Daily Five: The Education Budget And Other School Issues

1.  Today is Tuesday, Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day. The National Weather Service predicts cloudy skies and a high temperature of 43 degrees. The low will fall to 32 degrees tonight, and there’s a slight chance of rain and snow before 3 a.m.

2. The Board of Education on Monday approved , a zero increase over current year’s spending. The budget will now be forwarded to the Town Council and Representative Town Meeting.

3. Kadri told the board the district is saving about $2.7 million a year by consolidating from three to two middle schools. , according to Wes Greenleaf, director of buildings and grounds for the public schools. Groton is eligible for a 57 percent reimbursement from the state for new portable classrooms. The department expects to get about 50 percent of the cost back.

4.  Family and consumer science will no longer offer cooking as part of the class in middle school next year.  The class will still teach nutrition, but cooking must be phased out because stoves are being removed or their use stopped to accommodate additional students in the two middle schools.

5.  The Board of Education also learned about a new class that will be offered to middle school students.  The class, called “Thinking for the 21st Century”, teaches different methods of problem solving in different subjects and grades. Classes are designed to teach students how to handle problems in steps, for example - to consider a goal, identify issues, brainstorm solutions, come up with an answer and reflect on it.