001[Music] Hello everybody. It's the eve of the first day of school. Everybody have their first their first day of school outfit laid out in their lunch box. You do, don't you? Yeah. Kind of excited. >> Yeah. Okay. Um so, uh welcome to our board of ed uh meeting this evening. Mr. Angley, can you please take attendance? Yeah. me. >> Joe Abdullah, Victoria Salon, Stephanie Colnik, Jesse Leeman here, >> Angela Mirulo, Alex Mcnauten, Justin Angley here, Jen Pod here, >> Jane Sergeant, Pete Tagley, Mary Weber, Chris Wadig, >> she's supposed to be. Is she on? She was going to join us possibly. She's on business trip. Is that it? Thank you. Okay. Um consent agenda. Anything need to you want to change anything? Alex, this is your mic. >> I couldn't find the minutes of uh
002the 21st. You want mine? >> Well, I won't have Let me just take a picture. >> Well, I didn't I'm just going to abstain. I will find this when I get home. >> Okay. So, as of now, um we will just since nobody wants to change anything, we will adopt them and move on. Okay. Moving on to presentations. Summer curriculum work. Carrie Hi, welcome. Um, so you have in the board packet just one slide. It's the same format of the slide that I shared last year that just gives you a quick update on um what happened over the summer. We had 29 teachers representing every level K through 12 working on curriculum over the summer. They totaled 418 hours of work over the course of the summer. Some was uh remote and some was on
003site here at Chipog. And they worked on 13 different content areas including the ones that you see on your uh slides, you know, virtually across all aspects of the curriculum. And um I thought I just I might share we started with a kickoff on June 18th. All of the teachers who worked on curriculum over the summer came to the kickoff on June 18th and we had Abby Waldron who is a uh professional learning specialist from Ed Advance come and lead the kickoff with me. She focused on um reviewing high quality components of uh unit plan and then also um shared with the teachers some AI tools that are embedded in our uh curriculum warehouse which is called atlas. Uh that just helped make the revision process a little more efficient. So we reviewed those all
004together as a whole group and then people went off and worked on their individual projects. Some of the courses that were revised or written were um middle school uh robotics, engineering, and TV studio courses. Um English electives for 12th grade, including two new courses called professional communication and personal expression, and another one called critical thinking and communication in the 21st century. Uh we had special education work on science and reading strategies classes that students take here at Chap. Some science electives and core classes were worked on this summer. We have new classes called forensics and allied health. And we have a new honors biology class as an example of some of the new things going on. And then um in art the K through five curriculum was revised and and worked on continue to be
005developed. And at Chap the art classes, botanical illustration, sculpture, and pottery were also worked on over the summer. That's just a sample of the courses that were revised and/or written over the summer. There were more than that. And then there were a couple of other special projects. Uh there was a team of teachers who worked on senior project and taking another look at how we could re-energize that program and really do a better job of connecting with the community over senior projects. We have a lot of good ideas uh about that. Our K1 teachers came together and worked on you know we have a new literacy program our core you saw samples of writing uh from our students last year. Well the K1 teachers really felt like they needed to come together and think about
006foundational skills like phonics and phmic awareness and the role that that plays in literacy instruction and um just think about the literacy block a little bit differently now that they had lived a year with our new program. they really wanted to um dive into that deeper. So, we spent a day with them. And another special project was the counseling department here at Chap worked on the ninth grade transition plans and the uh the cushion sessions that they go into ninth grade classes and helping kids especially at the beginning of the year um come together. You know, our aggracience students join us in nth grade and also just transitioning to high school and how that's different from middle school. So th those were some of the special projects that they worked on. Right now, um I'm
007working on finishing my review of the work that was done. I did that throughout the summer, but there's still a little more for me to do. I'm my goal is to make that uh curriculum the public access to Atlas, turn that back on as soon as possible. I'm hoping, you know, my goal is by the end of the month. There are still things that are not finished. I'll just tell you, but I I want to make public whatever is finished because um we want to make make sure that we're being transparent. In the meantime, Shap has a beautiful program of studies uh where they really do a great job of outlining all the courses and give nice overviews um of what's happening in those classes. And I'm working on one pages for K through five.
