001Good evening. This is a call to order for the Bridgeport Board of Education regular meeting. Today is I mute myself. Today is October 27th and we have a quorum. It's 6:33 p.m. Can everybody please rise for the pledge? 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 for all. >> I'll take roll call. Christine Baptist Perez, Albert Benahan, Aisha Casemir >> here. Meritt Cester Maynez >> here. >> Willie Medina >> present. >> Perez is here. Joseph Sakalovic >> present. >> Robert Traber. >> Andre Woodson have a form. Um next we're going to have student representative reports. Well, you can go ahead just click your mic. Hello, my name is Brian Omea and I'm
002a senior at Central Magnet and Aqua. I'm excited to share some recent highlights from Aqua. Last Wednesday, we hosted our open house and it was a huge success. Welcomed over 100 families with more than half coming from Bridgeport. Families shared a lot of positive feedback and we're excited to learn about all the opportunities available at Aqua. We would like to give a special thank you to Mr. Armada and Mr. Gratzy from the district's communications team for the parent square and social media outputs as well for creating a fantastic promotional video for us. Thank you also to the board of education community members who have been sharing our post and helping us spread the word. Our students also had an opportunity to present at Central Magnets open house where they spoke about the exciting options for
003students to attend both Central and aquaculture. A big thank you to Dr. Graph and Miss Bernard Parson for inviting us to be part of the event. On Tuesday, we held a fundraiser at McDonald's to support our FFA chapter and raised almost $800. These funds will be used to provide students with field trips, experience, and leadership opportunities. We will be thrilled to announce our STEM project. Our STEM club is bringing back the GOBB go program. Through this initiative, Aqua students will design and construct modified ride-on Fisher Price Power Wheels cars for um young children with disabilities. These cars provide children with fun, safe, and free way to develop independence, and we are proud to be part of such a meaningful project. This Thursday, we are excited to honor our in it to win it nominees. Congratulations
004to our amazing clerical staff member, Miss Mrs. Resto, and our standing senior, Emily Choy, and our dedicated um community member, Rick Londo. Their contributions make a big difference in our school community. Finally, we want to thank the following students for or following schools for bringing um their seventh and eighth graders on field trips to Aqua this year. Clay, Columbus, Discovery, Dunbar, Marin, Park City, Magnet, Reed, and Tinsdale. Since the weather is getting colder, we will be pausing the field trips until the spring, but we be will reaching out to counselors in January to schedule spring visits. Thank you for continued support in our our students and programs. We look forward to sharing our success with you soon. Thank you, Brian. Yeah, >> can I ask you a little bit about how your day works at
005Aquaculture? What's a typical day go like and how much how do you enjoy Aqua personally? Um, at Aqua >> I really like how there's harder classes there like for biology especially because I want to be a doctor when I grow up and like so like Yukon bio I I love that class cuz it was so like challenging and I was like talking to my friends from like central and like their classes none of them were like that difficult and like I learned a lot like from dissecting pigs to it just the test being so super hard and having to study even though it wasn't fun studying you know at night like it was like super it was good to like challenge myself to that and just not only that but like the FFA being part
006of that community it's just so great having like fearful friends not just virtual friends I feel like I like explore different communities and like I just feel more social with other other communities >> and you start your day at central or I >> start my day at central >> and then you come here for half a day >> yeah I come here until 10:30 and then I central >> thank you >> thank Thank you, Brian. I don't see any other student reps online, so we'll move on to um we don't have anybody signed up for public comment, so we'll move on to approval of the minutes from the regular meeting on October 14th, 2025. Is there a motion? >> I move to approve the minutes October 14th, 2025. >> Is there a second? Second by
007Mr. Jimenez. Um any debate on that? All in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed? I'm gonna Sorry. >> Any abstensions? >> I'm gonna abstain. Thank you, >> Miss Came. Mr. Sakala abstain. Um, next up on the agenda is the chairperson's report. Um, I'm actually going to yield my time to Dr. Aubry when we get the superintendent report. Um, he's going to give the update from um on the state intervention today, but we'll go there in a in a few minutes. Um, so committee reports, the finance committee will be meeting this Wednesday. um October 29th at 5:30 at um room 305. Um the agenda is posted today, so um I'll take referrals for future finance committee meetings if you'd like. Seeing none, the instruction support services committee. I don't see Mr. Treyber on. So, uh
008we'll um move on to policy and personnel. Mr. Medina, >> thank you very much, guys. We have not met as of right now. from our last board meeting. Um so at this moment I'll take any referrals. Our next meeting will be the second uh Wednesday of the month which will be the 12. Uh we do have some referrals that already we've had some discussion and once again the location will be 3:05 and the time will be to be determined. >> Any referrals miss Mr. Mayor Rimenez? I I don't have a referral, but I what I did want to um provide a quick reminder is that I sent out an email with some policies um for review from the board members. So, just wanted to um re reiterate that and if anyone has any comments or
009any edits to those documents, feel free to send them over. >> All right, seeing no other uh referrals, um we'll move on to facilities committee. The facilities committee will be meeting next Wednesday. Um, november November 5th. Um, so far we have some topics like the uh kind of reviewing the facility masters plan. Um, but if there's any other referrals, I do have referrals from last time. So, um, but if there's anything else, see, Mr. Treber, are you ready? >> Yes, ma'am. >> All right. You just have to turn your microphone on. you want to report on ISS. >> ISS met last week. Uh we discussed u a variety of updates. Um, but we uh ended up spending a great deal more time than I anticipated on the uh business item on the agenda tonight about
010the u renewal of the contract for um um how in front of me thought exchange. Thank you. Um so that took up most of our time. Most of the agenda was intended to be a short review. Um but it proved to be a longer meeting than I anticipated. Um and so we caught up on a number of items. uh the how the paras were do, how we were doing in filling the par vacancies as we had voted to do at our last meeting and um um how we were doing on pack starting off the year on our pack PTSO business. Um, and I can't remember what else. I'm sorry. I wasn't I lied to you when I said I was ready. I thought I had the agenda right on top here. >> Okay. >> And
011I didn't. But, um, let me see. Back PTSO. Um, kindergarten parasu. Ah, thank you PJ. And we got the report, the tabled item from the previous meeting on the computers, sorry, laptops from PJ. Um, so, uh, it was a good meeting. It just took much longer than I anticipated because of that one item which I didn't anticipate. And I don't know when the next meeting will be because the next meeting would be the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. So I have to decide when to defer that meeting to and I have yet to decide that because I want to consult with the administrators and uh other members of the committee. >> Thank you. I just want to uh point out that Mr. Woodson has joined online. Um any referrals from um Mr. Travers committee? I see none.
