001Good evening. Welcome to this meeting of the board of education. I'll call this meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Lisa, would you please uh take roll call? Mrs. Canwell, here. Mrs. Clier, uh, she'll be coming late. Mr. here. Mr. Here, Mrs. here. Mrs. R here. Mr. Schuman here. Mr. Zaski, he'll be coming late as well. Dr. Mack here. Mr. Dest, Mr. Bazano, Mrs. Bennington, Mr. Miola here, Mrs. Mrs. Dun, Mr. Mr. Mr. Lame, Mrs. Merach, Mrs. Middle, Mrs. Sheepard, Miss Mayor Demetrius. Okay, thank you. Right, our first item on the agenda is the approval of the agenda and any additions, deletions, and review. And first of all, we do have two items that were on for executive um session. And I'd like to ask that we table the agenda item regarding the superintendent's contract and
002we can um have that item on at another meeting. So is there a motion to do that? Motion to approve your recommended changes. Thank you. Okay. All in favor? I opposed extensions. Motion carries. And I do also want to ask that we move the second item. I'd like to exercise my prerogative as the chair to move the following agenda items to the start of the meeting in recognition of the public interest in the pending OCR matter. Those items are one, discussion concerning an attorney client privilege communication related to the board's role in the OCR matters, article 15 on the agenda, and two, the repealing of the policy on transgender and gender non-conforming youth section 15 14 E in the agenda. So with those two changes, is there a motion to approve the agenda? Motion. All
003in favor? Opposed? Abstensions. Okay. And so after that, we will just move all the items to the regular um business meeting following our executive session. Is there a motion to go into executive session for these purposes? Motion. Katherine. Is there a second? Lori, all in favor? Opposed? Sensions. Okay, we are now in executive session. The board will though instead of asking you all to leave, we would like to invite you to stay and we will conduct our meeting in a separate room and we'll return when we are through. So please feel free to stay and we'll be back shortly. all so much for your patience and waiting while we had our executive session. And I'll declare this meeting back in regular session at 8:05 p.m. From here, I'd like to add a new agenda item
004to our to our agenda. I'd like to add a motion, if anyone would like to motion, to add an item, an action item to authorize the board to make the following statement, which I have before me regarding the pending OCR matter. Motion second. All in favor? Opposed? Extensions. Okay. And this will also be communicated out to families. And here's our statement. On May 2nd, 2025, the United States Office for Civil Rights notified Dr. MRI that it was initiating a directed investigation into whether Cromwell was in violation of the title N and its implementing regulation which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity operated by a recipient of federal financial assistance. Specifically, OCR was investigating whether Crumbl Public Schools denies equal athletic benefits and opportunities to female student athletes through
005general or athletic specific participation policies that permit, direct, instruct, or require its schools to allow males to participate in girls intercolastic athletics, thereby depriving girls and young women of equal athletic opportunities. This correspondence also states that as a coral coralally to this alleged conduct, a potential title 9 violation occurs when a covered entity denies female students female only intimate facilities such as sex segregated locker rooms and bathrooms. Croml responded that it would be represented in this investigation by its legal council. Com Cromwell heard nothing further from OCR until May 29th, 2025 when OCR sent correspondence stating that although OCR has not yet made final compliance findings, OCR has identified compliance concerns during this investigation and has determined it would be appropriate to attempt to resolve these concerns through a resolution agreement. OCR issued a five-page
006resolution agreement with a response deadline of June 5th, 2025. The agreement provides that it will become effective immediately upon signing. OCR further stated in its correspondence that if the agreement is not signed, OCR will conclude we are at an impass in negotiations and OCR will finalize the findings and proceed to enforcement. Enforcement may include referral to the US Department of Justice or other means authorized by law. On Friday, May 30th, 2025, Preml reached out to OCR through its legal council, explaining that the decision to enter into any agreement, changing its policies and practices needed to be made by the board and requesting an extension of the time deadline to understand fully the terms of the proposed agreement and determine whether OCR and Cromwell could reach an agreement. To date, OCR has not granted an extension.
007As an initial matter, we want to make clear that the proposed resolution agreement, which mirrors proposed resolution agreements recently sent to other states, implicates issues far broader than the participation of transgender female athletes in athletic pro programs. As proposed, many of the terms are in direct conflict with state law, specifically Connecticut General Statute 10-153, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and expression. Some terms of the agreement also conflict with interpretations of the rights of transgender individuals as recognized by the United States Supreme Court and pending litigation in Connecticut District Court. Further, the proposed agreement requires Cromwell to withdraw all of its student athletes immediately from all CIA sponsored athletic events such as the state and New England regional competitions occurring over the next few weeks. We do not see any justification for an [Applause]
008agreement that would prevent our student athletes from complete competing in year-end intercolastic events for which they have worked so hard and earn the right to participate in. We also have no guarantee that such withdrawal would be limited to this spring season and not extend into the 2025 2026 sports seasons. The Krommel Board of Education fulfills an important role with respect to the protection of our students and has consistently adopted policies to ensure the well-being of all our children. Before adopting new policies, we conduct a comprehensive review of the effect of any proposed policy change. We obtain and consider comments from our school community and relevant state and federal agencies such as the state department of education. We review legal issues with council and take into effect changes in the law through legislative action, regulatory changes,
009and judicial decisions. As our superintendent clarified recently, as a public school, we make it a priority to create a welcoming and nurturing environment where all students can participate in our educational programs. At the same time, we are fully committed to following federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination in educational programs. We are keeping both of these priorities at the forefront as we review our policies with the Office for Civil Rights as well as relevant state agencies. The matter extends well beyond the scope of the Kreml School District and presents significant statewide implications. Over the past months, our legal council and school representatives have reached out to multiple stakeholders that include the state department of education, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, the CIA, the Connecticut Attorney General's Office, and the Governor's Office to engage
