NEWINGTON - The Newington Board of Education (BOE) reiterated support for its Chair and district Superintendent --the targets of a Town Councilor’s call for their resignation -- formalizing it in a November 16 resolution.

       The resolution, which was brought to the meeting agenda by BOE member Michael Branda, passed with 6 yes votes and 2 abstentions, and 1 recusal.

       It was an answer, Branda said, to statements made by Councilor and Republican Town Committee Vice Chair Michael Camillo in an October 25 Council meeting -- Camillo made a slew of accusations regarding the district’s academic performance and fiscal management, likened a Newington Public Schools (NPS)/Town of Newington/Chamber of Commerce-circulated equity and inclusion survey to “indoctrination”, and demanded that BOE Chair Dr. Bruce Fletcher and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Maureen Brummett step down.

       “Some of the accusations and the statements were obviously unfounded, and there were a lot of facts that defended Dr. Brummett and Dr. Fletcher. I think it’s important for the Board to go on the record and say that they support Dr. Brummett and Dr. Fletcher in their roles,” Branda told the Board. “Board of Ed. vs. town has been the rivalry of the decade, and I think these are the types of instances that got us to this point. It’s important that we as a body not only support our two leaders, but make it known to the Town Council that we are dissatisfied with the comments and hope that they don’t share the same view.”

       At its November 2 meeting, the Board devoted over an hour to addressing Camillo’s comments. While all BOE attendees threw Brummett and Fletcher their support, no formal action was taken.

       During that discussion, Brummett and the Board repudiated claims that Newington High School (NHS) was graduating high honors students that “can’t read, write, or do arithmetic” and denied the indoctrination allegations -- the survey, they said, was to measure how the district is doing with efforts to meet the learning needs of an increasingly diverse student population.

       “We are elected officials. We are expected to set examples for the students. We don’t condone bullying,” BOE member Amy Perrotti said during the November 16 meeting. “There were statements made in public that put down NPS, and they were false. We had to refute them in public.”

       The next day, Camillo stood by his earlier statements.

       “I’m not a bully. I had an opinion and facts,” Camillo said. “They [Brummett and Fletcher] need to resign. I’m not going away.”

       When pressed for which allegations he was referring to (Camillo made several on October 25), the Councilor said he could prove all of them.

       “Everything. Nothing I said is false,” Camillo said.

       Camillo’s earlier comments mention test scores, though he didn’t name a specific assessment -- on or after the October 25 Council meeting.

       At the Board’s November 16 meeting, Brummett -- as part of a separate agenda item for setting district goals -- presented the most recent Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) test data, which measures the percentage of students performing at levels 3 or 4 in subject areas like English/Language Arts (ELA) and math.

       In 2017, 54% of NPS students met that benchmark in ELA -- a deadlock with statewide level 3 and 4 attainment rates for that time. The district surged ahead, to 60% (compared to the state’s 55%) the next year, before dipping to 56% in 2018-2019.

       In 2020, 50% of Newington students hit levels 3 or 4 -- there’s no state data for that year because SBAC tests were suspended due to the pandemic’s learning disruptions.

       For the 2021-2022 academic year, 52% of SBAC scores landed at levels 3 or 4 -- versus 49% for the state.

       “These numbers are promising,” Brummett said. “What you see in Newington is very typical for the state. We’re coming back strong, but not quite where we were at, and we are above the state average.”

       In math, the district exceeded statewide performance for each of the three years before the pandemic, dropping from 53% to 37% between 2019 and 2020. The 2021-2022 data shows a rebound -- with 44% of students at level 3 or 4, compared to the statewide 40%.

       “We are higher than the state, but obviously we aspire to be higher than 44% for those performing at level 3 and 4,” the Superintendent said.

       When presented with a general summary of the district’s reported test score trend, Camillo said his concerns derive from conversations with parents.

       “I’m dealing with individuals, not your test scores, because they can be skewed. They can give you whatever you want to them to,” Camillo said.

       He asked what the district is doing to help struggling students -- something Brummett addressed head-on in the November 16 discussions.

       A prevailing in-district “achievement gap” between White and minority students in the district -- a reflection of long-standing statewide trends -- underscores the need for NPS’s equity-driven work, she said.

       While nearly 75% of White students in Grades K-8 reached proficiency in reading, numbers were lower for their Black and Hispanic peers, according to the NPS data.

       In math, around 50% of Black students were proficient -- less than half of Hispanic students hit the benchmark. About 70% of White students attained proficiency in that subject area.

       “We want to have the achievement and opportunity gap eliminated,” she said. “We want all of our students to do well.”

       Brummett says that will mean establishing “equity teams” at each school and implementing “culturally responsive” teaching practices.

       The latter is an approach that, according to EdWeek.org, aims to raise the academic expectations of all students, regardless of race, by recognizing “cultural differences” as “assets”, rather than “barriers” -- an attempt to combat implicit bias and stereotyping that have undermined students of color in the classroom, advocates of the approach say.

       One example of culturally responsive teaching, EdWeek.org writes, is to make lessons more relatable to students by framing concepts with their culture and “lived experiences”.

       “We believe when kids are not doing well, one way that can be helped is by being responsive to the different cultures in the room,” Brummett said.

       The district’s plans also include “leadership academy” after school programs -- a more positive approach to your typical “remedial” course, the Superintendent said.

       Camillo thinks the district is trying to do so much -- he says educators should just focus on “the basics”.

       “They’re into their personal lives, and they don’t belong there,” Camillo said. “They’re indoctrinating our kids and it has to stop. It’s easier to throw money at a problem than to fix the problem. Money isn’t working. The people you’re already hiring aren’t doing the job, or it’s your curriculum.”

