Week of April 13, 2008

-Best wishes for a restful and pleasant spring recess.  

-The Central Administration of the school district wishes all spring athletes good luck for successful seasons.

-The Honor Rolls at both HKMS and HKHS have been posted.  Congratulations to all students who achieved academic recognition for this past marking period at both schools.

-Graduation for the HKHS Class of 2008 (and the last day of the 2007-2008 school year) has been set for June 18, 2008.  Details will be made available shortly from the high school administration.

- Project Graduation continues to need your help!  The decoration committee is busily preparing a wonderful array of decorations for the Haddam-Killingworth High School's Project Graduation party in June.  BUT they need your help!  This committee meets every Wednesday night from 6:00-9:00pm at the Haddam Killingworth High School Photo Room B116.  If you can volunteer or have any questions please call Sue Rynkowski at 663-1808.  The next Project Graduation planning meetings are May 13 and June 10.  We hope you can attend and help in this worthwhile event.  Let's make this a memorable evening for our graduating seniors!  General Comments/Questions:  Please call Trish Hatin at 663-3451 (trishhatin@sbcglobal.net) or Sue Craffey at 345-3908 (jcraffey@snet.net).

-District technology personnel are currently finishing the necessary technological systems and link to allow for parent's to have secure, direct access to the electronic grade book system which is a part of our student management software (MMS).  Once established, parents will be able to access information about their child's academic performance at any time via the World Wide Web.  We anticipate implementing this new feature and service within the next two weeks. There will be a "phasing-in" of this access to ensure the proper functioning of the technology. A more detailed implementation schedule by school level (elementary, middle and high schools) will be provided after the spring recess with a goal of having this feature fully operational by the close of the 2007-2008 school year / the commencement of the 2008-2009 school year.

-One of the actions included in the District's Strategic Plan calls for the establishment of "sister schools" with schools from outside the continental United States. We are particularly interested in establishing international relations with schools in Asia and Europe.  If you know of any individual who may have an international contact who could assist the district with establishing such relations, please contact Gary S. Mala, Superintendent of Schools at (860) 345-4534 or gmala@rsd17.org.

-The District is in the process of establishing a "Speakers' Bureau" comprised of names and contact information of local residents who have expertise in an area which could be integrated into the curriculum of the various content areas. Our hope is to have a resource list of people who may be called upon periodically to present to different classes as students explore topics included in the district's curriculum.  If you are interested in being placed on such a list, please forward you name, contact information and an explanation of your particular area of expertise to Cindy Fetteroll, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent of Schools at fetteroll44@rsd17.org.

-The district mourns the passing of former teacher and Town of Killingworth resident.  Betty King, 70, a beloved teacher and respected member of the Killingworth community passed away Saturday morning in Florida. Mrs. King taught at Killingworth Elementary School for many years and was honored as teacher of the year. Her husband Fred also taught in the district at H-K High School. He passed away several years ago. The Kings lived on Roast Meat Hill Road before moving to South Windsor to be nearer to her family. Mrs. King is survived by her three children. Additional details will follow when available. (Excerpt taken from Kilingwrthtdoay.com Saturday, April 12, 2008)

 -Did you know that two fiscal years ago the Administration of the Regional School District 17 successfully lobbied state elected officials to repeal the state levied gross receipts tax on fuels?  This was achieved after lobbying efforts that were directed at what was (at that point) the only tax paid by towns, cities, school districts and other organizations who operate under tax exempted status. 

-Almost two years ago, District personnel and officials from both the Town of Haddam and Killingworth joined forces to advocate and lobby for a change in state procurement laws to allow for what is described below. As of today, the bill is expected to be heard by the legislature's Education Committee and then is most likely off for a formal vote in the House of Representatives sometime in the immediate future. 

Local Rep. Announces Committee Passage of On-line Procurement Bill

State Rep. James F. Spallone, hailed committee passage yesterday of a bill he introduced, that if enacted, would allow cities, towns and school districts to participate in on-line auctions for the purchase of goods and services. The bill, House Bill 5899, "An Act Concerning On-line Procurement by State Agencies, Municipalities and Regional and Local School Districts," was approved by the Government Administrations and Elections Committee (GAE) by a vote of 11-0.

"I am extremely pleased by the overwhelming support for this common-sense legislation in the GAE Committee," Rep. Spallone said. "This legislation could literally save our cities, towns and schools millions of dollars in costs for goods and services."

