Colapietro's take on the state budget

State Sen. Tom Colapietro said this morning that the $37.6 billion, two-year spending planapproved by lawmakers last night is "a fair budget."

"It takes care of most of the people," the Bristol Democrat said. "It's a budget with a heart."

Colapietro said the proposal, which Gov. Jodi Rell has not signed, would keep the technical school and courthouse in Bristol open, two institutions threated with closure by the governor.

"The school is saved," Colapietro said.

Colapietro said the budget isn't perfect, but it's a good compromise.

"We need a budget, for everyone's sake," the senator said.

Colapietro also took aim at those who opposed the spending plan, incuding state Rep. Bill Hamzy, a Plymouth Republican whose 78th District includes northwestern Bristol.

"I dare any of the no votes to say they did anything for their communities," Colapietro said. "If you vote no, it just means you're being downright stubborn."

Hamzy could not be reached this morning.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Courthouse, tech school saved?

The legislative budget approved last night apparently includes funding to keep the courthouse and the Bristol Technical Education Center open in Bristol.

But until I see that in black and white, let's not bet the farm on it.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Tech school to stay open under Rell's new budget

Press release from state Rep. Bill Hamzy, a Plymouth Republican whose 78th District includes northwestern Bristol:

Rep. Hamzy, CT BOE's Bobroske: Bristol Technical Education Center to Remain Open Under Gov's New Budget Plan

Funding for the Bristol Technical Education Center has been restored under Governor M. Jodi Rell’s most recent budget plan, making it unlikely that the facility will be closed as part of the effort to eliminate the state’s projected $8.5 billion deficit, said state Representative William A. Hamzy and state Board of Education member Beverly R. Bobroske.

Representative Hamzy and Mrs. Bobroske worked with Bristol Mayor Art Ward, Central Connecticut Chamber of Commerce officials, former and current Bristol Tech students, Mike Suchopar of the Bristol Boys and Girls Club, local business people and other area legislators to keep the school open.

“When the Bristol Technical Education Center was threatened with closure as part of the state’s effort to eliminate its budget deficit, I worked with other area legislators, state education officials, and state Board of Education member Beverly Bobroske of Bristol in a bipartisan effort to save the school,” said Representative Hamzy, R-78^thDistrict. “I’d like to thank my Democratic colleagues in the state House of Representatives and the state Senate who represent towns that send students to Bristol Tech for the role they played in our successful effort to keep the school open. When we work together in a bipartisan effort on behalf of our towns, good things happen. Saving Bristol Tech was a very good thing.”

“Over the years, the Bristol Technical Education Center has provided a steady stream of well-trained graduates for jobs with area employers. Bristol Tech partners with businesses and industries throughout the Greater Bristol-Plymouth region to make sure its academic programs keep pace with local employers’ current, emerging, and changing global workforce needs and expectations. The Bristol Technical Education Center is located in my district and I have always worked with school and state education officials to ensure its students train on the most up-to-date equipment possible. Bristol Tech makes an important contribution to the regional economy. We could not afford to let it be closed down,” Representative Hamzy said.

“As a member of the state Board of Education, I am totally committed to ensuring Connecticut students not only graduate from our public schools with the skills they need to be accepted at the most academically rigorous colleges and universities or well-prepared to enter the workforce, but also that they have access to a variety of educational options – including technical high schools like the Bristol Technical Education Center, which I strongly support,” Mrs. Bobroske said.

“Bristol Tech plays a major role in educating a substantial number of students in Bristol, Plymouth and 20 other surrounding communities who want to go on to careers in business, manufacturing, or other skilled trades,” Mrs. Bobroske said. “College is not for everyone, and for many years, Bristol Tech has provided an alternative path to success for young people and adults with different career goals. There always has been a steady demand for Bristol Technical Education Center graduates from area businesses, industries and manufacturing firms and that will not change. The school is an integral part of Bristol and Plymouth’s education community and I was pleased to play a role in enabling it to continue serving our young people.”

