11.12.2024 Regular Minutes

COLCHESTER BOARD OF EDUCATION
Regular Meeting

 

 

Tuesday, November 12, 2024
5:30 PM
William J. Johnston Middle School

MINUTES

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT : Chair Alexander Oliphant, Vice-Chair Christopher Rivers,
Secretary Margo Gignac, Donna Antonacci, Michelle Millington and Rosemary Gignac

ADMINISTRATION PRESENT : Superintendent Daniel P. Sullivan, Ill, Assistant Superintendent
Jessica L. Kuckel, Bacon Academy (BA) Principal Amy Begué, William J Johnston Middle
School (WJJMS) Principal Christopher Bennett, WJJMS Assistant Principal Stacey Ewings,
Jack Jackter Intermediate School (JJIS) Principal Elise Butson.

OTHERS PRESENT : Director of Finance and Operations Rachel Linkkila, Instructional
Technology Coordinator Barbara Johnson, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent Alyssa
Fratoni, Student Board Member Abigail Stillwell, Sgt. Resident Trooper Zach Cash, SRO John
Zavalick, and Security Consultant Tom Dillon.

1. MEETING OPENING
1.1. Call to Order “

A.Oliphant called the meeting to order at 5:31 PM

1.2 Roll Call
A.Oliphant conducted roll call of the Board.
Board Member Stefanie Tracey-Calash not present.

1.3 Pledge of Allegiance
A.Stillwell arrived at 5:34 PM

2. RECOGNITIONS / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
2.1. Jack Jackter Intermediate School Math Exemplars Recognition
Superintendent Sullivan thanked the teachers and faculty members that took
time out of their evenings to present the data to the Board:
From JJIS - Jennifer Totten, Kristen Cleasby-Gayle, Tammie Bakaj, Kerry
Zrenda and Marjorie Perry.
From WJJMS - Tiffany Smith, Bonnie McAneny, Jennifer D’Aiuto, Amanda
LaSaracina, Erin Duggan and Kristen Magoun.
Kristen Cleasby-Gayle presented the Exemplars problem solving program
The Board thanked the teachers for coming to present and said it was very
informative to see the growth trends from an evaluation perspective.

 

 


STUDENT BOARD MEMBERS REPORT

3.1. Report from the Student Board Members
Abigail Stillwell stated that the BA halls are filled with energy and excitement to
keep everyone engaged. The Sock Donation Drive yielded over 300 pairs of
socks, which surpassed the goal. Girls Soccer won ECC’s. There was a
wonderful Band/Choir performance recently and soon, there will be a Powderpuff
Flag Football Game for Junior and Senior Girls.

 

ADDITIONS / CHANGES TO THE AGENDA
4.1. *New Agenda Items
BA and JJIS Liaisons requested an update be given in section 12 of the agenda.

PUBLIC COMMENT
5.1. For Public Comments, please see Bylaw on Meeting Conduct
No public comment

*CONSENT AGENDA
6.1. *Approval of Minutes from Tuesday, October 8, 2024 Regular Meeting
Motion by: C. Rivers
Motion to approve minutes from October 8, 2024
Second: M. Gignac
Roll Call: All in favor
Vote: Motion carried

6.2. *Approval of WJJMS Field Trip to MA on May 23, 2025
Motion by: D. Antonacci
Motion to approve WJJMS Field Trip to MA on May 23, 2025
Second: M. Millington
Roll Call: All in favor
Vote: Motion carried

6.3. | *Approval of WJJMS Field Trip to NY on April 9, 2025
M. Millington was concerned about the cost to students being $185 to attend the
field trip. Principal Bennett stated that there are scholarship options to those
invited on the field trip that cannot afford it.
Motion by: M. Gignac
Motion to approve WJJMS Field Trip to NY on April 9, 2025
Second: R. Gignac
Roll Call: All in favor
Vote: Motion carried

6.4. *Approval of BA Theatrics Fundraising
Motion by: M. Gignac
Motion to approve BA Theatrics Fundraising for $1,595.10
Second: D. Antonacci
Roll Call: All in favor
Vote: Motion carried

