Board Seeks More Data from Excellence, Equity Review

Windsor's board of education revealed Tuesday formal plans to establish a task force charged with developing a set of recommendations for district action with respect to the results of Loyola University's Equity and Excellence Study.

The task force, Board President Doreen Richardson said, is intended to be a body of community members - parents, teachers, administrators, political representatives, local business representatives and more - charged with delivering recommendations to the board by early 2014.

The plans, of course, were not revealed without controversy, as the board did not vote to officially form the task force as scheduled.

The vote was postponed due to a desire to seek additional equity and excellence review data from Loyola University, the results of which were revealed in late August in a nearly 80-page report.

Both board and community members expressed a desire to receive additional information, especially the interview comments from Windsor High School staff.

No staff comments were included in the report delivered in August.

The push for more data was made by board members Kristin Ingram (I), Paul Panos (R) and Cristina Santos (R), who called the report "incomplete."

Not every board member agreed with the trio, however.

While Ingram suggested the board request raw data for the purpose of analyzation, Democrat Kenneth Williams reminded his colleagues that the board hired experts from Loyola for the purpose of data collection and analysis, and warned that the receipt of raw data would only lead to "data paralysis."

Board members also expressed the opinion that task force creation would be premature since the board has yet to meet to discuss and share thoughts on the study's results.

That discussion will be held next Thursday. The meeting is open to the public.

The board did vote to form a search committee for the district's replacement of Superintendent Jeffrey Villar, who has accepted a job with a Connecticut non-profit.