Board of Education Candidate Videos
Wayne Edwards, Elisa Broche Lopez and Jay Sanders​
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Candidate names are listed in alphabetical order.
(On a cellphone, it may be necessary to swipe left to view additional videos. Scroll down below these videos for additional written candidate Q&A.)
Candidate Dawn Anastasio (D) was unable to attend the recording session. Her written answers are posted below.
Dawn Anastasio (D) Responses:
Please briefly state your name, who you are, and the main reason why you are running for the Board of Education.
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Hello, my name is Dawn Anastasio, and I am running for Board of Education. This will be my second term on the BOE if elected. I ran four years ago and won my seat. It was an absolute honor to serve the children of my district. The reason why I’m running again is I feel that there is a need give back to the school system that educated me. I also want to improve the communication between parents and the school board with complete transparency especially when it comes to curriculum and budget issues. And lastly, I want to be an advocate for ALL children.
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1. What changes, if any, should be made to the current academic curriculum in Southington Public Schools?
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We should reevaluate the current curriculum and try to focus more on teachable skills as opposed to topics. We need to teach children how to think and handle complex problems, how to collaborate, and be innovative. In addition, a focus should also be shifted back to the trades too. Not every child has a plan to go to college and a focus on trade work would be beneficial for them. We are seeing a decline in skilled workers (plumbers, electricians, handymen, etc.…). These are necessary jobs that we all need filled in our lives and what better way than to start cultivating a continued need for the trades.
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2. What changes, if any, should be made to the school system to improve students’ mental or physical well-being?
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The mental and physical well-being of our children should be paramount. It is not an easy task to handle but we must do something. I believe creating support systems for the students with trusted adults can be a good beginning. The involvement of the parents is also a large factor that needs to be included. The integration of home, school, and social circles is anticipated to create a more comprehensive and supportive environment for children. We have seen that not every child has a great home life and if we can provide them support through the school system, we owe that to them.
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3. Please identify a technology that you think should or should not be present in the school environment, and explain why.
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The growing advances in AI technology are coming very fast, and we must teach our children how to use it responsibly. AI does pose a large possibility for students to cheat, which also needs to be monitored. However, it can become a very helpful tool, but we don’t want it to take away the independent and critical thinking that the students need to learn. Also, I know we will have to explore the effectiveness of the use of “yonder bags” for cellphones in the schools. This has been becoming a very volatile topic among school systems, and I believe it will be brought before the board for evaluation. Thankfully many districts have begun restricting phones and this will give us real time data as to if it was a successful policy.
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4. How do you respond to residents who ask why they should pay to support the school system when they do not have children in the schools?
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I don’t have children. I don’t mind my tax dollars being used to invest in the next generations education and the ability to succeed regardless of what that path looks like for them. Thirty years ago, when I attended Southington Public Schools there were many taxpayers who also didn’t have children in our schools and because of them I received a top-notch education. I don’t consider it a sacrifice to finance a child’s education; I consider it an honor.
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5. What changes, if any, should be made to the way the school budget is crafted – particularly when new mandates or external funding cuts arise?
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We need to get our “fiscal house” in order and more proficient at our budgeting process. A line-by-line audit of the budget should be done collaboratively with the school board, administration and parents to increase our transparency within the community. Then we need to properly fund our public schools and not have the chair of the finance board advocating for town children to attend private school instead. I know from my past term on the board that a majority of the budget is contractual obligations that cannot be altered at this time. The rest of the budget is where we can make a difference. We need to explore ways to get the most out of our budget like taking care of more student’s needs in house as opposed to out placing students at high costs for specific schooling. State mandates are nothing new and most times they come with offsetting money or a drawn-out timeline to come into compliance. In the past we have “kicked the can down the road” and that has led us off a fiscal cliff. We are now in a position where we must address these costs right away and can no longer afford to push it “down the road”. At the end of the day, it takes money to educate the future generations, and we need to explore all possibilities to make the best decisions while remaining fiscally responsible.
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