Youth board keeps officers, secures $17,600 in grants

Other Committee · Meeting of September 14, 2026

Newington's Youth Services Advisory Board retained its current officers and reported roughly $17,600 in secured state prevention funding at its September 14 meeting. The board's Local Prevention Council grant came in at about $5,600 for programs including the fifth-grade ALPS curriculum and a Project Grad donation, while a separate $12,000 nicotine-cessation grant will fund a new mountain-bike-based program pairing four students with two adults, using five bikes including one donated by a local Trek shop. Behavioral health representative Jules Calla flagged an additional DMHAS-funded "Cannabis Coalition" grant of up to $50,000, due October 16.

The board also discussed a spring CyberCivics anti-bullying presentation series for elementary schools and said its scholarship fund, reliant on gift-card and sporting-goods fundraisers that bring in $600 to $800 a year, has only "the bare bones" covered for this year's two $1,000 awards.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,734 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of September 14, 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, Introductions and Minutes

Background and stakes: This is a routine monthly meeting of Newington's youth-services advisory board, the town's multi-stakeholder prevention panel that brings together school, Human Services, parent, business and behavioral-health representatives to coordinate youth prevention programming and oversee the board's small scholarship fund.

The question before the body: Approve the May 2026 meeting minutes and formally reconvene for the fall.

Substantive content: Members introduced themselves around the table: Jamie Harris, assistant principal of the Stoddard House at Newington High School; Deanna Rini, owner of Karma's Closet and the board's business representative; Kayla Hendrickson and Carola Breck of Newington Human Services; Tim Manke; Rosselli Trister, a parent representative; Jessica Weaver, attending online as the Board of Education representative; Kathy Gonzalez, the Town Council liaison; Brett, a Human Services youth program coordinator; and Jules Calla, described as a behavioral health representative and town resident. A member identified only as Jay did not sign into the meeting.

Procedural steps and outcome: A member moved approval of the May minutes, a second was given, and the board approved them by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

Implications: Routine; sets up the fall meeting cycle.

Setting the 2027-2028 Meeting Calendar

Background and stakes: The board tries to lock in meeting dates roughly two years ahead to avoid conflicts with school and town holidays, since members also sit on Board of Education and Town Council schedules.

The question before the body: Whether to keep the long-standing "second Monday" meeting pattern through the 2027-2028 school year, and how to handle known holiday conflicts.

Substantive content: Members confirmed Mondays remain the least-conflicted night, since Tuesdays overlap with Town Council's second-and-fourth-Tuesday schedule and Wednesdays overlap with Board of Education meetings roughly twice a month. Reviewing the calendar out to September 2027 through June 2028, members identified that Columbus Day falls on the second Monday of October 2027 and agreed to shift that month's meeting to the third Monday instead. They also checked January dates against Martin Luther King Day in both 2027 and 2028, concluding the standard second-Monday pattern would not conflict either year, and confirmed Valentine's Day in 2027 and 2028 does not fall on a scheduled meeting date. One member noted she would be traveling and unable to attend the October 2026 meeting.

Procedural steps and outcome: The schedule was adopted by consensus with no formal roll call taken; members affirmed the dates verbally ("yep, yep, yep") after resolving the October conflict.

Implications: The calendar sets the board's meeting cadence for roughly the next two school years, with the one noted exception in October 2027.

Board Vacancies and Appointment Recommendations

Background and stakes: Board seats are filled by mayoral appointment, and the board customarily reviews upcoming vacancies before forwarding recommendations.

The question before the body: Which seats need to be filled or renewed before terms expire in November, and how to recruit candidates, including a youth seat.

Substantive content: Member Diana LoMenzo, whose term runs through November, is resigning immediately due to scheduling conflicts. Rosselli Trister is renewing her parent-representative term. Member Steve Parker is up for renewal in November but has been largely unable to attend meetings over the past year, which the board flagged as a concern heading into reappointment. A separate discussion addressed the board's eighth-grade student representative seat: one member said she has an interested eighth-grader and planned to discuss the specifics and time commitment with her later in the week. Members also discussed a possible library representative, referred to only as Joanna, and noted at least two more seats would need to be identified and filled.

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was taken; the coordinator said she would email the board with a full accounting of open seats so the board can "start with a full slate."

Implications: The board enters the fall with at least three seats in flux (LoMenzo's resignation, Parker's contested renewal, and the open eighth-grade seat), which could affect quorum or voting composition before the November reappointment cycle.

Officer Slate

Background and stakes: The board's bylaws require an annual reaffirmation of its chair and secretary positions.

The question before the body: Whether to retain the existing officers for another year.

Substantive content: The board discussed filling the chair and secretary roles, with two members initially expressing uncertainty before agreeing to continue. Brett was also asked directly whether he would continue in his role and confirmed he would. The exchange included some procedural humor about whether silence constituted consent ("silence is acquiescent").

Procedural steps and outcome: A member moved to accept the same slate of officers as the prior year; the motion was seconded by Kayla Hendrickson, and the board approved it by voice vote, 2-0 on the vocal count with no recorded opposition (the transcript records only the two affirmations plus the general "aye").

