Was that about technical trades? Yeah, I sorry. I did see that. I apologize about that. Um Yeah, there we received a we received an email from a resident here in town who was advocating for increased um access to training education in relation to trades. I think the general idea is Cheshire High School has a good reputation for kids graduating and going to college, and that is not necessarily the pathway for all kids uh when they graduate high school. And so he was advocating for that. That's actually a it's a it's a topic that's near and dear to me. And I'm curious if the superintendent has any reaction to that letter in particular. Did you see it? Um I I can't say I saw >> Oh, that's fine if you didn't. I saw that there was a letter advocating for It was long. CPE [laughter] and I try to prep for this evening's Totally get it.
It was it was right before the meeting that I saw it. So, okay. Thank you. But I think to that point, Ms. Alano, if you can kind of expand upon what we currently offer right now, clearly we're working towards enhancing our programming. Yes, we certainly have um an incredible manufacturing dual enrollment program. Where we've used some Perkins money and board money to really beef up the programming there where kids are are learning how to use lathes and um there's a lot going on in there. We've also got a uh theater carpentry class where students are making and building the sets before our theater programs. Um in addition, we have a CAD class. We also have a modeling class. I know that they go to the I think it's the Home Build Connecticut Home Builders Association conference or or um forgive me, it's late. I'm you losing my my word retrieval here, but um it's up at the convention center.
And they put their models of the homes on display. So, we've got some some hands-on things. Um And I think there's more to come as we talk about CTE and pathways. Um we're going to be surveying the the parents, our students, etc. on what they would like to see. One of the things that's been talked about recently is um a path for aviation. Whether it's aviation mechanics. Um we're we've got a June 24th or 25th, we're doing a field trip for families who would like to go over to Meriden Airport. Um there was going to be tours of the facilities. There may even be some flights in small planes. So, we've got some things that we're talking about as well as um we're exploring like a pharmacy tech program. So, lots of pathways on the horizon. There's lots of work to be done. I think we have some good hands on things, but we're always looking to improve.
Thank you, Ms. Lana. Tim. Yeah, thank you for all that. Yeah, there are a huge number of options and I don't believe for 1 second that we could possibly offer everything. It's that's not going to happen, but I think it's good to provide more of more more options for more hands-on rather than uh book reading. Um So, thank you for all that. I will say you mentioned aviation and that just that struck a chord with me. One of my friends is actually a pilot. He's got I graduated college with him in like 1994, so 32 years ago he graduated. He told me at that time he said he said, "Tim, you got to come to pilot school with me out in New Mexico for 4 years." His college degree at that point meant basically nothing. Um he did the 4 years of training. He's now 30 years into the industry.
I Honestly, I think he tells me he works like 4 to 6 days a month. And he probably makes a couple hundred thousand a year. Kind of ridiculous. But, the point is is there are real opportunities out there and one of the things about it is I don't think you actually need a college degree um to become a pilot. I'm not sure that it's I don't believe that it's directly related to becoming a pilot. Um And then one thing that I really did strike me about this topic that um that we were written about was something I saw in the Globe in the Boston Globe only in the past week. Which was something that had not crossed my mind. We don't even have enough seats in the state of Connecticut for the number of students who want to go to a technical school. If you want to go be more committed to trades say by 9th grade.
And the number that the Globe reported was only 44% of uh of students who apply of of applicants get in. And that really struck me and I felt it was really unfortunate and what we can do to help address that in some way, I think that we should. And I realize there's always, you know, budget short constraints and everything like that, but directionally I think it's important for us to offer more to the kids who simply aren't even they try to do something that really would be meaningful to them and they just can't even get their foot in the door. Thank you. Yeah, I just wanted to say thanks for that um reminder, Ms. Solano, because I I was a little flummoxed by that email because I'm like, we have kind of some really good offerings in that those areas. So, thank you for re- reminding us what those were.
Thank you. Just >> I go ahead, Ms. I'm just saying, are we also um am I correct that we also have programs for, you know, fire and police? Um I was talking to a student who's Yeah, we have clubs, more or less. Yeah, so at least exposure. Yeah, with the town. Yeah, thank you. I will say one of the positive things about the federal administration is there is a potential given the announcement of support in, you know, the career and technical education pathway. So, I'm looking forward to see how that's going to trickle down to us at the state level and obviously within the district, too. So, more to come. Um with that, I'm going to move on to the long-awaited superintendent's report. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Uh really just want to try and hit some highlights here. I know it's it's been a long day already, but uh school modernization uh this is such an exciting time for us.
