By Jennifer Favalora, RSD #17 Board of Education.
Cougar Pride:
The Superintendent and the Board recognized HKHS Senior Lauren Miller and Junior Matt Jennings for their work as student representatives to the Board of Education. Both Lauren and Matt are exemplary student athlete leaders with notable involvement and success at HK. A special note of gratitude went to Lauren for her role as a representative for these last two years. Additionally, the 2020 CT Association of Schools recognized HKMS 8th graders, Natalie Houlton and Ivy McNeil with Scholar Leader Awards for distinguishing themselves in scholarship and leadership in the school and in their community.
RSD 17 2020/21 Budget
Budget Approved – After three months of work which included two Budget Presentations, eight Budget Workshops, four Joint Meetings with HK Town Leadership, a Community Input Session and a two week Community Input Open Email, the Board of Education voted to adopt a 2020/21 Annual Gross Budget of $41,887,638.40. This Gross Budget is a $461,275.12 reduction from the 2019/20 Gross Budget.
District School Calendar 2020-21 With the approval of the 2020/21 budget, the Board voted to reduce the number of student school days from 182 to 180. Updates were made to the calendar, including changing the first day of school for students to August 27th; replacing six early release days into full school days, and turning two school days into full Professional Development Days for teachers. The updated calendar can be found on our RSD17.org website under “Calendar”.
Covid-19 Effects on RSD17
HKHS Class of 2020 – On June 15th, HK Seniors and their immediate families have been invited to the High School campus at an assigned time to be celebrated by their teachers and staff and receive their diplomas. With updated social distancing directives from the State anticipated, School Administration and Class Officers have rescheduled Prom to August and have plans to gather as a class for a Graduation Celebration on August 14th.
Fall Planning- RSD17 will be receiving $45,000 in CARES Act Funding with some of those funds immediately earmarked for the purchase of safety equipment, such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), for the fall. Summer School guidelines from the state were released and gave an indicator of measures to consider for re-opening in the Fall. Superintendent Hageman expects Fall guidelines for re-opening to be released by the Governor by mid-June.
Capital Improvements:
Technology Purchases – In order to enhance student learning using technology and in anticipation that some degree of remote learning is likely in the fall, the BoE voted to use unspent 2019/20 funds due to Covid-19, to add 1,074 computers to the current inventory to equip all students with a school computer for use both at school and at home. This increase in District laptops will allow teachers to hold a greater number of “live” scheduled classes remotely, mirroring in-school scheduling to enhance the learning experience. Daily instruction, whether inside classrooms or through remote learning, depends on technology as a tool for success at every level and this investment will equalize accessibility for all RSD17 students. Additionally, the Board approved purchasing a new website platform and accounting/ HR system using 2019/20 unspent funds. These purchases were moved to help reduce the overall 20/21 Gross budget.
HKHS Field House- The State granted approval to begin work and the bleachers have been removed from the field house in preparation for the floor removal and abatement. Despite starting later than the original start date, the architect believes that there should be no problem finishing the project on time.
On our Website
The 2020/21 Adopted Board of Education Budget is posted on RSD17.org under “Budget Information”.
