001Mhm. >> Good evening, everybody. Welcome to our May 19th formal Board of Ed Happy to have so many people here tonight. >> Mrs. Cantwell? Here. Ms. Franklin? Here. Mrs. Bedoudi? Here. Mr. Heisman? Here. Ms. Lam? Here. Ms. Matty? Here. Mrs. Russ? Here. Mr. Sherman? >> Here. Mr. Zabriskie? Here. Dr. McCreary? Here. Dr. McLean? Here. Ms. Ernesta? Here. Ms. Barry? Here. Mr. Bezzano? Here. Mrs. Bennington? She's on her way. Mr. Butwell? Here. Ms. Cochiola? Here. Mrs. Damaro? Here. Mrs. DeTuno? Ms. Mr. Cuckle? Here. Mr. Lemay? Mrs. Prestash? Here. Ms. Middlebrooks? Here. Ms. O'Leary? Here. Ms. Shepherd? Here. Ms. Telmont? Here. Mrs. Weiskopf? Here. Marcel? Here. Jacob? Here. Gillian? Here. And Summer? Here. Okay. Thank you, Lisa. Everybody should have an agenda in front of them. I just have one quick addition to the agenda is that
002when we finish our regular board meeting, I'd like to ask members of the superintendent search committee to please stay and we'll have a a quick meeting right after this meeting and I promise it won't be long. And then just a note, Lisa, moving forward under liaisons, we have to add the public asset and facilities committee moving forward because we now have a board liaison to that group. Um I need approval of the agenda, please. So, may I ask for a motion? Matt Allen. Thank you. Um onto correspondence, we did receive several letters, most of them you all received as well. I think some of those are going to be shared as part of our public comment period. Those that aren't going to be shared in public comment period, well, all of them we'll make sure
003to include with the minutes of the meeting. The public comments we [clears throat] received were specifically about class sizes at Edna Stevens School. And we'll hear some um some of those read tonight. On to public comment. Is anyone here to make a public comment? If you are, just raise your hand so I can get a sense. Okay. I'm going to read the rules for public comment. I know, Mrs. Demetriades and I, we all It sure is your favorite part of the meeting. Um I will read these just so everybody can hear them, but really important if you uh go go off these rules, I'm going to have to stop you. So, uh I will try to read this quickly, but make sure that you can hear. Individuals are welcome to address the Board of Education
004for up to 3 minutes each. Uh Oh my gosh, this is cut off. During public comments portion of the meeting, but board members will not generally engage in dialogue. The Board of Education chair may, at her discretion, extend the time for public comment. Speakers must come to the podium and share your name and address. Public comment is for residents of the town of Cromwell or those representing our um unions, presidents of our unions, uh which is under special permission, so we've already had that discussion. To facilitate efficient sharing of your comments, we encourage you to share any comments you may have about instruction, discipline, or learning materials first with your student's teacher, then principal, and followed by the superintendent before bringing the comments to the Board of Education. However, if you do not believe your
005comments have been addressed appropriately, or if you believe that they should be shared with the Board of Education for any other reason, please feel free to do so. Any complaints or concerns about individual Cromwell BOE employees should be directed to the superintendent and the BOE in writing rather than in public comment at Board of Education meetings. All comments must not include personal attacks and comments cannot be discourteous, threatening, vulgar, or otherwise inappropriate. The board chair may at her discretion curtail any public comments or terminate any such individual's privilege of address at any time if they violate these rules, violate reasonable standards of decorum, are boisterous, or are repetitious. The Board of Ed reserves the right to limit public comments to particular topics. The Cromwell Board of Education values the well-being of our students and families.
006Those electing to make public comments at Cromwell Board of Education meetings are strongly discouraged from sharing identifiable information of their children in such comments including but not limited to the name, age, and learning ability, and are reminded that any comments made during a Cromwell BOE meeting become a permanent matter of public record and may be accessible by individuals in the future. As such, any person making public comments during a Cromwell BOE meeting is solely responsible for the information they choose to share. We kindly ask that you consider the privacy of your family and your children while making comments. Thank you for your patience as I read that. Um again, may I see a show of hands so that we can start. Okay, I'm going to go first row over and then we'll just loop around.
007So, Mrs. Demitrus, do you want to go and then we'll go down your row? Hi, it's um Linda Demitrus. Mrs. Demitrus, just turn your mic Oops. 7 Bonnie Briar, Cromwell, Connecticut. Good evening. I'm here today as a Cromwell Public School employee of 20 plus years to strongly advocate for the retention of our first grade teacher. It has come to my attention that this position is being eliminated due to attrition and budget adjustments. Losing a classroom teacher and reducing the number of first grade classes from seven to six will lead to larger class sizes which will place an unfair burden on our other first grade teachers. This will compromise the quality of individualized attention to our six and seven-year-olds. Also, we need to realize that several special education students will be grouped in a cluster within
008these six classrooms. We need to be adding additional support, not increasing classroom size. I urge the Board of Ed to explore all possible alternative alternatives to retain this first grade classroom. Thank you for your time and continued commitment to our students. Thank you. Is there anybody else in the front row? Thank you. Good evening. My name is Stephanie Kosinski. I reside at 12 Blackhall Drive here in Cromwell. Um I'm speaking on behalf of I'm Sorry, I'm a little nervous. Um I'm both an educator in a public school setting outside of Cromwell and also a parent of two children that attend Cromwell public schools. I'm also here to advocate for the uh first grade classroom position. Just having a student myself in kindergarten and understanding that smaller class sizes um results in more benefits for students.
009Um before making decisions, I just um want you to consider student performance. I was reviewing the documents that were linked in the agenda and everything talked about enrollment, projected enrollment, Cromwell population, and things like that. But one thing that I didn't see was student performance. How are our current kindergarten students performing in school? Are 90% or 100% of those students excelling? Are they reading at or above grade level or performing at or above grade level in math? If the answer is no, why would we cut a classroom? How would that improve those students' academic outcomes? You know, research consistently shows that smaller class sizes impact student achievement, student engagement, and as well as social emotional growth. And important to also consider is that that usually has a a higher positive impact on our more minority
010populations, our students with IEPs, our students that are multilingual learners, our choice students. So, there are many students who might not be of the majority population who really thrive in a smaller classroom setting. So, I think reducing the classes from seven to six can have a negative impact on those students. Um, sorry. I just went We also need to think about just social emotional well-being. These students are used to, you know, the class sizes that they currently have. The teachers are able to develop trust and build relationships and get to know their students. Peers can get to know one another, learn from one another, and develop a positive classroom community that becomes more difficult to do in a larger class size. So, I just really want I know that budget is right always a concern
011in education and resource resources are tight now more than ever. But, I still I'm here just to urge the board to consider that and prioritize maintaining the current class numbers that we have. It's not just about numbers, but about giving our kids the best quality education and the best foundation for their futures. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anybody else in the first row? No. Second row? Thanks. Good evening. >> Could you just turn the mic back on? Here we go. Good evening. My name is Lynn Scamferino, 48 Prospect Hill Road. I am a paraeducator at ECS and a parent of a fifth grader at West. Our students' needs in both gen ed and sped are at an all-time high. Our students need extra support. We need to look at the needs of the students
012and not the enrollment numbers. Smaller class sizes are most beneficial to both teachers and students. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Good evening, everybody. Can you hear me? If I get too loud, I'm very sorry. I am a teacher first, so if my teacher voice goes on too high, just tell me to turn it down and I'll we'll be fine. Um good evening, members of the Board of Education and Cromwell Public Schools community. Thank you for the time, your thoughts, responsibilities you bring to decisions that impact our students and schools. On behalf of the teachers of >> Can you just tell us your name and address? >> Oh, I'm sorry. Georgiann Stokes, 36 Lincoln Road. Okay. So on behalf of the teachers of Edna C. Stevens, respectfully urge you to take a second look
013at the recently approved budget and consider reallocating funds to preserve the first-grade classroom at Edna C. Stevens. We understand that revisiting a budget requires difficult decisions and creative problem-solving. However, the Cromwell received with Cromwell receiving an additional $520,405 in supplemental state education funding, we believe there is an opportunity to align budget decisions with the district's commitment to placing students first. First grade is a foundational year for literacy, math, independence, and social-emotional growth. It is the year students transition from learning basic reading skills to becoming readers, from understanding numbers to solving problems, and from needing constant guidance in becoming more independent learners and classmates. At the same time, the needs of our youngest learners have changed significantly. Today's classrooms include students navigating anxiety, trauma, food insecurity, housing instability, ADHD, behavioral challenges, and other social emotional needs
014that directly affect learning. Our support staff work tirelessly, but their caseloads continue to grow, leaving classroom teachers increasingly responsible for balancing academics for all students, while also providing support to the students who needs whose needs require immediate attention. Before learning can happen, students must feel safe, supported, and ready to engage. I thank you again for your time and consideration. Thank you. Hello. Thanks this. Can you hear me? Kind of tall. Um I'm Elizabeth Gaudino. I live on 7 Edgewood Street, Carmel, and I have two high school students that come here. Um one freshman, one junior, and I'm a teacher in second grade for 23 years. And I need these right now, so. I'm getting at the age, you know, 23 years. Good evening, members of the Board of Education. I recognize the complexity of the
015decisions before you and the responsibility of balancing fiscal constraints with the needs of the district. These are not easy choices, and I appreciate the thoughtful consideration that guides your work. I I before you not only as an educator, but as someone who sees every single day what our youngest learners need in order to succeed. And what happens when we are stretched too thin to fully meet those needs. Cromwell Public Schools is committed to fostering an equitable culture of continuous improvement. Where we value and meet students academic, physical, and social emotional needs. These are not just words. They're commitments. Commitments that begin in our earliest grades where the foundation for literacy, problem-solving, and self-regulation [clears throat] is built. Over the past decade, our primary class sizes have ranged from approximately 21 students to as few as
01614. However, the most significant shift has been in the level and complexity of students' needs within each classroom. Today, more students require targeted academic intervention, behavioral support, and social emotional care than ever before. At the same time, specialized instructional support personnel are managing increased caseloads, making it more challenging to consistently deliver services at the level students require. As a result, there has been a significant shift in responsibility to general education teachers. We're not only delivering core instruction, but implementing interventions, differentiating across a wide range of abilities, supporting emotional regulation, collaborating with specialists, and ensuring that every student is progressing at their own learning capacity. Eliminating a classroom position will increase class sizes and further intensify these demands. While educators remain deeply committed, there are practical limits to what can be sustained effectively within a single
017classroom. Larger class sizes reduce opportunities for individualized instruction, limit meaningful interactions, and make it more difficult to respond to each student's unique needs in a timely and impactful way. This reality challenges our commitment to providing a rigorous and equitable educational experience, and ensuring a safe, supportive, and engaging learning environment. Equity is not about equal numbers. It is about meeting students where they are and providing what they need to be successful. This impacts all students. It affects the child who needs additional support to build foundational skills, as well as a child who is ready for enrichment and deeper learning. Every student benefits from a classroom where their teacher has the time and capacity to truly know them and respond to them. If we truly believe in high expectations, continue you're over three. If you could just
018just summarize. Sure. Well, I'm at the end anyway. >> Okay. Preparing students to become contributing members of a dynamic global society, then we must ensure the structures are in place to make that possible. In the end, budgets reflect priorities, and this decision will show whether we are truly prioritizing the needs of our youngest learners at the moment they need us most. Thank you for your time, and your leadership, and your consideration. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Karen Ambler. I reside at 10 Wildwood Road. I have had the privilege of being an educator here in Cromwell for 36 years. During my tenure, I have seen a great deal. I have seen curriculum changes come and go, and then most of the time they get rebranded and come back. I have seen new schools erected,
019and I have seen other buildings torn down. I have seen great joy, and I've also sadly witnessed tragedy, grieving students and teachers. I've seen a lot. However, during the past 36 years, I have never seen the needs of our children be so great and so diverse. Never. To support the social and emotional and behavioral needs of our young lunar learners, we have now IAs, SROs, BCBAs, RBT, ABAs. These are familiar terms, and yet now they have become part of our daily vernacular. The point is simple. We are raising and educating children today in a different time, and we must act accordingly. During the years this year's budget process, there was a cut made to the first grade classroom, and it was a classroom. I have heard and have read on town social media that we
020it was through attrition because the as you know, because the substitute teacher was not renewed. However, in doing that, that classroom goes away, and I want to make that abundantly clear because I've read on social media that there hasn't been any change in the number of teachers. Yes, indeed, there have been. This is a reduction. As all of us know, there are foundational years. These are foundational years, excuse me, for our young learners. I urge you, as you've heard this evening, to look past the number of students in the classroom, and even though they are well invariably go up, and please look at what they represent. In my job as a preschool teacher at at at the Steven School, to tell you the truth, I might not be directly impacted by this change. However, I
021am here tonight because of who will be impacted, and that is the children. You know the Lorax, he speaks for the trees. Tonight, I am the Lorax, and I speak for the children. Please do what is right. My history in Cromwell has also taught me what happens more often than not when a classroom is cut. We do not often, if ever, put it back. So, instead tonight, we have the opportunity to engage in forward thinking and looking ahead. Even if the numbers are low on the low side next year, number one, they won't likely stay that way because of the projected kindergarten numbers the year after. And number two, even if the numbers are dipped a little bit this year, why don't we value that? Why aren't we celebrating that? Children deserve more time with
022their teachers, more dedication to specific learning styles that they need, strategies that they need, more connection, [clears throat] more personalized instruction, more needs being met. >> Can you summarize? I am. Thank you. I basically just wanted to say thank you. And just as the children need us tonight, we need you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Anybody else here for public comment? Do I see a hand in the Good evening. Uh Sarah Sorry. Thank you. Good evening. Um I'm Sarah Sherman, 13 Scott Lane. Um I'm an educator in a neighboring district, and I also have a child at ECS in West. Um and I've always been so proud of the great education that my kids have received at ECS in West. I think Cromwell is really a hidden gem in the small class sizes that
023you've had, um and the ability that my students, my children, um have had in those smaller class sizes to really benefit from individualized instruction from their teachers, differentiation, just the social emotional programs that the teachers of Cromwell run are really amazing. Um, I've been so proud of that as a parent and also as an educator. Um, and I think at the last Board of Ed meeting someone commented that you guys are really poised in a special place to maintain those small class sizes. I think if you would consider keeping seven rather than going down to six, even though there is a dip, um, keeping that class maintained, allowing teachers to meet the needs of all learners is a really special opportunity, um, and just keeps the quality of Cromwell public education high. You know, this
024is a great investment in our community and I'm so proud to live in Cromwell, um, because of the quality of our public schools. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone left that would like to provide a public comment? Good evening, and thank you for allowing me to address you tonight. My name is Lee Newman and I'm the president of the Education Association of Cromwell. I represent 180 certified educators who every day do their best to place students first. If a first grade classroom is eliminated, it's not just those first grade students and teachers who will be affected. The district will will feel the effects for years to come. The early elementary years are critical for learning to read so that by the time students reach their high school years and beyond, they are reading to
025learn. The state legislature has just announced an increase in state funding for the next fiscal year for Boards of Education and Cromwell is slated to receive nearly half a million dollars. If the Board makes the prudent decision to reinstate the first grade classroom for next year, that teacher salary represents less than 14% of that additional funding. In fact, that teacher's salary is less than 2/10 of 1% of the total budget. Before last November's municipal election, the EAC sent out a questionnaire to candidates for the Board of Education. Those candidates who responded mentioned the need to listen to us and to ensure we have the necessary resources to do our jobs. If the board's priority is placing students first, then the right decision is to use a portion of those funds and keep the first-grade classroom.
