Wednesday, July 21, 2004
The superintendent wants busing to be restored for high school students.
By MARY R. SMITH
VINDICATOR CORRESONDENT
MINERAL RIDGE -- About 50 to 60 Mineral Ridge High School students dressed in their school colors of orange and black will go door-to-door this weekend and July 31 and Aug. 1 to pass out fliers promoting passage of a 5.5 mill, five-year emergency operating levy on the Aug. 3 special election ballot.
The levy, which is the third attempt by the Weathersfield Board of Education since May 2003 for additional millage, would generate $558,168 a year.
Board member Marilyn Besoui, who addressed a group of about 35 parents who attended a community meeting on the levy Tuesday at the high school auditorium, said parents will be accompanying the students on their trek to contact homeowners.
Any questions homeowners may have will be answered by the adults. Informational fliers will be left on doorknobs if a resident isn't home.
Fiscal caution
The district is now under state fiscal caution, Treasurer Angela Lewis said, noting that the state is still coming in once a month and reviewing the books.
Michael Hanshaw, who officially takes over as school superintendent Aug. 1, said he has talked to the Mineral Ridge Ministerial Association, and local churches have agreed to place information about the levy in their church bulletins.
A prayer service for the levy is also scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 2 at St. Mary Church on state Route 46.
Hanshaw also said that he wants the board to restore busing to kindergarten through high school if the levy passes. The board approved a resolution two months ago agreeing to bring back busing for kindergarten through eighth-graders and for Trumbull County Technical Center students.
Busing cuts
Busing was cut in January 2004 to all but pupils who live two miles or more outside the district, saving $100,000 annually. Board-paid field trip busing was also cut, although pupils could take field trips if they covered the cost of the driver's salary, benefits and mileage. Busing for athletic events has continued.
The board also has cut 11 employees, including nine teachers, through attrition. But board members said they are about to draw the line on any more teaching cuts through attrition to preserve the quality of education in the district.
Board vice president Bruce Bacak, who moderated the meeting in the absence of board president Dr. Douglas Darnall, said that at Seaborn Elementary School, where there used to be four teachers per grade level, the number has been reduced to three, except for one class level.
The ratio had been 17 to 20 pupils per teacher but is now up to 20-24.
Without the levy, the district projects a $338,721 carryover balance in fiscal year 2005, and a negative balance of $101,790 in 2006. By 2007, that deficit is expected to grow to $1.03 million.