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Southington Board of Education elects Oceana chair; Carmody and Anastasio win officer posts
Summary
At its Nov. 7 meeting the Southington Board of Education elected Zaya Oceana as chair (unanimous), named Terry Carmody vice chair (5–4) and Dawn Anastasio secretary (5–4), approved minutes and personnel items, and approved an out‑of‑state overnight trip for the SHS marching band.
The Southington Board of Education on Nov. 7 elected board member Zaya Oceana as chair by unanimous roll call, then elected Terry Carmody as vice chair and Dawn Anastasio as secretary by narrow 5–4 votes.
Oceana was nominated from the floor and pledged to put students first in his brief remarks after the vote. "We're here for the students," he said, thanking his family and addressing his long history of service to local schools.
The board then opened nominations for vice chair. Members nominated Terry Carmody and Robert (Bob) Brown. The chair announced the result as 5 votes for Carmody and 4 for Brown; Carmody accepted the position and pledged to continue her work reaching students after 18 years of service. For secretary, Dawn Anastasio was elected by a 5–4 vote after nominations that also included Lisa Camuso.
After officer elections the board took a brief five‑minute recess. The board approved minutes from its Oct. 23, 2025 meeting and voted to approve the personnel report on the consent agenda by voice vote. Administration reported on accomplishments, including national band recognition, and noted a letter to Governor Lamont and the State Bonding Commission advocating for funding for the high‑school tennis‑court and parking‑lot project; administration also reported the Strong elementary parking lot project was completed.
On new business the board introduced the capital improvement plan (CIP) for 2026–2031 as a first read and asked members to review it. The board approved an annual out‑of‑state overnight field trip for the Southington High School marching band to Washington, D.C., after members praised the band’s performance and leadership. Before the meeting ended, the board voted to enter executive session to discuss student matters and stated there were no public action items after that session.
The meeting record shows routine governance actions and officer elections, and the board received a substantial public comment urging prompt action on pupil‑services leadership prior to moving into executive session.
