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December 7, 2005
A first? Hartford Mayor appoints himself to school board
Yes, 'tis true. And no, we have never heard of any mayor doing this either. At Mayor Eddie Perez's first school board meeting last night, the nine-member board, with five members appointed by the mayor, immediately elected him chair. From today's piece in the Hartford Courant: "Perez said he has no intention of micromanaging and that he will undergo the same training offered by the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education that the other board members go through."
Let's see if we have this right. A mayor appoints himself to the school board, after already appointing a majority of that board. That same mayor, by the way, already serves as president of the school district's school building committee which oversees $1 billion of construction. But he has no intention of micromanaging. Whew! For a minute there, we were worried.
The paper's longer piece yesterday is essential reading: "Perez's self-appointment, depending on which critic or pundit is weighing in, is bold, courageous, arrogant or over-reaching. ... Some observers say Perez's self-appointment could even put his political career at risk by removing any buffer between himself and public disillusionment with the school system. Solutions to the problems that beset the large and complex district elude the most experienced educators in the nation. Now, Perez acknowledges, he is responsible."
The Courant quotes NSBA Associate Director Michael Resnick in the same article: "Historically, Resnick said, distance has been built into the relationship between school boards and municipal politicians in order to guarantee that school systems have strong, independent advocates who don't have to worry about competing financial interests such as police and fire services."
The world is watching, Mr. Mayor.
Posted December 7, 2005 3:31 PM
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