001um I see that we have uh committee members Al Almeida uh Teresa bade Michelle quo myself um and our exec member uh gladus Cooper so we are ready to start this meeting and I just want to thank the board members who also made time in their schedules to join us this evening as well as is Wanita here our administrators um I do not see her uh on this call okay that looks like Dr Casmir maybe yep hi sorry I'm trying to get home it was a lot okay we just got started so your your timing was perfect okay all right so we're gonna ahead and uh kick the meeting off um the first item on our agenda is a current policy that's for review and it is a required policy it's for F service charging
002um and as you all know we do offer um free uh meals for students now so Kelly if you want to dive into why we're reviewing this policy and what we're doing all right so I did ask bar uh to come uh really what we needed to do is update this policy uh to bring it in align with our um C or direct certified so already this lunch for all students um now as a direct certified District um there were additional requirements that needed to be added in um it has been a little bit of time since this policy was last updated um so Barry if I could ask you to just make the walk the board through the highlights of the changes to this policy we would appreciate it very we can't hear you
003know if he's having trouble hearing me um what I will do then I will walk through it and then if there are questions hopefully Barry can um chime in uh as we go through this um you will see in the beginning section um it outlines um the community eligibility program or C which is part of the direct certified it spells out what that provision is um and the fact that all students are entitled to um one uh you know meal that is free of charge during that time uh period we are not allowed to um you know charge uh students that are attending in our district as a c District um it also outlines that there are federal funds used to um subsidize uh these meals for children um we took out the references so
004you'll see here anything in red was added as um additions to this policy anything with the strike through was in our former policy and is no longer applicable you'll see all the charging uh parameters that were in there previously were removed um it defines uh who our district students are um and then goes on further um to uh talk about it removes any of the delinquent bad debt credit those types of things from there because that is not a requirement any longer um it also has a a provision for dissemination of the policy which Remains the Same and then updated legal references at the bottom so it is bringing our policy in alignment with the practices that have going on in our district for the last few years um and that is why we brought
005it Forward tonight even though it wasn't in the projected that we thank you pH any questions Teresa um so lunch is are free for everybody that is correct thank you I mean I should say students not adults that is correct yes thank you for clarifying I assumed you meant students but yes students yeah I think I better be correct any other questions I don't see a problem all right um it I don't see any any questions from committee members um I'll open this up for questions from uh non-committee members if there are any hello everybody I'm sorry that I'm late hi Julie thank you for coming on we just got started and we're going over uh the first policy on the agenda it's a revision to the uh policy for uh charging for uh meals
006uh we provide them for free now for students in the district and so uh we're just revising the existing policy to make sure we stay in alignment with our practices K I have a question go ahead Rich does this policy cover just a specific meal or does it cover breakfast and lunch and are all schools all students eligible and every one of us SCH for this to uh be supported um great question uh so you will see here um the eligibility provision I just highlighted it um districtwide participations that's all of our students uh to provide a free breakfast um and free lunch uh within the district and then for any students in our after school programs it's one free after school snap those are the um those are the allotments or allow what is
007allowed under this policy so it is all students it applies to breakfast and lunch and then for those that are attending after school programs uh it allows for a snack as well Teresa did you have another question yeah um does the cost of this program you does that come under our budget or is this totally like a grant something different I mean separate or is it under our budget you mean the payment of the meals correct Kelly I'm back thank thank you bar I'll let you answer that so it all comes out comes filters out of the USDA and then filters down through the state of Connecticut so we claim meals complete meals for breakfast and lunch for students and we get reimbursed asct this totally different uh this is not part of the budget
008then no Absol not school budget no this comes out of the school lunch program as do all everything that the school lunch involv I guess we lost him no he's here um yep but he just confirmed that um everything comes out of the the school launch program believe it's the federal level or is it the state well it's all USDA originally and then it filters down through the Connecticut state okay thank you for clarifying thank you Julie have a question yes um and I'm sorry if you guys answer this would that cover also um this full um meals during the sum summer program the summer program is not part of the C program but we do apply for the school the summer food service program so during the summer breakfast to lunch is also free
009but it's a different different set of standards and program okay thank you Michelle go ahead um oh hold on sorry um how many meals then breast lunch and after School are sered daily like what is how many lunches breakfast and after school meals are serving I don't mind if if we answer this question right now but I just want to make sure that as we go forward the questions we're asking are pertaining to the policy work that we're doing I just don't want to keep anybody here longer than they have to be here for the meeting okay so you know what Kate i h back yeah thanks I did hold I can answer I can answer very quickly we do roughly 4,000 breakfast dist districtwide and about 8,000 lunches and approximately 250 after school snack