Representative Spallone explained that the bill would amend current law to permit local governments and school districts to participate in so-called reverse auctions over the internet. Municipalities and school districts are required to put contracts for goods and services out to bid. Current law precludes participation in on-line bidding due to requirements for certain printed documents.

The issue was brought to Rep. Spallone's attention by Region 17 school officials who learned, during a large school construction project, that they could not participate in on-line auctions.

"Superintendent Gary Mala estimated that the district could have saved $1.2 million in a $48 million school construction project if the school board could have used on-line bidding," Spallone noted. "This is one isolated case; the savings if all towns and school districts could do this would be enormous. In a time of great concern over the property tax burden, this measure could reduce municipal costs and save tax
payer dollars."

Spallone said the bill now heads to the House of Representatives for further consideration. Rep. James F. Spallone, a Democrat, represents the towns of Chester, Deep River, Essex and Haddam in the General Assembly. He serves on the Judiciary, Government Administration and Elections and Environment Committees and is an assistant majority leader.

            (Excerpt taken from Kilingwrthtdoay.com April 9, 2008)

-If you have thoughts on the 2008-2009 Regional School District 17 Board of Education Budget, please feel free to e-mail them to gmala@rsd17.org, superintendent@rsd17.org or mvauaghn@rsd17.org.

-The 2008-2009 Superintendent's Proposed Budget is currently being reviewed by the Board of Education is now available via streaming video at www.rsd17.org or by viewing channel 18. Printed copies are also available at the Central Office of the school district as well as each town library and town hall. 

-The following is the budget calendar as it remains for this school year.

REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTICT NO. 17

2008/2009 Budget Time Line

04/08/08 Revised

Monday, May 5, 2008                                       Annual Meeting.  7:00 pm HK High School Auditorium Annual meeting on the 2008/2009 budget.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008                                       Referendum in each respective town on the Board of Education's Budget for 2008/200

The public is more than welcome to attend any of the budget workshops and any of the Budget Committee meetings.  Certainly our Budget Committee is eager to communicate effectively with the town officials in both Haddam and Killingworth.  As a Budget Committee responsible for articulating the educational needs of the school district in a fiscally responsible manner, we have the difficult task of striking a balance between our educational needs and our fiscal responsibilities.  Our committee will be monitoring activity and actions at the legislative level most carefully, and wherever possible will be providing input in order to protect both the educational and financial interests of the district and our towns.

-Recent inquiries received in the Central Office of the district have led to the inclusion of the following information. The listing below is of state-wide school budget figures as of April 11, 2008 as provided by the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS).

-The following information was provided by Mindy Otis, district Director of Pupil Services, regarding the district's preschool program.

"The three sections of preschool currently serve 24 students. Students have varying needs and require various amounts of service.  The calculated total service hours needed currently as 318.5 hours (averaging 13.27 hours per student).  For the 2008-2009 school year, we have 13 students returning who require a total of 199.5 service hours (averaging 15.35 per student).  We have 6 additional students who will be aging into the system in the next few months totaling 19 students.  By September, we will have knowledge of probably 2-4 additional students."

"Each year we also pick up students that we did not expect in September.  Here is the               historical pattern."

-The first seven sessions of the district television program "Spotlight on Seventeen" are available for viewing on Channel 18 or at www.rsd17.org. The most recent session features an interview with Mrs. Fran Octavic, Director of the Haddam Senior Citizens' Center, where she discusses Intergenerational Programs.

-"Spotlight on Seventeen" is generally broadcast on cable Channel 18 according to the following schedule:

Sunday @ 7:00 a.m., Tuesday @ 8:00 a.m. & 7:53 p.m., Wednesday @ 8:41 a.m. & 7:00 p.m., Saturday 8:53 a.m.

- An area where you may view past Weekly Messages has been established on the district website at www.rsd17.org.

-Please frequent the district website at www.rsd17.org to obtain the most current information regarding district initiatives and progress made on them.

- If you wish to have something included in any future Weekly Message, please forward the text to be included to Cindy Fetteroll, Administrative Assistant the Superintendent of Schools, at fetteroll44@rsd17.org.

- If you have any comments or suggestions about the Weekly Message initiative, please do not hesitate to contact Gary S. Mala, Superintendent of Schools, at gsmala@rsd17.org or (860) 345-4534 

Thank you for your continued support of your school district and we wish you all a wonderful spring break week.

Gary

Gary S. Mala

Superintendent of Schools

Regional School District 17

(860) 345-4534

http://www.rsd17.org

"Committed to Making Dreams Come True"