School board elects Hiscox chair

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Robert Hiscox

REGION 16 — The Region 16 Board of Education last week elected Robert Hiscox as its chair for the next two years.

The board, which oversees schools in Beacon Falls and Prospect, rotates the chair’s seat between members from each town after every municipal election. Hiscox, a 67-year-old Republican from Prospect, takes over the chairmanship from Sheryl Feducia, a Democrat from Beacon Falls who did not seek re-election in November.

Hiscox said there are a number of priorities for the board over the next two years, including keeping the curriculum moving forward and making facility upgrades, like installing air conditioning throughout Woodland Regional High School. He added the board must also work to ensure that students are getting the most out of the science labs at the elementary schools, and elementary students have world language opportunities.

The budget is also a major issue, Hiscox said. With uncertainties surrounding the state’s financial situation, he said the board has to do what’s best for the taxpayers in both towns.

Hiscox, a retired science teacher, was first appointed to the board to fill a vacancy in the spring of 2009. He was elected to a two-year term in 2011 and a four-year term in 2013. He previously served as chair for two months in 2015 after then-Chair Donna Cullen resigned. He was vice chair for the past two years.

Priscilla Cretella, an unaffiliated member from Beacon Falls, was elected vice chair. Christine Arnold, a Republican from Beacon Falls, and Nazih Noujaim, a Republican from Prospect, were elected secretary and treasurer, respectively.