During the public portions of the Oct. 13 meeting, several people got up to comment for or against about the decision to allow the NHS band to perform at an Oct. 22 groundbreaking ceremony for the redevelopment of the town center parking lot. Gov. M. Jodi Rell is scheduled to be present at the event.
The event is on a Thursday, starting at 11 a.m., so the students would be getting out of class to participate.
Judy Igielski, a former Board of Education member, said she's heard from parents who are very concerned about the lost class time. "I'm not against the band playing, what I object to is the suddenness of it," she said. "People were not informed about it in a timely manner."
The students could end up missing three to four periods, and even though for some of them that includes lunch, not all students have lunch in their busy schedules, Igielski said. "I wish it could be on a weekend. Some students can't afford to miss that class time. They may think they can but they can't, she added.
Board of Education Meg Casasanta said the decision to let the students perform was made by Superintendent of Schools William Collins, not by the board as some people had thought.
"It's the superintendent's call, not the Board of Education's. I'm certain the superintendent would not let the students participate if he thought their academics would be compromised," said Casasanta, who is currently running for the Town Council.
People should start emphasizing the positive aspect of the students getting to perform for the governor, she said. The band normally gets out of class to rehearse, so this is time they'd be taking off anyway, she added.
She disputed the idea that the decision was announced suddenly. It's been around for several weeks now, she said.
Mayor Jeffrey Wright also defended the decision for the band to perform at the groundbreaking, which is for a project he has spearheaded. He said NHS Principal James Wenker told him that the students would probably be out of the school for only one hour.
"To save time they are not putting on their uniforms but coming over as they are," said Wright. "I think it's a great opportunity for our students."
He said it would have been better if the event had been on a Saturday, but that it had to fit with the governor's busy schedule.
In other business, the council heard a presentation from Town Planner Ed Meehan and Town Plan and Zoning Chair Cathy Hall about the proposed new Town Plan of Conservation, Development and Infrastructure. The plan was also the subject of a public hearing on Oct. 14.
The long-range plan provides a general picture of how the town, which has limited open space left, should develop in the next 10 years, and further into the future.
Copies of the plan are available to the public in the town planner's office, the town clerk's office, and at the Lucy Robbins Welles Library's Adult Reference Desk. It is also available online at the town Web site, www.newingtonct.gov, on the home page under News and Announcements.

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