10 01 2025 Regular Board of Education Meeting

001anything. So I had to cover their assignment and myself. I would like to call the October 1st, 2025 board of education meeting to an order. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. As a reminder, please be sure to turn on your microphone when you're speaking and voting to ensure those online can hear. The second item on the agenda is staff and student recognition. I will turn staff and student recognition over to Mrs. W. >> Thank you, Chair Ponds. Good evening, everyone. Um, our first recognition is for Dr. Carlen Richardson. Dr. Carlen Richardson is a health occupations teacher at Bristol Central High School and Bristol Eastern High School and is now a published author. Her book, Bridging the Gap: Jaw-Dropping Approaches and Maintaining Engagement: Lessons I Learned from Transitioning from Professor to High School's Teacher, chronicles

002her journey in Learning to Maintain Student Engagement and Empowerment. Student engagement and empowerment are at the heart of our mission to teach and learn with passion and purpose. Dr. Richardson achievement reflects both remarkable professional dedication and a deep commitment to ensuring that students have a voice and feel empowered in their learning. Bristol Public Schools is fortunate to have such passionate and innovative educators and this publication will no doubt inspire colleagues and students alike. So, thank you Dr. Richardson for helping to lead the way. Congratulations. if you'd like to come up to the podium. Good evening, Superintendent Mrs. Iris White, Deputy Superintendent, Mrs. Mary Hawk, board chair, Mrs. Shelby Ponds, vice chair, secretary and commissioners of the board, and board leazison. Good evening, colleagues here and on the line, and the members of the Bristol. My

003name is Dr. Richardson and I am the health occupations teacher at both Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern high schools. First, I want to begin by thanking my students who inspire me daily, teach me daily, and who are truly at the heart of this book. Their curiosity, challenges, and the triumphs are the reason I continue to grow both as a teacher and a learner. To the class of 2022, thank you so much. They began this journey with me. I want to thank my family because without their patience, this book would not have been possible. My husband Gary, three children, Taish, Bon, and Jordan, my four granddaughters, my two dog babies, and my cat babies. I extend my deepest gratitude to Superintendent Mrs. White for your support. Thank you to Mrs. Laura Lanza, my supervisor, and all

004the leaders downtown at Bristol Public School. Thank you, Mrs. Sharon Jakes and Mrs. Michelle Cotay. Thank you for your leadership. A very special thank you to my Bristol Central High School principal, Mr. Peter Wininger, vice principles Dr. Ryan Broadick, Mr. Steve Trochi, and my former VP, Mr. Jeffrey Sinatro, and to my Bristol Eastern High School principal, Mr. Michael Higgins, my vice principal, Mrs. Melanie Vatrono, interim VP Justin McDermott, and my former VP, Mr. Scott Redmond, to my mentor, Dr. Jamie Reinberg, who coached me and never gave up even when I thought of doing so. Thank you. A very special thank you to a teacher at Bristol Easter, Mr. Michaelair for his support and for printing all the wonderful things for the department including the health occupations version of the vision of the graduate. You know

005they say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it also takes a village of teachers and leaders to ignite the flame of a new teacher or a professional transitioning into teaching. I transitioned from being a professor for over 20 years. 16 of those years teaching was not in lead were not in leadership. moving quickly through the ranks to academic dean. But nothing could have prepared me for the role of a high school teacher. So for helping me at the start of my journey, I would like to thank Mrs. Katie Mercier for guiding me through team. And to my colleagues who became my mentors, who became my psychologist, who adopted me in their department and is now my tribe. Thank you Mrs. Kathy Archeald, Mrs. Ana Rochester. Um the perfect match as a mentor

006selected by Mr. Winninger, Mrs. Kelly Moahan Doya, Mrs. Sarah Mallaloy, Dr. Sarah Lindstrom, Mrs. Gina Gallo, and still in our tribe, Mr. Steve Troy. To the teachers in the world language department at Bristol Central High School, who selflessly mentored me through informal professional development through our lunch, I owe them a lot. whose voices echoed from their classrooms and as I passed to go to the lab or the copy room provided me with opportunities to learn as I listened how to truly engage students. I am very grateful. And to the counselors who helped me learn how to fully open my door even wider to my students. Thank you. It is this journey that is chronicled in my book bridging the gap. Jaw-dropping approaches in maintaining engagement. Through the process I learned. I truly learned and I

007became so excited and I wanted to share with new teachers who may sometimes doubt themselves. I did or with professionals whose confidence may waver while transitioning into teaching. Mine did. So today I not only opened my doors wider, I have removed them from the hinges altogether. And to all new teachers in our district or professionals transitioning into a role, I'm here to tell you this. There are three profound truths you can hold on to. Number one, you are not alone in this district. There is a tribe of teachers who stay ready to assist every challenge. Number two, every challenge is also a lesson. There is a tribe of teachers and leaders in your schools who provide guidance to each and every challenge you will face and overcome. And third, and finally, your impact reaches farther

008than you can see. So, keep learning, stay the course, and embrace each child's uniqueness. This recognition is a is an honor, but more importantly, it is a reminder that when we support one another as teachers, leaders, family, community, we create something lasting and meaningful. In closing, I would like to reintroduce myself. I'm Dr. Carlen Richardson. No longer just a health occupations teacher, but now teacher learner. Thank you. Thank you so much, Dr. Richardson. Next, we have Jacobe Fry. Bristol Central's Jacobe Fry was chosen to be part of the CIA Student Athlete Advisory Board and the CIA Sportsmanship Committee. Jacobe will be working with other scholar athletes from around the state to revise athletic curriculum on the CIA website when he attends meetings at the CIA throughout the school year. Our goal is to support Jacobe

009through the student athlete leadership council at both Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern. So he has ideas and suggestions to take back to the CIA and represent Bristol in a positive fashion. Congratulations to Jacobe. Another awesome recognition for our Bristol athletes. And I invite Jacobe to come to the podium like to say some words. Congratulations. Uh, I just want to start with uh thanking you guys for having me. My name is Jacobe Fry and I was selected to serve on the CIA SAAB, the student athlete advisory board. And after being selected to serve on that board, furthermore, delegated to the uh CIA sportsmanship committee. Yesterday, I spent two hours down in Cheshire at the CIA headquarters for my first student athlete advisory board meeting. It was great. I got to meet a bunch of kids from

010all around the state who have the same ideological goals as me. Uh providing the state with more academic and athletic curriculum and just bettering our sportsmanship as a whole. The sportsmanship committee on the other hand is I don't just meet with other students. I meet with athletic directors and principles from all around the state and we do that the same thing I do on SAB just at a higher level. and we look to promote sportsmanship and how to better CIA sports as a whole. Uh, thank you guys for having me. I am excited to serve on these boards and I'm more excited to represent Bristol public schools at this time. Thank you. >> Okay, we can let you walk a little bit. >> You can't. Okay. >> Now, so Jacobe also was awarded a pretty

011big accolade recently. an accolade uh related to something that Commissioner Tagriello has participated in in his high school years and I'd like you to share that if that's okay. I know that >> absolutely absolutely. Uh over the summer I represented Bristol Central High School at uh Connecticut American Legion Boy State. I was able to be elected as the governor and I was further selected to serve as one of two senators at the American Legion Boys Nation. I spent eight days down in Washington DC. I've basically done it all and I'm very grateful for my uh for this place. Let me tell you, I'm thankful for this place. So, >> thank you guys. >> Thank you, Jacobe. We're proud to have you as a Bristol Public School representative. >> Thank you so much. Congratulations for everything

012you've achieved. >> Next is Ed Menon. Today I have the distinct honor of recognizing an extraordinary educator whose dedication, passion, and unwavering belief in his students have truly changed lives. Mr. Majin is a humble man with a big heart. With over 40 years of service and alternative education, he has been more than a teacher. He has been a mentor, a guide, and for many, a turning point. Time and again, students have shared how his patience, insight, and belief in their potential altered the trajectory of their lives. I had the pleasure of reading and listening to their personal stories of transformation, resilience, and second chances. Personal stories that moves me profoundly. Mr. Majin is a symbol of our allhe heart city and a representative of the many Bristol educators who pour their hearts and souls into

013their students and strive to be the best educators that they can be. Thank you, Ed, for your decades of service, your heart for students and being a champion, and the indelible mark you've left on this district and more importantly on the countless young lives you've helped shape. And there are two former students of yours that as to speak tonight. And I'm going to start with Liy. You guys hear me? Good. Good. All right. So, when the class of 2025 graduated this year, it struck me. It had been 10 years since I graduated. And in that decade, one thought kept me awake at night. Ed Min, the name who changed the entire trajectory of my life, had never received the recognition he deserves. That thought became the seed of the #honor Ed and # Edang the

