[Addendum: We did not have available the total number of voters who voted in the Republican and Democratic primaries when we published this report. We have now added those numbers to the report, i.e. 370 Democratic voters and 449 Republican voters voted in Tuesday's primary elections; 7:30 a.m., Thursday, August 12 ]

By: Maria Moore

Following are the primary results for New Hartford which we obtained from Daria Hart, the Democratic Registrar of Voters at 10:52 p.m. yesterday evening, Tuesday, August 10. The results show votes cast in the Republican and the Democratic primaries held in both districts, i.e. District 1 for residents who vote at Town Hall in New Hartford Center and District 2 for residents who vote at the South End Fire House in Bakerville.

Democratic Primary Results for New Hartford

Numbers of New Hartford Voters in Democratic Primary:

Out of the town’s 1,247 registered Democratic voters, 370 of them voted in their party’s primary elections.

A total of 1,412 votes were cast by the registered Democratic voters in the Democratic primary election in New Hartford. Of that total, 701 votes were cast at the District 1 polling place at the New Hartford Town Hall and 711 votes were cast at the District 2 polling place at the South End Fire House in Bakerville.

Republican Primary Results for New Hartford

Numbers of New Hartford Voters in Republican Primary:

Out of the town’s 1,269 registered Republican voters, 449 of them voted in their party’s primary elections.

A total of 2,148 votes were cast by registered Republican voters in the Republican primary election in New Hartford. Of that total, 945 votes were cast at the District 1 polling place at the New Hartford Town Hall and 1,203 votes were cast at the District 2 polling place at the South End Fire House in Bakerville.

Comparison of New Hartford Results With State-Wide Results

New Hartford Republican and Democratic voters were mostly in sync with their fellow party voters in the rest of the state in the candidates they chose for each of the disputed offices within their party. Following are the winning candidates for each of the offices, both for New Hartford voters and also state-wide:

Republican Primary

• Governor:
  • New Hartford: Tom Foley
  • State-wide Winner: Tom Foley
• Lieutenant Governor:
  • New Hartford: Lisa Wilson-Foley
  • State-wide Winner: Mark Boughton
• United States Senator:
  • New Hartford: Linda McMahon
  • State-wide Winner: Linda McMahon
• Representative in Congress, 1st Congressional District (includes New Hartford):
  • New Hartford: Ann Brickley
  • State-wide Winner: Ann Brickley
• Attorney General:
  • New Hartford: Martha Dean
  • State-wide Winner: Martha Dean

Democratic Primary:

• Governor:
  • New Hartford: Dan Malloy
  • Sate-wide Winner: Dan Malloy
• Lieutenant Governor:
  • New Hartfod: Nancy Wyman
  • State-wide Winner: Nancy Wyman
• Secretary of State:
  • New Hartford: Denise Merrill
  • State-wide Winner: Denise Merrill
• Comptroller:
  • New Hartford: Kevin Lembo
  • State-wide Winner: Kevin Lembo

The state-wide winning candidates for each office will be the ones that will run in the November elections against other political parties’ candidates. We’ll be hearing a lot more from them in the intervening time.

To see the complete primary results in Connecticut please visit the Connecticut ~ Summary Vote Results section of the Hartford Courant.

To see the primary election results broken down by town please visit the Live Election Results By Town section of the Register Citizen. (The link to this article now only leads to the main page of that paper’s website]

Many Thanks: To Daria Hart, Democratic Registrar of Voters for emailing us the New Hartford Primary Results so that we might share them with our fellow residents.

By: Maria Moore

The following report is of the New Hartford Schools Board of Ed Meeting held on Tuesday, June 1. The complete agenda for the meeting is included at the end of this article. Please let us know if you believe there are factual errors in the report or if you believe you have been misquoted and we will make those changes we consider appropriate. As always, please be sure to read the official minutes of NH Schools Board of Ed Meetings which are posted in the Past Minutes/Meetings area of the Board of Ed section of the New Hartford Schools website. The BOE meeting minutes are generally available within a week of the meeting, the NewHartfordPlus Crew.

The New Hartford Board of Ed met last Tuesday evening, June 1 and among the items discussed were the following:

Item I: Old Business

1. Region 7 Response: Sue Lundin, the BOE Chair said that she had spoken with the Chairwoman of the Regional #7 BOE, Molly Sexton Read, about the proposal by New Hartford Schools’ BOE to share a superintendent with Regional #7. Sue said that the matter will be added to the agenda of the next Regional Board of Ed meeting to be held tomorrow, Wednesday, June 9. Sue said she would be attending that Regional meeting, and Steve Tuxbury and Bryan Keilty each said they would also try to attend the meeting.

Dr. Philip O’Reilly, Superintendent of New Hartford Schools spoke briefly of the last meeting of the area superintendents whose students attend Regional #7.  Philip said there was interest expressed by the superintendents in sharing services with Regional #7. Philip also said that either the Regional #7 Board of Ed or two of the Regional #7 member towns’ BOEs would have to vote to begin looking at regionalization of  services. He said that Colebrook especially was very interested in the idea.

C. Superintendent’s Report

Both the following items were moved from D. Building Report to C. Superintendent’s Report.