6.5. *Approval of Budget Transfer over $5,000.00
Motion by: M. Millington

 


Motion to approve budget transfer of $22,320.72 from Private OOD to Classified
Job Salaries

Second: D. Antonacci

Roll Call: All in favor

Vote: Motion carried

6.6. | *Approval of BA Request for setting Commencement Ceremony date for 2025
Motion by: M. Gignac
Motion to approve suggested Commencement Ceremony date of June 12, 2025
Second: M. Millington
Roll Call: All in favor
Vote: Motion carried

REPORT FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
7.1. Data Showcase

Superintendent Sullivan again stated that he was very grateful for everyone
coming out to represent JJIS and WJJMS. He is looking forward to having CES and BA
do something similar to showcase the good work going on throughout the entire district.

7.2. HVAC Project

Superintendent Sullivan stated that the HVAC project at Bacon has to be reset
due to changes in regulations. C. Rivers asked what the timeline would be to get back to
where we were with USA Mechanical. Superintendent Sullivan is hoping that around
January, we should know more. He stated that the scope of the work is completely
different because of the new regulations. He stated that we are looking at Chiller
Systems instead of the previous HVAC system. The Board decided we will keep an
Update on the HVAC Project on all regular meeting agendas until a decision is made.

7.3. Sound Fields ‘

Superintendent Sullivan stated that Colchester has been a recipient of a state
bond to purchase Sound Fields for all of the Schools in the District. These Sound Fields
will address ADA issues and will benefit all students and staff. Sound Fields are small
speaker systems placed in each classroom. Students who have hearing needs would be
able to plug into them and get the sound directly into their hearing aid or implant. It
would be beneficial for teachers and students because there would be microphones that
could be passed around the classroom for presentations, etc. Two Vendors were met
last week and this week who did a walk through of the schools and there is the
possibility of a third vendor as well.

7.4. — Athletics

Superintendent Sullivan recognized all Fall Athletics Teams. “Volleyball and both
soccer teams qualified for the post season and girls soccer one ECC’s. Both soccer
teams made it to the second round of the tournament. Some disappointment but also a
great deal of pride for the season that those teams had. In terms of the athletic complex
at Bacon Academy, | know that the district was approached by the Recreation Needs
Committee and the First Selectman a few weeks ago because of the work we had done
with Field Turf so far and they asked us to have them come to a meeting and doa
presentation. The overall future of this project and where things are headed are
ultimately in that avenue. So the Recreation Needs Committee, to the best of my
knowledge, will make a recommendation to the Board of Selectman and the Board of
Selectman will determine what happens, where it happens, how it happens, because

 


that Recreation Committee is not just looking at Bacon Academy but locking at the
community as a whole. | don't know if there are any questions on athletics or Field Turf, |
will answer what | can.”

D. Antonacci “Regarding the design proposal that Field Turf is presenting, did
you approach the attorneys on that?”

Superintendent Sullivan “Are you referring to the motion that this Board made
last winter?”

D. Antonacci “Yes.”

Superintendent Sullivan “Last winter, this Board talked about possibly moving
forward with the design proposal from Field Turf. Citizens during Public Comment
expressed concern on the legality of moving forward with that design proposal through
cooperative purchasing. So this Board here directed me to either talk to an attorney or
DAS to find out about the legal liability of all of that. 1 spoke to the DAS office and they
said it was dependent on your town's purchasing policy. | spoke with our attorney at
Shipman and she also indicated that the legality of moving forward was tied to the town's
purchasing policy. It indicated that the way the purchasing policy was written at that point
in time, that while you could use cooperative purchasing, the dollar threshold, the way it
had been written, was quite low and would not match the scope of this work. They
indicated that if the purchasing policy would change for the town, that we would then be
able to move forward. The town’s purchasing policy was changed last spring. We signed
this agreement and moved forward after that time”

