FAIRFIELD, Conn. The seven candidates each had plenty to say in the debate for the Board of Education race Thursday night. Interested voters can watch the entire debate on FairTV (Cablevision Channel 79, or on demand online).
But heres a sampling of what each prospective school board member said on one of this summers most pressing issues: If given less money next year, what would you cut from the districts budget?
Jennifer Maxon Kennelly, Democrat: Ive discussed at other meetings the idea of taking a new look at the fixed costs. I think more can be done with both energy and transportation. But if the cuts have to happen, then I would be looking for the cuts to take place as far away from the direct delivery of education as possible.
Phil Dwyer, Democrat: As Ive worked with the YMCA, I would say, They didnt start the YMCA so there could be an administrative staff at the top. We did it so they could help teachers, and people who serve in the classroom. Id preserve that, but Id be looking at the overhead costs to find a more efficient system.
Stacey Zahn, Democrat (incumbent): Where it has to be is away from the classroom. You cant affect the childrens education directly. Even though people might also argue that sports plays a role in their lives, that it betters them as people.
John Convertito, Republican: I can tell you, in general, my approach would be to evaluate the efficacy of every area program before making a cut. Those cuts that did not perform well or did not get a good return on the investment we were making would be the first to go.
Jessica Gerber, Democrat: Look at the audit again. There were a lot of things in there. Some of them didnt work, some of them were put into effect, others need more time to look at. Look again at everything in the audit, and see if theres anything there that makes sense.
Neal Fink, Democrat: We need to just start with the bottom, and look at all the programs that were running, and see what our needs really are. We may find that there are places where it makes sense to cut.
Paul Fattibene, Republican (incumbent): There may be a requirement to raise class sizes to some degree. There may be a situation where you have to reduce some of the class offerings, or consolidate some course offerings. Also, it may arise where you have some sort of hiring freeze.
Independent candidates Amanda Parks and Hugh Donnelly and Republican candidate Nancy Billington did not participate in Thursdays debate. Voters will fill five seats in the election Nov. 8, and no more than three will go to one party.
Want to know more about the candidates? Tell us what question youd like them to answer in the comments below, or send queries to gcanuel@thedailyfairifeld.com.
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