The CABE Journal - September 2022

Welcome Back, Board Members & Superintendents!

B C

www.cabe.org

Vol. 25, No. 8

September, 2022

U.S. Supreme Court Issues Decision on Religion in Public Schools

The Connecticut Democracy Center at Connecticut’s Old State House:

Here to Support Our Schools

Conrad Vahlsing

Staff Attorney, CABE

1. Changes in society and the impact that these had on education.

I have seen an expanded role of education from when I started back in 1958. When talking about societal change, what really came to mind was the deterioration of the American family and how that has impacted education. There has been a greater need for social and emotional learning, character education, expansion of food services, full day kindergarten programs and preschool education. Also, there is an expanded role of public education in terms of physical health issues, mental health issues and homeless education. These are the result of the impact of societal changes.

In addition, there has also been a growing lack of civility. We recently had to do a policy and a webinar on this issue.

Diversity, inclusion and integration have become a larger focus in our schools. Building administrators are now dealing with gun violence and the need for crisis prevention training.

On June 27, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. The case, which may be familiar to education leaders, involved a public high school football coach in Washington state who started kneeling in prayer at the fifty-yard line after games. Unfortunately, the Court’s decision may provide more confusion than clarity for boards and administrators who must govern their districts.

As a high-level summary, the case involved the perceived tension between a school employee’s right to freely exercise religion, and a school district’s mandate to not “establish” religion. Both of these teachings are contained in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and are referred to as the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause, respectively.

As for the dispute, after the coach began kneeling in prayer after games, the school, concerned about its duty under the Establishment Clause, asked the coach to cease the prayers as it believed that the prayers gave the appearance that the school sanctioned this religion/religious activity.

The coach continued the prayer. The school eventually placed the coach on paid administrative leave and gave him a poor performance evaluation, recommending that he not be rehired.

The coach did not return the following

See VIN MUSTARO page 8

See RELIGION IN SCHOOL page 3

Rebecca Taber

Director of Connecticut History Day, Connecticut Democracy Center

Patrice McCarthy

Director and General Counsel, CABE

Editor’s Note: Longtime CABE Sr. Staff Associate for Policy Service, Vin Mustaro, retired in July after a long career in public education, including 27 years at CABE. CABE Executive Director and General Counsel, Patrice McCarthy, sat down with Vin recently to reflect on his career.

Patrice McCarthy: Vin, you have had an incredible 64-year career in public education. You began as a classroom teacher, then became a building administrator, a superintendent and now for the past 27 years, CABE’s policy expert.

What are the most significant changes that you have seen during your distinguished career?

Vin Mustaro: I would place them under five major headings:

inside

VIN MUSTARO: A Career Retrospective

Connecticut Association of Boards of Education Inc.

See SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS page 6

Welcome back to school!

81 Wolcott Hill Road Wethersfield, CT 06109-1242

Many school district mission statements cite the importance of preparing students for active participation in civic life and equipping them with important skills like critical thinking and creativity. While schools achieve this in a variety of ways, one of the most effective strategies is through quality social studies education.

This year, the State Department of Education, the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies, and The Connecticut Democracy Center at Connecticut’s Old State House are releasing new Social Studies Standards.

The Standards will provide detailed guidance and a comprehensive approach to prepare students for successful futures through social studies.

Even with effective standards, teachers and districts cannot do this alone; preparing students for civic life requires the support of local and statewide communities. That’s why The Connecticut Democracy Center at Connecticut’s Old State House pro-

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We Have Goals…

So What??

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Obtaining 2022 State of Funding for School Safety Report Electric Buses

SPECIAL SECTION

2021-2022 CABE Annual Report

Periodical Postage PAID Hartford, CT

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022 PRESIDENT COMMENTARY

Don’t Give Up! Liz Brown

President, CABE

The “dog” days of summer fly by.

Preparations for school openings are in high gear. Parents and students shop for clothes and school supplies. School districts ready school buildings - the floors shine! Teachers prepare classrooms and lesson plans and districts plan professional development and continue to scramble to hire teachers in the midst of a teacher shortage. The promise of a new school year; a fresh start excites!

As we prepare for the future, I’m reminded that the work Boards do significantly impacts the lives of our students.

I recently attended a high school graduation, but not a traditional graduation. I attended the graduation of students who had struggled through their high school years and came up short on meeting the requirements to graduate with their classmates. Instead of giving up, they were offered opportunities to work with the Waterbury Public Schools to complete their work. These students persisted and worked hard over the summer to earn their diplomas. Their stories are both uplifting and daunting, because while their successes deserve special recognition, it puts the burden on us to give all struggling learners a chance to achieve.

These are young men and women who had to endure numerous challenges in their lives that many adults would have struggled to overcome.

Each of these students has earned recognition for their hard work, persistence and commitment.

I’d like to share excerpts of comments provided by three of the graduates. Their speeches inspired me to want to work harder than ever. These students didn’t give up and I’m happy to say our school district didn’t give up on them either. Each and every one of these graduating students matters and their triumph should deepen our commitment to the mission of public schools.

Stephen

“Everyone has a story about their failure that leads up to their success but here’s a little bit of mine. Stepping

into my freshman year in 2018, I had no clue there’d be nothing but stumps in the road from that day on. Coming to the end of the first marking period that year there was a night where my life would change forever, opening my bedroom door after a few iffy calls with my grandmother, there my mother stood and before the words could come out of her mouth, the tears began to run down her face. Earlier in the day my father passed away. Missing tons of school, not being able to sleep at night, slipping into a depression state, it almost felt as if I was fighting for my life and school became the least of my worries.

“Sophomore and junior year rolled around and when the pandemic hit things got a lot worse since I had no option but to be cooped up in the house. It got to a point where I had zero motivation whatsoever and never joined google meets or even bothered handing in assignments, not because I was lazy or irresponsible, but because I was boy who was lost on who he was and was constantly fighting a battle bigger than school.

“We were all counted out and misunderstood but we still beat the odds, some people even said I’d never make it through high school but here I am today, about to walk the stage and receive my diploma, I want to say thank you to everyone who doubted me because it gave me the motivation to prove everyone wrong.”

Jessica

“Perseverance: persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

“I speak for the class of 2022 when I say we have faced a lot of challenges throughout our high school experience.

“Sadly, March 2020 ended with ‘yay two weeks off of school’ and turned into the outbreak of a pandemic, ending our last two months of school. Junior year our classmates were divided between online and in-person classes during one of the most important years of high school.

Finally, Senior year, the struggle got a little more personal as people went on trying to figure out what was next after high school.

“I knew I had to continue on to

Mission: To assist local and regional boards of education in providing high quality education for all Connecticut children through effective leadership.

Vision: CABE is passionate about strengthening public education through high-performing, transformative local school board/ superintendent leadership teams that inspire success for each child.

Board of Directors summer school to graduate. Yes, I had a major setback. I chose to get up and keep going. I am on this stage today and I am proud that I get to receive my diploma with all of my fellow classmates from WPS summer school.

“No, the students sitting before you today did not get to walk across the stage, move their tassels right to left, and throw their caps in the air with their classmates in June. Instead the students sitting before you today are examples of diligence and perseverance. We are symbols of what it means to have grit.”

Ahmir

“Despite my delay in achieving success I promised my mother I would get my diploma and giving up was never an option. Only through perseverance can one achieve success regardless of any difficulty.

“I had a few difficulties this year but I knew that persevering and not giving up was my only option despite my delay in achieving success. This comeback is personal because it’s a way of showing myself that anything is possible if you work hard enough for it.

“When I was born I barely made it then, and I fought hard for my place on this planet and here I am standing in front of all of you today. I made a promise to my mother (pause) she has always known that school was never my strong suit but she wouldn’t let me say I can’t or it’s impossible because she knows I am a fighter. She saw me fight for everything and she knew that I could do it because she saw me fight the toughest battle of my life once and if I could do it I know we all can accomplish anything in our lives. “… it’s never about how you start but how you finish and never give up.”

Wishing everyone a healthy and successful opening of school!

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Elizabeth Brown | President, Waterbury Leonard Lockhart | First Vice President, Windsor Meg Scata | V ice President for Government Relations, Portland John Prins | V ice President for Professional Development, Branford Lon Seidman | Secretary/Treasurer, Essex Donald Harris | I mmediate Past President, Bloomfield Christopher Wilson | Member at Large, Bristol Lydia Tedone | NSBA Director, Simsbury AREA DIRECTORS Marion Manzo | Area 1 Director, Region 15 Douglas Foyle | Area 2 Co-Director, Glastonbury Tyron Harris | Area 2 Co-Director, East Hartford Jay Livernois | A rea 4 Director, Woodstock Academy Dan Cruson | Area 5 Director, Newtown Janice Cupee | Area 6 Co-Director, Stratford Lee Goldstein | Area 6 Co-Director, Westport George Kurtyka | Area 7 Co-Director, Derby Robert Guthrie | Area 7 Co-Director, West Haven Lon Seidman | Area 8 Director, Essex Carol Burgess | Area 9 Co-Director, Montville Bryan Doughty | A rea 9 Co-Director, New London ASSOCIATES Eileen Baker | Associate, Old Saybrook Ann Gruenberg | Associate, Hampton Anthony Perugini | Associate, Cheshire Robert Mitchell | Associate, Montville Joseph Wilkerson | Associate, Bloomfield COMMITTEE CHAIRS Becky Tyrrell | Chair, Federal Relations, Plainville Ethel Grant | Chair, Resolutions, Portland Christopher Wilson | Chair, State Relations, Bristol CITY REPRESENTATIVES John Weldon | City Representative, Bridgeport A. J. Johnson | City Representative, Hartford Yesenia Rivera | City Representative, New Haven Andy George | City Representative, Stamford STAFF

Patrice McCarthy | Executive Director and General Counsel Nicholas Caruso | Senior Staff Associate for Field Services and Coordinator of Technology Sheila McKay | Senior Staff Associate for Government Relations Lisa Steimer | Senior Staff Associate for Professional Development and Communications Conrad Vahlsing | Staff Attorney Teresa Costa | Coordinator of Finance and Administration Pamela Brooks | S enior Administrative Associate for Policy Service and Search Services Terry DeMars | Administrative Associate for Policy Service Gail Heath | Administrative Associate for Government Relations Wilmarie Newton | A dministrative Associate for Digital Communications Nancy Propfe | Administrative Assistant for Membership Services Corliss Ucci | Receptionist and Assistant to Executive Director

CABE Journal (ISSN 1092-1818) is published bi-monthly by Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, 81Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield, CT 06109. Periodicals postage Paid at Hartford, CT.” POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The CABE Journal, CABE, 81 Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield, CT 06109-1242. CABE membership dues include $30 per person for each individual who receives The CABE Journal. The subscription rate for nonmembers is $75.

Association members dues include a subscription for each Board Member, Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent and Business Manager. The companies and advertisements found in The CABE Journal are not necessarily endorsed by CABE.

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022

CABE Affiliate Members BUSINESS AFFILIATES VALEDICTORIAN Connecticut Business Systems – A Xerox Company Finalsite SALUTATORIAN

Berchem Moses PC Shipman & Goodwin HIGH HONORS

Pullman & Comley HONOR ROLL JCJ Architecture Kainen, Escalera & McHale, P.C. Newman/DLR Group SCHOLAR Brown & Brown Chinni & Associates, LLC Coordinated Transportation Solutions Dattco, Inc. ESS The Lexington Group Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS) The S/L/A/M Collaborative Zangari Cohn Cuthbertson Duhl & Grello, P.C.

EDUCATIONAL AFFILIATES American School for the Deaf Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) Cambridge International Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) Connecticut Alliance of YMCAs Connecticut Arts Administrators Association Connecticut Association of School Business Officials (CASBO) Connecticut School Buildings and Grounds Association (CSBGA) Connecticut School Counselor Association Connecticut Technical High Schools Cooperative Educational Services (C.E.S.) EASTCONN EdAdvance Explorations Charter School Integrated Day Charter School ISAAC LEARN Live Girl Odyssey Community School, Inc. Relay CT The Bridge Academy

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMMENTARY

Parents Generally Approve of What Is Being Taught Patrice McCarthy

Executive Director & General Counsel, CABE

As the new school year begins there is reason for hope and optimism.

Students, staff, and families have had an opportunity to rest and recharge reading a book under a tree, playing in a splash pad, or participating in learning and recreation experiences.

Several recent polls and studies indicate that parents generally approve of what is being taught in their children’s schools, despite some well publicized reports to the contrary.

According to an April 29, 2022 report from National Public Radio, a new national poll by NPR and Ipsos found that regardless of political affiliation parents expressed satisfaction with schools and what is being taught in them. The poll included 1,007 parents of school-aged children, and was a follow up to a similar survey done a year earlier. In the poll, 76 percent of respondents agree that “my child’s school does a good job keeping me informed about the curriculum,

RELIGION IN SCHOOL

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year and sued the district in federal court.

To spare any suspense, the Supreme Court ruled that the district indeed violated the coach’s right to exercise his religious beliefs, under both the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses. As a technical point, the Court offered that these rights “work in tandem,” with the former protecting “religious exercises, whether communicative or not,” and the latter providing “overlapping protection for expressive religious activities.”

The Court rejected the argument that the mandate of the Establishment Clause, and any concerns a district may have pursuant to it, supersede an employee’s rights under the Fee Exercise and Free Speech Clauses. Instead, the Court stated that the three clauses, all contained in the same sentence of the First Amendment, have “‘complimentary’ purposes.” Importantly, one takeaway for districts from Kennedy is that concern about a possible Establishment Clause violation is not automatically a trump card over an employee’s religious observance.

including potentially controversial topics.” Responses this year showed a growing margin of parents indicating that their child is “ahead” in math, reading, social skills and mental health and wealth being.

A Gallup survey, which has tracked school satisfaction annually since 1999, found that in 2021 “Seventy-three percent of parents of school aged children said they are satisfied with the quality of education their oldest child is receiving.”

More parents were satisfied in 2021 than they were in 2013 and 2002, and in 2019, we were at a high point in satisfaction – 82 percent – before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Gallup numbers reveal that those expressing the negative views about American schools do not have children attending them.

Polling done by the Charles Butt Foundation shows a similar dynamic playing out in Texas. The annual poll of 1,154 Texas adults found that the share of public school parents giving their local public schools an A or B grade is up 12 percentage points in two years to 68 percent. In contrast with the increase It is important to note that the decision in Kennedy does not mean that, from now on, schools can never invoke a concern to not establish religion in order to pursue a course of action. Rather, a school’s action based on an Establishment Clause concern, and whether it may be permitted, is still highly dependent on the facts in a given situation. In Kennedy, the Court highlighted the fact that the coach’s prayer occurred at a time when “school employees were free to speak with a friend, call for a reservation at a restaurant, check email, or attend to other personal matters,” and further, he prayed “quietly while his students were otherwise occupied.”

What may be confusing for school districts, going forward, is that the Court expressly discarded what is referred to as the Lemon test. This test, which takes its name from the 1971 Supreme Court case Lemon v.

Kurtzman, is a three-part evaluation for determining when governmental actions (for example, those of public school districts) do not violate the Establishment Clause. The three parts are generally described as: 1) the governmental action must have a secular

among parents, there’s a decline in school ratings among those without a child currently enrolled in K-12 schools.

Forty-eight percent of nonparents now give their local public schools As and Bs, versus 56 percent a year ago.

Parent engagement and satisfaction is key to the success of our students. This data provides reason for optimism about parent perception – and therefore support – of our public schools. It also highlights the need for ongoing parental engagement and communication. Parental confidence is built when parents know what is and is not being taught in their child’s classroom. purpose, 2) the principal effect of the action must not advance or inhibit religion, and 3) the action must not excessively entangle the government with religion. Further, an action must not appear, to a reasonable observer, to convey that the governmental entity endorses a religion or religious activity (sometimes called the endorsement test, or the Lemon endorsement test).

In Kennedy, the Court stated that the Lemon test was no longer favored in analyzing Establishment Clause violations, and expressly discarded it.

Although the Court had criticized the test in previous cases, it had never so expressly gotten rid of the test. In fact, the Second Circuit (the intermediate federal court for Connecticut) had been using the test.

For example, in 2014, in Newdow v. United States, the Second Circuit acknowledged that the Supreme Court had criticized and declined to apply the test in the past, but still stated that “Lemon remains the prevailing test in this Circuit, absent its abrogation.”

And in 2015, again, the Second Circuit stated that “[a]lthough ‘much criticized,’ the Lemon test still governs casSee RELIGION IN SCHOOL page 11

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022 See You in Court – The Nutmeg Board of Education

The Nutmeg Board Creates a Host of FOIA Issues

Thomas B. Mooney, Esq. Shipman & Goodwin

The Nutmeg Board of Education makes many mistakes. The latest imbroglio created by the board will be reported here each issue, followed by an explanation of what the board should have done. Though not intended as legal advice, these situations may help board members avoid common problems.

The members of the Nutmeg Board of Education were sick and tired of getting slammed on social media. With every decision they made, it seemed, someone would be upset and unload on social media about the Board members, questioning their actions in offensive and personal terms. Compounding the problem, teachers and other employees will also join them, critiquing the Board members for their decisions.

Veteran Board member Bob Bombast decided to act, and he sent an email to his fellow Board members with a proposed new social media policy. In this draft policy, Bob proposed strict prohibitions against employees making “unkind” or “insulting” remarks about the Board members.

Bob explained to his Board colleagues that a policy would be the best way to hold the “cry-baby” teachers and others accountable. Anticipating opposition, however, he told the Board members to keep his idea under their hats until the Board was ready to vote on the new policy. To keep his proposed policy confidential until then, Bob carefully marked it “DRAFT” and he even included Ms. Board Attorney on copy.

Most of the other Board members were just as sick as Bob of the continual abuse on social media, and by return email they enthusiastically endorsed Bob’s proposed policy. Some Board members even included in these emails critical and, at times, vulgar comments about the parents and employees whose social media posts had insulted them.

Board member Mal Content, however, was not so sure, and in a conversation with local reporter Nancy Newshound, Mal let slip that he was concerned about Bob’s proposal to “muzzle” employees. Nancy was understandably intrigued, and she promptly sent Bob a request for “the draft policy and all related emails in accordance with the FOIA.” When Bob received the request, he was happy he had been cautious in disseminating the draft policy. Bob

promptly wrote an email back to Nancy as follows: Hello Nancy. I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of some purported policy about social media posts.

If I did draft such a policy, however, it is not subject to disclosure under the FOIA. Any such draft policy would be just that – a “draft” that is exempt from disclosure under the FOIA. As a reporter, you should know that.

When Nancy Newshound received Bob’s email, she promptly wrote back, telling Bob in no uncertain terms that she would be filing an FOIA complaint.

Bob was unfazed, and he gave Nancy a call. “Neither of us need to waste our time before the Freedom of Information Commission, do we?” Bob asked.

“I admit that I circulated a draft policy, and in due time you will get a copy.

However, it was a draft, and the law is clear that drafts are exempt from disclosure. Moreover, Ms. Board Attorney was included on the email when I sent it out. The draft and the related email correspondence were all privileged confidential attorney-client communications. But I promise that you will be the first to know once the policy is public!”

Nancy thanked Bob for the explanation. Bob was therefore surprised a month later to receive notification from the Freedom of Information Commission that Nancy had filed a complaint against him, claiming that Bob’s denial of her request for the draft policy and related email correspondence violated the FOIA. Does Nancy have a case against Bob? Should she have filed against the whole Board?

• • • • • • • • • • • • Nancy has a winning case against Bob. To be sure, Nancy could have filed a separate complaint against the Nutmeg Board of Education, as discussed below. However, board of education members are public officials, and the FOIA defines “public agencies,” the entities subject to the requirements of the FOIA as including public officials. As a “public agency,” Bob (or school district employees on his behalf) must respond to requests for information, and here Bob withheld public records from disclosure in violation of the FOIA. Bob claimed in response to Nancy’s request that the social media policy was in draft form and, as such, was exempt from disclosure. However, the FOIA exemption from public disclosure for “preliminary drafts and notes” is not the whole story. Conn. Gen. Stat. §

1-210(e) requires disclosure of “recommendations or any report comprising part of the process by which governmental decisions and policies are formulated,” provided that disclosure is not required of “a preliminary draft of a memorandum, prepared by a member of the staff of a public agency, which is subject to revision prior to submission to or discussion among the members of such agency.” (Emphasis added). In sum, when Bob shared his draft with the other Board members, the “preliminary drafts” exemption from disclosure was lost.

