001you can you please stand for commissioner Consignments vaa is in transit so I'm going to um handle the items pursuant to Abes model policy 123k um the this is inclusive of agenda items 2 through six this time I'd like to make a motion to a these agenda items um based on uh the feedback we receive from our attorney second motions been made and seconded would anyone like to have a discussion sh absolutely absolutely um so we for fored the policy language with the the red lines and the revisions that we had made to our attorney and um this was of course last week and today we received feedback from our attorneys and I will make sure I send that out to the board um they recommended that we have this be our uh first read
002because there was some language that we would want to um consider specific to um other areas where there may be searches and Discerning between um searching for Vapes and weapons the concern was there was a little bit of ambiguity and some of the language the attorney did provide redlined um policy recommendations but because we've received this today I don't think that we have enough time to look at the language review it and really feel comfortable with the revisions so I I'm wondering if it's a skillful approach take this forward it to board members and then we have our board meeting next week by that time we'll have the um opportunity to look at the recommendation of the attorney and then have that conversation at our full board meeting and hopefully um integrate with the recommendations
003that they have there might be you know some additional consult needed but we would then be better prepared next week to have a policy that is really legally sound and fully protective of St um and students thank you okay got it okay motion has been made in second H all in favor I I I any opposition hi that Eric that's Eric okay so the motion passes unanimously the next item on the agenda is agenda seven discussion and possible action on the appointment of an acting Deputy superintendent motion I would like to make a motion um to open discussion and possible action on the appointment of an Acting deput Superintendent I have second second motion [Music] amaz so I've opened discussion with um there were um myself and three other colleagues had sent some questions in
004uh in advance which we did receive um some replies to some um but we also didn't rece answers to some others and um with lack of answers in those content areas uh for me it this is making this um discussion decision difficult um did you respond to my when you received the answers did you say that you didn't that there were things that weren't responded to well that all the questions were itemized out so I just assumed that one of the things was that the contract hasn't been made available to the board for review right and you you got an email yesterday from superintendent W saying that it was with the attorneys right and so I'm not comfortable without reviewing contract information entering it's not a contract it's just an the chair a memor agreement
005with would we correct you did say they're working on memorandum of agreement and you did say that to us we don't know the context of the memorandum of agre have here tonight that so where I'm where I'm headed with this is that um this the the concerns that I'm um concerned about have to do with a financial impacts to the district which is why we wanted to see the contract and also the financial impacts of the the Domino decisions that would have to be made once that move was made and we did receive information about administrative changes buildings that this decision would would cause um there was part of the question that we had in regards to the the timing being so close to the end of the school year and the level of um
006disruption it might um incur between now and and July the end of the year and the proximity to um the the appointment of a permanent superintendent during that same time um there's a portion of me that that feels that um there might then other considerations that would have caused less impact to students in buildings and building Administration staff and so that's why we try to send the questions in advance and hope we getting some of those answers in advance um there was a reply but without all of the financial impacts you know outline for us I I have a difficult time supporting this tonight thank you any other discussion you're the chair yes um I guess I'm a little confused as to um the discussion related to financial impact and the bottom line for this
007type of position this is a position that is currently in the budget right it's a position that hasn't been filled since the resignation of our Deputy superintendent and so even though folks would be moving around this isn't an addition to our budget at all so I I'm just confused as to where the concern comes from a financial standpoint and then I guess I'm also confused as to the discussion related to timing I are people asking us to just hold this position open until we appoint a superintendent because I've seen so much Community feedback uh with respect to this position where people are asking us to actually fill this role and are questioning the board as to why we haven't filled this role to date and so I I don't I'm just I guess I'm trying
008to understand where these concerns arise from and how folks are coming up with these concerns altogether I mean have we not looked at the budget as a board and understand all the positions that we have available to us along with the available you know the availability of funds it just it's a little confusing for some of the concerns with respect to some of the other concerns around B uh you know disruptions I can understand those as a very clear concerns um and you know I don't necessarily disagree with them but but I'm I'm honestly trying to understand why there would be a hold up on the financial and I'm also trying to understand why people would not want to fill this position we're just gonna do discussion so I'm gonna see if anyone else wants
