staff: dr. manuel rivera, · dr. rivera stated that the letter was received 5-6 days ago, he was...

City of Norwalk

Board of Education

March 18, 2014

of 15

CITY OF NORWALK

BOARD OF EDUCATION

MARCH 18, 2014

ATTENDANCE: Michael Lyons, Chairman; Mike Barbis, Jack Chiaramonte,

Sherelle Harris, Artie Kassimis, Heidi Keyes, Shirley Mosby,

Rosa Murray, Migdalia Rivas.

STAFF: Dr. Manuel Rivera, Superintendent; Richard Rudl, CFO.

Call to Order

Chairman Lyons called the meeting to order at 7:45 p.m. and led those present in reciting the

Pledge of Allegiance.

Spotlight on Norwalk Public Schools

Western Regional and All State Music Festivals – Middle School Participants

Ms. Keyes read the Spotlight as presented to recognize middle school students who auditioned

for the 2014 Western Regional Music Festival organized by the Connecticut Music Educators

Association. Western Regionals showcase accomplished student performers from throughout the

state. Middle school music teachers select top band, orchestra and chorus members from each

school to represent Norwalk in the competition. To audition, students must learn the selected

music, dedicate time to practicing, and then perform in front of a panel of judges. As a result,

today we recognize all the middle school students who invested their time and effort to audition

for the Western Regional middle school concert band, jazz band and chorus, as well as those

selected to perform in the festival itself. The concert performance will showcase their hard work,

and will take place on March 21 and 22 at Western CT State University in Danbury. For all those

who work so hard to deliver excellence, including students, teachers and staff, we thank you for

all your efforts.

Ms. Keyes read the names of the middle school participants listed below, and those in

attendance were presented with certificates of achievement and acknowledged by the Board:

Cory Acevedo Ariel Langlois, Isabella Bardos Sahai Laro, Carlin Barton Abby Lewis

Liam Bleckley, Olivia Lipson, David Chuba, Alena Ludger, Katrell Clay, Michael Malagise,

Jack Cocchia, Jazmine Manning, Cathy Comenares, Ethan Mills, Aidan Coimin, Stephen Pare,

Alexandra DiTaranto, Dan Piro, Billy Dougherty Michelle Porcheddu, J. B. Bufort Lucas

Quadrini, Riley Finn Shadiqur Rahmon, Daniela Flores, Jonathan Roach, Maddie Froelich

Stephanie Rodriguez, Talon Goulart Mike Secchi, Hannah Keyes Ryan Stelly, Jonathan Kling

Michael Szobo, Tommy Knowles, Sean Walters.

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Board of Education

March 18, 2014

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Public Comments

Mr. Kassimis stated that members of the public who had signed up on the public participation

sheet are to come forward when their name was called, state their name, address, or affiliation,

and to keep comments civil and within the three-minute time limit.

Note: Public comments are not verbatim and represent summarizations of statements made unless otherwise noted.

1. Angela Harrison, 7 Sable Street spoke about the meetings she attended about Common Core

and the back and forth now that is going on. She stated that there is racial bias that exists in

the district and she shared her experience as a parent at Rowayton School and that same

treatment still exists and she sees this as a grandparent in that school. She stated that until

the mindset is changed with teachers, nothing will change with testing and achievement, the

same results will be there. She added that the schools look fabulous on the outside but inside

people are wicked and this negatively impacts the impoverished students. She said it is

shameful how people are treated, and parents are not welcomed in the schools. She stated

that Connecticut is the last in the country with achievement and education standards for

blacks and minorities and this is very sad, is not a good use of resources that are devoted to

closing the achievement gap.

2. Shirley Quesada, 19 Bouton Street, said she has been a parent at Brookside School and with

her first child she did not get involved at with the school or with his education. She said now

she has a special needs child and has been involved and sees a big difference with her

children. She said now her oldest has improved with his grades and being involved does

make a big impact on how the children can learn and grow and it is good being involved.

3. Olivia Dardy, 10 Cliff Street thanked the Board members for all they do in this very hard job

servicing the City on the Board. She stated that there needs to be community involvement

with teachers and parents and the system needs to be changed to foster parent engagement.

She applauded the superintendent for his recommendation for welcome hub centers and this

is the basis for creating a positive initiative for that synergy in reaching out to the

community. She added that parents need to feel they are a part of the education of their

children and this makes a difference and an immeasurable impact.

