Berlin School District board meeting, Aug 24, 2026
54 min · 0 public speakers
This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 54 min.
- Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened
What happened at this meeting
Berlin school board sets non-resident tuition, raises athletic gate admission fees 35:51
- The board voted 6-0 to return the unaudited 2025-2026 balance of $9,375.43 to the Town of Berlin General Fund. 25:36
- The board also voted 7-0 to raise athletic gate admission to $6 for adults and $3 for children and seniors. 37:04
- The board voted 7-0 to set the 2026-2027 tuition rate for non-resident students at $23,480, a rate not including additional costs for special educational services, which will be billed separately. 42:46
- The board voted 7-0 to set a 2026-2027 rate of $2,348 for children of non-resident board employees, after a discussion of the cost of the employee benefit. 53:31
Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →
Item by item (11)
- Opening, reports and correspondence 7:53
- The meeting was called to order at 6:04 PM, and the chair reported that the board held a retreat Friday night to discuss its goals and self-evaluation. 7:53
- A speaker reported that a separate AI committee held its first meeting August 12th to discuss technology use in the classroom. 9:14
- A staff member read several thank-you letters sent to the board. 10:07
- Retirement of director of curriculum 11:59
- Jennifer Jurgen moved to accept the retirement of the director of curriculum, effective June 30th, 2027, and to thank the director for 25 years of service. 12:39
- A staff member said the staff member and the retiring director had worked together for over 20 years and thanked the director for everything done for the district. 13:51
- The motion carried 6-0. 14:55
- Consent agenda 14:46
- District readiness for school opening 15:26
- During the superintendent's report, a staff member said Hubbard and Griswold were operating with air conditioning and that one special ed position shared between 2 elementary schools remained unfilled. 15:26
- The staff member said the district has 89 choice students and 54 students in its pre-K program. 17:23
- Year-end budget report and return of funds 18:25
- The director of finance and operations presented a final report on the fiscal year and said transportation was probably the largest surplus, driven mainly by reduced van hours and fuel after several buses budgeted as diesel were converted to gasoline. 18:25
- The staff member said the district bought projectors, whiteboards, staff laptops, an auditorium lighting upgrade and a new kiln, and that the total return balance to the town is $9,375.43. 22:52
- Melissa Gibbons moved to return the $9,375.43 unaudited balance to the Town of Berlin General Fund. 25:09
- The motion carried 6-0. 25:36
- Facilities update 25:26
- A staff member said Phase 1 of flooring work at Berlin High School, intended to remove organic material on the original slab, was done, with a punch list ongoing and phase 2 pending. 25:47
- The staff member also described sidewalk replacements at McGee and new glass doors, lighting and carpets in the Hubbard Library. 28:42
- The staff member said chillers at Griswold were turned on the week of August 17th and that project is expected to wrap up by the end of October. 29:57
- Kindergarten early entry policy 32:28
- A staff member said the state has said boards can have a policy that does not allow students to opt into early entry, and the policy up for a second reading removes that option. 32:51
- Melissa Gibbons moved to adopt the revision to Policy 5112 as presented. 33:44
- A staff member said one student is coming in on the waiver this year. 34:22
- The motion carried 7-0. 34:58
- Athletic event admission fees 34:56
- The chair said the administration requested a $1 increase, the first price increase in 20 years, to offset athletic program expenses. 34:56
- Vanessa D'Anna moved to set adult ticket prices at $6 and children and senior ticket prices at $3. 35:51
- A staff member said no surrounding district charged less than $5 and that people will be able to pay with a credit or debit card. 36:29
- The motion carried 7-0. 37:04
- Non-resident student tuition rate 37:03
- A staff member said the district's attorneys recommended a policy for non-resident students and that the district would use the most current per pupil expenditure available. 37:30
- Vanessa D'Anna moved to set the 2026-2027 non-resident tuition rate at $23,480, with special education costs billed separately. 40:00
- A speaker asked whether the district would have to pay when it sends students to other districts, and a staff member said a letter from Newington allows a student to attend there for 2 years without a fee. 41:29
- The motion carried 7-0. 42:46
- Tuition for children of non-resident employees 42:35
- Jennifer Jurgen moved to set the rate at $2,438, then restated the motion at $2,348 after a staff member said the numbers were transposed. 42:57
- A speaker raised a concern about charging a fraction of tuition while teacher positions are potentially being cut, and a staff member said 5 such students are enrolled and acceptance is year to year. 44:06
- One board member said such families living in town would likely pay $6,000 or $7,000 a year in taxes and that a $100,000 figure would never exist. 50:07
- The motion carried 7-0. 53:31
- Adjournment 53:29
Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.
Other meetings
Other meetings of this board
Video: posted by the district as “Berlin Board of Education | Monthly Meeting | August 24, 2026”