Democrat Moriarty Retains Board of Ed Chair

No more delays; it was time to vote

The first order of business at Tuesday night's Board of Education Budget Meeting at Cos Cob School was to elect its officers, (Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary) for the next year. With only one board member nominated for each position, the 8-member board unanimously reelected Leslie Moriarty, Barbara O'Neill and Adriana Ospina to serve another year in their current positions.

The Board of Education is a bipartisan board (4 Democrats and 4 Republicans) established pursuant to the authority of Sections 9-203 to 9 206a of the Connecticut General Statutes. While each board member is elected to a four-year term, the officer positions are one-year terms.

The election of the officer positions usually occurs at a regular November Board of Education meeting, however, when the board met Nov. 15 at North Street School they agreed to defer the election to Tuesday night's meeting.

"We want the focus to be on the students"

With fellow Democrat Jennifer Dayton placing Moriarty's name into nomination and with no other member being nominated, senior Republican board member Steve Anderson offered comments before the written ballot vote was cast.

"For 30 years, both Republicans and Democrats have respected the will of the Greenwich voter and allowed the party that won at the ballot box to nominate the Chairman. Each Republican member of this Board received thousands of votes more than any Democratic member of the Board. It is not 'playing politics' to acknowledge those votes and the expression of popular will that they represent, and it is not 'purely partisan' to recognize that Republicans and Democrats have many fundamental differences in priorities and policies," stated Anderson.

"At the same time, the Republican Board of Ed members are keenly aware of how important it is that the Board's focus be on our 9,000 students, the continuous improvement of our high-performing school district and the successful launch, growth and long-term retention of Superintendent Dr. Bill McKersie," Anderson said.

Before announcing that the Republicans would not be placing a name into nomination for chairman, Anderson explained that "to prevent our being distracted at this time from these fundamental goals, we four Republicans have decided, with the support of our party leadership, that continuity and stability of BOE leadership are the best  things for our children and the school system this year.  We want the focus to be on our students and our community."  

Children Before Politics

As past board chairman, Anderson then challenged the re-elected Moriarty. "Going forward, the success of our school system depends on our Board's and, very importantly, our chair's ability to constructively and proactively work across the aisle with BET Chair Mike Mason, BET Budget Chair Joe Pellegrino, and First Selectman Peter Tesei. We hope she will push back on the more partisan elements of her party and lead based on “what’s best for the children."

Following Moriarty being named Chair, Republican Barbara O'Neill was nominated for Vice Chairman by Anderson. Days before the election, O'Neill predicted the main driver in the determination of the chairman role. "In the end, the outcome will result in what is best for the students." Next, O'Neill nominated Democrat Adriana Ospina for secretary.

If the board didn't elect its leadership for the school year, the decision would have been referred to the Board of Selectmen—which is dominated by Republicans.

Previously, First Selectman Peter Tesei said that ideally the Board of Education should determine their own leadership. In reaction to 8-0 election across for all 3 officers, Tesei commented that he is "pleased that the Board of Education handled their own business in house."

Following the election, the Board got down to business as it began discussions of the 2013-2014 proposed budget. Moriarty described the process as one with "excitement and energy" as the board deemed that "everything is on the table."

What's Ahead

"This year, we've got a very tough operating and capital budget environment to work through, we've got our Racial Imbalance answer due back to the State, we've got our board achievement goals that we're driving for. Let's constructively and collegially focus on these issues.  I think that's what parents and taxpayers want from this board," said Anderson.