010program thank you thanks Barry thanks any other questions about the policy here okay seeing none I'm going to ask for a motion to make a recommendation for first read to the board I'll make the motion second okay second by Michelle all those in favor please signify by by saying I I I any opposed any extensions motion so carries thank you everybody all right we're gonna move down the agenda and I'm gonna um I'm gonna do the same thing I did last time which is to lead the conversation on this um you know this is about uh policy uh 4142 uh sl42 40.2 um and this is the policy for uh compensation related to central office exempt staff non-b bargaining unit employees um we had a little bit of a challenge last time um you know
011finding some consensus on this particular um policy I did ask that committee members send me any suggested language they wanted to use in writing I have not received any suggestions at this point um I did receive um an email from Wanita with some information about uh other districts and um you know she was not able to find a lot of um instances where uh this policy was being employed and one of the reasons for that is that this policy is not a required policy um so I wanted to give Dr casmiro just a few moments thank you Barry appreciate you being here um I wanted to give Dr casmiro just a few moments to speak about this um and and talk about specifically you know the importance of her being able to make an assessment
012and and about how the allotment of money is used Dr kmer sorry just getting reoriented to my desktop here um so thanks Kate I I appreciate it you know you're right there there this the the necessity of the policy varies in how districts have implemented it um you know whether or not they have a a separate carved out policy or not um is you know kind of locally determined you know there are many many School District districts if you will that do make reference to um to the idea that the superintendent um you know has their responsibility to carry um you know the determination for exempt staff when it comes to uh salaries and wages to ensure competitiveness and retention and that that's sort of the pervasive theme so if you look you know I
013pulled like uh Madison Waterbury Greenwich Meridan West Hartford Norwalk New Britain and Region 14 chesher Stafford putham Hartford New Haven Bridgeport Wilton I can go on Beth you know all of our surrounding towns that that within somewhere within either the administrative policies or within something specifically carved out or R exempt salaries over and overun it references um that the superintendent has responsibility for exempt staff uh staff salaries to ensure flexibility and managing District Operations and talent retention and this phraze is reiterated um very similarly across multiple different types of policies related to this that refers back to the statute um around around this idea and so while you don't necessarily have to have a specific thing carved out um people do do that to reference it seems the understanding about um the remaining competitive and
014and being able to be responsive to the needs of the school district and the operations and so that's really all that this is um It's been a longstanding policy um one designed again to ensure operational Effectiveness and efficiency and you know it's something that you know I think that perhaps maybe misunderstood as to you know maybe as to the purpose of it it's certainly not something that um should be abused in any way and if that you know if there's any concern about that that perhaps maybe worth the Genesis of some of the the language you know wanting to change some of the language um but it's again one of the only groups in the district where you know there is no set salary there is no set wage uh incremental increase there's no steps
015there are no steps um and it is they are typically unique jobs um generally and that with the understanding that um to stay market and economy ready and to be remain competitive um that the compensation um you know needs to be able to be flexed when appropriate um I know there was some concern around uh you know I think I in the last meeting there was a concern around that everybody in the group had the same type of a of a number of a percentage increase and I want to address that a little bit if I can um in the sense that we had um if you look at all of our other contracts generally generally across you know teachers actually always across teachers and the secretary group and the it and administration uh custodians
016that those wage increases are the same so when those when those go up it's 3% 4% whatever you know four and a half whatever the percentage is all teachers all secretaries all it all custodians all administrators get the same wage increase across the board the exempt staff allows us to to we generally have the same percentage across across groups and bodies and types um that's pretty typical because it's typical with our other groups as well um but the but the idea that and some instances we have an opportunity um to make an adjustment so if someone gets hired in May or June um then they're not maybe benefit by the uh increased uh percentage roll up on July 1 right if that makes sense um additionally there could be a performance issue that needs to
017be addressed or that is being addressed and that might be flexed accordingly and then similarly you can have a situation where there could be a a couple of positions a class of positions perhaps it's something uh that requires a um you know technical knowledge or is in a shortage area and to remain more competitive um I'm sorry my dog is making a lot of noise in the background she hasn't done that since the pandemic um that in order to do that um you know to remain competitive you have to make a one-time adjustment so maybe you know there might be two or three positions in a in a group that need to be moved to be to remain competitive because we're finding that we're losing folks in a particular area so you know there's a
