Submitted by Ed Munster.
This regular meeting of the BOE was held in the library at the HKMS in Killingworth. Members of the RSD #17 Board in attendance were Joanne Nesti, Brenda Buzzi, Suzanne Sack, Peter Sonski, Eileen Blewett and Kathy Zandi, Absent were Maura Wallin, Joel D’Angelo, Gerry Mathews, Eric Couture and Sue Twachtman.
The meeting was called to order by Board Chair Joanne Nesti who immediately opened the meeting to public comment. There were about 40-50 people who were supporters of the “Save HES” effort. The first to speak was Teri Everett, owner of Teri’s Package Store in Higganum. She voiced concern over mixing children of disparate ages on busses, the increased length of time some children would be riding on their bus and the impact that closing HES would have on the business activity in Higganum center. Ms. Everett went on to say that she was not aware that HES was being closed until someone came into her store to speak with her about it; she hoped that this was not a “done dea”l and that the Board could keep an open mind on the issue and that she as a taxpayer would be willing to pay more taxes if needed to keep HES open.
Andrea Bizzaro who is a new resident of Haddam stated that she was only here four months when she heard that the school was closing and it stressed her to think she might have made a mistake by buying her home here as the school was a big part of her decision to come to Haddam.
Next to speak was Ken Gronbach, a longtime resident of Haddam and author of numerous books on demographics who stated that he hoped that what we are getting here is not a ‘permanent solution to a temporary problem’. Gronbach acknowledged that, as a demographer, he lives in a world of numbers and logic but he said his gut just tells him that it is wrong to close this school. His concern was that HES is the biggest sign of life in our town and that the reason to keep this school open is the psychological impact that closing the school might have on the town.
At this point no one else came forward to speak so Chairman Nesti went on to the agenda which included a presentation by Dr. Kris Lindsay, Director of Student Services. The purpose was to provide the members of the BOE with information on the role that social and emotional wellness plays in education in RSD #17. She discussed the systems that are in place to address the issue. The in-depth presentation and the subsequent discussion and questions from the BOE members lasted the better part of an hour.
Next the BOE discussed the curriculum council report from Kathy Zandi which centered on advanced calculus. The AB program involves a semester of college calculus taught over a period of a year in high school. The other option is the BC program involves a year of college calculus taught over a period of a high school year. Superintendent Howard Thiery pointed out that this advanced calculus program has been evolving over a period of years and that the AB calculus has become quite popular.
The next item was an invoice from the building committee submitted for payment. Discussion centered on the boiler project in which there were changes to boiler locations. Also discussed was the solar project. This invoice for $158,041.05 was approved by a roll call vote.
Suzanne Sack from the Finance Committee discussed the short term and long term options for bonding the construction projects. One of the decision points on bonding falls on Sunday January 6. There is no scheduled BOE meeting before this date and some of the information needed is not yet available so Brenda Buzzi made a motion to give the finance committee the authority to act on behalf of the full board to make the needed decision. This was approved by a roll call vote.
Nesti then asked if anyone would like to speak during the second public comment period. Jeff Sturges stepped forward to point out how many of the people in the room, most of whom had stayed during the entire meeting, were there because of HES. Sturges asked the Board to consider, as a result of closing HES, whether the savings over the years would outweigh the cost of having to expand a school or buy land and build an entire new school at the point when the population grows to the point when this will be needed. He asked that this question be answered before we make an irreversible decision and close this school.
David Law stated that he purchased his home in Higganum within the past year and that his decision to buy in Haddam was based on the location of this school. His wife Jennie Law said they moved here from California where her children had been in classes of 30 students and when they got here her children were behind. They moved here to be in this district because of the small class sizes where she knew her children would get a more in-depth education. Jennie also felt that closing the school will kill the village.
Dan Luisi of Haddam pointed out that the BOE has a record of not listening to the people and told the Board that the people are here for a reason and they should listen.
Jennifer Petrillo was the last person to speak. She focused on the psychological impact that closing the school is having on her and her family and the damage closing the school would have on the future of Higganum because businesses will be impacted.
At this point this part of the meeting was closed as the BOE went into executive session to discuss a student matter.
