001Good evening. My name is Shontay Brody and as the chairperson of the Hartford Board of Education, I hereby call to order the April 21st, 2026 regular meeting. I wish to extend a warm welcome to everyone present and to our television viewers. The board, superintendent, and I are pleased that you have joined us as we celebrate achievement, review information, and make policy decisions related to the effective operation of the Hartford Public Schools. This is a regular meeting and all items that will be discussed are voted on this evening and voted on this evening have been posted as required by state law. As the Hartford Board of Education, we are here to set goals, listen to reports of the superintendent, approve budgets, contracts, and personnel appointments, and and make policy for the district. We are not here
002to make management decisions or solve the problems of individuals. Management is the responsibility of the superintendent. The monthly meetings of the board are open to the public. They are a time when the board conducts its business of governing the school system in a public arena. The regular meetings are not meetings with the public. Therefore, comments from the audience will be confined to the time designated for the public to address the board. Decorum and courtesy are important elements in effective public meetings. Please silence your cell phones or communication devices and refrain from talking while others are speaking. Since it is legally mandated that the proceedings be accurately recorded, I may have to ask for order periodically should noise begin to interfere with our recording capabilities. I am pleased that you have taken the this time this
003evening to join us. We are very proud of this school system and thank you for your interest in Hartford Public Schools. Now, this will be read in Spanish. >> Thank you. Um now we will move on to the report of the chair. I'll keep it short. For this month cuz we're going to be hearing from our community today on our budget. I'll just name three things. One, we do not um I know we've been in the um news media quite a bit and I just want to assure everyone Hartford Public Schools does not have a surplus. Um I want to make that clear and get that out the way. Um and lead in talking about um deficit that that we're facing um this year. Um board members and myself, we have been advocating um to
004our state legislators for um additional funds. We have done that tirelessly. I mean, we've been working weekends, holidays um to make sure that we're advocating on behalf of um Hartford Public Schools and getting funding that our students deserve. And one highlight for me, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Capital Prep students, 11th and 12th graders. They had some very um insightful questions for me about being a board member. They wanted to know about budgets. They were advocating for themselves in their space. I was very very impressed. Um so I just did wanted to highlight those 11th and 12th graders at Capital Prep that invited me in to have a discussion with them. So with that said, I will before turning on over to the superintendent, our board member Steven Wilson. Um ask for
005a point of privilege, Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Chair. Um I'd like to take this moment or we would like to take this moment to recognize the loss of one of this community's own. Um Reggie Coach Reggie Hatchett. Um We lost Reggie Coach Reg recently. So I just like to take some time to talk a little bit about him. Um I'm just going to read from his his bio. Um Reggie was a proud graduate of Weaver High School in Hartford where he distinguished himself as a gifted student and basketball player. He continued his education at Mitchell College and Delaware University earning a degree in communications and public relations. A pillar in this community and mentor to countless young men, Reggie dedicated his life to uplifting youth through basketball and mentorship. His impact spanned decades serving as
006director of the Hartford Boys and Girls Club and coaching with organizations including 300 Basketball and the Connecticut Basketball Club. He later returned to his alma mater, Weaver, as a college and career counselor and became the head coach of Weaver High School's boys basketball team, where he led the program to three consecutive state championship appearances, capturing the title in 2015. With no home gym. Reggie's commitment to the community and youth development did not go unnoticed. In 2015, the city of Hartford honored his lasting impact by officially proclaiming March 28th as Reggie Hatchett Day. Along with being recognized as a member of the 100 Men of Color. Coach Reggie's example and leadership, love, and dedication to the youth will live on in every life he touched and every player he has inspired. I'd like to like you
007to ask you guys to please join us in a moment of silence for Coach Reg. Thank you. Coach Reg will be missed. Thank Thank you for that, um, board [clears throat] member Wilson. Um we're going to move on to 2.2, the report of the superintendent. Thank you, Chairwoman Brody. Uh, first I'd like to send my thoughts and prayers out to the family and friends of Coach Reg. Announcing our 2026 Teacher of the Year finalists. This week, I was overjoyed to surprise three Teacher of the Year finalists in their classrooms. The three outstanding teachers were selected by a district-wide committee made up of Hartford Public School directors, officials from the Hartford Federation of Teachers, and previous award winners. The finalists will be asked to complete a series of written essay questions and submit a videotape lesson
008for their final evaluation. A winner will be announced on May 21st. These teachers were nominated by their schools for their outstanding work and service of our students. The finalists are Lindsey Hanson, a dance teacher at Conard Magnet School of Performing Arts Upper School. The next is Taylor Miller, a special education teacher at Milner Middle School. And Adam Lynch, a mathematics teacher at Buckley High School. Please make some noise for these finalists. >> [applause] >> Paraeducators of the year nominees for 2027. Paraeducators play a vital role in Hartford Public Schools community. Whether they're assisting in the classroom, providing one-on-one support, or helping create a positive learning environment, paraprofessionals make a difference in the lives of our children in countless ways. We're excited to announce our nominees of of paraeducator of the year very soon, and we
009will announce the top 10, and then on April 30th, we look forward to announcing our winner at the 2026 Hartner Hartford Public School Partnership Impact Awards. On our website, there's a list of all of our paraeducator nominees. Please make some noise for those. >> [applause] >> And on April 10th, we were thrilled to recognize our 2026 Educate Childhood Educator of the Year nominees. We have all of them listed on our website. Their exceptional contributions to early childhood education in the Hartford Public Schools community exemplified difference and dedicated educator to make the lives of our young learners easier over time. And on our website, we have a complete list of all of those nominees as well. Please make some noise for them. >> [applause] >> The arts at Hartford Public Schools play a pivotal role in
010the wellness and development of our students, and we have so much to celebrate this spring. I'd like to give a shout out to the students all over the district who participate in performing arts and the staff who help our students live out their passions. The arts are a priority of Hartford Public Schools, and the talents of our student performers are inspiring. On March 27th, students from several schools across the district participated in the fourth annual dance and theater festival at Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts in collaboration with Hartford Performs. They engaged in workshops and performed in front of their peers. This event is just one of many exciting art experiences happening across Hartford Public Schools this spring. On May 8th, string musicians from McDonough, Noah Webster, Great Path Academy, and HTMCA have been practicing
011at their schools and will come together as a group to perform at the Martin Luther King Jr. School, Breakthrough Magnet North, in the Hartford Public Schools String Festival at 12:30 and Developing Oh, oh. Okay. At 12:30, that's on May 8th. Again, on May 8th, Hartford Public Schools students will be performing at 12:30 at um MLK Middle School and Breakthrough Magnet North for Hartford Public Schools Strings. On May 20th, all grades three Excuse me. All grades All grade three Hartford Public students will listen, learn, and play at the annual Link Up concert at the Bushnell at 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Additionally, on May 20th, the annual Hartford Youth Arts Renaissance takes place at 6:00 p.m. and the award ceremony will be held at the Wadsworth Atheneum on Main Street in Hartford, celebrating over 30 years
012over 30 schools and more than 80 of our student artists. On May 21st, the Herbie Hancock Jazz Institute presents their peer-to-peer program at Hartford Public Schools. And on May 22nd, the Herbie Hancock Jazz Institute presents their peer-to-peer program at the Weaver High School and Conchella High School. So, you know, the visual and performing arts are thriving at every corner of our district from elementary students to high school. And we are aware that we can do better. Our students will continue to work and be celebrated at venues like the Bushnell and the Wadsworth. These experiences are here to support our student wellness, engagement, confidence, and community connection. Important update on Hartford Public Schools 2025-26 school calendar. To ensure our students receive the full instructional time they deserve following this winter's inclement weather days, we are once
