Democrats Raul Rodriguez and Julie Montinieri were elected chairperson and vice chairperson respectively, in a 5-4 vote. The four Republican board members had unsuccessfully nominated John Cascio for chairperson.
In the Nov. 3 election, the Republicans' candidates drew the most votes for the Board of Education, but because two of the three current four-year board members who did not have to campaign this year (Rodriguez and Montinieri) are Democrats, their party still controls the board with a 5-4 majority.
"It's not about being chair of the school board, it's about doing the right thing," said Cascio, after losing the chairmanship vote. "I think the voters wanted a change." He added that he had hoped the Democrats would have acted more in a spirit of bipartisanship, not simply putting one of their own in charge "just because they can."
The Republicans fired off their own shot Tuesday night, by issuing a statement calling for an investigation of fellow board member Stacey Hodges, a Democrat who served as board chair until the recent election.
Board member Penny Stanziale issued the statement, which did not mention Hodges by name, accusing her of ignoring board policies, violating the town Ethics Code, misappropriating public funds, and breaking the public trust.
The statement also accuses the town Democrats of engaging in a "conspiracy of silence" and called on the Town Council to order an independent audit of the books, starting July 1, 2007.
"Republicans chose not to make this a campaign issue because a former student was involved," the statement continued.
After the meeting, Stanziale said the issue relates to Hodges, whom she referred to only as "a former chair," using town funds to pay for a summer school course so her daughter could graduate high school in 2008. "We have a policy that the cost of summer school is borne by the parents," said Stanziale.
"We're talking about between $300 and $500, not a huge amount but it's still public money," she added.
People have been coming forward to complain about this, she said, adding, the Democratic screening committee knew of this issue and "still put this person forward as a candidate."
Stanziale said there needs to be a proper investigation, and that she considers repayment of the money and resignation from the board to be appropriate responses if the council finds wrongdoing in the case.
Hodges could not be reached for comment in time for The Wethersfield Post's deadline this week.
Rodriguez said the Republicans made only vague references at the meeting that something had to be investigated but no one mentioned specifics. "I haven't seen anything specific. My take on it right now is it's just innuendo," he said.
If there is something to it, the board members have to be fair and impartial and not predisposed to judgment, he added.
Rodriguez said he wished the meeting had gone more smoothly but he really couldn't comment further on the allegation. He said he's more concerned with the teacher negotiations going on now and drawing up the budget for next year.