Written by Autumn Johnson |

On February 6, 2017, the Clinton Board of Education approved the 2017-18 budget. The areas that are most affected by the budget this year are the at Morgan is the Chinese program at Morgan. and the Instructional Assistant.

As of next year, there will be no Chinese program. Freshman Ally Goguen stated, “Chinese is my favorite class. It’s the one thing I feel like I am good at and losing that is something I am devastated about. It was something I was looking forward to doing for the next four years, and now I don’t have that anymore.”

Chinese teacher Emma Liu stated that she feels “very, very sad for the school and the students” because Chinese will not be offered any longer.  She added that she also feels badly for students “in other classes” that may be affected by the budget cuts. 

Colleges look for three years of a consistent world language. Therefore, the students in Chinese 1 are strongly encouraged to start Spanish 1 and continue through Spanish 3. Unfortunately, the students in Chinese 2 will either have to look into online classes or switch into a  Spanish class for two years.

Another position at Morgan that has been cut is the library assistant position. Library Media Specialist Shannon Robinson will now manage the learning commons without assistance. Library Assistant Patty Dow has been reassigned to The Abraham Pierson School. Literacy Coach Jim Messina shared that, “she made really good connections with the kids, but I also think that the Pierson kids are lucky to have her. She’s a good person and I know she’ll make a big impact in any school that she works at.”

Even though the school board made cuts to the budget, the operating budget increased by 3.77%. Much of the increase is due to the rise in health insurance, salaries, special education, and electricity expenses. According to an email Superintendent Maryann O’Donnell sent to staff, “Staff and adminstrators worked hard at the building level to contain costs and to thoughtfully craft a budget.” Mrs. O’Donnell’s goal is to “support the needs of the students in this district and be fiscally responsible.”

The budget was adopted by the Board of Education on February 6, 2017. It was sent to the Board of Selectman and Board of Finance for review. The Clinton residents will vote on the budget referendum in May.