026Thank you for listening. Thank you. Good evening, members of the Board of Education. My name is Dr. Alicia Ferris, and I'm at 53 Lincoln Road in Cromwell. Um, I stand before you tonight not only as a community member and parent, but as someone who's dedicated the last 20 years of my professional life to elementary education in this district and beyond. I've served served as an elementary administrator for the past 9 years, and prior to that I spent 9 years here in Cromwell Public Schools teaching at ECS as a first-grade teacher, second-grade teacher, and the K-2 literacy consultant. Um, a large portion of my career was spent teaching first grade, so I know firsthand what it takes to provide the high-quality instruction and support to our youngest learners in this community. I'm here tonight in strong
027support of maintaining the seventh first-grade classroom and not eliminating the position. First grade is one of the most critical years in a child's educational journey. It is the year when students are expected to transition from learning foundational skills to applying them independently. At the same time, teachers are managing an incredibly wide range of academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs. In a single first-grade classroom, you may have students learning letter sounds sitting beside students who are already reading fluently and navigating complex text. You may have students receiving special education services, students learning English, students needing behavioral support, and students navigating significant emotional needs. All while the expectation is that teachers are differentiating instruction for each individual need each individual needs within and across all content areas. Research, cuz I'm sure you'll hear a lot about that, um
028including a meta-analysis spanning across 300-plus studies, consistently demonstrates that smaller class sizes in the primary grades lead to stronger student outcomes. Studies find that students in smaller K-3 classrooms make greater gains in reading and mathematics achievement, particularly students who are at risk academically. There are also long-term benefits, um including higher graduation rates and increased enrollment in advanced coursework later on. But beyond the statistics, smaller class sizes change the daily reality of teaching and learning. Smaller class sizes allow teachers to provide more targeted small group instruction, more individualized feedback, and more responsive interventions within the classroom. They create the time and space for restorative conversations, explicit modeling of behaviors and content, and meaningful relationship building with students and families. They allow teachers to truly differentiate in ways that research tells us are essential. And providing And
029this allows us to provide equitable access to the general education curriculum for all students. Our primary teachers today are being asked to implement numerous district initiatives and curricula simultaneously. Phonological awareness, right? Phonics, reading comprehension, vocabulary, writing, math, science, social studies, while also expected to meet that every child exactly where they are developmentally. That work is extraordinarily complex. Smaller class sizes make that work more manageable and more effective. Again, research on early literacy intervention is especially clear. Students who struggle with reading in the primary grades are likely to continue struggling in subsequent years. I'm going to ask you to wrap up, please. >> So, smaller class sizes provide teachers with the ability to deliver an exceptionally high level of focused instruction. I've personally seen the benefits of this as my kindergarten daughter started the year receiving
030interventions in both reading and math and has exited those interventions and is exceeding benchmarks because of the small group instruction Miss Shay has been able to provide within the classroom. So, our youngest learners deserve a small class size and deserve to be set up for success. Um, I thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Is there anybody else here to provide a public comment? Okay. Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your thoughts and insights with us. I'm going to move on to celebrating our faculty and staff. I'm going to ask Dr. McLean and Dr. Vazzano from Central to please join us at the podium. Good evening, everyone. Um, so this is one of this is an opportunity that I love each year that we do. Um, I helped oversee
031the Teacher Leadership Academy, which is a fantastic group of teachers um, that gets together and we provide some PD and and they do some projects that you're going to hear about later. Um, I partner with Dr. Jeremy Vazzano from um, Central Connecticut State University and he's just going to give you a little bit of a background on our group and and what we've done over the last couple years. Thanks, Dr. McLean. Good evening, everybody. Um, before I get started and introduce myself, I just really quickly want to offer my congratulations to Dr. Macrine on your well-deserved retirement. You will be missed. Thank you so much for your support of our children in Cromwell. I'm also a parent here, as well as uh supporting our teacher leadership academy. We appreciate it. So, as Dr. Maclean said,
032my name is Jeremy Beaudoin. Um, I'm a faculty member in the Department of Educational Leadership and Instructional Technology at Central Connecticut State University, where I prepare uh future leaders of public schools. I'm a former school principal myself. And our Teacher Leadership Academy, believe it or not, this for those of you who have been to these meetings before in in May, um this is actually our 10th year of doing this. It's pretty exciting. We've been doing this for a decade here in Cromwell. Um, we have a special relationship with Central, and this is one of the manifestations of that. But, as Dr. Maclean said, we give professional learning to volunteer teachers. I want to emphasize that. These are teachers that are kind of stepping up and and doing something that they don't have to do. Uh,
033they're spending their time to work with us to learn about leadership and then apply it to projects of interest to them and need in their own schools. So, we're super we're super proud of uh the program, and uh again, thank you so much for your time. I'm going to turn it back to Dr. Maclean so we can recognize uh some of our Teacher Leadership Academy participants. Okay. So, I'm going to go through these projects. We did have some great projects this year, and this is a culmination of um a year or more's work, um because some of the members have been on this um team for more than 1 year. Um We have anchor lessons, um an Envirothon Club, um creating collaborative curriculum, and a writing club. And we'll tell you a little bit more
034about those. First, I'm going to have Brian Calvin. >> [applause] >> Brian worked on some warm-up activities and shared some collective resources with the middle school teachers in order to foster some common language with the staff and across um the disciplines um that align with district and state um assessments and you know, anything from figurative language to literary analysis and to grammar and usage, all those very exciting things. Um you know, our middle school is working on um their STEAM middle school and we're working on um interdisciplinary collaborations and so this was helpful in carrying over language um you know, across disciplines and within our our English department as well across grade levels. All right, next is Stacy Hool. >> [applause] >> So, this is a really really cool opportunity that Mrs. Hool provided for
035our students um to participate in the Envirothon club um which provided curriculum and coaching and collaboration activities for our students. Um last year they attended the state competition um and earned the rookie of the year. Um and this year there are new members so this club is growing um and um we're excited to see where they're going to go um in future years, but we didn't have this before Mrs. Hool um got this off the ground and running so we're very lucky um that our kids have this opportunity. All right, Mr. Chiblawski. >> [applause] >> So, Mr. Chiblawski started working on a collaborative way um to kind of know what other disciplines are doing. So, like I said, we're really trying to create a STEAM curriculum and make that more interdisciplinary as time goes on.
036Um, and so he's trying to create a document where people can record what they're doing and find an easy at your fingertips way, um, to find different collaborations between, um, the content areas. Um, so he's been working on that for 2 years. Yeah, for just about 2 years now and, you know, like as anything else it's a constantly changing document, but I think it has really been helpful in helping teachers get some resources at their fingertips as they're thinking about making things more interdisciplinary at the middle school. So, thank you, Mr. Mark. >> [applause] >> And finally, Mr. Mark Bozeman. He couldn't be here tonight, but this is the second year of a writing club. So, this is an opportunity for students. Um, they did publish their first publication this year, um, and they had,
037um, they have club members that work in and create different, um, pieces of creative writing and they work to publish them. Um, and so this is something I believe that was at the middle school years back, but has made a revival because of Mr. Bozeman's work. Um, and so we're very excited that the kids have this opportunity, um, to show their, um, expertise in writing in middle school. This really is an exceptional group of teachers and I enjoy working with them immensely. They really do think about what our our students need, what our buildings need, what opportunities can we provide. And like Dr. Mizone said, it is entirely voluntary. So, they, you know, come and they do these things and they get some leadership, um, training and then work on these projects that really ultimately
038only benefit our students and our staff. So, I really appreciate this group and I really love working with them. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Dr. McLean. Anybody have any comments or questions? We we greatly appreciate all of your efforts to go above and beyond to enhance the experiences of our students. So, thank thank you so much. All right. Mr. Contino, I think you're up next. Hey, good evening, everybody. Uh Senor Williams, where are you? Come on up. Okay, so it's my distinct uh privilege here. Um So, Christina is uh she is a Spanish teacher here at Cromwell High School, but she is also so much more than that. Uh this past year, recently, uh Christina was the recipient of the 2026 George A. Coleman Excellence in Equity Award, which is presented annually by SERC. She
039was nominated for her work as a change maker in our educational community and was honored at SERC's second annual awards night at the New Britain Museum of American Art. Now, Christina earned this recognition for outstanding leadership she has demonstrated at CHS. She has organized our international fair, Diwali event, Eid events, the Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day, and so many more amazing events. Always seeking innovative, authentic learning experiences for students, she has created events that families and students deeply appreciate. In fact, this year, two families at our Eid event brought flowers to someone they had never met except over via email to express their deep gratitude for Senor Williams putting on and running that event. Thanks to Christina's efforts, our families and students feel seen and valued. These cultural events are thoughtfully planned and inclusive,
040providing a safe space for our students and families to share their traditions. Having attended most of these events, I can attest to their meaningful impact. Senora Williams is a dedicated professional who embodies our district motto of placing students first. Cromwell High School and our district are fortunate to have her. Our students and families clearly recognize her commitment to providing exceptional educational experience. And I could talk about Christina for days, um but I'm going to leave it at that. Congratulations Senora Williams, we just wanted to recognize you [music] uh this evening. >> [applause] >> I [applause] will I will keep it short. I know you have a long night, but I am very humbled by this award. Um the families have been amazing and honestly what's inspiring me more is my students that they want to
041Rocky Hill and invite other districts. So, I'm like just so moved by them. They're they're literally the reason why I do it. Um no other reason. I mean, I just love chopping for food for them and and and having that literally literally just bringing people together to share that we the world's just so so complex now, right? So, like these are events that we really need to value and and bring to the district and we have a great district, right? We could go on days and and change things, but it's really good to celebrate. So, thank you and thank you everybody and trusting me with your children. >> [applause] >> Don't go anywhere, Mrs. Williams. You're not getting away with it, Daddy. We'll talk later, bye. Congratulations. [laughter] Right in front of everyone. for you,
042not me. Um Mrs. Williams was one of the very first teachers that I met when I came to Cromwell and I said, "This is really just too good to be true. This she cannot possibly do all of these things for our children and for our staff and for our families and never get tired of doing it and always consistently asking for more and more and more of how she can possibly help and bring the community together and feel everyone and make sure everyone feels special and valued and loved and appreciated for who they are. Mrs. Williams my only sad one of my own sad moments of leaving Brownell not my only one one there's a lot but one big real sad one my one of my board meetings I'll tell you that >> [laughter] >>
043but I will really truly truly truly would have loved and I hope this will happen and I you deserve it so much is that you will be Brownell's district teacher of the year because I know then you will be the state district teacher of the year. You are incredible and I just cannot thank you enough for everything that you do. Receiving this award you may not may not know of course we all know is just such we should have such pride that the district received this award through Mrs. Williams because Well I I actually met Mr. Coleman in his in his SU class when I was there and it was a state school and it was just amazing and he just said go make a difference and go teach kids if you don't like it
044then you really shouldn't be doing it and it's true I mean it's a difficult job but it's actually really rewarding and there's hard days but you have to bring it in every day. You tell me that every time I see you. It's true but the kids need to see that we can't ask them for that and then not give it to them. So anyways that's my motto and I appreciate all your kindness. I'm humbled by it. Thank you. You're the best. >> [applause] >> Congratulations. Thank you Mrs. Williams. We're going to move on to celebrating our students and then we're also going to celebrate our students for the Cape Leadership Awards soon after, so we'll get them out of this meeting sooner rather than later. Good evening, everyone. Yes. I am honored to introduce to
045you tonight, our students who created, as you know or may know, I'll remind you, Mr. Kiss, as I call him, our student news extraordinaire instructor. Every week has our students produce these amazing segments on information about what's going on in our school and so on and so forth, and it's always great for us to see what is happening in school, and he captures that regularly with our students. Well, tonight, I'm very proud, and I'll always be the proud principal of Cromwell Middle School. He's going to tell you about a stage with a story, and it's a segment that was actually aired on Fox 61 Student News, and I'd like to bring up Mr. Kiss, Miss Camilleri, and look at our dedicated student. She even left her her softball game to get here on time. We
046have Brianna Romanjelli and Courtney Vezina, and I'm going to let Mr. Kiss take it away. Hello, my name is Doug Kiss, and I've been in Cromwell for about 27 years, and as Miss Cocchiola said, one of the things I do in my class is we do video production. We do a weekly TV show. And So, I had these students I had Courtney and Brianna back at the beginning of the year. My class ends It's a quarterly class, and the class had ended back in October, and they were disappointed that they weren't going to be able to make any more videos for our YouTube channel, and I said, "Well, there is one project we can do. We Miss Cocchiola mentioned Fox 61. They They allow students in high schools and middle schools to produce stories that
047they actually put on television. The hardest part being coming up with the idea. So, we brainstormed and I had suggested we should do something about our new middle school. So, then we kind of broke it down from there and I asked them if they had been to the auditorium. And it was like it was like October and they were still little, you know, getting used to the building and I mentioned that the auditorium is named after Michael Camelary. And they had said, "Oh, like Mrs. Cam, like Miss Camelary." And I said, "So, that in fact is his daughter. So, wouldn't it be interesting if we did a story about the auditorium being named after him and his daughter is the choir teacher or the the chorus teacher um in that space." I explained to the
048students that he had passed away and I'm sure it would be difficult for her to speak about that. And I talked I said to myself that I had lost my father a few years prior and if you put a camera in front of me, I don't think I would have answered your questions. So, it's totally okay if Megan, Miss Camelary, would say no. So, we asked her and before we can finish, she said, "I'm in." And she sat down with us for a 45 minutes and asked answered a bunch of questions. And some of them were quite personal and it would not have been possible without her involvement. Round of applause for Miss Camelary. >> [applause] >> So, there was just a small group of students involved. Two of them are here. Uh I'm going
