Governor Ned Lamont (D) was in Bridgeport on Friday to meet with teachers and school staff amid a state intervention in their public school district.
The roundtable conversation, held at the Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science & Technology Education Center, featured around 10 teachers, counselors, and a union leader.
Lamont, Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker, and Mayor Joe Ganim listened as the participants talked about the issues they face every day: classrooms with nearly 30 kids, English language learners with no translator, high turnover among staff at every level, and more.
The district has had five superintendents in seven years.
That, multiple teachers said, contributes to a poor learning environment for students who may also have unstable home lives.
“My absolute wish list is for trustworthy, honest, and transparent leadership. I think that we must have people that at all levels are going to engage in willingness and openness to have accurate and clear conversations with teachers and families about what's happening in our schools,” Jerushia Wrighten-Kelly, a second-grade teacher at Paul L. Dunbar Elementary school said.
After the conversation, Lamont said leadership seemed to be one of the biggest issues in the district.
“I think there’s a leadership issue when it comes to education here,” Lamont said. “The turnover you’ve seen in the superintendent’s office, the dysfunction in the board, all the money not going into the classroom, that’s what I heard from these teachers. Money is going elsewhere to administrators — I want it going into the classroom.”
Bridgeport’s school system has a history of dysfunction. In 2011, amid a budget crisis and poor education outcomes, Bridgeport BOE members voted six to three to allow the state to take over. The minority brought the case to the state Supreme Court, which ruled the takeover was illegal because they skipped a step in the procedure by not providing mandatory training beforehand.
Now, the state will try again. It won’t be a full takeover, though — they’re sending in a technical assistance team to help with special education, providing efficiency training for the board of ed, and giving Russell-Tucker the right to appoint a permanent superintendent.
But, if the problems have been brewing for years, why did the state choose to intervene now?
“I think we’ve hit a breaking point,” Lamont answered. “I heard it from the teachers. We've had a lot of changes in terms of a superintendent — [one] just left yet again, you know, fifth time in a row. I think it was time that Charlene and her team provide some supervision here.”
At the state BOE meeting that authorized the intervention on Wednesday, some Bridgeport residents said they were weary, citing the 2011 takeover. (Again, state officials have said this is not a “takeover”).
But Russell Tucker said she’s gotten good feedback about the plan.
“They welcome a supportive partner that's going to really take a hard look at what is happening so we can right the course,” Russell-Tucker said. “You can either spend time to admire the problem or be about doing something about it. With the governor's leadership, we're here to do something about it. The 19,000 plus students here and the educators deserve to have a system that is operating appropriately to make sure the kids get what they need.”
In the meantime, of Bridgeport’s nearly 20,000 students, less than 20% are reading at grade level, and just over 12% are proficient in math. Lamont said his immediate plans to address the issues include more money in the budget for ECS, LEAP, and after-school programs.
He’s expected to present his budget in February.
