New Haven School District meeting summaries, agendas, and minutes

New Haven school board to weigh $7M special-ed grants, $2.17M HVAC amendment

The New Haven Board of Education is scheduled to vote on a series of contracts and grants at its Aug. 24 regular meeting, including a $2.17 million HVAC amendment and a $525,000 program for at-risk students. No decisions have been published yet from recent committee meetings, as all agendas were released without minutes.

Upcoming Board of Education vote (Aug. 24)

The board will consider several action items, including:

• **Amendment #3 to Sav Mor Cooling contract:** Increases HVAC funding by $113,214.96 to a total of $2,174,214.96 for Edgewood and Lincoln Bassett schools.
• **Pathways/Riverside Collaborative Program:** A $525,000 agreement with Children's Community Program Connecticut for up to 14 at-risk students.
• **I-Ready Classroom math program:** A $656,299.01 purchase order with Curriculum Associates LLC for Pre-K through 8th grade.
• **School improvement consulting:** $162,250 with Cormier Consulting for leadership development at BRADA, Roberto Clemente, and Lincoln Bassett.
• **Speech and language therapy:** $226,362 with Diane Kacin d/b/a Center for Pediatric Therapy for two therapists.

Recent committee meetings (Aug. 10–17)

All recent meetings were agenda-only, with no minutes published. Key items discussed:

• **Board of Education (Aug. 10):** Agenda included two IDEA grants totaling $7,148,894 for special education, a $1,007,381 ACES arts agreement for Betsy Ross and Cooperative Arts schools, a multi-year energy savings agreement with Catalyst Power for six schools, and a $800,000 milk contract with Dairy Farmers of America.
• **Governance Committee (Aug. 11):** Reviewed a Parent/Family Civility Policy.
• **Food Service Task Force (Aug. 12):** Discussed food service operations, a food gap subgroup, a food allergy policy, and a sustainable food initiative.
• **Citywide School Building & Stewardship (Aug. 13):** Received updates on the Adult Education construction project, FLAC, and the August stewardship report from ABM.
• **Head Start Subcommittee (Aug. 17):** Discussed staffing shortages, including 24 full-time teaching assistant positions (19 hires recommended, 2 in process, 2 vacancies at Bassett and Martinez), and 9 part-time positions. Enrollment is at 65% funded for Head Start and 49% for Early Start CT. The subcommittee also reviewed proposed federal rule changes, including an administrative cost cap cut from 15% to 5%, elimination of federal teacher ratios, stricter eligibility, and English-only instruction.
• **Finance & Operations Committee (Aug. 17):** Reviewed the same HVAC amendment, $525,000 program, and $656,299.01 math curriculum purchase order that will come before the board on Aug. 24. Also discussed a data-sharing agreement with Teach for America and a memorandum of understanding with the city health department.

Coming up

• **Board of Education Regular Meeting** — Aug. 24, 2026. The board will vote on the HVAC amendment, the $525,000 at-risk student program, the math curriculum purchase order, and other contracts. This is the only upcoming meeting listed in the next 14 days.

New Haven school committees review $7M grant, $1M arts contract; no votes yet

This week, New Haven School District committees and the Board of Education met to review a range of contracts, grants, and policies for the 2026-27 school year. All items were on agendas for discussion or information; no votes have been recorded in the minutes published so far. The most consequential items under consideration include a $7 million federal special education grant and a $1 million arts program agreement.

Finance & Operations Committee — Aug. 3

The committee reviewed 17 information-only items, 2 grant abstracts, 13 agreements, 1 amendment, 5 purchase orders, 4 contracts, and 4 change orders. Notable items included:

• An agreement with ACES for arts programs at Betsy Ross and Cooperative Arts Magnet School, up to $1,007,381.
• A milk contract with Dairy Farmers of America, up to $800,000.
• An IDEA-611 grant of $7,019,920 for special education services.
• A purchase order with Edmentum for a diagnostic and courseware platform, up to $178,114.
• A multi-year energy savings agreement with Catalyst Power AssetCo for combined heat and power systems at six schools through 2039.

No votes were listed on the agenda.

Board of Education — Aug. 10

The board was scheduled to vote on a series of action items, including meeting minutes, a personnel report, and multiple contracts and grants. Key items included:

• IDEA 611 grant of $7,019,920 for special education support.
• IDEA 619 grant of $128,974 for preschool special education.
• ACES arts program agreement up to $1,007,381 for Betsy Ross and Cooperative Arts.
• Multi-year energy savings agreement with Catalyst Power for six schools.
• Dairy Farmers of America milk contract up to $800,000.

Minutes have not yet been published, so no vote outcomes are available.

Governance Committee — Aug. 11

The committee reviewed a Parent/Family Civility Policy. The agenda included only this policy review and standard procedural items.

Food Service Task Force — Aug. 12

The task force discussed updates on food service operations, a food gap subgroup, a food allergy policy, and a sustainable food initiative. No votes or dollar amounts were listed.

Citywide School Building & Stewardship Committee — Aug. 13

The committee received updates on the Adult Education construction project, a FLAC update, and the August stewardship report from ABM. The agenda was procedural, with no votes or decisions listed.

Coming up

Finance & Operations Committee — Aug. 17

The committee will review a large batch of contracts and amendments, including:

• Amendment #3 to the Sav Mor Cooling contract, increasing HVAC funding by $113,214.96 to $2,174,214.96 for Edgewood and Lincoln Bassett schools.
• An agreement with Children's Community Program Connecticut for the Pathways/Riverside Collaborative Program for up to 14 at-risk students, $525,000.
• A purchase order with Curriculum Associates for the I-Ready Classroom math program for Pre-K-8, $656,299.01.
• An agreement with Cormier Consulting for school improvement at BRADA, Roberto Clemente, and Lincoln Bassett, $162,250.
• An agreement with Yale-China Association for Chinese language instruction at three schools, total $22,500.

The committee will also discuss a data-sharing agreement with Teach for America and a memorandum of understanding with the city health department.