D. Antonacci “Thank you. | have another question, since a citizen made a
comment recently attacking your integrity on this project. | am going to read this out loud,
this is a facebook post. ‘This is a Board of Ed project that Colchester Superintendent of
school Dan Sullivan has been fiercely advocating for. Superintendent Sullivan has also
taken steps in an attempt to bypass the traditional municipal bid process. In April,
Superintendent Sullivan was finally forced to admit to a relationship with the
subcontractor, the same one in this allegation of bribery, only after being pressured by
several Colchester citizens in public meetings.’ | am just wondering what your response
might be to that?” :

Superintendent Sullivan “Well there is a Jot to unpack there. Let's start with a little
bit of history. When | was hired to work in Colchester, one of the first things that | did was
make myself available to really all members of the school community to gather
information. | had small group meetings, one to one meetings, to identify the strengths of
the district, things we felt were either opportunities for growth or needs in the district.
One of the things that was pointed out to me very early was that the athletic complex at
Bacon Academy was outdated, that the fields were not in good shape, they didn't have
lights and that we were really behind the times. Also very early on, | spoke to Board
Leadership, and that was Alex and Margo, and said to get a better understanding of
what we could do, I could go to a company that's on the bid list, identified Field Turf, |
could have them come out and look at the complex at Bacon Academy. Some people
might question why Field Turf and I think it's really important to note it is not a random
company, it is not my neighbors uncle kind of thing. Field Turf has done many European
soccer stadiums and most stadiums in the NFL. In Connecticut, they have done
Glastonbury High School, Fitch High School, New London High School, Hall and
Conard, Valley Regional, Griswold, Rockville, Fairfield University, Quinnipiac University,
Mitchell College, Conn College, Sacred Heart University and apparently the Coast
Guard Academy. So when you look at the scope of work, it makes sense to bring them in
to look at what our needs are. Relative to the accusation of the relationship, | don’t have
the minutes of the meeting, | don't even know which meeting it was last year, but | will
say the same thing tonight that | roughly said then. Kevin Foley, who is in essence the

 


owner of Liberty Landscaping with his wife Katherine, they were parents at South
Windsor High School where | was the Principal for 10 years. They live in South Windsor
and when | moved to South Windsor and was waiting to move into my home, | rented a
home that they had for rent on Main Street. That is the depth of my relationship with
Kevin Foley. As | pointed out then, people saw it as sarcastic, but just to give context, we
have never gone out for a meal, we have never met for happy hour, we don’t exchange
christmas cards or go to BBQ's. He was my landlord and a parent. He was also a
company that did the grass field at the front entrance to South Windsor High School
when I was Principal. Much like this project, as the Principal of the high school, | did not
determine who was hired to do the landscaping on an athletic field. That was handled by
the Board of Education. In Colchester, relative to an athletic field project at Bacon
Academy, the town has made it clear that that’s not going to be decided by the Board of
Education. While that is not typical of most communities, that's what happening here. It's
not my decision who we hire, not even my place to recommend who we hire. When we
brought this project forward last year, it was discussed by this Board and the feeling at
that time was that doing this kind of project would give a really good understanding to
the Board of Education and to the town what the needs were at Bacon Academy by
virtue of taking test pits, and by doing, in essence, engineering work, the town would
have a much better understanding of what could and couldn’t work because there’s been
a lot of questions regarding drainage, etc.”

D. Antonacci “So essentially, we are providing recommendation and the Board of
Selectman will make the final decision based on the recommendation of the Ad Hoc
Committee and all information is going to the Ad Hoc Committee from us with the design
proposal?”

Superintendent Sullivan “Yeah. And relative to the comment about an allegation
of a bribe, it is my understanding that the First Selectman has gone to the state attorney
and the police to investigate it and | don’t have any more to say on it other than | hope it
is thoroughly investigated and they get to the bottom of it because any sort of allegation
of corruption is crucial and | know that my integrity and my reputation are important to
me and | imagine that other people feel the same way about their name and their
reputation so this kind of stuff can't just live in the gray.”

D. Antonacci “Thank you”

M. Millington “Can I just add something really quickly for anyone that's listening? |
would just like to clarify that the bribe that you brought up had nothing to do with you.
What we were talking about was a citizen who has come forward to say that they were
approached to be bribed because they are on the Ad Hoc Committee. | just want to
make sure that anybody listening didn’t have the wrong impression of that. That we are
not speaking of you or anyone on the Board of Education when it comes to a bribe. That
was something completely separate from us.”

D. Antonacci “Yes, thank you”

C. Rivers “One quick additional clarifying point. One of the benefits we thought
of, almost a year ago, of hiring a company with money we have left over from end of
year funds was going through the bid list, in particular, would allow a company to do
some of the engineering feasibility side of it, and also produce an itemized list,
understanding that the plans associated to the itemized list, if it went to a different
vendor, would have to be redone. Understanding how engineering works, that no one
feels comfortable using another engineer's plans, but from an itemized list perspective,
from a feasibility perspective, would just be more things to be considered. And to the
point that | think you made pretty clear, and | think as many opportunities as we can, we
should keep making this claim. It will be a town decision, any additional information we
can provide to help with that, great. But it is a town decision and we are just trying to

 


help by providing additional information. Is that fair?

Superintendent Sullivan “Absolutely, and I think it ties back to one of the Working
Groups that, probably the one that put in the most time, was the one looking at our
facility needs and | think this really complimented their concerns. It's one thing to say
that the fields need to be addressed. It's a whole other thing to bring the supporting
documents as to the state of the fields and the work that needs to be done. | think there
was legit questions, whether that is the right location for the fields because of the
drainage issues that have occurred over the years. | think this is all really valuable
information. The one part of the comment that Donna read that | also didn’t thoroughly
answer is | have been a staunch advocate not so much of Field Turf as much as using
the cooperative purchasing. | do believe that hiring a vendor who does a design build
project and owns every aspect of the project is in the best interest of the town. In too
many other school communities, Principals and Superintendents talk and | played the
role of Principal for 13 years. There is nothing more disheartening than having a field
thatis artificial turf that can’t be used because there's ripped seams or because there's
some sort of other safety issue that emerges and nobody takes responsibility for it
because the installer says it was either the product or the person who manufactures the
product says we were just matching the design work and this is what they called for any
everyone is pointing fingers at each other. No one is taking responsibility. The
community is getting lawyers involved and the people who suffer at the end of the day
are the kids because the field is closed. When you have one stop shopping, you don’t
care whose fault it is. You just say ‘hey look, this is yours, we have a game on Thursday,
get it fixed.’ So that is why | am a staunch advocate for using cooperative purchasing
with a design build.”

M. Millington “And | think, if | may just add one last thing, | won't speak for
everyone because | don’t want to do that. But if | remember correctly, the entire Board,
or | will say myself, was also very much in the same position . We felt that we wanted a
company that could take care of everything, that we weren't going to have a company
that said ‘oh yeah go talk to the installer, you got to talk to this one, you got to talk to that
one, we have to put it out for an architect’ . All of the things, we were trying to use our
money wisely and make it the best project that we could. And somewhere in notes, way
back when, we discussed having that type of company. | don’t know when either but
somewhere it's in there.”

A.Stillwelt left the meeting at 6:27 PM

8. PRIORITY DISCUSSION / ACTION ITEMS
8.1. *Discussion and Possible Action on School Safety
Superintendent Sullivan gave a presentation on School Safety.
Here are some key points:
e Focus on prevention over reaction
e Address concerns early
e Building relationships and mental health
e Need someone who is able to look at trends and fix them before
something happens
CPS met with EHPS last week to discuss best practices
Balance security with a welcoming school atmosphere
e Walk Interior/Exterior before school starts, monitor and address
potential threats, assist in emergencies, foster relationships by
being a daily, consistent presence.
e Bridge between schools and local law enforcement

 


e Trust and Transparency in the district increase when safety is a
shared point.

