Hartford Board of School Directors
School Board Meeting Agenda
April 11, 2018 @ 7:00 pm
Hartford Town Hall
Board members present: Peter Merrill, Michelle Boleski, Russell North, Kevin Christie
Administrators present: Tom DeBalsi, Noel Bryant
1. Call to Order: Kevin Christie calls the meeting to order at 7:01 PM.
2. Public Comments - could there be more sharing from the schools (e.g., presentation on ASCD conference. Sampling of some of the activities our teachers do.
3. Changes, Additions and Approval of Agenda
Peter Merrill moved to approve the agenda. Russel North seconded. All voted in favor.
4. Consent Agenda
Nominations for new positions: Tom DeBalsi explained that all of these people worked for HSD this current year but since they were hired after July 1 they were considered 1 year positions, requiring re-hiring.
Resignation:
Peter Merrill moved to approve the consent agenda congratulating those that secured positions for next year and expressing gratitude for their service to those resignations. Russell North seconded. Passed unanimously.
5. Items Requiring Board Discussion and Possible Action
▪ Hartford Community Coalition (Russell): Regional Advisory Board (Boleski): Ms. Russell was not present
▪ Regional Advisory Board (Boleski): Nothing new to report.
▪ Manifest Approval (Christie): Mr. DeBalsi talked a little about the hiring that is going on at the Superintendent’s Office for two positions. Both positions are posted in the Valley News, Indeed, and School Spring.
▪ Racial Inequality Committee (Boleski, Russell): Waiting for the charged to be renewed.
▪ Policy Review (Merrill): Conversations between Mr. Merrill, Mr. Christie and Mr. DeBalsi about how to move forward with a response to the recommendations.
▪ Select Board Liaison (North): not able to attend the most recent meeting as it was going on at the same time as this meeting.
▪ Sister City Update (Boleski): A group coming from the sister city on June 24th. Have begun creating itineraries. Budget is challenging. Considering some potluck meals. Plan to email Mr. DeBalsi about connecting with the school. Possibly visiting HACTC Tech Camp and meeting some administrators. The group is looking for donations - monetary or in-kind donations to the Town of Hartford. Ms. Boleski is in charge of the gift basket. They will be naming a subway stop after the Town of Hartford.
▪ Wilder School Building Study Committee (Merrill): The committee met last week. They had visited both RAP and HARP to see their spaces. A volunteer at the college drew up a mock-up of how both programs might fit into the existing RAP school. Concern about parking, busing. Determined to bring this to some local architects to get some feedback on if this might work in terms of space. Committee is very involved and ambitious. Mr. Christie spoke with Nathan Cleveland from the Department of Housing and Community Development, Historic Preservation. He is a Hartford alumni. There might be some opportunities for supports and possibly funding. A sub-committee is meeting to talk about other possible spaces for the programs within the community. Ms. Boleski wondered if they were considering projected population numbers. Mr. Merrill replied that there is significantly more demand than the space we have now. If we were to increase the space, we could fill it. They discussed housing this programs in other schools especially with the decrease in the number of students. It was suggested that a study be done on this.
6. Meeting Review/Evaluation and Agenda Planning
7. Executive Session: Peter Merrillmade a motion to go into Executive Session. Ms. Boleski seconded the motion. (4 - Yes; 0 - No). They went into Executive Session at 8:44.
The Board came out of Executive Session at 9:17. Peter Merrill motioned to authorize the Board Chair and Superintendent to negotiate with the property owner, seconded by Michelle Boleski, all in favor.
8. Adjournment
Peter Merrill motioned to adjourn at 9:20, seconded by Michelle Boleski. All in favor.
Next Regular School Board Meeting is Wednesday, April 25, 2018 at 7:00 PM at the Hartford Town Hall
Respectfully submitted by Noel Bryant, April 11, 2018