BoE Meeting: $126.9 Million Budget Passed - Languages Saved, 5 Positions Cut; Full Time High School in March; KHS Principal Leaving
Health Update & High School Full-Time Learning
The Health and Safety Update announced that COVID-19 cases were still on the decline, with about 17 cases reported in the past week and only 58 staff and/or students quarantined. Sue Levasseur described a state-wide trend that is positive to families and the district. Levasseur also said that talks about upcoming graduations are beginning as the end of the school year comes into view.
Superintendent Thomas Scarice said that Staples High Schoolers could expect some form of full-time learning to begin in the beginning of March, with a “Cohort Model” of about 75% of high school students.
Another Elementary School Principal Leaves; Dr. DiBella of Kings Highway Elementary School leaving by end of year.
Dr. Mary Lou DiBella, of Kings Highway Elementary School, announced her leaving of the position at the school year’s end this upcoming June. This marks the second principal to leave the district this year, with Long Lots Elementary School principal Dr. Debra Dunn announcing her resignation just over one week ago.
Parents, Board of Education members, and Administrators thanked Dr. DiBella for the work that she did for the KHS community - it being described as leaving the school “better than when she arrived” according to BoE member and KHS parent Jeannie Smith.
2021-2022 Budget Passes BoE
After voting on each proposed reduction line-by-line, Board of Education members were able to pass the 2021-2022 Westport Public Schools Budget, which will now be sent to the Westport Board of Finance, and Westport Representative Town Meeting.
Board Members in Attendance: Candice Savin (Chair), Karen Kleine (Vice Chair), Elaine Whitney (Secretary), Jeannie Smith, Youn Su Chao, Lee Goldstein, Liz Heyer
Snapshot
Approved Budget: $126,942,298
4.11% ($5,005,810) Increase from 2020-2021Initial Budget Proposal: $128,013,115
4.98% ($6,076,627) Increase from 2020-2021Reductions & Savings: $1,070,817
Staff Positions Removed:
Two High School Teachers
Two High School Paraeducators
One Elementary School Assistant Principal
Staff Positions Saved:
0.5 Special Education Teacher
0.2 Speech & Hearing Teacher
Five Elementary School Paraeducators (one per school)
Four High School Grade Level Assistants
Four Elementary School World Language Teachers
Full Budget Items with Outcome, Member Votes
Item/Position Passed (accept reduction) or Failed (remain as-is)
Yes Votes (Y: Name)
No Votes (N: Name)
Unverified (Name)
0.5 Special Education Teacher FAILED
0.2 Speech & Hearing Teacher FAILED
Defer Creation of 1.0 Communication Specialist PASSED
2.0 High School Teachers PASSED
Y: Goldstein, Chao, Heyer, Whitney
N: Savin, Smith, Kleine
Implement Pay-to-Play Intramural Sports FAILED
5.0 Elementary School Paraeducators FAILED
Y: Goldstein, Chao, Heyer
N: Savin, Smith, Kleine, Whitney
2.0 High School Paraeducators PASSED
Y: Goldstein, Chao, Heyer, Whitney
N: Savin, Smith, Kleine
4.0 High School Grade Level Assistants FAILED
Y: Goldstein, Chao, Heyer
N: Savin, Smith, Whitney, Kleine
1.0 Elementary School, General Education Assistant Principal PASSED
Y: Chao, Heyer, Smith, Goldstein
N: Savin, Kleine, Whitney
4.0 Elementary School World Language Teachers (Cut K-2 World Languages) FAILED
Restore Daily pay rate for permanent substitutes to $100/day from $130/day FAILED
Y: Whitney, Chao
N: Savin, Goldstein, Smith
Heyer, Kleine
No New Instructional Equipment Purchases PASSED
Y: Whitney, Chao, Goldstein, Heyer
N: Savin, Smith, Kleine
No New Non-Instructional Equipment Purchases PASSED
Y: Whitney, Chao, Goldstein, Heyer
N: Savin, Smith, Kleine
No New Furniture Purchases PASSED
Y: Chao, Savin, Heyer, Kleine, Whitney
N: Smith
Goldstein
Defer/reevaluate purchase of 38 SmartBoards:
Whitney: reduce by 200,000, leave $73,600 for pilot program PASSED
Y: Chao, Whitney, Goldstein, Heyer
N: Savin, Kleine
Smith
No New Athletics Equipment Purchases PASSED
Y: Chao, Heyer, Goldstein, Whitney
N: Savin, Smith, Kleine
Implement Pay-to-Play Athletics Program to $150/student/activity FAILED
Carryover Fund Draw FAILED
This record is not verified by the Westport Board of Education, and should not take the place of the official meeting minutes to be released at a later date. Please contact the editor for corrections on information transcribed.Westport Public Schools: 2 Hour Delayed Opening 02/08/21
Press ReleaseWe hope you are all safe on this snowy Sunday. Given the amount of snow that fell today and the need to make our streets and parking lots clear for a safe arrival tomorrow, the Westport Public Schools will operate on a 2 hour delayed opening for Monday, February 8, 2021. All schools will open 2 hours later than normal and all buses will be running 2 hours later than normal. Stepping Stones Preschool will operate in a fully remote teaching model on Monday, February 8, 2021, but will begin school after a 2 hour delay.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools
Staples Players Postpone Radio Show to Wednesday due to Snow
Press ReleaseDue to snow, Staples Players’ radio theatre production of “Sorry, Wrong Number” has been POSTPONED to Wednesday, February 10th at 7 PM.
