March 23, 2026 - Board of Education Meeting

001Good evening everyone. I call this meeting of the Stratford Board of Education to order at 7:15 on March 23rd, 2026. Miss Marcus, can you please confirm quorum? It's confirmed. All right. Uh quorum is confirmed. Mr. Cormier, could you please lead us in our mission and the Pledge of Allegiance? The Stratford Board of Education The mission of the Stratford school community is to support the growth of the whole student through a challenging and inspiring educate inspiring education within a safe and inclusive environment. Pledge 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, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. This evening we're going to have some spotlights across our district and I start at the podium here with Miss

002Worga. We are going to honor Miss Lea DeStefano. You got to press the button. There you go. Done. Sorry, this evening we're going to honor Miss Lea DeStefano. Miss DeStefano has been named Connecticut's Association of Schools CAS Assistant Principal of the Year. An incredible and well-deserved honor that recognizes her outstanding leadership and dedication to her school community. She leads with compassion, high expectations, and deep commitment to students and staff. Her ability to build a strong relationships, support positive school climate, and keep her students at the center of her decisions truly sets her apart. We are proud of her and grateful for her impact she makes each and every day in Stratford Public Schools. CONGRATULATIONS, MISS DESTEFANO. >> [applause] >> JOIN YOUR MOM, OKAY? NOW, IF WE could please have Dr. Michelle Eckler and her family

003head up to the stage. Dr. Eckler was recently named one of the top 10 directors of instructional technology for 2026 by Education Technology Insights, a national recognition that highlights her exceptional leadership and impact in the field. We got a sneak peek of the publication. It's going to come out officially in May. I know, isn't it awesome? So good. As shared in the publication, Dr. Eckler leads with a clear vision that technology should support education, not replace it. Through her work, she has established strong expectations for responsible AI use, supported professional learning for staff, and helped create a thoughtful, balanced approach to technology integration across our district. Her leadership ensures that technology enhances learning, empowers educators, and keeps students' experience at the center of everything we do. We're incredibly proud to have her in Stratford and

004grateful for the innovation and care she brings to our schools each and every day. So, CONGRATULATIONS, DR. ECKLER. >> [applause] >> I HAVE TO SAY STRATFORD IS PRETTY LUCKY. We have pretty amazing staff and we are blessed to be able to honor them and the best part of it is both of you really do not want to be in the spotlight. You guys [laughter] come to work every day to do the very best you can and you support so many students. So, I appreciate the opportunity to embarrass you a little bit here, to meet your families, and just to thank you for all the great work you do. So, if I could ask the board to come out and go around them, I want to get a picture. >> [laughter] [laughter] >> Ready? Tell us

005when you guys Now. Okay. >> [cough] [applause] >> We do not expect you guys to sit for the whole time, so you Okay, next we have our public forum. We don't have any public speakers this evening, so we will move on to our student representation and we will hear first from Julie Julia Tedesco from BUNNELL HIGH SCHOOL. >> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS JULIA Tedesco and it is a pleasure to speak with you all again this evening. Tonight, I will begin by sharing important updates and developments within Bunnell's academic departments. Starting in the STEM department, leading up to the school day SAT, 52 members of the junior class took advantage of Bunnell's after school SAT prep course, attending at least one session to prepare for the March 19th exam. In addition,

006math teachers have been have been providing consistent practice and support in class to help students become more familiar with the format of the test and feel confident going into it. In the science department, we are excited to welcome a full new a new full-time biology teacher to support students during this transition. Other science teachers have been also taking on additional classes to cover an open chemistry position, ensuring that students continue learning with certified instructors and experience minimal disruption. Lastly, nearly 80 students participated in a field trip to the University of Connecticut in March as part of their Early College Experience or ECE coursework in the medical field with Miss Ferguson. Next, in the humanities department, journalism is currently reformatting its tran- traditional newspaper into a news magazine. With the support of Mr. Fiori, students embraced

007the opportunity to rebrand and have created a beautiful new publication that is nearly ready for release. Several students also submitted essays for State Representative Shakes' Women in Politics Essay Contest and we are excitedly waiting the results. We'd like to thank thank our civics teachers for encouraging student participation. BHS continues to log our yearbook with yet another recognition from Walsworth Publishing, including a segment in their Possibilities publication. BHS will receive a national recognition and will be awarded a banner for display. Walsworth cited their creativity, leadership, and journalistic integrity as top reasons for the recognition. Congratulations to our staff and advisor, Mrs. Heather Martire. Curriculum revision is currently underway in 9th and 10th grade classes. Teachers are looking forward to upcoming curriculum-based professional development on Wednesday to support this work. In alignment with district initiatives, there has

008also been an increased focus on collaboration in the classroom, particularly through student discourse. Book clubs and Socratic seminars are also becoming a strong presence in ELA classrooms. Finally, we would also like to recognize Mrs. Michelle Scatamacchia, a social studies teacher, for representing the Women's Empowerment Club at the Community Culture and Climate Committee meeting. Her continued work towards fostering communities outcomes has had a mean- Wow, I cannot speak. Sorry. [laughter] Has had a meaningful impact on students both academically and socially. Next, in our school counseling department, ongoing scholarship opportunities continue to be posted on the school counseling Google Classroom and students are encouraged to regularly check their cohorts' page for updates and details. Additionally, Bunnell High School scholarship application will be released soon to seniors via email. Seniors who are interested should be sure to complete

009and submit an application. Selected students will then be invited to an awards ceremony at the end of May where they will be recognized for their achievements. Several student support groups are also currently underway, co-facilitated by school counselors, the school psychologists, and a restorative tutor. These sessions focus on helping students manage stress and anxiety while also strengthening executive functioning skills. All right. Moving on to our fine arts department, we would like to thank everyone who came out to see The Wizard of Oz. This was their most successful show since before COVID-19 with an incredible turnout and an amazing experience for our student performers. They also loved having the main characters visit Johnson House, Second Hill Lane, Eli Whitney, and Chapel Street elementary schools the week before the show. It was a great way to connect with

010the younger students in our community. They are also looking forward to the Halo Awards this coming May. For athletics, congratulations to our girls' and boys' basketball teams as well as Stratford High this weekend. Brady Ricken scored his a thousandth career point during the CIAC D2 quarterfinals at Trumbull. The girls' basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in over 10 years while the boys' basketball team finished as the runner-up in Division II. My L Pierre-Paul finished second in the New England wrestling championships and Matilda Hope as a state champion in women's wrestling. Spring sports are underway and the Russian delegation visited Bunnell today to observe our unified sports program. Finally, for extracurriculars, Bunnell student government recently held its second blood drive of the school year collecting 16 units of blood from both students

011and faculty. This effort also helped qualifying members of the organization become eligible for $500 in scholarships. In addition, in collaboration with DECA, student government is helping to plan and support the annual Battle of the Classes event which will take place on April 10th. Our CNA pre-nursing program continues to make strong progress as students are currently wrapping up their clinical experiences while still actively engaged in the program. They are continuing to practice essential exams and master the hands-on skills they have developed throughout the year. Today, students also signed up for their upcoming certification exams marking an important step as they continue forward in the program. The Women's Empowerment Club of Bunnell High School is hosting its fifth annual Women's Leadership meeting grade on March 27th. The event connects our students along with some local elementary school

012students with women from a variety of careers across Connecticut who share their experiences, challenges, and advice. Through small group conversations, students will gain insight into different career paths and build confidence in seeing how their own strengths can lead to future opportunities. On Saturday, March 21st, the BHS Interact Club volunteered their efforts at Calegate and the Stratford Rotary Road Race and they are currently planning their annual Easter egg hunt in Second Hill Lane. Finally, LNS and MLS will be attending the Great Debate on April 2nd. Thank you again for the opportunity to share these updates on behalf of our students. As we head into the upcoming break, we hope everyone has a safe, restful, and well-deserved time off. We appreciate your continued support of the Bunnell and Stratford community. >> [applause] >> THANK YOU SO MUCH,

013JULIA. MANY OF US had the opportunity to go see The Wizard of Oz. It was awesome and we're looking forward to see Increase this weekend. Next we have Grace Myra Dominguez FROM STRATFORD HIGH. >> [applause] >> GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND GUESTS. My name is Grace Myra Dominguez. I'm currently a senior at Stratford High School and I'm excited to share what Stratford High has been up to over the last few weeks. Stratford High School is honored to announce that our very own history teacher, Kathy Mack, has been awarded the SCRC State Education Resource Center George A. Coleman Excellence and Equity Award. The statewide award recipients will be selected based on their steadfast and unwavering action in the following areas: advocating for children and families of color, taking risks in conversation and

014action regarding issues of equity for racially, linguistically, and culturally diverse groups, galvanizing individuals and coalitions towards equitable action, engaging [clears throat] the diverse needs of members in an of an education community and reconciling them towards a shared vision, and furthering the exchange of information that affects thinking and affects conviction on matters of equity. Stratford High School celebrates Ms. Mack as a change maker within our education community. Well done. Congratulations to Coach Swaller and to the SHS boys basketball team. Unfortunately, the Red Devils lost to SMSA yesterday in the state championships at Mohegan Sun and finished the season with a record of 21 wins and five losses. This team showed that determination, perseverance, and talent leads to great things. The entire SHS community thanks them for an amazing season. Congratulations to Bunnell as well as both

015teams represented the town of Stratford in the state championships yesterday. Additionally, today we learned that Coach Tim Swaller and our boys basketball program has been selected to receive the Harold A. Swaffield Sportsmanship Award from the Fairfield County Board of Approved Basketball Officials. This recognition is a significant honor. The award presented annually The award is presented annually to high school basketball teams in the Southwest Conference and surrounding areas that best exemplify outstanding character, ethics, and sportsmanship. It acknowledges not only the efforts of the players and coaching staff, but also the conduct and support of the entire school community including our fans. On Friday, March 6th, junior SHS juniors attended their junior ring dance at Penfield Pavilion on the beach in Fairfield. It was a perfect night and 180 students and their guests celebrated this long-standing tradition.