2. 2010-2011 Teacher Assignments: Because of the loss of four teaching positions next year, Philip said that the teaching assignments of 10 teachers had been changed. The teachers and their new assignments are as follows:

In Bakerville School:

• Christine Sullivan: From grade 1 to grade 2;

Antolini School:

• Manny Tancreti: from (Bakerville) grade 2 to grade 3
• Joyce Hinman: from (Antolini) grade 3 to (New Hartford) grade 2
• Monika Kulikowski: from (Bakerville) grade 2 to grade 3
• Kathleen Tancreti: from Kindergarten to Grade 4
• Karin Jones: from grade 3 to grade 4
• Donna Magnotta: from grade 2 to grade 5
• Andrea Gordon: from grade 5 to grade 6
• Karen Casey: from grade 3 to grade 5

Special Ed:

• Bridget Seyer: from grade 4 to Special Ed.

Misc.: Students Reassigned From Bakerville To New Hartford Elementary

Philip also mentioned that 14 students (later confirmed as 15 students by the Superintendent’s Office) were being reassigned from the Bakerville School to New Hartford Elementary due to the uneven number of students in the two schools and the slots available at the schools.  Students’ families were being contacted by Steve Nadeau, Principal of both Bakerville and New Hartford Elementary and Philip said he expected that, for the most part, parents would be understanding about the reassignment.

G. Curriculum

1.  Language Arts (Region 7): Amanda Shaw and Roxanne Pangallo presented a draft of the K-6 Language Arts curriculum that they’ve worked on over the past year together with other teachers in the other elementary schools in the Regional 7 school district.  They said that the draft curriculum will be implemented at all the schools this coming school year and, based on the input from teachers, it will be revised and finalized for the following year.   The curriculum will also be shared with the Middle School at Regional #7 to help ensure a smooth transition for students going into grade 7 at Regional, they said.

Amanda and Roxanne were commended for their work on what Philip termed “a Herculean task.” He said the two had been sent to special training which had helped them lead the regional work done on the curriculum.

Steve Tuxbury made a motion to approve the draft copy of the curriculum without waiting to see the final copy next year as a show of support of the work that was done.  Steve said it had been a long time in coming and he was pleased by it.   Elaine Carmelich seconded the motion, saying the draft was “a great job.”  The Board unanimously approved the new language arts curriculum.

_______________

Board of Education Meeting
New Hartford Town Hall
7:00 PM on Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Agenda
A. Chair to Open Meeting

B. Chair to Select Order of Business

C. Superintendent’s Report

D. Building Report
1. Special Education-Annual Performance Report
2. 2010-2011 Teacher Assignments
E. Routine Business
1. Approval of Minutes -May 18, 2010
2. Personnel Report
3. Expenditure/Projection Report

F. Opportunity for Public Comment

G. Curriculum
1. Language Arts (Region 7)

H. New Business
1.
2.

I. Old Business
1. Region 7 Response
2. Policy Revision (Second Reading)
5145 Bullying (Shipman & Goodwin Version)
5145 Section 504 (to replace 3511a & 5145abc…)
4112.5 Security Check/Fingerprinting
4121 Substitute Teachers
4122 Student Teachers
4131 Professional Development
3. Superintendent’s Evaluation (Executive Session Anticipated)

J. Reports
1. Ad Hoc Building Committee (Bakerville)

K. Communications to the Board of Education

L. Adjournment

New Hartford Schools 2010-2011 Calendar, Rev. 6/10

Yesterday, June 7, we received a revised copy of the New Hartford Schools 2010-2011 School Calendar from Janet Condon, the Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent of Schools.

To download a copy of this revised 2010-2011 school calendar, please click on the following link: New Hartford Schools 2010-11 Approved School Calendar, rev. 6/10 (76)

A school bus headed up Route 44 towards Regional #7. Photo: Maria Moore

For all the best reasons in the world ~ or the worst, depending on which side of the table you’re sitting on ~ our reporter has fallen behind on writing up reports of meetings she has attended. She has now been instructed to catch up through a series of meeting briefs over the next several days, which she will attempt to do. As always, please be sure to read the official minutes of meetings which are posted in the Minutes/Agendas section of the town’s municipal website when they become available.

_______________

At its May 11 meeting, the main business of the Board of Finance (BOF) members was handled at the end, when, under item ‘VIII. Other Items to Come Before the Board,’ they set the mill rate for the upcoming fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2010. Before that, some of the other items discussed were:

Agenda Item #I. Superintendent’s Report Dr. Philip O’Reilly, Superintendent of New Hartford Schools, reported to the BOF on the items contained in our May 8 report …BOE Looks To Next Year….

Those items included reinstating positions that had been cut due to savings the schools had been able to realize partly through two retirements of veteran teachers and by signing a new 5-year contract with Dattco, the bus company. Philip also reported on the boiler replacement at Antolini which was also expected to cost less than had been previously projected. BOF questions were centered on whether the schools had enough money to cover the personal day/sick day buyouts which Philip said they did, and on details of the boiler installation.

Agenda Items #V: Opportunity for Public to Speak; and VI.WPCA Update

Noting that no representative from the WPCA was at the meeting to give an update, Denton Butler, BOC (Building Oversight Committee) member expressed his strong concern about the way the WPCA was operating which, he said, “was not proceeding in a manner and at a speed to benefit the town of New Hartford.”  Saying that the wastewater treatment plant would reach substantial completion by the end of June, Denton laid out a number of his concerns to the BOF members, including:

• there was still no quotation for an operator for the plant;
• reporting to the DEP was still deficient and without that reporting the DEP will not release any money;
• funding opportunities for sewer extensions would expire in July and the WPCA has not pursued that funding;
• and that user fees can’t exceed 2% of residents’ median income, limiting the amount that can be raised from users which may then come back on non-users.

