School Board Discusses CIP And More

By Eliza Hallabeck

The Board of Education discussed a range of topics at its Tuesday, January 10, meeting, including the school district’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), a possible course addition to Newtown High School’s curriculum, and buildings and grounds projects that may be completed if the district receives $150,000 from the town’s Capital Nonrecurring Fund.

Assistant Superintendent of Schools Linda Gejda also gave a presentation on what board members should expect to happen in the district as state-mandated education standards under the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) near the implementation deadline of 2015.

“I think this is one of the biggest changes in education in a long, long, time,” said Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson after Dr Gejda’s presentation on CCSS. “This is revolutionary.”

During her presentation, Dr Gejda explained administrators and different school departments have been aware and taking note of the state’s proposed standards. In 2015, according to Dr Gejda’s presentation, students will no longer take the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT), but instead will take a CCSS assessment. The trick, Dr Gejda said will be teaching for both standards over the next few years.

Students in kindergarten now will take the test as third graders.

CCSS, according to Dr Gejda’s presentation, provides a defined skill set that graduating students will need to be successful. During her presentation, Dr Gejda also described how English language arts courses and mathematics will be formatted under CCSS.

“This is a national conversation,” said the assistant superintendent, “and it is really a conversation success in the global area.”

The state has been developing information for CCSS since 2010, Dr Gejda said, in response to the national Race To The Top Fund offered by the federal government.

Board of Education Chair Debbie Leidlein asked Dr Gejda to provide a quarterly report to the school board in the future to map out the work being done in the district to work toward the CCSS goals.

Also during the meeting, the school board reapproved its CIP, spanning from 2013 to 2017. The first year of the plan includes $2.3 million for the first phase of Hawley Elementary School’s boiler and electrical replacement and upgrade, and $100,000 for engineering fees associated with renovating Newtown High School’s auditorium.

After approving the CIP unanimously, the school board also asked school district Director of Facilities Gino Faiella to create a list of the most critical repair and maintenance projects in the district that could be completed over the summer if the school district receives $150,000 from the town’s Capital Nonrecurring Fund.

The initial source for the requested funds was from a Board of Education year-end balance of $155,762 that was remaining on June 30, 2010.

A list of items was already created to use the $150,000, but, after Ms Leidlein questioned whether those items represented the most critical maintenance issues in the district, Mr Faiella said he would create another list and prioritize the projects to then fit within the $150,000.

The school board also heard from NHS teacher George Bachman during the meeting. He and Dr Gejda presented a program proposal to add a greenhouse management course at the high school within the Fine and Applied Arts Department.

“I thought it would be a really good opportunity to offer to students,” said Mr Bachman to board members.

Along with teaching in the Fine and Applied Art Department at NHS, Mr Bachman also teaches biology at the school, and is an adjunct professor at Naugatuck Valley Community College.

Both Mr Bachman and Dr Gejda said, with the NHS greenhouse now officially open for student use, adding the course to the high school would help maximize the potential of the new space.

School board members voted unanimously to accept the course as a new offering at NHS.

The school board also tentatively set a date of February 28 for a “Coffee With The Board” event that will allow members of the public to direct questions to Board of Education members.