001Evening everyone. Let's get this started. I'll call this meeting to order at 702. And Lisa, would you please take roll call? She'll be absent. Mr. Claudia here. Miss Franklin here. Mut here. Mr. Ms. Here. Mrs. Russ, she'll be absent. Mr. Schum here. Mr. Here [Music] Merry Mr. Mrs. Bennington. She'll be late. Mr. Butwell, Mr. Mrs. Dearo here. Mrs. Duna here. Mr. Cole here. Mr. Lame here. Dr. McClean here. Miss Pesach here. Miss Middlebrooks here. Mir here. Miss Shepard. Miss here. Mrs. White. Thank you. All right. So, we'll move on to approval of our agenda. additions, deletions, and a review. So, we are doing some celebrating tonight of our amazing teachers and our students. And we do have an executive session at the end. Um, other than that, I just wanted to take a moment to
002wish everyone a happy staff appreciation last week. I hope everyone treated you well and to thank our PTO's for all that they do for you guys. I know they give wonderful breakfast, lunch, and they really treat everyone. So, thank everyone for that. Is there anything you want to add, change? Um, no, except for a happy teacher appreciation to um the few teachers that we have on the board too, including you and Mr. Zabrowski. And I will always consider you a Miss Scudy a teacher because that's what I consider myself too. So happy. Uh, it was I think it was a great week. I miss being spoiled and being in the schools, but I'm sure everybody gained 20 pounds and now you're all trying to figure out how to stop eating. All right. So with that,
003is there a motion to approve the agenda as it is? Matt, second by Alicia. All in favor? Opposed? Extensions. Motion carries. The agenda is approved. Correspondence. I have none. Do you have correspondence to share? All right. And public comments. Before I read the rules for public comments, is there anyone here that would like to make a public comment? No. Okay. Then we'll go I'm sorry. Oh, yeah. We'll go right to um the highlight which is celebrating our faculty and staff. And for that we'll have Dr. Mackey go on up and introduce us to our four teachers of the year or toys as you're called on the sign. I come up here because um I have presents so they're all here. So um it's always so difficult and I just compare this to the um Super
004Bowl of teachers, right? because everyone is so awesome and it's we're supposed to be in that room making a really difficult decision that day. Um and it was a really difficult decision because all four teachers who were selected from their respective schools um are amazing and do so much for for all of their students. So um from ECS we had um Mrs. Bezi. So Mrs. Serbzi come on up. Um, and I will I have the little gift for you. I could talk about all of you, but I'll let your principles do it because they'll do a better job. Okay. That's a little prize. Thank you. And Miss Yes. Come on up. Oh, you have to stay here and get embarrassed for a little while. Oh, no. We're not going to let you get away that
005easy. Okay. All right. Good evening, everyone. Um, first, um, and foremost, I would just want to acknowledge Christina Manuskevich, our district teacher of the year this past year. It's been such an honor to have her. [Applause] She is. And I just would like to extend um our congratulations to all the teachers that have been nominated. They're all lovely, beautiful ladies in this room. Um, it's a pleasure to introduce and congratulate ECS's teacher of the year, Rebecca Cerbzis. Um, Mrs. Cerbzis began her journey at ECS as a student teacher with Mrs. Amler in grade two and then she transitioned right into a position at ECS and has been with us for 12 years. Um, not only um is she a dedicated second grade teacher, but she's also actively involved in several educational initiatives. She serves on
006the ECS play committee. Um she acts as a core reading pilot teacher and she mentors mentors the teacher education and mentoring program. Um she is a team regional reviewer hosts of the Croml High School students for the future educators clubs and while participating in PTO events she's always there always willing to help. Her commitment to the educational development and community engagement is truly commendable. Um we are so honored and proud of her at ECS. Mrs. Serbzis, congratulations. I My son Dawson had you I think your very first year teaching. So and you were amazing then you're amazing now. Okay. Next we have from Woodside Intermediate we have Emily Presley and I will have um Mrs. Mrs. Bingington and Emily come on up as well. Although I could talk about Emily too. She hooked me on
007a lot of shows. She's a bad [Laughter] influence. Definitely a bad influence but a a super amazing teacher. So, it is my absolute joy and privilege to stand here today and recognize one of the most inspiring educators I've ever known, Woodside's teacher of the year, Emily Presley. If you've ever worked with Emily or had a student in her class, you probably already know three things about her. She has the creativity of an artist, the work ethic of a caffeinepowered superhero, and the ability to remain patient while teaching two grade levels in one room without spontaneously combusting. She is amazing. Emily is the co-hart of our fabulous multi-age classroom. A place where fourth and fifth graders discuss science like budding Einstein, debate book characters like seasoned literary critics, and suddenly decide they're too cool for slime
008until Emily pulls it out and everyone wants some. But Emily's magic goes far beyond the projects and teacher pay teachers worthy lessons and activities. Emily sees every student, not just as a learner, but as a person. She knows which child needs a quiet check-in, who learns best while moving, and who just needs to be reminded that they're seen. That kind of intuition isn't taught. It's just who Emily is, a fantastic educator. Before she co-led the multi-age classrooms, Emily also taught third grade and special education for a little while. That means she's worn more educational hats than most of us have worn conference lanyards. And somehow she's worn each one with joy, empathy, and style. Especially the construction hat from last week. Yes, there are photos. No, I won't show them to you just yet. What
009makes Emily truly exceptional is that she's never too busy to help a colleague? Need a last minute subplan? She's got a color-coded template. Trouble with a tricky student? She'll share strategies that are both brilliant and compassionate. Just need to vent? She'll listen without judgment and probably offer you snacks or a hug. Emily is the kind of teacher who arrives early to make sure she is 100% prepared for her students, who finds the one book that will finally make the reluctant reader fall in love with stories, and who, legend has it, once turned her classroom into an Italian restaurant in order to teach her kids punctuation. Wow. She is, in every sense of the word, a teacher who lifts others, builds belonging, and believes fiercely in what every child can become. Emily, your dedication, creativity, and
