Schwartz Nominated For School Board

By Jeff White

A little over two weeks after losing her third district seat on the Legislative Council, Lisa Schwartz has been nominated by the Democratic Town Committee to sit on the Board of Education.

 The town committee’s endorsement of Mrs Schwartz, 39, comes on the heels of school board chairman Amy Dent’s resignation, made public two weeks ago. Mrs Dent, a Democrat, officially stepped down November 12, leaving the vacancy.

“It really came up as a fortuitous thing,” Mrs Schwartz said of the school board opening. “I had lost the election, and I felt that [the loss] was meant to be, and then this vacancy became apparent to me. I thought, ‘what a wonderful opportunity,’ so I threw my hat into the ring.”

“The timing was such that I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity,” she added.

Once the Democrats became aware of Mrs Dent’s resignation, they put the word out to any party member interested in consideration, according to Democratic Town Committee Chairman Earl Smith.

Along with Mrs Schwartz, Linda Thomas-Clement and Cheryl Clark also sought the town committee’s endorsement for the school board position. The Democratic candidates committee interviewed all three and turned in their recommendations for town committee consideration. The decision to back Mrs Schwartz was a difficult one, according to Mr Smith.

“We had three very qualified women before us,” he said. “The candidates committee had a very difficult time making the decision. We know of [Mrs Schwartz’s] work as a council person and as a member of the Democratic Party.”

Mr Smith said Mrs Schwartz’s ability to follow through on tasks thoroughly and completely was a strong selling point.

Mrs Schwartz’s experience in public sector service goes beyond her four years on the Legislative Council. She has also served in the state’s Department of Labor and Administrative Services.

The seven-year resident of Newtown said this week that her experience on the Legislative Council will serve her well should she be appointed to the school board. “I hope to lend a [Legislative Council] perspective to the budgetary process,” she said. “I’m coming into this obviously with an open mind. I’ve looked at the Board of Education budget for four years, so I’m [experienced] with it.”

“I’ve always been an ardent supporter of education,” Mrs Schwartz added.

The final decision of Mrs Schwartz’s appointment rests with the school board itself, which is expected to schedule a special meeting to interview her and make its final decision, since the board’s next voting meeting is not slated to occur until December 14.

Mrs Schwartz said that she would meet with Superintendent of Schools John Reed on Friday for an informal interview.

If endorsed by the school board, Mrs Schwartz will take her seat at a time when many difficult questions face the school district, regarding swelling student populations and the need for a new school for grades five and six. For her part, Mrs Schwartz participated in the preliminary feasibility study of a new 5/6 school that was performed by Kaestle Boos.

“I think it is an absolutely wonderful idea,” she said of a 5/6 school in Newtown. “I’m definitely a believer; I think it solves a number of issues that the district would otherwise have to grapple with individually.” Mrs Schwartz said she wanted to reserve judgment on the suitability of Cochran House at Fairfield Hills as a 5/6 school until more information is made known to the board.

Should the school board vote to approve the town committee’s nomination, Mrs Schwartz will join Sheila Stickles as a new board member; Mrs Stickles was elected to the school board during this year’s election and will be sworn in November 28.

In the past 20 years, only once has the school board not acted on the recommendation of a town committee, either Democratic or Republican, when they selected Charles Nanavaty to sit on the board over the Republican-nominated Joe Borst.