Photo By Jean Falbo Sosnovich
Fred Stanek and Peter Kubik
SEYMOUR — With a combined 42 years of service to Seymour’s students, outgoing Board of Education members Fred Stanek and Peter Kubik were honored last week.
Stanek holds the record as the longest serving member in the history of the school board, having dedicated 32 years to the role.
Stanek, a Democrat, was elected to the Seymour Board of Selectmen on Nov. 2.
Kubik served for 10 years, but did not receive enough votes from the Seymour Town Republican Committee to run for another term.
During the board’s meeting Wednesday (Nov. 3), Stanek and Kubik were met with kudos, kind words, plaques and proclamations, including one presented by First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis and state Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria.
“You are two paragons of education, each who have dedicated countless hours to our community and our students,” Drugonis said.
Bungay School Principal Mary Sue Feige, holding back tears, said Seymour students are lucky to have benefitted from having Stanek and Kubik in their corners all these years.
Kubik has served on every school building committee — from Bungay’s major renovation in 1996 to construction of a new $34 million middle school back in 2001. Stanek, a local attorney, has been a constant fixture at Bungay’s career days, inspiring many a student to pursue a career in law, Feige said.
“You have always put children first,” Feige said to Stanek. “Though your continuous support of education, you have helped to inspire a strong, positive and caring climate and culture for our students, staff and community while helping to improve student learning.”
Stanek said serving on the board for more than three decades has been wonderful, and now he’s looking forward to wearing a new hat as a selectman. His late wife, Karen, a veteran educator, served as a Selectwoman for many years.
“I hope I have made a small difference,” Stanek said. “I am proud of working to advance our curriculum, advocating for increased funding when the annual budgets in the 1990s were low, initiating the building of the present middle school and the expanded high school to include the science wing, working to advance security in our schools, and establishing awards, especially the Distinguished Alumnus Award, to recognize students, staff and community members who make outstanding contributions to the school district.”
Stanek said he’ll miss being involved in policy development to advance educational programming for students, and the interaction with his fellow board members and the entire staff.
Photo By Jean Falbo Sosnovich
(Left to right) Fred Stanek, Peter Kubik, BOE Chairman Ed Strumello and Supt. of Schools Susan Compton
“However, I will continue to actively advocate for educational opportunities for our students as a member of the Board of Selectmen, albeit at a different policy making level,” he said.
Kubik said he’s proud to have sat on all the school building committees that brought much-needed upgrades and expansions necessary to modernize the town’s four schools over the years.
“I got involved because I wanted to make a difference,” Kubik said. “As a board we have made many accomplishments and have worked with the administration to develop programming that will benefit all students regardless of the path they choose to pursue. We have worked to develop school improvement plans and worked with administration on continuous improvement.”
With his departure from the board, Kubik, an electrical engineer and manager at Sikorsky, said he’s going to miss “continuing to enrich the Seymour educational system.”
Seymour High School Principal James Freund presented both Stanek and Kubik with a parting gift for their many years of service to Seymour kids-lifetime, complimentary tickets to all of Seymour’s school sporting events.
