School Superintendent Joseph V Erardi, Jr said June 17 he is feeling no political pressure as Town Democrats and Borough Burgesses lined up to oppose closing any Newtown schools at this time even in the face of dwindling enrollment.

That news brought strong responses from Legislative Council Chair Mary Ann Jacob, and calls from a Democratic Board of Education member and First Selectman Pat Llodra to resist turning the issue of possibly closing the Hawley Elementary School into a “political football,” as pols gear up for November’s local elections.

Ironically, it was former Democratic First Selectman and Board of Education Chairman Herb Rosenthal who said he made the motion at a recent Democratic Town Committee meeting, to oppose the closing of any local school for the time being. Mr Rosenthal issued a statement on the DTC’s resolution after contacting The Bee about it June 15.

“The DTC voted unanimously (with the exception of Michelle Ku, who abstained) on my motion that the Newtown Democratic Town Committee opposes closing Hawley School or any other school at this time,” Mr Rosenthal’s statement reads, adding “there is no reason to rush to a decision now.

The former first selectman said he and about 18 fellow Democrats who supported the resolution believe the “Board of Education should wait until after the new Sandy Hook School opens to see how things work out and to see if the trends in declining enrollment continue.”

Mr Rosenthal said there was a lengthy discussion after party faithful heard from Newtown Borough Warden and Town Selectman James Gaston, who presented a report and substantiating data against closing an elementary school that was reported in the press.

He said many members of the DTC spoke against closing a school now for a variety of reasons.

 But Ms Ku, a first term school board member, said she recused herself from the vote and doesn’t want to see the issue get wrapped up in local political agendas.

“It’s not appropriate for a Board of Education member to get involved,” Ms Ku said, adding that it would be wrong for her to align with her party when her role is to consider all information on the subject impartially, and considering her board doesn’t even have all the data yet to begin deliberations.

She said, however, that she expects to see discussion on enrollment and its correlation to future district response on the agenda of the next school board meeting.

Ms Ku said that one of the issues Mr Gaston developed in his presentation involved an overall projected drop in property values if a school is closed. But admitted that it is not among priority Board of Education issues.

She said another point in Mr Gaston’s report, about possible emotional distress to both students and families “will be looked at.”

“I think the Board of Education needs to consider – do we need that building to support the best possible education for our students?” And she prefers to have all discussions to that end happening in public.

No Reaction Time

Ms Ku said when Dr Erardi presented enrollment data on June 2, school board members had no time to react in the moment. But they have now had several weeks to receive constituent input and questions, so members could then form their own questions.

“I think at the next board of education meeting, we’ll have a good discussion on it,” she said.

Mr Rosenthal said he and “many members of the DTC wonder what First Selectman Llodra’s position is on the matter and why she is not speaking up,” noting that she is an ex-officio member of the Board of Education. 

“She certainly was out front on the decision to build a new Sandy Hook School,” Mr Rosenthal said. “A number of us are also concerned that the Superintendent of Schools and Board of Education members are feeling pressure from the Board of Finance and Republican leadership that unless they make a decision now to close a school, their budget will be cut by the amount of the purported savings.”

But Dr Erardi said there has never been any intimation of a quid pro quo desire on a school closing from any town political leader. The superintendent said the only public comment on the subject from a political leader inferring that enrollment data suggests a school should be closed, came as a brief, passing comment from Ms Jacob during a November 19, 2014 budget update to the council.

The superintendent did not take Ms Jacob’s comment as a directive, or a veiled threat.

“I don’t feel any political pressure from any political figure, and haven’t at any time since I’ve been in Newtown,” Dr Erardi said. “My job is to take care of these kids and to keep the board of education informed.”

School Board Has Data

Dr Erardi said he believes the board now has all the information necessary to weigh a decision. He added that the latest enrollment study was already in the Request For Proposal or RFP stage when he began working for the district, and that it verified the district had lost 937 students since 2005, and projected a loss of about 1,300 more over the next decade.

“Those projections dictated that the next logical step was to imitate a facilities study,” he said.

Mrs Llodra said she didn’t know about the DTC resolution until almost a week after it was made, and said as a lifelong educator, she is resisting any temptation to view a school board decision tied to declining enrollment as a political issue.

“This is a Newtown issue. It’s not a Democrat issue and it’s not a Republican issue,” Mrs Llodra said. “When I look at discussions to repurpose or close a school, I want to respect the educational process keeping in mind that the financial issues have weight,” she said. “There is also the emotional issue, and this universal passion for neighborhood elementary schools.”

Mrs Llodra said it’s wrong for any political party to take a position on a school closing, and she would “try and discourage anything that has a chilling effect on independence of thought.”

“The Democratic Town Committee (resolution) shouldn’t be used as a political football. I don’t think it’s the right course of action,” Mrs Llodra said. The first selectman also credited her selectman colleague Mr Gaston for introducing interesting considerations about the possible impact on property values.

“But we need to be careful about understanding the data, and any relation between property values and the (school board’s) decision making,” she added. “The Board of Education deserves the opportunity to weigh all aspects – cost savings, practical logistics, the anxiety of possible redistricting, and our community’s educational quality. That’s huge and should be considered first and foremost.”

A ‘Balanced Perspective’

Mrs Llodra said she has great respect for the superintendent, who she said is “trying to present a balanced perspective.”

“No superintendent ever wants to take this kind of thing on,” she said. “But we need to use our taxpayer resources for education delivery that are currently being spent on overhead.”

Ms Jacob agreed, saying that she never privately spoke to Dr Erardi about closing a school.

“It’s not my purview, and not my decision,” Ms Jacob said. “I want to see the process work itself out.”

The council chair said it is inappropriate for anyone to make the school board’s internal process political, and that Dr Erardi has been presenting all the facts in the matter clearly.

“Not only the Democrats, but Jim Gaston have decided to do just that,” she said. “This is a difficult, emotional decision, and I trust the Board of Education is doing its due diligence sifting through lots of information to do what’s right for the entire community.”

Dr Erardi said his position has always been, when difficult decisions become a competitive element between political parties or others in a community, it turns into a situation about winners and losers.

“So I have to credit the Hawley community, the PTA, the parents, and our staff, who are working in partnership – this is not a competition.”

But Mr Rosenthal said in an election year, discussion about closing a neighborhood school “can’t help but become political.”

“I don’t pretend to know more than Dr Erardi, but I’m hearing he’s under pressure,” Mr Rosenthal said, adding that he believes the school board will render their decision sooner than later, possibly as early as July. “What’s the rush.”

This report was updated to reflect the correct date of a report from the school superintendent to the Legislative Council.