008So, sort of like on a page, what are the units of study in kindergarten? on one page, you know, what does fourth grade look like? Science, social studies, math, language arts, that kind of thing. And I feel like those are really um that's really sort of what a parent is looking for. Sort of a big picture view of what's going to happen in a grade level. And then this year, we're going to continue our curriculum work. a little bit each PD day teachers will spend going back into Atlas and doing some updates and revisions um with a goal of being I would say much more complete by the end of this school year than we were at the beginning of last school year for sure. That's all. Yeah, Jen. >> So, just to clarify, so
009the goal is is to have a little bit more of a clear picture of at the end of this coming school year of the curriculum for each of the grades. Sort of similar to what you have at the Shap level >> for for elementary school, you mean? Yeah, I think No, I think we're going to have the one pagers for elementary. And is that all you're going to have for for for the uh for parents to see or >> No, there will be other more detailed unit plans also made public. They're just not all 100% finished. So that >> we're going to make public whatever is finished, >> right? But the goal is for what that is is when >> the goal for complete >> Yeah. >> probably by the end of next summer. >>
010That's okay. That's what I was. >> But I say we're but I think we'll be a good part of the way there this year. I think we're I think we're getting closer and closer. Teachers are feeling much more comfortable getting into Atlas and making real time updates about what's going on. >> So I think we've got some momentum now going and if we work on it a little bit during the school year, I think we'll have a much better uh a much more solid Atlas curriculum by the end of this year. >> Terrific. Thanks K. >> Sure. Um, Don, I want to just tell you this. Um, I came across this this weekend. We were cleaning out a garage and I came across the all the whole list of the uh senior project people that
011from the community that took part in being mentors and I will get that to either you or Mary shortly. So, this way you have an idea of who of who was who who who's been a a mentor uh a technical adviser actually. >> Thanks so much Mary and I know that we're going to be work on creating a committee that connects the community to the school. You're a big part of that and we a big project is to try to figure out what resources are out there now and then, right? to try to make sure we connect kids not just with potential TAs and mentors but with other resources, sites, um, experiences that could be relevant to their project. So, that could only help us. And I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Moving on to the summer
012facilities projects in region 12. Don, actually, Don, you just wait one sec. Ben, is there anybody online for public comment? Because I completely forgot. Um, I'm not used to being in the same place, so I feel a little out of whack. For public comment. Okay, thank you. Okay, done. Ben test. Oh, okay. Okay. I've been asked to speak about the summer projects and updates of uh various capital projects. Um, our Chapag Valley High School or Chap Valley school, uh, middle school baseball field and backs stop replacement and team bench protection has been completed. Um, the library renovations have been completed in the library, the construction end of it. We're waiting on furniture deliveries. Uh the tennis court tree line has been installed to provide wind protection for our wind screens protecting our tennis. Um we've
013replaced two pumps in the underground pump chamber for swimming pool backwash and that's the that's something that failed all of a sudden. Um over at Booth Free School, we've completed the replacement of the main electrical switch gear, the lower building sub panel, and we installed ground mounted transformer. So the power came back on last Thursday. Uh over at Booth School now, we put out a a an RFP for generators in the three elementary schools and Booth was one of them and that is in progress. We have uh selected a company is tower generator out of Canton and um uh they're responsible for um permitting on each of these systems and when I get down to Burnham we'll tell you that that one's permitted. Over at Booth Free School, we also put out an RFP for
014elevator replacements. And it's not a replacement, it's a it's a renovation. it can it's going to take the old um analog elevator and convert it to digital much like the one we did over at Burnham School and make it much more reliable. That was an RFP that also will include WPS's elevator. Um those those have been given. The uh contracts have been given and signed. Uh those components are all on order and um the elevator over at B WPS can start as early as two weeks from now. Um over in WPS, we uh replaced the fifth grade carpeting because we had some unsafe flooring upstairs. Uh one of the um the uh floating floors was cracking and we didn't want any tripping problems with it. We also replaced the flat roof over the front offices
