The Board of Education has begun to examine the $82.7 million budget request from Superintendent Dr. Joseph Erardi, a process that will require them to make difficult decisions.

The proposed budget is about $3 million more than the current budget, an increase of 3.88 percent. About a third of this increase is attributed to the “funding cliff” left behind by a onetime federal grant of $1.16 million that the school district used in the last budget process.

Other factors contributing to the increase are more familiar, including contractual salary increases, decreased state assistance, rising transportation costs and increases in magnet school tuition.

Erardi said he believed an increase over 4 percent would simply be asking too much of the community. Ultimately, he proposed the elimination of 22 full-time positions throughout the district, which reduced the budget request by about $773,000.

“This is a recommendation that I do not support,” Erardi said. “It is brought out of necessity. But we are still not talking about closing any schools or any major areas of instruction. It maintains what I think is most important – the core teaching and learning in our schools.”

Four positions at Southington High School, one from each middle school, nine positions at the elementary schools, and 7 special education paraprofessional positions would be eliminated.

School administrators were confident the reductions would have only a minimal impact on class size, but the issue was still a major point of concern for the board.

“I’m really uncomfortable with the staff piece,” said

See BUDGET, page 16

Dr. Yvonne Thornton, a national best-selling author of two autobiographies, was chosen as the 2012 Southington Reads author. This is the first year that the event will feature two books, “Ditchdigger’s Daughters” and “Something to Prove.”

“We thought it would be beneficial for everyone to get the whole story,” said Southington Library Adult Program Coordinator and Publicist Jeanne Chmielewski. “It is an awesome story. It’s a touching story.”

Thornton is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, the Best Doctors in the New York Metro Area and was recently listed as New York Magazine’s top six specialists in her field in New York City. She has hosted her own television show and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Good Morning, America.

Thornton was named one of the five most influential black women of 2011 by Shecky’s online magazine. The other honorees were Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Halle Barry and Jennifer Hudson.

She and her family, including five sisters, also performed in an all girls band, the Thornton Sisters. The group performed at the Apollo and briefly signed with Atlantic Records before her father urged his daughters into the medical field.

“I love to speak about learning and education,” Thornton said, talking about how she has spoken about her books in various venues throughout the years. “That’s where it’s at.”

“Ditchdigger’s Daughters” is the inspirational true story of a father, a ditchdigger by trade, who would do anything humanly possible to help his six daughters succeed in life. In the Pulitzer Prize nominated book Thornton describes how, with seemingly unfailing energy and determination, her father Donald, working two jobs, saw each of his five daughters obtain an education and become established in a successful career. Donald and his wife gave their children the strength to achieve their goals in the face of hardships, not the least of which were racial and gender discrimination.

“My mom and dad were working class people,” Thornton said. “It was a wonderful upbringing.”

Thornton said she had received numerous emails, comments and feedback telling her that the “Ditchdigger’s Daughters,” which took 18 years to be printed, was a good parenting book.

“It was a labor of love,” Thornton said about the experience of writing and publishing the book.

“Ditchdigger’s Daughters” was made into an award-winning cable television movie and was condensed for inclusion in Readers Digest. “Something to Prove” is the sequel to “Ditchdigger’s Daughter.” In it, Thornton reveals how she ascended to the top of her field as a physician by drawing on her father’s teachings. Despite bias and setbacks, she became the first African- American woman to be board certified in maternalfetal medicine. Dismissed and shunned by her peers for entering the white, maledominated world of academic medicine, Dr. Thornton relied on her father’s life lessons, which taught her to be strong and rise above adversity. The book also addresses balancing a family life along with a professional career.

“No amount of success can make up for failure at home,” she recalled being told by her parents. Copies of both books are available at the library, though, due their popularity, patrons may have to reserve copies.

Registration for Southington Reads will begin on Feb. 1. Patrons may register their email address on the library website to receive an email reminding to sign up.

Southington Reads is Wednesday, March 27, 7 p.m. at the Aqua Turf.

Comments? Email eharris@ southingtonobserver.com.

A public hearing on the problematic Sewer Assessment 34 is set for the Town Council’s meeting on Feb. 14, but some residents in the area got an early start on voicing their concerns during Monday’s meeting.

Sewer Assessment 34 refers to three projects which were completed in 2009. The first project was on a section of West Street that is almost entirely commercial.

The second project was for a small neighborhood on Williamsburg Drive. The third was for a series of small streets, including Annelise Avenue, Skyline Drive, Cedar Drive and Reussner Road.

The three projects involve 72 sewer customers. During public hearings for these projects, residents in these areas were told they would be assessed between $60 and $80 per foot of street frontage on their property, with a one-time lateral charge of $750. The projects were completed, but the property owners have yet to be billed.

In the meantime, assessment and lateral fees have doubled, meaning that when the bills are finally received, they could be twice as much as the original estimates.

“All of you would be appalled if I quoted you a

See SEWERS, page 16