May 18, 2023 at 7:00 PM - Bethel Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  Western Connecticut Superintendent Association Student Recognition Awards
Two students from Bethel Middle School and two from Bethel High School were recognized at a ceremony on Monday, May 15th.  The Western Connecticut Superintendent’s Awards are given to students who exhibit a commitment to community service, demonstrate academic prowess, and provide leadership in the school community.  These students’ outstanding work ethic in the classroom, generosity in the community, passion for the arts, and leadership within their schools, are among the reasons they have been chosen for this prestigious honor.  This year's recipients were:  

• Bethel High School - Gabriella Luna & Daniel Vargas
• Bethel Middle School - Samantha McNamara & Kathrine Kechejian

National Merit Scholars

This year, we had a record number of students that will be recognized in the 2024 National Merit Scholar Program. Congratulations on such a distinguished recognition to the following students:

• Mashnoov Chowdhury

• Sofiane Hilmi

• Tobias C Johnson

• Surya Kumar

• Brian Nguyen

• Tristan J Scott

• Rohan Sinha

• Hannah M van Rijnswou

Rationale: 

Presentation of Award Certificates:

The CABE Student Leadership Awards are given to recognize student achievement and potential.  These students were picked from among their peers for exhibiting leadership qualities as defined by the criteria developed by CABE.  The Board recognizes the level of achievement of these students.

The Board would like to congratulate the following students on receiving the CABE Student Leadership Award for 2023: Bethel High School, Ella Egan and Joshua Wright; Bethel Middle School, Shravya Mankala and Christopher Troetti.

Rationale:  Bethel High School

• $500 for Unified Sports Program, Betty J. Callahan, Brookfield, CT.

Rationale:  This presentation will highlight the significant role that ChatGPT, an advanced language model, can play in the field of education. ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, possesses the capability to engage in human-like conversations, thereby offering unique opportunities for enhancing the learning experience. Through its natural language processing abilities, ChatGPT can serve as an interactive and intelligent tool to assist students, educators, and administrators alike. It can provide personalized support, answer queries, offer explanations, and stimulate critical thinking across various subjects.  The presentation will provide an overview of technology, potential educational uses, and ethical concerns.  

Rationale: 

• Close Out Letter & Documents for Projects: Anna H. Rockwell 0090058RNV & RMT Johnson 0090059RNV
• CABE Letter to O'Brien 

Rationale:  (Please note:  The Board welcomes Public Participation and asks that speakers please limit their comments to 2 minutes.  Speakers may offer objective comments of school operations and programs that concern them.  The Board will not permit any expression of personal complaints or defamatory comments about Board of Education personnel and students, nor against any person connected with the Bethel Public School System.)

Rationale: 

• BHS Graduation June 13, 2023, at 6 PM.  Be sure to RSVP to Cheryl Hallock by May 26th.

Rationale:  Monthly Data  -  We include in the BOE agenda the monthly data as requested by the BOE.  

Rationale:  As part of our overall policy review, we have begun to look at the 4000 series personnel.  This policy was originally developed under the No Child Left Behind Act.  Many of the suggested changes involve the elimination of language.   The regulation was also updated to reflect current practice.  

4111 Recruitment and Selection Policy  and Regulation

Rationale:  There are no real changes to this policy or regulation.   Much of the information is subject to state and federal law.  

4111.1 Equal Opportunity Policy and Regulation  

Rationale:  Again, this policy is being reviewed as part of the review of the 4000 series.  There are only minor changes suggested.  

4111.3 Minority Recruitment Plan 

Rationale:  This policy is reviewed as part of the 4000 Series, Personnel.  There are some minor suggestions for changes and comments on areas needed to be discussed.  

4112 Appointments and Conditions of Employment  Policy and Regulation.  

Rationale: 

4112.5 Security Checks and Fingerprinting Policy and Regulation

Rationale:  We are preparing for the end of the fiscal year. Final payrolls are scheduled to be processed on June 30th. At that time, we will know what funds remain and if possible, could make a positive impact on our district during the final week of June. We ask for your authorization to focus year end spending on areas that support our strategic plan or have been discussed by the BOE this fiscal year.

• Science of Reading - Implementing the Science of Reading per the CT Right to Read Act is one of our key instructional initiatives. If we are able to purchase or partially purchase an evidenced based, approved reading program we would like to go forward.
• Cyber Security - Protecting the data privacy of our students and staff is one of our obligations. If we are able to purchase software or services outlined in our cybersecurity plan we would like to go forward.
• Technology - One of our goals is to have technology as a catalyst for teaching and learning. There is a long-term chrome-book replacement plan for our 1:1 strategic plan initiative for Grade K through Grade 12. If we are able to purchase the next planned replacements, we would like to go forward.
• Special Education - The SPED department is still closing their books especially for outplacement tuition and transportation and necessary student evaluations and outside services; this will all be reconciled. Budget transfers will be needed to cover Special Education overruns in certain areas which will be finalized and brought to the BOE in August 2023 as usual.
• Facilities - With a reduced 460 budget there are a few critical maintenance items that we had this year and may need to transfer funds to cover these expenses.
• Unexpended Funds Account - Knowing that we are facing rising Special Education costs, not addressed through ESSER, we might need to withdraw funds from the Unexpended Funds Account in order to cover these expenses.

Rationale: 

Due to the retirement of Theresa Yonsky as the Director of Fiscal Services and the hiring of Jennifer Variale as the Director of Finance and Business Operations board action is required to update the authorized contact for the Bank of America Credit Card accounts.

Rationale:  Pursuant to Board of Education Policy, the following tuition rates for non-resident students attending Bethel Public Schools are recommended:

                     2021/2022        2022/2023       2023/2024    % Increase
Elem/Middle $13,900             $14,499           $15,064            3.90%
High School $16,038             $16,729            $17,381            3.90%

These tuition rates do not include transportation. Additionally, Special Education rates will be calculated as needed based on the costs of a specific program with related services. The Special Education costs are not discounted.

Rationale:  Key Points of the Briefing:

• CSDE requires annual certification by the Board of Education for participation in the Healthy Foods Certification Program
• In participating, Bethel can only serve beverages, foods, snacks, and à la carte items that have been specifically approved by the CSDE.
• For participation, the District receives and additional 10 cents reimbursement from the State on each meal served. This is important to the financial success of our program.

Rationale:  Summary of the Briefing:

1. Proposal is to maintain current school meal prices during 2023-2024 as the non-profit Food Service account is sufficiently funded at this time from CSDE assistance allocations.
2. Maintaining current pricing will help ease families back into paying for meals after two years of free meals for all due to Covid.
3. To set the price for reduced-priced breakfast at $0.00 instead of $0.30 for the year 2023-2024.  This will continue to encourage participation in the breakfast program and ensure that our neediest students are fed each morning.  The cost to the board should be less than $3,000

Rationale:  For the Board’s information, the Board will be presented with a listing of teachers who have completed the requirements to be granted tenure in the Bethel Public Schools.