Guilford Board Corrects Referendum Date to June 16

Board of Education · Meeting of June 8, 2026

Guilford's Board of Education heard the school budget already sits $2 million below the board's original proposal ahead of a June 16 town referendum. Superintendent Paul Freeman told the board "the school budget now sits at $2 million less than the budget that this board first approved" and urged residents to vote, saying "it's time to pass this referendum." The board separately approved the May 2026 financial reports, including $5,709,206.41 in monthly expenditures and a $2,283,447.19 warrant, unanimously. Members also approved enrollment of 17 under-age kindergarten students, the final year that state-allowed flexibility exists, and ratified the resignations of teachers Kristen Petrella and Leah Shotsline.

The board approved a $2,500 donation from the Adams Orchestra Booster Club for a cello and recognized Guilford High School seniors Kyra Imani and Parker Onacilla with CABE Student Leadership Awards.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,342 words

Source: the Board of Education meeting of June 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.

The Full Article

Call to Order, Agenda Amendment and Minutes

The board's June 8 regular meeting opened routinely, with Chair Kathleen Balestracci leading the Pledge of Allegiance and proposing a single agenda change: moving the presentation of CABE student awards (item 9.1) ahead of public comment. Members approved the change by voice vote without discussion. The board was then asked to act on the minutes of its May 11 meeting. A member flagged two small corrections on page two and three: a word that had been transcribed as "narrowed poorly" should have read that the trial week for a student cell phone ban "did not go as poorly" as students expected, and a reference to candidates being "arrowed" should have read "narrowed" to five finalists. With those corrections, the board approved the minutes, though one member abstained after the chair asked whether she had attended the May 11 session; she had not, having been at a sporting event against Madison that night. This procedural sequence consumed only a few minutes and produced no substantive policy outcome beyond the corrected record.

CABE Student Leadership Awards

Background and stakes: The Connecticut Association of Boards of Education grants each member district the opportunity to recognize two students annually for sustained leadership, based on criteria submitted to building principals.

The question before the body: This was a presentation and recognition item, not a vote.

Substantive content: Ms. Chaffee, introducing the honorees, described Kyra Imani's three years of service as a student representative to the Board of Education, her founding of a community-based BIPOC affinity group that met off campus for more than a year, her role as lead organizer of the Multicultural Festival for two consecutive years, and her participation in the district's first Juneteenth program. Imani is also active in GHS Voices, the theater department, and the Shoreline Soul Gospel music group. The second honoree, introduced as Parker Onacilla (later referred to once as Parker Annas), was recognized for creating and running the student Instagram account "The Guilford Cave," documenting more than 600 hours of athletic and school events since his freshman year, playing on the boys lacrosse team, serving as chief marketing officer of the school's business club, and launching his own photography and videography business.

The deliberation: This was a ceremonial item with no debate; the chair read a formal CABE recognition letter signed by CABE President Meg Scata and Executive Director and General Counsel Patrice McCarthy before Chaffee's remarks.

Procedural steps and outcome: No motion was required; both students received certificates and took photos with the board.

Implications and what is next: The recognition closes out each student's term of service without further board action.

Public Comment (First Session)

No one came forward to address the board when the chair opened the floor for comment on agenda topics.

Expenditures and Financial Report for May 2026

Background and stakes: Monthly financial reporting is a standing fiduciary obligation of the board, reviewed first in the board's operations committee before the full board acts.

The question before the body: Whether to approve the May 2026 financial report and the associated monthly warrant for payment.

Substantive content: A staff member identified in the meeting only as Ms. Coggin reported May expenditures of $5,709,206.41. Expenditures and encumbrances through the end of May stood at 84.42 percent of the annual budget, slightly below the 84.61 percent recorded at the same point in fiscal year 2024-2025. May revenue totaled $278,971.61, comprising $698.86 in non-resident tuition, $2,372.75 in Medicaid reimbursement, and $275,900 from the state's excess cost grant, which carried a 66.8 percent reimbursement rate against a total award of $834,505. The district's non-lapsing education account held $152,193.51, with roughly $1,500 in earned interest. The monthly warrant submitted for approval totaled $2,283,447.19.

The deliberation: Balestracci noted the board's operations committee had already reviewed the report and warrant in detail before the full meeting and invited further comment; none was offered.

