West Haven Education in Crisis

CALL FOR BLOGGERS

2012-01-16T22:03:00.003-05:00

The agenda for the January 17th meeting has been posted on the AGENDA page.

I would also like to take this opportunity to post a call for blog writers. This blog is a great way to keep the public informed of the business of the Board of Education as well as the West Haven public schools in general. If you are interested in applying as a writer for this blog, please contact Rosemary at robrien@awordortwo.net with "WHEDinCrisis blogger" in the subject line. Tell me a little about why you believe you are qualified and include one or two short samples of your work. If you do not have a sample, create one based on something related to education in West Haven. I need someone who can attend most of the BOE meetings and report on them for the parents and staff who cannot attend. My current commitments and responsibilities have not allowed me to attend lately, so I need someone (or several someones) who can fill my shoes. This opportunity may lead to taking over the blog entirely, but for now, I will continue to administer this blog. All writers will receive a byline.

West Haven Education in Crisis is part of the New Haven Register's Community Media Lab, so I have readers from around the country. This would be a great opportunity for a writer to build their clips file or simply for an interested parent to inform the community.

I look forward to hearing from anyone who is interested.

2012-01-06T12:47:00.003-05:00

Please be advise the agenda for the January 9th Board of Education meeting has been posted.

BOE update on the 2011 elections

2011-11-15T10:33:00.000-05:00

From Dorinda Borer, Board of Education member:

There were several inquiries asking who was elected to the Education Board so I'm sending off the results to you. Here is who was elected:

Bobby Guthrie

Pat Libero

Patrick Eugolum

Cebi Waterfield

Betsy Heffernan-Davis

continuing to serve:

Myself

Toni Paine

Mark Palmeri

Eric Murillo

We congratulate and welcome the new members of the Board.

Going forward if you have any comments, concerns or questions about the education budget or something happening within a particular school, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. That's what we are there for........

Thanks,

Dorinda

Park Rec. offices may move? Speak up and give your opinion.

2011-09-29T15:44:00.000-04:00

West Haven Parks and Recreation Survey
190 Kelsey Ave, West Haven, CT. 06516 • 203-937-3651 • http://www.whparkrec.com/
With the renovation of West Haven City Hall Mayor Picard feels that the Parks and Recreation Department should be moved from Painter Park to City Hall. He feels it would give continuity fo city services in a goverment center. We at the Parks and Recreation feel that we are more accessible and are better able to serve you located here in Painter Park.
We would appreciate it if you could take a minute to answer our survey.

Would you be more likely to come to our office to register for programs if we were located in City Hall or Painter Park?
Or would it matter one place or the other?
Where do you believe we would be more accessible to you, City Hall or Painter Park?
Thank you for taking the time and feel free to provide us with any other comments you may have.

Mr. Egolum Should Go

2011-09-10T15:33:00.001-04:00

I am writing this to tell you why Patrick Egolum needs to be replaced as a member of the West Haven Board of Education. It is quite simple, really.

His mailbox has been full for at least two years
He voted to close schools and lay off teachers
He voted to move the Board of Education to Yale (in Orange, not West Haven)
He has not attended a PTA meeting ever
He has not visited a school in a quite a while
He voted for the $90 million budget without question

On that last point, I rarely see Mr. Egolum ASK questions or make notes. Perhaps he is just the quiet type and I don’t see him writing notes or hear him asking questions, but I doubt that. I see EVERYTHING while I’m sitting at the BOE meetings.

With no superintendent eval in two years and low test scores, we need ALL of our Board of Education members to uphold their obligation and attend every meeting to the best of their ability. Being informed that it will be a light agenda does not absolve members of their duty to attend as some BOE members have mentioned in the past. (See article below.)

If you cannot be there, do not accept the nomination. Our children are our future. Attending the meetings of an organization to which you were elected by the citizens of your city is your duty. If you cannot attend most of the meetings, please bow out and refuse the nomination. There are enough people who want to serve West Haven's children by attending the meetings and doing the work namely two involved parents and one recently-retired teacher. Jimmy Morrisey and Ralph Eberle are very involved parents of West Haven children, and Sue Walker is a recently-retired West Haven teacher. These are people who always give their best, ask the hard questions and will do their best for our children.

Please pass this around and get to the polls Tuesday.

'Obligation to show up': Lack of quorum ties West Haven school board’s hands

School begins Thursday, September 1st

2011-08-31T14:13:00.000-04:00

'Sorry, kiddoes!

