2003 Election Profiles –

School Board Candidates Advocate Better Communication, Organization

By Larissa Lytwyn

November 4 will be the first Election Day since 1993 that multiple candidates are vying for election to the Board of Education. Challengers George Caracciolo and Paul Mangiafico are contending for two Republican seats occupied by Earl Gordon and Andrew Buzzi.

School Board members have four-year tenures, explained school board Chair Elaine McClure. Every two years, seats held by Democrats or Republicans are up for election. “In two years, three Democratic seats and my Republican seat will be up,” Ms McClure said.

At its July 14 meeting, the town’s Republican Caucus endorsed incumbents Andrew Buzzi, Earl Gordon, as well as Mr Caracciolo and Mr Mangiafico.

“Only three of the four names could be put on the ballot,” said Ms McClure. Votes were taken July 16. Three of the four candidates, Andrew Buzzi, George Caracciolo, and Paul Mangiafico, moved forward.

In September, Democrat Margaret Hull resigned as Secretary.

The sitting board approved Earl Gordon to serve as an interim secretary until December 1. On December 5, the newly elected board will appoint a new secretary. “I expect that the Democratic Caucus will be nominating candidates shortly after the November 4 election,” said Ms McClure.

Recently, Democrat David Nanavaty was appointed vice chairman because his predecessor Vincent Saviano decided not to seek reelection. Mr Nanavaty is running unopposed for vice chairman and will most likely officially be elected November 4. A public defender with a secondary education degree in English, Mr Nanavaty said his interest in serving on the school board was first piqued several years ago. “My brother, Charles, served on the board during the late 1990s,” he said.

A 1972 Newtown High School graduate, Mr Nanavaty said the school system has been “great” for as long as he can remember. His children, he said, are also enrolled in the Newtown public school system.

Long active in town politics, Mr Nanavaty’s Board of Education appointment meant he had to resign from the Board of Ethics. “I understand how [committees] work,” he said. Like the Board of Ethics, he said, the school board is involved in “rule-making” and “judiciary” decisions. He believes his law and education background, as well as his fondness for the Newtown community, will make his transition onto the school board a positive one.

Republican George Caracciolo, 64, believes that the Board of Education needs to return to its principal role of “policy maker.” The seven-year Newtown resident, who has grandchildren attending Hawley Elementary School, gave what he said was just a recent example of misdirected focus.

“There was a meeting [in the beginning of the school year] when everyone was upset about the busing issue,” said Mr Caracciolo, referring to the scheduling problems that occurred after the district shifted from a four- to three-tier system. “There were a lot of concerned parents there — some were in the halls.”

But the first part of the agenda, he recalled, dealt with Reed Intermediate School’s punch list. An item concerning the busing issue was further down. Consequently, the public had to wait while the board addressed technical details of the school project.

This, he said, was how the board “attempts to micromanage.”

 If elected, Mr Caracciolo said that he would try to help redirect the board to an advisory role. “The superintendent is their employee,” he said. “The board can’t — nor should they try — to do the job themselves.”

The retired Long Island police officer said that his five-year service on the Uniondale, N.Y., school board and 2001 membership on Newtown’s Charter Revision Commission helped give him first-hand knowledge on how a school board ought to run.

He believes this year’s widespread pay-to-participate fees, imposed to offset staggering budget cuts, should have been better handled. Better options should have been given instead of either charging students to partake in a program or cutting the program completely, he said.

He also said that the six-member board should be changed to either five or seven members. The odd number, he explained, might give the opportunity for unaffiliated would-be members to join the board.

In addition, the space in which many of the more highly attended meetings have been conducted is inefficient, he said. “Having people stand in the halls, having trouble hearing,” he said, “does not help communication between the board and the public.”

Most regularly scheduled meetings are conducted in Canaan House at Fairfield Hills.

Republican Paul Mangiafico, 69, is also troubled by what he perceives to be poor communication between the board and the public. With grandchildren at Head O’ Meadow School, the seven-year Newtown resident said he understands the importance of both education and the value of a tax dollar. Tax concerns, he noted, are of particular importance to older citizens who may not have children or grandchildren in the school system.

He said he has visited the town’s Senior Center several times, speaking about how it is important to support the education system. “A good school system makes for a better town,” he said. Families, he continued, are attracted to an area with a lauded public school reputation. In addition, he said, property values, a component that intrinsically touches each homeowner, increases.

“I have spent a lot of time in the library reading through issues of The Bee that go back ten years,” Mr Mangiafico said. In those ten years, he continued, taxes have never been higher. Bonding obligations have also soared.