Procedural steps and outcome: The board voted unanimously, by voice vote, to approve the May 2026 financial reports for fiscal year 2025-26, with no opposition or abstentions recorded.

Implications and what is next: The spending pace tracking slightly below last year's percentage suggests no immediate budget overrun signal for the current fiscal year, distinct from the separate concern Superintendent Freeman raised later about the size of the proposed 2026-27 budget.

Communications and Student Representative Recognition

Board members reported receiving ongoing constituent emails both in support of the proposed budget and urging further cuts, which one member described as consistent with comments heard at public meetings. The board then paused to formally thank its outgoing senior student representatives for a year of monthly reporting to the board. One representative, Kyra Davenport, could not attend the meeting; Vice Chair Kristen Peck presented a plaque in her honor along with one for the second representative, who was present. The chair thanked the students "for representing your peers" and for facilitating communication across the district's seven schools. One representative, identified by the chair as Grace, was thanked for her service with a note that the board hoped to see her back next year, suggesting she is a junior representative continuing into the next school year; a second outgoing senior, addressed informally by the chair, was thanked for her "three years" of service.

The two representatives then delivered school-by-school reports: Baldwin School students competed in the Connecticut Invention Convention at the University of Connecticut, where student Tyler Gargano's invention, the Tremor Cup, received statewide recognition; Baldwin's green team also presented at the Blue School Symposium and Go Green's Earth Day celebration. Melissa Jones Elementary School students took field trips to Meigs Point and the Museum of Culture and History and hosted a PTO-funded artist-in-residence program with Hartford Stage. At Guilford Lakes, author Sara Levine visited first graders, and students visited the Eli Whitney Museum and participated in Early Guilford Day. Calvin Leete second graders studied pollinators as part of the district's "portrait of a graduate" skills framework. Adams Middle School is preparing its eighth-grade stepping-up ceremony. At the high school, graduation is scheduled for Friday on the Guilford Green at 6 p.m., the Symphony and Repertory Orchestra and Voices held final concerts, and several spring sports teams, including girls tennis, which won the state championship, and both lacrosse teams, advanced to semifinal competition.

Superintendent's Report and Budget Referendum

Background and stakes: The district's 2026-27 budget has been the subject of extended public debate, reflected in the board communications noted earlier in the meeting, and now moves to a townwide referendum after a series of board-level reductions.

The question before the body: This was an informational report; no board vote on the budget occurred at this meeting.

Substantive content: Superintendent Paul Freeman told the board that incoming Adams School principal Dr. Martinez, who begins officially on July 1, spent the preceding Friday meeting with teachers and students at the school ahead of his start date. He also reported that Ms. Ferrara, who currently works at LEAP, has been shadowing current principal Mr. Seal daily and taking on teacher meetings as part of a leadership transition at that school. Freeman then laid out the district's calendar: a town budget referendum meeting Tuesday night at Guilford High School, at which both the town and school budgets would be moved to referendum; the referendum itself on Tuesday, June 16, at voting locations including four schools; graduation on Friday, June 12, at 6 p.m. on the Guilford Green; and the final day of school on June 18. Freeman initially misstated the referendum date as June 12 before a board member corrected him on the record.

The deliberation: Freeman's central message concerned the budget's size. "At this moment, as this board is very aware, the school budget now sits at $2 million less than the budget that this board first approved," he told the board, framing the reduction as the product of earlier board decisions rather than a new development. He thanked the board for "all of the really difficult decisions that you have made" and urged passage of the referendum "so that we do not anticipate any further reductions as we move into next school year." Balestracci reinforced the appeal, telling the board the district continues "to plead for support for this budget" given the cuts already absorbed.

Procedural steps and outcome: No motion was offered or required; this was a report. The board asked no substantive follow-up questions on the budget figure itself.

Implications and what is next: The $2 million reduction from the board's original proposal is now the baseline figure voters will consider at the June 16 referendum. Freeman's comments indicate the district does not anticipate further cuts if the current, already-reduced budget passes, but did not specify what would happen if it fails.

Personnel Items

The board ratified the resignations of two staff members: Kristen Petrella, a kindergarten teacher at Cawley Elementary School, and a teacher the chair identified, after a brief on-record correction, as Leah Shotsline, described in connection with both a high school role and a physical education and health teaching position at Melissa Jones Elementary School. The vote was unanimous with no discussion.