014outcome. And when I began speaking, hundreds of voices rose with mine. Today, there are more than 400 signatures and stories all saying the same thing. Ed changed the outcome. I didn't start as the student you see standing here today. When I entered Bristol Central as a ninth grader, school was meaningless to me. I was involved with DCF, carrying trauma and pain that no teenager should have ever had to carry. But what made it worse was what happened inside the school. I skipped classes. I failed tests. But more than that, I felt invisible. Most teachers, not all, but most, looked at me like I wasn't worth the effort, like I was already lost. And I noticed something. It wasn't just me. It was always the kids carrying the heaviest loads outside of the school. The ones

015who needed belief the most, who were given belief the least. And when we feel invisible long enough, sorry, lost my eyes here. You start to believe you don't matter. By my second year of nth grade, I had no vision of our future, no hope, no reason to believe tomorrow would look any different from yesterday. Westwood's Academy was the place that kids weren't here in an alternative to the regular high school. A place most people outside didn't understand. I walked in expecting the same thing. More teachers giving up. More proved that I was a lost cause. But Westfields was different because Westwoods had Ed. Ed didn't just run Westwoods. He built it. He sustained it. He lived it. And for the first time in my life, I wasn't invisible. Ed held us accountable, but he also

016believed in us fiercely. He demanded our best without ever making us feel small. He didn't just see who I was. He saw who I could be. And everything began to shift. I started showing up every day. I went from getting grades in the teens to A's and B's. I discovered a passion for science because Ed was teaching it. I started believing in a future I had never dared imagined. And let me be clear, we were not the easy kids. Let me tell you, we were probably the hardest group of kids to teach. I watched countless teachers cycle through Westwoods, especially as they tried to fill an position. Some lasted only weeks before giving up, not having what it truly takes to teach kids who needed more than just a teacher. But Ed never gave up.

017He stayed. He stayed for 40 years, and he's still staying even today. For those who may not know, Ed built Westwood's Academy in 1986. For nearly 30 years, he sustained it. After my graduating class of 2015, the school was rebranded into Bristol Prep where he continues his work today. And while Bristol Prep deserves its flowers as the alternative high school it is now, we cannot erase what came before it. Because if you search for Westwood's Academy online today, it is as if it never existed. No history, no trace of what that place meant. But I know and hundreds of others know that Westwoods was where lives were saved, where futures will be written. And some people are still alive today because of Ed and the environment she created. To erase Westwoods is to erase the

018proof of what Ed built. And it would erase the legacy of students who walked out of there alive, hopeful, and ready to build something of themselves. And while this moment is about Ed, I would also like to quietly acknowledge Miss Karen who like Ed stood by us and left her mark on many of our lives. My story is one, but Ed's story is hundreds, thousands. I have with me a folder today. It doesn't cover everyone, but it holds countless stories that echo the same message. I would just like to read a few to give you a glimpse of Ed's impact on myself. One former student said, "I was referred to this alternative school through juvenile probation and it ended up changing the course of my life. Though many one-on-one conversations and through many one-on-one conversations,

019I gained valuable life lessons that shifted my perspective in powerful ways. Ed always created a space where I never felt judged, just understood. His leadership and the environment he built made all the difference for me. It's another student said, "It's been 10 years now since I graduated. Ed's wise words and lessons still follow me through my daily life, and I think of him often. Not only was he an incredible teacher, but also a mentor. Ed was someone who genuinely poured his heart and soul into each individual student. We all had unique reasons to be there, yet he treated each of us like we were worthy. Not only did he care about our future, he gave many of us reasons to care for our own. I think we can all say that he gave us insight,

020hope, inspiration, and confidence to achieve in our highest ability. He drove us for success. Where others judged us for our reasons of being in an alternative school, he advocated. Many of us kids would not have graduated or made it through life difficult for him. Many of us excelled academically. However, we struggled in other ways, whether it be socially or even issues at home that made it difficult to focus on our learning. These different backgrounds and issues made it difficult for many of us to succeed in a normal school setting. Ed even took the most difficult of students and found a way to show them they matter, their education matters. I went from dreading school and barely attending to school being my escape and my success story. Thank you to Ed and also to Miss Karen

021for leaving a lasting lifelong impact and advocating for us. I'm forever grateful you saved my high school experience. Another student said, "I had a lot of issues at home when I went to Westwoods. The problem was doing the work at home, but Ed was able to see I wasn't a lost cause and that I did consistent work at school. He gave me a second opportunity to be able to get my diploma in on time. Through the hardships I'm sure he faced at Westwoods and during DPA's time, he's been an unspoken hero of the kids of Bristol. He would have fallen through the cracks otherwise. And a former teacher said, "I first met Ed when I started Southern at Westwoods in 1995. Three years later, I was lucky enough to work across the hall from him

022for six years in the middle school program. He taught me so much, especially patience and understanding. Ed is a dedicated educator. He always has the student's best interest in mind. He has been the heart and soul of Bristol's alternative programming for almost four decades. He is a legend. Um, another student, I just want to read the first thing that they said. The first line was, "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for his guidance, kind heart, and ability to look back past the book's cover." And then also just to show how the community is also seeing him, this is a former bus driver. She said he was absolutely amazing in Westwoods. I used to drive for Westwoods and the things I would see that he could change in these kids' lives was amazing. I

023was very impressed as a parent watching him change the lives of the children that went there. But also as a bus driver, amazed at the things he would accomplish with these kids in their hardest struggles. He is truly deserving. I saw Ed do some very amazing things with so many of those kids. Truly wish they were more. Truly wish there were more like him that actually cared to him. I saw that it was not just a paycheck. It was definitely one in which he truly cared about his students. Even through the rough exterior and the rough home life that some of these children had, Ed made them feel a quite a few quite a few of them anyway that I know positively. He made them feel loved again. Made them feel like they mattered and

024they were worth it. As a bus driver, I saw so many things with him and he amazed me at his patience and his grace that he had when no one else had cared and he would have and anyone else would have walked away on them. is truly worthy. I could stand here for hours reading them all, but the truth is clear. Ed's impact is not a story written by one student, but by a chorus of lives across four decades. Lives changed, futures solved, in some cases, lives literally spared. And it's not just me, not just my peers. My own mother-in-law walked the halls of Westwoods years before me. She graduated in 1996. Today she is a business intelligence analyst with a master's degree in health informatics. Her life carries Ed's infra. That's how deep his

025breach goes across families across generations. Because Ed believed in me when no one else did. My entire trajectory changed. I graduated. I earned my bachelor's of science degree in digital marketing and then my master's of science degree in innovation and entrepreneurship where I got a 4.0 BPA. I got hired at a SEO digital marketing agency where I initially started as a project manager. Later, I was promoted to the head of HR where I built the entire department from the ground up and helped scale the company from 12 to 55 employees. Today, I'm developing a trauma recovery framework that blends science and with healing to help women overcome trauma. But more than that, I built a life. I found a partner whom I met at Westwoods and together we are raising three kids, three sons, sorry.

026Every accomplishment, every opportunity, every child I now get to raise, every life I will go on to touch, all of it is the ripple effect of one's man's belief in me. And I want to highlight something that might sound small, but wasn't. Ed, let us call him Ed. To some that may not mean much, but for kids like us, kids who fought with authority, kids who felt out of place everywhere else, it meant everything. It broke down walls. It told us we belonged. That's who Ed is. He finds the smallest ways to connect and they become the reason kids survive. It's like planting seeds in soil others had written off as barren. Tiny seeds of belief, patience, and connection. And years later, you look around and you've realized he grew a forest of futures. Board

027members, this is bigger than one student, bigger than one school. For four decades, Ed has been the anchor, the steady course, the one who never walked away. No child left behind. That wasn't a slogan for Ed. It was the way he taught, the way he lived, the way he shaped this community. This community right here in Bristol, Connecticut. Ed, you changed the trajectory of my life and you changed the lives of tomorrow. On behalf of myself, my peers, and the generations who carry your lessons forward every day, thank you. This community has carried its gratitude quietly for decades. Today, we get to say it out loud. It's time not just to honor it. It's time to remember it. And it's time to carry it forward. Can you please Can you please tell me your name

028again? Can you Yes. Can you please tell me your name again? >> Ni, you are not invisible anymore. Let me tell >> you. >> Amazing. Really? >> Thank you. >> Yes. One more speaker. Yes. >> After that, I was the English. >> Wow. Um, good evening everyone. Thank you for letting us speak tonight in my own bed. While mindlessly folding laundry one day in the middle of June, I received a Facebook message, a student of mine who graduated in 2015 who was seeking to honor Ed with whom I taught at Westwoods and then Bristol Prep Academy for nine years. I was immediately struck by the power of her words, charity, grace, and appreci. I then began to reflect on the nine years that I spent with that and realized that our district's alternative high school