049to first mention the ones that weren't here. Uh William Cain, Daniel Hudak, and E.J. Solis. They worked behind the scenes. Uh E.J. in particular, he came to the dedication ceremony, which I believe was back in January for the auditorium. There was a chorus concert. Uh and and he filmed that and we it is on our YouTube channel. If you if you went to it or you hadn't seen it, it's it's there for you. Uh Sophia Shields, Brianna Romanelli, who's here. Ariana Tata and Courtney Vizzone, we planned it with her dad was going to be here tonight. We They asked Miss Campbellari the questions which were personal and emotional and she sat there and answered all of them. And if you if you can search it up on YouTube, it's called Stage with a Story. It
050was on Fox 61 in February and we were told up, we're going to play it. There you go. And we were told that we were going to be nominated for best middle school production and if we win, the students I believe split 500 bucks. So, there you go. And round of applause Miss Campbellari. >> [applause] >> Sorry. Okay. Inside the brand new Crumble Middle School, there is a stage with a story. The Crumble Middle School auditorium is special to chorus teacher Megan Campbellari. Crumble Middle School auditorium is dedicated to Miss Campbellari's late father, Michael, who served as chair of Board of Education for many years. How they the Board of Ed decided they wanted to name the auditorium after my dad and I didn't really know what to think. I was kind of not really
051surprised, but I was really happy cuz he loved the arts. And knowing that I just like to see Miss uh Miss [music] brings us comfort. I am so proud of my children who continue to honor their father in the creative work that they do every day. Tonight we will be able to have the pleasure of seeing my daughter Megan Miss Campbellari with many of you. Um conducting choirs and you know, so I just wanted to thank her after her dad. Dad loved this motto that's not really uh translated into English well, but it's it's Latin and it's noblesse oblige and it means um to have to have much is to give much to people. He would be proud that I ended up doing what I wanted to do in life. I never have steered away
052from becoming a music teacher and I always knew that's what I wanted to do from the time I was in middle school here. And um he didn't get to see me graduate college, but he I think he always knew that I would end up end up doing what I love and I think it's extra special that I ended up working here where he kind of worked, too. I'm a middle school. This auditorium isn't just a performance space. It's a reminder of family, community, and the impact one person can leave behind. From Amity Connecticut, this is Sophia, Courtney, Briana, and Ariana. For Fox 61 Student News. They said nothing could break up >> [applause] >> That was awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that. They left. Do you guys have any questions? If we Does
053anybody have any questions? Oh, can you guys come back up? You ran away so quickly. It's just one question. All right. Mr. Zabroski has a question. Will you let us know if they get the 500 bucks? >> [laughter] >> I was told we were the only middle school that submitted, so I think it's good. You're rich, guys. >> [laughter] >> I got to get to say you were one of the first to >> Miss Cochiolo, can I have you back up to the podium so that we can recognize our KEAP Student Leadership Award recipients? We will give you a second. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. It's always an honor to be able to present these students with this amazing award. And just so to give you a sense of how students are chosen, we have
054to follow the criteria. And it's based on leadership. How willing are these students to take on challenges, capability to make difficult decisions, concern for others, ability to work with others, willingness to commit to a project, diplomacy, ability to understand issues clearly, and an ability to honor a commitment. You can see it's quite a tall order. And from there, the teams get together, the two team eighth grade team, and they choose a student from each um from each team to receive this award. First, I'd like to call Calvin Forrest to the front, please. >> [applause] >> I'm going to say nice things about you, Calvin. Your team of teachers said the following. Cromwell Middle School is fortunate to have Calvin Forrest as a student because each day he represents and models KEAP leadership skills. He has
055earned the Student Leadership Award through his consistent example as an outstanding and resilient classroom leader. His tenacity is evident not only in his willingness to take on challenges, but also in his capability to make decisions with maturity and diplomacy. Driven by a strong academic focus, he has an impressive ability to understand complex assignments with clarity and a strong willingness to commit to long-term projects. Furthermore, he is the most quintessential quint- quint- essential Oh my goodness, I need more coffee. team player. His ability to work collaboratively with his peers ensures that his leadership is not always about his own personal achievement. Calvin's growth mindset and pursuit of excellence easily qualify him as a very deserving recipient of the prestigious Cable Award. >> [applause] >> He's also very humble and modest. Now, may I please have Andrew
056Matruulo please come to the front. Andrew, here's the nice things your team said about you. Ready? From your your team of teachers, they say, "It's a distinct honor to present Andrew the the Cable Award as he truly embodies the spirit of leadership and well-rounded excellence at Cromwell Middle School. Whether leading food drives in the student council or demonstrating his music abilities as a saxophonist in both the CMS Jazz Band and the Northern Regional Music Festival, Andrew consistently sets a high bar for his peers. His commitment to the Cromwell community is equally impressive. The balance between the competitive drive shown in cross country, volleyball, Rebels basketball, and RCP baseball and a heart for service displayed through volunteering at the Cromwell Belden Library. From calling bingo games for our seniors to mentoring younger athletes at the Joseph
057[music] Riley Basketball Camp with the goal of becoming a counselor." I wish I was still around, I'd hire you. "The student navigates every environment with maturity and poise. Above all, his compassion and desire to assist his classmates sets Andrew apart. Even at home, Andrew serves as a role model and a companion to his younger brother Matthew, proving that true leadership is rooted in his character. Congratulations. >> [applause] [applause] >> At that, thank you very much. Congratulations, Andrew and Calvin. Mr. Cuckle. Okay. I'd like to call Caden Felsigno. Come on up. >> [applause] [laughter] >> Not going to embarrass you too much. Okay. Um So, Caden is a passionate leader at Cromwell High School, uh driven by a singular mission. To leave his community better than he found it. As a student who pairs deep integrity
058with a relentless work ethic, he has transformed the school's culture through proactive advocacy and strategic planning. Caden identified a vital need for school inclusivity. He successfully met with administration to talk about the installation of the school's first gender-neutral bathroom, seeing the project through from proposal to completion. During this meeting, Caden did not simply identify a problem. He came up with multiple viable solutions. As the driving force behind the student equity committee, Caden revitalized the organization by launching the inaugural social justice week in 2025. This initiative involved a month of cross-school collaboration. And when I say that, I I mean it. We actually attended Caden attended uh a conference with Farmington High School students, and actually visited Farmington High School uh to better understand what this event should be. Professional training and meticulous event design. Uh
059to prepare for this event, Caden organized a site visit to Farmington High School and led the planning at CHS from beginning to end. As if that's not enough, Caden also flourished as a leader in our performing arts department as a member of our elite choirs, our jazz band, and as a standout member of our all-school production. In fact, uh for his most recent role, he just received a best supporting actor nomination, I believe, for essentially like the high school version of the Oscars. Um right? Yeah. Um He has taken a leadership role with our underclassmen in all facets of his high school career. Carly Nelson, our choir director, said of Caden, "He has made a lasting impact on our music program through remarkable achievement, strong leadership, and a genuine appreciation for the arts." Caden's legacy
060at CHS is one of lasting structural impact. He approaches every challenge with a genuine concern for others and an unwavering dedication to progress. Qualities he is eager to bring to the next chapter in life at Wesleyan University, where he'll be majoring in English and theater. So, congratulations, Caden Colson. >> [applause] >> Okay, next up, Eva Artioli. Whose softball game, unfortunately, was canceled. Senior night. Yeah, we got to work that out. Right? Yeah, before we canceled. It's okay. Lightning. Okay. Eva is an exceptional scholar leader whose high-level academic performance is matched only by her ability to inspire and guide those around her. With a disciplined approach to her studies and a natural aptitude for problem-solving, she has established herself as a pillar of both her school and local community. This past summer, Eva was admitted to
061the Naval Academy Leadership Training Program. During this selective summer program at the United States Naval Academy, Eva refined her command presence and self-assurance, owning the skills necessary to lead in high-pressure environments. Eva is a versatile leader in student government and a committed athlete. Eva bridges the gap between different campus organizations, modeling a relentless, I mean that, a relentless work ethic and dedication to the collective good. Her leadership is on display in athletics, student council, stage crew, and in the summer where she has dedicated her time as a camp counselor. Eva is more than a high achiever. She is a catalyst for growth in others. Coach Joe said of Eva, "She was one of those leaders who never needed the title because our athletes and council members saw the hard work and tenacity that she brought
062every day. She was willing to do the hard work even when it was not asked of her because for her to give anything less than her best would sacrifice the trust that those who made her a leader gave to her." Powerful words there. Whether in the classroom, on the field, or looking toward the stars, see what we did? She leads with a steady hand and a commitment to excellence that leaves a lasting impact on every community she joins. Eva applied and was accepted into not one but two service academies. The Naval Academy and Air Force Academy. In the summer, she will depart for the Air Force Academy as she continues to potentially to her dream right, of becoming an astronaut. Congratulations, Eva Artioli, on this wonderful honor. >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you, Mr. Coppola,
063and congratulations, Eva and Caden. Pretty impressive. Incredible. Okay, I'm going to move us on to less exciting things, for sure. Sorry to all of you who are our liaisons to our town committees. >> [clears throat] >> We have reports of the liaisons from Town Council, Board of Finance, SMS Building Committee, and the Public Asset and Facility Committee. So, let's start with Town Council, Mr. Zabrocky. Sure, as one of the less exciting portions of this meeting, but hopefully something that is important. Sorry, Matt. I'm taking some punches to the ego tonight. >> [laughter] >> Um I did a town a town the Town Council meeting uh last week. There was only a couple of things of of interest um specific to this board. Uh one of which is that there was a study done on the
064Wisser soccer field. It has the drainage issue. Um the outside consulting service made three recommendations. Um and the town team is leaning towards the the third of the three recommendations. Uh I believe the cost was around I want to say it was 1.2, but I feel like I read that it was higher somewhere else. So, uh it's a significant uh it's a significant investment, but it would improve the drainage and the uh the functioning of the field. Um the town council at that point wanted to hold off and get some more information and I believe they were going to invite members of that firm back to another meeting to to hear some more about it. Um, the other thing was that the uh, the town council was interested in our feedback on uh, the new
065language uh, part of the CNR process where if there was a saving somewhere um, for example, okay, we had a uh, $60,000 allocated to a project that would have only cost you 20. So, there was 40 left over. There was some language developed um, that they were hoping we would discuss and uh, consider either endorsing or not endorsing going forward. So, um, that was the the only other thing that really pertained to the sport. Uh, we don't know where we stand on that. I know it didn't make the agenda. I don't know how the discussion will go on that, but maybe I'll hit upon that in the uh, I I think we're going to let Mr. Heisman share the proposal when he gives his update. >> Sounds perfect. So, that's it for me. Thank you.
066Um, Board of Finance, Mrs. Ross. Yeah, there's nothing to report since they approved um, and the town approved the budget. So, nothing as of right now. Is there anything from the Building Committee? Yes, just a couple things from the Building Committee. Um, so in our last meeting we did vote to move forward um, and award a contract for the the solar panels on the middle school. Um, the work will start this summer and the majority of it will get done before school starts, but there will be some a little bit that bleeds over into the beginning of the school year. So, that was really good news. We also took a look at there was a safety concern raised in the cut on the design of the softball field and the level of the fencing. So,
067we looked at a couple different options to improve that design and did move forward. Um, it's it's it's actually raising the level of the fencing. So, it's up a little bit higher to the school, protect the fans, and so on and so forth. So, that is going to move forward as well. Uh and uh and that's that's uh contingent on any zoning review. >> [clears throat] >> So, just wanted to mention those couple things. Thank you, Mrs. Lamb. Mr. Heizen. So, for the public facility and asset committee, um we haven't had any meetings since our last Board of Ed meetings, so there's not a ton to update on there. Um we have finished our uh review of all the schools, site visits to see kind of what's going on at each school from a facilities
068perspective, and looking at potential projects for future projects and things that have wrapped up uh recently. And the next meeting for that uh group is Tuesday of next week. And then I will read the uh CNR allocation um process that that committee has put forward. Uh it's pretty short, so for any capital project with an appropriation in the current fiscal year that is projected to have a surplus, that surplus should be identified as soon as there is a reasonable confidence in the remaining funds. Once identified, the surplus shall be returned to the CNR fund and made available for reallocation upon recommendation by the town manager, town council, and Board of Finance. Such funds funds may be appropriated to the following: the next highest priority planned capital project or emergency unforeseen priority capital needs. Eligible Eligible
069projects must be able to begin within the current fiscal year and must not exceed the available surplus amount. So, in short, the money will go back to the general fund if uh we all are okay with that. And then it'll go to the next project, whether it's Board of Ed or the town. All right. And we've been asked to discuss, share feedback, thoughts. So, I'd like to make a motion to um provide a recommendation to the Town Council to move forward with the recommendation as written. All right. Is there a second and then we can move to discussion? Okay, Mr. Sherman seconding. Is there discussion? Mrs. Ross. In what you just read, does it say they may use it for future projects or is it they will use it for future projects? Like, what is
070the exact wording? Does it give them leeway to use it for for the Town Manager and Town Council and Board of Finance to use it for other areas? It says may. May be appropriated to the following. I'd rather see more concise instead of a may. Cuz that's not very concrete. >> So, shall you rather see shall than may? Yes. Yeah. Other thoughts on this proposal? Mrs. Campbell. I I agree with Catherine. Mrs. Manny. Steve, did I did I understand this correctly that didn't you read that it would go to the next capital project? >> So, this goes So, it would go to the next highest priority capital project. So, if there's things on the list, there'll be some projects that haven't gotten approved for this fiscal year. >> Right. That would kind of be on
071>> Do we know what that Do we know what that next high priority project would be? It would be moving forward. So, whatever gets prioritized as the cycle goes through it would go to that next project. >> And when would that be determined at the end of the school year? Uh it's an Yeah, it's an it's an annual process through the um What's the one Yeah, the CNR the capital planning. Okay. And that is that is controlled I don't know what verb to use there. That is determined by the town manager? Town manager or board of finance. Okay. Thank you. Okay. So, that's I think that's where I have concerns about the proposal is that it could be I'll give an example that recently happened. We had a project that Mr. Visone was managing around
072exit lights and the cost of the project I'm going to mess this up Mr. Visone, but $60,000 we spent $20,000. So, there was $40,000 left over. Under this proposal as I understand it that $40,000 would be returned to this the town for use under that for a project under the CNR list based on the recommendation of the town manager. My concern is it's a savings on the board of education side and there's no board of education input into that process. So, I would much prefer to see a collaborative process between the superintendent and the town manager to determine what is the most pressing project facing the town versus seating that authority solely to the town manager without board of ed having any input into the process. So, that would be my concern with the project.