Ben Witte, BOF chairman informed the other members of the Board of Finance that Bill Michaud of the WPCA had emailed him to let him know that he wouldn’t be able to make the meeting.  Ben then said: “There seems to be conflict between the WPCA and the BOC. Any time they have brought up issues here the conflict seems to subside and then rise again.” Jim Fitzgerald commented: “It’s a business, and they need to run it as such. We have asked for a 5-year projection and we still don’t have that.” Jim ended by saying he “would have the Board (WPCA) step up or resign and elect someone else who’ll do it.” Dan Jerram, First Selectman added his viewpoint: “I can’t contest what Denton has said. It’s not like any other enterprise ~ it’s a “fee for service” enterprise. The ability to meet deadlines is becoming a greater and greater concern. The request for proposal for operator ~ they kicked it to a consultant and paid $8,000 to do it. They could have done that last year.”

After more discussion Ben suggested putting together a subcommittee to address the matter, but Dan Jerram said he wasn’t sure if he could do that. He said the selectmen could put it on their agenda. Jim proceeded to give more input but Ben responded: “Let the selectmen have a try at it.” And he told Jim to go to the Board of Selectmen if he had any more input. “Ben’s last words on the matter: “I’m just frustrated we keep talking about it!”

As his final Public Comment, Denton said: “I urge you not to increase taxes but draw down reserves to cover any increase in taxes.” Our reporter seconded that request.

Agenda Item #VII, Reports

Treasurer’s Report: Gordon Ross, town Treasurer reported that the town had received the ECS (Education Cost Sharing) money from the state, and that the town’s tax collection rate was 98%, which he said was good.

First Selectman’s Report: Dan Jerram reported that there had been a low turnout for the budget referendum but that it had passed the first time. On the line item transfers, he said Chip (Roraback, the town’s attorney) was considering his position about the line item transfers. Asked about the washout, Dan said that the Inland Wetlands (Commission) has revised it (the plan) a bit and that a second soil scientist was looking at it (the washout area).

Laura Sundquist brought up the fact that the town has two polling stations and that, in talking to Daria and Lila (the town’s Registrars of Voters) they don’t want two. Reggie Smith Jr. said he likes his polling station exactly where it is (Reggie votes in the South End Firehouse); Jim Fitzgerald said there should be only one and that it should be in Bakerville, which has the greater population. Gordon Ross said that in Canton they had passed their budget at a town meeting. Both Dan Jerram and Ben Witte were of the opinion that they had a bigger turnout (with a referendum) compared to a town meeting. Reggie, thinking back to his time as First Selectman in the early 90s with a very active Taxpayers’ Association said: ” I have seen 20 people (at a town meeting) or 500 ready to lynch you!”

Agenda Item #VIII. Other Items to Come Before the Board

The Board of Finance members then discussed setting the mill rate which Ben said they had to do at that meeting in order to get the tax notice out to the taxpayers. Without a copy of the mil rate calculation sheet ~ there were just enough copies for the Board of Finance members ~ and without other visual aids, our reporter had a difficult time following the technical part of the mil rate discussion. The final outcome of the discussion is as follows, as emailed to our reporter by Ben Witte on May 12 in his correction to the figures she had incorrectly reported in our May 12 Grapevine:

“The tax increase is 0.42% (not 0.1%). The mill rate is 0.10 mils increase. This is identical to what was presented at the budget hearing (0.33% tax incr, 0.08 mils & 96% collections), with a slight change to the grand list based on BAA (Board of Assessment Appeals) appeals settlements subsequent to the hearing.”

Following is some of the discussion surrounding the setting of the mill rate.

Ben asked the question: “What do we want to set for the mill rate and for the collection rate?” And then he went around the table getting each BOF member’s response:

• Roy Litchfield: Roy said: “”I’d like to go to zero and would like to see us discuss zero increase in the mill rate. we can do that by adjusting mill rate, and have the opportunity to finance any shortfall shoul it materialize. I really think we started at zero, came close, can keep it at zero.”
• Reggie Smith, Jr.: Reggie asked if anyone had a list of the collection rate over the last 5 years and Ben answered: “The collection rate has been over 98%. We can do anything we like with it.” Ben then cautioned that there was a tight collection rate coming up, that they hadn’t adjusted for appeals.   Reggie asked about moving money from the surplus fund.  ”We can’t move money from surplus after the budget is passed, correct?” Ben agreed, saying the only thing they can change is the collection rate.  Reggie said that they had told voters they would take an additional $30,000 (out of the surplus?) to get to zero.  Ben calculated what the collection rate would have to be to get to zero, and he came up with 96.4.  He said: “If we go at 96, we can put that as a hedge for next year.”  Reggie’s final word: “I’m very concerned about the revenue from the state. I support support 96.4%.”
• Laura Sundquist: ”I admire going for 0%. We’ve passed it and I would rather keep it for insurance for next year.”
• Alesia Kennerson: Alesia agreed with Laura, supporting a 96% collection rate.  ”I accept the figures as on the sheet (mill rate calculation sheet), and keep it as insurance for next year.”
• Jim Fitzgerald said: “(The difference is) so small, and based on what we said, stick with it.”
• Gordon Ross said: “Nobody would really notice it.”
• Ben said: “We will want to budget 97% for next year.   I recommend (we) take 96 and go with that.”
• Dan Jerram said: “It wouldn’t bother me either way.”
• Jim Fitzgerald asked what the collection rate had been over the last two years and Gordon answered: “98.6% Annie (Witte, the town Bookkeeper) told me today.”

