BOE Candidate Forum is Tonight (Oct. 26)

The parent-teacher-student associations in the district are sponsoring a Board of Education Candidate forum at 7 tonight, Weds., Oct. 26 at Newtown High School's Lecture Hall.

Keith Alexander (Republican), Laura Main (Independent Party of Newtown), Cody McCubbin (Republican), Eric Paradis (Democrat), Laura Roche (Republican), Dan Shea (Democrat) and John Vorous (Democrat) are running for the board.

With the exception of Vorous, who had a prior family commitment and will submit a written statement that will be read outloud, all of the candidates will be at the forum and will be asked to answer two questions:

1. What do you see as the role of the BOE? How involved (and to what level) should board members be invovled in the day-to-day aspects of the education system? Please give an example (other than the transportation system).
2. What should be the top objective(s) of the BOE? What aspects of Newtown Public Schools should be preserved or enhanced? Please give an example?

Retired Newtown Superintendent of Schools John Reed will moderate the hour-and-a-half forum. Organizers are soliciting questions only prior to the start of the forum though there is no guarantee solicited questions will be asked during the forum.

Alexander, the only candidate already on the board, though in an appointed position, is seeking to finish off the two-year term, running against Shea. The others, Main, McCubbin, Paradis, Roche and Vorous are running for the remaining three four-year slots.

Editor's note: The forum will be held at 7pm. An earlier version of this article omitted the time.