28:36] Thank you.

[2:28:40] Uh microphones off.

[2:28:47] Cap, uh this way. >> Oh.

[2:28:49] See, I don't think Cathy even worked out.

[2:28:52] But the taste? >> Do you like the taste of it?

[2:28:54] » Yeah. >> Well, let's say whoever makes it first.

[2:28:56] » Yeah.

[2:29:17] Yeah. No, just one.

[2:29:20] Go to executive session. Oh, yeah, that's it.

[2:29:28] Yeah, cuz she said there was no

[2:29:40] » Not the what? >> I'll leave the name tags.

[2:29:42] » Yeah, I didn't follow the

Board of Education - Regular Meeting - May 12, 2026

Transcript