016On Friday, March 13th, marked the annual hosting of blood drive. SHS students and faculty donated 50 pints of blood to the Connecticut and Rhode Island Blood Bank doing their part to help ease the blood shortage we are facing. St. Patrick's Day also marks the annual tradition of the SHS band marching in the New York City parade. Our students and director, Doc Ryan, braved the cold the cold temperatures to march in the 265th anniversary of the celebration. Congratulations to Stratford High School Julia Williams who was selected as the winner of the Connecticut General Assembly Women in Politics Essay Contest for the school year. State Representative Caitlin Chek will be at SHS tomorrow to present Julia with her recognition. The Stratford High STEM Department has been busy. This past Thursday, our math team traveled to Southern Connecticut

017State University to compete and while they didn't take home the top prize, they performed admirably and had a wonderful time representing our school. The momentum continues this Thursday, March 26th, when a few SHS students head to the University of New Haven to take part in a science competition. We wish them the best of luck. Looking further ahead, mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 8th, when SHS will host a STEM night in the cafeteria featuring exciting demonstrations and hands-on activities for all. We're looking forward to a fantastic evening. The students in our pre-nursing CNA course are nearing the end of their clinical rotations at Lord Chamberlain Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and classes have started registering for their CNA exams in May with the help of Mrs. Rosenberg where they hope to earn their CNA certification. Good

018luck to all of our future nurses and medical professionals. On Wednesday, March 18th, 2026, Stratford High School students from Michelle Letty's personal finance class competed in the 2026 JA Stock Market Challenge Competition for the Lower Fairfield County Valley Bridgeport area at the University of Connecticut in Stamford. There were 37 teams competing from the area. Stratford High School had four teams competing. Stratford High's Code Red team came in second place and qualified for the regional competition. The team consisted of Gregory Cimo, James Russo, Gabriel Chee, and Zachary Spence. Students reviewed their stock portfolio and stock list keeping an eye out for breaking news, monitored the exchange board and leader board, made trades through a floor trader, and reviewed their updated portfolios throughout the competition. These students demonstrated core competencies of the portrait of a graduate by

019transforming theoretical knowledge into high-stakes action. As critical thinkers, they analyzed real-time data and breaking news to make rapid-fire investment decisions. They were effective communicators by coordinating strategies and executing trades through floor traders in a chaotic environment and they were also collaborative leaders delegating tasks and trusting one another's insights under pressure. In addition, by navigating the complexities of a shifting exchange board, the students proved to be adaptable learners and finally, financially literate citizens showing the exact resilience and technical proficiency needed to succeed in the modern global economy as they head towards competing in the greater Fairfield Fairfield County regional competition on April 22nd, 2026 at Fairfield U. In our theater department, our students are starting tech week as they prepare for what will be an amazing few days with their spring musical, Grease. It will be

020a weekend full of amazing music, laughs, and truly incredible talent. Performances will take place Friday, March 27th at 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday, March 28th at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Make sure to purchase your tickets now. From historic seasons, new awards, to preparing for life after high school and showcasing amazing talent, Stratford High students are well on their way to the end of a very successful year. Thank you to the board for the opportunity to share all the amazing things that are going on AT STRATFORD HIGH. >> [applause] >> NEXT, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN UPDATE FROM THE STATE Board of Education, Ms. Kristen Record. >> [applause] >> I WISH I GOT THIS TWO MINUTES OF CLAPPING FROM my like students when I start class. >> [laughter] >> All right. So, thank you again

021for the opportunity to give you some updates from the State Board of Education and the Department of Education. Our last State Board of Education meeting was on March 4th. At that meeting, the Commissioner shared that she had recently participated in a Chiefs Round Table discussion with the US Department of Education in which they shared with the state Chiefs their key priorities for discretionary grants from the federal government. Those four areas are evidence-based literacy, expanding education choice, meaningful learning, and career pathways and workforce readiness. The Commissioner also shared that she felt that Connecticut was situated very well specifically with evidence-based literacy and our work in career pathways and workforce readiness initiatives to be able to hopefully compete and receive some of those federal grants since those are the four priority areas. We received as you're now

022coming to be aware of on a monthly basis a special education systems review. We got a lot of information about compliance data and complaints filed over special education issues. Following a national trend, Connecticut received a 29% increase in complaints filed to the department from the 24 school year into the 25 school year. And as of the end of February, we're seeing a 20% increase over the 2025 numbers. And again, this tracks to a national trend with compliance issues around special education. The department implemented a new tracking mechanism that they explained to us back in August of 2025. This is insurance that compliance timelines are now filed or now followed with better transparency. One of the things that they also shared was that a new process is that complaints are now assigned to an investigator within

0231 to 2 business days, which is a vast improvement over what had been happening previous to August of 25. They shared with us that from July of 2025 through the end of February, the state has received 189 complaints, of which 76 were either dismissed or withdrawn. 79 were resolved either with or without corrective action, and so that left about 33 that are in active investigation at the state level right now. I personally found very interesting that the top five categories where there is non-compliance in school districts, the number one was failure to implement the IEP. Number two was the development, review, and revision of the IEP. Number three was notice of consent. Number four was progress reporting, and number five was homebound instruction complaints. And so that again is from state-level data. So we'll be

024getting a report and following up on each of the areas as the department goes through to improve their sped systems over the upcoming year. We also received a report on the effectiveness of the Alliance District program. You may recall that last year in legislation, there was a bill to end the Alliance District program. And at that time, the department was quite insistent with the legislature that reminding them that they had asked for a report on the effectiveness of the Alliance District programming, and that perhaps they should wait to receive the report before changing and enacting legislation. So that bill was put on hold, and so the report was finally issued, and we received that at our March meeting. Some of the key findings were that overwhelmingly that ECS funds directed specifically to boards of education

025worked, that Alliance districts were using those funds very effectively to improve academic achievement, chronic absenteeism numbers declining in districts, and also an improvement in graduation rates. It was also stated in the report that while the Alliance portion of the ECS grant to boards of education has increased, the non-Alliance portion of ECS has remained flat funded. Therefore, what's been happening across the state is that Alliance funds are now increasingly being used to support the core operations of districts rather than the initial intent, which was innovative ideas to improve student outcomes. Overall across the state, the data show that Alliance districts spend approximately 10% less per pupil than non-Alliance districts. Overall, it was also commented that the department itself felt that their supports were spread very thin across the 36 Alliance districts, and that was seen both

026from the vantage point of the department, but also reports from Alliance districts themselves. Alliance districts reported that the CSDE supports were overwhelmingly beneficial, but sometimes burdensome, even though they were beneficial supports. And then the other interesting thing that was discussed was that improving Alliance districts are prevented from exiting the Alliance program by the existing state law. So the recommendations in the report were to reimagine Alliance districts as opportunity network districts, and to continue directing a portion of the ECS grant directly to boards of education as opposed to allocating it to the town itself. The report recommended that the CSDE support fewer districts directly with in-person visitations and in-person help, but desk monitor the remaining districts, and to use existing data systems rather than requiring Alliance districts to do additional data collection outside of what is

027already being collected. There is a recommendation to consolidate the priority districts into this opportunity network, to establish a single, and I love this part, logical set of rules and time periods to identify but also have a phased exit plan for districts. It recommended incentivizing districts in the opportunity network to use portions of their grant for state-directed evidence-based programs, but also if the state decides to move forward with this proposal for the opportunity network, that it should be a staged implementation process that takes place 1 or 2 years down the road from the legislation being enacted to allow for time for planning not only for districts, but also for the department. At the meeting in March, we the state board also approved the emergency educator certifications for the next school year. That's something I reported to

028you a year ago that we voted to approve. They're emergency emergency general certificates for PK to 8 and also grades 4 through 12. They allow educators with a professional certificate to teach literally any subject or any grade level within that band, exclusive of special education, TESOL, or bilingual education. And I was actually able to speak quite personally about that because I am serving under that endorsement right now as in order to teach chemistry because of our positions that Julie mentioned that were open, and it actually was elucidated a quite a bit of conversation about how the department is not really tracking how these emergency educator certifications are being used, and I strongly advocated that they start to see what is the purpose as opposed to are we trying to, like in this district, we are

029using them to fill vacant positions. The department seemed to be of the opinion that they were being used to fill like 0.2 or 0.4 FTEs, and I argued that I would bet the data showed the opposite. So I'm now expecting to get a new report on that since I asked them to collect more data >> [laughter] >> and bring it back. And then the third emergency certificate is for teachers of English language learners for PK to 12. That allows a certified world language teacher or a bilingual or TESOL teacher with a professional certificate to serve as a bilingual or TESOL educator again in that entire grade span as opposed to elementary or secondary. So that was seen as very important and necessary for the state. Hot off the presses also is that the state has

030decided to extend the testing window because of all the snowstorms that have happened and inclement weather. So Smarter Balanced and NGSS testing has now been extended. The window will now close on Friday, June 5th, and K-3 literacy assessments, that has also been extended a week and will end on Friday, the 12th of June. The last time I was here, I had a request for written things and notes, so I brought you presents. So pass that around. So the first packet that I'm passing around, if you remember, we discussed last month the ominous Senate bill 298, which was that very, very large bill that after the legislature came into session was passed through very rapidly and signed into law by the governor. This is a summary that the commissioner issued, excuse me, at the very end

031of last week. My own personal notes, the little stars that are there are the specific things that I mentioned in my report to you last year so our last month. So if you're looking for information about that, I do want to call your attention cuz I know that I've already seen social media posts about it, that if you flip to page three, you will see the information about the kindergarten waivers. And I know that that's a very important topic to be educating our community about right now. The second thing that I have for you is pass that around. A listing of the status of education committee bills that have come out of the committee as of last Friday. Um there's a huge list there and at the very top of the page I've given you

032information that is how you can directly access the verbage for all of those bills, but I do want to call your attention to a couple of specific ones since I brought them up in last month's meeting. So in number 15 on the packet, which is the school governor school funding bill, which is House Bill 5002. Um most of that is related to all kinds of different funding that is being sent to appropriations, but that's the bill that contains foundational ECS grants. And so I wanted to let you know that the proposal right now is that the bill will increase the foundational grant starting in fiscal year 27 by an amount that is equivalent to either the increase in personal income or the increase in inflation, whichever is greater. And then fiscal year 28, the year

033before would be used as the foundation and then an increase would either be one based on one or the other, whichever is greater. Um in number 16 on the chart House Bill 5033, that was the governor's budget recommendations. You'll see there that it was passed forward substitute language. Basically everything in the bill says within available appropriations, which is why it's being sent to appropriations. Um the two cell phone bills, which are number 18 and 21 on the list, were consolidated and substitute language is passed forward. What I found very interesting is that in addition to cell phones, the bill also talks about laptops as being a personal electronic device. And so I know that in lots of schools we have issues not only with iPads, but personal laptops coming into buildings. And this bill would

034prohibit not just cell phone, but also iPads and personal laptop computers. Um the consolidated and substitute language does address the need for access to these devices if it's related to an IEP, a 504 or medical issues. And the bill also has allowances for educational purposes as would be defined by the local Board of Education. So those caveats that we talked about a month ago were all put together in the substitute language. Um House Bill 5214, which is number 23 on the list, sent to appropriations. This is the school meals bill. That would provide free school breakfast to all students and then provide free school lunches to all students currently eligible for free or reduced. So that's where you would want to track that bill. And then of particular note to the State Board of Education,

035HB House Bill 5217, which is number 26 on the list, was held. This was the act to establish the commissioner as the department head of the State Department of Education. This was the bill that was seen as the State Board of Education conversion bill to convert the board into an advisory board rather than being the department head. Um so there was lots of confusion in the committee and lots of testimony and other things that were said that were not necessarily accurate. Lots of people asked lots of questions. There were lots of concerns and ultimately the bill was held back. So that's where we stand with those particular things. Again, I've told I've given you the information on the front of the page that you can see for yourself at the URL. You can click to

036see the language of the bills, also the substitute language. Um and then just in closing, our next State Board of Education meeting is next week on April 1st. Not a joke. It's kind of funny. And then just again the reminder that I personally will not be attending that meeting because we do have our NEASC accreditation visit at the Mel. So I'm staying in building because I'm one of the accreditation coordinators for that. And with that I will say thank you and I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. Are there any questions for Miss Records? Miss Zapata. Going back to the special education system review and the increase in complaints throughout the state, will they be breaking that down by county or town at some point to see where the complaints have increased the

037most? Yes, this was just preliminary data that they were sharing out with us. We will probably be looking at it not only in terms of county, but also alliance versus non-alliance districts and district size and demographics. They were very concerned with um equitable access to the mechanisms at the State Department because that was a large complaint from parents that parents felt that only savvy people got the results. And so that is part of the process. I think it's of particular interest that there are 33 investigations that are ongoing and I I expect that as those get resolved, the bigger issue is where are those those actual complaints that need to be investigated? Where are they coming from and is there a locus? And if there is a locus, I would guess that the State Board

038will get involved in that. Thank you. You're welcome. Are there any further questions? Okay, Mr. Fiorello. Um you mentioned that there was a nationwide increase in these complaints. Is there a a lobbying group or an advocacy group that's sparked this >> [snorts] >> large increase or is it did things just get that much worse in those short years? I'm personally not aware of any particular lobbying group or special interest group, but I think that as we have come out of the pandemic and as school funding across the country has, you know, been much stricter and and harder and all of those things, that people are seeing that their kids aren't getting the services that they should, that they are entitled to to get. And I think that particularly in the past year or so, that

039with the whole idea of dismantling the US Department of Education, that that has scared a lot of caregivers and families into thinking, well, who is now going to monitor compliance issues around this. And I think maybe it's prompting people to pay a bit more close attention to what is going on at a local level because you know, if you listen to what's in the news media, it doesn't really seem like the federal government's going to be playing a strong role in those compliance issues. Interesting. Thank you. Any further questions? Seeing none, thank you so much Miss Records. Thank you for our gift. We appreciate [applause] it and we do. Lady, you all have them all the time. You get them. We enjoy them. All right, next we have a presentation and update from our State

040Representative, Mr. Phil Young Shay. Nice try. All right, good evening. Um I don't have a full update. Um I know Chris you did a great job giving like the synopsis of the the play to play of everything that's been happening up in Hartford, but first I want to say thank you to all of you on the Board of Ed for signing the letter of support for the education bill, specifically HB 5002 and then SB 7, which addresses the need to have the ECS formula looked at again, readjusted and hopefully we will be able to figure that out. Um in the meantime, there was a press conference last week. So there is a lot of movement and support for from the house side to utilize some of the funding that's available, the surplus funds, um between

041100 to 170 million dollars to take that money and to have funding come back into municipalities to help with this current fiscal year, which we know for Stratford, no surprise, would make hopefully a big impact, a positive impact for towns as every every single municipal is grappling right now with their town budget. So when we have an update, the entire delegation, we, you know, are advocating for that to come back in and hopefully whatever we are able to receive does make an impact enough to help offset what the town side of the budget is dealing with right now. But I'm here today because it is Women's History Month and actually sent I give credit where credit is due. So, Senator Kelly had had a Women's History Month essay contest in the schools and after he

042moved on, he's now judge. We did not have that. So, gave it a go and happy to report that we received actually received nine submissions. The topic was within Women's History Month why women should run for political office at the local, state, federal level. As the essays came in, it was a blind evaluation if you will. One of my staffers printed them out. There was no name. We didn't know anything about We didn't know anything about the student who had submitted it. And in the end, there were eight young women and there was one young man who had submitted an essay, but the winner is Julia Williams who is a student at STRATFORD HIGH SCHOOL. >> [applause] >> AND I WAS VERY impressed and taken aback by many of the essays that came in and

043you know, the the overarching theme and it's always interesting for me as I'm sure it is for all of you and the audience members also cuz you're in education is to hear directly from students about what their thoughts concerns, ideas are and the overlapping theme was lack of representation at like the higher higher levels and the importance and significance of having representation at all levels of government. So, Julia was not able to make it tonight. So, I get to go tomorrow to Stratford High and I will give her she will be receiving a citation from the state for her accomplishment. She will also be receiving a letter from our Lieutenant Governor, Susan Bysiewicz and the winner of the contest received $50 to the Drusilla Wheeler. So, that was really good. That was really good motivation.

044So, without further ado, I am just going to read what she submitted. So, it says women run in political office at the local, state, and federal level because women's voices matter. For a time, politics have been mostly led by men and this has caused many decisions to be made without fully understanding women's experiences. When women are in office, they bring ideas and different perspectives which help create laws that represent everyone. First, women understand issues that directly affect them such as health care, education, and family life which can look very different depending on everyone's experience. Women leaders can speak from knowledge making policies more fair and realistic. For example, decisions about child care and Roe vs. Wade. These examples are stronger when women are part of the conversation. Without women, important details can be missed when

045dealing with strong topics. Second, having women in office could inspire others especially young girls who need to see that political leaders can be women, too. When they see women running cities, states, or even the country it shows them that their dreams can come true. Also, the thought of women being able to be in politics could build confidence for people who don't have a lot of confidence. This could inspire the next generation to start getting involved in things they believe in and things that can help the community. Another reason why women should run for office is that women tend to do work as a team rather than by themselves. Women leaders are able to listen, compromise, and find solutions since politics are very very much divided today. Having political leaders who are willing to work together

046and as a team make the city, state, or country more stronger. This is not about being better than men. It is about being equal to men. If women are in government, it would help create a more balanced society because women make up half of our country. It only makes sense that women should have a role to play in politics since this is true. When the government takes into consideration the people that they are supporting it Oh. that they are supporting, it makes people feel a sense of trust and fairness in the government. They are also more likely to feel heard and respected when a woman is in office. Some people say that politics can be too difficult and challenging for women. That is not necessarily true because no matter your gender, running for office can

047be challenging, but that should never stop women. Overcoming hard challenges can make any leader stronger. When people believe in themselves, they accomplish their goals and that is what women do. Women already have shown that they can handle politics and they should be treated no differently than men do. It should be normal that women run for office because women should not have to prove that something is too hard to face and that men could do better because some can't. In conclusion, women can run for office no matter what because women have important opinions. They inspire others and create a more equal government. We as a country need more women to speak up even if it is just a sentence. Women in politics are the future because when women lead, the country grows stronger. Politics should include

048everyone and that starts with more women stepping up to lead and take control as women. AND THAT WAS HER. >> [applause] >> SO, CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN TO JULIA. Thank you so much for you know, your patience in coordinating. I'm really happy to hear that the two students had referenced it in their update. I think that the two students who came did excellent job. They always do their public I'm always so impressed by the public speaking skills of our young people here in Stratford and I'm always interested to hear what they have to say. So, I do have a a thank you for submitting and participating because I do think that it is important when we have students that are, you know, doing something that's perhaps outside of what they would normally do to be acknowledged and

049I do think that all of these amazing people have the potential to be future leaders. Maybe here in Stratford, maybe somewhere in the state or who knows, but congratulations to everyone. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> YOU CAN GIVE IT TO DR. KATHY. HE'LL THANKS. YES. UM the essays that were presented that were presented to you that you got that you judged on is it possible for you to put those essays on your state representative page? I have them. >> Without their names. Like names redacted, but I think it'd be interesting to read. I will ask. I I I hear you. I'm very cognizant that not everyone may be comfortable with that. So, I think many of you know I'm a very like I won't answer your question directly. If if there's one student who is

050uncomfortable, then I won't be posting any of them. But, that's you know, not to say that perhaps you know, we'd love to do a round table with some of the students at the high schools and the middle schools just to hear directly from them because what they think and what they care about matters a lot to me. So, we will figure that out, but we'll see we'll see what happens next year. I think we'll have a good amount of interest as well. Thank you. Any other questions? Was not expecting to take questions. Okay. I'm not apologizing. >> [laughter] >> That was an easy one. All right. And next month, Kristen will probably be able to come and give give an update. We're going to be in like the actually almost the end of session because

051it's a short session. So, hoping that we have a positive update for the town and the ECS funding and what that will mean for our students and teachers and all of our residents here in Stratford. So, thank you all for your advocacy. Thank you all for your work. Thank you for volunteering. I don't think people hear that enough that you're all volunteers and I just really appreciate all the work and dedication and time that you commit to doing this and again in working together in support. Thank you so much for >> [applause] >> Okay, we're moving on to our executive report. This gorgeous for the superintendent report. Tonight, we have so much to celebrate and be thankful for. First, I want to give a huge shout-out to the boys on both Stratford High and Bunnell.

052What they accomplished this this weekend at Mohegan Sun was incredible. I was very lucky to be able to be there to see it. I did a little research and out of roughly 180 boys and girls teams across Connecticut, only 10 boys teams make it to the state finals and two of those 10 teams came from Stratford. So, that's something pretty amazing that our entire community should be really proud of. And it wasn't just the teams on the court. Our unified team had the opportunity to shine twice during halftime and our cheer, dance, and step teams brought amazing energy and school pride. It truly felt like Stratford was on full display. It was amazing. So, thank you and I'm thank you to all of you that came out. There were many board members that were there.

