05-07-25 Regular Board of Education Meeting

001artificial intelligence. like to call the May 7th, 2025 board of education to order. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. As a reminder, please be sure to turn on your microphones when speaking and voting to ensure those online can hear. I will turn staff and student recognition over to Miss White. Thank you, Chair Ponds. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to all the students and their families and congratulations to all who will be recognized with awards this evening. Um, our first award recognition is for the staff achievement awards. And I'll turn over to Deputy Superintendent Mary Hawk, attendant White. This year we are celebrating the Bristol Public

002Schools 38th annual staff achievement awards. The criteria for the award is that it's the intent is that the program to recognize student uh staff who have performed the duties in an exemplar and outstanding fashion. These individuals have routinely gone above and beyond what is expected of them in the normal fulfillment of their responsibilities. The criteria for the award can include innovation, improvement in instruction, curricula, facilities, staff morale, student interest, cost savings, extraordinary personal achievement through inspiring leadership and motivating the achievement of others. And now I have the honor to announce the winners for this year. Christine Karath is a food service worker at Bristol Eastern. Christine, if you're here, you can stand up to be recognized. James Han is a math teacher at Bristol Eastern High School. James, if you're here, John Kelly is the

003climate intervention specialist at Bristol Central. Ed Mancini, special education teacher at Ivy Drive. Megan McCarthy, physical therapist districtwide. Dr. Carlen Richardson, health occupational teacher, Bristol Eastern and Bristol Central. Courtney Sugarman, supervisor, Edgewood PreK Academy. And finally, Eric Turner, special education teacher, West. Thank you, Mrs. Hawk, and congratulations to all the very deserving winners. And next, I have the honor to introduce the Cab Student Leadership Awards. And just to give you a little background on the awards, the Cave Student Leadership Awards Program includes seventh and eighth grade students along with high school students who exhibit exemplary leadership skills. Two students from each school in a CAB member district are eligible to receive the CAB student leadership award. School principles are requested to ask their staff for the names of students who exhibit leadership skills based on

004the following criteria. Willingness to take on challenges. Capability to make difficult decisions. Concern for others. Ability to work with others. Willingness to commit to a project. Diplomacy and ability to understand issues clearly. Bless you. I'm going to um call up each principal by name and they will have the honor of introducing and awarding this certificate to their student. And the first school is Bristol Central. Mr. Peter Whittinger. Thank you, Miss White. Uh, I'd also before I begin, I'd like to congratulate all the staff achievement award winners tonight. Your service uh to our students is amazing. Thanks so much. Tonight, I have the pleasure of honoring two Bristol Central seniors, Lette Castillo and Matt Moriello with Cab Leadership Award. Lette is a well-rounded leader and scholar with a strong commitment to community service, academics, and extracurricular

005involvement. She's gained valuable experience through participating in school activities while excelling academically at Bristol Central High School, where she has earned the gold medal on the national Latin exam and the seal of biiteracy in Spanish and English. As president of the Interact Club and an ambassador mentoring freshmen, Wet actively leads schoolwide initiatives in community events such as the senior center dinners and charity powderpuff games. She has also participated in varsity tennis, student council, and the school newspaper. Lette's commitment has been recognized through numerous awards, including the Endicott College Book Award, the Rotary Youth Leadership Award, and multiple principal commendations, breakfast for academic excellence, including tomorrow morning. Be there. She embodies leadership, service, and academic distinction. As a member uh of the Latin nan Latin and Spanish national honor societies in the NAACP, she has demonstrated

006her commitment to cultural awareness and diversity. Through central stage, she contributes behind the scenes to theater productions while participating in a grantup supported program that fosters emotional wellness and peer connection. with plans to pursue further leadership and academic excellence into her senior year. She represents the future of thoughtful community-minded change makers. Her student council adviser, Mrs. Herzler, says LLette has been a leading member of the student council for four years. She has engaged in all activities since her freshman year, including helping put on successful homecoming dances, Red Cross blood drives, and spirit week activities. She engages with all students to ensure underclassmen participate in school activities and have a voice in the student body. Her Latin teacher and Interact Club adviser, Mrs. Monahan Denoya, says beyond academics, Lette is a compassionate and dynamic leader. A

007four-year member and current president of the Interact Club, she has organized countless service projects, including holiday dinners for local seniors, gift baskets, and meals for families in need, and fundraisers for the Makea-Wish Foundation. She also volunteers regularly with the Bristol Boys and Girls Club. Lette doesn't just show up. She leads with heart, creativity, and collaboration, inspiring others to get involved and make a difference. Her ability to balance high academic achievement with meaningful community service is nothing short of extraordinary, and we are so proud to celebrate her tonight. Lette will be attending the University of New Haven next fall, pursuing a career in homeland security. Congratulations, Lette. Now, it's my pleasure to introduce Matt Morello. Matt is a passionate and driven student leader whose resume reflects his dedication to service, education, and leadership. As a junior

008hospital volunteer at Bristol Hospital since 2023, he's logged over 300 hours supporting patient care, cancer treatment services, and hospital operations. His community service includes providing classroom support for struggling students, organizing a prom for senior citizens, and interning as an Italian teacher at Dr. Huber's Southside School. He has served as an administrative assistant with Harford Healthcare, assisting in day-to-day operations to support patient and staff needs. Beyond volunteering and work, Matt contributed to shaping the future of education as one of five student representatives working with central office to design the district's 2025 to 2029 strategic plan. His leadership roles include class president, NHS president, United Way youth board leader and districtwide student council representative. Matt's academic recognitions include the Frederick Douglas and Susan B. Anthony award and national merit scholar honors. Matt exemplifies the spirit of community,

009compassion, and commitment at Bristol Central High School. Stop blushing. His senior class adviser, Jess Dornfreed, says Matt is the epitome of someone who leads by example. He is steadfast, level-headed, and when he speaks, his peers listen. He was elected class president all four years for good reason. He is one of the first to volunteer for anything the class advisers or teachers may need, and he is a staple at any fundraising event. A good leader will often help others to see the bright side of any situation, and Matt has done just that. Even at the fundraisers that are not always fun, such as volunteering year after year for the bottle drive, which is almost always in the rain, we tell the students they can take shift and Matt Matt stays the whole time, every time. And

010he's always the one reframing whatever situation we have found ourselves in to make money into a positive. Mrs. Gallow, his Italian teacher, says he is unabashedly committed to pushing outside his comfort zone. He will speak Italian with locals. He will teach kindergarteners. He will make small talk with nursing home patients. He leads with his heart and always delivers. He is every teacher's favorite student, but he doesn't let it get to his head. He is deeply respected by teachers and peers alike. He is a gentleman. He holds doors. He says thank you and he does the right thing. He has a strong moral compass that never steers him wrong. Matt will be attending the University of Connecticut next year where he plans to further his career wanting to be a pediatric oncologist. Congratulations. Next, I'll invite

011uh BH principal Mike Higgins to the microphone. Good evening, commissioners, and congrats to our friends over at BC. Some wonderful, wonderful people over there. Starting with ladies first, be would like to recognize Kylie Satula, an incredible, giving, compassionate, hardworking young individual. Next year, Kylie will attend Regis College, majoring in nursing. So, thankfully, there'll be people like you to take care of old people like us very soon. She's also committed to Regis for swimming, which is pretty awesome. Throughout high school, she's been involved in so many clubs and activities, it's hard to name them all, but we'll we'll we'll list a few here. First off, Lancer Nation, where she has served as a mentor to freshmen for the last two years, helping our youngsters acclimate to high school. Also, student council, where she's been a contributor

012and a leader to many schoolwide initiatives, spearheading especially some really important ones as of late. She's been a public relations officer for student council and she's been instrumental in putting together the PJ day for kids which is an annual event made to benefit Connecticut Children's Medical Center, a cause near and dear to her. And who doesn't love wearing PJs to work, right? We raised a couple thousand dollars over the last couple years for CCMC, which is a testament to the hard work that Kylie's done. She's a member of our STEM club, doing all kinds of fun math and science things. And Project Prom, which is pretty cool and new this year. She's helping students with the costs of prom and assisting with prom dresses, tuxedos, suits, um, as well as hair and makeup sessions to

013help get students ready for their big event, which is a really nice thing. As mentioned before, she's a varsity girls swim and dive team member. And this year she's helping the whole district as superintendent Iris knows um with the real impact guiding coalition which is a team that meets monthly helping the district shape its goals for both of our high schools. She has been a welcome voice as these meetings are meant to provide student insights and feedback to help direct our high schools and the district to move forward with our goals over the next several years. Academically, she's a member of Science National Honor Society and National Honor Society and has also received the AP Scholar Award and the AP Seminar and Research Certificate. Nice work. We wish her all the best moving forward and

014know she'll do great things when she arrives at Regis College in the fall. Congratulations, Kylie. You are welcome. And now for Luke Fiance. Luke is a guy who is mature beyond his years. In fact, when I knew him as an elementary student at Edgewood, I could already tell that he was going to be a student that made major contributions to BEHS when he arrived there. We like to do the scouting reports and kind of see who's coming up, you know. And indeed, he has. During his time as a Lancer, he has earned the scholar athlete award, not once, but twice. He is a two-time wrestling team captain and a class M wrestling state champ. Class M wrestling team runner up over 200 wins. I believe that was the milestone this year, right? Over 100 wins,

015which in wrestling is a monumental feat. And he's the Connecticut School Coaches Association first team all state member. These are high high accolades for wrestling. And his coaches tell me he's the glue. He is the glue of a of a really great wrestling team. He's also a BEHS Boy State representative where he parttook in a six-day hands-on experience in the operation and fundamentals of government. Connecticut Boy State draws together the best and brightest high school juniors to help lead them down the path of individual success and leadership through doing and not just learning. And it makes sense you'll start to see an emerging theme about government. And Luke Vienn's that work translated over to the work he's done for our model United Nations being an integral member of that group as well. He's been a

016class president all four years of high school, a developing theme again in government and public service. And he's a member of the leadership council, governance council, and student council. Just about every council we have, Luke is a part of. He served in very unique role as the city of Bristol youth commission under 21 member. So he was hand chosen. He had to apply and had to be selected for this very, very unique experience. and it's a testament to his maturity, his thoughtfulness, and the ease by which he can be involved in significant decision-making matters. And of course, he still helps out the young wrestlers in town being a Bristol Gladiators volunteer coach. So, he still has time with all of this to give back. Luke is headed to American University in Washington DC this fall

017where not only will he attend there, but he's been invited to participate in an extremely rare opportunity where he will also attend school in Japan as part of the Sakura Scholars program and will earn degrees from both universities. Thank you for recognizing the accomplishments of these two amazing young individuals. The Bristol Eastern community has benefited greatly from their contributions to our school and we applaud them knowing they will continue to do great things moving forward. Congratulations, Luke. Congratulations, Kylie. Take it away, Chris. Good evening, commissioners. Thank you for this opportunity. Um, it's great to be able to celebrate and brag about our students. I wish we could do that with every single student. My name is Chris Abraham. I am uh honored to lead Bristol Preparatory Academy as well as supervisor of assessment. But this

018is far more exciting than the assessment piece. Uh, Bristol Preparatory Academy is an alternative credit recovery high school program. We serve over the course of the year up to 70 students um between bristle prep and destinations. Students have to come through our program with a rigorous admittance process. It is not a program where students just are like, "Hey, you're coming to Bristol Prep." They go through interviews. We meet with their counselors and it's like a best fit for students and staff. Um, we are so pleased to recognize Nana Santos and Elvin Torres. So, I'm going to start by talking a little bit about Nana. Nana is an 11th grade student who joined Bristol Preparatory Academy this fall. It is the first time we've chosen an 11th grader. And we we couldn't ignore Nana's incredible presence

019that lifts the entire school community in a positive way. She's consistently on the honor role. She meets our district attendance goals and she serves as a role model for her peers. Academically, Nana has earned honors or high honors every marking period this year. Her attendance has improved from 85% present last year to 91% present this year. She's a quiet leader. She is always polite. She is always willing to help others. And she always is making decisions with a strong moral compass. Nana is not afraid to stand up for others. If she sees what she believes to be an injustice, she will appropriately speak up and make sure others are protected, seen, and heard. If you have the pleasure of speaking with Nana, you may soon forget that she is only a junior in high school.

