Submitted by Jennifer Favalora, RSD 17 Board of Education Vice Chair
(September 12, 2024) — The following is a summary of the August 2024 meeting of the Regional School District 17 Board of Education:
Superintendent’s Report
The Convocation ceremony was held at HKIMS on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, welcoming back faculty and staff and honoring both employees who have reached milestones working in the district, and newly tenured teachers. The District also recognized last year’s Teachers of the Year, Staff Members of the Year, and Administrators of the Year, with the District Teacher of the Year, Becky Aithal, addressing the group.
All certified staff positions have been filled for the start of the 2024-25 school year.
The Superintendent also reported to the Board on the following recent maintenance issues:
A small section of the ceiling in the seminar room at HKHS was damaged due to extreme weather changes and is being assessed and repaired. An air handling system at Burr Elementary had gone down. The unit was on the long-term plan, and the operations team is working on a solution.
Master Plan
Superintendent Jeff Wihbey and Finance Director Alison Pierce provided the Board with a recommended timeline for the next phase of the Master Plan project. These steps would begin with issuing an RFP for a School Architect for Educational Specifications and Feasibility Study. The Board will interview potential candidates prior to the Board’s September meeting. Once selected, the vendor will perform the educational specifications, feasibility study, and cost estimates before conducting a referendum projected for March 2025.
The Superintendent also discussed member parameters with the Board for creating a building subcommittee targeted for spring 2025. The Superintendent and the Board discussed continuing the contract with the Board Owner’s Representative, Arcadis, to manage the pre-referendum process.
ECHMC Representative
Superintendent Wihbey discussed his recommendation to appoint Director Pierce as a representative to the ECHMC Board, replacing the previous Finance and Operations Director.
Strategic Planning Subcommittee
Jennifer Favalora reported on the July Board workshop, which included a CABE presentation and discussion on Board governance and process. During the workshop, Superintendent Wihbey also presented summative data from the 2023-2024 school year.
Policy Subcommittee
Hamish MacPhail reported that the committee met in July and discussed the legislative overview to be continued throughout the next few months. The committee also further discussed an updated Board Code of Ethics.
Communications Subcommittee
Lisa Connelly reported that the committee met and further discussed the programs and offerings of CABE and recommended that the Board consider adding a CABE liaison at the September BOE meeting. If approved, the liaison will be appointed at the October meeting. The committee also discussed District and Board communications regarding the Master Plan.
Personnel & Evaluation Subcommittee
Corey Roberts reported that the committee met and discussed the Superintendent’s contract.
Election of Board Officer-Treasurer
The Board nominated and unanimously voted for Shawna Goldfarb to be the new Board Treasurer.
Board Announcements
Jennifer Favalora reported that Haddam will have a town meeting in September to vote on a replacement for the Board of Education vacancy left by Prem Aithal’s resignation.
2024-2025 Board Priorities
The Superintendent presented the Board with strategies developed to support the strategic operating priorities and objectives utilized by the schools and district.
The Board will take all presented district goals, Superintendent goals, and board improvement goals and incorporate them into subcommittees for oversight and report them to the full Board and the public.
Superintendent Contract
The Board voted unanimously to ratify Superintendent Wihbey’s contract as presented.
ON OUR WEBSITE:
RSD17 Board of Education information and past updates may be found at: https://www.rsd17.org/district/board-of-education.
Information on the Master Plan can be found at Master Plan Project (google.com).