015where we were leaking into our music room and we couldn't stop that from happening. We uh we just today we're finishing up the reach fence around the playground replacing that. Um it had been damaged over the years. We also uh have a generator going in WPS which um like I said has been uh uh the RFP was uh uh the proposal came in and we've written a contract and that contractor has that equipment on order and the permitting is in process. Um WPS elevator re renovation um like I said that one is moving on. um Burnham School generator install. That generator has been permitted today. I got the building uh permit for that and that will start soon. The three generators are expected to be completed by the end of this year, December 31st. um
016districtwide um we put uh something called pots in a box in the system to eliminate Frontiers twisted pair copper into each of our schools which was holding us hostage for about $3,600 a month in payments. Um now it's it's far less than that. uh districtwide. We replaced uh the central office boiler and uh that has gone in in whole but uh some small components are going to be complete. Um that'll end my list of um summer capital projects. Questions? Yes, sir. Don, it sounds like you've had a busy summer and I want to thank you for all the work you've done for us and we really do appreciate it. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. The these are just the capital funded and CNR etc. There were many other things that went on and
017we appreciate that and I'll share that with everybody that works for Thank you. Thank you, Don. >> Thank you very much. Have a good evening. >> Okay, moving on uh to board's report. So, I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful summer. And as I said before, I can't believe tomorrow's the first day of school. Wishing all of our students and faculty a wonderful year ahead. Uh last Wednesday we had convocation. It was Dawn's first of many. Um and it was really wonderful and inspiring to see our staff reconnecting after the summer break. They were actually very happy to see each other and um there were lots of smiles. Um although it's bittersweet, right, to have to um say goodbye to summer and get back into the um school year. Uh Don delivered a really
018wonderful uh presentation talking about creating opportunities for students to discover um themselves and really allowing the teachers to find the ways for them to discover um the wonderful things within themselves which I thought was really inspiring. Um and then the other really inspiring uh and uh a speech that I thought was um our teacher of the year Chris Dennis. Uh he was really remarkable. I thought he really um I to to have him he was my daughter's teacher but to hear him speak was really quite moving and it's always so so interesting when they have to get up and speak and I say have to because they really don't enjoy um being honored um which is so interesting to me. Um when Chris got up to speak, he really felt that it was a shared
019uh honor, right? That he the reason why he's um being acknowledged is really because he's they're all they're all equally um sharing in this um in this being teacher of the year. And his first uh his first acknowledgement was really thanking the elementary school teachers for their bringing them the students to him, which I thought was so beautiful. uh to acknowledge and he just he absolutely killed it with his speech and he blew me away. Um and I just uh was just reminded of how lucky our students are to have teachers like Chris and um and it made me think of David uh Dave Morgan speech last year and just really how lucky we are to have such amazing teachers. So I wanted to give Chris an amazing shout out. Uh I wanted to also
020talk about the elementary school surveys. The intermunicipal committee has extended the survey deadline. Uh with the first few weeks of school offering many opportunities uh for reminders and outreach, the committee hopes to encourage many more families and community members to complete the survey. So, we are meeting on Wednesday uh 5:00 to um come up with more uh strategies to um see if we can get some more surveys uh done in the next few weeks. And then on the upcoming board retreat, uh thank you Mary and Jane for showing me on the agenda that somehow it says that it's on the 27th. That is not correct. It is on the 20th, which I think I emailed everybody. So, it I don't know why it's on the 27th, but it is confirmed for the 20th, 8:30 in
021the morning at the Heritage uh in in South Berry, the same as last year. Tom Mooney will be joining us um to talk about the roles uh of the board um and come up with some scenarios. Um, I really thought last year was really uh in informational even though I've been on the board for a long time. We always walk away learning something. So, if there's any scenarios or ideas that you have that you thought maybe would be helpful, please let me know and I will share that with Tom before the uh 20th. And that's it for me. So, that's it. And now I move on to Dr. Shell's >> I guess you can. Well, welcome everyone and um picking up where Jen left off. I shouldn't editorialize, but I'll say Chris Dennis gave the
022best um acceptance speech I've ever heard here. So, so good good for him. Um in general, I think it was a really strong and exciting week um of for for convocation week. And it kicked off with um orientation for our new teachers to help on board them. And we had an amazing job was done by our team from central office. Nicole and Harry and Ally and Lori came down and spent time with our new teachers and we all fel felt that we got a pretty good vibe from this class. The energy was high, the enthusiasm was high and we think they're going to become really strong members of our team and that energy carried forward into the rest of the week um with several professional development days. And during convocation um we had a session
