Enfield Board of Education Member Resigns In Midterm

ENFIELD, CT — Chris Rutledge, in his middle of his second term as a member of the Enfield Board of Education, resigned his position at the conclusion of Tuesday's virtual meeting.

In an interview with Patch following the meeting, Rutledge, the 2018 Enfield Republican of the Year, said he "had been contemplating stepping down for quite a long time, but put it off in order to accomplish several things."

First elected to the school board in 2017, Rutledge had been the current chair of the policy committee, and of late had been a strong vocal advocate for inclusion of public comments in meetings, even those designated as "special meetings."

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in late winter, all regular meetings of the school board and its subcommittees have been called "special meetings," excluding public commentary. The Enfield Town Council has followed the same procedure, effectively silencing residents.

Rutledge expressed disappointment at the refusal of Board of Education chairman Walter Kruzel and mayor Mike Ludwick to incorporate modern technology into the ever-changing landscape of town government.

"This pandemic provided our leaders the opportunity to lead with the use of this virtual meeting technology," he said. "Unfortunately they did not take advantage of that. This could be the new normal. Towns all across the area are adopting this - West Hartford, Somers, Suffield are allowing use of this technology. Enfield is in the minority."

At a policy committee virtual meeting Monday night, Rutledge advocated for advancement in the communication lines, with Kruzel adamantly stating his opposition.

Kruzel demeaningly stated, "I am not for this policy. I think it's opening a can of worms that we're just going to have couch potatoes coming to our meetings in the future."

After nearly 40 minutes of discussion, committee member Scott Ryder stated his belief that public commentary should be allowed, but ultimately voted with Kruzel to table the matter until the next subcommittee meeting.

"When you're an elected official, it's your responsibility to listen to your constituents, even if they didn't vote for you," Rutledge told Patch.

Following his resignation, Rutledge stressed his decision to step down "is not reacting to last night's policy meeting," but rather, "this is the right time for me to step away."

"I plan on staying involved in town activities, and I wish all the board members the best of luck," he said.

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