001e e for I'm good evening and calling the meeting to order welcome to the West Hartford Public Schools regular Board of Education meeting today is Tuesday March the 4th 2025 Charlotte may you please call the role Mr gagan present Mr Goldman here Dr Harris here miss maramon here Mrs nazarella present Dr Thomas ferson here Mrs yagaloff present student representative Sarah granquist present and student representative Alexis nuan here thank you and Sarah may you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance flag Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the it stands nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all thank you we do not have a revision to the agenda order however would like to use point of privilege to recognize a pillar in our community who has
002passed on referring to Dr Tracy Wilson for some who may not know but for most who do know Dr Wilson contributed in educating all of us for over 35 years here in the district and even once she completed her time as a a teacher within the district she continued educating serving as our town historian there are many anecdotes many Reflections that can be shared about Dr Wilson but one of the things I think that's so important is that her Legacy of teaching her Legacy of having us to open our minds to think to be aware is long longstanding she is someone who spoke up and encouraged others to speak up she is someone who spoke truth to power she is someone that recognized the importance of knowing our history even as ugly as it may
003be there's no shame in recognizing shame from the past but there is shame in not recognizing how we can change it moving forward and she encouraged all of us to be empowered in that regard from The Young to the old and although her physical presence has passed passed on we cannot have her Legacy to pass on we need to hear her voice and it is something that not only our young people can speak up about but we adults as well and so I'm going to ask for a moment of silence please to honor and out of respect for Dr Tracy Wilson thank you and with that we now shall proceed to Public Communication this is where we're able to hear from you your thoughts your questions your suggestions each individual is allowed three minutes to
004speak we ask when you go to the podium to please share your name and your town of residents we like to start by proceeding with those talking on agenda items and for the awareness our agenda for this evening includes presentation of the superintendent's 2025 2026 budget recommendations as well as approval of minutes from the February 19th 2025 Board of Education meeting I have a signup sheet sheet here with just one name we'll identify that name and that is Dave pauluk if you may please come to the podium and I have to say that he is certainly not unfamiliar to all of us out of respect for Dave and he'll announce himself as well but he is a former Board of Education member so it is an honor to have him here as well thank you
005it's good to see you I'm actually speaking on an item that's not on the agenda is that okay well yes in light of our recent policy change and even if there were not the policy change we are receiving comments on agenda and non-agenda items great well thank you it's good to be here as is Dr Thomas farkus recommended uh mentioned I'm a past member of the Board of Ed it's been over five years since I was on the board of ed and we've seen a lot of changes it's great to see everyone it's neat to see that all your meetings are so crowded thank you I know they're all like this WOW hey but I wanted to speak tonight about something that's very important to me it's minority representation on the board of education um
006you know the minority Representatives serve a special purpose for us all um they bring different viewpoints and opinions and make the board stronger but I want to mention something to you um for those in the audience who may not be aware we have seven seats on the board of bed two of them are reserved for minority members so regardless of which party has the most votes we have at least two members of opposition to kind of keep things in Balance um now one of the secrets though is that Minority representation on the board of ed is Dei in action let me say that again minority representation on the board of B is diversity equity and inclusion in action well how's that possible think about the diversity it doesn't require a racial component you know our
007minority members bring different viewpoints opinions values perspectives and they run in different circles than the majority right so thanks for that input Equity is the best one now even though um and forgive me for this when I ran I was the lowest vote getter in my party but our minority members received fewer votes than the majority but still we include them fully on the board there's no asist next to their name not asked to sit at a separate table they're full members of the board with all the rights and um uh responsibilities thereof and then inclusion our minority members are included as a financial examiner or on every committee has majority and minority members so as a conclusion here let me just say that um the minority members serve as a living example of how
008Dei can work and that's great so if anybody ever comes up to you says I don't get Dei I don't know what it means what it is this is a great example tell them about how the majority members of the Board of Ed make the board stronger better and it's good for the students and the town thank you thank you that was the only name we had on the list but we'll ask if there's anyone in the audience who cares to speak we'll ask again all right we shall pause on Public Communication and now moving on to non-staff Communications and reports we're able to hear from our young people what's happening within our schools so let us first begin with Alexa sharing about Connor what's going on at Connor um happy March everyone we have
009plenty of events planned to keep this month exciting also for anyone counting we are officially less than 100 days away from graduation so keep pushing seniors you're almost there last Wednesday we had our Black History Month planel and learned more about the month's theme of African Americans in labor we'd like to thank all of the panelists involved like Mrs yagaloff and as we learned so much from your stories additionally a huge shout out to Junior Juliana faren for moderating the panel with such Ease on Friday we had our blood drive which was organized and run by the EMS classes it was a wonderful opportunity for these students to use their learning in a tangible way thank you to the people that volunteered to donate blood we will be able to help a total of 160
010people because of you thank you again to Mrs vder and the EMS students kudos to Kelly Casey and the student council for their fantastic pet food drive this weekend on Saturday they set up at Luna Pizza Gathering an incredible number of donations and raising over $200 all contributions will be delivered to their conference this week the CT student council convention at Woodland High School um great work we are fortunate to have an outstanding student council and thank you Miss Casey for all of your support the PTO will be sponsoring a breakfast for educators on March 15th called Lu lucky to have Educators like you we'd like to thank them for their continued support for teachers and students the opening of disaster the musical is quickly approaching there will be shows this weekend and next weekend
011with all shows being at 7 p.m. except for the Sunday performances which I believe will start at 2 p.m. they will also be hosting the senior citizen performance on March 6th at 2 p.m. if you haven't already go buy your tickets online you don't want to miss this musical comedy about the 70s we are super excited to announce that ESPN will be sponsoring our winter pep rout on March 28th we will be celebrating our amazing Hall Conor Unified sports teams our winter sports and any other accomplishments made by Connor students over the winter season thank you to Lisa Dy Tracy Kelly and Heather Russell for helping to organize this one-of-a-kind event all of our sports teams had a fantastic winter the hall Conor girls hockey team was crowned champion of the CCC tournament on Friday
012something that has not been accomplished in 15 years additionally boys basketball will be playing their first playoff game tonight away against Notre Dame West Haven while girls basketball will tip off tomorrow night at home against Stamford we wish both teams good luck with their state tournament run senior Tess Sherry won second place at the New England's indoor track meet for the mile and sophomore Harry Marino was named the state champion for his weight class in wrestling finally the boy swim and dive team will be competing in the CCC West Championship tonight so good luck to them as well lastly since it is a parent teacher conference week students will have late arrival on Thursday with a 10:30 a.m. start so you can put your alarms back thank you Alexis Sarah please share with us what's
013going on at Hall we are having a great start to March over at Hall with many exciting student achievements and activities in all departments we are excited to announce that all three of our National Merit semi-finalists progressed to become finalists meaning they were recognized for their academic and community achievements today the National Honor Society ran our spring blood drive and we want to thank everyone that helped to organize this this event or donated blood over in the arts department we had our annual Shakespeare competition on Friday the 21st where students performed various Shakespeare works this event was hosted by The English Department and our winner was Junior Gabby Goldfarb and the runner-up was freshman constantinos papasavas both these students will go on to the branch competition in grenwich in March and we wish them the
014best of luck as they represent Hall last Thursday and Friday night the theater Department held their annual 10-minute Play Festival where students create and direct their Min plays this event was sold out and as always an amazing production from our theater Department like Alexis mentioned we had our Black History Month panel last Wednesday and it was very engaging and educational to hear from community members about their experiences in a variety of fields we want to thank all of the panel participants and organizers for bringing this amazing event to West Hartford students over in the Sports World We have had a number of individual achievements and team successes in the class Double L championships for wrestling Mike Ortiz was the champion in his weight class Anya lasham Anthony mckuin and Colby Hurlock were all awarded All
015Conference honors in boys and girls basketball our boys indoor track 4x800 relay came in fifth at the New England Championship meet which is an amazing achievement we are so proud of all of our student athletes in the way they represent Hall we also had many senior night events for our winter sports over the past few weeks and our boys and at our boys swimming and Diving senior night we honored John McClure who has been a coach at Hall for 50 years he coaches both the girls and boys swim and dive teams and is an integral part of the Titan Titan Community yesterday one of our administrators Dr Kesler ran the safe School climate committee meeting which was attended by our school security local law enforcement students and teachers who all work together to discuss issues
016in the hall community and make our school a safer place for all we also want to acknowledge and thank the Career and Technical education coordinator Paulina Doma for sharing a number of amazing opportunities with students over the past few weeks including internships and job shadowing related to journalism film making aerospace engineering culinary arts and artificial intelligence we look forward to many more exciting music performances with pops and Jazz athletic events with our spring Sports and academic activities in the month of March and thank you to all of the administrators teachers coaches and community members that make these events [Music] possible thank you Sarah and thank you both Alexis and Sarah you represent your school so very well thank you very much now moving on to unfinished business which we have none of but we certainly
017do have new business where we have the presentation of the superintendent 2025 2026 budget recommendations therefore seeking a motion that the Board of Education receive the superintendence recommended 2025 2026 excuse me I want to say that once again oh my seeking a motion that the Board of Education receed the superintendent's recommended 2025 2026 education budget and begin the process of reviewing and modifying for final approval and adoption as the board of education budget at the April the 1st 2025 Board of Education meeting is there a motion so moved thank you Jason is there a second thank you Ethan discussion we passing it over to you thank you very much I appreciate it and good evening and uh welcome to March as you may know March is Board of Education appreciation month and I am certain
018that someone smart identified this month given your responsibilities uh to receive budget presentations and uh so no no influence there I just want to appreciate you in advance um and it is my distinct pleasure to to be presenting this budget um the budget obviously uh the work of so many people uh um I I just want to give a huge huge shout out to Elizabeth hwit um who works tirelessly with her entire team um but certainly also uh thank all of the all of the individuals here the entirety of my executive team the entirety of our administrative leadership team um we have members from the wha here who represent the the work that goes on on a daily basis uh to really take our school mission and put it into action um and uh this
019this is certainly one of the most uh critical responsibilities as a board in order to be able to support the continuation of that educational Mission uh just by way of overview to remind folks tonight will be an overview of the budget um you're obviously receiving your books for the first time um we will hold and we will talk about our board workshops where we will break these down into much more significant detail allow you the opportunity for questions that we can um respond to uh but my intention tonight is to try to give you and our public at home uh the big picture and then all of these materials will be able will be available online following the meeting so with that um I'm just going to start with some preliminary information and and share
020some things oh and can you drop thank you I'm sorry picture looks great to me but it's right here in front of me face on the computer so as the screen comes up um what should be familiar to you is the statement of uh the Board of Education goals and I wanted to point out that in 2024 within this school year uh Niche ratings uh listed West Hartford as the number one community in the state of Connecticut in which to live and provided our schools with an A+ rating um the A+ rating is is obviously connected uh not only to the hard work of the folks that I've thanked but but really their work in these directions to Advance achievement for all students to nurture the intellectual physical and emotional well-being to create a safe
021and respectful learning community and importantly to attract retain and develop a high quality staff through professional development the provision of resources and appropriate learning environments schools are the major factor within the niche ratings and they're based on factors such as academic test scores parent and student reviews so it is um you know no mystery that our schools are a foundational component of the success of this community and it was mayor caner who remarked yesterday at her annual state of the Town address success is no accident it is the result of generations of hard work work and continuous effort um it is a result of those who dedicate themselves to something larger than thems um in terms of the vision of The Graduate you know it is our success as a school district is no accident
022it is it is really based on targeted and programmed instruction in and around these learning outcomes and these habits of mind for students and I am proud to say that I do stand on the shoulder of giants Genera of uh teachers such as Dr Wilson who you mentioned um and thank you for that tribute and statement um amazing giants that are out in the field currently that are that are working tirelessly for our students and there are 9,135 students in terms of who it is that folks are committing themselves to when when we listen to Mayor caner and that commitment that generational commit commitment it is the 9,000 plus students in the district and it is an appreciation and an understanding of the diversity in that District that drives um our educational programming needs um
023and and our efforts our approaches our professional learning our strategies at um retention and uh academic and extracurricular programming so it is interesting to point out that one in four students in West Harford Public Schools live live in a home go to a home each day where a language other than English is spoken and among those um or among all students nearly one in 10 are English language Learners themselves not yet proficient in the language um nearly one in two students are students of color nearly one in three students um live with socioeconomic disadvantages compared to their peers and one in five students or nearly one in five students qualify for special education services so the the diversity of need the diversity of perspective um is is dramatic it is something that makes um this
024a very culturally Rich District but it is also something that is at the foundation of all of the programming that we do so when we think about what we do um we are unquestionably a school district that's committed to the education of our Learners to a commitment to our mission to prepare and inspire all students a promise to meet the needs of every child every day and as a board the adoption of the budget as I said is one of the singular most critical responsibilities that is in service to that mission so what I have up on the board is a snapshot of the results of the one-year results forgetting the generations of results that we've been able to produce for West Harford this is a snapshot of the one-year results that our students achieve