020She is wise beyond her years. Nana offers insight and feedback to help Bristol Prep be the best it can be. It is not a surprise that our full faculty unanimously chose Nana for this prestigious Cape Leadership Award. Congratulations, Nana. The second student that we are pleased to honor is Elvin Torres. Elvin has been a student at Bristol Prep Academy Academy for two and a half years. Elvin is currently a senior. He joined us second half of his sophomore year after deciding he wanted a smaller high school environment with opportunities to excel academically. Since joining Bristol Prep, Elvin has excelled academically, consistently earning honoral recognition throughout his time at Bristol Prep. Just as important, we have watched Elvin become a leader and a role model at Bristol Prep. He actively particip participates in all classes. He

021engages in debates, assisting peers and offering insights even when others may be reluctant to join in. So all you teachers, you love the Elvens in the world because he is always joining in for and participating. Elvin is not afraid to be himself and you may even find him dancing in the halls. Elvin has been our go-to guy for hosting morning announcements complete with adding his own personality and humor to liven up the start to our day. He chooses not to get involved in any drama and always follows school expectations. Elvin is kind. Elvin is thoughtful. We can always count on him to greet us with a smile, always asking teachers how they're doing. And he is one of the first students to volunteer and help out whenever needed. Elvin will be graduating this June and

022is pursuing a technology studies path in the field of energy management at Tungstus Community College. And the Bristol Prep family is incredibly proud of you, Elvin. We have no doubt that you will excel in whatever career you choose. Elvin has actually asked to say a few words, so um asking the chair if that's okay. Absolutely. Thank you. And I don't know what he's going to say, so but I trust him completely. You're on camera. You're out there for the room. Hi, my name is Elvin and I'm very appreciative to receive this award and I felt like this is a really good opportunity to open up and just show my appreciation for Bristol Prep. I feel like the school it doesn't always get the it has like a bad rep. I see a lot of people

023talk negative about it, but it's a really good family and like it's given me a lot of opportunity to better my life when I wasn't in a great situation. And I think for people who need it, it's a great opportunity that they should take advantage of. Thank you very much. [Music] Okay. Hello. My name is Maril Lee Fitzpatrick and I'm the principal of Chapen Hill Middle School. And here are my two candidates here who are the recipients of the Cab Leadership Award. So, I thought that I would share with you what the staff has written about them because it really does paint a picture of what types of students these girls are. So, I'll start with Nicole Rodriguez. Nicole is a student who takes on all of the challenges of the classroom with a positive

024attitude and a quiet confidence. She never shies away from difficult tasks, whether that is in the classroom or with her friends. She has grown from a quiet, independent student to a scholar who can work with any student in the classroom and is an exemplar avid student. She came out of her shell this year and has made leaps and bounds in and out of the classroom. She takes initiative in all of her classes, takes leadership roles in AVID, and uses academic strategies even without prompting. Her compassion and her concern for others, including staff, is beyond her ears. She is a student that deserves every opportunity that comes her way. She is a leader without being loud, and her classmates look to her for guidance and group work and collaboration. There are so many ways to be

025a leader, and she is one that everyone should look up to. Her classmates respect her kindness, her work ethic, her compassion and ability to work with others, and her leadership skills. Congratulations, Nicole. All right, our next recipient is Lola Aken. Lola Akin is a the purple team's recipient for the CABE Award. And this is what her teachers had to say about her. Lola is a kind and compassionate student who goes out of her way to help others, especially in classes where some students may struggle. Her patience and willingness to support her peers make a big difference in creating a positive and inclusive classroom environment. Lola works exceptionally well with other students, always collaborating effectively and bringing a positive attitude to every situation. Her kindness and her upbeat spirit brighten the school community, and she truly

026embodies the values this award represents. Lola's dedication to helping others and her consistent positive approach make her an outstanding recipient of the CAB award. She is more than deserving of this recognition. Congratulations. All right. And it's Mr. Sstrom next from Northeast. Thank you, Miss Fitzpatrick. I get to introduce Gavin Martin and Julia Samaluke. And I'm going to have my Dina students uh talk about Gavin Martin. I think it was easier to pronounce. So, we asked the red team to share some information about Gavin. Gavin has been involved in youth football since he was four years old with the Bristol Bulldogs. At the end of his eighth grade season, he had the honor of being voted captain by his coaches. He's also involved in wrestling with the Bristol Gladiators and he has wrestled with them since

027he was four years old. He was voted most improved wrestler by his coaches and placed second in the state tournament which led him to compete at the New England and national tournaments. Gavin is an active participant in all classroom discussions and assumes a leadership role when tasks need to be managed. He also leads by example throughout the school day. He is always respectful and polite to adults and peers. He has the ability to get along with others and always gets the job done. Congratulations, Gavin. So, I get to read what the blue team wrote about Julia. Julia proved to be a standout citizen and scholar at Northeast from the very start of the school year. Over the course of the year, she has been a role model for her peers and she meets schoolwide expectations

028on a daily basis. She's an extremely conscientious student who works well with indep who work worked well both independently and cooperatively in group settings all while consistently putting forth her best effort. She will go above and beyond to further her understanding of material and reviewing the CAB leadership recipient criteria. There are several leadership qualities that Julia embodies. Her willingness to take on challenges, ability to honor a commitment, and willingness to commit to a project. show through in both her commitment to her education at NEMS and her extracurricular activities. It has truly been a pleasure to have gotten to know Julia and having her as a member of our school community. Congratulations, Julia and Gavin. Was got out. There he is. Good evening, commissioners. Uh, today we're here to recognize two outstanding scholars from Greenh Hill

029School. It Puya Ergles and Nora Ecin. I'll start with it. It is a new student to Bristol, having arrived to the United States from Madrid, Spain in the fall of 2024. I like to tell everyone um shortly before that I had taken a short trip to Spain, Madrid as well. And I like to tell everyone that I recruited him and and if that were truly the case um I chose a perfect perfect student. Um we've been very fortunate to have it at Green Hills because while learning English as a second language, it has distinguished himself in all of his classes, especially algebra. It has a quest for knowledge, gets along with everyone, and does everything with a smile. We're truly fortunate to have him join our student body. So, congratulations. And Nora Ecman. Norah is

030a straight A student and member of our science bowl team at Greenhill School. Norah's calmness and advanced reasoning skills helped secure Green Hills win in the wildcard bracket of the Southern New England Science Bowl, Bristol's highest finish ever in the tournament. Norah also plays the trumpet in the school band. She always leads by example and we have been truly blessed to have her at Green Hill School. We'll miss both Nora and I next year and wish them the best in high school. He speaks. Yes, of course. Um, hi, my name is my English is very bad. So, I just say thank you very much Green Hills School for welcoming me. It's fantastic school. I love it and I love United States of America. Good evening, commissioners. I'm Michelle Vasser, principal at West Bristol School, and

031I'm here with Matt Muga, our assistant principal, to recognize two amazing students, Jada and Blake. I'm going to let Mr. Maduga get us started with Jada. Good evening, everyone. Good evening, commissioners, and congratulations to all our CABE award recipients. Uh it's my absolute pleasure today uh to recognize Jada Shaw, who embodies what it truly means to weed with heart, humility, and consistency both inside and outside of the classroom. Jada is the kind of student who reminds us why we do what we do. She's kind, caring, and always willing to lend a helping hand. Whether it's assisting a classmate, volunteering in the community, or simply offering a smile to brighten someone's day, Jada consistently shows us that leadership begins with character. What stands out most about Jada is her commitment to being true to herself. She

032doesn't change who she is to impress others or to fit in. She brings the same respect, openness, and kindness to every environment she's in. Jada is a lifelong learner at heart. She loves discovering new things and embraces what um and embraces every opportunity to grow. But even more importantly, she stays humble through it all. No matter how well she's doing, she remains open, teachable, and eager to improve. Not for recognition, but because she generally cares about being her best and helping others along the way. If you ask her friends to describe her, they'd probably say she's fun, funny, smart, and supportive. And they'd be absolutely right. It's students like Jada who make a lasting impact on their peers, their school, and their community. Uh please join me in celebrating Jada. Hey, it is my pleasure

033today to recognize a student who has been an important part of our West Bristol community for nearly a decade. A student whose spirit, energy, and leadership have left a lasting impact on our school. Blake Fucci has been with us at West Bristol School for 9 years, and in that time, he has grown into a thoughtful, motivated, and truly dedicated student. Blake is a well-rounded individual with a range of interests. He's a dedicated athlete who likes to play basketball, baseball, and run cross country. He also enjoys video games, proving he knows how to balance hard work with fun. But beyond his talents and hobbies, Blake brings something truly special to our school, a deep love for learning and care for his school community. He's the kind of student who looks forward to coming to school each

034day, not just to be with his friends, but because he is he genuinely enjoys seeing others learn and succeed. Blake understands that leadership isn't about being the loudest voice in the room. As he puts it so well himself, leadership is about influencing others toward a common goal. It's about guiding, motivating, and helping others move in the right direction together. That's exactly what Blake does. He uplifts his peers, leads by example, and consistently demonstrates what pack pride looks like in action at West Bristol. Whether in the classroom, on the field, or simply in the hallways, Blake is someone who brings people together. Congratulations, Blake. Uh, I don't I don't think Sean needs any. I think Miss Canton is kind of trapped over there and I won't have her read because then she would be reading for

035both me and Mr. Srom, thus making her do more work than either one of us, which is pretty typical. So, we love Miss Canton. So, she's over there and she congratulates you guys, too. Um, I'm very excited to be here because this is our third year in existence at Bames. Um, and for the first time, our entire faculty was able to vote on our candidates this year. Um, this is the first eighth grade class that has been with us for three years. Um, so everybody got to have their input this year. Uh, the first student, uh, unfortunately couldn't be here today. That's Annalie Andrew. Um, because true to form, uh, she made a commitment to her youth choir. um and they have a performance tonight and she did not want to leave them in the

036lurch. So I would like to just uh read uh a little bit about Annalie Andrew. Uh Annalie uh excels both academically and artistically. She is a person that teachers turn to when they need assistance. She is trustworthy and kind and in the classroom. Anna participates and helps move discussions forward. She is a model student. On the stage is where Anna truly shines. She has had a lead in our drama productions all three years. And for those of you who know anything about theater, to have a sixth grader as a lead is a huge accomplishment. She was young Nala in sixth grade in The Lion King. In seventh grade, she was Ariel in The Little Mermaid, and she most recently took on the role as Elsa in Frozen. Her dedication to her craft is evident, and

037she leads not only by role, but by example. She is a fantastic castmate who responds well to directors and helps to perfect the performance for all students on the stage. When her teachers and directors were asked to say a few words about her, they commented that she was hardworking, kind, helpful, and takes initiative. She is what we hope all students can be, a young person who is passionate about their interests and who helps raise the level of any room they're in. Anna will be attending Bristol Central, um, where I'm sure she will be in many productions for Mr. Winger uh in the fall where she will be taking all accelerated and AP classes. Uh we could not be prouder of Anna and know that she is a fantastic student who deserves this recognition and we

038can't to see we can't wait to see what stage she steps onto next. Anna with me here tonight is Alyssa Gilbert. Anna Alyssa is an outstanding member of our eighth grade team at BAS. She's a conscientious student in all areas and excels academically. She engages fully in classroom activities and is always willing to help out a peer in need. Alyssa leads with a quiet confidence. Her diligence and positive nature are greatly appreciated by her teachers and really the students as well. She is polite and kind to everyone and definitely leads by example. When I mentioned to one of her peers who's not in her friend group that Anna that Alyssa was going to be receiving this award, the peer was genuinely excited that Alyssa was being recognized. And that's the kind of person that Alyssa

039is. She is a young woman who is well respected and appreciated by all students, no matter what friend group they fall into, what their interests are, or what type of student they are. Everyone likes Alyssa. She has contributed to our school community in many ways. She is a visual arts concentration student, but has also appeared in two of our drama productions. She is part of our gifted program and has participated in several impactful projects including history day uh student directed TED talks last year and when I wrote this was currently working on a podcast which she has finished which she's finished. Um Alyssa will be attending Bristol Eastern High School with Mr. Higgins in the fall where she will be taking all accelerated and AP classes. We are incredibly proud of Alyssa. She is an

040incredibly deserving um of this recognition and we know she has a bright future ahead of her. Thank you commissioners. Thank you so much to each of the principles for reading those really impressive group of students and we look forward to seeing and hear more of them in the future. So, thank you very much. Um, next I'd like to call up Dr. David Huber who is the principal of Southside School who is going to talk about exciting initiative called All Kids Bike and I think we might have a live demonstration. So I was going to ride the bike over but I didn't want to run over anybody's feet. So good evening everyone. I'm so pleased and proud to share with you two of our best PE teachers in the entire city. We have Lisa Gowski and

041Susan Lopez who were responsible for bringing this program called All Kids Bike. And this is a program where every single child was able to learn how to ride bikes, whether it be through our academic day. And I'm going to turn it over to our PE team and two of our coolest kids, which truly represented Southside. All kids do learn how to bike. Thank you. Good evening. I'd like to thank Dr. Huber for helping us bring this to fruition. All kids bike pro program is a $10,000 program that we got through donations. This bike here is a training bike. It's a glide and stride. As they progress after they glide and stride, we add the pedals. And as you could see, our fifth grader here has the pedal bike. That's the teacher bike. So Ethan, you've

042been waiting for this all night. Ring that bell. Ring that bell. Go ahead. ring the bell. We also had an overwhelming response from the older students. Dr. Huber was able to reach out to somebody in the community who donated larger bikes so we could have an afterchool program to teach all of our students. So, we thank you for this and we hope to continue this and teach more riders for a lifetime skill. Thank you. Go. Good evening. I just want to say it was such an amazing experience to watch them grow from that first day where we learned all between 20 and 25 of them to put a helmet on correctly. And yes, if you're wondering is that a shower cap underneath those helmets? Yes, those are shower caps. And what we did is we

043have the students wear those because we have so many students and classes are back to back. We wanted to make sure that everyone had the opportunity to get on a bike right away. So they have the shower cap. It comes off, goes in the trash, and we have a clean helmet for the next group of students that come right in for the next class. So it was just a beautiful experience to see the success for everyone. Oh, good job. Got to use your bell. That was a good save. Ethan, I have one question for you. How does learning how to ride a bike make you feel? It just felt so good. Like like I know I know that I know that it's sometimes hard for people to to fit in new type of thing. But

044it took practice and we all know that makes Thank you. And we'd like to ask to have Dominic's dad just say a few words before we leave. Thank you. I just want to give a huge shout out to Dr. Huber and Southside schools for having this program. Um, fortunately, we live on an area of Bristol where it's a death trap trying to learn to bike going down a hill. So, having the opportunity to do this with his peers in a classroom in a safe environment was definitely something we jumped on. I had the opportunity myself to volunteer. Um, and it was definitely a privilege to help these students pick up so quickly as well as see Dr. Huber ride a children's bike. Um so you know having our children do this in a safe environment

045builds more confidence um in my eyes and it was actually very rewarding to not only see the volunteers and Dr. Huba help but fellow students were helping each other. So I think that was a big help and his progress made and I think he picked this up after one session. So thank you to everyone. I know. Good. Thank you so much to Dr. Huber and teachers at Southside. Wonderful program. And thank you for having the students here demonstrating. That was wonderful. So, thank you. Next we have the BR Bristol Lions Club Ambassador Site Award. Um and with the Bri Bristol Lions Club we have a familiar face, former principal Everett Lions is here along with Roger Pelleter from Kids Site. So welcome. Thank you uh Superintendent White. Well, we're back again. Uh you may remember

046we were in front of you uh back in the in the spring and uh it's kind of tough following this this act. So well it's not the first time that my audience has left me. So I I'm used to it as a high school principal. Don't worry. At any rate, uh it's my honor as the president of the Bristol Lions Club to actually present an award to you folks. You've been u hearing about a number of awards uh for our students. Uh but we'd like to recognize your work as well as a board of education. Uh we have an award in Lionism called Ambassador of Sight. This is an award that essentially in all honesty very seldom goes to anybody beyond the ranks of being a lion. Um so the fact that our club has

047selected um the Bristol Board of Education to receive this award um I think is significant. Um it's a much sought-after award if you happen to be a Lion and they're far and few between. So um but we felt that your leadership and your motivation and your drive uh enabled us to put together an outstanding kids site program. I've asked our kids site coordinator once again, Roger Pelleter, uh to give you some uh updated reports as to um how the whole process worked out this fall when we were in the classrooms. Roger. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. That's all I can say. Um, we've tested this year through the school system 1,300 children, elementary children from the age uh from kindergarten up to fifth grade excluding second grade. um of those 1300 and there's 2600

048that were available in the school system and I wish we we could have captured all of those kids and um we we tested 140 of them tested as a referral. So it it goes back to the parents. the parents take the referrals to an optitionian and we've found many issues not not only in Bristol but all over the state of Connecticut and this program does work and I really want to say thank you to this board and Miss White for her help and hopefully we can get back on track in the fall and and and do this and have the 2600 kids tested. It it it's a screening. It's not It just shows some deficiencies in your sight. It works very very well. It's a non uh it's a non-invasive procedure where we don't touch

049the children. A camera comes in, the nurses are there and everything goes back to the parents or to to the school. We give it back to the nurses and then it falls on the nurses. It's their responsibility to see that the parents receive if there's a referral. We have a couple bugs in the system. So, um when we get back together in the fall, we'd like to work that out. Okay. Being the club coordinator, I've got to give him his his due. Um, being club coordinator is a lot of work because you're responsible for scheduling things uh with each and every uh school that's that's being involved in the process, working a lot. We did a lot with central office and I I would be remiss if I didn't thank central office, you know, Iris

050White, thank you, Iris, and and uh and her staff uh and then also the the principles who have all left, but I want to thank them as well. uh because again it's a lot of extra work. It was a lot of of uh maneuvering around within each each school each day and uh they accomplished that. So without further ado, um Miss Pans and Miss White if you'd like to come out. Now Mary Hawk reminded me that I hired her originally. So I'm going to make her take the photograph. You got it? Okay. Give her your key. And we have one of our members, Anna. Come on up, Ann. You did a lot of the screening. Do you? No. Okay, there we go. I don't know where you uh you want to do it in front

051of the board. How's that? Got your logo on your back. So once again, thank you to all you board members uh for your your dedication to this this process and uh as Rogers indicated, we're looking forward to uh seeing you again in the fall. Thank you so much. We really appreciate all you've done for our our students. You're very appreciated. So, if we had an award to give back, we would give it to you right now. But thank you. The next item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes. You have all received a copy of the minutes. Are there any corrections or abstensions for the April 2nd, 2025 regular meeting minutes? Move to approve. Second. We had Eric move to approve and we had Commissioner Van Gorder second. All in favor? I I

052I I opposed. Motion passes unanimously. You have all received a copy of the April 4th, 2025 special meeting minutes. Are there any corrections or abstensions? to approve. Second. Motion was made by Commissioner Carlson and seconded by Commissioner Anderson. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion passes unanimously. You have all received a copy of the April 28th, 2025 special meeting minutes. Are there any corrections or abstensions? Move to approve. Second. Commissioner Carlson. Motion to approve. Commissioner Anderson seconded. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion passes unanimously. Next on the agenda is the committee reports. Um I have heard from Commissioner Carlson that he does not have a report for this month. We're we're into delivery items anyway. policy. Good evening. There we go. So, policy committee, we met on April 23rd, and during this committee, we

053received a report out of our CABE policy audit and recommendations. Um there's currently 10 um mandated policies that they that were suggested for us to review and revise. Um two of them are on our agenda tonight that is um title nine and the special education preschool. Um we also discussed how the committee would like to tackle the project of reviewing and revising um the recommended policies. So we came up with a schedule. Um, and in May, we're going to be focusing on our climate policy because that is um there's a a time frame on that. So, that is due by July 1st and we're going to focus on policy 5114. Our next policy committee meeting is scheduled for May 28th. And I can hop over to student achievement if that's okay. So, student achievement committee

054meeting, we met on April 30th and we had um uh a very robust agenda. Many of the pol u many of the curriculum revisions we will be discussing tonight. There's seven of them. Um, and we also discussed uh our school calendar and how um critical it is to really review that data um so we're able to make some informed decisions if there was there were any future adjustments that we would like to make with our school calendar. Um our next student achievement committee meeting is scheduled for May 21st. Chair Pond's had to step out. So I will resume the committee reports. Next is school, family, and community partnerships, which is the committee that I chair. Um, our meeting for April was on April 23rd. We started always with activating well-being. And this activity is to

055promote a more relational approach to the work that we do. Um this act this month's activity was um the participant participants anonymously shared one fun story about themselves and we had to try to figure out what this whose story was who. Um it was fun to learn a little bit about um one another. And then we moved into um our first agenda school community shoutout. Um it's going to be a standing agenda item and I'm proud to say that the first school community shout out went to um West Bristol, Dr. Lavasser's program um which was a Connecticut welcoming schools initiative. Um Commissioner Fitz Simons Bula participated in the Connecticut welcoming schools initiative where do you want to share just two or three sentences on what you did and why it was notable? Sure. Um it

056was an amazing experience. Um one to learn more about the school but also connect with other parents. Um and I left wishing and hoping that all parents had the opportunity to um be able to walk through their child's school and look at it through um a unique different lens and be able to make some recommendations going forward. I I thought it was an amazing experience. So, thank you for the opportunity and it actually inspired this standing um agenda item at school family community partnership. So, we have an opportunity to shout out um a staff person, a program at uh our schools every month. So, I would like to welcome people to please reach out if you would like to promote a shout out to someone or a program in our in our district monthly. Um

057the shout out also included something that we saw at um Bristol Central High School. It came up on um Facebook in the parents group where it listed staff shouting out students. And what I loved about it is maybe some of the students who won't be eligible for the cave awards or other awards. Students that did a great job building a marshmallow tower. they were shouted out and it was really inspiring. Um so that augmented with the great work at uh West Bristol with the Connecticut welcoming schools initiative actually inspired this shout out. Um what we also looked at the school family community partnerships goal and action plan report and updates. Thank you to Dr. Broadick for continuing to report out on our committee's goals and also goals of the district. Um and then we did

058uh community partnerships reports which we um built on was that okay um so so in summary we had a lot of opportunities to uh celebrate the great work that's happening throughout the district. We had Erica Triani also talk about the Connecticut welcoming schools initiatives and we welcome people to um join in on May 28th when we talk about liaison and student representatives and more shoutouts. Thank you. Thank you. Uh student achievement. Are we done? Okay. Sorry. Next item on the agenda is the student representative reports. First we'll start with Abigail Wasta, senior from Bristol Central High School. Good evening board members. Today I will be reporting on Bristol Central for the month of April. Starting off with BCHS athletics. Our spring sports season is now in full swing, keeping our students busy. We had two

059seniors received the 2025 CIA Scholar Athlete Award. We are so proud of how all of our student athletes keep up the hard work both in the classroom and on the field. During March, many of our students were busy preparing for our school's spring musical. And in April, BC Performing Arts presented MMA Mia. The show was amazing and all of the students did an exceptional job. In world language news, BCHS hosted culture night. Our amazing community came together to celebrate diversity, talent, and tradition. There was dancing, food, art, and so many other fun activities. Thank you to everyone who shared their culture and supported our students. At the beginning of the month, BC French students hosted French exchange students. Our BC students welcomed them into America and showed them everything about our culture and daily life.

060The students visited New York, Boston, Harvard, Yale, and explored Bristol. Both the BC students and exchange students learned so much from each other. We are grateful to be able to participate and have experiences exploring other cultures and learning from new and different people. This past weekend, BCHS juniors attended the junior prom. The night was full of dancing and fun, and everyone had a great time. Now AP exam season is in full swing. All the time and our and effort our students have put into their classes since the beginning of the year comes down to this week and next week. We're so proud of how dedicated and hardworking the BCHS students are. They're going to crush all their tests. At as the end of the year wraps up, our seniors are very excited for the upcoming

061weeks. On May 1st, students participated in National Decision Day wearing their college or postgrad plans on their shirts. Looking to the future, seniors are anxiously awaiting senior prom, awards night, senior night, senior day, and finally graduation. The end of the year has come faster than any of our seniors have could have imagined. I can certainly say that the past four years at Bristol Central High School is something all of our seniors have cherished. We're so grateful for all the opportunities we've been given, and we can't wait to see where life takes us. Thank you. Next we have Payton Troth, a senior at Bristol Eastern. He has a video. Oh, sorry. Hello and good evening ladies and gentlemen. and I am in tr the Bristol Eastern student reporter and I'm so sorry I can't be with

062you there tonight but since it is my last report as the student reporter I thought that I would still make a video. So this May report will consist of the sporting activities as well as updates on academics and extracurriculars happening at first Eastern High School. So sports season is in full swing and our laser athletes has have made us really nothing but proud. Lots of students have showed up to support our athletes as well as other teams, coaches, players, family, and friends. All the students that are part of the spring sports have been playing very passionately and have been defending with true prime. But specifically with uh within this past month, Eastern has had lots of activities for students and teachers to be a part of. Just recently, this past weekend, we had our spring

063musical. Our band club put on a fantastic performance in their show, Rock of Ages. their energy literally radiating from the stage and it was filled with great music, dancing and acting. It was so special to see everyone come together to watch and support the data company and celebrate the hard work they put into making the show. There are many different fundraisers that are taking place at Bristol this next semester. Specifically within the class of 2027, they are having a fundraiser at Rita's right in Farmington on May 14th from 4 to 9. is the perfect way to celebrate a sports win or if you just want ice cream. I mean, who doesn't? But it's the perfect way to raise money for that class. As someone who is a part of the National Honor Society, this fundraiser

064that we're doing is very, very special. We are partnering um with CCSU and to collect school supplies that can be dated to uh schools in Africa. We are making an effort to help make sure that students are getting the tool they need to obtain the education that they deserve. So, we're partnering with my organization as well. And the National Honor Society is also working with the National Honor Society students in um at West Central. So, this is very very special. We're doing a lot of community service driven things and we are all volunteering at the spring plane at the Ingrown Beer um on May 16th, which I'm very excited about. So, as spring is approaching, seniors have had some really big decisions to make. On May 1st, our seniors at Vers Eastern wore merch of

065their college that they would be attending this fall. Decision day really allows seniors to celebrate each other's successes and get some insight on where and what some of their peers will be doing when they are out of high school. The biggest event though this month uh will be our prom. This weekend, the juniors will have their prom at Hawk Landing and seniors will have their prom on May 24th at the Arbiter. As most of us know, prom can be very uh expensive and stressful. But thanks to the help of our Bristol Eastern staff member, Lexi Fulton, students are able to get the help that they need for prom. The Bristol Eastern prom project is offering new and gently used formal tire and prom services on the day of prom by professional student barbers, makeup, and

066hair artist. So, if you need help for prom and you do go to Eastern or your son or your daughter goes there, literally ask for help. is there if they need it. The Lancer students and staff have really been working diligently within this next semester and we are looking forward to continuing the hard work. As AP exams are this week and next week, students are starting very hardcore. Luckily, I do not have any, so I haven't been stressing about that. But as a student representative, I've had a absolute blast doing this. I I'm so thankful to Mr. Higgins for giving me this opportunity, the board for being so generous the past couple years. and I can't wait to see where this job goes. So, thank you so much and I hope everyone has a nice

067night. Next item on the agenda is the chair report. Earlier this year, the mayor invested almost $60,000 on an independent audit to help determine why the board of education was in a deficit last year. The audit conducted by an independent firm looked at the financial accounts from 2021 to 2024 and confirmed that the deficit was caused by insufficient funding from the city and the state. I had hoped that the audit findings would serve as the blueprint for the board of finance to inform their proposed 2026 board of education budget. Instead, a budget was proposed by the board of finance that reduced the requested amount by $3.8 million. That reduction was made after the board already reduced the amount that the superintendent informed the board would be necessary to maintain the current infrastructure by $6 million.

068This means that the board of finance recommended a budget which will be voted on on May 19th by the city council that is almost 10 million less than what the board of ed needs to support the current year's infrastructure. The audit revealed a 20% rise in special education expenses while city funding increased by only 5%. leading to a predictable budget deficit. Despite implementing spending caps, freezing school budgets in October, and reallocating staff to grant funding, the deficit continues to rise. I want to explain what freezing school budgets means because there has been a lot of confusion around that. The budgets that were frozen each year in October, only two months into the school year, were the budgets that pay for educational supplies and enrichment activities, not including special education expenses for each school. The budgets

069were frozen to shift the unspent funding two months into the school year over to special education accounts to cover the predictable deficit in special education. The reason I mention the word predictable is that according to the audit findings, the special education budget entered into the Munis accounting system each year was recorded at a figure that was significantly lower by millions of dollars than the previous year's expenses. This stands out because all other line items such as salaries, insurance, operational costs, and supplies were entered at at least the previous year's amounts, often adjusted slightly upward for contractual increases in inflation. This raises the question, why was the special education amount consistently recorded or entered into Munis as being so much lower than the prior year's expenses? I don't have a definitive answer to that, and I'd

070prefer not to speculate. I'll leave it to everyone to interpret why this happened and to consider how it might have impacted the board's ability to balance the budget. It's important to note that as board members, we do not have access to the electronic munis system and only became aware of this issue when reviewing the audit findings. Access to munis is limited to those working in the fiscal departments at the BOE and the city. It is a shared system that provides transparency of the BOE budget line items and expenses so the city can see them. As volunteers, we can only make decisions based on the information available to us. Throughout the years, our previous superintendent, Dr. Carbone, presented the board with the annual superintendent's recommended budget with documentation supporting that the budget could be balanced. The

071additional COVID funding helped, but when that funding ended and staffing positions that were increased during COVID were not eliminated, it created the problem we are now left to deal with. It is important to understand that the current deficit is largely due to underfunding from the city and reductions to the state access cost grant. However, starting each year with expenses exceeding available resources has undoubtedly contributed to the overall deficit. Superintendent White inherited a budget that could not be balanced. She did not cause the deficit. She inherited it. Therefore, the initial budget she proposed for 2026 reflected the true costs without reducing positions or freezing budgets. This was the first time in six years that the board was presented with an accurate estimate of the funding necessary to avoid a deficit. While that figure may have been

072unexpected for some and led to community discourse, recognizing the full picture was an important step toward resolution. To address the issue, the board supported measures to reduce expenses where possible, prioritizing essential positions to help bring the budget into balance. If the city approved the BOE's requested funds, the board would be able to start the year with a balanced budget and maintain funding across all areas. This would allow the board to maintain our commitment to pro provide a free and equitable education to all of our students. With this level of transparency, if unforeseen expenses in special education caused a shortfall, there are laws in place that require the city to cover those additional costs. Achieving this depends on clear, accurate information, which is why transparency remains so vital. I want to shift from the heavy topic

073of budget to some key areas that have demonstrated improvement which include teacher retention rates. The rates of teacher retention have significantly improved over the past year. According to data from the office of teaching and learning in the 2021 2022 school year, 89 teachers departed from a total of 685. In the following year of 2022 2023, we saw 61 teachers leave out of 709. And in the 2023 2024, 67 out of 690 teachers left Bristol Public Schools. However, this year has been remarkable with only 11 teachers leaving out of 711, which is just a 1.5% attrition rate. Over the last 3 years, a third of Bristol's teaching staff has left the district, but this year's data indicates an improve an impressive 85% increase in teacher retention rate under Superintendent White. Improvement to district policies and practices.

