Meet David Martens, Board of Education Candidate

The Board of Education in the next year "needs to reach out and make sure the community understands where we are and what we need to do as we go forward" with the town's special education policies and practices, which need to comply with state law, says David Martens, a candidate for Board of Education.

Martens, a Republican and one of four candidates for the three open seats on the board this year, said the ramifications of the special education imbroglio will take up much of the board's time in the first year of the four-year term of board members elected this year.

Not only will the board be picking a new superintendent, but it may be dealing with financial problems found by auditors who will soon be looking at the special education program, he said.

"There's a whole group of people who don't understand what's going on," he said, "who don't understand why you're spending this money.

"Special education parents need to be satisfied -- that's Objective No. 1," he continued. "Second, the whole community needs to understand what's going on. [...] i think the communication needs to be ramped up so the whole community understands."

In the longer term, Martens said he hopes to put to use as a board member some of his professional experience as a banker involved in working out plans for failing companies to get back to profitability.

"I'd like to change the way we look at all the different programs, looking forward, that are being proposed," he said. He'd like to see new programs come with criteria that the board can agree on as measures of success -- so that if the programs fail to meet the standards set at the beginning, the board at least knows it has a problem on its hands.

"It's not about eliminating programs, but having programs that truly work -- that we're not just wasting money on," he said.

Martens is married to Julie Martens, has been active in parent teacher organizations and on the Council of Darien School Parents. They have three sons: One a student at Fairfield Preparatory School, another at Darien High School and a third in Middlesex Middle School. Martens, like Christa McNarmara, is a member of the RTM Education Committee.

Fun fact to know and tell: Martens, a Republican, was encouraged by his neighbor to get involved in politics by running for a seat on the RTM in 2004. That neighbor: Democrat David Bayne, a member of the Board of Selectmen. Martens is also a friend of candidate Callie Sullivan, one of whose sons he coached on a sports team.

Biographical information submitted by candidate:

I grew up in New York City and attended Collegiate School.  I went to Lafayette College where I got a degree in Mechanical engineering and entered the Financial Services world in New York in the late 1980’s.  I also attended Stern School of Business at night and received an Masters in Finance and International business. 

My wife and I were married in 1993 and we lived in NYC until moving abroad in 1996.  We spent 3 years in Amsterdam and 3 years in Sao Paulo and returned to the US in 2002, with our three boys, when we moved to Darien. 

In 2004, I joined the RTM and the Education sub committee, where I have served ever since.   My motivation to join education was based on the fact that I have three boys and like many of our town residence, moved here because of the great school system. 

I thought my involvement at the Governance level was another way be involved in my kids lives and be more aware of the issues that would affect them. My three boys are now ages 17, 15, and 12.

Since moving here, I spent much of my free time with the kids in the various sports programs as a way to spend time with them.  I helped coach Ice Hockey for 3 or 4 years, and a year or so helping with lacrosse and Football when the kids were at the Elementary level. 

I was also a big fan of Indian Guides program and I joined each of my kids through all of the program years.

My work life has been with global banks, mostly around structuring loans, and wholesale credit work.  I chaired the wholesale credit committee for Latin America and have also chaired various global steering committees tasked with restructuring companies. 

Chairing these committees is a bit of an art of making sure all views are heard and building consensus about a way forward.  It also usually involves some difficult situations as various parties compete for control. 

While being an involved parent is a good qualification for the BOE, I believe it’s my work in successfully chairing these committees that gives me additional background to help the Board of Ed now.

Finally, to answer a question that my friends have asked me in private, “why would you want to get involved in the Board of Ed now?”  Basically, after being on the RTM Education committee for 8 years, I felt that both my finance background, my familiarity with educational issues and my ability to manage difficult situations in business would be an asset to the board.