023on restorative practices um that presented by Ed Advance. A few of their climate specialists came down and worked with our entire faculty and staff to give us a common shared understanding about how we're going to begin uh the work around restorative practices which is not really a beginning. It's a continuation of our belief that building relationships comes before everything else is prior to everything else when you're working with kids and with each other. So that was great. and Carrie led a wonderful session uh on us taking next steps with our system leaders of their own learning which is the the um the philosophy we're we're building in our school to help kids uh to ensure that they have their their hearts and their minds in their in their work and that they're becoming more inspired
024and involved in and taking ownership of their own learning. So those sessions all went well. And then today was a very exciting day in our schools because today there were a series of orientations for kids as they make transitions down at the elementary school. The littles were able to come in for 15 minutes just to ride the bus and get a sense of the building and sit in their classrooms. Uh at sixth and uh sixth and nth graders at at Chipog had their orientations along with Agra Science students of course. And the beauty of um secondary orientations now is that you don't have to sit like you might have when we were kids and listen to some stuff shared administrator talk at you for three hours. The kids do it with each other through the
025magic of link crew in the case of the ninth graders and the Spartan ambassadors with the sixth graders. It's studentto student where they learn from peers about what's coming and how to acclimate to the school. Uh, and that was really, really good and it went really well and I heard a lot of positive things about it. And and I'll just say, of course, I'm excited for tomorrow. I'm excited for school to open. Uh, and I'll be in every hallway at least once this week. Um, and going forward. My my pledge is to be in every hallway at least once a month. Uh, starting at Burnham tomorrow and a little bit of Shap and then uh at Booth and Washington Primary the next day. Alli's also going to help me tour the partnerships when it's right
026for them so I can make sure everybody feels the same support um and investment from me. Um lastly, we did have our new SRO Dennis Failen come to and you'll all meet him to our um opening week and he was able to get restorative practice training from at Advance with the rest of us and he's going to be a great addition to our school. He's got a lot of experience in law enforcement, having risen to the rank of captain. He impressed the hiring committee with his ability to make connections and relationship with people, which is what community policing is all about, but also help us develop and maintain our safety plans and our understanding of keeping the school safe. So, I expect um that's going to be a very good relationship and we'll see him
027here uh starting tomorrow. And then I just have to make some uh personnel announcements. Uh, so there were a lot of appointments that took place over the summer and I'll just go through them. We have Quinn Bolak who's a PAR educator at Chap. Shaina Brown, special education teacher at Booth. Maria Calamido who's a staff services assistant at central office. Samantha Dunar, a building substitute at Chap. Richard Erico, a new technology education teacher at Chipog. Elizabeth Holton, elementary teacher at Booth. Brooke Mercier, educational assistant at Washington Primary. Brittany Oglesby, PAR educator at Washington Primary. Janice Paris, our educator at Booth and Burnham. Dennis Failen, as I just said, a school resource officer. Michael Pringle, a literacy tutor at Washington Primary. Skyler Shab, a building substitute at Burnham School, one-year position. Joanna Turner, a long-term aggra science
028teacher at Chap and Michelle Wennis, elementary teacher at Washington Primary School. So, that concludes, I guess, my inaugural superintendence report, and I'm really excited to be on this team uh and work with you all for the benefit of our kids. We have no old business, but new business. So to consider and if appropriate approve the field trip request to Windham Tallland 4H camp prompt uh center Connecticut for October 16th and 17th for grade 8. you want to talk about that? >> Every year to help train leadership um for the Spartan Ambassadors and I think almost as a pipeline into link crew, Jason Conway and Mike Croft take students on a leadership conference where they grow and build confidence and relationship building skills and critical thinking skills and they use this. It's a leadership lab really
029and the kids get a lot out of it each year. It's a dayong event. I think it's um it's an overnight event actually, right? Isn't it? I thought that I saw that and Yeah. Yeah. Um and but they've done this for um they've done it every year and the kids always get a lot out of it and it's you know I use the phrase reindeer games but that's in a it's a in a positive way. They go out and they design these activities that help them build confidence but they're not mean reindeer deer games like what they did with Rudolph. It's not they don't make fun of any red noses or anything like that. Yeah. Um, and when they come back, they're well equipped to be leaders in the school and to help them get