Bob also relied upon the exemption from disclosure of records of “communications privileged by the attorney-client relationship.” However, Bob’s reliance on this exemption was also misplaced. Confidentiality of communications between boards of education and their attorneys is an important protection that permits board members and other school officials to communicate candidly with their attorneys.

However, the privilege of confidentiality applies only to requests for legal advice and related responses.

Communications between a school district attorney and the board members unrelated to legal advice (such as advice on public relations, as the

Commission held in one case) are not privileged.

Here, Bob did not ask Ms. Board Attorney for legal advice about his draft social media policy (though perhaps he should have). Rather, he simply included her on the email he sent to his fellow Board members. Accordingly, those records were not privileged, and they should have been provided to Nancy pursuant to her request.

The records Bob withheld from disclosure were not the only FOIA problem here. The discussion of the draft policy and related issues by the Board members by email was, of course, a violation of the FOIA because this discussion among a quorum by electronic means constituted a “meeting” of the Board that should have been posted.

Moreover, the emails that Board members exchanged about the policy (and parents and employees) are also public records that should have been disclosed to Nancy pursuant to her request.

Finally, the Nutmeg Board of Education will have other legal problems if and when it adopts the social media policy proposed by Bob. Prohibiting See SEE YOU IN COURT page 6

The Ninth Edition – Now Available!

A Practical Guide to Connecticut School Law

by Thomas B. Mooney, Esq. Shipman & Goodwin

CABE is delighted to announce that the Ninth Edition of Tom Mooney’s Practical Guide to Connecticut School Law is now available.

PRICING: CABE Members: $54.99; CABE Non-Members: $79.99; Students: $44.99 There have been many changes in school law in the last few years, and the Ninth Edition has been extensively revised to provide updated guidance on the legal issues that govern our schools.

Changes include descriptions and commentary on:

• Changes in teacher evaluation and teacher tenure.

• New rules regarding employee background checks.

• New requirements concerning student data privacy.

• New rules for suspension, expulsion and alternative educational opportunities.

• Revised requirements governing seclusion and restraint.

• The new “Every Student Succeeds Act” and how it has changed “No Child Left Behind Act” requirements.

• The CCJEF case and ongoing litigation over equal educational opportunities.

• The Minimum Budget Requirement and new duties to collaborate with town officials.

• A host of other changes in the rules that boards of education and school administrators must follow.

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022

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vides resources that inspire students to engage in civic life and strengthen their communities.

Our school programs fuse history with civics and provide a lifetime pathway to civic engagement. Like the current Social Studies Frameworks and forthcoming Standards, our programs use inquiry and authentic learning experiences to help students discover their voices and develop a sense of agency. Last year, 26,700 students from 95 Connecticut cities and towns participated in our school programming.

Our work is based at Connecticut’s Old State House, a National Historic Landmark and former state capitol that housed all three branches of government from 1796-1878. History happened here: the State Constitution of 1818 was written, debated, and adopted within the building’s walls; the first Amistad trials and State Heroine Prudence Crandall’s final trials were heard in the Courtroom; and petitions and legislation around voting rights were deliberated in the Senate and House of Representatives.

We offer interactive in-person and virtual programs for students (and the public) to tell these important stories, using Connecticut’s oldest standing capitol to teach about state government historically and today. After a class field trip, a teacher at Woodbury Middle School shared: “Everyone enjoyed role playing the three branches, and we will definitely refer back to their roles and the scenes in our future lessons! It was an honor to have so many hosting and attending to us, and to be in such a beautiful historic set-

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022 ting. Hopefully we will have inspired at least a few future civic leaders!” These meaningful learning experiences help visitors recognize that they, too, have a voice in our government.

Connecticut’s Kid Governor

Did you know that our state has a Kid Governor? Our award-winning program, Connecticut’s Kid Governor®, teaches 5th graders how to use their voices through a real election for our state’s Kid Governor. Teachers register their classes to vote in the annual Statewide Election and can also nominate one student from their school to run for Kid Governor. Free lesson plans and activities about state government, voting, elections, and civic participation help teachers lead the program in their classrooms.

Students who choose to be Kid Governor candidates research problems impacting their community and our state, identify ways that 5th graders can help solve those problems, and build platforms for change. The final candidate from each school creates a campaign video highlighting their issue and three-point solutions-based platform.

Seven finalists advance to the Statewide Election. As adults head to the polls in November, thousands of 5th graders watch the finalists’ videos then cast their votes for Connecticut’s Kid Governor. The candidate receiving the most votes is elected Kid Governor and the six runners up form the Cabinet.

These elected officials serve a oneyear term of leadership and provide opportunities for their 5th-grade constituents to use their voices and make a difference on important issues.

Launched in 2015, Kid Governor® is expanding nationwide with affiliate programs in New Hampshire, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Oregon. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, enthused in 2019 that “My daughter was a finalist in her school for Kid Governor and I remember the passion she came home with, talking about her project. It brought out a sense of pride and agency in my daughter that I hadn’t seen before.”

Connecticut History Day

Once students learn the research process and how to use their voices, we believe it is important for them to explore people and events in history to deepen their understanding of successful (and unsuccessful) civic participation. That is why we lead Connecticut History Day, an affiliate of National History Day. Connecticut History Day is an academic program for students in grades 6-12 that focuses on historical research, interpretation and creative expression. The program allows students to follow their interests in terms of content, presentation, and team or individual work, enabling the program to serve a wide variety of students at all levels.

Students choose a topic related to the National History Day Annual Theme, decide whether to work alone or in a group, conduct research, and transform their work into a project of their choice: paper, exhibit, website, documentary, or performance. Participants discover their passions and drive the process, becoming writers, filmmakers, web designers, playwrights, and artists. Students may choose to present their work at one of six spring

Fifth graders at Andover Elementary School vote for Kid Governor. Students gather to celebrate Connecticut History Day.

SEE YOU IN COURT

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school district employees from making “unkind” or “insulting” comments about Board members would raise profound issues under the First Amendment. Public employees retain their free speech rights when speaking on matters of public concern except in

limited circumstances.

First, when public employees speak “pursuant to duty,” i.e., as part of their job responsibilities, their speech is not subject to First Amendment protection.

Accordingly, the classroom is not a forum for teacher free speech.

Second, speech by a public employee may not be protected if it is disruptive of the operation of the employer.

Regional Contests, and winners advance to the State Contest and the National Contest.

Teachers are invited to free workshops throughout the year, gain access to free materials and handbooks (in English and Spanish), and are encouraged to book a free in-class workshop with Connecticut History Day staff to guide their students through the process of selecting a topic, conducting research, and creating a project.

Connecticut History Day student Sia Reddy, who won first place at the 2022 State Contest with her website “The Hull Note”: Failed Diplomacy or an Ultimatum in Disguise?”, felt that: “Conducting months of research in preparation for Connecticut History Day was an eye-opening experience that transformed my perception of what historical research truly means.

Research isn’t believing every source you read nor is it trying to interpret information with a biased view. Truly understanding history is listening to both sides of a story with an open mind, while diving deep into finding evidence and considering the historical context of the time period to understand and formulate your own opinion on what happened.”

Civics and history are the key to preparing students for college, careers, and active participation in civic life.

The Connecticut Democracy Center at Connecticut’s Old State House looks forward to partnering with schools to enhance the new Social Studies Standards by providing interactive experiences that will help students become engaged citizens. For more information about our programs, please go to ctdemocracycenter.org/our-programs or contact us at 860-522-6766.

Students learn about Connecticut history at the Old State House.

In such cases, the courts balance the importance of the speech against its disruptive effect to determine whether the speech is protected.

As a general matter, however, public employees have the right to speak out on matters of public concern, even when school board members find such remarks to be “unkind” or “insulting.”

A prohibition against such comments is

too broad and would violate employee free speech rights.

Attorney Thomas B. Mooney is a partner in the Hartford law firm of Shipman & Goodwin who works frequently with boards of education. Mooney is a regular contributor to the CABE Journal.

Shipman & Goodwin is a CABE Business Affiliate.

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022

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CABE: Working for YOU

Individualized Workshops | Professional Development Opportunities Legal Services | Policy Services | Representing You Statewide and Nationally Below are the highlights of activities that the CABE staff has undertaken on your behalf over the last month.

We did this:

B y providing opportunities for members to learn how to better govern their districts:

z Provided

Roles and Responsibilities for the Bridge Academy Board of Education. z Responded

to 22 requests for policy information from 15 districts, providing sample materials on policy topics. Further, districts continue to access CABE’s online Core Policy Reference Manual and/or online manuals posted by CABE for policy samples. The topics of greatest interest were those pertaining to Armed Security Guards, Annual Due Process and Electronic Meetings.

B y helping school boards to increase student achievement:

z S ent two issues of “Policy Highlights” via e-mail list serve covering topics that affect student achievement. Topics pertained to Annual Due Process and U.S. Supreme Court Issues Decision on Religion in Public Schools.

B y ensuring members receive the most up-to-date communications:

zP reparing a Policy Audit for Region 1. zP repared the July Policy Update Publication that was mailed to districts

on July 15, this fourth issue of the Policy Update for the 2021-2022 school year describes the policy implications for school boards that are the result of legislation passed by the General Assembly.

B y providing services to meet member needs:

zF acilitated Board Self-Evaluation for the Woodbridge Board of Education. zF acilitated a goal setting session for the Tolland Board of Education. zR evised policies, as part of the Custom Update Policy Service, for East Windsor, New Fairfield, New Hartford, and North Stonington. zC urrently assisting the Colchester and Woodbridge Boards of Education with their superintendent searches. zR esponded to a variety of legal inquiries from members.

zP rovided interview about CABE for the Meriden Record Journal. zP articipated in calls with NSBA leadership. zM et with anti-bullying work group. zA ttended meeting of state school board association executive directors.

zP articipated in COSA webinar on recent Supreme Court decisions. zA ttended COSA’s State Counsel meetings.

y helping districts operB ate efficiently and conserve resources:

zF acilitated a Board Self-Evaluation for the Darien Board of Education. zP osted policies online, as part of the C.O.P.S. Program for Canton, Derby, East Windsor, Griswold, Mon-

Superintendent of Schools COLCHESTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Superintendent of Schools SOMERS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

SENIOR CONSULTANT

B y representing Connecticut school boards on the state or national level:

zP rovided interview for Wethersfield Life. zP articipated in the Commissioner’s Family and Community Engagement roundtable. zP articipated in NSBA state association counsel virtual meetings. zP articipated in Board of Directors meeting for Discovering Amistad. zP articipated in subcommittee and Executive Board meetings of the New England School Public Relations Association (NESPRA). zP articipated in meeting of school board association convention managers.