009to disc us um [Music] sure so I guess I was anticipating Theo you today um is the position through the end of June like what what is it all look like um and when it pertains to the financial impact um I think with the domino effect it would be an elevation of promotions you know from one step to another princible to maybe another team of students to the Domino effects below and so looking at that Financial impact and um just what's in the agreement I think I would have been more comfortable voting tonight thank you any other discussion through the chair oh please oh yes through the chair this is commissioner fit Simon yes um I think uh comment and then a question I have would be um you know for a district of our
010size having that position filled in my perspective and from what I heard um would be critical to operations what would be the reason why we wouldn't want what's that concrete core reason why we wouldn't want it filled because I'm concerned that leaving it unfilled unfilled could potentially negatively you know impact our district and how we operate um I I think the Commissioners that have spoke are just wanting to see more information but I don't think there was concrete information about why they wouldn't want it builded other than financial or um seeing the content of theou which will be available for everyone to see before we sign it so uh you know that isn't going to be something that's purposely it's just the attorneys haven't provided it back yet so that will be made available um
011this is much less of a financial impact than hiring an outside uh candidate because this is a current position and even with another movement this increases would be less than way less than half of what it would be to bring someone else in so I mean that's the only feedback that I can give you Joe based on the comments that have been made so far thank you U through the chair one last question I would be interested just in the duration of the mo Moa right that's that's what I believe we got emailed about with an MOA um just what the time frame of that Mo MOA would be um would be for superintendent yes thank you for the question so an initial conversations it was through the end of the school year but we
012also talked about leaving it open based on um so the the superintendent should be finalized um and a contract for a permanent superintendent should be in place uh by June 30th so it would either be so this contract for the deputy would either be through the end of the school year or through June 30th thank you any other questions or comments from people who haven't spoke who the chair yes so I think we have a responsibility to respond to the feedback we've received from the community and certain community members are questioning why we have not filled this position we have of course interviewed for it did not find um the right fit and I think from being a superintendent it's I cannot imagine not having a deputy superintendent I had a deputy superintendent and I
013tried to put myself in the position of being a superintendent without the deputy superintendent and how I would have had to absorb or my cabinet would have had to absorb so many responsibilities and that just I think would have th thwarted um a lot of progress and so I think it's a critical need and I and I also know and appreciate that our BPS cabinet has absorbed some of the responsibilities and Tas due to this vacancy and we want to also give them the opportunity to be free of those additional responsibilities so that they can return Focus to their full the scope of their full responsibilities um I can appreciate all the questions I think they are sound questions I think you know in a in a perfect situation having theou in front of us
014would certainly have been helpful um but I also you know have to trust that our attorneys are are able to make really sound legal recommendations on Ana or anou and um that we really need to be responsive to some of the challenges that have been very obvious with the vacancy and um and I had an opportunity to review um Miss Hawk's resume and I thought there were a lot of really strong leadership um points leadership uh experiences there and so I just you know wanted to make it clear that there has you know that I have had opportunity to review information while also still acknowledging the concerns of others commissioner Carlson would you like to lay in yeah I just want to say um it's important that we get this position filled uh we've got
015a Acting Superintendent who has no help for her she hasn't had since the beginning of this whole of her of her tenure here so um we got to get this done and think we F in the right person um chair can I just reply to some clarifying questions I think that breed at my initial comments we're just clarifying um I I agree this isn't supposed to be a signal that that nobody doesn't want to vote um my question was more and with regards to the budget impact yes I understand that the deputies positions already in the budget um my the budget impact I was more referring to is the movement and shifts of um potential promotions in the administrative changes that came out right after the announcement of filling the deputy um which was shared
016so um and and trying to get a better understanding of that because to me I initially had questions about well I already thought this building had expire Z position and now are they not going to have it and it caused me to have more questions after I saw that announ was it was in parents I thought yeah oh that has nothing to do with this exactly that that was a lateral transfer and it has nothing to do with this no nothing has been done and there have been no promotions so I guess that's why we had put that in the in the questions ahead of time yeah I don't have because our role is to support the recommendation of the superintendent or you don't have to but then all the decisions below that they're they're
017to be made by the team not us and we don't we'll have an opportunity if those positions be permanent but they move a lateral person or they use someone that's um uh acting like without posting there won't be a position filled so if someone is put in in a in a moon it hasn't happened and there have been no um plans disclosed to me at this point so I'm not aware of that that's when the superintendent and the hopefully Deputy superintendent are are ready to make their announcement and then we would have to only vote if it is not act if it's um yeah if it's posting and then they get the position but I don't believe we've ever voted on an acting or internal move for hovering another school in a case but I
