Kidd Apologizes for Comments

, the Republican member of the Board of Education who has been at the center of controversy since allegations surfaced last week that she , a Democratic member  of the school board, sent the following message to Board of Education members this afternoon: 

Regards,
Merrill Kidd

Mrs. Luxenberg,

I want to offer an unqualified apology for the comments I made to you. Even more so, I want to extend my apologies to the public and fellow BOE members. I allowed our prior communications and my frustration with the handling of Nathan Hale School to cloud my judgment and my words were poorly chosen. Political differences aside, I know I must take responsibility for the improper tone of my comments for our Board to get back to business. Once again, I'm sorry for what I said, and be assured that it won't happen again.

I do feel compelled however to share with you, as a fellow BOE member, some of my concerns related to . As a new board member, I fear that I placed too much trust in the judgment of more experienced members, who, in retrospect, appear to have made it their agenda to permanently close the school even before resolving several troubling issues. First, how much more restricted and limited will our Federal Title I monies be after the school closes? Second, what will the student re-districting plan look like? You may recall a previous school closing vote was reversed after parent reaction to the plan. Finally, and most importantly, is permanently closing a school with favorable student to teacher ratios and improving test scores really beneficial for the education of those children?! Through my own research I discovered that the five most improved elementary schools in Connecticut enjoyed similarly favorably staffing ratios.

I look forward to putting this chapter behind us and getting back to work for Manchester’s students.

Sincerely,

Merrill Kidd

Luxenberg could not be immediately reached for comment Friday afternoon.