4. Mr. Alvin Mosby, 6 Brookhill Lane, said he comes out to almost every meeting and they

never get his side of the story right. He spoke about the custodial contract and said he is a

taxpayer and has been for 26 years. He said there are false things being said in the

newspapers and he wants to end such negative reporting, there are legal concerns about

custodial issues and no one seems to care. He said he pays taxes and has for twenty years,

yet people like him are being ignored and it needs to stop now because he has rights. He said

that he should not be penalized because he speaks out. It seems like no one cares about

anything like how he has worked everyday for 26 years and he doe not abuse his time, and

deserves the security of pension and benefits.

5. Mr. Stanley Shular, 96 McKinley Avenue, President of Local 1042, said there are issues over

the retirement age going from 55 to 59 and there is no special deal going on. He added that

members vote and the union has to honor the outcome of the majority vote and there is no

deal going.

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Board of Education

March 18, 2014

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He said there will be further discussions tonight and they are prepared for answering their

concerns with communications, and it is good that their voices are being heard. He said there are

still issues but they are making progress and he hopes they can continue working together.

6. Lisa Thompson, 24 Highland Avenue, recounted her personal experience with first coming

into town from Singapore and being new got involved with the Rowayton PTA. She said the

big concern there was the absence of a Language Arts curriculum and after much evaluation

and negotiations, the PTA bought Readers Workshop, which very expensive, but they felt a

necessary purchase. She shared the experience with her son and his low scores and her

decision to have a tutor who coached him on vocabulary, which resulted in drastically

improved scores. She asked about the students who do not have the means to have this

outside tutoring and how the impact of poor vocabulary has affected high school students due

to how they were taught in elementary school. She urged all to vote for Dr. Rivera’s

recommended plan to put into place this comprehensive Language Arts curriculum.

Mr. Kassimis stated that those were the only names that had signed up to speak. Mr. Mosby

stated that he wanted to speak and could not get to the sign-up sheet. Mr. Kassimis asked him to

come forward.

7. Mr. John Mosby, 15 Adamson Avenue, Norwalk stated that the minutes are twisted with how

his comments are reported, and that contracts are being rigged. He stated that he had filed a

complaint that things are being done in the back room. He then read a chart of achievement

and the percentages of minorities that have low scores and stated that this is an example of

pitting the blacks versus the Hispanics. He stated that the reason is that blacks are not being

hired as teachers and only secretaries. He stated that other schools received millions of

dollars in 2009 except for Briggs. He stated that he has been in Hartford and has filed a

complaint on Freedom of Information and read part of state statutes that reads about

separation of Board of Education that it does not come under the town or state. He said things

still are being done in the back room. Nothing is being done to help the black and minority

kids, but he will keep on fighting because the kids are proud of their school. He has asked

why there continues to be a double standard, and he again said he will keep on fighting. He

reported that he had sent a letter to the Board and has not had a response and he would like to

know what happened.

There were no others signed up to speak and Mr. Kassimis closed public comments at 8:25 p.m.

Ms. Rivas asked about the letter that Mr. Mosby referred to and wanted an explanation as to why

she was not made aware of any complaint. Mr. Kassimis explained that Mr. Lyons had recused

himself from the complaint and referred the letter to the Vice-Chairman of the Executive

Committee. He added that he was out of town and upon his return was just made aware of the

letter. Ms. Murray requested the timeframe of when this letter was sent and what the details

were as to who it was addressed to. Mr. Kassimis replied that it was sent to the Executive

Committee, and since he was out of town, he did not receive it. Ms. Murray responded that a

citizen’s complaint must come to the full board and not just to the Executive Committee.

Ms. Mosby stated that she would expect immediate notification that a letter was received by the

Board and a response should be issued on this complaint.

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Board of Education

March 18, 2014

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Dr. Rivera stated that the letter was received 5-6 days ago, he was out sick, and he had forwarded

the letter to the Board Chairman in accordance with policy.

Ms. Rivas stated that all Board members have a book of policies and she is able to look up the

policies as necessary.

Ms. Rivas asked what policy that was and Dr. Rivera replied that it was Policy 90-40.

Superintendent’s Report

Dr. Rivera stated that as mentioned at the last meeting, there is a progress report on the Briggs

plan. He shared that the implementation is on track and the Committee has evaluated the

program aspects and this report has been forwarded on to the Board Members.

