Westport Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon today warned parents of a possible school bus drivers strike Monday and urged them to make alternate arrangements.
Elliott Landon: Urges parents to form car pools. Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

In an e-mail to parents, Landon said if negotiations fail at 12:01 a.m. Monday with drivers employed by New Britain-based Dattco, its bus company, there will be no bus service.

“I urge you to consider forming car pools during this critical period,” Landon said.

“The Westport Police Department has arranged to provide additional traffic officers to direct traffic at high volume locations to ease the strain of traffic on our local roads and at each of our school sites.”

By James Lomuscio

Westport’s Board of Education tonight unanimously chose a familiar face—former PTA Council co-president Brett Aronow—to fill the chair left vacant when board chairman Donald O’Day resigned in August.

Brett Aronow is all smiles tonight. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Aronow, a Democrat recommended by the Democratic Town Committee to fill a party vacancy when O’Day left the seven-member board, was selected out of “seven excellent applicants,” said Jim Marpe, the board’s acting chairman. The board chose Aronow after three rounds of interviews resulted in a consensus among the six remaining board members.

“I’m very honored to be appointed, and I’m proud to be able to serve my community further,” said Aronow, a mother of three children in the school system.

According to Marpe, Aronow holds an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth, an MBA from Stanford University and has a business background in investment management, “which will bring a business perspective” to the board.

By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

www.ctmirror.org

A state panel is considering recommending wealthy school districts and high-income parents with special needs children to pay more to cover the skyrocketing price of special education.

One in eight Connecticut students—more than 60,000—receives special education services, and nearly $1 of every $4 spent on education goes to special education. In the past decade, while general education costs increased 40 percent, spending for special education increased by 65 percent, nearly a $700 million jump.

The panel—the Education Cost-Sharing Task Force—which includes the governor’s budget director and the co-chairwomen of the legislature’s Education and Appropriations committees, will likely recommend who should pay for special education as it’s now structured.

Panel members at a meeting last week, however, hesitated to support changes that many local school leaders say would cut their special education costs; the members leaned, instead, toward studying those changes.

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Eighteen Staples seniors have earned semifinalist status in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship program. Nationwide, 16,000 semifinalists –- fewer than 1 percent of all high school seniors—will compete for 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million. Pictured (back row, l-r) Robert DeLuca, Jordan Shenhar, Andrew Bowles, Felton Weller, Alec Wrubel, Matthew Levantin, Jason Hoving, Michael Menz, and Michael Holtz; (middle row) Judy Feng, Caitlyn Rand, Tiffany Yang, and Edmund Hardy; (front row) Leo McElroy,Douglas Russ, Blythe Lewis, and Clayton Andrews. Missing from photo is Marcus Russi. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The Westport 2013 Teacher of the Year, Cecily C. Anderson (2nd r.) poses tonight with nominees (l-r) Kristen Gerner, Saugatuck; Jeanne Lott. Green’s Farms; Barbara Robbins, Staples; Kerin Tighe, Long Lots; Jessica Lack, Coleytown Elementary, and Emily Hughes, King’s Highway. Julia McNamee, Staples, was not in attendance. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

www.ctmirror.org

Despite the shutoff of federal stimulus funding for the school year that just began, the state—surprisingly—lost fewer teaching jobs than when nearly $1 billion was being funneled into Connecticut schools.

“It’s the smallest reduction we’ve had in years by far,” said Joseph Cirasuolo, executive director of the state superintendents’ association. “It’s the first year without federal [stimulus] money. We didn’t lose anywhere near what we were expecting.”

A survey completed by 90 percent of the state’s superintendents found that they are starting the year with 393 fewer teachers, a 1 percent reduction since last year. In the previous two years—when the state received millions in federal stimulus money—districts shedded 1,200 positions in the 2011-12 school year and 1,500 in the 2010-11 year.

“Districts are left with far fewer teachers today, which results in larger class sizes. It’s a downward spiral,” said Eric Bailey, a spokesman with the Connecticut chapter of the American Federation of Teachers.

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The Westport Democratic Town Committee is seeking registered Democrats who are interested in serving on the Westport Board of Education to apply for appointment to fill a current vacancy on the board created by the resignation last month of Donald O’Day after seven years on the board, four as chair.

The successful candidate will serve on the Board of Education from the date of appointment until the next Board of Education election, which is scheduled for November 2013.

Prospective applicants may contact Elaine Whitney, secretary, Westport Board of Education, at (203)221-7335 or Jim Ezzes, chair, Westport Democratic Town Committee, at (203)222-1188 with any questions. 

Candidates must be willing to be interviewed separately by the Democratic Town Committee and the Board of Education prior to appointment.

Greens Farms Academy celebrated its 87th opening in Westport today. The school said 695 students will attend this year from 20 different towns. Eight students are studying off-campus for either a semester or the full year. New playing fields greeted the fall athletes, as well as a new center for global studies to accommodate seniors focusing on the school’s World Perspectives Program. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo