Town Council hears about two new schools for Mansfield

Board of education members presented their recommendation Monday night [May 24] for two new schools that would mean closing all three existing elementary schools.

School board members said they thought this option – which would cost a total of $59.8 million, of which Mansfield taxpayers would pay $27 million – was the best of several that have been discussed over the past year.

The projected state Department of Education reimbursement rate for this kind of project would be 54.9 percent.

State reimbursement for school buildings depends on the number of students enrolled, the size of the school and the types of material used during construction, in addition to other factors.

Currently, students in grades K-4 in Mansfield attend one of three elementary schools – Southeast, Dorothy C. Goodwin and Annie E. Vinton elementary schools. Beginning in 5^th grade, they attend Mansfield Middle School.

School Board Chair Mark LaPlaca told the Town Council, “The age and condition of the [existing] schools makes the expense and operation of the three schools in town extremely irresponsible.”

The Town Council will discuss the school consolidation project and has scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for June 14, and is expected to vote on the project June 28.

LaPlaca said that the two-school option – which was selected out of five possible options – is not the least expensive one, but it is what most board members support. Eight of nine board of education members voted in favor of the proposal May 13.

Board member Katherine Paulhus voted against the two-school option. She said she would rather keep the three schools in operation and restore them to a new condition.

This option was projected to cost $81.18 million, $45.19 million of which would be paid by taxpayers.

However, she said she knew that option was too pricey for Mansfield residents.

LaPlaca said, “The investment of upgrading three schools for 20 years would simply result in 70-year-old schools with the need to address these changes in the future.”

The least expensive option for taxpayers is building one big all-inclusive elementary school for Mansfield. This option would cost taxpayers approximately $19.06 million. However, this option has been hotly criticized by many town residents who said they want to keep smaller, community-style schools.

As for the two-school option, both schools would have between 310 and 315 pupils enrolled, which research indicates is the best size for elementary schools, said LaPlaca.

The sites of the new schools have not yet been determined.

Some Town Council members agreed with the school board, others said they were concerned with the price tag and what it would mean to taxpayers’ wallets.

“I’m very troubled with this recommendation,” said William Ryan. “As a council member I think there are many problems.”

Ryan said the school board needs to be aware parents are not “the only people in town” and education costs burden all taxpayers. “I think it’ll have a tough time to pass in November,” he said.

School board members defended their decision and said it is their responsibility to do what they think is best for the town – even if that comes with a high price tag.

“While fiscal responsibility is part of our considerations, the education responsibility is also what I’m thinking of,” said school board member Carrie Silver-Bernstein.

Posted May 25, 2010- as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

UConn men win first-ever IC4A track title,women win third straight

Kyle Duggan finished second in the pole vault to help the UConn men win the team's first-ever IC4A title. File photo © 2010 by Vito J. Leo for HTNP.com Sports

The University of Connecticut track teams this month both earned an IC4A title. It is the first in the history of the program for the men’s team and the third-straight for the women.

Earning 39 points off of two-first, three-fifth and an eighth place finish on the final day of competition in the IC4A Championship [May 16], the University of Connecticut men’s track and field team earned its first ever IC4A Outdoor Track and Field Championship Title.

UConn entered the final day of the 134th annual IC4A Championship down by 14 points behind the leader Liberty (39) and the host team of Princeton (27).

The day started off with the triple jump and the javelin, when Tyrone Faverey and Dylan Dombrowski both recorded PRs in their respective events.

Faverey finished in fifth place with a distance of 15.10 meters (49-6.5) in the triple jump, while Dombrowski took eighth with a throw of 63.10 meters (207′) in the javelin to add some more points to the Husky total.

“We were behind quite a bit heading into today,” said Head Coach Greg Roy. “Tyrone and Dylan’s PRs really started things off for us and we just kept on going from there.”

The Huskies were still down 22 points in a 60-70 team competition, heading into the 800 meter run, when Brian Gagnon and Mike Rutt did the thing that they are best at and finished competition ahead of the pack.

Gagnon picked up his second IC4A 800-meter outdoor title, this time with an outstanding time of 1:47.96.

Rutt finished just a few hundredths of a second behind Gagnon in third place with his season best time of 1:48.09.

The duo earned 16 points for the team and got them right back in contention.

Anthony Burris’ fifth place and season best finish of 51.93 seconds added a few more points to UConn’s total.

Mike Alleman also helped the Huskies out with a fifth place finish of his own in the shot put, with a toss of 17.30 meters (56-9.25). His throw beat the Liberty competitor’s throw and edged the Huskies’ closer to the title heading into the relays, the final events of the day.

UConn’s 4×800 meter relay squad, that finished preliminary action with an overall first place finish, did not disappoint, and took first place for the second-straight day and put the Huskies over the top and into first place.

