Former Suffield Superintendent Resigns in Ridgefield

RIDGEFIELD, CT — The Ridgefield Board of Education has authorized its chairperson to enter into a resignation agreement with Superintendent of Schools Karen Baldwin.

Baldwin was recently placed on paid administrative leave after allegations of plagiarism surfaced, after portions of a letter she sent to the school community after the Parkland, Fla. shooting turned out to be wording from a letter sent by West Hartford's superintendent.

A Ridgefield High School senior brought the allegations against Baldwin to light, along with three other documents that appear to be copied without attribution.

Baldwin came to Ridgefield in July 2015 after a brief stint as Suffield's top school administrator, a post she assumed in Aug. 2011.

The latter part of her Suffield tenure was marred by the sudden resignations of four of nine school board members, and she was relieved of her duties at a Dec. 16, 2014 meeting of the Suffield Board of Education, despite having given notice that she would be resigning June 30 of the following year.

Patch Editor Rich Scinto contributed to this story.

File photo credit: Suffield Public Schools