Community Corner

Superintendent of Schools to Address Town Tonight on School Reform

Her presentation is slated to take place before the Council's budget meeting.

Superintendent of Schools Mary Conway is scheduled to address the town tonight at Town Hall as a prelude to the first Town Council meeting for the 2012-13 fiscal year budget.

Her topic: Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's school reform initiative and its impact on Vernon.

Conway is slated to speak at 6:30 p.m., an hour before the council meeting is set to begin.  

Mayor George Apel has submitted an $81,346,432 budget to the Town Council for 2012-13, an increase of $2,052,683 over the current year's spending plan. Education accounts for $48,400,997 of that total.

The budget carries a proposed mill rate increase from its current level of 29.90 to 34.05.

Since she was hired last year, Conway has been steadfast in proclaiming a desire to change the way the local school system operates, particularly in the classroom on a daily basis.

But about a month ago, she was faced with figuring out the true meaning of a vague reference by the state to Vernon being in the bottom 30 "performing" districts in Connecticut.

The reference was made in the fine print of a chart announcing that Vernon could be eligible for an additional "conditional" educational cost sharing grant of more than $600,000.

She said at a recent school board meeting that there has been no official declaration yet, but she does anticipate some type of announcement like that once the legislative session ends.

She repeated that contention in a letter to parents dated March 14.

The letter is attached.

The education budget is scheduled for review at the 7:30 meeting. 


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