School begins tomorrow, Thursday, September 1st for all West Haven Public Schools.

Have a fantastic year!

First day of school postponed

2011-08-30T13:28:00.000-04:00

I'm sure all of the parents have heard already, but Superintendent Cavallaro has decided to postpone the first day of school due to Hurricane Irene. He needs to consult with the various departments and agencies to make sure the schools are safe before the children start their year. He has not said if school will resume Thursday, but will keep us updated.

As for New Haven, I am still waiting to hear. Mauro-Sheridan's orientations were cancelled yesterday and today due to power outages. Stay tuned to their website for updates. The link: http://teacherweb.com/CT/MauroSheridanInterdistrictMagnet/SchoolHomePage/sdhp1.aspx. There is a crawl with updates across the middle of the page.

We're starting the school year off with snow days already! LOL Enjoy the last gasps of summer, everyone!

Hi, everyone

2011-08-11T14:58:00.000-04:00

I run several blogs and had no idea they all post to each other. If this has annoyed you, my sincere apologies. Rest assured I am working on separating the various blogs so you get what you want. Please bear with me and contact me if there is an easy way to do this.

Thank you! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. The next Board of Education meeting is slated for September 6th. More info to follow.

Rosemary

Band may leave elementary schools

2011-06-13T11:27:00.001-04:00

I am waiting for Mr. Cavallaro to return my call so I can confirm facts with him, but there is too much buzz about this issue for me to disregard it. I am talking about Mr. C.'s attempts to eliminate Band in the lower grades (K through 4). saleyservices@sbcglobal.net. Please read the last post about this issue.

Is this really the "Best Place to Raise Your Kids" if our school system is being picked apart to balance budgets?

AGENDA

Speak out against cutting Band in the elementary schools

2011-06-01T19:42:00.001-04:00

In case you have not heard, Mr. Cavallaro plans to eliminate the band program from all elementary schools. First, 5th grade is far too late to introduce children to an instrument. Second, I think this is only going to make more people consider leaving West Haven Public Schools.

This came ot light when I heard that Mr. Cavallaro is not filling Mr. Bellucci’s position at Seth Haley and Washington Schools after he retires at the end of this year. This leaves our elementary school music program decimated after five consecutive years of cuts in music teacher positions.

If this concerns you as much as it does me and others in West Haven, please give Rob Saley a call on his cell at 203.687.2845, or email him at saleyservices@sbcglobal.net. He is happy to take calls for support on his cell phone because he wants to help save the elementary school band program. Unfortunately, tonight the BOE is having a Finance Committee meeting at which they may decide to recommend Mr. C. go ahead with the cuts. Please try your best to attend the next regular Board of Education meeting at which there could well be a vote on this issue. If it concerns you, you need to stand up and speak against the elimination of the elementary school band program.

Next BOE meeting is Monday, June 13th, 7pm in the Harriett North Room on the second floor of City Hall.

Please do not let them take elementary school band away. It was a wonderful thing to discover band class in 6th grade, but it was way too late to begin playing an instrument with any sort of proficiency. I began piano lessons at about seven which is a good time for any child to pick up their first instrument. Even if they only play through school, it enriches their life in so many ways.

Pass this email on to anyone who is interested in keeping band in the elementary schools. If they cut this program, it is only a short step before they cut it from our 5th and 6th graders as well. Mr. Cavallaro needs to know that we value music in our schools at every level. Add your voice to those of us speaking up in favor of band in the elementary schools.

IMPORTANT!!! IT'S TIME TO GET INVOLVED!!

2011-05-31T09:56:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, May 31st, there will be a special meeting of the Mackrille PTA at 6pm in the All Purpose Room.

The purpose of this meeting is to hold our ELECTION of officers for the 2011/2012 school year. Our by-laws mandate that we have a quorum in order for the election to be valid. If you are a paid member of the PTA this year, you are able (and encouraged) to vote at this election.

Please try your best to make this meeting. Nominations will be accepted from the floor ! It is so important to get involved and play a role in decision making at your child's school. Please consider running for office. If you don't want to run for office, at least be part of the election process!

See you there!

Thanks so much!

