News

School Start Times: Superintendent Floats Proposal To Start Elementary Schools Earlier, Followed by High School and Saxe

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Local elementary schools could start as early as 7:30 a.m., with New Canaan High School starting later in the morning and all of Saxe Middle School starting last, under a new proposal that Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi unveiled Monday night. Citing anecdotal evidence that younger children tend to tire in the afternoon, Luizzi said the proposed new system—suggested by New Canaan Public Schools Transportation Coordinator Roy Walder—could largely preserve the current and cost-effective three-tier busing system, though it also comes with tradeoffs. “I’m not going to say this is the scenario I am recommending yet, because there is more work to be done,” Luizzi told members of the Board of Education at their regular meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School and attended by about 25 parents. “But I want to share it with you because work is being done and continues to be done. The magnitude of the change—it moves everybody.

Board of Education

Consultant Presents Baseline Bus Service Costs for Starting School Later

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Pushing back the earliest school start times by 45 minutes—and doing so without significantly changing the day for those in kindergarten through sixth grade—would cost nearly $1.4 million annually, a consultant told the Board of Education last week. The added cost, which would bring the district’s total yearly busing expenses to about $4.6 million, represents the estimated 14 additional school buses that New Canaan would need to change its highly efficient, current system of three busing tiers down to two tiers, according to Mark Walsh of Walworth, N.Y.-based Transportation Advisory Services. 

Yet even if the Board of Ed wants to go in that direction, finding additional drivers to operate those buses likely would prove difficult, Walsh told the elected body at its regular meeting, held Nov. 19 at New Canaan High School. “You have been fortunate that you have been able to have a sufficient roster of drivers,” he said. “Part of it is because of the labor agreement that they have, and that labor agreement provides for a six-hour day.

Audit Committee

Outside Accountant Investigating Whether Lunch Ladies Overcharged Parents, District Officials Confirm [UPDATED]

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District officials said Monday that they’re looking into whether parents’ charge accounts were depleted by the lunch ladies accused of stealing nearly $500,000 in cash over a period of several years from two public school cafeterias. Asked by members of the Audit Committee about the possible “double charging” of accounts by two sisters who had overseen the cafeterias at Saxe Middle School and New Canaan High School, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi said the district is “taking a cursory look at that, to really determine whether or not a need for a deeper dive into it is present.”

“We have lots of documentation and it is a process of going through that documentation,” Luizzi told Committee members during their regular meeting at Town Hall. “We are working with Joe as well to do that for us and just take a look, just to know if any there is any direction we should take next.”

He referred to Joe Centofanti, a partner at PFK O’Connor Davies LLP, an accounting firm. Asked about the accounting work by NewCanaanite.com, Luizzi said in a statement: “The auditor is reviewing the system to look for any inconsistencies that indicate a need to perform a deeper audit of the system. This individual has performed such investigations before, and is familiar with the system that we use. We have significant documentation as well, and he will also be reviewing this documentation as part of his research.” Asked about the timetable for the work, he said: “This work is just beginning, and at this point we do not have any anticipated conclusion date. It is important that we are thoughtful and careful in this work, and will continue to take the time required to be as accurate as possible in our assessments.”

Government

P&Z: Board of Ed Failed To Properly Notice Neighbors of ‘Alternative High School’ Plan; Vote Postponed To October

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Though the “alternative high school” is up and running in downtown New Canaan, town officials last week were prevented from approving a site plan that would formally allow it because of the district’s failure to properly notify neighboring property owners. The Planning & Zoning Commission must “give the public the opportunity next month to address” the district’s location of the alternative high school in 800 square feet of space on the second floor of the same building that New Canaan Public Schools administrators occupy on the corner of Forest Street and Locust Avenue, according to P&Z Chairman John Goodwin. “This Commission’s responsibility is for use and land use and so, whether you like it or not, we are part of the checks and balances process of this town,” Goodwin told Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi at the Commission’s regular meeting, held Sept. 25 at Town Hall. 

Turning to his fellow commissioners, he added: “We cannot vote on this tonight, since notices did not go out in time. Normally we would not have opened the application, given the timing issues.”

Under the New Canaan Zoning Regulations, properties in the Retail B zone may be used as a “municipal facility,” including a school, with site plan approval by P&Z.

News

Board of Ed: Schools May Need To Use Fuel Oil Temporarily Because Natural Gas Lines Still Aren’t In

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Eversource missed an Aug. 25 deadline to run natural gas lines to New Canaan’s public schools, and district officials say they’re now preparing for a more expensive backup whereby oil might be used for a period of time if the work still isn’t done by heating season. Delayed in part by weather, the company still has “quite a bit of work to do,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi said during a regular meeting Monday of the Board of Education. “They are working hard,” Luizzi said during the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “There is weather involved with this.