018there's a wide variety of reasons why this this this is this exists and I think it I personally think the reason it exists and as a separate carve out is is because of that um ability the importance of the ability to attract and retain competent employees that is the that is the purpose of of it um you know again certainly it there's no benefit to overcompensating someone un unjustly uh those things come right back to bite you in the you know what when you know other groups get hold of numbers and they see things and they compare themselves within same groups um and certainly U there has to be just cause and and there has to be you know kind of a rationale and there's always an opportunity for um the superintendent to to have
019that conversation with the board so that they understand the reasons for for why uh certain groups May um you know receive something or the other but generally like I said it's it's not that common to you know take a percentage and rank it AC all different numbers across um it's based on you know an annual excuse me an annual increase whether that be in consideration with other Union groups cost of living and then to remain uh you know numbers to remain competitive and to retain our our Workforce um thanks Dr casmiro um a couple questions for you but I'll hold mine until other committee members have an opportunity to ask questions Teresa um this this how many have quit from that from this category this year just curious how many have quit yeah uh so
020I don't again I I don't want to be disrespectful here I just want to make sure that we're staying within the bounds of the conversation about the policy itself um you know well I want to see how relevant it is uh her explanation retaining people uh like have we lost anybody from this category yeah we've we've turn over all the time um but you know because we have the um I could go back and look at the list we lost our we lost our grants person yes Dr K if I could add I will speak just directly from my perspective you have four bcbas in the district we lost so 25% you know of the of the unit we have approximately seven or eight depending on one is one is part-time um occupation therapist we
021lost one out of that um so there there is some turnover those are just two quick examples I could give you I don't have the exact number um I appreciate that I just wanted to get a sense of that category and what you're experiencing thank you that's all I needed sure other questions from committee members I'm going to ask a couple questions then if I don't see any other committee members Louisa has her hand up she's not on the committee um on the committee so go ahead Kate the uh first question is who comprises the category of non-exempt employees or sorry exempt employees so you have Cal office exemp staff mostly central office exempt staff uh the so you've got um I I wish I had the list I should pull it up somewhere um
022Kelly Do you happen to have it hand I can tell you it's it's your occupational therapists your physical therapists your bcbas your interpreter translators um a handful of um some folks that work in kind of alternative programs it's your core cabinet and your extended cabinet um so it's th it's generally those people who are not in unions um for one variety of reasons or another and it's about 40 I think right now it's about 45 people 45 thank you very much um bcbas could you just um sure explain what those are please sure they um the specific title is board certified behavior analyst um they are traditionally working with students with special education needs providing um behavioral intervention support so when we have a student you've heard frequently about uh students that are having a
023difficulty regulating themselves in the school environment um they are the folks that go in conduct observations provide staff training and Implement individualized plans for students with those needs thank you very much um and I do have a second question I just want to make sure if there are any committee members that have a a follow-up question or any other questions they get a chance here so my second question is um Dr kmer you made mention of something that this is these are statutory um obligations or statutory uh that's not the right word statutory um Authority that you were given um which means that this is codified in state law already correct so that that generally that the superintendent is is the person who is determining wages and compensation you know that happens also obviously in
024conjunction with the board with with a budget process right so superintendent has to stay within the bounds uh of a budget and that's where so you know when generally across the year you know that we're negotiating different contracts and you can see where things are falling that we've have board members that are that sit on those committees as well um you get a a very thorough analysis of of prevailing wages local wages you get a sense of what um you know what other systems are are doing what the what the school system ourselves what we as a city can tolerate and we have those conversations um and so you know there's a general percentage that that comes out of that and when we go around budget time you know the I the idea that those
025percentages are taken into consideration um we don't go at budget time and go well we're going to give when the secretary contract comes up we're going to give them this and we're going to give the dsaa this number and we're going to give the exempt that number that's not how it how it plays out but we we generally have a number in mind of that covers that level of negotiation and for all groups and that that is a number that is is determined in an allocation so once once we um determine that our salaries per se are x amount and at 4% is our rollup and we're across the board whether it be in consideration of contracts that we already exist or contracts we anticipate to negotiate um you have a general number that we
026work with and when the once we kind of lock in our numbers um past budget Etc we um you know we have an allocation so my I it's my you know my responsibility to stay within the confines of the the budget right that's our allocation and I you know if I were to go into the red because I'm going to give you know Kelly chuchis a $60,000 raise um certainly I'll be held accountable for something like that right I cannot go into the red I cannot go beyond my so I have to stay within the boundaries of of an allocation that gets that that gets determined um and so I have some flexibility as the purview of my superintendency to flex what that is in a fair and just way um of course then the