010giant educator heart have made the school a better place for all of us. We are so lucky to walk the halls with you. Congratulations on being Woodside's teacher of the year. You've earned this 10 times over. And if we could give you an award for every amazing lesson you've taught, your very handy husband would have to build you a very new trophy case. Thank you for being exactly the kind of teacher who every child deserves and the kind of colleague we all wish we could be. Now, please join me in giving a loud round of applause to the incomparable, unstoppable, and always student centered Emily [Applause] Preston. Congratulations. Okay, next I'm going to skip over um the middle school for obvious reasons um and I'm going to go to CHS and have Mr. Kulk come
011up and talk about our wonderful school counselor um Mrs. Alicia Milo. And then at the end I'm going to wrap it up. I have the perfect for all four of you put together and I just can't wait to say it. Come on. At least you come on up. Not gonna let you get off easy. All right. So, in in preparation for this evening, uh I was thinking a lot about my time with Alicia here at at Cromwell High School and um you know, she is the embodiment of our motto. Our motto as a district is placing students first. And many people around this table, maybe you've had a sibling, um maybe you've had a child, uh that has been blessed to have Alicia Milo in their life as a school counselor and as a fierce
012advocate. She is without a doubt the hardest person for me to touch base with during the day because of how busy you are. Right? you are constantly meeting with students, meeting with teachers, meeting with families, but but not only just meeting with them, right? She builds these strong relationships with families over four years at Cromwell High School. She triages situations for us. She comforts students, comforts parents, she's able to guide families flawlessly uh through the college admissions process, which is extremely stressful uh and an stressful event for all families. She is always there. She brings her best every single day. And I as a as a school, we are so proud of Alicia, everything that she's done. Uh and we are so proud that she is in Cromwell High School history at least the first
013school counselor to receive teacher of the year recognition. And that alone should show everyone in this room who she is, right? That she is that revered by her colleagues and put on a pedestal so high because she brings it every single day. There are days I'm leaving work and I see her car there and I'm like, "What is she still doing here? I cannot believe it." But that's what she does and that's how she operates. She has one speed and she does it exceptionally well and she helps our students through so much adversity and we are just so incredibly proud of everything Alicia has done for this district and will continue to do for this district. So, Cromwell High School, congratulations, Alicia Milo. Congratulations. So well earned school counselors. I think most people don't realize
014how much they do every day, but very well earned and congratulations. You deserve it. Okay, so our CMS teacher of the year and our district teacher of the year. And it was pretty tough in there. Um we always cry. Um and the last question that we ask them is always the best question. You know, how do you want the kids to remember you as? Um, and all of them say the same thing as a person that I loved them, that I cared about them, that I um not only taught them academic subjects, but I taught them um to believe in themselves and who they are and that truly at the end of the day, again, I repeat it, that that I loved them for who they were. And all of them said that. And of
015course, I could cry at the drop of a pin when you talk about kids and taking care of every child for who they are because kids are so unique um and special, all of you. So, first of course, I'm proud to say I am so exceptionally proud of all four of all four of our teachers of the year. Um if I had to pick one word to describe all four of these people, I would say these beautiful women. uh strong um and then I I'll take it a step further and say brave and then I'll take it a step further and say sometimes fresh in a way in which I love because that was who I was as a teacher and I think my board would probably say that's what I am as a superintendent.
016If they truly believe that something is right for kids, even if I'm not loving it and it's gonna drive me crazy, they will fight for it. And as much as sometimes once in a while I'm like, "Oh, no." Carrie and I look at each other and then we look we look away and we go, "They're right. They're right. They are right. This is what we need to do. No matter how hard it is." And that's what we want. We want educators that are going to wake up every morning and they're going to come here and they're going to say, "This is probably not going to be that popular with my administrator today." Um, and maybe not even a parent. Um, and maybe at that moment, not even for the kid, but they are going to
017fight for that and what that child needs. So, I love that about all four of you and I could say that wholeheartedly that you do this and you do it with such class and professionalism. Um, and I don't ever want you to stop doing that because kids that this is what kids need and that's you. So, please continue to be you. And after saying that, it is my distinct honor and pleasure to announce our district teacher of the year, Mrs. Cerninowski. Mrs. Jane Sernowski, come on up. And yes, I will invite Mrs. Coachola to come up and talk about her even though I really want to talk about her. Go ahead. Come on. Come on. Come on. We're the same height. Yeah, we're we're small, but we're mighty. Good evening, everyone. And I have to
018say it is an absolute privilege to stand before you today and speak about someone who represents the very best of what education can be. Today we are honored to say as first recognized Jane as our CMS teacher of the year but now our district teacher of the year. Go middle school. In a profession filled with dedication, compassion, and hard work, Jane stands out. She is the kind of teacher every student hopes to have, every parent dreams for their child, and every colleague is grateful to work alongside. She began her career as a fifth grade teacher when CMS still housed the fifth graders. I don't know where they fit. You guys are on the roof or something. She moved to Woodside in 2006 and then she returned thankfully to CMS in 2011. She has taught language
019arts and social studies and now at this time is teaching um the sixth grade language arts. What makes Jane exceptional isn't just the m she has mastery of her subject matter because she is an amazing language arts teacher though that's certainly impressive. It's the way she connects, the way she cre greets every student by name. The way she makes every learner feel seen, heard, and valued. Her classroom isn't just a place of instruction. It's a space where curiosity is welcomed, mistakes are part of the process, and growth is always the goal. Whether she finds creative ways to bring lessons to life, or simply being a steady and compassionate presence, Jane consistently goes above and beyond. And she does it not for recognition, but because she's so in her soul believes all children can learn and
