Now is the time to engage with Region One again

The importance of one administrative position in a school system, even a small, rural one such as Region One, may not be immediately evident to the casual observer. But for anyone who has taken the time to observe carefully the machinations over the past few years at the central office of Region One, change in leadership should be a reason to become involved once again, as so many did two years ago when the Region One budget was turned down six times by voters. 

One position: Can it really mean that much? Well, the position of assistant superintendent, as it was filled by now-retired Diane Goncalves, became something of a lightning rod. Sparks flew between Goncalves and some Region One board members, especially Falls Village’s Gale Toensing, no longer on the board, who wound up the target of a lawsuit by the assistant superintendent. Yet Goncalves also had supporters, both in the Central Office and among the faculty at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, who benefited from initiatives implemented while she served, such as those on curriculum and support for freshmen to acclimate to the more demanding rigors of high school as contrasted with elementary school.

But while there were surely reasons to appreciate the work done during Goncalves’s tenure, there had to be some consideration given as to whether the position would be necessary for the shrinking school system once she stepped down. Now that the decision has been made to go ahead and fill the opening, it is critical that the person to follow Goncalves be chosen only after extensive research and input from the community, and that is happening. 

At the Dec. 10 special meeting of the Region One board and the All Board Chairs committee, it was agreed that Mary Broderick of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education would be hired as a consultant for the search to fill the assistant superintendent position. Region One board member Jonathan Moore of Kent was good enough to take on the search committee’s chairmanship, and Broderick has already begun leading focus groups across the region to elicit opinions and concerns from Region One voters. 

But at the first of those focus groups, last week in North Canaan (see story, Page A1), which covered the towns of North Canaan, Falls Village and Salisbury, the attendance was sparse (though this is not a comment on its quality). The next focus group will be Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 5:30 p.m. at the high school. This meeting will be open to all the Region One towns. Then, on Jan. 22, there will be another at Cornwall Consolidated School at 6:30 p.m. for those from the Cornwalls, Kent and Sharon. 

This is the opportunity for community members to listen to the plans of the search committee, and to have their say on the characteristics and goals of the person who will ultimately be hired to fill the position of assistant superintendent. It’s a well-compensated position with a high level of responsibility at Region One. For any who care about the education Region One students receive, and who give any thought to the use of the taxes they pay to support the most expensive budget line for any of our towns, it is crucial to try to attend one of the meetings remaining. 

Don’t wait until a hire has been made to become involved; it will be too late to make a difference to the outcome.

Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité

This week, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the satiric magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris and the subsequent hostage crises, the whole civilized world should relate to the national motto of France. Free speech and free expression are core values for any democracy, and in France, they clearly resonate with many of its citizens. Witness the millions who filled the French streets, in Paris and other cities and towns, to demonstrate in support of unity, as well as an open, safe society for all. 

The French response to such direct assault on their culture and their people was strong and swift. Seeing European leaders in the center of Paris joining the demonstrators should be encouraging to them, if that solidarity does not fracture and wane as time passes and memories of the 17 dead fade in the public forum.

Now, their hearts and ours are with the French and the victims. Going forward, there should only be cooperation and resolve among all those who demonstrated on Sunday, in France and across the globe, to fight the efforts of fanatics who want to control Western life, to rule by brutal intimidation and make the world reflect their own twisted vision of what it should be.