027board can absolutely have you know those are conversations that we can have in response to that um and uh you know and and taking in information that uh you know through the board that that that you would like to convey to me as well thank you Dr kir um Louisa did you have a question I did thank you Kate um I absolutely agree that you know it's not our position to to to determine the um who should be getting what my particular concern with the process was having it given to us you know last minute in June at our last board meeting is there a way to get that or whether it's written in the policy or however budget cycle so when we're voting on it we know what we're voting on we know the
028increases what because we what the unions are getting what the non-unions are getting just so we have a much more clearer transparent picture before we cast our votes sure that was a good question Louisa and it's something that came up at the last policy meeting um we did discuss in looking at this policy that the date that's listed in the policy says explicitly that by July 1st the Board of Education shall approve an allocation for salary and benefits adjustments and that the superintendent shall report annually concerning the implementation of the policy so one of the suggestions that came forward was to adjust that date um to be in alignment with our budget process so that we would have awareness of what the um superintendent would be doing with the allotment uh prior to voting on
029the budget um that would also move it up in terms of uh you know integrating it as part of the superintendent evaluation process if I might make one suggestion for you um Kate that it says by July meaning no later than July one and the reason why that date is there because that's the first day of your new fiscal year year so I I agree about moving it up much earlier we've talked about that often um but I think that within the current language or if you want to change bu to know later than um it will still allow you to kind of set you know the date can kind of float but you can set it every year as part of your budget calendar um I think we've put the budget calendar out for
030this coming up year haven't we um Cara or Mike that you can just embed it right into the budget calendar and still be in compliance as long as it's not later than July 1 it yes see that's totally possible I I think the reason part of the reason for the timing of it is it also that you know at the end of the year after you have assessed your employees and you're you're thinking about you're heading into your next year you kind of know where you stand who's coming back who's not what what you have to work with and so the timing of It kind of lines up with valuation process uh of staff and you know everyone meeting their goals um you know it's a little bit different with the other groups because no
031matter the performance of of a teacher the performance of an administrator the performance of a custodian those they're going to get their contractual raises regardless um whereas the exempt staff it's really it's based on you know performance and it and they are they are at will employees so if if we don't like something we can you know make changes to that Michelle you have a question yes um just if I'm listening about changing the timing possibly or at least having it come up so when we are talking finances and the budget um I like the idea of that but if we're talking about some of these positions being specific you know would we have a breakdown of each job dis not each one but let's say there's five or six different categories would you break
032that out so we could say you know maybe it's a Cabinet member that's going to be different than a behavioral therapist right or whatever is would that be part or could we include that as part of the process to make sure that's included when we review the numbers that's yeah well well that happens all at the same generally the same so exempt staff wages get determined at the same time so whether there are cabinet members extended cabinet members or or they their bcba that that's a whole group together and and yes and and you know there with it's also helpful too I know one of the boards goals is to better understand the roles of cabinet you know so you know have taking some time too to understand you know what is it bcba and
033you know what do they do in our school system and and understanding some of their technical qualifications also is very helpful too because I think you would feel some of the same sense of urgency around some of the positions that that I do as well so thank you any other questions from committee members any questions from non-committee Members Kate I have a question I just like yeah i' just like to Echo the the comments made that I think we should include some wording in here which indicates that the the details be provided uh in the timetable with the budget uh calendar I think in the past some of the conversations have been looking at this was after we presented the budget so we can make this part of the budget process I think it sort
034of cleans things up and puts everything in perspective to Financial members thank you for the feedback Dr chiro yeah okay I think I I I like the idea and I think that you know what you would do is you would take all of your contractual obligations and your policies right not your policies your contracts right to see what what does what will the teacher what will the teacher contract bear out what will the administrative contract bear out and um you know to put them all together in a group is I think you know probably helpful to see the broader picture Teresa you're muted Teresa sorry sorry uh did you ever you said did you ever think of putting this uh like you did the book for the student advisors did you ever think of categorizing
035and organizing the non uh bargaining uh employees into categories and how they were reviewed and and Institute any caps after so many dozens of years I mean or is this something that is never been thought of can you just clarify what you mean by the student advisers what what that you you did that nice new handbook about the for the student advisers for the money did you ever think of doing a handb oh right I understand what you're say on on these type of employees it seems to be kind of uh a dis sole discretion of the super uh superintendent and uh and not anything in concrete framework type of thing so I just want to clarify Dr kmer and then feel free to jump in but um by law by Statute at at the
