Fairfield School Board Member Requests Records After Principal Accidentally Emails Staff Party Bill to Parents

In light of a $529.25 invoice that an elementary school principal inadvertently emailed to parents showing expenditures for a staff celebration that included appetizers, alcohol and ice, a Fairfield Board of Education member is requesting internal check registers at each of the town’s public schools over the past two years, according to the Fairfield Citizen.

The Citizen reports that board member John Llewellyn made his request to ensure more transparency and that it wasn’t about “a single event.”

However, the event that triggered the request stems from an incident last September when Riverfield School Principal Brenda Anziano accidentally emailed parents an invoice from Christie’s Country Store in Westport.

The invoice, which was addressed to “Brenda Anziano Riverfield School,” included the following items: 55 “Deluxe App” totaling $350, “1 case sam, 6 amstel, 1 case bud, 5 chardonnay, 4 pinot grigio” totaling $141.75, and 15 bags of ice totaling $37.50, according to the Citizen, which also reported that next to “sales tax,” the invoice says “exempt.”

Anziano quickly emailed parents to apologize for sending the invoice and said it was “for a staff celebration sponsored by the Riverfield Teacher Sunshine Committee and me.”

She also said the following, via the Citizen:

“One of our teachers hosted us at her home in appreciation of everyone’s hard work and in celebration of our return to school. Please know that no school or district funds were used to purchase adult beverages.”

The board discussed Llewellyn’s request late into Tuesday night and reached the 11:20 p.m. curfew before a vote was taken and the matter is expected to be discussed again at an upcoming meeting, according to the Citizen.

Read the full story at the Fairfield Citizen here.

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