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Fairfield School District special meeting, date not confirmed yet

2 h 58 min

Meeting video · YouTubeFairfield School DistrictDate not confirmed yetWatch on YouTube ↗Opens at 0:00 in a new tab

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Fairfield school board town hall takes questions on Burr flooding, class size and GPA weighting 5:12

  • The Board of Education held its semiannual town hall, with a moderator from the RTM taking questions on facilities, finances and programs. 5:12
  • A speaker at public comment said Burr Elementary flooded in July and that a follow-up inspection recommended in an air quality report had not been done. 8:36
  • Board members and a student discussed a committee's review of GPA rules, and Kristin O'Neill said the committee was looking at whether to recommend changing how electives are weighted. 1:40:40
  • The board voted 7⁠-⁠0 to adjourn. 2:57:43

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and town hall format 5:12
    • A speaker opened the meeting as the board's semiannual town hall, took roll call and said some members had conflicts and could not attend. 5:12
    • The moderator said questions about personnel, staff and faculty were not permitted and set a limit of about 10 minutes per person, including follow-up. 6:56
  2. Burr Elementary flooding and air quality 8:36
    • A speaker at public comment said Burr flooded in July and again in September, and that dehumidifiers were running during a September air quality test. 9:20
    • One board member said answers had to come from central office because it carries out the work. 13:18
    • One board member said the board could ask for the status and timelines of follow-up items in the report, and another board member said a first step would be to ask the facilities committee for an update for the next meeting. 19:58
  3. Class size policy 27:52
    • A speaker at public comment asked whether the class size amendment was a temporary measure and what could make it permanent. 27:52
    • One board member said nothing about the policy was temporary, raised an equity concern, and said the district built 247 homerooms and uses 208 as homerooms. 36:12
    • David Krasnoff said the other homerooms are used for specials and special education. 41:38
  4. Classroom supplies and pathway litter 47:32
    • A speaker at public comment asked the district to look into softer tissues and a cleanup of litter on a pathway behind McKinley School. 47:43
    • One board member said the pathway was not a Board of Ed issue and suggested contacting Parks and Rec. 49:12
    • One board member suggested a request through the chair for the board's liaison to raise the share fridge at the next Board of Health meeting. 52:57
  5. Teacher contract and pay 54:38
    • A speaker at public comment asked for an update on teacher salary and health insurance negotiations. 55:33
    • An unidentified speaker said the FEA ratified the contract that day and that it would come to the board for a vote in November. 56:54
    • One board member said the bargaining unit contracts are on the HR website, and another board member said the district is not that far off from other districts. 59:34
  6. Single-source contracts and capital projects 1:00:21
    • A speaker at public comment cited single-source school contracts on a Board of Finance exceptions report and asked for inspections and competitive bidding on capital projects. 1:00:21
    • Jason Li said state-reimbursed school projects go through a building committee and state-approved vendors. 1:06:23
    • One board member suggested bringing the concerns to the Board of Finance audit subcommittee. 1:12:09
  7. Invention Convention 1:14:22
    • A speaker at public comment asked for an update on keeping Invention Convention for fifth graders at all elementary schools. 1:14:22
    • One board member said the program takes about 10+ weeks and would take time from the science curriculum. 1:16:28
    • Jennifer Jacobsen said there was still Invention Convention money in the budget, and Jacquelyn Bardenwerper asked that the topic go on the Curriculum Committee agenda. 1:20:17
  8. Elementary screen time and IXL 1:27:38
    • A speaker at public comment raised concerns about Chromebooks in grades K through 5, a lawsuit against IXL and a weekly leaderboard. 1:27:54
    • One board member cited an independent technology audit in Westport and said an audit like it would be their top budget initiative. 1:30:15
    • Jennifer Jacobsen said the state issued guidance on screen time policies and the district had not yet done that. 1:36:32
  9. Student food access 1:37:26
    • A speaker at public comment said at least 30% of students qualify for food assistance and that students miss the share fridges. 1:37:26
    • Kathrynanne Flynn said a food backpack program at 5 schools stopped in 2021. 1:38:35
  10. GPA and grading committees 1:38:54
    • One board member said any GPA policy change would grandfather current students, and another board member said they did not want to change anything. 1:39:20
    • Kristin O'Neill said the committee was considering whether to recommend changing elective weighting and would meet again in November. 1:46:53
    • Jennifer Jacobsen said the Grading Regulations Committee was reviewing current regulations with the intent of reaching a grading policy. 2:10:02
  11. Elementary ELA curriculum results 2:15:07
    • One board member said test data comparing the old and new curriculum looked promising. 2:15:57
    • An unidentified speaker said a data presentation would come to the board on November 10th. 2:17:17
    • Kathrynanne Flynn said the data showed gaps in other areas, especially middle school math and ELA. 2:17:50
  12. World languages in grades K-2 2:19:06
    • A speaker at public comment asked why world languages are not offered in grades K through 2. 2:19:06
    • One board member said they would happily support world language, and another board member said teachers recommended against putting K-2 Spanish in the 40-minute specials block. 2:21:26
    • Jennifer Jacobsen said the majority of the board did not support a motion they had made asking the administration to work on a K-2 curriculum to present to the board. 2:22:17
  13. Dehumidifiers for Burr classrooms 2:36:14
    • A speaker at public comment said some Burr teachers bought their own dehumidifiers and asked how the district could support teachers faster. 2:36:14
    • One board member recommended that the community request dehumidifiers, and another board member asked the Facilities Committee chair to include the issue in its update. 2:38:21
  14. Field trip transportation costs 2:40:53
    • A speaker at public comment asked whether the cost of elementary field trips had doubled under a new transportation contract and said Burr Elementary School's extracurricular transportation line was $2,000 in the proposed budget. 2:42:04
    • One board member asked for hard numbers on field trip costs and said they were very keen to address the issue. 2:53:14
    • An unidentified speaker said the district was working with purchasing to seek a reduced rate from the contractor. 2:53:58
  15. Adjournment 2:56:24
    • The presiding officer thanked the moderator and the public and called for a motion to adjourn. 2:56:35
    • The board voted 7⁠-⁠0 to adjourn. 2:57:43

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

Who spoke

Who spoke

We can’t yet tell who is speaking at this board’s meetings.

Video: posted by the district as “Board of Education (Special Meeting - Town Hall) - 10/22/2026”