036state level it is the superintendent's discretion and responsibility to a lot those um those dollars in the in the that the superintendent feels is appropriate and that's why um I referenced before that the part of the helpfulness of seeing this in advance of the budget cycle is also being able to integrate it as part of the performance review the per you know the uh the evaluation for the superintendent right um but that is the responsibility um and the authority of superintendent's position for those for those decisions yeah thank you Kate for clarifying that and that is the PO that that is the entire intent of these of both the statue and and is this now there is a cap uh Teresa there is a cap on superintendence at some point with relative to trb and
037what districts can pay um but there is no there there there is not necessarily a cap um you know and and you don't it's not very common um now not to say that you know a district can't go beyond its means and so there you know internally you you know you're relegated to a particular salary range um but but not necessarily we have never done a cap you don't see too many caps in in in relative to this policy this this policy actually you know is uh about the flexibility as opposed to creating a fixed a fixed number so thank you are there any questions and any other questions about this policy committee or non-committee members so um in moving forward with this um I I would like to hear from committee members please about
038uh how they feel about either adjusting the language in here to uh reflect a different timeline so that we can ensure that we're seeing this information before the budget cycle happens um or uh whether or not they want to keep this particular policy since it is not required Teresa I like what Kim suggested you know so adjusting both the policy and then also ensuring that it shows up on the budget um calendar yeah okay other committee members if we're going to change the dated maybe we should back it up at like 90 days from J July 1st so Al I think the the process the thought process here is that um we want to make sure we're looking at the uh the superintendent's allotment uh prior to approving the full budget for the year um
039we typically see that information in January um and then we've in February because it has to go over to um the uh the mayor's office so uh 90 days I don't know that that would satisfy our budget cycle okay so maybe we put it in January 1 oh January 2nd whatever okay that's a consideration committee members other committee members I have a quick question um will the language reflect on I know on the policy jie I apologize I need to hear from committee Members First okay and that's just because when we're running the meetings if I allow other board members to participate and we have too many of them it does turn into an official board ofed meeting which we haven't noticed so for legal reasons I just need to stick with committee Members First
040I'll be happy to come back around to you at the end okay yeah my apologies not a problem thank you so much um Michelle I see your hand up yep hi Kate um so if we were to look at that January 1 date and we are so tight on trying to figure out the numbers we I think have to hand it in like February 7th or it was like in February right the 15 the 15th it has to go over to the mayor's office I believe yeah I think in our mind our last meeting was somewhere around the seventh right before that week before I don't know if that when we sit down and get together and start to really work on this usually we start now at the beginning of the year you know
041what I mean to try to make those numbers so I you know I I would like it to line up with our budget um I think that's really important because if we are not even considering it at that point you know it kind of comes back later so I like the idea of trying to line it up if we can figure out where that sweet spot is thank you sure thank you uh Dr casmiro uh just want to get your feedback on the two suggestions so far um one being January 1 and the other being um you know uh as we start the budget process um yeah that something that we look at sure you know I think you know as we try to start the budget process relatively early you know I I think
042about kind of how this the last process now last year was a unique year but also you know that your first um projection if you will is really a projection right and that that the information gets um more clarified as the year progresses right you're looking at your health insurance claims coming in you're looking at contracts that you're negotiating you know and where those are landing you're looking at um you know how the cost of fuel is going up or down and so you know where you start your ideas sometime in in October and you know early November um could look a little different by the time you get to when we have to send this off to the city and even from that point things change from February to June right in terms of
043climate economy you name it all kinds of stuff so so um you know recognizing that when when a board puts their budget together it's a it's their best projection at that moment in time and that so so when we when we do this in the you know whether we start these conversations earlyer sooner than later which I think is good uh and you know healthy discussion you know you're still coming up with you know your best your best projection um you know at the beginning of of the year and and I would like to leave the room you know leave some room for uh you know when we submit it in in February to be able to say okay this is what we this was this was our best snapshot by the time we reached
044when we had to submit this so you know there could be some some room between October and February where we're you know we're discussing and revisiting and I think I think that that's okay um because it's not it won't just be this that we're discussing it will be other things that we need to consider in the budget as well so um I kind of see it as a little bit of an iterative process until we until we lock it in okay and when you talk about it being an iterative process do you mean between the board and the superintendent speciic so the development yes so the development of the budget so you know Michael come out and present the you know you know this this is where we where we're at here are the priorities