010in discussions about how recent executive orders and administrative actions from the Trump administration revoking past guidance and issuing new interpretations of the law affect our policies so that we can adjust our procedures prospectively as needed in a thoughtful way. The oneweek deadline proposed by OCR does not provide us sufficient time to conduct the needed review of this of the proposal. We have informed OCR that a decision not to sign the agreement as written should not be interpreted as unwillingness to engage in a respectful discussion and have requested an extension of time to do so. However, we will be informing OCR that for the reasons highlighted herein, we cannot sign the agreement as written at this time. We believe it is essential that the state of Connecticut assume a leadership role in addressing this issue in
011a comprehensive and coordinated manner and spare Cromwell from having to spend an inord inordinate amount of money in public resources to navigate this alone. Continued efforts must be made to elevate this conversation to the state level where consistent policy guid guidance and support can be developed for all districts. In closing, we remain steadfast in supporting all of our students and are committed to upholding policies that prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of one's actual or perceived membership in a protected class. We will continue to engage in collaborative and respectful discussions with the federal and state agencies, our school districts, the agencies we work with such as the CIC, and the members of our school community as we seek a resolution. So this will also be as I mentioned sent out to families. In addition
012to that, we would like to move to defer any further action on the board policy regarding transgender and gender non-conforming youths. That's policy 5143. Sorry, 51453. And that's 14E on our agenda. Is there a motion to defer that? Matt, is there a second? Second. Alicia, all in favor? I opposed extensions. Motion carries and we will defer any action on that at this time. Okay. And I know many of you are here tonight and probably have some public comments. There was a signin sheet. I'm not sure if um Lisa, do we have members that have signed in? Just one. Okay. Before I invite you up to the podium, I would like to just read our I didn't know she That's okay. You can just add your name to the list and we'll call you up in
013that order. And I'll just read the rules for public comment. Individuals are welcome to address the board of education for up to three minutes each during the public comments portion of the meeting, but board members will not generally engage in dialogue. The board of education chair may at his or her discretion extend the time for public comments. Speakers must come to the podium and share your name and address. 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 comments have been addressed appropriately, or if you believe they should be shared with the board of
014education for any other reason, please feel free to do so. Any comments or concerns about individual Cromwell Board of Education employees should be directed to the superintendent and the board of ed in writing rather than in public comments at board of education meetings. All comments must not include personal attacks and comments cannot be discourteous, threatening, vulgar, or otherwise inappropriate. The board chairperson may at his or her discretion curtail any public comments or terminate any such individuals privilege of address at any time if they violate any of these rules, violate reasonable standards of decorum, are boisterous or are repetitious. The board of education reserves the right to limit public comments to particular topics. The Kreml Board of Education values the well-being of our students and families. Those electing to make public comments at a meeting are
015strongly discouraged from sharing identifiable information of their children in such comments, including but not limited to name, age, and learning ability and are reminded that any comments made during a Crumbl Board of Education meeting a matter of permanent record that may be accessible by individuals in the future. As such, any person making public comments during a board of education 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. And with that, if we can have the first person on the list come on up and please state your name and address. Um, is there a light? Is there a light? It says push. That's better. Hi, Kristen Ba, 19 Belair Manor. So, I understand that you have considered
016tableabling the discussion on this policy, but I wanted to give my comments about it. The policy you're considering appealing is not just about sports. It's a broad overarching policy about the rights of transgender students. This policy includes the dress code and the right to have your clothing match that of your true gender, the right to use your bathroom of choice, and yes, the right to play sports, which are so critical in the way that many students experience school. It includes the right to privacy, to have teachers use your correct name, your preferred pronouns, um to have your correct gender listed on your school information. It included professional development and training for educators to make sure that they are also aware of transgender rights and how best to address very sensitive issues at critical times in
017students lives. As you consider this, consider that for the next several years, you'll be going to graduations and concerts and family fun night. And can you really look at your students and they are your students as they are your responsibility and say that they don't deserve those considerations for privacy, participation in sports, being called their true name, or being addressed by their correct pronouns. This administration federally is using Cromwell as a test case. And I had this good discussion with a friend of mine who lives overseas and he said, "Well, if people would just give up trans kids in sports, then everything would be fine." But it won't because this lawsuit is not just about sports. The goalposts could move and the next thing it would be would be inclusive books. And if it's not
018the books, the goalposts move. And if you don't give up the rights of some students, then you risk funding for other ones. And there will always be that threat to withhold federal funding. But you as the board of ed can uphold the values that protect all of our students and all of your students. Shouldn't we have learned these lessons before? Thank you. Thank you very much. Is there someone else that would like to come up for public comment? Please state your name and address. Good evening. Shannon Hughes Brown, Southern Court, please. Dear members of the Carmel Board of Education, I'm speaking today as an engaged community member who deeply values the role public education plays in shaping our children's futures. In light of the current investigation by the federal government, I urge the board to
019approach this moment not with defensiveness or division, but with courage, compassion, and a steadfast commitment to the well-being of all of our students and especially those who are most vulnerable, including our LGBTQ plus youth. This is a critical time for reflection, learning, and leadership. I encourage you to ask difficult questions, to listen deeply to students experiences, and to grow as a community. True leadership lies not in having all the answers, but seeking them with humility and an open heart. Our LGBTQ plus students, like all students, deserve to feel safe, respected, and seen for who they are. They deserve schools that affirm their identities and support their growth academically, emotionally, and socially. By centering student voices, especially those who have been historically marginalized, you will be honoring the fundamental mission of public education to provide every
