The Westport public schools will be on a two-hour delay Friday due to the extreme cold temperatures, Schools Supt Elliott Landon announced tonight.

Today’s classes were canceled because of an overnight snowfall.

The Westport Board of Education purchasing policies have again come under criticism this time by a committee of the town’s legislative body.

The board discussed revisions to its policies Wednesday night and heard a plea from a member of the Finance Committee of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) that the policies include seeking three written quotations even if a state bid list is used.

The committee had made such a recommendation eight months ago as controversy swirled around a change in vendors for copiers for the schools and how the new vendor was selected.

The Westport public schools are closed today due to the snow.

Westport Schools Supt. Elliott Landon tonight presented what he called a “3 R’s budget” of $74.9 million to the Board of Education for the 2004-2005 school year that is a 6.9 percent increase over the current year’s budget.

Schools Supt. Elliott Landon goes over budget figures tonight with board chair Sandra Urist. WestportNow.com photo

In a document prepared for tonight’s Board of Education meeting at Staples High School, Landon characterized the budget as being built on “3 R’s”  re-examination, rationale, and responsibility.

“Whether addressing personnel, curriculum, equipment or facilities, every decision in this budget is both educationally and fiscally responsible,” he said.

He told the board that he shaped the budget “clearly cognizant of the fiscal pressures bearing down on the Town of Westport.” He called the 6.9 percent increase “modest.”

The Westport public school system is on a two-hour delay today due to an overnight snow fall.

Despite today’s frigid temperatures, work continued on the $74 million Staples High School renovation and addition project. The first phase is expected to be completed next year. WestportNow.com photo

David Abbey, a former special education coordinator at Staples High School, takes over as New Canaans school superintendent on Thursday.

He replaces Gary Richards who announced in May that he had landed a job in California. Abbey, 55, has been the district’s second-in-command since last year.

Abbey was special ed coordinator at Staples from 1981 to 1988. He then took a similar job at New Canaan High School, moving up to the principal position there in 1991.

This years holiday season provided ample opportunity for Westport students to learn about the spirit of giving.

They raised money for gifts, donated toys and food to the needy, and played Santa to dozens of youngsters who had written to the North Pole via the Bridgeport Post Office.

As expected, Westports Staples High School was among Connecticut high schools identified today as not meeting standards set under the federal No Child Left Behind education law.

Staples was cited because not enough students participated in the 2003 Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT), according to the AP.

Under the federal law, 95 percent of students are required to participate.

On Dec. 3, the state cited Westport as among Connecticut school districts that failed to make “adequate yearly progress,” a requirement of the law.

While the state at that time did not specifically cite Staples, Schools Supt. Elliott Landon confirmed that not enough students taking tests at the high school had contributed to the Westport deficiency listing.

He said only 44 of 48 Staples special education students participated in the CAPT mathematics test and 43 of 48 participated in the CAPT reading test.

However, he noted that for the special education students who did participate, 92 percent scored at or above the proficiency level in mathematics, and 100 percent achieved proficiency in reading.

In August, Bedford Middle School was listed on the state list of schools in need of improvement because one student did not take a test, according to Landon.

CAPT evaluates sophomore students in four subject areas: reading, writing, math and science. Student scores are the basis for determining which high schools are making “adequate yearly progress” in meeting the standards of the federal education reform law.

Full results are available at www.captreports.com.