Dems side-step racial imbalance issue. Will not be aggressive advocates for neighborhood schools.

At this evening's board of education meeting, Lib Spinella introduced a motion to retain legal counsel to mount a challenge to the state's racial imbalance statute. Her motion went on to call for the qualifications of said attorney / law firm to include having argued a 14th amendment case before the U.S Supreme Court, and for said attorney to be retained by the end of this month. Finally, there was a call for action - and in a public meeting that the public could witness.

Unfortunately (but to no one's surprise) the Democrats on the board refused to address the motion and to take any action on this critical issue. Following their party's well established M.O., the Democrats refused to vote on Ms. Spinella's motion. Instead, they introduced a "substitute motion" calling for Democrat appointed Corporation Counsel Joe O'Brien to review this matter and get back to the board with a list of their options - with of course no stated time frame.

Chairperson Schmitt demonstrated his complete lack of regard (and/or understanding) of the board's own bylaws, Robert's Rules and parliamentary procedure by never calling for a vote on (and disposing of one way or another) Ms. Spinella's original motion. It was amateur hour at Town Hall. To have such incompetents in the majority role on this Board of Education (the board of directors of a $ 125M per year entity) is an embarrassment.

How much longer will this Board of Education continue to violate the pubic trust they hold by refusing to publicly address this issue of such magnitude? They appear to be inclined to do so at least until the upcoming town elections are over. In the meantime, they will continue to pay lip-service to maintaining our neighborhood school system - but when push comes to shove, they refuse to be proactive, aggressive advocates for those same neighborhood schools.

For those of you who did not see the debacle that ensued earlier this evening, I would encourage you to watch the replays on Channel 5 (WHCTV) or visit their website at http://www.whctv.org/ and use the Video on Demand option to view the meeting. You will see Ms. Spinella and Ms. Mudge win the debate, but the Chairman never call for a vote on the motion. You'll also see Democrats who when they couldn't credibly speak against Ms. Spinella's motion, revert to their stock and trade: name calling and deflecting attention away from their own mishandling of this hugely important issue.

There will continue to be regular posts / updates made to this site in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned. If anyone wishes to speak to me directly, don't hesitate to give me a call at (860) 305-9572, or send an e-mail to JFDeLucco@AOL.com