020grow. Here's a great example. Jane was teaching kids about responsibility and there was a goal she had set up and if the kids remembered items and it was consistent and so on and so forth. She promised them a a prize if um they reached the goal. And then she asked the students, "What kind of prize would you want?" and they said, 'Well, Miss Sernowski, if we reach our goal, we want to have lunch with you. That was their reward and that's what they wanted. And sure enough, she had lunch with her students. To me, that speaks volumes. What we admire most is that Jane leads not with just expertise, but with heart. She inspires her students and her colleagues to be better and her admin, to aim higher, and to care deeper. That kind of
021leadership goes way beyond the walls of a single classroom. And it's no surprise because Jane has held many leadership positions within our school and within the district. She's our language arts facilitator. She has run the ski club. She has participated in teacher leadership academy. She serves on a variety of district committees. I can go on and on and on. Organizes our school social events. She hosts student teachers. And she organizes school field trips. She does it all. It is no surprise that the district has chosen to recognize her with this incredible honor. It's a recognition not just of past accomplishments, but of continued impact, the kind of difference that lasts long after the school year ends. So, please join me in celebrating our district teacher of the year, Jane Sernowski. Thank you for all that
022you do and congratulations. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you. If I could say one thing about Mrs. Sernowski, it's so it's so true that you you notice, you know, how she feels and how she connects with kids. And the one thing I do remember is you had always said you were going to crack my son. You was going to speak up more in class and that was your goal for the year. So, I just love how you, you know, you notice you notice even the quiet ones and you take note and do your best to just get to every student in class. So, that was so nice. Not to speak about my own personal experience, but I just had to add that. I mean, a lot of former students and it's good to see you guys
023in your leadership roles. Love first, teach second, they say. So, congratulations to all of you. It could have been any one of you, but we're so proud of you and thankful to have you. You're such great resources. And again, thanks to Mrs. Mattis who were last year being last year's teacher of the year and for being here to support them. Did you have anything you wanted to to say, Mr. Nki? I just want to say thank you so much. I'm a product of the Cromwell school system, so I believe in it. Uh my kids go to school here. I think it's a phenomenal district. I'm honored and humbled to um have this recognition. It's been a goal of mine, and it's my 20th anniversary here. So, Oh, wow. A perfect year to be named teacher
024of the year. Okay. Our teachers of the year. Um I think the motto that they use is like everyone has said what can I do more of when we are already doing so much in education. They're always looking of what else can they do to reach every student. So thank you to all four of you. You're amazing and um I am honored to work with all of you. Let's give one more round of applause. Now go home and get some rest and recharge for tomorrow because this is going to happen again. No, James go to the baseball game. Just be careful. Don't Don't sit on the Oh, terrible. Okay. From here, we'll move on to celebrating our students. And we have our very own Summer Tetro, who is our student rep and has been for
025the past couple of years now. Um, so we just want to thank you very much. Um, we have a small gift for you, but you've done an amazing job here and your smiling face just makes me happy. So, thank you for keeping us in the loop about all things CHS related and best of luck to you in your future endeavors. Do you want to share what those will be? Um, no pressure. I'm going to WPI Worcester Polytech for civil engineering. Wow. Congratulations. And I know you want to share some words too. I'm going to miss your smile for sure in school, out of school, at these meetings since you were a little girl. Now it's been six years. Um I can't believe how much you have grown um and and the person you've grown into.
026Um and I know you're just going to continue to make us even more proud um prouder than we already are. So yes, we do have little gifts for you. All right. Reports of leaison from the town council board finance CMS building committee. Um you have reference a in your packet. It does reference um the fundraiser that they are doing um to say goodbye to CMS. And as far as town council, there's a meeting tomorrow night. Um I know Mayor Demetrius is looking forward to the event on Thursday. Um but other than that, I didn't have too much to report. Um oh, I wanted to mention the letter that we did draft about the track. Um thank you, Kelly, for doing that. The meeting that um they were supposed to be discussing that at did not
027happen. and it's happening next week. So, more to come on that request. All right. Any comments, questions, anything from that section. All right. Report of student representatives. We'll start with summer one last time. AP testing has been running and will continue running throughout May and students are working hard preparing and taking their exams. Juniors and seniors had prom on May 3rd at the Aquaturf, which was a blast with great food, an amazing DJ, and a lot of rain. The National Honor Society Service Committee hosted a lemonade stand last Wednesday for the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer and raised over $200. Teacher Appreciation Week just passed, which students from student council helped provide a catered lunch for staff at CHS along with Marcel bringing some donuts. Um, the music department is hosting their annual
028Prisms concert June 3rd and students are preparing group and solo performances. and Carmel High School hosted advisory presentations throughout the week of April 28th to May 2nd for social justice week covering various topics such as economic equality and our body our choice. Uh firstly the spring sports have been uh running smoothly and uh is with lots of excitement. Uh the boys baseball record is currently 67. They play Summers High School on the 16th. The girls uh baseball record is um 96. They they played HK today and their next game is against West Westbrook on the 16th. The girls lacrosse team had their first game against Morgan on the 15th. The boys lacrosse team played today against Valley Regional. Their next game is tomorrow against Morgan. Uh the boys uh tennis team played yesterday and won.
