www.southingtoncitizen.com
Volume 13, Number 50
Friday, December 21, 2018
BOE approves new contract with teachers The Board of Education approved a three-year contract with district teachers that increases wage costs by 8.6 percent over that period, but also increases teacher contributions
toward health care. School board members, who unanimously approved the contract Dec. 13, said they were pleased that the board and the union were able to negotiate a contract without mediation or arbitration.
“When we do it together, it’s the best outcome,” said board chairman Brian Goralski. “In this economy, all contracts are complicated… We were able to work it out in house.”
crease percentage is the total growth in what the town pays to more than 560 teachers. Some teachers will get a higher increase while others will receive a lower increase.
Business and Finance Director Sherri DiNello said the wage in-
See Contract, A6
Foundation awards $375K from Barnes Trust to nonprofits
Annual ‘Shop with a Cop’ gives holiday help to families
By Jesse Buchanan Record-Journal staff
By Ryan Chichester Record-Journal staff
The Main Street Community Foundation awarded $375,000 from the Bradley Henry Barnes and Leila Upson Barnes Trust to seven nonprofits for health initiatives in Southington.
Fifty police cruisers blared their sirens and led buses full of kids to Target on Tuesday night, Dec. 11, for the sixth annual “Shop with a Cop” event. The event, put together by the REACH Foundation and Connecticut Law Enforcement, allows children in financial hardship to shop the aisles of Target with a member of law enforcement. The officers are also given an allowance to purchase gifts for children in the towns they serve, getting suggestions from their shopping partners on what to buy. The event started with a meet-and-greet with police at Crystal Bees.
Goralski
The largest grant was $115,000 to LiveWell Alliance, a Plantsville group, for its Dementia Friendly Southington initiative. Each child was paired with a police officer to shop for holiday gifts as part of a Dec. 11 “Shop With a Cop” event at Target in Southington. Photos by Ryan Chichester, Record-Journal
“Everyone looks forward to this, but I think the cops really look forward to it,” said Mark Wilson, founder and chairman of the REACH Foundation. “They’ve said they’d like to do even more to help out. They really get a lot
out of this.” The event reached 50 children around the state in its first year in 2013, and last year saw that See Shop with a Cop, A8
The trust was established by a prominent local couple and has funded improvements at Bradley Hospital as well as other groups looking to improve health for Southington residents. The Main Street Community Foundation manages the trust and regularly awards grants to groups working in town. Susan Sadecki, CEO of the foundation, said grant applications are reviewed by a panel See Foundation, A7
R208429
By Jesse Buchanan Record-Journal staff