Cornwall Board of Education: A support letter becomes an issue

CORNWALL — What was meant as a benign show of support by the school board has turned into a profound debate, a procedural misstep and a special meeting called last week to clear the air and the record.

At a Sept. 21 regular meeting of the Cornwall Board of Education, a letter of support for the Region One Central Office staff, including the superintendent and assistant superintendent, was read by Tom Levine, who composed it at the request of the board. It was posed as a motion, but discussion that followed indicated it would not be a simple matter.

Phil Hart, who serves on both the local board and as its representative to the Region One Board of Education, objected to the communication for numerous reasons.

“We’ve been through some tough times,� he said, referring to the August resignations of the Housatonic Valley Regional High School principal and assistant principal.

“There are frayed edges here and there, and I really wouldn’t want to contribute to what appears to be choosing sides. It’s unclear to me why the board wants to inject itself into an issue involving personnel. I think it’s inappropriate.�

Hart said he agreed completely that the Cornwall board has received invaluable support from Central Office, but the timing, and the fact that the board has never expressed its appreciation in writing before, prevents such a letter from appearing as anything but a response to the current issues.

He suggested board members could write their own letters as individuals.

He also noted there is an ongoing investigation into issues at the high school that may have led to the resignations.

The Kent Board of Education has already submitted a letter of support.

The superintendent’s office oversees seven separate school districts and boards of education in Region One. Each town has its own elementary school board and all six share the high school board. The six towns are Cornwall, Kent, North Canaan, Falls Village, Sharon and Salisbury.

When the vote was called, Chair Becky Hurlburt and members Irene Hurlburt and Levine voted for sending the letter as written. Hart, Rachel Matsudaira and Wynne Kavanagh abstained. Kavanagh said she was influenced by Hart’s points. The motion was declared to have passed.

It later came to the board’s attention that the abstentions should have been nay votes, and the result a tie. A special meeting was called for Sept. 24. Becky Hurlburt told The Lakeville Journal that board members wanted to discuss the matter further and consider a new vote.

A revised letter was read at the Sept. 24 meeting, this one putting the vote of support into the context of the current issues.

Hart objected again, especially to the inclusion in the letter of specific names of people who are involved in the investigation.

“There is an ongoing inquiry, and you’re naming people involved in that inquiry. We can say we’re not taking sides, but we’re offering a statement that’s clearly one sided. I think it would be okay to do this after the inquiry is over,� he said, adding, “I respect you if you vote for it, but I hope you don’t vote for it.�

Levine said the letter was prompted by the unique circumstances and said that people are upset.

“Since no one really knows where this is going, it’s important to say this, just from Cornwall. I think it will give people some comfort.�

Becky Hurlburt said there is no point in writing individual letters. Speaking to previous matters where the board sought the guidance of Central Office, she said, “It had an effect on the board, not on me as an individual. We were guided as a board. I’m not comfortable writing a letter of my own.�

Put to a vote, the following statement was approved by a 4-to-1 vote, with Hart being the only dissenter (Kavanagh was unable to attend).

The letter is as follows:

“In recent weeks there has been a great deal of discussion in our community focused on the Region One Board of Education and personnel issues at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. The Cornwall Board of Education would like to make the following statement:

“It is not the intention of the Cornwall Board of Education to influence the Region One Board of Education with issues involving Housatonic Valley Regional High School. We are separate boards and do not take sides or leverage any weight in the proceedings of the regional Board of Education. As far as our relationship with the Region One Central Office is concerned, the Cornwall Board of Education has consistently found the Region One Central Office to be  helpful, supportive and cooperative in assisting the  Cornwall board and the Cornwall school in its efforts to create the best educational environment possible for the school children in our  community.

“The extensive experience of Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain, Assistant Superintendent Diane Goncalves and Business Manager Samuel Herrick has supplied Cornwall Consolidated with a level of dedication, knowledge and professional response that has served Cornwall well. We are confident that the Cornwall Board of Education’s relationship with the Central Office will continue as such in the future.