So, I thank the committee members for allowing me to um hold off on that till next month since I was working on budget. Um school boards association, nothing there. 8th grade dialogue happened uh earlier this month. March. It wasn't March. >> It was March. >> Um so, yeah. So, we had that. Um Ed Services Commission, that's usually Michelle. Um they were the first district to have their budget in, by the way. We found that at our county table, but they're a different district, so it's a little different. They fall under different things. So, um, Ed services was their first budget in uh, Pine Hill any what did you have anything? >> Yeah. Well, um, so because I wasn't here last month at our meeting. So, February 10th, we had just a regular board meeting there. Um, not too much um, going on with that one.
So, we have a budget gap that we'll be working on to come up with the the best method of close closing that gap. The gap I'm going to show you right now, this is provisional, but it will probably change through that work as we as we try to find the best approach. So, the budget gap we have is about $1.3 million, and it is um certainly not where we want to be to be talking about reductions. As Mr. Yates, I think, very well explained, all the contributing factors that are pressing on all districts um to create gaps. The uh the first step, the largest step, eliminating six elementary gened teaching positions. This is due to changes in enrollment in each grade level, trying to find efficiencies, and it would result in a savings of one position per elementary school on average. If you look in the far right column, retire vacant.
goes back to Andy Warhol a very long time ago. So, um it's quite a recognition. We're very proud of them. Um excellent students. >> Thank you. >> Well, the uh Samberg Scholastic Art Recognition uh winners come on up. Come on up. So uh first happy to be joined by uh one of our outstanding art teachers at Samberg, Mr. Wes Gonzalez, who does a lot of great work with these students in multiple artistic modalities and forms. Uh so happy to have uh Mr. Gonzalez here tonight, but also happy to recognize um our students who kind of earn those recognitions. So, first is uh Olivia Pivvarek who earned silver key status for her uh art in the scholastic competition. Also Amelia Stapansky who earned honorable mention. Um and then also Sophia Norena who's here who also earned honorable mention. And unable to be here this evening was Lena Sabahi who earned a silver key.
I know the the choirs have said we'd like an advanced choir, not just and not the one where everybody has to take it, but for kids that truly want to be in choir, gives them an opportunity to sign up. And the same thing in some of the other elective areas, they'll they will be able to offer different courses and and that should also help their class sizes because instead of being in the choir class that everybody has to be in, I might be in the advanced choir class and then only, you know, a smaller number of kids will probably want in that. >> Am I right? >> Yeah. It's more of a So, sixth grade will have a a canned schedule for the most part. I mean, their schedule will be the same. They're going to have a semester of PE, a semester of computers, and then a year of music.
They they can do a lot. They sign all the warrants. They can decide money will be spent hiring everything. And when I watch other select board meetings, it's apparent to me that they still maintain power. They're not in a position of just, you know, asking, they're doing. So I don't know if you were at that meeting. >> Probably. I miss very few but I don't specifically uh remember that but here's another thing we we can say the advant I assume the advantages that when someone sold strong town managers that the the select border volunteer they have full lives already. So it gives some relief to them of having more decisions. I I can see that. But then when you do that, maybe there needs to be more oversight of like some citizens oversight like an example a lot a lot of police departments right if they're having issues with the public they create a public oversight so people can feel heard about these things right so I think there's ways to I I don't know that getting rid of strong town manager is entirely the answer >> based on how our select board structured right it's it's not even there are communities that pay.
They are students that have been studying Spanish for six years. And um we did check about a a travel advisory and we were assured that Costa Rica is currently um at a level two, but obviously we will be um continually monitoring the advisory level and plans would be adjusted. Currently we have 10 students that are registered to go with the potential for additional students. The um committee did move um make a motion to move this trip to the full board for approval. So tonight I would like to put that in front of the full board to move that the Cheshire Board of Education approves the participation of Cheshire High School students in the educational field trip to Costa Rica from June 23rd to June 29th, 2026. Is there a second? Dr. Herrian second. Discussion on the trip. Mr. Colout, I just have a a question, Miss Colin.
>> Yeah, the south parking lot you're talking about the one right next to the school and I think the rest of the town is thinking the main lot. >> Yeah. Okay. The visuals. >> Yeah. The name of it just because I Yeah, I got beat up a bit for that one. The parking lot. >> Did it say the loading dock before last year? >> I don't recall saying loading. >> I have to look. I I switched the language in here um a bit and I switched the description. I I don't know that it's it's much better, but I tried to frontload some like the safety versus the parking. I think there was a big emphasis on parking last year is the feedback that I received and it was true. Um, >> but it's I'll just say from my perspective, what I recall from the discussions last year in my mind, and I'm not saying this is right or the way it was presented, but in my mind, I was focused on the loading dock >> and the parking lot was sort of an accessory to the key piece there being the loading dock.