       On October 25, the Councilor charged that the district “is robbing Newington taxpayers in the name of children”.

       On November 2, Brummett pointed to the Board’s 1.6% average budget increase over the past six cycles -- as well as its return of surplus dollars in two of them. Last year, the Council gave some of it back in a one-time appropriation -- to help the Board avoid layoffs while keeping the extra funds out of minimum budgeting requirement rules for the following year.

       But Camillo’s comments underscore longstanding tension between the two bodies on fiscal matters.

       Camillo says the the school budget has saddled Newington taxpayers with an undue burden as costs of living climb.

       Brummett says the district manages its money responsibly, but faces “budget holes” due to the use of one-off surplus revenue to cover yearly personnel costs -- a short term remedy to flat or near-zero percent school spending increases of past years.

       While the Board consensus was to back Fletcher and Brummett, some wondered whether further action on Camillo’s statements would strain Board/Council relations with 2022-2023 budget negotiations looming.

       “My concern is, we spent a lot of time at our last meeting, and I thought we were all very honest about how we disagreed with those comments,” said BOE member Danielle Drozd. “We made our statement. I would be apprehensive to say yes or no to this, only because we want this olive branch. We want that rivalry to end.”

       Board Vice Chair Beth Manke Hutvagner, at least two times, urged both sides to work out their differences in a joint meeting.

       “I do think it was important we address the comment so that we make some things known, but I also want to be bit of a broken record and beg, plead, ask publicly that the two bodies come together for some type of meeting or retreat to build trust,” Hutvagner said. “We have a difficult budget year, and inflation will certainly affect our town and school system. Not that this job needs to be fun, but it should be less toxic.”

       Branda said he understood where his colleagues were coming from -- he says he initially proposed the resolution prior to the November 2 meeting, and that he had hoped for a Council and/or mayoral statement regarding Camillo’s accusations.

       “One town councilor sat at the table and called for these two people to resign. When I proposed this, I viewed this as a rejection of that call. I view this as us as a body saying we do not want them to resign,” Branda said. “It would be great if the mayor reached out and said, ‘we heard the comments, we don’t agree with them, and we look forward to working with you come budget time’.”

       We reached out to DelBuono for comment and will update the story if we hear back -- she addressed Camillo during the October 25 meeting, asking him to bring his charges directly to the Board.

       Camillo says the mayor and council don’t need to say anything to Brummett or Fletcher -- because he was speaking for himself.

       “This is Mike Camillo, a resident -- not a town councilor,” Camillo said on November 17. “I made my statements publicly because otherwise they don’t hear you.”

       Now Branda says he wants to make sure officials on the town side hear him and his fellow Board members.

       “We are, as a body, willing to move forward [with the Council], but not without saying on the record that we support [Brummett and Fletcher],” Branda said. “It might make it a little shaky [with budget negotiations], but if it does, honestly, I’d be worried.”

       BOE member Anastasia Yopp says she supports Fletcher and Brummett, but that she shares the trepidation expressed by others around the table.

       “I’m very uncomfortable with this motion. And not because I don’t support them, because I do. [But] we’re going into budget season,” Yopp said. “I do think it’s important for us to support each other as a body, however, I do not think either body discussing it publicly was appropriate. We need to act as role models. I don’t think the Town Council member who did that should have done it, but I don’t think it should be an open discussion. We don’t need to keep harping on this.”

       “Moving on is the best thing to do. I didn’t attend the meeting where this was discussed, because I’m not concerned with the back and forth. It is embarrassing,” added BOE member Richard Lavariere. “The motion really is gratuitous in nature. I appreciate Mr. Branda’s sentiment, but are we extending the olive branch or dragging this out? I plan to abstain.”

       Others around the table had a different take.

       “I don’t think making this motion and voting on it does anything but affirm our support for Dr. Fletcher and Dr. Brummett,” Perrotti said. “I think we all agree they are strong leaders, and that we need them in their positions.”

       “I take a bit of umbrage with comments that we need to move on. It’s very easy to say that when you’re not the one at the other end,” added BOE member Jessica Weaver. “Many of the comments were about the Board, not just Dr. Brummett and Dr. Fletcher. I think it’s important for us to assure the public that we are not letting high honors students graduate illiterate and ensure that false statements are rebuked.”

       She later added, “I don’t want Dr. Fletcher or Dr. Brummett to resign. I don’t feel uncomfortable saying that. When harm is done, that needs to be remedied. Then you can move on.”

       Drozd said that she was struggling even more with which way to vote after listening to her colleagues -- from both sides of the issue.

       “I’m very torn. I’m not gonna abstain. I have to make a choice,” Drozd said. “I don’t want a no vote to seem like I don’t support either of these two, because I do. But I’m struggling with that olive branch. We are going into budget season, and we want them to play nice. That’s politics. I don’t wanna vote tonight. Can we table this conversation?”

       “I know that you support them. I one hundred percent know,” Branda told her. “I know deep down you vote yes no matter what, no matter [how you formally vote] on the motion, but I don’t think this motion will negatively impact our relationship with the town council.”

       Drozd backed the resolution -- joining Branda, Weaver, Perrotti, Hutvagner, and Board member Sam Sharma among the affirmative votes.

       Yopp and Lavariere abstained.

       Fletcher recused himself.

       “I hope this motion can be a sign to these two leaders that we as a body say we’re not listening to that noise,” Branda said. "We know who you are. We know your leadership. We know you're doing what's best for the town and district, and that we support you, no matter what somebody who doesn't know anything about what you're doing is saying."