School Board Chairman Pagoni to Run for Election

Robert Pagoni is ready to go it alone, if necessary.

Pagoni said he will seek re-election to a seat on the school board in November even it if is .

Pagoni, who has served for eight years on the Board of Education, including four years as its chairman, said town committee members cited his “failure of leadership” as the main reason behind their decision to not nominate him on the party’s candidate slate.

Despite this, Pagoni said will be on the ballot election. He said he will attend the Democratic caucus on July 26 when party members decide who their candidates will be in November. If Pagoni is not endorsed, he said that he is currently filling out paperwork to participate in a primary and possibly run as a petitioning candidate.

Pagoni said he was told of the committee’s decision to not nominate him during a “politically correct” phone call.

“In my mind, it was all an ambush, all a set up,” Pagoni said recently.

“We want to go in a different direction,” Pagoni said, repeating the caller’s explanation for the party dropping its endorsement. Yet Pagoni thinks that there is a much more complicated answer behind it all.

Before the party nominated its slate, Pagoni said he was questioned intensely by some members of the party’s nominating committee on July 5. 

The members listed his failure to call regular caucuses among Democratic members of the school board, his failure to get voters out for elections and his general inability to lead the board, particularly in regards to bringing a passable budget to referendum, as areas of concern.

William Pakulis, Robert Rubino and Planning and Zoning Commission members David Barrow and Marilee Beebe-Kostrun make up the nominating committee. Democrat Town Committee Chairperson Sara-Beth Nivison serves as an ex-officio member of the committee. 

This week Rubino said that the town committee's decision reflects a desire to appeal to a broader number of Tolland residents. Rubino said that low voter turnout, which hovers around 30 percent, is a sign that voters want a new tone in town, particularly between the Board of Education and Town Council.

"We're looking for a new conversation," Rubino said. "When you look at the candidates we put on the slate, it was to reach a bigger audience."

Rubino went on to say that he appreciates the service that Pagoni has given to the community.

"Anybody that volunteers, I think we should be thankful for that," he said.

Nivison could not be reached for comment.

Pagoni said he is surprised by the criticisms of his tenure and responded to most of those complaints with incredulous astonishment. He said that the committee’s complaints about the school board’s budget are misguided and are a direct result of the committee misunderstanding the nature of the Board of Education’s responsibilities.

“It costs what it costs,” Pagoni said of the school board’s budget. He explained that with legislation like No Child Left Behind, as well as state and federal mandates, many of the board’s budget items are non-negotiable.

“We make decisions based on the best interests for the students of the community,” Pagoni said. “It’s the Town Council and voters who have to decide what we can afford.”

Under his leadership, Pagoni said he has helped to improve communication with citizens and helped the school board do its job.

Pagoni said he introduced surveys administered to students leaving grades eight and 12 that allow students to reflect on their time in the Tolland school district. According to Pagoni, the surveys are so popular the district’s principals have expanded the surveys to other grades.

He also helped institute the “Points of Information” section of the school board agenda to allow the members to respond to resident concerns or promise to look into a matter and contact the concerned resident. Previously, school board members had no opportunity to respond to or address issues brought up during public participation, he said.

Pagoni said he has also helped improve the relationship between the school board and town council, a relationship described by Pagoni as “dysfunctional.” Pagoni said that he would frequently speak with the council’s chairman Fred Daniels to keep the lines of information open.

School board member Andy Powell, a Republican, said that Pagoni has been essential to fostering better communication.

"He has reached out across all spectrums to create some coalitions and understanding," Powell said.

In regards to the board's sometimes contentious relationship with the Town Council, Powell said that Pagoni has helped heal the rift, rather than worsen it.

“I think we’re in a much better position than we were two years ago," he said.

Fellow Board of Education member Steve Clark, a Republican, said the Democratic Party's decision was unexpected.

"I was surprised because he was the highest vote-getter two years ago," Clark said. “I think we'll be a little poorer for not having him on the ballot or having him serve again."

Historically, the board member elected with the highest number of votes is selected as chairman.

Pagoni offered more insight into his leadership when asked to elaborate about the nominating committee's complaints.

He admitted that he did not caucus as often as previous chairmen, who typically have held at least a caucus a month. He explained that he believes caucuses, if conducted behind closed doors, are counterproductive.

Pagoni said he prefers caucuses that encourage “robust discussions amongst the nine of us in public.”

He also explained that as a working airline pilot and school board member who is required to go to two monthly board meetings, expulsion hearings and committee meetings, he refused to hold a caucus for no other reason than to simply hold one.

Pagoni said that he still held caucuses during his terms and would always hold a caucus if he, or another board member, thought that one was necessary.

In regards to his "failure to get the voters out," Pagoni said that the board informs voters about upcoming elections and referendums as much as election law permits. He said that he has attended rallies, sent out information to voters and brainstormed with other officials to address the problem.

"There's nothing more the board can do," he said, adding that poor voter turnout is hardly unique to Tolland, but is a national problem.

“I do my job for everybody in this town,” he said.” I still have something to give to this community.”