029edits. Most of us remember a teacher that's made a difference in our lives. We may talk about them pleadingly from time to time, but none of us have worked as tirelessly as Ni over the past five months to make sure that they receive the recognition we so deserve. Thank you, Ni, for making this moment possible for Ed. It truly shows how special That was right. Ed has not only impacted thousands of students, but has also impacted their families and teachers with the least. Through Ed's effortless example, I learned to be a better teacher, friend, and mother. He treats his student with the same respect he treats his own children. It doesn't matter to Ed. If students enter his room with a notion of trauma, 60 absences from the previous year, a jaded attitude because of

030years of past failures, or a probation officer, he treats them as the human beings that they are, and the feelings of love and respect are palpable every day. Ed unlocked the secret years ago that by treating a student respect, by showing them the love they all deserve, and by truly believing in their worth and potential that they will succeed no matter what. And it didn't take Northstar training to do it. He is the epitome of the program capturing kids hearts. More of a belief system that if you capture a kid's heart, school can become a place where everyone wants to be. He demands that students give them 100% of what they have. But if they have only 60% that day, they have to give them 100% of that system. There's never been a place where

031I've taught that has been more rewarding and less good in Bristol prep. It's because of the environment that Ed cultivates. Laidback yet rigorous, comfortable yet challenging, firm but incredibly fair and welcoming. It's the place where second chances are accepted, where failure is not an option, and where dreams begin to take shape and become a reality. In our bubble away from the traditional setting, we carved pumpkins. Yes, with knives. But the not sure it was okay. It was a long time. It was okay. We dissected frogs as a schoolwide activity, baked holiday cookies, exchanged holiday gifts, orchestrated schoolwide talent shows that yes, we participated in, acted out scenes from just about every Shakespearean. We planned family lunches at restaurants where etiquette and manners were taught, and taught character education by example every day. Ed put together

032service learning projects where high schoolers read to elementary students in the district and as acted as TAs. He weathered CO finding a way to keep the district's most truent still engaged and at school through a computer screen. Ed always made sure that the curriculum standards were the same as BE and BC because all of his kids were capable yet they walked away with so much more than what the curriculum delivered. We were a family and all the while we were teaching our students, we knew how much we were actually learning from them. Ed is probably one of the most intelligent people I've ever known. He's a vast vault of information, and because he loves information so much, his kids sit in wonder, waiting for what's next to come. He's a man of principles and someone

033who will always do what's best for kids because it's in his core to do what's right. Ed's been teaching for I think 54 years. 513. >> I asked him the other day if he was going to retire and he said I'm just not ready yet. And the city of Bristol should be happy to hear it. Ed loves what he does. And when you love what you do, it's not work. I try to channel my Ed, my inner ed every day and seek to be the person he is at home and in school. He's the father, grandparent, uncle, teacher, friend, and mentor everyone wants to have in their corner. He's impacted the lives of thousands of our students, many going on to be wildly successful when no one believes they could be. Ni is living proof.

034Ni, I'm so proud of you and the life that built Dejon together. I'm proud to be here as an educator who has had the privilege of working with Ed and with the students that passed through Westwoods and West. It's truly a special place and family because of Ed. Thank you. Ed, would you like to come up? Say a few words of wisdom. You have wisdom for us. >> I really have nothing to say after all of that. I will tell you the advantage of teaching as long as I have is when I meet former colleagues and said, "You haven't retired yet." And it was like, why quit something that you absolutely love? Go back to 1986. I had uh left the teaching position in New Hampshire, relocated to Connecticut. It's the end of July. Who

035has teaching jobs available? Fortunately, B still did. Made the call. They came down. I met with uh AD. He said, "Well, we have two positions, seventh grade at Memorial Boulevard and something we don't know." And I said, "Well, what's that job?" And he said, "We don't know. It's an alternative program. We put together a committee and it took them six years to get to the point where let's stop the school. So I'm driving back home was like to go away. It was like but then I convinced myself to do it and I got to tell you it was the best experience of my life and it was the best decision I ever made as far as my work. uh four years a long time, but imagine having a job and you get up every morning

036and you look forward to going to work and at the end of the day you feel a sense of accomplishment. Do you all have that? I don't know. But that's what I have. And sometimes I actually feel guilty that I'm doing what I'm doing and enjoying so much of it. Ni is an example. you know, 10 years later, you always wonder if you're going to make the the difference in anybody's life. And a decade later, here comes the shining star that comes along. And I've always been blessed, too. You know, you see right there, one of the best English teachers I've ever had the pleasure to be with. And I've been surrounded with some really good teachers. Not all of them were good, but a lot of them were really good. And we've worked together

037as a team. Nissi delivers a lot, you know, a lot of credit for this because she decided that it was time to make a change and that's the key to this being successful. Um, basically, I I'll keep myself short, but sometimes I've been known to talk long. Remember one time Larry Cavino had a stopwatch at graduation and he held it up and said, "Done." So, so you don't have to, you know, adjourn at 11:00 tonight. In closing, let me just say that everybody here, I'm telling you, I appreciate the support that this program has got from administration and school board members because without your support, this program would not be in existence and it wouldn't continue. And maybe four years from now, I'll be up here talking again. Probably not. But I will tell you

038that I keep a daily I I've got 40 journals every day. Everything that happened in that school. And at the end of my journal, I always write something positive because if you can't find something positive in what you do, I do it. So maybe I might write a book about it. Okay. 40 years, whatever. So thank you everybody here for your support. I really appreciate it. And I don't enjoy these things. I like to kind of, you know, fly under the radar, but it is very humbling. And thanks to everybody for your support continued to support. Thank you. >> I want to say I think we need to all give him a standing ovation in a second, but this is every person's dream in life to have a legacy like you have created for yourself

039and more importantly for all of the students that felt invisible. So, I just really want to thank you. Uh, I'm going to cry like no one cries alone when I'm in the room, but honestly like just unbelievable work that your life has done. So, thank you. And I think we should give him a standing ovation like That was [Laughter] so now I just get to do approval of the minutes. Ouch. So I'll take a picture with that. I think everyone should take a picture with that. Everybody So, the next item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes. You've all received the September 18th, 2025 special meeting minutes. It is in your packet. Are there any corrections or abstensions? >> Motion to accept. >> Second. >> Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor?

040>> I must say the special. Oh, I apologize. You were here spectacles on >> Oh, so this is not We're not talking about >> sounds like it's unanimous. >> Sorry. >> Okay. So, any um >> we're done. Motion passes unanimously. Okay. Next is committee reports. Uh first student are you going first? >> Sure. I will go first. I'm going to start with policy if that's okay. Um so policy committee we met on September. We reviewed policy lunch for fundraising and policy 6140 curriculum design development and revision. That policy was um actually asked by student achievement committee to be reviewed um and we'll be hearing more about that later tonight. Um actually both of those um were moved and forwarded to the full board for discussion uh this evening. Committee also considered challenging curriculum and gifted

041and talent policies. Our conversations were so robust that we we needed to move them to our October 22nd meeting because we have run out of time. Student achievement committee we met on September 17th. Um we have one item the decision on minor curriculum revisions in humanities. So that was our decision. We've reviewed a lot of data um our plan for um 2526 curriculum revisions um data presentations for 2526. So the schedule for that. Uh we touched on attendance and discipline reports, SAT reports. Uh, and then the one highlight I really kind of wanted to point out was we learned more about the 4QM partnership uh, and how beneficial that partnership has been um, by you know providing the quality um, quality materials, support, insights into student achievement, professional expertise and collaboration and um, it sounds

042like it's a collaboration that's going to continue. Um, so it was really interesting to learn about that. Um, our next student achievement committee meeting is October 15. >> Thank you. Thank you. Yes. Um, school family community partnerships met on September 24th started with developing state uh and the choice between um a favorable summer memory or a fall tradition and folks shared really beautiful memories memories for thinking fall. So it's enjoyable to uh during the partnerships we had Kathleen Dustin from Salvation Army come and talk to us about some of these things that they're doing and ways that they wanted to partner with the school in supporting uh further supporting the community and some of the postm community. Um it was really energizing to hear the things that you doing. I was honored to attend invite

