Submitted by Shawna Goldfarb, BOE Member, Haddam
Cougar Pride:  The Board recognized and celebrated our District Teachers of the Year, District Staff of the Year, District Retirees and HKHS Top 10 Students of 2022. The Board and Administrative Staff gave a short description and thank-you for each celebrant and gave certificates.
Superintendent’s Update: The Board received an update from student representatives from the HK Middle School, Catherine Nguyen and Tetsuy Imai. This is the first of quarterly reports the Board will receive from HKMS.
Board Sub-Committee Reports:
Facilities: The committee reported they have been working with the Director of Operations on the small needs that have come up throughout the district. They also reported meeting at Killingworth Elementary School to tour the facility to see all the work that has been completed and any additional needs that still have to be done. The next tour will be at Burr Elementary, and then HKIS. The committee also reported on the meeting with town leaders where the Tecton Assessment was presented. There was a discussion about having a follow-up meeting.
Finance: The committee reported the final 2021-2022 budget has an anticipated balance of $298,217.10. This balance includes an insurance pre-payment for the 2022-2023 year that will offset the difference between the budgeted insurance increase of 8% and the actual increase of 10.5%. This balance can be used to purchase any year-end needs of the district. A final year-end report will be presented after the close of the Fiscal Year.
Policy: The committee reported working on policy #6146 and a revision to policy #6148. The committee will bring the Board additional policies at the August or September meetings. It was also reported that the 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 series are complete and the 5000 series is almost complete. The committee says all policies should be complete by October or November.
Personnel and Evaluation: The committee reported finalizing the Superintendent’s Year- End Review and 2022 Goals. Both reports were given to the Board to be discussed and/or voted on. The Review passed unanimously.
Strategic Planning: The committee reported the ongoing process of the Stragetic Plan. The plan has officially been passed to Superintendent Wihbey, who will work with his team of Administrators, Staff and Teachers to create the strategies for the Plan. These strategies will then come back to the Board for approval. Superintendent Wihbey had a retreat with his full team, where sub-teams for each goal were created. These teams were tasked with creating the beginning portions of the strategies for their goal. The full team will meet again in August to finalize their strategies and prepare to present them to the BOE at the August workshop. The Strategic Planning sub-committee and the Communications sub-committee also will be working together to create the District Strategic Planning Archive Document.
Curriculum: The committee reported they are reviewing the new Black and Latino curriculum class. They will bring more information to the August and September Board meetings.
Communications: The committee reported they reviewed feedback on the communication for the Budget/Budget process. A new pre-budget presentation process is being created that will include meeting with town leaders to get suggestions early in the planning process. This will be presented to the Board at the August or September meeting. The committee is also working on Staff engagements, including Staff Anniversaries and additional recognition. They are finalizing the new tri-annual BOE Newsletter format and plan. The committee will bring the plan to the Board at the next meeting.
Board Liaisons:
Haddam Board of Selectmen: No Report
Killingworth Board of Selectmen: No Report
LEARN Board of Directors: Jennifer Favalora reported the organization discussed how important it is to have student representatives at the table for their perspective. She also reported that Tecton is also working with LEARN and that lead times for supplies are at 50-72 weeks.
Park and Rec: No Report
HK Youth and Family Services/Coalition: Shawna Goldfarb reported the work HKYFS is doing regarding hiring a new Executive Director and Prevention Coordinator. The agency is also working on new fundraising opportunities, such as taking over the HKMS Fall Craft Fair and working with town leaders and other Youth & Family Service agencies to gain support and advice on re-building the agency.
Consent Agenda:Â The Board approved minutes for May, 2022 Board meetings, personnel reports, enrollment reports, District donations, and first-read Policy revisions.
New/Old Business: The Board discussed and approved revised Policies. The Superintendent’s 2021-2022 Year-End Review was approved and goals were discussed. Superintendent Wihbey proposed and discussed new District hires. The new Seasonal Maintenance Position, Special Education Coordinator and HKMS Assistant Principal were recommended and approved. The Board also had a final interview with the Assistant Superintendent candidate and approved the Superintendent’s recommendation to hire.
Superintendent Wihbey also presented the final list of Prioritized Year-End Purchases. The Board approved these purchases not to exceed $215,000.
