Board of Education

Officials Approve $152,000 for Grass Treatment Products on Town Parks, Athletic Fields

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Town officials on Tuesday approved two contracts worth a total of approximately $152,000 for grass treatment at New Canaan’s parks and school athletic fields. The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 in favor of contracts that will see grass treatments including the application of pesticides and fertilizers in some cases, according to John Howe, superintendent of parks with the New Canaan Department of Public Works. 

Exactly how chemicals are applied depends on factors such as how much use a field gets (for instance, Irwin Park has “very little use”), and whether it’s a school field, Howe told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held in Town Hall. “We don’t apply any pesticides to the school athletic fields, but we do have one application on park fields for grubs, broad-leaf weeds and crabgrass,” Howe said. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan, and Selectmen Kit Devereaux and Nick Williams voted in favor of a $131,200 contract with Burlington, Mass.-based Tom Irwin Inc. for the purchase of grass treatment products and a $21,016 contract with Harwinton-based Championship Turf for the application of the products. Asked by Williams whether the Board of Education prohibits the use of pesticides on school fields, Howe said that there is a state law banning the use of “turf grass pesticides” in schools serving children through eighth grade.

News

District: 116 More Students Than Projected Enrolled in New Canaan Public Schools

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When the academic year starts next week, New Canaan Public Schools are expecting to see 116 more students K-12 than had been projected, district officials reported Monday. 

The above-projected figure of 4,180 total students reflects higher-than-projected registration across all levels, with the elementary schools 79 students over projections, Saxe Middle School 18 and New Canaan High School 19, according to Darlene Pianka, the district’s director of human resources. The overall figure does not include pre-kindergarten. “Big numbers,” Pianka said during the Board of Education’s regular meeting, held in the Wagner Room at NCHS. The figures show that “there is clearly demand for New Canaan Public Schools,” Board Chairman Brendan Hayes said. “This is great news, I mean seeing 116 students overall greater than what we predicted is pretty amazing and remarkable,” he added.

Board of Education

School Start Times Update: Working Committee To Be Formed, Possible Bus Scheduling Advantages in Favored System

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Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi said Monday that starting New Canaan High School later could have some bus scheduling advantages over the current system. The Board of Education decided at its June meeting to pursue a plan which would see all three elementary schools beginning at 7:45 a.m., the high school starting at 8:20 a.m., and all of Saxe Middle School beginning at 9:05 a.m.

The way buses are currently staged, they all start in the southern part of town, to pick up and drop off children from Saxe Middle School and the High School, Luizzi said. However, starting with the elementary schools could mean that some buses don’t need to come to the southern part of town. 

“We do believe that we’ll find some time and some efficiency by having the elementary schools go first,” he said at the Board’s regular meeting, held in the Wagner Room at NCHS. He added, “They can start picking up high school kids who live in the west part of town and then go straight to the high school, so I think that can save us a little bit of time. A similar scenario may apply in the afternoons, Luizzi said. 

Despite these potential bus route efficiencies, Luizzi told the Board that the identified school start and finish times might have to be adjusted by five or 10 minutes, once officials have determined the logistics of bus routing.

Government

Moynihan: If Covia Building Is Not Buyable, Renovate Police HQ To Move In Board of Ed

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New Canaan’s highest elected official said Thursday that if a downtown building he’d been eyeing as a possible future home for police and school district administrators is no longer available, as rumored, then the town should move forward with plans to renovate the police headquarters on South Avenue and move the Board of Education in there. Asked whether the Covia building at Elm and Grove Streets was under contract, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said during a media briefing, “That’s my understanding.” Covia could not be reached for comment. 

Asked what the town would do if Covia is off the table, Moynihan said, “The thought now for South Avenue would be to knock down the rear of the building and build a whole new addition at the rear, with three floors, so the Board of Education would have all the space they need on the top floor.”

The town pays about $300,000 in annual rent for the New Canaan Public Schools’ administrative headquarters at the corner of Forest Street and Locust Avenue. A town committee in December 2017 recommended that Waveny or Irwin should be considered as alternatives. Moynihan initially said the Board of Ed should move into unused space at the Police Department, then targeted the Covia (formerly ‘Unimin’) building at 258 Elm St. as a possibility.

Board of Education

Podcast: Board of Ed Member and Town Council Candidate Maria Naughton

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This week on 0684-Radi0, our free weekly podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Maria Naughton, a Board of Education member seeking election to New Canaan’s local legislative body, the Town Council. Following Tuesday night’s caucuses, Naughton and her fellow Republican nominees—Steve Karl, Mike Mauro and Cristina A. Ross—are entering a contested race versus Democratic nominees Robin Bates-Mason, Colm Dobbyn and Mark Grzymski. This week’s podcast is sponsored by Baskin-Robbins, a favorite family dessert destination for New Canaanites. Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0: