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Windham School District board meeting, Aug 19, 2026

48 min · 0 public speakers

Chronic absenteeism ▶ 2:51

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 48 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Windham board approves bid waivers for Sweeney boiler and middle school retaining wall 46:02

  • The board heard reports from district staff on summer school, open house dates and summer facilities work, including new boilers at Natchaug and a new turf field and track at Windham Middle School. 10:47
  • During discussion of bid waivers, a speaker asked about the timeframe for getting bids, and the director of facilities said going out to bid could take 3 months to a year and likely cost about 25% more. 37:42
  • The board unanimously approved bid waivers for a boiler at W.B. Sweeney Elementary School and a retaining wall at Windham Middle School, and unanimously approved budget transfers. 46:13
Item by item (9)
  1. Opening and approval of minutes 0:00
    • The meeting was called to order at 7 PM, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. 0:00
    • A speaker noted a correction to the July 15th, 2026, regular meeting minutes regarding which school was referenced in a roof replacement discussion. 0:52
    • No one spoke during public comment. ~2:02
    • The executive session minutes and special meeting minutes for July 15th, 2026, were approved unanimously. 1:42
  2. Superintendent's report on year priorities 2:51
    • The superintendent said the district saw a decrease of 8 percentage points in chronic absenteeism last year, meaning over 200 more students attended school regularly, and that the district would start the year with a 60-day attendance challenge for students and staff. 3:57
    • A district staff member said the attendance challenge for staff was more of a mindset, and that the majority of staff should be in school the same way students are expected to be. 9:28
  3. Summer learning report 10:37
    • A staff member said summer school ran from July 6th to July 30th, with 100 students registered in the K-3 literacy program and about a 90% daily attendance rate. 10:47
    • The staff member said extended school year served 65 students and high school credit recovery enrolled 70 students, who earned over 100 semester credits. 10:47
    • Asked how numbers compared with previous years, the staff member said K-3 enrollment was a little less than last year. 16:00
  4. Open house dates and facilities update 16:56
    • A district staff member said school would open August 27th and listed open house dates across the district. 16:56
    • A staff member reported new boilers at Natchaug, a new turf field and track at Windham Middle School, planned retaining wall repairs and a planned new boiler at Sweeney. 20:02
    • Mary Gallucci asked whether the disruptive work at Natchaug was complete, and the staff member said that is correct. 26:36
  5. Curriculum, policy and planning committee reports 27:54
    • Mary Gallucci said the curriculum committee discussed finalizing the curriculum review timeline and objectives, and kindergarten waivers being phased out after state rule changes. 28:00
    • A staff member said the board did not need to vote on the video cameras on buses policy and that the real vote was the live animals in the classroom policy. 31:37
  6. Committee report on budget transfers 33:07
    • Mark Doyle said the football co-op program was approved by the CICA and the committee recommended approving transfers of $4,258,272.19 to true up accounts. 33:07
    • Mark Doyle said the district was ending the year without a deficit. 34:24
    • Mark Doyle said the committee approved adopting the 0% budget and that the Board of Finance appears to have already approved the 0% budget. 35:03
  7. Discussion of bid waivers 35:28
    • A speaker said the waivers were for the Sweeney boiler and the middle school retaining wall, and that the retaining wall had become a safety issue. 35:28
    • A speaker asked about the timeframe needed to get a bid, noting this was the 3rd waiver in the last 2 months. 37:42
    • The director of facilities said putting the wall work out to bid could take 3 months, 6 months or up to a year and would likely mean about a 25% increase in cost. 40:23
  8. Policy votes 44:11
    • The board did not take a vote on the video cameras on buses policy after a speaker said no vote was needed. 44:11
    • A motion was made and seconded on Policy 6163.3, Live Animals in the Classroom. 44:11
    • One abstention was recorded on the live animals policy vote. 45:42
  9. Bid waivers and budget transfers 45:42
    • The board considered bid waivers to replace a steam boiler at W.B. Sweeney Elementary School and the retaining wall at Windham Middle School. 46:02
    • A motion was made for budget transfers of $4,258,272.19. 46:41
    • No one spoke at public comment, and a motion was made to adjourn at 7:47 PM. 47:05
    • Both bid waivers and the budget transfers were approved unanimously. 46:13

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 “Windham Board of Education Meeting - August 19, 2026”