Author: regiononereporter
UNICO Scholarship Awardee Reply
The Northwest Connecticut Arts Council has announced its most recent UNICO Scholarship Awardee. For 2015-16 the recipient is Evan Bosio of North Canaan, CT. The Northwest Connecticut Arts Council administers a modest but meaningful grant program on behalf of the Torrington UNICO Scholarship Fund. This fund has enabled the Arts Council to direct funds to visual and performing art students and practitioners who are 25 years old or younger. The goal of the grant is to foster the talent and career development of Northwest Connecticut youth in all areas of the arts.
Evan Bosio, a recent graduate of Housatonic Valley Regional High School, has been awarded the Paolo Abate Mini Grant Arts Award of $600 through the Torrington UNICO Scholarship Fund towards his education at Berklee College of Music. In January, he will begin pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance.
The Northwest Connecticut Arts Council is supported in part by the DECD/Connecticut Office of the Arts, the Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut and the Connecticut Community Foundation. For more information about the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council or to inquire about the Torrington UNICO Scholarship Fund for young artists, call (860) 618-0075 or go to http://www.artsnwct.org
H.V.R.H.S Open House Reply
Housatonic Valley Regional High School is pleased to announce that its annual Open House will be held on Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 6:45PM in the Henry Burgess Auditorium. Parents will follow their child’s schedule, meet members of the faculty, staff, and administration, and receive an overview of each class’s content and expectations. They will also learn about the high school’s co-curricular offerings, student activities and social and service groups. We look forward to seeing you there!
A.B.C. Subcommittee Of The Region One Board Meeting August 26, 2015 Reply
From the Republican-American..meet the new faces of Region 1 Reply
From today’s Republican-American..meet the new faces of Region 1
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to court we go (again in Region One) 1
A complaint filed by town officials with the state Department of Education against the Region 1 Board of Education warrants an investigation, state Commissioner of Education Dianna R. Wentzell has ruled. In an Aug. 12 letter to Frederick Dorsey of Kainen, Escalera and McHale P.C., the attorney representing Falls Village in this matter, Wentzell stated, “I am writing
to inform you that I have found the complaint to be substantial. Consequently, I am ordering an investigation of the complaint.” The complaint alleges that the Region 1 Board of Education is failing to comply with its statutory and contractual obligations to its member boards, and town officials are asking the state to order such compliance. While the Falls Village school board held off on signing it, urging that some changes be made, Chairman Lara Mittaud eventually put her signature on it with reluctance.
She asked that a proviso be attached to the minutes stating her board’s concerns, but her request was denied. The school board and selectmen have questions about the selecting and hiring of a superintendent, and the modification of the terms of the superintendent’s salary. See today’s edition of The Republican-American for full story.
The Region One superintendents contract has extended one year even though the ABC and Region One board guaranteed two years ago that there would be no more one year extentions given with administrators contract… Reply
The following is my personal opinion. Next board of education elections, I urge for you to vote in all new members on the Region One Board. This is a very dissapointing development.
The Region One superintendents contract has extended one year even though the ABC and Region One board guaranteed two years ago that there would be no more one year extentions given with administrators contract…
By the way, to sneak this thru without having to worry about a budget defeat, they waited for the first time EVER, to do this AFTER the budget vote Is it not great We have board members (excluding Laura Mittaud) that went back on their promise of two years ago, and did not even have the guts to do it before the budget vote. Yes, that’s real leadership and honesty.
The Region 1 Board of Education and the All Board Chairmen (ABC) Committee extended Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain’s contract to 2017 during a joint meeting Wednesday, the ABC Committee recommended to the school board that one year be added to her contract, which is scheduled to end June 30, 2016. She intends to retire in June 2017. As an additional part of her agreement she will receive health insurance for two years after she retires, but the board will not contribute to her Health Savings Plan, as it does now. She will also receive an additional one-time stipend of 15 percent of her salary, a figure that does not include her current annuity. Her salary this year is $160,590. The annuity, based on 6 percent of her salary, this year comes to $9,635.
Sure lets give an additional buy-out and extra taxpayers money to a superintendent over the past four years that has done the following:
1) Cost the district almost $300,000 in legal and buyout costs with the law suit against the district against her.
2) Cost the district ovcer $25,000 in legal fees with the loss of the residency suit in Kent.
3) Cost the district almost an additional $2000,000.00 in the buyout of the former assistant superintendent.
Great use of taxpayer money Region One Board and ABC.
