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 following is from the Barack Obama campaign.

The era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington has created a financial crisis as profound as any we have faced since the Great Depression.

Congress and the President are debating a bailout of our financial institutions with a price tag of $700 billion or more in taxpayer dollars. We cannot underestimate our responsibility in taking such an enormous step.

Whatever shape our recovery plan takes, it must be guided by core principles of fairness, balance, and responsibility to one another.

• No Golden Parachutes
• Main Street, Not Just Wall Street
• Bipartisan Oversight

Please sign on to show your support for an economic recovery plan based on the following:

Haven't registered to vote yet? Know someone who wants to register? There's still time. Read on.

Voter Registration Forms are available at the following locations:

Registrar of Voters
(Parson's Complex, 70 West River Street)
Hours: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Monday - Friday

Suzanne Manning and the Democrats should be acknowledged and appreciated for taking the time to look at the issues surrounding the re-opening of the OTB establishment. I don't see the downside to fact finding and allowing public comment and involvement before votes are cast. Additionally, pausing to reflect upon where Milford's revenues originate and the ramifications of accepting those sources is responsible leadership.

Our wonderful Democratic Candidate for Mayor of Milford, Kerri T. Rowland, was in Norwalk yesterday with the current Mayor for a mini-debate. Focus on CT, hosted by Tom Appleby, moderated the Channel 12 debate. Check below for the scheduled times remaining this weekend: