Submitted by Greg Piccininno
It is time to bring back rationality in politics, especially in the workings of the Greenwich Public School Board. Our public schools are vitally important to the fabric of our community.
Our Board of Education is entrusted with a great responsibility, to make sure that our schools are providing our children with the tools they need to succeed in the classroom and in life.
It is with that in mind that I would like to urge voters to vote for Republicans Cody Kittle and Michael-Joseph Mercanti-Anthony for the Board of Education.
How one goes about voting for the Board of Ed in Greenwich is confusing. Every voter gets four total votes, which can allow each voter to cast a vote for two Democrats and two Republicans.
This year, Democrats have two candidates for two positions. Kathleen Stowe and Laura Kostin will fill those spots and serve with distinction. Republicans have three candidates for two spots. Therefore, their race is a competitive one as there are more candidates than open seats on the BOE.
To complicate matters further, a far-right group has nominated a write-in candidate as well.
So, why vote for Cody and Mike? This is not complicated. Collaboration has been a missing ingredient on the BOE. These two gentlemen have put themselves forward to work together with existing Board members and those who will soon be elected for the betterment of our school community.
Mr. Mercanti-Anthony is a candidate with a deep knowledge of how we can help achieve better outcomes in the classroom for our students. He has a Master’s Degree in Public Education from Wharton, has served on school boards and has a more than twenty year career in education. He is an educator, and a good one.
Mr. Kittle is a very intelligent and inquisitive person who will bring a distinctly different view of our school system to the BOE. Cody spends his professional life valuing companies and seeing how they can be run more effectively and efficiently. His methodical and analytical approach is much needed on a board that has, at times lacked that.
The third Republican candidate, Megan Galletta, is a member of Greenwich Patriots, a local small group that has been harassing BOE members at meetings about masks in schools, vaccines, and CRT. If you saw the recent SNL spoof of Board of Education meetings, you know what I am talking about. While I respect their right to express their views, like many minority groups that have failed to convince the majority of their view or win at the voting booth, they have chosen a path of interference which does not serve our children.
Both Michael and Cody have children who will be entering the Greenwich Public School system soon, so they
each have a vested interest in seeing our schools succeed. What we do not need on the Board of Education is
more controversial personalities who will unnecessarily inject fringe ideologies into every issue that comes before the board.
I strongly urge you to vote for Michael and Cody on November 2nd. They are new voices that can make a positive impact on our schools
I realize I am exposing myself to personal attack but when the community faces such a pivotal choice that is so important to the community, I find I cannot remain silent. I imagine they will call me a fake republican but who made them the ultimate authority on that. They will say I voted for Democrats, Yes, I have, I vote for the person and their goals for the office they seek and I do not slavishly follow any one party.
They may say I am a RINO (I would say the same about them) and I do pine for the day’s folklore said Ronald Regan and Tip O’Neill would fight tooth and nail but had enough respect for each other to share a drink and move the country forward.
For this reason, I am writing this letter. We need to move our schools forward and that can only happen with a BOE that focuses on what is best for our children and leave the national politics aside.