Dr. Rivera stated that the rest of his report would be the Briggs Presentation and asked members

in attendance to come forward.

Dr. Marie Allen introduced staff members and student representatives from Briggs High School:

Brad Williams, Special Education Teacher; Chris DeRosa, School Psychologist, Sandra Faioes,

and Gerard Dawes from O.P.P.; students Marcella Menjivar, Aileen Moore, Natalia Ramirez.

The students provided an example of the arts with a song and showed examples of projects that

have been completed at the school. Ms. Ramirez spoke about the climate, the cooperative

learning environment of trust and a feeling of family. Ms. Moore described the climate as one

where there are no fights, there is no chaos, and there is teamwork and a relationship of mutual

respect with the teachers and students. She thanked Dr. Rivera for the support he has given to

the school with the turnaround program and for all the work that the community stakeholders

have done to elevate the school.

Mr. Brad Williams gave an overview of his background as a special education teacher and a

parent and how he has been so fortunate to teach in this environment. He described the school as

one where teachers are able to make a personal impact on the students that are at Briggs. He

explained that although they are there because of alternative reasons, they have been able to turn

the experience around to positively engage them on a career-centered education that is focused

around project based learning. Mr. Derosa highlighted the counseling aspect of the program and

described how the students are tracked with attendance requirements and academic standards.

Dr. Allen went through the power point presentation and outlined the implementation and

resulting improvements that are taking place with the Briggs turnaround program. She

acknowledged Mr. Ed Singleton from Norwalk High School and described his role as being an

active counselor that maintains involvement with those students that have been referred to

Briggs. She thanked the Board and administrators for the support of the program and she will

continue to advise the Board of the progress.

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March 18, 2014

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Consent Calendar - Mr. Lyons presented the consent calendar of personnel actions, budget

transfers and field trip, as follows:

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Board of Education

March 18, 2014

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Consent Calendar -- continued

Field Trip

Ponus Ridge and Roton Middle School trip to Hiroshima, Japan on May 12 – 22, 2014.

** MR. KASSIMIS MOVED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR OF

PERSONNEL ACTIONS 546, BUDGET TRANSFERS 1-13, AND FIELD TRIP AS

LISTED ABOVE.

** MR. BARBIS SECONDED THE MOTION.

** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Actions - continued

Approval of revision of Policy 0000 – Mission and Functions/Statement of Mission

Mr. Lyons presented the item and noted a correction to the first sentence to add the word ‘reach’

before his or her.

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Board of Education

March 18, 2014

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Ms. Rivas asked if this was the policy as read by Dr. Rivera at the last meeting. Dr. Rivera

clarified that it was the policy developed as it relates to what was presented and adopted by the

Board in accordance with the district mission statement. There was no further discussion.

** MR. KASSIMIS MOVED TO ADOPT ABOVE RESOLUTION TO AMEND

POLICY 0000 TO REFLECT THE APPROVED MISSION STATEMENT.

** MS. KEYES SECONDED THE MOTION.


Approval of revision of Policy 0220 – Goals/Objectives for School Operations in Norwalk.

** MR. KASSIMIS MOVED TO ADOPT ABOVE RESOLUTION FOR

DISCUSSION.

Ms. Rivas asked about the absence of Special Education through the goals and objectives. She

stated that this was an important and necessary part of the district goals, and asked that this be

amended to include state mandates relative to special education. Dr. Rivera stated that this

should be included and it was suggested to table approval until the appropriate wording can be

included in this resolution.

Mr. Kassimis withdrew the motion.

** MR. KASSIMIS MOVED TO TABLE APPROVAL OF THE RESOLUTION TO

AMEND POLICY 0220 TO REFLECT THE APPROVED GOALS AND

OBJECTIVES UNTIL AMENDED WORDING IS INCLUDED TO INCLUDE

SPECIAL EDUCATION.



Ms. Rivas asked if there was reason for Ms. Harris to recuse herself because the strategy includes

programs at the Public Library, and she is the Assistant Library Director. There was discussion,

and it was noted that many of the strategies incorporate community engagement and it was

agreed that there was no conflict with Ms. Harris and her affiliation with the Library.

Mr. Lyons clarified that this is the umbrella strategy that will lead to specific programs and

further policy amendments to address this plan. Ms. Murray stated that she wants it outlined

clearly as to who is at the table. She stated that we’ve seen this before and have been through

this exercise and it is the diligence of the Board to ensure that there is representation of all

groups in the community.

