November 5, 2025
Members present: Liz Barlow, Heather Lombardo, Donna Nolan, David Peling, Ann Woods. Also present: Superintendent Cheri Burke, Assistant Superintendent Jenn Parsons, Director of Finance and Operations Nickie Stevenson.
Context of BOE meetings
Lombardo reviewed that the board convenes to listen to reports from the Superintendent, approve budgets and contracts and handle necessary business tasks to ensure Granby schools run effectively. Board meetings are not public hearings but rather business meetings that are held publicly. She briefly reviewed legal standards surrounding FOIA and the need to follow the posted agenda following public comment. Residents may contact and engage with board members via email or other means outside business meetings and may also make comments.
Public Comment
Mike Kramarenko, 150 Notch Road, described the limitations on public comment as constitutional violations. He addressed issues he has heard of, including bullying, bus issues, alleged fighting without consequences and disciplining students. He read an excerpt from a book that had explicit language, which he stated may be found in some school libraries.
Beth Carroll, Quail Lane, stated she was impacted by the challenge with the Zoom meeting last month. She addressed her issue with the one-sided nature of public comment and stated that she wants a response to her questions during the meeting. She focused on the savings of $937,000 and would like that money tracked monthly. She would like information on what was spent on the bleachers and roof.
Lynn Krauss, West Granby Road, stated she fully supported Kramarenko and Carroll in their public comments.
Superintendent’s Report
Burke said she will attempt to address issues raised during public comment at each meeting. Some items are tabled for research, others are built into future agendas. If she lacks the necessary information, she takes notes and commits to discussing those items at the next meeting.
Financial reports are shared at the finance subcommittee, during BOE and BOF meetings, and three open forums are upcoming for public discussion, as the district strategic plan is being updated.
A publicly available searchable school library database was added in 2023, and the book discussed during public comment is not in our school libraries.
Granby Education Foundation
The GEF pledged a $100,000 grant for the public library for a teen space for kids for cooking classes, study rooms, etc., to supplement town funds for the library renovation.
December 3, 2025
Members present: Liz Barlow, Heather Lombardo, David Peling, Ann Woods, Andrew Billig. Also Present: Superintendent Cheri Burke, Assistant Superintendent Jenn Parsons, Director of Finance and Operations Nickie Stevenson, Director of Facilities Chris DeGray.
Public Comment
Audrey Lampert (PFLAG), 120 Loomis St., commended teachers and the Board of Education for the inclusion of the LGBTQ community in health lessons and described the importance of cultivating empathy, as research shows it reduces aggression and bullying.
Beth Carroll, Quail Lane, addressed her concerns over additional costs, if any, that would arise from the School Climate legislation, and asked how existing staff impacts bullying and student behavior. She also questioned the spending on our SRO program.
School Climate Legislation
Parsons presented the School Climate legislation update to the board. Burke asked if there are additional costs for this program, as this legislation is an unfunded mandate from the state. Parsons said that no additional staff has been hired and 99 percent of the work is being done with current staff. Some districts have hired staff for these programs.
December 17, 2025
Members present: Monica Logan, Donna Nolan, Heather Lombardo, David Peling, Ann Woods, Andrew Billig. Also present: Superintendent Cheri Burke, Assistant Superintendent Jenn Parsons, Director of Finance and Operations Nickie Stevenson, Director of Facilities Chris DeGray.
Indoor Air Quality Reporting
DeGray presented an Indoor Air Quality Report showing the revamped Granby BOE Facilities page on the website, including reports for the state-mandated annual Indoor Air Quality testing completed this fall. At least $177,000 in savings was realized by completing work in-house by DeGray and his team (50-60 hours per school). HVAC testing will be done soon by an outside firm as required and reported later to the board.
Revenue from BOE
Burke described the revenue brought in by the BEAR transition academy and other tuition programs that goes into the town General Fund instead of the BOE side. There has been a discussion with the BOF about changing the accounting in the interest of transparency, to allow tuition from the BEAR program and the GAP program to stay on the BOE side and offset increases in the BOE operating budget for running the programs.