020child with the opportunity to learn, thrive, and become their fullest self. I hope the board will prioritize transparency, inclusive dialogue, and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths with integrity. I encourage you to have the courage to not immediately comply with demands and threats, but to understand the true process of litigation and due process. I also implore you to seek guidance, especially legal guidance beyond the normal course of course of operation. These are unprecedented times. Thank you for your service and our your dedication to our schools. I stand ready to support any effort that moves us towards greater inclusion, understanding, and excellence. Thank you very much. Good evening. Jessica Lamb, 12 Highidge Road. Um, I identify as a straight cisgender female and I use she her pronouns. I want to begin by expressing my sincere appreciation
021for the leadership this board has shown in developing policies that support all students. Cromwell has leaned in proactively creating a school environment that strives to be safe, inclusive, and respectful of every student's identity and experience. This kind of commitment takes courage, vision, and compassion. And I want to acknowledge the good work that you've done. And this is why I'm going to change this middle section now based on the results we just heard. But I'm appreciating that you're not unwinding all of that good work until we have more information and hopefully not at all for all the reasons that I just described um and that the fellow speakers here have brought up. Um this investigation doesn't change what's right. Um and we have followed state law and federal guidance and CIA regulations all along. So, please
022stand firm in your commitments to our our students and inclusion. And as you've mentioned, you are leaning on our state leaders, but also don't don't be afraid to lean on your community. You can see from today, we've all showed up and you can lean on us as well for support. You're not alone. Um I'm going to continue to write our elected officials um here in this state as I have in other states as well, speaking for our community here. So, um thank you again for your efforts. Please stay the course and continue to be a district that chooses inclusion over division and values over fear. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone else here that would like to make a public comment? No. Okay. Is are we'll see maybe. Okay. I'm a student here at
023Croml High. I'm not I'm sorry. Could you just state your name and address for the record? Uh I'm not comfortable sharing my full name and address. Can I still speak? What? Oh, you're a student. I understand now. Okay, continue. I'm going to begin with a trigger warning as I will be discussing sensitive topics including the suicide rate of transgender youth. My name is Simon. I am a student at Cromwell High School and I am gender fluid. I come to school knowing that I can go by the name I feel comfortable with. I cannot do this at home. School is one of the only safe spaces where I can be myself and present myself as I am. The targeting of Cromwell public schools due to the violation of Title 9 is ridiculous considering it covers the
024prohibition of sex-based discrimination. What about the discrimination against the trans youth that this is affecting? According to a study by the Trevor Project, survey participants whose home state had enacted at least one transgender law had a significant increase in suicide attempts. In the full sample of trans and non-binary young people in this study, those rates increased by 38 to 44%. As someone who had struggled to find my gender identity for over 5 years, I can tell you firsthand that preventing transgender students from participating in their preferred sports teams or using their correctly gendered bathrooms will affect so many students mental health. As for the situation regarding sports, to assume there is an advantage for transgender women because they are biologically male is rooted in deep misogyny. It's rooted in the belief that biological females are
025weaker and lesser than biological males. When you bring down trans women, it hurts all women. Excluding trans people was, is, and never will be about protecting anyone. There will be children whose lives will be lost. Including everyone harms no one. Thank you so much for your comments and your bravery. Are there other public comments this evening? I know this is a very emotionally charged topic. So I thank you all for your support and for coming out to demonstrate your beliefs. So thank you all for your public comments. I did also receive one from our education association of crumbl president Lee Newman which I've shared with the board. It'll be included with the with the minutes and it was also um it was to myself and Dr. Mackey expressing concern over the potential repealing of the
026cape policy in question. Other than that I have no other public comments. Anything that you received you want to share Dr. McCri? No, not at this time. Okay. So, from here we will move on to celebrating our faculty and staff and we'll be celebrating Carmel High School this evening. So, Mr. Cuckle, if you can come on up to the podium. Okay, good evening everybody. So, for our faculty and staff, unfortunately, uh they are performing uh right next door. They're doing a a bangup job. Uh but we wanted to recognize a few folks. won our student Sean Stackpole. Uh you see it in your board of ed packet. He was picked he's a saxophone player. Uh and he was named Maestro Soloist Recognition Award recipient at the Anaheim uh World Competition Music Festival. Uh Sean is
027a fantastic musician. Uh does things the right way. Uh dedicated saxophone player. And to get this type of recognition is unique. It is a rare award. They don't go to these competitions and give many of these out. Uh they give one out. uh and he is the one that did earn that for Cromwell High School on their most recent California trip. So, we're very proud of Sean. So, he was the first person we wanted to recognize. And then the other two were our staff members, Carly Nelson and Mike Schmidt. So, these two uh they're phenomenal at what they do. They are dedicated. Uh they practically live here. They do so much for our students and our student body. And we really want to take a few minutes to recognize them and all the hard work
028that they have done. Uh they're ones too. They never rest on their laurels. They're always looking for new ways, new competitions, new events, new ways to get our kids out there and in front of other groups. Uh and and many times I have to kind of sit them down and say it's okay to skip this one. Uh that's how dedicated they are. Just in the last month, uh they have their Prisms concert tonight. They had the Memorial Day parade before that. They had another competition uh before that where they received excellent uh recognition at that as well. So they're constantly pushing their students to be their best. Uh and we are very fortunate to have both Michael Schmidt and Carly Nelson here uh at as educators at Cromwell High School. So that's who we celebrate.