012We'll move on to the CA report. Um in their portal you'll see the the newsletter from CAB. But Mr. Mr. Scik, do you have any updates? >> Yeah, Mr. Medina and I, we went to the um legal the legal issues workshop, discussed the use of proper use of the internet and prop possible pitfalls and issues pretty much boils down to if you want if you want to put stuff online, be open and don't delete. >> Um, so just take a look at the newsletter. There's a um some workshops coming up from CABE and our convention and I believe a new board orientation and um leadership workshop is coming up in December. Um yes, Miss uh Cmir. Oh, Madam Chair, I just wanted to point out the um CABE online training that I took on Tuesday,
013September 23rd from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. It was um entitled Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man. And the author um is Emmanuel I forgot his last name. I'm sorry. Um but he um is one of four children raised in Dallas, Texas. I have information about him. But what I thought was interesting about this particular CABE training was that it was hosted by Martha Raken Harris who is a retired teacher and a consultant to CABE. And uh the co-host was Mr. Donald Harris who is the chair of the state board of education's finance audit and budget committees. And it talked about uncomfortable conversations with a black man based on a book written by Emanuel Acho. that's his last name, Acho. The training was speaking specifically of the black male population specifically. Um, one of the topics
014they talked about um was entitled site your sources on cultural appropriation. When you borrow take something from someone else's culture and use it for some reason because you want to try it or see how it feels, many times you get it wrong and you may think you are honoring that culture, but it is misused, especially if you are making money off of it. So people who have the identity of privilege have power, power over someone who can't change the narrative and it trivializes historic oppression. And an example of that he gave of his historic oppression was like if a white person takes a trip to the islands and they come back to the US with their hair braided that that's not a compliment. The internet might be fine but the impact is hard. The intent
015might be fine they said but the impact is hard. Another example they gave is when black women wearing braids um and being asked to remove them in the workplace but then when a white woman wears braids in a movie it is celebrated. So be mindful of inappropriate Halloween costumes as well. So they went on they went on um talking about the different perspectives of cultural appropriation. Um talked about systemic racism. Talked a lot about the Jim Crow era and uh the 40 acres in a mule that was promised. But it is a recording. So anybody who is a board member can go on and they can get the recording. But the original date was Tuesday, September 23rd and um they did an excellent job. >> Thank you for Yeah. Um just keep a eye on
016the recordings for K because there's a lot of great um workshops that you can attend. So thank you for sharing that one with us. Um we are going to move on to uh Dr. Avery's report. >> Chair, thank you guys for giving me an opportunity to do uh report. I have some special guests with me. uh this evening that's going to help uh provide an overview of public works engagement. I have Dr. Hughes as uh deputy commissioner online. I also have Dr. Joanne Cox, the lead for public works. Uh public works is going to be we're going to be engaging with public works um uh through the technical assistance uh on in addition to the technical assistance team. They will be assisting us and working through some of the 34 recommendations from the audit. Uh
017they're going to help uh provide the um uh technical assistance uh training and implementation of uh work around those 34 um recommendations. So I'm really looking forward to uh them digging deep into our policies procedures. are going to also be engaging this community uh around budgetary and finance policy development as well. Uh so I'm I'm going to um turn it over to Dr. uh Joanne Cox and uh she can give you a little bit more about uh the scope of work. I provided those documents in the board portal for the board to uh preview uh prior to this meeting. uh they're going to have about a a 20-minute presentation and have about a 10m minute uh opportunity for the board members to ask questions. Uh I do want there's one point of um key point
018that I would like to point out, but this is at no cost to the district. Uh and um uh again, they will be also talking a little bit more about the the um the scope of work that they're going to be engaging with us. They just finished work in Hartford Public Schools. uh they have also shared that that work with me as well uh so that we kind of understand the the magnitude of what they can provide this district as we move forward. Uh so we are looking forward to that. So uh Dr. Cox I'll turn the mic over to you. >> You're on mute. >> Dr. Cox, you're muted. >> Thank you Dr. Avery. We appreciate that introduction. And uh if we could pull up our PowerPoint, uh that would be helpful. Uh next
019slide, please. Good evening, board members, Superintendent Avery, EPS staff, and others. My name is Dr. Joanne Cox, and I'll be the project lead for this technical assistance work. My background includes teaching, central office administration, and I've worked for the Florida Department of Education. But since leaving the Department of Ed uh and joining public works, I've led numerous similar projects such as this one. I'm looking forward to uh meeting many staff members. And during our pre-on-site visit as well as virtual interviews, we do are scheduled to come uh to Bridgeport November 18th through 20th and we've already kind of cleared that with the administration. Um Eric Schneer, as you can see on our screen, is the president of pre uh public works. Unfortunately, he is not able to join us this evening. Uh he it's a
020public policy and management consulting firm and we primarily work with state and local governments across the nation. Eric has served as a gubanatorial chief of staff and policy advisor to governors, senate senators, and presidential candidates. Next slide, please. Oh, I'm sorry. Backing back to the next slide. I want to introduce my colleagues that are online. I'll turn it over to Betty for an introduction first. Good evening. My name is Betty Russell. I'm a CPA. I've been working um with school districts for probably the last 25 years. Uh and my focus is on numbers and effectiveness and efficiency. However, um, one of the things I really love doing is policy procedures and looking at workflows to try to see how we can um, do the work more effectively and um, get rid of some of the
021pain points along the way. Leslie. Hi, I'm Leslie Kathy. I'm a certified government financial manager. I've been working in uh assisting in school districts in various capacities for the past 30 plus years. I'm excited to come work with y'all on in our technical assistance role. Uh we provide a key resource to with lots of experience and examples and best practices about how other school districts are operating. We're happy to um bring all those uh levels of information to y'all and I appreciate your consideration and I'm looking forward to meeting all of you. Thank you Leslie. Next slide please. So just public works at a glance. Uh we've been in this business of improving public sector performance for 30 years plus. Uh if you Google us, and many of our clients do, uh or you Google
022our president's name, Eric Schneer, you're going to see that we've been recognized by many news organizations, including recently in the Atlantic magazine. We are in partnership with the National School Boards Association and our teams have a proven track record of assisting well over 150 school districts, state departments of education or regional educational centers nationwide, including Connecticut. Next slide, please. Some of our most recent work has as mentioned uh before is at Hartford public schools where our team conducted an assessment of the financial and grants management operations. We produced an extensive report including recommendations for improvement and provided technical assistance to guide HPS through the implementation of those recommendations. Other recent projects as you can see on the screen are Lowel Public Schools in Massachusetts, Baltimore County Public Schools in Maryland, and we conducted a statewide