Ellen Collins

Corresponding Secretary

Mackrille PTA

Mauro Sheridan Assembly was Great

2011-05-29T19:18:00.002-04:00

My son and I just went to an excellent assembly this past week. Mauro Sheridan, one of New Haven’s magnet schools, invited all of their incoming students to attend an assembly with the current students. We got to meet Gregory Olsen, PhD., an astronaut who went up in the Soyuz Rocket and stayed on the International Space Station for eight days. His message: never give up no matter what obstacle may present itself. He laughed when he told he failed Trigonometry in high school, but then worked extra hard to pass math so he could graduate. After joining the Army and being encouraged to try college, he excelled, eventually earning multiple degrees and a doctor in materials science.

He is an entrepreneur and the third “space tourist” to fly into space on a self-funded journey, but don’t think it was not a lot of hard work. Dr. Olsen explained to the children how he had to learn Russian, pass physical fitness tests, and take final exams each week. He was fascinating to listen to and had great photos and video footage of his time in space.

I am writing this because I was impressed by the behavior of the students and the way Ms. Brown drew my son in to help her with a task she had to complete before Dr. Olsen’s arrival. It was a simple thing, but she remembered meeting him and needed some help at that moment. So, rather than take us directly to the gym, she took us to her classroom and put him to work for a few minutes. He got to see how her class works and ended up meeting another student who was also pressed into service.

All in all, it was a very nice experience. I am excited he will have the opportunity to meet astronauts, learn how to build things such as robots, and hopefully will be able to satisfy that scientific curiosity of his more thoroughly at Mauro Sheridan. It will be an adjustment to have much more homework than he does now, but I have no doubt the benefits will outweigh the pain.

Read the article in the New Haven Independent.

May 16th Meeting Agenda Posted

2011-05-14T12:35:00.000-04:00

There are a few interesting topics being discussed. Dr. Cordone will report on Bailey's honors program, and Mr. Paolino will report on Carrigan and the recoommended plans for next year.

I hope to see you at this Monday's meeting.

SIDE NOTE: Shelton teen is going to be allowed to attend the prom. Yes, he broke the rules, but for a student with a good record and the right intentions, couldn't they have been a little less harsh? Read the story, and the accompanying comments, in the New Haven Register.
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/05/14/blotter/doc4dcea942e84b9959428386.txt

All Fine After Lockdown

2011-05-09T14:28:00.000-04:00

Carrigan, Forest and Living Word Schools are now open after lockdown. There was a fatal shooting at the Post Road Deli on the Boston Post Road (near Carrigan). Schools doing their usual screening of visitors, so no worries. They have not found the gunman as of last report. Read more here: http://www.ctbulletin.com/articles/2011/05/09/news/doc4dc7f48156c19600319360.txt

Board of Education meeting, 5-2-11

2011-05-04T10:06:00.000-04:00

Board of Education meeting

May 2, 2011

Gina Prisco, Principal of Pagels Elementary School introduced Poorna Balakumar, the winner of Connecticut’s Fire Prevention poster contest winner. When you see anything about fire prevention in Connecticut, you will see her artwork. Congratulations Poorna!

Laura McManus, a member of the West Haven Council on the Arts announced plans for the group’s essay contest. More on this when I get the updated information.

Christina al Bakri reported that things are moving ahead with regard to food service in the schools. She, Michelle Caprio and Alan Belchak’s Department are working with a committee to make improvements.

Lorraine Carr, a parent, urged the Board to install signs that prevent school busses and cars to idle, and to also request a no idling pledge from all schools that will then be enforced by the schools. It is against the law to idle your vehicle for more than three minutes in Connecticut unless it is extraordinarily cold out. She passed out signs, posters and brochures about the dangers of idling, and told the BOE they were available for free from the state. She also went on record about her concern about the elimination of recess.

Art DeGennaro discussed the important of the ice rink. His family worked on it and he coached at the rink. He believes it is a treasure and should be treated as such. He also said if the BOE examined the cost by hours of use, they would find it is being used well and a sound investment for the city.

Rosemary Russo stated that she does not feel the BOE is working in the children’s and the city’s best interests. No analysis has been done as to the dollar figure saved after all of last year’s cuts. She expected to see savings this year and says more scrutiny of the budget is necessary.

Russo also put in a word for keeping recess at Carrigan, not as discretionary time. She wonders if the longer lunch period proposed is due to the number of children who do not make it through the lunch line. There are simply too many children. She also is upset that Bailey’s graduation was not planned when the school reorganization was planned. She feels this should not have happened at the end of the year when graduation is upon us.

