Amity School Board Reduces Schools Chief Budget Proposal: Chair

(Editor's Note: This column was written by Amity Board of Education Chairman Paul Davis)

By Paul Davis, Amity BOE Chair

Board of Education Proposed Budget
On March 13, 2023, the Amity Board of Education adopted a proposed budget for the 2023-2024 school year that is a 2.25% increase over the current year budget and represents a smaller increase than most other school districts in Connecticut. This reduction to the Superintendent’s original 2.93% increase was proposed and recommended to the full Board by the Amity Finance Committee at their meeting on February 27, 2023. The consensus between the Amity Finance Committee and the Amity Board of Education allows the budget to move forward to the District Public Budget Hearing on April 3, 2023.

The proposed budget includes 2.92% contractual increases (salaries and benefits for staff) and addresses the increased costs of instructional supplies, utilities, and commodities due to inflation. The budget also supports an additional 0.6 Chinese language teacher for ARHS and a grant-funded district-wide In-School Suspension tutor to support student discipline and consequences. The budget proposal advances a new Middle School Math Interventionist teacher to support 7th and 8th grade students with academic needs in math. The budget also includes the reduction of an English teacher and a Visual Arts teacher at the high school. Additionally, because of the development of in-district programs for students with special needs, the budget includes a nearly 11% decrease in Pupil Services Department costs for the next school year.

We appreciate the feedback received from the Public, Town Finance Committees, Town Selectmen, Amity Finance Committee, and Amity Board of Education members throughout the budget development process. The public referendum on the Amity budget will be scheduled for May 2, 2023. All registered voters in the towns of Bethany, Orange, and Woodbridge can attend the public hearing and vote to support our schools in the Amity referendum. Detailed budget information is available on the District website www.amityregion5.org/boe/budget.

Decathlon State Champions!
Congratulations to the members of the ARHS Academic Decathlon Team who won the state championship on February 25, 2023. Anchal Bahel, Elise Sheehee, Sophia Liu, Selin Ho, Sena Ho, Bridget Lowder, Ali Khan, and Shaofei Ong qualified to compete in nationals on April 28, 2023 in Frisco, TX. We wish them the best of luck as the move forward.

National Merit Finalists
Congratulations to the eight Amity seniors who were recognized as National Merit Scholarship Finalists on March 13, 2023. To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, Semifinalists advance to Finalist standing by meeting high academic standards and all other requirements. All eight of our semi-finalists were named as finalists for 2022-2023. Congratulations to Piyush Bahel, Jacob Bettencourt, Francis Cavallaro, Jennifer Li, Si Ru Liang, Yuqi Liu, Melinda Lu, and Brian Scully.

BOWA Elected Officials’ Day
AMSB and ARHS appreciated the opportunity to show off some of what makes our schools a special place in the first Elected Officials Day on March 3, 2023. ARHS Student representatives Anchal Bahel (Senior Class President), Frank Cavallaro (Student Body President), and Marin Korenaga (BOE Representative) did a great job representing the high school student body. Thanks is also given to Riley D’Andrea, Elliana Selearis, Tiari Young, and David Tobin for sharing their experiences as middle school students. All BOW Boards of Selectmen and Finance, Amity Board of Education members, and area state senators and representatives were invited into our schools. Visitors were taken on a tour of each school that focused on facilities, academics, and instructional and enrichment opportunities. A Q&A session at the end of the morning was accompanied by lunch catered by the culinary students under the direction of ARHS teacher Chef Hans. Unfortunately, inclement weather cancelled the visit to AMSO, but we look forward to continuing this event in the next school year.

“Box of Sox” Fundraiser
March 5, 2023, marks the two-year anniversary of the death of beloved AMSO student Ray Heenie. Ray was very interested in helping others, known for literally giving the shirt off his back to those in need. The AMSO faculty chose to honor him with an annual fundraiser called, "Ray’s Box of Sox,” which collects new socks and donates them to local homeless shelters. Last year, they were able to collect more than 1,000 pairs of socks that were distributed to four local shelters who were extremely grateful. This month, we continue the work started in Ray's honor. "Box of Sox" collection boxes will be located in all three of our school from Monday, March 3rd until Friday, March 24th. If you would like to donate, socks can be dropped off at the security desk of any of our three schools.

2023 CAS-CIAC Scholar-Athletes
Congratulations to Daniel Liu and Anushka Acharya, Amity’s 2023 CAS-CIAC Scholar-Athletes. This award is the highest honor to receive as a student-athlete at Amity. Both Daniel and Anushka are the best of the best of our senior student-athletes. They are extremely high performers both in the classroom and as a student-athlete on the track and the court, as well as having the highest level of character. CAS and CIAC will be honoring our scholar-athletes at the CAS-CIAC Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet on Sunday, May 7, 2023 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.

2023 CAS High School Arts Awards
The Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) honors excellence in both the arts every spring by presenting the CAS High School Arts Awards. ARHS is proud to announce Amity’s honorees for 2023. The Arts Award winners are Marin Korenaga for performing arts and Chloe Adzigian for studio arts.

AMSO home to Map Contest Winner from
Congratulations to AMSO student, Monica Chen, for winning this year’s Jr. Scholastic Map Man contest. A runner-up last year, Monica’s map submission was selected as the grand prize winner out of over 1500 entries from across the United States. We look forward to seeing her map published in Jr. Scholastic in the coming months. Several AMSO students participated in this contest with the support of their Social Studies teachers.

Amity Middle Schools Hockey Game
On April 4, 2023, all students at AMSB & AMSO will have the opportunity to take a school-wide field trip to watch the Bridgeport Islanders take on the Springfield Thunderbirds in a special daytime American Hockey League (AHL) game. This trip is an event where schools from across the state come to watch the game and receive positive messages throughout about maintaining an anti-bullying position and building self-confidence.

Unified Valentine’s Day Dance
Amity Regional High School hosted a Unified Valentine’s Day Dance on February 16, 2023. We had many other Unified teams attending, a live DJ, and lots of great dance moves! Our Amity Culinary made snacks for everyone to enjoy in the cafeteria once the dance had ended.

Conduct and Discipline Policies
With numerous concerns expressed by students, parents, and members of the educational community concerning conduct and discipline; the Board’s Policy Committee has worked with the Administration for almost a year to review, update, and revise related Board policies. After many rewrites, these policies were finally approved by the full Board at the March 13th meeting. The policies – 5131 Conduct and Discipline, 5131.7 Weapons and Dangerous Instruments, and 5131.8 Out of School Misconduct will inform all expectations and actions related to conduct and discipline. Board policies may be found on the District Website BOE Policies - Amity Regional School District #5 (amityregion5.org)