Suspended Superintendent Sues Stratford Board Of Education

STRATFORD, CT — Suspended Stratford Superintendent of Schools Uyi Osunde has filed a federal lawsuit against the Stratford Board of Education and its Republican members on claims of “race discrimination and retaliation.”

The lawsuit, filed in New Haven federal court by Attorney Todd Steigman of Hartford-based Madsen, Prestley & Parenteau, LLC, names board Chairperson Michael Henrick, Vice Chair Kristen Bedell, Secretary Sean Kennedy, and member William O'Brien as defendants.

Osunde accuses Henrick, and the other Republican board members, of “discriminatory and retaliatory” actions after he raised concerns that there was a “causal association between the Town decreasing its percentage of funding to the Stratford Public Schools and the increasing racial diversity of the students in the school district,” according to the complaint.

“Motivated by unlawful reasons, Defendants have abused their authority and kept Dr. Osunde on ‘administrative leave’ for months while they have wasted taxpayer funds pursuing a specious ‘investigation’ against Dr. Osunde,” Steigman wrote in the 31-page complaint.

The complaint claims that after Osunde raised concerns about the decreased percentage of funding to schools, multiple people reported to Osunde that Republican board members and town officials were upset with him because “they believed that he made the Republican Mayor, Laura Hoydick, ‘look bad.’”

In May 2022, Osunde learned that Stratford was the only town in the state to receive an exemption by the Connecticut General Assembly from the “obligation to comply with the Minimum Budget Requirement (MBR) that requires Connecticut towns to provide at least the amount of funding to the local school district that was provided in the previous year – absent the satisfaction of certain requirements,” according to the complaint.

The complaint states that Osunde was “shocked to learn about this Stratford-specific MBR exemption because he, as the Superintendent of Schools, and the Chair of the BoE at the time, had been excluded from discussions which led to this Stratford-specific MBR exemption being included in the legislation.”

Osunde was hired in March 2021 by a unanimous vote of the previous Board of Education. His contract was extended in August 2023 through June 2026 with the possibility of further extensions. That contract was approved, by a 4-3 vote, by the previous Board of Education before Republicans gained control by a 4-3 margin in the past November’s municipal election.

Osunde was placed on administrative leave after he was charged on Nov. 25 with second-degree breach of peace in New Haven in connection with a domestic incident. The charge was dismissed in February.

The Stratford Board Of Education then voted along party lines, with the 4-3 Republican majority authorizing attorneys to expand the scope of the investigation.

Steigman wrote in the complaint that if Osunde was “not a Black male, Defendants would have treated him differently and Plaintiff would not presently be on administrative leave and subject to an expanded investigation with no end in sight.”

In the lawsuit, Osunde is seeking a jury trial and immediate reinstatement as superintendent, along with compensatory and economic damages, “including, but not limited to, decreased earning potential, emotional distress, harm to reputation, and loss of enjoyment of life’s activities.”

Steigman said in addition to the federal court lawsuit, Osunde has filed claims of discrimination and retaliation with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.

See also: School Board Expands Investigation Into Suspended Stratford Superintendent