Longtime Westporter Joins GOP Slate for School Board

The Westport Republican Town Committee’s (RTC) Nominations Vacancy Committee announced Monday that Karen Kleine has been selected to run for a seat on the Board of Education this November. 

Kleine joins Michael McGovern and Jeannie Smith, who were previously approved by the RTC’s Nominating Committee and the full RTC in July.  

Kleine, a 14-year Westport resident, served as PTA President at both King’s Highway Elementary School and Coleytown Middle School, as well as a member of the Staples PTA Board, according to information from the RTC.  She's also a volunteer with the Westport Library and Temple Israel. Her professional background is in the insurance industry, where she served as an underwriter analyzing commercial property risk.

If elected, the slate of candidates will give the Republican party a majority on the Board of Education and control of the Board of Education Chairmanship.
   
“Michael McGovern, Jeannie Smith, and Karen Kleine are extremely strong candidates who have each demonstrated their unwavering commitment to excellence in the Westport schools,” RTC Chair Desiree Soli said.  

“We are confident that with new strong leadership on the Board of Education in partnership with the team of Jim Marpe and Avi Kaner in the Selectman's Office, Westport's future will indeed be bright."

McGovern, the current Board of Education Vice Chair and candidate for re-election, said he is "delighted" to have Kleine join the school board slate. 

"As a team, we are committed to providing the leadership necessary to ensure we are preparing our students for success in the 21st century, while carefully protecting the investment our community has made in one of Westport's crown jewels, its excellent school system," McGovern added.