December 11, 2007 at 7:00 PM - Regular Board Meeting

Rationale: 

Rationale:  We have invited the students who received the CAPSS Superintendent Award to the meeting.  We will give them a copy of the program and a picture that was taken at the ceremony.

Rationale:  In accordance with Policies # 9110 and 9120 (attached), Richard Murray will continue to chair the meeting until the completion of the election of a new chair.  Voting for officers are by written ballot.

Rationale:  Lynda Fosco will report on the news at Goodyear.

Rationale:  The importance of pre-K education cannot be disputed, and the policy initiatives at the state level by the Governor and the Early Childhood Cabinet recognize the need to expand opportunities for children to attend high quality pre-school programs.  The Board has recognized this as well, making the expansion of pre-K and full-day kindergarten programs one of their four goals. 

The Killingly Public Schools has one of the pre-eminent pre-school programs in the state at Goodyear, but space limitations, program changes and budgetary constraints put the program in jeopardy.  Our collaboration with the EASTCONN Head Start program in Killingly is one effort to expand opportunities for children and families, but the Board needs to take a long-term look at the changes of state and program requirements and the consequent budgetary implications.

This report is intended to present the history of the program at Goodyear, changes that have occurred that have impacted staff and budget, and give the Board a baseline for future discussions on the possible expansion of the pre-K program.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  The Board will hold a retreat on Saturday, January 26; further details will follow.  The focus of the retreat, facilitated by Nick Caruso of CABE, is the governance structure of the board.  The ad hoc Governance Committee will provide information for the Board.

Rationale:  This item is listed in case any board member who attended the CABE/CAPSS Convention wishes to share information with the rest of the board. 

Rationale:  Jan will share the latest free/reduced lunch count data with the board, looking at long-term trends in the district.

Rationale:  The PBC met on December 5, and at that meeting a timeline was developed for the next month, culminating with the Board's approval of the construction documents and authorization to submit the plans to the State Department Facilities Bureau for review and approval.

The key dates are:

• 11/30 - Fletcher Thompson (FT) submits construction documents to Gilbane for estimation
• 12/21 - Gilbane completes estimate and forwards to FT
• 12/28 - FT and Gilbane meet to reconcile estimate and develop potential value engineering lists, if necessary
• 1/2 - Special Joint PBC/Town Council meeting where FT & Gilbane present estimate/project status; BOE invited
• 1/9 - Regular BOE meeting; approval of plans (FT will be present)
• 1/10 - PBC meets to review estimate and recommendations
• 1/22 - PCT meeting with SDE Facilities Bureau to start plan review process
  

Rationale: 

Rationale:  As required by law, the Board must approve its regular meeting dates for the next calendar year.  The proposed regular meeting dates are attached.  As has been our practice, pending the Board retreat and any governance/board operations changes instituted, the first meeting of the month is our business meeting and the second meeting of the month is focused on curriculum/instruction.

Rationale:  At the last meeting, the board approved on a first reading basis changes to the graduation policy.  The changes to the original proposal are incorporated into the red-lined draft attached.

Rationale:  The Board reviewed the tentative negotiated agreement with the KAA at its last meeting.  The KAA ratified the tentative agreement on December 4.