Implications: No change in board leadership for the 2026-2027 year. The recording transcript is not detailed enough to confirm which specific individuals hold the chair versus secretary title; that detail should be confirmed against written minutes once posted.

Spring Bullying-Prevention Presentation (CyberCivics)

Background and stakes: At the board's May meeting, a member referred to as Jay proposed bringing anti-bullying programming into the elementary schools after Human Services staff observed that bullying behavior among youth diversion team referrals often traces back to incidents that began earlier, in elementary and middle school, and went unreported.

The question before the body: How to structure and schedule a spring presentation series with the outside vendor CyberCivics.

Substantive content: The board has been coordinating with a school administrator referred to as Dr. Brema, who supported pulling high school students into the presentations alongside a CyberCivics facilitator referred to only as "Soni," who the board said has experience working with high schoolers. The scope of work, as described at the meeting, covers media literacy, cyberbullying, "digital drama," social media and responsible posting, and being an "upstander," plus a coordination meeting with high school student leaders who would help facilitate at the elementary level. CyberCivics would provide slides, references and worksheets, and sessions could be recorded for internal school use; the board discussed separately producing a parent-facing version of the material, since live attendance at parent nights has historically been inconsistent. Members also discussed low-cost kindness-recognition tools for younger students, including a peer-recognition card system cited as already in place at the high school (called a "kiss card") and at another elementary school referred to as Chaffee (a "soar card" system), plus free kindness-themed coloring books available through the Connecticut Clearinghouse in batches of roughly 50. One member raised reviving a prior "Newington Kind" yard-sign campaign from a previous spring.

The deliberation: One member, discussing parent engagement, said: "It feels to me like things are changing so quick and I'm not sure that all parents are keeping up with all of that... I think that would be a super important thing to do. My concern with that is always how well attended it will be." Another member proposed an alternative: "What if we do it virtually? Is there something that kids could do like an infographic... that way they get the information and kind of like bullet points... but they wouldn't have to choose between dinner and carpool." Gonzalez asked that any materials reach parents through the schools' existing communication app, saying: "If we can get Maureen to push it out through the school system to the parents, via whatever that app is that they use, it would be good."

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was required; the board agreed to continue scheduling the presentations for spring 2027 and to pursue posting bullying resources on the town or school website.

Implications: Depending on scheduling, elementary students across Newington's four schools could see the CyberCivics program in spring 2027, with a parallel, recorded resource for parents.

Fundraising and Sporting-Goods Giveaway

Background and stakes: The board's scholarship program, which awards youth adult council scholarships, is funded almost entirely through the board's own fundraising rather than town budget appropriation.

The question before the body: How to cover the cost of this year's scholarships and whether to repeat a used sporting-goods giveaway event in spring 2027.

Substantive content: The board's main recurring fundraiser, a holiday gift-card program, typically generates $600 to $800 a year. A separate "Portable Yard" sale partnership yielded about $800 the prior year but the vendor has since declined to continue the arrangement, with one member describing inconsistent answers from the company when the board tried to re-book. A Panera fundraiser has become less effective since it shifted to a code-entry system that the board believes undercounts in-person supporters. One member reported she had just submitted the board's Youth Service Bureau grant application, not yet approved, that includes an added $1,000 youth adult council scholarship line, which would cover half of the board's typical $2,000 scholarship need; roughly $1,000 in carryover from the prior year should cover the remainder.

Members separately discussed repeating a used sporting-goods giveaway event, previously held in spring, that distributed donated equipment including hockey sticks, golf clubs and baseball gloves to families; one member noted a parent who returned "literally a week ago" looking for another hockey stick to finish an Adirondack chair project. Members discussed possibly timing the event around a Parks and Recreation basketball event in late February or March to increase turnout, and floated add-ons such as sports-card trading or appearances by athletes, including a local contact connected to the "Bags Foundation," a Waterbury-based youth program run by a former professional football player, and a flag-football trainer who has worked with a former NFL player referred to as Malik.

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote; the board agreed to revisit the giveaway's timing at a future meeting, likely December or January, once spring scheduling becomes clearer, and to check with Parks and Recreation staff about compatible dates.

Implications: If repeated, the event would again rely primarily on donated sporting goods rather than purchased inventory, and its success depends on weather and scheduling around other spring sports activity.

Recovery Friendly Community Initiative

Background and stakes: Members raised the possibility of Newington formally pursuing "Recovery Friendly Community" status, a designation some neighboring towns, including West Hartford, already hold and publicize on their municipal websites.

The question before the body: Whether to begin working through the designation's requirements.

Substantive content: A member said Newington appears to already meet roughly half of the criteria in an informal assessment. The board discussed bringing in the formal template of requirements to begin working through them item by item, and noted a contact, Kim Ratta, who has been active on the topic and was mentioned previously at a town human rights event, as a possible resource.

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote; a member agreed to email the template to the board ahead of a future meeting.