074Throughout this year, the district has experienced three audits. One audit concentrated on the district's financial situation, while the other two assess the district's human resources, practices, and board policies. All three audits and their reports are accessible to the public and the insights gained from these three evaluations have laid the groundwork for enhanced financial oversight, refined HR practices, and revised policies that align with legislative requirements. School safety and parent engagement. Significant progress has been made in school safety and parent involvement. Recently, many of our schools took part in the welcoming schools initiative, which involve parents and community members in a walkthrough, which assesses how welcoming our schools are. This involves a team and measurable objectives, which inform a plan to help our schools engage parents as partners in their children's educational experience. New policies have been

075established to enhance support for administrators, staff, and students to ensure our schools remain safe. These efforts are ongoing, and staff and parents have been reaching out to share their positive experiences. And lastly, the superintendent search. Last month, we interviewed three firms before unanimously selecting CES to support us through the significant process. To maintain the confidentiality of the applicants, CES had all board members sign a confidentiality agreement, ensuring that our candidates privacy was protected, which is essential for attracting highquality applicants. CES provided us with a pool of 17 applicants from which the board selected three for interviews. We spent over two and a half hours on each interview. And after the first round, we decided to move two candidates forward to the final stage. While Mrs. White was the preferred candidate among most of the board

076members, we wanted to provide both candidates with a second interview. Shortly after this, CES scheduled the second interviews with one candidate and the other candidate withdrew their application. Appointing a permanent superintendent is said to be the most important responsibility of the board. I wanted to clarify the situation because I've noticed some social media posts with inaccuracies and I believe it's important to share the actual events for clarity. This has been a difficult year for those of us on the board, our staff, and by extension, our families and students. It is my hope that with tonight's vote, we will continue in a forward direction with a budget that we know reflects our actual expenditures and staff united in our mission to teach with passion and purpose. I urge our staff and families to take the opportunity

077to meet the new faces in central office, including Miss White and Miss and and Dr. Hawk, as well as other key positions that are in the process of being filled. This concludes my report. The next item on the agenda is public comment. Thank you. The board welcomes public input and appreciates the diverse perspectives of the community. While the meeting is open to the public, it is fundamentally a meeting of the board. The public comment period allows community members to share their insights with the governing body about the agenda items and the board will be reviewing or deciding on. The board values this input and will consider it when making their decisions. Community members are encouraged to express their views on any topic related to the agenda. To comment on a topic that is not on

078the agenda, please email your comment via the contact link on the BPS board of education website. Items requiring consideration by the board must be approved as an agenda item by a twothirds vote of a board members present. Such items may re may be referred to for further study and not necessarily acted upon at this meeting. So, the rules for public comment tonight, everyone is required or requested to address the chair for recognition. Each speaker must state his or her name, address, and the topic they are commenting on. Comments are limited to items on the agenda. All speakers must observe rules on common etiquette. Personalities are not to be injected. Speakers should not attack or question the motives of others. Anyone violating this rule will deny the floor unless waved by the chairperson. Each speaker shall

079have a limit to her remarks or his remarks to 3 minutes. A speaker will have one opportunity to speak per meeting. Written statements and materials may be made available in advance of comments for distribution to board members. Speakers shall state their positions on the subject being discussed. Board members will not respond directly to comments during the board meeting. However, the superintendent may direct the question to the appropriate staff member for follow-up when appropriate. The chair has the discretion to provide brief factual information. For example, the chair might explain that legal limitations on the board's authority prevent the board from considering the requested action. Speakers cannot donate their time to other people or speak on behalf of other people. and disruptive behavior, harassment, and violence are not permitted. In cases of disruptive behavior, the chair has

080the authority to warn the speaker, request them to leave, or in extreme cases, clear the room. The first speaker is Jennifer Bento. Good evening everybody. Uh Jennifer Benavvento, 239 Grove Street. Um I am here today to speak on National Teacher Appreciation Week because that is the week that we are in. So I want to thank all of our educators and par educators and administrators for what they do. Um, and I will be speaking um, sort of as well about um, fully funding our schools and um, making sure that we're fulfilling our promises to our students. So, unfortunately for you guys, I had a little extra time this afternoon and I got creative, so you get to hear it in poem form this evening. Got it. Okay, so the first one is called Don't Call Me

081a Hero in the spirit of Jack Pletzky. Don't call me a hero. Don't give me a mug. Don't pat my tired back or offer a hug. Don't hand me an apple, a coupon, a pen. Then slash all the budgets again and again. Don't plaster the walls with thank you and flare if you're cutting the staff who help kids in despair. Don't stand on a stage and give a big speech while libraries close and funds are put out of reach. I don't need a sticker, a lunchon, a rose. I need smaller class sizes and funds that don't close. I need time to plan. I need books on my shelf and a city that won't say just do it yourself. Stop balancing budgets with what children lack and putting the weight on each teacher's back. You want

082to show thanks, then show me respect, not fluff, but the tools and the time to reflect. So skip the confetti, the hashtags, the cheer. We need real solutions, not noise once a year. If gratitude matters, then fund what we do. Don't patch up the cracks while letting rain through. Don't call me a hero. That's not what I seek. I fight for the children, the strong and the meek. What you value, you fund, not just words in the air. If you mean what you say, then start showing you care. Sorry guys, I have one more if I'm not past my time limit. The day the dollars disappeared in the form of the great Dr. Seuss in the town of remotely just right, the kids packed their bags and came skipping in light. They laughed and they

083learned. They painted in red with stories and numbers all dancing in head. But one gloomy morning a mayor named Zaper sat down with a budget and cooked up a caper. He said with a frown, "These numbers won't do. Let's take from the schools just a dollar or two." So he snipped and he clipped and he slashed with a grin and he cut out the music, the books, and the gym. He trimmed all the buses and chopped down the staff. Then shrugged and just muttered, "They'll manage with half." The crayons grew stubby. The lights started flickering. The lunchroom was cold and the children were bickering. The class pets were hungry. The globe lost its stand and no one had soap or a working trash can. Miss Wibble was juggling four grades in one room while teaching

084on Zoom filled with test taking doom. The principal swept and the janitor taught and recess was cancelled. Unnecessary, they thought. The students grew tired, their smiles slipped away. They whispered, "It didn't feel safe yesterday." They knew that their school was supposed to be bright, not patched up with duct tape and barely all right. Then up rose a student, small Sam with big shoes, who shouted, "We're children, not cattle, not lumbers, not numbers to lose. A school is a promise, a place you invest. If you want us to grow, then fund us the best." And slowly the grown-ups began looking down at kids with no pencils in a worn out old town. They saw what they lost and they started to care because learning needs more and good teachers are rare. So maybe, just maybe, with

085loud enough noise, with rallies and posters and bold bold hopeful voice, they'll fix what was broken and build something true. A school full of wonder for me and for you. Thank you all. Thank you. Next we have Jason Broyals. My name is Jason Broild and I live at 14 New Hampshire Drive commenting on agenda items 8.1 and 8.2. There's nothing quite like hear hearing people tell you what a great job they're doing. And I'm aware that I may just be the least popular person in the room tonight on Bristol Talks and maybe even in the city in general. I actually don't care about that though because I'm here to speak up on behalf of district stakeholders who feel like they have no voice and I am speaking fast to get my time in. Some of

086you uh may have seen my recent social media post and criticism that seem to keep coming up at at these meetings. But what I do want to let you know is that despite understanding that my comments may be considered mean-spirited, I don't actually know any of these people personally, any of your board members, uh, other than maybe in passing. And I don't have any ill will toward any of the board members or acting superintendent White or, uh, acting deputy superintendent Mary Hawk. But what I do, um, I am offended as a citizen of Bristol based on how this process of appointing the superintendent has gone and the absolute secrecy that's enveloped it. Um, again, most of you are aware that I released the BAPS survey, the stakeholder feedback report, and Dr. Michael Deer's post resignation

087letter online. I've faced some criticism for that. I'm sorry. I'm gonna ask you not to use names of any staff, previous or past. Thank you. are uh restart my time, please. Are you are you also including the names of the nominees that I'm here addressing? Could I use their names? You really aren't supposed to use name. You're supposed to talk about the things that we're voting on tonight, but you're not supposed to use names. Okay, great. Thank you. So what I will say is uh while having read the results of the BAPS survey and finding out that 93% of our surveyed administrators are considering leaving the district under the current district leadership, I wasn't surprised by the responses of people reaching out to me giving me information on these stories. One thing that surprised me

088though is how hard the board majority is is pushing uh the appointment of the acting deputy superintendent given that 96% of the survey admins don't support it. Aside from that though, that's not even the most important point. What my communication with people across the district have revealed is a very palpable fear amongst the most important employees in our district. Those who face and support our students every day. These people are legitimately scared based on the actions of some members of this administration who I won't mention and this board that they feel are retaliatory. The secrecy of this process has been unwarranted other than to silence the majority of stakeholders opposed to just slipping these appointments by. I haven't even gotten to how damaging their report morale is to have candidates, apparently the only candidates remaining

089with only an 092 certification and no central office experience and a candidate for superintendent that according to her own LinkedIn has only about six years of classroom teacher experience, never having even served in a building or district administrative role across their entire career. No offense to either one of them given they both have rewarding careers in education, but our district deserves and requires strong experienced leaders, not what appears to be an experiment in on the job training. At this point, as a board member, you should be pumping the brakes. It's not time to vote for candidates with questionable qualifications because they're the only ones who survived the process. You paid tens of thousands of dollars for a consultant to uncover data that makes it obvious the stakeholders in the district are living in a climate

090of fear and don't support either of the appointments you're voting on tonight. In my opinion, you should do the right thing. Delay this vote, go back to the drawing board and open up this process to the people who have to live with the decisions that you're going to make tonight. That's it. Thank you. Thank you, Jason. Um I do want to clarify a few things. Um the survey that you have referenced um as the BAP survey, questions were asked when the survey came in uh to those who sent it for validity um how the questions were developed, if the survey was done in a way that would reduce the possibility or eliminate the possibility of duplication of response. Um when we as a district or a board engage in a process, we make sure that

091there is a fair process in place and we asked those questions more than a month ago and we've received no response. We have actually received many responses from administrators who said that they didn't want a survey. They didn't know how the questions were designed. They didn't know the outcome of those supposed answers prior to them being released to the board. It's unfortunate that that we have to discuss this publicly, but in the spirit of transparency, I think it's important that the public know the truth. Had we received a response of how those questions were generated, of how those how the Google platform eliminated someone from responding from their phone, their iPad, their husband's phone, their daughter's phone. I mean, if one or two people or even five people decided that they wanted to generate an

092outcome and share it with a political agitator so that there could be drama online. That's not something that the board really is interested in validating. So, it's unfortunate that this has happened in our community and I I do apologize for the behaviors of others. It's also unfortunate that we all signed an agreement to keep confidentiality. But Mr. Bole seems to know things about a process that he's not necessarily representing accurately, but that only he could know if someone on the board breached confidentiality. Those are things that are unfortunate and those are things that I'm very sorry for and I wish that I could hold a quorum of people that I don't have control over. I don't. I will do my best around every corner to provide transparency and honesty in my capacity as the chair,

093but I cannot control what other adults that are elected onto this board do. With that being said, I will move on to Latana Frell as our next public speaker. Hey, this is my first time ever doing this, so I hope I'm doing this right. Can I speak, chair? Absolutely. Okay. I am Latana Frell, a proud, the proud principal of Stafford Elementary School, 212 Louisiana Avenue. I stand before you not only as a school principal, but as a like I said, proud and deeply connected member of the Bristol Public Schools family, especially the Stafford School elementary community where I've had the privilege of serving where I have the privilege of serving as principal. This August will mark my 30th year in the district. I know, right? a m a milestone that fills me with both pride

094and gratitude and a bit of disbelief since my students and staff are still convinced that I'm only 27 years old. Our shared vision at Stafford is to become the best versions of ourselves as kind, hardworking, and helpful members of our community. We work towards this each day by living our mission to collectively support one another in feeling connected, achieving essential learning, and persevering to accomplish goals. Over the years, I've had the privilege of working at every level of our beautiful school system, starting at Stafford School as a kindergarten teacher. From there, my journey took me to Chippenale Middle School where I taught computing technology and then sixth grade language arts for the majority of my years and then later to Bristol Central where I taught ninth grade world history, AP psychology and the AVID elective,

