Regular Meeting of the New Britain Common Council – May 13, 2026
Regular Meeting of the New Britain Common Council – May 13, 2026
This meeting of the New Britain Common Council, held on May 13, 2026, began at 7:00 PM with public participation and continued with the regular agenda at 7:59 PM. Speakers advocated for education funding, specifically opposing cuts to the district coordinator of career pathways and community partnerships and to instructional coaching positions. The council approved numerous resolutions, including consent items, budget adjustments, and recognitions. A proposed appointment of Jamie B. Vaughn as Alderman for Ward 2 was tabled pending legal review.
Consent Calendar
- Items A, B, C, and D were approved unanimously by roll call (13-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Chris Conan, a teacher at New Britain High School (188 Stanwood Drive), defended the district coordinator of career pathways and community partnerships (Sandra Sanford), noting that the academies achieved a 30% graduation with distinction and that Sandra Sanford raised over $1 million for the Met Academy alone through grants and partnerships. He argued eliminating the position would cause the programs to "flatline."
- Christina Hott, a math instructional coach at Chamberlain Elementary School (303 D. Walton Way in Thomaston), urged full funding of the superintendent's budget to preserve instructional coaching. She stated that elementary math proficiency increased by over 11 percentage points (from 7% to 19%) in three years and that every coach sees 4–5 intervention groups daily.
- Kevin Schubert (86 Nettleton Hollow Road, Bethlehem, CT), an auto shop teacher at New Britain High School, reinforced support for Sandra Sanford, comparing eliminating her position to "eliminating the goose that lays the golden eggs" given her external fundraising.
- Sandra Sanford (26 Pheasant Run, Newington) spoke in support of her own role, reporting a 93% graduation rate for academy students compared to 72% for the high school overall, over 120 students per year earning industry credentials, and 18+ college credit courses. She noted that eliminating her position would make CTE the only subject without a dedicated central office coordinator for the first time in 30 years.
- Desiree Costa (193 Amherst Street) asked the council to increase the MBR by $2 million and use $2 million from reserves to close the education budget gap. She criticized comments that dismissed district progress, noting decades of underfunding.
- Heather Miano (155 Stanwood Drive), a teacher and former academy student, supported Sandra Sanford, stating the academy model changed her life and that removing the position would stifle growth.
- Meg Shea (North Main Street, West Hartford), a 32-year district veteran, highlighted Sandra Sanford's role in forging partnerships that supported the Met Academy during COVID.
- Paul Edwards (717 Shuttle Meadow Avenue) raised a procedural concern about the prior appointment of Colin Osborne to Ward 2, arguing it was illegal, and expressed support for Jamie Vaughn's appointment, noting Vaughn is a registered Republican who meets charter requirements.
- Don Satellino (no address given) criticized the state for not releasing lottery funds for education and expressed concern about credit card use by the mayor, calling for accountability.
- Lisa Liu (63 Bassett Street) noted May is Military Appreciation Month and highlighted the Iwo Jima Monument and the Puerto Rican regiment monument, inviting council to attend a flag-raising ceremony on May 21.
- Angela Delfonso (16 Jones Drive) supported Sandra Sanford, citing her leadership and inviting council to visit the high school.
- A caller (Gail Collin, caller 7922) raised concerns about a proposed travel center (truck stop) on Farmington land near Slater Road, citing traffic, environmental, and public safety issues. She asked the council to evaluate the project fully.
Discussion Items
- Resolution #1 (Revised code enforcement penalties): Alderman Centeno moved adoption to increase fines for blight, animal health, housing violations, and garbage can violations. Alderwoman Scott and Alderman Smedley expressed concerns about removing trash cans as a penalty and about collection rates (57% historically). Corporation Counsel Caleb noted that removal would be rare. Motion passed with 1 opposing vote (4-1? Actually 4 in favor, 1 opposed, motion carried).
- Resolution #4 (Neighborhood Assistance Act): Alderman Santiago recused himself because his son is in one of the organizations. He substituted the original resolution, removing $5,000 from Boys & Girls Club and $5,000 from Parks & Rec afterschool and adding $10,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters. Total remained $1,509,184. Approved.
- Resolution #5 (West Main & Vine Street improvements): Alderman Malinowski moved adoption. Project cost $794,400 for pedestrian safety, connectivity, and a pocket park. Public Works Director Moriarty confirmed preconstruction meeting as early as Friday, completion by Nov 15, and that the project complements the B-line trail. Approved.
- Resolution #19 (Appointment of Jamie Vaughn): Alderman Smedley moved adoption, stating Vaughn is a Marine veteran, elected constable, and meets charter requirements. Alderman Santiago moved to table due to pending legal litigation. On roll call, the motion to table passed 9-4 (Aldermen Smedley, Delarnia, Gibson, and presumably one other voted no; nine voted yes). The item was tabled.
- Removal of item 37152 (Pentagonia Health software) from table: Alderman Santiago moved to remove from table. Passed. Corporation Counsel Caleb explained that a sole vendor analysis confirmed Patagonia is the only source due to existing data, staff training, and a unique medication inventory module. Approved.
Key Outcomes
- Consent agenda (Items A-D) approved 13-0.
- Resolution #1 (code enforcement penalty increases) passed with one opposing vote.
- Resolution #4 (NAA program) approved as substituted; Alderman Santiago recused.
- Resolution #5 (West Main & Vine St) approved.
- Resolution #19 (Vaughn appointment) tabled 9-4.
- Item 37152 (Pentagonia Health software) removed from table and approved.
- Various resolutions (items 2,3,6-18) approved unanimously or by voice vote with no opposition, including recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and several fire department and public works contracts.
- The mayor noted that the state provided a $13.2 million (18%) increase in education funding, reducing the projected 101 position cuts. He also mentioned that the Farmington P&Z set a July hearing for the proposed truck stop, and New Britain residents can weigh in.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to the May 13, 2026 regular meeting of the common council. It's now 7 p.m. We'll begin with public participation. And I just ask, I have a list I'll read from. Please remember to state your name and address for the record. Limit your speaking time to three minutes. And ask that you address your remarks to the chair, not the audience or individual members of the council. So let's begin. First name on the list is Chris Conan. Good evening. I'm Chris Conan. I'm a teacher at New Britain High School. I live at 188 Stanwood Drive in New Britain. I was here last week for the meeting, and I we didn't get a chance to speak. So I wanted to come and defend the uh proposed budget cuts for the education that we're seeing right now. Right now I'm specific, I don't think anybody should be losing their job, but right now I'm going to be defending the district coordinator of career pathways and community partnerships, which is currently held by Sandra Sanford. Dr. Gasper uses the expression uh building the beacon. I don't know if you've heard that before, but when I was putting this speech together, it really solidified the meeting for me because nobody has done more for our academies and our pathways at the high school than Sandra Sanford. We're nationally recognized by the National Economies Foundation with a distinguished uh title. So what we're doing at the high school, and what has been happening is we're building classrooms to meet modern and industry standards, and we're connecting the students with many community partners and finding them internships, uh job shadows, going on field trips, having guest speakers come to the school. We have four academies at the high school. Uh, one is the public service academy, one is business and finance, we have health services and the Academy I'm in, which is the Manufacturing, Engineering, and Technology Academy. Um, I don't know if anybody was able to make it to the academy's graduation last night, but we had a hundred and ninety students graduate with distinction. If you do the math, that's around 30% of our graduating class. Um if you're talking numbers, that is a very significant number, but we still like it to be higher. Uh, the academies provide students with a vision and a goal for their future. Uh, I've spoken with students before, and I encourage you to do the same. Um, if you talk to people in this community, especially recent graduates, and ask them about the academies and their experience, I can almost guarantee you that they have positive things to say. And it made a big impact on their life and their future. Umother number I wanted to put out there is that just in the Met Academy alone, which is one of four academies, uh, Sandra Stanford is in the last few years reason raised over a million dollars to upgrade our facilities there, and that's outside of district funds. So that's grant funding and community partnerships. Um, that doesn't even count the middle schools, their shops. We have a health academy who's been upgraded. Um, in our public service classroom, we literally have an ambulance simulator, so not just a touchpad, but an actual ambulance is built inside the classroom so that the students can get hands-on experience with that before they choose and go into that career. So I just wanted to end with saying that even though this isn't a traditional student-facing position, it's still facing elimination. Um, but this impact that the position holds is massive, and it helps teachers also like myself to improve their instruction and actually offer real world experience. Um, there's still a lot to do. So uh without this position, I can almost I really believe that we're gonna flatline, and we're we're being visited by other schools to see how we're doing it. Um, and then eventually we'll drop. So we have to keep the momentum going, and I appreciate that. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Chris. Our next speaker, excuse me, is Christina Haupt. Did I say that right, Christine? Good evening, members of the council. Um, thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I'm here with my math instructional coach team, but I will speak on um mine and their behalf as well. My name is Christina Hott. I live at 303 D.
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