073Mr. Sroczynski? I have a concern too, but it's more it's more procedural. I don't disagree with the premise, right? I I I fully believe that you know, the the leadership that's been elected to to lead the town should be the ones making the the fiscal decisions. I wouldn't [clears throat] want to see necessarily the town manager solely making a decision on what to do with the $40,000 savings, right? I I would rather that go before a town council or the finance, all the folks who are elected. Um but procedurally, you know, I I looked back at um at at the formation of the of this committee um and and what their charge was and and what their their powers are and there's nothing in their powers that says that they should be uh writing or
074designing their policy or procedure. Um they are they are advisory only. Um then I I had a couple of conversations with folks, some from the committee, some from uh from town leadership. And it was it was kind of implied that oh, you know, town leadership may have um you know, sought their advice on um some kind of language around this, um but then when I went back into into the records from the um the minutes specifically from all the the town council agendas, I didn't see any proposals or any votes to ask this committee to generate this this language. Um so my concern is is that we have a a committee that is advisory only. They're they're they are they are not authorized or empowered to write any policies or procedures, but it does appear
075that they've written this one. So, my concern is is that I think the proper thing is they're they're supposed to be advisory and recommending only, not necessarily designing procedures or policies. So, in my view, it should have been a recommendation to the town council, hey, the town should develop um a policy around this. And then the town council should at that point have voted to decide what entity would be designing that and then go from there. I'm also concerned as part of this the procedure of of the development of this, I asked the question specifically um to to one of the the committee members, was this researched, was this vetted, did we look at other communities and what their procedures are. Is this being done other places? Um and the response was no, that hadn't
076been done. So, I'm a little bit concerned that this kind of I again, I don't disagree with the premise, but I'm a little bit concerned procedurally at how this this language came about, where it came from. Um so, I would actually if I'm asked right now to vote on this, I would vote not to endorse it for that reason. I want to see it go through proper procedures, the proper channels of development. Um and if it comes back and it's the same language, but it's gone through the proper, you know, the proper vetting process, and we've looked at other communities and what they do in these situations, and said yes, others do this, or no, others do it this other way, but it doesn't work well, so this way would work better. I just feel
077like it it it came kind of quick, um and I just don't feel like there was really due diligence done in looking into to the background of it, or the potential what it could potentially mean for the future. You know, and I also agree that there's you know, there's kind of a an incentive question here. If the if we have, you know, another entity in town that makes a a you know, a capital non-recurring request, and let's say they're granted for the sake of argument $100,000 and the project that they they want only costs 50, um and then it goes back to the town, and there's no like they don't have a priority consideration to get it back for one of their projects, where is the incentive for people to find savings? You know what
078I'm saying? So, I just I I think this needs a little bit of a longer look. I think it needs some vetting. Um and you know, I'm not entirely familiar with what that process is start to finish, but I do think that that, you know, if it was written, which it appears to be written by this committee, um they don't have the power to do it, first off. Um so, I'm not sure if the correct process was followed in developing um this policy. So, those those are my concerns. And again, above all this, it it's it's a struggle internally for me because I don't disagree with the premise of it, if that makes any sense. Mr. Sherman? I just had concerns about ideally project comes in under budget and away it goes. We have a
079litany of projects. What happens if some of them go over budget? I mean, that process you got to look back anyway. That's Yeah, that's not addressed in what Well, that's how it works. Well, if if that money, let's say one project is you know, we save 40 and the other one costs us 20 more. Would that that 20 be around somewhere? Right now, the pro the way the process is, you wouldn't do that project unless you go back and ask for additional funds through the CNR process. But you have to ask for that versus okay, you just couldn't use the surplus for that. But what happens mid-project if there's unforeseen cost? I think that's what Mr. Sherman's asking. So, you started a project, you find out that it's going to cost more because there was
080something you didn't know before you started the project. What I don't know what the if I'm asking. I don't know what the current process is. >> We saved money here. Can we not use it? Can I I was in the room when we made the whole that whole thing. I was in the room when we made this whole thing with Mayor Demetriades and John Ireland and Tony Tommy Andrew. So, initially as and it's evolving, right? Cuz we just started this. Initially, it would if we were in the middle of a project and it went over, we could come back but we could go back to the board of the board of finance, but it would be it was almost assumed that the Board of Education will incur the cost. So, then we would have to
081find the money through the Board of Education to pay for the rest of it. Now, let's say it's 30, 40, 50 thousand dollars that we have we say are in our in line, there's no way we're going to pay for it. Then we would go back to the the town. And they could very well stop the project if the Board of Education doesn't pick didn't pick up the rest. That was the intention of this at the very beginning of this this situation. It is a bonding, but that was the intention that the Board would pick up the remainder. Or go back to the town. Even though we're short, yes. Any other comments, thoughts on this? Okay. So, we have a motion on the floor that has been seconded. I think we also have lots of
082recommendations about potential next steps that may go back. So, we have to act on uh Mr. Heisman's motion and then we can figure out where we go with with the next steps. So, Steve made the motion, Alan seconded the motion. Yes? Do you You still good with your second? >> No, I can withdraw. Okay. So, Mr. Sherman's withdrawing his second. Mr. Heisman put a motion on the floor. If there's not a second, this does not get acted on. If there is a second, we have to take a vote. So, does anybody want to second Mr. Heisman's motion? Seeing none, that motion dies and I think we go back to both the Town Council and the Public Asset and Facilities Committee with a feedback from the Board of Ed. I appreciate that we did not endorse
083something that we're not all comfortable with. And before we move off, Mrs. Rossiter, follow question. Um Steve, you didn't have a meeting since our last Board of Ed meeting. Did Did somebody on the committee draft this then or >> Yes, it was drafted By the chair. Yeah, the by the vice chair. Okay. So, your committee Did your committee all look at it? So, everyone looked at it. Um at This one got kind of went through a couple meeting cycles. So, everyone looked at it. But yeah, the overall goal is to refine that C&R process cuz right now essentially like as said, alluded to, it's kind of more of a discussion. There's not really any guidelines to it or so. This was looking at it as a first step to kind of handle a problem that
084we've had right now where there's additional funds, and then that money ultimately would go back to not necessarily the town, it would go back to the taxpayers, right? And then it would go to the next project in this, whether it's Board of Ed or town, right? So, whatever the next priority project was, it would go to that project. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Heisman, for bringing it forward, and thank everybody for the discussion. Okay. I'll get to Sorry, you guys have been sitting around patiently for so long. Appreciate it, and this is a lesson in politics for all of you. Um report of student representatives. Can I do the middle school first, or are you two in a rush? Okay. So, Jillian and Summer, who's kicking us off? Here you go, Summer. All right. CMS has
085reached the midway point of quarter four on May 11th. CMS concluded SBAC testing last week as the eighth graders completed the next generation science standard exam. Last night, the 2026 CMS scholar leaders, Marissa Blundo and Gabby Cola J Top, were accompanied by Ms. Kuchyola and Ms. Middlebrooks at the annual honorary dinner at the Aqua Turf. Congratulations. On May 7th, our middle schoolers hosted the current fifth graders for sixth grade orientation. We look forward to welcoming these students to our community in August. On May 14th, seventh graders made their annual trip to the Bronx Zoo. The group was grateful to dodge the rain and enjoy a dry and exciting learning experience. The CMS art show will take place on May 21st at CMS. On May 26th, eighth grade students look forward to attending a STEAM field
086trip in Hartford. Afterwards, students will be treated to a Hartford Athletics soccer game. The sixth grade chorus has begun preparing for their performance at the annual butterfly night on May 28th in collaboration with the sixth grade language arts and social studies classes. The PTO will meet on Wednesday, May 27th at 5:30 p.m. The CMS chorus, the spring concert for sixth, seventh, eighth grade select choirs and solo and choirs will be held tomorrow, May 20th at 6:00 p.m. The district-wide chorus night was held on May 11th. The newly created event includes selections from Woodside, CMS, and CHS students. CMS band students performed at the district-wide jazz festival on May 6th and the district-wide band performance on May 14th. The spring performance on May 13th or I think that's supposed to be 14th. Uh yeah, the spring
087performance on May 14th was a rousing success. The world language club is gearing up for their big cultural cook-off in May. Students come together to share dishes inspired by their individual heritage. It's basically a big buffet. It's fun. I was there in sixth grade. Um The yearbook club has completed the yearbook. The students worked hard this season under Mrs. Sherwood's direction and we all look forward to seeing the printed and finished books arriving next month. Sixth grade teachers, Josh Tabasky and Madeline Cunningham, earned the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies Special Projects Award for their incredible work with the butterfly night project. Accompanied by Mrs. Sherwood Brooks, the teachers received the award on Thursday, April 30th, 2026 during the CCSS annual spring meeting at the New Haven Museum located at 114 Whitney Avenue, New Haven,
088Connecticut. Uh onto sports, track and field coaches St. Onge, Bosworth, and Gola were pleased by the Falcons' strong effort and by the number of athletes who qualified for the state for the state meet which was held on Saturday, May 23rd in Manchester. Uh best of luck to Summer Sankowich, Sophia Shields, Sadie Delaurier, and Andrew Macchiorlati. For baseball, the CMS baseball team is enjoying a successful season under Mr. Miller, led by Demetri Marfalla, Nicky Mayo, Calvin Forrest, Preston Taback, and Jake Barton, all of whom have a batting average of over three .360 and an OPS over 1,000. I don't know what that means, but I'm I'm I'm base percentage. Okay, [laughter] so we're probably done. Are the statistics good? Okay. Good for her. Um Forrest, Taback, Barton, and Matteo Fianza are leading the way on the
089mound. For softball, Mr. Penny's softball team is enjoying a successful season thanks to Alana McKee, Megan and Megan Hall's solid pitching. Joey Nelson and Brianna Romajoli have impressed at the plate. There aren't statistics for this one, but I'm sure they're just as good as the boys team. Okay, thank you Jillian and Summer. Always entertaining and so much exciting stuff happening at CMS. Does anyone have any questions for Jillian or Summer? Mrs. Rustas. Um so I love your dynamic duo over there, the two of you. It's great. Jillian, thank you for your up-living. It's really entertaining. And Summer, what are you running for the state track meet? Cuz that's a huge accomplishment. I just want everyone to know that. It's a very very big accomplishment. >> [laughter] >> I've been running the 400 and 800, but
090I qualified for the 1,600 and 800. Way to go. Congratulations. Anybody else? Okay, thank you so much Jillian and Summer. All right, on to CHS, Marcel and Jacob. May is flying by with so much going on. Last Saturday, juniors and seniors had their prom at Aqua Turf with the theme Tangled Under the Lanterns. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time. The Friday before prom, juniors and seniors had a Choice Matters assembly where Chris Sandy shared his experiences with drunk driving and having to live with the lifetime of regret. The Cromwell cross country team hosted a student versus teacher 5K on uh May 16th. Congratulations to the students for taking home the win. The past 2 weeks have been busy with AP tests, but I'm sure everyone is relieved that they're finally over.
091Uh student of of month breakfast and honors breakfast will be held in the cafeteria on May 28th and May 29th. This Saturday or this Sorry, this Thursday is seniors awards night where cords and scholarships will be awarded for graduation on June 11th. Students are excited for a half-day field day this Friday and yet another recognition for Ms. Williams on her uh George A. Coleman Excellence and Equity Award. Uh finally, Patrick Monahan and Eva Ardito Lee were recognized as the 2026 CIAC Scholar-Athletes during the CIAC banquet on May 3rd. Uh congratulations to both of them as well as who deserve recognition. Um with this being my last meeting, I would like everyone I would like to thank everyone for this opportunity. >> meeting. We have a June meeting. I was told me that this was my
092last meeting. >> [laughter] >> I'm sorry. Say my name. Say [laughter] my name I have a speech prepared. You're not done yet. If I have to come, you have to come with me. >> [laughter] >> I think you should save this part of your this part of your presentation for your next one. Put it on pause, bring it back in a month. And it really truly usually is, but this board wants you to come in June because I forgot your prize. >> [laughter] >> Awful or please Awful or please Thank you. Thank you, Marcel. Jacob. Hello everyone. Here's your monthly sports update. Last time I commented that it was too cold to stay outside for games. Now you better put on your sunscreen or your umbrella today. The softball team is doing great with a
09316 and 3 record. They played against Xavier High School last night 6 to 7 to 3. Next they play away at Somers on Thursday. The softball team did that with an 11 and 7 record with a recent win over Haddam-Killingworth 11 to 3. They're supposed to play Lyman at home today and they're away at Lyman on Thursday. Boys lacrosse team has a 1 and 12 record falling short to Valley Regional last week. They're playing away at HK as we speak. Girls lacrosse team's record is 3 and 12 looking to be improved as they play HK at home tonight. Girls had their senior night got rained out, of course. Both of the boys and girls track team are wrapping up their season with a meet at Coginchaug for the Shoreline Conference tomorrow afternoon. The golf team
094had the opportunity to host several matches at the TPC River Highlands. They played at the Farms Country Club against Cheshire earlier today. Boys tennis team narrowly lost to East Granby last Tuesday with a final score of 3 to 4. Along with a few other teams, they'll be traveling to HK on Thursday. Girls tennis team is playing at home versus North Branford today seeking a win against them. With the school year wrapping up, each team is locking in today against their respective divisions and playoffs. I'd like to mention that we did have student council elections today and your junior board of education representative of next year is an athlete, so you'll be in good hands. Are you sticking with us? Yes, I'll Okay. >> with Marcel's group. Great. Are you ladies sticking with us? No. Oh,
095you can't. You're Oh. All right. Well, hopefully you'll run when you're in high school. Thank you both. Any questions for Marcel or Jacob? Okay. All right. Mrs. Rostad. Jacob, I don't care that we're getting a student athlete that will be on the board. I love your updates about sports. Maybe we can still have you do them once in a while. You did a great job. Thank you. Mr. Zarasky. All right, a little off base here, but Marcel. Were you Did I see you across the street at my neighbor's house getting ready for prom? Uh No, no, no. I I I >> Is your neighbor's family Zaren? Yes. So, [laughter] you guys were super sharp. You looked great. >> Right? And I got to tell you I think you should dress that way for these meetings.
096>> [laughter] >> Maybe the next one. Thank you. Appreciate you both. You're I know where you're going with that one, so. >> [laughter] >> Is my mic still on, Reese? There you go. Thank you. You As always, you're welcome to stay, but you're also welcome to leave and get your evening back. No more AP exams, so you We know you're studying for something else diligently. Yes. Thank you. Okay, we have no town collaboration updates for this meeting, so I will pass it to Dr. McCreary, who's going to do her superintendent's report. Um and responses to BOE comments and action items. So, I'll start with the good news and then I'll go over to the bad news. Um I apologize I could not be here last month. Unfortunately, my mom was in the hospital, so I
097had to take care of her, but she's doing better. Thank god. Um we can only give you a tiny little bit of good news regarding the SATs. But we did awesome. >> [laughter] >> That's pretty much all I can say. I'm not allowed to base on the State Department of Education, but um we have seen just what we thought we were going to see. So, thank you to Dr. McCreary and her team, the teachers, the administration, everybody who's been working their tail off. Um I I told you it took 7 years, and now I don't get to enjoy the rest of the upswing, but that's okay. Um we'll tell you more and we'll give you the numbers. >> [laughter] >> But No, it's just cuz they're so hard. They're really hard and you know, we're
098going to get into that in a minute. Not cuz I don't like you guys. They're just really hard. So, that's the first good news um that I want to share with you. Um, principal interviews from the middle school are beginning this week. Um, Michelle D'Amour and I worked out a timeline for the director of finance um, interviews as well. You will be contacted uh probably tomorrow to ask if you could please join um those and uh we had I know there's been conversations about we needing to bring these people in, but then also making sure that the new superintendent has a say in this, which with I which I agree with as well. However, we do have to bring in these positions um because a lot of work gets done over the summer. So, hopefully
099we can find a way to make both happen. Um, next is the bad news. So, that $520,000 just like the state uh typically does things, it goes to the municipalities. So, the municipalities, the alliance districts, it it goes directly to the municipalities. It doesn't go into our EMS grants fund. That's the only way we're allowed to receive money from the state department of education. And any other money, and especially in this with this money, it's called excess cost money, it goes to the municipality. At that point, the municipalities or the towns that are alliance districts will have some of the model money funneled into the board of education. Unfortunately, Cromwell's money was not discussed um as of yet and it was um funneled to the town to set the mill rate. So, that money has
100already been used and um the town That's how you got your lower mill rate is because that $520,000, not just that 500, but that um rate contributes to it. So, I I have asked for a meeting um with the town manager um Ms. Gaduti, Ms. Gaduti, our finance chair, Mayor Mederatis uh cuz I would like to continue this discussion. Um I don't know if there is anything that we can do cuz legislatively that's the way it goes. However, I was on the commissioner's call uh for a couple hours uh last week. There's two commissioner's calls actually about this. And there may be language that's rewritten, there may not be. Once again, I know nothing because >> [clears throat] >> um that's the way the governor wrote the legislation. So, it was meant to set offset
101the cost of education, but not necessarily to the Board of Education, but to the town who contributes a lot of money to it. So, sadly, I was thinking the same thing um and before I could even think twice about it, I was already told that it was back in the kitty for the municipality. So, that's one bit of bad news, unfortunately. Um and but I still Okay, the next bad news is uh and I'm going to ask Mr. Botelho to join me to tell you about this. So, we are an open choice district and it's wonderful to have students join us through the open choice program. Um we have been an open choice district for way before I got here, and we have allocated reimbursement funds the same way since before I got here. And
102suddenly um we received an email. And Mr. Butwell is going to tell you how it went south. Um and we are not the only district, and I'll tell you about that after Mr. Butwell tells you what is going on and how I am going to suggest you as the board address it. Um but we'll have to do that in an executive session. So, Mr. Butwell. Thank you. Uh this is definitely be a don't kill the messenger situation. >> Yes, exactly. Or the superintendent. Um okay. So, um as you know, um some of our choice students that come to Cromwell, they receive special education services. And so, each year Cromwell um bills back Hartford for the services that we provide to those students. Um reimbursements are calculated on a student-by-student basis. The um the service hours
103are multiplied times uh the rates which Hartford provides to us. And that's multiplied by the number of weeks in the school year. Um and then that total amount is reduced by um a per student offset, which is intended to reflect the fact that choice has been funding that student to come to Cromwell. Um >> [clears throat] >> as part of the process, final reimbursement totals are submitted to Hartford by spreadsheet in October for review and approval for payment in the spring. So, as Dr. Macuga said, um we were recently contacted by Hartford and they um were going through an audit. And as a result of that audit, Hartford began informing multiple districts that they believe um including Cromwell that um they were using an incorrect amount when subtracting that correct funding amount for uh within
104the formula. And it's not just for 1 year, but it's for three the prior 3 years back to 22-23. Uh one of the key issues in the situation is that the districts were not provided with clear or consistent guidance regarding the specific per student reduction amount that should be used in the calculation. And uh as part of the process, each October Cromwell submitted detailed spreadsheets to Hartford for review. And Hartford reviewed and reviewed and approved those calculations. Hartford um occasionally questioned other details in the spreadsheets which we worked out with them and through conversation. Um but they've never identified that reduction amount as an issue. Um in addition, Hartford did not provide a standardized spreadsheet template for us or provide a specific reduction amount for us to use. Um We have also since learned that
105um in previous years, quite a while ago, uh cuz I haven't seen it, more detailed guidance from the state existed in terms of completing this reimbursement process, but it has not been distri- distributed for several years. Um I've never seen it and neither has Maureen Brummett, another superintendent in Newington. We've been speaking, Dr. Brummett and I. We've never seen this, so it happened before us. She's been a super longer than I am. However, it was just reissued, so that's good news. >> Um So, um what's the financial impact, you may be wondering. Um it has not yet been fully determined, but here's what I can tell you so far. Um so, our initial informal communication from Hartford indicated that um the first thing that we were told is that we had over um overbilled Hartford
106for reimbursement just last year and that we had overbilled them by approximately $132,000. However, we had some follow-up discussions and during those conversations we were told um that we needed to now be considering all the way back to 22-23. Um however, the amounts now change. And so, for 22-23, um they're suggesting that we owe 44,000, for 23-24, 64,000, and for 24-25, also 64,000, for a total of 172,000. Um So, just noting that the calculations and repayment estimates have changed already during this conversation. Um The only other insight we have to how this will be resolved is we've been told that Hartford may withhold these amounts from our reimbursement for this year. So, they'll just subtract it off and then reimburse us the balance. So, that throws off if that was to happen, that throws off
107the bottom line that you will see today. So, Chris, are you done? Should I continue with what next? Or do you have more? That's all I have unless there's questions. >> Yeah, okay. So, oh, please Please don't leave. There probably are questions. Mrs. Kelly, would you have a question? Is this strictly for our students that you're talking about, students with that receive special education services, or is this for all the choice students? Strictly for students that receive services. This um entire discussion is regarding students who come from Hartford, receive special ed services here, and then we're billing back Hartford for the services that our district has provided. So, just to clarify so I understand the process. So, when they come here, I'm just going to use this as an easy number, say they spend 10,000
108a year on special education, do we get that full amount back from Hartford for that student? Um yes, minus minus the amount um in question. So, um many of the um the amounts are much higher than 10,000, so they may be 40, 50, 60,000. Um, and then you would subtract, um, an amount that's supposed to represent the fact that Hartford is, um, is paying Cromwell to have the students come here. If a student needs to be out-placed, so say if a student came from Hartford and then they ended up that they need to be out-placed, then what happens? Who bears the complete cost of that? Does Hartford does. Hartford does. As long as the student is identified. So, let's say we have, for other reasons, >> come. No. No. Oh, after they can be out.