030ready to to and that the Spartan ambassadors are the leaders that help um acclimate the sixth graders during the orientation like I just discussed. So, we think it's a worthwhile event and we'd appreciate board support for it. >> So, can I have a motion? Second. All in favor? All in favor? opposion. Okay, we're going >> terrific. Okay, first read policy revision. Do you want to talk about this a little? >> So, I was able to speak to the policy committ committee a little bit tonight and I really appreciated them making time for me um to talk about this and now maybe just introduce the topic to the board. We're trying to find ways to um be to accommodate our parents who have sometimes some difficult transportation needs, but balancing that against the tension of our
031need to protect ourselves against undue liability. And the issue is we have, you know, this is we're talking about athletic events right now, athletic sporting events, games, um meets, events like that. We transport kids so that they're safe and that that's rule one, that they're safe. And then also that we're doing it in a way that our carrier will cover when we transport them on our buses. And that's the main way that we get kids back and forth from athletic events. Well, we're in a situation where there are parents from so many sending towns here. Imagine this hypothetical. You could be a parent who lives in New Milford and your daughter could be on the field hockey team and there could be a game where we play in New Milford field hockey. And now you
032what you want to do really is just take your kid home after that match so that they can do their homework or you know get ready to for bed or whatnot rather than having to the bus drive them back to Chapag and then come pick them up at Chipog and bring them back. So I think there's been an informal practice maybe of people doing that in schools where parents just sort of whisk their kids up and take them home which is not um terrible but it's not the best practice in terms of what the lawyers would want us to do for safety and for um management of liability. So, I took this under advisement with our director of operations, who's always a great sounding board, and with our council, uh, and they came, the council
033came up with a form that we think could let us do this and accommodate parents when it's reasonable, but also create the right boundaries, uh, with respect to liability so that we're protected. Not to get too technical, but long story short, the standard waiver that you find people sign when they're going to give permission to do something, it says, "I'll indemnify you. I'll hold you hold you harmless. I I will wave my right to sue you, Angela. It turns out those are not enforceable in these cases. Yeah. So I should you you understand that um and our council understand. So you need a different type of mechanism. And what this is is a form that says I am taking on as the parent. I'm assuming the responsibility to transport the child. And then once they
034assume that they can do it any way they reasonably see fit and it takes us out of the equation. If we do it the way our council recommends and I think it's best when you read this attached to the redline policy is the for are the forms that we would have parents sign. The first form is um a blanket one that lets you opt into do this period where the parent would forward this to the athletic director presumably at the beginning of the year or the beginning of the season. So that's on file. And then there's a secondary form that's used in real time when you want to invoke this at an athletic event right then and there where they hand the mom or dad has to sign this guardian sign this before the event.
035You hand it to the coach right there. Uh and then with that in in our hand we would let the parents assume assume responsibility to transport the kids. Yes. Okay, there we go. So, just from perspective of, and you're right, we've always done it informally. The coaches usually say, um, if you're going to be taking your child home from the event, I need to know 24 hours ahead of time because then the coach gets on the bus and the coach needs to check off who's not there. And if you decide at the last minute to take your kid and you haven't pulled the coach 24 hours before, it's a nightmare. Everybody's looking for Johnny. Nobody knows where Johnny is. I think on game day if or meet day if you're if you've got parents shoving,
036you know, here's my form, here's my form, coach, coach, here's my form, I think that's going to be a nightmare. So, you know, maybe they have to have it to the coach 24 hours before and they can sign it and scan it to the coach. Yeah. Um, right. We we don't want it to be a nightmare for management for the coach for sure. And the way this is set up, it's got to be given to the coach ahead of time, signed by the parent, and then presumably handed by the athlete to the coach. And it doesn't limit us. We could say 48 hours, 24 hours. We could do that. I mean, the the actual mechanism for timing and how it's going to work out, I think we could develop um together with Matt. But I
037think you're right that we don't want it to become a management nightmare for us that there's forms swirling and the coach doesn't know what's happening. And usually when we when we give somebody a privilege, we ask them to invoke it 24 or 48 hours ahead of time in other context. So I think that's wise and that's probably what we should do. >> The only thing with that, there are some uh championship games that we don't know till the day before that they're going to be playing the next day. So, you have to keep that in mind, too. >> Yeah. I I'm sure we could make, you know, reasonable allowance for contingencies like that, but always the idea of protecting the coach and the athletic director from a barrage of, you know, paper paperwork 10 minutes
