001[Music] good evening today is the regular meeting of the Waterberry Board of Education Thursday February 20th we'll start off with a silent Prayer Dr Schwarz do you have any remembrances tonight thank you I do president Hernandez tonight in Our Moment of Silence let's remember Barbara rerio 98 retired teacher at slum and Regan schools passed away on January 11th 2025 Mary trgo 97 former food service worker passed away on January 19th 2025 John coochi 82 former maintainer for the board of education for 40 years and passed away on January 23rd 2025 Judith Hadad 91 former English and history teacher at Wilby passed away on January 2 26 2025 Ann mohal 91 former food service worker at Crosby High School passed away on January 28th 2025 Joanne zamius 83 former office assistant at Anderson School during her
002high school years passed away on January 30th 2025 Richard spto 90 industrial arts teacher for over 35 years passed away on January 31st 2025 Maryanne pesel 60 current teacher at Westside Middle School passed away on February 3rd 2025 Laura Garlington 97 former teacher at Walsh in Bishop schools passed away on February 3rd 2025 she was also one of the first African American teachers in Waterbury Michael steno 70 former adult education teacher passed away on February 10th 2025 our student representative Bren from whams can you lead us in the plge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God individual with liberty and justice for all vice president Brown commissioner Anthony Ireland president commissioner Latoya Ireland here commissioner Jackson
003commissioner Lopez pres commissioner commissioner Oro here commissioner sanoo commissioner van Stone pres president herandez here may perusi here commissioner Lopez may I have a motion I I motion to receive and place on file Communications as listed second discussion all in favor I oppose motion carries pursuant to Connecticut General statute 1- 20006 the water beer Board of Education may enter into executive session for discussion concerning the dismissal of an employee provided that such employee may require that discussion be held in open meeting the employee has requested discussion for agenda item 5.1 be held an open meeting therefore discussion on item 5.1 will occur in open meeting commissioner arand ladies and gentlemen I moved at the Waterberry Board of Education received the report and adopt the findings of fact of impartial hearing officer Michael Richie dated January
00428th 202 in the matter between the Waterberry Board of Education and Christina Moore and the school administrators of Waterberry second discussion I call on attorneys Mair and pisat uh good evening Commissioners my name is Conor mcnamer I'm an attorney at C cor cassid mcpartland along with my law partner Thomas parisot we represented the Waterbury Board of Education in the hearings on this matter before impartial hearing arbitrator Mike Richie with respect to the recommendation under conent stat 10-1 151 to terminate the teaching contract of Miss Christina Moore this matter was initiated uh under the prior superintendent via a notice for referral for termination under conent stat section 10-11 uh included in your agenda backup is impartial hearing officer Richie's findings of fact and recommendation as set forth in the section titled recommendation beginning on page 20
005of that document impartial arbitrator Richie recommended the termination of Miss Moore's teaching contract as we interpret the relevant statutes this board is bound by impartial arbitrator Richie's factual findings and is vested with the determination of whether to accept deny or modify the recommendation of a per impartial arbitrator Richie given that these facts are established by what is found in the award and that due process of both the superintendent and the teacher are satisfied by being fully heard through the impartial hearing process we will refrain from commenting on the facts or recommendations by impartial hearing officer Richie further thank you thank you any further discussion all in favor I I oppose motion carries commissioner Arland 5.2 ladies and gentlemen I moved at the Waterberry Board of Education adopted recommend excuse me adopt the recommendation of impartial
006hearing officer Michael Richie in the matter of between the Waterberry Board of Education and Christina Moore and the school administrators of Waterberry dated January 28th 20125 and terminate the employment contract of Christina Moore pursuant to Connecticut General statute 10-1 151 effective February 20th second discussion all in favor I oppose motion carries we have no signups for public speaking so inum superintend Dr Schwarz excuse me Madam chair if I may uh attorney Eric Brown I represent the uh School administrators of Waterberry Christina Moore is present and would like to address the board this evening she'll have to sign up can you hold on a moment can I have a motion um commissioner vanstone I motion to suspend the regular order business to hear from second discussion all in favor I oppose motion carries am I good
007to go or okay be I'll be cognizant of my 5 minutes time limit good evening everyone I hope you can hear me okay uh so that you can put a face with a name I'm Christina Mo I personally requested for this to be a public executive session not for the attention not for the sympathy nor any favors but for two reasons a promise kept and a right to a fair fight I have nothing to hide on this 20th day of February I stand on the shoulders of those who came before for me standing up for Injustice or those who felt as if they had no voice or no platform to do so the historical moral and political bias against our District's most fragile youth specifically within alternative education in addition to the inequities among leaders
