NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letters.
***
Transparency, communication and accountability. These are the basic things we should all expect and demand from our elected BOE members. Unfortunately, I can tell you from firsthand experience that these considerations were not applied to those desiring a more equitable start time for all our children. After reviewing hundreds of emails to the administration and BOE from concerned parents on the start time initiative I have yet to find one that they deemed fit to respond to. This approach was not at all transparent and lacked any real communication, which should be a concern for all parents and members of the community. The next school change may adversely affect your child. Would you want your concerns to be considered? Would you want to know the reasoning behind the decisions that are made for your children?
Personally, I think the administration and especially the hundreds of teachers in our school system, have done a great job through Covid, but that should not mean that the BOE (our representatives) should now give up oversight and simply support any decision the administration makes (refer to curriculum and budget process). For those familiar with corporate structure, you know that this is simply not the function of any board. Even the best and most successful CEO’s are challenged and questioned by their board. These boards realize that they are accountable to the shareholders first, as this board should be accountable to students, parents, and our community.
This November I believe we can make a change for the better and have a more considerate, compassionate, and responsible board. Dan Bennett, Phil Hogan, Julie Toal and Hugo Alves have all demonstrated their willingness to work hard for our children. These candidates have dedicated countless hours speaking to members of the community at just about every town event and even door to door, doing all this as parents of elementary school children (I also think it is important that these youngest learners have BOE representation). I have personally talked to these candidates and found them to be knowledgeable, open, and approachable. If you don’t believe me speak with them yourselves at the next town event and I believe you will find it time very well spent.
My family feels very fortunate to have them on the ballot this November and they will certainly have our vote.
James Yao
***
Letter to the Editor:
I am writing to express my full support for Janet Fonss, Jennifer Hladick, Fatou Niang, Penny Rashin, Erica Schwedel and Karen Willett for the Board of Education in the upcoming general election. I would like to start by saying I love New Canaan and even more so, love New Canaan Public Schools. It is why my family and I moved here, it is why we stay here, it is why I spent the last 4 years on the East School PTC Executive Board (including the last two years as president) and it is why I entered the process to be a Board of Education candidate. I ran as a Republican because as a fiscal conservative, that is where it felt right to run in local politics but let me be clear, as a parent running for the BOE, it was never about party. It was, is and should be about serving our children; not just my children but all of the students that walk through the five New Canaan Public Schools every day.
Politics has no place in the education of our children but the way our Board of Education is selected unfortunately makes it a necessity. The winning Republican ticket led with their whole-hearted party affiliation at each opportunity and made their unwavering Republicanism the main contrast to the other candidates. Questioning their opponents’ political affiliation (mine specifically and continually) was a successful tactic in the Republican-only caucus. Recently they have swung more to the middle and attempted to temper their previous partisan and divisive speeches. They are now trying to divert attention from their caucus rallying cries and statements including “I’m ready to fight the good fight and keep New Canaan red.”
The candidates I chose to run with and am choosing to support now don’t have to make this kind of turn. Experience and consistency matter. From the start, all these women have led with their experiences working in the schools, their time with other parents, teachers, and administrators, and their broad knowledge and exposure to all the schools in our town.
These candidates understand that the best educational outcomes for our children will come from having the best education professionals available using their unique and powerful skills in conjunction with an active and experienced Board of Education. They are all on record supporting keeping this local partnership as the main driver of our education priorities and have all driven local initiatives to help better our schools. This group of candidates has proven track records of success in our town and schools and include chairing the Saxe Building Committee, 12 years of successful service to the BOE, spearheading the West Outdoor Learning Center, founding of a local nonprofit engaged in community initiatives, and serving on the New Canaan Health & Human Services Commission. Trying to list all of their accomplishments would make this letter into a book.
They are not running because they are fearful of something that might happen, they are running because they are emboldened by all the good things that already take place here. They have seen what can be accomplished by working together and are choosing to spend even more time innovating and modernizing our schools, mentoring and counseling our children, listening to and empathizing with parents, and aiding and overseeing the school administration.
This election has real consequences to our student body population. I ask you to get to know these outstanding and qualified parent volunteers. Vote row A on November 2.
Jessica Huetter
***
Dear Editor:
In the past several months there has been a coordinated, strategic attempt to paint the Republican BOE candidates as far-right extremists. As DTC Chair Lisa Hannich described them on Facebook, they are “Q[Anon]-adjacent.” Former New Canaan BOE member Jim Kucharczyk’s letter to the editor in the New Canaanite last month further exemplifies this. It’s a predictable scare tactic invoking Page 1 of the DNC playbook and it could not be further from reality. Does Jim really expect his fellow New Canaanites to believe that these candidates have a secret, nefarious agenda that includes forgiveness for the Ku Klux Klan? It’s impossible to conceive what logical contortions one could make to go from the candidates’ initiative of increasing curriculum transparency to such outlandish, irrational, conspiratorial conclusions like Jim has.
To support the narrative that the Republican BOE candidates are part of a rogue extremist faction, Jim relies solely on a few of their comments at the Republican caucus. The true context of their comments was that they were addressing their personal experiences as Republicans in this town (a completely appropriate topic for a political caucus) and not their specific plans should they be elected to the BOE. If you want to learn more about those plans—and you should—go listen to their podcasts.
Jim emphasizes that the candidates said they “are tired of playing defense” to attempt to show that, if elected, the Republican BOE candidates will take their supposed KKK-sympathizing agenda and push it into our schools under cover of nightfall, or something like that. This quote, however, was a response to the smears on their personal character in the weeks leading up to the caucus. In particular, Lisa called them “inept, horrible people” in her above-mentioned Facebook post. No matter what your political convictions, I think we can all agree that is not appropriate from someone who holds an important leadership role in our community and should be setting the tone for respectful debate rather than engaging in a childish ad hominem.
Jim further claims that the Republican BOE candidates intend to make our school systems “Ground Zero for the RNC’s ongoing culture wars.” It requires a lot of mental gymnastics, at which Jim is the equivalent of Simone Biles, to make the leap from any of the Republican BOE candidates’ initiatives to this conclusion. In fact, the opposite is true. Increasing transparency across the board ensures that all parents—from both sides of the aisle—have a voice in important decisions. Importantly, the candidates recognize the limits of their perspectives, which is exactly why consultation and feedback will be a critical part of the way they plan to operate should they be elected. They understand that engaging respectfully with those who have different viewpoints encourages all of us to think more deeply and ultimately refines and enlarges the public good of the community. They share many of the same goals as their counterparts, including strong support for diversity and inclusion initiatives and making sure that New Canaan schools remain welcoming and supportive places for everyone.
Watching all of this play out has been a disheartening reminder of the state of politics in our country and in our back yard. People seem far less interested in debating the actual merits of the issues and far more interested in winning—apparently at any cost. Saying cruel, untrue things about people you do not know and have never met wastes all our time and tears at the fabric of this supportive, kind community that we all cherish and desperately want to maintain. I strongly encourage New Canaan voters not to fall for this fear-mongering and to make their own informed decisions in November.
Laurel Van Hooser
New Canaan
***
Dear Editor,
I am writing to endorse Erica Schwedel to the Board of Education as part of the “A” slate. I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about her candidacy. I first met Erica over 10 years ago in her capacity as director of development at Achievement First. At the time, I was serving on the board of one of the Achievement First schools and worked closely with Erica during her tenure there. Drawing upon her experience with education from her time at Bain and her incredible work ethic, Erica did an amazing job. As part of her job, she had to understand and interact with all aspects of the Connecticut education landscape. She led a team that worked with senior executives to raise significant funds for Achievement First schools and developed an overall funding strategy and operational controls for her group. Later, she was heavily recruited to work with a prominent family foundation on Connecticut educational issues.
We were delighted when Erica and her husband Andrew decided to make a home in New Canaan. New Canaan has been fortunate to have Erica in multiple roles contributing her education experience, strategic and analytical skills, and unbounded enthusiasm. Erica has risen to leadership positions in almost every effort she has undertaken. Erica has served as co-president of the West School PTC, co-chaired the annual appeal of the New Canaan Community Foundation where she now serves on the Board, was the parent representative for New Canaan CARES and many other roles.
Erica is incredibly smart. She is truly dedicated to making New Canaan Public Schools the best that they can be. She will always do what’s best for all students and would never let politics influence her decisions. She will bring transparency to the role and will be an innovator in finding ways to connect parents to the Board of Ed.
Please vote for the “A” Slate for the Board of Education on November 2nd.
Laura Saverin
[Editor: Comments are disabled on this post. More info here. Endorsement letters will be published through Sept. 30.]