025this is part of a statement of our return on investment and so I'd like to spend a little bit of time because this is what constitutes our current operating budget these are the results that we have achieved um thus far as a result of the budget you passed last year and the foundation of the the budget that I present tonight so our prek programming um obviously we've talked about and seen before that it is nationally recognized through Utopia but I recently shared that our prek programming earned a nearly perfect nyak accreditation national accreditation with very high standards um we've talked about our elementary schools uh I've mentioned six of our elementary schools this year were named as schools of Distinction um and based on the US News and World reported reporting rankings um and assuming
026a base of approximately 1349 elementary schools in Connecticut all of our elementary schools are within the top 20% with most of them in the top 10% our middle schools um have academic achievement that places them in the top quarter of all middle schools in Connecticut Connor and Hall um incredibly situ at on the foundation of everything that happens prek through 8 they continue to continue to earn National recognition with gold medal performance in the advanced placement honor rooll program Hall was further recognized this past year with an AP access award whereby the demographics of those students taking advanced placement testing matched the demographics of the school itself further when we look at our Yukon early college experience participation we note that the combined Conor and Hall participation exceeds that of all school districts in the
027state of Connecticut and we've recently seen that separate from our College programming when we think about our career track programming we were able to award 254 different career credentials last year um we think about the extraordinary extracurricular programming I heard our students mention this coming March 28 uh our Unified sports program athletes from both Conor and Hall will be recognized by the Special Olympics with press coverage by ESPN as mentioned in other major networks as they are awarded as one of only three National United Champion schools um we've celebrated other incredible extracurricular accomplishments to include International recognition for our Quizlet teams The Odyssey of the Mind National recognitions and many more when we think about fine and Performing Arts um definitely a Hallmark of the district we've seen the recent accolades relating to the Hall
028concert jazz band at the Mingus Awards we have our own Pam Murphy our Visual Arts director who's been named the Connecticut outstanding art administrator of the year and our own EMT Drake has been named the Connecticut Music Association outstanding educator for 2025 the talents that are showcased the awards that that our fine and Performing Arts bring home are are are too numerous to mention um and our board Representatives as recently as as moments ago have shared the amazing accomplishments of student athletes which has includ which have included undefeated season record-breaking Point totals for individual or team play we have the girls hockey CCC title the girl swimming CCC title multiple State opens and State tournaments that are ongoing as we speak um and finally a significant and incredible point of pride in our special education
029programming um with our postsecondary program earning National recognition for uh exceptional transition services and career preparation um this week Melissa and Andy from our team will be presenting at the National American Association of school administrators on our post-secondary programming as a model um for school districts across the country this is what we do um it is the return on investment for uh what we put into our educational budget and it is the Legacy that we try to uphold and improve upon now how do we do it uh you've seen this slide before but I want to I want to point out that when I was in elementary school many many moons ago um West Harford was the second highest in the state for per pupil expenditures in around the um early 70s over the course
030of my 31 years in the district we have moved from when I started we were at 48th to most recently this last year 100th of 169 towns um we continue to remain near or just above the lowest onethird of all districts in our per pupil expenditures so it it is intended to speak to um the value for the investment so what's on this Slide the number of uh number of figures that I want to point out are uh most recent per pupil expenditure and per pupil expenditures are calculated and finalized at the very end of a school year after all you know after the budget is closed and all expenditures are are finalized in in the student counts are are likewise closed with the last collection in June our West Harford per pupil expenditure is
031just over 20, 2076 per pupil um and what's intended here is is for you to have an appreciation of of the value of that starting with the notion that first that's below the dur B average um and that is and that is below the state median and what I want to point out with those with those figures years the 5.2 million um is that it's a savings of 5.2 million because we're able to operate below the durby average um our consumers our families you know realize a $5.2 million savings if we were to spend equivalently with our demographic reference group a $9.2 million if we were to spend equivalently with the state um but beyond that because that's kind of a hypothetical I I want to point to something that's may be more tangible for
032families going back to our prek-12 programming we provided this last year we talked about this at one of our board meetings when we reviewed our um our advanced placement in our early college experience programming we provided the equivalent of a $2.7 million um in college coursework savings based on the instate tuition seat cost for those courses that our students have taken all right right so um what we are spending and the economy of scale that we're able to achieve to be below average in that per pupil spending is something that's significant so where does all that money go we understand that salary and benefits are the absolute L largest driver of our budget um they comprise uh for this coming budget an anticipated 80 1% of the overall and that's down slightly from last year
033that's also um realizing that to control costs to you know when when we look at the rest of the budget the only way for us to control costs or to lower costs is realist in any significant way is to lower uh our number of employees uh which is can be at odds with our educational Mission obviously but the budget that I'm presenting this evening um reflects an overall reduced Staffing of 8.2 positions from our current levels today that's following on um cuts of 10.6 positions that we um enacted last for the current year from the previous year's budget and that's not counting the 21 a half positions that were funded under Esser that we did not continue so in total uh we're looking at a uh 4 fewer period uh 40 fewer positions from two
034years ago um during the midst of the SR funding now the wedges of the pie that have uh increased and our uh significant influences on the budget certainly our tuition costs um and we've all been following the news we had our budget Workshop where we talked about um the significant state shortfall in our excess cost reimbursement which is going to drive uh an increase in this budget recommendation to you uh for out of District tuition and I'll talk a little bit more about that on a on an upcoming slide as well as Transportation cost Transportation costs will be influenced not only by uh a regular uh contractual increase um but also uh based on uh significant busing costs related to outof District um tuition and just to talk about this excess cost reimbursement briefly um
035in case we hadn't seen the news uh there there had we we have been celebrating the fact that uh we were anticipating uh a $40 million um additional funding for the current year and uh despite Aline item veto there's there are actions in place that will that will uh are promis promised to make that $40 million be realized um which again will benefit us for this current year there's a $40 million increase in the governor's 2026 2027 budget but where we are today and what is impacting in a significant way this budget recommendation to you is that there is currently uh no funding plan for excess cost reimbursement shortfall in the 2526 school year so we'll we'll talk a little specifics of that uh what I'd like to do now is go over um some
036of the some of the major drivers of the budget so we begin with um the fact that in over if if I were to Simply preserve um all of the services that we are that we are known for that are an expectation of the community that have served us so well relative to the accolades of what we do and why people move to West Hartford um in order to preserve everything that we're doing there would be an overall increase of just short of $16 million when you look at um what are what are the updates to the contracts what are the what are the new costs relative to um Services electricity uh things of this nature and and of course Healthcare and benefits um that's an 8% roll forward budget 8% to do next year
037exactly the same thing with exactly the same number of people as what we're doing this year that 8% increase um is based on um salary increases across all of our different um bargaining units um we we see an overall increase of roughly 5.2% and that's based on Market settlements and the value both the dollar value and the percentage in increase is uh consistent with last year it's actually just a tiny tiny tiny shade less um than last year so it's not unexpected um it stems from you know a step in general wage increase that that we do so as as as uh whether they're teachers or other people moving in forward in the experience scale they're going to the they're going to go on to one next higher step and then obviously um any any