045here are the district goals um and you know if we come out with one number I I think about some of the things that we had to add in that weren't considered you know and I just want to you know as as we develop our budget and and it's particularly in the challenging year that we're going to have um I think it's going to be you know we're going to be going through some some fluctuations as we're as we're crafting that budget and um you know I think we'll I I welcome a healthy discussion on the budget we have a lot to analy this year in light of of a variety of scenarios that could play out and so um this is just one one component this is actually a small component of the larger
046budget discussions that we'll have so um yeah I think I think we come up with a timeline and maybe we start in finance and get that get that ball rolling with contract reviews and then bring that to the board and however however the board sees fit with uh with discussing it thank you Michelle did you still have your do you have a hand up for another question or or is it just from before I think it's from before I mean obviously as the conversations continue when Cara is responding you know um I'm going to just say one thing that is one of my concerns because I'm not really sure how we're setting up we're going to have so many with the career and the pathways like and what we've experienced with C even cabinet members
047that we're like you know not included in the other package um that flexibility is so needed but at the same time that oversight is always so important so if we can strike that balance so that we include everyone during the process it's always a shot in the dark because you know come May when it comes down from generals that's really when we know what's happening it's already so you know obviously using our best guess of you know what what is the highest is it you know what when do we take out the insurance is at the beginning of the year when do you know all those all that information is clear it's just for me I know that we've got a lot of we're gonna have to be really creative on how we're going to
048be striking up those Partnerships and you know I'm excited about that but at the same time I've got some concern on how does that you know line up in the finance an es and make sure that we do have that that that oversight but I can see the need um especially in specific carved out areas um you know firsthand right here our cabinet so thank you any other comments from committee members please okay Julie um seeing none I'm going to ask it uh for whatever you'd like to share please I completely forgot my question now I'm my apologies that's okay I'm sorry that uh we didn't get there in time okay glattus did you have something to add just uh just a comment um and I'm listening to everybody and I think uh everyone had
049made um really act good comments but we also have to realize too that we can say that we're going to have a million dollars and then something pops up and then we take the authority away from someone and then we're struggling again so I you know I I think my suggestion is if this is not a required policy and we are new we're a new group going into this we all the challenges that we went through last year and it's a learning curve for everyone so I would see if we could see somehow and we can't determine if we should say to the superintendent we allow you $5 million from a recommendation from the finance committee and she will have that amount of money to work with for the exempt employees and the non-exempt employees
050then tying her hand to say no we're going to give you a specific date we know what time to how the budget is scheduled to come go to the mayor and all the other stuff that goes along with it I I I would be comfortable if we could come up if the group would come up if it's your desire to say we allot this a certain amount to the superintendent and she decides who gets that allotment and what our negotiations and many of you have sit on these various teams and we know what you know what the rationale is and a lot of time we don't have the time to come back and say and I think it's somewhere that we have to have these contracts and I think Kim said earlier July people are
051leaving the district you know we have to let them know what they're whether they're going to be returning so you know take all that in consideration the only thing that I would like to say is that to propose a a date amount if possible that the superintendent can work with I don't even know if we can do that now at this time so that's my only comment okay thank you gladus um Michelle oh my God sorry my hand still up Julie perhaps that's from before as well Dr Casmir now go ahead I can't remember what I was gon to ask uh so I just wanted to you know to state that you know the the policy reads July 1 right so by July 1 the board shall approve so you know it doesn't you can
052approve it on January you can approve it in February you could approve it in March April May the policy allows you the breath that you need to do the work that needs to be done you know and it's not to say that what gets fixed in dece in February you know if we have to make some changes or something situation you know the the plan changes situation changes that we have to revisit you know that there's that there's the ability to do that as well not to be locked into to a particular date that you know beyond but the the deadline is by July 1 so I think as long as we can add it into the planning of you know is in our discussion and and again you know I think that it it
053happens naturally or organically if you will when those initial numbers come out I just don't think we talk about it right so I I think that that's where like kind of surprise came in around you know when we landed in June was that the allocation had already been determined and I think there were some hard feelings with like wait I feel like I didn't know what that what that was or or what that means but um but to to when the when the budget gets crafted um those contracts are in fact taken into consideration in the in the in the percentage for the roll up in the ask um but we just don't ever really go back and review it we have people sit in on those contract negotiat ations but uh we don't go
