Comments to Board of Education, May 5, 2008

Democracy is defined as government by the people; a form of government in which power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them through their elected officials under a free electoral system!

Abraham Lincoln concluded the Gettysburg address by saying “that government (is) of the people, by the people, and for the people”

I provide you with this definition and this quote, because I am very concerned about where the public actually fits into this redistricting process.

In the past 9 months, since I have been involved in this process, the Board of Education has held numerous meetings. Redistricting committee meetings, general board of education meetings where the public can comment and at least 2 other public hearings. The stated purpose was to hear from the parents, the community, and the electorate about your various plans and scenarios for redistricting. I question why you allow these public hearings to continue, when you clearly disregard the will of the community.

Not once in that time has any individual come forward and publicly stated that they agree with your plans, and that these various plans make sense for the greater Stamford community. You have failed to listen to the people, the same people who have elected you to the office you are sworn to uphold. You have continued to march down a path of community division, pitting one school or neighborhood against another.

In October, in the Westhill auditorium the community overwhelmingly told you that you needed to fight to keep 13 schools. You were heading down the wrong path, but yet you failed to listen and continued, seemingly disregarding the public opinions.

In January right here in the Cloonan auditorium you cut everyone’s opportunity to speak on these issues by 33% on the spot. You gave no advanced notice, leaving numerous speakers unable to effectively get their point across. Again the public made it perfectly clear that your assumptions were wrong, the analysis invalid, and results skewed. We were saying the plans and scenarios you had created were not supported by the greater Stamford community, and yet you persevere.

As recently as April 24, Dr. Starr presented a new scenario, which left more questions than answers. You were unable or unwilling to provide any answers regarding these new scenarios last week. Had you done so, it would have provided the public with sufficient time to thoughtfully and intelligently prepare for tonight’s hearing.

Instead, you waited until yesterday to make this information available online (and difficult to find as well) and spend the first part of tonight’s meeting presenting information that is essentially brand new to the public. This has significantly reduced the amount of time that the public has to react or comment on these new facts.

Finally, you decided over this weekend to change Thursday’s redistricting committee meeting into a full board meeting, where you intend to vote on this issue. How is it possible to schedule a vote without further discussing tonight’s public’s comments? What resolutions regarding these various scenarios have been sufficiently vetted and passed by committee and is therefore ready to be voted on by the full board?

It once again seems that the public comments aspect of this process is being grossly violated. The Board of Education is planning on doing whatever they please, regardless of the view, the comments or the opinions of the community.

Let’s put a stop to that tonight. Listen to what we are saying today.

We are now a community, united and together with one voice.

Let’s honor the community consensus.