ANSONIA-DERBY — “Everything here is to the detriment of Derby.”
Those were the words of Derby Board of Education Chairman Jim Gildea at a school board meeting Dec. 16. Gildea is also co-chairman of an appointed committee that has been studying since 2018 whether to merge the Ansonia-Derby school districts in some fashion.
There are 10 people on the committee — five from Ansonia and five from Derby.
Gildea was referencing a resolution put forth by the Ansonia members that provides a “framework” for merging the school districts. Click here to download Ansonia’s plan.
Click here to download the committee’s end-of-the year report, which summarizes what the committee has explored since 2018.
Click play on the YouTube player above to listen to audio from last week’s meeting.
Some of the sticking points include closing the Irving School in Derby. A Change.org petition by a Derby educator was started after last week’s meeting.
Meanwhile, Ansonia officials have said the committee has been studying the issue for years, and that it is now time to move forward.
Derby’s issues with regionalization is the topic of the latest “Navel Gazing: The Valley Podcast.” CORRECTION: The Valley Indy refers to Nancy Marini as a “prominent Republican” in Ansonia. She’s actually unaffiliated.
The podcast is brought to you by ValleyGivesBack.org.
