The Board of Education of the Wilton Public School met last night for its regularly scheduled meeting. There were a number of items discussed. GOOD Morning Wilton has broken some out as separate articles, but other items worth including are detailed below.
Board Members Continuing for New Terms
Current members Christine Finkelstein, Lory Rothstein and Laura Schwemm have been nominated to run for their current BoE seats, by their respective town political committees. In a cooperative gesture symbolizing how well the current board members work together, above and beyond the typical partisan division of politics, the three nominees have printed up pencils with all three of their names.
BoE chairman Bruce Likly thanked the three for agreeing to run for another term. “This is an amazing team, and I’m thrilled we’ll have the opportunity, hopefully, to continue to work together,” he said.
As of now the three women are the only declared candidates for the three seats up for election.
Anticipating the Budget
Likly told the board that he’s had conversations with Warren Serenbetz, the chairman of the Board of Finance. That board has two members that sit on the BoE business operations committee, who have helped develop better guidelines of what the BoE should aim for when building their budget for the coming year.
“We’re trying to come up with something more scientific than simply a 1.75 [percent]. They’re looking at per-pupil costs, enrollment projections, cost of living increases, facilities, there are a number of different things. What I want folks to know is we’re working collaboratively on this, it’s a work in progress, and I’m excited about it,” Likly said.
Personnel Changes
Superintendent Kevin Smith announced that Sharon DeAngelo joined the district; she began this month as a new assistant director of special services.
Smith also told the board that Cider Mill assistant principal Ellen Tuckner is leaving Wilton Schools to become the principal of Mohegan School in Shelton. “We’re very sorry to see her go because she’s made tremendous contributions to Wilton Public Schools, but we’re very happy she’s been able to take a step in her own career.”
Miller-Driscoll Renovation
Board member Glenn Hemmerle, who represents the BoE on the Miller-Driscoll Building Committee, briefed the board on the progress of the M-D renovation project. He said the project is “on track and on schedule, and the work has been done getting ready for the temporary classrooms–that should be done, as we’ve planned, before school begins.
He also said that the committee has a “major presentation” to the State Dept. of Education on July 28, which he called a “key, critical point in the schedule,” and added “we think [it] will go well.” Hemmerle concluded by saying, “At this point we’re on budget.”
Special Services: DMC Report Update
Earlier this year the school district contracted with District Management Council, a consultant who was engaged to conduct a review of the Special Education and Struggling Students practices used by Wilton Schools. The bulk of the findings were reported at the BoE’s June 25 meeting. Ann Paul, the assistant superintendent of special services, updated the BoE on what’s taken place since then.
She mentioned that the report is posted on the district’s website. Among the “areas of opportunity”—or areas the district needs to focus on to change and improve—that are broken out in the report are:
- Consider adopting a consistent, best-practice approach to teaching reading to struggling students without IEPs and with mild-moderate disabilities in grades K-5.
- Ensure the fidelity of the implementation of the SRBI practices already developed by the district.
- Consider strengthening and expanding supports for students who struggle to read and comprehend at the secondary level.
- Consider more tightly integrating social, emotional, and behavioral services into the programs at each school.
- Consider increasing the amount of time related services staff spend with students, while also closely managing group size through thoughtful scheduling.
- Consider streamlining the paperwork and meetings for special services staff.
“We reviewed…with particular emphasis on the reading supports and the direction we hope to go forward with, in terms of more intensive support for struggling students. We gave particular emphasis to ensuring that, going forward, our staff is spending more time directly working with students, and trying to dial back on the paperwork and operations,” Paul said.
She added that on Aug. 20, a small group will begin to lay out the plan for how her team will begin to put the recommendations into practice in the classroom. “We’re very excited about the work going forward and what this will mean for students.”
Superintendent’s Incentive Pay—Earned and Approved
As the evening’s last item, the board members considered and unanimously approved the incentive-based portion of the superintendent’s salary. When Smith was hired by the district one year ago, he received a package that included a “merit plan” as part of his salary.
“When Dr. Smith came on board last year, we decided to base a percentage of his compensation on a series of performance-based metrics. [Fellow board member] Chris Stroup and I worked closely with Dr. Smith to come up with a plan that was aligned with the strategic vision, that set out some tough but measurable goals. Here we are a year later, we have met as a board, and we have reviewed his accomplishments in working toward those goals. We agree unanimously that not only did he meet those goals, he exceeded expectations in several key areas,” Finkelstein explained.
Smith’s base salary for 2014-15 was $199,000; he stood to earn an additional $20,000 in incentive pay.
According to the plan outlined by the board and Smith in November, the metrics in his first year would be less outcome oriented and instead would emphasize planning and initiative. The five areas he was assessed on included:
- Whole Child: To ensure that every child in Middlebrook and WHS feels personally connected to an adult in the building, and that every staff member understands the responsibility of monitoring/mentoring students, particularly those who may be at risk.
- Student Outcomes: Create a “Wilton Success Scorecard” that will be used to monitor student success based on performance …. [and] create mechanisms for educating the Wilton community about its “return on investment”
- Fiscal Accountability: Demonstrate to Wilton taxpayers that they are receiving a good value for their tax dollars. Establish transparency throughout budgetary and accounting functions.
- Human Resources: Continue to attract, develop and retain the best teachers in the country.
- Curriculum: Continual evaluation of curriculum to ensure the right courses are in place to achieve our district priorities.
Smith will have an incentive plan for the coming school year again, Likly said.