023review of education in West Virginia. Next slide, please. Not only has public works conducted work in Harford, I led projects in Greenwich and Stanford public schools and my colleagues uh Lesie and Betty recently worked in Norwok Norwok public schools. Our team members have extensive experience in finance and HR, but we need to tell you and share with you that we just don't come in as some consultants do and say, "We're the experts and here's h here's how you're going to do it." We collaborate. We ask staff questions. We understand some of the root causes that are the roadblocks to producing good policies and procedures. We um our primary goal is to help you, your staff build stronger processes and procedures that will enable staff to perform their responsibilities in a more efficient and effective manner.
024We have a national reputation for being a trusted partner with school districts. Next slide, please. So, as you can see set forth in statute, this can be considered somewhat of a three-prong process. Uh, first, Commissioner Russell Tucker introduced a team of four highly qualified leaders to diagnose and identify where improvements are needed. I'm sure some of you have already met uh David, Ingred, Ed, and the other David uh that have been in your district for quite some time. Next, the Clifton Lararssson Allen was contracted to conduct the forensic audit. And then our team, public works, will use this information that it's gleaned from the other technical assistance team. And we've been meeting with them um regularly, the forensic audit, and then other data and interviews that will assist uh BPS staff in providing model policies,
025processes, and procedures. and we will provide the necessary training to sustain those outstanding operations in finance and HR. Our work should conclude June 30th, 2026. So, I'm going to turn it over to my colleague Leslie Kathy next. Thank you. Next slide, please. So, why Bridgeport? Why why now? Why are we here? So, this is really a pivotal moment with recognizing that y'all have received those 34 recommendations in your forensic audit. We've reviewed those and are ready to to start looking at those and providing uh focused assistance to be able to look at both those recommendations and how to help you implement those as well as looking at the specific u issues that are occurring in both finance and HR. com combining all of those things, identifying uh and talking to you and finding out what
026is going on, how can we help? That is what we are here for. That's why this technical assistance is really critical and our experience in in actually assisting school districts in knowing what what happens and what some of the challenges are is where we'll be able to kind of provide that information to you to build systems and recommend and help you implement and not just leave it there on the table for you, but we're going to walk you through the entire process to restore trust and transparency. And we're here as your partner to do that. Next slide, please. So, part of the very first thing that we want to do is understand your needs. We we're we're not outsiders coming in to try to just tell you what to do. We are here going to
027be working with you and working with this the team. One of the first things that we'll be doing is looking at standardizing the fiscal processes and strengthen internal controls. And the way we do that is we'll be interviewing and looking at lots of documentation. and we have a data request list that the staff are already working on helping us to be aware of what's going on and so we're we are fully informed about how we can best serve and assist you. We will be aligning uh the HR function with financial planning and budgeting. We know that HR doesn't occur in a vacuum. The your staff and and the costs for those key critical staff is a big component of your budget. So, we're going to look at the processes and structure to ensure that those
028align uh in a in a positive manner. Improve reporting is the next box you'll see on on this slide. Part of the information with that is looking at how can you, the board, what can the the staff provide to you? We're going to be able to provide both recommendations and solutions and walk the staff through how to best do that so you're informed more more fully informed as a board as well as the community. Building staff capacity is a critical component in both finance and in HR and in the mun system. So we're going to identify where there are critical holes that need to be filled or staffing positions and and what the roles and responsibilities are. That's part of our our goal in understanding what everybody is doing. What and when Betty mentioned the
029process systems and the and the process mapping, that's kind of our bread and butter about understanding and knowing who does what, where, when, what documents do they prepare and submit. And what happens in a lot of school districts is everybody's working in isolation very hard and fast to try to do their their job and their work, but sometimes those systems are not working together. And so we're going to be be able to identify where there are gaps in those processes that can be more combined uh in a more structured way to create lasting systems for accountability and continuous improvement where everybody's working together. Next slide please. So for this project, this technical assistance project for finance and HR, our scope and objectives are are um multifaceted. As we mentioned before, we are going to be
030working in collaboration with the technical assistance team. There's some great work that has already occurred that we appreciate that input and feedback and and looking at what is already what what has already occurred. We mentioned the the uh the forensic audit recommendation. Some great work has already occurred there and we're not going to just leave it there. We are actually going to be looking at all of the and documenting all of the fiscal and HR processes. And we recognize that you don't necessarily have all the staff that have time to not only do their regular job every day, but to create all these processes and implement all that. So that's where we come in. That's why it's a technical assistance partnership role. We're here to provide what can we create and put together and then
031provide training to your team and your staff on those workflows that work will work better and identifying the the roadblocks of what's not happening or what happens to that document there. What what things are are in a manual process that's slowing things down or what things where we can use munis more effectively to have it more of an automated structure and process. we'll be able to identify uh and we call it a kind of a gap analysis what what's going on now and what needs to be occurring and the gap in between are the things where we can provide that technical assistance to help you um move things forward and faster and and more effectively. uh aligning HR planning with fiscal strategy and budget cycles is a crit critical component of that where HR and
032the functions for all the staff and what everybody is doing and where the spending is occurring on our HR uh on all the employees and how you know where they're placed and identifying how we can structure that into the budget cycle in a timely manner will allow us to have um provide for you more transparent reporting practices about what needs to occur and what kind of information that you need to provide leadership and continuous um opportunities for improvement and enhancement in the district. So, we're looking forward to working with y'all. Next slide, Betty. This approach and methodology uh is fairly generic as you see, but at this point we are in the discovery and diagnostic phase. Uh we have already as everyone has already mentioned we've already met with the technical assistance team that's there.
033We've met with Dr. Avery. We have met with the CFO. We have uh begun to look at all of the data that the technical assistance team pulled and we're trying to figure out where we should start, what the priorities are, uh what the district staff need the most from us immediately and then once we have sort of a good idea, we will be coming on site. And I think uh that Joanne mentioned that we would be coming on site uh starting on November 18th. And at that point we'll be sitting down with the staff who actually do the work. And my dog is barking. I'm very sorry, but uh they we will be sitting down with the people who are doing the work and we'll be mapping out those processes. And with every process it
034moves from the school district to the city and back to the school district through Munice. Some of it is manual etc. And before all this is over with, we will know how things work, where the problem areas are, and then we're going to go to the benchmarking and best practice uh area and look for ways that Bridgeport might be more successful, uh save staff time, be able to get the work done in a reasonable period of time, uh provide the kind of customer service to campuses that are needed etc. Then once we have all of this put together, we will have documented procedures and we'll be training uh the staff on how to use those. And before all of this is over with, we will be monitoring those processes. And just because it looked good
035on paper doesn't mean that it's really going to work out like we thought. So we will monitor, we will look for ways to make this more sustainable and and ensure that uh what we put in place really works for Bridgeport. Next slide, please. This this is uh I think Leslie and Joanne both mentioned this, but this is a transparent process. We're here to help you. We're not here to tell you that uh point fingers and say you're not doing this right. What we are here for is to help you and it is a collaborative engagement. We can't do this without the help of the staff who actually are doing the work. the leadership, uh, all of you working together. We'll be doing focus groups, interviews, and we'll be giving feedback throughout the process. On any
036given day, Dr. Avery and the rest of the leadership team should be well aware of where we are, what we're doing, what what's the next step in the process, and so forth. Our core principle is transparency and we we are going to during the entire process try to build capacity all the way down the line and when we do make a recommendation for a change you will know why and you will know the benefit that we are attempting to derive from that change. Next slide please. the expected outcomes. You should have a good set of standard operating procedures written, documented, easy to locate and and readily available for staff today and to use to train staff when you have turnover so that institutional knowledge is not lost. We are going to attempt to set up
037a reporting calendar so that you get what you need when you need it and that the state and federal government and everybody else in between gets their reports in a timely and accurate manner. um budget. At the end of this process, we hope to have a fully documented budget process that's easy to understand, that is transparent, that fully involves and engages the community in the process as well as the campus level staff and all of the folks that have um a stake in this process. And uh I would be remiss if I did not say as a CPA that my big deal is internal controls. We have rules and regulations for what we should be doing, but what are the controls to make sure it happens and we will be looking to uh ensure that
038there are in internal controls in all of the processes and procedures that will um assist in that process. Next slide. And now I will turn it back over to Joanne and we will answer questions. >> I used to be a former debate coach in high school and we used to say we stand ready for crossexamination. Do you have any questions on our report, our work in Bridgeport that we can answer for you at this time? >> Thank you. Um Mr. Scaldic, do you have questions? Yeah, I've got quite a actually quite a few. I don't disagree with the need for internal controls. Um, a little bit more information about your firm. Um, have in any district you've been in, have you ever made a recommendation that the school district is severely underfunded and cannot operate
039without the proper funding no matter how many internal controls we solve? >> Actually, that's a very good question. Um, I led a review in Clark County School District, Nevada. Um, we were asked to come in by the legislature to conduct an efficiency review and yes indeed the outcome was that they were uh underfunded by the state of Nevada. That's been many many years ago, but that is one example that that has occurred. >> And uh I would like to talk a little bit about transparency. How how can we ensure transparency? We've heard of a transparent pro process before with our state partnership, quote unquote, but um the state really don't tell us nothing. The state is basically talking at us and not with us. We're not collaborating. We've got a bus contract out there that
040we have no clue about what we're going to be signing up for. They're negotiating contracts without us that we're going to be beholden to for the next few years. Um they're making decisions about us without us. The state is currently holding back about $5 million that could alleviate the suffering in the classroom right now today. Yeah. No, but that that's about the transparency. We need to know where that money is. If we're not being transparent now, spending a couple hundred,000 on this firm of taxpayer dollars to further not be transparent would not be malible for our for our students. >> Okay. Now, the question, >> do you do you think you could find efficiencies for a district that has basically the same amount of staff as wealthier districts around it with one one-third the size?
