Officials teaching a bad lesson
“Children Learn What They Live” is a 1954 poem written by Dr. Dorothy Law Nolte. Over the years its powerful message resonated with parents: children learn not from what adults say, but from what they see adults do.
We urge Bridgeport’s public officials to read this poem, because some of them are sending a message to children and their constituents that you don’t have to keep your word.
One of the worst examples involves the Bridgeport Board of Education. FaithActs remembers when the board loudly and proudly declared that it would conduct a national search for a permanent district leader, and that the acting superintendent, Michael Testani, could not be a candidate for the job.
Lo and behold, in January the board offered him the job anyway, with a three- year contract worth $ 245,000 a year.
To be clear, our complaint is not with Mr. Testani. He’s been accessible and helpful.
This is about what the board is teaching the children it’s sworn to serve. Not only did board members break their word to the people of Bridgeport, they did so in a secret meeting, without public input from the constituents they were elected to represent, and without the national search they promised to conduct.
In short, the board lied to the parents and children of our city.
Board members set a bad example for our children that it’s OK to break your word if it suits another agenda.
What’s more, when board members tried to justify their decision at a public meeting in January, they talked about how it was good for adults but never raised academics or student achievement. In one of Connecticut’s lowest- performing school districts where the stakes are so high, we ask “where were the children in this equation?”
The board also did Mr. Testani no favors. His credibility is damaged by a secret backroom deal. This hurts everyone in our city, especially when we need all our strength to win equitable school funding from Hartford.
We are also watching Mayor Joe Ganim. Soon after he won re- election in November, the Mayor joined FaithActs members for a large public meeting and in front of 500 of his constituents prayed with us and made three very clear commitments:
By Dec. 31, he’d meet with 1 New Haven Promise Executive Director Patricia Melton to explore a program offering free college tuition for Bridgeport graduates who attend Connecticut colleges and universities.
For each year of his elected 1 term, he’d propose and protect a $ 2 million per- year increase to local education funding.
At least once every legislative 1 session, he’d bring members of the Bridgeport Board of Education, City Council and legislative delegation with him to the State Capitol to lobby for more education funding from the state.
We’re grateful for Mayor Ganim’s commitments and his prayers. We have faith he’ll keep his word. But we know public officials often are tempted to say what crowds want to hear, then pivot later.
As people of faith, our commitment to our families is to keep our word and hold public officials accountable to theirs.
Last week we hand- delivered a letter to the mayor, noting that he hadn’t yet met with Ms. Melton to explore a college access program for Bridgeport students and provided possible dates. He must keep his promises.
In the coming weeks, Mayor Ganim will release his proposed 2020- 21 budget. We respectfully remind him of his commitment to propose and protect at least a $ 2 million increase to municipal education funding.
We also need the mayor to lead a delegation to Hartford to argue for Bridgeport’s needs — including equitable funding for our school children.
Yes, Connecticut has a budget deficit. But what’s worse, it suffers from a “justice deficit” that underfunds schools that serve black, brown and low- income children. Despite strong campaign commitments to bring justice to Bridgeport, Gov. Ned Lamont’s recent proposed budget rations hope by cutting programs that help our most vulnerable children reach their God- given potential.
We need our local leaders, state lawmakers and Gov. Lamont to heed Dr. Nolte’s poem. And when children’s lives are riddled with adults breaking their word, that’s a bad lesson.