The Derby USD 260 Board of Education on Jan. 27 approved a set of items the district said will expand classroom supports, dispose of surplus technology and pilot new course materials.

Prime Fit Youth pilot approved

Superintendent Heather Bohati told the board the Prime Fit Youth program would provide in‑class mentoring and supports for students identified as needing extra assistance, with the project funded partly by a grant and partly by district savings from unfilled positions. Bohati said the district would "try this out and see if it's something that supports our students in classrooms." A motion to approve the Prime Fit Youth agreement passed 7–0.

Surplus equipment sale awarded to Securitex Solutions

Pam Kelly, director of finance, said the technology department issued a request for proposals for surplus computing devices and received seven bids; one bid was disqualified for prior nonperformance. The highest qualified minimum bid was $71,025 from Securitex Solutions. The board approved awarding the sale to Securitex Solutions by a 7–0 vote.

Curriculum pilots: law and public safety, AP biology, foreign language

Assistant Superintendent Holly Putnam Jackson presented a proposal for a Law & Public Safety pathway pilot at Derby High School and said the district held a preview night and received feedback from school resource officers and community police. The board approved the Law & Public Safety pilot 7–0.

The board also approved an AP Biology pilot (materials from McGraw Hill and Cengage were previewed) and a secondary foreign language curriculum pilot covering middle‑school flex offerings and high‑school sequence courses; both votes were 7–0.

Executive session and routine actions

The board later moved into executive session to discuss employer‑employee negotiations and extended that session; both motions passed 7–0. Routine consent items (donations, travel requests, personnel reports, fund balances and claims) and minutes were approved earlier in the meeting by recorded 7–0 votes.

Votes at a glance

- Prime Fit Youth pilot — outcome: approved; vote: 7 yes, 0 no, mover/second not specified.
- Surplus equipment sale to Securitex Solutions ($71,025) — outcome: approved; vote: 7 yes, 0 no; mover/second not specified.
- Derby High School Law & Public Safety curriculum pilot — outcome: approved; vote: 7 yes, 0 no; mover/second not specified.
- DHS AP Biology curriculum pilot — outcome: approved; vote: 7 yes, 0 no; mover/second not specified.
- Secondary foreign language curriculum pilot — outcome: approved; vote: 7 yes, 0 no; mover/second not specified.
- Consent agenda (donations, travel, personnel, fund balance, claims) — outcome: approved; vote: 7 yes, 0 no; mover/second not specified.
- Motion to enter executive session for employer‑employee negotiations — outcome: approved; vote: 7 yes, 0 no; mover/second not specified.

Ending

Board members who spoke during the items emphasized practical considerations: funding sources for pilots, availability of teacher expertise for career‑pathway courses and procurement procedures for surplus sales. Staff said state contract pricing was used for capital outlay planning and that RFP processes produced the surplus sale result.