BOARD OF EDUCATION
Chair of the Board
Ms. Lynne Ide (D)
lynne.ide@windham.k12.ct.us
Lynne Ide, Board Chair, is currently serving her fourth term on the Board of Education, and was re-elected in November 2023. In addition to her role as Board Chairperson, she also serves on the Board’s Finance & Audit and School Planning & Design Committees.
Ms. Ide has lived in town for 35 years, and is active with St. Paul’s Church and the Windham Democratic Town Committee. She has also served as past Chair of the Board of Finance, Chair of the Willimantic Service District, as well as a member of Town Council and Board of Selectmen.
Ms. Ide graduated from Mt. Holyoke College, and works at Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut. She has three children who attended the Companeros program from Grades K-6, and later graduated from Windham High School.
Ms. Ide’s goal during her term is to be a good steward of Windham Public Schools and an effective leader of the Board of Education.
Vice Chair of the Board
Committee Chair - School Planning & Design Committee
Mr. Brendan O'Neill (R)
brendan.oneill@windham.k12.ct.us
Brendan O’Neill joined the Board of Education in November, 2021 to fill a vacant seat. Mr. O’Neill also serves as the Chair of the School Planning & Design Committee, and is a member of the Policy Committee.
Mr. O’Neill has lived in town for approximately 21 years. He sits on the Ad Hoc North Windham School Roof & Underground Storage Tank Committee, and he serves as the Secretary for the Windham Republican Town Committee.
Mr. O’Neill is the Director of Professional Services for Novus Insight, Inc., an IT managed service provider, and he is the former WPS Director of IT. Mr. O’Neill graduated from Windham High School, and he has two children currently attending Windham Public Schools.
Mr. O’Neill’s goals during his term are to ensure a transparent administration to build trust with the community and to improve the academic performance of our students.
Secretary - BOE
Committee Chair - Policy Committee
Dr. Catina Caban-Owen (D)
catina.caban-owen@windham.k12.ct.us
Catina Caban-Owen, is currently serving her third term on the Board of Education. Her first term was in the 1980’s, and she re-joined the Board in 2020 and was re-elected in November, 2023. She is also the Chairperson of the Board’s Policy Committee, and serves on the Finance & Audit and Curriculum committees.
Dr. Caban-Owen has lived in town for 43 years, and is active with the CT Health Foundation, Windham Task Force to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect, NASW-CT, Liberty Bank Foundation, Eastern CT Foundation, Windham Hospital Board, and Peace at Home Parenting.
Dr. Caban-Owen received her PhD from UConn, MPA from the University of Hartford, and her MSW from the University of Puerto Rico. She works for Eastern Connecticut State University and UConn School of Social Work as part-time faculty. She has one child who attended Windham Public Schools, as well as several godchildren, nieces, and nephews.
Dr. Caban-Owen’s goal during her term is to ensure equity of resources in education for our Windham Public School students. Her motto is “In Windham, they are ALL our children. Promise to protect them!”
Member - BOE
Committee Chair - Finance & Audit Committee
Committee Chair - Ad Hoc Elementary School Consolidation
Mr. Mark Doyle (TBL)
mark.doyle@windham.k12.ct.us
Mark Doyle is currently serving his seventh term on the Board of Education, and was re-elected in 2021. He is also the Chairman of the Finance & Audit Committee, and sits on the Board’s Personnel, Curriculum, and Ad-Hoc Elementary School Consolidation committees.
Mr. Doyle has lived in town for 42 years, and has been an active member of the community over the years. He presently is Chair of the Windham Bottom Line party, and serves the community through his work with Holiday Lights on Main, and Windham Area Dollars for Scholars.
Mr. Doyle graduated from UMass Boston, and is enjoying his retirement. All three of his children attended and graduated from Windham Public Schools.
Mr. Doyle’s goal during his term is to work with the Administration to improve the academic performance of our students, and to insure financial transparency for the taxpayers.
Member - Board
Committee Chair - Curriculum Committee
Dr. Mary Gallucci (D)
mary.gallucci@windham.k12.ct.us
Mary Gallucci is currently serving her second term on the Board of Education, and was re-elected in 2023. Dr. Gallucci serves as the Chair of the Curriculum Committee, and is a member of the School Planning & Design and Finance & Audit committees.
Dr. Gallucci is an adjunct faculty for UConn’s English Department, and is a lecturer in Eastern Connecticut State University’s World Languages Department. She has three children who attended Windham Public Schools.
Dr. Gallucci’s goal during her term is to have every student in Windham meet his/her full potential while finding joy in learning.
Paula Haney is currently serving her sixth term on the Board of Education. She was elected in 2019. She is also the Chairperson of the Personnel Committee, as well as the Ad-Hoc Elementary School Consolidation Committee, and she also serves on the Board’s Curriculum Committee.
Ms. Haney has lived in town for 46 years, and is active on the DTC Arthritis Foundation Leadership Board CT. She previously served on the Town’s Board of Finance.
Ms. Haney is a UConn graduate and she has three sons who graduated from Windham High School.
Ms. Haney’s goal during her term is to enhance awareness of the strength of our diversity, the exceptional skills of our staff, the outstanding programs offered in our schools. Additionally, she strives to continue the transparency in passing budgets to obtain the resources our students require, and marketing our district to bring the students in our community to our schools, and raising the confidence of our parents and community members.
As a candidate for the Board of Education, I am committed to fostering an education system that prioritizes environmental sustainability, teacher retention, and equal access to quality instruction for all of our kids. With a background in teaching and public health, I bring a unique perspective on how schools can better support both academic and overall well-being. Together, we can create a system that’s sustainable and supportive of all students & teachers.
Public Health Specialist
Former Teacher
Believes in equal access to quality education for all
Supports sustainable and healthy buildings & practices in our schools and community
Catherine is a parent of three students at Windham Public Schools. Her connection to WPS began as a student teacher at North Windham School where she continued to teach and coach for the following 12 years. As a parent, she has been involved with the School Governance Councils at Windham Middle School and Windham High School, and supports schoolwide and athletic events. Currently a teacher in a different school district, she understands the inner workings of how schools function and is aware that different districts have their unique challenges.
She believes that WPS has many strengths anchored in its students, dedicated teachers and supportive parents. She looks to advocate for WPS to meet the needs of all students and continue successful programs, listen to concerns from the community, find ways to improve communication among stakeholders, and secure financial responsibility within the district to leverage the best outcomes.
35 years of higher education teaching experience
Worked in Windham High School for one year
BA from Eastern Connecticut and a Masters from Columbia University
Dedicated to improving the education of our students even in the face of fiscal constraints
Will work to help every student reach their potential