School budget up a little, high school tuition up a lot


SHARON —The Sharon Board of Education budget’s fourth and final draft contains a modest increase of 2.42 percent, or $79,694, to the Sharon Center School budget of $3,368,225.

The education total for Sharon taxpayers is up 7.23 percent, or $386,012. This includes an increase in high school tuition of 15.03 percent, or $237,392. Sharon’s share of the overall Region One budget rises $306,318 (14.27 percent) to $2,453,129.

The 2007-08 proposed budget’s net total for all Sharon students in kindergarten through grade 12 is $5,727,841.

Sharon Center School loses one full-time middle-school social studies position, as determined by enrollment projections, according to principal Karen Manning. The teacher who has been cut is Robert Giumarro.

Elsewhere in the SCS budget there are increases for teachers that are driven by contract, and numbers that reflect the increased costs of energy (electricity up 12.81 percent, or $7,704, to $67,833).

Increased fuel costs in turn help drive up the cost of building and grounds maintenance (up 12.22 percent or $1,288 to $11,828).

Improvements in computer technology contribute to a $57,077 (285.39 percent) increase in the capital improvements/computer-technology update line.

The total for all purchased services (ranging from an emergency fund to the bus contract to student athletic insurance) is up 13.05 percent, or $63,944, for a total of $554,109.

At the board’s last meeting the members voted unanimously to accept the SCS and Region One budgets. The Region One referendum is in May. The regional budget public hearing at Housatonic Valley Regional High School is April 4.


— Patrick L. Sullivan

Latest News

One dead, two hurt in Sharon car crash

Emergency responders block Amenia Union Road in Sharon Saturday, Oct. 11, while responding to the vehicle crash.

Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

SHARON — Emergency crews were called Saturday, Oct. 11, to Amenia Union Road in Sharon for a report of a vehicle into a building with entrapment.

The call went out shortly after 3 p.m. with an update at 3:20 p.m. reporting one dead on arrival, two conscious. Emergency helicopter transport was requested.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rhys V. Bowen

LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.

Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kelsey K. Horton

LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.

Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.

Keep ReadingShow less
Eliot Warren Brown

SHARON — On Sept. 27, Eliot Warren Brown was shot and killed at age 47 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a random act of violence by a young man in need of mental health services. Eliot was born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, and attended Indian Mountain School and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Brooke moved to New Orleans to answer the call for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the city.

In addition to his wife Brooke, Eliot leaves behind his parents Malcolm and Louise Brown, his sisters Lucia (Thaddeus) and Carla (Ruairi), three nephews, and extended family and friends spread far and wide.

Keep ReadingShow less