043them to highlight the great work that they're doing. They did share some of the community events which we'll find a way to share on their behalf as well. The school community shout out was actually really exciting because we highlighted um Lindsay Deitro from Baines and serendipitously her work really intersected with the Salvation of Army's work and their both aspired to support students in arts. So that was really wonderful. um over the summer her theater group or at the Rockwell summer theater program at also In the Heights if anybody had a chance to speak in the Heights and Ter. Um it was a really amazing production where students in our high schools participated at $20. This was like such a high level production. It was immensely um inspiring and impressive. Um when we looked at the

044school family partnerships goal and action plan, we're actually coming up on the year goalversary if you will of the school family community partnership um goal as I said and we really are starting to look at have we achieved our goal. we create the goal in alignment aligning with the bylaws to make sure that we are fulfilling our role as um commissioners on school partners committee. So I presuming that within our next board meeting has some information to share. Um, I wanted to highlight something that Christ said, um, that really resonated when she said talked about how do we get information out, how do we engage the community at large to um, be involved in the things that we're doing in the community partnerships and she said from community to community, you know, how do we

045move our work from community to community? So, I I think that that's going to be one of our sort of focuses moving forward. We have great things that we're doing in the committee committee, but we're kind of isolated and we're small. And how do we get that great book out to the community? So, I ask anyone who has ideas on how to do that, please reach out. We would certainly love to grow the membership or at least the reach of the work that we're doing. So, um support people and engage. Next item on the agenda, I have the student representatives. Uh the first is Amelia Brown. She's a senior at Bristol Central High School. Okay. Then we'll go to Paige Hensot who's a senior at Brisl Eastern. Uh good evening. Uh this report will focus

046mostly on upcoming events this month. Uh happy October 1st. FASA is officially open. Seniors are encouraged to make an account and apply for financial aid as soon as possible to be able to make college application deadlines. Clubs are up and running at be modu held its first fundraiser of the year just this last weekend doing a shake the can at stop and shop. Grocher club had their first meeting on September 26th and diversity club has an upcoming meeting on October 14th. In addition, honor societies have started up and will begin holding meetings soon with the exception of National Honor Society at SA National Honor Society which have already have held their first meetings. Art photographers will be at BE for picture day on October 6 to photograph all students um in grades 9 through 11.

047Meanwhile, the yearbook committee has started taking pictures and accepting senior quotes as they start working on the BHS 2025 2026 yearbook. PSAT testing is coming up and will be on October 15th. SAT retakes for seniors who signed up before the deadline will also be offered. Any students taking either the SAT or the PSAT will have to be in the testing rooms before se by 7:20 7:35 even if they have late arrival. During this period, senior senior workshops will be offered with guidance counselors and English teachers, and seniors are encouraged to take advantage of this time to work on their common applications, essays, or scholarships. Seniors may also choose to attend the college of that day, a shadow or job. Mr. East Science National Honor Society will be hosting a blood drive on October 6th. The

048Red Cross will be coming to collect blood and students and teachers can choose to donate blood. Students under 18 will need parental permission and pre-registration will be Friday, October 3rd during lunch waves. Get ready for a night full of color and excitement. Student council is hard at work preparing for this year's homecoming. The theme this year is rhythms of Rio. The cost of tickets are $20 and ticket sales will be October 10th and 14th for upper classmen and October 15th and 16th for all grade levels. Homecoming will be Saturday, October 18th from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Let the countdown to carnival begin. This coming week, BHS is hosting a visiting committee known as the NESC. They will be at BHS Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to work through the acquidation. That's all for my report tonight.

049Thank you so much for your time and have a great night. >> Thank you. The next item on the agenda is the chair report. Uh I after last at the special meeting when I did a PowerPoint presentation for the board um the response uh from the board itself feeling like they received information that was helpful uh inspired me to do another PowerPoint presentation this week. So, I'm feeling inspired. I I also really did feel inspired tonight um by Dr. Carlen Richardson and she had her three um very important statements that she made about you're not alone, you're ever challenged. But the the impact um reaches further than you see is the one that really stuck with me when she said it because although we will not be eds uh sitting on this board because we're

050writing policy and adopting budgets so we're not going to make the impact that he does, we do have an opportunity to make an impact. And one of the areas that we are responsible for is the budget. And I I feel that it's possible that not everyone is fully aware of why we are in a deficit and why we've had such um negative uh I don't know if I want to use the press but negative kind of um fingerpointing at us for being the reason why there's a deficit. And so I'd like to go through this PowerPoint presentation to kind of highlight why we are where we are so that we're transparent and everyone can fully understand the budget. Next slide. Thank you. So one of the state statutes and and this was a huge learning

051curve for me because this isn't anything that I do through my work. Um, I had never even heard of the min minimum budget requirement until I um became the chair of of this board. And so I can tell you that uh statute 10262J wasn't something that I was very familiar with, but now I've learned a lot and we don't know what we don't know. And I don't think that many people in Bristol or who sat on this board really understood the minimum bud budget requirement in the past. Um so the intent of this law is to prevent municipalities from reducing city funding from the previous year. So it sets this floor so that moving forward you never receive less because when you think about contractual obligations, right, they always increase. We all have union contracts

052and there's a certain amount of money that has to be uh supported in the next year. When you think about inflation, when you think about transportation costs, um special ed, it's just so unpredictable. So setting that floor and creating a law was the way that the government said we can't have municipalities go backwards. We have to have them at least keep pace. So, the law doesn't require an increase, but it requires you to stay the same. If it isn't increased, you know, you can't meet the budget that you have, you'd have to reduce in order to move forward. Um, so and and it also ensures that state and federal funding like the education cost share grant. So in every fiscal year we get a state grant that's called ed education cost share and it doesn't

053have any strings attached. Most grants have um outcomes that and restrictions that govern that money. This doesn't. It's just to help cities offset their expenses. And so Bristol's been getting $41,657,314 a year every year going back to 2021 is as far as I have in front of me uh to offset our total appropriations. So when you see our amount that the board of finance um and the city council approve every year for the board of ed budget out of that total amount 41,000 or 41 million I'm sorry 41,657,314 of that money comes out of that. So it would be reduced for that. So just give you an example. So this year out of $137 million 61,815 41,657314 came from the state and 95,44,51 came from the city. So next slide please. So the reason why

054the law exists also is because they want to make sure that municipalities don't they supplement with state or federal funding but they don't supplant. And supplement and supplant is jargony words right that just means add more and don't replace. So the cities are not allowed to take in more money in grants and then reduce it or replace it with the money that they've committed to the school district. So it adds to what is already there. It can't replace it. Next slide please. So the minimum budget requirement as they call the MBR um as we said as I said sets that budgeting floor the state aid if the state aid increases so if the education cost share aid goes up the local education budget can't go down they have to increase by at least that much

055and there's a penalty if you don't meet the minimum budget requirements. So if a city doesn't meet the minimum budget requirement in funding, the state will reduce their funding in the next year for their education cost share grant by twice the amount that they didn't need it by. Next slide, please. So on September 23rd, 2024, we received a letter from the state department of education notifying us that Bristol um for the first time in anyone's knowledge, we've asked everyone if this has ever happened before and they don't have any memory of this, uh did not meet the minimum budget requirements. The city did not meet that threshold of not funding us less than the year before by 1,372,811. And so their choices were to either pay that amount as a penalty for not meeting it,

056you have to meet it, or in the very next year they would take double that amount out of our grant. So we were lucky that they paid the difference in a sense because otherwise we would have lost twice the amount in the next year. However, if we were funded appropriately to begin with, then it wouldn't have required intervention or a state mandate. And that's that's the part that's um difficult because we're being blamed for the deficit, but it was we weren't funded. appropriately to begin with. So, next slide, please. So, in the past three years, there have been state mandates that have required additional appropriations every year. The first year was 1.37 million, the second year was 3.47 47 million. And in 2025, just last year, it was $5.9 million that had to be given

057to us because of st state mandates. So, because we were underfunded, we had to get this because the law requires that we get this funding. Next slide, please. There is another law that protects local boards of education. And as local boards of education, we are all locally elected, but we are also agents of the state when we are representing the laws of the state, which is one of our elected duties. So these laws that govern our funding are our requirement to make sure that we are appropriately funding the school districts, the community that we live in. That is what we are elected to do. Nine different people to make sure that we govern the finances of the school district and make sure that it's in in alignment with the laws. So, Connecticut General Statute 10-248A

058allows boards of ed to deposit up to 2% of unspent funds into a non-lapsing account for future use. These funds are intended to supplement education, not replace, not supplant the city's required annual appropriation under the minimum budget requirement. In 202122, the city approved 2% of our COVID relief funding, which was federal funding to be placed in a reserve account for the board of education's use in the future. that non-lapsing account can carry over from year to year and it can be used to supplement but not supplant, right? So, it can add things but it can't replace the city's money because it's already been appropriated to us. So, we already have it. It's like our savings account. So, you have a savings and you can't use it on your operational expenses because then you would create