“Sorry, Wrong Number” airs for FREE Wednesday, February 10th at 7 pm EST via livestream at www.wwptfm.org .
Have 23 minutes to spare in a winter of a whole lot of waiting? Turn off Netflix, forget about TikTok, cease the mindless YouTube binge, because the 23 minutes you spend with Staples Players, engrossed in the thriller “Sorry, Wrong Number”, could be the most memorable of the season. Orson Welles called it the “greatest single radio script ever written” (and the War of the Worlds scribe knew a thing or two about creating suspense over the airwaves).
King Highway School Sidewalks All Clear
After parents complained of the sidewalks in front of Kings Highway School not being cleared - forcing students into the road or to wade into the snow on their walk to school - the Department of Public Works sent out a crew early this morning to assure their safety and clear the sidewalks.
Getting Home after the First “Week” of School
Although a snowstorm and a half-day cut the week by half, students in Westport returned home tonight after successfully completing their first week of full-in learning at local elementary and middle school. A
Snowy KHS Sidewalks Prompt RTM Member, News 12 to Investigate; DPW Says Snow will be Removed at 7:00 AM Today
From News 12 Connecticut, February 4th, 2021Some parents in Westport are frustrated that the sidewalk in front of Kings Highway Elementary School has yet to be shoveled.
The owner of a shopping center just a few hundred feet from the school says anything beyond a certain point is not his responsibility.
The uncleared sidewalk has forced students who walk to school to trek through the piles of snow left behind from the nor'easter.
The Westport Public Schools director of facilities says the stretch of sidewalk is the Department of Public Works' responsibility.
Representative Town Meeting Member Christine Meiers Schatz says Kings Highway Elementary is in her district and she has twin kindergartners who go there. She says the town's elementary school students all recently returned to full-time in-person learning and now some Kings Highway parents and students are dealing with the issue of uncleared snow.
She adds this happened with the last big snowstorm in town, too.
DPW crews tell News 12 they start with the main roads, and then move on to the side roads before finally tackling the sidewalks.
They say they prioritize school sidewalks first and that they started those yesterday and were only able to get through two schools because of the significant amount of snow.
They say due to parent requests, they're re-prioritizing and will start on the sidewalk at Kings Highway Elementary at 7 tomorrow morning.
Superintendent: Kindergarten Registration Underway
Press ReleaseThe 2021-2022 Kindergarten Registration is underway. If your child turns five years of age on or before January 1, 2022, please register him/her as soon as possible. Registering now allows the District to optimally plan for your new kindergartener. All registration information is located on the district website under the Kindergarten Registration link on the homepage https://www.westportps.org.
All information regarding Parent meetings will be forthcoming. If you are unsure as to what elementary school your child should attend, please go to our school locator website: https://www.westportps.org/parents/school-locator-and-directions
If you need further assistance, please contact the Superintendent’s office at (203) 341-1026.
Superintendent: 6 New COVID-19 Cases in 4 Schools; 3 at KHS
From Superintendent Thomas Scarice last night:
Dear Westport Families and Staff,
In our efforts to remain transparent with reports of positive Covid-19 cases associated with our schools, we will continue to provide these updates as information is confirmed. As of the time I am writing to you this evening we have 6 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The reports came from the following schools:
Coleytown Elementary School - 1
Kings Highway Elementary School - 3
Bedford Middle School - 1
Staples High School - 1
Those impacted have been notified by school and District officials. As a reminder, families are asked to report positive of COVID-19 cases of students using our reporting voicemail or email regardless of whether the students are in remote or hybrid models of instruction. Please follow this link for more information on reporting.
Additionally, we want to remind families that students with pending Covid-19 tests should not return to school until receiving negative results. This approach is critical in helping us continue minimizing the potential for transmission in our schools.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools
Westport Public Schools Learning Remotely Today as Town Digs Out
Westport’s Staples High School around 11:00 PM last night as crews began to tackle the task of clearing the expansive property’s parking lots and sidewalks of snow and ice. Westport Public Schools Superintendent announced yesterday that due to “ongoing clean-up efforts by the Department of Public Works and the need for our custodians to spend time clearing the schools”, Westport Public Schools would all be learning-from-home today instead of another snow day.
