School board chooses sides

WINSTED — Tuesday night marked Winsted’s first Board of Education meeting since last week’s municipal election and the group quickly drew a sharp ideological line as new Chairman Kathleen O’Brien was elected to the post by a 5-4 vote.

Those in favor of O’Brien — John Rogers, Carol Palomba, Paul O’Meara, Ray Neal and O’Brien herself — appeared ready to take the board “in a new direction� as she said a statement in support of her candidacy after being nominated by Rogers.

On the other side, Dr. Richard Dutton nominated Susan Hoffnagle, a board member for the past two years who has supported the work of previous Chairman Rose Molinelli. Molinelli was voted out of office in last week’s election as O’Brien ran away with the most votes, supported by both Democrats and Republicans.

Hoffnagle received Dutton’s vote and her own, along with those of board members Christine Royer and Jim DiVita. “I am very enthusiastic about the position,� she said. “I think we have gone a long way to create a Board of Education that works well together.�

Hoffnagle said that school boards in the past in Winsted have been dysfunctional and that the most recent board, under Molinelli’s leadership, had made significant strides. “The board has not been dysfunctional for the past three years,� she said. “I would hate to shift direction in any marked way.�

O’Brien said she ran for a seat on the Board of Education with the intention of becoming the board’s new leader. “I sought to become the chairman in this election because I wanted to take this board in a new direction,� she said.

Just what changes will be made remains to be seen, but some board members have already made clear that they believe mistakes were made by the previous board, including in the implementation of a school restructuring plan known as Plan B.

Tuesday night’s meeting included a financial report by business manager Edward Evanouskas, who noted that the school system is about one-third of the way through the year and has expended approximately 28 percent of its annual budget. “Everything seems to be moving in a pattern that we would expect at this juncture,� he said. “We are pretty much on track.�

Board members asked Evanouskas general questions about state and federal grants and how the budget will be reconciled at the end of the year. Board member O’Meara suggested that Evanouskas should come up with a contingency plan in the event of a shortfall in federal stimulus funding promised to the town, while Palomba asked for a more detailed list of grant moneys. Evanouskas said he would have no problem complying with both requests.

A bright spot in this year’s budget, Evanouskas said, was a cost savings in the area of moving furniture and equipment, due to the work of school system employees during school reconstruction and reconfiguration work during the summer. Custodial staff at the school worked overtime setting up classrooms and saved the district significant money “just through pure hustle,� the business manager said.