Norwalk BoE honors Rudl, Tracey principal; looks to build NECC and considers Special Ed

NORWALK, Conn. — Honors were bestowed or recognized and the formerly endangered Norwalk Early Childcare Center was moved forward toward construction in an unusually agreeable Board of Education meeting Tuesday.

The Board decided that the Tracey Elementary School gymnasium will be named after departing Principal Paul Krasnavage. Among the issues touched upon were last week’s Special Education review, the upcoming vote on a new curriculum, an approaching opportunity for select elementary school teachers to up their early literacy credentials, the value of an international baccalaureate program at Brien McMahon High School and Weston’s swiping of Norwalk schools’ chief finance officer.

“Elio Longo came in here, and he brought you in here,” BoE Chairman Mike Lyons said to Chief Financial Officer Rich Rudl. “Westport stole him away like Weston is stealing you. But between the two of you, with him starting the groundwork,” the school system was dug out of “utter financial chaos that it was in. I will never forget, a couple of months after I took office, Elio discovering the $4 million shortfall and then your work in rationalizing our budget process, getting control over our spending, saving us millions of dollars; really implementing for the first time long term budgeting, 3-year budgeting run-through, has been phenomenal. … I am really mad at Weston, but this is a great opportunity for you.”

Rudl smiled several times, an expression he has not often shown at BoE meetings. His last day is July 3, he said.

Mayor Harry Rilling echoed Lyons’ sentiments, saying that the budget process had been “absolutely pleasurable” and “well thought out.”

“Rich has not just been a numbers cruncher,” Norwalk interim Superintendent of Schools James Connelly said. “We talk about budget, but Rich has been behind a lot of other things in the district that you’ll be working with. He certainly was behind the facilities study, which is going to be a very, very important document that we’re going to be looking at in the near future.”

Rudl had been “very creative” with the outsourcing of custodial work, Connelly said, but “I think the crowning jewel before he left is the bus contract that he developed that saved us a significant amount of money, and I think in a very, very creative way.”

United Services Contract with RFP

“I just admire your calmness,” BoE member Heidi Keyes said to Rudl. “You’re really just very relaxed, but very thorough and a great asset here.”

But Weston only has one BoE meeting a month, Keyes said, drawing a grin from Rudl.

The Board also unanimously approved requirements for a grant application to the State Department of Education for the proposed NECC facility on Allen Road. Building and Facilities Manager Alan Lo said there would be no further special appropriation needed from Norwalk and the goal is to start construction in January.

“A couple of months ago, I think all of us know, we were in danger of losing the entire project,” BoE Vice Chairman Artie Kassimis said. “ … They really put their heads together and came up with a great new proposal.”

Rudl and others explained that he project had been down-scaled to six classrooms from eight.

It’s a double benefit, Lyons said, as early childhood classes will be consolidated and space will be freed up in several elementary schools. He said he was also glad that the center would make use of the gymnasium in what was Tumble Bugs preschool.

He also thanked those involved for “taking what looked like disaster – I mean it looked like we had this great program and, the next thing we know, it’s been blown to smithereens – and went back to the drawing board, came up with a way to save it. Kudos to your determination.”

Krasnavage has been principal at Tracey for 20 years. With the Board’s unanimous vote, a plaque in his honor will be hung over the gymnasium doors and a ceremony will be held in June.

Kassimis said Krasnavage had coached his son in Pop Warner football.

“He cared so much, just pours himself into all the kids… great man,” Kassimis said.

Kudos to Brien McMahon High School and its teachers for becoming a candidate for the International Baccalaureate program, Connelly said.

“This, again, becomes a real high quality option for students and I hope it keeps some secondary students in the Norwalk Public Schools,” Connelly said. “The tuition that you could go to for some of our private schools, the quality of the education in the international baccalaureate, its international recognition by some of the universities throughout the world is truly quality. If I were a parent and I had this option I would certainly exercise it and keep my child here at Brien McMahon High School in that program.”

Kudos to BMHS for another reason, Connelly said – it was named the 41^st best high school in Connecticut by U.S. News Report. It’s also ranked as 1,701 in the nation.

Both Connelly and Rilling said that Tuesday’s opening ceremony for the Norwalk Public Schools Citywide Art Show in City Hall had been a great event, although Connelly said it had been a challenge to select four artworks for permanent display on the third floor.

The entire Board should study the Special Education information that was presented to the Finance Committee, BoE member Rosa Murray said.

The nationwide trend of early adolescents with behavioral problems is a “huge mental health issue,” Connelly said. He had been to Roton Middle School on Tuesday to look at the classroom that will be used as a pilot program next fall, for a program featuring a full-time psychologist serving about eight students.

“It’s more than just hiring a teacher in a classroom, it means surrounding these children with a total therapeutic program,” Connelly said.

Norwalk is not alone in its special education outplacement rate, which is in line with Meriden and West Haven, Rudl said.

New BoE member Bryan Meek said he had learned a lot at the presentation, but still felt that the Planning and Placement Team (PPT) process needs work because it “has no parliamentary rule to it whatsoever.”

“Any kind of process that doesn’t have clear definitions on hierarchies and how it should be conducted and moved on to the next group” leads to cost overruns, he said, concluding, “I don’t know if it’s in our power but I would like to see some stronger rule put in place there.”