Submitted by Jennifer Favalora, RSD 17 Board of Education Vice Chair
(August 30, 2024) — The following is a summary of the July 2024 meeting of the Regional School District 17 Board of Education:
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Jeff Wihbey reported to the Board on the following items:
Finance
- New Director of Finance and Operations, Alison Pierce, commenced work on July 1, 2024. Director Pierce has met with Joanne Lund and Mike Belden from LEARN, as well as with the LEARN Finance team. They have reviewed current policies and procedures, and Director Pierce is assessing and analyzing internal controls.
Operations
- School site visits are scheduled for the week of July 15, 2024 for Director Pierce.
- Director Pierce continues to maintain weekly Operations Meetings with Transportation, Technology, Food Service, and Facilities to improve operational communications.
Student Services
- Extended School Year (ESY) has officially started. The students looked eager to participate in summer learning.
Talent, Accountability, and Human Resources
- Summer responsibilities are underway to prepare for the start of school (setting up a mandatory training schedule, updating the all-employee handbook, onboarding staff, setting up benefit time for the new year, etc.).
- Open Enrollment was successfully completed on time for the new fiscal year.
- Hiring for the 2024/2025 school year is underway. The administrative team is working collaboratively with HR to find high-quality candidates who are a good fit for the district. New Teacher Orientation will be on August 21, 2024 and August 22, 2024.
- The Professional Development and Evaluation Committee (PDEC) is meeting to prepare to roll out the new Educator and Leader Growth and Support Plan.
Curriculum
The Curriculum Council has developed guidelines for selecting supplemental resources, which will be shared with principals and teachers in the fall. Curriculum Coordinators have analyzed academic, social-emotional, attendance data, and organized summer programming and registration for incoming Kindergarteners and Sixth Graders. They are collaborating with teacher teams to write and revise the curriculum throughout the summer.
MASTER PLAN
Jack Butkus from Arcadis presented a summary of the Master Plan process and data, including the Tecton report on final options for consideration. He provided details on configuration and estimated costs of potential long-term plans:
- HKIMS capacity Analysis moving KES PK-3 into the HKIMS campus with grades 4-6
- HKHS option of 7-12 with a new build or renovate as new
- HKHS option of 9-12 with a new build or renovate as new
- Alternate Options for the fieldhouse and pool
- Burr Elementary with a new build or renovate as new
Several community members asked related questions, and the Board discussed the presented information and asked clarifying questions to lead to a fully informed vote on the high school project options of 7-12 and 9-12 to determine a grade configuration, including the pros and cons of the following considerations:
- number of campuses
- the student experience
- downstream implications
- overall cost internally and to the towns and taxpayers
- civic support
- elementary impact
- student impact
- overall value
The Board voted unanimously to move forward with an HKHS 9-12 project. It authorized Superintendent Wihbey to initiate a Request for Proposal for a Feasibility study necessary to develop and prepare for the project for a public referendum and a State School Construction Grant Application.
BOARD MEMBER RESIGNATION
Haddam Board member Prem Aithal announced that he will resign from the Board of Education on August 20, 2024. He acknowledged his time on the Board and took pride in the work accomplished, highlighting the achievement of the RSD17 Strategic Plan. On behalf of the entire Board, Board Chair Sack thanked Prem for his time on the Board and his dedication to the district.
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).