053I also want to shout out the Saturday night events. Saturday night we were at Bunnell for drumline and winter guard and it blew me away. And there were a couple people that were there that came up including the mayor who just had no idea that we had that much musical talent in Stratford and so I really appreciate our volunteers who went out to see that as well. Um Speaking of volunteers Tonight I want to take a moment to recognize that March is Board of Education Appreciation Month. It's important for the community to remember that our board members are volunteers. They give countless hours to support our students and schools. They're not just here for the once-a-month meeting. But they're here at events. They're in our buildings. They're judging our science fairs. They're attending graduations and

054performances and they're advocating both locally and at the state level. And they do this work because they care deeply about the community, our kids and we are incredibly grateful for that. So tonight we want to say thank you. So please accept a small token of our appreciation. Now you can look at your presents and you can get your your certificates. Um a small token of our appreciation uh for all that you do. I told them tell everybody. Yeah. And not what you Sometimes Yeah. All of that. You don't pick favorites. You're all the best. Um but we really do appreciate everything you do and you know, in the last few weeks I've had a zillion venture conventions and everywhere I go I see your faces. And I just really appreciate the fact that you give

055so much of your time to this community because you care about the kids and because you want to make sure that they have the best they can have. So we really do appreciate you not just this month but every month. Okay. Now I have to get to a little meat of the business for tonight. So you already heard Ms. Record speak a little bit about kindergarten entry. So I wanted to briefly address the recent changes to kindergarten entry age law. The new legislation raises the eligibility age meaning that children must turn five on or before September 1st in order to enroll in kindergarten. They gave districts the opportunity to choose this coming year whether we wanted to continue with the waiver process or whether we wanted to move forward already. Next year there is no

056choice. There won't There couldn't even be a waiver process. Our district has chosen not to move forward with the waiver process for multiple reasons. I want to start first putting on my other hat when I used to work in the special education department. There is no assessment that assesses true readiness for kindergarten. So because districts were allowed to choose a random assessment, there was no consistency around the state for us to be able to say you were truly ready for kindergarten. All of the data and statistics show that when the students are given a little extra time before they enter, they are better prepared. So we know that it is a financial hardship for parents to not be able to have their students enter immediately, but we also know when they graduate having had that

057little bit of extra time really matters and impacts them in a positive way. So what we are committing to is to to align our policy with this new requirement beginning for the upcoming school year and we will not be offering waivers as we want to ensure consistent development and appropriate start for all of our youngest learners. We're making recommendations at this upcoming policy meeting so you will see a shift in our current policy. We understand that this shift for families can be challenging but we're committed to working with families clearly and helping them find appropriate preschool options before they enter into kindergartens. We want to be clear about that. We put it in the newsletter as well so that everybody has an understanding of the direction in which the district is moving. Ms. Record always

058steals my thunder when she gets up to speak so I was also going to make sure that everybody here knew and understood that you most likely will not get your assessment results because they have extended the timeline. We won't have the results before your last meeting. So I will send them to you over the summer and we will review them in August. Um It just and we need the extra time so it's it's understandable why the state gave a little bit of extra time for us to be able to do that. So just know that normally we come to you in June and we tell you the preliminary results and we go over all of those things. That is not likely to happen this year. And that concludes Thank Ms. Burgess. Does anyone have any

059questions for Ms. Burgess? Seeing none, we'll move on to our chief operating officer report, Ms. Kim M. Jeanie. Thank you very much. I also wanted to give you an update on a couple of the bills that are impacting education. Obviously it's been a really busy session but there were a couple in particular that I've been paying close attention to. With regard to HB 5033 specifically relating to the magnet school tuition cap, I had mentioned that a few probably about a month and a half ago that we were concerned because the removal of the cap in state funding could ultimately add a significant amount of money back to our budget. The one good thing I've learned is that any change that potentially can take effect will not in fiscal year '27. So it's for subsequent years.

060So we'll continue to closely monitor that. In addition, we did talk a little bit about the school meals and funding for it and I think we just need to clarify that legislation would provide breakfast to students at no cost. And it would also provide lunch to students who are eligible for the reduced meal price. They did something similar with ARPA money and the SR money a few years back so it would not be free lunch for everyone. Only those students who either qualify for free lunch will continue or those that are currently qualified for reduced price meals. So again, they are both still being discussed. The other item is of course we're all closely watching the calculation adjustments for the education cost sharing and I did just learn that School and State Finance Project is

061holding a webinar later this week where they are talking about changes in district enrollment, student needs and property values that have actually caused these significant decreases to the towns' ECS grant funds. So I did sign up for that webinar on Wednesday and they are going to talk about how these items impact our town's grant, how they affect efforts to raise the ECS formula's foundation. Uh so I will certainly take really good notes and share any information with you because honestly I mean I've been doing this a long time both on the town and the board side, the ECS is without a doubt one of the most difficult formulas to truly understand and I think that's why there's been so much discussion and so much challenge in trying to really make it more equitable. But stay

062tuned. And lastly, in recognition of board appreciation month, I wanted to add my sincere thanks to each and every one of you as well for countless hours and the dedicated effort you do volunteer to our district. So thank you for all you do. We really do appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Jeanie, does anyone have any questions All right. Seeing none, we'll move on to our assistant superintendent report, Dr. Diorio and Dr. Piazza. Okay, I'm going to handle it this month and there are still We've heard a lot of great things happening tonight on the secondary level. I kind of continue that and reference a lot of our district initiatives that buildings are working towards. First I want to say we are we're pleased that we had a really successful administration of our school

063day SAT last week. As of today, 92% of all juniors had participated and with makeups scheduled for this week, our goal is to get to between 95 [clears throat] and 100% so we're looking pretty good at making that goal. So I thank everyone who helped make that possible. And some of the things that are happening in our middle schools, I want to point out a couple things that are happening over at Wooster in terms of community building. I know they the staff and principal have worked really hard to build community not only within the building but to bridge those gaps between the the families and caregivers. A couple events that they do that have become very popular in working towards that goal are their counselor corners. Those are happening this week and I think they

064happen a few times throughout the year if not monthly. Um and basically they they eighth grade counselors are happening this Wednesday morning at 8:15. Seventh grade counselor corner is Thursday morning at 8:15. They invite parents and caregivers to come in. It's a great way for an opportunity to connect with the school counselors in a small group setting to discuss academic planning, social emotional support and the different school resources that are available to them. So those those have been well attended. I've tried to attend those and and they they seem to be growing in popularity. So, those are great events that are happening and then the annual family data night is now happening next Tuesday. It's been bumped, I think, a couple times due to weather. I attended it last year. It's an annual event. It's

065It's designed, again, to build transparency. It's designed to help families better understand their children's academic performance, including what their grades mean, what the data from district and state assessments mean when they get those reports at home. So, it's really a valuable opportunity for parents and caregivers to engage directly with school data and and be able to get their questions asked. So, again, that's happening next Tuesday evening at Whispering. Over at Flood, they're doing a lot to elevate student voice. You've heard us talk about that a lot since the summertime. Their peer tutoring program has launched. That's led by their student council and it pairs students who need additional academic support with accomplished peers that are identified by their teachers. So, students helping students, which is great. The student centered initiative builds academic confidence and leadership

066skills. And the the teachers and staff over at Flood Middle School really uh excited to see it take shape. And then also, their debate team, which I think I know they've come before curriculum for for a trip and I think maybe they've visited the board as well. It's a relatively new crew. But we're proud to share that the Flood debate team competed in its first ever out-of-state competition and placed fourth overall, which is pretty impressive. And one of the kids came in fifth out of 90 debaters. So, that was really impressive, too. A remarkable achievement for our students and a testament to their hard work and preparation and the dedication of their coaches and advisors. So, we I just wanted to recognize them. Again, a really a nice way to elevate their voices. And then

067finally, at the high school level, I know you've heard a lot of things tonight, but I wanted to mention a couple things. I know the administration and the staff as well as the students and community members are all taking part in. This Later this week, our Stratford High School will have a POG partnership visit. You've heard of us talk about the Barr Foundation and the work we do there. We collaborate with various districts around the the New England area. It's a great time for reflection and growth and it's Stratford High's turn. We've taken our team to other districts. Now, all the other districts are coming in on Thursday. And really, the visit serves two purposes. It builds a community of practice among the participating schools and it also it allows us to show off our

068progress in incorporating the portrait of the graduate into our curriculum and our planning and our instruction. So, it's used as as a reflective tool. People are going to come in. They're going to offer feedback on on what they see and then you know, Principal DellaPiano and his staff will will use that to help shape the rest of this year and into next year and how to how to improve. It's a great way, also, to you know, we'll get commendations as well as areas that we can continue to improve upon. And then, of course, Bunnell is is going to have their NEASC visit coming up. Is that next week? It is. It is. You just mentioned that. That's right. You just mentioned it. And again, you know, I think people understand that, but if you don't,

069again, a committee comes in. This is our decennial visit for Bunnell and it's a comprehensive evaluation. It takes place every 10 years. And it's really central to maintaining our accreditation standing. They'll conduct interviews. They'll evaluate Bunnell on multiple levels and in multiple areas. And again, provide both commendations and recommendations for improvement. District administrators and staff will participate as part of this process as well students and I believe board members as well. So, it's a it's a significant event for Bunnell and for the district and again, we're grateful for the preparation and effort of the principal and the staff. I know it's a lot. I've been through it as a principal and as a teacher. So, it is something that's that's worthwhile, but does take a lot of work. And then finally, and it was mentioned

070tonight by representative Sheikh, I too you know, I've conducted round tables. I've done it I since last year, I did it twice. I just completed my second round with both students and staff at the secondary level and I know Dr. Dorio does as well at the elementary level. I just completed that today by going to Stratford High. And again, it's it's the probably the most rewarding conversations I have all year talking to the kids. They have a lot to say. They have great perspectives. And they sometimes they shock you with their maturity. And it's really great to hear what impacts them on a daily basis and what they want their administration and teachers to know about their their experiences. So, what I do now is I'll collect all that data to present to you at

071a later date board of ed meeting. And again, I've done round tables with teachers as well. And we've also completed the Panorama surveys. Those just closed. Those are surveys that we give out to community, to staff and to students. So, a lot of data coming your way. Again, they we just closed and I just finished those conversations. So, as we put that all together, we'll be presenting those to you so you can kind of see what's going on and what the opinions are. And again, all that will shape our goals leading into the summertime and into next year. So, we're looking forward to really digging into the data. Do you have any update on our participation rate in Panorama for students? You know, I I did not bring them, but I can I can speak

