My comments in the Jan. 9 article about seeking re-election to the Addison Central School District Board have created some misunderstanding in the community I serve. This is no reflection on John Flowers or his article. He accurately quoted what I told him and the fault is entirely mine.

First, I would like to apologize to the faculty and staff at all of the elementary schools. My comments regarding academic outcomes were in no way directed at any of them. ACSD’s elementary educators are doing a difficult job and are being asked over and over again to do hard things. They have responded heroically to this challenge and deserve more resources than we can give them in the current circumstances. The frustration I feel about the ongoing intransigence to address consolidation were the root of my comment, not the performance of faculty and staff at the elementary level.

The second point revolves around mentioning data that was shared with the board in an executive session. While I did not share any of that data or even mention the specific schools that were involved, sharing the broad conclusions I made was improper. I apologize to the board members and administrators who felt I violated executive session rules.

Finally, it has been pointed out that my broad generalization based on that data was flawed. This is a legitimate criticism. The sample size, as I pointed out, was very small and it can be misleading to draw conclusions from such a limited sample. I will work to avoid a lapse like this in the future. I am still committed to moving forward with the work the board does to support students, faculty, and staff within the ACSD school system.

Steve Orzech

Middlebury