A Tumultuous Year For BOE Ends With An Election

It has been a busy year for the Board of Education.

Since Nov. 9, 2010, it , a l and .

This spring, the board faced its tightest budget ever, anyone could remember. It dealt with discipline issues at both the and ; and had both candidates for first selectman, and , question its fiscal constraint. Just last week the board approved .

And now, perhaps the biggest change of all. Five members of the board are up for re-election, including the chairman, Democrat Donald Blevins.

Overall, eight people are running for those five spots, including all five incumbents: Republican Kevin Brunelle; Democrats Blevins, Jessica McLaughlin and Sheri Cote; and Independent Jody Nazarchyck (who was endorsed by the Republicans).

Democrat Julia Kushigian-Secor, who ran in 2009 and lost, is also running, along with newcomers David Campo and David Kenney.

The Incumbents

One of the biggest debates in the last budget season was whether to install a pay-to-participate program for sports, which would have kept freshmen sports and the golf team intact. , with Nazarchyk and Blevins voting against and McLaughlin voting for it (Brunelle and Cote ).

At that same meeting, the board voted 6-1 to cut $5,000 for conferences for Board of Education members. Blevins was the sole board member to vote against the cut.

: . Nazarchyk has pushed for corporate sponsorships to help reinstate programs that were cut; while Cote has pushed for the creation of a finance committee to keep a tighter watch on the district’s budget.

Other board members have spoken against both of these ideas, although no formal vote has been taken on either one.

The Newcomers

Kushigian-Secor is a professor at Connecticut College, and the chairwoman of the Waterford Ethics Commission.

Kushigian-Secor, in her questionnaire submitted to Patch, said her biggest priorities would be teaching literacy for the 21st century (), and developing critical skills and competencies.

Campo and Kenney, both Republicans, are new to Waterford politics. Campo, 39, said his biggest priority would be keep a top-tier education system while being fiscally responsible, according to his questionnaire submitted to Patch.

Kenney, 58, a metal worker, the day he was nominated about homosexuals and his push to get back to “proper disciplines.” Kenney said in his questionnaire that his biggest priority would be ensuring quality education at Waterford schools.

Candidate Questionnaires

Name: Donald Blevins

Age: 68

Employment: Connecticut College Supervisor of Computer Laboratories

Education: BA Mathematics University of Kansas

MA Mathematics University of Kansas

Ph.D. Mathematics University of Michigan

M.S. Biostatistics Harvard School of Public Health

Incumbent: yes, elected in 1999. Currently chairman of the board.

Previous elected experience:

2nd District RTM member (1989-1999)

RTM Moderator (1991-1998)

Civic experience (appointments, nonprofits):

President of Connecticut Association of Boards of Education

Top issue facing and the town and his/her ideas:

Budget – State support for education will remain flat for at least the next two years while the cost of operations continues to increase – fuel, supplies, utilities, health insurance, salaries, etc. We must work to convince the state legislators and the governor to meet their obligations under the state constitution to adequately support education.

Second issue:

Health insurance costs – we have taken first steps to change our employee health coverage by emphasizing preventive care and changing the co-pay structure to encourage lowest cost optimal care. We have to continue to monitor this and to encourage employee participation in Health Savings Accounts (HAS) which we negotiated into the latest teacher labor contract as an option to lower the cost of insurance.

Third issue:

New state secondary school reform measures - these have been passed by the legislature and will be phased in over the next few years. They are definitely sound steps for improving the outcomes for our students, but will involve realigning our curriculum to some extent and providing more individual support services.

Name:  Sheri Cote

Age: 42

Employment: Vice President at the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration

Incumbent (if yes, first elected when): Yes, I was elected to the Board of Education in 2007

Previous elected experience: Board of Education in 2007

Civic experience (appointments, nonprofits):

Vice Chair of LEARN Board of Directors
Member of the United Way Board Governance Committee
Member of the SeCTer Business Development Committee
Past Ombudsman for the Coast Guard Barque Eagle
Past Treasurer of the William Seely Elementary School PTO
Past Treasurer for Treasure Chest Board of Directors
Member - National Schools Boards Association
Member - American Chamber of Commerce Executives
Member - Human Resources Leaders Association

Top issue facing and the town and his/her ideas:

One of the top issues facing our town and the Board of Education is the cost of health care for our employees. This issue has created a large burden for the Board’s budget resulting in budget reductions that impacted programs and resulted in layoffs this past year.  To ensure that we don’t continue to run a deficit in this line item the Board needs to find more cost effective ways of insuring our staff without compromising quality. One way we can begin to make a change is to aggressively look for less expensive solutions but without compromising the quality we currently provide. Cost efficiencies can be realized by asking insurance carriers to compete for our business.

Another way we can address this issue is to work with other Boards and municipalities in eastern CT to form an insurance consortium. This may further strengthen our attractiveness to carriers by increasing our number of lives to be insured.

Second issue:

The second issue for the Board is having the ability to provide quality educational programming without breaking the bank. In these challenging economic times, it is inevitable that all board and municipal budgets are being looked at for trimming. To ensure that the Board of Education members are being fiscally responsible and fully knowledgeable about our budget and expenses, I recently proposed that we create a finance committee to assist the board.  Looking at the budget once per year when it comes to the board for approval is not sufficient.  We owe it to our taxpayers, students and teachers to ensure that we are getting the best value for the money that is spent. That is why I have asked the board to establish a finance committee.

Third issue:

In our competitive global economy it is imperative that we provide the best quality education in Waterford that we can.  I would like to work toward greater engagement of parents and other citizens in our schools.  Each and every child that we educate needs as much support as we can provide them. Community volunteers can go a long way in encouraging students to work hard and be successful. One on one specific attention to our lowest performing students could help them be better prepared for the classroom and furthering their success. Perhaps the schools could establish an approved group of volunteers to assist with tutoring.

Name: David P. Kenney

Age: 58

Employment: Former Assistant Welding Engineer @ E.B; Now Self Employed as a Metal smith / Welder / General Light Contracting and part-time Sculptor

Education: Pomfret School, Connecticut (B.A.; Southeastern Mass. University (M.A.E. Candidate)

Incumbent: No

Previous Elected Experience: None

Civic Appointments: None

Top Issue For Town And Candidate's Ideas: I Propose To Fill A Vacancy On The Board Of Education to work to ensure the quality of education for Waterford students.

Second Issue: Enhance the business environment.

Third Issue: Enhance the local economy by bringing in business and exercising fiscal responsibility to the greatest extent practicable.

Name: Kevin J. Brunelle

Age: 60

Hometown: Waterford

Employment (if retired, when and from what): Legends Limousine

Education: Attended Bryant College (Providence), Eastern CT State University

Incumbent (if yes, first elected when): Yes, 2003

Previous elected experience: 6 years on the Zoning Board of Appeals

Civic experience (appointments, nonprofits):  Economic Development Commission

Top issue facing the town and his/her ideas: Keeping a tighter control on insurance costs.  This is a difficult area since there are so many bargaining groups within the town.  However progress is being made through a study group looking at our needs.

Second Issue: Keeping education as our main focus.  In the past few years economic restraints has made us make some difficult choices.  We need to be able to move FORWARD with quality education, including TAG and world language.  We also need to revisit extracurricular activities as well.  Many students achieve higher results academically due to the discipline received from their extracurricular endeavors.

Third Issue:  All this must be done with a thoughtful eye on taxes.  We need to balance our expenditures with our income without draining our residents. Yet it is important to give our children the type of education that will produce a productive generation.

Name: Jody-Marie Nazarchyk

Age: 59

Education: Attended St. Anselm College and University of Hartford

Occupation – Executive Administrative Assistant at Medtronic Xomed in Mystic

Incumbent: Board of Education Member, first elected in 1995 (16 years on the Board)

Civic Experiences/Appointments:

• • Waterford School Building Committee – 3 years
  • Waterford Youth Service Bureau Board Member – 5 years
  • W.A.D.E. Coalition Member – 5 years
  • Friendship School Governing Board Member – 4 years
  • Waterford Athletic Club member 1993 to present
  • Past Southwest School  and Clark Lane PTA/PTO President
  • Waterford Week Committee Member – 1992 to present
  • Waterford Jr/Sr Softball League Co-President – 1996 to present

Top Issues Facing the Board of Education:

Quality Education – Students should be, and are, our top priority.  It is our responsibility to make sure every Waterford Student receives an excellent education and feels safe in our schools. All students who graduate from Waterford High should graduate with the skills and confidence they will need to succeed in whatever they decide to pursue whether it is college, the work force or the military.

I would like the high school to offer a mandatory, half-year, living-skills class for all students to take in their Junior or Senior year. The curriculum would cover money management, credit cards, interest rates, insurance, living on a budget, eating healthy, resume writing, the interview process, time management etc. This course will help our graduates be ready and responsible enough to live on their own.