029Their next and last game is on the 16th at home against Berlin. Uh the tennis uh the girls tennis team played Morgan yesterday. Uh their next game is against Berlin on the 16th. And last but not least, the Cromwell track and the track team is running amazingly. And their next meet uh is the Night of Speed Invitational this Friday the 16th. All right. Thank you. Any questions from the board? All right. We'll move on to the middle school then. We'll have Ryan starting us off. Aspect testing concluded yesterday as the eighth graders completed the NGSS science assessment. Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 14th, the eighth grade will host a pajama dress down day. Please consider wearing pajamas to school and donating $1 for grade 8 end of year activities. Sixth grade would like to invite you to
030an upcoming community event. On Thursday, May 15th, between 4:00 to 5:30 p.m., Cromwell Middle School will host Butterfly Night. An evening of learning, community, and remembrance to conclude our unit on the Holocaust. We encourage all families and community members to join us for this event. As the support of the community helps to recognize our learners talents and dedication throughout the unit, our hope is that students walk away from this powerful experience with a deeper understanding of the Holocaust. Recognizing the ways that individuals remain silent while others were persecuted, thus allowing the Holocaust to continue. We hope that students feel a strong connection and duty to participate in keeping any communities they are a part of in their lives inclusive free of anti-semitism, discrimination, and any kind of bullying and antagonistic behavior through standing up for
031their fellow community members. This presentation will include displays of student learning and is appropriate for all ages and as it is self-guide and you can participate as much as you are comfortable with. We hope you will join us to participate in the butterfly night on May 15th. Student council sneaker donations continue to pour in for student council. Thank you to the CMS community. We have collected and donated four large bags of shoes. Drama club. After a highly successful run of Into the Woods Jr. CMS drama club looks forward to seeing you in the next audience next year. New building, new theater. See you soon. The writing club is CMS's newest club. Young authors gather to write and share their work. In the future, we would like to publish club members writing so the rest of
032the community can share in their excellent writing. The yearbook club working hard to meet the publishers deadline of May 5th. Delivery is expected by May 30th and distribution will be during the last week of school. Update. The CMS le choir is working hard to prepare for many upcoming events. There are spring concert on May 21st. The last spell goodbye to CMS event on May 29th. Fantastic festivals competition on May 30th. and the eighth graders promotion on June 11th. Many exciting upcoming events. Art club is working to finalize their hallway murals under direction of Mr. Glow. The CMS bands are looking forward to showcasing their talents this Wednesday at our spring concert. Additionally, the CMS jazz band is looking forward to presenting their hard work at the district jazz festival this Thursday. They will also be
033hearing the Cromwell High Jazz Band and the Affinity Big Band, which will give Mr. Schmidt and Miss Hails the opportunity to perform for students. Lastly, Aphred Band, jazz band, and select Choir will be playing for a panel of judges and heading to Lake Town Pounce on May 30th. Sports track and field is currently undefeated two to zero. Two meets have been rained out. The team had a try meet against Middletown in Portland yesterday. The team will run against Berlin, Ram, and Rocky Hill before the state champion championship meet on Memorial Day weekend. Congrats to the following runners who have qualified for states. Jacob Kesler, Mason Swan Rolo, Abby Bufard, Hope Wilson, Ania Raj, Jesse Tinga, Nicholas Gatlin, Sophia Rodriguez, Sidi Deloro, Dawson Keller, Sophia Shields, and Elden Cricut. The baseball team has two wins and
034two losses. We will have two away games this week and three home games next week. The team has been led by Cody Ail, Ryan Fernandez, Anthony Goff, and Calvin Forest. The girls softball team is undefeated on the season. The team has had great success at the plate playing solid defense led by Caroline Serowski in the circle. Caroline set a new CMS softball record striking out 20 batters in a game this season that is at a possible 21 outs. Wow. Congratulations to all of our athletes, musicians, and and everyone. Thank you so much for the reports. Any questions from our board members, comments? All right. Thank you very much. Um, move on to town collaboration updates. Do you have anything you want to discuss in that category? Um, we are collaborating now. I guess I could
035uh talk about um the little incident uh with the bleachers. Um, it was a freak accident. We are shocked that it happened yesterday. Um, we have closed off all usage of all the bleachers throughout the district until we look into it more. But as we look into it, most of those bleachers are three-seaters. Um, and we move them for soccer and baseball. Um, so in talking with town manager Salvatore um this morning, yesterday and this morning and uh the fire chief and the police chief and everyone who responded, um thank goodness um most people are doing well. Um and we do have uh one injury that we're concerned about. Um but just to let you know, I have been in contact with a family. Um and uh let's just keep uh this person in our
036thoughts. Um um but I do believe that everything will be okay. Um so what are we gonna do about it? Um town manager Salvatore and I uh we decided well first we obviously um are going to work with Kerma, our insurance department. Um and we are going to probably have them come out and do a walkound. Um, we can put stakes in, um, which I definitely want to do. And there's some other things that we could possibly do as well. Or we could just get the $50,000 bleachers that we've been asking for for so long as Mr. Cuckle looks at us. Um, but in um, all honesty, I'm very thankful that the town is working with us on this because clearly it's our event. Is it their bleachers? I don't want to have that conversation.