038wage increases that we've bargained in addition um I am programming for some additional Staffing U realistically looking um within our within our par educator line um to support student needs but as mentioned earlier the overall budget will reflect a total reduction of about 8.2 positions which we'll get to we do anticipate medical expense increases um that are that are fairly significant roughly $3.6 million or 13.6% away over last year over the current budget um that is driven significantly by uh the current estimate for an increase in benefits from our state partnership plan roughly 10% um La that's a jump from last year last year uh the state partnership plan uh increase was roughly 5% at at budget time in terms of projection um and we were hopeful that uh that that that percentage might come
039in lower but that is not the information that the state has provided us at this time so we we must responsibly budget for that potential increase uh we're also seeing increases in pension and other benefit expenses um specifically our contribution to the town Pension Plan um increased long-term disability in life insurance premiums and the increased Social Security cost consistent with wage increase Transportation expenses are increasing by 1 Point are projected to increase by approximately $1.3 million or 12% from their current uh value that is uh a combination of both the contractual rate increase as we negotiate and uh we do have um the most uh efficient effective and Co cost effective uh busing contract kind of out there in terms of there's there's uh not necessarily a monopoly but a very small number of players
040and we're very happy with our provider um it's also due to out of outof District special special education busing so in terms of uh where we are today with uh our busing costs relative to industri busing kids we're picking up from neighborhoods and driving we're we're we are on target but we know that we will have um especially when there's an out of District placement you know it's a long bus drive and it's and it's additional buses that we have to provide but the big the big one here on the page is the uh the tuition expense increase we're programming for approximately three a $3.7 million increase in out of District tuition which is coming at it's a nearly 40% to the previous line um there is a and and there is only required to
041be a small number uh increase in the number of student out placements based on um the significance of cost um we've talked about the fact that the the tuition rates for these uh for these institutions are spiraling um there's talk at the state level about potential controls that may be put in for that in the future those will not be in place for next year but it really comes down to um not only those factors but they're they're Complicated by the reimbursement shortfall and I just want to take a moment to kind of explain that shortfall for folks um because it's a it's a complicated formula and it's based on that per pupil expenditure so uh we saw on the on the previous slide that the average per pupil expenditure for West Harford is just
042over $220,000 so to make this simple I'm going to I'm just going to say let's just call that $20 so if we were spending $20 to to educate the average student the state says that we'll reimburse you for any costs that are four and a half times greater all right and for sake of easy math I'm going to round that up and call it five times greater and so once we start to spend more than a $100 on special on Specialized programming for a student the state would say that they would reimburse Us in an ideal world they'd reimburse us 100% the last time that we were provided 100% reimbursement for all costs that would be over this fictional $100 was in 20082 2009 it was actually two years in a row 2007 2008 2008
0432009 um districts were reimbursed 100% um for the bulk of the years following that we were reimbursed for expenses at about 80 cents on the Dollar on average for quite a number of years right up until uh very recently in in 2022 um the state moved to um a tiered system where they would try to reimburse districts based on the the general wealth which is of a district which is based on a scale that they use and in 2022 we were REM reimbursed 74 cents on the dollar for those excess costs in 23 67 cents on the dollar and in this current year we're reimbursed at 62 cents on the dollar our projections for next year um are are in the somewhere in the 50s in terms of what that reimbursement rate will be we're
044facing this year as you know we've reported to you uh a $3.7 million shortfall from 100% reimbursement and there's a statute on the books that says that relative to the tiers were there appropriate funding we'd be reimbursed at 88% so were we reimbursed at that 88% in the tier that we're in we would be facing uh we're 2.8 million short from that reimbursement West Hartford as a district faces the sixth largest overall shortfall in the state of Connecticut in terms of real dollars so it is it is a significant driver for us and I'm dramatically appreciative of our legislature for the action that they've done um and the effort and the emphasis that's been put on this but we are uh we are moving into a year of uncertainty as to what that will look
045like in the coming year all other expenses um you can see uh this is our general insurance workers compensation costs contractual Services computer software those are the major drivers under all other um and it's generally flat funding it's it's a it's a increase of 2/10 of 1% so to try to offset these increases um I'd like to talk about uh what I'll be recommending and we will go through um each of these changes and uh and and what's involved under specific lines as we go through our Workshop we'll go through in significant detail so I'll give you kind of a highlevel highle picture um first we'll look at enrollment changes and enrollment overall um for this coming year if we look at total enrollment won't change um all that significantly from where we are but
046we will um have a stricter adherence to our class siiz guidelines um certain as they exist at the elementary level we know that we've been coming out of that since covid over a period of years um we had additional Staffing in covid and we had a slow return to our class siiz guidelines we'll also look at um at our middle schools and our high schools um what those enrollments are and and just look at any classes and things that are that are lower enrolled so we do anticipate that we can make um Elementary classroom section reductions we expect we can tighten up um under Elementary specials um correspondingly if we have fewer if we have fewer fourth grade classes then I'll have just a shade a fraction fewer of fourth grade art or music or
047something like that um we are going to see an increase at the middle school we have uh we have a relatively um small cohort leaving eighth grade and we have a larger sixth grade cohort incoming so we anticipate that we'll we'll move up uh probably by four teachers at the middle school um and we'll have a corresponding reduction at the high school so overall we anticipate a net reduction of 6.3 uh positions um based on enrollment for special instruction we're talking um about special education and the services that we that we need and we do see despite um some changes in enrollment relatively fat flat or reductions in some areas we see an increase and we've seen this over the last several years um growth within our special education population um as was pointed out
048on our demographics page um we're we're closing in on uh 20% of students in the district requiring special education services um that that is when you're looking not only the uh at all grade levels prek through postsecondary and students for whom we're responsible uh um who may attend private schools we have legal responsibility for them as well so they factor into the budget so we do anticipate that we'll need to increase within our intensive academic programs um at the elementary um you've heard about the unfunded State mandate related to post-secondary education where students now um it used to be that they aged out at age 22 um and now there's a requirement to educate them through the full school year in which they turn ear age 22 so we used to have a lot of
049students who would fall off our roles at various points um now they're um now they're not so we'll see an increase in Staffing related to that um we do anticipate with the tightening and with um Elementary we can or we can reduce some resource teachers to offset some of that but um those folks um and positions may get picked up with ads that we'll need um with an increase for resource at the middle school an additional bcba some speech and language and psychologist support so in total in special education um based on student needs we will need to program for an addition of 4.5 Teachers Program delivery um speaks to uh some of the some of the important programming that we do um that's that's separate from just uh classroom instruction so we are looking
