January 14, 2009 at 7:00 PM - Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

Rationale:  KCS Food Services staff have been invited to the Board meeting to that they may be recognized for receiving the December 2008 Employee of the Month Award.

Rationale:  Cindy Morse has been chosen as coach of the year in two capacities.  The first award is the State Coach of the Year for Unified Sports and the second is the Coach of the Year in our Class S Division for Field Hockey.

Rationale:  Sheryl Kempain will report on things that have been happening at Killingly Intermediate School.

Rationale:  Bob Vogel, the principal architect from Design Partnership of Cambridge (DPC) working on the facilities study, will present the final report.  As you know, the study has entailed six months of work and numerous committee meetings to review the findings and suggestions of DPC.  A copy of the report is included in your packet. 

The purpose of the presentation is to explain the methodology used by DPC, report on their update of the Fletcher Thompson 2001 facilities study on the conditions of each school building, share the various school/grade level configuration options explored, and hear DPC's recommendations.  The Board should take this opportunity to fully understand the conditions found in our buildings and to understand the options presented.  This is the first step in developing a long range "master plan" for the Killingly Public Schools.  It is suggested that the Chair appoint an ad hoc committee to develop a process for sharing the study with the community, receiving community input and comment, and developing a recommendation for moving the process forward to accomplish a reconfiguration of the district and any facilities' renovation necessary.

The Town Council has been invited to our meeting so that they can hear, first hand, Mr. Vogel's report.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  We have started the budget development process for the FY11 budget, with principals and other cost center supervisors submitting initial requests.  The basic timeline for the budget development process will be distributed to you at the meeting with meetings of the Fiscal Committee for budget review also scheduled. 

Given the condition of the national economy, the additional costs related to opening the new high school, and cognizant of the difficulties experienced by all Killingly taxpayers, every effort will be made to keep budget recommendations to the bare minimum necessary to maintain existing programs while keeping the district moving forward to meet Board goals and improve opportunities for students.  One factor that will help us meet this goal is the contractual agreement with the KEA that freezes teacher salaries at current levels.

Rationale:  I will update the Board on the progress of construction of the new Killingly High School.

Rationale:  Enclosed is an electronic version of the latest NESDEC enrollment projections.  The projections show a small but steady decrease in district enrollment since 2001, continuing into the future.  Much of the historical drop has been at the high school level.  Enrollments for preK-8 have been more consistent and are projected to be fairly stable (but slowly declining) overall for the near future.  Efforts to attract out-of-district tuition students continue, and we expect to see greater enrollments with the opening of the new high school and the implementation of the 1-to-1 laptop program.  For example, we have the largest number of ninth graders from Brooklyn than at any time in four years, and initial indications that next year's cohort will be larger.

Rationale:  I will update you on the status of the 1-to-1 laptop project for ninth graders.  Briefly, the planning and implementation process is proceeding as planned:

• equipment ordered and lease executed
• professional development for grade 9 core teachers and other teachers with at least one  class solely of freshmen
• upgrades of infrastructure completed
• coordination with outside vendor on imaging and cataloging computers
• planning for parent meetings, scheduled for January 15 (see attached letter)
• target laptop distribution date of January 27-28

Rationale:  The independent audit of the 2007-08 fiscal year has been completed; hard copies will be distributed (three of the four components are attached electronically).  There were no material weaknesses reported by the auditors, and no recommendations for changes to our practices.

Rationale:  Please note that the October payment of bills is included.

to approve the consent agenda items:
a.  minutes of the regular meeting of December 10, 2008
b.  payment of bills for 2007-2008 in October in the amount of $84,187.60 and for 2008-2009 in October in the amount of $1,263,626.58 and December in the amount of $861,629.30.
c.  Employee of the Month for January 2009

Rationale:  Last March, the Board approved the District's partnership with EASTCONN's Arts at the Capital Theater (ACT) magnet school, but for only one year and for two student slots.  We currently have one student enrolled at ACT.

EASTCONN and ACT's Governing Board welcomed our participation, but the Board's action was logically inconsistent with ACT's Governance Plan; we did not know this at the time.  The plan requires an 18 month notice of withdrawal as a partner district (see excerpt below); obviously, a one year commitment makes meeting that requirement impossible.  Additionally, this year the Governance Board is recommending that partner districts commit to a number of slots equal to 1% of their eighth grade enrollment each year, rather than a fixed number of slots.  This accomplishes several things: it allows for "friends" to enroll together, easing the transition to ACT; it increases the total number of committed seats to closer to the anticipated maximum school enrollment; and it brings the school and partner districts commitments closer to the SDE and Sheff magnet school requirements.

For us, increasing our commitment to 1% is equal to about 2 to 2.3 slots per year, close to what we have now.  I would also recommend that  we agree to be a full partner, committing for the recommended four year period.  Remember also that state statutes were changed last year allowing for parent choice in enrolling their child in magnet schools if a district is not a partner.  Continuing as a partner gives us some greater control over budgetary expenditures for magnet school tuitions.

Excerpt from ACT Governance Plan

Withdrawal from the Agreement:  Any school board may withdraw from being a partner provided that the board gives written notice of its intent to withdraw to the Governance Board and to each of the other boards at least eighteen months prior to the date of its proposed withdrawal.  If a district withdraws from the agreement, the district will continue its commitment to the students already in the program through graduation.