109It can be after. If the student is not identified and they're having other issues or whatever, we, if we wanted to out-place that child, then we would have to pay for it if the student was not identified as special education. Yeah, I understand that. I before even we would be out of pocket. Oh, before? I believe so. Would we be out of out of pocket? I think it's just if you have an IEP. Yeah. I'm just saying, right, just so that it's clear. I'm just trying to understand the whole process. Make sense of it. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Any other questions, Mr. Zubricky? Just quick math, you you said 132,000 was for this year? And that was initially, yes. Okay. Has it gone up or down? They changed it after our second conversation and
110it doesn't even make sense because the math doesn't work. So, just just the rough math with the three numbers you you gave us, the total there is over $300,000. No. No, I'm sorry. That's Okay, I'm glad I'm asking this. >> 172, I think it is. So, I had 132, then I had 44,000, then I had 64,000. They, um, Mr. Mr. Wait, can we just let Mr. Butwell answer? >> Yeah, I'm good. Thank you. So, the 132 was the initial for for last year, but they've changed that. So, scratch the 132 and now it's a it's a 64. So, you've got 44, 64, 64. I think Mrs. Franklin. You mentioned other districts, but how many other districts are facing the same issue? So, today um I've been in contact with two other superintendents. We've had conversations
111on how to address this. Today an email, I'm sorry, yesterday an email came from um another superintendent who was asking if we received this email that said it will be subtracted from your bottom line of reimbursement this year. So, although Cromwell has not received that email, we have been in discussion on the phone with um Hartford. And so, some of us are getting emails telling us how much money we owe and that it's going to come out of the bottom line. Some of us are having phone calls and saying, "No, thank you." And um we're all trying to figure this out. So, that would be the part of advising you in the next sessions. Oh, there's more than four. I have West Hartford, Cromwell, Rocky Hill, Newington, Enfield, Avon. These are the ones that I
112know about. There's a ton. So, it was definitely not a slight on anything. It's probably I would say more than 75% of the districts who participate. And the other ones are just it's low participation, so they're just paying it. It's like $8,000, $5,000. They're going to just pay it. We have a high participation rate. Newington has an even higher participation participation rate and Hartford uh West Hartford would go bankrupt actually. So, this is um like I said, my recommendation would obviously be not to pay it and then I could advise you um you should be advised uh through legal matters that we'd have to go into an executive session at the next meeting um unless the conversation with the superintendents in Hartford um dies down and this goes away, but we don't think it will
113and we don't think that we're going to find that out until the check comes and it's short that money. So, my recommendation would be we're meeting again June 2nd unless you think that that's too late. I would suggest we hold an executive session post June 2nd and in the interim I'm just going to add a piece that I learned is that we have to seek a different legal counsel because our legal counsel represents there's conflicts. So, they cannot opine. So, for June 2nd executive session um would you like me to contact the attorney um So, there's a couple things going here. We're all trying to work together so that this is does not become so expensive for all of us. The problem is I may or may not know by June 2nd who's in and
114who's out as far as districts. I don't think you should necessarily wait. I could um contact another attorney that we've used in the past and have see if that person is available to give you legal advice on what to do next. Um would you like that person to come on the 2nd or would you like to just talk about this more in executive session? >> Is it possible to find out if any districts are further along in identifying legal counsel to address this issue before June 2nd and then maybe we could collaborate and have Yes, so I have um one district that I'm working with and yes um this district reached out to legal counsel. As of today while I was sitting here, the superintendent called me with an update, but I did not answer
115it, so I don't have the update. Um I'll know a little more probably tonight when I get out of here. So my recommendation would be we save we place an executive session on our calendar for the June 2nd meeting so that we can have this discussion and we allow Dr. McCreary to collaborate with some other districts so that we can find out if there's particular legal counsel that has an expertise in this area that's working with other districts that we could also collaborate with. If not I guess I'll ask all of you to to give Dr. McCreary permission to be able to identify some other legal counsel that could help us and we'll try to get somebody here for the June 2nd meeting. Does that make sense? Sounds good. I'll get on it. Okay. Everybody's
116good with that? Okay, cuz we may be shortened our last payment and it may be an issue. When will we expect Mr. Bowles to get that last payment for the year? Or is it monthly? It's not monthly, it's at the end of the year. Last year it was very close to the end of June. We we were It's it has always been so close to the end of June that we had a couple years where we got it at the beginning of June and we were so grateful. We are anticipating that it will probably come at the end of June so that this becomes a bigger thing than it will become in the next fiscal year. Now you're talking about This is why you I need legal counsel to talk to. What does it mean?
117Mrs. Campbell and then Mrs. Mack. Have you reached out to the superintendent of Hartford directly to discuss this? The superintendent of Hartford was notified to call me. We spoke with someone in the office and Right. I still haven't received a call. Last >> Friday. Oh, I was like, what what's today? It was It was last [laughter] Friday. Yes. I may hear back or I may get that email that other districts are getting. I I just haven't gotten it yet and maybe the bigger districts with that It's a ton of It's a lot of money and it's going to put them in the complete red. They may be going first and then they may come at come toward those of us that owe a little bit less of money um next. But I did not I
118saw the email that went out to some superintendents and I have not received that email yet. But like I said, we've talked to them twice. And Terry was in the room as well. This is Maddie. I really think we should get on this sooner than June 2nd. I mean, if it's possible. Um and maybe Angela would be more able to say whether or not that's a good idea or not, but why wait till June 2nd? This sounds pretty serious and it looks like they may just pull a fast one sending the money at the end of June when there may not be all those resources that you can get hold of as easily. I'm already um on it, Donna. Like I think I don't think you the board should make a decision until I get
119more information as to whether or not we're going to be doing something together with everyone or if it's like the same situation that happens once in a while everyone says, "Well, my attorney wants to do this. Well, we're just going to pay the bill. Well, we're just" and then I will say to you, "You know what? That's not going to work. I think we need to seek our own legal counsel and get our own um guidance. But if we can do it together, then we can save money because right now you see what our bottom line is. We are in the plus, but it It comes may it'll It goes fast. >> No, I understand. I guess what I'm saying is if you get the information that you want, shouldn't you Should you gather the
120Board of Education together before June 2nd? If I get anything that's alarming, like very alarming, tonight when I speak again, you know, again with the superintendents that I'm working with, I would definitely contact Alicia and Ms. Guidry and say, "I think we should meet before June 2nd." I'll definitely how cuz I don't I think it's very, very, very important, but I don't think there's much we can do, and especially hiring a different counsel. If it was our own counsel, but they cannot opine based on the situation. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Rotella. Everybody's good with with what Mr. Rotella said. Thank you. No. Oh, I'm sorry. You're next, Mr. Rotella. Sorry. >> It's good to be back. >> [laughter] >> All right. So, we're good with that. You have no other updates. So, we're
121going to move on to budget update. It's reference A in your packets. Thank you, Mr. Rotella. Jay, you're welcome. This is some positive news. Um we're continuing to look good as we roll into the end of the fiscal year. Um our team's been concentrating on uh closing up uh purchase orders and trying to get any money that's uh not going to be necessary to be unencumbered and get get it back into the general fund. I noted in my um overview to Dr. Macry that um the state just recently re- released the um grip grant, which stands for District Repair and Improvement Project Funding. Cromwell received $98,423, and so we're already putting that to good use. We're we're to use some of that money to um reimburse the district for projects that have already happened and
122also use the balance to take care of some things that need to be done sooner rather than later that didn't make it to the CNR list. So, that's going to put a little bit of money back into our reimbursement put a little bit of money back into our funding. But, that was nice to have that that amount from the state. Before I talk about budget transfers, any questions about the report? Keep going. Okay. So, I have three budget transfer requests for you which I outlined in detail in the memo. The first one is requesting transfer $20,600 from the 520 property insurance account to the 641 textbooks account. And you'll see basically the situation is that it's a it's a great situation to have. We have increased enrollment in our high school AP classes and this
123is for next year and Mr. Cockle contacted me to let me know that he needs additional books for those rising numbers in the AP classes next year. Those that amount is not in the 2026-2027 budget. So, we would like to transfer that amount I've I've already described to purchase those books which you see outlined in your memo. I and I just want to add there would have been This is a great surprise. There would be no way for us to know until the students enrolled. And when Mr. Cockle said we have all these kids that enrolled and we don't have books for them and if they're not budgeted for next year we need to find them books. Do you want to just keep going through all of them? >> I'd be happy to go through
124them quickly. Sure. The second is object 739 non-instructional equipment. So, we're requesting a transfer of $37,000 from the 200 benefits account to the 739 non-instructional equipment account. And there's two things going on here. One is that um we've had to expend more more than expected more than expected um under our special education um non-instructional equipment um with an amount just over $12,000. That's uh bullet number one there in the memo. Um and then secondly, um we're requesting additional funding for um the equipment outlined there that uh the grammar high school has identified as uh important to their sports programs. Um and that totals uh $23,700. Um so we're requesting a total transfer of $37,000. And then finally, um third transfer request is for object 810 dues and fees. Um we're requesting a transfer of $15,000
125from the 510 transportation account to the 810 dues and fees account. Uh this request is being made to address our um projected student meal debt for the end of the year. Um our current meal debt is at about $35,000. Um and we're projecting that it could go as high as 40,000 before the end of the school year. You may recall that earlier in the year we had a donation made to that um lunch debt account in the amount of $25,000. So um we're looking for um a balance amount to just make sure that our lunch program will continue to be funded going forward. Um our lunch program is unable to um to absorb that amount of debt. And um we actually can't we're not allowed to do that unless we receive a waiver from the
126state which was not something that was um uh given you know, offered to us offered to anybody this year. So, um that's the third one. Thank you. I'm going to open up to questions, comments, feedback on these proposals, and then I'll ask for a motion. I Mrs. Mann. You know, you all know I'm new to this, but I do remember that when we were trying to cut the budget and that included um what happened to the first-grade position. Uh that we had all these things. They They look so familiar to me. Uh especially that golf cart. Anyway, um I thought to myself as I was looking at this earlier today, uh is there going to be a discussion about this position? And the reason I asked It's the next item on the agenda. >> Oh,
127jeez, Louise. And I read the agenda. Okay, I don't have my glasses right now, but I did read Okay, thank you. >> Forget that, then. I I mean, I'm wondering if we are going to discuss that whether we should be moving money around if in fact This is for this year's budget, so this is looking at at moving items around in this year's budget, and that discussion relates to next year's budget. >> old. No, no problem. Now I have to read Good questions. Okay, thank you. Okay. Any other questions on Mr. Botwell's request to transfer [clears throat] funding? Mr. Heizen. So, for the windscreens for $9,400, um did those get damaged, or what's the Are they They're We had them on the ball field. You know, could they get damaged, and are we doing something
128to prevent them from getting damaged again? May I ask Mr. Mann? >> Can you to repeat the question? >> Yeah, so the windscreens on the baseball field, do they get like damage from lawn maintenance? Or and then if that's the case, what are we doing to prevent that from happening again? Good a good question. So when we we talked to the vendor, um we measured it out so it wouldn't go as low as the lowest ground so they could weed whack on both sides. On the baseball softball fields, they'll be placed on the warning track and then they'll still be put up. So that area is usually sand or the the little gravel part. So so I don't envision that happening and then just for practice of it when the season's over, we'll take those
129down and take them in and then we'll put them out for the next season. Okay, thank you. Okay, Mr. Lake. Perfect. Mrs. Ross has a question. I'm not sure if Mr. LaMay I don't think he should say yet. Um um Mike, no, he can't because my question's related to the items that we are looking at for um the goal post, line inside golf cart, and windscreens. Um are we concerned I know it's not a significant amount of money, but are we concerned about shifting money out of one fund that we know we're not going to use it for and putting it in another knowing that we're going to be hit with this other cost for I I I think the cost is going to come through no matter what related to Hartford the Hartford situation.
