Enfield School Board Rejects Public Hearing Request Over Chair

ENFIELD, CT — A public hearing request submitted along with a petition calling for the resignation of Board of Education chairman Walter Kruzel was rejected by the school board during a virtual meeting Tuesday night.

The request for the hearing came from Voices For Enfield, a certified third party which began calling for Kruzel to step down in late August. A petition initiated on change.org, citing the chairman's "long history of demonstrating a lack of engagement with other board members as well as the Enfield residents," garnered over 550 signatures, and was subsequently submitted to town and school officials.

Following verification of signatures by the town clerk's office, an email was sent to all board members on Sept. 10, requesting a public hearing on the matter. Citing Section 10-238 of the Connecticut General Statutes, the request, signed by Voices For Enfield chair Gina Sullivan and vice chair Marcy Taliceo, asking for the hearing to take place within three weeks of receipt of the petition.

Early in Tuesday's meeting, the board went into executive session for 96 minutes to discuss the petition under "Discussion of Attorney Client Privilege Communication," according to the agenda. When the public meeting resumed, Kruzel recused himself from discussion, and vice chair Wendy Costa made a motion to deny the request.

"The petition requests an individual member of the board resign from the board, which is a matter resting solely on the discretion of that individual board member, and over which the board does not have authority or control," Costa said.

In a roll call vote, board members Joyce Hall, Bill Salazar, Stacy Thurston, John Unghire and Costa voted in favor of the motion to deny the public hearing request. Tina LeBlanc and Scott Ryder were opposed to the motion, while Jon LeBlanc abstained. The subject was not brought up again during board member comments.

To register for free Enfield news alerts and more, click here.