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Lawmakers vow to keep tech school open

The Bristol Technical Education Center is virtually certain to remain open this year, state lawmakers said.

“The chances of that school closing are a billion to one,” said state Rep. Frank Nicastro, a Bristol Democrat serving his second term in the 79^th District.

“I think it’s safe,” state Sen. Tom Colapietro said Wednesday. The 31^st District Democrat from Bristol said he “can’t find an advantage to closing that school.”

Though Gov. Jodi Rell has proposed closing the school as part of her effort to shave billions in state spending, the city’s legislative delegation is determined to keep the school open. They have backing from legislative leaders, including House Speaker Chris Donovan, a Meriden Democrat.

Rell has also proposed shuttering the courthouse in Bristol, a move that legislators also oppose.

Nicastro said, though, that when he was asked which was more important to keep, he answered without hesitation that the technical school matters most.

A petition calling on state officials to leave the school alone is attracting many signatures around town, according to Mayor Art Ward, whose office is collecting the finished papers.

“It’s vital to the community and of the utmost importance” to keep the school open, the mayor said.

Rell’s office has made clear that she is merely searching for ways to save money and is ready to leave the school open as long as cuts can be made elsewhere.

The school’s fate is caught up in closed-door budget negotiations that have yet to reach a deal that both the governor and the legislature can stomach.

Colapietro said the technical education school in Bristol serves a crucial function in training people to do crucial jobs in everything from culinary arts to heating and air conditioning.

Shutting down the school will make it much harder for people to get training for good jobs, he said, and impose additional costs on employers who may have to shell out for the education for workers themselves.

“I will fight tooth and nail” to keep the school open, Colapietro said.

The Greater Bristol Chamber of Commerce and local springmaking companies are also among the school’s champions. They are lobbying heavily to keep the school from closing.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Malloy backs ESPN, tech school, jobs

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Dan Malloy told party leaders recently that things have to change in Hartford.

“The mere fact that they almost chased ESPN out of town is amazing,” Malloy said.

The tax changes that ESPN opposed have been stripped from revenue plans developed by the Democratic-controlled legislature after critics howled, but Republican Gov. Jodi Rell never backed the tax hikes that lawmakers initially sought.

But Rell came in for plenty of criticism from the Stamford mayor who’s one of at least three Democrats angling to grab the governor’s office for his party for the first time in more than two decades.

Malloy said that Rell’s plans to shutter technical schools in Bristol and Stamford are short-sighted and expressed support for Bristol’s courthouse to remain open despite the governor’s proposal to close it, too.

“She’s clearly after you,” Malloy said.

Rell’s spokesmen have repeatedly said that no town has been targeted. They said that Rell is trying to spread the pain of closing an $8 billion budget gap as fairly as possible across the entire state.

They said that Rell doesn’t want to hike taxes so there’s no alternative except to close some courthouses, schools and other services in order to fund more crucial needs.

Malloy said that Connecticut has created jobs at a slower rate than any other state in the country since 1991, an indication that GOP control of the state’s top office is falling well short of what’s needed.

Focusing on the need to create more jobs, he said, is “how the Democrats are going to win” the 2010 governor’s race.

At least two other top Democrats -- Secretary of the State Susan Bysiezwicz and former House Speaker James Amman -- are also in the running for their party’s gubernatorial backing.

Malloy said that he would like to avoid a potentially costly primary fight this time -- he lost one narrowly in 2006 to New Haven’s John DeStefano -- and vowed to live with the party’s choice for its nominee if other contenders would do the same.

Malloy, who’s stepping down as Stamford’s mayor in November after 14 years at the helm, said he’s got a better chance this time around because “nobody knew me” in 2006. He said he’s ready this time to win.

Rell, whose standing in the polls remains high, hasn’t said whether she’ll seek reelection. No other Republicans have indicated a desire to take her place.

Jim Hopkins, a Democratic activist in Bristol, said that Malloy’s wrong about bowing to ESPN.