038before the event. >> Yeah, I have a problem with this the the concept of this that the school has more power than the parents. Uh to me, the parent has the right to take their child at any time and the school is going to have to deal with it. Um if we set up a procedure, um I just don't see us telling a parent, you know, you can't have your child. U you didn't fill out a piece of paper. I mean, I just have >> Sure. Well, that and that's that's a a decent and rational thought and we wouldn't be in the business of litigating that with a parent. Just in the business of trying to set up a procedure that would afford us the maximum protection against liability when you know as these things
039as these things unfold and and parents rights come from some higher place than ours for sure. I think that's what you're saying Alex. The issue we're looking at is not to trample on parent rights, but that if we don't proceed in a certain way, then our carrier wouldn't cover us if something happened. We care mostly about student safety. But right now, I have to talk about the legalities of it. Okay? Our carrier wouldn't cover us if we didn't set it up a certain way. So when we say things like you have to ride the bus there and back, it might sound like we're usurping some authority, but we're always in a position of authority when parents aren't around that we then have to manage in a way that complies with law and custom. So it's
040it's not a matter of us saying to parents, we we we're we're God and we run the world. I think we're saying we want to accommodate you and recognize your status as a parent in a way that works with the system that we have to manage. Does that sound okay? >> Yeah. I think, Alex, what what I think about is is that because I I'm with you, like if I'm wanting to take my child home, I don't want somebody to say to me, "Well, I need I need you to sign a permission slip." However, if I take my child home and god forbid, I get into a car accident between home between the the field and home, right? And then then the school finds out that we got into a serious accident. I think everybody
041just wants to make sure that everybody's protected in that in that way, right? So then the principal, Sylvia, however, just wants to make sure that that they h they're covered in terms of whatever that may be. And so they just want to make sure that they have the paperwork to say a thank goodness that Jen and child is okay and thank goodness that we're covered in that process. So I I I just think it's just making sure that everybody is covered legally in the process. That's all. >> And uh and actually um part of the reasons for doing this is to show some of the respect that you're that you're mapping out right now for the needs of the parents because you know without a system like this, there are school districts that can and
042do say it's just our way or the height. It's the bus there and the bus back. And we have a different setup here. So, we're looking for a way to accommodate some of the feelings that you're talking about, some of the common sense feelings that you're talking about within a framework, a conceptual framework that the lawyers think will will be appropriate. >> Joe, I'll let you talk. I just want to say too that mo most districts are just a one town district. We're several towns. So, that I think that makes us of course more complicated. Go ahead, Joe. So, I'm one of those parents that likes to take my player from the game or meet or whichever. Um, sometime this past track season, we actually were asked because the track team was so large and
043transportation was difficult that we were asked if we could take them to and from. So, I volunteered to do that for both of because both of my boys ran track. So now I only have one. I'm down to one. And he plays soccer. And do we have to fill this form out every single for every single game? >> Um. Yes. >> Okay. Why not give a season option and say, you know, I'm going to attend every single game and I'm going to take my son from every single game. >> The front form is sort of the seasonwide get into get into the pipeline. And the other one is a way for us to ensure that we're managing it case by case in a way that satisfies council's council's concerns. >> I'm just trying to alleviate
044the coach having to have 25 sheets of paper that they have to thumb through and make sure that that p that kid has >> staple them together. How impressively organized you are, Jim. >> No, no, no. I'm >> I know. I'm talking about every single match or every single game. There's how many kids on the soccer team? 30 plus, right? So, you got to weed through all of those and make sure that you have all those correct. That's not that's not going to be a fun time, >> right? >> Well, we do want to think about the coach and we we'll try to make sure that we create a system that in terms of the timing and support from the athletic director and the rest of us that the coach can manage it. Thanks, >>