008of color is completely unjust minimized and strategically disregarded the mere fact that a legal fact-f finding document reference number eight in that document references enlightenment as solely academic focused and its goals being no different than the goals of any other school clearly contradicts not only the district's Equity policy but the Connecticut State Department of education's definition and guidelines around alternative Ed I'm not here to combat diversity at this time but what I am going to unapologetically stand up for is equity and inclusion as it relates to how my contractual rights were completely ignored and how the safety and security of Enlightenment staff and students were repeatedly compromised throughout my nearly 18 months assignment as interim principle there throughout the duration of my time I promised both staff and students that I would advocate for their
009safety security equity and inclusivity my hope is that you as the Board of Ed would use your personal discernment to question how nearly 100 pages of concrete documentation present by Me was Consolidated down to one generalized statement in this entire 23 page award document by way of fact number 58 considering the award document strategically and solely highlighted my alleged failures toward the district which I can defend I'd like to use the remainder of my time to shed light on the district's failures towards me all of which have been presented with evidence throughout this process see something say something right so what happens when you see things you say things and you document things and there's still no avail I started a threat of documentation at central office in June of 2023 expressing my significant concerns
010regarding Staffing safety security and the sustainability of the program I was assured that the alternative Ed redesigned task force meeting bi-weekly would support this but only one meeting was held in June of 2023 I documented that I did not feel safe starting a new school year dwindling staff and a homicide that is not was not acknowledged by the District of one of my students due to alleged gang violence and was given substitutes who were not even made aware of being placed in one of the district's two most restrictive settings I documented the need for Equity between the two alternative programs with Enlightenment having half the staff yet equal enrollment I was set up to fail I documented my concern regarding having only one metal detector which was malfunctioning and hadn't been serviced in 10 years
011despite the high-profile nature of some enrolled students after waiting 6 days for a response I was informed I need to wait for the new budget for a working metal detector I documented my concern regarding an actively enrolled student involved in a homicide investigation and finding out from a former staff member as opposed to District Personnel I was good enough to be offer the position twice permanently I declined the position twice based on my my concerns with Staffing and safety yet I was forced to remain and then one month later now I'm cited for five failures as part of an investigation the Department of Justice visited Enlightenment on January 2nd 2024 at which time I shared my concerns regarding safety security and programmatic needs needing to be centered around restorative practices versus significant school-based arrest please
012don't consider a m coincidence that I'm one of at least 12 female leaders of color who have been subjected to demotion resignation or termination just since I returned to The District in 20120 Prior I was a teacher at Walsh school and I was also the first African-American special ed supervisor in the district don't consider it a mere coincidence that the things I asked for from the beginning including additional Staffing a VP not one but two metal detectors tailored tier three programmatic supports have since been put into place after several staff members res signed and approximately 8 to 10 students were arrested after myart departure don't consider it a mere coincidence that individual character statements were presented recognizing the positive purposeful impact that I've had on staff and students yet they were unaccounted for in any
013documentation please use your discernment even the Bible says the truth shall set you free thank you I appreciate it good evening everyone good evening everyone good evening to the Commissioners can you state your name and address I'm I apologize yes my name is beatric Somerville my address is 102 Aspetuck Trail Shelton Connecticut 6484 okay can I continue okay' thank you thank you um first of all I'm just honored to stand here on behalf of my daughter and I'm just wishing and hoping that more could have been here and I know that they would have had we received ample time but we just got the message on yesterday so it was hard to get people to come and support her but I know it probably would have been standing room only very briefly I am writing
014to the Commissioners on behalf of my daughter Christina Moore and as a mother I'm very concerned about this matter in more ways than one while I know no one is perfect and I'm certainly not putting my daughter on a pedestal but because Christina has spent her entire career in the education department has been a total asset over the past 20 plus years on each level and has never had any bad or derogatory remarks against her it baffles me what's happening to her and why her expertise wisdom Knowledge and Skills has brought her thus far without fail and she has brought so much joy and happiness to the children and staff she has served over the years a lot of children have become statistics in our communities and based on my understanding several students at Enlightenment
