Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

A strong public education system is the cornerstone of our country's future success.
Over time our public schools have changed, placing greater demands on our children and teachers. In order to meet these demands our public schools need to provide early childhood education opportunities, teacher preparation time and professional development, safe classrooms and buildings and a robust curriculum.
As a member of Fairfield's Representative Town Meeting (RTM) I consistently advocated and voted for budgets supporting teachers, facilities, programs and extracurricular activities, which I continue to believe can be achieved without sacrificing other public needs. As a Selectman I have continued to support a sound budget for our schools while seeking ways to reduce the burden on taxpayers.
In 2007, as a member of the RTM, I became a member of the Board of Education's Cultural Diversity Task Force. I advocated for expansion of our public pre-school program to help reduce racial imbalance and provide children who might not otherwise be able to afford preschool with a sound program to help ready them for kindergarten. As of June 2014, this program has served 248 Fairfield families since it began at McKinley Elementary School; 168 new families since 2008 at Burr Elementary School, and 36 new families since opening in 2013 at Dwight Elementary School.
I have spent countless rewarding hours in my three children's public schools as a PTA member and classroom volunteer, and as a community volunteer in youth serving organizations. As a CT Audubon teacher, room parent and school library volunteer, I have witnessed first-hand curriculum implementation, the work of our paraprofessionals, and the strength of our teachers. In the community, I have served as a Girl Scout and Boy Scout leader and now co-chair the Fairfield Cares Community Coalition, devoted to preventing alcohol and other substance abuse and suicide among our youth.
We must adequately fund our neighborhood public schools and provide both children and teachers with the tools and opportunities to thrive in the global market place. Siphoning public dollars to private enterprise is not the solution; we must invest in our local schools, with local control and advocacy. While data and metrics matter, we need to remember that students and teachers themselves are the heart and substance of education..
Paid for by Cristin McCarthy Vahey 2014. Thomas Drew, Treasurer. Approved by Cristin McCarthy Vahey.

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