Twelve teaching positions, six at the elementary school level, the other six at the Sixth Grade Academy, could be on the chopping block as part of a 1-point-5 million dollar package of spending reductions being reviewed by the Norwich School Board’s budget subcommittee. The city council’s preliminary budget adopted earlier this month calls for no spending increase for the schools for the next fiscal year, after the board of ed requested a 3-percent hike. School board member Dennis Slopak says the proposed spending cuts, especially the staffing reductions, are irresponsible. The total amount of proposed spending reductions being considered by the school board’s budget panel falls almost one-percent short of the 3-percent cut needed for a flat-funded education budget. Aldermen must adopt a final spending and tax plan by June 12th.
DEVOS COMMENTS PROTESTED AT EAST HARTFORD HIGH
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Teachers, students and parents have gathered outside a Connecticut high school to protest U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos calling the school a “dangerous day care.” Demonstrators outside East Hartford High School on Tuesday said DeVos was wrong about the school. Connecticut Democratic U.S. Rep. John Larson and Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy also spoke out against DeVos’ comments. DeVos last week quoted a former student saying the school was “nothing more than adult day care … a dangerous day care.” The remarks came during testimony before a congressional subcommittee about what DeVos called the failure of public schools and the need for more school choice. A U.S. Education Department spokeswoman says DeVos testified about how many students need educational options and did not generalize about the high school’s student body.
BRACELET STOLEN
OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. (AP) – Police in Connecticut are searching for two people suspected of stealing a bracelet valued at more than $12,000 from an antique shop.
Authorities say the theft occurred around 3 p.m. last Wednesday at the Saybrook Antique Center in Old Saybrook. The bracelet was worth more than $12,500. Police have released surveillance images of a man and a woman they think were involved. They appeared to be in their 30s. An investigation is ongoing and anyone who recognizes the people in the images is asked to call police.
TOOTSIE BILL
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The Rhode Island House of Representatives has voted in favor of allowing parrots, parakeets and similar birds onto state-owned campgrounds.
The House voted 72-1 to pass the bill Tuesday. It now moves to the state Senate. The legislation is part of a years-long fight over letting a 23-year-old cockatoo named Tootsie onto Rhode Island campsites. An earlier proposal was vetoed by then-Gov. Lincoln Chafee, a Democrat, in 2012. A second attempt stalled in the legislature in 2015. Democratic state Rep. Evan Shanley said earlier this year he found a compromise after meeting with the state veterinarian and environmental officials and removing language that would have also allowed gerbils, turtles and goldfish.
RI PLAN TO PHASE OUT CAR TAXES
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A plan to eliminate Rhode Island’s unpopular car taxes has been introduced in the state legislature. Democratic House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello on Tuesday announced his plan for a six-year phase-out of car taxes, which are levied by cities and towns. Mattiello says it will cost the state about $221 million to fully eliminate the taxes by 2024. He says the first $26 million cut would happen in the next fiscal year that begins in July by reducing the percent of a car’s retail value that can be taxed from 100 to 95 percent. Mattiello pledged during a hard-fought re-election last year to eliminate car taxes. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo has proposed a more modest cut. The first public hearing is scheduled for next week.