050at um math coaching position um a potential reduction of one position in that in that space uh we're looking across our intervention um and we anticipate that we can um Reduce by one position at the middle school um for intervention services based on uh tightening schedules um and more efficient more efficient uh class siiz guidelines uh we do anticipate likewise that we can trim uh a small amount of quest Staffing um but we do have a need in terms of our Alternative High School program The Reach program in terms of supporting uh better supervision for that we've been we've talked about how we've changed that model a couple of times so I'm looking for uh a small ad there but overall the net change for program delivery and again we'll go through all of this
051in much more detail through through our Workshop but the net program delivery change would be roughly uh 3.0 FTE reduction looking at non-classroom changes um we anticipate uh we would have some positions uh We've we've had uh an additional security uh Personnel onsite for the Duffy construction project given the intrusiveness of to that uh construction project on on the actual operation of the school as we continue on with those HVAC projects we anticipate that um that we're we're not going to have that same intrusive nature and we'll be able to support school security um without an additional person we did have a plan step down um within Middle School counseling and we have um a couple of positions administratively that we will describe to you in the workshops um a counseling supervisor position uh that's
052been vacant and a um reduction in uh kind of a shift in how we're how we're supporting um 504 case management so under non-classroom uh changes we anticipate that we can reduce by 3.4 positions um and then finally under Support Services we'll look at our contributions to our um retire Health Reserve uh we'll look at the use of our utility Reserve based on an anticipated Surplus that we expect and uh our ability to reduce contributions uh to town pension and insurance to provide an additional um 830 almost a million dollars or excuse me um so in total uh modifications we anticipate that we can reduce our roll forward budget by uh just just over a million a half um with a total net Savings of 8.2 positions so that brings us to our summary if
053we start from your current operating budget that you passed um last year of just over 200 Mill uh 2, 83,8 156 if we program the roll forward increases um which again are simply the cost associated with uh doing the same business that's an ad of roughly 16 million um factoring in changes that preserve the majority of our programming but find efficiencies um and reduce our current Staffing by 8.2 positions uh we see a savings of or superintendant change of 1.5 million to bring us to a recommended budget of 14,400 as you were a recommended uh increase of 14, 64 or a total percentage increase of 7.2% of note and I know my friend and colleague Rick will give me the side eye um I will point out that we will also realize um as a
054town and at the Town level in Rick's budget an increase this year of approximately $642,000 in um educational cost sharing it is the last installment of a multiple year increase that the state did provide to ECS so um it if considered you know contributes an extra 642 th000 that that Rick will gladly um statutorily contribute to uh to school costs so um but in reality that's there just just as an optic what what I am proposing to you is a 7.2% I know that it's been asked um and it is fairly early in the budget process so I I'll share this um kind of where does that place West Harford relative to other towns um so there are approximately just under a 100 districts thus far that have reported a budget proposal and those districts
055are in various um stages in some in some districts uh they're they're exactly where we are that the superintendent has proposed it and the board of education is considering um in other districts the board of education has um made any and all modifications to a budget proposal and the board has then solidified their budget um and sent that forward to their town Council or their financial exam you know Financial body um and then there are a handful of districts where maybe uh the process might be all the way completed but that it's fairly early for for a lot of places um averaging all of those we we're we're going to be above the average and we're going to be above the dur um but we do have company um as I mentioned earlier we as
056a district uh face the sixth largest shortfall for our excess cost reimbursement and that shortfall is one of the most significant drivers um in the budget that's outside of our control um out of the dozen or so districts in the top in the top 12 um there are only two that have reported so the rest of them haven't even either haven't had their budget presentation or haven't reported um one of those District I won't name them although some of this information is public one of those districts um put forward uh their their Board of Education put forward an 11.5% increase citing essentially a crisis in special education funding for them the other District put forward a 5% increase which um is in and around uh it's a little bit lower than than average but um
057in and around um in early Statewide average um there are number uh the next districts down from us uh one of them put in a 12.6 um another one put in you know if I talk about our dur and fairness our durg is going to be is going to be below us somewhere near somewhere near uh fives so we are going to be this proposal that I'm making to you I'm making full well knowing that it's um somewhat above average from our dur but it is specific to our circumstances that we're facing um and we have company because we do have um a number of a number of districts who who have some of the similar issues that we have so what happens from here is we will obviously have uh a number of workshops
058and in that first budget workshop on March the 12th what we will do um is I will have the team uh assembled and we will go through um each section of the budget in front of you um in dramatic detail uh to be able to talk about uh what the specific programs and services are within within that component of the budget um what any increases or decreases are and and an ability to respond to you certainly if there are any questions if anything Rings um either unfamiliar or it was something that you you hadn't um necessarily um you know recall the full grasp of so we can we can talk about uh talk about that um we'll also review any in in Greater detail any of the recommended changes as they kind of play out
059you've heard about all those different reductions and some additions that resulted in a net 8.2 uh fewer positions so we'll talk about more specifically where those reductions fall and what that means and how we would anticipate um being able to still operate I expect we'll leave budget Workshop number one uh you you will likely have um certainly have have read through so will have some questions that we can clarify on the spot but you may give us some um some guidance between March 12th and March 26th as to a second Workshop where we will come and we will be responsive to anything that you've asked in that first Workshop or anything that kind of comes up in between we'll also have the public hearing on that which will be the major opportunity for our community
060to speak about the budget publicly will occur there on March 26th I would I would remind the public on the 12th um it's not a Board of Education meeting it's a workshop so there is no public comment during uh during the 12th um that said I want to mention um a couple of different ways that the public other than the public hearing can can provide input first and foremost um obviously they can reach out um through email we do have a dedicated email that is up on our website called budget at whps.org um and we've coordinated with our colleagues and the Town Council to um host some additional listening listening Tour on the budget where members of the Board of Education I know Lorna will will talk more uh about this and and members of
061the Town Council uh will come out and provide the opportunity for the public to listen so those are scheduled for Wednesday March the 12th at 3:30 p.m. at The Bishop's Corner Senior Citizens Center and Monday March the 31st where there are two different opportunities one in the morning at 8:30 a.m. at the Faxon library and one in the early evening beginning at 400 pm. at the Noah Webster Library also on March the 31st we also obviously have a Board of Education meeting that comes in between these board workshops two weeks from today and that is a regular Board of Education meeting um and that Board of Education meeting has public comment your goal uh is to ask and have answered from my team any and all questions that you might so that you are prepared
062uh to do a formal B budget adoption on April the 1st at which case we turn everything over to our friends and colleagues on the Town Council with the hopes for a smooth passage on April the 22nd for my birthday with that um I'll open it up to any general questions knowing that I'm certain you will have loads of specific questions that we will uh likely entertain in Greater detail at our first board Workshop but if there's anything I can clarify just kind of in the overview I'll turn it back to you madam chair for facilitation well thank you very much for this information um teammates we all knew this time was coming and we knew we would brace ourselves for this and so thank you for giving the highlevel picture but also preparing us