059a hole in your next year's budget. But the government said, "Well, we don't want boards to spend if they don't have to." And we typically don't have a surplus because we're typically not in a situation where a pandemic throws all this money at you for CO relief. But the idea was, okay, so if we have this extra money right now, let's not just spend it for no reason. Let's keep it for like a rainy day fund. And if we need something that's a one-time expense, we'll have funding there. Next slide, please. So, Superintendent White and I received this from the comprollers's office a few months ago and because we were told that there was no funding left in the rainy in the surplus fund in the savings account and we were surprised like we were

060like, well, where did the money go? And so it clearly states on here that in 2021 $127,000 of it was spent on Chromebooks, which would be an absolutely appropriate use for that because it's a onetime expense and it's not operational and it doesn't create a hole. But then in 2022, for the first time, it was spent 1.226 was spent to offset the city's appropriation. So in that year they received the board of finance and the city council voted to give us the board of ed $124,328,000 and the state funding the education cost share was 41,657,314 of that. But then the city was responsible for $83,226,193. But what they did is they took 1,226,000 out of our reserve. So they actually paid that much less than they were responsible, which would mean in the end the

061actual appropriation was 1.26 26 million less than what was appropriated. And that happened again in 2023 where they reduced the appropriation by 1.299711. They used our savings account that was already appropriated to reduce their obligation. And then in 2025 they used or I'm sorry in 2024 they used 1.349 um700 which left us with $238 in our account. And so when you look at the increases that we've received but then you back out the amount of money that came from our own savings account. The way that I like to explain supplement, not supplant, is if you're being paid every month by your job and then for the last two months of the year they pay you out of your own checking account, are you really getting paid? You're not. Right. Next slide, please. So, the superintendent

062reached out to the Connecticut start state department of education to ask clarifying questions about the statute that allows us to place the 2% in this non-lapsing account, the rules around the funding, and the supplant and supplement laws in alignment with the minimum budget requirement. So, we have two different laws here that are protecting school districts from making sure that they receive the funding that was appropriated to them. The questions were, can board of education reserve funds reduce the city's annual appropriation, and should such funds be treated as supplemental rather than supplanted? Next slide, please. And the response from the Connecticut State Department of Education to the superintendent was the municipality cannot use the amount of funds in a board of education non-lapsing account to reduce the board's appropriation in the subsequent year. It would be

063improper to reduce the board's appropriation based on the board's non-lapsing account. Next slide, please. So, as I just reviewed, $3.9 million from the reserve was used to reduce the city's funding. When we look at the education funding growth over the last four years on paper, if you were just to look at where we were in 2021 at 121,000 or million650,000 to this year at 137,61 137,61,815. we would have received an increase of 15,411,815. However, of that amount, 10 million748,513 of those dollars were because of mandates by the state law. So, they weren't appropriated to us upfront. it was after the fact and late beyond the end of the year when we were in a deficit. So, we're we're essentially being underfunded and then given the money on the back end, which would make us look

064like we overspent, but the requested amounts that this board put forward that were supported by data based on the expenses from the previous year were always in alignment with our deficit or very close. And so we were being very honest about what it cost to run the school district. We were just not receiving the money up front, which would then require state law to protect us to make them give us the money back, but then left this narrative that we were overspending. Um, so out of the 15 million, 15.4 million, 10.7 was mandated by the state as penalties for not appropriately funding. and then 3.9 million was our own money. So if you back out those amounts, the the appearance is that we were appropriately funded, but we really were not appropriately funded. Next slide,

065please. And then to compound the issue, the expenses of this past year increased by 12%. We had an unprecedented $3.4 million insurance increase. We had a a pretty standard contractual salary increase. Our um union negotiations are under what the cities are. We're not we're not giving people five and 6%. everyone's union contractual increases are equal or under what other city employees increases are. Um, our transportation increase went up by 2.74 million and our special education expenses rose again at 2.6 million which was predictable. So, we had approximately $16 million of increases, just standard increases, cost of living. But over the past four years, we haven't even gotten $16 million in an increase because we have $3.9 of it was ours and 10.7 was given to us after the fact because we were already in a

066hole. Next slide, please. So, the city commissioned um CLA, an audit firm, to do an audit on our uh finances in the report came out in March of this year, 2025. And it was very clear. It's special education shortfall. Over the past three fiscal years, special education expenses rose 20% while the Bristol public school budget increased only 5%. Creating immediate funding gap. Tuition costs are rising. So special education tuition alone, these are outpaced students, rose 15% over the last two years and that's not part of the special ed budget. So the special ed budget run ran 20% over and then our tuition for outplacement ran 15% over and we were taking funds out of the general funds like freezing budgets taking away from regular education which is problematic to make sure we were covering these

067gaps because we were having holes created and being blamed for the holes. And then other expenses outpacing the budget were costs for the tuition and professional services were rising faster than the district's budget anticipated, leaving current budgets unaligned with projected needs. So we the whole time we would put forth the amount we needed to continue to service and meet the needs of our kids, but we weren't being given the funding to do so. I'm going to now give an update on um the high schools and the two groups because last week at the special meeting I had said that we were only doing patches and then there was another meeting uh of the board of finance where they changed the plan a little and I wanted to make sure we were all up to date

068on that. And so in the summer of 2025, um the board of finance approved funding to do roof patches on Bristol Central High School and Bristol Eastern High School in in the amounts of 168,000 83,000. And then a decision was made based on what was said to be um you know they learn living through the experience of Edgewood's roof having a patch and then the roof uh collapsing and having water come in and we had to replace students and that was our smallest population and so we were able to move them. Uh but with the high school roofs, those are those high schools service approximately a thousand or more students in each building. So if a roof does leak to a point where we need to replace people, I don't that this is going to

069be catastrophic. I don't know where we put them. Um so on September 23rd, Bristol Central High School's roof was approved at 8.8 8 million at the board of finance to replace just the roof. Um we had just put a patch on for $168,670 which now we're going to take off and replace with a roof. Um but we did not get approved Next slide please for Oh, go back. you already met. Um the mechanical work that it will require, which means after the roof is put on and the ceilings are fixed and everything's done, they're going to drill holes into a new roof and have to take down the ceilings again that they just put up to put the mechanics in, which seems like a waste of funding. Um, and I feel like we all need

070to really comprehend that because 168,670 on a patch seems like a huge waste to me. But I really want people to understand that when you don't do things in the right order, you're creating more expenses for our city. And we're clearly not in a place to take on more expenses. $168,67870 is how many pair of professionals, is how many teachers in a classroom, is how many textbooks. It's real money. Russell Eastern High School doesn't have any approval to replace the roof at this time, although it is beyond its warranty and leaking. Uh we do have a patch on it, but if the patch fails, we have a thousand students that would need to be relocated. And so it's really important that education becomes a priority in the city's budget because these are 1,000 kids that

071need a safe, dry environment to learn. Next slide, please. And this is my last slide. So, the Edgewood renovations update. Um, last week at the special meeting, we had a renovate to new on the table versus a targeted renovation. Uh, we talked about the benefits of it costing less to get more. Um, and unanimously agreed on this board to support that project. And so our next step is board of finance approval on October 28th, 2025. It'll be on the agenda. So we really need to support this moving through to make sure that our youngest learners have a safe long-term learning environment that is most conducive for their needs. Thank you. I can um open it up if anybody has any discussion. Okay. If we don't, we can move on to the next item on the

072agenda. Next item is superintendent report. >> Thank you, Chair Ponds. Um, I wanted to provide some updates as I do at every board meeting on my 2526 priorities. Um, the first thing I wanted to focus on was community partnerships. Had my uh first coffee with the superintendent last Friday morning here at the BOE. Um what I found interesting about the session was there were a number of family members who attended the session because they were looking for specific um community resources. How do they access particularly um certain specific community resources based on their family situation? and me it made me start thinking about um Commissioner Simmons about some of the conversations we had the presentations that Erica Trani and Christy Trley made last year about some of the community resources guides and information that they

073had and how do we make that more widely available? Um is there um opportunities for me to publicize those more widely in my superintendent weekly update? is there a place on the website that we can um publish these so they're more readily available. So it made me think about that. It also made me think about u similarly to Commissioner Van Gorders's question about how do we bring things out into the community and is there ways that I can in particular partner with community organizations and have these um coffees with the superintendent in some of those areas. as I was thinking particularly about the Boys and Girls Club and some of the work they do at Cambridge Park. Um, actually going into the apartment buildings, going back into the community and having it more visible and

074making it more accessible to families. So, those are some of the things I'm thinking about and maybe we can have a conversation at the next school. We have a community partnerships about how we can work together on that and you can give me some feedback and ideas on how we can accomplish that together. Um, I wanted to talk about the Bristol Opportunity Collective. Um, this is really being driven by community activist named Molina Floyd, who's a a resident of Bristol and also a graduate of um, I believe Bristol Eastern. Um, and she has a real passion for gardening and how do we um, uh, communicate? How do we teach students, families about um nutritious meals? And how do we have gardens that can produce food for needy people in the community? And she's been able

075to first form a partnership with Whistler Eastern. And they have some garden beds that they've already started um started growing. Um, and I believe that they're um actually going to um donate the food uh to some of the community organizations in need. Um, so I thought that that was a wonderful initiative. The gardening club at Bristol Eastern, I believe it's actually a club, one of the clubs that the high school has. So, um, thought that that was a wonderful initiative we wanted to share. And I know Molina is also looking at um doing something similar at Nata. And we've also had conversations with her about applying for a grant. Um it's a state grant uh connect road for kids um which is very similar to what she's trying to do teaching about nutritious meals and

076growing food and um learning about nutrition. So, we're hoping to apply for that grant and that way we'll be able to expand uh this collective and this partnership across the school district. Also wanted to talk about um and providing update on a meeting I had with United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut. uh met with Manny Martinez um and even though they moved, I believe, out of Bristol, they still want to partner with us and had a a conversation with him about some of the work they want to do regarding prevention of student homelessness. They've tried um doing um an initiative in New Britain and some other districts and what they found is they didn't have a strong partnership with the superintendent and so they want to make sure that they have a strong partnership

077with me as superintendent in Bristol in order to move this work forward and um already been able to connect him with Erica Triani who is our McKini Vento leaison as well as Cecil Gray who does a lot of work um with families. So, we're going to um partner in that initiative and they also wanted to partner on ReadAcross America Day. Um they have connections with um business leaders and other community leaders who really would like the opportunity to come into schools and read to students during our ReadAcross America day. So, I'll be able to share more information about that soon. Uh fiscal responsibility. I know that there was a question at the last board meeting about when the um budget would be posted on the website and so the 2526 superintendent proposed budget request as

078well as the approved 2526 budget are now posted on our website. Um I provided the link there. I'll also make sure uh to provide the link in the superintendent's weekly update. We're also going to make sure to have the quarterly reports, fiscal reports also posted on the website, trying to be continuing to be very transparent um about budget and also the budget dashboard. I know I've talked publicly about the budget dashboard. It's still in development. It's still a priority. Jeff Telki has been working very uh diligently on it with um the city of Bristol. Um we have a lot of priorities. There's a lot of work to do at the beginning of the school year. Um, but the work is still in development. We want to take our time and do it correctly. We also

079want to get feedback as we're continuing to develop the dashboard to make sure it's meeting the needs of um the board of finance and the board of education. So, uh, please stand by for more information on that. In terms of redistricting, I think I mentioned at the last board meeting that we have contracted with MP planning group um and they've already visited Chip Chippens Hill Middle School and they're scheduled to visit both West Bristol and Green Hill School next Tuesday, October 7th. It's an opportunity for them to see the space, also have conversations um with the two principles and get their feedback and input u regarding redistricting. And we also have three committees that meet regularly. There's the poor redistricting committee which is made up of buildings that will be most what directly affected and

080union representatives that will be affected as well as the central office team. Um there's also an optional BAPS team meeting to garner suggestions and recommendations ongoing. And of course there's the building committee made up of our facilities team, the mayor and stakeholders in the community. The next steps are today is October 1st. So I think we shared our student enrollment numbers with them. So MB planning will be using that as well as their visits to um Green Hills and West Bristol um to begin developing three options that they want to present to the board of education um at our next meeting. Um and Deputy Superintendent Hawk and I are working on ways that stakeholders um will have an opportunity to provide some feedback on those three options. Um we had suggested that maybe we want

081to do a survey of teachers in the buildings. Uh but the feedback we received is you want just general feedback or do you want to give them an opportunity to review some of the options that would give them a better chance to provide us with some really detailed feedback and think about things that we would not think about logistically because these are teachers and they're really underground and can give some practical feedback. So they're working on being able to do that before presentation to the board. And that concludes my update. Thank you. >> Good chair. Um, just really quickly to go back uh, Superintendent White to what you were uh, referencing with how to access community resources and how to leverage the work of the school family community partnerships committee. Um, I'm really energized by

082that thought. I think that's been the work of the committee. It's obviously in alignment with um, our goal and our action plan. Um I I wonder if we might consider some kind of BPS community partner school family community partnership collaborative a roundt event. I mean what we were finding as we were bringing in family resource center as we were hearing the the great work of um Erica Triani and um and Christy Trelli and really looking at the resources that we know the school, you know, the school community has. there were things as commissioners that we weren't aware of and it's clear that there are um resources that the community is not aware of. So, you know, we might we consider how to um create a throughway truly so that not just the people who who

083need the resources, but the people who are going to be asked what these resources are that they they are in tune with what's available because I know I learned a lot about what was available and I had no idea. So if a community member asks me, I want to be I want to be on the pulse of what is available so we can help people in the moment. Um so so you know and talking even Miss Floyd um with that gardening um effort we have so many great uh similar efforts. How do we kind of pull those resources? We've got Indian Rock. They do the garden for good. We got the Salvation Army who has is also looking to um expand a gardening program. We have uh our own public works who give compost through

084Lindsay Rivers. There's so many great things and I don't know if that we have this centralized place where people can access these resources. Um talking about Manny Martinez, maybe he's another he's the next person to come in under community partnerships, school family community partnerships. But if we can really create this network and I know we started talking about this resource guide or compendium as I called it but compendium wasn't a loved term. Um but I you know just something where it's centralized, it's available, it's accessible and we then have to make sure that we get it from committee to community. Like really getting it out to the people in the community. That's a term now. That's a thing. But I I just I'm really energized by that idea. Um so hopefully the collective, all of

085us um can really dig into that deep especially as we go back next month into that sort of one year and see how we can maybe reframe the next stage of our goal of school family community partnerships to really tap into this to really target this. Um so we're supporting your initiatives as well and and make it something you know um communitywide. Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay. The next item on the agenda is the cons is the consent agenda. >> Yes. >> May I please make a motion to um pull item 3.1.8 teacher retirement from the consent agenda and have it um voted on something? >> Sure. Um we do we take a vote on that second. >> Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? I >> I opposed. Okay, motion passes. >>

086I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda items 81 through 81B. >> Second. >> Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? I >> I opposed. Motion passes. So 81 81A has to be talked under the business. >> Okay. So, the next item on the agenda is public comment. Do we have any public comment? >> No, I don't think they sign them. >> Okay. No comment. >> Anyone online? >> Next item on the agenda, deliberated items. District Leadership Team Reports. We have Superintendent White. >> Thank you very much, Chair Ponds. This is the information technology um task force, MOU, that the commissioners have in board book. Um and this has been an initiative between the Bristol public schools and the city of Bristol. Um there have been a number of years where there were

087conversations that were trying to develop anou and an understanding of shared resources and how we can work together regarding IT and networking. Um I believe since this past April myself um Jody Bond Jeff Telki have met with um Eric Evans um Mayor Jeff Kajiano and Diane Waldron in the city of Bristol. Uh we meet regularly. I know that Eric Evans has uh a very close working relationship with Jeff Telkkey. Um and we'll be able to do some brainstorming uh about how to share resources and how we can share networking. I don't know if there's anything else Jeff you wanted to say about your partnership with the city. You want to come up to the podium? >> Good evening, commissioners. Um yeah, I just wanted to speak a little bit about uh this uh IT task

088force as well. Um so when I came on board um I came from a district that had shared services um but they looked shared services that also looked like you were taking the initiative that the city wanted and it's either you do it or you can't build it was very top down but when I had come here to Bristol and met with over on the city side uh I very quickly realized u his demeanor his character willingness is to collaborate. That is not um in my interactions with Eric Evans and city and IT folks. Um they have included me in conversations uh really projects uh projects that are coming to do uh ideas and initiatives for placements for different technology areas that really need to focus on. Uh and they're not just talking at me

089to tell me what has to happen. They're really looking for my feedback as to what we can do best to pull uh Bristol public schools aside shared services initiatives. Um I just wanted to make sure that we're all that they they are very collaborative. They are listening to uh telling them what we as u public schools community are are experiencing. They are here to help us. Yeah. Because we really want to uh explain that. If anybody has any additional questions oriented that wonderful that sounds like there's some great collaborations your work with the city. So thank you. Okay. Looks like we have Oh, can I have a motion? Um, so this is theou. Okay. And uh I have a motion to approve the information technology task before you. >> So move second. Motion's been made