Ben then proposed a motion based on a collection rate of 96%.   However, before it could be voted on, Denton Butler asked to speak and in a very forceful tone of voice, he asked whether they had considered how it would be interpreted by their constituents, when they came in with an increase?  ”The last time the collection rate has been at 96% was in ‘91-’92.”  He pointed out.     “The bigger issue is if you have the fortitute to stand your ground.” Denton went on. “I defended you through this process. You lost, and now you’re dinking around over the collection rate.”

Denton’s remarks led to another round of discussion over the collection rate.  Jim asked Ben directly what the collection rate is and Ben answering: “98% plus if it makes a difference to you!”  The Board touched on the fact that they had initially said 0% and then had presented 0.8%, which the voters had approved. Ben said that they had been very open at public meetings, and that the additional funds (collected) always go towards funding the next year’s budget.  Never one to like to pay taxes before they’re due, our reporter commented that as a taxpayer, she’d rather the town collected only the taxes needed to fund the budget, rather than to keep collecting more and then putting it towards next year’s budget.

With everyone having had an opportunity to have their say, Denton said: “It’s a philosophy.  I’ve had my say ~ move to a vote.”  Reggie also asked they move to a vote, which the Board did.  Roy who is an alternate on the Board, did not vote. All the other Board members, with the exception of Reggie Smith Jr., voted in favor of the motion, which set the mill rate at 0.08 mils based on 96% collections.

_______________

Board of Finance Meeting, Tuesday, May 11, 2010

AGENDA

I.Seating of Alternates
II.Adoption/Revision of Agenda
III.Superintendent / BOE Report – Dr. O’Reilly
IV.Approval of Minutes a.3/9/10 – Regular Meeting b.3/13/10 – Special Meeting c.3/23/10 – Special Meeting d.4/6/10 – Special Meeting e.4/13/10 – Regular Meeting
V.Opportunity for Public to Speak
VI.WPCA Update
VII.Reports: a.Bookkeeper’s Report – Annie Witte b.Treasurer’s Report – Gordon Ross c.First Selectman’s Report – Dan Jerram
VIII.Other Items to Come Before the Board
IX.Adjournment

A view of Town Hall from under the fragrant tree in front of the Misiorski building across Route 44. Photo: Maria Moore

A Note from the NewHartfordPlus crew: A comment was made at the end of this meeting to the effect that NewHartfordPlus would misreport the meeting anyway.  For the record, our reporter does her best to report on the wide array of topics discussed in the many meetings she attends ~ and not always with the benefit of documents handed out to board members.  If you are aware of an error in our reports, please let us know and we will publish the correction, clarification,  etc. as soon as we become aware of it.  Our corrections are noted at the top of the report in question.  The only corrections we are not able to make are those that would knowingly favor one political viewpoint over another, or one group of residents over another.  As Bob, our techie, is fond of reminding us: “We want to stay playful at this!”

Following are the Community Calendar listings for today in New Hartford, CT:

Tuesday, May 18, 2010:

• New Hartford Business Council Morning Mingler: at Passiflora Tea Room & Cafe, 526 Main Street. Meeting begins at 7:45 a.m.
• Informational meeting for business owners and professionals on the draft zoning regulations: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in the Sessions Conference Room at the Town Hall. Rista Malanca, the town’s Interim Zoning Officer will meet with members of the Business Council to answer their questions regarding the new zoning regulations that are nearing completion and will soon be adopted by New Hartford. This meeting is specifically for business owners and professionals who may have questions about how the new zoning regulations may impact their business operation.
• Bakerville Library Story Time for 3 to 5 year-olds: at 10:15 a.m. Bakerville Library, 6 Maple Hollow Road, New Hartford, CT. For more information please call the Bakerville Library at 482-8806.
• New Hartford Senior Center activities: at Senior Center, Town Hall, 530 Main St., New Hartford. Activities: Fitness at 10:45 a.m. ($2.50 per person, per class, includes a fitness card which is stamped for every class attended); Cribbage ‘n cards at 1:00 p.m. For more information please call Jean Barnicoat at 860-379-3980 between 8:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays.
• New Hartford Schools Board of Ed. Meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Bakerville Consolidated School, 51 Cedar Lane, New Hartford, CT. See the listing on our Calendar Page to view the meeting agenda.

Our Calendar section provides additional information about the events listed above and information on past, current and future events - a permanent record of events in New Hartford. Also check out our Bulletin Board where you can see flyers on events happening around town, and where we have listed information on local non-profit groups.

…NHGrapevine…

“Wouldn’t it be great to record the birdsong up here?”

The Moores said to each other as they hiked along the edge of the woods at Brodie Park South last weekend.