072in terms of staff and students. I know for staff, we have over 80% for every school. We now we've asked principals to give time during during a faculty meeting to um to staff. And we've also asked the principals to give time for the students to complete it during an advanced period or something to raise. So, I think the student is or at least 70 and higher, which is incredible. I mean, a good survey, you get 30% 40%. That's probably where we are with parents. As we know, the parents are just harder and I I want to make a public apology. I know we sent out a lot of of reminders to parents, but it's only because we want the most data that we can possibly get. We want to make it meaningful for the buildings

073and for the administration for the teachers to to read. But they have been responsive and we do have good percentages for those, too. I'll bring those when I when we bring the data. But they have been very successful. Okay. Does anyone have any questions? Mr. Fiorello. I just have a a quick comment. I know we had a lot of thanks around the table today. I worked in the district before we had assistant superintendents making themselves so available and present in the schools. Um these round tables with the students and staff. And then I got to experience it last year. And it's awesome. I just want to thank you. I mean, this is your ship brought back to the district where it didn't exist before and it's there now. I know surveys have always happened so

074and data and stuff like that. But being there, present and listening matters. And I hear it from teachers. I see it for myself personally. I see it for my self colleagues who text me and tell me stuff. Thank you. I have a question, actually. With the round tables for students, is anyone allowed Any student allowed to participate or do you select the students? I I asked the staff to choose. You know, we asked for a nice, you know, diverse group of students from from all levels and a variety of experiences just to get as much of They tend to be between 10 and 15. Anyone else? They're different every time you go, too. Right. The group I met with yeah, during the mini year >> [cough] >> is different than [clears throat] the one I

075met with at the beginning. All right. Moving on, we'll move to the consent agenda. The chair will entertain a motion to accept the meeting minutes from our March 2nd regular meeting. So moved. Moved by Mr. Cormier. Second. Seconded by Mr. Fiorello. Is there any discussion or corrections to the meeting minutes? I'd like to discuss one thing. I thought of about a lot of things I wanted to say. And one thing that hit me thinking about all this is that I'm a lame duck member of this board for the next year and a half. It's okay. I'm still going to do what I've always done for the betterment of the board for the betterment of the community. But I was disappointed with with the way the appointment of legal counsel was handled without a parent. Normally,

076in our our FQ, request for qualifications, but I just wanted to express my disappointment. Okay. Anybody else have any comments on the minutes? All right. Seeing none, we'll move to a vote. All in favor, say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Next, we move on to items for discussion and action. >> [cough] >> We have our personnel [clears throat] assignments. The chair will entertain a motion for personnel assignments and resignation. May I have a motion? So moved. Moved by Mr. Fiorello. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Miss Pado. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, I will move to a vote. All in favor, say I. I. Opposed? All right. Our personnel assignments and resignations are approved. Next, we move on to budget transfers. There's none this month. And now, we're going to move

077into capital improvement plan. Everyone should have received a copy of the five-year capital improvement plan. This plan has passed the planning planning committee with a favorable recommendation. Once our board passes this, it will move on to the town for their consideration. I am looking for a motion to approve our five-year capital improvement plan. So moved. Moved by Mr. O'Brien. Is there a second? Second. Second by Ms. Zapata. Is there any discussion? Or if Ms. Benji or Ms. Borges wants to say anything on the capital? No, I think All right. Is there any discussion? Just what's happening next on the on the van work? Is that just going to be on hold until So on the back page, you'll see all of the work. There'll be some work done that's essential to the van um to

078make sure that it stays functioning while we finish the process of figuring out renovations or rebuilds. It's 24 million, so Yes. I'm wondering if you wanted to do that right now or all of it right now. >> Well, they won't do all of it. So remember this is a five-year plan. So it's basically listing out for you the things that potentially would have to be done in the next five years. >> All of the funding is in the first column, so Yes. Okay. Thank you. All right. Is there any other questions? Seeing none, we'll move to a vote to advance our capital improvement plan. Do I have a motion? So moved. Moved by Mr. Fiorillo. Is there a second? I'll second. I think so. All right. We'll move to a vote. Sorry. Yeah. Yes. Yes.

079We'll move to a vote. I apologize. All right. All in favor of moving the capital improvement plan? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Passes unanimously. Next we move on to the healthy food certification. Um Ms. Benji, could you walk us through this? Sure. Um each year the Board of Education must approve the healthy food certification. There are federal and state requirements. And in accordance with um Connecticut General Statutes, each board for all public schools participating in the National School Lunch Program, of course that is what we participate in, must certify annually whether the district will follow the Connecticut Nutrition Standards for all foods sold to students separately from reimbursable meals. So districts that choose the healthy food option of the HFC receive additional funding per lunch based on the total number of reimbursable lunches served in that

080year. So accordingly, the board is asked to approve each of these motions, the first of which is basically um certifying that all food items offered for sale to students in schools will in fact follow all the nutritional guidelines and standards. And the second motion is to be certain that any combined food and beverage exemptions that are adhered to will of course occur with any event occurring after the end of the regular school day or on a weekend. Then it states to the sale is at the location of the event, and the food and beverage items are not sold from a vending machine or school store. And we have been healthy food certified for many years, and we do make certain that we abide by all the regulations. And just to be clear, we read through

081these whole fully for the record, correct? Okay. And do I have a motion? I have a motion. Would you like me to read now? Yes, please. Okay. So for part A, um I move that we approve pursuant [cough] to Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-215F, the Stratford Board of Education certifies that all food items offered for sale to students in the schools under its jurisdiction and not exempted from the Connecticut Nutritional Standards published by the Connecticut State Department of Education will comply with the Connecticut Nutrition Standards during the period of July 1, through June 30th, 2027. The certification This certification shall include all food offered for sale to students separately from reimbursable meals at all times and from all sources, including but not limited to school stores, vending machines, school cafeterias, culinary programs, and any fundraising

082activities on school premises sponsored by the school or non-school organizations and groups. Do I have a second? I'll second. Seconded by Ms. Gancho. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we'll move to a vote. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? All right. Motion passes unanimously. Mr. Fiorillo, do I have another motion? I would like to move part B, the exemptions motion. The Stratford Board of Education will allow the sale to students of food items that do not meet [clears throat] the Connecticut Nutrition Standards and beverages not listed in Section 10-221 of the Connecticut State Statutes, provided that the following conditions are met. One, the sale is in connection with an event occurring after the end of the regular school day or on the weekend. Two, the sale is at the location of the event. And three,

083the food and beverage items are not sold from a vending machine or school store. An event is an extracurricular activity. For example, soccer games, school plays, and interscholastic debates are events, but soccer soccer practices, play rehearsals, and debate team meetings are not. The regular school day is the period from midnight before to 30 minutes after the end of the official school day. Location means where the event is being held and must be the same place as the food sales. Okay. Do I have a second? I'll second. Seconded by Ms. Gancho. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we'll move to a vote. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes unanimously. All right. We'll move on to the school calendar. This should be a little more of a discussion. I entertain a motion to approve

084our school calendar 2026 to 2027. Do I have a motion? So moved. Moved by Ms. Gancho. Is there a second? Okay. Seconded by Mr. Cormier. Oh, Ms. Temple. I'm sorry. I apologize. And seconded by Mr. Cormier. Is there any discussion? Ms. Zapata? I move to approve the 2026-2027 school district calendar with the following amendments, that all scheduled data collection days be changed to early dismissal Fridays. Excuse me. Based on survey results, and that the March 24th staff professional development day be rescheduled to either the preceding week or March 25th. Can you say that again, please? Sure, absolutely. Um the 2026-2027 school calendar would be approved with the following amendments, that all scheduled data collaboration days be changed to early dismissal Fridays based on the survey results, and that March 24th staff professional development day be

085rescheduled to either preceding week or to March 25th. Do we have a second? Second. Seconded by Mr. Cormier. Is there any discussion to the amendments? Um I just want to say that the survey results um showed that parents do not find these meetings overly disruptive, but it would be preferable preferable for them to happen on Fridays. Uh they did address all the issues that we discussed in the last meeting. Would they prefer them to be in the morning or the afternoon? Afternoon came in overwhelmingly in favor. After do they want a rotation between morning and afternoon? No. Do they want a rotation days? No. So we are responding to survey results in all ways, including changing the current. Yes, I appreciate everyone for taking that survey. It really helps us when we're leading this board

086to go in the direction that our community works best for our community. So I appreciate everyone that took part in that survey. Um on that March 23rd day that uh Ms. Zapata had just mentioned, it was March 23rd, Ms. Zapata? March 24th. There was a scheduled data collaboration day and then a day off and then Good Friday. So our concern with that is that people will take just a long weekend cuz there's a day in between. So we were looking to either move it to the next day, the 25th, or the week before so that we don't have that issue. Um I think we could we're open to either the week before, whatever works better for um the district, so Ms. Borges, if you have any opinion on that. Um I'm going to share two

087things. And again, as a board, you're going to vote on this calendar. And I do appreciate all of the feedback we received from the community. I want to address that moving half-day data collaboration days to Friday. I have two concerns. My number one concern is that parents will feel like it's a half a day. So if they wanted to leave for a three-day weekend, our attendance may decline. We may not see the attendance we would normally see if it was a full school day. So when you move things to a Friday, you're you're essentially making your weekend longer. So both for my staff and for my students, I would have concerns about attendance. But we will watch those and monitor them. I just want you to be aware of moving something from Wednesday to a

088Friday sometimes has a backfire effect on our school attendance. Um as preference, I'm going to defer to Dr. Diorio and Dr. Piazza because that PD day is largely comes out of their departments. I don't see a difference anyway. Yeah. It shouldn't affect Does that Does that affect our our end of the year? No, no, it doesn't affect the end of the year. It's just It's a full PD day. It'll be a full day weekend instead of instead of having one day off, one day on, then the long weekend. So, right here, March 24th. No, but it had been a Wednesday. We're already changing the Fridays. No, it's the PD day. This is better than No, I I apologize. I can lose it. Two changes, early dismissal days for for the collaboration will move from Wednesday

089to Friday. And then the March professional development day, which we added back in, a full professional development day, will move from the 24th to the 25th so that you don't have a day off, a day on, a day off. I thought we were having that on the 24th. Did you say the 24th? Yeah, it's currently scheduled on the 24th. The motion was to move it to the 25th so that there wasn't a day on, day off, day off. Day off. Did we change it? That's all. >> [laughter] >> Uh I'm just looking at the survey results and I see that, you know, most people, 36% preferred the early dismissal on Friday. I understand your concern about long weekends cuz that's definitely going to happen. But 20 32% of the responses said no preference. So, no

