Selectmen Vote For 'Temporary Restraining Order' Against Greenwich Board Of Education

GREENWICH, CT — The saga between the Greenwich Board of Selectmen and the Greenwich Board of Education took another turn on Tuesday, as the selectmen voted 2-1 in a special meeting to file a complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order challenging the legality of town Board of Education meetings since Oct. 21.

On consecutive days in October, both boards voted to appoint their own candidates to fill a Republican school board vacancy. The Board of Education voted 4-1 to appoint Jennifer Behette, a former educator, and the selectmen in a special meeting the following day voted 2-1 to appoint Paul Cappiali, the town's harbormaster.

Both sides have since accused each other of power grabs and illegal maneuvers, and the Board of Education has hired counsel.

On Oct. 30, the Board of Selectmen voted 2-1 to file a complaint with the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission challenging the legality of the school board's emergency meeting on Oct. 21 in which Behette was appointed and a subsequent special meeting on Oct. 23.

However, attempts to get an expedited ruling from the commission have failed and the commission indicated it would take a couple of months to reach a conclusion, Camillo said Tuesday, which necessitated this latest step.

"Due to the fact that the Democrats on the Board of Education have ignored their own bylaws, which we can point to, they've ignored state law and Board of Education precedent, we have no other choice than to ask our counsel to seek injunctive relief in court," Camillo said Tuesday. "We cannot let this go on that long. Lots of other entities are watching this and are concerned that if something like this is left to stand and procedures, precedent and law are not followed, then what are we doing?"

Attorney Ben Bianco from Meister Seelig & Fein PLLC, who is representing Greenwich in the matter, said Tuesday that he still has to work with the town on the filing, but the legal step "in aid of the FOIA Commission complaint" could "put the board back in order" and back to "status quo" and the way it was before Oct. 21, meaning neither Behette or Cappiali would be seated on the board and there would be a vacancy.

"What this means is we would ask a court to enjoin certain members of the board from taking certain conduct, i.e. seating members that are not proper members, from not seating members that are proper members, in order to put the board back where it should be in the town's opinion with respect to the conduct that took place on Oct. 21 of this year, and further after that, at meetings where there were no quorums based on certain members not actually being members yet forming a quorum," Bianco explained.

Bianco added the measure would preserve the board as it was and the town would "not have to unwind months and months worth of votes and some critically important votes" if the FOI Commission finds the Oct. 21 meeting was illegal.

Selectperson Janet Stone McGuigan, a Democrat, voted against the measure on Tuesday night, while Republicans Camillo and Selectperson Lauren Rabin voted in favor.

"I will not support any legal action against our Board of Education. It's not in the interest of Greenwich Public Schools or our taxpayers to engage in an expensive, protracted legal battle solely for the purpose of installing your preferred board of education candidate," Stone McGuigan said. "This legal action is unnecessary. A complaint has already been filed with the FOI Commission. Now that the Board of Selectmen has embarked on this path, we need to let that process play out or dismiss the complaint."

Camillo responded by saying school board Democrats are to blame.

"They picked a fight, and we're not going to ignore the state law, and we're not going to allow that," Camillo said. "The Board of Selectmen is actually defending the town of Greenwich and I will take that position all day long. We are right."

On Oct. 21, the Greenwich Board of Education held what it called an emergency meeting to appoint Behette to fill a months-long vacancy that was left by Republican Chair Karen Kowalski, who resigned in July. Greenwich Time has reported that Bianco is married to Kowalski.

Karen Hirsh, a Democrat who was acting chair at the time, said the emergency meeting was called so the new board member had time to review budget documents ahead of a capital budget vote on Oct. 24. A meeting to fill the vacancy was previously scheduled on Oct. 23.

Republican school board member Michael-Joseph Mercanti-Anthony objected to Behette, saying she was the one candidate of the six in consideration his fellow Republicans didn't want to work with.

The emergency meeting, however, was called after the Board of Selectmen scheduled a special meeting on Oct. 22 to discuss and vote on filling the vacancy themselves. At that meeting, the selectmen voted to appoint Cappiali.

Camillo has argued that the emergency meeting on Oct. 21 was illegal since it was not noticed within 24 hours and did not constitute a true emergency, and therefore the vote to appoint Behette was invalid. He has stated that the Board of Selectmen is statutorily permitted to take action if a vacancy is not filled within 30 days.

Board Democrats have said Camillo's "attempt at a blatant power grab ignores the legal autonomy of the Board of Education," an entity of the state.

Camillo has said Behette's appointment was an attempt to gain a Democratic chairmanship.

"We are not the one who ignored precedent. I don't remember in a town entity one party ignoring the wishes of the other. The one objectionable one is the one they put in there, and for what? The chairman doesn't even have a tiebreaking vote," Camillo said Tuesday.

Last week, the school board elected its officers for the new term. Hirsh was elected as chair, Behette was tapped as vice chair and Laura Kostin, a Democrat, was chosen as secretary.

All four Democrats voted for Hirsh to become chair, while three Republicans voted for Mercanti-Anthony. Behette abstained.

Cappiali was in attendance and sitting next to Republican member Wendy Vizzo Walsh for the meeting, but he was not recognized by Hirsh as a member and he was told to log in as an attendee.

Hirsh issued a statement to Patch on Tuesday evening following the Board of Selectmen's vote.

"At the Board of Selectmen's meeting tonight, the First Selectman made unfounded accusations regarding Board of Education actions in following proper procedure and precedent. We are the Board of Ed, not the Board of Fred, and were elected to work for the children, parents, and residents of this school district, not the First Selectman. We remind the public that this conflict began when Fred Camillo attempted to undermine the Board of Education's authority to fill a vacancy," Hirsh said.

"The BOE followed an intentional and transparent process to fill that vacancy. Fred Camillo chose to intervene, even though the BOE already had a date scheduled to take action, ignoring the BOS process for filling vacancies, with a power grab intended to seat an ally. When his first effort failed, First Selectman Camillo hired outside counsel and filed a complaint in Hartford. Instead of waiting for a ruling from the FOI Commission, he has decided to take further legal action, forcing the taxpayers in Greenwich to continue to fund a petty, partisan grievance," Hirsh continued.

"First Selectman Camillo picked this fight, and tonight’s escalation diverts even more time and money away from our mission of educating our students. The people of Greenwich deserve better from their First Selectman."