Contribute to the …NHGrapevine… Let us know what you’ve heard - or seen - in town and we’ll add it to this listing, and also add it to the …NHGrapevine.. section. So let’s hear what you’re hearing around town…

One of the paths in Brodie Park South. Photo: Maria Moore

Following are the Community Calendar listings for today in New Hartford, CT:

Tuesday,April May 11, 2010:

• New Hartford Senior Center activities: at Senior Center, Town Hall, 530 Main St., New Hartford. Activities: Fitness at 10:45 a.m. ($2.50 per person, per class, includes a fitness card which is stamped for every class attended); Cribbage ‘n cards at 1:00 p.m. For more information please call Jean Barnicoat at 860-379-3980 between 8:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays.
• Early Literacy Program: Comprehension Session: at 9:30 a.m. at the Beekley Library, 10 Central Avenue, New Hartford. For more information about this Early Literacy Program please see the flyer posted in our Bulletin Board or call the Library at 860-379-7235.
• Bakerville Library Story Time for 3 to 5 year-olds: at 10:15 a.m. Bakerville Library, 6 Maple Hollow Road, New Hartford. For more information about the library please visit the Bakerville Library website.
• Board of Selectmen Regular Meeting: at 5:30 p.m. at the Town Hall, 530 Main Street, New Hartford. For the agenda for this meeting please see our Calendar.
• Board of Finance Meeting: at 7:00 p.m. in the Senior Center at the Town Hall, 530 Main Street, New Hartford. For the agenda for this meeting please see our Calendar.
• The Landscape of the American Mystery Novel: Blind Descent by Nevada Barr: at 7:00 p.m. at the Beekley Library, 10 Central Avenue, New Hartford. Book discussion with Pat D’Ascoli, editor of CT Muse. For more information about this book discussion series, pleas see our February 4 article The Landscape of the American Mystery Novel…
• Have a Spring-related business you want to advertise?: Check out our BRAND NEW Yellow Pages: an economical, simple way to get your business in front of our 32,066 visitors (this past March). Use the “Submit Your Listing” form to send us your information and we’ll list your business. Looking for a lawn care service? Check our Yellow Pages where we’ll be listing companies as soon as their info. is submitted to us.

Our Calendar section provides additional information about the events listed above and information on past, current and future events - a permanent record of events in New Hartford. Also check out our Bulletin Board where you can see flyers on events happening around town, and where we have listed information on local non-profit groups.

…NHGrapevine…

“Not everyone has the same visual: I suggest a town outing or picnic to show where they would put their projects.”

One of the suggestions made by a resident at last night’s public forum to collect ideas of uses for Brodie Park South. A larger than usual number of residents turned out for the meeting that began the public participation in the development of a long-term plan for the property; see our upcoming article on this meeting.

Contribute to the …NHGrapevine… Let us know what you’ve heard - or seen - in town and we’ll add it to this listing, and also add it to the …NHGrapevine.. section. So let’s hear what you’re hearing around town…

The entrance to the Town Hill Cemetery in dappled sunlight. Photo: NewHartfordPlus archives

[Article updated to clarify the discussion surrounding 1. Old Business, 3. 2010-2011  school calendar discussion; 10:30 p.m., Sunday, May 9.]

By: Maria Moore

PTO Appreciates Teachers With Breakfast And Luncheon

During this past week, National Teacher Appreciation Week, New Hartford Schools teachers definitely felt appreciated: they were treated to both breakfast and lunch by the schools’ Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). Students also brought to their teachers notes of appreciation on Monday, May 3, and something sweet on Thursday, May 6. The PTO also gifted a new picnic table to the Antolini School and new art for the halls of New Hartford Elementary and Bakerville in honor of the schools’ staff. “The teachers and staff were so appreciative!” Debbie Ventre emailed us. Debbie also included photos of both the luncheon and the breakfast at Bakerville School.

Note: The PTO would like to thank all the families that provided items for the luncheons and breakfasts.

The teachers and staff at Bakerville School enjoy the luncheon arranged for them by the PTO as part of the Teacher Appreciation Week. Photo: Debbie Ventre

Teachers and staff at Bakerville School enjoyed breakfast on Wednesday, May 5 hosted by the PTO. Photo: Debbie Ventre

Many Thanks: To all the teachers in New Hartford Schools and in other schools who do so much for the students in their care.

Many Thanks: To all the members of the PTO for bringing together such a nice program to thank the teachers and staff in New Hartford schools.

Schools’ Board of Ed Members Look To Next School Year

The New Hartford Schools Board of Ed met this past Tuesday, May 4 at 7:00 p.m. at the Bakerville School, even as the Budget Referendum was entering its last hour. Following are some of the items discussed by the Board; the full agenda is posted at the end of this article; the official minutes of this meeting will be posted on the Meetings/Minutes section of the New Hartford Public Schools’ website.

C: Superintendent’s Report

2. Bus Ridership Data: Dr. Philip O’Reilly, Superintendent of New Hartford Schools, said that the data collected showed that there are buses with less than 50% occupancy, and that there are some that have just a few kids riding them. He said he will look at consolidating some of the routes, while keeping in mind that they don’t want to exceed the time students spend on the bus outlined by the Board. Some buses are stopping at every house he said, which is unnecessary.

4.  Magnet School Enrollments: Philip reported to the Board that there are 6 children going to preschool at Magnet Schools.  Board of Ed member Steve Tuxbury asked why they are paying for preschool, and fellow Board of Ed member Bryan Keilty asked what the requirement is for the Board to pay for preschool.  Philip said that they are mandated by law to pay for it, that it is a way to integrate urban kids with suburban kids.  Board member Kate Natale clarified that they pay for a portion of the cost.  Steve said that they have to take a stand or they’ll be contributing to anyone who’s going to a private school.  Philip said he would bring the bill in (to the next meeting) for the Board members.