095graduating two sections of first generation collegebound students. As a first generation college educator, educated student myself, I was especially it was especially meaningful um to have that chapter in my life. I also served as the assistant principal at Bristol Eastern during the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic. Each role I've held over the years has shaped me profoundly. However, serving as a principal of Stafford Elementary has been my true calling. I absolutely love this community, our students, our families and staff. They're remarkable, resilient, kind, endlessly supportive of one another. Some of our staff and families are my former students, which makes me feel even more like home, like family. As you know, our Stafford community recently suffered an unimaginable loss with the passing of our beloved one of our beloved Hawks, a second grader, Madison Birdie

096Burberry, affectionately known as Birdie. She was a twin sister of Jake, a younger sister of Nick, a cherished daughter of Jim and Sharon. Bird's presence filled our school with light laughter and a sharp, delightful wit. She was a hoot. She really, really was. She had a way of touching every heart she encountered. And her absence is deeply felt by all of us who had the privilege and the joy of knowing her. In the face of this unimaginable loss, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the steady and compassionate leadership of Superintendent Iris White and acting deputy superintendent Mary Hawk. Their continued presence at Stafford School for the past few days has meant the world to me and to our school community. They stood right beside me as I delivered the heartbreaking news to our

097staff. Sorry. And they sat with me and Mattiey's parents when I addressed her class with tears and with lots of hugs. Mary's decision to accompany me to Mattiey's funeral, where I had the honor of singing and sharing words of comfort, speaks of volumes about her character and care. Having spent 30 years serving Bristol and experiencing the loss of a young loved one in Sandy Hook, I know what strong leadership can do in times of crisis. Iris and Mary got the unimaginable right and I'm beyond grateful for their support. Thank you. Our wider school community has also responded with overwhelming compassion. I just love our Bristol educators. I love them. I love our Bristol families. Bristol Principal Higgins last Thursday of Bristol Eastern, he and I worked together at the high school. He surprised me by

098working a booth last week for us at our Happy Hawks Health Fair. I had no idea he was coming. His students also reached out with a beautiful idea to celebrate Mattiey's life in a way that brings comfort and meaning to our students. Leam McCabe and the Bames family on Friday sent our school a huge door dash of bagels. Door Dash for Principal Frell. I was like, I did not order Door Dash. Who has my credit card? Um, it was just beautiful. Staff at Chippins, including Brian Tracolo and the other art teachers led by Liz Negron, created a stunning card for students and staff. The Bristol Police Department along with Officer Piro and their therapy dog Frankie brought a team of therapy dogs to offer warmth and comfort to our children staff in the days that

099followed. Kind, hardworking, and helpful. That's our staff mission. And it looks like that what our broader community has been doing. As we begin to heal and create space to remember Birdie, I want to thank each and every person who supported us. The Stafford community is so appreciative of those who have embraced our vision of being kind, hardworking, and helpful during our time of need. The level of compassion shown to our school has truly warmed my heart. We feel the love so deeply and for that I sincerely thank you with gratitude and heartfelt appreciation Latana Frell on behalf of my teachers and staff. Thank you. Thank you. The next speaker is Melanie Floyd. Oh, I'm sorry, Molina. So sorry. That's okay. All right. I wrote something. Hi, I'm Molina Floyd. I live at 108 Carroll Drive

100and I am a community organizer and a parent of a student who goes to Stafford. So, thank you very much. um and a student who will be entering the school system soon. So, I don't personally know any of the uh candidates for superintendent or acting superintendent or I'm sorry, deputy superintendent, but I will just say that what I have noticed as a parent in the last year is a big change in the amount of transparency that I'm receiving from the schools. the more more public uh comments and notes and uh information about what's going on so that we can follow what's happening with the schools, what's happening inside the schools. Um that's what what um motivated me to come tonight. So what I wrote is that I'm here to advocate for acting superintendent and acting

101deputy superintendent to be hired to their respective positions as a parent of a student in Bristol public schools. I'm also in favor of fully funding the board of education so that the schools can operate fully and function properly. Investing in our schools is the best thing we could do for the city of Bristol. So, um I have heard many of these criticisms, but I have not seen any of that in the uh work. I've all I've seen is passion, drive, and dedication in the form of transparency and service to the community. For those who are not in favor of h of hiring the acting superintendent as a community organizer in the city of Bristol, I have to ask you to look at your real reasons because we have never had a woman of color hold

102the position that she is holding. And I want us to really look at the qualifications on paper instead of the person in front of us because what I've seen is an unimaginable change. My child is a fifth grader in Stafford, so he's been in the school system for the last six years, but only the last year have I been able to actually follow what's going on. So, thank you for that. Um, I really want us to take part in being the allhe heart city that we claim to be. Um there as I've done some research and um there is about 64% of Bristol that currently identifies themselves as white. Uh there are more people under the age of 45 than over the age of 45 in the city of Bristol because of the amount of

103children in Bristol which most of them attend our schools. I have never felt better in the last year about my kids attending these schools. Um, I also want to give credit for the acting superintendent. You said we can't say names, so I'm trying not to. uh acting superintendent, acting deputy superintendent for restoring integrity to the district and transparency with the survey that was most recently done despite the resistance. The leadership and true leadership is acting with courage. I believe in all honesty and with all due respect that it would be a waste of time to do another superintendent search when we already have someone doing the job perfectly fine and as well with the deputy superintendent. So please don't waste any more resources while we're um currently trying to make sure we have all the

104funding available and I believe that we have the best candidate for the role and I think that we should uh continue with the vote in a positive fashion. Thank you. Thank you. The next item on the agenda is Oh, do we have anyone online for public comment? Did anyone sign up online? Okay. Deliberated items. District leadership team reports. 8.1 is the appointment of the superintendent of schools. I will need a motion to appoint Iris Wright to be the next superintendent of Bristol Public Schools. So move. Can I have a second? Second. I thought I might have heard someone. Is Dante second? Okay. So, Commissioner Tagriello is online. Commissioner Carlson made the motion. Commissioner Tagriello seconded. I will now open this for discussion. But is there any discussion? Yeah, I want to say something. Iris, um,

105you came in at a tough time. Um, we've had a little bit of turmoil here, but you handle it with quiet grace and strength. I think you are a good leader and I think you will do well for the school. Any other commissioners have a comment? Um, yeah. I I would like to uh to say a few words before my vote just so I can explain why I'm going to be voting the way I am. Um and I want to preface this with uh you know the understanding that I I truly do like Iris. Um I think you're I think you're a great person. Um but the reason I'm going to be voting the way I'm going to be voting today is because I still feel that um in spite of some of the qualities

106that you do show and they're they're very promising. Um I I feel that there's still a a lack of experience um with with building administration um with uh with management and and other things like that that um I feel I I honestly feel that you would have uh you'd be you know and I would have been more than agreeable to it as you was like deputy superintendent to give you a little more time. Um but I think under the circumstances and it has been difficult. It hasn't been easy for you. Um I just feel that um it it just this isn't the right time and uh you know we were all um disappointed with uh some of the findings or some of the uh the process that we had with the selection committee or with

107the selection process. We all had some disappointment with that and um and I I feel like it's you know and I I wouldn't have agreed to that. I wouldn't agree to the whole process, you know, and spending that money um if I thought that Iris was the most ideal person for that, you know, for the leadership position of this school. I think it's too big. And um I I frankly feel that we we still need somebody with a little more experience in managing budgets, managing buildings, and and so on. So that's where I stand with my vote. Anyone else have a comment? for the chair. So throughout the student recognition component of tonight's meeting, we heard words like quiet leader, quiet confidence, giving, compassionate, passionate, positive attitude, open, teachable, willing to improve, humble, thoughtful, motivated,

108a dedicated student, a deep love for learning and a care for the school community. A leader who doesn't have to be the loudest person in the room. A leader who influences others towards a common goal. Diligence, positive nature, goes above and beyond to understand, leads by example, is kind and upbeat, stands up for others in a kind and thoughtful way, chooses not to get involved with drama. Those words resonated with me and I chose to write them down. I wasn't sure why until now because those are things that I see in Iris. Leadership can be very thankless, but it also can be very rewarding. Anyone who chooses to be a leader knows that the road will not always be paved with bright and airy wonderful things, but that the end result should engender the greatest

109outcomes and the highest good. That's why I'm on this board and that's why I believe the nine of us are on this board, to engender the greatest outcomes and the highest good for the people we serve. And we serve every single person in this community. those who are in our corner and those who aren't. So, I wanted to share that to lead students in the way that they need to be leaded and to acknowledge the things that the people in this room said about the cable award recipients means we need to acknowledge those in people who are leading the district as well. And I wanted to acknowledge those things in Iris. Thank you. Any other comments through the chair? Yes. Um I only had a couple of words to say and just more by letting

110the community know that I fully participated in every aspect of this process um through many meetings as was already described by the chair. Uh it was quite a process. I've been on the board since 2018. We've never gone through something like that in the past. Um, there was a very detailed guidance session provided by our vendor. I reviewed feedback and critical input from the community through the focus groups, staff surveys through BFT, admin survey, feedback from BAPS, and also characteristics and leadership qualities identified by the community, families, professionals, and staff that would best fit and move our BPS district forward. And these were the key factors that inform that are informing my vote tonight. Thanks. Thank you. Any other comments? Yes, Commissioner Rosenki. Okay. So, it might not be a popular comment, but I have

111to be honest because I was voted into this position to listen to the people. Um, there are always strengths, but there are also challenges. From what I've heard, I can't ignore. um such as lack of communication, people are fearful, being targeted, um lack of trust in the district, and that's something that I just won't sit and be quiet about. I have been asked, do you like Iris? Yes, I do. Um but I just want to explain my vote as well. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Ba. That's my name's Bow through the chair. Um, I wanted to share a little bit about my thoughts and what's informing my vote tonight. Closer to your mic. Can you hear me now? Put it down. Um, I share Commissioner Simmons and Commissioner Caring. I share Commissioner Simmons and Commissioner

112Carlson's um, perspectives. And I also wanted to highlight a bit of the policy work um, that I have seen and I have experienced firsthand. um the dedication and collaboration I would say with our committee to really um engage in CAVE's policy audit support the committee's efforts and really ensure and do the work to make sure that our policies are aligned with both the state the federal laws our regulations and best practices um is something that I commend. Um I think that is building a strong foundation for our district and I really have to honor that. I feel like we've gotten more work done in our committee this past year. That truly impacts and benefits how our district operates. And so that's what's informing my vote tonight. And Thank you. Any other comments? Um, so I

113too participated in um all of the meetings with our vendor, paid very close attention. I asked questions, did a lot of reading um and with this the feedback from the community and our BAP survey and some of the things that people put time into too to inform the board. That is what will be informing my vote tonight. Um I do hope I know where the vote will go. So, I do hope that in the future my vote will be different and we can make progress and change and um move forward. Thank you. Thank you. Um all commissioners have had a chance to speak. I will Oh, Commissioner Taguella, sorry. I'm here. No, that's okay. I I'm here. I just was listening to all the comments before I commented since I'm online. Um, you know, I'm

114I'm here I'm actually traveling this week and so I appreciate people who are accommodating to me moving this agenda item up so that I could participate and uh I appreciate all the comments that have been had already. I do want to reiterate um a comment that was made by Commissioner G Antonio and talking about the unprecedence of the process that we have had thus far which is that this is the first time in a long time or in any time that I could remember and I've dug through meeting minutes after meeting minutes to discover when we have last done this but we've actually gone out and found an independent consultant to perform the work to help us make an informed decision about who our next superintendent will be. And I have to say that though

115this was a difficult process, there has been a lot of misinformation shared about this process and no doubt that folks who are part of this process did help in sharing that misinformation. But frankly, that's water under the bridge. You know, uh when I look back at how we went about this, we had several candidates. We did not have one candidate. We did not have two candidates. We didn't have three candidates. We had multiple number of candidates who applied for this job. Now whether they were qualified or not were a different story. And at some point this board made a decision jointly on a bipartisan basis to have a few candidates as their finalists and go through an extensive interview interview process. And I have to say that while some people will, you know, Monday night

116quarterback this whole process, I strongly believe in how it was conducted and I believe in the integrity of this process. And there were items including the salary range that I did not agree with that I agreed to go with a higher salary range at the end of this at the end of the day in order to get a superintendent. And so there were a lot of things that happened I think as a group of nine that perhaps we haven't shared or given ourselves credit for but we did agree on a lot of these on a lot of these items. I will say then talking about experience and whatnot, the superintendent, the interim superintendent was part of the final three that we selected on a bipartisan basis. If people didn't believe that she was qualified, then

117she should have never been part of the final three. So, if that's what's informing their vote or the community feedback is informing their vote, well, I have to say we selected her as part of the final three. And so if for some reason you can't vote your conscience or a small segment of the community is telling you that she's not qualified, I I only have to laugh at that. I also only have to laugh at the fact that folks aren't saying she's communicative or any of the other things that she's being accused of tonight that say are informing some folks votes because I have to say we received a very valued feedback from our Bristol Federation of Teachers Union that hasn't given any feedback to this board in a very long time. another unprecedented item

118as part of this. And I know some people are frustrated by what's happened in this district. I know people may be frustrated that we lost people who have been here for a long time, including our deputy superintendent and all that, but the reality is that this board is elected to make difficult decisions. It's also elected to put people in leadership spots for the future. So, if we have a few bad surveys, and I'm not saying we haven't, but if we have a few bad surveys that say they need to hear more more from the superintendent, this superintendent as appointed will have that ability to do that. And I think that's very important. I think it's important that everyone gives this person a fair shot because the reality is other folks did not fit the community

119profile including the Republican majorities salary range for this position. That is a fact. So I think it's important that this board engage in unity, move forward, choose the person that is the only person that was left on our list from this and that we allow this person to meet the needs of the district that were including the community survey. And I think there were a lot of areas of deficit, but that wasn't the result of having an interim superintendent. there were a lot of systemic reasons why we had the results that we had and so I just ask people to ponder that. I don't ask people to change their votes but I do ask that people give this person a fair shot. So those conclude my comments. Thank you. Thank you. So I'll make a

