Norwalk BoE marks accomplishments as turnover commences

NORWALK, Conn. – Mike Lyons’s term as chairman of the Norwalk Board of Education is coming to an end.

You may have surmised that, given the turnover from Tuesday’s election. But Lyons on Tuesday announced that he is not running for the post at next week’s Board organizational meeting.

Tuesday’s BoE meeting also featured a sendoff for exiting Board members Artie Kassimis, Sherelle Harris and Shirley Mosby, even if Mosby was not present.

“Five years has been enough,” Lyons said, of being chairman. “I think serving half a decade in this position has certainly been a unique experience but I feel, very much like Artie, that during this five years we have done tremendous things. I mean, we took a school system that was pretty much running on autopilot for a good 20 years and we now have a strategic operating plan, that we are halfway through. We have the Special Ed rebuilding plan. We are building the first new schools in 46 years. We have a whole facilities plan. That’s a lot.”

Kassimis had said that he set out to enact positive change when he joined the Board in 2009, and “mission accomplished.”

“It’s been great. I didn’t expect to go through so many superintendents,” he said, noting that athletic participation has doubled and improvements have been made to the school curriculum.

With the momentum heading in the right direction, it’s time to hand over the reins to a new chairman, Lyons said, recounting other problems from five years ago: grades were down, graduation rates were down, expenses were out of control and the achievement gap was widening.

There are many new programs, he said, listing the Norwalk Early College Academy and the baccalaureate program at Brien McMahon High School.

“That’s a heck of a record, everybody who was on the board who was part of making that happen deserves a pat on the back,” Lyons said.

Heidi Keyes, who won reelection last week, said she’s also giving up her post on the Board’s Executive Committee. She won’t be running for secretary.

“We have done some amazing things,” she said, listing School Governance Councils and working to reform Special Education.

“Not only are students doing amazing things but also our staff members, our teachers, our paraprofessionals,” Keyes said. “We have got a great cohesive group of staff members at Norwalk Public Schools and they should always be spotlighted.”

Harris, who did not seek reelection, said she hesitated to run four years ago but it’s been rewarding.

“I honestly didn’t feel until my third year that i knew enough to do anything,” she said, concluding, “There has been a lot of work that has been done.”

Board members have different personalities and come from different backgrounds, “But it has been a rewarding experience to just watch the interaction,” she said. “There are some things that I think could have been done a lot better but I think this new Board will carry it.”

Erik Anderson, who was elected two years ago, said that hearing Mosby’s point of view at Policy Committee meetings has been “something that has helped me grow.”

He said he looks forward to taking over Kassimis’ role of closing meetings and, “It’s really staggering to know what this role is now and to watch somebody achieve all of that.”