F.  Opportunity for Public Comment

A parent asked the Board and the Superintendent to use the ALERTNOW message system for all Board of Ed meetings, not just the budget meetings.  The parent said that everyone could use a reminder for the meetings.

H. New Business

1. 2010  Boiler Project: There was an open bid for the boiler replacement at Antolini and 3 closed bids for engineering.  Steve Tuxbury, who is on the Plant Facilities Subcommittee,  recommended that because they were not doing anything new,  they shouldn’t go with an engineer.  The engineering bid for was $30,000 while one of the bids for the boiler was $95,600.  The school has $75,000 in grants for the boiler.  When it came to who would be overseeing the project, Philip said he had the name of a local contractor who could help them with it.  The Board voted to bypass using an engineer for the boiler replacement.

2. Non Union Employee Raises: Kate Natale, Chair of the Negotiations Subcommittee, confirmed that they would like to do something for non-union employees who hadn’t had a raise in two years, but they were split on how much; 3% would be similar to what the town employees or 2% since many people in the community were not getting raises either.  Kate added that next spring they would be going into negotiations with a tough economy.  The issue was in respect to the inequity and concerns with setting precedents.

Pat Okrongly, a teacher at Antolini, had just informed the Board that she would be retiring and this gave the Board members a little leeway.  Steve said that they had just come through a very tough budget that still hadn’t been passed.  Board member Davis Hoffnagle said it shouldn’t be higher than 2%.  Bryan Keilty said it was premature to discuss pay increases with the budget not yet passed.  He said they should have done something with the original budget, not now.  Bryan recommended that they table the matter until the next meeting, Davis seconded it and the rest of the Board agreed to table the item until they knew whether or not the budget had passed.

3.  Director of Student Services: Philip recommended rehiring Connie Hovarth as the Director of Pupil Services for the coming school year.  He said he had heard only positives about her work this past year. The Board passed a motion hiring Connie under the same conditions, i.e. 3 days per week at $680 per day, a portion of which, Philip said, went to Education Connection through whom Connie had been employed.

4. Last Day of School for Students: Philip recommended making Friday, June 18 the last day of school for students; this will allow him to hold teacher professional days on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (June 21, 22 and 23).  This was approved by the Board.

Note: Following the meeting, on Thursday, May 6 the following ALERTNOW message was sent to parents and other interested parties from Philip’s office:

“On Tuesday evening, the Board of Education voted to move the last day of school to Friday, June 18, 2010 (barring any emergency closings). This will be a half day of school with a 1:00 dismissal time. AM and PM Kindergarten will both be attending school that day with abbreviated times to be determined later. Preschool’s last day of school will be June 11th.”

5. 2010-2011 Food Service Contract: The hot lunch program for the current year has been spoken of approvingly at previous Board of Ed meetings.  At this meeting a hand-out showed that, through the end of April, the schools’ lunch program is  operating in the black.  The Board of Ed accepted Philip’s recommendation to sign a contract with Education Connection for food service for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year.

I. Old Business

1. 2010-2011 Budget: Philip said he wanted to begin the discussion of the possible reistatement of positions cut from the school budget (for the upcoming fiscal year 2010-2011).  He’d like to see the following positions reinstated (in FTEs):

Psychology: .4; Paraprofessionals: 1.2; Special Ed teacher: 1; Gym: .1; Librarian (?FTEs); Spanish: (?FTEs).

Reinstating these positions would be made possible because of savings that will be realized; some of those savings are $40,000+ in medical insurance costs, $20,000 savings in heating oil savings, and extending the bus contract for 5 years.  After some discussions about the positions and their reinstatement, Sue Lundin, Board of Ed Chairperson, said they would take the matter under advisement and, based on the outcome of the budget referendum, they would take action at the next meeting of the Board.

New Busing Contract With Dattco Approved: As part of the above discussion on reinstating staff cut from the budget, the Board discussed whether they should approve a new busing contract with Dattco, their present transportation company.  Philip said that based on his research, he felt the price from Dattco was very decent, plus they were giving an additional $10,000 reduction in the coming year.

Bryan asked whether they had explored the possibility of collaborating with Regional #7 on busing.  Philip said that always brings up a lot of questions, and right now they hadn’t done that, they were just trying to move forward.  Kate Natale said that given Philip’s investigations and the type of people they were dealing with ~ referring to Dattco’s responsiveness that had been discussed earlier ~ she was in favor of accepting the proposed contract.  Elaine Carmelich said that based on all that had been said recently about school bus safety, she didn’t think they would be changing bus companies next year.  Steve emphasized that they were making a decision that would affect the next 6 years and he said he coudn’t remember when the busing contract had last gone out to bid.  He wanted to put the contract out to bid.

A motion was made to approve Dattco’s proposed 5-year contract; 5 members of the Board voted to approve the new contract and 3 members ~ Steve, Bryan and Davis ~ voted against it.  Dattco’s proposal for a new 5-year busing contract was approved.

2.  School Security: Steve Tuxbury said that the members of the Facilities Subcommittee who had looked into whether to install a security system at the schools were split between whether to do it or not.  He said that both he and Davis Hoffnagle felt they shouldn’t do it.  Their reasons included the cost of even the minimum package and that a security system gives a false sense of  security. The subcommittee’s recommendation was not to install a security system at this time.  The matter was tabled by the Board members.