090and seconded. Discussion. Question comments. >> Um I just have a question. So because this is a separate task force that is uh a body of essentially employees, is there a plan to regularly update this board uh adoption any anything that you adopt with task force? And I only ask that because within theou there's list of uh potentially not only shared services but priorities in which you will identify projects network upgrades or you're going to purchase things software. So because typically that would run through the finance and operations committee. Um I just I I didn't see that in there. So I just I know they meet monthly and so I just want to kind of get the cadence of that so we're aware. >> Absolutely. Um yeah we are more than happy to uh come to

091any meetings and and share uh updates on the task force what our initiatives are uh what sorts of projects we'll be uh looking toward moving ahead. Uh certainly want to get everybody's input. We don't want to work in a silo ourselves. We want to definitely make sure that everybody is in the know and that we are truly doing what is best for Bristol. So absolutely. Thank you. So the motion has made second. Any further discussion? All in favor >> I pass >> B's theater trip to London, England in April of 2027. Mr. Bagley, >> good evening, commissioners. Um, we're here to seek approval for our BS theater students to uh once again take a trip to the London theater district. And uh I'll turn it right over to Miss Lisa Carol. She's our theater teacher

092at BS and she'll give you all the detail. >> Wow. Um beep anyone who's old enough to know what that means. Okay. That was always my favorite job in elementary school. Um, I had the privilege of going to London in April with 26 Bristol folks. We had 16 students, grades seven to 12, actually grades 7 to 13. We had a graduate come with us and um, 10 adults and we were delightfully toured around London and all the way out to Straford upon Avon where we visited the home of my Renaissance boyfriend named Shakespeare. And um I cried multiple times. It was lovely. Um and we want to go again. So here is our pitch. Um beep. EF Tours um has this tour called Curtain Time in London, which is perfect because it incorporates a lot

093of things that cover what we do not only in our coursework, but in extracurriculars. Um we tour the city of course which has abundant um sites to see but we also get to enjoy two theater performances. We tour to Stratford on Avon. We go to the Globe Theater. Um and we get to tour backstage at one of the theaters in the West End. Um so um EF Tours has been doing this for ever. So they it's like a non a no-brainer. Um they have offices all over the world. They have all kinds of supports. Um but they also are here for education because they believe that traveling can change students lives. So the idea that um a growth mindset and a global perspective, personal development, and how they kind of can gain skills to change

094their own world is is part of what they do. Um, and it was super fun to watch my little seventh grader um, figuring out the tube and, you know, having these kids try like what is curry, you say this is car. Um, and just really being in another country where the buildings are way older than our own country. Um, and I know that they all came back with a very um, interesting perspective of being abroad and understanding what it means to go outside of our own bubble. Beep. Thanks. This is us doing all sorts of stuff. Um the bottom right, oh I forgot we do a theater workshop as well um through the Globe Theater, but in the center is the Globe. On the left is Shakespeare's um home. On the top is the Tower

095of London and the London Eye. The top right is St. Paul's Cathedral. If you've ever seen Mary Poppins, it's where the bird woman sits to feed. Okay. Uh Okay. So, in the cost of the trip, basically everything is included. Um, we have a full-time tour director who walks with us and takes care of all of our needs, keeps us on task, um, all of the transportation, breakfast and dinner, all of our stays overnight, tour guides who do the specific tours that we do, um, all the tickets and all of that kind of stuff. Kids can get credit through um, EF. they have a program where they can apply for high school and or college credit. Um, and all kinds of supports. So, again, BF is kind of a no-brainer when it comes to who are

096we going to trust to travel with. Um, the only thing that's not included is lunch and there are abundant options. We've never had any trouble with that. And, um, we will be flying out of Boston. Last in April, we covered the cost through some fundraising that we did um of the bus to get us back and forth to Boston um and tips. But again, we also in we also were able to cover the student tips through our fundraising, I think. Okay. So, the cost is $3,999 for students. Um there is a $95 enrollment fee that is taken as part of that 3999. Um, and when we do open up registration hopefully after, you know, I just have a motion to accept this. So, move. Um, then we will have until October 17th for students to

097get the $200 discount. Um, but I'm and I'm hopeful that that will happen. But this is our um it's 19 payments, I think, because of just the timing of when we want to go. And so, I think that's it. Beep. I got nothing else. All right. Sorry. Um I'd like to open the floor to questions. >> It sounds so me. >> I have one question. Are you going to do any fundraising? >> We last time we did a couple tag sales and the students were able to do their own personal fundraising through that. We did a mystery theater experience with a play that I had written back in the day at Northeast in 1993. Um, but we did that performance and that helped defay the cost of the bus. Um, and we also did a

098um, the kids each get a fundraising page through EF. And I don't know if you've ever had kids who sold stuff. I'm always like, "Here's $20. I don't want a candle or wrapping paper." So EF has each child um, gets an individual fundraising page that their parents can post on social media and say instead of giving so and so a birthday present or Christmas. So, we had quite a few kids who raised a good chunk of their money through their family and friends who helped donate to the cause. Um, this year we are at the Ames Foley. We're having a Shakespeare day on April 23rd, which is um his birthday, but my eighth graders study Shakespeare. And so, we're going to be doing um our performance that night. And I plan to do some kind

099of raffley thing or something to tie in. And um we were thinking we tried to do a shake a can but nobody really ever got that together. But we are willing to do things and we um when what we did was talk to the kids about what they needed and then we kind of helped where it was necessary. So >> what when did you say you were going to do your raffle? >> At the Shakespeare event on April 23rd. >> Well, if you need donations, I'd be happy to do >> I love it. Thank you. I feel like that's a good sign. She says we could have a raffle. True. Yes, >> through the chair. I gota ask, uh, did you go to King's Cross Station and platform 9 and three quarters? >> We did

100not stop, but we drove by. Um, I did the same tour in 2018 and we did stop. Um, it's a little overrated. >> It's Yeah, they just have like a scarf. But, um, yeah, we didn't get to stop this time. We did though get to go to Abbeby Road and I was so impressed at how many kids were like the bagels. Like, they knew who it was. and we got to do the whole crossing and that was really neat. So, it was a lot of fun. It kind of just depends on what's going on. Buckingham Palace had construction so we didn't get to drive close enough to get there, but a bunch of us walked. So, it's very flexible in that way, but hopefully we'll get to a lot in 2027 when you give us

101your approved. >> I did have one other question. I I noticed that you um the uh seven days after your enroll you can get a you can get full rebuff but that will only $90. And God forbid if they if a student couldn't make it for emergency purposes so they had 12 what reimbursement they have if they weren't even making it to do it >> part of the total is the um global protection so that is all covered in the insurance I would not let us do that without >> having coverage. Yeah. So >> sure and we did actually have someone who dropped out pretty close toward the end so all good. >> So thank you for asking that. Okay. Can I have a motion to approve the Bames Theater trip to London, England in

102April of 2027? So >> moved by Commissioner Tagriello and seconded by Commissioner uh Carlson. All in favor? >> I opposed. >> Motion passes unanimously. >> Thank you so much. I really appreciate your support. We look forward to having a successful trip again. Have a good night. >> Uh the next item on the agenda is a policy revision. We have uh Deputy Superintendent Bach. The first is policy regulation and regulation 1324 fundraising. So this policy um it asks that all student fundraising must be connected to a school sponsored projects and as approved inviting by the superintendent. Um fundraising should provide clear educational or financial benefit um staff or risk for the school. The superintendent may also allow the distribution of information recognized by the organization, but schools will only serve as a channel for sharing the

103materials. Direct solicitation of funds from students outside and we are also working. >> Motion's been made and seconded. Any discussion? >> Um just one comment. I know that um didn't I I attended the policy and um it was a valid point made that don't usually vote or change I mean the regulation but um the reg regulation had been worked on in the past and intently because we had brought in all of those uh the booster clubs those that raised a lot of the fundraising there's a lot of questions back then so there was a lot of intended purpose and we collected all that in the workshop so if um when The regulation is updated from July. >> Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? >> I opposed. Motion passes unanimously. Next is the policy

1046140 curriculum design development revisions. >> Good evening, commissioners. I'm presenting policy 6140 curriculum design uh development and revision uh for your review this evening. The purpose of this curriculum is that it outlines how curriculum will be developed and approved for all of our teachers to use. That's why you see usually up here presenting curriculum. It's outlined as part of the steps in that policy. Uh, one of the current limitations of the policy is that once a curriculum is approved by this board, really our our curriculum and instructional services department take that curriculum and work with teachers on implementing it in their classrooms. And while we do the very best that we can to write a solid curriculum, we know that once it's implemented by teachers, there's going to be some changes. And so the current

