Granby School Committee approves handbooks, new disability curriculum, superintendent contract

GRANBY -- August 5, 2025, Granby School Committee approves updated handbooks, new special-education curriculum, and superintendent's contract. The committee voted unanimously Tuesday to accept revised student handbooks for East Meadow Elementary, including a new family identification card system for dismissal, and Granby Junior-Senior High School, where graduation now requires a freshman seminar and first aid and CPR certification. Director of Student Services Nicole Haru won approval for TeachTown, a fully grant-funded curriculum for students with developmental delays and autism that gives the district's social-emotional classrooms a structured program for the first time. Business Manager Todd Dorman reported an additional 20 percent health-insurance premium increase from the Hampshire County trust, effective October 1, layered on top of this year's 18 to 20 percent hike, plus a roughly $25,000 cut in state rural aid, partially offset by federal Title I, II, and IDEA grants running about $12,700 above estimates. The committee also ratified Superintendent Mary Jane Ricken's employment agreement and a memorandum of agreement with the custodial union following a brief executive session.