Good grief, yet another special meeting of the Board of Education will take place Wednesday (today) 5:30 p.m. in Conference Room 305 of City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace to discuss “Completion of Superintendent’s Presentation/Q&A.” Translation: more conversation about extending Superintendent of Schools Paul Vallas’ contract. And then yet another special meeting will take place March 4, 6:30 p.m., same location for “BOE Discussion of Evaluation Findings.” Yes, more discussion about extending his contract. Talk about a rowboat against the tide. By the time they get around to a deal it may be the end of the school year.
Vallas has stated he’s willing to stay on another school year. Like-minded Democratic school board members holding a 5-4 majority over three members of Connecticut’s Working Families Party–Maria Pereira, Sauda Baraka, John Bagley joined by renegade Democrat Bobby Simmons–sound like they want to get a deal done in the face of the opposition doing their mighty best to frustrate the process.
It’s a lot easier to plan a school year, execute policy, oversee new school construction projects, negotiate union contracts if the super’s locked in for another year. But we are talking about the genial confines of the Board of Education. Stay tuned.
To: Bobby Simmons, Maria Pereira, Sauda Baraka and John Bagley.
If you don’t know the good work of Mr. Paul Vallas by now, then the four of you are either the dumbest people we ever had sitting on the BOE, or just obstructionist. I didn’t vote your ass in to be an obstructionist.
Vallas has to go. Sauda, Maria, John and Bobby, you guys rock! The few honest people in our city government.
This BRG is such a muppet! Chances of the Working Families Party getting reelected to the BoE keep on going down.
There’s a huge difference between due diligence and obstructionism. They are doing a major disservice to the city by continuing these antics.
I don’t know a lot about Vallas, but what I DO know is he really cares about the children of Bridgeport. I say vote him IN!!! After all, we should be looking for someone who wants to do right by the children. Isn’t that what it’s all about?!
Message to Working Families Party: The more you obstruct Vallas and provide NO alternatives besides opposing EVERYTHING he does, the more you expose yourselves for the anti-progress, anti-children and anti-Bridgeport hack organization you are. For those of you who don’t know, Working Families Party is a union-financed political party whose board of directors is made up entirely of union bosses and whose candidate nominating process is the most undemocratic and secretive process of any national political party. They run campaigns complaining about “outsiders” but the very people who control the nomination of Bridgeport WFP candidates don’t even live in Bridgeport!!! Even the DTC nominates their people at a meeting held in public! Lennie, how about an investigative report on WFP? These people need to be exposed for their hypocrisy.
Zena Lu, really? You’re going to say parents are being “bought?” You clearly don’t have any kids in the district. Because if you did you would be begging for Vallas to stay. This superintendent has done more than any other in history to REFORM Bridgeport schools and give parents their rightful place in district decision-making.
*** Much too early to cut & run for another Super so it’s time to approve the year-long extension with plans on looking elsewhere should things stay the same concerning overall improvements! Time to put politics aside for another year, no? *** MOVE ON! ***
Paul Vallas thinks Johnny the Nose Fabrizi is good for Bridgeport Education.