“If they’re not going to pay their fair share, who’s going to pay?” Hopkins said.

Malloy said the state needs a more progressive income tax so that the wealthy pay more.

But, he said, the state also has to “fight for every job” and can’t afford to risk losing businesses like ESPN to cheaper locales.

“It’s easy for them to leave,” Malloy said.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Strange politics at play

Taking into account that Gov. Jodi Rell is a Republican, it's strange that she's taking aim at a Bristol technical school championed by GOP stalwarts.
There are no shortage of state institutions in Democratic districts, after all, and the logic of the proposed closure of the Bristol Technical Education Center is shaky at best. The $2 million savings Rell anticipates almost certainly don't exist.
The school is located in state Rep. Bill Hamzy's 78th District. Hamzy, a former state GOP chairman, is an increasingly respected figure within state Republican circles who doesn't appear to have any personal conflicts with Rell.
He's also a big backer of the school.
And the head of the state's technical high school committee is yet another Republican with ties to Rell: Bristol's Beverly Bobroske. She's also a strong supporter of the school.
Throw in the insistence by the Greater Bristol Chamber of Commerce and a host of businesses throughout the region that hire the school's graduates and the political logic of targeting it gets even more odd.
The school has bipartisan backing, to be sure. Democrats say they love it, too, and have shown over the years that they mean it.
So what's the deal with it? The only critics of the place only argue that if something has to close to save painful cuts somewhere else, then shut it down.
But if there are no real savings from closure and political powerbrokers on both sides of the aisle want it to stay open, what's really going on?
It's hard to believe that Rell would, in the end, stick it to the Republican lawmaker who represents the school and shutter a school whose overseer is one of her GOP allies. That's just not how politics works.
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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Rationale for Bristol tech school unclear

It’s not clear why Gov. Jodi Rell is trying to close the Bristol Technical Education Center.
The chair of the state Board of Education’s Technical High School Committee, Beverly Bobroske, said the state panel never recommended its closure and believes “very, very strongly” that it should remain open.
Bobroske, a former head of Bristol’s Board of Education and an unsuccessful Republican contender for state Senate in 2004 and 2006, said the school serves a crucial need.
Gov. Jodi Rell’s proposed budget would shutter the two-year school in order to save taxpayers $2 million annually, a figure that remains unexplained. Rell said that painful cuts such as the closing the technical school are needed to close a monstrous budget hole without resorting to tax hikes.
State Rep. Chris Wright, a Bristol Democrat whose 77th District covers the northeastern section of town, said that sacrifices are going to be necessary to address the budget.
“But sacrificing the future of our children, sacrificing the future of our state, is not the way to do that,” Wright said.
The claim that closing the school will save $2 million annually doesn’t appear to hold weight to those who know the institution.
Because of labor agreements reached between the state and its unions, which agreed to wage cuts in return for a no-layoffs guarantee, the staff of the school will remain on the payroll. They’d simply be shifted to one of the other technical schools for at least the next two years.
“No one will be laid off,” said Abigail Hughes, the superintendent of the technical high school system.
Since labor costs make up the bulk of the expense at the technical school, officials said, it’s hard to imagine how closing it could lead to significant savings.
The governor’s budget cites the savings from laying off 30 people to explain its purported cost-cutting. But few if any of the personnel at the school can be laid off due to the deal Rell made with state workers.
The other technical school targeted by Rell, Stamford’s Wright Technical School, is suffering from dwindling enrollment and aging infrastructure.
Bobroske said the state school panel indicated in December that it might suspend the Stamford school’s operations for a couple of years while an agreement about its future could be worked out with a nearby community college.
Even that, Bobroske said, was done reluctantly.
But nobody ever considered shutting down the Bristol school, she said.
Students at the school Tuesday who have toured other technical schools said that Bristol’s technology is much better the norm and its educational program superb.
“There is no reason or justification as to why a school that creates so many life-changing opportunities and gives back so much to the community should be closed,” said Kyle Orde, an adult student who attends it.
Ben Russell, who teaches manufacturing, said the school provides the basis of a solid career for its students.
“Get a foundation and you can go anywhere,” Russell said. “It’s a great little school.”

