As second shift custodians at Killingly Central School, Wayne Blackmer and Kurt Michon were chosen to receive this award due to the appreciation from Killingly Central Staff. According to KCS staff, they are personable and kind to all teachers and staff.  They deserve recognition for the outstanding job and attention they give the classrooms every day during the school year, and especially during the summer months. 

For example, this summer it was requested that a classroom blinds be cleaned more thoroughly than usual, and when the teacher arrived in August, the blinds were spotless.  They go  "above and beyond" when cleaning the classrooms, doing extra things like emptying pencil sharpeners, helping out teachers with personal requests, etc.  They are willing to stop what they are doing to give teachers a hand carrying bags or boxes of books and things out to their cars.  No matter what the task is, they are ready and willing to help. 

When teachers had to switch classrooms, they provided boxes, and helped to move the boxed items and furniture in and out of the classrooms.  Everyone from Killingly Central School appreciates everything they do!

On behalf of the Board of Education, we commend you and thank you for your dedication to the Killingly Public Schools.

Please join me in congratulating Dick Martin and all the students who contributed to Westfield Corner, our Literary Magazine.  We received notification that they earned an "Above Average" ranking in the  competition sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English. There were 391 entries for this competition and a total of 19 awards: one "Highest Award", 2 "Superior" awards, 11 "Excellent" awards, and 5 "Above Average" awards.
Mr. Martin was able to contact Christine Peterson, last years' Westfield Corner Literacy magazine editor and she is also in attendance tonight. Currently, Christine is a freshman at UCONN, where she is already one of the top writers for the
University newspaper, The Daily Campus. Mr. Martin and his students will be doing a story about Christine in the near future for the Redline Newspaper.

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.

Colin McNamara will discuss a protocol that has been developed that enables schools to highlight progress that they have made towards school/district goals.  

Jennifer Thompson, Chairperson of the School Reconfiguration Committee, will present the final recommendations of the committee.  The committee, which has been meeting since October, had the following Board adopted charge: "The Committee on School Reconfiguration shall explore alternatives to our current elementary school alignment, and consider moving, closing or consolidating elementary schools or realigning grades.  As part of its deliberations, the Committee shall take into consideration operational savings (or additional costs) by reconfiguring while maintaining existing programs and instructional quality, and allowing for future program and enrollment growth."

The committee has worked diligently over these past months, touring schools, learning about programs, and considering multiple options.  A listing of committee members, composed of parents, teachers, community members and administrators, is attached.

Pam Rodgers asked me to remind the Board and community of the New England Music Festival Association visit to KHS on March 15-18, and for the continued need for housing for visiting students.

Although incomplete due to the departure of Christine Clark, projections to the end of the year as reported to the Fiscal Committee show an anticipated positive balance of $273,000 (excluding outplaced special education tuition), or less than 1% of the budget.  The tuition line items are underfunded by approximately $500,000, necessitating the need for a supplemental appropriation (see item 11B).

This year's budget development process will suffer from the business manager transition, but the hard charter deadline of March 15 for budget submission to the town manager remains.  Consequently, the board review process will be compressed, and it is possible that we won't be ready to distribute budget books at this meeting.  Attached is a draft budget calendar; key dates included are tentative budget presentation to the Town Council on March 31, and the Public Hearing on April 12.  We will poll the board to identify possible budget review dates, with agendas to follow.

Due to "significant data and technological problems" experienced by SDE, the Strategic School Profiles (SSP) became available for download and distribution on Friday, February 3.  The district and individual school reports are attached.  We have not had time to even review them, but are distributing them to you, as required by law, at the first board meeting after release.  We can schedule time for review and discussion at a later date, if the board wishes to.

In order to fulfill the intent of Board by-law #9160, Student Representation to the Board of Education, the chairperson needs to create and make appointments to an ad hoc committee for the Recruitment & Selection of Student Board Members.

As you are aware, we have an agreement with the Town Council on the funding of two specific line items - Regular Tuition (our outplaced special ed students) and Agency Placement Tuition (students placed by state agencies for whom we are responsible).  Both of these line items are eligible for state excess cost aid reimbursement.  This year we are facing a shortfall largely attributable to three things: first, the nature of two year averaging in the agreed upon formula created a shortfall in the budget itself; second, there are  additional students outplaced this year who either moved into district with IEPs for outplacements or for whom we had no space in our programs; and, third, the state's capping of excess cost aid reduced revenues. After reviewing options, the Fiscal Committee recommended that the BOE authorize the superintendent to request a supplemental appropriation from the Council for approximately $500.000.  If approved by the Board, the Council will take up the request at their meeting on February 14. As always, we will do our best to manage the budget for the remainder of the year to return the amount of the supplemental appropriation to the fund balance at the end of the year.

Steve Rioux is requesting that the Board allocate some funds for spring sports at KIS.  As you are aware, SOS actively and successfully raised funds that fully paid for the fall and winter seasons, but there are insufficient funds to pay for the spring season.  His request is two-fold: to allow for some unused co-curricular stipends to be used for coaches' salaries, and to allocate an additional $5,000 for transportation, supplies, referees, and other incidental costs.  The Fiscal Committee supports this request, and recommends that the Board allocate the funds as requested.

Neither of these two actions require a formal line item transfer approval, but since the Board eliminated KIS sports as part of last year's budget adoption process, I believe the Board should take action if it now wants to support the spring sports program.

Attached is the list of Capital Improvement Projects that has been submitted to the Commission on Building Maintenance, and will be submitted to the Town Engineer for inclusion in the CIP.  Our highest priority items are roof replacement projects at KMS, KCS and Goodyear.  The other high priority project is the  replacement of the rooftop HVAC units at Goodyear; despite having the only twelve month program in the district, the air conditioning has not functioned for the past two summers.  Obviously, priorities could change based on Board action to reconfigure the schools, as presented earlier in the meeting.

There is no existing procedure for school CIP requests to come before the Town Council for consideration and funding.  A request has been made by the chairpersons of the Board and Council, and the Commission on Building Maintenance, that the Town manager and I draft such a procedure for consideration.  We plan on doing that over the next several weeks.

The District Improvement Plan (DIP) for 2010-2013, as revised this past summer, was shared earlier this year, wish an update presented tonight.  As part of the Board's Lighthouse Project work, it has been suggested that the Board accept the plan so as to make it part of its regular work and reports.