Board of Education Meeting Minutes Nov. 20, 2019

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Board Members present: Jenny Emery, Mark Fiorentino; Melissa Migliaccio, Dave Peling, Sarah Thrall, Rosemarie Weber, Brandon Webster, and Jack DeGray (Student Representative).

Board Members absent: Dwaritha Ramesh (Student Representative)

Organizational Meeting – Election of Officers

Mr. Winzler called for nominations for the position of Board Chair and stated no second is needed. The by-laws for the Granby BOE call for written votes for board elections. After the Board Chair is elected, the meeting is handed off to the newly elected Board Chair. Rosemarie Weber nominated Melissa Migliaccio for Board Chair. There were no other nominations. Melissa Migliaccio was elected Board Chair. She stated she looks forward to working with the board to continue its good work and listening to the community.

Melissa Migliaccio asked for a nomination for Vice Chair.  Mark Fiorentino was elected as Board Vice Chair.

Melissa Migliaccio asked for a nomination for Board Secretary. Rosemarie Weber was elected as Board Secretary.

Board Chair Subcommittee Assignments

Subcommittee assignments and Chairs of the Subcommittees were appointed by Melissa Migliaccio as follows: 1) Finance/Personnel/ Facilities Subcommittee will be Jenny Emery, Mark Fiorentino and Dave Peling with Jenny Emery appointed as the Chair; and, 2) Curriculum/Policy/Technology/Communications Subcommittee will be Brandon Webster, Rosemarie Weber and Sarah Thrall with Sarah Thrall appointed as the Chair.

Administrative Reports

Superintendent’s Announcements

Mark Winzler, Interim Superintendent, welcomed Wells Road Intermediate School students and staff who were in attendance to present for Schools in the Spotlight this evening.

Congratulations to the board again for receiving the CABE Level Two Leadership Award. Each Board member is eligible for one free workshop.

Christopher Tranberg did a great job presenting with consultants from the Center for School Change on Equity at the CABE/CAPSS Convention on Saturday.

The high school vestibule project is moving along but a bit behind schedule. Hopefully the project will be complete by mid-January.

Veterans day celebrations were held and well attended by local veterans. Mr. Winzler thanked Rosemarie Weber for attending the celebration at the middle school to honor her service.

A new Physical Education Teacher, Jill Kozieradzki, from Waterbury Public Schools has been hired and will begin in Granby on Jan. 1.

Budget meetings have been completed at all of the schools. Superintendent-Elect, Dr. Jordan Grossman, has attended meetings with cabinet members and also attended a meeting on Monday with administrators. Dr. Grossman will present the Plus One Budget to the Board on January 2.

Student Representative Reports

Field hockey won their semi-final game in double overtime against Westbrook. The final game will be held this Saturday at 10 a.m. in Wethersfield.

The girls’ soccer team is competing right now to play in the championship game this Saturday.

The Boosters Club is contributing to rain covers for the bleachers on the turf fields which is being organized by the boys’ soccer coach Dave Emery.

Any team that makes it to the finals from now on will get a coach bus due to the Boosters’ efforts.

Boosters is also attempting to enclose the upper stands of the stadium seating to allow the microphone and audio equipment to remain there without damage.

The salad bar has returned to the high school and students can get salads, sandwiches or wraps.

Mark Fiorentino added the football team will be playing on Friday night at home. If they win they will secure a playoff spot. 

Additionally, Melissa Migliaccio shared with the board that Dave Emery led the entire boys’ soccer team in a fall clean-up on Saturday for a Granby family who recently lost their dad. Afterwards, the Emerys had the entire team to their house for dinner. She also shared that the board received an email from a parent on the Gilbert/Northwestern football team. There is an autistic player on the team and the parent complimented that not only was our JV team exemplary by letting him tackle the quarterback but they all congratulated him after the game by patting him on the back. The parent stated she has rarely seen that type of sportsmanship.

Business Manager’s Report

Business Manager Anna Robbins presented the October statement of accounts. The BOE continues to show a negative forecast $196K. Special education expenditures are projected to be unfavorable $318K and regular education expenditures are expected to be favorable at $122K. Spending in the regular education category is on target. Salaries and benefits represent 76 percent of the budget and show a slightly favorable forecast. The Quality and Diversity Fund shows a favorable forecast based on a decrease in magnet school tuition and higher attendance at Asnuntuck and the Suffield VoAg Program. Revenue to the town reflects additional revenue for regular education tuition from other towns at $40K but excess cost funding from the state is expected to be lower than budgeted by $65K. Ms. Robbins stated it is still early in the year. Jenny Emery stated the Finance Subcommittee reviewed the numbers this evening and had a robust discussion about the volatility of special education. She stated there are a number of kids participating in the Asnuntuck program for welding and the agricultural program at Suffield.  The bad news is it’s higher than we budgeted for but the good news is that students are interested in attending these programs.

Schools in the Spotlight

Fourth Grade students in Mrs. Pestana’s class at Wells Road Intermediate School shared with the board what they have learned about why the topography changes across the United States and showed how they actively engage in scientific exploration to take ownership of their learning. Amy Lupoli, Elementary Science Coach, stated the unit studied was primarily on National Parks. Students informed the board how questions are asked and students take notes. The question was then asked, “How does topography change across the U.S.?” Students explained how they performed activities in class and found out that wind and erosion changes topography. Students did a lab on erosion using sand to simulate land erosion; a lab on water erosion using chips; and a lab using a straw to simulate wind erosion by blowing on sand through a straw. Additionally, students performed a lab for mass and speed and also learned how an oxbow is formed and shared a model with the Board to show it is formed. The students interviewed some of their classmates in Mrs. Pestana’s class about science and shared some of those comments with the board.

Minutes

A motion was made by Rosemarie Weber and seconded by Jenny Emery to adopt the consent agenda. This motion passed at 7:45 p.m. with one abstention (Dave Peling).

Other Board-Related Reports

CREC/CABE

Mark Fiorentino reported CREC gave a brief legislative update. Starting in February, a shorter version of the legislative session will begin. Discussions might include legislation on shared services, model school climate policy, a push to change vaccination law to remove non-medical, later school start times, and some discussion on policies for undirected play (recess).  Migliaccio stated the board will follow the legislation on school start times closely since this topic was recently reviewed by the board.

Mark Winzler stated the keynote speaker at the CABE/CAPSS Convention was very riveting. His name was Dr. Derrick Gay and he spoke about equity and inclusion in a way that opened people’s eyes. Winzler stated he will share a link to the video if provided by CABE. He also noted the attendance at the conference this year appeared to be down and that it may be due to budget cuts for districts.

Fiorentino stated he will meet with CABE representatives to see what the time constraints are for a legislative group and will join if he feels he has the capability to do so.

Granby Education Foundation

Jenny Emery reported she is happy to be involved but if another board member would like to be a board liaison that would be fine. As an Ex-Officio Board Member you would actively serve on the Grant Committee to ensure that items funded by the GEF should not be funded by the BOE.

Respectfully submitted,

Rosemarie Weber, Board Secretary