REGION 9 BOARD OF EDUCATION
Regular Meeting
Joel Barlow High School
Tuesday, April 23, 2019 – 7:30 p.m.
Minutes
ATTENDANCE
Region 9 Board of Education members: D’Agostino, Hocker, Denny, Graziano, Hancock, Johnston (arr. 8:05 p.m.)
Absent: Coppinger, Williams
Administration: McMorran, Reiss, Desmarais, Panos
Others: Videographer and 4 members of the public
CALL TO ORDER
Prior to the Call to Order, Mr. D’Agostino requested to begin a student presentation. Faculty member Jack Powers thanked the Board for its consistent support of the Writing Center at Barlow and introduced three students (Gabrielle Johnston, Colin Holm Hanson and James Porter) who had produced exceptional writing portfolios. The students read examples of their writing.
Mr. D’Agostino then called the meeting to order at 7:55 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion: move to add approval of the March 19, 2019 Regular Meeting minutes to the agenda (Hancock, Graziano). Approved. Unanimous.
Motion: move to approve minutes of March 19, 2019 Regular Meeting (Hancock, Graziano). Approved. Unanimous.
Motion: move to approve minutes of April 1, 2019 District Hearing (Hancock, Graziano). Approved. Unanimous (Denny abstained).
Motion: move to approve minutes of April 1, 2019 Special Board Meeting (Hancock, Graziano). Approved. Unanimous (Denny abstained).
STUDENT COMMENT
Max Monson, Student Representative to the Board, reported on noteworthy student accomplishments from the previous few weeks as well as upcoming events.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENT
Mr. Hancock commended the earlier student presentations.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: WCSA STUDENT AWARDS
Dr. McMorran briefly described awards received by students.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: CLASS OF 2019 COLLEGE PLACEMENTS
Ms. Panos reported on the current status of known college acceptances and discussed plans for providing a complete report to the Board at a future meeting.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: GRADUATION PLANS
Ms. Panos confirmed that the graduation ceremony will be held at 5:00 p.m. on June 12 at the O’Neill Center on the WCSU campus. Mr. D’Agostino inquired whether the Board should form a committee to consider scheduling and features of future graduation ceremonies. After discussion, no action was taken.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: POLICY REVIEW – FIRST READING
The proposed Policy 5141.213, “Administering Medication – Use of Naloxone (Narcan) was presented and briefly discussed.
Motion: move to accept first reading of Policy 5141.213 (Hocker, Denny). Approved. Unanimous.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: POLICY REVIEW – SECOND READINGS
Two proposed Policies that had previously gone through First Readings were presented for Second Readings: 5144.5, “Progressive Discipline,” and 5144.12, “Discipline Policy – Restorative Justice Approach.” There were minor non-substantive edits proposed.
Motion: move to approve Policy 5144.5 and Policy 5144.12 with changes as noted (Hancock, Denny). Approved. Unanimous.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
Mr. Reiss requested Board approval for two budget transfers: $25,000 from Speech Services account 2150-111 to Speech Services account 2150-330, and $14,000 from Special Education account 1200-112 to Special Education account 1200-330.
Motion: move to approve budget transfers as presented by Mr. Reiss (Denny, Johnston). Approved. Unanimous.
Mr. Reiss reviewed the status of the current year budget and health insurance reserve funds.
Dr. McMorran recognized the attendance of a Scout at the Board meeting, noting the importance of civic participation.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mr. Hocker reported that the Pension Committee had met, that transfer of the administration of the defined contribution retirement plan was on track, and that the first quarter investment results of the defined benefit pension plan fund was ahead of its benchmark.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENT
Mr. Johnston noted an upcoming Tri-District Food Service committee meeting and asked for any comments on this topic.
Ms. Denny observed that, as a member of the Policy Committee, she found the time and effort spent to review the volume of new and changing policies was not producing adequate progress, and recommended outsourcing Policy reviews and updates. Dr, McMorran said he would bring this topic to the attention of the three ER9 boards at their joint meeting in May.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion: move to adjourn the regular meeting of the Region 9 Board of Education (Hancock, Denny). Approved. Unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:34 p.m.
Recorded and submitted by
Chris Hocker
Region 9 Board of Education Secretary