013again making a strategic adjustment to our calendar. We have already reclaimed one of the six days in March. And to minimize further extensions into late June, we are converting Wednesday, April 29th professional learning day into an early release instructional day for students. On April 29th, students will follow an early release schedule, and our dedicated staff will conduct their professional learning session following student dismissal. With these adjustments, we will make up the remaining four days on June 17th, 18th, 27th, I mean 22nd, and with a current last day of school scheduled for Tuesday, June the 23rd. We appreciate the flexibility of our families and staff as we prioritize consistent, uninterrupted learning for every student. And last, with athletics, we would like to celebrate excellence on the field and on the court. We would like to extend
014and a massive congratulations to all Hartford Public School schools student athletes who participated in the fall athletic season. Your dedication to your sport and your schools represent the best of Hartford Public Schools. Special recognition for championships are the middle school city championships. We'd like to congratulate all of our boys and girls basketball teams for their Hartford victories and city titles. Hartford Public High School had a tremendous season and we'd like to give them a tremendous round of applause for their impressive and inspiring run to the state championship game. Let me make some noise for Hartford Public High School. >> [applause] >> And last, Sports and Medical Sciences Academy Tigers, we are proud to celebrate with them as they won their very first ever state championship in Division 5. They are state champions and they have
015their championship rings coming very, very soon. Make some noise for them as well. >> [applause] >> And with that, Chairwoman Brody, that concludes the Superintendent's report. Thank you, Mr. Superintendent. As a reminder, you can find the Superintendent's report, full committee reports, student reports, all attachments and videos in the meetings agenda on community. All committee and workshop meetings are live streamed as well as viewable after the meeting. The YouTube links are saved in each meetings agenda in community. I highly encourage the community to view the meetings and read the reports when possible. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact Christina Santiago, our board liaison at [email protected]. Through the policy committee, um the board moved forward the request to name Buckley High School's football field after Felix Karsky. Per the policy, a public announcement is
016to be made at a regular meeting followed by a 3-month period in which the public is welcome to comment and or submit letters to the board office before an official vote. And now we're going to move on to our consent agenda. Items on the consent agenda are acceptance of funds, DECD grant. This is accepting a grant from the Department of Economic and Community Development for music instruction materials at Sand School, Conne- Kennelly, Naylor, and Burns. 3.3, approval, healthy food cer- certification. This is an annual certification required by statute to meet the Connecticut nutrition standards. HPS has participated since 2017. 3.4, contract amendment approval for D'Elia Flooring. This is to amend the current contract to now include new floors for Annie Fisher and Belizzi schools. 3.5 contract continuation approval um Yukon. This is to continue service
017of athletic trainers across the district for games and practices. Um 3.6 approval of minutes from March 17, 2026 meeting. 3.7 first reading on the following policies. 1110.1 parent and community involvement include updated to align with the current title one requirements including an annual title one meeting. smoking in school facilities updated to include e-cigarettes and reflect a new state law on prohibiting smoking on school grounds. fine, fees, and charges. Update such as including electronic devices alongside physical materials. Added language on student responsibility and the ability for administrators to waive debts for families unable to afford replacements. 5131.6 drug and alcohol added new language on marijuana products, privacy rights, and medical updates regarding opioid overdose prevention. These policies will be discussed at the next policy committee meeting before returning for a vote at the regular meeting. Any
018comments or questions on the consent agenda? Do I have a motion? So moved. Seconded. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Nays. Abstentions. The eyes have it. The motion passes. Item number four. Public hearing on the 2026-27 budget. This is the public hearing on the 2026-27 budget. Before we get started, I'd like to go over the ground rules for this meeting. This is a public hearing on the superintendent's recommended budget. All public comment should be related to this budget. Any other public comment should be kept until the next regular board meeting. Each member of the public wishing to speak may address the board for a total of 3 minutes. At the 2-minute mark, the bell will ring letting you know that you have 1 minute to wrap it up. At the sound
019of the second bell, your 3 minutes are up. We have a lot of speakers tonight. Please be respectful of others' time. If you run out of time, you may submit your comments in writing to Ms. Santiago and she will make sure um she gets it to us. No boisterous conduct shall be permitted. Time limits will be strictly um enforced because of the number of our speakers. Um no personal attacks on individuals. We're asking that, please. No vulgar or indecent language. Um no signs allowed inside the board meeting room. Um speakers may not yield their time to another speaker. Um a speaker must refrain from naming employees, please. A person may address the board no more than twice during a single meeting. Um this is a difficult budget season. We all know and recognize that, and
020we encourage your input. Um but please be respectful. Now, this will be read in Spanish. Buenas noches y bienvenidos. Antes de comenzar queremos establecer las reglas para esta reunión. Esta es una audiencia pública del presupuesto puesto recomendado por el por el superintendente. Todos los comentarios de hoy deben estar relacionados a este presupuesto. Cualquier otro comentario debe esperar hasta la próxima reunión regular de la junta. Cada miembro del público que quiera hablar puede dirigirse a la junta por un total de 3 minutos. Al final, 2 minutos, el timbre sonará para dejarle saber que le queda 1 minuto para concluir. Cuando suene el timbre por segunda ocasión, significa que se ha acabado sus 3 minutos. Tenemos muchas personas que quieren hablar esta noche, así que por favor seamos respetuosos del tiempo de los demás. Si no le
021da el tiempo, puede entregar sus comentarios por escrito. No se permite conducta ruidosa, el tiempo límite será aplicado estrictamente. No se permiten ataques personales contra individuos, no se permite lenguaje vulgar o soez. No se permiten letreros dentro del salón de la reunión de la junta. Una persona no puede cederle su tiempo disponible a otra persona. No se deben mencionar empleados por nombre. Una persona no puede dirigirse a la junta en más de dos ocasiones durante una misma reunión. Este es un periodo un periodo de presupuesto difícil y queremos escuchar sus observaciones. Por favor, pero por favor mantengámonos ah mantengamos el respeto. Gracias. >> Thank you. Now the superintendent will give a brief overview of the budget and after his presentation, um we will go into public speakers. Thank you, Chairwoman Brody. We have been discussing
022our budget with the community since October 2025. We have done many community forums, staff meetings, meeting with city leadership, meetings with the state leadership to share our story about the budget. We also met with parents and met with teachers and administrators. Tonight represents the culmination of some of that work where we will share our itemized estimate of expenditures. This represents our ask to the city and state to be able to run our school district and provide an excellent education for our students. For far too long, Hartford Public Schools has been making cuts to keep up with a structural deficit. Hartford has cut $200 million and 600 positions in the past decade. We cut $70 million and 400 positions in the past 3 years alone. There is nothing left to cut. We are down to the
023bone. During this process, we have focused on the structure, what needs to change at the state level to ensure we have enough money to serve our students. We have advocated at the Capitol and at City Hall alongside many members of our community, the deficit is driven by factors outside of our control, including special education tuition and transportation. And we need the state's help to be able to achieve financial sustainability. There are 2 weeks left in the legislative session and 1 month left before the city votes on their budget. Now is the time to continue to make your voice heard and ensure Hartford Public Schools is kept whole. We have done our part to do strong fiscal management. You will see in this proposal that there are cuts to positions and resources based on enrollment decline
024and expiring grants. These are reductions we must make to be good stewards of our resources. After those cuts, our ask is for an additional $60 million in order to maintain the rest of our resources, add in-house special education programming, and to add literacy interventionists to elementary schools as required by state statute. We are asking for what we need to be able to continue running our school district and supporting students to thrive. And we are asking all of you to join us in this call to action. I am a true believer that Hartford Public Schools better days are in front of us. And with that, Chairwoman Brody, I'd like to pass the microphone to our Chief Financial Officer, Caitlin Richard. Thank you. Good evening, members of the board, superintendent, and community. And Christina is running the
025slides from up there, so I'm going to give her a thumbs up when I need her to go. Um, this is going to be just a brief overview of the budget. If you're interested in more information, you can watch our board workshop from last Tuesday where we had an in-depth discussion. But, this is just to orient everyone to what you can see in our itemized list of expenditures. If you go to the next slide. As the superintendent said, we've been working on this since October. We've been doing community engagement along the way. We've been collecting data, and we've been focused both on the structural change that needs to happen so that we have better financial conditions, and on the decisions that we are making to be as strategic and efficient as possible. Next slide. This
026is where we're at in our timeline. So, tonight is our public hearing. Thank you all for joining us so we can hear your input. Tomorrow night, we will be going to city council to present this ask. The state legislative session ends in about 2 weeks, and then the city will vote on their budget at the end of May. After that, we will do a final budget vote on our budget. Right now, we are just making an ask. We are saying this is what we need in order to run the school system and asking the state and city for their support. Next slide. As the superintendent said, we're focused on what we need, not what we're cutting. There has been significant cuts over the past decade, so we focused on those structural issues, structural levers. There
027are still some cuts we are making to do our part, and they're twofold. One is when we have enrollment decline, that means there are fewer teachers at schools, and when we have grant funds that are expiring. So, this is just part of strong fiscal management. We're doing everything we can to make reductions, but after that, there's nothing left for us to do, and we are asking for the state and city to support. As the superintendent shared, the deficit is structural. It's about special education tuition and transportation. We have a deficit for this current year, so FY26, which is about $22 million, and a deficit for next year that's about 52.5 million. Tonight, we're just focused on next year. So, this ask is about our budget for next year and what we need to keep the
028system whole. Next slide. This is data on our enrollment. Um we've shared this in previous meetings at community forums, highlighting that our enrollment this year was a lot lower than it was last year by about 1,300 students. So, that's where you're going to see some changes in the budget due to enrollment decline. However, we're not able to make cuts to make up for the whole deficit, um but there are some adjustments just based on how staffing works at school sites. Next slide. I'm going to give an overview of revenue and expense. Like I said, if you want the details, uh please watch the board workshop from last Tuesday where we went uh into more detail on this front, but overall our revenue picture, what you can see is we are declining in revenue. This is
029largely due to state grants and federal grants. So, there are grants that we had this year that we no longer will have next year. Some of this is adjustments that we experienced in the current year, and some of it is dollars we had this year that won't carry over to next year. So, overall there's about a $16 million decline in revenue. Some of that comes with declined expenses, but not all of it. And on the next slide, this is the other side of the equation. So, this is our expenses. So, on the left you see our budget from last year, on the right you see our budget for um the upcoming year. And what you can see just broad scale is that our budget is entirely personnel. So, those are those first three bars, the
030blue, red, and green. And then the rest of it is tuition, transportation, and utilities. We have very little else in our budget at this point. And so, we have a lot of what we call non-discretionary money. That's that top category that it's very hard for us to do anything about. And then we have our people, and that is what we are trying to protect in order to continue offering services to our students. Um what you can see is there's some increases, so there's increases to our salaries and benefits um for a few reasons. One is decreased vacancy rate, so we were able to fill a lot more positions this year. That is exciting, it means students are in classrooms with teachers, but it does have a budget impact. It also is contractual salary increases, so
031salaries go up based on contracts, including for our teachers and other roles. And there is a proposal in there to increase the number of special education staff to serve our students and for literacy interventionists for elementary schools. And as the superintendent shared, that piece is actually a state statute we have not been able to fulfill because we haven't had the funding, so we are now asking to be able to do so. So that's the increase you see in the salary and benefits section, so that bottom half of the chart. And then the top half, the increases are to tuition and then also to to transportation. And if you are a student on the budget book and reading it detailed, you'll see some increases in the professional services category. That's actually tuition, and so often times
032tuition gets lumped into one big category, but it actually falls in a few different buckets. So it's just us putting the money where it's supposed to be. But overall, there is that increase to tuition, about $10 million increase to transportation, about $4 million largely for door-to-door transportation. So what that whole picture shows you is our revenue is going down, our expenses are going up. So when you go to the next slide, what you see is the gap. So you see our revenue is about 436 million, our expenses are about 496 million. That gap is that $60 million that the superintendent referenced. What that is is the 52.5 projection to essentially keep doing what we're doing, plus a request for expanded special education programming. Um that includes teachers, paraprofessionals, and social workers. And then 3 million
033for elementary literacy interventionists to support the highest need students with their reading literacy, um, as required for alliance districts. On the next slide, you'll see here, uh, part of that ask is continuing the one-time funding we got from the city for this current year. So, there were certain items the city gave us dollars for that we are asking for again as a part of this broader ask. So, that, uh, includes our community-based organizations, some of our contracts, and our health clinics, specifically the dental clinics that the city provided funding for this year. So, all of that is part of that big ask of the $60 million. If you go to the next slide, just a couple more slides here. This, uh, is the position summary. And so, just to highlight a few areas here, there
034are some changes in the budget related mostly just to how things are coded. So, you'll see some of our student success center positions are coded in that top category as opposed to directly at schools, but they serve school sites. Um, but the biggest change is that proposal to increase special education para positions. It's about, uh, 52.5, um, more positions to support our special needs students and be able to run more special ed programming within the district. You can then see in some of our school cost centers, there is about 41 fewer gen ed teachers, all based on enrollment decline. So, all of the formulas of how schools get resources are the same as last year, but with fewer students, that means fewer teachers. We are asking for more of those elementary literacy interventionists or resource
035teachers. That's about 23 schools. Um, you also see decreases to other positions at school sites largely due to, um, the availability of grant funds. As I mentioned, we have several grants that are expiring that we don't have access to. And then finally, there's a proposal to increase the special education teachers. Um, so, overall, what you need to know about positions is we're asking to add special education paras, special education teachers, and elementary literacy interventionists, and there is a decline in the gen ed teachers um due to enrollment decline. This is just a bit more information on the special education programming. It's something we've been discussing we really want to do. Um we've heard a lot of community feedback about strengthening our own special education services, so this additional request is to be able to do
036that um and to keep as many students in the district as we can. There likely is going to be a grant we can apply for from the state to support with this, and we're making it part of our broader budget ask. And then next slide. And this part is key. So, all of that is about a $60 million ask, and we have been advocating for changes at the state and city level to be able to fund this. So, the specific things we are advocating for in this legislative session are changing the ECS formula, so that's the state funding we receive. That's to adjust it for inflation. It hasn't been changed in over 10 years. We're also asking for help for special education, so fulfilling some of the promises made last year for special education grant
037funding, and to set rates for tuition. So, right now we pay about $120 million in tuition, and there's no rates for special education tuition. So, we get charged different things, and we're asking the state to set a schedule of reasonable rates for us to pay. And then finally, we are asking to have full ECS funding for students who engage in open choice because we pay tuition for those students. Um we are also asking that the state pays for specialized transportation for students who go to choice schools. Right now they pay for regular transportation, but not if students have special needs. So, we're asking them to support all students. And finally, we are also asking the city to increase their investment to the school district um in a recurring way. So, last slide. Back to the
038timeline. So, that's the information about what we're asking for. Some of the changes you'll see from last year to this year. And then coming up is the advocacy. So, we're going to city council tomorrow to share this information. City Council will also have another public budget hearing on the 28th. I know a lot of our community members showed up on the first and advocated for the system. It's so helpful when when you all do that. Um and then the state legislative session ends in 2 weeks. So, really this is our time to be advocating to say this is what it takes to run our system and these are some of the specific moves that the state and city can make to support us. Um so, we're looking forward to hearing all of you tonight, hearing
039your feedback, and hope you'll be alongside us as we advocate in the coming weeks. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Chairwoman Brody. Thank you, CFO Richard. Uh this conclude the budget presentation and I'll pass it back to you. And now we're going into our public comment. Our first speaker is Mike Susy. I don't like this. I'm not used to being first. Uh I have one question before I start. Is it um cuz I know I I heard about um not specific names and stuff like that. Is it okay if I bring up a colleague? Yes, it was no um yielding your time to another speaker, but you can. He's not going to speak. It's just going to be me. >> That was fine. >> And you know that I speak, so. Yeah. >> [laughter]
040>> I have a voice. All right. So, first off, Superintendent, not not for a minute did I think that what I saw in the news that it was a $2.5 million budget. I kind of I actually laughed from home. Because piecing it together, two different superintendents, two different CFOs, the state came in at the at the end of last year and published their report and when they said that we were spending the money that the way we were supposed to, the state coming out and saying there's a a surplus did not sit right with me. I So, you know, it did not make sense. So, I have a colleague here who I just wanted you to introduce you to. Um I know from the presentation it said that we were losing 42 41 teachers and
041then 41 additional staff after that. He is one of them. He lives in Hartford. He's a social studies teacher. He has his dedicated if not more dedicated than me if you think that possible. Um he really enjoys what he does and he wants to stay in Hartford. He lives in Hartford. He He only lives like 10 minutes away from the school by walking. And seeing the list and seeing that he's on it is really frustrating and seeing other teachers like that, the comprehensive schools, there's not going to be any librarians from looking at the breakdown of the budget. And I know you guys are doing as much as you can. And I know that this is we're picking which you're picking which part of the bone to cut cut from at this point. This is
042not where are we going to get to the bone? This is we're cutting into the bone. And it's really frustrating as a teacher for myself for uh Mr. Sung over here. Um And I want to advocate for you guys to I sent you guys an email yesterday and I know other people have brought it up is there's a meeting next the public hearing for um the city is next Tuesday and that is parent-teacher conference night. So, a very big chunk of the city will not be able to make the hearing or will have to make tough difficult choice as to do they go to parent teacher conferences or they come here and um express what they feel is important. Um I've tried nudging the city council to push the date. I've gotten response back saying
043that's not going to happen. And it's really frustrating in the fact that a whole chunk of the community cannot have their voice heard in a public format like I am doing tonight. Um just because of figuring out just rescheduling cuz that wasn't the original schedule. Um I plead for you guys to I know you're making tough decisions, but I am pleading for you guys to one see if you can nudge the council to move that date and two make it make it known that we're cutting where we should not be cutting and it's really frustrating. >> [applause] >> Medea Arciniega. Good evening board members and um superintendent council. I didn't know that we couldn't speak tonight on anything else other than what you have on the board agenda online. So, that wasn't very specific. So,
044I'm not going to speak I'm going to speak a little bit about the funding, but I'm going to speak more towards the parent and involved parent and community involvement policy, if that is okay. Um as far as the budget, I think families need to be a little bit more clear on how because I was a part of that legislative committee that the board had, but we really need a a better visual, okay, about how the um incoming kids, when they come in, they come in with a dollar, right? ECS dollars. But from what year, right? So, the kids that we lost this year, I mean, the kids that we lost this year, we're we're really getting the money from the previous year. Things of that nature because they hear about the $2.5 million surplus, it
045throws them off. And so, then it then it causes this imbalance about how we're hearing this and how does it work? So, you know, I appreciate the the the presentation from uh CFO Richard, but we need a little bit more. And I think if we have parent engagement around the table, I keep saying it over and over again. We have to have parents at the table. We have to. This is We're partners here. This is not Oh, we'll just call them when we feel like it. Cuz that's what it is. We'll call them when we need the money on April 28th. We'll call the thousand parents then. No, we can't do that. So, parent the parent and in the it What's what is its name? Parent and community involvement policy 1110.1, that policy, there are
046so many Requirements, federal requirements that are are not being followed. And the one big one is to jointly develop the policy with parents. With parents, that's a requirement. It's a shall. So, I don't know how I'm seeing and hearing in the virtual committee meeting a policy being shown to the policy committee without any parent input. And if it did come from a parent advisory or what have you, okay. So, you're still having to follow the regulations. The regulations that were adopted cuz the only thing that was adopted in November of 2021 was the number that changed from 1205 to 110. So, the the regulation stayed the same. The feedback structure stayed the same. The PTOs are supposed to The PTOs are supposed to be the ones to work on the policy together. So, I have
047I will be submitting an email and I will be submitting a position paper and not only to you, but also the State Department of Education and maybe the federal because at this point we really need to collaborate with one another and we really need to understand what the meaning of of of parent parent meaningful parent engagement means. So, I leave you with that because yes, we are going to go after that funding as you guys are saying that you guys working so hard. So are we, quite frankly. Thank you for your comments. Annette Armstrong. Good evening everyone. Superintendent, board members, um, I greet you all. Good good evening. Um, I'm here to just piggyback a little bit off of what Millie was saying that the parent involvement. I need to know I would like to
048know exactly who appointed the parents on this on the board on the on the board. How were they elected? And then when it comes to like different things like elections, you have your board meetings. You You have the parent meet to come to the to the board meeting or that's virtual. Why don't parents don't have Why don't parents don't get a chance to say anything at the meeting? I was at the last meeting that was online. I kept trying to submit a question submit a question. Kept getting looked over. Kept getting looked over. It's really unfair. It's really really unfair. You guys want the parents and the grandparents and everybody to get involved. Let us give give us a chance to get involved to do what we need to do. We cannot go out here
049and continue to fight for fair funding if we're not being heard. I'm one that's going to stand up for mines. I can't speak for everybody else. I'm going to stand up for mine. I'm going to stand up to each and every one of y'all and I will call each and every one of you out when it comes to getting up what we need for each of our kids cuz right is right and wrong is wrong. Everybody sitting up here, they all everybody has their education. They have their degrees and everything else. Why aren't we given the same the same opportunity to these underprivileged kids that's going in the city of Hartford? Then you say you want to bring the kids back. You want to give them this and you want to give them that. You're
050not You're not showing no opportunity for nothing for them. I can speak personally. I'm I'm at the point where I'm about to pull my kids. Why? It's nothing here. Nothing to offer them. Show me something different. Don't keep sitting here telling me, "Oh, we doing this and we doing that." Put the money where them Put your money where your mouth is at. Put everything on the table. Show me there's a a difference in the academic. Show me there's a difference in the sports and education. There's a difference in um art and beauty and music. There is none. After school program, very very limited. I need to know and I would like to see a big difference before I make my final decision. >> [applause] >> Gwen Samuels Gwen Samuels Mariangelis Guerrero Good evening. My name
051is Mariangelis and my topic is on adequate fundings for athletics. Now, my question to you is, how are sports fundings divided between different high schools? As an athlete in many sports, I have gone to many high schools and seen the difference in how each school can build and retain their athletes from going to higher performances. Seeing announcers for each game, seeing trainers at the sidelines waiting and observing for any injuries, seeing machinery that looks like opportunity for improvement in your game. So, why are we all in such a great distance from equals? It is very well known that funds that funds are not just given. Sports directors make the total cost of all sports, which are then sent to the board of education so they can determine as to how much or little each school
052receives. It seems both unethical and inequitable. For instance, Ellington High has two gyms as opposed to University High School. They have no gyms. Things like this, having no gyms, are issues to athletes and coaches because how are they going to go to practice and uphold their games in another school just right after dismissal? And what if the school in which the athletes have to attend for practice and uphold games is under construction or on break? What then? Do we just throw our hands up and cut our hours of practices and games? And that is just barely scratching the surface. Equipment is the main component of the sole reason we are not being up to our full potential as athletes. Appliances such as agility parachutes for track could help increase our chances to compete against tough
053opponents. Not only that, but budgets also can provide safety such as finer helmets, body pads, and most importantly coaches and trainers. Most schools with barely no money in their pockets can't provide full-time professional safety to not only help our athletes keep in shape, but also have professional trainers for injuries and emergencies. According to the sports director of HMTCA, there isn't a law where having conditional coaches and trainers in each school is mandatory, making it very clear that acquiring conditioning coaches and trainers aren't as highly valued. I could keep rambling on as to the many issues this problem causes that apply to every school across Connecticut, but I would like to leave you with not just a statement, but with a question that keeps you questioning as to what the solution will be. Why are fundings
054not sep- not spread out equally and adequately? Why is it such a big part of safety overlooked? Why are we not given the amount in which each school athletic needs to equip themselves properly? And why is the Board of Education not listening to the requirements and needs of each school? Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> Camila Lugo. Hi. From the time that we're able to speak, it is engraved into our minds that education is a key for a better future. We hear it everywhere from role models to and teachers from proud parents and grandparents for receiving the education they never received. But if education is so essential, why are we expected to reach our fullest potential while receiving less and less each year? I've been at HMTCA since 6th grade. I've seen opportunities diminish as
055as fast as they presented themselves. This shows the chorus class I was partaking in until it was no longer deemed necessary. And the podcasting class where students, including myself, freely expressed their interests while learning critical skills in this evolving world of technology. That barely scratches the surface. It doesn't factor the amenities lost such as our library or the extraordinary 600 teachers and staff that were cut. What message are you sending students when you say education is important, but our funding doesn't reflect that belief. When underfunded schools like ours continue losing money year after year, students pay the price. Fewer teachers leads to fewer opportunities, fewer programs resulting in fewer opportunities. My bad. This might seem just like numbers on a paper, but it's a barrier. It's preventing us from achieving our fullest potential. I am
056in my most critical year of high school, and instead of studying for the upcoming SATs, which are this Thursday, I'm in I'm here debating whether my sister, who just entered the school, will have the fraction of the opportunity she deserves. Remember we may We may not remember everything, but we will remember where we are at a disadvantage. We deserve a full education. Thank you. Tameed Ambia followed by Sarah Kovac. >> [clears throat] >> Good Good evening. Imagine being a Imagine going to school every single day, ready to learn, only to sit in study hall for hours. Not because teachers don't want to teach or students don't want to learn, but because funding cuts are limiting what what classes are offered to us. The opportunities that we have are getting limited because we don't have the
057funding. Fewer classes mean fewer opportunities for us to learn and to succeed. I'm a junior this year, and I've had four study halls, three of which were last semester alone. That's four classes that I could have had, four classes that were two full academic credits. That might not sound like a lot, but I want to pursue engineering, and engineering requires a very rigorous schedule. And to be ready for those courses in college, I can't be sitting in these study halls doing nothing. I need teachers who could guide me. I need I need instructions, and I need courses that can actually help me succeed. Funding cuts are limiting all these opportunities for everyone, not just me. Which makes it increasingly difficult for us to succeed. Okay. School funding cuts aren't just numbers on a budget sheet.
058They directly affect the opportunities that we have in the classrooms. Over the past decade, Hartford Public Schools has cut $170 million from its budget. Yet this year, we still fall short. Staffing reductions have already been identified. Yet the district still faces a multi-million dollar shortfall this year. The consequences are clear. Canceled classes, crowded classrooms, and lost opportunities. That's why I'm asking the Board of Education to protect funding for teachers, to protect funding for classrooms. Every student deserves a full schedule, not empty periods caused by budget cuts. Prioritizing teachers isn't about staff. It's about giving us students the education and opportunities that we need to succeed, whether we want to become doctors, nurses, engineers, lawyers, or anything else. Thank you. Sarah Kovac, followed by Angelica Matos. Hello, Hartford Board of Education and Superintendent Dr. Townsley. My
059name is Sarah Kovac, and I am a senior organizer at Educators for Excellence, a local non-profit organization that ensures that educators have a leading voice in the policies that impact their students and profession. I am here tonight to read a statement on behalf of Hartford paraeducator Cheyenne Lambert. The following is her statement. Good evening, Hartford Board of Ed. My name is Cheyenne. I'm a paraeducator in special education here in Hartford Public Schools, and I have been in these buildings with these kids for over 7 years. This work chose me before I even knew it. I was raised by a special ed teacher from the time I was three. She was not my biological mother, but she poured into me and showed me early what these kids are capable of when the right adults show up
060for them. Years later, I befriended a boy with autism who lit up every room he entered. The following summer, he passed away. He was so young. I asked myself, "What can I do to honor him?" The answer was simple, "Keep showing up." That is what has kept me in this work and is what kept bringing me back to Hartford Public Schools. I am here tonight because I am encouraged by what Hartford is doing, and I want to start with a thank you. The new agreement to boost pay for early career special ed teachers is a real, practical step. For years, I have watched wonderful, talented people leave these classrooms or never even get a chance to start. This agreement tells those teachers, "We see you. We value you." And that matters more than I can
061say. But, I also come before you as someone who sees what happens when there is no permanent teacher at all. When there is no stable teacher, I become the one who knows these students. I modify the classwork. I track their progress. I notice when something is off before anyone else does. I have sat in classrooms where a child's IEP existed, IEP existed, excuse me, on paper, but nobody was actually following it. I had students with hearing loss, yet never once had a meeting about how to best support them. No one sat down with me and said, "Here is what this child needs." I had to figure it out on my own. That is why this agreement means something to me. If we can bring more teachers in and make them feel like this work is
062worth staying for, our kids win. But I have been doing this long enough to know that a pay increase is only part of the picture. Educators stay when their workload is realistic, when the administrative burden is not swallowing their days, and when they are working alongside paraeducators who already know these kids inside and out. Hartford has done something historic. You have shown what is possible when a district and union decide that special education students are worth fighting for. Now I am asking you to keep going. With that in mind, I have three asks. First, reduce the administrative burden on our educators. Paperwork and compliance tasks are eating up the time educators need to present for their be present for their students. Invest in real ongoing training so that every adult in a special education classroom
063knows how to support the kids in front of them. Second, extend this compensation agreement beyond early career teachers to all special ed teachers. The veterans who have stayed through the hard years deserve to feel valued, too, and be compensated for the wealth of institutional knowledge they bring. Addressing recruitment is only the first step. We also have to retain our staff. Third, bring paraeducators into this conversation. We are in these classrooms every single day. We know these kids. We are part of what makes special education work, and we need to be treated that way. The funding to do this exists. Hartford has access to seed grant dollars specifically meant to strengthen special education. I am asking this board to put that money to work for the people who are in these classrooms every single day doing
064this work. Years ago, I asked myself what I could do to honor a friend who deserved so much more time. This is my answer. Hartford started something important here. I am asking you not to stop. Thank you. >> I'm Angelica Maddox, who will be followed by Liping Wang. Good evening, members of the board and Dr. Tonsil. As you know, I'm Angelica Maddox and I had a prepared a whole speech. I did research and I'm going to send an email as well, just as Millie. But not this time. I'm not even going to follow it up. Very discouraged by being told that I can't speak unless it's about the budget. And unfortunately, even though it's not directly about the budget, it is about the budget because it's title one and the parent and community involvement pertains
065to the title one and its requirements. Um so I'm here to speak on that. And we keep saying we want to bring teachers in and I do agree with that, but we also need to bring the parents in. And it seems like all we do is keep them out. Whether it's language, whether it's the structure that we're we're having for family engagement. Where for example, I went down the rabbit hole on the board website and it was highly complicated to navigate. That that alone. That's like not meeting the requirement of title one, which things should be simple for parents to navigate it. That's caller, lawyer type of advanced search. I could not find the actual updated policy once I found out that 1205 is not the policy. 1204 family engagement. Apparently, it got changed three
066years ago. We never found out. And that the title one requires you to include the parent, not, you know, in a consent agenda. You consent it. I haven't consented. Title one says it has to be agreed upon. And we're not doing that. Then when we speak about the parents, we say, "Oh, we're talking about the structure." Well, what makes you think I'm not the structure? I'm the structure. [clears throat] I'm the parent. So I bring the values. I am the one who can reinforce whatever you're trying to put in place, but we're not doing that. There's a disconnect. And I'm telling you it goes really deep when I see the everything that goes with the policies as it pertains to family engagement and nobody has been involved whether it was the volunteer, whether it was
067the SGC, whether it was the PTOs. I don't even know what to abide at this point. So now I understand why are we all confused because nothing is set up. So I don't even know what to follow. Anyways, but I do have to say this. The language of this proposed policy and the regulations although it's trying to be as the act and inclusive it's not it's participatory. I'm sorry. In passive engagement rather than as it was the 12 5 if you go read it, it had a nice structure and every policy connected to itself whether it's you know PTOs are actually the ones who nominate the SGC. They're the one who organize for you. Like us the parent we're your organizer. We're your front liners here and we want to come and fight, but if
068you're keeping us out we don't even know. I can't even get into my kids Google Classroom. So it's so deep the problem as it pertains to parents not even just policy. It all falls under Title 1 and that's the money you get for us for our students. And we're all Title 1. That's all I wanted to say with all the respect. So let's try better. I think we need to go back to those policy and rethink this as a community. Don't speak community if you can't practice it. That's all. Thank you. Liping Wong followed by Joanna Negron. Okay, put together but okay. Um good evening members and Board of Education and superintendent. Um, I didn't think about talking about all about the budget, but I'm concerned about our culture and climate. Um, needs to be
069changed in Harper Public Schools. There is currently no meaningful way for parents to connect across the grades or throughout the district, particularly when parents are not allowed in schools. Parents are often disconnected as Angela has said. And but both our families and the school community are unable to contact our PTO members and our school governance council members with questions and concerns about what funds are left for the rest of this year and what activities may be cut or need help with. We parents can't help if we don't know what's going on, right? So, caregivers, staff, and students should be involved in decision-making as well as training related to changes in policies and rules. These includes areas such as behavioral mental health, bullying, special education, and the process for even filing a complaint with the Welcome
070Center. Parents and students should be able to provide input and share valuable information without fear of being ignored or even being dismissed. At this time, many parents and caregivers feel their voices are not being heard and the progress is not being made. As a result, some families are choosing to leave the district [clears throat] and strengthening PTOs allows them to organize and promote family engagement and community involvement and would help keep would help, I'm sorry, address these concerns. And PTOs can help fundraise funds for school activities and help the programs um, running in our school. The use of parent volunteers can help the school library stay open. Parents can help with reading remedial reading and math where we're not utilizing our parents and caregivers to help fill these gaps that the budget lacks out of,
071but our kids need these um, resources and help with after-school programs. And University High School Science Engineering, teachers, parents, and students should have a clear understanding how the PTO functions, how the SGC elections are conducted, and how the principal hiring process works. Current families haven't been clearly informed about the principal hiring process, including timelines, opportunities for input, how questions from students and parents are incorporated to help provide ideas on how to raise funds for our students, field trips, clubs, the Social Justice League, and programs students want to participate in. The school should involve parents in providing input on school budgets in March with concerns and suggestions shared to prior to approval in April and final results communications to families afterwards. This process has not been consistently implemented at the school level where parents can help
072fundraise for funds. You guys keep saying we don't have any money, but you don't let parents raise any money, either. It's really disconcerting. Parents should also know who the Title 1 parent liaison is in our school and how much is allotted to our parents. It's supposed to be 1% or could be more, but not less than 1%, and nobody seems to know what it is. We have a lot of money left over still right now, and it hasn't been used, but nobody [clears throat] knows how much it is, so that doesn't help us, either. Um They should parents need to know where they're allocated, how consistently have opportunities to participate in discussions, and receive clear explanations. Um both for any for any schools that are going on. Um Okay. I she's supposed to finish, so
073Are you going to finish? I don't know how this works because we had kind of split it where she was speaking at her 3 minutes to finish. Go go ahead. Hi, my name is Krista Wallace, everyone. >> Are you signed up, ma'am? >> Yes, she is. Yes. Okay. >> I don't know how you guys separated though. A parent Hi, everyone. My name is Krista Wallace. Parents should be informed about who serves as a school governance council parent parent lead and when meetings are held so they can attend. Agendas should be shared in advance and information should be available in a timely accessible manner. Families should also be able to review meanings of minutes to understand participant participation in budget and where funding goes so parents can help. There are also questions regarding how many schools
074hold school government council meetings with appropriate parent participation and whether membership, including teachers and community members, is clearly communication. Uh policies indicate that meetings require significant parent participation. Transparency through meeting minutes is important for accountability. These continues to be a lack of timely communication to families to to families and format and language they can understand. Note it providers only shortly before events or through limited platforms make it difficult for family to participate, particularly those balancing multiple responsibilities. Families care deeply and improving communication would support greater involvement. We are here for the children. PTO exists to support school and students and school communica- communities and it is important they are available to function appropriately and independently. Family involvement is essential, should be supported consistently. Families also seeking clear plans to address reading and math challenges resulting
075from the academic as well as programs that support students through middle school and high school and particip- to participate preparation, sorry. Prepa- Pre- Pre- preparation for student and future success. A clear action plan that supports academic process and life skills would be beneficial. How much funds are su- aside to do this? Um Lastly, recent communication regarding Nanya student data share with third parties had raised concerns. Families would benefit from understanding whether these are plans to notify those who may be affected since August 2021 where I now graduate from high school. Thank you for your time and attention to these matters. Thank you. Joanna Robles I'm sorry. Joanna Negron who will be followed by Nick LeBron. Is there Joanna Negron? Uh Nick LeBron who will be followed by Sahar Hakim. Uh my name is Nick LeBron.
