Colleagues praise member of board for years of service

The 16-year member will resign early to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- After 16 years on the Warren school board, Lynn Gibson bid a tearful goodbye to her colleagues Tuesday night, deciding to step down one month early to allow the bidding phase for the new city schools to proceed.
Gibson chose not to run again for her school board seat this year, saying she is leaving because her husband, John Gibson Jr., chief executive officer of Jack Gibson Construction Co., wants the opportunity to bid on work in the $170 million schools construction and renovation project that will give the district a new high school and four new kindergarten-through-eighth-grade buildings.
She said she'd view it as a conflict of interest if her husband, a general contractor, were to bid on behalf of his company while she is serving on the board.
She said it is time for the bidding process to begin, so she is stepping down one month before her term expires.
Shari Harrell, who was elected to the school board earlier this month, will fill Gibson's seat during the December meeting and be sworn in to her own position in January, board president Linda Metzendorf said.
"I've never regretted a day," Gibson said of her time as a board member. "I'm so proud of Warren schools. We open our door to all children. We teach all. I have no doubt Warren will reach our goals."
High praise
Board members all gave glowing remarks to their colleague.
"You've taught me a lot. This community and school system are so much better off having had you on the school board. It's been a great ride," Metzendorf said.
"She has served with integrity and honesty," Ed Bolino said.
"If anybody was willing to take a risk for the kids, it's you," Robert Faulkner said.
The board also heard a presentation from Gordon S. Hazen, supervisor of student & amp; community services, indicating the district has 223 fewer pupils than last year and saw a drop of 337 the previous year.
He said the district has attempted to contact parents of pupils who have left the school system to ask them the reasons their child left and to find ways to get them to come back.
By the end of the current semester, Hazen hopes to have more data to help the board figure out how to retain more students, he said.
Where they were instead
Statistics his office released at the end of October showed that of 955 pupils who were not attending the city school system who had lived within its boundaries:
U390 were attending private schools in the area.
U220 were attending schools with open enrollment, such as LaBrae, Howland, Niles and Weathersfield.
U64 were being home-schooled
U276 moved out of Warren or out of state.
Metzendorf asked Superintendent Kathryn Hellweg whether the large drop in enrollment would suggest adjustments in personnel before the current school year is finished, saying she didn't want to "get to the end of the year with a deficit."
Hellweg said she has experience in making drastic budget cuts. She stopped short of saying she would endorse cuts during this school year, but said, "As we look at staffing for next year, we will obviously have to make adjustments. Appropriations will have to reflect these [enrollment] changes."
The board also recognized Ed Shaker, Harding's baseball coach, and the many others who have built the new baseball field behind the high school.
"Ed [Shaker] tells me it's the best high school field he's seen," said Paul Trina, district athletic director. Trina added that the high school football playoff games at Mollenkopf Stadium in recent weeks have brought in thousands of dollars for the school system and given it a lot of positive recognition.