As published in the Record Journal on Wednesday March 13, 2013
By Eric Vo
Record-Journal staff
evo@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2235
Twitter:@ericvoRJ
WALLINGFORD - There was plenty of talk and laughter Tuesday night as town councilors and Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. met with school administrators and the Board of Education at the Wallingford Public Library for their second annual potluck dinner.
The dinner is organized by the Board of Education and gives councilors and Dickinson an opportunity to ask questions about the proposed education budget.
As guests ate, School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo and Board of Education Chairwoman Roxane McKay gave a presentation detailing where the school system has been, what has been accomplished and what is being planned. The presentation’s purpose was to explain to the Town Council why the Board of Education is requesting a 3.54 percent budget increase.
“We’re definitely not going to stop,” Menzo said. “Our momentum is going and we’re going to keep moving.”
As Menzo and McKay described the past year and the programs that started to get students excited to learn, councilors shared their excitement.
“Ingenuity is the new reality for the district. The human resources are abundant,” McKay said. “No idea is too kooky or crazy.”
Councilor Nicholas Economopoulos said he was proud of the work being done by the board.
After hearing that Menzo is working with the town’s Economic Development Commission to transform a small part of downtown Wallingford into a community art space, Councilor John Sullivan encouraged him to pursue the idea.
Town Council Vice Chairman Vincent Cervoni praised all the work that has been done by the board and the central office staff, but said he wanted the school system to be known outside of Wallingford. “My observation in the past five or six years is that we’ve made tremendous growth,” Cervoni said. “I want to see that translate into a perception outside of Wallingford that Wallingford schools are as great as they are.” Cervoni said he often hears the town’s schools being compared to other area schools, such as Cheshire’s. While Menzo acknowledged that Wallingford schools aren’t identical to Cheshire’s, he said the school system is being recognized for a number of things, one of which is its strategic plan, at which other districts have looked.
“We have a fluid strategic plan. It’s always being reviewed on a regular basis. It’s not a document that sat on a shelf for the past four years,” Menzo said. “As we add mandates, we’re also moving forward with the strategic plan.”
Because of programs such as Wallingford 100 and the development of partnerships in the school system, “we’re getting local, regional, national and international recognition,” McKay said.
While “significant growth” has been made in four of the five areas of the strategic plan, Menzo said the system is behind in facilities.
“Facilities is the one area we need to get it to where it needs to be,” Menzo said. “We’re making progress, but it’s just not quick enough.”
Included in the education budget is money to upgrade the outdoor bathrooms and softball field dugouts at Sheehan High School, at a cost of $112,000.
Councilor Craig Fishbein questioned why the upgrades were included in the budget, believing there had been sufficient grant money to complete the upgrades in previous years. But Menzo said the money was never received.
“The $525,000 grant was approved, but never appropriated,” Menzo said. “The legislature approved $525,000 to be used for upgrades. It never went through (the) Bonding (Commission); it was dropped.”
The Town Council and Dickinson will ultimately determine how much of the proposed 2013-14 budget will be approved. In the meantime,Menzo, his staff and the board were recognized for their efforts.
“I think the school system, the superintendent, his staff and the board have been working hard,” Dickinson said. “Budget season is a time to make difficult decisions. But everyone just wants the best for the children.”
evo@record-journal.com (203) 317-2235 Twitter: @ericvoRJ
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