School Board Debate: Issues Facing Minority Community

A debate for Board of Education candidates was held on Wednesday at Walsh Elementary School to place focus on the needs of students in the Walnut-Orange-Walsh neighborhood. About three-quarters of Waterbury’s 18,000 students are minority. The State Department of Education district profile reflects that of those numbers, 43.3% Hispanic, 28.1% Black, 26.7% White, 1.8% Asian American, and 0.3% American Indian. (http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/der/ssp/dist0708/dist100.pdf)

The debate was organized by the Greater Waterbury NAACP and the Hispanic Coalition of Greater Waterbury. The purpose of this debate was to see how the candidates proposed to help minority children close the achievement gap with their white peers. The candidates were asked questions that focused on issues pressing the minority communities, like parental involvement, dropout rates, recruiting qualified minority teachers and principals, and achievement gap.

Karen Harvey, a Democrat and the only minority currently serving on the 10-member Board of Education, mentioned that this year’s campaign for her is personal and that she will work hard for more parental involvement.

The candidates were extremely cordial and praised each other’s plans and ideas. Three candidates vying for seats on the Board of Education were absent. During the two-hour debate, the candidates shared their thoughts on recruiting more minority staff. Some of the candidates mentioned the problem was Waterbury’s teacher pay scale versus another district teacher pay scale. Although no facts confirming the pay scales for other districts were available.

Harvey expressed verbally her support of offering extra incentives to bring in more minority educators. “About 12% of teachers are minority and more are needed to serve as positive role models,” she said.

Christine Chauncey, a Republican candidate for Board of Education, and former Vice Principal of Walsh Elementary School said, “The best route to go is to encourage Waterbury students to become teachers to come back to work in the city.”

The Independent candidate Louis W. Steponatis disagreed and said that teacher candidates should be chosen by qualifications, and race should not be a criteria. Yet in a district with 73.3% minority student population there is only 11.6% of minority professional staff. Those numbers reflect a disproportionality issue that cannot be ignored.

There are many issues facing the minority community in Waterbury, and as caring parents, citizens, educators, we need to ensure all of our children regardless of color have the best available resources and tools to help them achieve their highest potential. We need to have positive role models for these children to keep them in the schoolhouse and away from the jailhouse.

Felix Manuel Rodriguez is the author of Dad, Me, and Muhammad AliMuhammad Ali and Acting President of the Hispanic Coalition of Greater Waterbury, Inc. To learn more about Felix, please visit his website www.dadmeandali.com or contact him via e-mail at http://mailto:dadmeandali@yahoo.com.