029Thank you very much. Let's give him a round of applause and then we'll take some questions. Katherine, you had a question. I just have a quick question. Um that student Sean Stackpole, what year is senior? He's a senior. Okay. He's a senior. Yeah. Thank you. So we're very proud of all of our musicians and we hope their families are enjoying the concert next door. And also thank you to our band and music teachers for their hard work this year and for growing the program. All right. From here we will move on to reports of leazison from the town council board of finance crumbl middle school building committee um which is reference A in your packet. And this evening we do have our mayor with us. Mayor Demetrius if you'd like to come on up and
030if you have a report you'd like to share with us feel free. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Um, first I want to thank the board of education for their careful consideration of the issues that were before you earlier this evening. As you know, um, I released a statement on it yesterday and I stand in solidarity with you as a board uh, in making the best informed decisions that you can to protect the children of the town of Cromwell. um your steadfast dedication is appreciated and I think you know the overarching theme is how we are united as a community and how we will not let division uh guide us or fear guide us. Um and I think one of the things I have always valued about this town is that we are all at the
031end of the day community members that care for this community and volunteer our time for this community and we may disagree on specific issues but at the end of the day we all come together for the town and for its children and for its people. So, I want to start by by thanking you guys because I know you are in a very difficult position. Um, I echo and share um the sentiment that anything I can do to be of assistance, anything I can do to lobby or help, uh, I'm at your disposal. Um, with that said, I wanted to start by um, thanking uh, the middle school for inviting me today uh, and last week to two fabulous events. Last week they invited me to the closing of the PTO invited me to the closing
032of the uh old middle school where I gave a little spiel about how middle school is very much like Middle Earth. Um and how you'll learn courage how how you how you will learn to be courageous and brave and true to yourself through a journey and that's what middle school is all about. Um and then I also uh want to thank the middle school today for inviting me back for the seventh grade United Nations persuasive writing speeches. Um, I mean, I think that they were so outstanding. I mean, they made me tear up. To be in seventh grade and being so able to articulate so passionately some of the greatest issues facing our our country, uh, is really outstanding and I think, you know, if they want to teach people on Facebook a lesson about
033debating, I think they do a very very good job. Uh, I was immensely proud of them. Uh, other highlights, uh, as you know, we are still waiting, uh, on the state to see if they will approve our bond request. um for the track and field uh improvements. We have not gotten a final number on that. The last budget proposal that I saw from earlier today did not have it included. Uh that does not mean it won't be in the final bond package. It's just not there yet. There's still 24 more hours. Um and then they still will have their independent bond meeting uh later this month. So, we're monitoring it and hoping that the money is not there or is there. Uh but if it's not there, then we will retool and and look to
034be explore doing a mid-year appropriation uh because we think we need to get that track done. Um I want to thank Dr. Machi and um Claudio for all of the work that they did with us on the building um and facilities improvement projects. Uh I want to let you know that um this year I'm really proud of of all of the capital improvements that we did pass. We passed almost a million dollars of capital improvements for the school district as a whole. Uh so we are making progress in that. Gordian reports $50 million uh list. Claudio through his expertise has whittleled that down to seven uh 30 million, but we will keep working through it. Um in the coming weeks once school is over for the semester. I'm going to call back that working group
035to keep working through it. uh we need to continue to invest in long range capital planning and I'm committed to working with you as a board of ed to work together to try to figure out how we tackle those really big issues of the outstanding infrastructure issues that we have um across all four of the school all three of the schools. Hopefully there's nothing wrong with the new school. I think the new school's great. I didn't Shannon was right there. So I I turned and looked to Shannon but um the uh two other things I just wanted to raise. Um, number one, I know there has been some discussion and debate about the electronic billboard at the middle school. Uh, the town council decided not to move forward with that project. Um, I, uh, the
036building committee has asked for reconsideration at our next town council meeting. I welcome opinions from board members. If you want to reach out to me, you I'm not trying to put anyone on the spot. If you want to reach out to me privately about how you all feel about that, I I want to take everyone's input and consideration into account when it comes to making decisions like that. Um, I know the building committee is very passionate about that project moving forward. Um, and so if if folks want to reach out to me privately to discuss that, we are being asked to reconsider it and I'll put it on the agenda for the next meeting. Um, we are going to move I'm going to ask to move the next meeting. I realize it's on high school
037graduation and that's not uh necessarily fair to people who may want to go to both. So, I'm going to try to move the town council meeting from next Wednesday um to the Wednesday after. And I believe those are all of my substantive updates. Does anyone have any questions for me about anything? Anyone? I think you've I think you've covered it, but thank you so much for everything you've done and for keeping us updated and appreciate you moving your meeting so that we can come out and if anyone's available to attend that meeting either just to show support or like like Mayor Demetria said, send him a letter, personal letter. Um, thank you very much. Thank you for your time. All right, we have no student representatives this evening. I think we've kind of covered town
038collaboration updates unless you have anything else to share, Dr. Mackery. Okay, and we'll move on to superintendent updates and responses. Have anything you'd like to share with us? So, quickly, um I will be attending the meeting on um June 18th on our behalf. Um M Mr. Mr. Bazano and I um I I understand to some people a sign may just be a sign and you're driving by and it's a static sign. Um my intention is to try to help people understand two things. One, we're building a um steam school which involves technology and that speaks to everyone. And secondly, I know it's a it's expensive. However, a lot of conversation about the sign doesn't necessarily mean anything to the people driving by. And I want everyone to remember that that sign, if it is static,
039you're constantly changing it by hand. But if we could digitally change it, that gives us the opportunity to acknowledge staff and students for everything that they do so wonderfully. So as many people may feel um it's just a sign, it's more to the sign than just a sign to the people who are in the building, the students whose birthdays it may be who won student of the month, the staff member who may be teacher of the year. Um you can recognize so many more people. Um and to me the culture and climate in a building is so important. So, when you're driving into school, and I'll say as an aunt because I'm not a parent, but I have dropped off my nieces and nephews plenty of times. And let me tell you, if their names
040were flashing out there, I would be so proud. And so, I feel that it's bigger than just a sign. It builds community and it builds appreciation for the people that are in that building, including our students and our staff. Um, and that is what I will be um communicating on June 18th. In uh my personal opinion, sure, Katherine, if they do not put approve an electronic sign, the current sign will remain where it is. Is that correct? The current sign is Isn't it the old high school sign? It's terrible. It's missing letters. It's falling apart. It would be shameful, you know, to have that in front. And I don't even know if they could actually move like I'm not even sure if they can actually move it. So, I don't know what will happen if