037It happened while families were trying to watch their kids play and that's the bottom line in our district, in our town that we all share. So, um I'm sorry, extremely sorry that this happened. Um and um we will come up with a solution. Um yeah, it it's we talked to districts and everyone has these there three there three uh three bleachers. That's it. But um so working with uh Tony will town manager Salvatore uh we will figure this out and we'll come up with a solution. As far as any of other collaboration updates as far as CNR and everything, I think you've been updated. You all, you know, know what we got and what we didn't get. And so, um Clauddio Bazano is already starting some of those projects. And um as soon as everyone
038walks out the door on the 13th, we'll he'll start uh really getting into them. So I think that's it for town collaboration from my end. And the referendum passed. And the referendum passed. Thank God. Um yes, it did pass. And we had a little little more, I think, voting out there this year, which was good. Um and then the solar panels also passed. Yeah. about 500 um participants instead of just like 150 or 200. That's good. That's great. So, yes, very happy about that. All right. Aside from town collaboration updates, any other updates? Um no, I just want to make sure I thank Summer again and Marcel and Ryan and Loose and Annaya for um spending, you know, some late nights with us. Have a great summer since this is your last meeting um for
039this year. and um we just I love having you here because every time it gets hard, I just look at you and I realize and remember why I'm doing this in the first place. So, thank you to all of you and have a great summer. Um and then next, I just want to make sure we recognize our CHS select choir and jazz band for winning first place um honors in the Heritage uh music festival in Anaheim. So, um Mrs. Nelson and Mr. are just awesome and this is such a great honor. So, congratulations to all the students and to both teachers. Um, what a great it's just so great. We hear everything that our students are doing athletically um in the music program, academically um and we just really work in an incredible town. Um,
040and we service some pretty amazing kids. And then also we are looking like we're on time for CMS moving. We thought we might have been a little bit earlier, but we're back on on track to where we were. Um, and we should be out of the building, all of us, by June 30th, uh, June 27th, actually, at 2:00. Um, they plan to turn the lights off on July 1st through the 3 if ever uh, shows up. Um, and then that'll be it and we'll be um, in in the new school. There's a lot that is going on behind the scenes uh with Mrs. Coachella, Mrs. Middlebrooks doing the schedule, doing um uh the um room assignments, we are going to run into uh quite a few hiccups when it comes to parent drop off and
041the bus uh drop off because they are going to be in the same area for a few months. So, we are highly encouraging as you have conversations with uh families and community members. Please encourage middle school students to take the bus to school um because I really don't like the idea of that happening, but we really don't have a choice. So, we'll have a lane for buses and cars, but they'll be near each other and um the more kids that take the bus, it's just less chances of anything happening. So, we will get all that information out to you um uh as soon as we have it figured out, but it's going to take a a couple months to do that. But everything else is on track. I had our me uh we had our
042meeting today. Everything looks good. Um we're working on closing out the year financially, academically, in every single way. This is when everybody starts to lose it because we're like, "We didn't get everything done. We only have a month left." And um and we really truly only have a month left. And the people who are the most excited are the kids because they have a little bit of freedom. Um, so I'm happy for all of them. And obviously, um, I can't believe how fast the year's gone by to be honest with you. And I think that is it unless you have any questions for me. Um, everything else will go through in the agenda. Any questions? Alicia, it's on. If it's red, it's on. There you go. Uh just a thought when um the insurance company
043comes out to look at the bleachers that we might also want them to explore give us advice on any kind of fencing because there's nothing to protect anyone sitting on those bleachers from foul balls that come and they they come right in that direction. So if we're thinking about safety and we don't want any other injuries, that's something I also just came from another game from our JB team and there's this giant fence and it was great because it stopped a bunch of balls from hitting people that were sitting in the bleachers. Yeah. Um, yes, between Miss McKini and Miss Demorro, they're already scheduling a meeting so that we can do a walkthrough of everything because we have to be more careful. Any other questions? All right, we'll move on to presentations and reports of
044administration, the 20 245 budget update. Reference B in your packet. And we'll invite up our director of finance, Mr. Butwell. Hi everyone. Um, as Dr. Mackey just referenced, we are indeed um getting close to the end of the year and working on wrapping up our financial situation. Um, so um at this point it's very busy. We're um monitoring our year-end numbers which are continuing to shift as we account for outstanding obligations, encumbered funds, and final district needs. Uh, a major focus over the past several weeks has been our salary and benefits line. We've conducted a thorough review, including updated projections for long-term and daily substitute coverage through the end of the school year. As a result, we've made um some adjustments to previous calculations uh which have changed our earlier estimates, and we now have
045a much clearer picture of available funds in those areas, which is good. On the special education side, we're continuing to refine our reimbursement projections. Uh we haven't received any updated information from the state regarding excess cost contributions. However, based on our recent work uh with uh choice, the choice program. We're now projecting that our reimbursements will come in about $165,000 lower than originally expected and of course this change will have a direct impact on our bottom line for the year. Additionally, just within the last week, um we've identified approximately $80,000 in unanticipated special education expenses, specifically related to tuition and services. Um these costs are not included in this month's projection, and so will need to be absorbed within our remaining budget. And across the district, we're starting to close purchase orders in areas where
046we will not anticipate any further spending. Um as discussed at prior meetings, Dr. MRI has approved targeted purchases which are aligned to our district priorities uh namely like safety and security curriculum and instruction and technology. Thank you. Any questions? Steve has a question. Yeah, the energy utility line um was that hit just this past month for 72,000 or was that something I'm sorry, could you repeat your question? utility line for 7275,000. Was that something that was realized this month or was that previously on there? Has it previously been over? Is that are you Yeah. Was it? Yeah. Um, strangely uh Woodside is has been running high this year on electricity. So, that's one of the things that we've been um researching. We believe it may be related to um we had some uh cooling issues
047uh last summer when it was extremely hot and we're wondering about um the sorry the cooling equipment you know running not at efficient efficient rates. So that may be a possibility but yeah um I know Lin McKenna in the facilities office has been working with Eversource uh looking at our wattage use and trying to determine what's going on with with that. Steve, last year um there was a huge issue and the part took forever to come in and it was so hot. It was brutally hot. We were running we were running it always afraid that it was going to break at any moment and we thought we were going to have to shut down the school. I have a feeling that that had a lot to do with it because it did take it took