Today would have been the second day of full-in learning for the district’s elementary and middle school students, something that the Westport Teachers’ Union said they were still against during last night’s Board of Education meeting. President of the WEA cited inability to access COVID-19 vaccinations when describing the teachers’ not wanting to leave the former hybrid model. But with parking lots and sidewalks most likely cleared by this afternoon, tomorrow will start a new chapter in Westport’s pandemic learning model as the first full day of school will greet students and staff members. Superintendent Thomas Scarice reminded families that in order to keep kids in school, kids and adults need to remain socially distant outside of school - where the majority of any virus transmission is being linked to taking place.
Board of Education Meeting: LLES Principal Resigns; Possible COVID-19 Testing for Staff; Superintendent Presents 2.5 Million in Budget Cuts: Pay-to-Play Sports, Loss of Staff Modeled
Tonight’s Board of Education meeting covered the arts, COVID-19, Dr. Debra Dunn’s resignation, and the school’s proposed budget as the world outside began to dig itself out from today’s snow storm.
Several parents commented publicly on Friday’s announcement that Long Lots School Principal Dr. Debra Dunn resigned from her position, effective immediately, following a several week leave of absence. Parents cited her excellence and trustworthiness, and fear for yet another change in the guard in what’s being described as a turbulent situation of high turnover in the elementary school. The Board of Education stated that they could not comment on any personnel matters, and that the Board of Education and Superintendent would work on securing a strong replacement for the beloved principal. It is unknown why Dunn was on leave, or why she resigned.
Suzanne Levasseur, Supervisor of Health Services, described the downward trends of COVID-19 cases throughout the district - data that corroborates the prediction of a January case peak after the holidays. Superintendent Thomas Scarice brought up PPE for staff, saying “we have plenty” when describing the district’s stock of KN95 masks for staff members - but continuing to describe that they are being given out with thought.
COVID-19 Surveillance Testing was brought up as a possible option for the future of Westport Public School employees to catch cases of coronavirus through the randomized tests. About 10% of WPS staff members would be selected randomly each week for the PCR COVID-19 test in hopes to stop asymptomatic spreaders of the disease. Sue Levasseur described that the majority of transmission in the district is staff-to-staff member, however the privacy of such test results was brought up as something that the WEA Teacher’s Union would seek counseling in prior to testing starting.
It’s unknown when or if the testing will take place for staff members, however the price tag for such a venture is steep. Superintendent Scarice stated “Initial costs for the COVID-19 surveillance tests is estimated to be $100 per staff member. This cost would incur the test kits, courier service with Progressive Diagnostics, and the lab work and associated reports. There may be efficiencies once a surveillance program is started that can reduce these costs. Given the initial cost of $100 per individual test, it will cost the district approximately $10,000 per week to enact this program. It is not lost on me that this is an expensive proposition, however, it is another mitigating measure that will ultimately support our efforts in keeping our schools open during the pandemic. If pursued, this will necessitate a subsequent discussion about funding with the other town boards.” The administration will present further on this at next week’s Board of Education meeting.
Although today would have been the first day of full-in schooling for Westport students, the WEA Teacher’s Union co-president John Horrigan commented publicly that although school should have started, the Union is still not supporting the district’s return to full-in learning based on educator’s lack of access to vaccines.
The Youth Arts Collaborative gave a cheerful and informational presentation on how the District tackled arts during a pandemic learning environment, describing major successes. The Collaborative was described as “an annual program presented to students in grades 3-5. By design, the program incorporates cross-curricular connections that enhance students’ understanding of diversity and global cultures. This is a collaborative effort with WESTPAC, PTA Cultural Arts, Westport Arts Advisory Committee and Westport Public Library.”
The Superintendent was advised to cut nearly 2.5 million from his original budget proposal; tonight’s Board of Education meeting described the tiers of cuts designed by the administration, including vice principals, or adding in a “pay to play” program for district sports.
Scarice described to the Board “The Board considered models shared by the administrative team that illustrated what potential reductions of approximately $2.5 million would look like in programs and personnel. Three tiers were provided by the administration. Again, I highly recommend that the Board do not make reductions in the Tier 3 category. This process proved most challenging as the current services budget, along with the impact of COVID, and making up for the use of carryover funds for technology, totaled a 4.69% increase over last year. As a result, almost all of the reductions that are being recommended to reduce the increase to a level of 3.0% consists largely of current services. This equates to personnel, programs, equipment to maintain replacement cycles, as well as the introduction of a “pay to play” and “pay to participate model for athletics, and intramural activities.”