3.  2010-2011 School Calendar: Board members considered a proposed school calendar for the upcoming school year, 2010-2011.  It eliminates half days during the school year, except for the last day of school and for conferences. Bryan Keilty asked whether it would be possible to hold the team planning sessions at the end of the day to cut down on the substitute line since a substitute would be required to cover the teacher’s classroom during the planning session; the team planning sessions are 2 hours every 6 weeks.  Steve agreed with Bryan, saying that having to hire additional subs was a deal breaker.   Steve made a motion not to approve the calendar with the half days and the motion was not approved; the Board members discussed approving the calendar and then pursuing the other issue separately.  However, Kate Natale said she wasn’t sure if they would want to approve the calendar before sending out a letter to ask that they (the teachers) reconsider the use of the 20 mins per day to meet the Superintendent’s recommendation for professional development.  The Board agreed to send a letter to the teachers’ association asking to reallocate the 20 minutes daily and to consolidate the 20 minutes into a 2-hour session every 6 weeks.    No action was taken on the proposed school calendar until the issue was resolved.

At this point of the meeting, at a little after 8 p.m. our reporter left the Board of Ed meeting to pick up her coverage of the Budget Referendum since the voting had just ended.  The budget was passed, with 271 residents voting for the budget (”Yes”) and 118 voting against the budget (”No”); to read more about the results of the Budget Referendum, please see our May 4 article Both Budgets Approved…

________________

New Hartford Public Schools
Board of Education Meeting
Bakerville Consolidated School
7:00 PM on Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Agenda

A. Chair to Open Meeting

B.Chair to Select Order of Business

C.Superintendent’s Report
1. Connecticut Race to the Top
2. Bus Ridership Data
3. Green Energy Projects
4. Magnet School Enrollments
5. Asbestos Periodic Surveillance Sheets
6. Spring After School Enrichment
7. Health Care Legislation

D. Building Report

E. Routine Business
1. Approval of Minutes –March 16, 2010
2. Personnel Report –Retirement
3. Expenditure/Projection Report

F. Opportunity for Public Comment

G. Curriculum

H. New Business
1. 2010 Boiler Project
2. Non Union Employee Raises
3. Director of Student Services
4. Last Day of School for Students
5. 2010-2011 Food Service Contract

I. Old Business
1. 2010-2011 Budget
2. School Security
3. 2010-2011 School Calendar
4. Policy (Second Reading)
4118.51 Use of New Web Tools,
5141.27 First Aid/Emergency Medical Care
5144 Physical Restraint Report Forms
6141.321(a) Computers Acceptable Use of the Internet…..

J. Reports

K. Communications to the Board of Education

L. Adjournment

This weekend calendar is being added to as we come across more events that may be of interest to our readers. If you know of an event, please email us the information and we’ll gladly add it to this Weekend Calendar.

Following are the Calendar listings for this weekend, Saturday, May 8 and Sunday, May 9 in New Hartford, CT:

Saturday, May 8, 2010:

• May Market at Hill-Stead: from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at the Hill-Stead Museum, 35 Mountain Road, Farmington, CT. Market features over 50 exhibitors of antiques and quality crafts for home and garden. Shop for perennials and woodland plants, enjoy garden and cooking demonstrations with local experts, consult with horticulturalists and Master Gardeners. For more information, please see the Activities and Programs section fo the Hill-Stead Musem website.
• New Hartford Garden Club 2010 Spring Plant Sale: from 8:30 until 3:00 p.m. in the lobby of the Town Hall, 530 Main Street, New Hartford. For more information, please read our May 7 article Garden Club’s Spring Plant Sale….
• Northwestern Regional #7 FFA Plant Sale: from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. today, Saturday and tomorrow, Sunday, in the greenhouse at Regional #7 Vo-Ag Building, 100 Battistoni Drive, Winsted.
• Haight-Brown Vineyard Express: at 2:00 p.m. at Thomaston station, Thomaston. Board 1970’s rail cars at the Thomaston station and take a leisurely 3(+) hour train ride around Litchfield County. On board, enjoy an eight wine tasting, including Haight-Brown’s special release ‘Railway White’, while hearing tidbits about HB history and practices. Unique and tasty Hors Des Ouvres and accompaniments will be served throughout the journey. On the second half of the journey, while enjoying desserts and treats, wine will be available by the glass for just $5. Reservations required; $65 per person. For more information, please visit the Haight-Brown website.
• Synergy Brass Quintet: at 7:00 p.m. at the Bakerville Methodist Church on Route 202, just east of Route 202 in Bakerville. The quintet is acclaimed for “a veritable fireworks display of outstanding musical ability combined with superb showmanship” (Door Concerts, Inc.) in addition to “blazing precision [and] amazing technique”. The concert is a fundraiser for the Bakerville company. Tickets: $15 t at the door; Children under 12 Free. A reception with refreshments will follow the concer. For more information, please visit the Bakerville Library website.
• Steam Vent Coffee House: from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. tonight at First Church of Winsted. For more information regarding the Steam Vent Coffee House, please visit the First Church of Christ website.

Sunday, May 9, 2010:

• Mother’s Day: Please be sure to do something special for that special mother in your life: a bouquet of flowers, a live plant, her special breakfast brought to her in bed ~ all the little things that will make her day memorable.
• Visit your favorite Church, Temple, Meditation Center or Meeting House: Be sure to make time today to visit your favorite church, temple, meditation center or meeting house for good fellowship and spiritual uplifting. For specific information about times of worship or meditation, please check out the list of links in our Houses of Worship tab in the sidebar on our front page.
• Northwestern Regional #7 FFA Plant Sale: from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. today, Sunday, in the greenhouse at Regional #7 Vo-Ag Building, 100 Battistoni Drive, Winsted.