B y attending Professional Development to strengthen staff knowledge and skills:

Current Vacancies:

MARY BRODERICK, ED.D

roe, New Fairfield, New Hartford, Orange, Portland, Preston, Region 4, Ridgefield, Somers, Voluntown, Woodbridge, and the CABE CORE Manual.

Superintendent of Schools WOODBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

For more information contact

CABE Search Services

81 Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield, CT 06109

860-608-1763

Equal Opportunity Employer

CABE First Vice President Leonard Lockhart (Windsor) represented CABE at the August 2 “Launching into Healthy Learning” press conference regarding the release of COVID-19 school guidance by the CT Departments of Health, Education, and Early Childhood.

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8 VIN MUSTARO

(continued from page 1)

Recently at home, I came across some old class pictures from my first teaching class and I started counting the number of students. I had 33 students and the year after, my wife had 40 students starting first grade.

One of the biggest changes that I have seen is the reduction in class size.

2. The increased role of the federal and state governments in education.

The acronyms that came to mind are Title 1, NCLB, ESSA and IDEA. I remember introducing special education back in 1967 to my staff. I told my staff at that time that there is probably not one of us in this room that does not come under one of these categories of special education.

I have seen an increased role in afterschool programs and the need for sexual abuse prevention training in education.

I mentioned earlier the increase in federal and state regulations, including, wellness, food service and teacher accountability. Without burdensome processes, I knew which of my teachers were succeeding and which were not, and which ones I had to counsel out of the teaching profession. Standardized testing has expanded, and prescriptive mandates

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022 have increased. The example I always used for training over the years, was this phrase in the statutes that says “you must have a policy pertaining to homework” and left it for the local district to determine its content.

Patrice: CABE gets some credit for that statute saying “have a policy on homework”, because it started with “let’s have a requirement that specifies the amount of homework at each grade level.”

Vin: Monitoring and reporting requirements have reached the point where I saw some administrators getting in trouble, because of the process, having to be so careful with everything and having the i’s dotted and t’s crossed.

3. Technology Technology has impacted classroom settings, teaching and how we administer schools and districts.

Personal devices and social media have impacted all levels of education.

On the negative side, technology has led to cyber bullying, whether you are a student, board member or administrator.

4. The expanded responsibilities of boards of education.

When I started, it was not uncommon for boards to meet only once a month. I remember a time when there was no policy manual; the

CABE Executive Director and General Counsel Patrice McCarthy interviewed retiring Sr. Staff Associate for Policy Service Vin Mustaro on his long career in public education.

superintendent was the manual. When you had a problem you would talk with the superintendent. There have been tremendous changes with the board in terms of the number of hours the position now involves. For the most part the board members were the pillars of the community, and included the local bank president, people who had chairmanships in the big companies, and not as many ordinary citizens. The whole idea and concept of the leadership team changed.

5. The expanded role of women in administration.

There were always more women in the teaching profession, but the

increase in the number of women in administration at the building level, district level, superintendency, and at the state level, is a positive change.

These are the major changes that I have seen over 64 years. Looking back, I see how education has significantly changed. Professional development has taken on a whole new meaning, because of all of these things that are impacted. You cannot enter teaching and administration and assume your preservice training was sufficient.

There is too much new and/or changed that the concept of life-long learning has taken on a new meaning. Earlier, See VIN MUSTARO page 12

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022

Nicholas Caruso, Jr.

9

We Have Goals… So What???

Sr. Staff Associate for Field Service and Coordinator of Technology

Having experienced the goal setting process with numerous boards of education over the past 28 years, I have seen great things happen when people work hard to establish a clear vision of what the district should be focusing on. In many cases I’ve been impressed by the collaborative process, the clear articulation of expectations and the careful wording of goals that truly can inspire great things within the district. I count these experiences among the best parts of my job.

I believe the epitome of leadership is establishing, and clearly articulating, a vision for the future.

Over the years, however, I’ve noticed that sometimes the exercise of crafting goals is considered the end product, and not the work it is supposed to inspire. In some cases, I have gone back to a district after a year or more to review existing goals or to create new goals, and find there was little or no conversation about what work has been done to achieve the prior goals. Sometimes, when I ask boards about existing goals, somebody has to go look them up on the website. In one district there were three separate sets of goals currently in play, with little coherence among them (one set of goals had 27 objectives).

There are different types of goals in school districts. The district goals are typically voted on by the board, but can be developed with input from a variety of collaborators. These goals are usually a higher-level expectation of a more general nature, allowing latitude for staff to meet the shifting needs of the district as necessary. The superintendent would be charged with developing an action plan to ensure these goals are met. They typically are kept in force over longer periods of time. Whether it is a global “strategic plan” or a set of priorities derived from a board goal setting session, these goals should be the primary driver of

progress in a district and subject to regular review of progress.

The superintendent’s goals should have a direct connection to the district goals but be more specific to actual measurable outcomes. These can be expected to change from year to year.

Many boards work with the superintendent to establish these goals as part of the superintendent evaluation process. Likewise, time reviewing the progress of these goals should be part of the superintendent evaluation.

Board goals should be specific to actions the board needs to take to ensure the success of the district goals.

Often, these goals focus on board actions that will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the board’s work.

The accountability for the completion of these goals rests with the board.

Typical board goals might be to refine the budgeting process to align resources more closely with the district vision, improving communications with the community or reviewing meeting agendas to ensure they are also focused on supporting the district goals.

The board should include a review of these goals during an annual self-evaluation.

Additionally, many district also have a long-range vision developed in cooperation with the community and many stakeholders. Whether it is called a strategic plan, Portrait of a Graduate or long-range goals, these documents start with a dive into data to establish the critical areas the district needs to focus on and establishes objectives for each.

Other districts have established District Improvement Plans. These plans, generally staff-driven, follow a format of data analysis, setting measurable goals, followed by careful planning on how to achieve these goals. These generally play the role of the District Goals in districts that have them.

I’ve seen great work done to create wonderful strategic plans or district improvement plans that actually end

CABE President Liz Brown (Waterbury) participates in a team building exercise at NSBA’s Leadership Conference.

up doing little to inspire the improvements those plans identified. In one district where I returned annually, two meetings were held – first, a meeting to review the progress on their prior year’s goals; followed by a goal-setting session which looked at creating a new set of district goals. It was only after four or five years of doing this that I learned that a Strategic Plan had existed for that whole time. No one had consulted it before discussing district goals. When asked why not, the response was basically, “We never liked that plan”. The board must “own” the plan.

The completion of goal writing is nowhere near as important as the accomplishment of the vison the goals represent and the goal setting process is only half-complete if that is where the board’s work ends. The board and superintendent must take this vision and align the efforts of the district to those goals or plans. In particular, board meetings need to focus on the district goals.

Please remember that CABE provides facilitation for activities of this nature to its members.

For more information, contact Nick Caruso at ncaruso@cabe.org.

CABE recommends that boards consider the following “Goal Setting Best Practices” 1. T he “Why” is the domain of the Leadership Team (Board/Superintendent), the “How” and “What” are the work of the administration and staff.

2. B efore setting goals, review existing goals and other vision documents that drive the work of the district.

Are they aligned with each other, redundant or, worse, in conflict with each other? District Improvement plans, strategic plans or other long-term goal exercises should be reviewed before setting yet another set of goals 3. D o not duplicate efforts, particularly if they conflict with each other. There should be one set of district-level goals.

4. G et buy-in from the board on any goals established. If board members do not see the significance of the goals it will impact how hard they focus on them at the board level.

5. O verarching goals should be broad and allow for various solutions without needing to be rewritten every year. More targeted goals, or priorities, can be changed every year to help focus resources more effectively.

6. G oals should follow a pathway. The district goals, at the highest level are most critical. The superintendent’s goals should articulate the work the superintendent will be doing to achieve the district goals. The superintendent will expect that his or her administrator’s goals will derive from the same district goals, as should teachers and other staff members.

7. B oard meetings should focus on work identified in the goals. It is valuable to link agenda topics to specific goals, and in the administration’s presentations, alignment to the goals should be noted.

8. C onsider an agenda item named “Report on Goals” on every agenda. It does not need to be lengthy, but the repetition of the report every meeting will reinforce to the staff and the community that the board is truly focused on that work. Lengthier, quarterly reports may also be utilized, as well as an annual board retreat to allow the board to ask more detailed question and discuss the board’s role in achieving the goals. Often boards include the district goals on every agenda (or the vision/mission statement) to keep them prominent to the board, the staff and the community.

9. C onsider using a presentation template with specific questions that should be addressed with any proposal form the administration to the board. This can include reference to district goals (we can provide a sample of what that looks like). This template helps the administration focus appropriate attention on items that the board are always interested in.

10. T he board, working collaboratively with the rest of the leadership team and community, sets the vision; the superintendent, working collaboratively with staff, creates the action plans to achieve the goals.

For more information, contact Nick Caruso at ncaruso@cabe.org.

l. to r. CABE Executive Director and General Counsel Patrice McCarthy, President Liz Brown (Waterbury), NSBA Northeast Director Lydia Tedone (Simsbury), Immediate Past President Donald Harris (Bloomfield), and First Vice President Leonard Lockhart (Windsor) participated in NSBA’s Leadership Conference.

NSBA Northeast Director Lydia Tedone (Simsbury) and CABE President Liz Brown (Waterbury) speak at the NSBA Northeast Regional meeting.

10

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022

11

How Your School District Can Get Funding for Electric School Buses

by DEEP Mobile Sources Group Millions of students ride the bus to school every day, but less than one percent of those school buses are electrified nationwide. Diesel school buses which comprise the majority of school buses on the road today emit pollutants, including nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM), that contribute to the formation of smog, which can harm human health and exacerbate asthma. Students, whose lungs are not yet fully developed, are particularly vulnerable to air pollution inside and near older diesel school buses.

Pollutants from the diesel exhaust increase children’s risk of asthma and respiratory illnesses including lung disease and other chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Further, children residing and attending school in Environmental Justice (EJ) communities are disproportionately subjected to air pollution and exposed to increased health risks, usually due to these communities’ adjacency to major routes of traffic.

