The Southington
Cit itii zen
Volume 9, Number 23
Southington’s Hometown Newspaper
Top Southington students branching out By Julie Sopchak The Southington Citizen
As the school year comes to a close, Southington High School’s top three students look forward to pursuing their own separate career paths stemming from the roots they’ve established in town. Valedictorian Bryan Davis, 17, will head off to the University of Connecticut to study electrical engineering, salutatorian Jonathan La
www.southingtoncitizen.com
Friday, June 7, 2013
Relay for Life
Follette, 18, will study biomedical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and class essayist Molly Potter, 18, will head to UConn for biology on a pre-med track. Davis and La Follette both came to an interest in engineering during their time at SHS. Both are students of technology education teacher Justin Mirante. “It was very project-ori-
See Top, page 19 Photo by Steve Cieslewski
Survivors walk around the track for the Survivors’ Lap at the Southington Relay For Life at Southington High School May 31. See story page 4.
Board of Ed wouldn’t drop plan for full-day kindergarten By Farrah Duffany Special to The Citizen
Citizen photo by Julie Sopchak
From left, salutatorian Jonathan La Follette, essayist Molly Potter, and valedictorian Bryan Davis.
After community forums, public hearings, town meetings and much debate, full-day kindergarten will officially begin in Southington in the fall. Although budget cuts had to be made to make the program work, the majority of the Board of Education members and the administration felt the decision was necessary to move the district forward, and parents did, too. “There were a couple things we looked at and we (were) not going to reduce any further,” School Superintendent Joseph V. Erar-
di Jr. said. “We shared with the board that technology was left intact, safety was left intact, and all-day kindergarten was left intact. That’s how strongly we felt about all three issues.” In January the school board voted to put the full-day kindergarten program in the budget. But the Board of Finance recommended that the school board’s $85.33 million proposal be reduced by $1.1 million, putting the program in jeopardy. On May 13, the Town Council voted 6-3 to accept the finance board’s recommendation and not restore
See BOE, page 10
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