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Seymour School District board meeting, Sep 14, 2026

1 h 47 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 1 h 47 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Seymour board adopts meal charge policy 8⁠-⁠0, hears special education staffing update 1:28:57

  • A district presenter reported 385 students with IEPs across the district's 4 buildings and 67 paraeducators, 54 of them Seymour employees, with 13 Delta T paraeducators provided through consultation services. 38:56
  • Kristen Harmeling asked whether the goal was to have all paraeducator positions filled by district employees, and a staff member said the district could not recruit enough paraeducators. 41:51
  • The board took up motions on an out-of-state field trip for the Future Business Leaders of America, the meal charge policy and splitting the yearbook advisor stipend. 1:25:40
  • Kristen Bruno announced an 8⁠-⁠0 vote on the motion to revise and adopt the meal charge policy. 1:28:57

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Item by item (14)
  1. Opening and correspondence 14:16
    • Kristen Bruno opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by introductions of board members and staff. 14:16
    • Kristen Bruno said a letter had been sent to the chair and asked whether any board member wanted to move to add an item to the agenda to consider it; the board moved on. 15:56
  2. Communications and public comment 15:56
    • A staff member said the district was selected as one of the 10 districts throughout America that will go through the next 3 years of seeking district accreditation. 16:37
    • A staff member said a former coach is being inducted into the Connecticut Softball Hall of Fame on September 20th and asked to bring the coach to a board meeting. 18:25
    • Kristen Bruno called for public comment, and a staff member asked whether anybody from the public wished to comment. ~19:43
  3. Student report 20:12
    • A staff member giving the student report said the Student Council had started weekly meetings and the homecoming dance was being planned for October 24th. 20:50
    • The report said the Environmental Club plans a trip on October 19th and a robotics team will host its first robotics competition on November 21st. 21:27
    • Asked about robotics competitions, a staff member said several competitions are hosted at different high schools during one school year. 23:51
  4. Enrollment report 26:24
    • A staff member said enrollment is down from last fall and is around 2,060 with out-of-district students, with a total of 27 students out of district, including 17 outplaced with special needs programs. 26:31
    • The staff member said the district needs to keep an eye on enrollment, which normally increases during the year. 27:10
  5. Bungee school building project 27:57
    • Ed Strumello said the packet lists working groups and scheduling, with opportunities for parents and other community members to participate. 27:57
    • A staff member said an October 15th think tank session from 12 to 2 in the afternoon will be open to the public. 30:33
    • Kristen Harmeling asked where the board could see the site plan, and Ed Strumello said the architects will study history indicating the current field may have been a pond or wetland. 32:36
  6. VFW teacher and student awards 35:41
    • A staff member described a VFW teacher award and said this year's theme is What a Veteran Taught Me About America. 36:18
    • The staff member said entries are due by October 31st and cited grand prizes of $5,000 and $35,000. 37:53
  7. Special education programs and paraeducators 38:43
    • A presenter said the district has 385 students with IEPs in its 4 buildings and 67 paraeducators, 54 of them Seymour employees, plus 13 Delta T paraeducators. 38:56
    • One board member said nobody on the board wants to spend $300,000 for Delta Ts, and a staff member said the district cannot fill the positions. 45:50
    • Kristen Bruno asked whether Delta T staff have the same qualifications, and a speaker said they do not have to pass the ParaPro assessment or hold an associate's degree. 49:07
  8. Consent agenda and agenda addition 1:21:17
    • A motion was made to add the financial report for September 14th, 2026, as item 5A5, and Kristen Harmeling moved to accept the consent agenda with that addition. 1:21:30
    • A motion was made to add the nutrition policy for 26⁠-⁠27 to item 7. 1:22:46
  9. FBLA trip to Washington, D.C. 1:23:25
    • The FBLA advisor requested approval for a leadership workshop trip to Washington, D.C., from November 4th to November 7th, offering 8 spots. 1:23:37
    • The advisor said the cost averages about $600 to $800 per student, depending on whether a grant can pay for bus transportation. 1:24:36
    • Kristen Harmeling moved to approve the out-of-state field trip for the Future Business Leaders of America National Fall Leadership Conference. 1:25:40
  10. Chemical health and meal charge policies 1:26:47
    • A motion was made to update and adopt policy 51316, the chemical health policy, which a staff member said is a new mandate required by the CIAC for athletics. 1:26:56
    • A motion was made to revise and adopt Policy 3542.43, the meal charge policy. 1:28:09
  11. Middle school chess and board games club 1:29:03
    • A speaker said over 10 students had asked to play chess at the start of the school year and that a Pokémon club routinely has over 20 students attending. 1:29:49
    • A motion was made to allow a club start request for chess. 1:33:12
  12. Yearbook stipend and interim assistant principal 1:33:43
    • Kristen Harmeling moved to approve splitting the yearbook advisor stipend 50/50 in agreement with the union. 1:34:07
    • Kristen Harmeling moved to accept the superintendent's recommendation for an interim assistant principal at Seymour Middle School for 40 days. 1:35:01
  13. Nutrition policy statement 1:35:23
    • Kristen Bruno asked whether the policy incorporates the universal free breakfast, and a staff member said it does. 1:35:53
    • Christopher Champagne moved to approve the 26⁠-⁠27 policy statement covering free and reduced-price meals in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program and After School Snack Program. 1:37:26
  14. Board comments and superintendent report 1:39:14
    • Christopher Champagne asked for a list of the district's volunteer coaches. 1:40:38
    • The superintendent listed upcoming back-to-school nights and said the October 5th regular meeting will include a working session on strategic planning and district goals. 1:41:36
    • The superintendent said the solar projects are meant to generate revenue to help fund facilities for the town and the schools. 1:45:39

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 “Seymour Board of Education Meeting 9-14-26 SMS”