Board Of Ed Endured A Bumpy Ride During 2006

 By Laurie Borst

With the public schools system the big story of the year was, and still is, overcrowding at Newtown High School. Early in the year, the town received a report from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). The main concern cited was not news to the board: the high school is overcrowded.

The evaluation indicated that the school’s overcrowded facility could soon become a crisis. The report stated: “For Newtown High School to be successful in fulfilling its potential and truly preparing all its students for a knowledge-based, technologically driven world, the community of Newtown must do much more to support the teachers’ efforts to improve learning for every student. The overcrowded facility, the lack of adequate numbers of teachers, the overworked staff and the limited technology are all issues that the community must address quickly.”

This was followed, in May, by the announcement that the Commission on Public Secondary Schools had assigned Newtown High School a “warning status,” reflecting concerns the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) had expressed in a report in December 2005.

The status notification does not currently affect the high school’s accreditation. In its report, NEASC commended NHS in many areas, but it cited numerous issues in need of serious attention.

Its three main areas of concern were: mission alignment with expectations and curriculum; facilities; and resources. Now that the school has received the report, it has until January 2007 to report back to NEASC with evidence it has begun to address these problems.

In August, The Western Connecticut Academy of International Studies Elementary Magnet School opened its doors for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. The school, located on Western Connecticut State University’s westside campus in Danbury, welcomed children from towns in greater Danbury.

The school offers a curriculum of global studies to more than 250 students, 19 of whom are from Newtown. The curriculum has an emphasis on world cultures and languages, with many after-school programs to enrich the traditional studies. Spanish is being taught this first year.

Newtown Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff presented his proposed budget in January — a spending package for 2006-07 that tops $62 million. This is an 8.92 percent, or $5,007,808, increase over the 2005-06 school year budget.

In his report to the board, Dr Pitkoff said, “We recognize that most people are concerned with taxes and the condition of the economy. That is why $1,712,638 of what was requested by our teachers and administrators to improve our system is not included in this proposed budget.”

It took three referenda to finally pass a budget May 30. When all was said and done, the BOE had a budget of $60,387,154 for the 2006-07 school year. Of this amount, salaries ate up $38.2 million; benefits, $9.2 million; transportation, $3.8 million; supplies, $1.3 million; and energy, $2.3 million.

In February, the Newtown Board of Education approved two new business courses, which began this past September at NHS. The two new offerings are titled Banking and Investments and Personal Financial Literacy. These courses, offered to juniors and seniors, provide students with basic financial skills enabling them to apply effective financial decisionmaking, developing and enhancing math and critical decisionmaking skills.

A group of Newtown residents joined together to push for “long term” and “educationally sound” decisions. The grassroots group, WeCAN (We Care About Newtown), formed when residents Po Murray and Gary Davis began brainstorming about concerns they had on space needs.

The leaders of Newtown’s Boards of Selectmen and Finance, as well as the Legislative Council chairman, however, have mixed reactions to the special interest group.

The story second only to the NEASC warning was proposal to address the problems. The Board of Education in June endorsed a $47.3 million proposal to add numerous classrooms, labs, a new cafeteria and warming kitchen area, an elevator, and an expanded gymnasium to the existing high school facility. The latest expansion plan was a presentation by Joe Costa, Tim Cohen, and Matthew Holst of the architectural firm Fletcher Thompson, and Barry Blades of Blades & Goven, a landscape architect firm on the project.

The BOE reviewed a variety of options to address the overcrowding issues at the high school. The current high school building was designed to accommodate 1,600 students, but the school population now stands at 1,687.

In August the BOE voted to accept a new policy regarding the use of a drug-sniffing dog in the high school and middle school. Dr Pitkoff and board members Lisa Schwartz and Tom Gissen wrote a policy specifically for the Newtown School District.

 Through late summer into the fall, the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) continued to be a sticking point with the board. The Board of Finance had requested the school board assign priorities to the projects it has proposed to complete over the next five years. The board easily prioritized items three through eight.

Items one and two, projects for the upcoming year, continued to split the members. These two projects were HVAC work at Hawley Elementary School and the high school expansion project.

The Hawley project had had preliminary studies paid for. Some equipment had been installed, but the work has yet to be completed.

While acknowledging the seriousness of the Hawley issues, some board members were worried that if the high school was not given top priority, it would be viewed as unnecessary. With a follow-up vote pending with NEASC, board members noted that taking steps to improve the high school and maintain accreditation is essential.

Finally, in September, board member David Nanavaty surprised the rest of the board with a change in his opinion on the priorities for the CIP, ending a lengthy stalemate.

 A motion was made to list the high school expansion project as number one on the CIP and list the Hawley project as number two. The motion was put to a vote and passed 4-2. Voting in favor along with Mr Nanavaty were Board Chair Elaine McClure, Vice Chair Lisa Schwartz, and board member Tom Gissen. Board members Andrew Buzzi and Paul Mangiafico maintained their stance that the Hawley project should be number one priority.

Adding to the burdens at the high school, the discovery of mold and mushrooms in the portable classrooms at NHS prompted school officials to close the facilities until they could be cleaned and repaired.

In an effort to ease the overcrowding problem at the high school, portable classrooms were leased last summer. The district realized substantial savings by leasing used portables rather than brand-new ones.

In early December, however, black spotting was noticed on the floor in the portables. Further investigation led to the discovery of water intrusion through the siding, which had wicked into the plywood flooring. The moisture led to fungal growth on the floor, the discovery of which led to the immediate closure by school officials of the facilities until they could be cleaned and repaired.

Upon closer inspection, Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Dom Posca determined the damage to be too extensive, and the possibility of future fungal growth too uncertain. M Space, from whom the district leased the portables, has agreed to provide brand new portable buildings for the district.

Mr Posca anticipates the portables will be in place and open for students during the first week of February.

(Watch for developments in this story in upcoming issues of The Bee.)

Let’s hope 2007 is smoother sailing for our schools.