048over a month for that part to come in. Everyone was gone and we were still waiting for it to come in. But Lynn, like Chris said, is looking into it because we're like we're we're nervous because I know we just projected the budget for the middle school based on this. I know. That's why we're like, "Oh my god, you know what's happening if um exactly the same I can add that I did meet with Lynn and we talked about we specifically looked at the the bills for the last year and the summer bills last year at Woodside were she of course Lynn is very thorough. she had um you know several years to compare and for whatever reason last year's uh like you know August September uh bills were much higher than usual as compared
049to previous years. So there was definitely something going on. Yeah. Any other questions? Alicia get it right this time. Uh just a quick question on people transportation. Is that in district transportation or is that special education transportation for kids that are placed in um other schools? It's line 510. Um it it's both. Is it combined? It's combined. Yep. Okay. Okay. Thanks. You're welcome. Any other questions? All right. Thank you for your report. Thank you. All right, we'll move on to new business. And under item A, we have the CAB student leadership award recipients. And Dr. Mackey, will you be introducing these? I will have Mr. Cuckle and Miss Coachiola come back up to introduce our um Cape Student Leadership Awards recipients. Hi everyone again. I have also the wonderful uh honor to introduce uh this
050year our CABE student leaders. And just to refresh your memories, the CABE student leadership awards are presented to students with um who have the following criteria. Willingness to take on challenges, the capability to make difficult decisions, concern for others, the ability to work with others, willingness to commit to a project, diplomacy, ability to understand issues clearly, and ability to honor a commitment. And our teams um sit together and they think of those students who certainly fit um those characteristics. And this year, the two eighth grade students who um will receive the cave award for us, come on up. Uh Payton Feligno and Brian Pearson, come on up. I just want to quickly share what your teachers have said about you. Um I'll go first with Payton. Every day, Payton comes to school. She models and
051exemplifies each of the cave leadership skills. She never shies away from a challenge and will often take a chance to lead. Whether she's learning a brand new concept, struggling with an existing one, or simply helping to keep her peers on task during group work, she steadfastly pushes on in pursuit of her goals. Because of her innate sense of caring and her natural diplomacy school skills, she is able to work and collaborate with all of her peers regardless of the myriad personalities and mindsets. Day in and day out, Payton's growth mindset and her pursuit of excellence easily qualifies her as a very deserving recipient of the prestigious Cab award. So for you, Payton, congratulations. And for Ryan, Ryan's teachers say he the words just jumped out. He's very capable in making difficult decisions. He's a responsible
052leader among his peers. He goes out of his way to remind others of assignments they need to complete. In fact, Ryan is not only appreciated, but actually sought after during classwork time. Excuse me. In fact, his peers often seek Ryan out and ask for his feedback on their independent tasks. His assignments are always completed to the best of his ability and he seeks feedback so he can improve. During discussions, Ryan seeks to compromise, offering solutions that will accomplish goals while honoring the suggestions of his peers. Through CMS student council, Ryan took on the challenge of managing a food drive. Showing commitment, he initiated the student council meetings to drum up support and excitement by creating posters and helping to organize student spirit days. Ryan is a mature, focused student who serves his classmates and helps
053to improve the climate and culture of our school. And so, he certainly deserves this cable award this evening. Congratulations to both of you. Your classmates are so lucky to have you and it takes bravery to be a strong decision maker and be leaders. So, thank you for that. and we'll move on to the high school. Okay. Uh Summer Tetro and Chiron Man, come on up. [Applause] All right, Summer, we'll start with you. So, Summer has sought out leadership and service opportunities throughout the school and town community here at Cromwell. She has served as a student representative, as you all know, on the board of education for two years, both as a junior BOE rep and this year as a senior BOE rep. She was inducted to our national, sorry, National Honor Society, and is the
054current vice president. She has captain our cheerleading team, served as a representative in our student council, member of our Carbon Club and world language clubs as well. Summer has also taken advantage of other leadership opportunities at CHS. One of the things we'll miss most about Summer is morning announcements. Uh, every morning for a good half of the year and then once a week thereafter, Summer was able to grace the school with her presence and her warm smile and her cheerful attitude and disposition. She was also selected to serve on a committee to interview and hire our new assistant principal and she was also an integral part of our school tour for our dennial accreditation uh visit. Uh she did such a good job during that visit. We actually, you know, they only give us 45
055minutes to do that tour. Uh and again, she was going around with her teammate. They were doing such a great job. And surprise, surprise, you got stuck on the fields and because they were they were giving this NAS committee a true representation and and behind the scenes look at what it is like at Cromwell High School. And you know, any changes that would come forward out of that committee, out of that NAS committee is due in large part to Summer's efforts on that tour. as I had to radio out to the group and be like, "Let's go. I need you back. We're behind schedule." But just did such an excellent job and and the committee even after commenting on such a wonderful opportunity and how great a job Summer did uh for that NASCA visit.
056So she is a phenomenal person, phenomenal human, uh has done so much for Crown High School. Uh we will certainly miss her desperately. And Summer Tetro is one of our cave recipients this year. Congratul Okay. And Shiron Manic. So, Chiron has distinguished himself through his exceptional leadership abilities, which are evident in his roles as class president and student council executive board president. A rare feat. He consistently demonstrates initiative, organization, and a collaborative spirit in these positions, effectively rallying his peers towards a a common goal. He is the founder of and organizer of Neighborhood Tennis. In this capacity, he ran tennis clinics for children ages 10 and under and organized multiple charity tournaments. And he's also donated those proceeds to CCMC, something he has done now for some time. Beyond academics and research, Chiron is deeply
057committed to community service. His volunteerism is unmatched and his genuine love for engaging with others is exceptional. He is determined to make a difference in our world and he's already made a significant impact through his extensive contributions here at Cromwell High School. His involvement in every activity speaks to volumes about his character uh and a great story for Chiron and his leadership ability. Uh he is a phenomenal tennis player on our tennis team. Um and over the summer he encouraged two of his uh friends, acquaintances to play. Uh you know, tennis team needed some numbers. He had two friends who are really good athletes. So Chiron worked with them over the summer, practice with them, uh and encouraged them to keep going at it. And you know, as a result of that, not only are