So, we really um didn't have the opportunity to kind of vet beforehand which schools may have been better suited for on location uh board meetings, but hopefully coming into September, we can kind of take a look at the schedule and see like which which um ones will work better. Um, so it's it's really I I want to thank everybody for this because this is incredible. Um, but it is a work in progress. So, we're probably going to spend the next few months kind of tweaking and and switching and kind of seeing what fits and what doesn't fit. So, um, you know, and all input is welcome. So, thank you. >> Uh, just a comment, it's not about everything working perfect as we go along. is some things as we go along to do this that I'm thinking about as we spotlight our school and we spotlight Hayestown the pe the parents that children attend Hayestown they're going to be coming to the meeting.
They just went over the results from the state testing um, similar to kind of what we did. And then they did have the board retreat on uh, I think it was this 20 I don't remember what day it was. We had our board retreat um board of ed retreat where everybody from the board came and they gave us breakfast and we went over um let's see we went over HIP process and ethics review student data financial over review and setting board goals for um for Pineh Hill and they pushed back their March meeting until next week because of the budget stuff. So >> okay >> yeah it seems like Pine Hill is in the same boat as us pretty much. though they are pretty. Yeah, I I was telling my >> they got a did get a nice increase, but not con I mean, when you look at the size of their budget, it wasn't a big increase considering.
So [clears throat] these are positions, not people. So um these are just positions we won't have to fill due to retirements and vacancies. Next step, eliminate one elementary assistant principal position. We have a clear path in that case uh to enable to eliminate the position and not the person. This is um you know I wouldn't I would I would be very pained in saying this position if there weren't a clear path in part because we are the leanest administration out of all 73 K8s and we just created these two positions this year and uh and they're doing a fantastic job. That's Bill Leonardo and Karen Marusi and um you know so it's it's every step is painful and this one also very painful. Lastly, eliminate late busing and that would save about a half a million dollars. No, no reduction to extracurriculars, right? And you if you go back to that original slide in my um first comments, you could see that where we rank in terms of extracurricular spending per pupil, kind of in the middle of those 73 K8s.
So round of applause for these Samberg artists. We're good. Thank you. >> Okay. I wasn't sure. >> Thank you for the continued um achievements of our staff. They or and students. their students couldn't do it without our staff and you continue to surpass anything that you do and everything you do. So, we are blessed. Thank you. And it is the official start of spring break, so we will not be offended and strongly encourage you to get up and leave if you so desire. >> Should I cut them for curriculum? Probably too late now, but >> it started spring break. I was trying to be >> Are you on spring? >> Not next week, the week after. >> All right, Dr. Huffman, our curriculum spotlight. Sorry, I should have waited till yours was over. Uh, good evening. I'd like to invite back up uh Miss Carrie Cites and Ma if she hasn't left yet.
Then students in seventh and eighth grade will have more of the elective type choices. So, they will have different varying levels of art and STEM and industrial tech and physical education and obviously music as well. >> They currently have that team. >> They have We don't have we don't have varying levels of say art or industrial tech. Yeah, that one varies. So with us moving computers the sixth grade and them having the same thing, it gives us we have now the autonomy with this schedule change to have seventh and eighth graders and UA courses together. So it could be at different levels as well. >> The other piece of that is the change in computers from computers is currently an eighth grade class, right? currently sixth grade computer science standards being taught in that week class. And so we want to move it to sixth grade um so that we're teaching sixth graders those sixth grade computer science standards, but also this is the time to do it because we're learning in our um accountability model that sixth grade science is now part of that A to F letter grade formula.
So then maybe someone could do it as a part-time job and it's a big ask, right? >> So I think it has to start there with the select board. What do they see pluses and minuses of that? But again, this goes back to we talked about >> if our government was following what we believe they're supposed to. We should have a charter review. It's written in the charter how often you have it. And I did not look up what I just know it's overdue to start the process and I apologize. did not look up. But so >> though we would be having those discussions as a community >> and we should have those discussions like maybe when we had it everyone thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. We've had it for a while. We don't think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread anymore.