120few comments before we move to vote. Um, I didn't really know Iris even though we worked in the same agency. It's a pretty big agency. We're on different floors, different divisions, different programs. Couple times a year, I had um I would say the the pleasure of working with with Iris. People always spoke highly of her. Um, but I didn't know her. I really didn't. And the more that I got to know her this year in my capacity as board chair and her as superintendent, the more I realized how different we are. I am so much spicier than her. I mean, it is unbelievable. I I mean her grace and her ability to handle controversy, drama, problems, if you could bottle it and sell it, I would sell it and probably be a millionaire. Um, but

121I just I've gotten to know her more over the past year. And in this capacity of working alongside with someone, they do say that the most important relationship in a school district is between the board chair and the superintendent. And this wasn't something that I aspired to be the board chair. This is just something that evolved. Um, and I take this responsibility very seriously because it's much bigger than me. It's much bigger than Iris. It's much bigger than Mary. It's much bigger than every single one of us at this table. This is about our kids and our future. And when I think about who best to handle the situation that we are currently in, who has integrity, who has transparency, and even though she's not spicy, she tells the truth. She doesn't back away from

122what is, and she lets us all process through it at our own pace. She builds leaders. She's macro. She's not micro. She is a macro leader. That is something I value. I'm one of nine. Everyone doesn't have to value a macro leader, but somebody who develops leaders and lets them make mistakes without fear. You get to make a mistake as a principal, as a teacher, as a parah, as anyone who works in this district. And as long as you understand that you made a mistake and you want to do better, she's going to listen to you and work with you. That's something that should be valued in leadership. We all are human and we all make mistakes. I for one I know the community has been told I not only that we're best friends, but

123I think I share your office and maybe we live together. I think those have been rumors at some point. I don't think Iris could handle me for more than she has to. So, that is just certainly not true. But I am honored that she wants this job and that we have the opportunity to work with someone with quiet, grace, macro leadership abilities and who has found a deputy superintendent that stepped up and assisted her in ways that this district really needed. And so without any other comments, I will ask for a roll call vote for this position. Commissioner Bula. Yes. Yes. Commissioner Carlson. Yes. Commissioner Simmons per. Yes. Yes. Commissioner Van Gorder. No. Commissioner G Antonio, no. Commissioner Ozenowski, no. And Commissioner Anderson. Motion passes. Oh, I'm sorry. Commissioner Tigerello. Yes. Okay. Motion passes. Absolutely.

124Thank you. Thank you very much. So, first and foremost, I express my deepest gratitude to the board for placing your trust in me. I am incredibly honored to be chosen to lead this remarkable district, and I do not take this responsibility lightly. I also want to thank my family, mentors, and colleagues, past and present, who have helped shape me into the leader I am today. I would also like to thank Dr. Kate Carbone, who accepted me as her intern and supported my appointment as acting superintendent last year. I recognize that my selection comes at a time when there have been differences of opinion among the board and in the community. I want to acknowledge and respect all members perspectives, those who supported my appointment and those who had reservations. Your voices matter and I take

125the responsibility of earning and keeping your trust seriously. I am here to lead with humility, transparency, and a deep respect for the diversity of thought in our board, staff, and community. My commitment to unity is unwavering, and I'm confident we can work together to improve our district. to the educators, staff, family members, students, and community members of Bristol Public Schools. This is not just a new chapter for me. It is a shared journey that we will walk together. The significance of my appointment as the first black female superintendent, and the special place of pride that many people of all races may feel because of it is not lost on me. I believe that strong schools are the heart of a strong community and my mission is to ensure that every student regardless of background or

126socio economic status has access to a high quality equitable and engaging education. Your involvement and support are crucial in this journey. I aim to improve outcomes, uplift voices, foster unity, and ensure that every decision reflects our highest aspirations for our children. With this commitment, I am confident that we can make significant strides in the quality of education and the overall well-being of our students. Let us boldly and bravely acknowledge the challenges and opportunities ahead. With passion and purpose, we will work together to overcome these challenges and build a brighter future for our students and community. Thank you once again for this incredible honor. I am deeply committed to our shared journey and Bristol public school success. Let's get to work. UNI united in our mission to provide the best education for all of our students.

127Thank you. The next item on the agenda is the appointment of deputy superintendent of schools. Can I have a motion to appoint Mary Hawk as the deputy superintendent of schools? Oh, Dante. Dante moved. Eric seconds. Okay. Any discussion? No. Without discussion, I will move to a vote. Uh, should I do a roll call? Yes. Okay. We'll start with Commissioner Anderson. Commissioner Ozenowski? No. Commissioner Gantonio? No. Commissioner Van Gorder. No. My vote is yes. Yes. Yes. Dante. Yes. Motion passes. Mary, would you like to say a few words? Good evening, CR Commissioners. It's with deep gratitude and great humility that I accept the position as deputy superintendent of the Bristol public schools. I want to thank the board of education for your trust, confidence, and superintendent White. Thank you for your leadership, your mentorship, and your

128vision of what our schools can and should be. To my family who look very tired right now, colleagues and friends, thank you for walking along with me during this journey. 30 years ago, I began my career in Bristol as a middle school teacher. I was actually hired by Everett uh White um Everett who was here earlier. Um but never imagining where this path would lead. Every step, every classroom, every hallway, every dis diff difficult decision and every celebration has shaped me and reaffirmed my belief in the power of public education that it transforms lives. I embrace this role because it's meaningful, impactful, and urgently needed. We are in a moment of both great challenge and great opportunity. As we navigate budgetary constraints, evolving student needs and rapidly changing world. I remain grounded in the core

129belief that every child deserves an excellent equitable education and our educators are the heart of making that happen. This district is filled with people who deeply care. Principles who lead with passion and purpose, teachers who inspire learning through creativity and commitment, and support staff who quietly carry our schools forward. I'm proud to stand beside you. Together, we will continue to build a strong system, amplifying student voice and protect the dignity and worth of every learner who walks through our doors. There's much work ahead. I don't take that lightly. But I also know that in Bristol, we face challenges with courage, collaboration, and compassion. Thank you for this incredible opportunity. I am honored to serve you and I'm ready to get to work. Thank you. Thank you, Mary. I will just say a few words about

130Mary. I had never met Mary until the night that Iris appointed her. We had never met in person. I I had just heard great things from families and staff and I knew no one left Mountain View School. Like teachers didn't leave. I mean, everyone was like, "Oh, Mountain View, right?" And if the kid was going to Mountain View, the parents were just so excited. And so, the the, you know, Mary's reputation was stellar. I mean, there was nothing that I had ever heard and I've lived in this town my entire life other than positive things. Uh, and then when I actually had the opportunity to work with her and meet her and and get to know her better, I will say the one thing about Mary that just is phenomenal is that she's always positive.

131It's always, "Girl, we got this. It's good. Things are good." You know, she's smiling while a tornado could be happening. And I just say, "Okay, these are good people. These are the people that you want working with a school district with 8,000 students. Uh the number of staff and the number of things that can happen on a daily basis. It's not easy. I mean, I I don't know how they do it. I'm in my policy world in a little, you know, bubble on on the side in my work life and I kind of enjoy that piece. Um, but these people have walked into situations that they know are going to be hard every single day with a smile and uh, you know, a professional soft grace that I I'm just very very very grateful for.

132So, I am thrilled that both of you are in these positions and I am thrilled for our community. So, thank you. Okay. Chair. Yes. Can I dismiss my family? Yes. I get to go home. You guys get to go home. I didn't know they were your family. And the way they were looking up here, I'm like, they're tired. They need to go home. Yes. Yes. Your mom did it. Okay. So the next person on the the next issue on the agenda is the scoreboard donation and we have Sarah to come up and talk about it. Good evening everybody. Can you hear me? Okay. Yes. Good. Okay. Um I am here this evening to request um the um acceptance of a scoreboard donation uh that we received. I took it to the um board of finance

133um last month uh where we did receive approval. Uh this donation um very generous donation of $174,637. This would cover the cost of replacing both Bristol Eastern and Bristol Central scoreboards at the following uh fields. They would be the baseball field, the softball field, um and our gym scoreboards, our main gyms, as well as our turf scoreboards. So, football, lacrosse, track, um, etc. Uh, our current scoreboards are, um, I tried to get a date. Uh, they're over 20 years old. That's the best I could do and the most exact I could get. Um, the big thing here is they are running on a light bulb system still. Um, which I've been notified by Scoreboard Enterprise, which is the company that we contract to come out and service our scoreboards, uh, that they will no longer

134service this scoreboard. They actually don't make the parts anymore. So they're running on fumes and they're doing their best to accommodate us. Um but we are we are at our our max capacity here. Um luckily these scoreboards would be um electric. Um so the f like I said the finance and operations committee approved this donation proposal on 49. Um I am looking uh for an approval of this donation. Um the donor has requested that these scoreboards um be dedicated in honor of um coaches um and uh teachers in the district who have um excellent excellent reputations. Um he actually has been reaching out to those donors or those honores. Um very humble. Um we have the signage which is included in the cost. Um these honores were selected for their years of experience, their contribution

135overall to Bristol, not just athletics. um their exceptional leadership, their quality of character, and their impact on the student athletes. Um a PowerPoint presentation was shared with the board of finance. Um so I can email that if you'd like, but that's my summary. So any questions? Motion. I'll make a motion the board of education vote to approve the donation of $174,637 for scoreboards at Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern Schools. Second. Motion's been made and second. Um any discussion? Just a question. Was there was the donor wanted to remain anonymous or do we know what? Yeah, he would like to remain they would like to remain anonymous. Cut it in half. Um they would like to remain anonymous as well as um you know their name or their company or anything like that getting out. Um

136which is why they wanted to donate um the money anonymously um and actually honor these individuals that have contributed so much. So we appreciate you um forwarding the video. Thank you. Yeah, through the chair. This is a slight digression. Um, but would you share the kind act um since you're up at the podium, the kind act um from Bristol Eastern High School? Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Um, so our this is not related to scoreboards um but our Bristol Eastern um girls softball team uh that one they uh most recently visited um Newington High School um where they obviously experienced a very serious tragedy in their community. um our coach as well as um a booster club parent um and a parent of the team um uh coordinated and they bought flowers for the Newington coach and

137their community. Um we were contacted by the Newington principal um who was very gracious and um very very um you know grateful for our you know recognition. Uh they actually presented the flowers to the family um the following day. So thank you. I just wanted to um create space for you to share what Bristol Heart is about and I think that's a testament to it. So I know it was a digression. Thank you. Fabulous group of kids. So thank you so much for bringing that up. I appreciate it. Any other comments? Okay. My only comment is thank you so much to the anonymous donor. If you're out there and you're listening, you're amazing and our school district could use $174,637 worth of scoreboards right now. So, you win. You're awesome. Um, okay. So, without further

138ado, motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? I opposed. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you, Sarah. Thank you all so much. Next item on the agenda, we have Lynn coming up to discuss our contract to P2506, professional services for redistricting of Bristol Public Schools. Um, I just wanted to let you know that it went out to the redistricting plan went out to bid and we had five different biders come in. We had three come to a selection committee meeting. We met and we went over all of their presentations and we chose MP Planning as the company that we wanted to give the bid to. They were the lowest bidder and they were the bidder with the best fit for our district. So, we'd like to have you vote on that. Thank you. I'll make the

139motion that the board of education resolves to authorize the business services department to accept the bid from MP Planning LLC for redistricting services for fiscal year 2026 2027. Second. Motion has been made and seconded. Any discussion? Um, if I may, um, is is this the same company that we used in the past, or is this a new company? It's a new company, but the members of the company are the same gentleman that did it in the past when they were another company. Okay. So, he's got familiarity with the district. Yes. Okay, good. I I do have a question. I remember when this came before the um board of finance and the contract was broken down into three different parts and um so is this 55,575 the total amount or is there anything in additional financially

140with this contract? It's the complete and total amount of the contract. Any further questions? I guess my only sorry, my only other further question is I know there's been a lot of we haven't had a um a workshop yet to deal with our budgetary issues and there's been a lot of conversations and ongoings about how we're moving forward and what we're doing. if we were to make I mean I don't know I it's I don't know how likely it is but if Edgewood were to be closed and we were to send our young learners to some of our other schools is would that be included in this plan for them to like look at the transportation for that? We asked them to look at all aspects of the district regarding all of the schools and

141what would be the best fit for the school system if we had to close any schools at all. Thank you. You're welcome. Any other questions? With no other questions or comments, we have a motion that's been made and seconded. All in favor? I I I opposed. Motion passes. Thank you. Thank you. Next item on the agenda, we have Amy Martino about April 1 enrollment count for the 202425 school year. Good evening, commissioners. So, tonight I'm going to be delivering Kim, Dr. Kim Kulkin's report for you. At the um at the time that the April 1st, 2025 report was prepared, 7,780 students were enrolled in Bristol public schools, 17 of whom attended Bristol Tech and another 297 students attending magnet schools or public schools in district other than the BPS. whom BPS is uh responsible for.

142Additionally, 122 Bristol students attended schools at private out of district programs. I will walk you through the April 1st, 2025 breakdown of the student enrollment. Our total enrollment for preschool students at Edgewood Prechool Academy is 330 and 18 additional students receiving community-based speech services. There were 294 preK students overall at the time of our October 1 count. As of October 1st, 2025 at our K through5 buildings, we have 363 Hubble Hounds, 413 Ivy Drive Dragons, 360 Mountain View Bobcats, 513 Southside Eagles, and 384 Stafford Eagles. At the K8 schools, we had 300, excuse me, 638 Greenhill Gators in grades K through five and another 299 at the middle school grades 6 through 8. At West Bristol, we had 613 students in the pack, grades K through 5, and 251 in students in grades 6 through

1438. Overall 3,284 students attend Bristol public schools in grades K through 5 as of April 1st. In regard to middle schools, that would include West Bristol and Green Hills. Bames has 258 enrolled students, grades 6 through 8. Chippens Hill Middle School had 585 students. Northeast Middle School had 333 students. And collectively across the five middle schools, there are 1,726 students. Moving on to grades 9 through 12 at our high schools, Bristol Central High School had 1,140 students. Bristol Eastern High School had 1,036 students and BPA had 52 students enrolled. There were a total number of high school students enrolled at all schools of 2,228. As of April 1st, across our district-wide programs of destinations, access, and community vocational education, we had 72 students enrolled. Last year at this time, we had 77 students enrolled within

144these programs. I'm hopeful that the information and format of the reporting provides clarity and proves a beneficial to the commissioners. This concludes the enrollment report. Um, and please excuse Dr. Kolken in the attendance if you have any questions. I'm happy to take them for her. There any questions? Thank you. So, now I'll move on to my special education report. I will say, wow, that's a lot of numbers I'm reading tonight. Uh, so please be patient with me. Thank you. So, tonight in terms of the special education reporting, as of April 1st, 2025, 1,835 of the 8,087 enrolled students were identified as requiring special education programming. This enrollment reflects 22.69% of the total BPS student population. As of April 1st, 125 students with disabilities required out of district school programs at private um special education schools.