Connecticut has 7,711 school buses in operation across the state, with approximately 72 percent of those being diesel-powered. Due to their age, some of those diesel buses still lack modern emission control technologies because they pre-date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) most recent emission standards. Switching

RELIGION IN SCHOOL

(continued from page 3)

es alleging violations of the Establishment Clause” (from Jewish People for the Betterment of Westhampton Beach v. Village of Westhampton Beach).

After Kennedy, it appears that the Lemon test will no longer be in place, but it remains to be seen how Connecticut courts will interpret the decision. And more immediately, by what standard are Connecticut school districts to analyze their actions involving religion and the Establishment Clause in the interim? There is guidance that the Supreme Court offered in Kennedy, but it is arguably less instructive than the Lemon test.

In Kennedy, the Supreme Court stated that “[i]n place of Lemon . . . the Establishment Clause must be interpreted by ‘reference to historical prac-

to electric school buses (ESBs) will help to reduce these health risks and aid Connecticut in reaching its climate change goals.

Electric school buses eliminate tailpipe emissions allowing students to have clean, healthy air on their rides to and from school. Protecting students from dangerous air pollution is vital to their growth and cognitive development. Students and communities will also benefit from quieter and smoother bus rides since ESBs produce much less noise than internal combustion engine (ICE) buses. Electric school buses offer fuel price stability that fossil fuels do not offer.

Over the past two decades, electricity prices have been more stable than retail prices for other transportation fuels. Zero-emission (ZEV) electric school buses experience less brake wear due to regenerative braking and have no engine or exhaust system maintenance. Electrifying a school bus fleet results in less maintenance and fueling costs, providing economic benefits to a school district and reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO).

As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Congress authorized up to $5 billion over the next five years (2022-2026) for the replacement of existing school buses with clean and ZEV school buses as well as funding associated charging infrastructure.

Through the Clean School Bus Program (CSBP), EPA allocates funds for

cleaner school buses to help protect children from the dangers of diesel exhaust pollution. The first cycle of CSB funding launched in May and closed in August 2022, making $500 million available in rebates. First round award announcements are expected in October. EPA anticipates the next funding round to open in December 2022. All school districts in Connecticut are eligible and encouraged to apply for federal CSB funding.

The recently passed Connecticut Clean Air Act Public Act (PA) 22-25 (Act) sets targets for the transition to ZEVs in state and school bus fleets across Connecticut. Section 13 of the Act establishes a $20 million matching grant program for school districts to supplement the federal CSB Program.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is currently in the process of developing the matching grant program to maximize federal funding for the purchase or lease of ZEV school buses and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. Additionally, the Act requires DEEP to provide administrative and technical assistance to municipalities, school districts, and school bus operators transitioning to using ZEV school buses, applying for federal grants for such buses, and installing EV charging and fueling infrastructure for such buses.

In addition to EPA’s Clean School Bus funding, other grant and incentive

programs exist to assist in funding ESBs. CT DEEP has had early successes in supporting the adoption of electric school buses through use of Volkswagen (VW) Settlement funds, including dedicating over $9.6 million to replace forty-four diesel school buses with new electric school buses operating in seven environmental justice communities. VW school bus replacement projects (eligible buses include 2009 engine model year or older) are qualified to receive up to 65 percent of the cost of a new all-electric vehicle, including charging infrastructure associated with the new all-electric bus.

The Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) offers eligible school bus replacement projects up to 45 percent of the cost for replacement with electric buses. The purchase and installation of EV charging infrastructure can be included in an EV replacement project. The first full size ESB in Connecticut was purchased with a FY2020 DERA grant awarded to Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) in North Haven.

Learn more about the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, who’s eligible and how to apply at https://www.epa. gov/cleanschoolbus. School districts are encouraged to provide feedback or suggestions to DEEP.mobilesources@ ct.gov that may assist DEEP in implementing a Clean School Bus Program in Connecticut.

tices and understandings.’” So, that is a standard by which districts can guide their actions, but it appears open to a variety of interpretations.

Interestingly, the Supreme Court referenced a 2014 decision of its own for the language “historical practices and understandings,” with that case being Town of Greece v. Galloway. And that language was derived from another case, 1989’s County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union. The point being that this language is not a wholly new mode of Establishment Clause analysis, but what is new is that unlike the previous cases, Kennedy throws out the Lemon test while discussing the applicability of historical practices and understandings.

The Court did reference previous cases where it found that religious actions in schools had been “problematically coercive” and there was indeed

an Establishment Clause violation.

These cases can help guide districts in creating some parameters for when there may be an Establishment Clause issue. And the Court noted that these prior decisions still hold up after Kennedy. These cases include situations where a school had a clergy member recite prayers at graduation (Lee v.

Weisman), and a school that broadcasted a prayer over its public address system before football games (Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe).

Of course, perhaps the discarding of the Lemon test will usher in a new era of clarity regarding the Establishment Clause and its application to public schools, specifically. For now, it would be prudent for boards and superintendents to engage in conversations, preferably with their districts’ attorneys, in order to parse what Kennedy may have changed for how they

govern their districts.

A version of this article appeared in the August 5 edition of CABE’s Policy Highlights and includes additional discussion of some implications for district policies.

People in the News Please join us in congratulating CABE First Vice President Leonard Lockhart (Windsor), who was nominated to serve on the NSBA Board of Directors as one of the three Northeast Region representatives. The election will take place in April, and he will succeed Lydia Tedone (Simsbury). Lydia will continue her service on the NSBA Board as the Chairman of the American Indian and Alaska Native Council.

It is wonderful that Connecticut’s history of representation at the national level continues.

Congratulations!

12 VIN MUSTARO

(continued from page 8)

professional development was having a speaker come in and bringing the staff together to listen to this person for 45 minutes to an hour and then go back to the way that you always did things.

Fortunately, that has changed in many districts.

Patrice: What are some of the constants that you see in public education?

Vin: I have seen a willingness and the ability by all of those involved in education to take on the expanded, challenging roles. Especially during the pandemic, there was no manual, no resources to fall back on. They were able to keep the educational ship afloat with the remote programs and offering school services in new ways. I saw this new attitude and its impact from all levels, from the board, state officials, superintendents, principals, teachers and support staff. I look back and say, “It was not all great, but it kept the ship afloat.” There is the willingness and ability to say “Yes we will do this.”

One concern that I have is the capacity of boards, superintendents and staff to keep doing more.

Increasingly over the last few years, I have seen people reaching the point where the “plate is too full.” I have seen this at the building level, district level

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022 and board level, namely, the inability to keep up with everything. I call this reaching the “capacity wall.”

Another constant in education is never having enough resources.

From the first budget to the last budget I put together, I didn’t have enough resources. We have to always prioritize.

There continues to be tension with the board of finance and board education in many districts. The way our finance system works, while you have control over your budget once it has passed, the board of finance gets to make the decisions as to what the budget total will be. This results in a constant struggle between the two boards. I have worked with some boards of finance that have been very cooperative and others who were not.

Another constant is the caring and quality of professional educators at all levels and the willingness to take on an ever expanding role. One of the concerns I have, and I have talked with other superintendents about this, is we always worked hard, but we also had fun doing it. Some of the fun in education has been taken out. We need to get that back, especially with the young people today. I think that is important.

Patrice: Have you seen trends in the policy area in the 27 years you have been our policy expert? You

talked about the time when there were no manuals in some districts and you also talked about the increased number of requirements from the state and federal government for policy.

Vin: There has been a tremendous expansion of topics in numerous policy areas, reflecting the increased role of the federal and state governments. Manuals have increased significantly in size. The size of manuals has probably at least doubled, if not in some cases have tripled. The more a board realized their primary role is policy, the larger their manual became. One of the last manual audits I did, was to identify what could be taken out because the policy manual was too large.

There has been an increase in the number of mandates. A few examples that came to mind - parental involvement, pesticides, food charges, finger printing, face masks, homeless, bullying, internet safety, nutrition, surveys and the list goes on. We were already dealing with these issues, but now they have become policy mandates.

In addition to the increase in mandated policies because of the societal changes and more legislation dealing with education, there has been an increase in the number of recommended policies. You don’t have to have them, but it makes good

political and legal sense to have them.

Some examples are: anti-racism, equity and diversity, governance councils, dealing with public complaints, role of law enforcement, board/ superintendent relationships, codes of conduct, search and seizure, codes of ethics and security issues, have all become recommended policies.

The policies became longer, more detailed and really the line between policy language and regulation became mixed. Usually, the details were placed in the regulation, but because of the current prescriptive nature of legislation, more detail is now in the policy.

I found that more districts were in fear of litigation so they wanted everything covered by having a policy, rather than letting the administrative professional judgement handle an issue. There was a definite trend that districts wanted a policy on just about everything. I used the term “the cook book” approach to administration.

Patrice: Vin, you have worked with many school board members.

What are the characteristics that make a board member effective?

Vin: The one thing that I have always used was the advice from CABE - “keep an interest in all children as a primary focus”, and when See VIN MUSTARO page 14

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022

13

2022 State of School Safety Report Patrice McCarthy

Executive Director & General Counsel, CABE

The 2022 State of School Safety Report provides hopeful insight on crisis prevention, response and recovery for our schools. It measures perceptions of safety among four key stakeholder groups – students, parents, public safety officials and educators.

This fifth annual report provides data that is helpful in conversations at the local level to address the many issues impacting safety in schools.

The research methodology involves a national sample of over 800 parents of school aged children, 881 middle and high school students, 837 school staff, and 418 school/public safety officials.

The survey results showed: • Most groups feel schools are safe, but students reported the lowest positive responses in this area. The survey indicated a general lack of confidence and/or knowledge of safety preparedness efforts in the schools. The authors recommend community-wide conversations and outreach to increase knowledge, engagement and confidence for all members of the school community.

• The top school safety concern is an active shooter/attack. Students

report lower rates of positive culture and climate, and a sense that their school or district does not take feedback about safety seriously. The authors recommend review of safety protocols when students return to school to increase understanding and confidence in emergency preparedness and procedures, as well as keeping students informed about changes in those protocols.

• 68 percent of students reported feeling safe at schools compared to 78 percent of educators. Perception of safety is extremely important, and students have the lowest level of perceived prioritization of school safety. They show less confidence than other stakeholders in the importance the adults place upon school safety.

