To the Editor:

Todd Higgins is an accomplished attorney, entrepreneur, father, and active community member. Todd grew up poor, raised by his disabled mother in Queens. Forced to leave school early to work, he earned a GED that got him in the door of the banking industry. During the evenings he pursued his undergraduate degree and later graduated magna cum laude, from Fordham Law, where he was a member of the Fordham Law Review and recipient of the Fordham Law Prize.

Todd’s background taught him from an early age that hard work and perseverance are the keys to success. When Todd does something he gives it his all. He understands that a best-in-class school system is not only critical for our children but also acts as a hedge against economic downturns for our community.

Newtown has all the ingredients needed for excellence in its schools: popular support of education, resource rich programming, and great teachers working hard every day to help all students realize their highest potential. What we need is Todd as a leader who can ask the right questions, analyze the data objectively, and drive implementation of the policies necessary to get all these moving parts working together to produce the outcomes that Newtown deserves.

Appointed to fill an open BOE seat, Todd has only been serving for a few months. In that time, he has already helped craft a best-in-class library selection policy, helped focus the strategic plan and the budget assumptions and priorities to make them SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely), and helped bring transparency to the Capital Improvement Plan. Most important, he has brought excellence back into the discussion and worked tirelessly to get our school system moving toward best-in-class outcomes.

Invest in the potential of our schools by electing Todd Higgins for Board of Education.

Jeff Capeci

Newtown