145There were 90 students requiring special education programming at other outofd district schools that include magnet schools. During the month of March 2025, 35% of the newly registered students were identified as requiring special education programming at the time of registration. One of these students required an outofd district program at the time of enrollment. And lastly, during the month of March, there were 49 211 calls and 11 calls. Can I answer any questions about that report? Okay, thank you. Thank you, Amy. Okay, now we have Lynn coming back for voluntary separation incentive payout, VSIP. The proposed voluntary separation incentive plan will allow the board of education to offer a $30,000 payout over two or three years to certified Bristol Federation of Teacher staff at the top step. This will enable the Office of Talent Management to seek

146out and hire staff at a lower step and degree level. By allowing the employees to leave voluntarily, the BOE can reduce the need for involuntary separations and the disruptive forced layoffs of the reduction in force necessary to comply with the city's proposed additional budget reduction of 3.77 million for the 202526 fiscal year. The savings that we calculated are based on the assumption that hiring new staff at the master's degree step five will cost $69,488, but the actual costs may vary depending on new hires individual steps and degree levels. So wondering if you would have any questions um through the chair. Yes. So, what is the average um difference in pay from the the step that we're offering this to like a fifth step? The average um salary of the PE the teachers on step 13

147is $99,913 and they range from $94,523 for BA13 to $116,428 for PhD step 13. And then step five is that what is that where you were assuming somebody would come in at or start off at masters step five is the middle range of 69488. We're hoping that we would hire people at BA level fresh out of college but that's not always can't always happen. Thank you. You're welcome for the chair. Yes. Um, have you have you received feedback from the staff that this is something that would probably be well received by some that'll be a successful offering? Know there was a maximum of 30 slots being offered I think in the documentation. Do you do you think that you might have 30 people that would volunteer? Have you gotten a feeling and you if you

148haven't you haven't. I'm just curious. Please. This uh program was actually brought to us by the EFT. Uh it was a request from a high school uh teacher who felt very about it. Um after we crunched the numbers, we sent uh three options to the BFT and uh uh President Reynolds was gracious enough to talk to his entire cabinet and uh get feedback on which one which of the three options uh he wanted to move forward. And so we expect it to be extremely um successful and we do not want to lay off any more teachers. Thank you. Thank you, Mary. You're the chair. So I can appreciate the option of having a voluntary incentive package um for retirement. I want to make sure though that as a district we're prepared to support new teachers

149coming in um because they're going to be coming in with inexperience and we I want to make sure that we're supporting those teachers so that we don't succumb to a trend of losing our um staff who will need the most support not just in team but being new teachers and recognizing the need there and I know that you know it historically OTL has provided those supports through um ISTs and coaches and I just want to be sure that we are considering how to support teachers coming in with a lower level of experience. Yes, we'll be supporting our budget deficit by um offering an incentive and losing some of our most seasoned teachers. Um but knowing that that is going to be offset with inexperience coming into the district. Any other comments? One other question. the

150um what what about the crossover with potential that the 30 that are interested are also from shortage areas like special education or certain required certifications in order to teach some of the college credit courses, things like that. We looked at that and we didn't feel that the majority of them were in those positions. Thank you. You're welcome. Okay. Without any other comments, the motion has been made and seconded. No. No. Okay. I need a motion. The motion would be to accept the voluntary separation incentive payout. Can I have a second? Second. Motion has been made and seconded. All in all in favor? I I I I I opposed. Motion passes. Thank you. Thank you. Uh next we have a superintendent report with superintendent White. Thank you very much. Before I continue with the report, I

151did want to acknowledge uh Mr. Ken Baggley. Um the wonderful art gala art show that we had this week and you see the wonderful artwork that's displayed throughout the building. Everyone's commented how wonderful it is to have the artwork and not have just the blank sterile walls. So, talking to Ken about how we can keep some of the artwork up, but just wanted to acknowledge Ken and the art teachers for all the fantastic work they do with our school. I asked Deputy Superintendent Hawk um to give a brief update about the Alice training. I know that's something that I've discussed previously with the board and um we've been Mary's has been working very hard with Mr. Cabllis to set up this training for our staff. So Mary I gave I gave this presentation to um

152Michelle but not to Jeff. And so you have to give it to BOE admin please. Okay. Um, I think what I'll do in the sense of time is I will go without a presentation, which is so not Bristol, but I'm feeling rebellious right now. Okay, so Alice training, um, this is my passion. School safety is my passion. Um, for those of you who are not aware, one of my very beautiful friends who we had to go to a funeral last week for a student that was not our first student funeral, our first child's funeral. Um, Principal Frell's very good friend from college lost Anna Grace at Sandy Hook. And so she reached out to me and she said, you know, can you help me the day of the funeral? Anna has 26 of her friends

153that are going to come and light candles and I'm gonna go with her parents to the funeral. Will you go with the uh security team with these 26 kids and will you make sure that nobody bothers them that they can sit together and if they need anything during the ceremony can you help them and because they were separate from their families. one of the most difficult days of our careers. Um, but it made me passionate about school safety and when I went into administration, especially at an elementary school, it made me even more driven than I already was. So, I am very pleased tonight to say that Bristol is adopting the Alice program for security. And I'll tell you why. In 2000, a principal uh who was an elementary school principal and her husband who

154was a police officer watched what happened in Calibine and said, "We can do better." They knew that the systems in place were currently not effective. They were actually created for driveby shootings in California. So if a car is shooting at another car outside, everybody huddle in the corner. That's not effective. If somebody is walking into the room that you're in with a gun, they knew that things had to change and they created Alice or us to upgrade how we uh treat intruders. So Alice stands for first to be alert. So, in other words, listen to what you're hearing and react to it. The second thing they say is lock it down. If you can't evacuate, then barricade your doors. Lock down that room. Make it more difficult. You're always just trying to buy time. The

155I in Alice is to, I believe, initiate. Um, but the idea of you're constantly rethinking what you're going to do. So now all of a sudden you're you're alert and you realize I can evacuate. Then get out and make distance. I can't remember what the C call please. No, that's not it. But that's a good one. [Music] Um and then the E is evacuate. So if you can you just completely evacuate. It's a great training. I actually took this training myself. Oh, look at Latana's looking out for me. Counter. Yes. All right. So, the C is counter, which is very different. So, instead of children huddling in a corner, they are taught to make it hard for this person, throw things at them, make noise, run around. And you'll remember that at Sandy Hook, the

156the room that had the most success was the room where the child who's now referred to as the wingman said, "Get out of here." there and everybody ran. That was the room that was the most successful at Sandy Hook. So, I want to bring that to Bristol. I applaud all of the schools that all offered two students to I mean two te two two teachers that would like to be Alice trained. So, we're going to have a trainer of trainer at the end of May. Once we have that in place in every system, I appreciate um Carly Foron has given us a day in August to train the entire staff. Um Miss Martino has uh agreed to bring in even the OT's, the PTS. We're going to have all the paraprofessionals there. We are going

157to have gone from an archaic lockdown that is proven proven to lose more lives to one of the most outstanding safety trainings that is currently offered. So I appreciate the board's support in this. And we also this year have passed a policy to use wands. We've also uh recently gone for an update in our camera system at both high schools. We are moving forward to keeping kids safe here in Bristol. And I applaud everything that Superintendent White when you said we were going to be Alice trained. I was a principal at Mountain View. I almost got up and hugged you, but I'd never met you before, so I didn't think it was appropriate. But I appreciate everything that you've done for this district for safety. It's it's it we've moved 30 years and three months.

158Thank you very stepping on my toes. Yeah. Nice to meet you. Thank you. Thank you very much. And I look forward I will be participating in the training as well. So I very much look forward to it. So I did want to give the board um a quick legislative update. Uh there's just been a lot of talk I'm sure amongst the state about excess cost and the cost um of special education, the burden that has been on taxpayers and our districts across the state. Um I continue to work and advocate with the superintendent association to um have the excess costs fully funded. Um, and I did want to make sure the board was aware that the appropriations committee did release their budget at April 26th, 2025. And a highlight was that um, they are proposing

159additional funds for excess costs. And so we are closely monitoring um, that proposal, hoping that it goes through. Um, as you know, session closes on Wednesday, June 4th, which is also the day of our next board meeting. So hoping that we have some good news to share, but I did want to make sure that that was on um the board's radar. I have been in uh frequent contact with our legislative delegation. We've had um some meetings with some of the delegation, had some email contact with them, and they are very aware of Bristol's financial situation and very aware of the um burden on the taxpayer of the special education funding and they're very supportive at the legislature in trying to um get this proposal passed. So, I wanted to update the board on that. also

160wanted to share with the board, I don't know if you've heard, but there has been some proposed legislation that would reduce the number of alliance districts to 15. Um, Bristol's been so successful and other districts have been successful that we would no longer be an alliance district under this proposal. And my understanding is that this would be an immediate change if it did pass. um the funding would still be in um ECS, but rather than there being a carveout that would go to the district um and then we would have to fill out an application and submit to the state, the money would then go straight to the municipality. Um legislation was also previously passed requiring the CSC to provide recommendations for reforming the alliance district program. The report is not due to the Connecticut

161General Assembly until January 1st, 2026. So, I know Commissioner Russell Tucker um has been advocating for this not to happen so quickly because there's a report due in January 2026. So, it doesn't make sense to make these changes before they have an opportunity to um get feedback on how to improve the alliance district program. It's hard to really understand what is the genesis of this change, who's really leading the change because it doesn't the funding. We still get the funding. It's not a reduction in funding. It would just go to the municipality instead of to the district. But I did want to make sure that the board was aware of that budget update. This really is just um to show where we are in terms of the original request that I made in January, which

162was a 12.58% increase. Um the board of education budget request 7.89% increase that was presented to the board of finance on March 19th. And then the board of finance um which proposed additional reductions to a 5.06% 6% increase with a remaining deficit as uh Lin Ber said earlier 3.77 million. The board of finance budget proposal will now go to the joint city council for final vote on Monday, May 19th. Um we're still working as a central office. We've had meetings with um BAPS. We're also going to have meetings with other unions about getting their ideas, brainstorming on how we can further reduce the deficit. Um, but at this point, this is what we are looking at. So, we are still trying to work um on how to chip away at the deficit. Um, we're certainly

163hoping that this legislation does come through, but we understand that we cannot count on that. So, we're still looking to chip away. Lyn, is there anything else that you wanted to say about where we are with the budget at this point? It's it's a a very difficult position that we're in and um that $3.77 million equates to about 40 teacher salaries. So, it's this is a a very difficult situation. Thank you. This is my report. Thank you very much. Next item is the consent agenda. Can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda which includes items 10.1A through 10.1 C? Second. Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? Through the chair. Yeah. I know we don't usually discuss um this and I didn't want to um pull anything out and have a vote

164and have to um delay the meeting, but I was just wondering if someone could just briefly describe the team me team mentor cooperating teacher um assignments. Are those are those assignments that are in addition to their regular teaching duties and used to sort of help with coaching or new teacher assistant? I'm just trying to understand that role. I don't recall seeing that term before. So, is it replacing something else that's supporting the teachers in the classroom? If you could just tell us a little bit about it the podium. Thank you. I'm sorry to put you on the spot. It's actually a relief I can stand up from those uncomfortable chairs. I appreciate that. Our our team program is not new. Uh it stands for teacher education and mentoring. It's a program that supports teachers within

165their first two to three years of the profession. It's a required program from the Connecticut State Department of Education. Uh I think your question was about the mentors as we um are listed on the agenda tonight. So we do have a team coordinating committee that annually looks at the ways in which we support beginning teachers. Uh that's to ensure that our student or teachers are meeting the requirements of the team program five modules of learning that they need to do and then submit a reflection. Team mentors are paid a stipen for 50 hours of support for those beginning teachers. That support is meant to carry over into the classroom, but it is primarily outside of the classroom as the teachers themselves are engaging in professional learning and then supporting that um reflecting on that change

166uh after school and in writing. That's submitted. Their reflections are submitted and then uh scored against a rubric to ensure that they have the qualities of seeking out new resources for themselves, engaging in professional learning and engaging in that reflection as part of a continuous process. Uh we do look so generally what we try to do is have mentors that are in every subject and in every school. So what you see on the agenda tonight are uh individuals who've expressed an interest in being a team mentor. uh and that doesn't necessarily mean that they will be assigned a beginning teacher or a cooperating teacher. We just don't really know where some of those vacancies are. And so when um new teachers join our district, we want to make sure that there's someone within their building

167that they can go to for support. So they're ultimately assigned a beginning teacher at the start of the school year. Uh and we track their work with teachers and uh and then they're paid for their additional work. Thank you very much. appreciate the information. Can I do you mind if I ask Carly one more question? So I see I see some familiar names here. Um I we are missing some schools. So are all the other team positions filled? These were just the only ones we were So these uh we have I would say probably I I don't really want to guess but I think we have maybe about 75 team mentors across the district. There's a number in each school. We add those who submit their applications to a list and then as new teachers