Nancy Rossi urged BOE to plan for the future rather than discuss issues when they are iminent. The budget should have been planned before City Council came back with their number. They should know what they want to cut or reduce in preparation for the figure. She feels budget transfers should be discussed and that the BOE should receive monthly budget reports so they know what is going on. As for Bailey graduation, it should be held as one graduation, and Carrigan’s children should have a set schedule when it comes to lunch and recess. Recess should not be held at teacher’s discretion throughout the day.

Patty Rosete weighed in on all of the rumors and information flying around. She wants to wait until all of the facts are presented before giving an opinion. She does, however, urge the BOE to be forthcoming and direct with information rather than keeping information to themselves for too long.

Dawn Woods, a lunch aide at Carrigan, believes the aides get mised signals from the head lunch aides. She also welcomes teachers’ input. If a child is having a bad day, for example, it helps the lunch aide to know it. She was upset by the comment in the newspaper -

“Lunch aides do about as good a job as they can do supervising the kids, but they don’t have the training, nor do they have the methods or ways of dealing with kids that a trained educator (does). It’s just a way of making a more structured (day),” he said. (New Haven Register, May 1, 2011).

This prompted Howie Horvath to ask Woods what she thought would be needed to make things better. Woods responded she would appreciate better communication with and action from the head lunch aide when things get difficult in the lunch room.

A parent asked whether the BOE would rather have lunch aides or a community garden. He feels the children need recess, too.

Margi Maher, Theatrical Arts teacher at WHHS, reminded the BOE of the following upcoming productions:

DOC DOC GOOSE

WHHS Little Theatre

Directed by Senior Jess D'Amato

(Proceeds - students choice - to the family of Jaquel Jackson - to help cover the cost of a headstone)

Sat May 14 at 10 AM and 12 noon.

Kids 10 and under are free (& encouraged to bring a pillow or blanket to sit upon)

For all others there is a fee of $5

WESTIES WITH A HEART FOR JAPAN

Sat May 7th at 7:30pm WHHS Auditorium

Admission for all ages $5

All proceeds will go medical aid for the victims of the tsunami

The last theatrical event of the year is our "Senior Show"

PROM PERFECTION is directed by Senior Caitlin Morrissey

WHHS Little Theatre

Friday May 20th at 6:30 & 8:30

Tickets for all $5

Proceeds will go to "Out of the Darkness" for suicide awareness - MEMORY OF BRIAN MORRIS

At the beginning of her presentation, she proudly proclaimed she was a teacher.

Tracy Morrissey, PTA Council President, asked the BOE for more communication between the BOE and parents in order to avoid miscommunication and rumors. Sean Maher, Dorinda Borer, and several BOE members agreed later on in the evening. They want a “heads up” of items they might be asked about by constituents so they are no caught off-guard.

The BOE then met for their regular meeting. Neil Cavallaro announced that next meeting’s agenda would include:

Discussion of Bailey’s Honors Progam
Status update of Bailey’s first year
Possibly discussion of the Carrigan recess issue.

Bailey’s graduation cannot take place at UNH because the gym floor is being renovated and has been torn up.

Neil Cavallaro said there are 14 retirements so far and is projecting approximately 25. he feels this will help with budget issues. He thanked Mr. Belchak and company for working together to make changes to the food service issues.

Alan Belchak said they are working together to make healthy changes. They are also trying to figure out the best ways to teach children to eat healthy. They want to have them choose between items that will balance their meal. For example, if they use low-fat cheese, they may use regular pizza crust so the flavor is balanced and palatable to the children. He feels this way they will eat and get the nutrition they need. Rob Saley asked if all of the food is the same throughout the schools and Mr. Belchak said it is. Each school may present it differently, but it is all the same food.

Dorinda Borer asked about the Subway lunch program, but Alan Belchak did not like the idea. He says it’s a matter of contractual obligations, but is willing to discuss it after Dorinda explores it a little more.