Ms. Mosby added that parent involvement is necessary and asked if there are steps under the

umbrella of the strategic plan that are part of the matrix. She asked if there will be a survey to

parents and that there are important steps to follow to ensure that there is adequate outreach.

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Board of Education

March 18, 2014

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Ms. Mosby continued that there is clear evidence that all information is not being shared with

Board members and she wants to make sure that she has this outlined in detail. She added that

we need to reach out to all groups in the community.

Dr. Rivera clarified that he has shared all information with all Board Members. Ms. Murray

stated that this has happened before and she wants to move forward, but she wants to make sure

that this is not just lip service and does not want a repeat of history and the pitfalls that we have

previously fallen into.

** MR. KASSIMIS MOVED TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF

SCHOOLS THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION ADOPTS THE

COMPREHENSIVE RECOMMENDATIONS SET FORTH IN THE

SUPERINTENDENT’S PRE-K/K-5 LITERACY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND

RECOMMENDATIONS AND AUTHORIZED THE SUPERINTENDENT OF

SCHOOLS TO TAKE ACTIONS NECESSARY TO ADVANCE NORWALK’S

TEN POINT LITERACY STRATEGY.



Approval of Intended Change of Textbooks:

1) Adoption of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt “Journeys Common Core Reading Program

(Common Core) for Grades K-5;

2) Scholastic “Core Knowledge Classroom Libraries” for K-5;

3) Amplify/Core Knowledge Language arts program for K-2 and

Expeditionary Learning Reading Program for grades 3-5.

Mr. Lyons described the recommendation as presented and discussed at last month’s meeting.

He said this is one of the most important votes to be taken during his time on the Board.

** MS. RIVAS MADE A MOTION TO AMEND THE ITEM TO SEPARATE THE

CORE KNOWLEDGE PILOT PROGRAM AND TO CONSIDER IT AS A SEPARATE

ITEM FROM THE CURRICULUM RECOMMENDATION.

** MS. MOSBY SECONDED THE MOTION.

Ms. Rivas said she has concerns that we have been trying to have some kind of consistency for

years, and she does not feel this is an opportunity to get started with this year with what we’re

working on. She added that she would think that maybe we would continue to encourage a

consistency. She said that Journeys sounds consistent, but when you have feeder schools, when

you have students coming out of elementary schools going into middle schools, they have to

have consistency.

Ms. Rivas asked about the Special Education and ELL piece and she would like to specifics on

how these are addressed in the written parts of the recommendation and the motion.

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Dr. Rivera replied that he has addressed all of these issues and there will be a detailed proposal

that schools can apply for the pilot program. He stated that he was very impressed with the year

one data for Core Knowledge and that students coming in new demonstrated the biggest gain

right away.

Dr. Rivera stated that the indications are that it’s fully supported across the system, and

consistency in the school system will be achieved because of Common Core State Standards,

which is the glue that holds everything together.

Ms. Mosby said that she knew that the Core Knowledge curriculum has pros and cons and did

not want to get into that because one side is going to argue one way, and one side is going to

argue the other. She stated that her concern was that the parents get input into whether or not

their school becomes a pilot program, going the alternative route.

Discussion ensued over the recommendation, and Ms. Rivas stated that she would like to see this

separated so that the special education and ELL piece are fully outlined in the pilot. She asked

why everything was jumbled together and that it made it very confusing, and difficult to separate

the details of the pilot.

Ms. Mosby stated that she agreed that keeping it as one item hurts the intent and does not

provide documentation of the outline of the pilot.

Ms. Murray said she is really looking forward to seeing how this works, and we talk about

thinking out of the box but we are talking about kids’ education. We can’t afford any more time

lost, we need to be very, and very careful on how this is outlined and evaluated to move forward.

Dr. Rivera explained that the reason for selecting Journeys is because it is a very comprehensive

program, they have kits and components and tools for intervention, they have a strong digital

component, and given some of the needs that I have observed in terms of our faculty, that is why

he is comfortable recommending a comprehensive program city-wide.

Mr. Lyons called for a vote on the amendment and motion.

** THE MOTION FAILED WITH 4 VOTES IN FAVOR (HARRIS, RIVAS, MOSBY,

MURRAY, 5 VOTES OPPOSED (LYONS, CHIARAMONTE, BARBIS, KEYES,

KASSIMIS, AND NO ABSTENTIONS.

