East Granby School Board Passes 2012-13 Schedule

Despite the pleas of several parents and a couple of board members for a different plan, the East Granby Board of Education at its regular meeting Monday at the narrowly passed a schedule for the 2012-13 school year.

The schedule, which was approved 5-4 in a paper vote, calls for the first day of school to be held on Sept. 4 — the day after Labor Day — and the last day of school to take place on June 20, 2013. The schedule also includes full February and April breaks.

School board member Michele Holt called for an earlier start to the school year — Aug. 29 — while fellow school board member Thomas Griffin proposed a calendar change that had teachers’ professional development days coinciding with February break.

Neither measure made it before the full board for a vote.

The rationale behind the late start, according to school board member John Corcoran, is to, among other things, give the contractors working on the R.D. Seymour School and Allgrove School enough time to finish the renovation and expansion project.

Corcoran said that contractors have already lost four days in February because classes will be held during winter break to make up for some of the school cancellations that took place during the November power outages.

“Normally, I’d agree with you,” Chairman Kirby Huget said addressing Holt’s desire to move the beginning of the school year up. “But I’m really concerned about the building [projects].”

Superintendent of Schools Christine Mahoney said that the school district generated unwanted publicity the one year that East Granby held the first day of school in August.

“We had a television crew parked outside,” Mahoney said.

Nevertheless, during public comment, resident Darcy Walsh said that she was disappointed that the school board collectively hadn’t listened to the concerns of the parents and minority members on the board.

“This is the first time since I have been a parent that we have started school after Labor Day,” she said. “Parents may have an issue with that. The last day of school is June 20 [a Thursday]. If we just two snow days then we are in the last week of June.”

Walsh said that she was in favor of taking away February vacation, something that has been under consideration, but administrators have been reluctant to do for several reasons.

“I would look at all the alternatives,” Walsh said.

Also at the meeting, Superintendent of Schools Christine Mahoney unveiled a preliminary fiscal year 2012-13 budget figure that, when factoring in the loss of $97,000 in grants, collective bargaining agreement obligations and projected fuel and insurance costs, calls for an 8 percent — or about $1 million — increase over current year’s spending.

Mahoney said that the preliminary budget holds everything as is, with the exception of adding all-day kindergarten, which is close to being cost neutral. Mahoney added that the preliminary budget does not reflect the possibility of vendors — such as insurers — coming back with better rates.

School board members held their questions on the budget figures for the two budget workshops, the first of which will take place next week, the board will hold on the issue.

In other business, the board passed a change in the form for school volunteers that includes a line that states that if they do not consent to possibly have a criminal background check conducted on them, then they may not volunteer for the school system.

Huget said that the form change does not mean that every volunteer will have to undergo a background check.

Someone who wants to come in to help out one day for a school lunch or wants to read to the kids will not necessarily be a trigger to get fingerprinted, according to Huget.

In addition, the school board approved a policy change that gives kids who take 8th grade algebra high school credit, but does not satisfy the requirement to take four years of math at the high school.

Mahoney said that the change will make East Granby High School students more competitive, while Huget noted that the policy change is consistent with what the school district does for the foreign language program.

The school district’s new anti-bullying policy, which reflects the changes made in a state statute, also had its first reading with the school board.

The next school board regular meeting is scheduled for Jan. 24.