June 2, 2021 at 6:30 PM - Regular Board of Education Meeting

Our Talented and Gifted Teacher, Nila Kaczor, will be present to recognize student inventors that were selected for the State and National Invention Convention.

Phil Parcak, representing the Lyme-Old Lyme Lion’s Club, will be present to recognize four LOLHS students for their academic prowess, athleticism and community service accomplishments.

Mr. Parcak will also present the award for the Peace Poster contest.

The following staff members have been invited to the meeting so they can be duly recognized for their years of service to the district:

Kelly, Craddock, 4th Grade Teacher at Mile Creek School, 38 years of service

Steven Ernst, Music Teacher at Mile Creek School, 21 years of service

Mary Pope, Speech Pathologist at Center School, 15  years of service

Jill Ressler, English Teacher at Lyme-Old Lyme High School, 16 years of service

Please note the personnel report as you will find updated employee information reflected in it. 

Please take note of the June enrollment report. We have a total of 1,311 students enrolled (3 students more than last month).  

This summer will be very busy as we are planning the following projects:

• Synthetic Turf Field
• Lyme Tennis Courts
• Playground Center School
• Playground Mile Creek
• Playground Lyme
• Gym Floor Middle School
• High School Soundfield System Upgrade
• Mile Creek Gym Sound System
• Mile Creek Cafeteria Sound System
• Mile Creek Outdoor Classroom
• Middle School Outdoor Classroom
• Bonded Project Study
• Waste Treatment Membrane Replacement
• Middle School Cafeteria AC
• Lyme Front Steps **
• Center School Roof Warranty Extension **

** Pending approval

Each year the Board is asked to appoint a designee(s) to act in the absence of the Superintendent as necessary. It is useful to have the Board designate two individuals for the rare occasions when both the Superintendent and Director of Curriculum are unavailable. I recommend the Board approve Michelle Dean and Melissa Dougherty as designees for this purpose. This requires Board action.

Each year the Board is asked to approve application for all state and federal grants. These include those for special education as well as remedial, staff development and other entitlement grants. A single motion authorizes the administration to apply for all that the District is eligible as well as any additional grants deemed appropriate by the Superintendent. This requires Board action.

Each June the Board needs to renew the food service management contract. This year, we were due to go out to bid, however, the USDA granted a one year bid waiver to districts that chose to extend an additional year.  I recommend keeping Chartwells as our food management company for next school year.  This requires Board action.  

Background: The front concrete entry stairs to the Lyme School have degraded to the point where repairs are necessary. The concrete is crumbling exposing rusted rebar, and the railings are rusted and pitted.

Repairs were scheduled in the five-year facility plan; however, the availability of contingency funding provided the opportunity to accelerate the repairs and complete them at the end of the school year.

The District sought comparable commercial quotes from vendors who have completed quality work for the district in the past and received three proposals.

G. Donovan Associates                     $87,300

O&G Construction                           $175,377

Noble Construction                          $119,970

With approval, the project will begin in June after school is completed.  The budgeted funds will be applied to other projects in the five-year facilities plan.

This requires Board action.

Background: The addition of these 40 display boards is the second phase of the school district’s long-term technology plan to replace the existing Smartboards and projectors. 

The ViewSonic digital display boards are being purchased using the pre-bid PEPPM state cooperative contract pricing.

We contacted two other vendors to confirm the discount pricing value from CBS, and the results are as follows:

• Audio-Video Corporation$240,080
• Valley Communications$129,348
• CBS$101,920

This purchase value is in the anticipated range for to the 21/22 FY budget.  This requires Board action.

Background: The addition of these 100 units includes the multi-phase replacement of outdated desktops and a processor for each of the new ViewSonic boards.

We contacted two of our vendors for initial quotes. CT Comp, which applied the State of Connecticut contract purchasing price, and CBS which applied the CREC cooperative pricing, but we were able to purchase directly from the manufacturer, Lenovo, for the best pricing for the District.

• CT Comp $90,900
• CBS $89,159
• Lenovo $67,595

This purchase value is in the anticipated range for to the 21/22 FY budget.  This requires Board action.

Background: The District solicited proposals from design firms to develop a facilities study reviewing interior and exterior building conditions, site needs, and a mechanical, electrical, and plumbing assessment for Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, Center School, Lyme School, and Mile Creek School. The assessment considers a review of existing conditions, assessment and evaluation of the buildings, and future budget cost estimation. The District received six bids which are as follows:

QA&M                                         $45,850

NCA                                           $47,500

Moser Pilon Nelson                      $158,400

TSKP Studio                               $88,000

Geddis Architects                        $49,000

Tecton Architects                        $92,000

Bids were evaluated, design agents interviewed by the Facilities and Finance Committee, and references checked. The Facilities and Finance Committee recommends QA&M be contracted for the Bonded Project Study.  This requires Board action.

Background: The existing deck roofing at Center School was installed by Gold Seal Roofing in 2002 and is nearing the end of the warranty period. As the district plans to add solar panels to Center School, this proposed work will extend the warranty and protect the roof to allow the panels to remain for their contracted time.  If the roof were to be redone during the solar contract period, this would add a considerable cost to the solar project.

As Gold Seal holds the roof warranty, they are considered a sole proprietor and must complete the job themselves to ensure continuity of the warranty coverage.

This roofing maintenance will be funded by FY20/21 surplus funding.  This requires Board action.

Background: The District received the proper approvals from the Town of Old Lyme to include the base structures for the future addition of field lighting to the turf field project.

This addition will be completed as a change order by Mountain View, and geotechnical evaluation is scheduled for the field surface.

It should also be noted that the District is receiving a credit of $16,022.38 due to a change in materials for the field’s stone base.

In order to access the $651,120 that has been allocated to us under the American Recovery Plan (ARP /ESSER III) we must submit the attached Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan to the CSDE by June 23, 2021.  One key component of the plan is to get public feedback and commentary on this plan.  A copy of the plan will be sent home to all families and shared with the two towns.  Feedback can be sent to lolreopening@region18.org.  This does not require Board action.