Stonington — Three Democrats and three Republicans, none of them incumbents, will compete for four spots on the seven-member Board of Education in the Nov. 2 municipal election.

The three remaining members not up for reelection are Democrats Farouk Rajab, Craig Esposito and Republican Heidi Simmons. The board, however, has a long history of bipartisanship and not voting along party lines.

Once elected, the four new members will immediately face the review of the proposed 2021-22 budget, decisions on how to spend federal COVID-19 funding and beginning the search for a new superintendent as Van Riley has notified the school board he is resigning but will stay on board until his successor is hired.

The Democratic candidates are Sara Baker, Daniel Kelley and Chris Donahue while the Republican contenders are Kevin Agnello, Nicholas Tewell and Jan MacGregor.

When asked about issues such as possible COVID-19 vaccine mandates for students and mask requirements, the candidates all said these would be issues the board would discuss and take their guidance from the information being provided. 

None of the candidates would say whether school officials at the high school should have been disciplined regarding the allegations of sexual harassment of Timothy Chokas, something a large group of residents have said should have happened.  

Baker, 41, lives on Rossie Street in Mystic and is an assistant professor at Southern Connecticut State University, where she teaches communications, media and screen studies. She has also worked for an educational non profit organization in Washington, D.C., and holds a doctoral degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

She said she grew up in a family that was very involved in local government and PTOs and learned that you give back where you live. She said she entered the race to ensure there is diverse group of candidates. She is the only woman among the candidates.

Baker said she wants to improve communication and work collaboratively to improve the education of students and ensure schools are safe places. She said "mechanisms have to be put in place so students have a voice" and that "they are heard and respected and taken seriously."

Baker said she is not sure mandates are the best way to encourage compliance when it comes to issues such as the COVID-19 vaccine.

Instead, she said, "We should look for ways to persuade people to make the best choice for themselves and their community."

As for critical race theory, she said educators should have the academic freedom to teach what is appropriate for their classroom.

"Ninety-nine percent of educators are motivated to do what is in the best interests of their students so they are responsible citizens in the world," she said.

Kelley, 58, lives on Renee Drive in Pawcatuck and is the director of security at the Providence Marriott hotel. He previously worked as a paraprofessional at the middle school for several years and before that was a state corrections officer for 23 years. 

He has been a member of the PTOs at Deans Mill and Mystic Middle schools and is a past member of the Groton City Council, where he served as deputy mayor and on the Representative Town Meeting.  

Asked why he is running, Kelley said, "I want to continue to give back to my community and help make a great school system even better."

Kelley said he does not see any major changes that need to be made to the school system except for implementing policy improvements recommended by the state Office of the Child Advocate following the years of sexual harassment reports and complaints about former high school teacher Timothy Chokas. 

Kelley also said he is not opposed to consider changing school starting times so elementary students would start school earlier each morning and high school students later. 

Kelley, who worked at the middle school during the pandemic, said some good things came out of the pandemic restrictions that can be used in the future. For example, he said there was an increased use of outdoor space for instruction and students being assigned to smaller groups where they interacted with other students they might normally not have.

As for the Chokas controversy, Kelley said that mistakes were made and that no one was held accountable when they failed to take the appropriate action. He also criticized the attorney hired by the school board to investigate the handling of the incident, saying she did not do what she was supposed to do, such as seeking out victims to interview.

Donahue, 33, is a 2007 Stonington High School graduate who lives on Liberty Street in Pawcatuck. He works as a sales consultant at Valenti VW. He serves as the vice chairman of the Stonington Facilities Committee.

Donahue said the importance of public service to the Town of Stonington was instilled in him at a very early age as both his late father and grandfather served and chaired the Board of Finance for many years and also served on the school board. His father Steven was also the Pawcatuck fire chief.

"There's no better way to give back to the town than to help shape the future of our students," he said about his reason for running.

As a board member, Donahue said he wants to ensure that all the money in the school budget "is going towards student success and provide them with opportunities."

"We want to make sure every kid is being prepared for the next step in their life," he said.

If elected he said he would work on policies to ensure the mental health of students, which he said was impacted by the pandemic.

He said he also wants to explore ways to increase the social interaction of students, something he said has suffered not only with the isolation of COVID-19 but the increased use of technology.