018can assure you that every effort is being made to spend as little money as possible in this while meeting the needs of the district and the superintendent yeah so that was really the the Crux of yeah oh I didn't know that you thought that that other move had anything to do with this move it has nothing to do that was just a lateral transfer has nothing to do with this and then the the last um clarifying point was just that could it have been done um with other you know positions that potentially could qualify for the qualifications in the posting but not disruptive building and so that was the the part that um I think I answered that other people were considered and for reasons that were mine or ours made the decision was made
019that the superintendent proposed um Miss ha as her Cate so okay just clarifying the the um about question they were it was posted to get interviews um every Avenue was looked into and the decision was any other [Music] questions well my comments are that I am very very very grateful that Miss Fox stepped up and is going to um put herself out there to help uh conversations that I've had with her uh have been very positive um she has a long career in bral and has a lot of experience um in all levels but at the principal level in her school for 10 years with uh outstanding um data feedback from professionals I I've been approached so many times by people in the past uh week who have just said you can't do any better
020she's amazing um for families L her do no teachers want to leave her school I mean the overwhelming amount of positive things that I heard were heartwarming because I love hearing the good stuff and uh I am sad for her families that they're going to have a little break from her or however this goes but um I know that her impact uh will be able to reach more families and more students and um I just grateful so grateful that you stepped up and to fill this role and to support superintendent so um I am going to ask for uh all in favor to support uh Mary Hawk as asking super intive say I I I hi hi I'm opposed hi so s said yes commission G Antonio opposed uh so motion passes 71 welcome Mary
021come up for talk [Music] welcome you work so hard first of all before I say anything else as a board you dedicate so many hours and I just thank you for everything that you do I really appreciate each and every one of you and what you do for the City of Bristol I'm honored to stand before you today as a candidate and of the Deputy superintendent of Bristol a role that represents not only a professional milestone for me but also a profound commitment to our community and its future for nearly 30 years I have proudly served Bristol and bring 20 years of administrative expertise to steer our district towards New Height throughout my career I have witnessed firsthand transformative Powers dedicated Innovative and inclusive leadership I have worked tirelessly to create environments where every student
022is empowered to excel every educator is equipped to inspire I firmly believe that education is the Cornerstone of progress and that our district has the potential to set a new standard of Excellence in this entire region in this role I am committed to fostering a collaborative culture that Embraces Innovation while honoring our long-standing traditions of community and academic rigor I will ensure that every policy program and initiative reflects our shared goal providing every student with the with the tools that they need to succeed my vision for Bristol is one where every child's potential is recognized and nurtured and where our Educators receive the support and resources necessary to lead with passion and purpose I am ready to bring my lifelong dedication Dee rooted experience in the Bristol school system and extensive administrative knowledge to the
023role of Deputy superintendent I look forward to the opportunity to work alongside you and build a brighter future for our students our teachers and our entire Community thank you so much through the chair yeah okay so I had to just going back through my notes and I have where uh commissioner Simmons open the discussion but I don't know that anyone seconded like I don't have that you did okay perfect thank you so much and now superintendent like to say a few words I did a biography with the board but I did want to read it um here publicly so the public can hear about this experience and the reasons why I love that she's a right candidate for this gr principal Hof brings 30 years of B service to the Bristol School District Dem strong
024commitment to academic excellence and Community Building educ students children to a of the United States she joined Eastern High School part time for a year before transitioning to chiens Hill Middle School while at chiens Hill she was awarded a prestigious full briak scholarship serving as an education and to Costa Rica where she months and providing guidance on special education advancements additionally she urge a full scholarship to attend the Yale summer session of developments in African studies obtaining her own I2 certifications she spent years as an assistant principal middle school before returning to CH Hill as an assistant principal during her tenure she played a p role in leading CH SK school to be recognized as the Connecticut Association of school's Middle School New Year she later became a principal of nat Elementary School where she
025has spent the past decade fostering a high achieving School Community under her leadership L was recognized as School of Distinction by the Connecticut state Depart of education for the 22 2023 school year now she transitions into the role of Acting deuty Superintendent principal Haw exensive experience leadership and deep commitment to personal students and educators will serve the district well welcome there welcome thank you thank you so um that is the end of our meeting can I have a motion to adjourn second all in favor meeting is thank you