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Unnecessary and Without Evidence

When Katie Stein took on the mantle of Board of Education (BOE) chair and promised to champion a rational, collaborative, and best-practices approach, those of us watching closely cheered. The challenges our town faces are significant. If we cannot find measured compromise around the town’s issues, we’re destined to lose much of what we hold dear. Our reputation for having the best public schools on the shoreline ranks high on this list and with Ms. Stein as chair, it seemed we were on the right track.

Unfortunately, at the last BOE meeting, the board vice-chair, Jessica Bowler, attempted to put the brakes on collaboration as well as best practices. After the board voted to update its committee structure (including the formation of a communication committee), Ms. Bowler resigned. During her comments, she pointed to Ms. Stein as a proximate cause of her resignation—claiming the leadership was dictatorial and had failed to communicate effectively.

This astonishingly personal and public rebuke was unnecessary and without evidence. BOE member Happy Marino did point to “political leanings” as guiding these policy changes, but anyone who knows the difference between a District Reference Group and “neighboring towns” (The Source should take note) would realize that Madison needed this change. In response to this assault, Ms. Stein handled herself with class and aplomb, offering in return only her heart-felt disappointment.

There’s remarkable irony in leaving the board in the name of failed communication and dogmatic leadership after voting against policy changes designed to address those concerns. Ms. Bowler is abandoning her responsibility. She was re-elected and her constituents anticipated she would serve her full term. That she’s leaving because she cannot find common ground with the majority party and its leader reflects more poorly on her than on those left to pick up the pieces.

Susan Cassidy

Madison