Daily Five: BOE Praises Proposed School Budget

1. Today should be mostly sunny, with a high around 26, according to the National Weather Service. Tonight should be partly cloudy, with a low around 8, according to the National Weather Service.

2. Thursday night, the Board of Education held its second budget workshop, where it reviewed a $44.87 million budget proposal by Superintendent Jerome Belair for the 2013-14 school year, a 1.5 percent increase over this year’s $44.2 million total.

Several elected officials went to the board’s two budget workshops and while they provided some feedback, there were no outright complaints. The meetings drew little attendance from the public and board members also voiced few complaints, as instead many praised the proposal.

“I think (Belair) and the rest of the administrators deserve a good pat on the back,” Board member Sheri Cote said. “A 1.5 percent increase, that’s unheard of in the last several years.”

The past two years, the school budget has increased by 3 percent each year. To read about Belair's budget proposal, click here.

3. Tonight, the Board of Selectmen continues its budget reviews, and the police department is expected to resubmit its budget after the department's original proposal was rejected by the board.

Last week, the Waterford Police Department proposed a $5.3 million budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year, a 6.32 percent increase from this year's total. The Board of Selectmen agreed that was too much and told Police Chief Murray Pendleton to come back with an increase half as large, or 3.16 percent, meaning the total police budget would be around $5.15 million.

Tonight, Pendleton is expected to resubmit his budget for review. Additionally, the board will review eight other budget proposals from eight different departments.  

4. Schools and all non-essential government offices reopen today, after they were closed Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

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5. On this date in 2002, Kmart became the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. And on this date in 1973, the US Supreme Court delivered its ruling on Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in all 50 states.

Quote of the Day

“(Dang) the torpedoes, full speed ahead.”

-David Farragut

Trivia of the Day

After the defeat of the Titans by Zeus, which mythological figure was condemned to support the earth and sky on his shoulders for eternity?

Yesterday’s Answer: The Sullivan Ordinance was a proposal in 1908 by New York City to disallow women from smoking indoors. It was passed by the city’s Board of Aldermen, but was vetoed by Mayor George Brinton McClellan, Jr.