Towns adopt Region One budget for 2012

FALLS VILLAGE — The 2011-12 Region One budget passed by 40 votes in a referendum vote Tuesday, May 3.The total for the six-town region, which includes Cornwall, Falls Village, Kent, North Canaan, Sharon and Salisbury, was 345 in favor and 305 opposed.Three towns voted against the budget proposal — Falls Village (46 no votes to 29 yes votes), North Canaan (62-58) and Sharon (76-32).The proposal was approved by voters in Cornwall (38 yes and 20 no), Kent (61-27) and Salisbury (117-74).The budget proposal is for a total of $14,679,097, and represents an increase of 1.96 percent ($282,793) from the 2010-11 budget. The budget proposal went through a public hearing April 6.The Region One budget has three component parts — Housatonic Valley Regional High School, Pupil Services (which includes special education) and the Regional School Services Center (RSSC).The breakdown is: HVRHS, $8,248,940 (up $33,530 or .41 percent); Pupil Services, $5,523,618 (up $244,727, or 4.64 percent) and RSSC, $906,689 (up $4,536 or .50 percent).This year’s budget process took place during a period of controversy at the school district, with the resignation of the HVRHS principal and assistant principal just weeks before school started in August 2010, and an independent review of the circumstances of those resignations; the hiring of interim appointees to fill the positions; and two separate search committees to hire permanent replacements for the administrators.When the Region One school board in March approved contract extensions for Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain, Assistant Superintendent Diane Goncalves, and Region One Business Manager Sam Herrick, from the Central Office, and Pupil Services Director Carl Gross, and Special Education Supervisor Martha Schwaikert, it sparked criticism of the practice of extending three-year contracts for top regional administrators before the contracts are up.

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At 19 years old, she married Everett W. Vreeland of White Plains, New York and for a few years they lived in Ithaca, New York, where Everett was studying to become a veterinarian at Cornell. After a short stint in Coos Bay, Oregon (Mike couldn’t stand the cloudy, rainy weather!) they moved back east to Middletown, Connecticut for three years where Dr. Vreeland worked for Dr. Pieper’s veterinary practice.In Aug. of 1955, Dr. and Mrs. Vreeland moved to North Kent, Connecticut with their children and started Dr. Vreeland’s Veterinary practice. In Sept. of 1968 Marjorie, or “Mike” as she wished to be called, took a “part-time job” at the South Kent School.She retired from South Kent 23 years later on Sept. 1, 1991.Aside from office help and bookkeeping she was secretary to the Headmaster and also taught Public Speaking and Typing.In other times she worked as an assistant to the Town Clerk in Kent, an office worker and receptionist at Ewald Instruments Corp. and as a volunteer at the Kent Library.

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