Ms. Harris asked Ms. Rivas why she thought separating the ideas was preferable. Ms. Rivera

stated that her previous comments about an application process or the criteria for a pilot program

are not on paper, not even in the minutes of the last meeting. She said she will not know if every

elementary school had the opportunity to apply, she will not know what is the criteria, how they

will select the school for the pilot. She explained that the thing is now we have no way of

knowing, it’s all jumbled together—who is doing what, who is accountable and what is

happening to these children.

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There was further discussion on the curriculum recommendation. Ms. Rivas asked for an

explanation of the criteria for the pilot program and to have this in writing. She said that to have

a test that is not specifically outlined in writing as to the criteria and measures is not consistent

and is not a measurable curriculum in the schools.

Dr. Rivera responded and said he would repeat the things he had said in the March 4 Board

meeting and to be very frank believes he stated this and if it wasn’t clear or captured he will say

it again tonight for the record. He stated that the expectation is that yes, he would

administratively develop the procedures, the process, the criteria and put that out and expect that

any school that is interested would address a lot of that criteria.

Ms. Rivas asked Dr. Rivera to listen to her as the parent of children who have suffered through

the fault of the school system. She went on to describe her experiences where special needs were

not addressed with evaluation and corresponding curriculum standards.

Dr. Rivera stated he would develop a process to address the criteria in a proposal that would be

limited to no more than two schools could apply for the pilot. He added that the curriculum is a

tool and this is research based, there will be adequate training and development of the teachers.

He added that for the record that the application criteria should not accept the failure of any

student--that is a key component that he will insist on.

Ms. Harris stated that she understands that there are segments of the community that feel

marginalized, and with nothing in writing that outlines the criteria; this is a point of discomfort

with the implementation of the pilot.

Mr. Lyons stated that it was important not to micromanage the school system, to let

administrators do their jobs and to respect the administrative details involved with the pilot

proposal evaluation.

Mr. Kassimis said he voted for Dr. Rivera to become superintendent a year ago because of the

approach he would use to approach to decision making, with risks minimized. He said Rivera

had done that in recommending a curriculum, that the risks are being reduced as much as

possible, as everything has a little risk. He then explained that for the past five years the K-5

curriculum has been like a big lazy river--you jump in and wherever the current goes – and a lot

of kids have popped their tubes on the way and have drowned--they still can’t read. He said it’s

time for us to get out of the lazy river, get a curriculum that is going to do something, move

forward, that’s going to mean something to our kids.

Ms. Harris said she thinks that anything we come up with is better than what we have now, but

detecting problems and intervening when necessary is important.

Ms. Rivera stated that her previous comments about this pilot process or the criteria for a pilot

program are not on paper, and she does not understand why it has to be this way. She added that

she feels it is reasonable to separate the pilot and to document the elements of the criteria and the

school proposals should come to the Board for evaluation.

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She again stated that how will else she know who had the opportunity to apply, she will not

know what is the criteria, how they were evaluated against the goals.

Ms. Keyes stated that we need to be able to galvanize the teachers and to stand behind this. She

added that the Board should be looking at implementation programs of training and development

and supporting this much needed curriculum at the elementary schools.

Ms. Rivas again said it wasn’t about micro-managing, but the school district failed her as a

parent. She said her children are a product of what is not working and can speak on that and can

speak on her children being spoken to badly and being discriminated against in schools. She

added that she can talk about an administration that has not helped; how special education is and

about ELL, and that it can’t continue this way.

Mr. Lyons stated that this comprehensive approach to literacy, coupled with a commitment to

innovation, is unprecedented in Norwalk. The option to pilot CKLA at two schools provides for

innovation and comparison of programs to measure results and share best practices.

He explained that as outlined very thoroughly by the Superintendent this strategy seeks to

implement extensive professional development for educators. It clearly will generate more

parental involvement and get more children exposed to literacy programs both before they enter

school and while attending; and the strategy calls for $1,000 per classroom to be spent on

reading materials.

Mr. Lyons said Common Core mathematics was implemented at all 12 elementary schools last

year and common math was added to middle schools, upgraded the math programs at the high

schools to Common Core and we approved English language curriculum for grades 6-12. He said

there was little comment from the Board at that time.

Ms. Murray stated she feels that most of the recommendation is in line, but there needs to be a

safety net to be able to track this pilot and it is important that sub groups are not placed all in this

same group.