168are join joining the district we make a match. So these aren't just uh the only team mentors that we have. These are those that are new newly added to the cohort of people who we have available. Overall we have about 75. We ensure that there's at least one in every school. We try to have a team mentor in every school in every subject area so we can make those matches with beginning teachers as they're joining our district. Thank you. You're welcome. All in favor? I I I opposed. Motion passes. Uh, next item on the agenda is the curricula curriculum revision with we'll have Asra talk about kindergarten literacy curriculum. Good evening, commissioners. I'm excited to be here tonight to present the kindergarten literacy curriculum revisions. As you can see, the kindergarten literacy uh curriculum will

169consist of four modules. Module one being titled the five senses, which will be a 12-week module. Module two is titled Once Upon a Farm. This is a 9-week module. Module three, America then and now. It's an 8-week module and the final module for the kindergarten year will be the continents which will be an 8-week module. The reason for the kindergarten um literacy revisions, next slide, please include alignment with the Connecticut approved K3 reading curriculum models and programs. We wanted to increase ease of use with the WI and wisdom program for classroom teachers. We also needed to update resources and books as well as align everything to the programs we're already using within district. That includes our geodess, our hegrity and foundations instruction. The next slide will demonstrate the amazing work of our classroom teachers that

170have helped us craft this curriculum and have come in to work with us here at the board as we engaged in curriculum revisions as well as our amazing literacy coaches listed there in blue. We cannot thank them enough for their collaboration, feedback, input, support with crafting the curriculum documents. Uh you may have noticed there were a lot of learning targets, a lot of success criteria, a lot of learning activities and we couldn't have done it without their help. Especially today because it's teacher appreciation week. Again, lots of heartfelt thank yous for this work and each and every day for everything that they do to support our amazing young learners. At this time, I can answer any questions you may have or entertain a motion for approval. This was approved at our student achievement uh April

17130th. I'll make a motion to approve the kindergarten kindergarten literacy curriculum. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion passes. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Ken Badley, kindergarten music curriculum revision. Thank you, commissioners. Um, Superintendent White, thank you for your kind words for the art show, but the real kudos go out to all the art teachers. Um, there's, as you can see, there's been some fantastic teaching going on to draw these talents out of these kids. um and and all the work that they went into collecting these works, mounting them, uh framing them, and then hanging them uh so that we can enjoy them. Um we had an opening gala Monday night and Tuesday night, and we had approximately 1500 people come through to view the artwork. Um

172which is which is outstanding. Um and the artwork's going to be up through the month. Um, and if people want to still come and see it, they can contact the fine arts office and we can, uh, arrange a time for them to still come and see their students work or if they weren't able to come to one of the gallas, um, they can still come through and see the artwork. So, uh, real kudos to all the art teachers for all the work they put into it and and and in drawing out all the talents of the students. Um, so my real purpose here is to present the uh uh kindergarten music uh revision. Um, it was last revised in 2014. Um, and the the grades 1 through five were revised in 2020, but for some

173reason the kindergarten wasn't included. But this gave us an opportunity to um update it into the new uh curriculum format. Um and uh it is aligned to the national core art standards and and is part of our K through five sequence of music education. So we have very similar units all the way through our our kindergarten through fifth grade um sequence. And uh thanks to the writers, which actually are all of our elementary uh general music teachers, they've all had a hand in uh working on this curriculum and adapting it in. Um, this classroom experience is part of a sequential music education which offers each student the opportunity to engage in the art of music utilizing the four artistic processes as outlined in the National Coalition for Core Art Standards, creating, performing, responding, and connecting.

174Um, this course provides an introduction to the musical concepts of rhythm, melody, expression, form, timber, uh, timber uh, literacy and technique. And students will explore these concepts through various musical activities including singing, performing on instruments, moving, composing, and improvising, listening, and evaluating. Um, and we subscribed to the uh Dr. John Fire Robbin was a professor at Hart for a long time and developed a a music curriculum called first steps in music which really looks at um through the fire ain method. They really go from birth um through the upper grades um and it is amazing to watch some of the younger uh students uh easily mold right into this and they they really they do classes down to birth which is amazing. Um so the units um unit one the the rhythm um they explore

175that concept of beat is at the kindergarten level you know we got to start at the basics so they the concept of beat the concept that um melody can go up and down um dynamics can be loud and quiet or the tempo can be fast or slow and form I sing you sing or or that call and response um whether whether music is the same or different and the idea of descriptive music and the tambber uh listening to the four voices soprano alto tener bass and one voice versus many voices and how the different instrument sound and then uh literacy in music just like in in kindergarten we're teaching the kids that music also goes left to right and top to bottom. So, we're reinforcing those skills. And then in the technique, the um as

176we're getting ready to play some of the uh early instruments, the rest position, the ready position, the perform position, and the posture matters. Um this was uh presented to SAC last month and I would entertain any questions and ask for a motion to approve. I'll make a motion to approve the kindergarten music curriculum revision. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? I I I opposed. Motion passes. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next item, we have Laura Lanza. Chemistry curriculum revisions. Good evening, commissioners. I have five curricula and I'm going to do them in record time. Um, yes. So, Yukon EC curriculum was written by Ethan Brown at BC. Um, the previous curriculum was only aligned aligned to the College Board AP Chemistry course. So, he took a deeper dive into the differences

177between AP and ECE to make a curriculum that was better aligned to what he teaches at BC. It can award students up to eight college credits, which is amazing. Um, any questions or a motion to approve? I'll make a motion to approve the ECE chemistry curriculum revision. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion passes. Thank you. Do I don't know if I needed an introduction. Yeah. No, you can just keep going. Okay. Um All right. We have the career work experience C.WE 5100. 50 stands for 50 hours of um career work experience and 100 is for 100 hours. This curriculum was rewritten with updated learning goals for students. Really thinking about what students need to take away from a career um work experience and also thinking about how they

178can reflect on that through a portfolio experience. So the teachers really worked on how that digital um portfolio is going to look, what they'll be asking students to reflect on um and how they are really gaining those experiences that they need to be successful in their future careers. So I will entertain questions or ask for emotion. I will make a motion to approve career work experience CWE50-100 curriculum revision. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion passes. Thank you. I think we're all getting a little loopy. We got I'm getting there. I promise. Um All right. PLTW, Principles of Engineering. Um this is a UNH aligned course, another course for college credit. It is a part of the engineering pathway. It's actually the second course in the pathway. I will

179do the first one in a moment. Um teachers took the PLTW curriculum that's provided to them, adapted it for our students, took the past two years of teaching the course, um their experiences from that and made it their own. Um it is a collaborative and problem based curriculum. Students create a prototype and get peer and professional feedback. Um, and it has a robotics focus. So, I'll entertain questions or ask for a motion. I'll make a motion to approve the principles of engineering curriculum revision. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? I I I I opposed. Motion carries. All right. PLTW intro to engineering design. So, these got put on the agenda in flipped orders. This course would come before the last one that I just presented. same feel though it is um a

180principles of engineering course. It's an introductory course um that provides a survey experience for students. They learn about the basics of systems thinking. They use CAD and create 3D models. Um there are demonstrations of learning in this course that are collaborative and require students to reflect on their products and use an iterative design process. I will entertain questions or ask for a motion. I will make a motion to approve the intro to engineering and design curriculum revision. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. All right, last one. Tools and materials. Um, this is an introductory construction and machining course. Students learn about different material types, woods, plastics, metals, and composits. It ends with students, and this was the main focus of teachers on this revision. Um, I keep forgetting

181to thank the teachers. I do I am very thankful for all of their hard work. um they really wanted to make this course focused on the community and what the community needs and having students make and build projects that will serve the community. So the course was rewritten with that focus. Um so the end product of the course is for students to select the appropriate material for their product and use the tools in the wood shop while maintaining safety procedures. I will entertain questions or ask for a motion. I'd like to make a motion to approve the tools and materials curriculum revision. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries. Thank you all very much. Thank you. Okay, we're getting there. Now we have policy revision 12.1 K policy

1825145.44. And then it says 4,000.1 4200 student personnel certified non-certified sexual harassment title 9 probation prohibition of sex discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. Can I have a motion to approve K policy 5145.44A 44A 4000.14200 students personnel certified non-certified sexual harassment title 9 prohibition of sex discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace as presented. Motion to approve. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor through the chair. Just one question at the um with the cape model policy that was submitted at the policy committee meeting and what's before us in the agenda. It had it had advised that districts should consult with their legal teams to assist through this transition and perhaps future changes. Did did we have counsel at the policy committee meeting? Yes, I I did reach out to our council

183and um they stated that this policy and their model policy are nearly identical. Okay. And the compliance officer was there. Yep. Okay. I believe so. They got right back to me. Okay. Great. Thank you. Okay. Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries. Next we have K policy 6172 I'm sorry 6171.2A special education preschool special education. Can I have a motion to approve K policy 6171.2A special education preschool special education as presented. Approve. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. Any discussion? I I through the chair. Um so reading through the policy um when we get to the end when it comes to tuition, it says that um that the board comes up with the tuition, whatever it may be. But we've always done the tuition on a sliding scale. Is

184that I don't see it in here that tuition could be based on a sliding scale. I think it's at the discretion of the board. So see please non-disabled regular education students enrolled in the reverse mainstreaming. What is re I don't know what that means either. What is reverse mainstreaming preschool program? Would that would that infer that they're being uh they're being withdrawn from like uh from like a like a a classroom with typical kids and being put in a specialized um environment? Is that what reverse mainstream? Okay, that's the the more self-contained. So, we'll have some that are going to be 5050 and then we're going to have some that are going to be more self-contained without peers. Well, with peers, but with peers that that have their that have similar conditions, right? Not the

185same. Yeah. Not with not with more typical children. We I I thought we always needed peers depending on the diagnos or the from need the need. Yeah. What if the if the need is too great? There we go. There's answer. Oh boy. Amy through the chair. Um so reverse mainstreaming is a is a term that is often used by preschool, but really what it means is really what Mary had said. So instead of having all children in one location as a preschool um or in a specialized say special education program, reverse mainstream is really saying that 50/50 split. So, in our preschool, we do have self-contained programs. We'll have three ne next year like we did this year, but all other students are in mainstream classes. Truthfully, we should we change the name, but that

186is oftentimes what is referred to in the preschool um arena. Thank you. Would just um I would just like to ask that the next time this is looked at in policy that it might not hurt to add the policy definition. as I looked at the policy at the end and it refers to the state statute for definitions. It's also not include not included in the state statute definition. So, I think we can just add it to ours. That might save you some questions in the future, but I I wouldn't hold that up for for this tonight. Okay. Just going to say thank you for that suggestion. Any further questions? So, going back to the whole tuition, it does say the board will annually establish the tuition rate. So, can we put that on a future

187agenda for our upcoming school year? I'd appreciate that. Okay. To consider um siding tuition, discuss the tuition and what the sliding scale would be. All in favor? I I have a quick follow-up question. Oh, just clarification. What committee would that go to? Or would it be a board agenda item? I think it would go to policy because this was this came out of policy. I just wanted to be clear that it's current policy. If we're looking at changing policy language, then yes, policy. But if we're looking at the current policy language in determining how we're going to assess tuition costs, then that would probably be finance rather than policy because if the if we're codifying this policy language, the policy reads as it reads and then if we're establishing the financials around the policy language,

188then I interpret that as a as a finance. Is there currently a fee at all associated Yes. So, we do currently use a sliding scale fee um at the moment. Um I couldn't tell you those ranges, but I could get that from Mrs. Sugarman for you. And does it change annually or is that pretty standard from year to year? Um I could speak for the last two years. They've been fairly fixed based upon the income. That hasn't changed much. But I will ask Mrs. C um Mrs. Sugar. So maybe we can add it to a finance agenda to kind of get a little overview of and see if it's an annual thing that we look at it and have some feedback from the board. If I may through the chair, just one question on that

189with the sliding fees and like you know how we've seen historically the last two years. I have also heard reports that there are certain vendors who we've contracted with who we started off with uh negotiating with a contract at a certain amount and then halfway through the semester they've increased the rate. Um has that been our experience in the recent semester or like like the last year or two? So yes, not related to preschool and we don't have too many students in out of district facilities. Okay. So it happens more in the upper grade level. It is really upper grade students, but it's the facilities that we're using and we do see that every year. However, the new contracts that I'm writing. I now put a statement in there that unless we have agreed upon

190it and we have a new contract, they cannot change it once I've executed the contract. Outstanding. Thank you. Um through the chair, could I just clarify a statement earlier because I don't think I explained it well. Absolutely. Thanks. It will bother me all night. So in terms of the reverse mainstreaming, when we think about mainstreaming, it's really that our students with disabilities are going into the general setting in a reverse mainstreaming model because we're required by law to provide services with students with disability. The reverse part of the mainstreaming is that we're bringing students without disabilities in to create that 50/50 split. So that's why it's called reverse mainstreaming. Just felt like I needed to define it a little better for you. That was much more clear. That bugged me all night. That was good.

191I get that. I do that, too. Through the chair. Last suggestion, it would um with regards to the sliding scale it and the you know, where does it belong kind of thing. Um the only other thing I could suggest potentially is that it's really part of the regulation of the program. We don't typically vote on the regulation once we vote to approve the policy. So maybe just a a quick update. And if you decide since this is a new codified policy, it might just fit better on the regulation side of things where we're notating it that the administration of the program is going to include a sliding scale fee. I will just say just um in my brief stint as the director, I haven't typically seen that board of education uh determine the actual fee

192of that. Correct. Um it's just for what that's worth. It's more of a practice. Correct. Right. But we can still get a report on it in finance to just be aware in case we're asked. I'd be more than happy to speak with Mrs. Sugarman. She'd be happy to report. Perfect. Thank you. Okay. Next. Wait, we didn't vote or did we vote? We got a vote. We got a vote. We kind of did. All in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. Next is new business. Any new business before the board? Okay, liaison reports. I think at 1010 we may want to table. How do we feel? Does anyone really want to do a leazison reports tonight? Well, I always have mine, but I be happy to share them theme in a different format like email, but I

193just want to bring honor to the two schools that I represent because they did respond. So, that is Bristol Eastern and Southside, and there were lots of great things happening, but I'd be happy to email those out and send my apologies to the two principles. Okay. Thank you. Uh, everyone else okay with that? Okay. Um and then this is adjournment. Meetings adjourned. You did it. That was a lot.