Politics & Government
School Board Run is Next Step for Already Active Mom
Michelle Ku is a first-time Democratic candidate for Newtown Board of Education.
Shortly after Michelle Ku moved to Newtown four years ago from Rhode Island, she enrolled her three children at Middlegate Elementary School. Before long, she was active at the school, organizing library volunteers and writing the school newsletter.
"It took a while to feel my way around and see what the kids would be involved in," she says.
Ku's children are now at Middlegate, Reed Intermediate School and Newtown Middle School. She's been active in school issues, attending PTA meetings and advocating at Board of Education meetings. And as a Democratic nominee for Board of Education, she's a first-time candidate for office.
"I think I would come to the group with a different perspective," she says. She's disagreed with the board in the past. Last year, she supported an extra hire to provide an individual student with advanced math teaching, which the board ultimately voted against.
"I feel that's one of my strong points," she says. "I'm able to pick an opposing point of view and still come to an agreement on something. I don't think it has to be adversarial."
Ku was also one of the strongest voices in favor of preserving the original schools budget this year. During the heavy push prior to this year's third referendum, she campaigned alongside other parents and PTA members. She says she had no major issues with the layout of this year's schools budget, though she was unhappy with cuts necessitated by multiple budget referenda.
"You have to live with that and move on," she says. "Dr. Reed was given a certain amount to appropriate, and while I would love to see more of the EAs in the kindergarten classes, that's one thing he cut back on from the original budget."
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"I can't say enough about what a good experience it was to sit down and discuss opinions, to talk about data with people who had opposing views," she says. "I enjoy the ability to make a data-driven decision and be very pragmatic about how you do that. I think it's the scientist in me."
When it comes to security, Ku says she's still looking for answers.
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"The SROs and the SSOs will address concerns of the parents and the needs of the community," she says. "But I think there are still questions about what the hard wiring and the hard changes -- the building changes -- what are those going to be?"
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