Thursday, March 8, 2018
www.berlincitizen.com
Volume 22, Number 3
Berlin High School joins fight against hunger By Ashley Kus The Citizen
fit the Berlin Food Pantry and New Britain Food and Resource Center.
High school students are working to create 200 bowls for an upcoming fundraiser.
“The financial donations are a huge help,” said Doug Truitt, social and youth services director in Berlin. He said Berlin’s food pantry helps feed 70 to 80 households a month in town.
“It’s a way for communities to help in the fight against hunger,” said Caitlin DeSorbo, Berlin High School art teacher and fundraiser coordinator.
This time of year donations tend to slow and the pantry starts to see more of a need for items.
This will be the second time the high school art department has participated in the international Empty Bowls initiative. The program aims to fight hunger by creating and handing out empty bowls to community members in order to represent those who do not have a meal to eat.
“We need to have a steady flow of food,” Truitt said. “The money really helps fill those gaps.” He said in the last couple years the number of households in need has stayed steady.
In 2016, the school was able The Berlin High School art department held a “Bowl Olympics” recently, where students to create 100 bowls and raise and teachers created bowls on the pottery wheel. Caitlin DeSorbo, contributed just over $2,000 for the cause. a potluck dinner on Tuesday, will be donated by local This year DeSorbo is hoping March 13, 5:30 p.m., at the restaurants and businesses. to create more bowls and This year’s fundraiser will be high school cafeteria. Food raise more funds to bene-
Jail upgrades are put on hold A few weeks after the Town Council agreed to move forward with upgrading jail cells at the police department, the Board of Finance decided to table a transfer to fund the study. “Tabling this is not an insult to the police force, it’s just saying we prefer to see a plan where we can move forward for a new police station or remodeled police station,” said Sam Lomaglio, chair of the finance board. Members of the board voted unanimously last week to hold on transferring $30,000 from a fund that consisted of leftover reimbursements for portable classrooms, to the police station construction fund to pay for consultSee Jail, A7
See Bowls, A13
More school slots will be offered to Hartford students By Ashley Kus The Citizen
By Ashley Kus The Citizen
Recently, the art department held a “Bowl Olympics” with students and teachers creating bowls on the pottery
The Board of Education is more than doubling the number of seats offered in Berlin for Open Choice Hartford students next year due to concerns about declining enrolment. “We have a decreasing enrollment,” said Brian Benigni, superintendent of schools. “This is a way to increase our enrollment.” The Board of Education voted unanimously Monday
night, Feb. 26 to open up 67 additional Open Choice seats for the 2018-2019 school year, up from 23. The Open Choice Program, formerly Project Concern, began in 1966 as a way to integrate schools. The Capitol Region Education Council program now has nearly 30 participating suburban districts, including Berlin, Southington and Plainville. Each participating district submits the number of seats available for students entering the program. Hartford
neighborhoods are broken up by zone, with students in each zone able to choose schools from designated towns. Applicants then rank the schools in their zone based on preference. Last year Berlin filled less than half of the 23 additional seats it offered. Total enrollment for Berlin public schools is projected to see a steady decrease of between 0.1 and 1.6 percent See Seats, A12