News

Superintendent: Winter Sports Guidance Says Vaccinated Student-Athletes Aren’t Required To Wear Masks In-Game After Dec. 23

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Fully vaccinated students playing some winter sports that since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have had to wear masks in-game—including basketball, hockey, indoor track and cheerleading—will not need to wear masks while competing after Dec. 23, according to new guidance cited Monday night by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi. Saying he’d just received the guidance from the CIAC and state Department of Public Health en route to the Board of Education’s meeting, Luizzi said the state agencies are “making some changes.”

“It says ‘partially or unvaccinated participants have to wear their masks the whole time,’ ” Luizzi said during the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School and via videoconference. “They go on to say wrestling does not need to wear masks, swimming and diving does not need to wear masks, again if fully vaccinated, and the same goes with cheerleading, dance and gymnastics. Wrestling was never required because of a fear about the mask itself and choking and what have you.

Board of Education

Election 2021: GOP Retains Control of Board of Ed; Dems May Launch Challenge [UPDATED]

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New Canaan Republicans maintained their 6-3 majority on the Board of Education in Tuesday’s election, following a hotly contested race that saw very strong voter turnout. Republicans Dan Bennett, Phil Hogan and Julie Toal won election to four-year terms, while GOPer Hugo Alves won a head-to-head race for a two-year term, according to results released after midnight Wednesday by municipal election officials. 

Democratic incumbent Penny Rashin won re-election, and will be joined by fellow Democrat Erica Schwedel on the school board, according to the results. Democratic Town Committee Chair Lisa Hannich said her party might challenge the results based on what DTC officials have described as a voting irregularity at New Canaan High School. “The Secretary of the State was notified today that there were potential irregularities and we want to follow up with them tomorrow to get their advice,” Hannich said. Here’s a look at BOE vote totals from the New Canaan Registrars of Voter:

 

Nearly 50% of eligible local voters had cast ballots by the time polls closed, according to the tallies, compared to about 43% in the last municipal election in 2019. 

The other contested race this year was for constable.

Board of Education

‘This Is a Great Deal’: Town To Re-Sell Part of Elm Street Office Building for Condominiums

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The town’s plan to purchase an Elm Street office building to house the Board of Education will pay for itself in five years as part of it is sold off to investors who will convert part of the structure into condominiums.

Two investors are working with the town in its $6.1 purchase of 220 Elm St. and “we are going to ‘condominium-ize’ the building,” First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said during the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting Monday. “We are effectively selling the units to the private investors, which helps in terms of giving us independence in terms of the price that we are achieving,” he said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “So because we own the land and we are ending the ground lease, the transaction as a whole is something the independent investors have had to make their own decision as to purchasers. But we are effectively turning around buying the building from the bank and immediately re-selling pieces of it to the other two investors.”

The Board of Education must sign off on the plan to move its offices from a longtime location on Locust Avenue, and then the Board of Finance and Town Council must approve bonding for the purchase, Moynihan said.

Election 2021

Election 2021: NewCanaanite.com Endorsements for Board of Education

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“As I said last spring, the spring of 2020, I think this is an extremely important initiative for our nation and our community. I also think that there’s a lot of really bad ideas around it. Very dogmatic ideas. And they tend to use a vocabulary of their own making. And their terms that are very loaded, there are very well-developed bodies of thought behind them that have been developed in academia.

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Board of Ed Chair Katrina Parkhill To Fill Two Years Remaining on Open Seat [UPDATED]

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Board of Education Chair Katrina Parkhill will fill the final two years of an open seat on the elected body, following a special meeting Friday. The school board and Board of Selectmen during a joint meeting voted unanimously in favor of Parkhill filling the remaining portion of Carl Gardiner’s term, through Nov. 15, 2023. Gardiner resigned from the Board of Ed effective Oct. 1 due to a move out-of-state.