Why you should take the threat to West Hartford's Neighborhood School System very seriously.

Our neighborhood school configuration is at peril, and is clearly at odds with an outdated racial imbalance law. An objective look at the facts, our town's recent history, and at the many pages of written correspondence between the State Dept of Education and the West Hartford Board of Education validates that beyond the shadow of a doubt. (Posts on this website contain all of that documentation, as well as candidate profiles for both parties.)

Perhaps the best question that I received following our presentation at Town Hall on Monday was along these lines: "I understand and agree with nearly everything you said this evening, but what makes you think that any action [i.e. a major redistricting] plan is imminent?"

My response to this young woman: "It's not just the fact that we have been unable to comply with this statute through [mostly] voluntary means for 15 years, the State's on-going pressure to do so, and growing racial imbalance at Charter Oak and Smith Schools, and impending racial balance at Bugbee, Duffy, and Smith. ** The real variable in this equation is how the majority party on the Board of Education chooses to react to all of the above." When a Democrat controlled Board of Education voted to dismantle our neighborhood school system in 1994, the State had not put chains and padlocks on the doors of our schools or threatened to cut-off the financial aid [relatively small] they provide to fund education in West Hartford. The then board majority led by Nancy Rion and Pat Genser simply used the statute as a "mandate" (convenient opportunity) to socially re-engineer West Hartford to reflect their vision of what our town and its schools "should" look like. With chairman in waiting Putterman (should the Democrats maintain majority on the Board) having publicly stated that we have "a moral obligation" to comply with this statute (that would have us treat children differently based on their race), and current chairman Reverend Terry Schmitt having supported the "K-2/3-5" plan of 1994, (alluded to above and in earlier postings on this site) we have essentially the same situation that existed in 1994. It is not a stretch by any means to conclude that Democrats (if they maintain their majority on the Board) will offer up their plan -- which does not have a "reasonable likelihood" [the State's standard] of eliminating racial imbalance -- and then wring their hands, claim they don't really want to do so, but have no choice but to undertake a major redistricting that would effectively eliminate our neighborhood school system. There are at least two thoughts that come to mind here: (1) History often repeats itself, and (2) past behavior is the best indicator for future behavior.

On Tuesday November 3rd, West Hartford voters will go to the polls to elect four members to the Board of Education. I would urge you to review all the posts on this site, and give serious thought to who you can trust to take a stand for neighborhood schools, and to not treat children differently based on the color of their skin. I am confident that if you do so, you will conclude that Lib Spinella, Ellen Brassil, and Andrew Bannon-Guasp are deserving of both your vote and your trust on this issue of enormous magnitude.

I would be happy to discuss any of the above - or any other post on this site - with you. You can either e-mail me at JFDeLucco@AOL.com or phone me at (860) 305-9572.