We-Ha.com is offering our readers the opportunity to meet the candidates running in the Nov. 4, 2025 municipal election. 

Compiled by Ronni Newton

We-Ha.com is offering our readers the opportunity to “Meet the Candidate” – designed to help them get to know the candidates running for office in the 2025 municipal election.

Identical questionnaires have been sent to all candidates, and each profile received has been submitted directly to We-Ha.com by the candidate or the candidate’s campaign management. The responses have not been edited but have been formatted to match our publication style. Questions left blank have been noted.

As profiles are received, they will be published on We-Ha.com under the “Government” tab. We-Ha.com is not making endorsements of any political candidates but we are publishing this information in order to assist voters in being informed and prepared when they go to the polls on Nov. 4.

If you are a candidate and wish to submit a profile, please return it by email to Ronni Newton at [email protected] as soon as possible.

BOARD OF EDUCATION CANDIDATE

Name: Miriam Bleich

Party affiliation: Republican

Family information: Married to Steven, and parents of four children attending West Hartford Public Schools.

Primary occupation: Previously, licensed clinical social worker and now, full-time mom.

Previous political experience: None

Other relevant experience that may be related to your desire to serve the community, and further qualifies you for the office you are seeking: Over the last few years, I have been active in my children’s public school communities and the West Hartford Jewish community. This year, I joined the Community Advisory Board for The School and State Finance Project.

Why are you running for office? I am running for elected office because I have long advocated for West Hartford schools to take steps that would improve educational opportunities for my children and all children of West Hartford. Unfortunately, as a concerned parent on my own, I have been unable to shake the status quo in a school system that is unwilling to make meaningful changes. It is my hope that as a member of the Board of Education, I can be part of building stronger and more impactful schools for the students and families of West Hartford.

What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing West Hartford Public Schools today, and how do you plan to address it if elected? The lack of transparency and accountability has created a chasm between West Hartford families and their schools, one that erodes the trust and confidence necessary to maintain a strong school system. West Hartford families and taxpayers deserve to have a clear understanding of what is going on in the classroom with full access to students’ educational materials, transparent guidelines for addressing policy issues, and better insight into how our taxpayer dollars are actually being spent.

It’s time for West Hartford to establish a finance committee to review the seemingly unchecked budget growth and a curriculum committee to give parents greater insight and input into what goes on in the classroom. Out of the 18 towns in our district reference group (DRG, state groupings of school districts by socioeconomic status), 16 have finance committees and 15 have curriculum committees. There’s no reason West Hartford should remain an outlier.

We also need our school leadership to champion innovative programs and the coordination of best practices to meet the growing needs of our students with Individualized Education and 504 plans. Having a child with multiple disabilities, I know firsthand how necessary this is and how challenging it can be to navigate the bureaucracy.

West Hartford Public Schools, like districts throughout the country, previously had the benefit of ESSER funds for additional services and staff to assist students with learning loss and other pandemic-related issues including mental health support, but the loss of those funds created budget pressures over decisions to maintain positions and services. How should the BOE continue to prioritize which, if any, services to continue to maintain and to fund in the future? There is no question that these services have been very important for WHPS students, but before the BOE can prioritize which services to continue or maintain, there has to be a transparent and detailed understanding of how the district spends our taxpayer dollars. The present budget report is difficult to navigate and opaque.

A finance committee that meets periodically throughout the year to carefully review, plan, and make decisions about district expenses, both expected and unexpected, could go a long way to addressing the budget pressures our school system is facing. With a clear understanding of the budget, decisions can be made about what services to continue or maintain.

Fundamentally, our BOE needs to work toward self-sufficiency through responsible and serious budgeting. Relying on federal or state funds puts the town at risk of having to cut positions or services when those funds dry up. Further, federal and state funding is just taxes collected by a different government entity, which does little to help the taxpayers of our town.

What is your opinion of the role of parents in shaping curriculum for West Hartford Public Schools? Parents have the right to be an active partner in their children’s education.

It’s time for parents to be unafraid to demand that the focus of our school system return to academics with vetted curricula that demonstrate integrity, rigor, and openness to different perspectives. Our students need to learn how to think, not what to think. Our society has allowed the classroom to become politicized and ideologically driven, with students being encouraged to become community activists. The district must be accountable for ensuring current and future generations of students are educated, not indoctrinated.

Now, more than ever, parents are demanding greater involvement in their children’s education. Increased awareness among parents across the country of the proliferation of problematic one-sided curricula, developed by outside, ideologically-driven sources, and promoted by national teachers unions has generated new energy and interest in a parent-informed education system.

With a curriculum committee, West Hartford would create a process for vetting curricula, reviewing outside presenters and professional development, and make curriculum readily available for parents to inspect, in line with federal statutes such as the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment. https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/resources/protection-pupil-rights-amendment-ppra-general-guidance

What do you feel differentiates you from the candidates from other parties – or your own party – who are also running for this position? As a parent whose children started their education in the West Hartford Public Schools Early Learning Center at age 3, I have been involved for years in learning about various aspects of public education, including school curricula, classroom instruction, funding and budgeting, special education, and school administration. I have been committed, as a parent and taxpayer, to understanding how our public education system operates and building relationships and collaborating with school administrators, teachers, service providers, and community organizations to advance the needs of our students and the efforts of the parents advocating for them. I have already dedicated countless hours to building a better West Hartford school system and look forward to accomplishing even more as a member of the Board of Education.

Anything else you would like to share relevant to earning votes on Nov. 4? I hope parents feel empowered and hopeful knowing that they have someone running for the Board of Education who has a solid knowledge of how the system works, who has built productive working relationships with school administration, and who is not afraid to challenge the status quo! I hope my campaign inspires parents to get more involved in their children’s education, whether by making an effort to get to know their teachers and administrators, attending school events, or speaking at BOE meetings.

I hope to earn your vote by mail, early, or on Election Day, November 4th. Thank you.

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