Implications: Pursuing the designation would be a multi-meeting project; no timeline was set.

Grant Updates: Local Prevention Council, Nicotine Cessation and Cannabis Coalition Funding

Background and stakes: The board's Human Services staff administer several state and local prevention grants that fund in-school programming separate from the board's own scholarship fundraising.

The question before the body: Status update only; no board action required.

Substantive content: The Local Prevention Council (LPC) grant, awarded the day of the meeting, totals about $5,600 and funds the ALPS program for all fifth graders, a donation to Project Grad, and staff support. A separate nicotine-cessation grant, worth about $12,000, will use an online tool called Prevention Plus Sports, which ties substance-avoidance education to athletic participation. The program will serve small groups of four students to two adults, drawing referrals from students cited for nicotine or vaping violations in school, and includes 100 online program certificates or access links that can be issued to additional students referred individually. As an incentive tied to the grant's sports theme, the board partnered to acquire five mountain bikes, four purchased and one donated by a Trek bicycle shop in Newington, for use in the program.

Separately, Jules Calla told the board she had recently learned of additional funding available from the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, channeled through regional behavioral health action organizations and a group she described as the Cannabis Coalition. The funding allows up to $50,000 per award, with two awards available per region; Calla said applications are due October 16 and she was registered for an informational session the next day. She noted Newington already receives cannabis-retail tax revenue that funds a related program coordinated with a staff member referred to as Christina, and said she wanted to determine whether the new funding could support something the existing cannabis revenue does not already cover.

The deliberation: "We also got a nicotine cessation grant which I would love to get the information out in the schools," one Human Services staffer said, describing the Prevention Plus Sports partnership. On the bike program specifically, youth program coordinator Brett said: "We were able to get four mountain bikes. We got one donated from Trek in Newington on top of that, so five mountain bikes." On the cannabis funding, Calla said: "I just saw very recently that there is money coming from DEMAS to the RBHAOs," adding, "my only hesitation with that is that because Newington has cannabis retail, we get money already, whereas some communities don't."

Procedural steps and outcome: Informational only; no vote.

Implications: The LPC and nicotine-cessation grants, combined, bring roughly $17,600 in secured prevention funding into Newington's schools for the current cycle. The Cannabis Coalition opportunity carries a firm October 16 application deadline for any additional funding.

SCORE Program Update

Background and stakes: SCORE is a town-run after-school or holiday enrichment program whose brochures and registration cycle were just released.

The question before the body: Brief informational update; no decision required.

Substantive content: Registrations were due the Wednesday following the meeting, though late registrations would still be accepted. Programming has been shortened on some Tuesdays this year but will run on several school holidays, including Yom Kippur, Indigenous Peoples' Day, Election Day and winter break.

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote; informational only.

Implications: Families seeking spots should register promptly given the near-term deadline, though the program indicated flexibility for late sign-ups.

WHO WAS THERE

Jamie Harris, assistant principal, Stoddard House, Newington High School Deanna Rini, business representative, owner of Karma's Closet Kayla Hendrickson, Newington Human Services Carola Breck, Newington Human Services Tim Manke, member Rosselli Trister, parent representative Jessica Weaver, Board of Education representative, attended remotely Kathy Gonzalez, Town Council liaison Brett, youth program coordinator, Human Services (surname not given in available sources) Jules Calla, behavioral health representative and town resident Noted absent: a member referred to as Jay, who did not sign in

Outside parties referenced but not present: CyberCivics facilitator referred to as "Soni"; school administrator referred to as Dr. Brema; Gina Schmidt, a contact at John Wallace Middle School; Kim Ratta, a recovery-friendly-community resource contact; a Parks and Recreation staff contact referred to as Scott; a school communications contact referred to as Maureen; a Human Services program partner referred to as Christina; a youth program contact associated with the "Bags Foundation"; a flag-football trainer and former NFL player referred to as Malik.

Public comment: none substantive raised; one aside about a dog present during the meeting.

ORGANIZATIONS AND DOCUMENTS REFERENCED

CyberCivics — outside vendor proposed to deliver spring anti-bullying and digital-literacy presentations at Newington's elementary schools. Connecticut Clearinghouse — state resource cited as a free source of kindness-themed coloring books for younger students. Trek (Newington bicycle shop) — donated one of five mountain bikes purchased for the new nicotine-cessation program. Prevention Plus Sports — online cessation and prevention curriculum funded by the board's nicotine-cessation grant. Western Connecticut Coalition / "Cannabis Coalition" — cited by Jules Calla as administering DMHAS-funded grants up to $50,000, application due October 16. Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (referred to in audio as "DEMAS") — source of the regional behavioral health funding Calla flagged. Project Grad — recipient of a donation through the board's Local Prevention Council grant. SCORE — town enrichment program whose registration cycle and holiday schedule were reported at the meeting. "Bags Foundation" — Waterbury-based youth program cited as a possible partner for the sporting-goods giveaway event. May 2026 board minutes — approved at the start of this meeting.