076I'm the director of community schools at Catholic Charities. First want to acknowledge uh my good friend and rest in peace to coach Reg. So, good evening members of the Board of Education, superintendent, and HPS colleagues. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight and for your continued commitment to Hartford students. I'm here to speak in partnership with the district around an issue we all care deeply about, the role and the protection of community schools in the Hartford Public Schools budget. Community schools are long-standing partners of HPS, and Hartford's budget should explicitly name and protect the partnership. When funding is unnamed, it becomes harder to see and harder to defend, especially during difficult fiscal decisions. Visibility is not about preference, it's about clarity and shared accountability. Across Hartford Public Schools, CBO partners serve more than 5,000
077students. Many of them in schools with the highest needs. These organizations work side-by-side with principals, teachers, and support staff, providing daily school-based services that strengthen what schools are already doing. Our work includes after-school and summer learning, attendance and family engagement, social emotional and behavior support, and workforce and career pathways. These services are woven into the fabric of school life and help extend the district's reach. Right now, CBO funding often lives across contracts, multiple grants, which can make it harder for all of us, including district leaders, board members, and the public to clearly see the full scope of this shared investment. In tight fiscal environments, even well-supported programs can become more vulnerable when funding is not clearly identifiable. When CBO funding is reduced, schools feel it immediately through diminished after-school support, weakened attendance interventions, increased behavioral
078challenges, and disruption to the relationships with families. These outcomes directly affect school climate and student success. From a fiscal standpoint, CBOs and community-based organizations are effective community partners. So, here is my ask. The most First, the most important. Explicitly identify community-based organization funding as a protected line item or category within the HPS budget. Reinforcing the district's commitment to these partnerships and reducing unintentional risk. Secondly, moving forward with the that shared goal in mind, I respectfully offer the following board's consideration. Provide a clear, consolidated view of the district's total investment in community school partnership so the reach and alignment of this shared work are visible and provides the district clear commitment to our highest needs. This allows us to support and financially stabilize programs with other funders moving forward. Thank you very much. Sahar Hakim who's
079followed by Michael Alexander. Good evening. My name is Sahar Hakim and I'm the community school director at Catholic Charities and I work at McDonogh Middle School. I'm here to discuss the transparency in regard to the community-based organizations in the budget. Currently, we are not specifically listed in the upcoming budget. If we if we are included in the budget, it is hidden as if we are add-ons, but we are not. I've seen a lot just being in this specific organization for 17 years. From working part-time as a direct support, teaching a program, now as a director. We have a large impact in the schools. As Nick Lebron stated, over 5,000 families served from CBOs. Um I've I've been in this uh situation for a long time and I've seen a lot of students impacted by our
080programs through students coming back to us, working with us, from students attending HBCU trips, from preventing students from as as crazy as drug abuse or all these other things, these violent things that's happening in our community, our kids thrive on the arts. They thrive on the enrichments that we that we do after school. They don't always thrive in academics, but this is where they thrive. They thrive at basketball, they thrive at arts such as DJ, dance, etc. And we we take that program and we add we add something called disguised learning. So, we're not only teaching them these enrichments, but they're also learning academics and increasing in academics, increasing in average daily attendance and so on. So, I'm just going to piggyback off of Mr. Nick Lebron and say that we would love to be
081added as a direct line budget instead of a add-on. And that's it. Thank you. Michael Alexander who will be followed by Michael Downs. Good evening, one of the directors of the super super. My name is Michael. I live in the city. I used to I went to this Weaver High. I'm a graduate here years ago. I got grandkids went to school in Hartford. I noticed the last several years they're cutting education. Today's students is tomorrow's leaders. When I heard our student came down for he want to be a engineer and you can't don't have the money to get them the proper prepare them for for the future. That's a shame. Really a shame. America It's supposed to be the greatest country in the world in the world. And we can't even afford education, but we
082have money to go to war. There's no problem with that. But when it comes down to education I can't find no money. Yes. That's a shame. I listen to all these speakers here. And they're always talking about education. That's the key. When you educate a person the whole society benefits. The individual benefits. The country benefits. When you start cutting education, what's next? You're going to close schools? The mayor was talking about closing schools. He should be You know what I I don't I don't want to I didn't agree with that. Our students is our priority. That's our main issue. Our students is tomorrow's leaders. When you start cutting like like the superintendent, I can't cut no more. I can't I'm cutting in the bone. I agree with you, boss. We can't cut no more. City
083of Hartford, they they call it City of Hartford, the insurance capital of the world. Where's our our insurance companies? Why they don't Why they don't put money in in in education? Because a lot of us a lot of our students going to be working for them tomorrow. Oh. We need it We Hey, I got your back, boss. We need money to for uh for the students for tomorrow. I'm here listen to those speakers here. I listen to your your your your your speech. Damn, I never thought Hartford would be in this predicament. Uh sports My granddaughter graduated here. She was in track and field. I saw what they had. I was so disappointed. Yeah. Thank you for listening to me. Have a good night evening. >> [applause] >> Michael Downs who was asked to speak
084twice. Evening sport board members. My name is Michael Downs, 74 Rosemont Street in Hartford. Um Superintendent, good evening. The purpose of my statement tonight is that the state of Connecticut owes the city of Hartford and its school system hundreds of millions of dollars. The a The reason is is the They have stripped the Hartford public schools of the enriching science and basic employment preparation educational programs and educational activities. The ideology of the present financial problems concerning the Hartford public schools stem from the suburban fury over two decisions The Supreme Court cases Horton v. Meskill and Sheff v. O'Neill. These cases dealt with the equal funding and equality of educating the students of the Hartford public schools. Creating this furor and anger over having to give up more money to the city of Hartford for the
085school system. This attitude caused collusive acts of action among the Hartford city leaders and suburban and state leaders. They first sold the Hartford public school system to a private company EAI 1995, which proved fraudulent and failed. Then the state of Connecticut was invited in to run the Hartford public school system in 1998, um claiming that incorrectly that the education was a state responsibility. And so therefore they should give us more money. They did not realize that these this should be a a predominance of there should be a predominance of social impact in in what happens in in the board of trustees established to replace the Hartford Board of Education. After several um um the after several years this ultimately failed. Um but before they left they stripped the Hartford public schools of most if not