Mr. Lyons said a safety net is a good idea, but should be particularly applied to He stated that

Journeys, as the scientific data shows, Core Knowledge is better. He quoted from studies

showing that minority students do very well with Core Knowledge. He added that the work of

Dr. Rivera and his team is amazing, and this is a real inflection point for the school system.

Mr. Lyons said that we can vote against this, which is a vote to maintain the status quo, keep

doing things the way we’ve always done them.

Mr. Chiaramonte stated that we can’t rely on parent involvement because as we saw tonight there

are parents who are not involved. He stated that it should not be up to the Board to get them to

be engaged in their children’s education, which is their job as a parent. He added that we don’t

need to hold everyone’s hand, we have got to go forward and address this and approve this

comprehensive program.

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Mr. Lyons further explained that as has been described at length tonight, what we have been

doing hasn’t worked. We can say it’s time to make a dramatic step forward, not settle for

incremental little changes, make a big change, work some innovation into it, and take some

chances, but we’re taking chances using Journeys just as much as we’re taking chances with

pilots with Core Knowledge. He explained that anytime you try something new there are going

to be risks. An intelligent person does not say I’m never going to do anything because there are

going to be risks. An intelligent person takes calculated risks.

** MR. KASSIMIS MOVED TO APPROVE AND TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION:

RESOLVED UPON RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF

SCHOOLS THAT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVES THE ADOPTION OF

THE FOLLOWING TESTS FOR USE IN THE K-5 LITERACY COMPONENT OF THE

10-POINT LITERACY STRATEGY:

1) HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT “JOURNEYS COMMON CORE

READING PROGRAM FOR GRADES K-5”

2) SCHOLASTIC “CORE KNOWLEDGE CLASSROOM LIBRARIES” FOR

GRADES K-5.

3) AMPLIFY/CORE KNOWLEDGE LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM FOR

GRADES K-2 EXPEDITIONARY LEARNING READING PROGRAM FOR

GRADES 3-5.

** MR. CHIARAMONTE SECONDED THE MOTION.

** MOTION PASSED WITH SEVEN VOTES IN FAVOR, NONE OPPOSED AND

TWO ABSTENTIONS (MOSBY, MURRAY).

Information and Reports

February 2014 Financial Monthly report – R. Rudl

Mr. Rudl referred to the report of expenditures versus budget and reported that as of February 28,

2014, 57.7% has been expended of the adjusted budget. He reviewed the areas of variances and

provided explanations on object codes with higher expended percentages. He stated that overall,

they are tracking on budget. Ms. Rivas asked about the Fuel costs and Mr. Rudl replied that it is

high due to the cold winter and they are closely following utility costs.

2014-15 School Calendar

Dr. Rivera referred to the calendar as contained in the packet and explained that it is very similar

to this year’s calendar. He explained that there were no substantive changes, with the

designation of make up days to go through June 12.

Committee Reports

Finance Committee - Ms. Murray noted that the next meeting would be March 26 at 7 pm. Mr.

Lyons noted that the agenda should include the insurance savings memo.

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Curriculum Committee: Mr. Lyons stated that they will meet next week to review the

implementation plan for the Elementary curriculum that was adopted tonight along with the

Middle School and High School English and Math.

Early Childhood Committee: Ms. Harris reported that Craig Creller’s presentation held at the

Public Library was a Community Conversation sponsored by the NEF on the Go Math

curriculum.

Policy Committee: Ms. Keyes reported that there will be input and review with Dr. Rivera on

issues addressed last month on the policies and by-laws being evaluated. The next meeting will

be March 25 at 7pm.

School Facilities/Planning Committee: Mr. Chiaramonte reported that there will be a meeting

with Dr. Rivera to present the report on building capacity and school needs for improvements.

Negotiations Committee: Mr. Barbis reported that there will be discussion during Executive

Session on collective bargaining negotiations for the Custodial contract, the ESG is outstanding

and it took a while to implement salary increases outlined and it should be notification to them

tomorrow. The NFEP was voted on with wage and benefits but the upgrading of positions and

other step parts of the agreement are being reviewed next week.

CES: Mr. Barbis reported that a common calendar recommendation is being developed in

Hartford to have a consistency with breaks and vacations as a mandate for 2015-16, which is

very controversial. He will keep the Board updated at this goes through the approval process.

