The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
School board discusses memorial for late principal
EAST HAMPTON » Even as they continue to cope with the death of John H. Fidler, Board of Education members are grappling with the most appropriate way to memorialize the high school principal.
Fidler, 60, died July 30 while hiking with his family at Mt. Katahdin in Maine.
At the request of his family, a scholarship fund has been established in Fidler’s memory. As of Monday night, some $15,600 has been donated to the fund, according to Kaitlin Sullivan, the high school’s director of guidance and dean of students, who is overseeing the donations.
During Monday evening’s Board of Education meeting, Chairman Christopher Goff set about trying to create a dialogue
about how best to remember Fidler, who served as a teacher and administrator in the East Hampton school system for 27 years.
For those who knew him, Fidler remains a constant presence.
The high school website carries a notation, “John Fidler, 1957-2017: We celebrate your life with us.”
There is also a slideshow of Fidler in various candid moments.
Following the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, Goff asked for a moment’s silence in memory of Fidler. Goff spoke of the “horrible loss we suffered,” and how “all of us have been tremendously impacted by this loss.”
Goff thanked the community — residents, staff and students alike — for an outpouring of sympathy and support for Fidler’s family.
In the past two weeks, the question of what would constitute an appropriate memorial has been extensively discussed and debated on social media, Goff acknowledged. “There is a wide array of thoughts,” he said.
Whatever decision is eventually made will only be done with respect to “the wishes and thoughts” of the Fidler family, Goff said. They’re in no rush to do this,” he continued, adding, “We want to do this completely and appropriately.”
The class of 2015 had proposed donating a bench to the high school as a class gift. But in the wake of Fidler’s death, class officials told Goff, “They may have to do something else.”
Immediately following Fidler’s death, former Town Councilor Thomas Cordeiro began a petition to advocate changing the name of the high school to the “John Fidler High School.” But, in a small town, there is a deeply felt importance to retaining the 80-yearold name of East Hampton High School, Goff said.
Among other thoughts are: renaming the gymnasium or the outdoor recreation complex in Fidler’s name, given his work as a coach and his love of exercise, which included hiking and riding his mountain bike.
Board member Erica Bonaccorso proposed renaming North Maple Street, the road that runs in front of the school — or perhaps the driveway that leads into the school — “John Fidler Street (or Way).”
While she wanted to see Fidler memorialized “in a very meaningful way,” resident Maryann Dostaler said she wanted it done in a way that would have “the least tax impact as possible.”
Dostaler referred to Gov. Malloy’s proposal last week to defund state education aid to 85 communities — including East Hampton — as a possible answer to the state’s continued budget impasse.
Changing a road’s name “could have a substantial financial impact,” Dostaler said.
Cordeiro proposed a compromise he said would be “an honorable way to honor John” — naming the school “the John Fidler Memorial East Hampton High School.”
Acknowledging “John would be embarrassed that we are even having this discussion,” Cordeiro said, renaming the school in his honor means “every time someone walks up to this school, they will see his name.”
Cordeiro also provoked laughter when he explained the vagaries of life in an interconnected digital world.
His intention was to circulation his petition proposal to local residents, Cordeiro said. But, somehow the proposed name change attracted the support of 10,000 people in Australia, Cordeiro said,
Cordeiro whittled the number of petition signers down just to East Hampton residents — some 685 as of Monday.
The discussion on how best to memorialize Fidler will continue, Goff said.