The Wallingford Board of Education has called a special meeting for Wednesday at 6 p.m. at its South Turnpike Road offices.

.The meeting was scheduled late Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the board authorized Superintendent of Schools Salvatore Menzo to begin negotiations with an unnamed food service vendor. Menzo (shown at left) said the purpose of the meeting is to give the board an update on the negotiations.

"We want to proceed very carefully with this because it's the first time we're doing it," he said. "I want to keep the board as well informed as possible."

 

The board's authorization vote came just weeks after current Food Service Director Sharlene Wong informed the district she was leaving to take a similar job with the Bridgeport Public School system. Wong had been on medical leave for several months before her announcement that she was leaving to take another job.

The meeting agenda also includes a notification that the board could take action on what it discusses in the closed door session that is also part of the meeting . Menzo did not indicate whether a vote was likely to take place, saying only that the notification is included on the agenda to give the board the ability to vote based on what it hears during the executive session.

Wallingford Superintendent of Schools Salvatore Menzo is currently on vacation, but late last month, he was a guest on the WNPR radio program, "Where We Live."

Menzo (shown at left in a photo from the "Where We Live" web site) was a panelist on a show discussing the teaching of cultural competency in Connecticut's schools. The term cultural competency is generally defined as an understanding of what is going on in other cultures around the world.


Joining Menzo on the panel were:


- William Howe, the Connecticut Department of Education's program manager for culturally responsive education.


- Eve Pech, director of programs for the Connecticut World Affairs Council.


- Jess Rimington, Executive Director and Founder of the One World Youth Project.


This episode of  "Where We Live" is about 50 minutes long. Menzo's joins the discussion with host John Dankosky at about the 10 minute mark.