Letter To The Editor: State’s Education System Left Our Kids Behind

To the Editor:

As the father of two children in the Fairfield public school system, an active member in their respective PTAs, and a youth football, soccer and basketball coach - I have seen firsthand the impact that the pandemic has had on our children and the importance of a top-rated educational system. In my leadership roles as an elected member of the Representative Town Meeting for over ten years and as a State Representative, I was always on the Education Committees because my number one priority as a public servant is to create a safe environment for all children to thrive socially and academically.

What I have observed over these past ten years is the need to protect local control of education as parents and local decision makers know what is best for our children. The State’s one size fits all approach does not account for the individualized needs of students nor does it give flexibility to successful school districts like Fairfield. Well intended but flawed top down mandates from the majority party in Hartford are not helping our kids succeed.

The most glaring example in recent history is the prolonged masking of children in public schools. Like many parents, I was a proponent of indoor masking in the early stages of the pandemic but those mandates went on for far too long and were too broad in scope. Parents fighting to have the choice to unmask their three or four year old preschoolers or to have a child’s mask removed during speech therapy was commonplace and should never have happened at all. Much of this could have been avoided if Fairfield parents and local school districts had been empowered to decide what is best for our children and local community.

Many public school districts, especially in our cities, stayed virtual for way too long and children suffered from social isolation and fell behind academically compared to their peers who were back in-person in the classroom. This problem will not quickly be solved as our Connecticut State Department of Education appears to have shifted its attention away from fundamental learning skills and shown more interest in politically correct policies.

I fully support LGBTQ rights and the importance of greater diversity and equity in the classroom as well as the workplace. We can always do more to be more inclusive in the classroom. Racism, bigotry and inequality in any form should not be tolerated in our schools but it is hard to stay silent when Connecticut has lurched so far to one extreme.

I applaud the State Legislature's recent approved budget that placed a greater emphasis and provided additional funding for mental health. Ironically, it was the majority party’s uncompromising policies during the pandemic, where our children were not a priority, that exacerbated the mental health crisis we currently are facing. With the State’s dismal track record over the years, it is time to hand back greater control and decision making authority to local school boards and parents. We know what is best for our kids.

Brian Farnen
Former Fairfield State Representative