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Hartford School Board Approves Contract To Run Magnet School In Manchester

By VANESSA DE LA TORRE

March 02, 2012

HARTFORD —— Superintendent Christina Kishimoto got permission from the school board Friday to finalize a five-year contract to manage Great Path Academy at Manchester Community College.

The grade 10-12 "middle college" academy will be Hartford's 13th magnet school, including the second outside city lines. The contract with MCC begins July 1.

Hartford and college administrators have discussed the possibility of adding ninth grade and want to boost overall enrollment to 300 students to receive $4.1 million in revenue. School funding comes from a $10,443 state grant for each student and an extra $3,300 in per-student tuition from school districts that send teenagers to Great Path.

Currently, 214 students attend the school from towns that include Glastonbury, East Hartford, Manchester and Hartford, administrators said.

Kishimoto said she planned to make job offers to the school's staff members "immediately." The Capitol Region Education Council has managed Great Path since 2004 and has stated it will help with the transition.

Friday's 6-0 board approval came after an initial delay. Board members tabled the decision last week, citing unanswered questions. During a special meeting Tuesday, they heard more on topics ranging from student discipline to the pending Freedom of Information complaint that CREC filed against MCC President Gena Glickman over the selection process for the new contract.

CREC last Friday offered its support for the agreement. Michael Meotti, the executive vice president of the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education, has also spoken in favor of it.

Board members Robert Cotto Jr. and Luis Rodriguez-Davila were absent from the contract vote. Elizabeth Brad Noel abstained because she sits on Great Path's governing board.

"The board did its due diligence," board Chairman Matthew Poland said.

School officials said Great Path will be the fifth "middle college" model for Hartford. Students can apply to take two tuition-free MCC courses per semester, although it's unclear how many of them do.

Hartford's Pathways to Technology Magnet High School in Windsor is affiliated with Goodwin College in East Hartford, where its permanent school building is expected to open by the 2013-14 year. The school system also has partnerships with Capital Community College, University of Hartford and Trinity College.