New Stamford Board Of Education President Sends Message To Community

STAMFORD, CT — Andy George, the newly-elected president of the Stamford Board of Education, sent a message to the community on Thursday as he embarks on a new term.

A longtime Stamford resident, George is currently the longest-tenured member of the BOE. He was first elected in 2015.

George succeeds former BOE President Michael Hyman, who was not re-elected to the board in the Nov. 4 election.

George's message can be found below:

Dear SPS Community,

I am writing to you today as the newly elected president of the Stamford Board of Education (BOE). For those of you who may not know me, I am a long-time Stamford resident and currently the longest-tenured member of the BOE, having first been elected in November 2015.

My wife, Amy, and I have lived in Stamford for nearly 40 years, and our three children attended Stamford Public Schools K-12. In addition to my service on the BOE, I have been an active member of the community as a past member of the Stamford High School Governance Council, a volunteer with Junior Achievement, a past producer of the Stamford All-School Musical, and more than a decade of service with the Stamford Youth Soccer League. Amy and I love Stamford, and we believe that Stamford Public Schools provided our children with a strong foundation from which they went on to become successful adults.

Ensuring that all children have the same opportunities to succeed in Stamford Public Schools that my children did is why I first ran for the BOE and why I am excited to lead the Board as we recruit and hire the next Superintendent of Schools. As we announced last week, the BOE has engaged Zeal Education Group to support this effort. During Tuesday night’s special BOE meeting, I announced the creation of a Personnel Search Committee. This will be a “committee of the whole” and will include all nine BOE members.

The Personnel Search Committee will include a Community Outreach Subcommittee to ensure all voices are heard during the superintendent search, and a Contract and Compensation Subcommittee that will develop the framework for the compensation package that will be offered to the final candidate. I will serve on both subcommittees along with the following members:

• Community Outreach: Dr. Werely (Chair), Mrs. Better-Wirz, Ms. Foy, and Ms. Koc
• Contract & Compensation: Mr. O’Brien (Chair), Dr. Hamman, Mr. Tunga, and Mr. Vandervoort

This Saturday, the Community Outreach Subcommittee will meet with Zeal Education Group to begin planning how our students, families, teachers, administrators, staff members, and the community at large will be able to participate in the superintendent search. More information about this process— which will include listening sessions, surveys, and focus groups—will be shared no later than the next BOE meeting on Tuesday, December 16.

In closing, I want to express my commitment to keeping the lines of communication open to our students, families, teachers, administrators, staff, and community members. To that end, I will be writing to you periodically with updates on BOE activities, and I urge you to watch or attend BOE meetings to learn more about our work. You may also email the entire board at BOEMembers@stamfordpublicschools.org or reach out to me directly at ageorge@stamfordpublicschools.org.

Sincerely,

Andy George
President, Stamford Board of Education