North St. School Parent Voices Support of Sherr for Ed Board

Dear Editor:

I have three young children that attend (or soon will) Greenwich public schools and am writing to express my support for the re-election of Peter Sherr to the Greenwich Board of Education (“BoE”).

During the last six months, I have been very active in the BoE’s consideration of facilities utilization and racial balancing (FURB)—speaking at every public BoE meeting since May and drafting several formal letters to both the BoE and the State Department of Education on this subject.  In my letters and public statements, I have made two things very clear: (i) the State’s racial balancing rules and regulations are both constitutionally suspect and—even if valid—are being improperly enforced against Greenwich; and (ii) the BoE’s duty is to represent Greenwich citizens and their children, not Hartford bureaucrats—and Greenwich parents have universally railed against any involuntary movement of public schoolchildren.

In this regard, Peter Sherr is one of only two BoE members—along with Peter von Braun—that has consistently advocated for pushing back against the State and following the collective will of Greenwich public school parents.  In addition, Mr. Sherr is one of only two members (along with Mr. von Braun) that affirmatively reached out to me to follow up on the BoE’s legal options and the relative strength of its bargaining position with the State.

I did not know Mr. Sherr prior to attending BoE meetings this Summer, but I have come to realize that he is a tireless advocate for Greenwich’s public schoolchildren.  While I take no position on the other candidates, I strongly support the re-election of Peter Sherr.  Mr. Sherr has represented the parents’ voice on the BoE for the past four years, I sincerely hope he is given the opportunity to continue that role going forward.

Ben Bianco

Cos Cob

(Editor’s note: More letters to the editor regarding Greenwich elections may be found in our elections and government categories.

Greenwich Patch will publish election-related letters to the editor through Oct. 31.  To be considered for publication, letters must be submitted by 5 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013.)