School Board Selects Bill Hart In As New Chair

By Eliza Hallabeck

Arguments for and against the two candidates nominated for Board of Education chair during the board’s meeting on Tuesday, August 17, came down to passion and experience.

After roughly 18 minutes of discussion and voting, Independent Party of Newtown (IPN) school board member William Hart took the seat as chair of the school board after a 4-3 vote. Republican Board Vice Chair Kathryn Fetchick was also nominated for the position during the meeting, but the motion failed after a 3-4 vote.

As previously reported in The Bee, former Board of Education Chair Lillian Bittman, Democrat, announced her resignation from the position, but not her school board seat, on Tuesday, August 10, citing family reasons. In a letter circulated to her board and several other local elected officials, Ms Bittman said she could not devote “the emotional energy and time required” while dealing with a family issue she is facing that may require out of state travel and extended time away from home.

Ms Fetchick was the first to be nominated for the open chair position by Republican board member Debbie Leidlein and seconded by Republican board member Christopher Lagana.

“I think [Ms Fetchick] has shown through her actions, her passion, and her desire to make the education in Newtown the best education environment,” said Ms Leidlein. “She has tirelessly worked to promote the goals and objectives of this board, and I feel she is the best choice. She has a passion for education and for the children of Newtown. She has definitely time and time again demonstrated her desire for this position, and I feel that she is the best choice moving forward.”

IPN board member Richard Gaines spoke against Ms Fetchick’s nomination by saying it is her passion that can overwhelm her decisions. Both Ms Fetchick and IPN member David Nanavaty were up for the position of chair in December, when Ms Bittman was voted in.

“Unfortunately, I disagree,” Mr Gaines said. “As I stated in December, I don’t think that [Ms Fetchick] would be the best choice for chairperson. She has upon several occasions not demonstrated the characteristics that I would expect in the chairman by disregarding decisions that were made by the board and acting contrary to those decisions.”

While speaking to her nomination as chair, Ms Fetchick said she has had people come up to her expressing that while they may not always agree with her, they know she always follows through. Ms Fetchick also acknowledged that she has been outspoken on topics in the past, and, while that upset some board members, she believed it appropriate to share that information with the public.

“I feel I have put time and energy not only into promoting the policies the board currently has, but also in trying to improve the policies by being the chair of the Policy Committee,” said Ms Fetchick.

If voted into the position of chair, Ms Fetchick said it would still be a board of seven, not a board of one.

“We’re a board that has to take care of a $67 million budget, and that is a lot of responsibility,” Ms Fetchick said. “I think that the position needs to be somebody who has a lot of experience with the board and other boards in town. I spent three years prior to even running for the board in trying to understand how the boards all fit together, and I think that is an important aspect, to have good relationships with other boards.”

Ms Fetchick’s nomination for chair failed with Mr Hart, Mr Nanavaty, Mr Gaines, and Ms Bittman voting against the motion.

Mr Nanavaty seconded and was the first to speak to the nomination of Mr Hart as chair.

“In the short time that [Mr Hart] has been on the board,” said Mr Nanavaty, “I’ve been very impressed by his enthusiasm, his excitement, and his willingness to volunteer for what I consider a number of very difficult and very important positions on the Board of Education, especially the Facilities Committee developed by our chair.”

When looking forward to the future, Mr Nanavaty continued, it is important to look for a candidate who will serve as chair for the greater part of their allotted time on the board. Mr Hart, he said, is at the start of his four years on the school board.

“Hopefully he will be able to amass the necessary support as chair tonight to continue on into the balance of his term and keep the board on a stable path as it moves into the next three-and-a-half years of his term,” Mr Nanavaty said. “It is with a great deal of consideration that I took, that I seconded Bill Hart’s nomination for chair.”

Ms Leidlein spoke against the motion, saying Mr Hart had been with the board for a relatively short time, “and what I am looking for in a chair is a person with the history with the Board of Education.”

Before speaking to his nomination, Mr Hart said he was saddened at Ms Bittman’s resignation from the position, but hoped initiatives she began since taking the seat last December could be continued.

“We clearly have a board here with strong opinions,” said Mr Hart, “and that is good. Sometimes those opinions are quite polarized, and I frankly encourage that kind of debate and discussion so long as it is respectful and civil.”

As chair, he said he would encourage that kind of debate, as long as it could be contained within a reasonable timeframe. He also said he would continue to emphasize developing the relationships between school board members, between the board and school staff, and with other boards and councils in town.

“I don’t know if I have any great magic,” Mr Hart said, “but I believe I can provide some insight and some positional compromise to help us move forward.”

Before the vote, Ms Bittman also added her comments of support for Mr Hart.

“Every time I have turned around as chair, [Mr Hart]has been there to say, ‘What can I do to help?’” said Ms Bittman.

She said Mr Hart dives into details, and his business background has prepared him for the position.

“He could really make a difference on this board as chair, and I support him wholeheartedly,” Ms Bittman said.

On Wednesday, Mr Hart said he was still sad to see Ms Bittman leave the position as chair, and added, “It’s going to be a new experience for me.”

While Mr Hart has been on the school board only since last August, he said he also had experience on the school district’s Strategic Plan committee before joining the board. One focus for him, he said, will be to help solve problems as they arise. Emotions and animosity often surround issues, he said, but through approaching situations without emotion and with facts, they can be unwound.