New Board of Education Sworn In With Democratic Majority
- Philip Thibodeau
- Nov 17
- 2 min read
The mood at the start of Thursday’s Board of Education meeting was generally upbeat as friends and family members gathered to watch the nine members of the Board being sworn in for their two-year terms.
Town Clerk Kathy Larkin came to the podium to deliver the oath to the five Democrats on the Board – Zaya Oshana, Lisa Cammuso, Bob Brown, Dawn Anastasio, and Terri Carmody – along with the four Republicans – Colleen Clark, Joe Baczewski, Cecil Whitehead, and Sean Carson. All were present save for Carmody, who was unable to attend in person.
After 18 years as the minority caucus, Democrats won a majority in the recent election and with it gained the ability to select the Board's Chair. Oshana was nominated by Carmody and approved by a 9-0 vote. In brief remarks that followed, he paid tribute to his father, Zaya Oshana Sr. – the namesake for Southington’s Oshana Elementary School – who served on the Board of Education for 34 years.
The process of choosing the Board’s Vice-Chair and Secretary involved a bit more drama. Carmody, who was attending via speakerphone, was nominated by Brown for the position of Vice-Chair. Baczewski, speaking on behalf of the Republicans, then nominated Brown for the same role, praising his experience and engagement. The vote broke along party lines, and Carmody was elected 5-4.
Next, Cammuso nominated Anastasio for the position of Secretary, citing, among other things, the 34 years of experience of her father David Derynoski. Once again the Republicans nominated the nominator, with Baczewski praising Cammuso’s skills at listening and collaboration. By a 5-4 party-line vote, Anastasio was chosen secretary.
After a short recess, Oshana asked for a moment of silence in honor of two longstanding members of the Southington educational community who recently passed away: music teacher Conrad Gozzo, and Angelo Coppola, who served in a variety of educational roles during his long career.
Beyond that, the Board's agenda for the evening consisted of various pro forma announcements and approvals. The longest speech of the evening was delivered, not from the dais, but from the podium during public comment. Jillian Carlson stepped forward to request that the Board openly address problems with the Department of Pupil Services, both in the way it is led and the way it is run. Noting that the office serves nearly 1,000 students, she read quotes from various stakeholders indicating that the department has been in various ways dysfunctional. She cited statistics which seemed to indicate that the Southington school system is diagnosing a rapidly growing numbers of students with emotional disabilities, against a statewide trend headed in the opposite direction, and suggested that cognitive disabilities were being misdiagnosed as emotional ones.
The meeting concluded with Board members going into executive session to discuss a student matter.