041I mean, we have a $9,000 disparity in per people spending with the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. Um, all the efficiencies of the I just don't want to manage the expectations because you're not going to be able to get blood to the stone. We can't we can't manage our way out of this crisis without funding. I think at least maybe maybe find 10% efficiency. I'll be grateful for that. 10% is 10% but it's not going to solve the problem. I just want you to come into this with your eyes wide open. Thank you. >> Asking for questions. Uh Mr. Chabber. >> Okay. So, I'll try that question. >> Can you put your microphone on? >> I'll try that question in a different way. Um you said this isn't going to Dr. bravery or um I I'm
042sorry I cannot read your name. Dr. Co >> Cox >> Cobb Cox >> sorry I can see the CEO I can't read the rest of the letters. Dr. Cox um we were told I believe you stated at the beginning this is not going to cost us anything and so we're going to enter into some arrangement some agreement. I'm not sure what we're discussing tonight. Um but um in uh June, the state legislature voted uh to give us $5 million. Um but it wasn't clear how we were to access the $5 million. Um is that's what's paying for this? And this would be to you too, Deputy Commissioner. Um is that how we're paying for this? ing everyone. Uh, Deputy Commissioner Charles Hughes. No, the 5 million is not uh under the direct um control of
043the commissioner at this point in time to be able to allocate to the district. Uh, the funding for this uh project and the support structures are an outcome of the uh identified concerns in the forensic audit and are paid for through the uh commissioner of education's uh operational budget. So um it was in identified by the commissioner that this was of significant need and the opportunity to support the district um address the identified concerns in the forensic audit and so that is directly where the funds are coming from. >> Thank you sir. Um so the five million still floating out there somewhere nobody knows because All right so that answered that question. Uh the second uh question is in again this spirit of transparency uh we have been asking for a full report on the
044work done by one of the members of the technical assistance team. Um again I'm not remembering her full name but >> Kennedy Dr. Kennedy. Uh, and we have never received that report on her work done in the community, how many meetings, who she met with, how many people, what the what that information was that she gathered. She was responsible for holding meetings in the community, hearing from those uh meetings. uh some of uh we heard back anecdotally from other people who attended those meetings but we never saw any sort of uh report uh on what she did. we have met with and uh on numerous times the other three members of the technical assistance team and had uh for my I can speak for myself generally good relations but again we're not getting transparent reports
045back from that member of the uh technical assistance team. So again, I'm concerned. I hear these words being bandied about, but I'm not seeing these I'm not seeing the transparency that we would like to see in a collaborative relationship. So I again address this to the commission, deputy commissioner and to uh Dr. Cox. Uh that as we enter into a new or as we add a new partner to our relationship, uh we would like to be clear that uh there are things that have happened in the last uh 10 months that um we have not felt uh that we were all you know pulling in the same direction. So, the the [clears throat] state department of education is here with you tonight um and providing you with an overview uh of all of the steps
046in the action plan for this project um to directly address as I said before the concerns that were identified in the forensic audit. Um, so the purpose of tonight is to be transparent to make sure that you do have the information, but more so uh to address the identified needs uh of the district both in uh procedure, protocols, uh policies that support the continued efficient and effective use of funding. >> I understand that, Deputy Commissioner, but part of what Dr. Cox laid out was a lot of what is guiding them is the work that was done by the four member technical assistance team and therefore we haven't even been provided the full work. We we have a number of us have met rather closely and discussed rather closely with member the three members of the
047technical assistance team but the fourth member's work was never provided to us and we have requested it. So, I'm just saying we all want to we all want to see the work that was done by the technical assistance team and that aspect of the work we've never seen. So, I'm I'm putting it out on the table here, sir, that that we would like to see that work, too. >> That's all. >> And that that work has been reported on to the state board of ed um multiple times. Uh it is also encapsulated in a number of reports that have um more or less been submitted to the state board of education. Um as as I am aware that uh the technical assistance team has also had uh the the details and the um kind of
048the uh captured um statements that were made uh so on so forth at these public hearings. Um and that's what we we have shared um and and are available uh publicly um at the state board of ed. >> Thank you. I don't want to bring this back. We're we're we're asking questions regarding the presentation on the 34 like the use of this >> in the context. >> Let me finish on the use of the 34 audit items. That's what this company's addressing. So previous work from the technical assistance team. Um we can talk about that at a later date but let's was honor the time of Dr. Cox, Miss Kathy, and Miss Russell who are here to present on what they're the work they're going to be doing. Miss Ernes, >> I have a quick
049question. So, um, in terms of the timeline, starting September through January 30th of 2026, is the intent that all 34 items would be addressed in that time frame? we are going to prioritize the 34 items and work towards the pri priorit prioritization list. Um and and our goal is to help address each of those priorities. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> Thank the chair. Just to add to that, some of those priorities will be able to kind of be combined together and then be addressed at one single time. So they're going to do that and help help administration really kind of figure out which ones could be usually combined together. So it it it could be condensed in a way that's going to be meaningful and and the work should be done with all of the
050recommendations. So yes no other hands or questions. Thank you um Dr. Cox, Miss Cathy, Miss Russell, Dr. Hughes for presenting for us. Um, and thank you again. >> Thank you. We're looking forward to our work in Bridgeport. >> And Dr. [clears throat] Dr. Cox, could you kind of talk with uh present to the board what would be the final outcome of of this project? Is there a documentation that will be presented to the board? Uh, you know, recommend I mean, how does it look at the end? I I was f I'm familiar with the document for Hartford, but I don't think you're going to be in that detailed of report. Could you kind of give them a little sample of what's going to come at the end for them as well as you as you
051close out the project? >> Sure. Uh on a regular basis, we'll be updating our team's work week by week, month by month, what types of documents we've reviewed, what types of processes and procedures we've gone over with them, what uh mapping we've done of each process and procedure, where the gaps are. All of that will be documented um in a report that will go to the state department of education and ultimately uh to Bridgeport uh public schools uh school board. >> And if I can just as well um Sure. >> Part of the the work that we we do hope to see for the district are those standard operating procedures and documentation of policy. I see Bettyy's nodding her head because that is her her Bailey wick there. Um and and that's what was critical
052about this work is that as was mentioned before there's sustainability within the district so that there's training that occurs around these standardized processes that are utilized by staff in the district primarily um the leadership and the the school administration as well as office staff who might be uh managing a lot of the funds that are being processed. So Betty, if you wanted to add to that. >> I I think you said it perfectly. My goal is that when we're all said and done, I'm going to hand you a procedures book for finance, for HR, for each of these processes and you're going to be able to see how is purchasing carried out, how is how are payroll, you know, functions handled, etc. That documentation is hard to put together when you have a staff that's
053already taxed to the limit as far as their workload is concerned. So, we're going to be their right hand documenting this. And at the end of the day, Mr. Superintendent, I hope to have a stack of books on your desk that or electronic files that document every one of these processes and procedures so that nobody has to reinvent the wheel in the future. >> Chair, one more comment. I just want to make u make the board aware that I am aware of your work with CABE relative to the policies that you're enacting or proposing. uh it is critical that those policies um are alignment into the uh to the industry standard or or CABE's type of policy work such that public works can now utilize that to drive forward um the internal operation operating processes
054to ensure there is continued efficiency and sustainability within the district. So there will be a conversation as well between public works and cave to support you all um with ensuring that these these pieces fit together and operate together. >> Thank you. We do have two more questions. Miss Casemir, >> two very quick questions. Madam Chair, um can you please repeat the name of your firm and can you please tell me where your firm's corporate headquarters is just so I can Google it? Thank you. >> Sure. It's Public P U B L I C Works LLC and it is located in Pennsylvania. The president's name is Eric Schneer. S C H N U R E R. I'm sure you will be able to come up with lots of Google searches. >> Thank you very much, >>
055Mr. Chabber. Yeah, I I I'm I got the impression from uh your presentation that you're going to take a whole look at the district. Um and I know the uh forensic audit was referenced numerous numerous times and when we reviewed the forensic audit, we were pleased with a lot of the recommendations that were made by it. Uh but we also were concerned that it was limited in its look at what we were cons our concerns about the district. So, I'm hoping that when you look at our district, you're going to not be limited. That you're going to look at everything. You're going to look at the district and if you see something that goes beyond what the forensic audit looked at and that you think needs to be adjusted, um that you'll be doing that.
056>> That's a great point. And the forensic audit is our springboard. uh but we don't limit our work to the forensic audit. We look at all processes and procedures in the finance and the HR department. >> That is our concern. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you again for presenting. Um we look forward to future reports. >> Thank you very much. Thanks. >> You have a nice evening. >> Have a good night. >> Thank you. >> So we're going to move on to new business. Um the first item on the agenda executive is an executive session for the approval of a workman's settlement comp workman's compensation settlement. Um we'll be going in into um executive session with attorney yman's um and and Dr. Ciano. Um is there a motion? >> A move to move. >>
057Moved by Mr. Medina. >> Second by Mr. Traver. All in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed? >> Any abstensions? Uh board members online, you have a separate link. You can join via that link. >> Thank you. It is 7:48. We're back from executive session. Uh, Mr. Traber, can you make your motion? >> I move for the approval of the workers compensation settlement as discussed in executive session. >> Is there a second? >> Second by Miss Estra. Jimenez. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed. >> Any abstensions? >> Abstain. >> Mr. Sakal. >> Abstain. >> Mr. Medina abstains. The motion passes. Um the next item on our agenda, um we're going to get a safety update from Assistant Chief Gra. Um and so is there a motion to go into executive session?
058>> So moved. >> Moved by Mr. Traber, >> second by Mir. Um all in favor say I. I. >> Going back into session 48. >> Online. You could join the same >> same link. Madam chair. >> Thank you ma'am. All set. All righty. Um we're back from executive session. It is 8:14. Um we've had a safety update from our assistant chief of police. Um so thank you to Brisbane Police Department for what they're doing to help us. Um next item on the agenda is approval to renew the thought exchange subscription. Dr. Re. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. I just kind of wanted to I don't have a full-fledged uh presentation for the board. Uh the presentation that was provided in the instructional uh committee meeting is was also posted in the portal. Uh what I've
059what I've done is I've taken a snapshot of uh that presentation uh and I'm going to kind of go over that for the entire board so I can make sure that we have key points and key questions that were presented at the instructional committee and can provide that those additional context to uh the board. Uh you know just basically you want to give a a a thought exchange procurement summary. Uh the cost of the of the program is approximately $70,000 which is funded under the operation budget. Uh why thought exchange? Uh it is a unique educational focus uh survey platform uh that we've used for approximately about two years now in the district. Uh uh we we went through the uh um procurement process uh under the soul source vendor uh which also was vetted
060by uh the city purchasing agent uh the city attorney uh uh and the chief uh administrative officer. Uh those process also followed all uh formal city procedures. Uh it was presented to the board uh uh per the 3000 series policies require which was required for purchases over $25,000. Uh a little bit more about the thought exchange platform. Uh the purpose of the platform is to capture district-wide feedback uh and utilizing that feedback in order to help guide the work of the district. Uh it in it it entails you know engaging a a broad range of voices across the district uh and the schools and the district uh and I can tell you board uh I think we have to do a little a better job of making sure that the utilization of it is more
061I think the first year uh utilization was not as as good as last year's uh utilization. uh and if approved, I feel very confident that uh we will as a district uh including the board uh will be able to use this this uh communication opportunity platform to really engage our community. Uh I think one of the things that uh as we start working with uh um public works uh this will be another opportunity for us to utilize that those the services of thought exchange to really dive deeper into uh the transparency piece for our community as well. Um uh when you look at the volume the response to the the volume management traditional surveys can be overwhelming. We all understand that. I think uh Mr. Traver brought some of those those concerns up uh in
062in his committee me meeting uh and also it's you know limited to multiple choices when you do surveys uh through thought exchange. This will allow a lot of open-ended input. Uh and then it organizes those and summarizes those uh those um that input for the utilizations for staff, you know, uh to move to move that information forward and to be able to kind of pinpoint areas that we really truly need uh need assistance in. Um and the administrative tools, you know, segments the different responses by the groups uh from students, parents and community members to to individual uh staff members, administrators really ensuring everybody has that representation and that voice uh that is needed in order to really address the concerns across the different platforms. uh it also focus on you know on themes and
063patterns that we may not necessarily be are able to do when we analyze those things individually and so I think it's important that you uh that we're able to to to look at those things uh I think one of the major strengths of of uh thought exchange is that uh it's it's a meaningful insight through data analysis and one of the things that I think most school districts I know most superintendents board principles you all you have to look at the data. The data doesn't lie. The data tells you what the true picture is when you're when you're working with you know different you know avenues of change and improvement within a school district. So you know being able to utilize that is is is a huge you know benefit for us as a district.
