Negotiations have begun on teacher contracts

KENT — Board of Education Chairman Tracy Horosky reported at the board meeting Oct. 12 that Kent Center School is “in the middle of negotiating a new contract with our teachers’ union here at Kent Center.”The board hoped to have its third and final negotiating session on Oct. 13. In the event an agreement was not reached at that meeting, the contract discussions would go to arbitration.On Monday, Oct. 17, Kent Center School Principal Rima McGeehan said, “the Board of Education and Kent Education Association have come to agreement in principle. Neither side, however, has had its ratification meeting yet.”Also at the meeting, four goals for the school were adopted for the 2011-12 school year. The first is Global Citizenship. Students will be encouraged to get involved with schools and programs around the world. Ideally there will be a charitable component to any projects they take on. The second goal is to evaluate, research, understand and — ideally — propose a solution to establish an enrichment program. The third is to do more public relations and marketing to promote Kent Center School and Housatonic Valley Regional High School. The fourth goal is to explore new technology that might be useful to students and teachers — and find ways to help pay for technology purchases.McGeehan reported on school activities and events including an open house on Sept. 20 and a visit to the Kent Memorial Library. And Housatonic Valley Regional High School Principal Matt Harnett and three Kent Center School alumni made a presentation and answered questions about being freshmen at the regional high school.McGeehan also reported results from this year’s Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge. The total number of books read by Kent students in grades kindergarten through five over the summer was 3,092. The total number of pages read by students in grades six to eight was 133,084. There was 81 percent participation from students in grades kindergarten to five and 91 percent participation from grades six to eight.Horosky reported that enrollment is down a little, to 278. Region One enrollment is down to 1,744 from last year’s 1,817. “A committee has been studying the whole issue of middle school athletics,” she reported.A regional middle-school sports group was put together last winter, she said, with members from all towns including teachers and park and recreation representatives.The committee has prepared a new middle school handbook.“There are still a few changes to be made to it,” she said, “but I hope to be able to bring a finished version to this board next month for adoption.” Some of the things the new handbook covers are eligibility requirements in terms of academics and grades. These are guidelines she stressed, not hard-and-fast rules. “The main goal of the handbook is to help the elementary schools prepare their students for high school athletics.”

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