Budget – A tremendous challenge for our Board the last two years, and I think in the years to come, will be our budget. The millions of dollars spent on Health Insurance, unfunded Federal and State Mandates, contracted salaries, transportation, and out of district placements account for most of our budget. Health Insurance has to be brought under control so we will not have to loose teachers, staff, and programs like we did this year. I hope our new contract with our teachers will include savings in health insurance.

Every item in our budget has to be looked at carefully and we must try to save money wherever we can, and when putting together our budget we have to be sensitive to the fact that these are difficult financial times for many people, especially our senior citizens. We cannot and do not spend money foolishly.

We have to find new ways to generate income and I am in favor of adopting a corporate sponsorship policy so we can offer freshman sports and after school activities at our schools again. We are fortunate to have the Waterford Education Foundation to assist with special programs and assemblies, but we need to find more help. We need to explore ways to offer Spanish and Art time back in our Elementary Schools and put TAG back at Clark Lane during the school day.

Waterford High School Building Project – This is the last and largest school project our town has to finish. The new high school will be another building our town will be proud of when it is completed.  We are fortunate because the school will have two renovated full size gyms, an auditorium, and a pool along with a new library/media center that can be used not only by our students but our community as well. It is important that this building project is done right and kept under budget. All of the building stages have to be watched carefully and we must keep our community informed on the progress. We are fortunate to have a town that has invested so much time, money, and support into our new schools and educational system.

Name: David L. Campo

Age: 39

Education: B.S. in Business Administration from Florida Southern College

Incumbent: No

Previous Elected Experience: None

Civic Experience (appointments, nonprofits): Volunteer for the Waterford Schools System.

Top issue facing the town and his/her ideas: To maintain a top-tier education system with all the opportunities that our kids need to succeed, all while being fiscally responsible.

Name:  Julia A. Kushigian-Secor

Employment: Professor of Hispanic Studies, Connecticut College

Education: Ph.D in Latin American Literature

Incumbent: No

Previous elected experience: Presently Chair of the Waterford Ethics Commission, PTO President, Great Neck School, Chair of the Faculty Steering and Conference Committee (FSCC), Connecticut College.

Civic experience (appointments, nonprofits):  Presently, Board Member, the New London Rotary Club; Literacy Volunteers; various positions previously held at Second Congregational Church, New London,

Challenges for Waterford:

1) Teach Literacy for the 21st Century:  Challenge in training our students to be literate individuals with the vocabulary, guidelines, symbols and rules needed from a variety of fields to understand the complexities of modern life and make contributions to our society.  Literacy should be supported by a fiscally responsible budget in addition to our state-of-the-art schools. K-12 tasks.

2) Build Competencies: The working world and civil society requires competencies that are built through communities of learners, teachers and responsible adults found in our schools, homes, local businesses, volunteer efforts, places of worship, and on the playing fields.  The goals include the ability to communicate ideas thoughtfully and convincingly, and the ability to translate complex ideas into straightforward, easily recognizable concepts. K-12 tasks. 

3) Develop Critical Skills: The ability to assess a situation, ask the right questions and develop a series of solutions that will be tested and modified over time.  This model goes beyond memorizing information to be returned in the same fashion to the teacher.  It engages our students who will test their ideas in a safe learning environment and ultimately own them. K-12 tasks.

Name: Jessica McLaughlin

Age: 41

Employment: Senior Buyer at General Dynamics, Electric Boat

Education: Bachelors degree in Political Science from Eastern Connecticut State University

Incumbent: Yes, first elected in November of 2007.

Civic Experience: Justice of the Peace, member of the Waterford Town Democrats, member of the Friendship School board, on the Policy Committee.

Top Issue Facing the Town: The budget is the top issue facing the town; specifically health insurance costs which have risen dramatically. Costs need to be contained while still maintaining high academic standards. A committee has been organized to look at ways to keep down health care expenditures and progress has been made.

Second Issue: In the age of no or very little increase in budgets every facet of the educational system needs to be examined to determine what cost efficiencies can be gained through increased fiscal discipline. This may be realized by combining services and purchasing with other districts to achieve greater economies of scale. This is already being done, but more areas need to be examined as dwindling tax revenues force the town to do more with less.

Third Issue: Better post secondary preparedness for a changing work environment. With a greater emphasis on knowledge based work skills, it is important students receive educational training that will better prepare them for the jobs in which they will likely compete. Technological, general economics and finance skills need to be bigger priorities in the classroom.