ANSONIA — An attorney for the school board called the police during a meeting in Ansonia City Hall Friday evening, saying Mayor David Mayor Cassetti was being obstructive.
No complaint was lodged after an officer arrived.
Immediately after the meeting Cassetti met in his office with corporation counsel John Marini. Sheila O’Malley, the city’s economic development director, said the mayor was not disruptive and was simply doing his job as outlined in the city charter.
The school board lawyer can be seen talking to an officer in the video posted below.
Not A Typical Meeting
The incident happened after Cassetti, citing the City Charter, called a meeting of the newly-elected school board to come to order so that the school board could elect a president, vice president and secretary.
The entirety of the meeting — actually two meetings — is posted at the top of this story (NOTE: The comments heard off camera are from an audience member, not from The Valley Indy reporter operating the camera).
As the mayor called the meeting to order, Fran DiGiorgi, the school board vice-president, said he could not do so. The mayor asked people to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, a few seconds after DiGiorgi had asked people to stand up.
Cassetti, citing the city charter, then took a roll call of school board members present.
Frederick Dorsey, the school board’s attorney, stepped in.
“You don’t have the authority to do that,” Dorsey said.
Cassetti proceeded to take attendance. Dorsey said if the mayor did not stop he would have to be “sent away.”
Cassetti proceeded, and Dorsey took out his cell phone.
An Ansonia police officer talks to school board attorney Frederick Dorsey Friday evening in Ansonia City Hall.
What’s Going On Here?
The heart of Friday’s dispute revolves around who had the authority to fill a vacancy on the school board created after school board member Joseph Jeanette Jr., a Democrat, was elected to the Ansonia Board of Aldermen Nov. 5.
At a 4 p.m. meeting Nov. 22, the school board voted 4 – 1 (with one abstention) to appoint Phil Tripp, a Democrat, to fill Jeanette’s vacant seat. Click here to read the meeting minutes.
At a 6 p.m. meeting Nov. 22, the Ansonia Board of Aldermen voted 9 – 0 (with four members absent and one seat vacant) to appoint Bobbi Tar, who ran unsuccessfully on the Republican line for an Aldermen seat Nov. 5. Click here to read the meeting minutes.
The Cassetti administration says it’s the Aldermen’s right to fill a vacancy on the school board.
The following is from The Connecticut Post, the publication that first reported the dispute Nov. 25:
The power struggle appears to be in part due to the existence of state statute that gives local school boards the authority to fill a vacancy, although the statute defers to local charters if the rules presented in those are different.
The Ansonia City Charter, meanwhile, gives the Board of Aldermen that responsibility, although in at least two instances over the past two years, the aldermen have ceded that authority to the school board.
It’s also important to note that the membership of the school board changed Wednesday night (Dec. 5) when two new Republicans were elected: Sharon Voroschak and Rich Bshara.
Back To The Meeting
At Friday’s school board meeting, both Tripp and Tar took seats at the table.
Mayor Cassetti proceeded with the meeting, asking the school board if they had a candidate to be voted president of the school board.
Dorsey said the meeting was not proceeding.
Either Varoschak or Tracey DeLibero (it was hard to hear and a podium partially obstructed the view) nominated Bshara for school board president. Bshara did not attend but was apparently on speaker phone.
Dorsey said only the chair of the meeting could accept nominations. DiGiorgi, the school board vice-president, told the mayor she was the vice-chair of the meeting at that nominations were not being accepted.
Dorsey then said he could call the police and ask them to restore order.
Bshara was then voted school board president. It did not appear that DiGiorgi, Christopher Phipps, Phil Tripp or Vincent Scarlata cast votes.
A roll call vote was not taken.
The process was repeated to fill the roles of school board vice president, and secretary.
Dorsey contacted police during the first vote.
The Cassetti-led meeting adjourned after about 3 minutes and 20 seconds.
After Cassetti left the room, Dorsey said the meeting could proceed.
“The interruption is now gone,” he said.
At that point, Voroschak, DeLibero, and Tar left the meeting table.
A meeting essentially started over, with Dorsey asking Phipps to call the roll. Phipps, DiGiorgi, Tripp and Scarlata participated in that meeting.
That group elected DiGiorgi board president. Phipps was elected vice-president (as he was when Cassetti led the meeting). Scarlata was elected secretary (the Cassetti-led meeting voted Tar as secretary).
After The Meeting
Immediately after the meeting, Dorsey told reporters the Cassetti administration did not have the authority to appoint Tar to the school board because when they took the action the school board had already appointed Tripp.
“That vacancy was filled,” he said.
The school board is scheduled to meet again Dec. 11. Dorsey said there will be an executive session meeting to discuss strategy. An appeal to the state education department is possible, as is a lawsuit.
In a post in an Ansonia Facebook community page, school board member Scarlata said the charter gives the mayor the right to call a meeting, but not to run the school board’s meeting.
Police Arrive
A police officer arrived in the meeting room as Dorsey talked to reporters. Dorsey explained to the officer that he did not wish to pursue the matter, that the mayor had left, and he thanked the officer for his time. See the video above.
Downstairs in a hallway, a police officer reviewed a recording of the meeting while Cassetti met in his office with the corporation counsel.
O’Malley spoke to waiting reporters. She said she did not understand why Dorsey called the police.
“We held a meeting pursuant to the charter. We followed the charter. We held an organizational meeting. We had elections of officers, and that’s it. There wasn’t any dispute. There wasn’t any altercation or conflict, so I don’t know why the police were called,” she said. “Everyone here had a right to be in the building. That might have been a little bit excessive.”
O’Malley also said the meeting held after Cassetti left the room is illegal under state open government laws because it had not been noticed.
