ANSONIA Late school buses, traffic congestion with parent drop-offs, some new faces in Central Office, and an update on the ongoing regionalization study with neighboring Derby were some of the topics broached during last week’s Ansonia Board of Education meeting.
The board held its virtual meeting on Wednesday (Sept. 8). Here are the highlights:
Regionalization Update
School Board President Chris Phipps, also a member of the temporary Ansonia-Derby Regionalization School Study Committee, along with school board member Richard Bshara, gave a brief update on the ongoing study of possibly merging both school districts. Phipps said at the committee’s last meeting earlier this month, a report on the potential costs and/or savings to each district was discussed, but it appears Ansonia would get the short end of the monetary stick if regionalization became reality.
We’re at a big bump in the road right now,” Phipps told his fellow board members. “We had discussion at the last meeting about going with a three school model versus a four school model. If we go forward to a referendum with a pre‑K to 12 model, Ansonia High School would be the high school for all (Ansonia and Derby high school) students and Derby Middle School would be the one middle school for all (Ansonia and Derby middle school) students, with Ansonia Middle School to close. Mead and Prendergast schools would remain open, along with Bradley School (in Derby, and Irving in Derby would close). Under the three-school model, it’s problematic in the financial scenario, which is projected to cost Ansonia an extra $800,000. And under a four-school model, it would cost us an extra $500,000. Derby saves in both scenarios, especially in the four school model, where Derby would save $2.6 million.”
The committee has been studying possible regionalization for more than three years , as a way to possibly cut costs, and arrived at two possible options of a pre‑K to 12 model with four elementary schools, and a Pre‑K to 12 model with three elementary schools. The estimated cost for those two scenarios is between $15 million and $19 million, school officials had said.
Any scenario would have to be approved by voters in both cities.
“The financial portion of this is just not beneficial to the taxpayers of Ansonia,” Bshara said.
Bshara added that the numbers broken down would see Ansonia paying about $800 more per student, with Derby paying about $1,200 less per student. Ansonia is the larger school district and city with 2/3 of Ansonia students comprising a regional school district, and thus Ansonia would pay a bigger share of the expenses, Phipps said.
“It’s not a 50/50 split,” Phipps noted. “We have invested 3‑and-a-half years into this study and are trying to find everything we can to make it work, and are not leaving anything unturned.”
Back-to-School Bus Blues:
Ansonia schools opened for the start of the new 2021 – 2022 school year on Aug. 26 and there were some glitches with the school buses being late, due to driver shortages and logistical issues.
“First I want to thank all the staff members, students and parents for a great opening day, it was a successful start,” said Acting Superintendent of Schools Steve Bergin. “Some students haven’t been back in person for 27 months, and it felt really good to see everyone back, it felt like a community.”
Bergin addressed a few transportation issues with the school buses.
“One bus broke down on day one one and there were some issues with parent drop-offs,” Bergin said. “So much has been cleared up already, especially with traffic patterns with parents dropping off and the buses. It’s been a constant improvement from opening day to today, and as always, I encourage anyone to call central office with concerns, as our phone lines are always open.”
Ansonia’s community-led Facebook pages were overflowing with complaints about the buses on the first day of school.
One parent, Jeremy Musnicki, urged the board to do something about transportation issues he’s having with one of his three children, one which travels outside to an ACES school. He said his son has already missed five days of school due to a transportation snafu, and was told by Ansonia school officials his paperwork to have his child transported outside of Ansonia wasn’t submitted. Phipps told Musnicki somebody from central office would be in contact with him to resolve the matter.
Get Vaxxed or Get Tested Weekly
The board unanimously approved the latest policy to come down via an executive order from Gov. Ned Lamont. All staff, BOE employees and contractors are required to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination, or submit to a COVID test once a week in order to work here. https://www.courant.com/coronavirus/hc-news-coronavirus-state-employees-covid-vaccine-mandate-20210819-b52sn4auojdj7dm4wrv4uir5l4-story.html
Bergin said the district is working something out with nearby Griffin Hospital where staff can get their weekly tests conveniently done there if necessary.
Some New Faces Onboard:
The board welcomed Reese Morales, the district’s new director of equity and communications to Ansonia during Wednesday’s meeting.
Morales’ role, in part, will focus on issues dealing with sensitivity, diversity, equity and inclusion among staff and students in the district. Morales said he recently met with staff and administrators, and said while “diversity is absolutely our strength here in Ansonia,” the focus will be on more parent involvement and engagement.
Teaching in the Norwalk School District for several years, Morales also served on the state’s Commission on Children, which, in part, makes recommendations to the legislature and governor for improvements to children’s health, safety and learning.
Reese also plans to boost communication between the schools and parents via social media and other resources.
The board also welcomed Rick Belden onboard as Ansonia’s interim finance director. Belden recently retired as Shelton school’s finance director on July 1, having come there in January 2019 after a lengthy career in a similar post in the Seymour schools. Belden boasts three decades of experience in both educational, municipal finance and operations management.
