It’s the time of the season in the National Basketball Association or the National Hockey League, for that matter, where under-performing coaches are worried about getting canned or are asking for votes of confidence. The Connecticut equivalent could be Stefan Pryor, the education commissioner whose zest for reform over the last few years has made him a target. And while the reforms haven’t fizzled, they’re slow in the rollout, let’s stipulate to that.
Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, a possible fall opponent of Gov. Dan Malloy, wants Pryor’s head on a platter. Pryor’s proposals are threatening teachers and teacher unions who could be turned against Malloy in the fall. Malloy has curried some favor in the educational community, by proposing reductions in taxes on teacher pensions. He’s also reeled back some on the more controversial reforms. Still, it’s midway through the season and the Blogster wanted an on-the-record assessment of Pryor’s status, with a possible eye toward whether he’ll be soon spending more time with his family, as they say.
Blogster: “Governor I wanted to get your opinion on the performance of the education commissioner at this point.”
Malloy: “Stefan Pryor is doing a great job and has my full support. And I appreciate working him on an on-going basis.”