REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 17 BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING November 6, 2018 A meeting of the Regional School District No. 17 Board of Education was held on November 6, 2018 at Central Office in the Board Room. Board of Education Chair, Joanne Nesti, called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Members Present: Eric Couture, Peter Sonski, Eileen Blewett, Brenda Buzzi, Gerry Matthews, Suzanne Sack, Maura Wallin and Joanne Nesti Members Absent: Sue Twachtman, Joel D Angelo and Kathleen Zandi Also Present: Superintendent of Schools, Howard Thiery, Director of Finance, Martha Vaughn, Principal of Haddam-Killingworth Middle School, Dr. Jennifer Olsen, and Board Clerk, Jamie Sciascia Visitors: Approximately 25 Call to Order/Opening of Meeting: Board of Education Chair, Joanne Nesti, called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Public Comment: Kathryn Rizzo of Higganum addressed the Board. Gina Block of Higganum addressed the Board. Jola O Connor of Haddam addressed the Board. Jennifer Petrillo of Haddam addressed the Board. Sean Donnelly of Haddam addressed the Board. Approval of Minutes: Approval of Minutes for the following Board Meetings: A. Approval of Minutes for the September 18, 2018 Board of Education Education Session Meeting B. Approval of Minutes for the September 25, 2018 Board of Education Special Meeting C. Approval of Minutes for the October 10, 2018 Special Meeting D. Approval of Revision of Board Minutes for the March 6, 2018 Board of Education Meeting E. Approval of Minutes for the October 15, 2018 Board of Education Special Meeting Maura Wallin MOVED and Eileen Blewett SECONDED a motion to approve the Minutes A-E as presented: Motion passed unanimously 8-0-0 by the following votes: Page 1 of 6
Report from Student Representatives: Student Representatives, Lauren Miller, and Nolan Serbent, were not in attendance due to school being closed for Election Day. Superintendent Thiery gave a brief update to the Board. Maura Wallin MOVED and Peter Sonski SECONDED a motion to move up Item 9A Washington, D.C. Trip set forth under new Business. Motion passed unanimously 8-0-0 by the following show of hands: New Business A. Washington, D.C. Trip April 29 th May 1, 2020 Dr. Jennifer Olsen updated the Board. Gerry Matthews MOVED and Maura Wallin SECONDED a motion to approve the Washington, D.C. Trip as presented. Motion passed unanimously 8-0-0 by the following votes: Board Committee Reports and Future Meetings: A. Facilities Subcommittee Eric Couture updated the Board. B. Finance Subcommittee Suzanne Sack updated the Board. C. Policy Subcommittee D. Communications Subcommittee E. Personnel and Evaluation Subcommittee Brenda Buzzi spoke briefly about Exit Interviews. Page 2 of 6
Board Liaison Reports: A. Healthy Communities Healthy Kids Council B. LEARN Suzanne Sack and Superintendent Thiery updated the Board. C. Park & Recreation Peter Sonski updated the Board. D. Haddam Board of Selectmen E. Killingworth Board of Selectmen Eric Couture updated the Board. Old Business A. High School Energy and Facilities Upgrade a) Report from Public Building Committee Board Chair, Nesti, updated the Board. B. Report of the Strategic Capital Planning Committee Suzanne Sack updated the Board. Peter Sonski updated the Board. Board Member, Brenda Buzzi, spoke about the Haddam Elementary School closing. C. RSD17 School Calendar 2020-2021 Superintendent Thiery updated the Board. Peter Sonski MOVED and Eileen Blewett SECONDED a motion to approve the RSD17 School Calendar for 2020-2021 as presented. Motion passed unanimously 8-0-0 by the following votes: Consent Agenda: The donations on the Consent Agenda are made to the school system as a whole, and the Superintendent may direct any monies to specific schools or programs at his discretion. A. Acceptance of a donation in the amount of $42.62 from Lathrop Vending, Inc. which will be deposited into the Principal s Discretionary Fund Account. Submitted by Donna L. Hayward, Principal of Page 3 of 6
Haddam-Killingworth High School. B. Acceptance of a donation in the amount of $545.00 from an anonymous donor to be used as Scholarship Funds for the Annual 8 th Grade Washington Trip to be deposited into the HKMS Student Activity Fund. Submitted by Dr. Jennifer Olsen, Principal of Haddam-Killingworth Middle School. C. Acceptance of a donation in the amount of $95.00 to be deposited in the SAF Account. The donor requests funds to be divided evenly between the library and music department. Submitted by Donna L. Hayward, Principal of Haddam-Killingworth High School. D. Acceptance of a donation in the amount of $500.00 from the KES PTO to be deposited into the KES Student Activity Account Field Trips. Submitted by Dennis J. Reed, Principal of Killingworth Elementary School. E. Acceptance of a donation in the amount of $106.31 from Coca-Cola vending machine sales to be deposited into the Student Activity Account Principal Account. Submitted by Dennis J. Reed, Principal of Killingworth Elementary School. F. Acceptance of a donation of miscellaneous musical instruments from Brian Dougherty to be used in The musical program at Killingworth Elementary School. Submitted by Dennis J. Reed, Principal of Killingworth Elementary School. G. Acceptance of a donation in the amount of $1,500.00 received from the CT Association of Schools to be used by our Unified Sports program. Submitted by Dr. Jennifer Olsen, Principal Haddam- Killingworth Middle School. Gerry Matthews MOVED and Brenda Buzzi SECONDED a motion to accept Items A-G listed on the Consent Agenda with great appreciation. Motion passed unanimously 8-0-0 by the following show of hands: New Business: B. Budget Timeline Superintendent Thiery updated the Board. From the Superintendent: A. Legislative Update Superintendent Thiery updated the Board. B. Personnel Report Superintendent Thiery advised that the Personnel Report has been provided in the BOE Packet. He stated if anyone had any questions on the report, please feel free to contact him directly. C. Enrollment Report Superintendent Thiery advised that the Personnel Report has been provided in the BOE Packet. He stated if anyone had any questions on the report, please feel free to contact him directly. Also, the monthly Enrollment Report is now available on the RSD17 Website for further viewing. Page 4 of 6
From the Director of Fiscal Operations: A. Budget Transfers Board Discussion/News/Suggestions: None. Public Comment: Kathryn Rizzo of Higganum addressed the Board. Myles Crete of Haddam addressed the Board. Jola O Connor of Haddam addressed the Board. Jennifer Petrillo of Haddam addressed the Board. Peter Baird of Higganum addressed the Board. Katie Packtor of Haddam addressed the Board. Sean Donnelly of Haddam addressed the Board. Shawna Goldfarb of Higganum addressed the Board. Gina Block of Higganum addressed the Board. Board Chair, Nesti, thanked all the Community members that were in attendance for coming to the meeting. Brenda Buzzi MOVED and Eric Couture SECONDED a motion to enter into Executive Session to discuss a contractual matter. Motion passed unanimously 8-0-0 by the following show of hands: The Board went into Executive Session at 8:50 p.m. Executive Session: Howard updated the BOE on a contractual matter involving MJ Daly and the state of the Boiler Project. The Board came out of Executive Session at 9:25 p.m. Adjournment: Board Chair, Joanne Nesti, called for the meeting to adjourn at 9:25 PM. Respectfully submitted, Jamie Sciascia Board Clerk Page 5 of 6
Approval: Eileen Blewett, Secretary Date: Page 6 of 6