054back and specifically review and this is what the administrators are getting next are getting next year and the you know by contract and so it it really you know should be part of a discussion when the budget is being developed and just sort of um put out in the open uh with the group so that we know where we're at so in terms of this policy then um what I'm trying to get a sense of is what the appetite is for the committee um to my mind um you know this this is sort of a formality to have this policy in place for our our better education and understanding of you know what uh the superintendent is authorized to do by the state um and what the the superintendent is required to do by the
055state um so you know I don't know that I have a strong opinion about maintaining this policy if folks feel like it it doesn't serve the purpose that they want it to serve um you know but I'm certainly open to you know a conversation about that and and that's what I'm trying to get a sense from folks whether or not they want to maintain this policy and if they do what if any changes they would like to see reflected so if if just for the purpose of this conversation I'm just going to ask each member each Committee Member who's on here right now to just sort of voice their opinion on that please I would say just keep it as it is okay me too okay Michelle I mean I'm I'm okay to go with
056the group if we find that it stimulates like you're saying Kate more of a conversation at the budget then I'm all for that because you know we're like we're more seasoned four years when you're going in your first year you really don't even know necessarily what is coming around and those conversations may not happen so whatever is going to you know provide the best Insight when we need to make these decisions at budget time I'm good with think thank you thank you very much um in that case I'm gonna ask um Kelly can you remind me procedurally uh when we're just renewing a policy or um you know re reupping a policy what our processes yeah if we if we want to do nothing we can but we have put it in front of the
057board if we want to revise the date on the bottom because this policy goes back to 1999 um in the previous series that we've done we have put it Forward recommended as is to reopt and and reopt the date on the bottom so it would go to the board for that okay so I'm not legally required sorry K I'm sorry it's not legally required to do it that way but we are trying to bring our policies you know this one is as you can see about 25 years since it's been last noted that we re revised it does this have to have a first review if will happen is it what we would do is make a recommendation out of this committee for a first read by the whole board um that would give board
058members an opportunity to reflect and provide further information because obviously we only have the the committee members really weighing in here um but it would allow them to either approve the first read and then it would be eligible for a second read and and Confirmation or to kick the policy back to the committee level for further conversation so given our conversation here at the committee this evening I'm looking for a motion to make a recommendation for first read and adoption under a new date of the same existing policy so moves thank you Terry you have a second please second thank you Al all those in favor please signify by saying I I I I any opposed any extensions motion so carries thank you um we have a third item on the agenda this evening and
059that is a carryover uh from our last policy meeting around uh board member affiliations um I know that you know this kind of came up as a conversation at one point about whether board members should be required to disclose their affiliations with any organizations that they are part of other than the Board of Ed um um and that kind of falls under the policy committee so um I'm opening this up for conversation uh amongst committee members to get some feedback about their thoughts Michelle um not I wasn't aware that it had been brought up why do we know why this is being brought up now is was there is there a reason if it hasn't in the past I I guess I'm not up to date with that part of it sure it was part
060of the September meeting originally and and I you know we just never uh got we we had a very long meeting in September uh we had a lot of conversation about the policies that were on there so we didn't get around to having this conversation but um I I do know that it was it was brought forward that there was some concern about whether or not board members were parts of different groups if that would create a conflict with their position being a board member um and I you know obviously there are a lot of different you know most of us I think are affiliated with other groups or organizations outside of The Bard ofed um you know and I from my perspective I don't think we should have a requirement to disclose um but
061I do think we need to have you know conversation about um why and when we should recuse ourselves from participating in either a board conversation a board Vote or um you know our participation in another space because of our affiliation as board members Teresa um I I think when we because this is an elected board applying uh on those Hand cards that we send out so if there's an issue I look at the Palm cards I mean I I I don't really understand the problem there I really don't okay I mean we're just we're having a conversation about it now because it came forward and I want to just make sure that we're you know as the policy committee it's our it's our purview so okay Al I don't think there's an issue here I
062think it's the same situation as if we become board members itself you know there is no that that being elected to the position uh in itself you can't work for the city of Danbury or or the City Board of Education the public schools I mean so I think in that sense uh we're adults uh and educated adults that we if we ever come to that situation that we need to recruit ourselves I mean I don't think uh I don't think this an issue I really don't think it's an issue thank uh any other comments from committee members Michelle I agree with Al and Teresa in the sense that um they are on the palm card and you know obviously if you you should if you feel that there is a conflict of interest like you