Enrollment
Between October and May, only one technical school in Connecticut saw its high school age enrollment rise: the Bristol Technical Education Center.
Among the other 17 technical schools in the state, the average class lost 3 percent of its students.
Only Bristol, where the number rose from 108 to 113 students, saw an increase in those attending during the course of the school year, according to statistics provided by the state Board of Education’s Technical High School Committee.
Bristol also has another 22 adult students who paid more than $64,000 in tuition to attend this year, a number that’s slated to rise to more than $105,000 next year when 34 adults have been accepted.
Bristol’s technical school also has 106 students on its waiting list for the academic year that begins in August.

*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Pleading the case for Bristol tech school

James Murdock, an electrical contractor for the past 43 years, said Tuesday the Bristol Technical Education Center is crucial for young people looking to get into the trades.
“We need people who can do things with their hands,” Murdock said.
But the fate of the school depends less on how well it educates the next generation of skilled workers than how well the school’s backers can make its case in the corridors of the Capitol in the coming days.
House Speaker Christopher Donovan, a Meriden Democrat, stood in front of a battery of television cameras in front of the school Tuesday to declare that closing it would “the wrong thing to do.”
“We need to cut fat, not muscle,” Donovan said, “and this is muscle.”
Gov. Jodi Rell has targeted the school for closure in a bid to save the money needed to cope with an $8 billion budget gap. She said that finding the cash requires some painful cuts, including shuttering the school in Bristol.
Mike Nicastro, president of the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce, said the tech school is needed.
“We still have a manufacturing base here. We need to supply that base,” Nicastro said. “Why would we kill such an integral, important piece of this community?”
Plymouth resident Cindy Scoville said the Bristol-based New England Spring and Metalstamping Association has had “a brother-sister” relationship with the school since it opened.
The idea of closing it “just boggles my mind,” Scoville said.
“I don’t even understand why we would ever think of dismantling the shining example of regionalization,” Mayor Art Ward said, pointing to the more than two dozen towns whose students attend it.
The state representative whose 78th District includes the school, Republican Bill Hamzy of Plymouth, said its unique two-year program has proven itself worthwhile.
Michael Suchopar, who heads the Bristol Boys and Girls Club, said it helps students whose potential can “go untapped in a public school.”
Closing it, he said, would “close the doors to the future for many of these students.”
“It serves a purpose even greater than we recognize,” Suchopar said.
Former Burlington First Selectman Theodore Scheidel said that “to have it go away would be very sad for the community.”

*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Bristol getting hammered?

With both the courthouse and the Bristol Technical Education Center slated for closure under Gov. Jodi Rell’s proposed budget, the governor is “really taking a sledgehammer to Bristol,” according to state House Speaker Chris Donovan.

The Meriden Democrat said that Rell’s call to shutter the last two significant state institutions in Bristol – while also slashing the family resource centers from Bristol – shows her lack of concern for the Mum City.

“They’re closing the whole town down,” Donovan said.

One of Gov. Jodi Rell's four spokesmen, Chris Cooper, said that the proposed spending cuts are spread across the state.

"There's no singling out of anybody," Cooper said. "The governor is trying to spread the pain as evenly as possible.”

State Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat who represents the 31^st District, said that he’s not sure “if it’s just Bristol, but I know we’re getting hammered.”

“Bristol’s being targeted way too much,” the senator said. “How much more can Bristol lose? Why don’t they just make a ghost town out of us?”

Mayor Art Ward said he understands the need to share the pain “but it just seems that Bristol is being earmarked for more of the share than communities of equitable size.”

“I’m definitely not happy with the proposals that have been presented to us so far,” Ward said.

Ward said he’s not sure why Rell appears to be targeting Bristol “but I’m hoping our local delegation can step forward and present sufficient arguments to the governor whereby she can comprehend the effect on the community if these cuts are exercised.”

State Rep. Bill Hamzy, a Plymouth Republican whose 78^th District includes northwestern Bristol, said that he agrees on the need to preserve the technical school.

“It’s a good program,” Hamzy said. “It achieves the objective that we set out for it. That’s not just because it’s in Bristol.”

“That’s up to us to make that point” to the governor, Hamzy said.

Colapietro, an ardent technical school backer, said that losing the courthouse would hurt downtown, drying up business for restaurants and other enterprises that are trying to hang on in the city center.

Hamzy said that people need to keep the larger financial problem in context, blasting the Democratic leaders of the legislature for choosing to rile up residents with a series of press conferences rather than presenting a spending plan that would address the $8 billion shortfall facing the state.

“Beating up on Gov. Rell’s proposals is easy,” Hamzy said, but offering an alternative is tough.

Hamzy said the recently completed session marks the first time that the General Assembly hasn’t endorsed a budget, a move he said that leaves him “totally amazed.”

Colapietro said that people don’t realize how hard it is for the legislature to make cuts because everyone has different ideas about what’s worth saving.

“People yell cut, cut, cut,” he said, but they don’t realize the consequences.

“Be careful what you wish for,” Colapietro said. “You might get it.”

Targeted for closure

Courthouse

Bristol Technical Education Center

Already closed

State social services office

State labor office

Division of Motor Vehicles office

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

'Taking a sledgehammer to Bristol'

The speaker of the state House, Democrat Chris Donovan of Meriden, said this morning that Gov Jodi Rell is "really taking a sledgehammer to Bristol" with her proposed budget.
Donovan said that Rell's decision to close the courthouse and technical school in Bristol -- along with slashing the family resource centers at its schools, upping bus fares and reducing Dial-a-Ride funding -- show her lack of concern for the Mum City.
Donovan said that shutting down the technical school "doesn't make any sense" in an economy where so many are struggling already.
Before blasting the governor's decision to shutter the Department of Motor Vehicles office in New Britain, which is used by most Bristol residents, Donovan told a handful of New Britain lawmakers it could be worse.
"It's not like Bristol, where they're closing the whole town down," Donovan said.
I've asked the governor's press office for a response. When I get it, I'll post it here.

Update at 2:45 Saturday --

One of Gov. Jodi Rell's spokesmen, Chris Cooper, said that the proposed spending cuts are spread across the state.

"There's no singling out of anybody," Cooper said. "The governor is trying to spread the pain as evenly as possible."

Putting aside the merits of closing the courthouse and the technical school, it's really quite breathtaking to consider how much the state has abandoned Bristol over the past couple of decades.

Help me out with this folks, but off the top of my head I know the state closed the labor office in Bristol, shut down the social services office in Bristol, locked the doors on the Armory and shuttered Bristol's DMV office,

It has cut back on the use of the courthouse, but it remains open, for now.

The federal government has sought, so far without success, to shut down the Social Security office, too.

And don't be surprised if the looming cuts in the U.S. Postal Service have an impact in Bristol as well. The Forestville post office could easily wind up on the hit list.

*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Mixed reaction to tech school closure proposal

Reaction to the proposed closure of the Bristol Technical Education Center ranged Friday from vows to fight for its doors to stay open to acceptance that it may need to shut down as part of the state’s bid to close a multi-billion dollar deficit.

School Superintendent Philip Streifer said that given the magnitude of the cuts the state needs to make to balance its books, "something has to give somewhere."

Though he said he “would certainly hate to have those kids lose that opportunity,” Streifer said the loss of the Bristol technical school may be necessary in order to spread the financial pain.

Mayor Art Ward said it would be "very shortsighted" for the state to shut down the school in its quest to save money.

"The Bristol tech school was really starting to come into its own," Ward said, and deserves to remain open to educate young people and adults for whom learning a trade can be the ticket to a successful career.

