REGION 9 BOARD OF EDUCATION
Special Meeting
Joel Barlow High School
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Minutes
ATTENDANCE
Region 9 Board of Education members: D’Agostino, Coppinger, Hocker, Denny, Graziano (arrived 7:40), Hancock, Williams
Absent: Johnston
Administration: McMorran, Reiss, Czudak
Others: Videographer and 1 member of the public
CALL TO ORDER
Mr. D’Agostino called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion: move to approve minutes of the May 21, 2019, Region 9 Board of Education Regular meeting (Coppinger, Hancock). Approved. Unanimous.
Motion: move to approve minutes of the May 28, 2019 Easton, Redding and Region 9 Joint Boards of Education Regular Meeting (Coppinger, Hocker). Approved 4-0-2. Coppinger and Hancock abstained.
Motion: move to approve minutes of June 6, 2019 Region 9 Board of Education Special Meeting (Hancock, Williams). Approved 5-0-1. Coppinger abstained.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Susanne Krivit, Redding, noted an increase in members of the public using Barlow grounds for dog walking, with an associated increase in nuisances. She suggested making it clear via social media and other channels that dog walkers are expected to clean up after their dogs or risk losing the privilege of using Barlow grounds for that purpose.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENT
Several board members supported Ms. Krivit’s comments.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: 2018-19 FISCAL YEAR OPERATING BUDGET REPORT
Mr. Reiss reported on various aspects of the budget at the end of the fiscal year (June 30). The Region 9 Health Insurance Reserve fund is higher than usual; however, the Health Insurance Reserve fund for Central Office is in deficit, and Mr. Reiss recommends that each ER9 district should share making up the deficit from their respective unexpended funds.
In addition, Mr. Reiss requested approval of a budget transfer of $10,800 from Special Education transportation to Athletic Transportation, due to a greater than expected need for transportation to post-season tournaments.
Motion: move to approve transfer of $10,800 from Special Education Transportation budget to the Athletics Transportation budget (Hocker, Coppinger). Approved. Unanimous.
Mr. Reiss reported on unexpended funds for the fiscal year, totaling approximately $782,000, which was due to a combination of significant unanticipated savings in several areas. Mr. Reiss made recommendations for the allocation of the unexpended funds and responded to questions from Board members. Actions taken by the Board were as follows:
Motion: move to authorize an expenditure estimated at $4,500 from 2018-2019 funds for dehumidifiers as a preventive maintenance measure (Denny, Graziano). Approved. Unanimous.
Motion: move to allocate $242,404.92 from 2018-2019 funds to the Capital Reserve Fund (Coppinger, Hancock). Approved. Unanimous.
Motion: move to allocate $200,877 from 2018-2019 funds to the Pension Fund (Hancock, Coppinger). Approved. Unanimous.
Motion: move to allocate the remainder of unexpended funds not otherwise allocated from the 2018-2019 Region 9 budget into the Health Insurance Reserve fund (Hocker, Denny). Approved. Unanimous.
Motion: move to approve transfer of an estimated $30,000 from unexpended funds from the 2018-2019 Region 9 budget into the Central Office Health Insurance Reserve fund (Coppinger, Hancock). Approved. Unanimous.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: SALE OF OLD TECHNOLOGY
Mr. Reiss requested authorization to sell seventeen iMacs originally obtained in 2012 that are no longer adequate for their intended use at the high school. The estimated value is $5,270, and proceeds from the sale would be put into the Technology Equipment Resale account. Board members had a variety of questions and a request to have an inventory of technology equipment.
Motion: move to approve the sale of seventeen 2012 model iMacs at a price estimated to total $5,270, with final price to be determined by the Administration, with proceeds to be directed to the Technology Equipment Resale account (Hancock, Hocker). Approved. Unanimous.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
Dr. McMorran referred to the written report submitted by Dr. Pierson Ugol regarding certain changes in mathematics classes at the Easton and Redding middle schools and the eventual effect of middle school math instruction on the math curriculum at Barlow.
Dr. McMorran noted that he had recently attended a school safety and security conference and was confident that the ER9 schools were in a good state of readiness.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mr. Coppinger reported on the first ten days of construction of the Campus Improvements Project. The work appears to be generally on schedule. There is concern about public use of the Barlow facilities during the work and the need to restrict public access appropriately.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
BOARD MEMBER COMMENT
None.
RECESS TO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR DISCUSSION OF SUPERINTENDENT’S EVALUATION
Motion: move to recess to Executive Session for Discussion of Superintendent’s Evaluation (Coppinger, Williams). Approved. Unanimous.
Dr. McMorran was invited to attend. The Board recessed to Executive Session at 9:44 p.m.
RETURN TO PUBLIC SESSION FOR POSSIBLE ACTION ON ITEM DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION
The Board returned from Executive Session at 10:53 p.m.
Motion: move to accept the Superintendent’s Evaluation for 2017-2018 as presented in Executive Session, authorize the Board Chair to sign, and direct the Evaluation to be placed in the Superintendent’s personnel file (Coppinger, Hancock). Approved. Unanimous.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion: move to adjourn the regular meeting of the Region 9 Board of Education (Coppinger, Williams). Approved. Unanimous.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:54 p.m.
Recorded and submitted by
Chris Hocker
Region 9 Board of Education Secretary