By James Lomuscio
Candidates for Westport’s Board of Education answered questions tonight about fluctuating student enrollments, effective anti-bullying measures, curriculum changes and finding a less costly way to park school buses in town.
Board of Education candidates debating tonight included (l-r) Karen Kleine (Republican); Brett Aronow (Democrat), Jeannie Smith (Republican), Elaine Whitney (Democrat), and Michael McGovern (Republican). All but Kleine are incumbents. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com
The occasion was at a League of Women Voters (LVW) and Y’s Women co-sponsored debate held in Town Hall.
It was the first of a triple-header as Republican and Democratic candidates for the school board, Board of Finance and Judge of Probate fielded questions from Charlotte Garrell of the New York City LWV.
The Democratic school board candidates are Elaine Whitney, current board chairwoman, and board member Brett Aronow. On the Republican side are Michael McGovern, board vice chairman, board member Jeannie Smith and newcomer Karen Kleine.
Though responses varied, they were cordial, with candidates oftentimes agreeing across party lines with an opponent’s response, underscoring how the board usually works in a nonpartisan manner.
In response to Garrell’s question about preparedness for student population dips and swells, all agreed the school system’s planning was effective.
“I think we’re in pretty good shape, and I don’t see the need for redistricting,” said McGovern.
He added that as senior citizens begin to downsize and young families buy their homes, “we could see an increase at the elementary level.”
“But we have taken steps for class size reduction,” McGovern said.
Whitney agreed.
“We believe currently that we are in good shape,” she said. “Strategically we have a long term view, and we’re always monitoring it.”
One question over which there was some minor disagreement had to do with a way of reducing or eliminating the $250,000 cost of parking school buses on private property in town.
Whitney said it was a complex issue, and that the board has been looking at three sites in town. She said the first choice is state-owned property along the Sherwood Island Connector.
Aronow said that with a master plan of development for the downtown underway, the school board might have the opportunity to glean options for parking buses.
McGovern, however, said,“make it a bus company problem, not a Westport problem,” especially when the school board goes out to bid for a bus company contractor this year.
“Let’s see what the bus companies come up with,” McGovern said, adding that the buses could just as easily be parked in Bridgeport.
Aronow countered that this would cause delays during bad weather, and Whitney noted that Westport would lose property tax revenue if buses were parked out of town.
During the exchange, each candidate took the opportunity to tout his or her qualifications.
Whitney spoke of her five years on the board, offering “a balanced and long term focus” to maintain the school’s system’s quality while preparing students for the 21st century, such as the pilot STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program in middle school..
“We’ve made tremendous progress, but there’s more to do,” she said.
McGovern said the same about “the challenge of keeping our schools great,” in the wake of new state mandates, such as the common core curriculum, necessary improvements in school security and working with the ever changing technology that students bring to school.
He also cited his six years on the board, how he pushed for reducing second grade class size from 25 to 22 and that he pushed for a personal financial management course at Staples High School that he would like to see required for graduation.
Smith regularly spoke of her background as a teacher in Westchester County, and that education “is both my profession and my passion.”
Aronow stressed her strong feelings “about the importance of public school education,” and said she had the right “temperament for the job.”
Kleine touted her background as a PTA co-president and said that she would like to see more student input “with what is happening at the high school level.”
“They really are our customers, and we should be listening to our customers,” she said.
In response to effective programs to deter bullying, Aronow pointed out that the school system already has a policy of zero tolerance, and that the program could be more effective by surveying students.
Kleine said that keeping class sizes down would be an added help, making classes “small enough so that teachers know what’s going on.”
McGovern said that bullying and cyber-bullying should be addressed as a school security issue.
“Bullying represents an internal threat from a security standpoint,” he said.
Whitney agreed, saying, “We just implemented a liaison between the Police Department and the schools.”
Smith mentioned the district’s Positive Youth Development program to prevent bullying.
“The slogan is, ‘When it’s mean, intervene,’” she said. “This is not just a school issue. It’s a community issue.”
