School, Finance Board Candidates Take to the Stage

By James Lomuscio

The spotlight was on controlling budgets and fiscal responsibility for both Board of Education and Board of Finance candidates who met in a Town Hall auditorium debate tonight.

Board of Finance candidates included (l-r) Ian Bruce, John Hartwell, Clarissa Moore, Sheri Gordon, and Michael Rea. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Daave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Moderated by Jean Rabinow, a member of the Steering Committee of the LWV of the Bridgeport Area, It was the second League of Women Voters (LWV) of Westport debate before the Nov. 3 municipal election.

The two-hour event began with three unopposed, incumbent school board members, Republican Paul Block and Democrats Mark Mathias, Michael Gordon, board chairman, fielding prepared audience questions.

Questions ranged from how to keep the budget down to concerns about a $1.6 million cost overrun to hiring a new principal for Staples High School.

The Board of Finance debate followed. While cordial, the heat got turned up as Republicans Michael Rea, an incumbent, Clarissa Moore and Iain Bruce, were all eager to maintain the seven-member board’s GOP majority.

They faced off against Democrats John Hartwell, former chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, and Sheri Gordon, a current member of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Rabinow’s opening question to school board candidates seemed to take them off guard. She asked how they would bring school system’s operating budget, which is more than $110 million, “close to the town budget,” which is around $75 million.

The disparity between the two budgets has existed for years as Westport has long been among the state’s top spending school districts.

Board of Education candidates running unopposed include (l-r) Paul Block, Michael Gordon, and Mark Mathias. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

“You have to think long range,” said Block, adding that instead of working on year-to-year budgets, the board should plan five years ahead “as a way to establish patterns.”

“The budget is an outcome, not a strategy,” said Gordon.”…Our philosophy is not to cut anything that will impact the classroom.”

Mathias called the comparison immaterial since the school budget is ultimately approved by the town after Board of Finance input along the way.

“I find it interesting that there would be a comparison to the town budget,” Mathias said.

As Rabinow prepared to move onto the next question, Gordon quipped, “Perhaps if the goal is parity, the town can increase its budget exponentially.”

Her second question took aim at the discovery last year of a $1.6 million cost overrun for mold removal at the Kings Highway Elementary School. Rabinow said it was “concealed by the administration and a contract signed without an open meeting.”

“The board was exceptionally angry that this happened,” Gordon said. “There were 1.6 million reasons that we were angry about it.”

Schools Superintendent Elliot had authorized the transfer from the operating budget to the capital budget, saying that he had the legal authority to do so. He also said it was necessary to open schools on time.

There were plenty of seats available in the Town Hall auditorium for the debates, which were broadcast on the town’s cable channel and live streamed on the Internet. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

“We put in place a number of policies,” Gordon said, noting that all transfers, especially on cost overruns, now require Board of Education approval.

“It was outrageous that that happened and it won’t happen again,” Gordon said.

“It’s unfortunate when surprises come, as I learned in business, surprises are rarely good,” said Mathias. He said processes are now in place to make sure these oversights do not occur in the future.

Block agreed, saying “Our weakness is clearly on the operational front, and this was a real problem for us, and this is a weakness and we have to improve it.”

“Don’t use the operating money of the school for capital improvements,” he added.

“We put a lot of policy in place,” Block said. “I don’t think policy is enough. What we need is a change in culture. Because this culture that, you know, we can do things that are not transparent, that are not collaborative and communicative is not the culture we want. And we did clearly state that to the superintendent.”

On a question about improving the search for a permanent Staples High School principal after missteps in the spring, Gordon said all members agreed that there will be no public vetting of finalists for either the Staples job or the superintendent’s one.

Another question focused on capital improvements, specifically the need for installing air conditioning at the Coleytown Elementary School gym and cafeteria, a hotly debated issue since 2005. All agreed it needed to be done.

School board chairman Michael Gordon on cost overruns not disclosed: “It was outrageous that that happened and it won’t happen again.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

“Our number one priority is safety, and that means health,” said Mathias.

In response to a question on the mental health issues of anxiety, depression and drugs, all said the administration has ramped up services, putting two psychologists in every school.

When it came to the Board of Finance candidates’ turn, keeping tight purse strings while maintaining Westport’s quality of life was a recurrent theme.

Rabinow’s first question was about how to decide about paying for projects forthcoming, including “beach update, downtown changes, senior center additions.”

