LeBeau Holds Town Hall Meeting at Ellington Middle School

On Thursday, State Sen. Gary LeBeau came to to hold a town hall meeting with the eighth grade students.

The students had written him letters about his plan to change the Connecticut government. He held the meeting and let the kids voice their concerns about his plan and then shared his ideas why he thought it would work.

“The eighth graders have been studying government and during our unit, we heard that Sen. LeBeau announced a plan to change the Connecticut General Assembly from two houses to one,” social studies teacher Michael Nash said. “Our students just did a mock Congress activity using the two house model and many were very concerned that LeBeau's plan would be bad for the state.”

Nash said that all 200 students wrote letters voicing their opinion either for or against LeBeau’s plan, and after the senator received word of the activity, he agreed to come in and hold a town hall meeting on the issue.

“He spoke about his plan and took comments from the students,” Nash said. “LeBeau’s plan was to cut the number of legislators to stop waste and spending. The main concern the kids had was that with only one house laws would pass too easily without adequate debate.”

Nash said that they also had concerns that there would be no second house to keep the first in check - checks and balances. Others thought that there wouldn’t be enough representatives to have all voices heard.

“Many were also concerned with job loss - eliminating aides and other jobs that go with the legislators who would be cut,” Nash said.

Nash said that there were also kids who supported LeBeau’s plan - they thought cutting spending would be good and didn’t see a concern.

“It was an interesting debate,” he said.

LeBeau enjoyed his time at the school and how engaged the students were.

“The fact that they were concerned about the structure of our government, and ultimately the state of the future of Connecticut, it was great,” he said. “I was very impressed with the background work that they had done. It was great that they were that concerned and that concerned about the future. It made me feel good. It gave me confidence that kids today are going to be able to take the responsibility of actually running our state and our nation tomorrow.”

LeBeau said that sometimes, it’s an experience like this that helps to shape the direction that someone chooses to go in later in life.

“I don’t think it’s an illusion to say that this activity may change the course of some of their lives,” he said.

LeBeau, a former teacher, says that almost every opportunity he gets to speak to kids, he takes. He credits Nash and fellow social studies teacher Edith Vibert-Johnson for the opportunity. In addition to him personally enjoying his time, he felt it was an important experience for the students.

“I really praise them for giving the kids a little bit more of a real world experience – number one with the simulation, and number two with the followup on it to have somebody who is really involved in government and politics to come in and talk to them,” he said.