• The survey results also showed a disconnect between the perceptions of students and parents from that of educators with respect to bullying and cyberbullying. Educators and public safety respondents reported feeling more prepared than students and parents to handle incidents of bullying and cyberbullying. Almost 80 percent of educators feel their schools are prepared to deal with

bullying and cyberbullying, while only 60 percent of students believe schools are prepared. The authors recommend additional preparation and mitigation of bullying and cyberbullying incidents to close the gap in perception. Additional dissemination of school bullying prevention policies and procedures can help improve student and parent perception.

•O nly 60 percent of students reported that their schools are prepared, and 20 percent reported their schools are unprepared to prevent and address incidents of discrimination and aggression.

• Th ere is positive feedback related to preparedness for infectious disease, including COVID or the flu. Parents and educators are now more confident than a year ago, likely reflecting the public health policies and protocols put in place as a result of the pandemic.

•O nly 67 percent of students agree their school has a positive culture and climate. A recent report from the Regional Educational Laboratories (REL) emphasizes that having one trusted adult is important for school culture, climate and safety, and also

increases student resiliency and wellbeing. Feeling connected, welcomed and safe in schools is essential to student success and growth. A positive culture and climate is a key element of school safety.

• Survey results showed that 97 percent of public safety respondents believe SROs are beneficial to school safety, but only 71 percent of students agree. Seeing SROs as allies and as a trusted adult in the building, is important to enhancing student understanding of the role of SROs in school safety.

• Survey responses indicated a need for increased student access to school-based mental health resources and qualified staff. While 83 percent of educators responded that their school or district is prepared in the event of a mental health issue or crisis, only 66 percent of parents and 61 percent of students were in agreement. Students, educators and public safety respondents reported a perceived increase in anxiety and depression.

The full report can be found at www.safeandsoundschools.org.

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022

VIN MUSTARO

(continued from page 12)

making decisions board members need to ask “how will this action, how will this vote of mine impact children in this district.”

• Keep a focus on student achievement – it is very easy to get lost in the weeds.

• Have good communication with the board members and administrators.

• Use social media cautiously and properly - it is very easy to get into trouble quickly.

• Don’t make a decision based on a political party’s platform.

• Be prepared for the meeting and do your homework.

• Listen, demonstrate civility, adhere to the code of conduct and have a positive relationship with the superintendent.

• Board members need to recognize that they represent the whole community, not a single constituency.

• Accept the board’s decision, be aware of the roles and responsibilities of boards and superintendents.

• Be aware of how the community perceives how the board is

acting, because you are the role models.

• Be ethical and honest, not selfserving.

• Keep in mind the proper governance role, vision and mission statements. Where do you want this district to be and how can you get there?

• Recognize the difference between oversight and micromanagement.

• Work as a team and be advocates for public education at all levels local, state and national.

• Recognize your own needs for professional development. The world is changing and evolving and there is more that you have to deal with than ever before.

This is what I think make an effective board member.

Patrice: I think that we should be able to find 1,500 people in Connecticut that have these characteristics!

Vin: It has been a long road and at all levels I have met some wonderful people.

Patrice: Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for board members and superintendents?

Vin: Keep a sense of humor. This is serious business that we deal with,

but we have to keep a sense of humor.

I have hired the best possible people, I established the boundaries, and then let them do their job. The whole concept of no surprises and to keep lines of communication between the board and the superintendent open must be maintained. Network as much as possible, whether it be with other administrators, board members or professional organizations. Be active and support your organization, whether it be CABE, CAPSS or a national organization – they are a tremendous source of information that can help. I could not have accomplished what I have done over the years in the Policy department without relying on these organizations.

Be transparent, be honest and open – don’t play games. Build and maintain a sense of team, you are there to support each other and work together. Recognize that you can have disagreements but always have a respectful discussion. In some cases, you will agree to disagree, but more often, you can come to consensus and move forward for the betterment of the organization and children. Be civil to each other – you don’t need to leave a meeting angry because of incivility.

Work within the district’s culture and keep in mind that you are there for the

children.

Last, but not the least, leave time for yourself, leave time to relax and do the things that you enjoy doing and leave time for family, because they become your most important support group. This is the advice that I can give.

Patrice: On any given day if you can follow some of this advice it will be a better day.

Vin: When I look back, I think to myself, these are the things that made it possible for me to live this long road in this career.

Patrice: Vin, this has been an incredibly journey.

Vin: I don’t know where the time has gone…I look back while cleaning out things at home and I came across a picture of me in my first class…I said to myself “where did the time go, time moved a little too fast.”

Patrice: The 27 years that you gave to CABE is a wonderful contribution and you leave a great legacy. You leave an area that is robust and well-known to districts and two staff people that are very effective providing policy support.

Thank you for your lifetime of contributions to public education.

We wish you a healthy and joyous retirement.

What will CABE’s

Connecticut Online Policy Service (COPS) There when you need us for: • Crisis Communications • Working with the Media • School Board Messaging and Professional Development • Media Training and School Board/ Administrator • Presentation Skills • Full Video Storytelling Capabilities • Social Media Management and Strategies

Ann Baldwin, President

860-408-1580 | baldwinmedia.net ann@baldwinmedia.net

provide YOUR district?

• A policy manual updated within days of a board meeting • Access to your policy manual 24/7 anywhere with Internet capability • Time saving links to legal and cross references • A search engine specifically designed for board policy manuals • The ability to search other online districts for sim­ilar policies or language • A happier staff that will have less paper to deal with!

If you would like additional information on CABE’s Connecticut Online Policy Service (C.O.P.S.), call CABE at 860-571-7446 or email info@cabe.org for full details

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022

15

UNDERSTANDING CONNECTICUT’S FOIA

A Look In Through the Out Door:

The FOIA and Employee Exit Interviews Mark J. Sommaruga, Esq. Pullman & Comley, LLC

It is a common practice for employers to conduct exit interviews with departing employees. Without even discussing employment law issues (not to mention issues over the appropriate roles and responsibilities for school administrators and board members) that might arise out of the use of such interviews, Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) presents another complicating factor. A recent case before Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Commission (“FOIC”) exemplifies these concerns.

The case.

In Hanna v. Chief, Police Department, Town of Old Saybrook, #FIC 2021-0586 (July 13, 2022), a former employee of a police department requested from the department his complete personnel file, including a copy of his “exit interview.” As per the department’s practices, the former employee was asked to complete a written exit interview. Also consistent with its practices, the exit interview was then reviewed by another police department employee and discussed with the former employee.

Department exit interviews are also reviewed by the police chief (who is responsible for evaluating the performance of department employees/ supervisors) and by the Board of Police Commissioners (which is responsible for evaluating the performance of the chief). The stated purpose of the exit interviews is for the department to learn from the departing employee’s experiences, improve the department’s work environment going forward, and to evaluate supervisors and the department as a whole.

The department declined to produce a copy of the exit interview report, asserting that the report was exempt from disclosure. The department claimed that the disclosure of the exit interview would constitute an invasion of the police chief ’s personal privacy. It appears that the former employee used his exit interview to express negative opinions about the chief; the department claimed that the former employee made “defamatory statements” about the chief, in “an effort to discredit” the chief.

The FOIC’s decision.

The former employee then filed a complaint with the FOIC over this denial. Simply put, the FOIC rejected the department’s defenses. The FOIC noted that the exit interview report is a “personnel” or “similar” file. Generally, a public agency has a heavy burden if it attempts to shield such records from disclosure due to a claimed invasion of privacy.

The agency must establish that such records 1) do not pertain to legitimate matters of public interest, and 2) the records/information contained therein would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. Here, the FOIC noted that the former employee’s personal impressions of the chief related to his duties and responsibilities as a chief of a police department, and as such, inherently pertained to a matter of public concern. The FOIC discounted the department’s claims that the disclosure would be “defamatory and otherwise harmful to the reputation” of the chief, noting that whether something is harmful to one’s reputation is not a basis to shield documents from disclosure under the FOIA. The FOIC ordered the department to disclose the interview report.

its schools from disclosing educational records (or personally identifiable information concerning students contained in those records) without parental consent. If an exit interview contains information on employee misconduct where the alleged victim is a student, the school could redact personally identifiable information concerning the student. However, recent cases indicate that the FOIC is taking a narrower view of what constitutes an “educational record”, and the exit interview report itself may still be subject to disclosure (albeit with redactions of student names and/or other personally identifiable information).

In addition, the FOIA protects from disclosure “preliminary drafts or notes” where the public agency determines that “the public interest in withholding such documents clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure.” There is a bevy of cases where the FOIC has permitted the

Can schools point to special circumstances to shield an exit interview from disclosure?

The FOIA contains an exemption from disclosure for “educational records” that are covered by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”). Generally, FERPA prohib-

Attorney Sommaruga is the author of “Understanding Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act” (5th Edition 2018). Pullman & Comley is a CABE Business Affiliate.

JUST RELEASED...

What does this mean?

It is not a shock that the FOIC would require disclosure of this type of record. The FOIC has noted there is a diminished expectation of privacy for public employees, which is why most of what is in personnel/similar files are generally public records subject to disclosure under the FOIA. Just as the FOIC has found that a complaint making unsubstantiated allegations against a public employee is generally subject to disclosure (as the public has a right to know about the conduct of public employees-along with any investigation of alleged misconduct), the fact that a report might damage one’s reputation or make false allegations is not enough to shield it from disclosure under the FOIA.

withholding of personal notes or draft documents. While this exception might exempt draft reports (and the personal notes of someone conducting an interview on behalf of a public agency), this exception will not cover written employee statements or other “completed” documents.

Finally, while there is a broad exception to disclosure for teacher evaluations, both case law and amendments to the FOIA indicate this exception is limited to the actual evaluations (not generalized records/allegations of misconduct), and to the extent that such exit interviews contain claims of teacher misconduct, they would still be subject to disclosure.

Ideal for school districts, municipalities, state agencies and other public agencies!

Understanding Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act Fifth Edition

By Mark Sommaruga, Esq., Pullman & Comley, LLC

The Connecticut Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), often called the “Sunshine Law, is a series of laws that guarantee the public access to meetings and records of governmental entities in Connecticut.

The FOIA also sets forth numerous exceptions to its open meetings and records requirements. Over the years, however, both the FOIA and its exceptions have often been misconstrued.

The new Fifth Edition has been updated to now include:  The latest statutory changes and important decisions concerning the FOIA  The latest developments concerning: ✓ law enforcement records ✓ school videos ✓ personnel records  Additional details regarding FOIA compliance

To order please visit the CABE online publication store at CABE.org

16

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | September, 2022

THE JOURNAL — Connecticut Association of Boards of Education — SPECIAL SECTION: 1

Our Purpose:

CABE is the only statewide organization that advocates for school board leadership in Connecticut.

We are dedicated to strengthening public education through advocacy, professional development and service to our member boards of education.

High-quality education for all Connecticut children begins with effective school board leadership.

CABE is committed to ensuring that the future of public education remains bright.

CABE 2021-2022 Annual Report

It’s Your Association – Get Involved!

As we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, the future of Connecticut’s children depends more than ever on the critical work of boards of education and CABE. CABE represents over half of all elected officials in the State.

This constitutes approximately 90% of boards of education. Together our work is stronger and more effective!

CABE’s mission, “to assist local and regional boards of education in providing high quality public education for all Connecticut children through effective leadership”, drives the Association’s priorities and work.

We strive to constantly improve the work of CABE as it will help Boards continuously improve their governance, decision-making, and achievement of their goals. Despite the economic uncertainties in 2021-22, CABE has continued to ensure its financial and human resources are consistent with the needs of our members.

Your Association’s work in 202122 is summarized below.

ADVOCACY Supporting School Boards at the Legislature, State Board, and Congress

CABE’s positions on a broad range of local, state and federal issues are adopted each year at the Delegate Assembly. The State Relations Committee then develops CABE’s Legislative Priorities, and Board Members and Staff implement the advocacy agenda.

CABE was involved in discussions with legislative leaders and the Governor’s office, and partnered with many other organizations to promote public education. CABE advocacy work this year included: • CABE staff participated in breakfast

meetings with legislators throughout the state where board members illustrated the local impact of issues to be debated in the General Assembly.

• As we do annually, CABE went about its work in advocating and testifying on legislation. CABE tracked approximately 65 bills and testified or offered testimony on many of those bills. CABE’s school board leaders were supported by staff in delivering testimony in the virtual environment.

• In addition to weekly Advocacy Highlights, CABE provided legislative updates for board members at key points in the session.

• On March 10, CABE held its Day on the Hill and heard from the education committee leadership. Board member’s questions and comments helped legislators in crafting bills for final committee consideration.

• CABE was involved in State Department of Education briefings along with other educational partners on the changes in educating students.

As Executive Orders and state guidance were being drafted by the State Department of Education and the Governor’s office, CABE was sought out to assist, and did influence the orders with the understanding of local needs. The balance of one size does not fit all as it weighs with creating a uniform solution was a constant consideration.

Federal Relations Program

At the federal level, CABE lobbied the Congressional delegation on bridging the digital divide in learning and the need for technology resources and accessibility; on full funding for IDEA on recruiting, retaining, and

securing diverse educators, and school infrastructure. With information from their local districts and input from the National School Boards Association (NSBA), members also lead conversations on creating a healthy and safe environment; issues promoting educational equity and policies that enhance the well-being of all students and fighting for public education investments to better prepare students with 21st Century life skills.

LEGAL & LABOR RELATIONS CABE’s Legal and Labor Relations Department provides board members, superintendents, and superintendents’ administrative professionals with information on a wide variety of legal issues and offers labor relations-related services. Staff respond to requests for legal information, present at workshops, conferences, board meetings, and collect data on collective bargaining and superintendent contracts.

2021-22 again offered a myriad of opportunities for CABE attorneys and support staff to work with boards of education and superintendents in support of their commitment to the success of all students. Requests for advice and information arriving shortly before a board of education meeting received a quick response by phone or email. Legal and labor related questions were addressed in the Board Chair Check-Ins and Updates.

Requests for Legal Information

Staff responded to a variety of questions from board members, superintendents, and superintendents’ administrative professionals. These questions sought information for

issues that involved district policies and bylaws, state and federal law, new legislation, town charters, contracts, and Robert’s Rules, among others.

The topics of these questions are wide-ranging, and department staff is always eager to assist districts by providing detailed, but practical, information for a district’s particular issue. The most frequent topic is that of compliance with Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Specifically, questions related to board meeting requirements, including questions regarding agendas, quorums, minutes, voting, motions, “non-meetings,” and executive sessions.

Over the past year, many questions pursuant to the FOIA have been specific to fully-remote and hybrid board meetings, and information was frequently requested that fell under the rules of Public Acts 21-2 and 22-3, the recent laws regarding remote meetings.

Questions were received on a variety of additional topics with which districts were grappling. These included: • the limits of board of education and superintendent authority, • board member conduct, • re-employment of retired teachers, • leave for teachers, • homeschooled students and sports, • adult education courses, • religious holidays, • board members as adjudicators, • the permissibility of remote learning, • ESSER funds, • teacher lunch breaks, • the relationship between boards of education and local govern-

THE JOURNAL — Connecticut Association of Boards of Education — SPECIAL SECTION: 2

Our Mission:

To assist local and regional boards of education in providing high quality education for all Connecticut children through effective leadership.

mental entities, • superintendent contract provisions, and • board member conflicts of interest.

Staff was frequently called upon by the media, including Channels 3, 8, 61, WTIC-AM, WNPR, the Hartford Courant, New London Day, Meriden Record Journal, New Haven Register, and CT Mirror to address legal issues.

Workshops and Presentations

CABE’s attorneys made presentations at state and national conferences, including the National School Boards Association (NSBA).

Additionally, legal staff delivered numerous in-district programs, addressing topics such as board governance, Freedom of Information Act requirements, school governance council roles, special education, legal issues, and legislative issues. We also facilitated board retreats and self-evaluations.

CABE attorneys are central in hosting the annual business meeting and the mid-year meeting of the Connecticut School Attorneys Council.

We also organized and presented at CABE’s annual Legal Issues and Collective Bargaining Workshops.

Department staff also presented at board of education meetings at the request of districts, on the topics of the FOIA, orientation of new board members, the First Amendment, and school governance councils.

Lastly, department staff presented at a variety of CABE-hosted events and webinars, including: Conducting a Board of Education Organizational Meeting, Board Meeting Fundamen-

tals, New Board Member Orientation and Leadership Conference, Legislative Update, and two workshops for Superintendents’ Administrative Professionals.

Collective Bargaining and Superintendent Contract Data Collection Efforts to collect contract data for certified and non-certified staff as well as superintendents continue.

Department staff collect two types of data throughout the year, information on collectively bargained contracts and superintendent contracts.

This information is then released to any member district who so requests it. This year, the superintendent contract data was requested more frequently than the collective bargaining data.

The superintendent contract data consists of salary, annuity, and any additional compensation details. The data can be organized by DRG, as it is useful for members to see salaries of superintendents in districts within the same socio-economic category.

Department staff also collect collectively bargained contract information for teachers and administrators.

The information consists of several data points, including step increases, increments, health insurance, and other details that were bargained-for during negotiations.

POLICY Recognizing that the core of the work of the board is rooted in policy, CABE continued to offer a number of policy-oriented services, as well

as respond to individual requests in 2021-22.

Policy Highlights

Twenty-seven issues of the email newsletter, Policy Highlights, were distributed bi-weekly to board members and superintendents, highlighting current educational topics with policy implications. The focus remained on issues pertaining to student achievement, especially as impacted by pandemic-related issues. This represented the twenty-first year of this newsletter.

Customized Policy Service

Twenty-seven districts were under contract for Customized Policy Service for the review and development of new district policy manuals or updates to selected portions of the manual.

CABE policy staff provided individual support to help districts adopt an updated manual.

Policy Update Service

One-hundred and one districts subscribed to the Policy Update Service publication. Subscribing districts received four mailings, hard copy and digitally, which reflected timely policy issues, including the need for new and/ or revised policy topics based upon legislative action, judicial rulings or contemporary policy issues, especially in the areas of: • c hallenging curriculum, • g ifted and talented students, •F AFSA completion rates, •m inority teacher retention, • a ge discrimination, • t herapy dogs, • t eaching controversial issues,

• children’s mental health, and • remote meetings.

The CABE Policy Reference Core Manual, the Core Manual, containing approximately 450 sample policies and regulations, was continuously revised throughout the year. Moreover, new policy topics were added. It is easily “searchable” and remains accessible for CABE members on the CABE website in a multi-searchable user-friendly format.

Policy Audit Service

Two districts had audits completed of their existing policy manuals. This service provides the district with a report on the strengths and weaknesses of their existing manual with recommendations of how to correct manual deficiencies.

Custom Policy Update Service

Sixteen districts subscribed to the Custom Policy Update Service. In this service, CABE assumes the responsibility for updating the district’s existing policy manual. Major focus was placed on providing needed policies, administrative regulations and information. Among the topics included were: • non-lapsing education fund, • minority recruitment, • drug and alcohol-free workplace, • health assessments/immunizations, • curriculum, • FAFSA completion program, • non-discrimination, • flag display, • controversial issues, • therapy dogs, • opioid overdose prevention, • indoor air quality,

THE JOURNAL — Connecticut Association of Boards of Education — SPECIAL SECTION: 3 • truancy, • school calendar, • school resource officer, • grade weighting, and • reporting of child abuse.

Connecticut Online Policy Service (C.O.P.S.)

Forty-nine districts subscribe to the Connecticut Online Policy Service (C.O.P.S.). Manuals, which are kept current by CABE, are ADA compliant, easily accessible, and searchable online.

Translation to a number of languages is available.

Policy Requests and/or Samples

Approximately 620 requests for policy information and/or sample policies from member districts were addressed, usually on the same day the request was received. The website-based Core Policy Manual continues to receive a great number of “hits” for sample policies in addition to the district manuals that have been placed online through the CABE Connecticut Online Policy Service (C.O.P.S.).

Approximately seventy-three new or revised policies were made a part of the policy resource files, including policies regarding: • Challenging Curriculum, • Advanced Courses or Programs, • Eligibility Criteria for Enrollment, • Therapy Dogs, • Controversial Issues, • Armed Security Guards, • School Calendar, • Opioid Overdose, • Indoor Air Quality, • Remote/Online Courses, and • FAFSA Completion Program.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Because professional development is key to fostering the continued growth of strong Board/Superintendent Governance Teams and increased student achievement, CABE continued to provide a variety of professional development opportunities in a number of ways in order to best meet the needs of our members. We provide professional development through:

In-Person Professional Development

In August 2021, CABE provided its 11th Annual Summer Leadership Conference, our first in-person program since March of 2020. A number of mitigation strategies were in place to provide a safe and comfortable environment.