041it's not approved. If it's not approved. Yeah, I didn't know if it was falls under to get just a regular generic. They have had that disc, they have definitely had that discussion. Um, and we'll find, you know, we'll find out on Yeah, I think there were Yeah, some maybe some misunderstandings and more information will be provided at the meeting to to share the options of where we go from here. At the building meeting? No, I meant at the town council meeting. Unless I'm mis misspeaking. Okay, that's the purpose of the meeting is to provide more information what the options are. Okay. All right. We'll move on to presentations and reports of administration and for that we have reference B in our packets and Mr. Butwell, if you'd like to come on up. Oh, did I
042miss another SR? Our SRO has been hired. I don't want to make the announcement who it is, but we will have three SRO's. Um, so in addition to Officer Pete and Officer Bob, um, we will have another SRO and we are so excited because they are priceless to us. And when will that happen? For the next beginning this school year. Yep. Amazing. Thanks. Hi everyone. Um, I have a quick update on the budget and also a quick update on our lunch debt. Um, so regarding the budget, uh, we've now reached June. we continue our important work of closing out the fiscal year. Um, since my last report, there's really no major updates to share. Um, but just a few key points. Um, we're continuing to closely monitor our year-end financials and working across the district
043to close outstanding purchase orders and unencumber any remaining funds where appropriate. We continue to address unanticipated special ed expenses and are also actively managing facilities and maintenance repair needs across all schools. We've completed another review of salaries and benefits to ensure adequate coverage for both long-term and daily substitutes through the end of the school year. And on a positive note, we received the second installment of our special education excess cost reimbursement from the state just today. Um, and we are now just waiting for the supplemental amount which was released by the state and we're anticipating that arriving at the towards the end of the month. And in addition, we're still awaiting um our choice reimbursement funds for special education services provided. Uh however, overall our financial outlook remains positive as we move through the final
044month of the fiscal year. Sounds like good news. Any questions, Katherine? Um the is it reflected in the budget the funding that was received today and what we anticipate receiving or no? In the report in the Yes. Yes, it is. It was uh put in as a projection and now it's a reality. Okay. which is great. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions? Okay. Thank you. Okay. And then just regarding the um lunch debt that we've accured this year. Was there a question? Sorry. Lori did have a question. I'm sorry. Was it about lunch? Is it about You want to hear him talk? Oh, you want to hear about the lunch debt? Okay. So, um our as of today, our lunch debt is about uh districtwide is about $25,500. Um, unfortunately this uh unpaid meal debt
045is a growing issue not only here in Cromwell but across the state with statewide balances nearing $1 million. Um, I just wanted to um note that um we cannot limit student participation in events or withhold school documents due to negative lunch balances and students will always be provided with a meal regardless of their debt level. Um, some of the things that we've done uh to work on this debt are automated email notifications sent weekly to families once the uh account is atgative $10. Um, district outreach is conducted when balances reach negative $100. I personally contact and follow up with families and building principles also make follow-up contact. In addition, support for free and reduced meal uh free and reduced price meal applications is provided on an ongoing basis throughout the year, including offers of assistance
046to families in completing and submitting the forms. Um and so uh at this point, uh that $25,000 is uh about where we are. We have we do have a $5,000 donation that Dr. Macker announced earlier in the year um which we're going to use to help offset that cost. And um last week we were able to apply to the state for a waiver um which we have received which will allow us to um pay for the debt out of our food service program and not out of our LEA budget. Lori, do you have a question now? Comment frustration. I have a question. Yeah. How many I'm right with you. Without naming names, how many people I mean how many like what accounts are there? Um I would say probably like 150 or so. You're wondering
047if it's mostly coming from a few curious is it is it 20 people or is it No, it's a very broad it's a very broad range. Broad range. Yeah. Some small and some large. Um Dr. MRI sent out a message last week uh urging families to review their lunch debt and we did we have had a good response um from that. So we have seen some money come back in. That's good. Lori, did you have another question? Is it districtwide or are you seeing more in any particular school? Definitely districtwide. I thought last time there was a school that was it the high school that had more probably more with the older students and because they also do they get two lunches sometimes because you know they eat more so they're able to get more
048than one lunch so does they get charged twice I don't think they can get two lunches but I think they can they can buy add-on uh portions to their meal. Okay. So an extra slice of pizza or extra you know burger or something. Mhm. Matt, you look like you have a question. It's not a question. It's just an observation. And I just did the quick math and if it's if it's roughly 150 families, that's an average of $170 a family, which if you're one family, you're kind of like, okay, that's not like a huge deal, but when you consider the lump sum, it is a huge deal to this district. So, I I mean, I appreciate the efforts we're we're making to to collect it. I just, you know, I wonder what other things can
049be done to encourage people to to pay their balance. I mean, you got a balance of $100, you know, $100 is $100. That's a good chunk of change for most folks, but, you know, even even if like they were able to set up a payment plan or something, I think that's been offered, hasn't it? Yeah, certainly. Uh, families can pay off, you know, if we notify them that they owe $300, um, they can certainly we our wish is just to get it paid off by the end of the year, so they don't have to pay it all in one lump sum. during the contract negotiations with the with the cafeteria workers and things we were chatting premeating and it was that you know some people were unaware and made recommendation that you know with docu
050sign that when you initially at the beginning of the year you send these documents out and they acknowledge that you know portion that they're they're liable for the the debt and things like that. So, I'd like to see that. Yeah, we're definitely looking for ways to communicate to make sure that parents are aware of the account. Um, recently when we went after some of the larger uh debt, um, we sent messages to the family, the the sort of traditional school messenger eblast, but then we accompanied it with a text and a voicemail. Um, and we got the feedback that that got a lot of attention. Uh, and that we had parents saying, "Oh, I didn't know." even though we had sent previous emails, but that voicemail um left around dinner time seemed to do the
051trick. Something that they're responsible for when you have it legal, you can't hold them. You can't hold them, but you have Hey, you sign They don't care. Acknowledged. Yeah. Am I not? Yeah. And this isn't unique to Cromwell, right? I'm sure this is happening because we can't hold them accountable because we're not allowed to. So, right. There's We really have no uh nothing to hold them accountable with. Um Sandra Shar, food coordinator, uh she goes to the statewide meetings and you know the concerns are all across the state. Same thing. Um she was able to share with me some of the you know t many towns are in very similar um have very similar amounts to what we have at this point. All right. Any other questions or comments? Did you have a Lori? Yeah.
