Volume 19, Number 50 Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
BOE chair pushes for budget cuts
“We are a chatty bunch,” joked Board of Education chair Kerrie Flanagan after her entreaties to discuss the proposed budget such as “who wants to go first?” and “does anyone have specific questions?” were met with silence or somewhat reluctant suggestions. Flanagan’s joke also came after the public again declined to take advantage of the public comment portion of the meeting, although the March 13 meeting was better attended than previous budget meetings. As proposed, the 2013-2014 school budget contains a net increase of 4.39 percent to $35,586,459. Among other changes, the budget with-
stands a drop of over $280,000 in state transportation funds, eliminates a kindergarten and two elementary teachers, adds six part-time tutors, and funds tools to convert to Common Core State Standards. It was the personnel costs that eventually became the focus of BOE members when they made suggestions. Board member Merrill Adams used Willie Sutton’s famous apocryphal quote about why he robbed banks to explain why the BOE should focus on personnel costs - “That’s where the money is.” Board member Bob Fulton called staffing in the face of declining enrollment “one of the central questions we need to think about.” “Given the declining enSee Budget, page 10
Frog Fridays return By Elisabeth Kennedy The Town Times Frog Fridays, a popular program offered by Everyone Outside, returns March 29. (Original date was March 22, but the weeather has been too cold.)
The Rockfall Foundationrecently announced it will provide continued funding to Durham Recreation for this exciting program. Frog Fridays is a free program offering opportunities to visit vernal pools to study an amazing array of life that appears in these pools each spring. On each outing participants will explore the woods for signs of spring on a walk of
Friday, March 22, 2013
CRHS represents at Berklee jazz fest
Submitted photo
CRHS jazz band recently participated in the Berklee College-High School Jazz Festival in Boston. By Diana Carr Special to The Town Times The jazz band from Coginchaug Regional High School competed in the Berklee College-High School Jazz Festival for the first time this year. The event took place in Boston, March 2, and the band placed in the middle of its division. Band Director Dean Coutsouridis said, “This year we have a strong rhythm section, so I thought it would be a good time to compete in the festival. I wanted to make sure that this would be a good experience for the kids, and that they would be on the same par as the others. I didn’t want them to walk away not feeling great about themselves.” Competing at the festival were 130 schools from around
the country as well as from Puerto Rico. Schools were divided into divisions, according to size. There were 15 schools in CRHS’ division, which came in eighth. Students from schools that placed first or second were eligible for scholarships to Berklee College. Each school was given a half hour to impress judges with the rest of the day spent in workshops and listening to concerts such as those put on by the Marine Corps Jazz Band and by Berkley College students. “Our kids felt they gave a strong performance,” Coutsouridis said. “They were pleased with how it went, and so was I. They did everything
the way we had prepared.” The jazz band performed: “In a Mellow Tone” by Duke Ellington; “Cut the Cake” by Average White Band; and “The Tiger of San Pedro”, a Latin tune. Coutsouridis said the last piece was difficult because the rhythms are tough. “One group does a complicated rhythm while another section is doing a different rhythm. The students have to be very exact. They can’t play according to how they think it will go.” Kevin Bjornson, a junior who plays tenor sax, was among those who were de-
See Jazz, page 24
See Frog, page 5 Photo by Lucy Meigs
In this issue ...
A Frog Friday participant holds a male wood frog that has come to the vernal pool to look for a mate in mid-March.
Calendar ..........................4 Government ....................8 Obituaries .....................18 Scouts.............................13 Seniors...........................22 Sports.............................15
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