By Jayde Levesque

Westport’s Long Lots Elementary School is continuing its tradition of promoting diversity.

In a new project that teams Long Lots with Bridgeport’s Elias Howe Elementary School, students are learning racial and cultural understanding. 

The school has received a two-year $64,000 state diversity grant that “promotes literacy, confidence, and joy,” but it may have many other benefits. 

Mary Misevich, Long Lots vice principal and active participant in the diversity grant, said school officials have adopted the state Department of Education goals of “reducing racial and ethnic isolation and promoting multi-racial and multi-cultural understanding.”

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The Westport Board of Education spent today discussing issues such as class size and staffing during a budget workshop at the library.

The school board was discussing the proposed 200-07 school budget from Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon, which carries a 5.4 percent increase.

The proposal is a $4.2 million increase, which would bring the budget to $82.9 million from $78.8 million.

Included in the proposed budget is an additional high school social studies teacher to bring class sizes down.

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Two people questioned during Monday’s Westport Board of Education meeting how school officials handled an incident where several girls were allegedly caught smoking marijuana in the Staples High School bathroom.

Last month police reported an incident where three girls were smoking marijuana in a bathroom, and one of the girls was arrested. Her name was not released because of a new state law.

Josephine Kaye, who has worked as a psychoanalysist, said during Monday’s meeting that there was an independent urine test in the case completed by a local pediatrician on the same day of the incident.

The test came back with a negative result, she said, and the six-day suspension should be removed from the girl’s record. Kaye’s husband, Alan, also addressed the board briefly on the same subject.

The Westport Special Education PTA will hold a forum on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the library about brain function and how it can be molded.

Research has shown the brain doesn’t stop changing or adjusting, and parents can hear from experts about how it’s not too late to work with a child to change brain function in some ways.

The experts will talk about how many learning disorders and disabilities can be addressed by therapies that take advantage of brain plasticity, which allows for the brain to change and grow with stimulation.

The panel includes Marie Ossi, who will talk about addressing learning through body movements; Mark Goldenberg, a chiropractic neurologist; and David Martin, who will talk about training students with instrument enrichment.

For more information, call (203) 222-1796 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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School officials may face a $212,000 overrun in the current budget if things don’t change by the end of the school year.

The Westport Board of Education discussed the quarterly financial report during its meeting Monday night. The report covers the first half of the 2005-06 budget year that ends on June 30.

Nancy Harris, assistant superintendent for business, said there is a potential $212,000 shortfall because of electricity, fuel and tuition costs.

The 22.4 percent rate hike by Connecticut Light and Power combined with heating fuel increases is causing a deficit of $237,775, according to the documents filed with the board.

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Westport Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon struggled with the idea there could be a large increase in student enrollment next school year when he prepared his 2006-07 school budget proposal.

Landon has proposed a budget that has a 5.4 percent increase, which is $4.2 million, over the current budget. The current budget is $78.8 million, and if approved the school budget would go up to $82.9 million.

Landon said during tonight’s school board meeting that he prepared his proposal based on the normal enrollment projections, which includes adding five teaching positions at Staples High School.

There was a higher than normal enrollment increase this school year, however, he said, and there are projections based on those numbers, which caused him a dilemma.

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Wilton League of Women Voters and Board of Education members spoke about how school start changes affected the community during a forum at the Westport Public Library today.

The Westport League of Women Voters hosted the forum as part of a statewide league study favoring later school start times for teenagers in high and middle schools.

League members were given ballots to vote if it agrees with the state study. The ballots are due to state league officials by April 1.

The Wilton Board of Education was the first to in the state to change its start times later for older students.

Catharine Kempson, Wilton League of Women Voters Action chairwoman, speaks about the study her chapter completed on school start times nearly three years ago. The Westport League of Women Voters held a forum today about a state league study calling for later school starting times for teenagers. The local league will need to vote on the state study. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jennifer Connic for WestportNow.com

Westport Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon has presented the Board of Education with a proposed 2006-07 school budget that carries a 5.4 percent increase over the current budget.
Elliott Landon: budget “reflects a judicious approach.” WN photo

The budget proposal was sent to board members Friday, and the cover letter was included in the board meeting agenda documents provided to the public. Last February, the board approved a $79.5 million budget which was a 6.5 percent increase over the previous year.

“This budget reflects a judicious approach to maintaining the high quality of education that the residents of Westport have demanded of their schools,” Landon wrote in the letter. “The budget incorporates our desire to provide our students with optimal educational experiences, but does so in a fiscally prudent manner.”

The letter states that .9 percent of the budget increase is attributed to enrollment growth and changes to the program.

Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon announced that all Westport public schools will be closed today due to the weather.