New Canaan BOE candidates spar over ‘curriculum oversight’ at debate
NEW CANAAN — Gearing up for Election Day on Nov. 2, many eyes are fixed on the Board of Education race as ten candidates contend for six seats on the nine-person board. Democrat Penny Rashin is the only candidate who is an incumbent.
In the leadup to the sometimes fiery BOE election, the ten candidates spoke respectfully to one another at the League of Women Voters debate Tuesday. The topic that spawned the most impassioned debate was curriculum creation.
Three Republicans and five Democrats are competing for the five fouryear seats, with one candidate from each party running for the two-year seat.
The six seats are open because incumbent school board members Dionna Carlson, Sheri West and Pat O’Connell did not run. Chairman Katrina Parkhill and Secretary Jennifer Richardson lost their seats at the Republican caucus earlier this year.
The most drama took place when Republican candidate Philip Hogan said he was relieved the Board of Education changed a goal to include “cultural understanding” instead of cultural humility. “What on earth was that term doing anywhere near the New Canaan Public Schools?” he asked. A number of the Democrats seemed surprised.
Candidates aligned on improving communication between the Board of Education and the community, maintaining a high level of student achievement, spending money wisely and on their view that the administration and the current school board performed well during COVID-19.
Curriculum development was the
stumbling block. Currently what is taught is developed by a Curriculum Leadership Council, which includes senior curriculum coordinators, department chairs and top administrators.
The Democrats emphasized trust in the administrators, while Republicans stressed more oversight. The Republicans would like to add a curriculum committee with Board of Education members, in addition to the CLC.
“I still think there is a lot of smoke out here,” Rashin said. “People say they are hearing concerns, but no one has presented to me a lesson plan that is a problem.” Board members are informed and get a “lot of” curriculum presentations, she argued.
Republican candidate Hugo Alves said he thinks parents want to “see the sausage before it is cured.”
GOP candidate Julie Toal said anonymous parents have voiced concern about what is happening in the classrooms and fear retribution to speak up, because of “cancel culture.”
Rashin argued that there is no retribution to parents who speak out.
“Right now, CLC is doing a fantastic job” which is “evidenced by student results,” Democrat Jenn Hladlick said. “I think we should be proud and not suspicious.”
The candidates agreed to rolling out the new start times that the board has adopted. The 2021-22 budget was created assuming that the changed start times would start in April 2022. Recently, the school board agreed not to the launch the new hours until September 2022.
The elementary schools will start at 8 a.m. with no bus pick up before 7:10 a.m. The high school’s first bell will ring at 8:35 a.m. and Saxe Middle School seventh and eighth graders will begin their day at 8:40 a.m. The fifth and sixth graders will commence their day at 9:20 a.m. No student starts school before 8 a.m. or waits for the bus in the dark, according to the current plan.
The candidates emphasized addressing parental challenges such as after or before child care coverage.
Separately, the board is considering options to fill Carl Gardiner’s seat after Parkhill announced recently he had left. His seat will be filled in the 2023 election, the chairman said.
The Republican caucus chose Dan Bennett, Toal and Hogan for the school board for the four-year term seats and Alves for the two-year seat.
The six Democratic candidates include Janet Leung Fonss, Hladlick, Erica Shwedel, Fatou Niang and Rashin and for the four-year term. Karen Willet was endorsed for the two-year term.
All the Board of Education candidates either have children who are currently attending New Canaan Public Schools or have graduated from them.