064Um the current usage again you know this is this will next year if approved would be the third year of implementation. uh and I think you could see an improvement every year on the implementation of that. Uh and then again overall you know just the referral of thought exchange the documents that we can use um I I would love to offer up to the board chair uh to bring back you know hard copies of all the surveys that went out this year uh and we can give the board a detailed perspective of how they were used and how they were how how we use them within the district. In addition to uh the portal, I also uploaded a uh a a comprehensive sheet for the board to consider and it breaks down a district-wide parental
065uh uh surveys for uh parents and families, directors, principles, teachers, staff, and students. in some of the areas that we use thought exchange to bring these things um to life. It talked about the topics that were surveyed. It talks about why we surveyed them and then how we use those results. That's one of the things that Mr. Traber brought up in his committee meeting that he wanted to know a little bit more about the utilization and how it was being done. So, we had this overview for the board for consideration. uh it I I didn't I didn't feel you know the the presentation that happened on Wednesday was from the company you know but I think I needed to bring it down to a a perspective of how we use utilize thought exchange in the
066district uh and me myself as the interim school superintendent I know one of the goals that we're going to talk about tonight is how we're going to evaluate myself and my team on how we're engaging in this community, how we're engaging the board, how we're engaging teachers and students and administrators across this district. I feel this could be a very very great opportunity for us. And I can say, you know, I can positively say over the last nine months what we used with thought exchange, we we we summed up a lot of concerns in this community. We got a lot of voice from this community and to this day I hadn't there hasn't been a whole lot of major issues, you know, that we've dealt with in a negative way. There's a lot of things
067out there that still concerns with the community, but this is a great way to be able to bring it back together and utilize it to make that transparency. And I think over the last nine months uh of my tenure, I think we've been very transparent in what we've done. Uh good, bad or indifference. Uh as long as we take charge of our our weaknesses, our our strengths and our weaknesses, that's all we can do. And so we try to do the best best job we can do. But I can tell you this has been a very instrumental tool in the work. Uh and I'm very proud of the use of the tool. uh and then my and my recommendation is for the board to consider the passage of of of this particular instrument uh and
068tool that we use in the district. And so at this time, Madam Chair, I will uh accept any questions and uh try to answer those. >> Miss Esther Mayor Hermes, >> I have um two quick questions. First question um is around why are we using soul source to procure this? Is there another platform out there? So that's question number one. And then question number two is is there another system that we already have that can do this for us? >> To the second question first, I'm not aware of any other system that we currently have that will do the things that thought exchange does. You know the first question is the procurement process. Uh two two years ago the procurement process that was used was this the the so the soul source process that process
069was vetted by the the city purchasing department our department and and also presented to the board as a sole source. uh it is it's eligible for the so source if the board chooses to go through that process for soul source you know so it meets the requirement for that so that's how it was not approved uh and and this is just a renewal of that uh so if we if we have to go back out for uh you know to put it out there again you you might get the same results that there may not be other programs out there that would do exact exactly what this does. So if that's a process that the board would like for me to do, we can do that as well. Uh but so so I may not
070answer the first question the way it needed, but the first one is the sole source. The process was was vetted through the correct purchasing processes and also approved by the board at the time. Uh and so that's what we've used. What I've done is the renewal part of it is that it's already a valid process. Now we're just looking to continue to use it to use it >> and it's according to the presentation we had last week. It is um geared towards education while other vendors um might do similar work with surveys. This one is has the education um this that that's what make it so source basically it's geared towards the education. >> You had another question you did both Mr. Kovic. >> Yeah I'd like to take you piggy back off Mr. Mr.
071Mayor Jim and a lot of some of what Rob was saying at um committee meeting. Um couple of things that it's really not optimal here is timeline of getting it approved and I would like to see that done better and just because we can go soul source doesn't mean we should go soul source. Um, I would like to see not not this not this time cuz I do like the program and we do need it going forward, but I would like to see it go out to bid with a little bit of a wider birth. We should not be writing RFPs in such a narrow way that it only leaves one vendor because then there might be other vendors out there with other unique aspects that we could use that might be more beneficial to
072us or not, but we're not seeing those because we're not using the RFP process to the extent that we should be. I I'm always troubled by soul soft soul source providers because they could always be somebody's cousin or something like that or whatever have you. Not that this is the case, but it's a process that's right for abuse. And this the um procurement process where we send it out RFP. It's more public. You can see it inside the portal. You see the responses and see who comes to it. And it'll be a more responsible use of our funding and oversight which is in a limited capacity. And I'm sure that probably would talk about that >> and thank you for that. I think that's that's you make a valid point there. So for you know
073moving forward I think we could actually look at that. Uh I would have to work with Mr. Pas and and the purchasing department to make sure that we're going to cast a net that's we can do that in a in a different way. Uh and maybe we will be able to get some additional things because like you said there's when you when you bring in the AI version of it all these different you know vendors are now popping up. Uh a year or two ago that didn't happen right so you're seeing a lot more of that into play in educational software now. And so I I think it it may be, you know, time moving forward that we that we can take a look at that and uh uh we can we can set the
074stage for that and uh moving forward for sure. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Woodson. I think that we should move forward with this project. You know, there's nobody on this board that's going to make the thousands and thousands of interactions that this program makes. You know, it's get we get valuable pro of of valuable information from this program. And you know that's just just you know from year from the first year that we used it to now you know the the amount of the amount of uh uh you know people that have exponentially uh used this program. I think you know like I said nobody on this board is going to make that many interactions with people. So I think that this is a good idea and we should move forward with this project. >>
075Thank you Mr. Woodson. Mr. favor. >> I I'm not opposed to moving forward. I'll preface my remarks. I said this last week. Um but I am in support of what I said last week and Mr. Sakalovic just said. Um I think in the future we need to take a look at what else is out there. Now when this was originally presented to us the proprietor said that his program was unique um and uh that's the basis under which as I understand it the sole source exemption was permitted um that his his material was unique as I argued last week in the last two years many things have developed and I would suggest that that his uniqueness may not be so unique anymore. Uh, and that it's worth us taking a look at it. I do
076recall that at the time, um, the cost was less in fact than what we were paying for the survey company that we were using at the time. Uh, and that was a factor. Don't know if that's true anymore. So, we need to look at all that stuff in a in a in a truly open way to make sure that we're doing what's right for our students and our district. uh in the future. So, um but I believe that given the fact that the district has been using this program, that the administration is comfortable using it and believes that it is a useful tool and that the cost is in line or consistent with it being a good value. Um it is worth um approving. uh having admonished the district last week for bringing it up
077last minute, I don't need to um spend a lot of time this week doing so again. Um uh but uh I do believe it is worth us in the future putting it out to proper bid and looking at what else is out there these days um to see if it's still as good as it was claimed three two years ago. Um, thank you. >> You um, is there a motion? See, no other questions. >> The thought exchange subscription. >> Motion. Motion moved uh to renew the thought exchange subscription was made by Mr. Traber, seconded by Mr. Sakalic. Any further debate? All in favor say I. I. >> Any opposed? Any abstensions? That passes. Thank you. Next item on the agenda is the approval of the board superintendent goals for this school year. Um they're in
078your portal and um [laughter] these are we developed them about a month ago. Um and so after Dr. A and I looked them over again um we just bring it before you guys for approval. And he also attached in the portal the previous goals he had made made for academic goals. So there's any questions on these if there's anything you want to amend or >> Mr. Chvers made a motion to approve the superintendent board superintendent goals. >> It's been seconded by Miss Casemir. Any further discussion on this Mr. Mr. Kick. >> Yeah, just a quick question. I really don't have honestly I'm trying to really look at it. Um has anything changed since the last iteration. >> Okay, that's all. >> So we just um we had five different categories. Um >> all the same
079>> and they're all the same. We just kind of spelled it out a little uh further. >> So they're not as uh general as they were before. >> Yeah. >> Students here. >> Mr. Dr. >> I want to kind of bring to your attention, you know, the academic and operational goals. I really wanted to be I wanted to dig deeper into like your your English language arts, your math goals, your multilingual language, college career. Those are high points that the state of Connecticut also measures the district by. So, I want to make sure that I provided the baseline of where we are now and then what we need to to make improvements on every single year for the next five years. uh we can always adjust those goals on a yearly basis, but you have
080to be able to have some accountability measures that's going to be able to hold my staff and I accountable to making sure we move academics across this district is the need and we we got to do a better job there. Uh, and so I think when you when you look at the the the wide range of of goals, there's a lot of them, but chronic absenteeism, suspension rates, um, math, you know, ELA, um, special ed improvements, bilingual improvements, college career readiness. So it's it's a it's a it's a it's a it's a gamut of areas that should be important to you to you guys as a board as a board uh to make sure that you have some accountability academically. All the other things you know evolve around um you know strategic planning process that's
081a that's a big thing for this board. Uh so we have to start that process right. Uh the other is family and community engagement. Uh we're going to do those things. We also uh you guys, you know, made yourself um you know, some goals that you're going to get out into the community as well. Um you know, we also talk about fiscal responsibility. We got the state even helping us on this area. Um you know, and then talent development. When we get people in this district, we have to keep them here, right? Uh and so that that import that that's a huge important piece for satis satisfaction of the work that they're doing within our system. Uh and then making sure that we have you know you know comparable salaries and things that we can
082entice other people other teachers to come to this district as well. So I think it's a it's a it's it's wellrounded. there five focal points and I think it'll be a good opportunity to show this community that we're going to be able to improve in these areas and then we can talk about them and you can talk about them and I think that's what we have to be able to do. I have to equip you with the data points to be able to sat in front of a community and said, "Here's what we're doing here." Uh, on the strategic planning pieces, you guys need to be out there with me, you know, working through that process. What's important to you as your constituents uh as we move this thing forward? Uh, the time is now.
083I think we have a great opportunity to be able to do that, y'all. Uh, and as long as we're focused, we got the things in front of us, uh, and we make the the the community accountable for what we say we're going to do. So, I'm excited about it. I think it's a good a good start for us. Uh, and looking forward to kind of working with each of you together to make it happen. >> Yeah. And so, we'll do um a vote on that. Just so you know that we'll we'll have like a midyear kind of evaluation on this to see if we're on target. And then at the end of the year we'll use this to um evaluate uh ourselves and Dr. Avery as well. So um say no further questions. All in
084favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? >> And any abstensions? Seeing none. That is all. Um >> well Mr. Chabber >> any other any other business? Yes. on the personal information. Madam Chair, on his way out, Mr. Nquo and a mute bit of information. Uh, last week we just we're still on. Mr. Medina, >> uh, handed me a point of bit of information. We discussed the kindergarten paras at my meeting last week. I asked for an update at tonight's meeting. Uh, he handed me this sheet. says 38 out of the 41 kindergarten pairs assigned have been filled as of this morning. >> So now I would point out two things that we aspire to uh one uh we aspire to put replace all the kindergarten pairs we unfortunately had to lay off many years
085ago so that we have a one-on-one not half of them filled but I want to compliment uh Dr. A bravery and his staff for filling half of them back to what we were before. Uh and thank them for that. Um and two um at some point I want to make sure they are uh uh not substitute Paris but union paris um which would be the other goal that we would aspire to and that would be when we get the money we deserve to get from the state of Connecticut. Yeah. So on that note, I would move to adjourn. Madam chair, >> is there a second? Second, Mr. Sakovic. All in favor? >> I meetings adjourned at 8:38. I was just getting it.