“I rank the potential capital spending as one of the two largest issues confronting the town over the next several years,” said Bruce, who has not previously held elective office.

“There are many, many things that people in this town want to see done. And every one of those has a vocal constituency. They’re all worthy projects.”

“We are going to have to prioritize,” he added.

He said priorities will be based on urgency, the number of people who benefit and “a cost benefits analysis.”

From dredging the Saugatuck River to revamping Parker Harding Plaza to expanding the Westport Library to building a pedestrian foot bridge across the Saugatuck River, all agreed choices have to be made.

Clarissa Moore and Sheri Gordon would be newcomers to the Board of Finance but both now hold elective office. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

“You can’t have everything,” said Hartwell, who also has not held elective public office. “There are going to be some hard decisions, and some people are not going to be happy. That’s what the job is all about.”

Hartwell stressed the biggest concerns among seniors he has talked to is rising taxes, a sentiment Republican challenger Rea shared later on in the debate. Rea said the best way to serve seniors is not to raise taxes.

Moore, a member of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), underscored that point at the end of the debate, saying, “The current Board of Finance has done a terrific job in keeping the mill rate flat.”

Regarding future town projects, Gordon stressed that “sometimes we get a little too excited about projects, and we go a little too far,” while maintenance gets deferred.

Rea agreed, saying that it was time to have a “community conversation” about maintaining the town’s assets.

“Taking care of what we have is important before we go on to building new things,” he said.

As an example, he cited the Longshore golf course. After having fallen into disrepair, it was renovated by an outside firm that not only saved the town money, but increased play and revenue.

Rabinow then asked if the candidates favored the town spending $7.5 million toward the Westport Library expansion.

Hartwell said the funds should only be appropriated after library boosters raise $25 million via private donations.

“We have to see if there is an appetite in this town,” he said, adding that the library is “one of the jewels of this town.”

Each of the candidates had a LWV member keeping track of their individual times. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Rea said that while he supports the library, “I’m not going to give them a blank check,” but that he would like to see how the money is being spent.

“We went though a similar exercise with the Levitt Pavilion,” he said.

“If the town is going to put material money into this, it has to be on top of private money that has to be ponied up,” Bruce added.

Another question focused on the future of the Westport Transit District. Moore, for one, said she was skeptical of getting residents out of their vehicles and convincing them to take mass transit.

“I don’t think running empty buses is good for the environment or good for transportation,” Moore said, adding that she would like to see more people walking and using bicycle lanes.

Hartwell countered that he is a strong supporter of the Westport Transit District, and he blasted the Board of Finance for cutting $37,000 from the transportation budget to hire a part-time administrator, a cut that was later reversed by the RTM.

In response to a comment that shuttle buses from the Saugatuck train station are needed to transport employees of downtown businesses, Moore argued that the businesses, not the taxpayers, should pick up the tab.

Perhaps the biggest question of the night was how to reduce the tax rate and town appropriations.

Gordon said maximizing technology would trim operating costs and reduce departmental redundancies. Rea said the best way was to rethink pensions and other post employment benefits (OPEB). Bruce touted public-private partnerships and outsourcing.

And Hartwell warned against creating new, unnecessary positions. He criticized the current Republican administration of First Selectman Jim Marpe for hiring a six-figure salaried town operations manager, when previous Democratic administrations did not have one.

He also criticized the creation of a new position in the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Department.

Clarissa Moore: “My husband is turning 70 this year so I have my very own senior at home, and I spend a lot of time thinking about senior issues.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Rea said the P&Z position was needed to streamline the permit process for an overworked department. As the only incumbent on the panel, he was quick to point out, “We’re fiscally stronger than we were four years ago.”

On a question about making funding available about enhancing the Westport Center for Senior Activities, Bruce said if the issue was funding a study, he said, “That sounds sensible to me.”

But he said he did not know how to evaluate more spending on the center without a study.

Hartwell said he was deeply disappointed when the Baron’s South senior housing project was abandoned and that he is “favorably disposed” to okay funding to improve the Senior Center.

Moore, 55, noted that seniors are an important issue to her, adding, “My husband is turning 70 this year so I have my very own senior at home, and I spend a lot of time thinking about senior issues.”

“So let’s do what we can for the Senior Center,” she said. “We would need to do a study.”

Gordon said she had toured the Senior Center and a study would be something she would consider supporting. “I think our seniors are very important to us,” she said.