Donahue said the fact there were so many complaints about Chokas over so many years shows there was a "big mishandling" of the complaints by school officials and employees, all of whom are still employed in the school system. If elected, he said he would confer with board members about what occured and see whether any action needs to be taken. He said he would also like to explore a better vetting process for school employees before they are hired.

He credited high school Associate Principal Alicia Dawe and other school employees for implementing new programs and policies to make students feel safe and comfortable if they have to report misconduct or other concerns.

"We need to make sure something like this never happens again," he said.

Agnello, 30, is a 2009 graduate of Stonington High School, who lives on Lester Avenue in Pawcatuck and works as a data analyst for an educational software company.

Asked why he is running, Agnello said everyone has a duty to contribute to their community and he believes the school board is a "great fit" for him.

He pointed out that in addition to his current job, he has two young children who will be entering the school system. He has taught high school math, had his educational research published and is working on his doctorate degree in educational psychology.

Agnello said he wants to improve the board's transparency when it comes to the budget.

"The Board of Education owes the taxpayers a comprehensive rationale and explanation of how each dollar is being spent and make that information available to the public," he said. "The board can do better."

Agnello said he wold like more rationale given when it comes to policy decisions being considered by the board and superintendent.

"I'm not afraid to ask questions. I don't shy away from debate," he said.

Agnello said the board also needs to encourage consistent community engagement on issues.

Agnello said he looks at the controversy over critical race theory as a positive thing as more parents and residents are becoming involved in their school community. He said it also offers teachers a chance to explain curriculum.

"This sort of engagement should be welcomed by the K-12 community, the BOE, parents, and the community at large because each of these groups has the same goal – student success," he said.

Agnello said that from the beginning it is clear that the Chokas situation could have been handled better and that mandated reporters did not meet their duty to report.  

"Students have to trust the adults to do the right thing," he said, adding the school system's response to update procedures has been encouraging.

Tewell, 36, lives on Whittaker Drive. He is a Connecticut state trooper with two children who attend Deans Mill School.

He said one reason he is running is that it is a benefit to have the voices of families with children in the school system on the board. He added it is time for changes and to have new ideas and voices come forward.

"I want to make sure the education that every kid receives is the education that gets them ready for the next step in their life," he said, such as STEM programs.

He said that if elected he would be committed to the school as well as students and their families.

As for requiring a COVID vaccine for students, Tewell said parent choice when it comes to their child's health is important.

"I'm not here to tell parents how to raise their children," he said.

Tewell offered one of the more detailed responses on the controversy over critical race theory, which all candidates agreed is not being taught in the school system.

"History is history. We have to acknowledge that history happened. We cannot change history but we can learn from history. I want to make sure that what kids in Stonington learn is that if mistakes were made in the past, we don't want to repeat them. We want to learn from them."

As for the Chokas issue, Tewell said that as a police officer he too is a mandated reporter like school employees.

"If you hear about an allegation concerning abuse it should be handled in a certain way. You call DCF or police," he said.

School employees did not report years of complaints and information about Chokas, only reporting a final incident in January 2019, which led to his resignation.

Tewell said the school system needs to protect its students, be transparent with families and create an environment in which students feel safe coming forward with any complaints. If he had been on the board at the time, Tewell said he would have liked to have had discussions with staff about what they did and why they did not report the conduct.

"This should never have happened from what I see," he said.

MacGregor, is a retired lawyer who lives on Lamberts Lane. Prior to practicing administrative law in Washington, D.C., he served 27 years in the Navy aboard submarines. He rose to the rank of captain and commanded the USS Kamehameha.

If elected, MacGregor said he would work to improve the transparency of the board which he called an important issue.

"Parents should have an important voice and be able to air their grievances and concerns before the board," he said.

He said the board should also focus on taking steps to help students regain a higher standard of proficiency in basic skills such as reading, writing and math, that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic but had already been lagging behind many countries.

He said one possible way to address the issue is to implement a longer school day in which the extra time would be used to focus on the areas where students need to improve. He added that temporary instructors could be hired to help with the initiative.

"I'd like to be a presence on the Board of Education to maintain and raise our academic standards to improve proficiency in key areas," he said.

As for Chokas, he said he believes some school employees were not as transparent as they should have been. He said that when complaints are received school employees should not ignore them but jump on them right away.

"To do anything else is not only unfair to the potential victim but stupid," he said. "Ignoring the risk allows bad things to go on."

j.wojtas@theday.com