Ferris resigns after nearly a decade on the Monroe school board

MONROE, Conn. — David Ferris recently resigned as chairman of the Monroe Board of Education, passing the gavel to his successor, Dennis Condon, in what he hopes will become a tradition when the board changes leadership.

The Republican served on the school board for nine-and-a-half-years, four as chairman. He worked with four superintendents, during a period marked by changes in finance and budgeting, and the district guiding its schools through a global pandemic.

Now that both of his children graduated from Masuk High School, Ferris said, “I just feel like it’s time. It’s practically a full-time job as a volunteer.”

During Monday night’s board meeting, Superintendent Joseph Kobza and new chairman, Dennis Condon presented Ferris with an engraved plate as a gift. Condon thanked him for his years of service.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with two excellent board chairs,” Kobza said. “When Donna Lane stepped down, her deep understanding of the district’s history and needs left big shoes to fill — but Dave Ferris stepped up immediately and seamlessly.”

“What I have admired most about Dave is his genuine commitment to ensuring that every voice was heard on all issues facing the district,” Kobza said. “His dedication to students and staff never wavered, and he consistently worked to build consensus and foster collaboration amongst the board. Dave led with integrity and a steadfast focus on what was best for the district, and I am deeply grateful for his service over the last nine years and his leadership these past four.”

Ferris chooses education

Ferris said he has been busier with his job and his personal life, and he talked about fellow Republican, Sunny Gill, the newest member of the Board of Education, who won her seat in November’s election.

“I think with Sunny coming on the board, she has children in the school system,” Ferris said. “That’s good for the district. When I came on, I did. You’re invested.”

He said that is what influenced his decision to join the Board of Education nearly a decade ago, when the Monroe Republican Town Committee approached him about filling vacancies on either the school board or the Board of Finance.

“I was very thankful,” Ferris said of the opportunity, “and chose the Board of Education, because I had kids in the district and was invested.”

He filled the seat vacated by Jeff Guttman. Prior to that, Ferris was chairman of the Youth Commission and went on to serve on the Monroe EMS Commission, eventually becoming the chairman.

After finishing Guttman’s term, Ferris ran in the next election with current board member, Jeff Fulchino, and they both won.

Dollars and sense

In the past, the Board of Education and Board of Finance were always at odds with each other at budget time with feelings of distrust on both sides.

Ferris credits the consolidation of the Finance Department for the positive change in that relationship. Director Ronald Bunovsky Jr. and his staff oversees the finances for both the town and the school system.

“It’s one of the best things we ever did, because it’s Ron, a true professional,” Ferris said. “He’s like Joe [Kobza], who’s very trustworthy. When you have one person, who sees the budget from the board and the town side, there’s trust, because nothing’s hidden. You have that shared common goal.”

“I would like that to expand to shared HR and central purchasing,” Ferris said of consolidating departments.

“The Board of Education is the biggest consumer,” Ferris said. “Central purchasing is one idea I talked to Town Hall about. They like the idea and I hope they move forward with it, because I think that can save the town in the long run.”

Under former chair, Donna Lane, the Board of Education went over all 2,000 line items in the budget, cutting thousands of dollars worth of unnecessary items, according to Ferris. “That was huge,” he said.

Since then, he said every board member is assigned to a department chair to meet with during the budget process — from facilities, athletics and special education, to the high, middle and elementary school principals.

“Being in the buildings and understanding their requests to Joe, we could see the struggles ourselves,” Ferris said of the hands on experience. “When you have a deep dive into a department budget, you can report to the board and say, ‘this is really needed and this is not.'”

He said the scrutiny over spending begins with the superintendent.

“Last year, there were 15 new positions requested of Joe and he had to drop it to five,” Ferris said. “Joe has done a very good job of scrutinizing all of the department requests and presenting it to the board.”

As a result, Ferris said the board has unanimously passed the superintendent’s budgets with only minor changes and recommendations, “because we understand the request better from meetings with department chairs. We’re able to evaluate whether these are truly needs and not wants.”

A unified board

On Monday night, the Board of Education unanimously voted to appoint Condon as the new chairman, for Christine Cascella to continue as vice chair, and for Democrat, Alan Vaglivelo, to once again serve as board secretary.

In the past, the Republican majority would never consider appointing a Democrat to a leadership role, according to Ferris.

“I’m glad we broke that barrier,” he said. “It was very important to the board to have Alan on as secretary and not to be that political anymore.”

Ferris said politics can sometimes become more prevalent during election season or on leadership votes, but then members go back to working together for the best interests of the district and its students.

“The thing I respected most is that we were able to talk,” he said of his time on the board. “We were able to communicate and respected each other’s opinions.”

Ferris is leaving at a time when the board and the administration is facing rising student enrollment with outdated school buildings in need of upgrades.

“I get it, the town’s not going to give the board $200 million tomorrow,” Ferris said. “I understand the fiscal challenges, but my goal was to have a longterm plan for maintenance and facilities.”

Ferris said the board is working to complete a 10-15 year capital plan for the district.

Though facilities and enrollment dominates the news cycle, Ferris said he believes the biggest challenge before board members is dealing with unfunded mandates, which impact local budgets.

Ferris said new board members quickly learn what little control they have, due to state and federal legislation, mandates and requirements for contracts. “That’s frustrating,” he said.

But no matter what the Monroe Board of Education faces while Condon is chairman, Ferris expressed confidence in the future of the district.

“There are always things that come up that you have to find solutions for, and the board and the administrators always found a solution,” he said. “It was a very good team over the years. My impression with this group is that it will continue and that was my expectation of them — to work together.”

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