
This December 2019 photo shows an Ansonia police officer talking to school board attorney Frederick Dorsey, who called police claiming Mayor David Cassetti disrupted a meeting.
ANSONIA — Members of the city’s Board of Aldermen have the exclusive authority to fill vacancies on the Ansonia Board of Education, according to a court settlement approved by a judge Thursday.
The judge’s May 12 order approving the settlement brings an end to a lawsuit filed in 2020 by the City of Ansonia and the Ansonia Board of Education against each other. The lawsuit was over which elected body has the power to fill vacancies on the school board.
The debate started in 2019, when a member of the school board (Joseph Jeanette) vacated his seat after being elected to the Ansonia Board of Aldermen.
The school board voted to appoint Phil Tripp to fill the vacancy.
However, a few hours later on the same day, the majority of the Board of Aldermen voted to appoint Bobbi Tar to fill the vacancy.
At the time, members of the school board said filling the vacancy was their responsibility.
Mayor David Cassetti’s administration said the Ansonia City Charter says filling the vacancy is the Aldermen’s responsibility.
The situation spilled over during a public meeting in December 2019, during which both Tripp and Tar took seats on the school board during a meeting. During that meeting a lawyer for the school board called police, saying Mayor Casssetti was being disruptive by presiding over the meeting. The Cassetti administration said the mayor was simply doing his job as described in the Ansonia City Charter, and the police took no action.
During a court appearance regarding the lawsuit in January, Judge Arthur Hiller urged the two sides to bring an end to the litigation, noting the initial dispute was stale. The judge hinted the lawsuit was wasting the court’s time.
“How much do they want to spend out of your teachers’ salaries to keep playing around with this?” Judge Hiller asked Ansonia Corporation Counsel John Marini and school board lawyer Joseph McQuaid in January. “I don’t mind you guys earning a living, but it doesn’t sound like a good way to spend money.“
The settlement approved by the court Thursday was filed by Marini on April 21. The settlement specifically says the city was correct in its interpretation of relevant law — not the school board.
” … the Ansonia Board of Aldermen is the proper and exclusive authority responsible for filling vacancies on the Ansonia Board or Education pursuant to the Ansonia City Charter,” according to the stipulation approved by both parties in the litigation.
Marini noted the lawsuit stems from the time period during which “Team Cassetti” routinely butted heads with the school board and former district leaders.
Things have changed, Marini noted in a written comment.
“The City of Ansonia is appreciative to the current Board of Education for agreeing to the Stipulation. Fortunately, we have a new Board of Education and school administration that are willing to work with the City,” he said.
Marini noted although the city is listed as the plaintiff, in truth the two sides were suing each other over the matter and that the city was listed as plaintiff upon an agreement of the two parties.
