December 5, 2012 at 6:30 PM - Regular Board of Education Meeting

Rationale: 

1. Please note the personnel report as you will find a new hire  reflected in it.

2. Please take note of the December enrollment report. We have a total of 1,443 students enrolled. As a part of our budget development process and in terms of long range planning, we are developing our staffing proposals based on the current and projected enrollments.

3. I will publicly recognize the 26 students at LOLHS who scored in the advanced level on all sections of last spring’s CAPT.  While they will not be in attendance, they have received a letter of congratulations from both me and Commissioner Pryor.  I will also recognize the students and staff at Lyme for their inclusion in the Connecticut State Department of Education's school lists as defined in the State’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act flexibility request (or waiver).  I am proud to say that Lyme Consolidated School has been recognized as a School of Distinction in the ‘Highest Overall Performance’ category.  Schools identified as ‘Highest Overall Performance’ have School Performance Indexes (SPI) greater than the state’s “all students” target of 88 and are performing within the top 10 percent of schools across the state!  

4. I have included the budget timeline for your review. Please remember that the dates in January have changed as reflected in the enclosed document.

5.  Now that we are using CABEmeeting, packets will be available on line by 5 p.m. the Friday before the meeting. This will allow you to access the information sooner than you were able when packets were mailed.

Rationale:  Ms. Warren will provide a year to date budget status report as well as a contingency fund report.

Rationale:  Dr. Borden will present information on the state’s new teacher evaluation plan. In January, the Board will have an opportunity to review the committee’s recommendation as to what aspects of this program we will adopt and what sections we will develop ourselves based on the core requirements. At this time we are not prepared to fully discuss the administrator version of the new evaluation plan as only one of the three training sessions offered by the state has taken place.  We hope to have more information by the January 15 submission date.

Rationale:  Chartwells' District Executive Chef will provide a brief overview of changes to our cafeterias resulting from new USDA regulations. Sample items that are served in our cafeterias will be provided. This is an informational item and does not require Board action.

Rationale:  Mr. Rhodes and Dr. Borden will provide an update on the district’s technology initiatives as outlined in the District Technology Plan. This is an informational item and does not require Board action.

Rationale:  See attached proposal for LOLHS students to travel to the Model UN Conference at UMass at Amherst on March 15-17, 2013. The proposal includes rationale for trip, trip expectations, rules and regulations, hotel code of conduct, health and permission form, conference itinerary, and trip costs and inclusions.

This requires Board action.

Rationale:  Mr. Rhodes will provide an update on the visitor access control system. Per the Board’s request, we have pricing quotes for this system as well as new installation information. This item requires Board action as it proposes the use of contingency funds.

Background: The Facilities Committee has unanimously recommended installing the ability to remotely control access through the front doors of the Middle School, Mile Creek School, Lyme Consolidated School and Center School from the Facilities Contingency account. This door control capability is already installed at the High School.

Access System Features:

• Electronically controlled front door locks that can be released by either a staff ID badge or remotely from each building's administrative office.
• Electronic door locks to be installed on both outer and inner vestibule doors.
• Video monitoring of front doors at each building administrative office as well as video recording on district security video system.
• Intercom from front doors to phones in each building's administrative office.

This project will be funded from contingency. In addition, since the intercom and door controls are extensions of existing systems (telephone and door controls) the ability to obtain competitive bids will not be possible. Not included in this action are the video monitoring and fire alarm integration for an estimated cost of $10,000.

Rationale: 

Please share written minutes and/or oral reports as necessary.

As a part of this report, the Building Committee, with the help of Mr. Rhodes, will provide a financial update on the LOLHS project as well as an update on change orders.

The Facilities Committee will also present their proposal for changes to the budget for the Mile Creek window project. This will require Board action.

Rationale:  Background: The Mile Creek window project has been re-estimated due to the need to add PCB remediation to the project scope. The PCB's are present in the caulk that seals the existing windows in place to the surrounding masonry. Remediation includes not only removing the caulk but removing and replacing the PCB contaminated masonry that came in contact with the caulk. The Facilities Committee has unanimously recommended removing the PCB contaminated block and revising the project to $965,550. The window replacement project was originally planned to be completed with the Mile Creek roof project. Basesd on roof replacement being completed under budget together with the revised window replacement estimate, the combined project cost is close to the original combined project estimate.

Rationale:  There is no need for an executive session.