Gissen Appointed To School Board

By Larissa Lytwyn

Thomas Gissen, executive vice president of the Danbury-based division of Ginsberg Development, LLC, a national building firm specializing in upscale community housing, was appointed to the school board December 2.

“I think he is a good fit because of his strong engineering background,” said five-year board member Lisa Schwartz.

Mr Gissen occupies the position vacated in September by then-secretary Margaret Hull.

Former board member Earl Gordon did not garner the number of votes necessary to continue his service to the board this year, and former vice chairman Vincent Saviano chose not to seek reelection.

Republican Paul Mangiafico and Democrat David Nanavaty filled their positions in the November election.

Incumbent Andrew Buzzi, who was appointed to the board last March, was also elected to his first full term this year.

“I have resided in Newtown for about five years now,” said Mr Gissen, a Weston native who lived for a decade in Ridgefield.

“[My family] and I chose to move to Newtown largely because of its high-quality education system,” he explained.

He added, “I know that property values are considerably related to the real or perceived quality of the town’s education system.”

Mr Gissen believes that his building management expertise will prove useful as the board prepares to address upcoming projects, including the proposed high school academy.

“I also have three children attending Hawley, Newtown Middle School, and Newtown High School,” Mr Gissen said. “I appreciate the balance of maintaining high educational quality while practicing fiscal responsibility.”

After graduating from Columbia University with a bachelor of arts degree in political science, Mr Gissen covered the education beat at two New Jersey-based daily newspapers before acquiring a master’s degree in city and regional planning at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

“I believe there are a lot of components to a strong school district,” Mr Gissen said. In addition to standardized test scores and graduation rates, he said, it was important that all students, regardless of their academic propensity or talents, receive an equally gratifying education.

As for lengthy school board meetings, Mr Gissen said his experience “in the private sector” with the local Planning and Zoning Commission and other municipal boards have accustomed him to “staying up past midnight.”

Realizing the amount of time being a school board member would take, however, Mr Gissen said he deliberated carefully before “throwing my hat into the race.”

He said his familiarity with committees and their often-comprehensive agendas have helped prepare him for the challenges of serving on the Board of Education.

“I have seen how the board works and I think they are all good people,” he said. “I recognize that, and I want to give something back to the community.”