063for the granular details we will be going into and so with that with the presentation are there any highlevel questions or comments again high level yes Claire um for the first budget Workshop do you anticipate all the tabs and areas being covered on a general level yes great question so um given Dave puk's presence here today I know historically we we broke our workshops up into like general education one night and special education on a different night and what we've been doing uh for the last several years is to really go through the entirety of the budget um on at the first Workshop in order to provide the time and the opportunity if you have questions things you want us to research courses of action and Associated cost proposals that you want us to look
064at that we can um essentially do that homework and come back to you with that feedback at the second workshop and then generally from that second Workshop maybe there's uh some things that you begin to consider and and on that last night when we're at that budget adoption that's when Liz kind of puts up the big giant uh scoreboard and you vote on specific items or amendments that you might like to see and you're able to see in real time the impact to the overall budget other questions or comments Jason uh Paul thank you to you and your team as always for for putting this together um not really a question I I just wanted to say that I appreciated you giving the the context that this budget is in and and especially the the
065disperate impact that the state shortfall has on West Hartford um we have a moral obligation to these students to all of our students in particular to the special needs students um that's a moral obligation we share with the state if the state's not going to step up we can't Sher our duties um so I look at this as kind of a tax on the town of West Harford to be providing these services from the state and and I think that's what this budget reflects all right Jason okay any other questions or comments Ethan I had a question on the uh tuition and I may screw it up the um you said it was 4.5 um and the uh cost of a normal student or is it yeah the act the actual I'll give you the
066actual figures I was I was using sort of thing so our actual um average or per pupil expenditure which is which is essentially the average cost for for to to educate one child in West Harford 20, um $76 so what the state says is if you have you know you need additional Services as you know and and it's and it's never a question of um for students with disabilities uh it's an understanding that there are going to be some different services that we need to provide um it's not a it's not a it is an obligation and it's an obligation that we undertake um you know freely and and and gladly in support of those needs um so if I need uh a co- teer in a room or something you know obviously now that
067that's or or if I need specialized Transportation or something that's going to increase the reimbursement doesn't kick in until you've ex until we as a district have paid um four and a half times the per puple expenditure so for West Harford the true value for that uh in this current year is 93,000 $177 so what's supposed to happen is essentially as soon as we're cresting above 93,000 all of those expenses above 93,000 are eligible for reimbursement and the rate of reimbursement is coming in this year at 62 cents on the dollar is that 93 on the individual student or 93 correct 93 it's it's tabulated individually so we have to keep track of all Associated costs for each indiv individual student um and and be prepared should that be audited you know it's it's it's
068measured right down to the penny in terms of uh the the state auditing process so it's a very careful delineation of associated costs um that's reported uh to the state and there are two Peri I believe there are two periods Liz in which the reimbursements happen one uh were just reporting costs now uh on March 1st and we'll get an Associated reimbursement and then there's a filing uh I believe later this year but I thought the percentage doesn't they adjust based on the money they have not based on what your target is because it keeps dropping so what we're what we have eligible to be reimbursed is based on our Target we provide the state you know because because it's hard for us to know and it's hard for the state to know well what
069are those costs going to be um what might a student's needs become based on when they're identified or if something Chang es so there's there's projections that are happening all along the way where we're reporting what we anticipate the costs to be um and from that the state is determining out of the funds that they've that they've set aside um and they get all the totals from across all the districts that that's why the reimbursement rate has gone down it hasn't been a conscious decision on the state to give us less money it's that their their money that they've set aside has been flat funded uh for the last several years and the costs across all districts have increased and therefore they've they've got less you know there's been a greater bill that's come in
070the mail but they've got the same you know money in their bank account to send out so they're only paying out less of that bill it's more of an allocation than a match it creates the need for us to increase our allocation in our townwide budget because we know we're going to get less from the state okay thank you Gale yeah um thank you for presenting this I I know how much work this is for everybody in your on your team over the year um I had two questions on what you presented one was the expenditure per student which I think you said was 2076 or in that neighborhood is that a average of all of our students including special ed is that just an aage average of what it costs per student or is
071that exactly if you take the total expenditures in our budget um you know you take your total budget from last year and divide by uh the total number of students educated that that's where that's coming from okay thank you and the second question I had is um on the enrollment changes were you're going to reduce 6.3 positions on the elementary side is that coming from the fact that um we've changed the um age that kindergarten is going to start and that would allow us to reduce that many positions no so that that savings we realized in this current year um and what that created was um because that change went into effect for this current year we had a smaller uh kindergarten cohort that returns to a normal you know returns to normal or or
072sets a new normal but that smaller cohort will travel all the way through through grade 12 just just there were fewer kids that came into the district this current year in grade k um we are actually at the elementary level if we I I remember looking at a projection sheet a little earlier in the budget process if if if we kept all of our class sizes exactly as we have them this year and please remember that this year we had significant parent pressure to to lower class sizes as they came in and heard about the projections um we would be fairly flat at the elementary you know so our elementary enrollment in terms of how it breaks out the number of kids may be up down slightly but in terms of how it breaks out
073across the um you know the school zones um we would we would have roughly the same number of sections of Elementary when you add them all up what we're proposing in order to get get to this reduction um is to tighten uh our class size guidelines so and to remind our public um you know our class size guidelines for grades K through three look at up to 23 in a class and in grades four and five up to 27 in a class and obviously during our covid years we were significantly below those class siiz guidelines for all of the you know it started out as physical space um and we were still in the throws of you know at the elementary when one student gets any form of illness all students get that form of
074illness so there were there were you know there were real world factors that went into that and it was a slow step off to try to maintain those smaller class sizes in support of um um trying to have the learning acceleration coming out of covid you know because because everything had been so disrupted so we wanted uh but but as that as that Sesser money came out we and started to phase off we had to slowly go back to what are more traditional class- siiz guidelines and so now with this budget shortfall we're looking we're going to have to be fairly I'm recommending we be fairly strict with our class siiz uh allocations in order to uh have the most efficient scheduling possible okay thank you that's helpful any other questions or comments Claire um
075so um back to the excess costs in the special education um if if a cost is 90 say 93,000 for a student and then the access cost is reimbursed at a rate by the state um out of our 20% of kids who do get special education what percentage of those hit that four and a half time do you know I I don't know the exact percentage that hit that but I can bring that to you in the workshop what what a number that's in my head um because uh is is we we've talked about our number of out placements and I know the number had been in and around um 130 I think we're projecting somewhere near 135 for the coming year but I also know I spoke with Melissa this afternoon and and she
