On behalf of all Ridgefield voters/residents’ rights to have compliant Board of Education members, Jonathan Paradiso, a Democratic Party endorsed candidate, must be replaced with another candidate who does not have conflicts of interest, as Mr Paradiso would have if he should win this position.
Mr. Paradiso’s wife is employed as a teacher by Ridgefield Public Schools.
The Board of Education(BOE) votes on many matters that affect teachers, both directly and indirectly, such as but not limited to:
— teacher compensation and other benefits,
— course curriculum consideration,
— school starting times,
— various school policies and enforcement of such,
— I.e. virtually every vote taken by the BOE affects teachers in some manner, albeit some more than others.
A teacher can simply not divorce themselves from any decisions made by the Board. Every decision made concerning Ridgefield Public Schools will in some way affect their job.
There is no defined policy on precisely when a BOE member should recuse themselves as well as no defined provision to determine and monitor when a candidate should recuse themselves.
Given that everything the Board of Education votes on can affect teachers to a greater or lesser extent Mr. Paradiso would have to recuse himself on every vote. This would make him an ineffective member of the BOE as well as deprive the residents of Ridgefield of their rights.
Ridgefield residents deserve a fully functioning Board of Education and Mr. Paradiso must be immediately removed as a candidate.
Debra Franceschini-Gatje
Spireview Road