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Cromwell School District board meeting, Oct 13, 2026

1 h 45 min · 1 public speaker

Reading and test scores ▶ 1:14:43

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 1 h 45 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Cromwell school board hears curriculum, ESS and facilities updates 1:01:43

  • A speaker at public comment asked for a written response on nonfunctional appliances in a life skills classroom. 16:54
  • The board also recognized the high school counseling department and students named Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program, and heard from new and returning student representatives. 21:06
  • The Cromwell Board of Education heard staff reports on ESS programs at each school, curriculum priorities and facilities projects, including proposed capital non-recurring requests. 1:01:43
  • The meeting paused during the facilities report because of a technical issue with the live feed. 1:44:12

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Item by item (12)
  1. Opening and agenda 11:09
    • The speaker running the meeting welcomed student representatives and a new finance officer. 11:09
    • The speaker running the meeting asked for a motion to amend the agenda to add an action item, under new business, to open an account for non-lapsing funds. 13:58
  2. Public comment 11:50
    • A speaker at public comment said a letter submitted on October 7th, 2026, about nonfunctional appliances in the life skills classroom had not been acknowledged. 16:54
    • The speaker said the washing machine had been nonfunctional since November of 2025 and the dishwasher had leaked since the fall of 2024, and asked for a written response outlining the district's plan. 17:22
    • The speaker running the meeting said the board would look into the matter. 20:00
  3. Staff and student recognitions 21:06
    • A high school staff member recognized the CHS School Counseling Department, saying the counselors run 504s, guide college planning and build the master schedule. 21:41
    • Matt Zabroski thanked the counselors for their work with students. 24:56
    • The staff member recognized two students named Commended Students in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program, saying about 34,000 Commended Students are recognized nationally. 27:17
  4. Liaison reports 30:33
    • Matt Zabroski said the last town council meeting was canceled and rescheduled to a date Matt Zabroski could not attend, and that a written summary on state test results was provided to the council. 31:09
    • A district staff member said district officials attended the last Public Asset and Facilities Committee meeting and offered to attend future meetings. 32:49
  5. Student representative reports 33:27
    • Middle school student representatives reported on school activities, including a river cleanup that removed over 500 pounds of debris from the banks of the Connecticut River. 36:11
    • One board member said the middle school morning news was great. 41:23
    • High school student representatives gave a sports report and said select grade 9 students had lunch with senior citizens at Covenant Living for the first time since the pre-COVID era. 43:31
  6. Town collaboration update 47:15
    • The speaker running the meeting said district leaders met with the Board of Finance chair and the mayor to discuss collaboration on financial and capital improvement items. 48:26
  7. Superintendent updates and meeting location 48:26
    • The superintendent announced a literacy night on November 19th at the Hartford Carousel and high school tours for 8th graders on October 29th. 48:26
    • The superintendent said the district explored using the middle school auditorium for future meetings, and a technology staff member said more wireless microphones would be needed. 53:26
    • Laurie Cantwell asked how board members would be seated, and a staff member said the December meeting would probably be the earliest for the move. ~56:16
  8. Budget update 58:23
    • A finance staff member said the projections were conservative and largely flat this early in the year, with some vacancies still to be filled. 58:54
    • The staff member said carryforward money from the '24-'25 year is not reflected in the budget report and is held in a fund at the town. 1:00:36
  9. ESS program update 1:01:33
    • A staff member said the ECS clinician had 6 students onboarded and the WISS clinician had 4 students, 66 family provider contacts and 7 resets. 1:02:13
    • The staff member said the CHS clinicians have a full caseload of 20 students and the district is working on expanding to CCTA. 1:03:36
    • Laurie Cantwell asked for clarification on CCTA, and the staff member said clinicians could provide virtual sessions to students there. 1:09:23
  10. Elementary school staffing update 1:11:41
    • A speaker reporting for ECS said the school hired 4 new part-time paraeducators for kindergarten and select 1st and 2nd grade classrooms and is seeking one more. 1:11:56
  11. Curriculum development update 1:14:43
    • A staff member outlined district priorities including math and literacy instruction, a new data management system and AI integration. 1:15:08
    • The staff member said the district is planning a pilot of Bookworms grades 4 through 5 for the second half of the year and joined a cohort of 20 Connecticut districts on the vision of a graduate. 1:21:27
    • Matt Zabroski thanked the staff member and team for the curriculum work. 1:34:35
  12. Facilities and proposed capital projects 1:35:57
    • A facilities staff member said the building official did not approve a plan to add a toilet to the pre-K classroom. 1:37:33
    • The staff member said a tennis court project was estimated at around $70,000. 1:43:35
    • The presentation paused because of a technical issue with the live feed. 1:44:12

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “Cromwell Board of Education Meeting, October 13, 2026 7:00PM part 1”