Christopher Peak Photo
Jamell Cotto on the campaign trail.
Jamell Cotto, a one-time contender for an elected seat on the Board of Education, will likely still get a spot on the board, thanks to an appointment by Mayor Toni Harp.
Harp selected Cotto, parent of two students at Career High School and director of Catholic Charities’s Centro San Jose Family Center in Fair Haven, to replace Daisy Gonzalez, the board’s president and informal parent rep, who died suddenly last month.
The Board of Alders still needs to approve the appointment.
In a phone call Monday afternoon, Cotto said he “absolutely” plans to continue what Gonzalez started.
“Daisy was a champion for kids’ success. I’m honored to carry that torch for her and her legacy. I want to continue a lot of her work, and I look forward to working with the parents, teachers and para-professionals on issues involving them and getting them more involved in the process,” Cotto said. “I’m ecstatic [and] I’m excited to get to work.”
During his campaign to unseat elected Board of Ed member Ed Joyner, Cotto promised to create an oversight committee of parents that could veto any board decisions — an idea he says he’s still “exploring.” He also told the Independent that he planned to host district-wide listening forums; to push for restorative justice by lessening expulsions and suspensions and adding socio-emotional learning to the curriculum; and to partner with more neighborhood centers and nonprofits to improve students’ reading and math abilities.
Even though he withdrew his name as a candidate at the recent city Democratic Party convention before a vote could be taken, Cotto said he believes his campaign still generated interest about the school board — enthusiasm he now hopes to make permanent. “The past few months, after talking to people, a lot of them are frustrated because they feel like the Board of Ed has been stagnant,” Cotto said. “I’m excited for them because I think my input, my membership on the board, will help them transition from insight to action. It’s time for us to move.”
Mayor Harp Monday said Cotto has proved his commitment to young people in his work over the years at the Central San Jose social-service agency. She also noted that he is the parent of a public school graduate and a second child currently attending Career High.
“He has fire around education,” Harp said on her most recent appearance on WNHH radio’s “Mayor Monday” program. “He was such a gentleman the way he withdrew from the race.”
If the alders approve the appointment, Cotto will serve out the rest of Gonzalez’s term, which is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2018.
“I am most confident, given Mr. Cotto’s credentials and commitment to our City, that he will serve the citizens of New Haven in a most conscientious and productive manner,” Harp wrote in a July 27 letter to the alders, requesting their vote. “I thank you for your kind consideration of this appointment and ask for your prompt consideration of same.”
Despite no action from the alders, Cotto’s name quickly appeared on the city’s website as a Board of Education member. New student representatives, by contrast, haven’t been updated in over a year: Neither Jacob Spell, a rising senior at Creed elected last year, nor Makayla Dawkins, a rising junior at Hillhouse elected this spring to replace Coral Ortiz, are included on the listing.