058these two players playing tennis on our tennis team, they're the one of the best doubles tandemss that is in the Shoreline Conference, but again, it's part of his leadership, right? And how he was able to bring students out uh in that way. Uh and Shiron also contributed to our NASC visit as well, uh taking the committee out for the school tour, which is such an important part of that trip. Uh and we thank Shiron for everything that he has done here at Cromwell High School, and I know you know summer's plans already. Shiron will be going to Duke University. where his focus will be biotech. So congratulations Shiron. Congratulations to both of you on behalf of the board. We're so proud of you and we're so glad to have had you here at CHS. You'll
059be missed and you're, you know, just impressive resumes already and you're just in high school. I can't wait to see what you're going to do in your futures. So congratulations All right. From there, we'll move on to our teacher leadership recognition, which is reference C in our packets. And for that, we have Dr. Carrie McClean. Sorry. And Dr. Vizone. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Can you hear me? Um it's always such um a pleasure to introduce and recognize this group of teachers um that participate in the teacher leadership academy. Um this is a group of teachers that volunteer to um improve their school environments for colleagues, for students, for families. Um they do really good work. Um there are um there are leaders in the buildings. They're they're the ones that can identify where they
060could be of help and then they come in and they do some projects that that they think will be a benefit to their colleagues. Um, I've been doing this since I started here and none of this would be possible without my co-f facilitator, Dr. Jeremy Vizone. Thank you, Dr. McClean. Uh, good evening, everybody. Thank you, Dr. McCri, Chairwoman Keller, uh, members of the board of education. Appreciate, uh, you giving us a couple minutes to recognize some outstanding teachers who are going above and beyond. I always look forward to this evening each year um when we get to recognize some teachers who are going above and beyond and the community should should learn about that. Uh just to introduce myself for those of you who don't know me, I'm Jeremy Vizone. I'm a faculty member at
061Central Connecticut State University where I work with teachers who are looking to become leaders in public schools. I'm a former school principal and now in my faculty role, one of one of the aspects of that role is to have this great partnership with the Cromwell public schools. Um, we've done lots of really innovative projects over the years. The aforementioned uh future educators club is is one of our projects and one of our most enduring projects that we've done uh in the eight years that I've been involved in this partnership is our teacher leadership academy. Uh so we're really excited to recognize uh the teachers who you're going to hear about tonight and the awesome projects that they've done. I want to emphasize these folks are doing this for for no compensation other than intrinsic value
062and and bringing value added to the students of our district. I'm also a parent, so it's really nice for me to see uh the great work that's being done in our school system on behalf of our kids. So, I'm going to turn it back to Dr. McClean so we can recognize the teachers. Thanks so much, everybody. Okay, to the next slide. All right. First, I'd like to ask Stacy H to come up if she's here. Um, Miss HooL worked on a project where she um worked to improve our um learning experiences through our career pathways where she had speakers come in um in the field of environmental science. She had the director of clean water action, a specialist in environmental re remediation and a specialist in wetlands restoration um to come in and talk to
063them about everything from job prospects to collaboration intersection of environmental science and government regulations, advocacies and even social justice. Um so students were able were offered these opportunities due in large part to um the work of of Mrs. Wool and we really appreciate all that she has done. Okay, next is Josh Chablowski. And I'm not sure if he was able to come tonight. Um, he started um a project trying to collaborate to provide opportunities for teachers to collaborate with one another. And it's not always easy to know what every teacher is working on in the district. And so his goal is to create a document so that teachers can look quickly and find out what teachers units are about and what their their teaching strategies are in the unit. Um so that they can more
064easily find people to collaborate with when they have um common things that they're working on um in the classroom. Graham Jerry is next and I don't think he's here either. It's a tough time of year. Um he worked on creating tools for teachers. So, this is it's centered around Smarter Balance and SAT, but he put together banks of resources. He um separated out types of questions and provided teachers with hands-on, ready to use activities with their students um so that they could be better prepared when they take their assessments. Mr. Brian Calhoun I saw is here. Brian did something similar in that he was helping students to prepare to prepare for the Smarter Balance assessment. Um, creating resources, creating templates that will help students to work through the different questions and really get them to
065understand what the question is asking of them. Um, and so these are resources that we've used and will continue to use over time in order to prepare our kids for um, future state assessment. Okay. And finally, and I don't think Mark is here either, um, Mark Boseman started our very first um, CMS writing club. Uh, currently there are seven members of the club. Um, and they are in the process of publishing their first publication. Um, and There's been a lot of great energy around it and the kids have been um really excited to work on something that they're producing on their own. So, I wait Oh, did I say I'm sorry, that's my bad. Last but not least, for real this time is Brianna Fry and Allison Bloom have been working um for a while
066on a project that helps to let new teachers and substitutes know all of the things that they need to know in the building. Um, how do the copers work? Where are all of the resources that they need? Who do they need to contact when something happens? And so there's this manual that they are creating um that will be helpful to any substitute in the building or really anyone that's for any kind of resource um and doesn't know where to find it. This is a very comprehensive resource that they've been working on for a little while now that I think it's going to be really helpful in their building to to anybody really. And so I so appreciate all of the work these teachers have done. They have been in some cases working on different projects
067over a couple of years. Um they they've started things, they finished them, they've started other things. Um it's really just such a pleasure to work with this group of teachers. It's literally one of the My favorite parts of my job is working with these teachers because there's such dedication and it's such a testament to their leadership that they are willing to participate in this. Um, and really it's it's entirely voluntary. It's really just them wanting to build their leadership skills um as teachers. So, I really appreciate all of you um very much. Congratulations to all of you. Thank you for your leadership and thank you Dr. Vizone and Dr. man for leading guiding them. All right, this has been a pretty positive meeting. Let's keep it going. Right, lots of recognitions. All right, we'll move
