New School Board Chairperson, Vice Chairman Selected In Enfield

ENFIELD, CT — After wresting the majority on the Enfield Board of Education in this month's municipal election after two years under Democratic leadership, Republican school board members selected a new chair and vice chair at Tuesday's organizational meeting. One appointment passed unanimously, while the other met with expressions of disapproval by Democratic members after passing by a 5-4 party line vote.

Charlotte Riley, the top vote-getter among Republican school board candidates, was unanimously elected chair. She was originally appointed to fill a vacancy on the board in 2017, then won a seat in that year's election and was appointed vice chair. In 2019, she opted to run for the District 4 town council seat, winning a two-year term, but was defeated in her re-election effort in 2021 by Democratic newcomer Nick Hopkins.

A group Medicare underwriter at Aetna, Riley, 45, said her hope is for politics to be rendered insignificant in favor of focusing on the school system's needs.

"It's my hope that after tonight, all of us can put personal politics aside and join the dedicated staff, parents and children of Enfield Public Schools to ensure that all - each and every single child - gets a fair shake at a quality education that meets their needs," she said. "I firmly believe that we can move the scale together and show the state of Connecticut that Enfield Public Schools can be their next rising star."

Democrat Scott Ryder, who had been vice chair the past two years, was unanimously elected board secretary.

Retired middle school social studies teacher Peter Jonaitis, who served six years on the board from 2011 through 2017, was elected vice chair. During board member comments, several Democrats did not mince words while voicing their displeasure with the Republicans' choice of the outspoken, often critical candidate. He has participated in numerous public communications sessions at meetings since stepping down, speaking his mind whether or not it goes along with popular opinion.

Democrat Amanda Pickett explained her rationale for voting against Jonaitis' appointment by saying, "My reason is not rooted in political drama, but from deep care for our students and our staff. It's appalling to me that the majority would select Mr. Jonaitis as their vice chair nomination. Mr. Jonaitis has come here over the last two years and made disparaging and ignorant comments about students with special needs. He has made disgraceful comments on social media about our staff and our district ... there are documented emails on countless occasions when he's been rude and disrespectful to women, in particular my respected colleague, [former chair] Tina LeBlanc. To top it off, he has a documented history of harmful behavior as a teacher. I cannot stand by this nomination, and furthermore, I am concerned about his unpredictable and rude presence in our school buildings and around our students."

LeBlanc said, "Mr. Jonaitis participated in a dangerous and harmful brigade against our school district regarding masks and a school assignment. His participation in the chaos is documented at the board meetings with video, through FOI requests and social media posts. This brought political heat and fear into council chambers and into our homes ... I am not saying there is a refusal to work with Peter and the majority party. Based on what I stated, I can't support Peter in a leadership role. I understand that people voted for him, and I respect the voting process and he is on the Board of Education. However, people voted for me too."

As the final speaker before adjournment, Jonaitis said, "I realize there are people who aren't happy to see me back on the Board of Education - we'll call them group A. I also know there were a lot more people who were glad to see me back up on the board - we'll call them group B. I personally come down on the side of group A. I'm 76 years old, I proudly taught in the Enfield Public Schools for 38 years. I took kids all over Europe, even to the Soviet Union, traveled as far as New Zealand and Australia. I served three terms on the Board of Education. I felt I did my civic duty and walked away. Being back here is the last thing I wanted to do. I thoroughly enjoyed not having to wake up to the sound of an alarm clock or being able to stay up until the wee hours of the night ... unfortunately, I feel there are a lot of changes that need to take place on the Board of Education. I hope I can help facilitate some of these changes in a positive manner that will be in the best interests of our students and parents."