Stonington school board candidates look to defend budget from cuts

Stonington - Six of the seven candidates running for the four spots on the Board of Education appeared at an informal forum Wednesday night, with many of them talking about how best to reach out to residents with information in an effort to prevent the annual cuts to the proposed school budget.

Before discussing that issue, though, Democratic incumbents Gail MacDonald and Kevin Bornstein along with Democrat Alisa Morrison and Republicans Rob Marseglia, Jonathan Jones and Faith Leitner told the small group gathered in a high school classroom about why they want to run and what they will do if they get on the board. The seventh candidate, Republican Michael Laskowski, did not appear at the forum, which was organized by the town's PTOs.

Voters can select four of the seven candidates. The winners will serve four-year terms.

MacDonald, the chairwoman of the board, is an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut and her daughter went through the school system. She said there's still work to do to accomplish some of the goals she set when elected four years ago. She said the board has made strides in improving communications with the Board of Finance and the community while the high school expansion and renovation project was completed.

The board has also just signed new contracts with teachers and administrators that call for no raises next year. MacDonald said she also wants to move forward with renovating the elementary schools once the economy improves.

Bornstein, an engineer who has three children in the system, was appointed two years ago to fill a vacancy. He said he wants to get back on the board because he wants to use the knowledge he's gained over that time about how the board operates.

He said the key issue for him is for the board and administrators to close the visible achievement gap between some of the town's schools.

Morrison, who has two children in the school system and chaired the Deans Mill School PTO, is a civil engineer who has taught at Three Rivers Community College for the past 20 years. She also served eight years on the Planning and Zoning Commission. She said it is important to develop a good relationship with the Board of Finance and keep the lines of communication open, something she said MacDonald has started. She proposed that board members hold informal meetings with parents and faculty members.

Leitner, whose daughter has gone through the system, said her work as a substitute teacher the past three years has provided her with insight into how the schools work. She said she is running because she wants to give students the tools they need to be successful. She said the board needs to reach out not just to parents but all residents so they know about the many good things that are happening in the schools and understand what the board is doing.

Marseglia, an engineer at Electric Boat, has three children, two of whom are in the system. He has spent the past five years on the Planning and Zoning Commission, served as co-chairman of the Deans Mill School SBIT, and led the pro-budget group Vote Yes in Stonington.

He said the boards of finance, selectmen and education should be out in the community publicly promoting the budget they have created. He said this would build public trust, which would translate into yes votes and save the town the cost of holding multiple referendums each year.

Jones, a chemical engineer at Dow who works in mergers and acquisitions for the company, has two children who went through the system. He said serving on the board would be a chance to give back to the school system that he said does such a great job.

He said he has experience overseeing multimillion-dollar budgets, doing long-term planning and solving problems. He has served on the Stonington Education Foundation and worked to get out the vote on the high school project.

After addressing those at the forum, the six stood in front of the classroom and took turns addressing questions from the group.

They agreed the board could do more to communicate with the public and build support for the budget and suggested ways to do that. Bornstein, though, said the problem is also that so few residents are registered to vote and few of them do vote.

Leitner then closed then forum with this comment.

"You all have a hard decision. There are some great candidates here," she said.

j.wojtas@theday.com