068on to out of state field trips 2025 2026 reference D. And there I believe is a new is there a new one? Yes, there is an updated copy for you to look at first. If there are any questions, let me know and we'll call up the respective principal. Are there any questions on the out of state field trips? No. All right. Well, since they're out of state, we need to approve them. But it doesn't say approve, right? Can we remedy that now? Just Okay. So, is there a motion to approve the out of state field trips by Kelly Franklin? Second, Kelly Cludier. All in favor? Opposed? Extensions. All right. Motion carries. Field trips are approved. Item D, healthy food certification lunch program reference E in your packets. Any questions on that? Motion to approve. Oh,
069wait. Do we need to approve that one? Okay, that one as well. We need an action item. Motion to approve. Allan second. Matt. All in favor? Opposed? Extensions. Motion carries. It is approved. Item E is another action item. Approval of the minutes and motions from our April 8th regular meeting. Reference F. Is there a motion to approve those by Kelly Clutier? Second, Alicia. All in favor? Opposed? Extension from Kelly Franklin. Motion carries. The minutes are approved. Item F, stipen approval, reference G in your packets. Any question on those stipens? Okay. Hearing none. Is there a motion to approve the stipens by Kelly? Um Franklin second. Is there a second? Um Matt Sprouski. All in favor? Opposed? Extensions. Motion carries. Stipens are approved. And then we have ourformational human resources activity reference H. And I did
070want to congratulate we do have a retirement. I'll let you speak to that, Dr. Macker. No, you you know her well, I'm sure. But thank you. I did notice that it said 20 years, so we thank her for her service. I know. Um Lorine Triel um is has been a parent educator for Cromwell High School for 20 years and we have pretty much asked her to do almost everything. Um and she does it for us. So smile. Um, we are going to miss her. Um, but we congratulate her on her retirement and wish her very very uh wonderful things in her future and um, if she's ever bored, she can always come back. She can, right? She could be a Paris sub. Um, but like I said, she just took on whatever we asked her
071to do. So, we appreciate her. Definitely appreciate her. All right. Any other questions on the HR report? All right. Principal reports questions there. No policies that are on for second read. So these are on for approval tonight. Items A through W. Questions on any of the policies listed. There's a lot of them. The policy went through them as well, too. If there are no questions, would anyone like to make a motion to approve all of them? A through W. Allan. Second by Matt. All in favor? Opposed? Extensions. Motion carries and they are approved. And then we have some on for first read. So those we will move to second read. Um anything we need to say about those, Dr. Murray? Okay. All right. Board committee reports, policy committee. Um we met tonight and we just
072repealed a couple of policies. And then facilities and technology committee. We canceled that this evening. We'll have to reschedu someday. We'll have another one maybe. Don't say that. Just say that. And then topics for future agendas and possible Yeah. Action to approve additional topics. Um I did want to before we get to that mention that we discussed um Enz and I cancelling the July meeting unless anyone's opposed and if we needed a meeting for July we could always just add a special meeting but Dr. M will be away well deserved. Um so if that's okay with all of you we'll just cancel July for now. She would make me do it right later. Okay. So any And then we'll have our August meeting on the 12th. I know that's a vacation time, too. I checked
073mine. I think I'm actually good this year to come to the August meeting. Anyone else have any conflicts? You're gone. Okay. Well, just let me know. Just change that. All right. Anything else to add to topics for future agendas? So, I did hear back from Cab on the board self eval. He's available to come out well June 3rd or August 12th. I would vote for August 12th, June 3rd is very So it's just come out, explain what the process is and then you know go from there then decide yeah information on you know what the process is and kind of what what they do and then we can vote on doing it or not. Is it June 3rd? I don't know June 3rd or August 12th. We don't have an answer right now. We can
074Okay. I'll write down the two dates and we'll circle back. Okay. I'll send you an email just to remind you too. Okay. Okay. Anything else anyone wants to mention? All right, then we'll go around for comments, updates, and announcements. We'll start with Matt. Um, yeah, I I just want to say that the the music teachers over at WIS did a fantastic job uh with the with the concert, the chorus and band concert the other night. It was mobbed. It was It was literally standing room only. Um and they did a fantastic job organizing, running. The kids had had a great time. The kids look great. They did a great job. Um the the singing was fantastic. The music was fantastic. So, uh just thank you to them. It was fantastic. I said fantastic a lot
075there. I really mean it. Alan, nothing. Anything from you? I just want to congratulate Dr. McClean again on her new position. as assistant superintendent. [Applause] All right, Kelly, Kelly, Alicia, I always have something to say. Um, I was just overwhelmed earlier this evening by the incredible people that were in this room that are educating our kids. And I think I said this last year, but we're really lucky to have some fantastic teachers in our community. And I think most of those have touched our famil family's lives in in some way and not just touched but made a lasting impact. Like my kids are sending me pictures and and notes and saying, "Oh, I went to they went to Miss Presley's wedding." Because she invited her entire class the year that she got married. She wouldn't
076share that, but she said, "These kids are so important in my life that I want them to be at my wedding." So the entire class went to her wedding. Um, but so many of of the people in our community just make an impact and I don't know that they get to see it years later. Um, but I just hope that they hear it and I hope that they get communication from their students because they really have made a huge difference and and continue to and inspire kids every day. And I don't think every district has the level of exceptional teachers that we are we are lucky enough to have here. So, I hope that they they know that and they hear it. And I was so appreciative of the kind words from our administrators because
077those were not just cookie cutter. Those were truly heartfelt and I know that that meant something to them. So, just I I just think we're lucky and and I'm glad that we had teacher appreciation week. It's never enough. A week is not enough for what they do. So, that's all. Thanks, Alicia. Steve. Uh, so last time we I brought up um discussing the budget process. I'd like to just come in and meet with Chris at some point and just make sure whatever suggestions or comments I make on the process aren't going to conflict with how we do things as a district. So, if the board's okay, I'd like to just come in kind of see the process. And so the last meeting we did you did bring that up and I sent out um actually
078a Google sheet and said if you have any questions, comments, suggestions um added. I didn't see anything added. So that's what I'd like to start. Yeah. Well, I don't want to make suggestions that are going to conflict completely with how how the program works here. Okay. So my thought process. All right. I'd recommend we start with that and then we'll go from there. So if you'd like to complete that and I'll share it and if there are any conflicts, I'm sure he'll let us know. Anything else from anyone? All right, we do have our executive session for the purpose of discussion and possible action of the agreement between the Kreml Board of Education and the Mun Municipal Employees Union Independent Local 506 SEIU cafeteria workers contract and also for the purpose of the presentation of
079Dr. McCree self-evaluation overview. And with that, is there a motion to go into executive session? Um, by Alicia, second by Matt. All in favor? I posted extensions. We are in executive session at 810.