Middletown superintendent takes a leave of absence while school board addresses complaints of harassment, intimidation
The board of education on Monday approved Superintendent Michael Conner’s request for a leave of absence and authorized chairwoman Deborah Cain to address allegations of a hostile work environment raised by past and present employees of the school district.
A spokeswoman for Connor said he was taking time under the Family and Medical Leave Act on the advice of his physicians.
Alberto Vázquez Matos, the district’s chief academic officer, will serve as acting superintendent. Cain would not say if Connor will continue to be paid during his leave.
The vote, held during a special meeting of the board, came after less than an hour of discussion behind closed doors.
Allegations of harassment and retaliation within the school district have swirled for months. On Thursday, they became public when union representatives brought the complaints to the common council.
“Our members no longer feel safe expressing these concerns through channels provided by the Board of Education and City of Middletown,” said Ann Gregg, president of the local managers union. She read a letter signed by the leaders of UPSEU Local 6457, AFSCME Local 466, the Middletown teachers and paraeducators unions.
At Monday’s school board meeting, more than a dozen people stood on the sidewalk outside of the board of education building. They held signs and broke into a sporadic chant of “We support the 15,” a reference to the number of people who have anonymously made allegations against Connor and other central office administrators.
Amy Webster, who carried a sign that read “let the victims speak,“ said the board’s action fell short.
“This is about protecting our teachers and staff,“ said Webster, who has children in the school system. She is seeking an independent investigation that goes beyond Connor and includes other administrators. “Other people should be held accountable, it should not just be him,” she said.
Several of the other protestors declined to provide their names.
About a dozen of Connor’s supporters also attended the meeting. While many of them also would not speak on the record, they said he has been the target of an anonymous smear campaign.
By a unanimous vote, the school board empowered Cain to act as the “sole authority” to address the issues raised in the complaints against Connor. It also gave her the right “to make decisions and coordinate the activities of the board and act as a spokesperson of the board” regarding the matter.
Cain was empowered to develop “an investigation protocol” for the personnel complaint and any other complaints related to the superintendent and to “qualified professionals” such as investigators, investigation cooridinators, “decision-makers” and/or press consultants.
However any changes to the superintendent’s contract still need the approval of the full board.