Falls Village Board Of Education July 21, 2015 Reply
Failed Leadership, Plain and Simple…. Region One/ABC Joint Meeting July 22, 2015 Reply
FOOD FOR THOUGHT from Pat Mechare Reply
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The superintendent of schools of Regional School District # 1 has to be notified by August 31st if there will be a continuation of her employment. It is certain that her employment will be extended if she so chooses.
The individuals responsible for the salary and benefit decisions should remember that his/her first allegiance is to the taxpayers of our region, period. These same people are tough as nails on the local level when it comes to negotiation with certified and non-certified personnel. The same is true of other “central office” unionized administrative personnel. It’s time to apply that same standard to the superintendent. Last fall the Regional School District #1’s board of education foolishly, in my opinion, approved a package to a “central office” administrator that was disguised as a “retirement” package after only 5 years of service in the district. That move cost the taxpayers of our region, out of our pockets almost $150,000. Up to that point, never in the history of our district to my knowledge, had a central office administrator received any sort of package upon retirement nor was any language then or now included in any administrative agreement. I told my town’s representative on the Regional School District #1 Board of Education and our town’s representative to the ABC committee at that time to what this would lead. That decision has left the door opened for non-union “central office” administrators to attempt to include such language in any future contract when negotiating with the responsible entity. It shouldn’t be done!
Most Board members and certainly the public have no idea what a generous salary and other benefits are currently provided to the superintendent.
Here are a few examples
- The superintendent is the highest paid public official in the
six town school region. For 2015-2016 the cash component
of her base salary is $160,590.
- In addition, she is given 6% of her salary for the specific purpose of
investing in a 403 (b) annuity. For 2015-2016 that amounts to
$9635. Note that every time she has an increase in her base salary
she also has an automatic increase in the amount of her annuity.
- The IRS describes that annuity as a tax sheltered retirement which
can be used at the age of 59 ½ without incurring any penalty.
Taxpayers have funded this plan for her in anticipation of her
eventual retirement. It is my understanding that for all
except her first year of her employment in Regional School
District #1 she has received an annuity, ranging from $3000
to the current amount. It appears that taxpayers over the
years have easily contributed in excess of $ 80,000 to the plan.
- While her contract states her work year is 260 days that is misleading,
as it does not count 25 days of vacation (5 weeks), 8 federal holidays
and 5 personal days which she uses or loses, with the exception of 10 vacation days which she can carry over to the next fiscal year.
That brings her actual work year to 222 days. Additionally she has 5 bereavement days annually should she need them.
- The district pays for a $220,000 term life insurance policy and also pays $500 toward a disability insurance.
- The contract allows for unlimited expenditures for continued education with no conditions for restrictions, approvals or oversight. Since 2010 taxpayers have paid over $40,000 to the superintendent as she pursues a doctoral degree, with more money for that purpose currently budgeted.
- She is also provided with health and dental benefits of which the Region
pays most of the cost.
Under the current circumstances and given the blunder made with the former “central office” administrator, it seems likely that the superintendent would ask for, at the minimum, a contract extension of some duration that provides for an increase in her salary and additional NEW language that provides for retirement benefits, which would likely include severance pay and health insurance coverage until she reaches 65. Board members and taxpayers should understand that currently no language exists in her agreement for any of that, nor should it, going forward. Region taxpayers have already been more than generous in contributing to a retirement fund for her. She should not be given an advantage of health insurance coverage in retirement when others retirees, most who have served their district much longer, do not have the same benefit. Based on this scenario the cost to taxpayers would be in the neighborhood of at least an additional $50,000 when she retired.
To make it clear, when the superintendent does retire it appears that she will have at least 28 years of service in Connecticut. Based on the State’s teacher retirement formula of the average of her 3 years of highest earnings and the percentage used to determine an annual “normal” retirement payment, the superintendent would receive annually in excess of $93,000 in a retirement benefit. If she worked an additional year her annual benefit would be in excess of $98,000. If she chose to pay into the Teacher Retirement system for those years that she worked out of state her annual pension would increase dramatically. Even an addition of five years credit to the 28 years would increase her pension to an annual take of over $110,000. Adding seven years to the 28 years would increase her annual pension to almost an $117,000 and if she contributed the maximum of 10 years from out of state, her pension would soar to over $125,000 annually.
Everyone should understand that there is a direct correlation between what she receives as a pension amount from the State and what the district has paid her annually. She has been fairly treated. If there is a contract extension her salary should remain as it is. No language should be added to provide for additional monies at retirement or a severance payment and there should not be any payment of health insurance once she is retired. It’s time to exercise fiscal responsibility given what this district has already so generously provided the superintendent.