015have historically fit that mold her desire is to help those who are challenged with their behavior and set them up for success not failure that's what she did when she was chosen to be the inim principle of Enlightenment it was like an answered prayer for her something she longed for just to Simply help the children and be a positive influence and role model in all of their lives all of their lives and she was she was and is very passionate about children who are challenged more than others and less fortunate than others her daily plans and concerns were based on how to make it a better place and a better environment and this was not just at Enlightenment Christina has gradually and steadily climbed the ladder of success and has reached Heights of favorable results
016and recognition to my knowledge she has never had any bad evaluations throughout her career up until this last position which she held very dear and close to her heart anyone offered the same job twice speaks volume alone when there is a concern about safety measures that can affect students staff and school it's not so easy just to accept a position when things are not in place or as they should be especially for an alternative program my question is has anyone really taken the time to to search and find out who Christina Moore really is has anyone given her the opportunity to express the concerns and hear her and hear her on the evidence and facts that was submitted by her if not I pray that she is at least given the chance to share how
017she was felt as she for stated by the district just like they say they were failed by her and it just seems like this is a very large puzzle and there are a lot of missing pieces thank you for your time humbly submitted Mrs beus Somerville commissioner v a motion to return to the regular order of business second all in favor I oppose motion carries and Trum superintendent thank you uh president hernandz and good evening Board of Education mayor rusi and uh those here tonight I have no formal uh uh presentation tonight which I know uh we just had a meeting last week where I gave a a little bit of a longer presentation but I wanted to just communicate to the board that uh we're we're doing the best we can to stay up
018on um um all the changes that are happening at the at the federal level I trying to stay uh a breast of all those changes communicate that with the board I've sent a few uh emails out over the past week or so regarding that and just want to let you uh know that we're also not going to move hastily we are going to consult always Corporation Council and look for guidance from the uh the organizations within the state of Connecticut like the Connecticut Association Boards of Education cave and caps those are usually the organizations that give us uh great guidance on uh where to go and how to interpret uh what's happening at the federal level and so I just wanted to let you all know that we're we're staying on top of it but
019we're also we're not going to move and react to everything that comes out we just I think we need to all take a collective breath and kind of see where uh what's going to stand up and where we need to go from here but uh I know that the board is always committed to do what's best for students here in the Waterberry Public Schools you always have done that and I know that the staff uh that sits uh to my right uh from central office is on the same page with you with that and so uh really no update specifically other than the fact of I think you know we just need to make sure that we're uh Consulting with the proper authorities before we make any decisions and we'll continue to do so uh
020president's comments basically I wanted to keep everybody informed on the progress of the superintendent of school search examinations um invitations have been emailed to 14 candidates as of February the 7th the candidates will undergo assessments over the course of two days which is February the 20th and 21st of 2025 um we have secured a total of five subject matter experts from outside of the city to evaluate all 14 candidates they expect to finalize the candidate eligibility list by March 7th of 2025 once the list is done then we will do the process with select the selection process so as of right now that's what what's going on with the superintendent search commissioner van Stone thank you madam president through you and part of your recap there you did mention the subject matter experts U and
021I've on two occasions now made requests to even if it's an executive session to be told the names of these experts and the it is has been denied as you know not from you um so I I really think this board has every right to know who these people are uh or when they leave can they leave their phone number so when people want to complain we can have them call these experts okay and not us so and that's a little obvious sarcasm but this board has every right we're elected officials we have every right to know who these five people are and that should be brought to us and it's probably not going to be the last time you hear me speak on it thank you I will pass that again along to um
022Civil Service as you know I have no idea who it is either so I do know that they said they will let us know but when that is is beyond me thank you um also I just wanted to Al the she's not here and today was her last day of work um assistant superintendent Gopi I would just like to say that uh she will be missed a little bit about her um she began her career in Waterberry in 202 2001 as a long-term sub at Enlightenment and then hired under daap and two to 24 she became a biology chemistry teacher at Wilby School eventually becoming science department chair Jay continued on to be vice president at Crosby High School then being promoted to principal did I say president yeah vice principal I apologize and then