“We need an education system that provides good institutions with superior teachers,” he said, “and good value for our tax dollar.” The cost of education in recent years, he explained, is far in excess of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). While he believes teacher salaries are important to attract top-notch quality, other spending areas need to be looked at, he said.

One example was the recent busing issue. “The three-tier system was supposed to save the town $141,000,” he said. “We ended up having to put $60,000 back in [to make it work].”

He believes that in an attempt to take on too much, the board has lost its focus. “When there are big issues out there, they ought to be the only thing on the agenda,” he said. He also described the board’s current Canaan House location as inadequate during heavily attended meetings.

“There are people in the halls, people who can’t hear or even sit,” he said. “That is not right because the board is conducting the public’s business.” He suggests board members use microphones to increase audibility.

“The board members themselves are fine, upstanding citizens,” Mr Mangiafico said. “It’s not an easy job. But I think we can make this board a better one.”

Though retired from his position as a senior management corporate executive at the American National Can Company and United States Can Company, Mr Mangiafico still serves area companies as a business consultant. He has also held elected office. While living in Danbury, Mr Mangiafico served as the vice chairman of the Zoning Commission. He has also served on the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Industrial Advisory Board and Gateway National Advisory Board.

Republican Andrew Buzzi, 39, has served on the school board since March 2003, when predecessor Shelia Stickles resigned. A Weston native, Mr Buzzi said he has always had a fondness for Newtown. “It’s a fantastic community,” the seven-year Newtown resident said. One of his key reasons in the decision to move to Newtown, in fact, was the district’s strong school system. “I have a 3-year-old boy who goes to Wesley Learning Center,” he said, “and a 6-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy who attend Hawley.”

Mr Buzzi said he appreciates how, despite its steady growth, the town has been able to retain its rural charm. He said he was raised to be civic-minded and contribute actively to the community.

“My motivation to serve on the Board of Education was really to give something back,” he said. “It’s important to be involved.”

Formerly elected chairman of Newtown’s Public Building Committee, Mr Buzzi is a Danbury-based attorney who specializes in business and real estate negotiations. He said his law background often proves useful in his work on the school board.

“As an attorney you not only identify problems, you present solutions,” he said. In response to criticism that the board tends to micromanage, he replied that the Board of Education inevitably must concern itself with a wide range of issues.

“I’d love to focus just exclusively on academics,” he said, “but it’s not always possible.”

He said the district’s shift from a four- to three-tier system was originally proposed because of longstanding scheduling issues with the four-tier system. A committee largely composed of owner operators helped shape the current three-tier structure.

“In any district, when even a small change occurs, it can take several weeks for the issues to be ironed out,” he pointed out. He recalled a presentation conducted by a First Student transportation staff member during a September board meeting. “Our transition from a four- to three-tier system was a very large one,” said Mr Buzzi, “so to get that worked out in about four weeks was actually good, considering the circumstances.”

These circumstances include an additional $60,000 added to make the three-tier system work, which reduces the $141,000 Finance Director Ron Bienkowski estimated would be saved during the system’s original proposal.

Mr Buzzi did acknowledge that the planning could have been better in estimating the number of buses needed to make the transition.

“I know how upset parents were,” he said. He recalls discussing the issue with parents at St Rose School with Chair Elaine McClure in mid-September.

Planning could also have been better, he said, when the decision was made to widen a pay-to-participate fee for Newtown schools. “I was never an advocate of pay-to-participate,” said Mr Buzzi. “The night we voted I was actually not present because I got food poisoning!”

He says he was concerned by the vagueness of the proposal, as well as its possible ramifications on economically challenged households.

With that in mind, he said, he wished the recent discontent among Newtown High School students, parents, and administration had been voiced more strongly when the board first deliberated the proposal in June.

“[The Board] either had to cut some of these programs, or we had to think of another solution,” he said. “Parents were telling us that they would pay, rather than see the programs cut.”

In regard to communication between the board and the public, Mr Buzzi said that it had only been recently that the public has shown up in force at meetings. “Usually we [only] have a handful of people in the audience,” he said. During times when the turnout was expected to be significant, arrangements were made as quickly as possible to accommodate attendees.

During the budget negotiations in June, for example, some meetings were held in the Reed Intermediate School cafeteria.

“Usually, the facilities we have [in Canaan House] are adequate,” Mr Buzzi said.

During public participation, he pointed out, speakers are asked to identify themselves so that Ms McClure can estimate how much time to allow each person to speak. Information request forms are also made available at each meeting in abundance, he said.

He emphasized that the board is always open to hear comments from the community. “My phone number is right there, listed,” he said. “We are accessible.”