Children are Always the Focus for Bill MacDonald

In October, chairman William MacDonald stepped down from the Board of Education, but promises to continue working for children of Rocky Hill.

"Bill MacDonald is a tremendous advocate for education,” said Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Villar at the Oct. 21 Board of Education meeting. "And personally, it's a huge loss. For Rocky Hill, it's a huge loss." 

MacDonald served two terms as the Board of Education chairman and was the first school board chairman Villar ever served with.

"It's a big deal as a superintendent," said Villar, who got emotional several times during his speech. "Your chair is your backbone.“

The jobs and duties of superintendent and school board chairman can be frustrating at times and often, Villar said he and MacDonald leaned on each other for support, meeting for coffee or lunch to discuss their frustrations.

"He helped my career. He helped my family and he put up with my fits,” Villar said. "We didn't agree on everything. We could speak the truth, talk about where we needed to go and get business down. With Bill, we got a lot of work done."

MacDonald said he spent “more time on the phone talking with Jeff than his own wife.”

“We would never be where we are without your leadership,” he said about the superintendent.

MacDonald also served on the Town Council, Planning and Zoning Commission, Open Space and Conservation Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals and School Liaison Committee. He is the president of the Nutmeg Athletic Foundation, helped the movement to bring lacrosse to town and coached park and recreation basketball. 

The former chairman thanked his fellow school board members for their focus on improving the curriculum and the school facilities and for never voting based on party lines.

“It’s always been about we. And even more, it has been about the children,” MacDonald said.

Republican school board member Brian Dillon commended MacDonald for his leadership skills. He told the audience how MacDonald reached out to the new board members and found out their strengths right away.

"Immediately, you came to us and talked to us about building a consensus on this board," Dillon said. “At the end of the day, the bottom line was what was best for the students of Rocky Hill and the community of Rocky Hill. Your leadership was an example and will be sorely missed.”

MacDonald was “proactive, energetic” leader who always kept the board together, current Board of Education Chairwoman Raffaella Calciano-Coler stated.

“I think your leadership qualities far outweigh what we could ever hope for,” Calciano-Coler said. “You inspire and humble me with the energy you committed to this board. I think it is a great loss for all of us in Rocky Hill.”

MacDonald said he would continue to work for a new high school and . The was by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges Inc. Commission on Public Secondary Schools.

“I will work with every ounce of energy in the next nine months to get us a new high school.”

He added that he will continue to fight for , which he thinks the town “desperately needs.”

“I’ve been trying to get more and more,” the current president for the Rocky Hill Football Booster Foundation and former treasurer for the Rocky Hill High School Athletic Booster Club stated.

In the end, he thanked his fellow board members for their support and asked them to continue to fight for the children of Rocky Hill.

“I really do appreciate everything we worked together on,” he said. “And I know you will continue to do great things that I couldn’t even envision.”