Cheshire Election 2013: Full Day Kindergarten

The candidates for Town Council were asked at the League of Women Voter's Candidate Forum where they stand on a number of issues.

Here's what the At-Large candidates had to say about implementing Full Day Kindergarten:

Patti Flynn-Harris (D): "I have said that I am a supporter of full-day kindergarten but have also said that I have not finished doing my homework on this... I do have some reservations, primarily because of the utilization of the buildings and how it will be implemented. Though I cannot commit that to the actual budget for this coming year, I will tell them that this exactly is one of my concerns. We are facing really aging buildings in this town -- our infrastructure is aging and that is one of my concerns is how we implement that in these buildings, whether or not they are capable of holding and handling full-day kindergarten. I think it is something we should be looking at and am a full supporter of it."

James Sima (R):  "I have a lot of passion for this subject. Many people told me don't make a comment on this, but after eight years on the school board and many years as curriculum chair, I don't think this is the right place to spend money in the education system. Many of the benefits that have been gained by all day kindergarten are often erased before the child enters the third grade. What I have found...is many of the children start to slip by grades three, four and five and it's at that point that the money needs to be spent." Sima also said he thinks it is something that is coming from state and federal requirements that lessen local control over education.

Michael Ecke (D): "Baring some issue with the buildings, I would support all-day kindergarten as long as its an academic all-day kindergarten and not daycare. if it's daycare, the parents can find another way of taking care of their children, but if it's going to be an academic all-day kindergarten, I'm all for it and my fear is our children will fall behind without it. If our town is going to make investments in something, our children are the best thing to make investments in."

Tim Slocum (R): "I have mixed thoughts about this. This is an issue for the Board of Education." Last year's BOE increase was just under 2 percent, he said, and it covered contractural increases and "virtually nothing programatic. If we layer another $800,000 into the budget, we're looking at a 3 percent increase. i think that's an untenable increase for the budget...I have to look at dollars and cents and that's really the test for me."

Dan Nowack (D): "I think full-day kindergarten is a good thing but we need to be fiscally responsible in how we get it done. We can't just arbitrarily accept a number out there. These are tough economic times." But, he said, Cheshire students have to keep pace with those from outside the town. "We need to be competitive with the outside world. I see how other schools operate around the state and we need to lay the foundation here by giving our kids the opportunity to succeed  and full-day kindergarten gives them the opportunity." His kids struggled with the transition from kindergarten to first grade, he said. "It was tough and I think going to full day makes a lot of sense to help our children make that transition go easier."

Rob Oris Jr. (R): "Education is a very high priority for me, not only for the kids but for the correlation of the quality of our education system and the value of our homes, so i think this issue affects everybody across the board, even those who don't have kids in the system. "It is a Board of Education issue but I think it has to be done in a fiscally responsible way. We have to base spending on keeping the community strong and vibrant, not just based on taxes. We have to have a quality of education an do it in a targeted and well vetted way. I think we can balance both issues."

Paul Bellagamba (D): I am in favor of full-day kindergarten and any early education initiatives that will benefit our children. "When it gets to council, it is a budget issue, and I would like to see it go through, but not at the expense of something else being cut from budget.

Sylvia Nichols (R): "I agree in concept that the idea is a good one but I know as an educator that the experience levels out at third grade I am concerned about the cost to implement and improvements needed for buildings. It is up to the Board of Education to present us with a budget program they like but I am concerned it will increase the budget to a higher degree than we wish and that if they implement it that they may have to cut back on some other program, but it is up to Board of Education to decide."