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Weathersfield schools joins move to halt federal budget cuts
By Mary Smith
MINERAL RIDGE
The Weathersfield Board of Education has joined with other school districts, state and local governments in asking Congress and the Obama administration to amend the Budget Control Act.
The board Wednesday approved a resolution regarding the $1.2 trillion across-the-board cuts planned under the act, also known as sequestration.
The automatic budget cuts of sequestration are scheduled to go into effect Jan. 2 if Congress and the White House fail to reach an agreement to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next decade. All federal programs including education would be affected.
Under the act, education would see a reduction in funds of 8.2 percent or more, after federal funding for grades K through 12 programs already were reduced by more than $835 million in fiscal year 2011.
Superintendent Damon Dohar said that among the programs cut already are vocational programs and those in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which has resulted in cuts for special-needs students.
“But the requirements have not been cut,” Dohar said. “We’ve taken cuts. We’re taking a stand.”
The board also accepted a donation of 70 televisions from the Channel One Network, which provides a news program for students by students once a week in the schools.
The televisions were the original ones given to the district at no charge, provided they used Channel One.