Submitted by Jim Finn, Cos Cob
A brouhaha erupted last week between the Board of Education (BOE) and the Board of Selectman (BOS) regarding who will replace former BOE chairman and culture warrior, Karen Kowalski, who left the post in July after moving out of town.
More specifically, the fight is between First Selectman Fred Camillo and a majority of BOE members – not just the four Democratic members.
With the two sides doubling down, the BOE has sworn in Republican Jen Behette while the town clerk has sworn in Paul Cappiali, a Republican who is currently harbormaster and a candidate for the statehouse.
And now both sides have hired outside legal counsel to determine if BOS has standing to appoint Mr. Cappiali. More on that later…
Last January, I wrote an opinion column that did not dispute the First Selectman’s authority to break a tie over who the BOE chairman is but suggested that after a bruising budget season over public school infrastructure funding he might want to extend an olive branch. Obviously, Mr. Camillo rejected that suggestion and appointed her despite the fact that it was widely known in town that Ms. Kowalski was in the process of selling her Greenwich home.
So, here we are…right back at the start!
Let’s set aside the technical, legal issues that will be decided elsewhere and talk about qualifications and political cronyism because that’s what is really going on here. You literally can’t make this up!
A quick reading of the backgrounds of the two Republicans shows that one has deep experience in education and a track record of academic achievement and the other does not. Spoiler alert: Jen Behette has the requisite qualifications to deal with the superintendent and teachers, many of whom have advanced degrees.
More importantly, it should concern people that Mr. Cappiali was involved in the Trump/Camillo “signgate” case against former Greenwich police captain, Mark Kordick, that cost town taxpayers $1.65 million.
Once again, the town is set to incur legal fees over a silly dispute that smacks of political cronyism. It’s not like Democrats are trying to steal a Republican seat.
And, in the “you can’t make this up category,” guess who the First Selectman hired to represent the town?
Benjamin Bianco, the husband of Karen Kowalski.
As I said, we’re right back where we started…
Next November, residents might want to ask why the Republican BOS and BET members are so hostile to public education.