076was was celebrating a student who was returning from out of District placement to our home placement um we're also going to look at um I know we've talked as a as a board about um what does an outof District placement look like what's the profile so one of the things I want to do we've we've highlighted uh at the table a lot of the specialized programming that we did we saw a presentation by Melissa and her team earlier this year where we talked about our Strife program our intensive academic intensive behavioral and our school engagement program um as well as our Early Learning Center at prek those are all specialized programs that in a smaller District um if if they weren't able to program for students with those with those needs would be would go
077to some form of an outof District placement so you know there is a return on investment and a cost savings that's associated with those programs that is that is dramatically significant and it's one of those things the state is um talking about in this in this budget process awarding of Grants to districts um who come up with programs and myself and some other colleagues we were talking today to superintendent meeting like we have all of these programs in place we we we are trying to Envision um a program that we feel we could offer that we don't currently and you know we we talked to some of the legislators about it when asked about um if those grants could extend support to districts like West Hartford who have already you know done the work that
078they're asking others to do um and and provide some of that support so I I don't know if any of that money but I will get you uh for our first board Workshop I'll get you um a better feeling for you know roughly what's the density I'm hearing you asked of of students who who who qualify for excess cost reimbursement and uh and also we'll talk uh a little bit about the cost savings that we're able to see and the value of uh the programming that we have in place and and so I guess I'm assuming outplacement would count but then um a student with a one-on-one the salary of that one-on-one individual on top of the special services that student might need that also would hit 90 easily there there are um there are
079cases where you have students who have um potentially multiple services and we're able to keep them in District and there's some there's there there's some potential for excess cost reimbursement however the you know the majority are are issues where um there are needs that we simply cannot program for here locally and so so that becomes uh the trigger because the transportation is um is a driver and and realistically right now the the the um the private facility placements um those costs Havey have skyrocketed and there isn't there you know there's there's talk right now at the state level about the potential for regulating um what those placements can charge because it's kind of uh it's a bull market right um and and I I do strongly believe that a child who can be educated in
080District gains valuable experiences when they get out of school so um and but I also understand there's critical needs that have to be outplaced absolutely there it is a balance and I and and I want my presentation to be um as respectful to the individual needs as it possibly can you know I I talked with septo about this indicating that I uh they had a great transition meeting that uh Melissa and Kelly and and the entire team hosted over at King philli a couple of weeks ago uh but we knew that costs were going to be a driver and we didn't want families to feel like they were being scapegoated in any way um there are times where there are very significant needs and students um you know it is in the best of the
081child and we support those placements fully um but we do talk about where we can and we are very honest Brokers of what uh the services are and to your point the benefits when they can have that same period interaction when they can potentially participate in whether it's clubs activities socialization opportunities with their neighborhood friends um it it it's significant it's you know the the the event that's happening on on the 28th is is is just an example of that like like nationally recognized positive um programming for students here so you know we do try to at all times not only um advise in that direction with our families that um may be advocating for for something different and also ongoing assessment of students who who have qualified if IED for an out of District
082placement in terms of a reassessment of that need and the potential to to to draw them back into the district it's a significant um effort undertaken and and an important one for for those same reasons other questions or comments Latoya I just want to say thank you Paul and team for putting that together um and I just want to say you know moving forward in this process that I'm really looking forward to hearing from school leaders and teachers um School staff and students I think that um are School leaders and teachers and and School staff are on the front lines um and you know their feedback as well as student feedback um however that's given um whether it be written or students coming um or through our amazing student reps um that's going to inform
083how uh I ask questions um how I advocate um and and so I'm really really looking forward to hearing from from everyone so thank you thanks I want to I want to piggyback I just need to say it one more time I have to I have to shout out Liz and Barb and the whole team I have to I have to give a huge Kudos as you look out in the crowd of um all of the all the school leaders all of our department supervisors we have some teacher reps uh present um these These are the folks that dedicate themselves these are the folks I go back to Sherry's comments about uh people who give of themselves above and beyond um in service to something larger than themsel and uh I just just uh gratitude
084to represent them here in this budget process AB Ethan was your hand raised yes Ethan mine's more technical um as I counted in the general fund there's nine categories six of those categories I'm assuming you're going to get the information from the town or from another source so that'd be the medical expense pension fund or pension expense all other benefits I assume I don't I don't really know what's in there but and then uh utilities and all their expenses seem to be based on that General insurance and workers comp so I'm assume those are not discretionary no not discretionary at all we we can talk um and I'll ask Liz if she got a good note of the question uh because I know she's expert at uh at those things can talk about what they
085specifically mean um you know what's within our control with that um I know you know you mentioned utilities for instance um I know that's something that that we've looked at um there's opportunity um check my notes I believe there was something with the uh usage of utility Reserve uh based on an anticipated Surplus that we anticipated in there so we can we can talk about what all of that means um and go through it in specific detail at the at the budget Workshop so I would say if um as you're looking through the book a little bit more if if uh that question about what you want to know kind of drills down and becomes even more specific if you send it to me uh we can be well prepared for that at that first
086workshop and be able to provide you with detailed answers I'm just trying to get a feel for what's discretionary and what's locked and if I may jump in here I think thank you so much for the question because certainly we want to know that and that's why we're so fortunate to have the workshops to be able to go more in the details and so with the questions you have we've made notes but if there addition and this speaking to all of us if there additional questions you have please pass them on to superintendent Vice so they can be prepared to share that with us with Workshop number one and then we have Workshop number two as well and so thank you Ethan for reminding us of needing to do our homework to go through uh
087and ask those questions and we certainly look forward to hearing more about them when we come together for Budget Workshop number one on the 12 did you have any other highle questions all right any other highle questions or comments Shannon U just want to Echo the gratitude for all of the thought and effort that went to this and um in my work working with other districts across the state I have to say I really applaud the transparency and Clarity with which you present the information because I see a lot of other budgets that are lacking that um and so just really grateful for that and one other point I'd like to make is this might come up in more detail is the percentage of expense that goes out of District to pay for contracts is
088so minimal compared to a lot of other districts so clearly the capacity and the investment in that capacity within the district has been a priority and I think speaking to that and showing that as a comparison with other districts would be really interesting as well as the um the limited overhead and administrative percentage relative to the direct service is something that's really applaud out out of West Hartford it is remarked upon very frequently in other circles and I don't know that we always get credit for that so if we could talk about that at one of the workshops that would be great but thank you for all of this hard work absolutely thank you and in the spirit of transparency I'll just mention again for any of the listening public at home that uh by
