By Sarah Opdahl

 In late June, New Fairfield’s Board of Education (BOE) met for the last t ime before summer break. At the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Ken Craw explained that a split of the Special Education Supervisor position into secondary and elementary sections was the preferred route going forward. Given the steep increase in special education needs in the district, the time and production demands of the supervisor role have snowballed. To keep costs neutral, the supervisor positions will be 11-month roles. An extensive search has begun for a special education director, as Ms. Katherine Matz resigned.  Internal staff membe rs will fill the supervisory positions. New Fairfield High S chool’s (NFHS) Ms. Monica Restful is the new supervisor for the secondary schools, and Ms. Alex Lambert will supervise at the elementary level.

 Craw received support for his plan to hire an additional special education teacher for the elementary level with a portion of the funds that were restored to the BOE budget following the first referendum failure.

 NFHS French teacher Ms. Heidi Edel described a plan for a student exchange program to the Board, who were excited by the idea of a program like this but were not ready to approve it until they had more information. For the exchange program to go into effect this academic year, a large amo unt of information would be needed. The program would require host families to be vetted on both sides of the Atlantic, in addition to all involved staff. If approved, the French students would visit New Fairfield and beyond in October and NFHS French students, of excellent academic standing, would visit France in February. Board members were apprehensive about the timing, the fact that policy language surrounding foreign exchange and travel is outdated, the vetting process that occurs in France for all parties involved, and more. They also want to review contracts with the companies that pa rticipate in the exchange. Ms. Samantha Mannion said, “I think it is a wonderful idea. I just, I feel like we’re being rushed into it. And I don’t think from a legal standpoint, we are at all ready to do this.” The topic was tabled until the August BOE meeting. Board Chair Mr. Dominic Cipollone thanked Edel, saying, “We hope you’re not disappointed, but we have to follow these processes.”

 A policy that was intended to eliminate staff communication with students on any platforms other than those the school monitors was lightened a bit in severity. More strict policy language was adopted earlier in the year following the events that occurred with a staff member who has now been charged with second-degree sexual assault of a minor. It is understood that the staff member communicated with students via social media platforms. Regarding the lightened restrictions, Director of Technology Mr. Paul Gouviea acknowledged that this is a “very tight-knit community.” He went on to point out that many teachers are parents, many teachers are friends with other families, and so on. “Staff members really didn’t want to be restricted in terms of friending people they consider their friends on social media because they are their neighbors and whatever other community relationships in their home, so that was really the change,” he said, “we didn’t want to ruin a sense of community, that wasn’t really the goal.” The goal was “to protect our students and our staff members, by having them communicate through channels that are vetted by the district, moderated by the district, and observed.”

The BOE voted unanimously to approve a 3% raise to Sherman’s high school tuition in a one-year contract with the Sherman Board of Education. Though the contract typically has a three-year term, it was agreed that a one-year term is appropriate as Mr. Greg Flanagan pointed out “Sherman really wasn’t ready to thoroughly discuss this.” Also, NF staff were fine with the short term because the bus contract will be negotiated next year, which may have an impact on tuition cost.

Board members voted to approve the superintendent’s contract. Cipollone thanked Craw for his professionalism and demeanor through many “challenging events” this year.

In subcommittee meetings, Flanagan explained that the school ended the year at a deficit of $30,000. It would have been higher, if not for an Excess Cost Grant the school received from the state for extraordinary special education fees.

 New Fairfield’s Board of Education will hold its first meeting of the 2023-2024 academic year on Thursday, August 17, 7:00 p.m.