023became principal and ultimately transferred to wber Career Academy until her appointment in 2021 as assistant superintendent of schools so we wish her well um she's going to be sorely missed and I'm I'm sorry that she wasn't here she kind of felt that it would be out of place for her to come since today was her last day and she was no longer an employee but I just wanted everybody to know that she would be sorely missed and that concludes president's remarks student Representatives comments good evening everyone mayor perisi superintendent Dr Schwarz and president Hernandez and Commissioners my name is BR McDougall and I'm honored to be here tonight at the student representative for Waterbury Arts Magnet School I'd like to begin by giving a special shout out to the incredible staff at whams for their
024continuous support and dedication to our students this morning they ured safe everyone's safety during our evacuation and we are grateful for their efforts as we finish out February it is important to recognize Black History Month in all the ways it's being celebrated celebrated across our school community on February 26th at 12:30 p.m. there will be a celebration performance featuring our peers including dance singing and acting we are also excited for our spring Productions presented by the dance and theater departments Harry Potter and the cursed child in March the weekend of the 21st Pippen on April 4th 5th and 6th and the Performing Arts showcases dates are to be decided these events are sure to bring everyone in our school together for some fantastic performances as for academic updates students are participating in the English 480
025club and the math 530 Club our school has finished up the Las links testing and we are underway with scheduling requests for next year we're going to be individually meeting with our counselors next week in other news Middle School Dance is this Friday and it is one of of the many fun events students are looking forward to additionally I'd like to highlight the recent establishment of our robotics club and the 21st century students Club both of which are providing valuable opportunities for students to engage and grow in new ways our students can choose from over 30 School clubs to take part in and most recently our students have been doing peer tutoring after school in the library the 8th grade field trip to New York City is coming up and we're all excited to explore
026new sites in history of the city looking ahead we've got some exciting upcoming events the Hall of Fame induction dinner on April 24th Smarter Balance testing PSAT sat and AP testing there will also be College field trips Junior College Planning night senior Awards night and of course prom important milestones for our students in the coming months thank you for your time and support I look forward to working with you all while the president comes back I just want to make a mention I I was here this morning and the students did a great job with uh the the evacuation and then coming back in and then having going back out and so pass on to your fellow classmates I think they did an excellent job as well dealing with a situation that was uh it's
027quite cold to be outside but we were glad to get you in as fast as we could so great job any questions for student representative thank you does anyone wish to remove an item from the consent calendar okay 10.1 committee on finance request approval of amendment two to the Construction contract with Ferguson mechanical Company Incorporated RFP number 7858 for havac replacement at Kennedy High School 10.2 committee on finance request approval of a Construction contract with Union flooring installations LLC for gymnasium floor replacement at Tinker School 10.3 committee on building and school facilities use of school facilities by school organizations and or city departments 10.4 committee on building and school facilities use of school facilities by outside organizations and or waiver requests commissioner Anthony Arling may I have a motion make a motion to approve the
028consent calendar items 10.1 through 10.4 as read second all in favor I oppose motion carries item number 12 committee on finance commissioner Oro item 12.1 ladies and gentlemen I move that the Board of Education approved an award agreement with Special Olympics Connecticut Incorporated through the Connecticut Association of schools for support of Unified sports programming I need a second second all in favor I oppose motion carries commissioner orsel item 12.2 ladies and gentlemen I move that the Waterberry Board of Education approved to authorize the superintendent of schools to transmit the 2025 2026 Department of education's budget request in the amount of 158,50 75,000 to the mayor second all in discussion all in favor all oppose all in favor I oppose motion carries interims notification to the board commissioner van stone I have a motion mam president
029I motion to receive and place on file the superintendent's notification to the board and that would be items 13.1 through 13 oh it keeps on going eight 13.8 second all in discussion all in favor I I oppose motion carries are there any Comm committee chair reports hearing none may have a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn second discussion all in favor opposed we are adjourned thank you everyone e e e