Quantcast

Norwalk school board finishing year at frenetic pace

By Nancy Guenther Chapman

NORWALK, Conn. – This week’s Board of Education Curriculum Committee meeting has been canceled so board members can concentrate on choosing a new superintendent. This is in spite of pressure being put on the board to select a new English Language Arts curriculum to be used next fall.

Board members are under the gun because of the superintendent search and the need to finalize a budget by June 30, BOE member Mike Barbis said. To illustrate, he shared the schedule of activities for the board:

Monday, June 10: Norwalk Public Schools retiree event

Tuesday, June 11: Continuing and adult education graduation

Thursday, June 13: (the regularly scheduled date for the Curriculum Committee meeting): Superintendent candidate interviews

Friday, June 14: Superintendent candidate interviews

Monday, June 17: Special board meeting to review candidates

Tuesday, June 18: Regularly scheduled board meeting, which will include budget deliberations

Wednesday, June 19: Middle school graduations with board members officiating

Friday, June 20: Both high school graduations

Monday, June 24: Special finance committee meeting to review and approve budget

Tuesday, June 25: Special BOE meeting to finalize the budget

“How much more can a board of ed member do?” Barbis asked in an email. “And when could we possibly have a Curriculum Committee meeting with all of these other BOE obligations?”

Comments

5 responses to “Norwalk school board finishing year at frenetic pace”

  1. Chatha Mercer

    If Mr. Barbis doesn’t have time to serve on the Board of Education, he should step down immediately. Perhaps if he would notice that many of these “obligations” are really social engagements that could more easily be skipped, he could focus on the curriculum committee and actually do some work.

  2. Mike Barbis

    Chatha, you poor thing! You are so clueless.

  3. piberman

    Why a news story entitled “frenetic pace” when districts around the state are kept in doubt about the vagaries of the size of state funding ? Would anyone not want the BOE to spend the time appropriate to the final stages of the Supt. search ? Is it in the public interest to question the activities of the BOE day in day out ? How come in other Districts the BOE’s are not questioned relentlessly ? Is it really news ? Or does such questioning ultimately question the authority and competence of our BOE ? Where is the public interest here ?

  4. Carlos Sanchez

    Well, I don’t know if Mr. Mercer is clueless and its very strange for a man to call another man “poor thing” but I can tell you that I was at the Continuing Ed Graduation for my niece and there was no Mike Barbis, so he is too busy to attend to the duties he has. He must have been busy texting someone like when he is at BOE meetings.

  5. Hobbes the Calvinist

    Once upon a time, there was a Board of Education civility code– but it died of loneliness . . .
    Guess the Angry Four want to “reform” basic rules of courtesy. Good for them Mike Barbis is showing the way.

    http://portal.norwalkps.org/BOE/Documents/Civility%20Code%20-%20Executed.pdf

Leave a Reply

Advertisement


Donate today!

We believe independent journalism that focuses on local government is important, and we think you do too.

Your supporting donation will go towards keeping the lights on, the web server running, and gasoline in the reporter’s car. And remember: NoN is a 501(c)(3) company, so your donation is tax deductible!

Make a donation
Advertisement


Popular Stories

Norwalk to sell parking lot for $4.6 million

Read More

Norwalk Police sergeant involved in fatal collision

NPD investigating middle school ‘504’ group, Chief says

NAACP leader alleges NPS coverup

Norwalk Police accuse Stamford couple of stealing $460K from elderly victim

Advertisement


Recent Comments