Security Consultant Tom Dillon stated that it is important to build relationships
with public safety. He thanked Central Office for being the most cooperative when it
comes to the 183 page All Hazards Plan that needs to be submitted yearly to the State.

C. Rivers asked T. Dillon if there was a more condensed version of the 183 page
Plan. T. Dillon responded that editable Flip Charts were made that are available in each
building for easy access that have all of the information Administrators would need in the
event of an emergency. Principal Bennett brought in an example so the Board could see.

Sgt. Cash stated that the work that has been done and is being done is good, but
ASO’s are the next bridge to enhance safety and security and should be taken seriously
throughout the district.

C. Rivers asked how the schools currently communicate with Colchester PD.
SRO Zavalick stated that each schoo! had their own radio to communicate with him and
he communicates with the Police Department.

SRO Zavalick stated that 3 of Colchester’s current safety officers could become
ASO’s because of their past employment. He also stated that he could be an ASO as
well.

Superintendent Sullivan stated that the purpose of this presentation was not to
promote ASO’s as much as point out current staffing and decide our priority moving
forward. BA after school hours is a big thinking point as well as a possible full time
Director of School Safety.

Superintendent Sullivan left the meeting at 6:52 PM.

9. POLICIES - FIRST READ
9.1. | 3250 Materials/Service Fees, Fines, Charges

3260 Sales, Trade-in, Disposal of Books, Equipment and Supplies Disposal of
Obsolete or Surplus Equipment
3281 School Fund Raisers and Online Fundraising Campaigns - Crowdfunding
3313 Relations with Vendors
3324.1 Contracts
3410 System of Accounts
3420 Classification of Expenditures
3434 Periodic Audit
3451 Petty Cash Funds
3510 Operations and Maintenance of Plan
3513.1 Energy Conservation

D. Antonacci went over eliminations and edits, the above policies will go to
Second Read at the December Regular Meeting.

C. Rivers asked that a reference sheet of eliminated policies be made that
include the CT General Statute that covers the elimination reasoning.

10. POLICIES - SECOND READ
10.1. 3240 Tuition Fees
Motion by: M. Gignac
Motion to approve second read Policy 3240 Tuition Fees with the effective
change date of January 1, 2025.
Second: M. Millington
Roll Call: All in favor

 


Vote: Motion carried

11. POLICIES - FIRST AND SECOND READ

11.1.

3320 Purchasing Policy
D. Antonacci went over to edit.

12. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES

12.1.

12.2.

12.3.

12.4.

12.5.

Ad Hoc Budget Committee

Committee Chair M. Gignac stated that things are going well. She stated that R.
Linkkila has been working hard to build a format for presentations for the Budget.
Board of Finance Chair S. Chapman joined the latest meeting and has asked to
be a part of all future meetings as well. She spoke about the presentation from
ClearGov and the comparison that the Committee is making to what we currently
have. The next meeting is Monday, November 18, 2024.

Budget Finance Committee

Committee Chair C. Rivers explained that the 288% used line item on the most
recent monthly budget report is due to accounting for the carpeting and it will go
down and balance out.

Curriculum Committee
Committee Chair D. Antonacci stated that at the last meeting, there was
discussion about changes to JJIS Report Cards.

Update from JJIS Liaison
M. Millington attended the PTO sponsored Jack-o-Lantern celebrations and the
Veterans Day Celebration

Update from BA Liaison

D. Antonacci attended the Veterans Day Celebration and spoke about some
upcoming events such as the Bake Sale, Mr. Bacon and A Christmas Carol. She
also congratulated the Youth Scholarship Award Winners.

13. BOARD ANNOUNCEMENTS AND INFORMATION ITEMS

13.1.

Next Meetings
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 6:00 PM

14. PUBLIC COMMENT

No public comment.

15. ADJOURNMENT

Motion by: A.Oliphant
Motion to adjourn.
Second: M.Gignac
Roll Call: All in favor
Vote: Motion carried

A.Oliphant adjourned the meeting at 7:11 PM

Respectfully submitted,
Alyssa Fratoni, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent