In a surprise move to some of his colleagues last Thursday evening, John Lambert, chairman of the North Haven Board of Education, addressed the audience just prior to the public comment section of the meeting, and announced his plans to resign from the board.

After expressing sincere appreciation and gratitude to two members who were attending their final board meeting – Gerald Feinberg and Debbie Volain – he announced that he would soon meet with the town’s newly elected First Selectman, Michael Freda, to discuss his decision to resign his position on the board. Stating that he only had two years remaining in his present term, he said, “an election can bring clarity,” and said that he believed that the timing was right because the makeup of the new board would be such that they would “get along well.”

Lambert added that he had spoken about his plan to Superintendent Sara Querfeld, and thanked several people who had encouraged him to serve over the years, including many of the individuals with whom he had worked since joining the board in March of 1985. As to a question from the audience regarding his denying the voters an opportunity to choose his successor, he reiterated his comment about an election bringing clarity, while indicating that it was the right of any elected official to determine his/her length of service.

Budget season looms

In regard to the board’s budget, Stephen DiCapua reported that it is on schedule, but indicated that his committee learned this week that the reimbursement rate from the state for children placed outside the district has been lowered. Such placements are typically made due to serious handicapping conditions determined to be beyond the expertise of school personnel.

Rather than being able to count on up to 100 percent reimbursement as expected in the past, the state will now only repay up to 77 percent, a shortfall which will run somewhere between $250,000 and $400,000. DiCapua stated that his committee “will come up with a strategy in the next month or so” to deal with the problem. Ed Gomeau, the district’s director of business and operations, said that unfortunately the Board of Finance had not covered the possibility of an increase in the cost of outside placements when putting the town’s budget together.

New courses approved

Four new elective courses for high school students were approved by the board after some reluctance to do so by one member, Dr. James Hogan. Hogan questioned the actual need and the reasoning behind two of the proposed courses. “Chinese III” was justified by the superintendent because “colleges require three years of a foreign language,” she said. A course called “Nature and Literature” was justified because of its impressive reading list, according to the board chairman. However, Hogan questioned the need for the two courses entitled, “Women’s Literature” and “Sports Management.” Assistant Superintendent Pat Brozek said that the first was seen as “strongly supported by the English Department,” and “piggybacks on a history course” already in place. Querfeld stated that a class called “Women’s Studies” has been offered for years, and then described the sports related class as “a career path” which was requested by students.

Querfeld also referenced a partnership with Gateway Community College which provides up to 14 college credits and may include some of the high school electives offered. In conclusion, she emphasized that there must be a solid enrollment for a course to be taught. Hogan seemed to relent, but repeated his concerns about a need for justification of new courses and who should make the decision on what is taught.

H1N1 in the district

Querfeld noted training by the state on cleaning methods for custodial staff held on Nov. 10, especially in regard to the H1N1 flu. She praised the custodians for their outstanding work in cleaning the school facilities since the outbreak of swine flu last spring, including new attempts at using green methods, attention to personal health impacted by their cleaning efforts, and their close adherence to the federal “Tools for Schools” program designed for the improvement of air quality in the schools.

Hogan brought up the administration’s intention to close a school if the absenteeism is high. Querfeld responded that the figures are monitored daily and that absenteeism has run four to five percent, but has been as high as 10 percent. Querfeld said that she works closely with the Fire Chief Vincent Landisio, who is the Emergency Management Director for the town, and asked his opinion since he was present at the meeting. He agreed with her statements saying, “You said it best.”

After looking at decisions made to cancel classes in other towns, several social gatherings at the schools have been cancelled since they are seen as an easy way to spread the disease. Querfeld also praised the school nurses who she said did a tremendous job in prioritizing students in need of the inoculations which began that day.

Hogan’s specific concern was related to the very high number of deaths from the swine flu, much higher than most were aware. He stated that there have been 16,000 deaths in Connecticut and about 100,000 deaths across the country due to H1N1. Indicating that the extent of the disease in the future remains unknown, his final remark was, “Let’s see what happens.”

One percent for superintendent

The board then went into an executive session, listed on the agenda as being an annual evaluation of the superintendent. Upon conclusion of the private session, the board resumed its open meeting. With the absence of two of its members, the board voted unanimously that Querfeld “exceeded expectations” on her annual evaluation and granted her a one percent increase in salary for the coming school year, a similar percentage granted to teachers upon the conclusion of their recently negotiated settlement.