Daily Five: The Massive Subpoena, School Budget

1. Today should be sunny but windy, with a high of 50, according to the National Weather Service. Tonight, it should be mostly clear and windy, with a low around 23, according to the service.

2. Thursday night, Superintendent Jerome Belair gave an update to the Board of Education the state served Waterford in February.

The Waterford School District is part of a 10-district coalition that is suing the state of Connecticut, arguing the state does not fund education equitably. The state, for its defense, has since sent out a subpoena is demanding 46 requests for information all dating back 10 years.

Belair said the subpoena would require hundreds upon hundreds of hours to complete, and fill box after box of paper (one requests asks for all documents in the last ten years regarding every plumbing fixture in every school). Belair said the subpoena was punitive on purpose so the coalition would drop the lawsuit.

The coalition’s lawyers have since asked for the subpoena to be dramatically narrowed in scope because it is unreasonable, Belair said. A judge will make the decision soon on the scope of the subpoena, he said.

If the court says the subpoena is fair, Waterford will not have long to prepare the requested documents, Belair said. The district has begun to collect some of the information already, although it is being hampered because the district is busy with standardized tests and , he said.

“I would probably need to hire a whole new staff to complete this work,” Belair said.

3. Thursday night, the Conservation Commission again voted to extend its public hearing to April 26 on a proposal by Kobyluck Brothers LLC to install at .

That should most likely be the last session of the public hearing, Environmental Planner Maureen Fitzgerald said. Then, the Conservation Commission has 35 days to make a decision.

4. Tonight, the Board of Education presents its budget to the Board of Finance. On Thursday night, the education board approved , a 2.99 percent increase from this year’s total.

5. On this date in 2001, the World Wrestling Federation buys World Championship Wrestling, officially ending the Raw versus Nitro wars (a staple of my childhood). And on this date in 1830, Joseph Smith publishes the Book of Mormon, leading to the creation of the Mormon religion.

Quote of the Day

“History is more or less bunk.”

-Henry Ford

Trivia of the Day

What Mormon quarterback is the only player to throw six touchdowns in the Super Bowl?

Friday’s Answer: Japan’s emperor during World War II was Hirohito.