130Are we concerned about spending that money right now and So may I versus not Yes. Hold on. I agree. >> Dr. Macrum? I agree. Um my recommendation would be obviously the textbooks. We have to educate our students, that should come first. There's nothing we could do about the food service debt. Um state will not give us a waiver at this time. Um the other amount of $37,000 for non-instructional instructional equipment for special education, obviously we're mandated to provide for IEPs. So that transfer has to be made. The only thing that I would say to you um is we just got hit with this. Do we need these things? Yes, we want to be the We're the home of the champions. We want to continue to be the home of the champions. I know we're one
131of the districts that does not have some of these things. Is it possible that perhaps our football team didn't make it past that game cuz the goal We didn't have goal posts for them to practice on? Maybe. But, that's for you to decide. I think the important thing for me to explain to you is the golf cart is really about safety and security safety. If you have a child who gets hurt, you have we have um our Oh my gosh. Trainer. Yes, our personal trainer who jumps on that jump golf cart to go from one school to another to another field to another field, um which then sometimes saves an ambulance from coming because he's trained and then it saves a fight It could be a financial situation for the family. And they tell us,
132"Don't the ambulance. Please, just let us try to figure this out." I'm not saying you should What I'm saying is wait for this maybe and do it in June. I'm not saying it's it's not important because it's clearly here. I'm saying it's not as important as everything else and am I worried about the Hartford funding? Of course, I am. So, I think I've given you the information that you need. Should you hold? It won't hurt to hold until June. The only problem Mr. Butwell does have to shut the books down and so do you see foresee any I I would just like to share some additional information, which is >> [clears throat] >> when we initially spoke to Hartford about the situation and they thought that we might owe them $132,000 for last year. I
133did put that money into the projection. Oh, that's right. We forgot. in um 560 tuition you'll see under the the column encumbered and forecast that it's quite a large number 551 132,000 of that is money that I earmarked ahead of time in the event of the situation. So part of it's already been set aside should it come to that but you should be aware that that money is already some of it's already been set aside. So it it keeps us in stronger standing. Mrs. Ringling So just so the max based on the math that we have now with the 44 64 64 would be an additional $40,000 or four Correct, yeah. Okay, thank you. Unless they Unless they give us something in writing that says more. We have gotten yes nothing but yes. How's up
134to you? >> Thank you Mr. Botwell. I forgot that you did that. That's awesome. Mr. Botwell, I have a question. How does this change with Hartford impact the budget that we already passed and next year's budget projections as we passed the budget assuming we were getting existing reimbursement from Hartford. So what what's the potential impact on next year's budget? I would say minimal because I mean if you look at the amounts that they're talking about on a yearly basis 40 to 60,000 dollars. We always in terms of reimbursements we tend to air on the conservative side in terms of what we're going to get back because we don't want to you know over account or over project for what people will be receiving. So I would say it's you know obviously it's a concern but
135I wouldn't say that it's going to devastate our budget for next year. That's helpful. I'm going to ask Mr. Botwell a question. Where did he go? He's on the golf cart. Go over there. That's my question. Help me understand. We have an existing golf cart that it runs cuz I see Put around. Yeah. Does is the engine fail? What's the issue with the golf cart? Sure. So, um it's from 2001. It works. It smells like gasoline. It um travels not very fast. Um it is usable. It it it is something that Do I envision it will make it next year? Probably. Outside of that, it's it's could go really any day. Um we earmark about $1,000 a year for repairs for a scoreboard, for anything that goes out. The last 2 years we've put about
136$700 into the golf cart. Um so, it it certainly does work. It's just 25 years old. Thank you. All right. No, no, I don't I didn't hear the joke, but that's Okay, so let's take this back to um we need to make a discussion on have a discussion on what action we would like to take. So, I'm going to ask all of you is there a motion to act on all or parts of this proposal? Mrs. Lam. Oh, a question. So, if we vote to make these transfers, it doesn't necessarily mean we're going to place the purchase orders this month. It might be we wait to do purchases in June, kind of like we're talking about. Now, if we make the transfer, we're buying, right? We've already bought a lot. Um you bought the I
137I'm Sorry, I'm just saying You bought Yeah. You're talking about just our discretionary things that Yes, we would we would we would move forward rather quickly, especially um because it takes time for this stuff to get in and also because um we have to place the orders before July 1st and just remember two of us in the office who get to sign off on these things won't be here after June 30th. So, we need to get moving on it. Yeah. Okay. I was just [clears throat] trying to honor the discussion of do we wait till June, but So, if you make the transfers, get everything set up in the budget. I think this question is really about the procurement of of like the windscreens and the Right. Yeah. Do you wait to do the purchase
138or or do you like yeah? Okay. Mr. Raskin and Mr. Heisman. Um just kind of wondering if we could recoup some some money here. What would happen with the old golf cart? Could it be sold again to get a few hundred back? Like how does that No, but I mean I do consider myself to be almost a golf cart expert because the number of times I hit a ball when I play golf has me driving all over the place. I'm in the lot. >> So Nat will fix your golf cart. >> No, I'm just curious so you know, you mentioned we've had to put $700 of repairs into the into the golf cart, which okay. Um I can see why there is a need maybe to upgrade the golf cart if it's 25 years old,
139but what would happen to the old one? So we would have two golf carts. It'll be traded in like we do with cars. But we can't trade in a golf cart. >> [laughter] >> I don't I don't want to belabor the golf cart conversation. >> I'm I'm kind of a waste not want not type of person, so I'm just like I don't want to buy a new one and then just find the old one parked next to the dumpster. That's really what I'm getting We will make good use of the golf cart regardless. Yes, Mr. O'Malley? Yeah, and another idea is we could we gift it to the middle school potentially for when they're out on on the fields and there there are times when um our athletic trainer Keenan is on the baseball field,
140I'm you know, far away somewhere else. You know, potentially maybe the new golf cart will have the ability to go to the middle school. That's where our tennis teams play. Um so we would make good use of it. Mr. Heisman. I'm kind of on the same page with Jessica on this as far as if we can approve it tonight and then just hold off until June cuz either way if it gets tabled, we're still waiting till June. Once we approve it, we approve it. That's the that's our process. So we can't sort of approve it. We can't tentatively approve it. We have to either take action or take no action. Mrs. Manny. When I mentioned the golf cart, I was kidding because that's where I went, on the golf course. Should I ask someone who
141just happened to be having a an HOA meeting next week? I mean, I don't carry any weight there, but could I ask someone if we have a good used golf cart? I mean, they they had from high school they had playing. Could I ask them if we could maybe out of the I mean, it wouldn't be our HOA that would determine that. It would be the TPC. But, we have a liaison to the TPC. Could I ask? Ms. Manny, and then I want to put the golf cart conversation to bed because we've got a lot of other important things to Sure. I mean, we would never say no to something that was donated that was usable, but the only problem is an athletic trainer's golf cart, the back has to come all the way down.
142The ones at TPC, other places just have backings to put your golf clubs on. Yeah. Okay, you're right. Okay. So, I'm going to call to question. Is there a motion to approve the proposals for transfer as presented or in part? Ms. Manny, your mic's still on. Do we want to take these individually? Do you want to take Okay. That will be my That's my recommendation. Okay. So, the first part of the proposal is about textbooks, and the proposal is to transfer $20,600 from the 520 property insurance account to the 641 textbook account. Is there a motion to make that transfer? I'll move. Okay. Motion, Mr. Schuman. Second, I think Mrs. Franklin was next. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Anybody opposed? Anybody abstaining? Okay, textbooks are good. I'm going to go to the third one next.
143Object eight. I need my reading glasses. 810, dues and fees. Request Requested transfer of $15,000 from the 510 transportation account to the 810 dues and fees account. Is there a motion to make that transfer? Motion, Mrs. Ross. Is there a second? Mrs. Lamb. All in favor? Anybody opposed? Abstaining? Okay, that one's moved. I'm going to pick apart object 739 because we have some options and we have some that we have no options for. So, part one of object 739 relates to unanticipated equipment needs arising during the [clears throat] fiscal year for our special education students. Is there a motion to approve the transfer of $12,105 from the benefits line account 200 to 739 non-instructional equipment account? Motion, Mrs. Cantwell. Second, Mr. Sherman. All in favor? Anybody opposed? Abstaining? Okay, motion passes. Second part of that.
144Is there a motion to approve the additional funding of $23,700 from the benefits line 200 to account 739 non-instructional equipment to cover the costs of windscreens, goal posts, lineman sled, and golf cart? I'm going to say that our our student athletes they deserve opportunities just like our our academic scholars. I'll I'll make the motion. Okay, Mr. Zabriskie is making the motion. Is there a second? There's a second from Mr. Heisman. Any discussion? Calling the question. All in favor? Anybody opposed? Mrs. Maddie. Anybody abstaining? Okay, motion passes. Thank you very much, Mr. Botello. Thank you, Ms. Chalene. >> Thank you. [clears throat] All right, I'm moving us back to budget discussion around current enrollment projections. In your packets, I just want to point out there's some materials for you. So, you have reference C and reference
145D. You all want to pull it out and Dr. Macre has some additional materials that maybe Lisa can pass them out. >> Lisa. Because I'm going to ask you to describe. So, I'll just summarize. Everybody has in advance a document that says it has ECS enrollment trends for 25-26 and 26-27 with projections based on class size. You also have in your packets the Cromwell Public School Enrollment Projections to 2031. That was developed by a researcher in November of 2021. I'm going to ask Dr. Macre to just review the materials for us, provide highlights, and um recommendations, please, around what is I asked Dr. Macre to tell us what um industry data is for class sizes and enrollment in communities across the state cuz I thought that would be really helpful information for all of us
146to have as well, not just looking at our own data and trends, but what's happening in other communities. Pass it to you. Sure. Um first, this is uh not an easy discussion. I heard all of my teachers. Um and I also did present this information in January. Um and I did make a comment about wanting small class sizes. And if I went out as a superintendent with having small class sizes, um that would be is I would love to be remembered for. Um but in part in saying that, that is something I should be remembered for because if you look at our surrounding districts, we are um well below and those who are not are looking to close the school. All based on the Peter Prouder report cuz he does everybody's uh report and with
147the real numbers, today's numbers. So, um whatever the board decides, I think you have to look at this free uh budget, superintendent's budget, post superintendent's budget, Board of Education's budget. You need Now, this is the opportunity for me to tell you, "Okay, when you were told you need to be fiscally responsible." It's my opportunity to tell you, "You need to be fiscally responsible." Um because now you uh the Board of Finance voted and the town voted. So, the first question of the I gave you a bunch of things to look at. I didn't create them. They're facts. Uh they're Peter Prouder report, which is online. Everyone has access to it. Um if you look at uh the pages that I highlighted for you, um they do tell you that enrollment is going down in um
148the district. And then it's it's going to continue to go down. Um and so I gave you I highlighted that page. And it just gives you a little extra information. I'm sure you had the time to read it. Um that's page five is the district enrollment page. Yeah. So, you can see the lines um we're losing students, unfortunately. Um and this was done four years ago. I do It's recommended to do every five years, so it should be done again. Also, I gave you NESDEC uh Stevens enrollment projections and then I'm I also gave you what Peter Prouder said as he did the research and he's looking at over the next 10 years of our um enrollment decreasing and that is what we have seen. Also, every month you are given the enrollment report in
149your packets and it tells you exactly how many students are here so you can look at that over time. So, I've never held back any enrollment numbers or projections. Um, in fact, I keep a close eye on them a lot right often and this just got rid of my page. So, the next reference, one of the other references that you have, is the spreadsheet. I'm sorry. I want to make sure I go in order, but I don't think I'm going to be able to go in order. Um, it's the enrollment spreadsheet that says class sizes ECS with projections for 2026-2027. We do this every year um, and the left column just tells you what it would look like if we remain, I'm sorry, what it looks like today with students sitting in the seats 2025-2026
150school year. Um, and we update this monthly. So, right now in our seats today, or when this was like last week, um, this is what we have. So, you'll notice the school totals at 300 and 32. If in the next column I give you the same students but a different year. So, you're going to the right. Now, right now in kindergarten, if we were to move to first the first grade students, right? So, you're looking at those 96, right? You now you see it in first grade. If you were to project 96 students, you'd have class sizes of 14, 13. But, I want to come back to that in a moment. Grade two, sitting in our seats right now, So, they go to West, but if you see grade one going to grade two, that's
151113 students. And you see the class size with seven and six. We did talk at our budget meeting about I did have a number that I just have it with me. Um when we talked about our budget and you voted on it, I did have as number 24 and 25 to you could have possibly removed two positions. And you chose not to remove two based on those numbers. You chose to remove the the one. Um Now, if you follow me through on the back of this, you'll see West's numbers as well. So, I want you to know that as much as I want to continue to have small class sizes and even smaller if possible, you have to decide if it's something that you can sustain over time because the enrollment will continue to decline.
152So, are you willing to sustain these class sizes of 13, 14, or 15 over time? Because the data is showing us that that is happening in in Brownsville. And that's I can't make that decision for you. I think I could probably would know what I would do. Um then I was asked to provide the ECS West I'm sorry, the ECS numbers. Sorry, let me just find that one. Um for students in seats. So, I did that for you on reference E, but then I also just gave you a new form a new a two new documents that I gave you. So, um we have had in grade one, we have currently sitting in our seats in grade one, like we talked about, it is still 96 students. However, we have seven students that are And
153the way PowerSchool is, you I can't put them in, so I wrote it for you on this sheet right here. We have seven kids that are potentially registered to enter into first grade. So, if all seven of those kids come, and it could those seven can come and 10 can leave. I can never make any of these promises to over the summer, and then I wrote that at the bottom. It's important to note that students come and go over the summer at all grade levels, and it's this is a rough estimate, a snapshot in time, based on the information we have available today. So, if those seven students came, who are in the process of being registered. And in the state of Connecticut, you only have to give us two two things, proof of residency
154and birth certificates. We have those for these seven students. We don't have all of the other information. We don't have um anything from their school. So, regular education do they receive? I can't tell you any of that. I don't know any of that, and I wouldn't tell you that part anyway. Um >> [clears throat] >> then we would have 103 students. So, I broke that down for you. So, if you start at the bottom of this page with grade one, if um that would be with six teachers, we would have about 17 students. And with seven teachers, you would have about 14 15 students. Okay. So, does that make sense to everybody so far? Okay. I also want you to take a look at kindergarten, cuz we've been talking a lot about first grade. Um
155so, I had Mrs. Tutuno write you a memo. Unfortunately, she cannot be here this evening. Um so, there is a memo here from Mrs. DeTuno. As of today, registered, 100% registered, fully coming into kindergarten, we have 91 students. We have 29 who were screened, who have not yet registered. Could be birth babies whose parents decide last minute. I'm I'm keeping them I'm sending them to preschool again. I'm sending them somewhere else. We don't know what it is. I just know that they have not been registered yet. So, as of today, class size in kindergarten would be 13. But, if every single one of those students that have been screened come, you're going to have class sizes of 17 in kindergarten. So, I want you to think about those two things, right? First grade and kindergarten,
156as we think this through. So, those are today's numbers. I've been asked about research. I could talk about research with enrollment and class size with Dr. McLean for the next 25 years, but I'm not going to do it. And I'm not going to challenge things that were said tonight because we can all make data sound the way we want it to sound, and you remove parts, and you put in parts, right? We can all do that. I could do that right now. But, I what I will tell you, based on research, um and then based on what I see every single day as an educator, and I will always consider myself a teacher. The behaviors are absolutely much different than they were when I had 33 students in my class. I can also tell you
157that when I had 33 students in my class, my second year of teaching, I had 16 kids. I would trade those 33 students for the 17 that I had. Who's in your class? Not cuz I didn't love them, because I was drained and burnt out, right? It Who's in your classroom matters. It doesn't necessarily matter the size of the class. And we want them there, and I'm not saying it in a negative way, but it matters on how do service the students. Also, please remember that we have um I've asked you for RBTs and special services for students who need more intense services. And yes, yes, we've already hired one and we'll we'll hire another. Um and those are district employees, so we have we've advocated and we are also in discussion with um ESS
158who's who will be on the agenda June 2nd about getting two more clinicians in our district through a state grant. So I've been doing my best to advocate for what our teachers are having the hardest time with and and I do not deny by any means that it is not difficult um and nor that it has changed as an educator myself. You asked me what is um state average for class sizes K through 3 are between 18 and 22. Tend to be a little bit higher in urban areas than in suburban. What we call the sweet spot, what people would say is where you'd like to have K through 2 and 3. I would I would argue with 3 2 because you're um reinforcing those fundamental reading skills and if they don't have them by
159grade 3, we all know that and you could be 4 years behind and trying to catch up. So at that point 15 to 18 is the sweet spot. As you all know we had a discussion and I if we could sustain in public schools smaller class sizes, there's data and research that says this would be wonderful because you differentiate and you could you could individualize and of course you can all do all that. However, the number one factor is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. And so that quality of the teacher is first. Which is why we spend uh quite a bit on professional development and making sure that our teachers are up to speed and are providing the best instruction. However, my anecdotal, not looking at research, my personal opinion, I um
160I see a lot of advantages and I see a lot I see some disadvantages because I don't believe >> [clears throat] >> Framingham has the appetite to sustain class sizes of 12, 13, and 14 moving forward. You guys have to make that decision, but you remember you spoke about being fiscally responsible before you you voted. I spoke to you. Remember, I basically told you I didn't care about the taxpayers? I'm pretty sure those words came right out of my mouth. >> [laughter] >> And now I do care about them because it is your budget and it's my responsibility, and although I am a lame duck until June 30th, I will advise you to stay within your budget. You made a decision. We made a decision. You are still in the sweet spot. And we are
161still well below class sizes than surrounding districts, and we are below the average. And I'm very proud of that. With all that being said, it is up to you to have this discussion. You asked me for the data, I provided it, I gave you my expertise. I could talk to you, like I said, about class size um you know, over coffee for the next 25 I have a ton of research on it myself. So, that's what the data shows. And that's where we are. Um it's up to you, and I value every single solitary thing that my teachers do every single day. Um and I feel badly cuz the time to advocate for a lot of this stuff was in January when when I was having that discussion, but I know we're all so busy.
