On his Web page, Lamont states, "I teach in a 50-year-old inner-city public school," referring to Harding.
In a July Connecticut Post article, Lamont said, "I'm a guy that started a business from scratch. I've been involved in education and technology. I teach at Harding."
And in advertisements running on radio and television, Lamont extols his time at Harding. Students who appear in the ads call him their "teacher," and urge him to run for the Senate.
Rival Senate candidate Joe Lieberman, a lifelong Democrat who is running as an independent after losing a primary battle to Lamont, is taking issue with Lamont's portrayal of himself as an inner-city schoolteacher, saying he's "misleading" the public.
The Lieberman campaign points out that Lamont is a multimillionaire from Greenwich who volunteered to help with a business class at Harding High School.
"The reality is Ned Lamont has trouble with the truth," said Dan Gerstein, Lieberman's communications director.
"Ned Lamont has loudly and widely trumpeted his credentials as an educator and in doing so has unequivocally given people the impression that he is currently a teacher in the Bridgeport public schools. Since Mr. Lamont is touting this credential, there are legitimate questions," Gerstein said.
"He has distorted Lieberman's
The Lamont camp said Lieberman's complaints are nonsense.
"By any measure you apply, Ned was a teacher to those kids," said Liz Dupont-Diehl, a spokeswoman for the Lamont campaign.
"This is a sad attempt by Senator Lieberman to divert attention from his failure to represent the people of Connecticut and hold the Bush administration responsible for a badly managed war," Dupont-Diehl said.
The facts surrounding the issue are clear. During the 2004-05 school year, Lamont served as a volunteer teacher at Harding. He helped a certified teacher lead two classes on how to start a business and brought in outside experts to bolster the course.
Hector Sanchez, Harding's principal, said Lamont helped teach once a week, on Mondays, for two periods, which amounts to 1.5 hours for the day. The effort lasted the school year, Sanchez said.
In 2005-06, Lamont volunteered to help teach a similar class at Bassick High School. Lamont's campaign staff said he has done some teaching this year, but admitted that effort has been occasional.
So does that give Lamont a right to portray himself as a teacher?
"That's stretching it," said Sanchez, who said he admires Lamont's commitment to his school.
"He's not a certified teacher. It was as a volunteer. He arrived once a week for two periods every Monday. He partnered with the certified teacher. I can vouch for him coming here," Sanchez said.
Sanchez said that not many people volunteer as much time at Harding as Lamont has.
"I have people who come in," he said. "But to do it for the whole school year, I don't have anyone that gives that type of commitment."
The teaching effort began after Lamont served as a "principal for a day," he said. Lamont asked what else he could do to help, Sanchez said, and the volunteer assignment grew from there.
Dupont-Diehl said Lamont uses the term "teacher" in a conversational way, not a technical one.
"His is using 'teach' in a common-sense version. He has never claimed to be a certified teacher. But he has been endorsed by Connecticut's two teacher unions," she said.
"There has never been any inconsistency in how he describes it. He is a teacher. He stands up in front of a class. It's too bad Lieberman does not have similar volunteer activities. I think that's significant," Dupont-Diehl said.
Gerstein said Lamont should explain his activities more accurately, and contends that many across the state have been led to believe that he's an inner-city teacher.
"He says he was a teacher. But there are reasonable questions and voters have the right to know the answers," Gerstein said.
Gerstein said Lamont often changes his position on issues. "We count eight different positions on the critical questions of how to end the war."
Dupont-Diehl challenged the Lieberman camp to prove those alleged position changes. "Lieberman considers it a negative attack when we talk about his performance as a senator," she said. Bill Cummings, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6230.
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