105process doesn't allow for that curriculum document to be really revised uh in the moment and then taken to the um student achievement committee for minor revisions. The revisions in the policy that we're suggesting tonight uh outline the difference between a major curriculum revision, which would be if it's a new course, if it's a course that has new standards associated with it, associated with it, national or state standards, if there's any stash statutoily required coursework or if uh more than 50% of the course is uh going to be revised. Those would all be considered major revisions and those would all come to the full board for approval after student achievement committee uh reviewed the curriculum first. We're asking the policy be revised to allow minor curricular revisions to be approved at the student achievement committee on

106a yearly basis or more frequently if needed. Or the student achievement committee depending upon what those revisions are could still continue to choose to bring the full um the minor revisions to the full board for questions. If I may, I guess the only question I would have is sounds like you're looking uh for like just minor changes they approve uh through uh through the committee. Um but then we'll also leave uh the opportunity option to let's say there's certain things um that pertains to certain policy specific um that it could still go to the full. >> Yes. Yeah, the spirit of that majority trajectory sort of schedule of what I'm assuming that I may not consequential things, but minor things that don't impact me as like small. >> Yeah. There'll be small changes to learning

107targets, right? What what are we going to put on the board that helps our students understand what we're aiming for? It could be a change in an essential question. Uh what's the whole purpose of that particular unit? small changes that are really tweaking some of the language so that it's easier for students to understand or for teachers to address. The language in the policy does provide uh the opportunity that if there is debate in student achievement committee about any of those minor changes and it's worthy to come before the full board so that same debate could be heard and had then uh policy allows that to happen. >> Yeah. to to clarify though that that process only happens on an annual basis >> or I I don't have the actual language in front of me.

108I think it's as needed >> it just says the revisions will be reported by the supervisor annually to the student committee which may approve them at the video level or the court. It was intended it was intended annually but there have been >> opportunities when we adjust our curriculum calendar and it can come before the student achievement committee as well. I asked that I think in committee as well make sure that it wasn't limiting >> when we had the opportunity bring that to the committee because there will it may be times throughout the school year that modifies >> and it does set the minimum uh for that. That's really what the policy does, but of course the uh chair of the committee can always set the agenda and request that things are added. >> I

109think this makes sense process too. >> Do you want me to make a motion to approve policy 6140 as we >> second it on this agenda? It doesn't seem like we're voting on it tonight. >> Is this the first reading? >> It was read by the policy committee. Uh, and so I think you can It was forwarded here for full board approval. >> Okay. Then the motion's been made in I just don't have it on my So the motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? >> I I opposed. Motion passes unanimously. >> Thank you. Okay, next is new business and Commissioner G Antonio um had removed an item from the consent agenda that she wanted to discuss a new business. >> Thank you, Chair. First, I I'd just like to say that I'm grateful

110for the staff and student recognition section of our regular board of ed meeting agenda where um staff recognition is usually highlighted. Um, but sometimes the timing doesn't work uh out for commissioner submissions for that part of the agenda. So, I appreciate the support of the chair and the superintendent to highlight one additional staff member this evening who announcement was on the consent agenda. So, with that being said, I just wanted to share a few congratulatory comments regarding the decadesl long career of Kelly Monahanoya upon tonight's announcement of her retirement at the end of the school year. Mrs. MD, as she's affectionately known by scholars who are lucky enough to have her as a teacher, has been a high school Latin teacher for 38 years. Some of the more notable highlights of her career are as

111follows. She was named East Harper Teacher of the Year in 96 1996. She was a personal publishable teacher of the year in 2001. Um, Mrs. MD was pronounced a finalist for the Connecticut Connecticut State Teacher of the Year books. She was featured on Walt Disney Salutes the American Teacher. Um, she spearheaded, organized, and chaperon 24 international field trips with students to Italy and Europe for I am told by those close to Mrs. MD that every time that tour bus turns, the coliseum comes into sight that she is tears. Mrs. MD was also the proud founder of and advisor to the Bristol Central High School Interact Club, which is a teen division of Rotary International. Their mission is to bring young people together to develop leadership skills while discovering the power of service above self. It

112provides students with opportunities and leadership through service projects. How to take action, build international understanding, and make friends. Her accomplishments in the classroom are many. Mrs. MD has a unique way of engaging her students in a full immersion of cultural experience with Lang that is not limited to just learning the language. She's an inspirational leader to every student who enters her classroom. And I remember my own scholar coming home after her first week or so of Latin one in her freshman year saying that Mrs. MD told them that they are all hers for the next four years. The last time I spoke with Mrs. MD, there were only 19 certified L teachers in all the state. So it is definitely a um a resource area. need for public schools is very lucky to have the

113robust library have to do it because not every district gets to uh make that offering. Mrs. MD is well known for assigning her students a signature letter to self. It's a self-reflection style letter personalized by each student. The letter is then returned to the students when they graduate. An assignment kept alive in memory of her mentor, Miss Loretta TV, who was also a Latin teacher in Bristol public schools for 43 years before her. When I asked a few of her students about their favorite parts of being in Mrs. MD's classroom and taking Latin, their responses were as follows. Number one, going to State Latin Day as a field trip every year. Yes, the state of Connecticut has a state Latin day and you can find out all about State Latin Day online. They get to

114make their own tunics and wear them to school. uh creating homemade Valentine for Lubricalia and exchanging secretly with their delicia. Thank you for the last student you gave me that pronunciation. Making their own Saturnalia ornaments to adorn the tree in the classroom during the winter holiday. Reciting the renowned love poem catalyst flat mud. Meeting new friends and doing a letter selfie chair. And no one can forget the famous Manurva who stood magnificently in Mrs. MD's classroom until she was moved to live eternally in the halls of Bame's gallery. In closing, I asked one of Mrs. MD's greatest student fans to pick a Latin phrase that they would use to describe her career and their time with her in the classroom. The response was Winnie. I came I saw congratulations on your retirement. First, the public

115schools along with its students and staff are a better place because she chose to teach here. Well done, Mrs. So, thank you. And I'd like to make a motion to pass item 8.1 A retirement personnel section. Motion's been made by Commissioner Gant Antonio and seconded uh by Commissioner Tagriello. Uh all in favor >> I >> opposed. Motion passes unanimously. Congratulations. Uh what a amazing legacy that you have left on and impacted so many uh and we wish you the best. Thank you. Okay. The last item on the agenda is leaison reports. Does anybody have a leazison report? >> The only thing I will say and it's not a leazison report but that um I wanted to uh acknowledge this Abraham who is the principal at Southside. Um she and I have been playing a little

116bit of uh scheduling tag trying to get together um because I am at Southside School but we're both very excited enthusiastic to meet and be able to bring um some of the great work that she's doing there to the board and um I'm also scheduling with Miss Higgins at Crystal Eastern to get a visit down there uh as a music school year kicks off uh to do the same so that I can engage productively. Thank you. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> So, just to talk about we have um in one month we have an election coming up and we're going to have some changes on the board. So, I just wanted to um say that not all of our smiling faces will be here um months from now, but but it will be because the

117board meeting is the day following the election. couple months from now, you know, it's either be here in September. I guarantee >> you're not leaving yet. >> I might be carrying a pitchfork and a torch or something like that. But >> yeah, but I do want to remind people that we have an election coming up and uh you know, government requires people to participate especially in the election in the election booth because a local election was a usually a very low turnout event. You really need to remind everybody to please Thanks. Um, so >> just one one. >> Yeah, Sarah. >> All right. Um, this is just on the uh just an update from Bristol uh early childhood collaborative. Um, they're updating their uh vision, their mission statement, and their logo. I know it's not

118super exciting right now, but I think there's going to be a lot of exciting updates to come. We have a a great bunch of people on that on that committee. So, I just wanted to update people on that. That's all. >> Thank you. >> Through this year, we did have a leazison on the board, but I'll make it short. Um, I did have a chance to speak with principal Santa Metro School. He's he's relatively new with us, but he's been acclimating to the school very well. Everybody, you kids seem to break forward with him already. Uh, so he's uh doing uh he's doing a great job over there with the mountain school. Uh uh also he he passed some thunder there to bring that light. Um he did discuss the uh the farm table. So

119they're really excited about you know actually some you know you know some gardening and some other planters and having the center of the the garden they're in so they can start growing in food and you know getting things to learn how you how food is actually made. So that's something what they're really excited about. That's my item. >> Okay. Thank you. So with um no further items on the agenda, uh the meeting is adjourned. Oh, yes, you were. How you guys?