We continued to offer in-person

opportunities on a myriad of topics, not only for the formal learning that takes place, but also for the muchmissed networking opportunities that allow for additional learning. Among the programs that CABE continues to provide is the bi-annual meetings of superintendents’ administrative professionals, legal issues, collective bargaining, and summer leadership.

CABE staff continued to meet with individual boards to facilitate customized workshops including roles and responsibilities, superintendent search process, goal setting, FOI, legislative updates, and full-day board retreats.

As we move out of the COVID-19 crisis, we are busy assisting boards to refocus on being more goal and policy oriented.

CABE/CAPSS Convention

Lighthouse Project

After a hiatus in 2020 due to COVID-19, the annual CABE/CAPSS Convention resumed in November 2021. As we welcomed our members back to the world of larger scale in-person professional development, the Convention Committee decided that out of an abundance of caution the 2021Convention would be one day (rather than a day and a half) and registration would be capped. Additionally, a suite of mitigation strategies were in place to create a safe and comfortable environment.

We were pleased to kick off the 2021 Convention with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona providing the morning keynote session. A number of breakout sessions on timely topics were also provided.

Webinars

In an effort to keep board members up-to-date on a number of topics, CABE continued to provide webinars, and when appropriate, record them and archive them on our website for on-demand viewing. Archived webinars can be accessed on the CABE website at https://www.cabe.org/ professional-development/cabes-webinar-on-demand-library.

Listservs

The Board Chair listserv has been a vital link to keep board chairs informed and to enable them to communicate with one other and CABE staff. Chairs have been kept up-to-date about COVID-19-related topics such as mask wearing, meetings in public vs. remote, and guidance regarding the Governor’s Executive Orders and SDE guidance. Additional topics of discussion included special education, budget processes, and budget development.

We also continued to provide a listserv for Alliance District board chairs to provide a platform for them to share information specific to their needs. Additionally, we continue to provide a frequently used listserv for superintendents’ administrative professionals.

Individual Board Workshops

CABE continued to work with the Connecticut State Department of Education to prepare the next generation of Lighthouse training. Through Lighthouse, CABE has helped a number of districts improve student achievement through more effective board leadership. Our Lighthouse trainers have worked with eight other states and over 20 Connecticut school districts.

CABE SEARCH SERVICES Hiring and evaluating the superintendent is the board’s most important responsibility. CABE Search Services is available to assist boards with this process.

As part of CABE’s ongoing effort to provide local boards of education with the resources they need to carry out their most important responsibilities, we continue to strengthen our Search Services program. As either former superintendents or board members, our search consultants are uniquely qualified to assist boards in recruiting and retaining key personnel such as superintendents, principals and other critical members of your district staff.

This year CABE Search Services conducted and completed four successful searches which include Superintendent of Schools for Bozrah (part-time), Sterling (parttime), Hamden, and Region 1 (Assistant Superintendent).

COMMUNICATIONS We want to hear from our members! In order to facilitate two-way communication, CABE periodically shares surveys to assess member feelings on various services, programs, and the impact of potential legislation at the local level. Additionally, we host Legislative Breakfasts which are an opportunity to make legislators and CABE staff aware of your concerns.

We can best meet member needs when we hear from you.

In an effort to share the most upto-date information with members, CABE continues to share a number

of regular email blasts including the weekly What’s Going on at CABE?, Policy Highlights, and Advocacy Highlights emails.

CABE’s cornerstone publication, The CABE Journal, continued to be printed and distributed six times a year, while all eleven issues were distributed digitally.

CABE continued to work to strengthen a positive perspective of the public, the media and legislators on the essential nature and work of School Boards, as well as broaden the knowledge of the responsibilities of Boards of Education across the State.

This was done through media interviews, our advocacy efforts, and communications campaigns such as Board Member Appreciation month and I Support My CT Public Schools.

ADMINISTRATION Unemployment Cost Control

Our Unemployment Cost Control Program membership totaled 21 districts in 2021-22. This program, which is administered by Corporate Cost Control, offers consultation, claims processing and full administration of all unemployment compensation claims for a district.

Business Travel Insurance

CABE contracts to provide Business Travel Insurance to all school board members whose boards are CABE members. This policy provides $25,000 of Accidental Death coverage and is free of charge to CABE members. Coverage is for any school board member traveling on school board business.

Looking Ahead

As 2021-22 came to an end, longtime CABE Executive Director Robert Rader retired. He successfully led the Association for 26 years, leaving CABE in a better place than when he found it. His belief in public education and support of boards of education never faded. We wish Bob a well-deserved happy and healthy retirement!

2022-23 starts a new chapter for CABE as CABE’s former Deputy Director and General Counsel Patrice McCarthy now assumes the leadership as Executive Director and General Counsel. Our members can continue to count on CABE to provide the quality services they depend on, as well as additional ways we can provide assistance in today’s ever-changing world.

CABE’s future continues to be bright!

We look forward to continuing to serve our members in 2022-23!

THE JOURNAL — Connecticut Association of Boards of Education — SPECIAL SECTION: 4

2022-2023 CABE Staff Administration

Patrice McCarthy

Executive Director and General Counsel pmccarthy@cabe.org

Teresa Costa Coordinator of Finance and Administration tcosta@cabe.org

2022-2023 CABE Board of Directors Executive Committee

Corliss Ucci

Receptionist/ Assistant to the Executive Director

cucci@cabe.org

Government Relations

President

Elizabeth Brown Waterbury H: 203-754-7136 C: 203-560-7028 E: ebrown@waterbury.k12.ct.us

First Vice President

Leonard Lockhart Windsor C: 860-243-2155 E: llockhart@windsorct.org

Vice President for Government Relations

Meg Scata Portland C: 860-638-8762 E: megscata@gmail. com

Area Directors Sheila McKay Senior Staff Associate for Government Relations smckay@cabe.org

Gail Heath Administrative Associate for Government Relations gheath@cabe.org

Area 1

Marion Manzo Region 15 H: 203-405-1528 C: 203-437-2861 E: mmanzo@ region15.org

Lon Seidman Essex H: 860-577-0566 E: lseidman@reg4.

K12.ct.us

Immediate Past President

Donald Harris Bloomfield H: 860-243-3611 B: 860-878-1403 E: dharris@blmfld. org

Member at Large

Christopher Wilson Bristol H: 860-582-5002 C: 860-681-8274 E: cwilson@cvmco.com

NSBA Director

Area 2

Douglas Foyle Glastonbury C: 860-306-0602 E: foyled@glastonburyus.org

Area 2

Area 3

Area 4

Area 5:

Dan Cruson Newtown C: 203-240-4904 E: crusond_boe@ newtown.k12. ct.us

Lydia Tedone Simsbury H: 860-658-1173 C: 860-543-1523 E: lydiatedone@aol. com

Area 7

Area 7

Area 8

Area 9

Area 9

Robert Mitchell Montville H: 860-447-8882 B: 860-443-7441 E: rrmitch01gmail. com

Ann Gruenberg Hampton H: 860-455-1211 C: 860-465-7486 E: agruenberg1211@ charter.net

Joseph Wilkerson Bloomfield C: 860-707-3999 E: josephwilkerson@uconn.edu

Bridgeport John Weldon C: 203-726-1639 E: jweldon@bridgeporteda.net

Hartford A. J. Johnson C: 860-695-8000 E: aj.johnson@ hartfordschools. org

Tyron Harris East Hartford C: 860-833-8130 E: harris.tv@easthartford.org

Vacant

Jay Livernois Woodstock Academy C: 860-207-7135 E: jaylivernois@ hotmail.com

Terry DeMars Administrative Associate for Policy Services tdemars@cabe.org

Labor Relations

Area 6

Janice Cupee Stratford C: 203-212-8374 E: cupeej.boe@ stratk12.org

Area 6

Lee Goldstein Westport C: 203-561-6759 E: lgoldstein@ westportps.org

George Kurtyka Derby H: 203-732-4673 E: kurtyka@sbcglobal.net

Associate Directors Wilmarie Newton Administrative Associate for Digital Communications wnewton@cabe.org

John Prins Branford H: 203-481-6279 C: 203-623-6191 E: jrprins@gmail. com

Secretary/ Treasurer

Photo Unavailable

Policy Service

Pamela Brooks Senior Administrative Associate for Policy Services/Search Services pbrooks@cabe.org

Vice President for Professional Development

Robert Guthrie West Haven H: 203-934-7565 C: 203-996-2382 E: rjgwh911@yahoo. com

Lon Seidman Essex H: 860-577-0566 E: lseidman@reg4.

K12.ct.us

Carol Burgess Montville H: 860-303-7267 E: cburgess@montvilleschools.org

Bryan Doughty New London C: 860-287-0909 E: doughtyb@ newlondon.org

Conrad Vahlsing Staff Attorney cvahlsing@cabe.org

Membership Services Anthony Perugini Cheshire C: 203-229-7792 E: aperugini@ cheshire.k12. ct.us Lisa Steimer Senior Staff Associate for Professional Development and Communications lsteimer@cabe.org

Nicholas Caruso Senior Staff Associate for Field Services and Coordinator of Technology ncaruso@cabe.org

Nancy Propfe Administrative Assistant for Membership Services npropfe@cabe.org

“Don’t wait for someone else to take the lead — we need every board member to be involved. . .”

Eileen Baker Old Saybrook H: 860-388-2761 E: ebaker@snet.net

City Representatives

Committee Chairs

Resolutions Chair

Ethel Grant Naugatuck H: 203-723-2429 E: ethel.grant@ naugatuck.k12. ct.us

Federal Relations Chair

Becky Tyrrell Plainville H: 860-793-0615 E: becka59@ comcast.net

State Relations Chair

Christopher Wilson Bristol H: 860-582-5002 C: 860-681-8274 E: cwilson@cvmco. com

New Haven Yesenia Rivera C: 203-989-0774 E: yesenia.rivera@ new-haven.k12. ct.us

Stamford Andy George C: 203-322-3511 E: ageorge@stamfordct.gov