On Thursday, May 4, New Fairfield’s Board of Education (BOE) met to review budget cuts following a request to trim $800,000 from their operating budget. The reductions hit staffing, student programs, student services, operations, and leadership.

Superintendent Dr. Ken Craw explained maintaining all health and safety measures, addressing federal and state mandates, and continuing with moral and ethical obligations to special education students are the priorities. In addition, he said they have reduced non-payroll spending as much as possible and that maintaining class-size goals is critical, particularly at the kindergarten through fifth-grade level.

A total of 9.6 positions would be cut in the current scenario, spread across the district. The list includes an administrator—the Director of Curriculum Instruction position—an instructional coach, one interventionist, two paraprofessionals, and more. There would be a pause on certain stipend positions and curriculum instruction consulting, less art time at the elementary school, a pause of the middle school’s gifted program, and Latin—the lowest enrolled of the languages offered—would be eliminated at the high school.

Board members were not pleased with the cuts and spoke out against the request for cuts. They believe these cuts will be damaging to the district’s progress. Expressing appreciation for residents who have spoken up about the budget, Board Chair Mr. Dominic Cipollone said the community is “committed to the success of this district. Regardless, nothing’s gonna stop this district from moving forward. No one’s going to have control over what this district does and how it excels, and this community will rise above any kind of partisanship.”

Board member Ms. Amy Johnson, who was given a formal censure at the previous BOE meeting for making Faceb ook comments without identifying that she was not speaking on behalf of the board, was candid about her thoughts on the matter. She reflected on the censure’s impact, saying that she spoke with the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) who confirmed that a censure of this type can be likened to “public shaming.” Johnson stressed, “I was completely blindsided,” and pointed out that her comments were never read aloud at the meeting. She questioned whether there was a communication or meeting of the Board in which everyone was read in on her comments without including her. Johnson pointed out that other board members have discussed board-related m atters on Facebook. Fellow BOE member Mr. Tim Blair said, “I owe you an apology, Amy. I should not have voted Yes, last week. But I did without fully knowing the entire story.” Several residents spoke out in favor of Johnson and against the censure in public comment. ”

Director of Curriculum Ms. Alyce Misuraca presented a new math resource for middle school students. It was described as a “versatile” textbook and offers many connections to other programs in use by the district through its digital platform. The program has a strong blend of both conceptual understanding and procedural fluency tasks. There are a variety of ways for students to engage with the material, including tiered worksheets and activities, such as Bingo. Board members pointed out that math resources have frequently changed at every level and expressed hope that the curriculum will now be stable for a longer length of time.

Cipollone thanked all district teachers, as this meeting fell during Teacher Appreciation Week, saying, “And I want to appreciate all of the teachers, administrators, and school staff in this wonderful town.” He went on to say, “You don’t remember who won the Best Actor last year for the Academy Awards, but you remember a handful of teachers that you’ve had in your life and the impact they’ve had on your life.”

The BOE was happy to celebrate the CABE Student Leadership Awards for two high school students: Nicky Eklund and Kylie Pardalis, and middle school students: Jacqueline Moody and Jack Mariani. All are academically driven and community-minded students.

The next regular New Fairfield Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 18, 7:00 p.m.

By Sarah Opdahl