Kindergarten Enrollment Under Age Five

Background and stakes: Connecticut law changed the standard age of kindergarten entrance, but permits parents to seek admission for children born after the new cutoff if building principals and staff assess the child as developmentally ready. This is the final year that flexibility exists.

The question before the body: Whether to approve admission for 17 assessed and principal-approved students who do not meet the new standard age cutoff.

Substantive content: The 17 students break down as five at Cox, eight at Melissa Jones, three at Guilford Lakes and one at Calvin Leete. A district administrator confirmed this is "the last time that we will ask the board for this approval," noting that starting next school year, children not born by September 1 will be ineligible for kindergarten regardless of assessment. The administrator added the district may still bring forward individual exceptions over the summer and into the first days of school this year, but called Monday's batch "the bulk."

The deliberation: Balestracci asked whether requests could still come in through the start of the school year; the administrator confirmed yes, but said most requests had already been processed.

Procedural steps and outcome: The board approved all 17 enrollments unanimously by voice vote.

Implications and what is next: Families seeking early kindergarten entry for a child born after the new cutoff will not have this avenue available after the current admissions cycle, a substantive end to a long-standing local practice driven by a state statutory change.

Donation and Committee Reports

The board unanimously approved a $2,500 donation from the Adams Orchestra Booster Club earmarked for the purchase of a cello, with the chair thanking music, theater and sports booster clubs generally for their support of district programs. In committee reports, the Policy Committee said it had canceled its prior meeting and anticipated folding remaining business into its next regular session to avoid conflicting with the Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Committee's schedule. The Appropriations Committee reported the district's facilities team is preparing for summer capital projects. The Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Committee and the district's liaisons to town boards had nothing to report, as did the LEARN regional cooperative liaison.

Public Comment and Executive Session

No members of the public came forward during the second public comment period. Before adjourning into executive session, board members fielded informal questions about absentee voting procedures for the June 16 referendum, confirming that early voting is not available but absentee ballots can be requested through the Guilford town clerk's office, sealed in a double-envelope process. The board then voted unanimously to enter executive session with an invitation to Superintendent Paul Freeman to begin his annual performance evaluation; the chair noted no further public discussion or votes would occur after the board returned.

WHO WAS THERE

Kathleen M.B. Balestracci, Chair, presided over the meeting. Kristen N. Peck, Vice Chair, presented a recognition plaque to an outgoing student representative. Other board members (Jennifer G. Scoggin, Jennifer L. Baldwin, Ralph P. Brooks, John A. DellaVentura, Amy Fenollosa, Richard H. Hersh, Arnold F. Skretta) were not individually identified by name in the audio beyond unattributed motions and seconds; attendance for this meeting could not be confirmed from the transcript alone. Superintendent Paul Freeman delivered the superintendent's report and was invited into executive session for his evaluation. Ms. Chaffee, a staff member whose title was not stated in the transcript, presented the CABE student awards. Ms. Coggin, a staff member whose title was not stated in the transcript, presented the May 2026 financial report. Two outgoing student representatives to the board, one identified as Kyra Davenport (absent) and one addressed informally as Grace, delivered school reports; their exact roles and name spellings could not be fully reconciled from the audio. Kyra Imani and Parker Onacilla, Guilford High School students, attended to receive CABE Student Leadership Awards. Tyler Gargano, a Baldwin School student, was named in a student representative's report for statewide recognition of his invention, the Tremor Cup.

ORGANIZATIONS AND DOCUMENTS REFERENCED

Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) — presented the Student Leadership Awards to Kyra Imani and Parker Onacilla, with the award letter signed by CABE President Meg Scata and Executive Director and General Counsel Patrice McCarthy. Adams Orchestra Booster Club — donated $2,500 toward the purchase of a cello, approved by board vote. LEARN regional educational service cooperative — liaison report, nothing to report at this meeting. Town of Guilford — host of the June 16 town and school budget referendum and the preceding town budget meeting; also the point of contact for absentee ballot requests through the town clerk. State kindergarten entrance-age statute — cited by a district administrator as the reason this is the final year the board can approve under-age kindergarten enrollment exceptions. May 11, 2026 Board of Education meeting minutes — reviewed, corrected and approved as amended at this meeting.