Herbst, Penkoff; Thornton, Seaman Air Education Policies

First Selectman Tim Herbst and Democratic challenger Mary Beth Thornton sparred Wednesday over full day kindergarten and the budget at a meet and greet held for Trumbull teachers, showing some distinct differences in their ideas.

Herbst's and Thornton’s platforms were bolstered by their parties’ Board of Education candidates: Republican Cindy Penkoff, parent of an eighth grader at Hillcrest, and Democrat and former principal Rosemary Seaman, respectively. The parties spoke separately instead of addressing each other.

Earlier on, Trumbull teachers had determined the questions to be posed which, in addition to full-day kindergarten, included restoration of programs and resources lost, technology and developing positive working relationships.

Each candidate was given three questions to address for four minutes each and then a three-minute wrap-up period. The question-and-answer session at was organized by Tammy Baillargeon, who heads Trumbull’s teachers union, the Trumbull Education Association (TEA).

Right before Thornton was to take the stage for the second half of the event, there was a 20-minute delay due to a video recording dispute.

According to Baillargeon, Thornton campaign manager Linda Robak had asked her earlier in the day whether videotaping would be allowed, and she told Robak it was. In fairness to the other candidate, and assuming that Thornton would be taping the event, Baillargeon said she told Herbst he could bring a videographer as well. However, Thornton did not bring one.

Ultimately, after some discussion, the issue was resolved and Thornton went on to participate in the event. Baillargeon called the disagreement “a non-issue,” and Robak said that she was reassured that Baillargeon would communicate with the Herbst camp that, to keep things fair, their tape of the event would be used for private purposes only.

The Questions: 

• What do you feel is the higher priority: full day kindergarten or the restoration of programs and resources that have been cut?
  • Herbst:  “Full day kindergarten will cost $296,000, according to a bipartisan full day kindergarten committee. That amount represents less than one half of one percent of the Board of Education’s operating budget, which is half of the average surplus that we’ve had over the past several years,” Herbst said. Since much of the surplus has been returned to the town over the last six or seven years-an amount close to $3 million, Herbst said, there will be money to go toward restoring some of these lost programs.
  • Penkoff: Penkoff has a special needs child in eighth grade who has been in the Trumbull school system since he was three. This, she said, gives her a variety of experience with the town’s education system. The Board has rightfully decided that full day kindergarten is a priority, she said; however, she does not think they have to choose one over the other. “I don’t think full day kindergarten and restoring cut programs are mutually exclusive…I think we go through the budget appropriately and we find efficiencies. We find better ways of doing things.”
  • Thornton: The space required for full day kindergarten will require reconfiguration of the layout of the schools which, she said, changes where the grades are located, and Hillcrest does not have the space to do that. “So we have two obstacles: financial obstacles and actual space obstacles,” Thornton said. She favors full day kindergarten, but cited a recent report that Trumbull’s curriculum has not been updated in five years. Because of all of the programs lost, reconfiguration should be considered after these issues are addressed, she said.
  • Seaman: Seaman said that the $296,000 arrived at in the report made sense when the Board of Education expected to use federal and state stimulus funding to pay for full day kindergarten, but it turned out that these funds were needed to bring back TAG, the gifted program, and to use to prevent teacher layoffs, so in the end, she said, the amount required became closer to $1 million. “All of those monies that we expected to use against the million dollars it would cost to bring full day kindergarten to Trumbull, those are gone,” Seaman said.

• Do you feel the quality of education has changed due to budget reductions?(For Herbst and Thornton only)
  • Herbst: “I think it’s very important to point out when we use terms like reduction and cut, that over the last two years the Board of Education, in both of its operating budgets, received more money than it received the year before,” Herbst said. He stated that for his two years in office, he has recommended that the budget for the BOE increase. He told the audience of teachers that due to the effects of the recession, these budget increases have been smaller than they had been in the years before he took office. But, he added, “I do not believe that the quality of education in Trumbull has been compromised, because I have faith in all of you and I know that you are going to do your jobs to the best of your ability irrespective of the conditions that we face.”
  • Thornton: “The quality of education is based on curriculum,” Thornton said. “It is also based on delivery of curriculum,” and the reduction in teaching positions, SAT prep courses, and computer paraprofessionals has affected these elements. “If you are reducing delivery and you are increasing the number of students and increasing state mandates and you are increasing curriculum, then it only makes sense that you cannot do that and maintain the standards that you have.”
• Considering the budget situation that we are in, how are we going to remain competitive in recruiting excellent educators? (Penkoff and Seaman only)
  • Penkoff: “I don’t think we have to try very hard,” she said. “We have a school system that is rated head and shoulders above the rest. Teachers and administrators come to us looking for jobs. Why? We’re Trumbull.” She said that Trumbull schools have remained a good work environment, and that this has not changed despite cuts.
  • Seaman: Not being able to get the budget finished until late in the year, in part because of a delay related to disagreement about teachers’ health insurance, has put Trumbull at a disadvantage in recruiting new teachers, Seaman said. “We are not able to recruit the quality that we want. We need to keep our scores up and we need to keep going,” she said. “We don’t want to be impacted any further.”
• How will you facilitate a positive working relationship with the teachers? (Herbst and Thornton only)
  • Herbst: “I understand that [Trumbull teachers] are now dealing with an education system that is much different than it was 20 years ago. You’re getting hit with more mandates that are unfunded, you are responding to edicts from the state concerning everything from in-school suspension and bullying, and you’re required to adapt to the mandates,” said Herbst. Everything works best if one has an appreciation of what teachers do, he said, and he said that he, for one, does appreciate the value of the job. “Mutual understanding goes a long way toward appreciating and also fostering a relationship going forward,” Herbst said.
  • Thornton: Thornton cited her working relationship with Assistant Superintendent of schools Gary Cialfi as evidence that she has already established ties that will serve her well as first selectman. She said that the superintendent’s office and the Board of Education are the ones “who [teachers] turn to and who they trust.” This is just one reason, she said, why it is so important that there is trust and respect between the town government and the town’s educators. “Trusting and respecting is how you get things done; it is how you collaborate; it is how you move forward,” Thornton said.
• What is the plan to ensure that there will be dedicated computer teachers in each of the elementary schools? (Penkoff and Seaman only)
  • Penkoff: This kind of decision is up to the Board of Education as a whole, and has yet to be determined, but speaking for herself, she said, “We have to learn how to do more with what we have...we need to make better use of the money and make sure it goes more toward the use of teaching our children and versus other areas that have no effect on their education.” Penkoff said that what she sees as the constant “tug-of-war” between the town and the school board over budget issues will cease if these efficiencies are found and utilized.
  • Seaman: Noting that the current technology plan needs to funded and updated, which it has not been in three years, Seaman said, “We’ve got a lot on the plate in terms of trying to bring back some of those [programs] and technology is most certainly at the forefront.”