December 14, 2023 at 7:00 PM - Bethel Board of Education Regular Meeting - Annual Meeting

Rationale:  This action is required by State Statute and needs to be posted with the Town Clerk no later than December 31st.  Dates can be changed at later dates to meet the requirements of the business of the Board.

Rationale: 

The Board Chair will speak to the Board regarding the 2024 Standing Committees and bring committees to the Board for Board approval at the next meeting.

Per Board Bylaw 9132 Standing Committees -" Committees shall be established through action of the Board."

 

 

Rationale:  The success of our school system depends on an effective working relationship between the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools.  This code incorporates those standards and responsibilities most critical to productive Board and Superintendent relations.  Board members will sign the Code of Ethics for 2024.

Rationale: 

• Congratulations to Jennifer Lewis who has been elected to the Board of Education and sworn in.
   
• Congratulations to Pat Rist who has been appointed and sworn in to the vacant seat on the Board left by Melanie O'Brien's resignation.   The Board welcomes both Jennifer and Pat to the Board.

Rationale: 

• Congratulations to the BHS NJROTC Academic Team that participated in level one of the National Joint Leadership Academic Bowl.  Each of our two teams placed in the top twenty percent nationally and qualified for level two.
• Thank you to Board Member, Kara DiBartolo, who volunteered as the Book Fairy last week at the Rockwell/Berry Literacy Night.  She read for an hour and a half to groups of students. 

Rationale:  Gifts

• Loren & Patrick Salerno, Lorenco Industries in Bethel donated $3000 in Amazon gift cards to be distributed to our families in need for the holidays.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  Dr. Carver will be presenting issues affecting the 2024-2025 budget.  The presentation will be available at the meeting.

Rationale:  Committee minutes are provided for information only.

Rationale: 

• Letter of resignation from the Board of Education from Ms. Melanie O'Brien, Board Chair.
• Email -Bethel CT Public Schools Mail - Fwd_ BOE decision for IceCats Hockey - W. Capone -  Bethel Hockey Families.
  • Letter from BHS hockey families regarding the BOE decision for Ice Cats Hockey fees (12/12/23)
  • Letter from BHS hockey families regarding Bethel's hockey fees (11/16/23)
• Email - Bethel CT Public Schools Mail - School Calendar - J. Schenkel

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

Rationale: 

Key Points of the Briefing: 

• We are bringing forward the Literary Arts Publications curriculum for approval.

• This course is designed to introduce students to the process of taking content acquisition to publication and distribution.

• Central elements of the course include: elements of and quality of writing, photography, art, and digital media, editing skills, image editing, book creating and publishing.

• Students produce the award-winning, Mirage, art and literary magazine.

•  Units include:

  • Unit 1: Marketing and Promotion

  • Unit 2: Curation

  • Unit 3: Designing Using Industry-Standard Software

• Unit 4: Editing

Rationale: 

Key Points of the Briefing: 

• We are bringing forward the English 31 honors curriculum and English 32 college prep curriculum (Grade 11) for approval.

• These courses require application of our global competency skills along with a high level of reading and writing skills.

• English 31 Units include:

  • Unit 1: The Classic Approach: Patterns in Literature 

  • Unit 2: Timeless Concepts and Cultural Connections in Literature 

  • Unit 3: The Art of the Argument 

  • Unit 4: Diverse American Voices through Verse

  • Unit 5: American Dreams: Theirs and Mine 

• English 32 Units include:

  • Unit 1: The Art of Rhetoric

  • Unit 2: Examining Life through Various Lenses 

  • Unit 3: The Power of Storytelling

  • Unit 4: Inquiry/Memoir
     

Rationale: 

Key Points of the Briefing: 

• We are bringing forward the Creative Writing curriculum for approval.

• This is an elective course for students in Grades 10-12.

• Students are exposed to various genres of creative pieces and work on their own expression through writing.

• Units include:

  • Unit 1: Entering the World of Creative Writing

  • Unit 2: Exploring Genres

  • Unit 3: Revision to the Publication Process

Rationale:  Next year, we are planing to offer a full day 4-year-old program and a Transitional Kindergarten program through Circle of Friends.  Students who are not eligible to receive special education services are required to pay tuition in order to participate in the program.  We propose the following tuition rates for the 2024-2025 school year.

3-Year-Old Program - Half Day
2023 - 2024 Rate: $275 per month
2024 - 2025 Rate: $275 per month

4-Year-Old & Transitional Kindergarden Programs
2023 - 2024 Half Day: $325 per month
2024 - 2025 Full Day: $700 per month

Rationale:  Minimum wage will increase on January 1st.  We need to increase or substitute pay rates in order to be compliant and to remain competitive in our region.  We propose the following increases to be effective on 1/1/2024.

Daily Substitutes 
Current rate: $100 per day
Proposed rate: $120 per day

Building Substitutes
Current rate: $110 per day
Proposed rate: $130 per day

Mr. Foster asked some additional questions and the answers, provided by Ms. Rudinas, are below:  

Fill Rate?
1. Our fill rate is averaging around 78% this year, which is about the average of what we have been running. Some days are lower, some days are higher. We average around 35 subs needed per day. We have 30 building substitutes between the 5 schools and COF, however we have 5 unfilled building substitute positions right now. We are averaging 10 subs short each day, sometimes more if a building sub is absent. During COVID our regular substitute pool diminished significantly and we have been working to build it back up so we have people to draw from to improve the fill rate. There is a substitute shortage State wide. It is not just a Bethel issue. We have been more fortunate than many districts, because we have a good number of building substitutes. We have been having difficulty hiring, particularly this year, because the rate is low. I have had several people turn down an offer of employment because they can make more elsewhere. 

Length of Day
2. A substitute works 6.5 hours per day, with a half hour unpaid lunch. $100 daily rate equates to $15.38 per hour, so we have to increase the rate. We did increase the rates for most of last year. We only increased it for the last few weeks of school because of the minimum wage increase that hit July 1st. 
      19-20 $85 for regular sub, $95 for building sub
      20-21 $90 for regular sub, $100 for building sub
      21-22 $95 for regular sub, $105 for building sub
      22-23 rate stayed the same for most of the year. In June rates increased to $100 for regular sub, $110 for building sub, in anticipation of the increase in minimum wage. 
      23-24 $100 for regular sub, $110 for building sub. 
Substitutes are key to helping the schools to run smoothly. Building subs cover something different every day, sometimes in more than one area. They need to be flexible, able to adjust to different expectations and become part of the team in their building. We only have the students for 181 days, so every day is an important day. We expect that learning will still happen when a substitute steps in for the day. Whether we have a building substitute or a regular substitute in the classroom, they are working hard and teaching the lessons that have been provided to them. If we want to attract good candidates, we need to pay them a competitive wage. Another important consideration is that we have hired many of our building substitutes and regular substitutes into regular positions as paraeducators, secretaries and even teachers. 

Impact to Budget
3. The new rates would increase our costs for substitutes by approximately $63,000. We don't have as many student interns this year, so the savings from not paying the universities for the interns will offset most of the increase in the cost for the substitutes. We would incorporate the increase into our budget going forward. 

 Should we wait to implement it?  
4. We are not competitive now, so I would not recommend a small increase now and then review it again in March. Most of our substitutes have at least a bachelor's degree and several of them are certified teachers. We want to attract quality candidates for the substitute positions