April 3, 2013 at 6:30 PM - Regular Board of Education Meeting

Rationale: 

*** Note: we will meet at 6:00 p.m. to introduce you to your new email account on Outlook. As I have mentioned in the past, we will begin using this to communicate as opposed to using your personal emails.
   

1. There have been no changes in personnel since the March 6 personnel report.

2. Please take note of the April enrollment report. We have a total of 1477 students enrolled. We have also begun adding the ADM (Average Daily Membership) breakdown to this monthly report.  This will allow you to better track the budget impact to the towns.

3. I will report on our selection process for musical productions at LOLHS. This topic was touched upon at our last meeting, and it is important for the Board to understand what is considered when selecting what show we will produce.

4. We are continuing to monitor the number of people who enter our schools. As our system is still quite new, the data is somewhat scattered. I will report on our initial findings which have not produced any recommendations for action. Instead, they have suggested the need for further data collection. 
5. As stated in my email to you last week, the LOLMS Science Olympiad program won their second state championship in the past two years. This is an amazing accomplishment for an amazing program. While we will have an opportunity to recognize the students, staff, and volunteers who are a part of this program, per their request, this recognition will take place after the national competition which we will hear more about this evening.
6. The annual RETA banquet is scheduled for Thursday, May 23 at 5:00 at the Old Lyme Country Club. Please mark your calendars for this special event.

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

Rationale:  Dr. Borden will present the first part of a two part presentation on our new teacher and administrator evaluation plans. The original submission date to the CSDE of April 15 has been extended to May 3.  Therefore, the Board will be asked to vote on our new plans at the May 1 meeting. 

Rationale:  As presented at last month’s meeting, Mr. Wygonik and his staff have developed a schedule of major field trips for LOLHS. At Wednesday's meeting, we will present the details of the individual trips for Board consideration and vote. This requires Board action.

Rationale:  The recent success of the Science Olympiad program, which includes their second straight state championship, has qualified them for inclusion in the national competition in Dayton, Ohio. Mrs. Glorioso will be present to review the details of a proposed trip to this national competition. Approval of this trip requires Board action.

Rationale:  Since 1994 the Board has provided liability insurance for the Safe Grad party. The Safe Grad Committee has again requested this coverage. This is general liability coverage for the event at the named facility which is known only to the Safe Grad Committee, the insurance carrier, and Lynn Warren (for purposes of requesting coverage). This requires Board action.

Rationale:  Section 10-215f of the Connecticut General Statutes (C.G.S.) requires that each local board of education or governing authority for Connecticut public school districts participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) must take action annually to certify whether all food items sold to students will or will not meet the Connecticut Nutrition Standards. Ms. Warren will verify our participation, and the Board will then need to take the aforementioned action.

Rationale:  Per the request of the towns and in an effort to reduce costs, it is recommended that the Board approve the use of paper ballots for the upcoming budget referendum. This requires Board action.

Rationale:  Section 10-16l (Establishment of graduation date) of the C.G.S. states, “Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes to the contrary, a local or regional board of education may establish for any school year a firm graduation date for students in grade twelve which is no earlier than the one hundred eighty-fifth day noted in the school calendar originally adopted by the board for that school year, except that a board on or after April first in any school year may establish such a firm graduation date for that school year which at the time of such establishment provides for at least one hundred eighty days of school.”  Per statute, I am recommending the Board vote to establish June 21, 2013 as the firm graduation date for the class of 2013.  This requires Board action.

Rationale:  Mr. Rhodes will present the results of the bidding for the irrigation of the new soccer/ lacrosse field in between LOLMS and LOLHS. Acceptance of a bid requires Board action.

Rationale:  Per policy #2420, the Board is required to set a tuition rate for non-resident students by May 30. Ms. Warren has calculated this year’s tuition rate of $18,168 based on our approved budget. This requires Board action.

Rationale:  I have included a draft of next year’s District Goals for discussion purposes. This is an informational item and does not require Board action at this time.

Rationale:  At last month’s meeting we discussed the inclusion of personnel Policy #5165 Medical Marijuana Standards. The Policy Committee has reviewed this policy as compared to our current policies and recommends adoption of the policy with a cross reference in each of our current related drug abuse policies. 

This requires Board action.

Rationale:  Committee Reports: Please share written minutes and/or oral reports as necessary.