The Hampton Elementary School Board of Education voted 5-3 at its 10/23 meeting to conduct an investigation into allegations raised against a board member. There were many residents in attendance, drawn to the last few meetings presumably, based on their remarks, due to agenda items “pertaining to the conduct of a board member”. However, their questions went unanswered when the board entered a closed executive session, as the public discussion was limited to only the motion, made by Dennis Timberman and seconded by Mark Becker, “to authorize the Board Chair person in consultation with the Board’s legal counsel to retain the services of a third party to investigate the complaint made against a Board Member.”
Although the minutes fail to reflect his request, Juan Arriola, the member whose conduct is in question, was denied an open executive session by Chairman Rose Bisson because of “attorney-client privilege”. Arriola has filed a complaint with the Freedom of Information (FOI) Commission regarding this decision, asserting his right to a public session for the portion of the executive session that discussed “the conduct of a board member”. The statute governing executive sessions provides that the individual “may require that discussion be held at an open meeting”.
This will be the fourth complaint regarding executive sessions filed this year. The first, alleging that the session was improperly noticed, was resolved in the complainant’s favor through the commission’s ombudsman program. The second was decided in favor of Board members Arriola, Diane Gagnon, and John Russell who objected to the former Superintendent’s presence during an executive session. The third complaint filed was the result of an executive session last month called “to discuss an attorney-client privileged communication related to an employee”, however, the “client”, Arriola alleged in his complaint, was former school Principal Patrice Merendina, not the Board of Education. That complaint has yet to be resolved.
The conduct to be investigated stems from Arriola’s “involvement” in a discrimination grievance filed by former custodian Armin Harris alleging that school administrators failed to follow policies related to an incident that occurred at the school in September of 2023. Harris, who has since resigned, has also filed a complaint with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). In a letter dated 9/19/24 addressed to Bisson and Becker, Merendina’s attorney claimed that “Arriola used his position as a Board of Education member” to “publicly disclose information he obtained”. The six-page correspondence was distributed on 9/20 to all of the school board members, except Arriola, who obtained it on 9/28 via a FOI request.
The complaint alleges that Arriola’s attempt to attend a meeting between Harris, Merendina, and Superintendent Skarzinski on 6/21 was improper, and was ultimately cancelled. However, a CHRO representative has independently confirmed that Arriola did so at their suggestion. It also alleges that Arriola inappropriately distributed Harris’ letter of resignation to members at the 7/26 meeting of the school board, where letters of resignation are normally received. Though the complaint accuses Arriola of “passing out a copy to the press”, Harris himself sent his letter to the CHRO, the NAACP, the First Selectman, an attorney, and the newspaper.
The complaint also alleges that Arriola breached state and federal law when he “disclosed information that he obtained based on his position as a Board of Education member to the public and to the media”. Most of the complaint centers around the “substantial damage and injury to Ms. Merendina’s professional and personal reputation” due to an article published in the Willimantic Chronicle on 9/10. The article reported a communication from former Superintendent Sarli stating that the investigation into Harris’ discrimination grievance concluded that Merendina engaged in certain “inappropriate conduct”. Merendina accused Arriola of providing the Willimantic Chronicle with all of the information, however the reporter has confirmed in writing that she had no contact with Arriola regarding the matter.
Most of the parents attending the meeting were focused on why Merendina resigned, blaming multiple culprits, including the Superintendent, the school board at large, one member in particular, and the Willimantic Chronicle. Merendina’s letter to parents stated “In order to reach my professional goals, it is necessary for me to accept the position of Coordinator of State Initiatives” with Norwich Public Schools. Superintendent Skarzynski confirmed the same at the meeting of 9/26 when the board voted to accept her resignation. One parent lamented that her child no longer wants to come to school for fear another staff member might leave. Another parent announced that Merendina would be willing to return to the school if “some things happen”, but didn’t identify what those things were.
Concerns about the reasons for Merendina’s departure were not the only complaints. One parent criticized the school for failing to deal with instances of bullying, another claimed the school has become “unwelcoming” to the extent that she’s considering the removal of her children from the school. She listed as examples the new procedures for dropping off and picking up students curbside rather than in the school, the necessity of making an appointment in order to enter the building, and new procedures which require parents to get fingerprinted in order to volunteer in their child’s classroom, or chaperone field trips. All of these practices were implemented by Merendina, not current Interim Principal Vikki Smith, who also serves as the school’s Special Education Director.
Despite citizens’ descriptions of the board as “dysfunctional” and worse, the administration reported positive steps on some important matters. The school will be employing an additional teacher to assist with the students in the first and second grade class which has 25 students, a measure supported by parents and staff. The Superintendent will be amending the volunteer procedures so that fingerprinting will not be required when parents are supervised by a teacher. It was also decided that parents will be alerted in the event that the police are called to the school to address any incident. And the school is negotiating a contract with a former, retired custodian who will assist the custodian who replaced Harris with procedures to deal with the day-to-day operations of the school.
Kathi Newcombe