The rest of the meeting was about the budget. Due to the microphone situation in the Harriet North Room, I was unable to hear the details, nor was I able to see the spreadsheet projected on the wall.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I heard from City Council that BOE went over budget this year despite City Council giving them a little more money as well as the suspected savings from the closing of the schools. The BOE, however, says City Council added more items to the BOE budget without adding funds. I refer you to the Register article for more info. I feel unqualified to discuss this at any level at this point. I’m a writer not a banker. :)

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/05/02/news/metro/doc4dbf69a32747f534131757.txt

And finally, at the end of the night, after all of the minutes and resignations were approved, the BOE voted to allow Pat Libero, Principal of Mackrille, to move forward with fundraising to get a bench, a sign and a garden with pavers at Mackrille School in honor of the late Debbie Hutchinson, Crossing Guard Extraordinaire. http://whedincrisis.blogspot.com/search?q=debbie All I can say is, “Yay!” She definitely deserves to be honored.

Forgive me for being blunt...

2011-05-03T12:55:00.000-04:00

Hi, everyone. Thank you to all of those who could make the meeting last night. To those of you waiting for the update, you should have it tomorrow. I am waiting to confirm some facts before posting.

With that said, I have to tell you how amazed I was about the conduct of many of the lunch aides who attended last night’s meeting. There was one woman who Howie questioned after she got up to speak, but many of the rest were an embarrassment to themselves. They chatted throughout the meeting despite all of the polite looks, and didn’t even stop when I turned around and put my finger to my lips. This was in addition to their misinformation. The article in the paper was about Carrigan modifying the lunch and recess schedules, not about abolishing recess. These ladies got up to speak about:

· how terrible it was to take away recess (that was not said in the article)

· how they felt they were more equipped to deal with the children than the teachers (teachers have tons more training and a degree, thanks)

· how upset that 15 lunch aide jobs were possibly being abolished (what is best for my children is more important than your jobs)

· and their feelings about teachers getting stipends for after-school activities (which they should if they are working those extra hours)

Did they actually read the article or did they just put it into their minds to be upset and argue? If the latter is true, why not listen to the responses to your tirades? They missed half of the meeting with their discussions while others were responding.

After last night’s display, and after hearing about the yelling and whistles blown during lunch time at Carrigan, I am even less comfortable about my son’s lunch time. I think we should all take Patty Rosete’s advice by reserving our comments until we have all of the facts rather than getting upset. Yes, we need to make sure recess remains in the school schedule, but we do not need to argue for the sake of arguing. Facts are powerful tools.

Here is the article again so you can see for yourself:

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/05/02/news/metro/doc4dbdf7640b072353668991.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Carrigan's Possible Changes

2011-05-02T14:11:00.002-04:00

I was happy to see this article in the New Haven Register today:

West Haven's Carrigan School weighs changes in approach to recess

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/05/02/news/metro/doc4dbdf7640b072353668991.txt?viewmode=fullstory

While I would not want to see the recess period reduced, I do see the other changes mentioned as positive. From what I hear from my son and many other people, the lunch aides blow whistles, yell and scream, and only allow them to play in a small area of the courtyard. That is not a healthy break. Plus, providing teachers with stipends for after-school activities only makes sense. Whenever I have directed or stage managed shows for the elementary or middle schools, I have gotten some sort of stipend for my time and effort which, as many of you know, extends way beyond the hours you are actually with the children, at least when it comes to putting on school productions. Teachers who spend time working on after-school activities should be paid something extra for their time and preparation.

I welcome the discussion of these changes as long as they are thought through sufficiently. For the full story, check out Amanda Pinto's article in the New Haven Register.

'See you at the BOE meeting tonight!

IMPORTANT MEETING: May 2nd BOE Meeting

2011-04-29T16:57:00.000-04:00

Honestly, they are all important if you have a child in West Haven public schools. This one contains a number of topics of interest to parents including:

what will happen to programs a result of the financial shortfall
Carrigan School structure
Bailey graduation
an update on Food Services

As you know, unexpected issues come up at these meetings. Again, if you are interested in issues affecting our school-age children, grab a seat on Monday, May 2nd.

I hope to see you there!

Meetings Update

2011-04-27T12:29:00.000-04:00

Please take a look at the agenda for next Monday's Board of Education meeting. There are a lot of issues to be discussed including an update about Food Services from Alan Belchak.

May 2nd
7pm
Harriet North Room
2nd Floor in City Hall

'Hope to see you there!

Local Military Family Needs Clothing Donations

2011-04-25T12:36:00.000-04:00

A fellow military spouse sent this to me. If you have any of these sizes and can help, get them to me and I'll get them to the family. This is not something a deploying service member needs to worry about. Please help if you can. My address: 116 Cherry Lane, West Haven.

This family is from CT the husband is currently getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan he is serving in the Rhode Island Army National Guard. The family lost everything in a fire they will not be able to get back into their home for another 6 mths. They need clothes for their 4 children, 2 boys size 14 and 10, 2 girls size 4/5 and 2 T. Any donation to them would be greatly appreciated it. Here is the link below about the fire if anyone would like to donate please email

Leighann Killea

leighnsean@aol.com

Family Readiness Group Coordinator

Rhode Island Army National Guard

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/crime/x1309924121/Fire-reported-in-Moosup-2nd-alarm-issued?img=3#axzz1KM7xpZIH

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rosemary O'Brien
A Word or Two, LLC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
writerobrien@gmail.com
http://www.awordortwo.net
Twitter: @writerobrien
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/writerobrien

Ben Stein's take on education in the U.S.

2011-04-11T14:04:00.000-04:00

Texting Video Wins a Prize!

2011-04-09T16:56:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to all of the West Haven High School students involved in making this public service video and to those of you who voted on it.

West Haven High School students' video on texting and driving wins $1,000 prize

April 4, 2011 BOE Meeting notes

2011-04-06T11:10:00.000-04:00

My apologies to my readers, but I was unable to attend Monday's meeting due to illness. As a consolation, I am including links to Amanda Pinto's coverage of the meetings. If something that was discussed at the meeting is not included here, please let me know.

West Haven weighs privatizing management of Bennett Ice Skating Rink (4/5/11)

WEST HAVEN — As the Board of Education’s facilities committee explores privatizing the Edward L. Bennett Ice Skating Rink, some board and City Council members worry that union jobs are on thin ice.

The committee voted Monday to put out a request for proposals for rink management, to compare outsourcing to using city employees. (Read more...)

Student Rep. Report to Board of Education - March 21, 2011

2011-03-23T12:32:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to the following seniors on their selection as Rotary Student of the Month:

February – Marisa Berti & Kayla Toole

March – Shawn Reis & Carly Lindgren

A special thank you goes out to the student group VolunTEEN for hosting a Community Service Day on Saturday. 126 students came out to assist with campus clean-up. It was a great effort. Special thanks to Subway for their donation of subs for lunch.

Please support the fundraiser for Project Graduation this weekend when over thirty contestants compete for the title of Lil Miss Westie. The pageant takes place on Saturday, March 26^th at 11am in the auditorium. We are also holding a great raffle if you want to buy some tickets.

During CAPT testing, freshmen engaged in some great programming including team building with former SCC principal Arlene Salvati, learned about cyber-bullying, dangerous relationships and more from Officers Bennett and Hayward, and engaged in activities created by our Peer Advocates, Academic Integrity Committee, and DTP students. They also attended a presentation which included Matt Turner, Megan McGorry and Ron Quagliani as speakers.

Congratulations to seniors Gypsy Garcia and Gilbert Agyman on their selection as SCC Scholar Leaders from WHHS. They will be honored at a dinner at Anthony’s Oceanview at the end of the month.

Students will be starting their online course registration for 2011-2012 this week.

Parent Conferences will be held on Wednesday, March 23^rd.

Help WHHS win the DMV Public Service Announcement contest. We need 5,000 hits on the video to win and we are at 3058 now. The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl_-rB7E8II

Board of Education Meeting 3-21-11

2011-03-22T17:26:00.001-04:00

As many of you know, the Board of Education meeting was held last night. Among other issues, it was an opportunity for Mr. Belchak to respond to the food service complaints. It was very enlightening. These were the main highlights. I will add the Student Representatives’ report when I receive it. The sound was not great, so I could not hear what they were saying.

FOOD SERVICE

In short, Mr. Belchak explained his reasoning behind his food purchases and agreed to look into ways to make the food choices in the school lunch program more nutritious while adhering to the budget. He explained that all of the nutritional value is within range of the requirements and tries to get the best bang for his buck, so to speak. He is very proud of his staff and the way everything is prepared and distributed, but said if there is a problem, he is willing to work on fixing it. He welcomes a committee consisting of food service employees, PTA members and others to work on issues related to food services throughout all West Haven schools.

After speaking with Mr. Belchak today, he reiterated much of these sentiments. He is very proud of the way Carrigan is operating. He cannot implement the fresh sandwich program from the high school at Carrigan because it is a different operation all together with regard to unions, number of hours employees work, facilities, etc. Food safety is important to him. “You can’t fool around with raw stuff,” as he said. He believe he has fixed a few things and is receptive to any issues or problems which may come up, doing his best to effectively address them in a timely manner. He said he would fax the nutrition information to schools each day and did that this morning according to sources.