Frank Johnson, director of the Manufacturing Alliance of Connecticut, said that closing the school would disappoint its students, faculty and the city.

But, he said, “technical students did get an education before that school was there and they would still get one.”

Closing the school is “one of the ideas that has to be looked at if you’re going to cut state spending,” Johnson said. “It’s not an inexpensive venture to have that satellite school there.”

Tom Murphy, spokesman for the state’s education department, said it would like to keep Connecticut’s vocational system intact.

Murphy said officials hope that the proposed closing of the Bristol tech school “won’t happen.”

But, he said, they also recognize the difficult economic times and the need by upper level decision-makers to tackle some tough choices as they try to deal with the financial crisis.

“We’re hoping for the best,” Murphy said.

If the school is closed, he said, the state may try to reopen it when the economy is better.

Murphy said the Bristol school offers one or two years of vocational training – along with core academic subjects – but doesn’t confer degrees. That’s still done at the hometown high schools of the 110 students who attend the technical school, he said.

The other technical school on the chopping block – in Stamford – has suffered from a sinking enrollment for years, he said. It only has a third of its 600-student capacity and just 30 students have sought so far to attend next fall.

Bristol is “close to capacity,” Murphy said, and both students and their parents have been happy with it.

If the school is shut down, the students would return to their home high schools, Murphy said.

Mary Ellen Pacific, who called herself the “substitute principal,” refused to allow a reporter or photographer to talk to anyone at the school Friday or even to observe classrooms. She had no comment on its possible closure and said Murphy alone could say anything.

State Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat, said Friday that people go to the school “so they can learn a career.”

“That’s one of the best schools in the state,” Colapietro said.

For those who are laid off and attending to learn new skills, the senator said, “What are they supposed to do? Bury them?”

He said he’ll fight hard to keep the school open.

“If I have my way, it’s not going to happen,” Colapietro said.

Streifer said that the regular school systems across the state are facing what amounts to a substantial cut in aid if they receive the flat funding that officials appear poised to deliver. Given that costs are up, that means there's less money to spend to provide education to the vast majority of students.

Streifer said the state's vocational education system has to share in the sacrifices.

If that means closing the Bristol technical school, Streifer said, "so be it."

He said the crucial issue is that the General Assembly and Gov. Jodi Rell make the tough choices and let municipalities and school systems know what to expect.

"The legislature needs to act and we need to know," Streifer said.

Johnson said there will need to be spending cuts and reasonable tax hikes to pull it off. If there are going to be cuts, he said, there will be pain involved.

The mayor said that given the country's manufacturing decline, it doesn't make sense to gut the educational institutions that can help turn the economy around. He said businesses need the school to help get the trained workers they need.

Ward said he understands the state's desire to trim spending, but doesn't believe that closing the school is the way to balance the budget.

The mayor said he's been at the school at least four times since taking office and seen firsthand how it helps some students develop hands-on skills that can turn them into tomorrow's plumbers and other tradespoeple.

"Not everybody's college oriented," Ward said, and it doesn't make sense to turn away those who need other options if they are to contribute as much as they can to society.

"We need the plumbers. We need the HVAC technicians," Ward said.

He said the school is the first step for many to get "a meaningful occupation" that can make them successful and productive members of the community.

Ward said he hopes the city's legislative delegation manages to keep funding for the school in the final budget, which is slated for adoption within days.

Johnson said it’s difficult for politicians to make cuts in order to balance the budget, particularly if it involves items in their districts.

“Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die,” Johnson said.

*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Ward makes case for tech school

Mayor Art Ward said Friday it would be "very shortsighted" for the state to shut down the Bristol Technical Education Center in its quest to save money.

"The Bristol tech school was really starting to come into its own," Ward said, and deserves to remain open to educate young people and adults for whom learning a trade can be the ticket to a successful career.

The mayor said that given the country's manufacturing decline, it doesn't make sense to gut the educational institutions that can help turn the economy around. He said businesses need the school to help get the trained workers they need.

