Letter to the Advocate: BoE Candidates Targeting Starr

To the Stamford Advoate editor (published Oct 14, 2010):

Do the Board of Education candidates who oppose Superintendent Starr and plan to vote to terminate his contract upon election understand the fiscal ramifications of this path?

There is speculation in the community that that is exactly what the prospective board members who are opposed to Dr. Starr are planning to do if they are elected.

Some of these extraneous costs associated with this plan include buying out of his current contract, hiring a consultant to find a replacement, the possible need for an interim superintendent, and then the time a new person will need to become acclimated and implement a new direction.

These unnecessary costs will further remove resources from the classroom and prevent us from moving our schools forward in a positive manner until this change is completed.

Let's be careful for what we wish, and ask what is the cost of rash, politically motivated decision-making. Where are the fiscal watchdogs on this issue?

Jeff Herz

Stamford