Ms. Keyes asked to go back to the discussion on Dr. Rivera’s proposed calendar for 2014-15 and

questioned the designation of make up days to go through June 12. She stated that there is not

much focus at that time as summer is just ahead and asked if a different approach would make

sense to build in take-away days from the February or April vacations as alternate days. Dr.

Rivera said this gets tricky and he will look at options again but there are many factors that come

in to play. Ms. Keyes stated that she understands that, but she feels it is worth coming up with a

proactive plan that addresses how snow days can be made up earlier than mid-June.

Board Member Announcements

Mr. Lyons announced that Mr. Chiaramonte and Ms. Murray have been appointed to the

Mayor’s Taskforce on Energy improvements for the City. He added that Mr. George Giannitti

from Central Office has provided information on solar system and facilities utilization.

Ms. Rivas asked about the request for an explanation on the CES membership. She asked for

copies of the 1090 district data from 2012 through 2014, and Ms. Mosby asked for a copy as

well. Ms. Rivas reminded the Board that she would like to have a copy of this data on a tape.

Ms. Keyes stated that the new website is great and is more user friendly with great photos of

students. She added that it is a drastic improvement and she thanked Ms. Williams for all of the

hard work that has gone into this.

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Ms. Keyes announced that the performance of “Les Miserables” will be next weekend and the

first weekend of April at Brien McMahon. She spoke about the caliber of talent and the musical

is much like a Broadway show at a fraction of the ticket price, and she encouraged all to attend.

She stated that “Cinderella” will be performed at West Rocks Middle School on April 5.

She added that these programs are all listed on the website and it is great to have the calendar of

events on the new site.

Approval of Minutes – March 4, 2014

Mr. Lyons noted on Page 9 – in the motion at the bottom of the page, change PACKAGE to

PACKARD.

Ms. Rivas said her concerns and comments about the curriculum recommendation did not make

it into the minutes. She stated that many of the things that she stressed were that the ELL and

Special Education components were missing and there was no mention of that in the minutes.

She asked to have the tape reviewed so that her points can be incorporated into the minutes.

Mr. Lyons noted that he would make arrangements to have the meeting recording converted into

a CD and sent to Ms. Rivas.

Mr. Kassimis asked that on page 12 paragraph 7 delete Jefferson. Also, in the last sentence

change Mr. Kassimis to Ms. Keyes.

Mr. Barbis stated that on page 11, it should be changed to there were four Board members’

children that had achieved high honors. On page 6, the last paragraph first sentence needs to be

reworded as it did not make sense.

Ms. Mosby stated that you can’t just change the context of a statement without referring to the

recording for clarification. Mr. Barbis replied to Ms. Mosby and said this is ridiculous and to

disregard his request for a correction.

Mr. Barbis left the meeting at 10:55 p.m.

Mr. Lyons clarified that statements can be clarified if there are technical corrections and noted

that this is often done without having to refer to the tape of the meeting recording.

Ms. Rivas stated that when she reviews the tape to clarify her comments that were made, she

would listen for Mr. Barbis’s statement.

** MR. KASSIMIS MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE MEETING

OF MARCH 4, 2014 AS CORRECTED WITH CHANGES NOTED.

** MS. KEYES SECONDED.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

City of Norwalk

Board of Education

March 18, 2014

of 15

Discussion of Documents Relating to Collective Bargaining Agreements

** MR. KASSIMIS MOVED TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE

PURPOSE OF DISCUSSION OF DOCUMENTS RELATING TO COLLECTIVE

BARGAINING AGREEMENTS



Mr. Lyons called for a recess.

The meeting entered into Executive Session at 11:15 p.m. with members in attendance as

follows: Michael Lyons, Mike Barbis, Jack Chiaramonte, Sherelle Harris, Heidi Keyes, Artie

Kassimis, Shirley Mosby, Rosa Murray, Migdalia Rivas, Dr. Rivera; Dr. Robert Dylewski,

Director of Personnel; Local 1042 Union Executive Members: Stanley Shuler, Scott Nails,

Charles Wyatt, and Union Negotiations Representative.

The meeting was reconvened into public session at 12:10 a.m.

Members of the Local 1042 Union were in attendance. There was clarification of the wording as

included in the tentative agreement. There was no further action taken.

Adjournment

** MR. KASSIMIS MOVED TO ADJOURN.

** MS. KEYES SECONDED.

** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilyn Knox,

Telesco Secretarial Services