Superintendent Evaluation Consultant OK’d By School Bd

By Eliza Hallabeck

At the May 1 meeting of the Board of Education, Chair Debbie Leidlein reported that while the school board voted to have a Connecticut Association of Board of Education (CABE) consultant help the board through the superintendent’s upcoming yearly evaluation for no extra cost to the district due to an ongoing contact with CABE, she learned this week the consultant will not be available for a few months.

“We have spoken with two attorneys with regard to assisting us with our evaluation of the superintendent,” said Ms Leidlein, “and one was Floyd Dugas, who is the board’s attorney, and the other was Fred Dorsey, who was recommended to me because he has done some work for the town prior to this.”

The rates for both attorneys are similar, according to Ms Leidlein, at about $225 an hour.

Board of Education Vice Chair Laura Roche made the motion to hire Attorney Dorsey, and the motion later passed with board members Richard Gaines and Keith Alexander against the motion.

Expressing support for the board to have help through the superintendent’s evaluation process, Ms Roche said Attorney Dorsey is an out-of-district choice who will have fewer connections to people involved in the process.

Mr Gaines said he believes the school board should contact CABE, and Ms Leidlein agreed to continue looking into that option after the consultant was approved by the board.

Later during the meeting, Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson said the district will be spending $6,000 to $8,000 to advertise across the state for the pupil personnel services director position. Pupil Personnel Services Director Michael Regan tendered his resignation last month to take on an executive position at Cooperative Educational Services (CES), a Trumbull-based school support agency that is under the executive leadership of Newtown’s former schools superintendent Evan Pitkoff.

Pupil personnel services director positions, along with high school principals and superintendents, are some of the hardest positions to hire for right now, according to Dr Robinson.

Copier Contract

Approved

After school district Business Director Ronald Bienkowski provided an explanation and recommended a company for the Board of Education to enter into a contract that will supply the district with copier machines, the school board upheld his suggestion with a unanimous vote.

Later during the second public participation of the school board’s Tuesday meeting, Gerry Crean, the owner of Aztec, one of the top two companies Mr Bienkowski listed as options for the contract, asked the school board to reconsider its decision to award the contract to Océ North America.

The school district is in its last year of a four-year contract with Océ North America, according to Mr Bienkowski, and the company has provided machines for the district for the last couple contract periods.

Mr Crean said that if his company had been granted a requested meeting with the district to discuss the bid, he would have made it clear there was an additional $100,000 possible savings for Newtown through different options.

Prior to Mr Crean speaking during public participation, the school board voted to award the contract to Océ North America. Mr Bienkowski explained after the meeting he contacted Océ to verify information for his recommendation and learned of potential savings that firm could provide at that time.

Aztec was the lowest bidder on the contract, at a difference of $2,400 a year, according to Mr Bienkowski.

Listed benefits of awarding the contract to Océ North America included no additional expenses beyond the contract, and potential savings to keep the cost of the contract at the budgeted amount for the 2012-13 fiscal year, which Mr Bienkowski explained was offered by the company when he followed up the bids by contacting the company.