Bill Hart Named BOE Chairman

In a split 4-3 vote, Bill Hart, a member of the Independent Party of Newtown, was elected chairman of the Board of Education Tuesday night.

He replaces Lillian Bittman, who said that she is stepping down as chairman due to family commitments. Bittman, a Democrat who will remain on the board, voted with the three other IPN members in electing Hart chairman.

"I feel very comfortable that Bill's business background has brought him to this place and time where he can make a difference," Bittman said. "I support him whole heartedly."

Hart is in his first year on the board. Board vice chairman Kathy Fetchick also was nominated for the position.

"I think that we're a board that has to take care of a $66 million budget, and that is a lot of responsibility," she said. "I think that the position needs to be somebody that has a lot of experience with the board and with the other boards in town."

Fetchick only garnered votes from her two fellow Republicans and was opposed by the other four.

Board member Richard Gaines was the only one to say outloud why he opposed Fetchick's election, saying that "her passions can overwhelm her."

"And perhaps she may not have the perspective that I would expect in a chair," he said.

Fetchick, considered one of the more vocal members of the board, countered that she has always acted in the best interest of the town.

"It's not my objective to do this as a power play, it's my objective to do this because it's in the best interest of the town," she said. "I'm not here to facilitate my own personal agenda. It's important to note that I'm one board member. I'm one out of seven."

Hart, who voted against Fetchick's election, said he comes from a position of compromise.

"We clearly have a board here with strong opinions and that's good, and sometimes those opinions are quite polarizing," he said. "I frankly encourage that as long as it is polite and civil...I don't know if I have any great magic but I believe that I can provide some insight and a position of compromise to help us move forward."

Board member Debbie Leidlein said Hart was too new to the board to be an effective chairman, and she, along with Chris Lagana, supported Fetchick.

"She has tirelessly worked in order to promote the goals and objective of this board and I feel like she is the best choice," Leidlein said of Fetchick. "She has the passion for education and the children of Newtown."

When Bittman was elected chairman late last year, Fetchick and fellow board member David Nanavaty unsuccessfully sought the post.

Nanavaty, who supported Hart's election, also is considered one of the more vocal board members. He was named in a complaint Fetchick filed with the Freedom of Information Commission in which she said she was disrespected by Nanavaty and others during an executive session of a board meeting that she said was improperly held.

The two also clashed during a recent meeting when Nanavaty accused Fetchick of spreading misinformation about bus contract negotiations.