162Everybody is so busy. Um but, it was on the agenda. So, with that being said, please uh take it off my plate because it is really truly your decision to make. I'm opening it up to comments, questions. I very much appreciate all the work that went into providing us that information. I think it's really helpful for us to have data not just about where we are now, but where we will be in the future and what other communities do. Ms. Manny. I just want to allude to something that this lady mentioned in her um in her remarks, and it's a question I want answered as well. And the question is this, since we have gone to the small classroom because everyone who I have talked to about this says the same thing. This is amazing.
163I mean, these kids are in classes of 14, 15 right now? Um right now, you have to I have to look at the enrollments report here. Can you Right now? They're in which is So, the first grade sitting in the seats today which are the same of the amount that would be sitting in the seats next year, just different kids. So, you have to look down. All right. So, um for some reason, I don't know where that is. But, I got this. Let me just Let me just ask this question. So, give me the the response is that as of right now Now, this is with the substitute or the substitute is gone? So, I So, the Can I just Can you clarify? You want to know this year what the class sizes are with
164the seven classes? I want to know this year with the substitute who is still holding that exact >> column. It's the right column of the sheet that was in I'm sorry, left column of the sheet that was in your packet. Okay. So, >> 16 and seven, mostly 16 and one class of 17. Okay. So, now I just want to know with these small class sizes, has there been academic advantages, but really academic gains that you all who are data driven can tell me in very concrete terms. Our academic data? At I want to know about the gains. >> Our academic data at ECS has pretty much always been solid and it continues to be solid. Has it had I actually just looked it up and last year the class sizes that we currently have, the
165only state accountability data that um is the Dibels assessment and I don't think that there was a score of under 70% on the Dibels uh for K1 and 2. But But it just to get to Don's question, there hasn't been a dramatic change in class size, so it's difficult to say. You can't say large class sizes, this is the result or this is the I would tell you that if there were 25 kids in that class, it would not the data would not look that way. I don't have to be a genius or a rocket scientist to tell scientist to tell you that. Um but because the numbers have pretty much been along these lines, it would be difficult for us to say to you because this is where we've been. We've always been here.
166>> in your own words. And I don't fault teachers for advocating for less students at all. Well, the thing is we've all I think I can say this cuz I'm not I'm not going against confidentiality, but in our superintendent search No, no, you can't. Please. You can't. You cannot talk about that process at all. Okay. Then let me just say that as in terms of these class sizes and what we're doing with these teachers and what parents have said that these teachers are doing, that's phenomenal individualized attention. But we have spoken here about how the behaviors have changed in the last Give me a number. 10 years? I've been out 10 years. 10 years? And that the behaviors are severe. And that means that that teacher now is pulled from her classroom, not only I
167wanted to hear all those, you know, the R, the BCBAs, the RBAs or I want to know all those those letters again because now they're talking to parents, they're talking to maybe specialized psychologists. I think they need all the time they can possibly get, and that is going to be given to them with the smaller class sizes. That's what I mean to say. I'm just going to remind everybody that we did hear from the paraprofessional association about their desire for additional support on the behavioral side, and we did include in our budget two full-time RBTs. So just Right. So I But I want to make sure that people know that because that is really designed That was the request from their association about really providing that extra behavioral support. Are there other folks that have
168comments? Um Mrs. Franklin. I have a few. Um thank you for everyone who came out to talk this evening and everyone who wrote in public comment. There were a few things that really stuck with me. Um one of them was a letter that came in to us that budgets require hard choices, but also reflect priorities, and our priorities should be centralized around students first. And I think everybody on this board agrees with that and, you know, really does feel that. Um another comment that struck me was I agree, um you know, to look at numbers and look at data and look at class sizes, but to actually look at performance and to look at what our students are achieving now and what they could be achieving in the future. Um and just the overwhelming response
169that these teachers never in their careers have seen the complexities or student needs so high. Um that really hits me. Um and I do completely understand the fiscal responsibility of a budget already being passed. Um but I and [clears throat] I'm not alluding to something can be done with this. I I also want to recognize we ended last year with a $500,000 surplus. We're sitting right now with a $14,491,000 surplus if we take that Hartford expense out that Mr. Butwell um put in there. That's an optimistic view, right? A conservative view if we take that upper 40,000 out that he hasn't accounted for and there would be $319,000. So >> some of it. We just We just spent We just spent a whole bunch of That was in the budget on other lines. The money
170Yeah, it was It was on the budget on other lines. So, from a conservative standpoint, $319,000. From an optimistic standpoint, $491,000. We ended last year with a $500,000 surplus. I I understand the fiscal responsibility, but I think that there is an opportunity to open this up for discussion of if we think we can work something out. These teachers are the subject matter experts in their areas and hearing from them has been very, very um eye-opening and I really do want the best for for them, but I for ultimately for the the young students that are going into the going into the elementary school and coming out of that. So, that's just my two cents. Thank you. And it is it is Those dollars were in other lines this spring, but I think we just spent
171those dollars that would have been surplus in other lines. They're not They're not expended already. No, but Mr. Butwell alluded that he put $132,000 into the budget for Hartford. >> that's not what I'm saying. I The dollars we just spent on school lunches on >> Yeah. That's additional income coming out of whatever surplus we had. No. It's It was Mr. Balwell, if I could have you come up because I want to make sure I'm speaking properly. I want to make sure because we just talked about this today. Open choice, I forgot about that. So, I want to make sure that the expert is speaking. Cuz there's a lot going on right now. Mr. Balwell. I'm positive about open choice. As far as I do not believe, and tell me if I'm wrong, the money that
172we just spent, the 23,700, that now we have to decrease again. Cuz that was not out Correct. Okay. And what else? [clears throat] Sorry. Every Every amount that we just transferred is going to be expended. Out of the surplus? Out of the current budget. Yes. Out of the current budget because it's in a different line item. Already. Uh no, because we haven't It's sitting in unexpended money right now. >> Not in un- Not in encumbered. >> Correct. >> Okay. So, yes. Um the answer, Kelly, is we do still have to take the money out cuz it's not in It's not under encumbered. So, it was 12 Um no. I'm just trying to Yeah, there's $20,600, 37,000 and 15,000. So, on the high end, I don't know. I can't do the math. I mean, I have
173the numbers sitting here. I'll Yeah, so on the on the very optimistic end of $419,000 surplus if you take out the Hartford money. And on a very conservative end, if you add that other 40 in 253. It's still a pretty substantial surplus. I just want everyone to look just be aware. But thank you for pointing that out. I did not realize that. Other comments? Mr. Eisen. So, I agree that someone this should have happened in January this discussion, right? But I also have a problem with that because these two documents that were provided were provided and handed us to us during the meeting. So, the teachers never got a chance to see these documents of the cuts for proposing cutting teachers. So, they never had the chance to come in and speak their mind because
174they didn't see these documents. So, that's first. Um second, um I'm going to speak a little about my personal experience. Just put my son in schools at ECS. If if the teachers there didn't provide the support to him um that they have, he would probably be outplaced right now and that would cost more than that teacher costs us every year. And um I think we need to keep pushing kids into the classroom and not push them out of the classroom. And I think it's really important with everything that's going on that we that we keep this position. I I guess I have a question. Okay. And and I really truly do have a question. I do. Um the budget discussion is always the same every year. I'm not saying the teachers have to memorize it.
175It um we do have discussions with the teachers union about class size and we did talk about um we do notify people ahead of time respectfully so that they know. So, all that does happen. This isn't uncommon to Cromwell at all that people don't pay attention to things because they're doing their job. Like they're doing their job and we were looking at class size as um a means we meaning all of us, right? As a means to save money for the town cuz that was a big discussion. But, does that mean you can't you can't you can make it you can make this change. You might have the money, you may not, you probably will. I I I will tell you that. But, my question for you, truly, I I'm not going to be here,
176you guys. If If I was going to be here, I'd be nervous. I would be making you sign on the dotted line to promise me that you are going to support this from now into the future. Cuz you are making an You're making an investment that I that I'm not saying I don't believe in. But, remember, with If you take the insurance out, you only gave a 2.77% of of an increase. The rest of it was all insurance. And I also want you to know that you we are offering a phenomenal plan. So, expect that on July 1st, you're going to have people that are going to now who have never used our insurance plan, they're going to they're going to use it because it's no longer an HSA, it's a PPO. So, you may
177be going into the red going in. But, if you if if you believe that you want to do that going forward, >> [clears throat] >> I my God, that would be amazing. I just don't know if you guys you know, if you can. And that's not up to me, that's up to you. Cuz I'll be on the beach. No, I'm kidding. >> [laughter] >> Donna, I'm I'm going to let everybody else go first cuz they haven't had a chance to. Mr. Zabriskie. Mr. Zabriskie No, he He's not talked about this topic, but go ahead. I have I have two for you as I believe the only current school future on the board. I can tell you there's a big difference between 15 students in my room and 13. A A noticeable, significant difference in the
178services I can provide with lower numbers. And so, I know that's true. Um So, in that aspect, yeah, I I I absolutely, you know, support the the having this position. Um I also have a a responsibility to the taxpayers of this town to to safeguard finances. And Steve brings up a good point that that, you know, when you're not able to provide more [clears throat] individualized services to your students, whether they are getting specialized services or not, um there is a long-term cost. You can move them forward faster. Uh with with lower numbers, you can help kids who, for, you know, example, kids who who are struggling in math, you can provide more individualized services in a smaller class size that helps them recover what they're missing, um and gets them gets them back up
179to speed. So, you know, as far as as far as this thing has been said by everyone who's presented tonight and the people here at the stable, it's I think that the lower numbers are better. I understand there's a cost. Kelly brings up a good point uh with the budget. But, something else you just said really struck me, and that is um we needed the teachers to agree to change their plan for medical coverage in order to make our budget more workable. If the if the if the teachers' union had said, "No, we're not willing to look at this new plan. We want to stay with Cigna with the HSA." They contractually, they had to work with the board and and specifically with Dr. Macre to allow the change to be made in in the,
180you know, with with regard to the insurance so that we could go from, I think it was a 34% down to a 23%. That did impact our budget, and that impacted our budget in a positive way. It made it more manageable. So, that I think that also needs to be considered. They made They made a sacrifice, and they worked with us. And, you know, I I think it we owe it to them to at least consider this because they considered us and they considered our budgetary needs when they did that. I'm going to I'm going to jump in and respond to you on that one because the plan I just want to make sure people know the plan that we moved to was a richer plan that was Yes, less costly to the board and
181less cost but less costly all around and if we didn't move to that plan I'd be very afraid of what other deep cuts we would have to make. I think that would be a lot scarier if we didn't make that decision and absolutely I appreciate that that was done in partnership with our teachers. I Steve, I think that document that you showed us I don't think we voted on it the night we received it. I think we received it and then we had a subsequent meeting. So, I just want to make sure No, no. They they but we had a They were provided and they were handed out subsequent meeting, subsequent opportunity for public comment. Just I just want to make sure that we're all I don't want to blame anybody or anything but they
182were in the they were definitely in the minutes but I don't want to But I do genuinely have a But I genuinely have a question. So, my question is what do we do with if we figure out some way financially to add that position back into the budget, what is the impact with class sizes and we have class sizes that I'm looking at these WIS numbers that are significantly higher. How do we address the concerns? I'm not being tongue-in-cheek. I'm being serious. What do we do next year when Woodside teachers come to us and say our class sizes are unmanageable and it is untenable for us to have a class size of 20? Is that in the sweet spot? Probably towards the top end of the sweet spot. And how are we going to address
183it if we make this change this year at ECS for first grade or how do we change it for second grade if it's an issue for second grade? I'm just worried about sustainability of any kind of change we put into place. So, just just just a maybe it's a rhetorical question, but I want us to think about that because it will be an issue we will have to deal with if we um create one class one group of students that have significantly smaller class sizes than the rest of the district. I I also think it's important just to draw your attention back. Don't forget about the kids who are in class. If all 29 of those kids show up, you're have 17 kids in kindergarten. So, you're going to have to come back I would
184think in August and and and remember, you can always do that, too, right? You can always Who's sitting here today doesn't mean they're going to be sitting here in a few months. Um but you're going to have to keep an eye on that kindergarten classroom. If you're putting 16 if you're going to say 14, 15 kids in first grade, you're you're looking at 7 You're looking at a potential 17 kids in kindergarten, as well, if every one of those kids that was screened um registers. I don't know if they will register or not. We have no idea. We can't make parents register any faster than we've done everything. Outreach, we've done everything that we possibly could. Um does anybody else want to weigh in that hasn't made a comment? Mr. Sherman? I'm just trying to
185understand it's been a long time since I had kids in elementary school. 29 people just float around maybe yes, maybe no. I don't I don't I don't understand that. So, there's 29 students that have been screened. They came in, they showed up, they've been screened. Their parents have not officially registered them. So, the way Cromwell is, remember when we had the conversation about letting students come to school um if they're age four. So, that's going to change, too, by the way, because it has changed legislatively. Correct, Carrie? So, you're going to have less kindergarteners, [clears throat] which will then decrease your enrollment, anyway. Um, in the future, this is the last year that we're allowing for 4-year-olds to come um to school. Those parents most likely had their kids screened, and they're probably struggling to
186make a decision. Am I going to send my kid to school, kindergarten? Am I going to keep them in preschool for another year? Um, it's it's up to them. >> Is 29 a higher number, or is it I mean, statistically >> 29 is the exact number. >> No, no. I'm talking about year over year. Is it that many people kind of I would say it's pretty average. Yeah, I would say that right right now Yeah, and Carrie, really, between now and June, it's possible that all 29 register. So, I'm just going to have her speak because yes, your answer is that historically have have these kids registered Why would you not? It's free. >> [laughter] >> So, they So, the answer to that is yes, that very well could happen. I also want you to
187be mindful that even though we have signs out everywhere, come register your kids for kindergarten, we have a lot of last-minute registrations. We're down to the wire, and even that first week of school, we're placing kids in kindergarten classes. So, I just to answer your question. We had one year where we had slated for West, we had 25 kids walk in the door. We've never seen anything like it in Brown Law. I've seen it a million times um next door, but never in Brown Law. That happened once. We had to open another class in August. Mrs. Lamb. All right, I've been uh very quiet tonight. I'm in deep learning mode, um deep listening mode. Um, so, I would have genuine curiosity. we're we're kind of talking about rolling the dice with numbers. What's it going
188to be? We're not really sure. It sounds like that's a similar situation every year. Um, what is the possibility of having another, say, 1-year contract? >> Um, you don't have a bubble. This is This This is It is what it is. There's no bubble. We had bubbles. Trust me. I was like, "Oh my god, how many kids?" Cuz at one point at ECSA, I had over 500 kids. This year I have 380. Um, we had past graduating classes that were humongous, and I believe that was 3 years ago, Andrew? Yeah, that's huge. Oh, yeah, I remember 3 years ago. It was huge. You were You don't have that bubble. And I And I am By no means am I saying You That's why I keep bringing you back to sustainability, right? You You If you
189make a decision to do this, then you're making a decision, or you're going to disappoint teachers later. You're going to disappoint people. Once you make this decision I Listen, hire two, because you might have 17 kids in kindergarten. But once you make this decision to do it, based on all of the the data right now, you're making a decision to do this, and I would be I would be devastated for these teachers if they had class sizes for a year or two of 14, and then they had to go back and have class sizes of 23 and 24. That would make me more upset as a teacher, because you know what? You guys may not be sitting here. So, I just want you to know that for me. Put 10 kids in a class. >>
190[laughter] >> Like, I just My responsibility is to tell you the truth and the facts. And then you make the decision, but this is not a bubble up, up or down. This is Yeah, it didn't It It doesn't look like it, but in terms of keeping the class size balance that we're talking about, there may be, you know, is Is there a way to provide some flexibility so that we are still doing it. I I mean, I'm Do you want 17 kids in kindergarten and 14 and 15 in grade one right now? I This is what I'm talking about. Like, we have to think realistically right now. That's what I'm I'm telling you. They're not sitting seated there, but it's it's factual. So, are you looking at two teachers? And then, what happens after that?
