The Newtown PTAs and PTSA on Wednesday evening hosted an informational forum for Board of Education candidates running for election November 3. 

Republicans Andrew Clure and David Freedman and Democrat Rebekah Harriman-Stites took turns answering questions prepared by the PTAs and PTSA along with those submitted by community members during the one-hour event held in the Newtown High School Lecture Hall. Candidate and Democrat John Vouros could not attend the forum, but a statement by Mr Vouros was read near the end of the event.

Moderator and NHS Social Studies Department Chair Gary Franklin welcomed attendees on October 14, and introduced the candidates seated before them.

The PTAs and PTSA had announced before the event that they do not endorse candidates. The event, they said, was meant to offer Newtown voters an unbiased forum to listen to prospective candidates.

Candidates responded to questions asking how they would handle challenges if elected to the school board, how they see the role of the school board in the community, how they would propose to handle funding programs and security needs in the district with grants coming to an end, how they would handle declining enrollment, and their thoughts on standardized testing.

When explaining what she would work to improve if elected to the school board, Mrs  Harriman-Stites said there is always room for improvement

“We can always look to exceed our goals and expectations,” she said.

In response to the same questions, Mr Freedman reflected on his experience with the board for the last two years, and said allowing community engagement to happen with members of the public and with members of other boards and commissions is “the key.”

“I think some more engagement with the community would be a valuable asset to the new Board of Ed,” said Mr Freedman.

Saying he sees the role of the school board to service the students, parents, taxpayers, and, lastly, the state, Mr Clure said he thinks parents need to be better informed.

“I think we can improve on that,” said Mr Clure, adding that he also is “all about public participation.”

“We really need to engage the public, inform them about the schools, and ask them about how their kids are doing,” Mr Clure said.

The candidates were also asked how they would approach funding programs and security with the end of  School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV), Department of Justice, and Department of Education grants in sight.

Mr Clure said he would support looking at all avenues available for funding.

An experienced grant writer, Mrs Harriman-Stites said hiring a grant writer for the town could help fill those needs.

“It’s something we should be looking at, it’s something we should do, [and] it’s something we need to do, not just to cover mental health needs but other needs … in this community,” Mrs Harriman-Stites said, later adding she would do everything possible to ensure meeting the needs of students.

Mr Freedman said it is important for the school board to identify all resources available to help continue to provide mental health services, including getting grants and continued funding, but he also said it should look closer at its budget structure.

“I do believe you have to look at your current budgetary structure and your fiscal knowledge as a board to be able to make some hard decisions and some tough choices,” Mr Freedman said. “I think the community really needs to pull together to say what is important to us.”

Declining Enrollment, Standardized Testing

When asked how they would approach declining enrollment, candidates shared a range of ideas.

Mrs Harriman-Stites said the community does not have all the information needed to decide on whether or not to close a school, and thinks more information should be gathered.

“I think that closing a school might be a short-term solution that makes sense fiscally, but for the long-term we need to be long-term planning for what the future needs are of this community,” said Mrs Harriman-Stites. “And I’m not convinced that the declining enrollment is a persistent problem. I think it is a five-year problem.”

Declining enrollment, Mr Freedman said, is “a difficult question to answer.”

The most important aspect of declining enrollment, Mr Freedman said, is continuing the conversation, including looking at the information regarding closing a school. There are many variables involved at looking at closing a school, he said.

As a former Hawley parent, Mr Freedman said he believes all of the town’s elementary schools are important community assets.

Mr Clure said declining enrollment is a challenge, and said his concern is more in student-to-teacher ratios.

“To me it is giving the kids the best possible education that we can,” said Mr Clure, adding that he believes low student-to-teacher ratios for lower grade levels are important.

Mr Clure also recommended having a plan to deal with declining enrollment, so the board could be ready to take action.

In response to Mr Franklin asking the candidates to share their thoughts on standardized testing, Mr Freedman said he is not a “big fan of testing at all.”

“I don’t think testing is the right way to measure… any child or any adult’s intelligence,” said Mr Freedman, adding that teachers across the country work hard and forcing them to teach something in a “standardized box” diminishes creativity.

Mr Freedman said that since standardized testing does not seem to be going away, he said offering students all the opportunities needed to succeed needs to happen.

Saying he is not against testing, Mr Clure said testing offers a way to know that students are learning.

“I’m all about teachers being creative, thinking outside the box, and using unique ways to teach the kids,” Mr Clure said. “But I think it is a healthy balance between the two.”

Mr Clure also said standardized testing is needed, but he questioned whether it could be delivered in a better form.

While Mrs Harriman-Stites said she does not believe tests are the best way to show how a student is learning, she said she does see the need to have “some sort of testing in order to show growth.”

“I think we need to know where we started and where we ended up,” said Mrs Harriman-Stites, adding that she does not agree with using standardized testing to evaluate teachers.

Closing Thoughts

To conclude Wednesday’s forum, candidates were invited to answer their final question and offer closing remarks. Each candidate was limited to two minutes.

Hawley Elementary School PTA President and Reed Intermediate School PTA Vice President Kristen Bonacci read a prepared statement for Mr Vouros.

Mr Vouros, a former Newtown Middle School educator, has been serving the school board since 2011. His prepared statement summarized some of his efforts with the board since then, including his work with the school board’s Culture and Climate Committee, serving on the board’s Curriculum and Instruction Committee, supporting kindergarten through twelfth grade curriculum alignment, establishing a high school athletic parent advisory committee, and his support of piloting a world language kindergarten program in the district.

For his closing, Mr Clure said he has lived in Newtown for over 14 years, and his background is working in marketing and advertising for more than 20 years.

His primary reason for running for a seat on the school board, he said, is “family.”

“We are raising our children to be kind, caring, and have respect,” said Mr Clure. “By any means we are not perfect, but this community can prepare and make a commitment to show kindness and compassion to each other and to their families and community at large.

“I want to be a part of a Board of Ed that will foster that atmosphere for our children,” he continued.

Mr Clure also said he wants to help grow and strengthen an educational foundation “that retains residents and attracts more people to Newtown.”

Mrs Harriman-Stites said she is the owner of a fundraising firm, HK Consulting Group, and she was the PTA president at Middle Gate Elementary School for the past two years. She also holds a degree in social work, and said that that background will help her assess the mental health needs of students in Newtown. Her passion for public service inspired her, she said, to run for the school board.

“I am committed to ensuring that all children in Newtown feel safe and supported by giving them the resources they need to form healthy relationships, achieve educational success, be healthy emotionally, and grow to be kind empathetic young people,” she said.

Mr Freedman, like Mr Vouros, is an incumbent candidate. He has been serving on the school board since 2013.

In his closing remarks, Mr Freedman said Newtown is at a critical time in its history.

“We have the ability to be the leaders in our state and across the country by creating a model of fiscal responsibility, social communication, and transparency,” said Mr Freedman. “By working together we can share in a vision that can continue to serve our community into the future.”

Mr Freedman also said his background includes working with both nonprofits and municipalities.

“We can move Newtown Public Schools closer to our aspirations for our students by electing nonpartisan, practical, problem-solving representatives with leadership skills,” Mr Freedman said. “This is the type of service I will continue to provide.”

The Newtown Bee is set to host its 2015 Candidates Forum on Tuesday, October 20, from 7 to 9 pm, in the Edmond Town Hall Theatre. This year, the forum will introduce local Democratic and Republican Board of Finance candidates.