Uh you brought up the Darcy send-off last night. It was great to see a lot of people there, uh including three former principals and our current principal in a picture on our Instagram account. Um tomorrow is the big send-off for both Chapman and uh Norton. Tomorrow morning, uh Marlene and I will be at both the schools really for a more internal community um celebration, but 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at each school there are building walk-through tours, stuff like that to uh celebrate the you know, 76 years at Chapman and the 71 years at Norton school. Uh people are interested in that, uh check out our website for more information, at least our socials. Uh school modernization uh with our new buildings um they're coming along well. I will say uh we've been really ahead of schedule almost the entire time. Uh still there with Norton.
Unfortunately, Barnum uh we had some electricity issues uh in terms of getting some parts in that have put us a little bit behind the eight ball there. Still coming along okay, but um we didn't have dedicated power until recently, which really slows everything down um for installation. So uh including our elevator, which is a little bit behind as well. Um the target was mid-July. Um Barnum right now is tracking more toward early August, and we're um working together to try and develop a plan to expedite that and pull it back into mid-July. So uh that'll happen at our next Gen School Building Committee meeting. Um new friends day, uh again June 4th, we're transporting all the kids going to new places, K through 2s in the morning, 3 through 5 in the afternoon with a rainy on June 5th. So thank you to particularly our PE and administrative teams that are doing a lot of work to put together programming to make a fun day for the kids to connect with new new friends, new teachers, new new friend student friends.
The PTOs are already connecting with one another and they're engaging which is is great. Staff moves. This is a a tense time for some folks as they think about not just closing out the year with their current students, but packing everything you want to either take home or move to someplace else. And so boxes, the first slew of boxes have been delivered to teachers to try and start packing things up. It's we're that close to the end. And so we're we're working on that and it's it's coming along well. But it's certainly it's like I said, it's kind of a stressful time for some as we work through it. But we're excited about moving into the new schools and Marlene and and Vinnie took some time this afternoon to lead a a staff tour over at Barnum for folks that were moving in and and Marlene came back and talked about how exciting it was to see you know, the the thrill of our staff.
You know, any any of that frustration dissolves pretty quickly when you see the building. It's astonishing. So we're really looking forward to it. In terms of when can we gain more access for a broader community tour. That probably won't be until we have a CO, certificate of occupancy, excuse me. So that hopefully that'll be like mid-July to late August. We're not really in a place to even plan and publicize that because the date is really floating at this point. We don't want to have to cancel something and that's kind of a bad look. So once we get a firmer date, then we'll probably plan something for the community at that point. Um I passed out uh a notice that'll go out tomorrow to families. Thank you. Uh on transportation. Um we're updating some things next year and um we really wanted to communicate information out around some of those updates.
Um and you'll see we we highlighted the bus opt-outs. Uh we really want to try and encourage, I know Matt's talked a lot about this, try and encourage families to opt out as early as possible. If they know you're not going to take the bus, uh really helps us design the most efficient routes and um helps the the entire community. Um it'd be stunning if we were able to get enough to opt-outs to reduce a bus, but at the very least it could make the bus routes more efficient and then with the cost of gas, let's do it. So, that'll go out tomorrow. Uh and then a last update on the energy performance contract. I know we talked briefly about it. Uh the energy performance contract in totality is incredibly robust. There are I want to say 17 individual efforts on there uh from solar to um cells, fuel cells at Cheshire High School.
There's There's work done at the sanitation plant. It's community-wide effort. Connecticut Green Bank could not be more impressed with the work that we're trying to do as a community. That being said, we have hit some snags with the Department of Administrative Services. Um we're incredibly grateful to um you know, Courtney and our legislative team for some notwithstanding legislation that will help in terms of our financing methodology. They're hung up on the financing uh strategy we're using to really leverage every possible grant dollar we can to broaden the work that is done, and um with the grant money, state reimbursement money, we'll be able to do tremendous things, including the air conditioning at Norton, uh which is desperately needed. It'd be the only building that doesn't have it at the elementary grades, uh AC. Excuse me, I'm sorry, Doolittle. Thank you. For the perplexing look, um deserved.