090preference and then another 20% asking for Wednesdays. So, I don't know if you've taken that into consideration that the majority or like a good percentage of the people, like 52 if you add the Wednesday and the no preference together, would still like it to be on Wednesday and then that would alleviate the Friday potential of long weekends. Um that's just my two cents. Not that anybody's counting pennies anymore, but um it's just something to consider. I did notice that, too. So, we we did have a chunk of families that said they don't care which day it is, just please don't change the day. Pick a day, you know, whether it's Wednesday or Friday. Um so, either way, you know, it's That's why you're having these discussions um and you did collect the data, so it's

091important for you guys to feel good about it. Um could we get the data? I I know that we can get it tonight, but for future meetings, the data on that the collaboration days and how many absentees we have there's those days cuz I think we have absentees um now as a result of those half days. I have heard from a lot of parents that keep their students home because they have trouble with child care. So, does it affect us now with being out on Wednesday every Wednesday? With absentees [snorts] or is there a different way? And if you if we're doing that that well, can we look at the student body as well as the staff on Wednesday on those Wednesdays if it changes? Just curious. I Yes, I don't think that should hold

092up your vote cuz I do think this calendar needs to be finalized, but we can absolutely get that. No, I like that you brought up that there are other reasons why parents might keep uh students home. It's just easier. Either they take a full day off work or they have transportation issues getting traffic and it's not always just day off, long weekend. Good point. My other thing I was just reading some of the comments and a lot of the comments also referenced that having a half day in general is a disruption to the families, but these are required, so um I there's going to be a half day whether we do it all on Wednesday or or move to the Friday. Um I personally don't have a preference on that, but I just wanted to

093point out that a lot of the families had no preference. All right. Any other any other questions or So, I I want to talk about something different. Okay, yeah, go ahead. We're here. You know, you go. Yeah, cuz we talked about the the January What are those dates again? The 4th and 5th, the Monday and Tuesday. Like I mentioned last time, who knows what next winter will be will be like. And if it's as bad as this year, I think we'll regret having taken those days off. But it I don't matter. It doesn't matter to me either way. I'm not I'm retired. I have no kids in the system, but I talked to a number of teachers and they went both ways. Some are in favor, some are not, but I had an interesting email

094from a parent who's both a teacher and a parent of a Stratford student. And she talked about the the late starts are bad for professional development. But then talking about the 4th and 5th, she said, "The winter break is already substantial in length and returning earlier would allow us to use those days intentionally to ease students back into routines, reestablish expectations, and set a strong tone for the second half of the school year. As both an an educator and a parent, I see real value in having structured time to help students transition back successfully." But that's one one teacher parent. And I know there's concern about people who take those days off anyhow, I guess. But then it's also been raised, well, why not take Thursday and Friday and then take the whole week off?

095But just some things to think about. I'm I'm not advocating for either one. I have a comment on that as well. My concern is that the length of time at the holiday break is extremely long, I think, for Stratford in particular. I know Milford does not do that. They also don't have Three Kings' Day on their calendars. My concern about the Monday and Tuesday, I think that it is a good way to transition students and faculty back into a normal routine. In 2028, Three Kings' Day is on a Thursday, so what are we going to do next year for 2028? Are we going to do Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday? And then what about Friday? I mean, I don't know. It just seems like how many days are you going to put in a row

096for a holiday that is really celebrated on one day, just like a lot of other holidays are on one day? So, I don't understand why the extension of the holiday break needs to have those extra two days in there where I think the extra two days would be more appreciated at the end of the school year in June and in June. So, I mean, that's just how I would feel. I understand that students will probably take those days off anyway. I don't know if the parents I think the parents would be on board with Monday, Tuesday, going into school and then having Wednesday off. I don't think that that would be a huge problem. I just think we need to think about how we're going to factor those days in moving forward, especially next year

097when when it's on a Thursday. Are you going to go I I just think we need to come up with a with a procedure that is easy to follow every year. Miss Wada? I just want to clarify. How many So, there were going back to our pie chart here, there was 904 answers for our survey. Do you know roughly how many parents there are in our community? I know We have 7,000 students. Right. So, I mean, this isn't really representative of how people feel about Correct. So, we can't really make an assumption about how how they feel about their half days and going back to winter break and and Three Kings' Day. Yeah. So, they can go back to school and then still have Three Kings' Day off, correct? So, that's a holiday we voted

098in. Right. So, that would be just as disruptive as having a half day in the middle of the week if we decided just to go back to school. Returning and then having the day off. So, last year, um those two additional days before Three Kings' Day was added to our schedule after consulting with the teachers' union and we did some negotiations with the superintendent and they were we voted to add those two days. I They're not necessary to keep them on. Um part of our discussion was for the absenteeism. Um we had seen it in years past where students would stay on a longer break. So, that was part of our consideration when we were extending that break. But I'm not locked into it. It doesn't I'm not >> [laughter] >> I don't know. I

099want to give their opinion on that. I mean, you think about the weather we've had this year. This was a year where we've had a lot of snow days. We have a teachers here with us today. I don't know if um I don't I just think that it'd be better to get out of school on the night of June if I could, right? Than to wait until the 14th as indicated on this calendar for 2027 or potentially, you know, further into that week if we have another winter similar as this one. Um it's just uh again, it's I think we just need to come up with a procedure to follow moving forward. If we're going to do those two days this year, we need to figure out what's going to happen in 2028 and in

100subsequent years. I will share with you we pulled a whole bunch of calendars from different districts. And I will say the majority are going back to school for those two days. So, I think last year it looks like one day with another holiday. So, it's very fair consideration. But again, we just asked that our families and our staff from the school think about June, too. I mean, it's freaking hot in the school rooms in June. I don't know. It's just I If you guys did put those two days back in, we would just move the end of the year days instead of being the 14th, it would be the 10th. I'd like to make a motion, Miss Anderson. Just say think too, most parents, working parents, will go back to work that Monday the 4th.

101to tell me. Another thing to consider. Yeah. I mean I I always like to point out that our school system is not babysitters for the for the students. Um but my concern would just be this shortens the time in June and um I think after 10 days the kids are are pretty much ready to get back to routine. And the parents probably Mine are Mine are ready to go. So like what I I get the celebration of the of the of the um Three Kings' Day and um it's a day just like every other holiday is a day. It's a day. So let's I I would prefer to keep it as a day and I'm happy to make that motion um to uh to that remove those two days out of the holiday break. I'll

102second. All right. Just I I need to know when we go to vote we had an initial motion to accept the calendar. We did not move We did not move to amend that motion. We have a second motion to change the Wednesdays to Fridays. And also that Wednesday your motion. Yeah. I'll I'll rescind that motion. We should move hers. Okay. Kristen's. Yeah. Anyone else have any No no no. That's I just wanted to be very clear that we all knew what we were voting on. So we are voting right now on Kristen's amendment to move the data collaboration days to Friday and March 24th March 24th to March 25th. The March 24th is that PD. No school PD that was that was that day to from the the March 24th to March 25th the day

103before Good Friday. Okay. I would suggest we break things Yeah. They need to be two separate. Yeah. Do you want to separate your motions? We'll do the data collaboration days on Friday. Mhm. Okay. [clears throat] We'll do a roll call. Ms. Zapata? Yes. Ms. Dancho? >> No. Ms. Temple? Yes. No. >> Mr. O'Brien? Mr. Cormier? >> Yes. Mr. Fiorello? Yes. Ms. Angela Powers? Yes. All right. So that motion passes. Now do you want to do the 24th to the 25th? Mhm. Okay. Motion to Yeah. Okay. Go ahead. Yeah. Okay. >> [laughter] >> We're motioning to I motion to move the professional development day from the 24th to the 25th. I'll second. All right. Motioned by Ms. Zapata, second by Ms. Dancho. Roll call vote. Ms. Zapata? Yes. Ms. Dancho? Yes. Ms. Temple? Mr. O'Brien? Mr.

104Cormier? Mr. Fiorello? Yes. Ms. Angela Powers? Yes. Okay. So we have that down. Now Ms. Dancho. So I I make a motion to shorten the holiday break by putting January 4th and 5th back on the calendar as regular school days. Second. Motioned by Ms. Dancho, second by Ms. Temple. Will any discussion? Seeing none. Ms. Zapata? Yes. Ms. Dancho? Yes. Ms. Temple? Yes. Mr. O'Brien? >> Yes. Mr. Cormier? >> Yes. Mr. Fiorello? >> Yes. Ms. Angela Powers? Yes. So unanimous. All right. >> And that also changes the last day of school. The last day of school. Yes. That That just happens naturally. Okay. The last day of school becomes the 10th. Okay. Any other adjustments or modifications to this calendar? Seeing none. I'll make a motion to accept the calendar as amended today. Motioned by Mr.

105Cormier, second by Ms. Temple. Um Ms. Zapata? Yes. Ms. Dancho? Yes. Ms. Temple? Mr. O'Brien? >> Yes. Mr. Cormier? >> Yes. Mr. Fiorello? Yes. Ms. Angela Powers? Yes. So unanimous. So we have a calendar for next year. Thank you. I got really good at that last one. >> [laughter] >> You could do all You could do all your votes by by by roll call. >> We're going to We're going to keep moving here. All right. Moving on. We're moving to the Wilcoxson Elementary School project closures. Um the chair will entertain a motion to file the DAS-1049F and adopt the resolution. So moved. Moved by Mr. O'Brien. Seconded by Ms. Temple. Is there any discussion? Do we need to read this one? I just think it should probably be read into the Sure. Okay. Yeah. Mr.

106O'Brien, can you read it out for us? Okay. So we're So we're We have Jennifer to approve the filing of form DAS-1049F 1049F final grant grant application for Wilcoxson Elementary School safety infrastructure project number 138-0114A with the Department of Administrative Services DAS Office of Grant Administration and adopting the following resolution accepting the project as complete. Be it resolved that the Stratford Board of Education accepts the Wilcoxson Elementary School safety infrastructure project number 138-0114A as complete. All right. Any discussion? Hearing none. Do a All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Unanimously. All right. Now no one's going to want to read the next one. >> [laughter] >> All right. I'm seeking a motion to approve uh the filing and resolution of project number 138-0112PV. Do I need to The motion Okay. Go ahead, Mr. Cormier. Okay.

107filing form DAS-1049F final grant application for Stratford High School photovoltaics photovoltaics project number 138-0112PV with the Department of Administrative Services DAS Office of Grant Administration and adopting the following resolution accepting the project as complete. Be it resolved that the Stratford Board of Education accepts the Stratford High School photo photovoltaics project 138-0112PV as complete. Second. Seconded by Ms. Temple. Is there any discussion? Seeing none. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? All right. Vote passes unanimously. All right. Now we're on to policies. Um we have now have two policies to review that are in first read status. No vote is required unless determined otherwise. Um Mr. Cormier, could you please update us on these policies? Yeah. The first one I'm going to I have the first one the second one I'm going to ask this board just to

108to work because it was a state mandate that she that she was much more fluent with. Um so the our first one is P6171.2A. It's special special education preschool special education. Um all we did was we took the existing our current policy which is accurate and we changed we're going to we went to our um verbage where we're where when it's he or she we're saying theirs um or we're changing the the the the the references and it's we're saying parents and guardians instead of parents. Um but that's the only thing we did. Those are the only changes we really made to that one. So that one is for first read. We'll look at it again um next week for next time for approval. Yes. Um the next one is um personal certified non-certified personal

109leaves family and medical leave act policy 4125.2 4152.6 and 4252.6. So I'm going to ask Ms. Borges if she can just like step in here because it's a state mandated uh state state mandated. So about this time of year every year um HR comes to us with whatever changes have come down um from the state. And so this has already been looked at by an attorney. It has already been written and it mirrors the statute for the state so we cannot change this language. So in essence you're voting for what we're already doing. Right? So the state already said you need to do this. This is the the changes that we are going to put into effect for personal family leave and family medical leave. We don't have an option not to do it. Um

110and all of the language is again directly from the statute. So for this one to me it seems like you don't need a second read. You guys should be able to vote on this because we have to implement this. We don't have an option. And we also had a hard time at at our policy meeting because some of their some of the references to parents and and children it's not the way we we write our policies anymore. But this is word for word from the state. So that's what made it other We have many policy participants up here. So it's That's That's why it doesn't it doesn't follow the same format that we that we in the policies we write for ourselves. I just want to make a quick note that it's not just state

111law. It's federal Federal law. Right? So it's the federal law that we had the non-gender language that we're looking for. Um but again it's federal law and it's state law. Um therefore we should just vote on it. So they can move I agree. Quick question. While we're considering waving the second read of the second bill, since the first policy it's just language cleanup is there any reason you need a second read for that? Does anybody have a Cuz we have we can we can we can move both of those ahead. That would be great. That's what If somebody If somebody wants to make that motion. Does anybody have any comments or anything on the two motion or two bill policies? All right. Seeing none. We're going to vote to waive the first read status. Okay.

112I I wish to move the second read. I don't Can I move it for both at the same time? Is that all I should just move Okay. So, the first 6171.2A Thank you very much. It's called special education special education preschool. Is there a second? Second. Second by Miss Zapata. All in favor? Aye. Aye. So, now we know we we the first read now. I move to wave the second read on the second policy. Which is P Okay. P P4152.6 42 or {dash} 4252.6. Thank you. That's what I moved. Okay. Moved by Mr. Fiorello. Is there a second? Second by Miss Temple. So, all in favor of waving the second read? Aye. Any opposed? All right. Now we'll vote on them. Um do I have a motion to approve P61 71.2 the preschool special education

113policy? So moved. Moved by Miss Zapata. Second. Second by Miss Stanchio. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? All right. So, that policy is moved. Now I'm looking for a motion to move P4152.6/425.6 personnel certifying and non-certified personnel leave and family medical leave act update. So moved. Okay. Moved by Mr. Fiorello. Second by Miss Temple. Is there any comments or discussion? Seeing none, we'll move to a vote. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes unanimously. So, we move those two policies. Can I make a comment about policy? In your policy update. Oh, that's right. Okay. Moving on. We have our DRIP grant. Um Miss Borges and could you please give us an update on the funds? So, the DRIP grant is the amount of money that the state um gave to each district. So,

114Stratford schools expects to receive just a little over 311,000 in district repair and improvement project, which is what DRIP stands for. Grant funding. DRIP funding is to assist public school operators with costs of minor capital repairs, improvement, and maintenance and mitigate such operators' need for more costly and extensive renovations and construction in the future and improve accessibility to safe and well-maintained school buildings and grounds for students and educators. This is public act 25-174 section 131. Stratford public schools is proposing the following use for the funds. We would like to do necessary HVAC upgrades at Wilcoxson to provide more reliable and efficient HVAC services. The quote is 103,679. We want to install an update remote monitoring for HVAC systems to replace outdoor outdated systems, improve energy efficiency, and allow for regular maintenance alerts when the HVAC

115system is not functioning properly. The fees also include the installation and centralized monitoring and management system for the district staff to efficiently meet the needs of school buildings. The buildings being serviced are as follows: Bunnell High School, central office, Eli Whitney Elementary School, Franklin Elementary School, Johnson Elementary School, Nichols Elementary School, and Victoria Soto Preschool. End quote. 134,879. The remaining funds will go towards remodeling the Franklin boys and girls bathrooms across from the main office, which is 72,505. Any money that is not spent is allowed to be carried over for future years. So, again, this was a state grant where they just gave you a chunk of money and gave you some really limited small capital improvement projects you can use them on and HVAC is one of them. We have HVAC needs, which is

116why we want to process that. But because this is a grant, it needs different approval, board approval. So, you should have Did you get this? You have this on the back. Okay. So, that should be on the back. That kind of breaks it down what we want to do and we are looking for you to vote and approve our recommendation for the DRIP grant. Okay. Do I have a motion? >> So moved. Moved by Miss Temple. Second by Mr. Cormier. Is there any discussion? Just one question, Heather. Was the amount given to you with with the 311,000? >> just said You just said you Yeah. You had to figure out how to spend it. Yep. And it And we have to be able to spend it similar to the seed grant. Remember at the beginning

117of the year they gave us a seed grant where they just decided an amount of money that we have used that specifically for special education. So, now they gave us an amount of money and you have to use it specifically for small capital improvement money. Miss Stanchio, I just want to say that's a great use of these funds. And um it's going to alleviate a lot of these expenses from the town budget as well on on the town capital improvement. So, I'm excited to see this happen. And we may get more money. You know, they they they will continue the seed grants and the DRIP grants. So, and the amounts may increase and grow in future years. But this is what we were given this year. I have I have to ask how did you

118choose which schools got the HVAC improvement? Wilcoxson needs it. I'm not saying they don't. I'm just asking the process. Um we looked at all of the requests and requirements and there are some schools that have different issues that this money wouldn't be enough to help. This was the majority of the schools we could do with this amount of money. So, we were trying to get the most. Understood. Thank you. Any other comments or All right. Seeing none, we'll move to a vote. All in favor? Say aye. Aye. Opposed? All right. Motion passes unanimously. Tabled items. There are no tabled items at this time. We will now move to committee assignments. Um I am going to appoint Mr. Fiorello to be officially added to the policy committee. Congratulations, Mr. Fiorello. >> [laughter] >> Thank you, I

119think. All right. We also Now we're going to do our curriculum reports and updates. I'm going to start with curriculum committee, Mr. Fiorello. Thank you. Okay. Curriculum met on March 10th and we got We received two presentations and we made one quick uh change. So, the next meeting will be um scheduled on April 21st. I think it's on the schedule track. And we received a presentation first from the student government leadership council uh which took a field trip from Bunnell High School. And the advisor, Mr. Gobino, came and two students. And what I really liked was the presentation elevated student voice to what we've been talking about all year. Um but I always It's not simply I like to hear students speak because it's important. I do. But this was a leadership council uh training

120that they received and they got to put it into action. They demonstrated articulate is not the word but they were They were persuasive and they were enthusiastic. It was um It was just such a nice presentation. They went up and and the Disney Imagineers and engineers were put them through all kinds of training and uh scenarios that they had to to undergo like problem solve. And I thought it was fantastic. The only question I had was how can we make sure both high schools have this? And that's kind of the lens I put on a lot of things that come before us. And that's certainly something I'll be looking for in the future. But they had a fantastic trip and well worth our approval. And I like the fact that they came back and presented

121to us after we approved their trip. Just to report out and say this is what we did. This is what we learned. One of the One of the comments I'm going to make um as they were presenting, they were they were how many that went? That we didn't have enough to get any discounts in travel um in any of their travel um arrangements. However, the the the um their I'm not their their advisor. Their advisor. Their advisor had connected up with Naugatuck Yes. >> um high school and combined for for um the travel expenses and they were able to get over with quite a few discounts. And it's a small group. But this was a test and I think it's going to be I think he he feels that it's going to be um we'll

122be able to fill out our own um numbers for next for next for next Is it 2 years? Oh, it is. That's true. Yeah. So, it's every 2 years. So, student It It catches everyone who's in a 4-year high school will be able to go as well at the time. So, that's fantastic. Um the second presentation was an overview of Atlas. This is where we're I don't want to say housing or archiving. This is more interactive than that. But Atlas is the platform where uh curricula are going and they're they're cycling through curriculum revision and uploading to Atlas. And Dr. Eckler, who was recognized earlier tonight, uh presented to us. And we got a sense of what the platform is like, what it looks like, how what's the parent-facing piece of the the uh platform,

123not just for teachers. And I think just so how friendly is it? How accessible is it? How well can can families see what [snorts] is it that's in a certain course, what are they learning, what are they studying? Maybe before they sign up to take the course, but absolutely once the student is in the course. So, that was really informative for us. And I believe that whole PowerPoint is available as well for anyone who wants to see it. Um so, that's what we did at our meeting. Any questions or comments? Seeing none, we'll move on to finance, Mr. Cormier. Uh finance met today. Um and we Everything went well. We did Everything that was presented is is part of our minutes, so There were no There were no big budget transfers and there were no

124big events, so I was mentioning it earlier. Are there any questions for Mr. Cormier? Seeing none, we'll move on to school climate planning committee. We met last week as a special meeting to advance our capital improvement plan, and you just saw that here. We have a tour later this week on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. We'll be touring Franklin Elementary School as well as Stratford High School. So, if anyone would like to attend that, you are welcome to attend that as well. It gives us a great opportunity to see our buildings first hand and see where repairs may be needed or where we're doing something well. So, I encourage anyone Remember if they can come to those, that's a great opportunity. What were those times and dates again? It's on this Thursday at 5:00 p.m. We

125are meeting at Franklin Elementary School. And then, we'll continue on to Stratford High after that. Um and we are not having our next month's meeting yet. Uh postponed that to the following month for a time conflict with Mr. Richardio. Any questions? All right. Seeing none, we'll move on to policy review with Mr. Cormier. Uh policy met on March 18th. We pushed a couple of through today that that we um moved on without requiring a second read. We have about, I'm going to say it's six or seven or eight um policies that are just all ready to present. We're just all Other members are taking the the The mini committees have pulled together their their information. The the the whole full committee is um pretty much reviewing over this next month what they've done. We'll talk

126about them at the at the next meeting, but I think by our next board meeting, we'll probably have about six or seven um policies to review and approve as a first read. Maybe Maybe one or two could be moved without a second read. But we're next month, we will have quite a few. Any questions for Mr. Cormier? Seeing none, we'll move on to athletic review with Mr. O'Brien. Yes, I reported on this at our March 2nd delayed monthly meeting, and uh it was a good brainstorming meeting, I'd say, because we determined we need to meet a lot more than we used to in the past. We have a lot to look at. So, um we're scheduled to meet again April 7th. Sue, do you remember what time we decided for that? The athletic review? I

127don't. Sorry. I think we switched It was It was 4:30. I want to say we switched it to 5:30. I think so. I'll check it out, but I'll check it out. Yeah. Thanks. I have one update. Yeah. Um and because you guys will hear about this at the next athletic review, um because we really want to promote our positive rivalry initiative, we have a really unique opportunity that the CIAC um is presenting us alongside our RESC CES. Uh they are offering us an opportunity to go through the process with them to have a positive rivalry initiative that would result in Stratford becoming the first ever um CIAC Class Act District. Um that has never happened. They want us to set the tone and be the pilot for that to happen so that other districts can

128become Class Act districts instead of just Class Act schools individually. So, we are super excited about that opportunity. Um and I'm very excited uh for the partnership between the CIAC and the CES to be able to support us and help us through that process. I do have a question for Mr. O'Brien. Did you distinguish how often you will meet as a committee? No, not really. Just going to decide each meeting when to meet again. Okay. So, we're not going to have a set schedule. Okay. Thank you. Anyone else have any questions for Mr. O'Brien? All right. Seeing no further questions, thank you, Mr. O'Brien. We'll move on to personnel um with Ms. Temple. All right. So, with personnel, I want to thank Courtney Brown and Heather Brown for meeting with me. So, our initial meeting

129was just to discuss I think we had a personnel meeting, right? Because we're not supposed to discuss personnel. That's other people. Um so, what we're really going to look to when we do meet with the full committee, cuz I did put on a few people who are HR professionals [snorts] who live in Stratford, um but they are HR professionals across the state, is to really look at our contracts um because, you know, with at least for people who work with unions, you want to think in advance instead of waiting until um you know, it's time for the contracts. Um we're going to look at the our policies and procedures um around hiring and especially personnel 4000. Um so, that definitely would come out of the personnel committee. Um and also looking at our legal compliance.

130So, um policies like that, FMLA, there's other legal um compliance policies out there, and we just want to make sure that we are following policy and procedure. Um we would love to be on different hiring committees, if possible. Um so, that is the the plan. So, I will give you those names to the assistant superintendent um for you to contact them. Um so, that concludes And our meetings are not on a monthly basis. Um it's generally it may not be a public meeting um if certain things come to our um you know, to us. So, it would not be recorded and we can't have it as a public meeting because then we'll probably bring things to the board for a second session. And um we added at one meeting we added uh Mr. Fiorello and

131Ms. D'Ancho. Were they included in that They will be They will be. Yeah, they will be. Okay. All right. Great. Any other questions for Ms. Temple? All right. Seeing none, we'll move on to community culture and climate with Ms. Zapata. Yes. So, the community culture and climate committee met last week on the 19th, where we had the privilege of hearing from student presenters from Johnson House and Franklin Elementary School. Johnson presented on their Voices of Influence um for Black History Month, and Franklin Elementary School presented um their Living Wax Museums. I really have to say these are K through sixth graders who not only presented in front of their whole school, but presented in a room full of strangers, and their speaking skills, they did an amazing job. Um their confidence and their voice were

132truly inspiring. We also had Michelle Scott-Macha from Bunnell High School Women Empowerment Club. She highlighted the importance of building leadership and empowerment among her students. Um and I will also say that we have an amazing student representative from Bunnell High School. We still are looking for a student representative from Stratford High School as well as the middle schools to have some representation. So, if anyone knows any students that would like to represent their school for our committee, we are looking for student voices. Our next meeting is scheduled for April 16th at 6:00 p.m. Are there any questions for Ms. Zapata? Yep. Mr. O'Brien. >> Mr. What was the Bunnell club you mentioned? Um it's the Women's Empowerment Club. Okay. And I just add to that, March 27th, this Friday, um at 8:30 a.m. Um the

133the Women's Empowerment will have their fifth annual um uh Women's Day, right? So, if you have not signed up, please sign up. And to add to that Women's Empowerment, the town is looking to honor us on the elected official page. So, if you want to list me your bio to the town, they're looking for those. I did send you guys a couple emails on that. >> [laughter] >> So. All right. And I want to say um it was so awesome to see those kids present at community culture and climate. It was heartwarming, and I I look forward to that meeting. I mean, they said it before, we're all volunteers, but I would volunteer for that committee any and every day. It's wonderful. So, thank you, Ms. Zapata. And if you missed it, clips of it

134are on social media. Cuz I wasn't able not able to go, but I was able to see some of the what they call Living Wax Museum, is that Yes. Yeah. And it was also a feature on Channel 12 News. Oh. [clears throat] She's good at that. That's her project. She does a great job. Aretha Franklin came and sang to us. It was pretty wonderful. So. >> [laughter] >> That's Ms. That's Ms. Who? Shout out to Ms. Um Randy Randy, what's her last name? I can't remember. Theriault. Theriault. Theriault. All right. So, I uh Ms. Temple, do you have any update from CAPE? Well, just a few, a couple. Um everyone saw that already about the kindergarten age requirement. So, these are just issues that we need to look at as board members. Um so, staffing

135and mental health 2026 legislative uh priorities. State level leadership and CAPE are prioritizing long-term funding. Legislative from February. Uh pilot program. So, we're really looking at that counseling and mental health. Um Let's see. Okay, something that we should all know about. Uh there is a summit on diversity March 28th, 2026 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Uh the theme is Together We Rise, Elevating Equity and Your Leadership Potential. Speakers. One of the speakers will be Congresswoman Hayes. Uh the goal was to focus on professional development for recruiting and retaining diverse talent within the educator pipeline. Uh and we're then Where is that? Is that going to be, you know, A Mama Mancini. It's a restaurant. It's an Italian It's a restaurant in New Haven, yeah. Okay. I had my wedding reception there. >> [laughter] >>

136It's a great place. It's on the water. Okay. Um Kate's board elections. Uh so nominations open today, March 23rd, and will close on April 12th, 2023. Requirements, candidates must be at least 21 years old and serving on an active member, um be an active member of the Board of Ed. Requires a personal statement, max of 500 words, outlining your vision for Kate and leadership qualifications. So if you're interested Yeah. Thank you, Ms. Temple. Does anyone have any questions? All right, seeing none, we'll move on to CES, Mr. The most recent CES meeting was held on March 5th, where we discussion focused on the current state legislation that Mr. Record kind of went over in her report, um and it's and it's impact on um education, as well as the local Board of Ed budget consideration

137from across Fairfield County. Our next CES meeting is scheduled for April 2nd. Thank you. Does anyone have any questions for Mr. Pado? Seeing none. Next we have town liaison. Um we did have our first town liaison meeting. Um Miss uh Carol Fabian is the committee chair for that. We met here at the board. Um Mr. Fiorello is on that committee with me. Um and Mr. O'Brien is on that as well. We just That was our first meeting, so we just discussed how meetings will go moving forward and the ground rules for that, and um we'll definitely bring more to this committee as time goes on. We are looking forward to present our budget on April 2nd to the town council, so I'm sure there'll be more communication coming forward. All right, any questions on that?

138Seeing none. Anything in good and welfare? Well, you know what? They had to leave, so they're not going to get a chance to hear it, but I mentioned this last month or or earlier this month when we had our postponed meeting. I want to mention it again tonight. Um when the student presenters come from Bunnell and Stratford High, I just have to commend them. They You see it in their body language, you see it in how they interact. You want to talk about positive rivalry, healthy rivalry, they embody it, not because anybody told them to. When two basketball teams go to the championship, each of them mentioned the other school unprompted. But they did last month, too, earlier this month. I I just there's a lot to celebrate here and there. Mr. Fiorello. And I

139noticed tonight they seemed to be like they were told me to be quicker than usual, cuz they kept giving each other glances and I don't know if you noticed that, but they were talking fast. Well, they have they have 3 minutes, you know, we try to keep it to the 3 minutes. Showing how they looked at each other. But I want to mention, too, that I volunteered at the Baldwin Center for the mock interviews of the Bunnell students. And the girl I interviewed was a junior, so impressive. I said, "I wish I had a job to offer you." But she was just incredible in in every way. And they There was a scoring system, which we didn't use, but max was 18, I would have given her 18. Wow. I want to say there were

140approximately 30 students that came over from Bunnell, um and the experience on both sides, I heard nothing but amazingly positive uh feedback from that mock interview experience. Um students loved it. The Baldwin Center loved it, uh and we just received flooded with information about uh One of the quotes was that they restored their faith in youth. Um that's how amazing the kids were and how much they get out of it, but the students also enjoy it just as much. And when when Stratford High got to do I I I miss the Stratford High tonight, to be careful. You really are. Well, I just want to say, I'm excited it still happens. It was started uh 2 or 3 years ago with just one group of students at um Bunnell, and I'm thankful that Tammy Chizmadia

141was like she continues to do it. So all it is is someone decides to make a phone call from Stratford High, and they will make it happen. Excellent. Okay, yes, they will. And Tammy was a little bit upset because she ordered 30 pizzas and only three were delivered. Oh. Something got messed up. So we did the interviews and they brought the rest of the pizzas. Okay. All right, anybody else for good and welfare? Seeing none further, I will entertain a motion >> [laughter] >> And that was Mr. Hines, seconded by Ms. Temple. All in favor? Any opposed? Everyone have a nice evening. Awesome.