And you mentioned that we're at level two now and closely monitoring it. Is there an objective like if it goes to this or goes to that, like that's the cut off? I mean, how would that handle if if that travel advisory was escalated? >> Sure. It's not cut and dry. like it's not if then all the time, but uh we we monitor it as it gets closer. The ultimately the superintendent has the decision to the ability to cancel the trip. All families for any international trip we make are offered and strongly suggested to do um insurance >> on that. So they're all notified of that at the outset and um you know fingers crossed that things will become calmer and instead of escalated. >> Do you um get info from the travel company the recommendations? >> We use EF tours who also closely monitor that along with the alerts that we sign up anytime we sign on for one of these trips.
Mhm. >> And I know that you had said or been whoever had said about the flooding there, but truthfully I look at it, I'm like, if it's flooding there now and the impervious surfaces have not expanded, that flooding has been there for 50 years and we've always lived with it. And I'm not saying that that's great to do. But that's not something that I was really uh capturing in my support of it. Mhm. >> My support was honestly it was probably like just about 100% for the loading dock >> and the parking was more of an afterthought. >> Like we're in there, we've got the construction equipment, we can make some improvements, let's do that. >> Yes. >> Uh but yeah, so that was that's on me. >> But there there was also a question of can you separate if the concern is the safety, can you separate the loading dock from the parking?
So again, my question is, who do we think that's going to be additional to sit in our meeting? And as we move forward, are we going to highlight the schools this more than our elementary schools? We talking about the ROC. We talking about schools or students, student rats that come to our board meeting. And some of the students don't even drive. Their parents have to bring. So, you know, I'm just not talking about just one place haz. I'm just talking about as we move forward. It's going to take a lot of tweaking. And I can't think of a parent coming from Shelter Rock or coming from Pimbrook over to Haze Town to a board me. So, just something that you we really need to think about. Those are great points and we'll uh we'll address that as we uh continue moving forward. All right. Okay.
>> Yeah. So, they're doing the same things we are just trying to figure out the budget and and move forward. So, >> Yeah, it's not fun. Um and then school boards association. I haven't seen anything. I haven't seen anything for them in a little while. >> Um did anyone else have any new business? >> All right. Um, so now we're going to open the public uh comments for anything agenda items or not. And I believe we do have an executive session as well this evening. So motion a second to open the meeting to the public for the discussion of um agenda or non-aggenda items. >> Motion >> second. All those in favor? >> Oppos.
This is designed to not have to touch extracurricular programs. this year. That step forward years more complex. We had, you know, in um challenges needing to maintain additional staff in holding areas until buses could get there. Um these are operational challenges as well as fiscal challenges. Those steps in total bridge the gap. But like I said as a board this is provisional and we are continuing to discuss in earnest alternatives especially for the late busing. I want to make that clear. alternatives, alternative scenarios that might involve a reduction, not an elimination, you know, and those scenarios are not they're not ready to be shared tonight, but we are working on that and um we'll continue to do so on March 30th. other steps taken explored and this is a not not an exhaustive list but um things were all as we you know try to turn over every stone to find savings we are district below adequacy that is part of our daily work.
All right. Um, to showcase the district 230 and especially the Andrew art curriculum. Our art curriculum really transcends technical skills, empowering students to transition from basic aesthetics to expressing their unique personal identities. By showcasing our students work in our hallways, local galleries, and regional competitions, we really bridge the gap between the classroom and the community. Tonight's video highlights how VJA art experiences prepare our students for diverse futures. Whether winning a jured show or mastering a difficult medium, our students are learning that their perspective has an immense value in our world. >> It's an area that our students put a lot of time, a lot of effort in. Our teachers do a wonderful job in terms of getting kids to express themselves. It builds confidence for students and it gives them that opportunity just to kind of express themselves that maybe they can't in other classes.
And so we want to make sure are taught those standards before they're tested on >> and that comes in the computer course. >> That's why we're we're moving that computer course there and so every sixth grader will take >> so you know I'm going to ask math. >> Yeah. >> So giving up the math time what remain >> we'll have a slide actually if you don't mind that shows >> the comparison of minutes so you'll see where those minutes go. >> I appreciate that. >> Yeah before you go to that. So I have a question too. So on this one um ensuring dedicated MTSS and time. So we're already doing MTSS but we need to kind of expand fortify whatever going forward. So how would you and this is like a like explain it to me like I'm literally >> Denzel Denzel Washington right? Explain to me like I'm a kindergarter.