089this point in time I expect uh the full board book that all of you have with all of the detail as well as the PowerPoint presentation that was shared this evening should all be online um on the uh whps page uh under the Board of Education other questions or comments so thank you again I Echo all all that has been shared thank you for sharing that the information will be available to the general public and that is really important because this is something that involves all Hands-On deck we know that the proposed budget has been shared with us and we know that come in April we will vote on it but then it goes before the Town Council and it is a part of the Town council's budget and they ultimately decide what number is
090able to be passed forward and and I say that not lightly because it goes to the Town Council but the board's budget makes up the bulk of the town's budget makes up the majority of it however in terms of students and families we make up the minority in terms of numbers of residents in town so we make up the smallest in terms of percentage of residents in town but we make up the bulk of the budget and so therefore it's important for all to be aware of what is involved with this budget process and that's why we're so thankful and appreciate to our mayor Sher caner and the Town Council for having these listening sessions with us thank you so much again Mr Vias for sharing about that the purpose for the listening session is
091yes for us to give a high level of the budget and where we are but more importantly it's to hear from the public and not just parents and teachers but those that may not have children in the district those that may have had children in the district but they have grown up or they are no longer in the district we want to hear from them as well because they contribute to the support of our budget so all hands on deck in that regard and as Mr vicina shared those listening sessions which again will be comprised of board members representation and Town Council representation the first one is on Wednesday March the 12th at 3:30 and the following two are on Monday March the 31st in the morning at 8:30 and in the early evening at
0924:00 and we'll have the specific locations of that provided online as well those are addition to other opportunities to listen and to hear your thoughts about the budget so we know we have Workshop number one on the 12th that is to listen so we are not receiving public comments on the 12th however we do have our public hearing on March the 26th but before our public hearing on the 26th we have our regular Board of Education meeting on March 18th and although there will be other agenda items talked about we do have public comment at the beginning and the end of the meeting so that is an opportunity to share your thoughts regarding the budget budget and again we have our public hearing on the 26th followed by our second workshop on the 26th and
093then we come together on the first to vote on the budget and there is public comment at that time as well however opportunities for you to share your thoughts about the budget in addition to public comment you certainly can email us and if you happen to see us in passing you can certainly share your thoughts as well because we collectively represent the board so we want to certainly hear your thoughts your questions your suggestions so teammates we have a busy couple of weeks or several weeks ahead of us but again this is something that we have prepared for uh it's important to recognize that what we are discussing is talking about investing in our young people and Jason yeah you can't get keep more real than how you you summarized it and so we look
094forward to engaging in those conversations any last other comments regarding the proposed budget before we move on with the agenda all right seeing none well staff reports board discussions I believe we have covered that but we'll still pass it to you yes I defer the majority of my comments I did want to just um two two really quick things first and foremost again um a huge thanks for the for the recognition of the contributions of Dr Tracy Wilson and honoring and recognizing her passing um I had the privilege uh to speak on behalf of the district and regarding you know regarding the loss and uh I'll simply say she was a champion for students I'm aware that there's um it was published that there's uh services for her uh here at the Town Hall on
095Thursday March 6th this week uh from 12:00 to 3: I also want to mention uh as was mentioned I'll reinforce what the students said uh a moment of great celebration on March 28th um at Conor Hall pep rally it not open to the general public but as a board you're invited uh to witness the installation of the national unified Champion School Banner uh which will be presented by the Special Olympics uh to the student athletes and other participants in our West Harford Unified sports team um and uh so I believe you have a flyer describing the location of that and uh I hope that you guys are able to attend other than that I will save my other comments for our next uh regular board meeting all right thank you moving on to routine matters
096where we have approval of the minutes seek oh that that's all right yes Latoya just wanted to say happy women's History Month it's March uh International women's and girls days coming up um and I I have to bring it up because you know without women we wouldn't have a board and um you know we don't just have you know we have we have Heavy Hitters up here we have two amazing student reps we have two phds on the board we have an executive director of one of the most impactful nonprofits in the state and we have a community Legend and activist down there Claire and then yall already know I'm a queen um and then the superintendence team as well um the school leaders in this District the the teachers I mean this town can't
097run without women and so I just wanted to Len that up um happy women's month and um salute to all the Queens in West Harford I'll second that for the [Laughter] minutes all right Latoya nice all right all right and so with that well said statement approval of the minute seeking a motion that the Board of Education approve the minutes of the regular Board of Education meeting of February 19th 2025 is there a motion so moved thank you Jason is there a second second thank you Ethan discussion I'm sorry chuckling I think that's the first time that all right well no I'm leave a be okay any other discussion all right all of those in favor say I I I any oppose any abstain the eyes have it thank you information and reports board members
098do we have any other comments or reports again we thank you Latoya for recognizing women's History Month which can be celebrated year round thank you so very much for that any other com yes Claire yeah um so I just wanted to give a shout out we had um seven students from Conor and Hall that volunteered for the whole Practice season for Special Olympics um every Monday night they came and skied and worked with our special Olympians this week was the Special Olympics um at um Powder Ridge and we had 12 Olympians um we took home uh over 12 gold medals and um it's just really important those students that came every single Monday night meant a lot to the athletes um they learned a lot the athletes learned a lot and um it was the
099epitome of diversity equity and inclusion and I just wanted to send a thanks to all the kids that helped my daughter now calls it unified schem which we've never had that program before so um and thank you there were 87 athletes in the state of Connecticut that all um competed it was a great weekend thank you Claire wonderful any other comments or pieces to share all right and so with that moving on to future business where we have several announcements of future meeting dates first beginning with Wednesday March the 12th at 3:30 where we will have our Board of Ed Town Council listening session regarding the budget and then that evening at 7 o'clock we will have budget Workshop number one here at the Town Hall in room 3:14 and then on Tuesday March the
10018th we'll have our regular Board of Education meeting at 7:00 here at the town hall room 3:14 and then on Wednesday March the 26th we'll have our Board of Education public hearing at 7:00 followed by budget Workshop number two all taking place here at the Town Hall in room 3:14 and then on Monday March the 31st at 8:30 a.m. we'll have our Board of Ved Town Council listening session regarding the budget and then that evening at 4:00 again having the board ofed Town Council listening session regarding the budget and then on Tuesday April the 1st 2025 our regular Board of Education meeting where we will have adoption of the superintendent's 2025 2026 budget at 7:00 here in room 3:14 do we have a request for any other future agenda items seeing none do we have
101anyone in the public who would like to make a public comment it's wonderful to see a SE of you all beautiful all right seeing none in terms of making public comments see lots of you all yes we do not have an executive session there therefore seeking a motion to adjourn so moved thank you Shannon is there a second second thank you Latoya meeting adjourned e