Ward said he understands the state's desire to trim spending, but doesn't believe that closing the school is the way to balance the budget.

The mayor said he's been at the school at least four times since taking office and seen firsthand how it helps some students develop hands-on skills that can turn them into tomorrow's plumbers and other tradespoeple.

"Not everybody's college oriented," Ward said, and it doesn't make sense to turn away those who need other options if they are to contribute as much as they can to society.

"We need the plumbers. We need the HVAC technicians," Ward said.

He said the school is the first step for many to get "a meaningful occupation" that can make them successful and productive members of the community.

Ward said he hopes the city's legislative delegation manages to keep funding for the school in the final budget, which is slated for adoption within days.

*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Bristol school chief: tech school may have to go

School Superintendent Philip Streifer said Friday that given the magnitude of the cuts the state needs to make to balance its books, "something has to give somewhere."

He said the loss of the Bristol Technical Education Center may be necessary, he said, in order to spread the financial pain.

"I would certainly hate to have those kids lose that opportunity," Streifer said, but it may be necessary.

Streifer said that the regular school systems across the state are facing what amounts to a substantial cut in aid if they receive the flat funding that officials appear poised to deliver. Given that costs are up, that means there's less money to spend to provide education to the vast majority of students.

Streifer said the state's vocational education system has to share in the sacrifices.

If that means closing the Bristol technical school, Streifer said, "so be it."

He said the crucial issue is that the General Assembly and Gov. Jodi Rell make the tough choices and let municipalities and school systems know what to expect.

"The legislature needs to act and we need to know," Streifer said.

*******

Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Bristol tech school targeted for closure

In a late session bid to trim a massive budget gap, Gov. Jodi Rell proposed Thursday to close the Bristol Technical Education Center this summer.

The move would save $2 million for taxpayers while eliminating 30 jobs and close the doors for 108 students, according to Rell’s new spending plan.

The suggestion shocked school employees attending a teacher of the year celebration Thursday night.

Without the Bristol school, “the students we have wouldn’t really have anywhere to go,” said teacher of the year Steve Donaghy, the department head for heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

Donaghy, a Bristol resident who’s been teaching at the school for a decade, said enrollment is growing and students are finding jobs when they graduate in fields such as manufacturing, electronics and culinary arts.

The closure plan drew immediate criticism from Bristol lawmakers who have fended off efforts to shutter the Minor Street school in the past.

State Rep. Frank Nicastro, a Bristol Democrat, said that “to shut it down would be a travesty.”

“I will fight tooth and nail to keep that school open,” said Nicastro, who represents the 79^th District.

State Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat who represents the 31^st District, said he will also fight to preserve the school because it teaches students “new careers” and skills that the state needs.

The school teaches high school juniors and seniors – who hail from 31 towns between Berlin and Torrington – and offers trade certification and high school credits. It’s the only trade school in the state that doesn’t require students to decide to attend as freshmen, which Donaghy said may make it an easier target because it’s unique.

 Among those learning new trades are adults who have lost their jobs or are looking to better themselves, Colapietro said.

Nicastro said shuttering the school would “hurt immensely” because the state needs more tradesman and skilled workers.

Rell didn’t address the closing of the Bristol school specifically in her comments about the new spending proposal, but maintained that the $1.3 billion in cuts she proposed over two years “were not easy, but I had to make them to meet these economic challengers head-on with courage and vision.”

The state faces a budget shortfall of at least $8 billion dollars during the next two years.

Figuring out how to close that gap – with some sort of mix of spending cuts, fee hikes and tax increases – has been at the top of the agenda for months, but it’s not clear that the legislature and governor are on the same page. Democrats are resisting many cuts while Rell refuses to consider higher taxes.

Closing the Bristol school would eliminate 19 full-time jobs and 11 part-time positions, according to the governor’s proposal.

Donaghy said that politicians are going to need to save the school. He said he hopes they can.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com