After a Walkout, Consequences

By CHRIS BURRELL

They demonstrated against war and demanded peace, then walked out the doors of the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School to underscore their point.

In the eight days that followed, the 190 students who took part in the high school's first ever walkout have now undergone an unusual lesson in crime and punishment.

Outbreak of War Against Iraq Will Curtail Student Travel Plans to Countries Overseas

By CHRIS BURRELL

If war in Iraq breaks out before April vacation, students at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School can forget about their travel plans to Ireland, Costa Rica and England.

That was the message this week from the regional school committee whose regular monthly meeting Monday night drew a crowd of nearly 50 people - parents, students and at least three teachers who tried to sway committee members to reconsider their hard-line stance on travel.

Island Education Leaders Fear Budget Cut Layoffs

By CHRIS BURRELL

Bracing for the possibility of even deeper cuts to state aid for schools, Island school leaders now say they must consider laying off teachers and trimming both academic and extra-curricular programs.

The dire forecast came this week in reaction to Gov. Mitt Romney's proposed budget, which included significant cutbacks to the Vineyard's two regional school districts - up-Island and the high school.

Oak Bluffs Police Receive Overtime Pay

By CHRIS BURRELL

Oak Bluffs police officers are about to receive the kind of windfall most employees only dream of - getting paid for hours never worked.

Acting decisively on a grievance filed by the police union back in September 2001, an arbitrator last month ruled that former police chief Joseph Carter wrongly bypassed regular police officers when it came to filling overtime shifts.

The state wants to spend $3.25 million replacing the Big and Little Bridges on Beach Road along Sengekontacket Pond with concrete structures, but l

Up-Island School Budget Jumps 15 Per Cent

By CHRIS BURRELL

Taxpayers in Aquinnah, Chilmark and West Tisbury will see the cost of educating schoolchildren rise sharply next year as the proposed budget for the Up-Island Regional School District goes from $5.9 million to more than $6.8 million, a 15 per cent increase.

The reasons are much the same as at the regional high school, where the budget will jump by almost 10 per cent next year. State aid is dropping, and the cost of insurance is climbing.