SRO at the BoE

Five of seven Tuesday evening and it’s standing room only at Trumbull’s BoE meeting - a sight this writer had not seen in three plus years of attending the board’s meetings. Why?  “Class size” - a discussion held every year just before school starts.

Every meeting begins with public comment, any topic, no questions. On Tuesday eleven mothers, most of elementary school children, raised two issues.

The majority expressed concerns because their children were assigned to classrooms at - and in one case - above the board’s class size guidelines.

Jen Kehely, a former Daniels Farm PTA President whose daughter will enter fourth grade, captured the moment: “All parents want small classes... larger classes increase the demands on teachers and change the climate of the room.” She concluded “We chose Trumbull for its excellent school system.”

Town Councilwoman Vickie Tesoro, intending to speak on another topic, took up the parents’ cause. She said she and her friends lobbied 20 years ago to get class sizes where they are today, and continued “I applaud you parents for advocating for your children.” She also told them “You cannot just come to a meeting in August to express your concerns (and expect to have leverage)... Instead, you have to get involved in the process in November, when the budget is being drawn up.”

Later on School Superintendent Dr. Gary Cialfi explained “Class size guidelines are unchanged... the board seeks equity across schools,” and addressed each of the six problem classes.

Without getting too far into the weeds, Frenchtown has the only above guideline kindergarten sections. The board implemented kindergarten guideline is 20 students, the school is projected to have 107 students in five sections - every section is above guideline.

Cialfi identified two remedies, first, all five Frenchtown sections will have an extra paraprofessional in the classroom. And going forward, every kindergarten student registering for Frenchtown will be enrolled at Middlebrook, whose four kindergartens each have 16 students.

Two other speakers, both Republican elected officials - Town Councilwoman Anne Marie Evangelista and Board of Finance alternate Cindy Penkoff - talked to the second issue - the number of out of district students enrolled “illegally.”

Ms. Evangelista spoke first. She seemed to blame “over enrollment” on the illegals and recommended that the district hire a full time investigator to assure all students meet the state’s enrollment statute.

Ms. Penkoff summarized the law, seconded Ms. Evangelista’s recommendation and offered a short list of categories of illegals. She included the curious case of a child of a divorced couple whose mother has custody but lives out of town, and a father who owns a home here. The child cannot attend our schools, notwithstanding the fact that the father pays town taxes. A taxpayer doesn't have the right to a public education for his child?

Cialfi first invited Evangelista and Penkoff to meet with him to review their concern and the statute. He reiterated that the problem is not Trumbull’s enforcement, but the state statute, a “loosely drawn” law, not a local ordinance, and one the administration has sought to have tightened, to no avail. The district, he said, does have an administrator who monitors all new enrollments, and “We enforce the law as written, but can go no further.”

The writer, a regular attendee at Board of Finance and Town Council meetings, has no recollection of either Republican recommending to their board funding the line item necessary to hire the “needed” individual. In fact, neither has a reputation for speaking out for any expense other than ones presented by First Selectman and fellow Republican Tim Herbst.

The concerns of the parents (and maybe of the two elected officials) arise from a single issue - the First Selectman has reduced the Board of Education’s recommended budget during his four years by an amount exceeding $6 million. Perhaps a small portion of these cuts could have paid for the teachers the parents ask for, as well as the full time officer the two officials want but have never asked for publicly until now?

Our schools have subsisted on a “Pay me now, or pay me later” basis for the last four years. Tuesday evening demonstrated what happens when we reach “pay me later.”

Parents, and friends of education, communicate with education and finance board and town council members - email addresses are on the town and Board of Education websites. Attend their meetings. Make sure they are giving your children the education you want. 

Most important - get out and vote on November 5.