052So I'm just wondering so when they go to the calf if are are the students always aware that they can they see their balance like when they swipe their do they are they aware especially at the high school level like do they know that they owe $100 or does it show up? I I'm not sure about that. The the person cashing them out can can see the balance but um there really is um you know a no shame uh policy policy. So, right, you know, you don't ever want to um students are not in necessarily in control of their account. So, you never would want to put that that burden on them. It's the parents responsibility to pay for it. So, I to answer your question, I don't know if they are aware um but
053I don't think they can see it at the point of checkout because they're just putting their PIN number in. So, we have had parents in the past who have called and said, "My student is getting breakfast. They're not supposed to be getting breakfast. If a child is coming up and asking for breakfast then we have to give them breakfast. We ask the parents to work with us and talk to their children and say you had breakfast at home but at the end of the day um we would not say you can't have breakfast in front of their peers. We just we can't um shame the kids for the adults behavior and that's the hard part. Um, you know, and I did get some emails from people saying, you know, withhold this and withhold that and
054withhold everything. And I'm I'm not doing that to a child. I didn't get into education to do that to a child. Can we email all the students their balance whether it's positive or negative? Just go out to all the students and then that way they're at least aware of it. It the only I mean my concern with that is it's still it's still not the student's responsibility, right? And I mean I'll share my own personal experience. One of my kids, we we give our kids breakfast at home every day, but one of my kids was actually eating breakfast at home, going to school, getting breakfast at school because my kid like the the schooler breakfast as well. And all of a sudden, the balance is lower than we thought. And and we got a notification,
055hey, low balance. And my wife and I talked about it and said, what's going on? And and looked at it and said, wait a minute, so and so is getting breakfast like three times a week. We feed them at home. I don't understand what this is. So, it was our parental responsibility to sit down and have that conversation with our child of, okay, you're not going to get breakfast three times a week. We'll let you do it one time a week, but then you're not having breakfast at home. You're not having two breakfasts, you know, in one day. It's not the school's responsibility to say to the kid, you can't have breakfast. Your parents said no. That's a parental responsibility. I agree with that 100%. But high schoolers can definitely know if they have a
056balance on their account or not. I mean, maybe not. You know, I I agree with it in principle, but I guess my concern is the financial piece of that. It's it really is the the family's responsibility, the parents responsibility to to stay on top of that balance and pay it as as they go. I do like that you got a a better response from the phone messages. I'll tell you that um I have completely failed as a parent because of of not seeing emails or not checking my spam folder and missing things that came from the school. It's absolutely happened to me. Uh, as recently as this week, I actually wrote a response to one of my one of my kids teachers and forgot to hit send. It sat in my draft for 4 days
057until I realized I never sent it. So, like I could see how email stuff can happen that way, but it's hard to ignore a phone message, you know? So, I'm glad to hear that the phone messaging worked and I guess maybe we increase that. Yes, next year we'll also have Parent Square as our communication uh platform. So, we're looking forward to figuring out how to use that more effectively. Your phone's going to go off every five seconds and you don't have an option to opt out until you pay your bill. Okay. Any other questions? Are we good? All right. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. All right. Under new business class of 2025 postgraduation plans reference C in your packet. This is our annual update. And Mr. Mr. Cuckle, do you want to
058come up and I mean it's pretty self-explanatory, but if you'd like to share any any thing you've noticed, any thoughts? Not really. We also I think uh Lisa Hicks passed out as well a uh chart going back to the class of 2020. I'd be a colored one just so that way you could see over time um four-year college, two-year college, trade school. I believe I think in the past you guys have asked about that um because we always give you one snippet in time with this. though. Yeah. H I was thinking trade school increased a little bit, but I guess when you go back to 2023, yeah, not so much. So things seem to kind of just stay the same, right? Yeah. But it's percentage, right? Yeah. But we broke it down by percentage. So
059you can have percentage breakdown and and sheer number of students um as well. Uh but no but the big thing here uh I remember last year you asked we had 34 students I believe last year got into the University of Connecticut but 11 got branched to the Harford branch. Uh whereas this year we had 23 students. So we had a decrease in who got in but um all but three got into the stores branch. So all yeah they got into stores versus not getting branch left. So we had fewer uh get in but at the same time fewer um Yeah. Uh but other than that, I mean, it's pretty standard to what we've had in in years past. Um you know, with our students and you know, everyone going a different direction. Question, Mr. Cole.