The foursome of Dan Holst, Tim Bennatan, Rutt and Gagnon crossed the line in 7:23.49, over a second behind their closest competitor in Penn.

“Today was a good win,” Coach Roy said. “Winning a championship comprised of 60-70 teams is no easy task and you have to count heavily on the big points. Today, the team earned the big points when they needed to and got us our first IC4A Outdoor Championship in the history of Connecticut track and field.”

File photo © 2010 by Vito J. Leo for HTNP.com Sports

And on May 16, the UConn women’s track and field team won its third straight ECAC Outdoor Championship, as the Huskies dominated their competition with 105 points and six titles.

Led by the ECAC Athlete of the Meet, Trisha-Ann Hawthorne, the Huskies won their third straight ECAC title at the William Weaver Track & Field Stadium in Princeton, N.J.

UConn posted 105 points, a dominating 51 points ahead of Columbia, the second-place finisher. Brown rounded out the top-three teams with 41 points.

Hawthorne is coming off a successful BIG EAST Championship where she was also named women’s track Athlete of the Meet after winning both the 100- and 200-meter dash and was a part of the Huskies winning 4×100 meter relay.

This time, Hawthorne continued to dominate her opposition as she won both the 100 and 200 meter dash at the ECAC Championship for the third straight year.

Hawthorne and her fellow teammates also won the 4×100 meter for the third straight year. That group consists of Hawthorne, Mandela Graves-Fulgham, Phylicia George and Kristen Brown.

Hawthorne took home the crown in the 100 meter with a time of 11.58, while in the 200 meter she finished in 23.30, a new UConn record and a top-20 performance in the nation.

The 4×100 meter relay won the title with a time of 44.43 to break the ECAC Championship record.

The Huskies 4×100 relay team barely missed breaking the school record of 44.42, which was set in 2009.

The performance from the relay group moved UConn up to 12th in the nation in the event.

Other title winners for the Huskies included Graves-Fulgham in the 400 meter dash as she took first place with a school record time of 53.07, to improve her national standings from 22nd to 19th. Her time also set a UConn record in the event, one she set at the BIG EAST Championship two weeks ago.

Posted May 25, 2010

Mansfield's Merrill ready to face primary in Secretary of the State race

State Rep. Denise Merrill at a press conference about school bus emissions.

State Rep. Denise Merrill, D-Mansfield, barely clinched the Democratic Party’s endorsement for secretary of the state during Saturday’s [May 22] state Democratic convention.

Merrill said this morning [May 25] she is pleased she won the party’s endorsement, but is surprised it took two ballots.

“I was hoping to get it on the first ballot,” she said.

Democrats met in Hartford Saturday in the Connecticut Expo Center. Other nominations included the race for governor, comptroller and lieutenant governor.

The secretary of the state position – currently filled by Democrat Susan Bysiewicz – oversees all elections in the state and other duties in Hartford.

In the first round of voting, Merrill contended against former New Haven alderman Gerry Garcia and State Sen. Jonathan Harris, D-West Hartford.

Garcia received 455 votes (24.5 percent) Harris got 552 (30.4 percent) and Merrill took 808 votes (44.5 percent).

Because Merrill did not have at least a 50 percent majority vote, a re-vote was required.

Then, in an unexpected move, Garcia dropped out of the second ballot and publicly supported Harris. Despite those efforts, Merrill still won the nomination.

Merrill’s 966 delegate votes beat Harris’ 826 votes during the second round.

Candidates needed to get at least 15 percent of the first ballot vote to qualify for the August primary.

“I was shocked when Garcia openly threw his support for Harris,” she said. she added that she expects Garcia – and potentially Harris – to primary against her come August.

Merrill said she does not know why Garcia would have dropped out from the race, but knew Saturday’s event was a “typical convention” and “deals” were being made between big western and southern Connecticut cities.

Although she won the party’s nomination, Merrill said her work isn’t done. She expects to defend her nomination in August. “They qualified, they have the right to primary,” she said. “I’ll see them all in August.”

Merrill said she still has to keep campaigning for the post if she wants to be the party’s final candidate and win in November. “Now we have to talk to all the Democrats and put together an organization statewide,” she said. “I’m ready to go.”

According to Merrill, it will be her “hometown” support that will help her keep the nomination during the August primary and win the position this fall.

She said voter turnout is typically higher in suburban towns during primaries.

Merrill has represented Mansfield/Storrs in the 54th House District since 1993.

Eventually, her district expanded to include Chaplin and she has been the House majority leader for the past three years. Her current term will end in February 2011.

It is her experience in Hartford and commitment to Connecticut voters that make her the ideal candidate for the job, said Merrill.

“I’m a hard working, I’m known for that,” she said. “There’s no learning curve here.”

Posted May 26, 2010 as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

This story also included reports from the New Haven Register courtesy of McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, republished in Mansfield Today  through an agreement with The Chronicle.