Gerald Bosak

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Gerald Bosak

Republican Party

Prior offices

Stamford Public Schools school board

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Gerald "Jerry" Bosak Jr. is an at-large Republican member of the Stamford Board of Education in Connecticut. He won a one-year unexpired term in a special election on November 3, 2015.

Biography

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Bosak is the co-owner of Bosak Funeral Home. He is married. As of the 2015 election, Bosak had no children and he had no family members employed by the school district.

Elections

2015

See also: Stamford Public Schools elections (2015)

Five seats on the Stamford Public Schools Board of Education were up for election on November 3, 2015. The following three at-large incumbents' seats were up for regular general election in 2015: Lorraine Olson (R), Jerry Pia (R) and Polly Rauh (D). Additionally, two unexpired terms were also up for special election following resignations from the board. Rauh was the only incumbent to seek re-election; her defeat saw all five seats go to newcomers. The election did not change the board's Democratic majority; post-election, the board had six Democrats and three Republicans. This is the highest single-party majority allowed by law.

Republicans Mike Altamura and Andy George won two of the three full-term seats up for election while fellow party member Gerald Bosak won one of the unexpired terms. The Stamford Republican Town Committee initially endorsed Gerald Bosak and Prasad Tungaturthy for the one-year terms and Mike Altamura, Andy George and former board member Nicola Tarzia for the three-year terms. Tungaturthy, however, withdrew from the race on August 31, 2015. John Ciuffo was selected as the new Republican in Tugnaturthy's place. Republicans Altamura, George and Tarzia ran as a slate called 2015BOE Team.

Democrats David Mannis and Jennienne Burke won a three-year and one-year term, respectively. The Stamford Democratic City Committee did not endorse any of its incumbents for re-election. Instead, the party endorsed Angelica Gorrio, David Mannis and Ligia Marroquin for the three-year terms and Jennienne Burke and Monica DiCostanzo for the one-year terms. Democrats Gorrio, Mannis and Marroquin also formed a slate for the election.

Incumbent Rauh still sought to retain her seat on the board despite lacking her party's nomination. The Democratic board member chose to run as an unaffiliated candidate instead of forcing a primary election within her party. Rauh's party registration as a Democrat, however, meant the state law requiring a minimum of one-third of the board's seats to be held by minority parties following each election still applied to her in this election. John Zito also ran as an independent petitioning candidate in the regular-term race. Rauh placed seventh and Zito eighth out of the nine candidates running in the election for three-year terms.

Rolf Maurer was the sole Green Party candidate for the election. He sought a three-year term, but he placed last in the nine-candidate race.

Results

Stamford Public Schools, At-Large (1-year terms), General Election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Gerald Bosak	27.4%	5,735
	Democratic	Jennienne Burke	25.8%	5,384
	Democratic	Monica DiCostanzo	25.2%	5,264
	Republican	John Ciuffo	21.6%	4,517
Total Votes				20,900
Source: Connecticut Secretary of State, "Prescribed Form for Return of Votes Cast At A Municipal Election," accessed November 5, 2015

Endorsements

Bosak received no official endorsements in this election.

Campaign themes

2015

Bosak provided the following answers to questions from the Stamford Advocate:

Why are running for the Board of Education? What qualifies you for the job?

“	I would be a positive and collaborative leader on the Board of Education. I have a Master’s in Education and have a certified background as a Mental Health Counselor. I have worked for the Norfolk district attorney office in MA for a decade as a victims/ witness advocate and as a housing coordinator for dual diagnosed residents. And while working for the Bridgewater treatment center, I lead training sessions of sexual assault and suicide prevention groups. The present board has become toxic and dysfunctional. Our citizens deserve a collaborative and focused board of education that will make effective and positive changes that will cultivate an environment of excellence in our schools.	”
—Gerald Bosak, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

What are the district’s strengths and weaknesses?

“	I believe we have a strong teacher presence in the class room who participate actively in our children's development. Historically our public officials have been very supportive when making proactive decisions on budget items for our children and our Capital repairs in our school buildings. We have a very diverse student body and equally well trained educators that deliver superior education with large number of children in the class rooms. Our Special Education program, specifically in the services provided to children diagnosed on the autism spectrum, is a leader within Fairfield County. Weakness: Presently our teachers feel that they have little to no guidance and leadership from central office. We have fostered a climate of fear from the superintendents’ office instead of open and transparent leadership. I believe the finance department of the board of education has done an inaccurate job on reporting substantial and authentic budget requests. I believe collaboratively the board can do a better job at proactively prioritizing the back log of capital projects and repairs that are critically needed in our schools.	”
—Gerald Bosak, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

How well has Superintendent Winifred Hamilton performed? Do you agree with her decision to retire?

“	I agree with her decision to retire. However, as a leader, she should have stepped down immediately to restore confidence in our district.	”
—Gerald Bosak, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

Should the search for a new superintendent be delayed until after the election?

“	Yes, in view that since a large number of board members have resigned, going forth with a search would continue to be a dereliction of their individual responsibility.	”
—Gerald Bosak, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

How do you think the current board handled the Stamford High School sex scandal? What might you have done differently?

“	Deplorable: My concern is the lack of mandatory reporting and training that is required by law ( section 17a-101.) (That) there was a large amount of time that was consciously and deliberately delayed in order to inquire and seek legal advice, instead of caring for the individual student, was criminal. Furthermore, the sheer notion that just because a student of the Stamford public school was an adult and while it may have been consensual does not release the responsibility of a mandatory reporter of sexual assault. Acting in the best and most responsible manner for our student should have been the course of action.	”
—Gerald Bosak, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

The condition of the district’s facilities has been called into question lately. Should the Board of Education bring its facilities management in-house or should it continue to contract with an outside firm? Why?

“	I believe that full building (assessments) audits should be done. This would allow the district to gather all of the projects in line and prioritize the much needed repairs. The board has to collectively bring into perspective the amount of funding it is going to take to repair present issues and take a proactive approach with continued repairs/projects in our school buildings to then determine whether it should remain in-house or outsourced.	”
—Gerald Bosak, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

Define what you think the school board’s role should be in the district. Does the superintendent currently have too much power?

“	My belief is that the Board of Education should certainly effectively collaborate with the superintendent whenever possible. However, the responsibility of the board is to work independent from the superintendent and its role should be uncompromised and have a clear supervisory role over the superintendent. Presently, it appears as if the superintendent overseas the Board of Education, not the other way around.	”
—Gerald Bosak, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

How specific should the Board of Education’s goals be for the superintendent?

“	Many of our metrics seem to be incomplete, ill-defined goals.	”
—Gerald Bosak, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

Would you make expanding preschool programs a priority?

“	I would not support preschool expansion over higher priority needs at this point.	”
—Gerald Bosak, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

How should the district better support the mental health of its students, given its limited resources?

“	I would seek a stronger partnership with the Connecticut Department of Mental Health. Counselors are imperative to provide continuous work with students and their family unit.	”
—Gerald Bosak, Stamford Advocate candidate Q&A (2015)

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Gerald Bosak' 'Stamford Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Gerald Bosak - Google News

See also

• Stamford Public Schools, Connecticut
• Stamford Public Schools elections (2015)
• Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
• What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)

External links

Suggest a link

• Stamford Public Schools
• Office website