060Yeah. Is this graduating class the first class that is not fully ranked? We don't do this the ranking all the way through. We just do percentage wise, I believe. Uh weren't they? I think it is. This is policy for this would be about like I think the third year that we presented it to you without rank like unranked. Oh you you presented the findings but students knew their class ranking. So correct. Yeah. So this is the first class um that would have correct that would have cycled through and did not know their rank unless their family reached out to request it. We don't put it on their transcript when it goes out to colleges. So, we had students genuinely surprised at what their rank was because once the the the problem we had in the
061past is that they knew the rank freshman year and that placed this crazy pressure on students like, "Oh my god, I'm nine, I'm 10, I'm whatever." Um, so now they just kind of went through their high school experience and then they got like that surprise at the end of like, "Oh wow, okay, you know, didn't think I was that high." um you know uh we actually had like that was honest reactions but it was nice and we did not have a lot of families reach out for rank leading up to that so it's been a nice cultural shift for us. Yeah. Any other questions or comments on the graduation plans? I just think it's interesting to see that so many there's so many ones like students are individually going off to different places without even
062you know a buddy to go with. That's just interesting to me. Except for, you know, obviously Yukon and I think Central. So, yeah, they're spreading spreading their wings. They are. They are all over moving south. Quite a few. Yeah. All right. Well, thank you so much for sharing and I appreciate the comparison year to year. You're welcome. And from here, we do have an action item, approval of new clubs, the marching band and color guard, reference D in your packet, which we talked about during budget season, and there was a schedule, I recall, of how we were phasing this in. Um, is someone coming up to explain it further or Mr. Cuckle, do you do you mind coming up and talking about marching band and uh color guard just quickly? It's on the agenda for
063we had to we never submitted the paperwork. Yes. So, Sure. What do you What do you want to know? Any question? I can answer. Yeah, this was so we had you had approved this in the budget process, but we needed to go through, I believe, and officially submit. Correct. Yes. Would you like to go ahead? No, I'm good. I can speak to it. Yeah. So, we've been talking about it for so long. I'll just do it. We've been talking about it for so long, but you know, this is this kind of happened a little bit differently because I wanted you to know that this was really well I wanted Mr. Cuckle to be able to like tell you about but I probably know more about it because I am not going to lie. I've been
064a big proponent of it. So, um, at this point I'll go back to my seat and explain it to you. Yeah, I got you. I can do it though if you want me to. It's your call. It's your call. I'll do it because I I know the most about it. Yeah. Well, because we presented on it uh like two months ago, I want to say. Yeah. So, we presented two months ago. You heard the presentation about it. I've been trying to do this for quite a long time. I really do believe that we have students that are highly interested. So, we now this is just policy. This is just your stamp of approval, which you already budgeted for and I we I budgeted for. It's in there. They get half their stipend for next year,
065the first year, and then full stipen the following year, and that'll be included in the budget, and then as it grows, it'll grow with what we um purchase for instruments or whatever they need. But you will always have the ability to say we have to hold it, you know, hold off for a little bit and not grow anymore. Or you may say, we need to keep that in because we have so many participants. So that's what this is. It's a formal stamp of approval on your part. Um, this is in line with what was shared with us previously and in accordance with the schedule. Okay, Catherine, and it's in the budget already. And the attachment that's on doesn't look like it's really filled out. It's a little confusing. So, it's confusing to look at and
066I' I'd rather see a completed attachment. So, marching band is your proposal. Attach. Yes. Group one principal approval. Oh, because we didn't sign. No, there's like blanks. It's not filled out. Fill in the date. Color guard. Yours is blank. Oh, mine's not. I'm sorry. Online version. So, you don't Let me see. We don't have principal approval. We don't have So, you have color guard and just group highlighted. Yes. The group highlighted. Yeah, that's where it falls in the classification of the contract. Okay. I don't You have the a different one than I have in my packet. I'm sorry. I could read it to you. There's no attached proposal. Can they just Can you just bring it back at the next meeting for us to look at? You need Do you need to approve tonight? We
067don't have another meeting though until another regular meeting until August. Yeah, they're not. You need to set up and they do need to set up and start. We're going to have a special meeting. She sent an email though. She sent a message out. We can add it to that. Sure. So, okay. So, go ahead. Sorry. So, you have to approve it before I approve it. Um, there's a request. There's a requested by the facilitator at the bottom and right that's in there, but I thought that the principal and everybody else had to sign off on it before we approved it. You approve it here. You want us to do it? I approve. Then there's a section. All of us are here. Um, okay. We had to re because they did hand this in a a
068couple years ago. We had to make them do it again. Like the new club activity proposal decree. It's the date is off um for color guard. What do you mean? May 20th. Like what is like it looks like they 20? It looks like they didn't fill in the detail. They used the template and they didn't fill it. That was when probably when we first No, honestly, I think they filled this out a couple of years ago when we Yeah. November, but no other no year. No, nothing. The second one is May. Doesn't have all that filled. I know. I'm saying it says May. That one says Yeah, one says November, one says May. You did. I just pulled it up. Oh, two say November and one says May. Either way, it's not you're on reference
069D and you yours has April. No, no, on the back it says November on the front on the back. Oh, yeah. Mine, too. The online one does, too. Mr. Cuckle said it's not the end of the world if we have to wait till August. So, we can do it at the next special. We do have to have a special meeting. We can add it to that if you guys really want to wait. So truly in a situation like this, do you because it really isn't self-explanatory and we can add it to here to here, but do you want us to say you have the final say? I thought that's what happens is all of you approve it and then we sign it to approve it after everyone else has approved it. I mean, we we
070already didn't we already approve it at that meeting, though? No, we said we would we said we would add it into the budget, which is fine, but I thought you we have to go through all Can you look at those minutes? And I also thought that like you had to complete the the year it's going to start and everything else. Like I thought that all the That's okay. This is Russ. We will go back and do it the correct way. Listen, I'm crossing all the te's and dotting all the eyes. It doesn't matter. I was like, I looked at this the other day. I was like this is not we've been a little busy lately. Yes, I will do it and bring it back to you next time. All right. So, no action taken on
