Board of Education officials had good financial news at the board’s meeting Wednesday.
The district received a $988,000 federal grant for teaching American history, and the finance department also reported about $100,000 in energy savings for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
The “Teaching American History” grant comes from the U.S. Department of Education as a way to boost American history programs in local schools.
The three year grant was awarded to Shelton, Trumbull and New Haven, with Shelton acting as the administrator of the money, said Assistant Superintendent Lorraine Rossner.
“This is a highly highly competitive grant” Rossner said the at the board meeting.
The grant pays for Shelton to host training workshops for the three districts on topics of teaching American history to students in 5th – 12th grades. About 320 teachers will go through the training sessions.
“I think this will be a great thing for our teachers and students,” said Carolyn Ivanoff, housemaster for the Shelton Intermediate School.
“History education has really suffered in this nation,” Ivanoff said. “Our history is so crucial to our nation as an identity.”
The grant has potential to be extended for two more years, for another $600,000, Rossner said.
Energy Savings
The Board of Education finance committee also reported savings on heating oil and electricity for 2008-09 compared to the previous year.
The board started closing buildings earlier and used them less on weekends to cut back on fuel use. It worked. Even though 2008-09 was colder than 2007-08, the district cut its oil use by 17 percent, which saved about $50,000, the committee reported.
Also, installing new lights and trying to conserve energy at Shelton High School cut back electric use by 4 percent, the committee reported, saving another $50,000.
