A vacancy exists on the Board due to the resignation of Jonathan Moore.

This past month's Employees of the Month are Killingly Memorial School Data Team Leaders-Heidi Auclair-Golden, Paula Bromley, Meredith Crabtree, Carol Bitgood, Margaret Walker, Lisa Higgins, Brenda Borrelli. They have been invited to attend the meeting to be recognized by the Board of Education.

On Thursday, January 13th, eight students from Killingly High School participated in a National Competition at The International Builders Show held in Orlando, Florida.  This competition involved 49 teams from as far as Washington, but KHS was the only team representing the state of Connecticut.  The group won 3rd place for Outstanding Student Chapter, beating out schools like Brigham Young University, Purdue University, and Cal-Poly – San Luis.  The judging was based on chapter activities, community service, fundraising, “green” living, and other projects.  This is only the second time in the competition’s history that the award was given on a High School level.  The only other time was to Killingly High School at last year’s competition.  Quinn Berube also received an award for Outstanding Student at the competition.  This award was based on dedication to the mission of the student chapter and construction industry.  Quinn intends to pursue a career in heating and air conditioning next year at a program in Tennessee. 

Members of the Killingly community are encouraged to share their thoughts with the Board of Education and are invited to do so during this segment of the meeting.  When appropriate to do so, members of the Board and the administration may respond to comments. However, in consideration of those in attendance and in an effort to proceed in a timely manner, follow-up discussion may need to take place outside of the meeting setting.

Bill Scalise, the lead teacher in our alternative education program (ALPS), will present some background on the program and some effectiveness data. 

Laurie LeClerc, district coordinator of our drop out prevention efforts, will report to the Board on district activities this year and the links to last year's Governor's Dropout Prevention Summit.

It is Mr. Rockett's turn to give a brief report on events at Killingly High School.

An expanded budget preparation calendar will be distributed; topics/agendas for each meeting will be developed later.  As has been our practice, the Fiscal Committee will meet during the month of February to craft a budget proposal for BOE approval prior to the March 15 charter deadline for submission to the Town Manager.  There has been discussion that these deliberations be done as a "committee of the whole;" if so, this should be confirmed by the board.

Certainly every effort to contain budgetary increases during this process, but as was shared at the last board meeting we have a number of impacts over which we have no control - loss of federal stimulus money, already having concessions from our unions for the 2010-11 budget, increases in medical insurance costs, unfilled positions with teachers on leave, and so on.  The challenge will be to find the funds to maintain existing programs, add necessary staff, and keep the district moving forward to meet BOE goals and improve opportunities for students.

Enclosed is the latest NESDEC enrollment projections.  The projections show that the slow decline in enrollment during the past decade has stopped, with enrollment being stable over the next several years.  I believe enrollment will be slightly greater than projected next year, since the efforts to attract out-of-district tuition students were successful this year and the new high school will bolster this effort.

The completed audit for the 2009-10 fiscal year will be distributed.  There were no material findings by the auditor (a good thing!), and few recommendations.  The auditors will be meeting with the Town Council; if you would like a presentation as well, please let me know.

Updated information will be provided on punch list and other field items being corrected by contractors, and other issues that have presented challenges.

We have produced a variation on the monthly grant status reports received by the board in the past.  It shows the history of various grants (entitlement and competitive) for the past three years.  I believe this will give the board a better sense of the grant funds available and how changes in grant amounts impact what we can do.  Also, the report shows a subtotal that includes entitlement and competitive grants, but excludes stimulus finding; the total includes all grants.   As new grant applications are made, we will ask for board approval and add them to the list.

Although earlier than usual, it is important to start the conversation on next year's school calendar.  For the past several years, there have been legislative efforts to create a mandated statewide common calendar, and the state board of education is having similar conversations this year.  As an alternative, the RESC's (in our case, EASTCONN), have been working with component districts to create regional common calendars.  We recognize that not all school days can be the same in all districts.  Issues like different numbers of student attendance and professional development days negotiated with unions, or local customs (like school closings on election day), impact calendar decisions.  Nevertheless, if districts can agree on common events (like holiday periods), we may be able to retain some local autonomy.  Attached is the proposed EASTCONN calendar to use as a template in designing our own calendar.

In the fall the Board approved using Ed Jobs funds to re-establish the K-8 Math Consultant position.  Mr. Thompson will update the board on the status of the search.

a.  regular meeting minutes of December 8, 2010 and special meeting of December 15, 2010
b.  payment of bills for the 2009-2010 year in December in the amount of $2,732.89 and for the 2010-2011 year in December in the amount of $1,091,569.10
c.  EOM for January and February 2011
d. payment of bills for the 2009-2010 year in January in the amount of $18,675.00 and for the 2010-2011 year in December in the amount of $1,271,649.52
 

In accordance with board by-laws, the chairperson will make appointments to the following ad hoc committees:

- Recruitment & Selection of Student Board Members
- Recruitment of Board of Education Members

In this very unusual winter, we have already closed school seven times, making the last day of school (at this point) Thursday, June 23, with high school graduation still scheduled for Friday, June 17.  State statutes require 180 school days; our teachers contract specifies 184 student attendance days.  No action is required at this point, but it is not recommended that we go past June 24.  If more than one additional snow day is needed, I recommend that days be made up by shortening the April vacation, starting with Monday, April 18.  I would like to be able to notify staff and families of this plan.  Other alternatives include continuing into the last week in June or having the board shorten the number of contractually required attendance days.

Administration has been engaged in a study examining the feasibility of moving all kindergarten through fourth graders from KCS and KMS to the old high school building.  The study documents, a list of needed building modifications, and recommendations will be shared with the board.