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Groton School District board meeting, Sep 28, 2026

5 h 32 min · 12 public speakers

Chronic absenteeism ▶ 3:21:55AI in schools ▶ 12:40Reading and test scores ▶ 2:05:36

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 5 h 32 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Groton board approves facility use policy with rates effective January 2027 3:38:08

  • The board first held a community engagement session on its goals, where speakers raised AI use in classrooms and limits on YouTube on Chromebooks that go home. 8:26
  • At the regular meeting, speakers at public comment who said they were on the robotics team said the team's number had changed from 2168 to 2291 and described costs and lost grant opportunities. 1:14:29
  • The board voted 7 to 0 to 0 to postpone the food service charging policy to the next regular board meeting and approved the parent involvement policy by the same count. 3:37:23
  • The board also approved FY26 budget transfers between functions in the amount of $3,023,431.71 and out-of-district tuition rates for the 2026⁠-⁠2027 school year. 4:05:56

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

Item by item (14)
  1. Community session opening and board goals 7:38
    • The agenda item sought community input on the board goals, listed as improving student learning outcomes, aligning expenditures with district priorities, reviewing building capacity based on expected demographic trends, improving the flow of the board's business and community engagement. 8:26
    • Speakers were told they had about 3 minutes to talk about the board goals or district priorities. 9:17
  2. Community comments on technology 12:25
    • A speaker at public comment asked whether the board would tighten restrictions on AI use in the classroom in light of the state policy. 12:40
    • Another speaker raised concerns about YouTube access on Chromebooks that come home and limits that parents cannot set. 13:59
    • A speaker asked about a consent form sent home, and a staff member said the program was an assessment offered through the State Department of Connecticut Office of Early Childhood that monitors children's progress. 15:59
  3. Further community comments on priorities 21:45
    • A speaker suggested that the town council appropriate money from the unassigned fund balance to create a fund for students who cannot pay for meals. 26:54
    • A staff member said a report on IB enrollment and benefits would be given to the Curriculum Committee and then corrected the date to the 7th. 32:44
    • A speaker asked whether the board had considered shorter middle school class periods, and a staff member said space constraints, based on lunch, had prevented a schedule change. 41:31
    • The community engagement session was adjourned. 1:06:34
  4. Regular meeting opening and recognitions 1:06:34
    • The regular meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, and the chair recognized IT Professionals Appreciation Day on September 15th and Human Resources Professionals Appreciation Day on September 26th. 1:13:23
  5. Public comment and board responses 1:14:29
    • Speakers at public comment who said they were on the robotics team said the team number had changed from 2168 to 2291, that building the robot costs $10,000 on average and that registering for one competition costs $4,000 to $6,000. 1:14:29
    • A speaker representing a weekend meal bag program said the goal was approximately 70 bags each weekend, said 15 middle school students were served in the first week and asked the board for guidance. 1:41:25
    • Ian Thomas asked the robotics group to create an itemized list of incurred expenses, and Jay Weitlauf asked whether the impact could be referred to the board attorney. 1:53:17
  6. Student representative report 2:02:01
    • Student representatives raised slow Chromebooks and a lack of chargers, cashless lunches, air conditioning in the older part of the building and restroom conditions. 2:05:36
    • One board member said perhaps the board should look into better supporting upper grades that did not get explicit phonics instruction when it comes into the budget year. 2:27:56
    • A staff member said teachers' computers would be refreshed through a Department of Defense Education Activity supplemental fund of $500,000 and that Chromebooks were being purchased for students. 2:30:55
  7. Summative assessment data presentation 2:52:07
    • A staff member said the performance index is not a percentage and that the target for all school districts is 75 by 2030. 2:55:18
    • A staff member said chronic absenteeism decreased to 16.5%, with a goal of getting it down to 11% next year, and that the district had been awarded the LEAP grant to support Fitch. 3:21:55
    • A staff member said the district was notified it received a high-dosage tutoring grant focused on grade 8. 3:28:25
  8. Policy second readings 3:30:28
    • Mike Whitney moved to postpone discussion on the food service charging policy until the next regular board meeting, saying a new sentence on how parents or guardians may pay needed to be resolved first. 3:33:04
    • Mike Whitney said the use of school facilities policy, P1330, updated a fee structure that had not been updated for a long time, and an amendment made the rate schedule effective for all rentals January 1st, 2027 or later. 3:38:08
    • Mike Whitney read a revised introduction to the parent involvement policy stating the board supports and encourages active family involvement. 3:47:30
    • The board voted 7 to 0 to 0 to postpone the food service charging policy, approved the amended use of school facilities policy and approved the parent involvement policy 7 to 0 to 0. 3:37:23
  9. Finance report, transfers and tuition rates 3:50:39
    • A presenter said unaudited FY26 figures showed a balance of $408,107. 3:51:02
    • Jay Weitlauf asked that the next Finance and Facilities meeting address recommendations from the Milliman Actuarial Report on funding levels. 4:00:29
    • The presenter said general education tuition rates were increased by 4.6, the amount received in the budget. 4:07:16
    • The board approved FY26 budget transfers between functions in the amount of $3,023,431.71 and the out-of-district tuition rates for the 2026⁠-⁠2027 school year. 4:05:56
  10. Director of facilities report 4:09:47
    • The director of facilities said the district was waiting on an electrical bid to hook up machines in the Fitch High School garage. 4:09:58
    • The director said there is no air conditioning in the old gym at Fitch High School and that adding it would require writing specs and going out to bid. 4:11:53
    • The director said the walkway project at Fitch received no bids and would have to go out to rebid. 4:15:52
  11. Committee and liaison reports 4:21:37
    • Mitchell Shinbrot said a review of the IB study is on the agenda for the October 7th meeting but was not listed on the advanced planning calendar. 4:21:49
    • A speaker reporting for the ad hoc long-term space planning committee said a meeting was scheduled for October 8th at 4:00 and would focus on the middle school and robotics. 4:24:12
  12. Consent calendar 4:34:49
    • The consent calendar included the August 24th, 2026 regular meeting minutes, the August 26th special meeting minutes and a $6,452.67 donation from the Northeast Academy PTO for playground repairs. 4:34:49
    • Ian Thomas asked that the minutes reflect that requests to attend remotely were denied by the chair. 4:36:12
    • The consent calendar as amended passed. 4:41:06
  13. Discussion of cashless lunch payments 4:41:47
    • A staff member described plans for places where cash could be brought in, including at Fitch High School, and said a survey drew 30 student responses. 4:41:47
    • One board member asked about a parent living near Eastern Point whose child attended Thames River or Mystic River, where cash is not accepted, and later proposed accepting cash at all schools. 4:46:57
    • Jay Weitlauf said that, by their understanding, charging fees would not be legal starting in 2027 under a federal law coming into effect next year. 4:52:14
  14. Board member comments and adjournment 5:13:17
    • One board member asked the administration to provide AI guidelines for staff and students in a couple of weeks rather than wait for the AI committee. 5:23:43
    • One board member said the board needs to ask the council for an extension on a roof project, which was last estimated at $1 million years ago. 5:24:54
    • The chair said the roof and the Franklin property would be placed on the October 19th agenda for discussion, not for a vote. 5:28:15
    • The motion to adjourn passed at 10:30. 5:31:35

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

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Video: posted by the district as “9-28-26 Groton Board of Education Meeting”