I have watched a few Ledyard Board of Education meetings over the past year and it is clear who on the BOE does the work and who does not. I see Joanne Kelley, Kate DiPalma-Herb and Naomi Rodriguez consistently speak up, come to meetings prepared, and influence the board to make decisions in the best interest of our students and teachers. I am grateful for their leadership.

By contrast, several of the Republican BOE members are just warm bodies going through the motions of their position. Several frequently do not come to meetings prepared (when they come to subcommittee meetings at all). One Republican member has proudly proclaimed, more than once, that he does not like to read (to explain why he was not prepared). Our children deserve much better than this kind of willful ignorance.

Poor oversight of the school reconstruction projects from the Permanent Municipal Buildings Committee (PMBC), which is run by Republican leadership, has cost a great deal of taxpayer money in cost overruns.

We need more BOE members like Naomi, Kate and Joanne. I hope you will join me in voting for them on Nov. 2.

Brian Simpson

Gales Ferry