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Leigh Grossman

Running for Board of Education

1 CTNewsJunkie Reader Endorsements

Party: Democrat

CEP Status:

Website: https://www.pomfretdemocrats.com/

Age: 50

Marital Status: married

Current Residence: Pomfret Center

Current Job: editor/adjunct professor

Previous Job: book developer

Previous Job:

Education: MA Rutgers, BA Temple University

Why are you running for this office?
Pomfret has a great school system, but it doesn't stay that way without a lot of work. With multiple members of the current (very strong) board stepping down, I felt I needed to step forward.
What is the most pressing local issue facing your community and how would you solve it (within the capacity of the office for which you are running)?
Maintaining school quality in tough budgetary times while continuing to adapt to new technology and find ways to improve the system. I bring strong communication and mediation skills, and an ability to work well with people on different sides of contentious issues.
With the state's ongoing budget crisis looming over the election, what are your plans for your community's budget? Is there anything you can do make your town less dependent on revenue from the state?
I would like to see us explore adding more out-of-town tuition paying students on a lottery basis to fill some smaller classes so less shifting around teachers and money is required from year to year.
The legislature has been debating various ideas to allow towns to raise revenue locally through something other than property taxes. If you could ease your residents' property tax burden by adding another method of taxation, is there anything you might consider for your town?
Pomfret has many residents who are "land rich but cash poor" and it would be great to see that burden eased - but I think it will have to happen mostly at the state level.
Are you in favor of regionalizing more services in conjunction with other nearby communities? If so, which ones?
I'm not in favor of regionalizing our school system, which is stronger than many of our neighbors. I would be in favor of admitting more tuition-paying students from other towns to even out numbers in years where we have smaller classes.
Should your school district get the same amount of education funding from the state if your district's enrollment is dropping?
We are running a strong school with a very lean budget - cuts in state aid amount to a hidden tax increase, as it forces towns to raise property taxes to avoid gutting school quality.
What's one thing most people don't know about you?
I've had fifteen books published, but the one that sold the most was actually a kid's book that doesn't have my name on the cover, which sold via Scholastic book fairs.
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