Christine El Bahkri and Michele Caprio repeated the program last week was not an attack on the staff. They see changes have been made, but said many others have been not. As Christine put it during my call with her, “We have to parent the children’s lunch when they are at school.” At school, they do not have Mom or Dad making their food choices. They only have what is available to them at the time, so we have to provide them with good choices for lunch. Michele and Christine agreed to join the BOE’s Health and Wellness Committee to discuss school lunches and recommend changes. Dorinda Borer would like to see some plans of action formulated at this meeting so that they do not let the matter drop.

Neil Cavallaro received an email from a consulting group to evaluate food service. He believes the cost savings would offset the cost of the food service program. Dorinda, Cebi and Howie disagreed saying they would rather use the resources at hand instead of hiring another consultant.

Two food service workers from Savin Rock Elementary School took exception to last meeting’s presentation saying they would serve the food to their own children. One worker by the name of Rhonda went so far as to say she did not believe the previous presentation was truthful because they did not have any of these issues at Savin Rock.

NOTE: I had to wonder about their hostility toward Christine and Michele. Nothing in their presentation said anything negative about the staff, yet it seemed as if these two women, and a group of food service workers in the audience, were very defensive. I would think they would welcome a discussion such as this if they were that concerned about the children they serve each day. Besides, why would someone leave themselves open to criticism and put in all of that effort if they were not being truthful? There was no need to insult anyone simply because you did not personally experience something. Pictures do not lie and the photos were taken when the food was served.

Councilwoman Nancy Rossi commented Christine and Michele for how they went about their research and presentation. She felt it was done in a very professional manner, no one was attacked, the issue it out there now, and she commended them both. Rob Saley said the same. Rossi also said the rumor mill is a alive and well with the rumor being they might outsource food service. The fact it that cost savings were promised, but it has not happened yet.

RENAMING WHHS POOL

A few people came up to the podium requesting the pool be renamed after people and one requested the pool remain without a name. My apologies, but I did not get any of the names. Please feel free to contact me if you know them.

EVENTS

May 7th, 7:30pm, WHHS. Westies with a Heart for Japan. Last program for Haiti raised $3K.

May 14, 10-5pm, WHHS. Health Fair for employees and their families.

SCHOOL UNIFORMS

The uniform discussion was postponed. Board members received a report on the telephone poll conducted by the Superintendant’s office. They will meet at a later date when they have had time to review the report.

A few people stepped up to give their opinions on school uniforms. Some of the comments were:

uniforms will not change or modify a child’s condition, only parents will
someone suggested parent volunteer moderators in schools to evaluate if uniforms might be a positive choice
what would be the cost to the city for those who cannot afford uniforms
the cost of the uniforms would be taken out of funds that could be put toward things like Smart Boards and enrichment programs
the phone call was misleading and people had problems when they tried to vote

Mike Violano of Vio’s Sports Plus, a business located on Campbell Avenue in West Haven, would like to be a part of the bidding process if school uniforms are implemented. He does a lot of work in the city for schools, has done uniforms for other cities, and is willing to work with the city on a good price so everyone can be accommodated.

BOE BUDGET

Councilwoman Nancy Rossi suggested 3/31/11 as the date for the BOE budget meeting. The City Council’s budget meeting is to be held on April 7th, 6pm at West Haven High School. She requested that the BOE adhere to the budget format used by everyone else when writing up their budget. She said line items for items such as salaries were omitted. She is also wondering why she received a document requested through the FOI on the eve of a hearing and the New Haven Register received theirs almost immediately.

TECHNOLOGY

The Business Network Group, the company we hired to take care of things like Power School, presented their report. They basically explained how they do things. For a flat fee, they manage all of the district’s school computers, systems, etc.

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

I will post this information after I speak with Neil. I need to clarify a few items before I write anything.

KINDERGARTEN

Judy Drenzek, Early Childhood Supervisor, presented plans for kindergarten registration. It will be a much more streamlined process. They want to make sure children who need help get it at an earlier stage in the game by identifying them through the kindergarten registration process.

DISCLAIMER: These are not the official minutes of this meeting. The official minutes are recorded and voted on at the next Board of Education meeting.