But, um yeah, so we really want to to square that away at Doolittle. Um I'm my hope is that the governor will sign SB1 into law soon, and we will then return to the DAS, um move looking to move forward. So, that covers a variety of super high-level things. There is so much going on right now, it's insane with hiring and uh everything else we're doing, but uh that's the highlights. Questions, comments first. Coolaroo. Uh don't hate me, colleagues, for asking questions this late, but this one has been burning for me. Um if and when that EPC goes through, and all the eyes are dotted and tees are crossed, are the line items in those projects that you're doing set in stone, specifically for ones that, you know, affect the schools? And >> Um Y- Y- yes. Those So, in the energy performance contract, we're quoted by Johnson Controls, who would install the energy items, um with the other com- Energy uh is is involved in this as well.
So, we're quoted these things, and there's a timeline for that. And, you know, unfortunately, if we don't get the financing, uh uh the reimbursement rate through the state, we're going to have to drop a number of those projects, which will really diminish the work that we do. Um and those quotes that we had for those projects will no longer be honored. But we're still in the window for the the current quotes. >> All right. The The one that has been like been causing me a little bit of like, does that make sense? Is when I was at the town council meeting and Vinnie was briefing them, he's saying, "Well, look, the overall payback period for this project is I think it was 15 years." And one of the items on there was Doolittle windows, which was oh, hey, we can do get these savings, put these Doolittle windows in, and that line item specifically, he said it was a 100-year payback for the energy gain Oh, yeah.
>> on Doolittle windows, which I would think I would say, "Then why is that one of them?" >> [laughter] >> Sure. If the payback is not going to be the length of the building for how long that lasts. >> Good question. Each one of the items has a different energy payback window. So, where the windows themselves will only save enough energy consumption, the the delta between how much money we would spend with the current windows on energy versus the new windows with energy is not that great. It It would take a 100 years to pay off the windows. Other projects, like solar, will be paid off in relatively days compared to 100 years. So, they look at the totality of the various improvements and shoot for that 15 win 15-year target. So, the totality is that 15 years when you put it all together. That being said, like the windows may not save you a fortune, but they dramatically improve quality of life.
They do improve the um envelope of the building. They do allow for the efficiency of HVAC, which we don't have. So, they look at the full project, and that's where these uh specialists like uh Johnson Controls and Energy are coming to place to evaluate all those things in totality to put together the best project. Now, the windows, um they may cost 100 years as you know, energy savings without the reimbursement, but with a 50% reimbursement rate, that it's much better off. That's why we're shooting for the state grant money. Any other Tim? Just Just follow on that. The The basic idea is that everything that's in this contract should have some sort of energy component. But it it can be a 100-year payback. The The work on the windows is really more of a mechanical or a uh uh quality of life issue, but because there is an energy component to it, it qualifies.
And it's something that we need to do, so although it may not make total sense I get it. When you look at a 100-year 100-year payback, it makes no sense to me, but from the From looking at it in totality, I think it makes complete sense because it's a project we basically need to do anyway. And it can be funded. And it can be fun Yeah, so we come up with a funding source, and I just think it's great cuz otherwise, you know, it's go out to referendum for $2 million for windows, and it's like another window More windows, more roofs. It's like, well, we have a big footprint, but if we could just avoid similar to the turf. I just look at I look at the windows as a maintenance item. And if it doesn't need to go to referendum, and I you know, I think most people generally agree, you know, at some point you replace your windows, then let's just do it and get it done via this contract.
It's a different funding source. Any other questions, comments? Tim. Thank you. [snorts] Um yeah, I wanted to uh circle back for a second on the audit. Is Emily here? She's hiding behind you. Um just curious if this is I I don't recall know is the standard or not, but when I'm reading this, it mentions that they consider the town's internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the town's internal control. So, to me, that's like a big red flag. Not that it's not that we're doing anything wrong, but do we ever do an audit on internal controls? Cuz I look when I look at when I'm looking at this from an auditing perspective, dollars could easily be material. But if there's a breakdown in controls, that could also be a material thing. Like if it's just $10 being stolen out of the cafeteria fund.
I'm not saying that's happening. I'm just saying if it gets stolen, you know, every day or every hour, ultimately becomes like a big deal. Um so, I'm just wondering do we ever do that? Um is it something and I I also believe the town really controls this, the town side, and we're just sort of like submit some papers and we're not that deeply involved in choosing it. The town council chooses the auditor. Do you are you aware if they ever have a conversation about that, looking at internal controls? Yes, they do. And we have internal controls in place. Um and a lot of that is segregation of duties and like having um multiple departments or people look at things like payroll. Um where, you know, you have part of our finance department and you have part of our HR department. Um but it's just that's just one example um cuz it's a huge line item, but there are a lot of internal controls that we have.