071that. Is that correct, Lisa? Lisa, I can just say no action taken on B. Would you accept this as homework completed? [Laughter] All right, we'll go on to action item C. Approval of the minutes and motions from our May 13th special meeting. Reference E. Is there a motion to approve those minutes? Matt, is there a second? Someone who was there, Kelly Glutier. All in favor? Opposed? Extensions. Lori and Katherine. Right. The minutes are approved. Now we'll move on to approval of the minutes and motions from the regular meeting. Reference F. Matt's approving them. Allan seconding. All in favor? Opposed? Abstensions? Same two. Yep. Okay. So, Lori and Katherine will abstain. Wait a second. Wait, two special meetings. Oh, we canceled it. That's We canceled that one. Remember? Is that the one that we canled because
072I I couldn't come and you couldn't come? No, she's saying it was Oh. That's right. The special policy committee was before the assistant superintendent. Then we had a regular meeting. It was a contract. Yeah, that's right. Don't mess with Lisa. So then would you like to approve the minutes? Thank you. Second, Matt. All in favor? Opposed? Abstension. Same two abstensions. And um just to confirm, Lisa, that these will be updated on the website. Okay. Thank you. To remove Lori and I. Okay. Stipen approval reference H. I'm just gonna open it. Sure. Oh, is she here? Michelle, tomorrow, are you here? Can you come up for the statement approval? Come on down to the prize. Good thing you're sitting on that side. Who had the question? Um, I just wanted you to remind me what if
073the role of a facilitator and then I when we looked at color guard and marching band, I didn't see them on this list. So, that also was something I flagged. Color guard and marching band will not be on that list because it has to get approved first. Once it gets approved, then we have to enter into an MOA memorandum of understanding with the union before I can even post it. So, can't get posted until because right now it's not uh in the collective bargaining agreement. Okay. So, um in regards to facilitators, um that's already in their contract that I just don't know what it is. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, it's a position that actually and I'm going to have Carrie come up to explain it because they actually kind of fall under her department,
074but they you'll There's math facilitators, there's reading facilitators, there's special ed um facilitators, and there could be in departments, but I'll let K explain it further. It's really what I think a lot of districts call a department head. Okay. Like a leader of the department. That's what I want to know. Thank you. Got fancy. We got to be fancy about it. Confus confuse us. Yeah. So, wait a minute. The you just mentioned that the once the the the band and everything the marching band and all that gets added in, there's anou. So, is our putting off what we just put off? Is that actually going to throw you off? Yeah, it just won't get posted right now, but once it gets approved, then I can post the position. Well, we didn't do our homework correctly,
075so we deserve to be punished. I mean, it's fair. We will get it done. We will get it done. I just wouldn't like So, there's more actually getting affected here than what I think. That's all. That'll be our MOA. We have to wait hold off on our MOA because we have to have this added. We'll have it ready to go so that when we have that meeting, it'll be signed the following day. Your superintendent should have looked at this packet a little bit more closely. No, we're gonna do it at the special meeting, Lori. Yeah, special meeting. No, I'll get it done. Okay. Any other questions? No. But do you need a motion to approve this now that I understand? There are no other questions. Yes. Would you like to make it? I'll make the
076motion to approve it. Oh, that I know what a department head is. I heard Katherine. I'll get you next time, Alan. All right. Um all in favor abstensions. Motion carries. The stipens are approved. All right. And move on to theformational principal reports. Any questions on those? Nothing. All right. And then we have some policies on for a second read. I'm sorry. Oh, thank you. Good catch. Sorry. We did. Yeah. Okay. Sorry about that. Informational item G. Um, human resources personnel activity reference I. Any questions on that? And, um, Dr. Machi just reminded me we did we did um, recognize the retirement at our last meeting. Any questions? Are we still looking or are we good? Okay. All right. Now we're on to policy. Second read and items A through D we um not repealed. What's
077the word? We set it aside. Deferred. We deferred item E. No action taken. Correct. Okay. So items A through D. Any questions on those policies? And those are on for second read. Would anyone like to approve A through D? Alan, here's your chance. made by Allan. Second, Katherine. All in favor? Opposed. Extensions. Okay. A through DRL approved. We have none on for first read. Committee reports. Policy committee. We have a report attached. Any questions on that or anything policy committee wants to update us with that you weren't at it and we kind of already talked about that. So, I think we're okay, right? Facilities and technology committee. None. All right. topics for future agendas. Possible action to approve additional topics. Anything any comments from anyone? Any requests? All right. And then we'll just go around
078with comments, updates, and announcements from board members and administrators. We'll start with you, Matt. Do you have anything you want to comment on? Just that I got to attend the uh earlier tonight. I missed the first half hour of the meeting because I got to attend the the performance in the auditorium. It was fantastic. Kids did a great job. I hope we get to see snippets of it on social media. The students who did the solos, I mean, crushed it. There was just notes that they hit that I was like, "Holy cow, that was amazing." They did. They did a fantastic job. Nice. And thank you for sacrificing and leaving a little early to be with us. Alan, Lori, Dr. Macker, anything? I just want to congratulate the graduates of 2025 and wish them the
079best on their last week with Kreml Public Schools. And thank you all for all of your um support in the everything we've been going through and Dr. McCree and everyone that's been working with us. Um Katherine, anything? Kelly? Um I just want to say that uh just like the mayor had said that I got to attend the seventh grade speeches showcase today and they were amazing. Um they picked up great topics. They talked about ocean pollution, sexual assault, um the death penalty, electric cars, gun control, and child abuse, so they could talk about like the global topics to make Yeah. to make the um United Nations aware of. So, yeah, they did really well. Wow. Thank you so much for attending for us. Yeah, it was great. That's impressive. Alicia, anything. Steve, nothing. Alan, graduation
080six o'clock usually, right? Graduation starts at I'm sorry, Andrew. Mr. Cuckle. So, we meet at 5:30. Oh, around fiveish. Yeah. So, you get parking and All right. If there's nothing else then I will