The Farmington River from Black Bridge looking east toward Canton. Photo: Maria Moore

By: Maria Moore

The Synergy Brass Quintet performs more concerts than anyone in classical music today, averaging nearly 300 engagements per year, and this Saturday, they’ll be performing right here in the Bakerville section of New Hartford.

The Quintet, which includes Greg Lloyd of New Hartford will be performing at the Bakerville Methodist Church tomorrow, Saturday, May 8 at 7:00 p.m.

According to Synergy Brass’ website, the quintet is acclaimed for “a veritable fireworks display of outstanding musical ability combined with superb showmanship” (Door Concerts, Inc.) in addition to “blazing precision [and] amazing technique” (The Watertown Daily Times), the Synergy Brass Quintet has emerged as one of the world’s most exciting ensembles. Synergy “has hit on a magical approach… unadulterated exuberance, and a rock star approach of performing,” (U.S.1). Their engagements have taken them to every corner of the United States including the Ravinia Music Festival in Illinois, the Bethlehem Musikfest in Pennsylvania, the Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts, and internationally at the Festival de Musica de Camara de Aguascalientes.

Tickets to the concert are $15 and are available at the door; children under 12 are free.  A reception with refreshments will follow the concert.  All proceeds from this concert will benefit the Bakerville Library.

To learn more: About Synergy Brass Quintet and their “electrifying” music, please visit the Quintet’s website.  To listen to samples of their music, please click on the Recordings tab on the group’s website.

The Bakerville Library: Is located at 6 Maple Hollow Road in the Bakerville section of New Hartford.  Please visit the Library’s website to learn more about the Library and the special community it brings together.

The Bakerville Methodist Church: is located at 1087 Litchfield Turnpike, Route 202 just east of the Bakerville Library, in the Bakerville section of New Hartford.  To learn more about the church, please visit the Bakerville UMC website.

The Synergy Brass Quintet concert is being sponsored by The Friends of the Bakerville Library.

Synergy Brass Quintet will be performing at the Bakerville Methodist Church in a benefit concert for the Bakerville Library. Photo from the Quintet's website, www.synergybrass.com

"Drama Daisy." Artwork: Mary Femniak

The New Hartford Garden Club is holding its Spring Plant Sale tomorrow, Saturday in the lobby of Town Hall from 8:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The plant sale will include a large selection of vegetable plants ready to plant in your garden. And for those looking for tomato plants, there will be more than 250 plants, among them mini tomoto plants, blight resistant plants and many other favorites.

Perennial plants will also be available, from old-fashioned favorites to unusual varieties. And as an added bonus, members of the Garden Club will be available to answer your gardening questions.

Especially for Mother’s Day, there will be hypertufa planters available, filled with plants, a beautiful and popular gift for the mother in your life. These unique containers are handmade by the Garden Club members; see our September 27 article The shape Of Blooms To Come…

Members of the New Hartford Garden Club are all volunteers and the proceeds from this plant sale are used to fund many community projects, including the plantings around the welcome signs at the edges of town, the plantings at Town Hall, at the Bakerville Library, and many more projects.

For more information: About the New Hartford Garden Club, please contact Sibyl Pellum: 860-379-3722, or Mary Lou Ringklib at 860-379-4612.

A hypertufa container from a previous year. Photo: Mary Femniak

By: Maria Moore

At around 3:45 p.m. yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, May 4 as our reporter was taking a break from her writing by taking photos of the crab apple tree in full bloom in Norma Pappalardo’s garden, the sky suddenly darkened and the wind started to whip through the air.  The storm, which broke the peace of the quiet afternoon,  was short-lived but as it moved through, it left a trail of damage in its wake.

At the top of West Hill, the high winds reached 32 miles per hour, according to Doug Gerard’s weather station on Beeney Road.  The wind and the rain whipped across the surface of West Hill Pond caused problems for crew boats manned by rowers from Lewis Mills High School.  As the storm gained in intensity, three of the five boats were able to row back to shore; the two remaining crew boats were swept down the lake by the winds.  A call for help was made to Litchfield County Dispatch but the rowers were able to reach the safety of the beach at Brodie Park.  The members of the crew boats were transported to Charlotte Hungerford to be checked.  New Hartford’s emergency services were on the scene in full force, with fire trucks from the New Hartford and South End Fire Departments.  Also at the scene was the New Hartford Ambulance service.

In the rest of New Hartford, power outages were reported all over town, from the momentary one noted at Dunkin Donuts in New Hartford Center to outages that lasted 3 hours or more in the Bakerville section.  In many places tree branches were strewn across the roads, temporarily closing some roads such as Route 219 by the Reservoir and Route 44 on the outskirts of town towards Barkhamsted.

By 6:00 p.m. when our reporter and her husband drove down Town Hill to go and vote at the budget referendum, the sky was clear and the colors shone brilliantly in the sunshine.

To read more about the incident on West Hill Pond, please see today’s article in the Hartford Courant.

Many Thanks: To the members of the town’s fire departments and to the local ambulance crew for the kindness they showed to our reporter.

Emergency services personnel confer about the recent emergency at West Hill Pond yesterday afternoon. Photo: Maria Moore