Richard Murray

And we scream that every year," said Richard Murray, chairman of the Killingly Board of Education.

In Killingly, as in many Eastern Connecticut towns, educators have some racial diversity among students, and a great deal of economic diversity.

The districts are dealing with two issues, not one.

"This is a fairly rural, poor area," Murray said.

When students are stressed about basic living issues, such as getting meals, homework takes a back seat, he said.This year, the district is starting programs in its intermediate school to help students at both ends of the learning spectrum -- overachievers and underachievers, he said.

The Connecticut Mastery Test measures proficiency in grades 3 through 8 in reading, math and writing.The results also are broken down by school district, gender, ethnicity, special education and degrees of poverty.

Richard Murray, chairman of the Killingly Board of Education, said he was relieved with Congress' approval of the $787 billion bill, which was partly designed to offset state cuts in education spending, keep teachers on the job and maintain class sizes. "We were looking at significant layoffs and hopefully this will mitigate some of that," Murray said. The stimulus package featured a $54 billion fund to prevent or restore state budget cuts with $39 billion designated for kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education. About $9 billion can be used for modernization and renovation and other priorities, and $5 billion will be used by the education secretary to encourage innovation. Another $25 billion will go to No Child Left Behind and special education programs, and $4 billion will go to Head Start and Early Head Start early education programs and for child care programs. Murray said local educators remain uncertain about their budgets because the state has to approve its spending plan.

Richard Murray, Killingly Board of EducationEmail Richard Murray

Richard Murray, Killingly Board of Education Email Richard Murray

Richard Murray, a 1 1/2-year member of the board, was elected chairman earlier this month.A Democrat, Murray succeeds Republican Edward P. Allard, who concluded a 33-year career of volunteer service on the board when he chose not to seek re-election in November.
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Murray said he hopes to improve the board's relationship with members of the Town Council and with the community, both of which have questioned some of the board's spending policies in recent years.

He and Sarantopoulos said the board will work to improve the quality of the curriculum from the elementary school level to high school in preparation for opening the new Killingly High School in 2008.

Murray and Sarantopoulos said the curriculum upgrades will help to better prepare the elementary school students for high school and will help to reduce the school system's drop-out rate.
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RICHARD MURRAY

Murray has served for 1 1/2 years as a member of the Killingly Board of Education.He served as board secretary, the equivalent of vice chairman, for the last two years.

Murray became involved in the school system as an elementary school volunteer and was chosen to fill a vacancy on the board.

He is a member of the boardof directors of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, an avid golfer and a member of the Killingly Democratic Town Committee.

Murray and his wife, Joan,are the parents of two children, Nicholas, 16, a junior at Killingly High School; and Allegra, 13, an eighth-grade student at the Killingly Intermediate School.

Richard B. Murry