Woodstock CT Café

The Woodstock Board of Education (WBOE) welcomes our students and staff back to school for the start of the 2009-10 school year.  The classrooms are again filled with energy and the playing fields, school clubs and organizations are actively recruiting and engaging our students.  Spotlight on Woodstock Education will again start publishing monthly as a forum to address questions from the community, and to highlight particular initiatives and accomplishments of Woodstock’s students.  We encourage parents and citizens to send your questions and ideas to asktheboard@woodstockschools.net.  We will try to address as many topics as possible throughout the year.

Kicking off the new school year at its August 27^th meeting, the WBOE enthusiastically supported a proposal from Woodstock’s Green Team to move to 100% “clean renewable energy” for all of the district’s energy requirements.  By switching to Public Power Utility as our Generation Supplier, the district can save money AND fund the purchase of clean renewable energy in the form of 80% hydro and 20% wind through the CT Clean Energy Program and Sterling Planet.  Woodstock Public Schools joins the Town of Woodstock in this commitment to renewable energy, and the WBOE salutes the Green Team in its accomplishments in moving our community forward on this front.

Also at the August meeting the WBOE reviewed, at a high level, a first look at the district’s CMT scores.  In general, aggregated scores have improved. Read the rest of this entry »

from Harry Stefan

Today is the final day to submit comments to the Rural Development Agency of the US Dept. of Agriculture about the Academy’s application for funds to expand its Bentley Field Athletic complex onto existing wetlands.

The August 19th Norwich Bulletin article stated that Joanne Demars of the Norwich Rural Development Office is the person to contact regarding this particular application. However, the only email address I can find is for the director of the office, Johan Strandson. His email is: johan.strandson@ct.usda.gov

from Nary

Thank you Harry for reminding us of this.

The USDA first published this announcement in early July and received no responses. According to JoAnne Demars on Monday, August 31 when I talked with her, they had already made the decision to approve the loan of 2.5 million to the Academy before their own stated deadline was over. They didn’t know that anyone objected to this plan. Ms. Demars said that the loan is contingent upon all other approvals.

Barbara Newman at the Army Corps of Engineers also wasn’t aware of any objection to the development but was interested to hear there is. Ms. Newman is helpful. She asked CME to send me a copy of the revised plan submitted for Category 2 approval. The revised plan shows some fewer parking slots due to encroachment upon wetland, an added retaining wall, an added swale and a section of bleachers on football field removed (encroachment on wetland). Essentially, it is the same densely packed plan leaving no buffer for abutters and all development coming right up to the minimum set-back for wetlands. Well-reasoned and stated input might make a difference to either of these agencies. Ms. Demars and I talked at some length with Mr. Strandson who was interested and had many questions. Demars said she’d talk about this to an upper supervisor within the State. Newman said she didn’t know if the approval will be given or not. It will be decided in October, 2009.