191And then, what if you run out of money? And then, what if So, when I was when I had the discussion about the $520,000 that we I thought we were going to get that we didn't get, it was the town was really nervous about the mill rate going up. They thought they were going to have to cut things. That was the discussion that I had. So, I don't unless something changes with the um Unless something changes with the way we look at school systems and public education and class sizes, you're approving something for a year or 2 years, kindergarten first grade, but this is a long-term issue. And then, what could possibly happen is if we continue to You may have to close a school. So, that's something that is happening in plenty of other
192communities right now. It's every time you turn on the the news, and the and people are fighting like crazy, and I I went through that once. You don't want to go through that. Okay. This is Russ, and then Mrs. Cantwell. Um So, first off, I appreciate all the comments, public, written in, um all the board members, and what everybody is saying. Um I really wish this was a more lively discussion in the middle of our budget process, cuz we did talk about it in the middle of our budget process. And we did The information was put in the minutes, but we also discussed it. So, um and even getting texts that I got like the day before or the week before. I mean, why why weren't you saying anything? >> I will tell you that
193I did I did have this discussion with the administration, and the administration didn't hide. And so so the what we have done in the past cuz there have been those bubble grades. I had a kid in a bubble grade, and I had a kid right behind the bubble grade. And I understand that there's a lot of different things happening in the school right now. I'll get back to the bubble grades in a second. There are a lot of different things happening in the school. There's a lot of different things happening in the classroom with these students. There's a tremendous amount of services that are provided now to students and to help teachers than there were when my bubble grade kids went through. So they've shifted teachers around. They've moved things around. Putting in a temporary
194position, I don't know if that's the answer. I And we don't know where our budget's going to lay out at the end of this year, especially with this Harper thing. It's already changed once. Who knows if they're going to change it again. Um we're going to have to most likely pay attorney fees that go along with this. So I'm more inclined to wait and see what happens with enrollment closer to the start of the school year. We've done that in the past. We've said, "Okay, we're we're not going to add a teacher in. Let's wait. Oh, look. Okay, now we have X number of kids that came. The class sizes went up too much. Let's add a teacher to bring it back down again." I'm a product of a teacher that was hired in August
1954th in 1996. I said, "I'm a product of an August 4th, 1990, I'm sorry, 3, 94, 93 teacher that got hired last minute because of situations like this." But some of you could wait until August. But some of the other schools have already They know. They hear what's happening, and some people have said, "What do you mean? They're going to get these low class sizes, and what what are we going to get? Are we going to get anything? Or I mean, we have X number of kids in class, which is higher than what they have, why aren't we going to get an extra teacher? We're we have to come up with a sustainable number that will keep the kids in the learning mode at all levels and all teachers engaged. Um and we do have
196to look at it across the board and a little bit more than just the year that's in front of us. We have to look at what's going to happen or do we want to take all our class sizes and decrease them down to 13 or 14 students in a class? That we have to add a lot of teachers for that. We We work hard on this budget every year and this year's was was definitely difficult, not the most difficult I worked on, but um we have to look at it as a whole picture. So, this I'm I'm hesitant to say, "Yeah, let's hire a teacher. Look at our numbers right now." I'm hesitant and the overage that we had last year, we're paying a good chunk of that is going out for the new track
197to be done. We already agreed to that. So, I And are we going to put this in as a temporary or long long-term sub or are we going to do this as a teacher that's just added in your your over year? So, I I really think that we need to wait and see where our numbers fall out closer to the start of the school year. Um I'm really hesitant to add a teacher in. It was a long-term sub position to start with for a reason. So, um I just want to talk about So, I've just I'm just concerned about making a change to decrease the class size for one grade when across the board we have to look at our district as a whole. Okay. Dr. Mackley. Okay, I'm sorry. I wanted to just explain
198this. It was a long-term substitute one-year contract. Everyone knows there's we had a few, two, sorry, um this year. Notified everything we did everything the way we were supposed to Miss tomorrow is unbelievable in HR. We we cover ourselves. We follow tenure law and notifications. You guys made that I wish I was here so I could have helped you through this conversation in April. Um but my mom was just a little more important that night. But I was watching from the hospital. Um we then in turn the teacher that this person was subbing for chose to raise to raise her child and that's a wonderful thing, right? I'm very very I'm so happy for her. That is the definition of attrition. The definition of attrition is when someone leaves and you do not have to
199replace them because you don't have a full-time replacement in there for them. So we did exactly what you do through attrition. That's the definition. Did we reduce the amount of people the teachers? Yes, but it was no one with a contract with further than a year and the expectation that they would be hired. Um was was like a um it would have been a different process. It would have been a pink slip process. It would have been a little different. Um I also want you to know and again, I'm just giving you the facts. No matter what I have had to manage my lanes and so has Dr. McLean that we have English class sizes of 26 at the high school. So you you want to keep all this in mind as well. We This
200is what This is going to be difficult. I I think you should I'm not saying let it go, but you you have time. I'm not going to be here. Someone else is going to be here. I don't want to fluff it off to somebody else because I I am all about the difficult decisions and I am who I am. So I don't know we don't know what's going what's going in or going to walk in and out the door. We we really don't. We never do. And Cromwell has become more transient than it ever has been. You You the enrollment. It's but the numbers are here. They're right. Mrs. Kaplan. Yeah, you answered my question. That's what I was going to ask about the the details on the long-term sub, how that came to be.
201So, I'm just thinking about if that teacher hadn't left I don't want to put you on the spot, but what do you think would have happened this year? Would you have proposed I What would you have proposed? Would you have proposed I proposed keeping the class size That's my question. If that teacher hadn't have left, we're in this situation. Would you have proposed keeping seven classrooms or would you have moved that teacher to a different grade, like Spanish? It would have caused a caused a huge bumping issue. Maybe we would have reduced class sizes. Um or incre- You know, we we would have had to look at everything. But, the truth of it is what I or what did I I have I knew at that I didn't know until the 1st of April that
202that teacher wasn't coming back, and you had already You had this in front of you. So, I may have had to cut someone with a contract longer than a 1-year contract. That could have possibly But, you guys made that decision. I just give you the information, and I did talk about it. I hope you all remember that I did talk about it. I was very It was I I got a big thank you for Mimi Carter. I did talk about that. Um but, the decision was made, and I understand why you made the decision. I just want to go back there and have everybody understand. And, I'm not blaming you, and you shouldn't be blaming me. This is a situation, and you guys have to think about it. Yeah, we're not blaming. No, I think
203it's it's it's I know. You're right. Yeah, I think we all voted on the information we had in front of us, and yeah, no one's blaming each other. I think we're just trying to move forward now and do the best thing, so. It's a very difficult decision and I'm very appreciative for everyone coming out and sharing their perspective with us. And this is tough, right? This is hard. I'm inclined Yeah, I kind of I'm listening to both sides. Um We're on the same page. Yeah, we're No, I know Yeah, this is There's not two sides. We're all We all want We all want the best thing at the end of the day for students, so and for teachers. You know, if we are in a situation at the end of the summer where we get
204a huge bump, we can you know, certainly revisit this, but I think right now maybe we should stick with what we voted on, but that's All right. Matt and then Donna, but I'm going to say let's try to put an end to this because it's already almost 9:00 and I want to make sure that we move and I know that there's a lot of people that have been sitting around here very patiently waiting and I want to be considered of that. Uh I was just going to motion that we move to end discussion and put it to a vote to either move forward, table it, or end it here. That would be Well, so we've all said a lot. We made a lot of really good points. Um for my part, I feel like, you
205know, what Catherine just said, I this isn't something that has to be decided right now. And we're also if we decide it right now, we may be making that decision on information that's not guaranteed and and that it's it's a it's too big of a decision both for the teacher in question and and our schools and our taxpayers. And and it's not something we need to do today. But I but we certainly would need to make a decision before the beginning of the school year. So, I think that no one No side leaves disappointed today if we do that, but my I I my motion is to uh end discussion and table this until we have more information at the end of July, beginning of August, and I'm looking for a second. Second. Motion made
206by Mr. Zabrowski, seconded by Mrs. Lamb. Anybody have any other comments? I'm going to call to vote. Do you want to make a comment on his motion? >> No. Okay. Do you have another comment? Well, we have to act on his motion now because Matt made the motion and um Okay. Motion to end discussion. My motion to end discussion and table this until Okay. So, Matt's Matt, can you put your mic on? Just can you just repeat your motion, please? Sure. I made a motion to end discussion and table this issue until the end of July or beginning of August, and I believe Jessica seconded my motion, so now So, I'm going to call vote. All in favor of supporting Matt's motion to end discussion, table this until the end of July end of July
207August, whenever we have clearer enrollment information. All those in favor? I. Opposed? Abstentions? Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it. Motion passes, but I very much appreciate that this was a very difficult, very um thoughtful conversation. Okay. I'm going to try to move this along really quickly because we still have to have a superintendent search committee meeting as quickly as possible. Um AI update, can we just say it's in the packet and not have a discussion about it? >> I can everything is in there. We worked hard this year. You can read it. I think it came out really great. We're still making little tiny tweaks to it, but otherwise I think we're in really good shape and it should be posted and sold out very soon. Okay, thank you. In your packet, reference H, new club
208activity. It is a proposal to start a Model United Nations at the middle school. It is in your packet. Is there a motion to approve their request to start a new club? Motion by Mrs. Russ, seconded by Mrs. Manny. All in favor? I. Anybody oppose? Abstaining? Okay, motion passes. Out-of-state field trips, those are in your packet, reference I. Is there a motion to approve the out-of-state field trips as presented? Motion. Motion by Mrs. Cantwell, seconded by Mr. Sherman. All in favor? I. Abstentions? Opposed? Motion passes. Healthy food certification lunch program, reference J. This is also an action item. I don't know what the action is being requested. Mr. Ball, can you tell us what the action is being requested? And you're going to have to go to the microphone cuz I don't know what we're
209asked to do. Maybe you could frame a motion for us. Do you have it in your packet? Yeah, I have the packet with the letter. Do you need a minute? We can go back to it. I'm good. Okay. So, this is the It's a healthy food certification statement put together by our food and nutrition coordinator. And basically these would be the guidelines that we would need to follow in order to continue to be part of the healthy food certification program and the reimbursement that goes with it. So, you need a motion to approve the guidelines as presented in this document. Would that suffice? Yes, I think you want to approve the healthy food certification statement. Okay. Is there a motion to approve the healthy food certification statement reference J? Motion by Mr. Zabrowski. I saw
210a hand. Seconded by Mrs. Cantwell. All in favor? I. Anybody opposed? Abstaining? Motion passes. Approval of minutes and motions from the Thank you, Mr. Botwell. Uh April 7th regular meeting reference K in your packet. Is there a motion to approve the minutes and motions? Mrs. Lamb, seconded by Mr. Zabrowski. All in favor? I. I. Anybody uh uh Abstain, Mr. Shuman. Abstain, Mrs. Ross. Anybody opposed? Okay, motion passes. Approval of minutes and motions for April 21st special meeting reference L in your packet. Is there a motion to approve? Motion. Motion, Mrs. Ross, seconded by Mrs. Lamb. All in favor? I. Anybody opposed? Abstaining? Motion passes. In your packet, there is an informational update from the human resources department. Thank you, Mr. Morrow, on personnel activity and personnel action. I just want to point out a congratulations
211to our own Mr. Botwell, who in your packet is announcing his retirement. >> [applause] >> I know, we're so I'm trying. Uh we're not sure we want to clap. We're kind of disappointed over here. Some of us may have booed your announcement, but >> [laughter] >> He appreciates some of the support. We're grateful to you for all of your service, both as our principal and managing our finances and helping us navigate some really challenging fiscal decisions. And we will we will miss you greatly. Thank you. It's been my pleasure. Thank you. Um and another congratulations to Steve O'Leary who is retiring effective August 26th. Um I'm sorry, I'm missing the position title. I still have Maintainer. Spinner maintainer. >> [cough] >> So, thank you very much to him for his service. We wish him the
212best. Moving on to principal reports, those are in your packet. No action needed. I will point out the principal reports do include enrollment data and some really important pieces of information. So, we should keep an eye on those because that's going to help us with our prior conversation. There was no policy committee, so we have no update. Facilities and technology committee minutes are in packet. Thank you, Mrs. Franklin, for putting those together. Reference R, topics for future agenda items are also included under topics for future agenda items. So, those are there. If anybody has any additional agenda items you would like discussed, speak now. Okay, Mrs. Ross. Um I'd like to add to one of the agenda items over the summer maybe. Um talking about adding in honors more honors or some honors classes. I
213know there's one teacher that's creating their own um classes at the high school level because we don't really have any like besides this one teacher taking initiative. So, we'd like to add some honors classes at the high school level. Do you want to do that in June or July and August? >> July and August. July and August. Okay. >> [clears throat] >> Is everybody okay with that? Mrs. Ross, do you have any other We need to add the the enrollment update for kindergarten first or is that just a given? >> I I think we asked that as a regular update from I think that's something we would want in our agenda. >> too. I just didn't know if we needed to list it in these items. I think it should be something we look at
214regularly and it is in the principal reports. Not in detail the way that it was provided tonight, but there is data. Uh Okay, I just wanted to let everybody know we will have to have a special meeting in June and that will be to talk about a couple of contracts and to also just talk to interview finalists for some of the positions that are being advertised right now. So, I will work with all of you on a good day in June. We have our June 2nd meeting, but that's too soon for us to do some of those things. There's another meeting in June. So, are you talking about a third meeting in June? Right now, I think we only have one meeting scheduled for June and it's June 2nd. So, we're going to need another
215meeting later in June. >> it says here it has two June Those are just Oh, those are just topics. >> Oh, okay. Got you. Thank you. Okay, I'm going to move on to comments, updates, and announcements from board members and Mr. Eisenman, can I start with you? Nothing? Okay. Mrs. Lane? We We started the night with a lot of discussion on and and celebrating students and staff and faculty on the amazing leadership. I also want to shout out to the the arts department. Um hopefully all of you had a chance to take a look at the display as we were walking in. Um you know, whether it's the our our artists here that are on the wall, it's just absolutely phenomenal and and breathtaking. Um and I've also had an opportunity, you know, to to
216go to the CMS performance last week. It's just amazing what we're doing throughout this district. Um and and supporting the arts and our students. So, I just wanted to give a shout out to to that group. Mrs. Ernst? I'm good. Mrs. Cantwell? Mrs. Franklin? Yeah, I just want to give a really heartfelt thank you um to Megan, Julie, Chrissy, and Gina. They are the ECS English PTO and this is their last They had their last meeting today as a group, um, and they've just done such phenomenal things for the teachers and for the students in those grades. So, just a really heartfelt thank you to all four of them. Really nice. Thank you. Mr. Sherman, you're good. This is Maddie. Wonderful arts, all the things that the kids do here. It really comes down to
217who these teachers and coaches and by coaches I mean their club coaches are and it wouldn't be done without them and I just want to say one more time uh I I know personally my family was adversely affected by the way I worked as a teacher and I don't think if you have ever been in teaching you could possibly understand what it means to work as hard as some of these people do, especially the people who are doing tremendous numbers of papers to correct, essays, teaching writing. I saw grammar by the writing club person, um, or it's amazing. So, all of these things that you see that are so wonderful, you've said it before, you didn't have the best teachers, you couldn't do it. And I just want to I just want to say that
218and I know we all feel that way, but Donna, no love for the specialist teachers? No. No. All the teachers. >> Thank you. Appreciate that. Okay. We're all good. I'm going to adjourn our regular our special Board of Education meeting. I will ask everybody to just stick around and we'll try to find a quiet place to do another quick meeting. So, thank you so much. Meeting adjourned at