Submitted by Mary Bartolotta, candidate for Mayor.
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Dear Middletown Voters,
Education is an issue dear to my heart—for many reasons. Before I started my career in sales, I spent eleven years working with special-needs children for the Newington Board of Education. I saw firsthand the challenges that our schools face here in Connecticut. With our state struggling to fund our public schools adequately, it is critical that we have a plan on the local level that will ensure positive experiences and outcomes for our children and their families. During my time on the Common Council, I have fought for the best interests of our schools, and as Mayor I will continue to prioritize the needs of all Middletown students.
We have excellent schools in Middletown, and under Superintendent Dr. Conner and the Board of Education, we are taking important steps towards making our district even stronger. At the core of Dr. Conner’s plan is a commitment to equity that will ensure that all of our young people receive the best education possible, no matter what school they attend.
I have been honored to lead the committee responsible for building the new middle school that will replace Woodrow Wilson. Making the decision to build a new school is never easy, but the conditions at Woodrow Wilson had become untenable. The new project is currently on time and under budget. The new structure will give us the most environmentally friendly school in Middletown, a state-of-the-art facility that will provide a wonderful learning environment.
I am also proud to have helped save the jobs of twelve local teachers. As a member of the Common Council, I have always believed that our budget should represent our values as a city and that our children's future should not be viewed as “just another line item.” That is why a few years ago, when presented with a budget that would have cut twelve teaching jobs, my colleagues and I stepped up and successfully fought to save their jobs.
As your next mayor, I want Middletown’s schools to work for every child. I will therefore draft budgets that promote educational equity. I will support the Board of Education and the Superintendent in pursuing this goal. The process will take time, but we are moving in the right direction. We need a mayor who has the determination and values to guide this plan to fruition.
Hiring policies play a crucial role in ensuring we have the best teachers for Middletown’s students. Currently, Middletown is one of only a few towns in the state whose mayor’s office controls the hiring and firing of school employees. I believe this responsibility should rest with the schools themselves. As Mayor, I will support revision of the City’s charter to place this responsibility where it belongs.
According to the CT Mirror, Middletown has approximately 1.7 minority teachers for every 100 minority students. In order to properly nurture student-teacher relationships, we must recruit teachers whose racial and ethnic identities mirror those of their students. These teachers can support and serve as role models for our children. In order to close the gap, I will vigorously support recruitment of minority teachers. This need has been recognized on the state level as well一in the recent legislative session, a bill was passed to promote minority teacher recruitment. We need to ensure that locally we do everything we can to achieve more equitable representation in our school staffing.
With the right leadership, vision, and values, we can make Middletown a leader in education.
Sincerely,
Mary Bartolotta
Candidate Bartolotta, for someone who claims to be such an ardent supporter of the City's schools, why doesn't your own child attend Middletown public schools? Are Middletown's "excellent" schools good enough for educating other people's children but not your own?
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