On April 14, 2010 Senator Harkin Introduced A Bill to Keep Educators on the Job.

The Keep Our Educators Working Act Will Create an Education Jobs Fund.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On April 14, 2010, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and of the Senate Appropriations panel that funds education initiatives, introduced the Keep Our Educators Working Act. The bill will create a $23 billion Education Jobs Fund to help keep teachers, principals, librarians and other school personnel on the job as states face crippling budget shortfalls.

If passed, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will provide the following benefits immediately:

• Access to Affordable Coverage for the Uninsured with Pre-existing Conditions
• Access to Quality Care for Vulnerable Populations
• No Pre-existing Coverage Exclusions for Children
• Re-insurance for Retiree Health Benefit Plans
• Closing the Coverage Gap in the Medicare (Part D) Drug Benefit
• Small Business Tax Credits
• Ensuring Value for Premium Payments
• Patient Protections
• Extension of Dependent Coverage for Young Adults
• Free Prevention Benefits
• No Lifetime Limits on Coverage
• Protection from Rescissions of Existing Coverage
• Prohibits Discrimination Based on Salary
• Public Access to Comparable Information on Insurance Options
• Health Insurance Consumer Information

http://dpc.senate.gov/healthreformbill/healthbill46.pdf

DEMOCRATS are moving ahead on this crucial issue. The Democrats are standing on the side of the American people against the unrestricted abuse by the health insurance industry.

Public comments from the 3/8/10 Board of Education meeting inspired the following post.

Some of the issues raised at the Board of Education meeting are listed below. The Board of Education members face balancing the needs of all students and numerous programs. The economy and expected budget cuts weigh heavily on everyone's minds.

Vying for funds:

• Milford Youth Lacrosse Program wants the high schools to offer Lacrosse as a sport. They presented a proposal to the Board of Education and Acting Superintendent Mike Cummings has already agreed to meet with the group.

• Will there be paraprofessional support for some children attending Camp Happiness? While Camp Happiness is a Recreation Department program, the school system provides services to some of the special education children. What is the status of Camp Happiness?
• The Mayor did not include the East Shore Middle School addition in his recommended bonding package forwarded to the Board of Aldermen. The need was established in 2002 and remains an issue today. What is the Board of Education’s plan to deal with this ongoing need? Why was the East Shore Middle School addition dropped?
• Concern over how the present and future legal fee expenditures will affect the education budget this year was voiced by a couple of commenters.

How will the Board members respond to these issues and how will they prioritize the final education budget?

Tonight the Board of Education quickly voted to pass the Superintendent's Proposed Budget for 2010/2011 without any cuts. In a 7-3 vote, the Board voted as follows:

YES	Mark Stapleton, PhD (R): Chairman (First District) mstapleton@milforded.org
YES	Tracy Casey (D): (Second District) tcasey@milforded.org
YES	Jack O'Connell (R): (Third District) joconnell@milforded.org
YES	David Amendola (D): Minority Leader (Fourth District) damendola@milforded.org
NO	Suzanne DiBiase (R): (Fifth District) sdibiase@milforded.org
NO	James Tranquilli, Jr (R): (First District) jtranquilli@milforded.org
YES	Gregory Oliver (R): (Second District) goliver@milforded.org
YES	Robert White (R): Majority Leader (Third District) rwhite@milforded.org
YES	Diane Kruger-Carroll (R): (Fourth District) dkruger@milforded.org
NO	Josip Jukic (R): (Fifth District) jjukic@milforded.org

The meeting began with Board of Education Chairman

Going Rogue

Mark Stapleton raising the issue of opening up the City Charter to have longer terms and/or overlapping terms for BOE members. While having experienced and knowledgeable board members would be beneficial for everyone, with one political party controlling the Mayor’s office and elected Boards, whose agenda will be in the forefront of change? Once the City Charter is opened, the entire Charter is subject to alteration. Whose voices will be represented?

Jack O'Connell asked the Chairman if he and the majority leader have met with the Mayor and the BOA to see what their objectives are because he feels it's a waste of time for the BOE to meet for long hours the next 6 days and work on a budget that they'll cut anyway. He asked for the Chairman to get direction from the Mayor a few times. He insisted that because the BOE, BOA and the Mayor are all Republicans, they should be able to work together to get something done. He believes that a City Charter change is necessary and that either the Mayor should be the Chairman of the BOE or the Mayor should appoint a Chairman/Board.

MEETING HIGHLIGHTS:

* Pumpkin Delight School needs an elevator.
* Milford Public School Capital Improvement Plan received the BOE’s approval unanimously. The Mayor will select and recommend those projects he views that the city can afford.
* Early Dismissal Wednesdays deemed successful and necessary by the school administration.
* Response to Intervention (RTI) will eventually replace the present way of classifying special education students.

DETAILS BELOW:

There is so much distortion and confusion about the healthcare debate. To try to dispell some of the misinformation and myths out there, I've found some information that may be helpful. Below are links to facts about health insurance reform.

The Milford Democratic Town Committee has been lucky enough to hear presentations by three potential candidates for Governor. Susan Bysiewicz, Dan Malloy and Jim Amann. (Jim Amann is the only one to officially declare.)

Jim Amann spoke to the Committee late last year and received a rousing endorsement from those assembled. He had a fantastic opening at his headquarters in Devon one week ago. Even Mayor Richetelli was there. Always a good sport, Jim and his wife Terri took the time this week to attend a fundraiser (pizza) for Paul Tarbox for Orange First Selectman.

Susan Bysiewicz spoke to the DTC in February and got a standing ovation. Susan explained how Jodi Rell has essentially abdicated her power to her staff and spends most of her time away from the capital - at home. (This fact was mentioned by all three candidates.)

Dan Malloy gave a short speech and took a number questions at the DTC meeting last week. The theme of his talk seemed to center on transportation (I-95 and rail) and the deteriorating infrastructure of Connecticut.

When one reflects on where Connecticut stands now and where they could be, we can only come to one conclusion. Connecticut needs a Democratic Governor.