045Joe. I think to have this system in place in and of itself takes a lot of the responsibility away from the school. Something bad happens. If the parent does not fill out the form, it takes the kid and something bad happens. We can say at least we had the policy set up here. They violated the policy and therefore, you know, we what should we do? you know, they violated the policy. I think the policy is a good policy. I just want to make sure that the the parents still have rights. So, >> that's right. And thank thank you for that. And that's I I couldn't have said any better. And Joe, I should just say also um just to be clear, the number one, we're suggesting that everybody take the bus there and back because
046I I got some other really good feedback from you last year about what would happen to a kid who didn't have a ride and that they need to use the bus, right? So, we're in the business of providing a bus for every kid and we're encouraging them to take it there and take it back if for no other reason than to have the team experience, you know, with with their team uh after the after the event. But in some cases, a parent might present with a compelling need that would make us seem just small and petty if we weren't reasonable, but that could expose us to liability if we did it in the wrong way. So, we're just trying to navigate that tension, and I certainly appreciate everybody's consideration. Is it possible just to complicate
047things? Because I know we talked about the the the the permission slip for um really it could be for anybody, right? That you're writing for Joey to go home with whoever. >> The form isn't set up like that. The form doesn't ask you to identify your plan. The form says, but the language is and follow through on your thought after I because I might be missing the qu by having my child submit this form to his or her coach in advance. I accept full responsibility for the safe transportation of my child. That's it. So, it's not a matter of us having to surveil and follow up and check on did they do what they really said? They said they were going to go home with the Johnson's. Did they really do that? They said they
048were going to take them home. Did they really do that? It's not that kind of thing. It's a burden shifting device that says I'm accepting responsibility for transport however I see fit. Yeah. For that occasion. And I guess there isn't a possibility for shipment to create one waiver for the parent to take responsibility for taking that child home for this season. >> Well, I can revisit that. I don't know the exact reason for it. >> Yeah. >> The last time I might I was wondering am I gonna be able to get back I had a nice long chat with him and his recommendation was specifically to do it this way for specific time knowing that it would be statistically a bit difficult for us right >> and I just and I mean that just like
049if it were just specific to the parent pick only the parent picking >> I see I'm sorry >> I'm just saying that if it's just a one permission slip for the parent only taking responsibility for picking up that child for the entire season. >> I see. So, we're wondering could we have an even narrow for the parent only gets to >> That's right. >> take their kids >> for that one for ju for that one. Yeah, just a specific one. Still have this one, but have one maybe a little bit more specific. >> Well, I think it'd be a good thing for me to raise that question and see where it goes. the board's interested in that analysis. >> Um I was saying I think it would be a good thing for me to uh
050revisit that with council if the board's interested in that analysis. We're only at a first read tonight, right? So we would have some time to >> just just trying to manage transportation kind of on a day in and dayout basis. The problem with having a form that says, "I'm going to do this for my son or daughter for this season," >> is what if a game comes along when you're not and we forget to bring that child home because you said you were going to, but they ran out back out on the field to grab a bag and they were going to get on the bus, but we didn't know that. >> So, if you're going to sign your child out for the season, then you're also going to have to make sure every time
051you're not going to have the child ride the bus, they should notify your coach the child should be on the bus. So, either way, you have to keep the lineation open about who's going to be on the bus or not. And I think you should have, this is going to be another nightmare. You're going to have to give a supply of forms to the coaches because a parent who fully expected their kid to take the bus home decides, "Oh, let me go to the game. Now I want to take Johnny home." >> Coach says, "I don't have a form from you." Parent says, "This is my kid. I'm taking him." Coach says, "I can't let you take him." And now you're going to have a nightmare of phone calls going to you, Don. Like, how
052the hell do you You know, you can't keep my kid from me. Well, that could always I could always get a barrage of phone calls. Um, that could play out, but the the coach wouldn't be interested in necessarily litigating that with the parent there as much as we're interested in making sure we have the right policy laid out in our materials to show um what the procedure is and that it's defensible if we ever have to defend it. >> Right. But you have some coaches that, you know, they were young this year. They did phenomenal job. They were young. But you take a young coach in their 20s and you have a parent saying, "I'm taking my kid." and you've got this brand new coach who's in their 20s going, "Uh, I might get in
053trouble. I might get fired. I don't know." So, just make sure they have a stack. Each coach has a stack. Carry them with you in your bag, coach, in case you have to hand one to a parent. Sign here >> or or or we say you have to turn it in a like we said earlier 24 hours in advance. But >> there's always last minute stuff. >> So, I think everything that we're talking about are all of the like really valid points. And one of the things that council asked us to do, me specifically when we were having this conversation was to pull other districts to see how other districts manage this. And most other districts say athletes ride on the bus to and from all offsite events. And this is why these are this
054is the reason you know these kinds of conversations and these >> hypothetical. >> Yeah. I mean, this is and and not the least of which is it is a lot to ask a coach to try to manage all those forms every time an event comes up or or not have the forms or to have to get into an altercation with a parent. Those are those are the reasons why districts say you're on the bus both ways. But it's also why we have to think as a board about how unique we are and how many different towns we have kids coming from. And it really doesn't make any kind of rational sense to tell a Sherman parent when there's an event in Sherman that they have to come back to pick up their student. So, we
055do have to find sort of the balance of of making it work for everybody. But, and I know I know for some people they're going to think, well, this is a real hassle, but that's kind of how where we have to go to get to where we want to be. Okay. Um I actually um I think it's positive to to give the students that responsibility. Hey, listen on that day, you know, I need to hand in this form if you're going to take me home. And so it gives the students responsibility um to arrange it. Um it also gives them leeway to screw everything up. So, you know, um, but yeah, but we are unique and I do believe Immaculate down in Danbury, they don't have busing for sporting events. So, they tell everyone that
056they have to go uh they have to find their own ride to and from sporting events. Yep. There's no busing >> must go off sometimes. >> Yeah. >> I don't I don't know, but I do know that they do that. Yeah. That's fair. Thank you. >> We need a motion, right? >> Would it be possible to make it easier to make it an online form >> and then that way the the coach will have them all ahead of time and he won't have paper all these papers. >> Not only, but like you still can have papers. >> They did that for track this year. Carrie Shore did that for track this year. You had to fill out the online form if you were going to take your child home. >> Um, you know, I'll ask
057these days when you sign something like electronically, it seems to have the same weight as >> uh an ink and pen or paper kind of thing. So, if that's the case, that could also be an accommodation we might we might make, but I'd need to research that. So I think that would be difficult to set up one sort of online database to go to multiple coaches. You have to use the coaches individual emails. I think if you were going to do it that way and then I think it's a lot for the I mean we are getting hundreds of emails a day and I'm sure the teachers are too who are also our coaches. So if they miss an email they've missed the form. >> It could turn out to be more complicated. We'll research
058it, find out whether it's more or less complicated or more or less pernicious to do it that way. But I I think Nicole's on to something. >> Yes. >> So, can I have a motion? I move to accept the uh reading and I've filed it away already of policy 3541.312 transportation if this is as the first reading sec second all in favor. I >> opposed >> extensions moves on for first reading. Thank you very much. >> Can I do a quick PTO update? >> Oh, we have a quick PTO >> PTO update. So, we are going to have our first meeting of our PTO committee that we're calling it. Um or Shap uh the 8th, September 8 at 6, right before this meeting. So, uh, Don, if we could perhaps get, uh, Sharon Magner or
059whoever sends out the email blast inviting all Chapag parents to whatever that little room is that we met six o'clock because our meeting's at 7 for September 8th and we'll see how many people we get and then we'll start from there. And and we do have one uh parent who took it upon herself to grab a whole bunch of Shap merchandise, take it to a reunion that one of the classes had, and she made $460. >> Oh, what? >> She took a bunch of Shap gear that the PTO typically sells. And there's another um multiclass reunion, I think, September 20th, and she's going to be bringing more gear. And she said it sold out in like 10 minutes. >> Wow. Awesome. So, she's I think going to be a big help. >> Yeah, that was
060so nice of her. She thought of it on her own. She used to be an event planner, so she's really interested in helping. So, I'm excited um for that. So, we're already off to a good start. >> And then my second thing is uh we had a new family that approached me uh just to say that they were uh weekenders for seven years and they decided to move up here full-time and they've met with you, Don. and they've also met with Ally. They've met teachers and they are so happy to be here and they find us to be so inclusive and so warm and welcoming and they're really really happy to be here. So that was nice to hear. >> Lovely. Thank you. >> Wonderful. Hey, anything else? >> Hey, I have a motion to
061adjourn. All right. >> Thank you. Have a good night.