063know you're hired or you're somebody works in the Board of Education whatever that makes sense to me um and you should you know if you're working in the school and and perhaps there might be some you know if there's direct payment from the Board of Education or something like that that something like that should be disclosed as a board of ed member you know you're volunteering you're elected um and you're you know your public information is out there most likely so I'm going to agree with um with Teresa and Allen I think we're going to leave it to the board member if there's a reason to recuse themselves they they should bring that to the board and the Board of Ed you know and and being an adulted about it and say that um that's
064that's how I view it um I don't know if you have to disclose something like that thank you for the feedback um I guess while we're having this conversation I do want to give a couple specific examples um because I was thinking about this and thinking about the different circumstances and I know some of our board members are newer um you know from my perspective um you know if for example we're taking a vote on a contract and there's a member of the board who has a close relative um like a spouse or an adult child who's part of the contract group um you know we had that with uh Joda Silva who's a former board member whose wife was the secretary for one of the schools and so when it came to the vote
065by the board about the contract for the secretaries um you know Joe appropriately uh recused himself from the vote and explained why he was doing that so that you know like Michelle like you were saying um that's an example of a situation where you know you need to understand the conflict of interest it presents for you having personal gain in a particular situation um the other circumstance which is something I bumped into um if you're offering testimony at a city meeting um board members doing that need to remember that the board chair is the person who speaks for the board and the only person who speaks for the board um so if you are a board member you're still obviously entitled to speak at a city council meeting but you have to speak um as
066a private citizen and given that you know as board members were recognizable in the public as such um it's important to explicitly State as you're giving your testimony that you're doing so as a private citizen um and not as a member of the board of education so you know the idea again is just that none of us are using our position on the board to either create a circumstance for personal gain um Financial or otherwise and that you should not be using your position on the board to unduly influence the opinion of other people in public spaces and I think that those are pretty straightforward and and you know easy to understand Concepts um but I just wanted to make sure that we've had this conversation um and that folks you know are are comfortable
067uh you know with that question that came forward so I certainly appreciate all the youback we got this evening about that um I do want to also just acknowledge I received and Michelle did you have something sorry H you're muted no Kate I'm sorry if I interrupted you I yes you gave the perfect example with Joe de Silva when I first got on the board and so you know that is exactly what I was expecting is if you feel that you have a conflict and of course say that you're a c you know a resident if you want to speak I know that there are times when glattus has said hey I need you guys to come and support the board or even speak on behalf of the board you know as a board member
068when we're looking for the budget or to come and support and speak out so um again I would assume that in that case we are going as board members to support our chair but if we're going to get up and speak then we are going to be speaking as citizen as a resident in front of the the city council um you know that's that's how I would look at it so thank you very much that was the perfect examples for me thank you um I do want to just uh make folks aware I did receive an email from one of our committee members requesting that uh we distribute information about the required policies from cave and the recommended policies um just so that folks are aware in our June meeting um we had on the
069and I don't believe we've seen it yet this year but um we've certainly received that information at the June meeting there's an audit uh uh file that was sent around by uh Kelly which includes a breakdown of which policies are required and which ones are recommended so just so folks are aware we do have that information it's good for you to make sure that you're uh keeping you know keeping us on our toes here as well we are we aren't perfect and sometimes we make mistakes um so if you do see something that we're we've skipped or haven't handled um you know we're going through these policies in order to try to make sure that we're methodical about it um and making sure that we're going through uh policies um in a way that uh
070make sure we're going to hit every single one of them um especially after that audit process with cab we want to make sure that we're we're taking care of uh each of these policies in order the only exception to that of course is if we have something that comes through in a timely fashion like this evening when we reviewed um the the charges for school U meals um that's a policy that we had to make an adjustment because of uh an existing change to the way that we we handle uh meals in the in the district um similarly uh you know we may at some point visit the topic of uh policy around cell phones or AI as those are also timely and we're having conversations about those as uh board members and in the
071community um but for the most part what we're trying to do is work through each of these series on the policies um to make sure that we'll keeping our our policy book uh updated okay all right um we've gone through the entire agenda I thank you so much um that was uh a record for this committee today um and I'm looking for a motion to a journ please Teresa we the motion and Al you'll get the second all those in favor please signify by saying I