On Tuesday, November 7, as kids enjoy a day off of school, adults head to the polls for another Election Day. 

This year, three of the nine Board of Education spots are up for grabs, with one additional one-year spot being run for by Democrat Jackie Heftman, in order to fill the vacant seat left by the resigned Ben Lee. 

For the three-year terms available, there are five candidates: three Democrats and two Republicans. I talked to four of them: Democrats Andy George and Antonia Better-Wirz, and Republicans Nicola Tarzia and Michael Arcano. Democrat Gabriela Koc did not respond to the Round Table’s request for an interview.

Many Stamford High School students and families will recognize the last name on this list – Arcano recently retired from Stamford High, having taught at the school for 30 years. He was also the president of the Teacher’s Union from 2013 to 2016.

This background has been one of his main talking points. “I hope that the voters understand that I’m a teacher. I’m not a politician,” Arcano said. “I don’t believe anyone else [on the BOE] has my experiences as a teacher. That’s what I bring.”

Better-Wirz also was vocal about her teaching background. “I am also a teacher and I’m passionate about helping children and working with parents to help them help their children. My career began as a preschool teacher and I have worked in many different environments, including working with other immigrant children and families, as well as children with special needs. Today I am an educational coach. I help home-based family child care providers in running their small child care businesses at home.” She also had three children, all of whom graduated from Davenport Elementary, Rippowam Middle, and Stamford High.

George and Tarzia also spoke about their backgrounds.

“I hold a BS in accounting, an MBA, and am a former Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant. These are credentials no other Board member has,” George claimed. These qualifications are useful for “understanding budgets, contracts and collective bargaining agreements.” In addition, on what he wanted SHS families to know about him,  George said, “I have three children who attended Stamford public schools K-12. All are graduates of Stamford High. I served on the SHS Governance Council prior to my election to the BOE.”

“I am a contractor,” Tarzia stated. “Mechanical licenses, construction licenses, green certifications, I bring great qualifications for maintaining the buildings, working with the operations staff, and keeping up with budgeting.” Additionally, as a former teacher at Wright Tech, the creator of the Tarzia foundation, a member of the Stamford Public Education Fund and Stamford Dollars for Scholars, he amassed 30 years of service to education.

The great differences in these backgrounds meant that these candidates emphasized different issues.

On what the most pressing issues facing our education system are today, George responded, “Staff shortages, particularly certified teachers and paraeducators. The end of ESSER funds [federal funds related to the pandemic, some of which were used to cover 130 staff positions] will make this a very difficult budget year.”

“I also have concerns about our teacher shortage, and more importantly our shortage of bilingual teachers and teachers of color. I understand there are some initiatives within the district to recruit teachers, but this is a national issue that may require state and federal legislation if we want to see more young individuals choosing teaching as a career of choice. We talk a lot about teacher pay, which is important, but equally important is affordable housing. We need to make sure teachers working in Stamford are able to afford to live in Stamford,” said Better-Wirz.

Tarzia was also very outspoken about the budget, particularly a way to increase funding, in light of upcoming decrease in federal support. “Public-private partnerships can be a great avenue if the Board does a good job marketing the school system,” he said, pointing out the $15.3 million grant received in 2006 by the Stamford Public Schools from General Electric.

Many specific policies were questioned by Arcano. On the block scheduling, he stated, “I disagree entirely with lengthy classes. I do believe in shorter classes because I do believe in frequency.” Tarzia mentioned this, too, saying, “I’m on the fence with block scheduling. I’d like to do a student survey and see what they think about block scheduling.”

Referencing the recent change to grading systems to contain only formative and summative assessments, Arcano said “Completely disagree. Teachers need to have freedom in the classroom. I always had, in my classroom, different components that I would mix and match. For example, some kids are good at taking tests, so I’d have a range for what they’d count for, from say 20 to 30-35%. Why shouldn’t I reward what students are good at? Why shouldn’t I play to each student’s strengths?”

Student achievement was a widely highlighted topic. “The most important concern I have is for the implementation of the updated curriculum and a renewed focus on academic achievement.  Maintaining rich course offerings and ample extracurriculars is important as well,” claimed George. “The achievement gap is the biggest issue [facing the education system]—making sure all students achieve equally. This means a focus on the non-English speaking classes and preschool,” Tarzia said. 

Better-Wirz also placed emphasis on those who learn English as a second language. “The first thing most people will recognize about me when they talk with me is that I am bilingual,” she said. “I am in fact an English as a second language professional myself. I immigrated to the United States from Colombia when I was in my early 20s so I can relate to the challenges of learning when English is not your primary language.”

She added, “I believe the most important priority for the students in our schools is the full achievement of reading proficiency among our English language learners. There needs to be stronger multi-language support for students and parents of our English language learners. When I’m out in the community I often speak with Spanish-speaking parents who don’t know any English, and they generally feel disconnected from the school system, even though many of the communications from the schools and the district are translated into Spanish. We need to continue the effort to connect with these parents in all languages if we want to improve educational achievements in our schools.”

Finally, Tarzia, Arcano, and George discussed the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Education. 

“The board has, over the years, tended to micromanage things. That’s not the board’s job. The board’s job is to set goals and make sure the right people are hired to execute those goals,” Arcano claimed. “Coaches don’t play. The players are supposed to execute the game plan. The game plan has to be very very carefully thought out and laid out to the people who have to execute them, in this case the principals. The principals are the most important people in the district, from the teacher’s perspective, because schools essentially function independently.”

George conveyed similar ideas: “The BOE works best when members understand their roles.  The Superintendent is the CEO of the district. The BOE enacts policy to drive the direction of the school system, but does not operate the schools. Additionally, the BOE only acts as a single unit.  Other than the Board president, individual members have no authority to act outside of the formal meeting.”

Tarzia mentioned Board of Education responsibilities, particularly in relation to budgeting. “I never voted to cut the budget. The superintendent proposes a budget. The Board of Ed takes the proposed budget and deliberates it for two or three months and tries to reinvent it. That’s not our job, to cut our own budget. I believe in budget transparency and Board of Ed support for the budget,” he said.

With no minority seats up for grabs in this year’s election, Arcano and Tarzia face a difficult task at the polls. “In an overwhelmingly Democrat town, odds are against any of the Republican candidates,” Arcano said. “But we’ll give it a shot, like anything, you know Mr. A. We’ll give it a shot!”