086all of its enriching sand and climate preparation um educational activities and uh programs. Uh this is to satiate the anger, the suburban anger and greed where the and just uh to save money. I asked where was the money? Where's the money now? Um because of this action, the state of Connecticut um owes the Hartford public schools hundreds of millions of dollars >> [clears throat] >> to fix and replace the damage. Part of the damage was caused by excessive layoff or expending of special education teachers, para-professional teachers, music, library, physical education teachers, among others, especially vocational technical teachers and family consumer science teachers. So, in the end, the quality of education appropriately uh um demanded uh um the uh equality of education appropriately demanded by the African American Connecticut Supreme Court cases was long overdue, was
087poorly or wrongly implemented. The money that allegedly was saved is nowhere to be found because the system stripped it to the bone. Students were encouraged or pushed out of the system to the tune of 10 million 10 10,000 students. Thank you. >> [applause] >> And our last speaker, who's also speaking twice, John Walton. Good evening, Superintendent and distinguished board members. I had a lot to say tonight, but I'm going to have to restructure what I'm going to say to specifically talk about the budget. So, let's get right to it. Governor Lamont, we need $60 million, which is a fair ask from this board and this superintendent because they're fairly new. They did not create the problem, so they want to be a part of the solution. So, we do need $60 million. Uh and that
088lines up with the your plans, Governor, to what your corporate investment that you want to see happen in the capital city. Uh Speaker uh Ritter, it lines up with your plans to also have uh the capital city have a thriving public school system. And also to House Minority Leader uh Candelora, you have an opportunity to work alongside Ritter and the Governor to make sure that this happens for Hartford. Now, I can't speak for other districts, but Hartford needs this. It is the capital city and you need to have a shining capital city, especially in education, so that Connecticut as a state can be on the map for larger investments. So, we have to speak to that issue. Now, Mayor Bronin, I need for you to step in when we get the $60 million from Governor
089Lamont, Speaker Ritter, and uh Minority Leader Candelora. I need for you to step in and then create the partnerships that we need to attract our students to coming back to the city. Rekindle the Explorer program for our students. and the police rekindle the volunteer firefighter program for our kids in the city, and then add incentives for those parents who who work for this city, who are willing to bring back their kids into the city, create incentives for them to stay here in the city, and then special incentives for them because they have brought their kids back for the education that Hartford is going to begin to give to them. Now, we have to be good stewards, and I just noticed that the student board member walked in, so I know this is a very boring
090process, and I think she's from Buckley, and I see her all the time, and I apologize for not knowing you were a board member, but how we get them involved is kind of what the parents were saying. We have to get the parents involved at ground level with the PTOs and the SGCs. Now, the reason why that didn't happen before is that we're going to be quite frank and honest. The previous administrations and structures didn't want parent oversight because parent oversight meant that we watch every dollar. And then those those pay increases and those wage increases and all those things that we would have questioned as parents when we were facing deficits are not questioned because there's nobody oversighting it. So, we should be teaching, and I propose that we have teachers teach our parents
091in PTO and in the SGCs, t- our family resource members teach our parents the education and how we operate as a business as Hartford Public Schools when they come to our schools. We need to open back up the schools to our parents because in order for you to get the kind of support you need, it starts at the ground level with our parents. And I'll say this. I see two scenarios here. I see one scenario where the state gives us the $60 million, and they allow this board and this superintendent to manage it appropriately, which I think you can. And then the other scenario is that they give the money, and then there's some oversight and some special conditions with that. But either way, we need to be prepared for that because that's inevitable is
092what's going to happen, right? So, we have to be good stewards of what the the money when we get it, how we manage it. And there's a lot of duplicate services that we have in in Hartford Public Schools that are just not needed. You you know, you have too many chiefs, no Indians. And I know we say we cut uh to the bare bones, and we have on the ground level. But, we have had a structure uh Dr. Towns and board members that always supports the top and not the bottom. What we should be doing is we should be filling all the vacancies we can possibly at the bottom that directly impact a student in the classroom. And as we build that capacity, then we get the management jobs put in place if we need
093them. But, what we've done is we've gotten the management jobs. You'll see right now, if you check right now, you go to your human resources, and you look at it, and you'll see management jobs up there posted to manage who? To do what? So, we've got to cut that out. We've got to be good stewards of it. And lastly, I'll say this, and I trust me, I don't want to bore you cuz I think we need to have some kind of entertainment, like music or something, at like a half time for these board meetings cuz this can be boring for our student board members and our families who don't understand the operations of this business. But, we need to do this. Dr. Towns, I heard a story, and I love the way you scooted through
094Hartford. And you were going all over the place. I'm seeing you all downtown. I'm seeing you at schools. Then I hear Dr. Towns who steps in and coaches a team and tells the coach to sit down. And then he goes in the classroom, picks up a book, and he just starts reading and start doing the job of what the person who was supposed to do the job is doing. He's He He takes over. Well, you need to start doing that with your your cabinet, Dr. Towns, and all your directors so they they can show true investment. Not just coming into schools, taking over administrative duties so that so they can sit back. No, no, no. We want you to put some skin in the game. We want you to pick up a a broom and
095sweep. We want you to pick up a book and read. We want you to pick up a rag and wash. Because if you can tell somebody else to do it for what you get paid here by the community, you should be able to do it yourself just like you do. You know, I appreciate the fact that your father worked in the in in the in the what? Industry. Yes. Ford Motors. Because you learn humility. Something that we need to teach all of our people who have these special degrees. That they need to just show a little bit more humility so that they can win the confidence of the community and win the confidence of the people to support the vision that we need in order to not keep driving this into a deficit. So, I'm
096I'm asking I'm asking I've already asked the governor and the mayor what they need to do. But, I'm asking that you release your cabinet and your directors and all of them to say, "Put some skin in the game. We want to see you at the ground level actually doing the work with the people so that they understand what the work is. So that they understand who when they make a cut or who when they decide to make a decision or who it impacts and who it affects because they largely make the decisions that force the budget to make all of these expensive purchases. So, we we we really need for them to to take this board's leadership, your leadership, and be real with it and put some real skin in the game and show us
097by leadership how we're supposed to move in the future in our in in in this direction. I appreciate your time and I appreciate you listening to me. And that concludes public comment. I would like to thank everyone for um coming out and sharing um your words on this evening both in person and on line part five of our meeting tonight. We're going into executive session to discuss pending litigation. We will be taking with us the board will be taking with us Superintendent Townsel, um Sheri Davis Googe, Jose Colon, attorneys Jonathan Harding and Lori Miseric, and Miss Santiago if she wishes to join us. One moment. I'm looking for the board um attorney's name. Ann McCarthy. Ann McCarthy? Um in in lieu of Jonathan Harding. Um He's to Okay. And do I have a motion to
098enter executive session? So moved. Second. All those in favor of entering executive session signify by saying I. I. Anyone don't want to go? We are and we're going to dismiss from executive um session. The eyes have it. Thank you for joining us and have a good night.