Record-Journal
10-13-2007, 01:13 AM
MERIDEN — There’s almost $1 million at stake, and the school board doesn’t like the administration’s plan for spending it.
The city’s is one of 12 districts statewide slated to receive an influx of state money to help them meet standards associated with the No Child Left Behind Act.
The state legislature approved the money earlier this year for districts that have spent three years on the non-performing list.
In order to receive the funds, districts were asked to send their superintendent and a representative of the school board to meet with Mark K. McQuillan, state education commissioner.
School Superintendent Mary Noonan-Cortright and Jeffrey Villar, associate superintendent for instruction, met with McQuillan in August, but no one from the board was there.
Cortright and Villar then drafted a plan for the money, which they submitted to the state.
When the board learned of the plan at a special meeting Tuesday, Chairman Frank J. Kogut and other members were upset.
“The administration never came to the board with the plan before they submitted it to the state,” said Kogut, a Democrat. “The administration works for the board. Anything should have gone through the board first. It was totally wrong.”
The administration plans to use the money to hire six people — a language specialist, a math specialist, a consultant and three assistant principals — two for elementary schools and one for a middle school, board members said.
The administration has been seeking more assistant principals, particularly at the elementary level, to help evaluate teachers. Further details on the plan were not available Friday, as Cortright could not be reached for comment.
Board member Mark A. Hughes, a Democrat, said he and other members want input into the plan.
The board will discuss making possible revisions at its meeting Tuesday.
“I’d like to see some of the $986,000 go to hiring teachers to reduce classroom size,” said Hughes, a high school social worker in Northford.
“If the commissioner rejects it, there’s nothing we can do about that, (but) the board’s frustrated that the opportunity was taken away from us.”
Hughes and other members don’t know if the state will accept any changes they propose. They’re concerned that submitting a new plan would create confusion at the state level.
That accompanies feelings of being left out of the process.
“We’re the elected officials,” Kogut said. “This is just bypassing us.”
But state Sen. Thomas P. Gaffey, D-Meriden, who co-chairs the legislature’s Education Committee, said he couldn’t imagine Cortright purposefully excluding the board.
“It’s inconceivable to me that Mary Cortright would have prepared the plan without notifying the chairman of the board,” Gaffey said. “I’ve known Mary for a long time and know how thorough she is.”
Board member Robert E. Kosienski Jr., a Republican, said the board and administration hopefully will reach a compromise.
“We need to develop a program that meets adequate yearly progress for the district, and we’re trying to do that,” he said. “We need a happy medium” between new support staff and teaching staff.
Kosienski hopes the incident won’t create dissension between the administration and the board.
“We’re happy with our administration overall. They’re doing a great job,” he said. “This is not something to drive a wedge, but something we need to build upon and make work for Meriden.”
The city’s is one of 12 districts statewide slated to receive an influx of state money to help them meet standards associated with the No Child Left Behind Act.
The state legislature approved the money earlier this year for districts that have spent three years on the non-performing list.
In order to receive the funds, districts were asked to send their superintendent and a representative of the school board to meet with Mark K. McQuillan, state education commissioner.
School Superintendent Mary Noonan-Cortright and Jeffrey Villar, associate superintendent for instruction, met with McQuillan in August, but no one from the board was there.
Cortright and Villar then drafted a plan for the money, which they submitted to the state.
When the board learned of the plan at a special meeting Tuesday, Chairman Frank J. Kogut and other members were upset.
“The administration never came to the board with the plan before they submitted it to the state,” said Kogut, a Democrat. “The administration works for the board. Anything should have gone through the board first. It was totally wrong.”
The administration plans to use the money to hire six people — a language specialist, a math specialist, a consultant and three assistant principals — two for elementary schools and one for a middle school, board members said.
The administration has been seeking more assistant principals, particularly at the elementary level, to help evaluate teachers. Further details on the plan were not available Friday, as Cortright could not be reached for comment.
Board member Mark A. Hughes, a Democrat, said he and other members want input into the plan.
The board will discuss making possible revisions at its meeting Tuesday.
“I’d like to see some of the $986,000 go to hiring teachers to reduce classroom size,” said Hughes, a high school social worker in Northford.
“If the commissioner rejects it, there’s nothing we can do about that, (but) the board’s frustrated that the opportunity was taken away from us.”
Hughes and other members don’t know if the state will accept any changes they propose. They’re concerned that submitting a new plan would create confusion at the state level.
That accompanies feelings of being left out of the process.
“We’re the elected officials,” Kogut said. “This is just bypassing us.”
But state Sen. Thomas P. Gaffey, D-Meriden, who co-chairs the legislature’s Education Committee, said he couldn’t imagine Cortright purposefully excluding the board.
“It’s inconceivable to me that Mary Cortright would have prepared the plan without notifying the chairman of the board,” Gaffey said. “I’ve known Mary for a long time and know how thorough she is.”
Board member Robert E. Kosienski Jr., a Republican, said the board and administration hopefully will reach a compromise.
“We need to develop a program that meets adequate yearly progress for the district, and we’re trying to do that,” he said. “We need a happy medium” between new support staff and teaching staff.
Kosienski hopes the incident won’t create dissension between the administration and the board.
“We’re happy with our administration overall. They’re doing a great job,” he said. “This is not something to drive a wedge, but something we need to build upon and make work for Meriden.”