This week the State FOI Commission ruled that the October 2024 Board of Education emergency meeting did not meet the standard of an emergency and was therefore null and void.
The decision was not a surprise given the commission had issued a preliminary ruling to that effect.
The back story was that in July of 2024 BOE chair Karen Kowalski, a Republican, resigned her position on the board, citing a move out of town.
Three months passed and the BOE had had yet to vote on a Republican replacement.
The BOE held their emergency meeting on Monday, October 21, 2024, where they voted (4-1) to appoint Republican Jen Behette to fill the seat of Ms Kowalski.
The day after Ms Behette was voted in, the Republican-controlled Board of Selectmen voted 2-0-1 to appoint Republican Paul Cappiali, with Democrat Janet Stone McGuigan abstaining.
First Selectmen Fred Camillo and the Town filed the FOI complaint but dispute has also taken the form of a lawsuit that is still active.
Mr. Cappiali is guaranteed a seat on the BOE in the upcoming November 4 municipal election, given he and Karen Krause are the only two candidates for two openings after two other Republican candidates withdrew.
Ms Behette is not a candidate in the Nov 4 election.
Dr. Michael-Joseph Mercanti-Anthony is running unopposed for the remaining two years of Ms Kowalski’s term.
There are three Democratic candidates running for two Democratic seats. Incumbent Laura Kostin was not endorsed to run for a second four-year term, but petitioned her way onto the ballot.
The two candidates endorsed by the DTC are Bob Chaney and Veronica Chiavaroli.
This past Thursday, First Selectman Camillo issued the following statement in response to the Connecticut FOI Commission ruling:
“Yesterday, the Freedom of Information Commission unanimously ruled that the Board of Education’s October 21, 2024 meeting was illegal and that the appointment they tried to make that day was null and void. Our attorneys are evaluating next steps.”
“I sincerely hope that these members who the commission found violated state law will pledge to abide by that law in the future and avoid putting the town through this unnecessary process again.”
On Friday Democratic members of the BOE Sophie Koven, Karen Hirsh, and Kathleen Stowe issued the following statement with attached documents:
“At the hearing, the Commission specifically noted that their decision was extremely narrow and that the complainant, Fred Camillo, would need to seek relief from the Superior Court to have a judicial determination regarding who may appoint members to serve on the Greenwich Board of Education.
“In the September meeting of the Budget Oversight Committee, Mr. Camillo acknowledged he has wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees, paid for by the Town (although the case is in Mr. Camillo’s name only), and promised to tell his attorneys to ‘pump the brakes.’ Mr. Camillo noted the whole matter is a moot point as voters would soon be heading to the ballot box. And yet yesterday Mr. Camillo stated he is conferring with his attorneys on ‘next steps.’ Meanwhile other elected Republicans suggest that the litigation may continue, seeking to nullify all BOE votes in the past year (Statement from Republican BOE Caucus, Greenwich Free Press, October 16, 2025). Mr. Camillo said in the BOC meeting that he would like to stop the ‘hemorrhaging of spending,’ but it looks like his attorneys will be terrorizing our town again this Halloween with a never ending legal battle that will haunt our town for years to come.” – Sophie Koven, Karen Hirsh, Kathleen Stowe
Included in the exhibits for the Superior Court case are the emails below from Barbara Schellenberg and Abby Wadler that advised that Section 10-219 was the relevant statute.
Ms. Schellenberg later advised Mr. Camillo at the Selectmen meeting on October 22, 2024 that actually Section 7-107 applied, which allowed the First Selectman to fill any vacancy on any town board after 30 days.
Ms Koven said in an email that conflicting legal advice from the Town Attorney was at the heart of the legal dispute and Town Legal was no longer advising either party in this matter.
https://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/DocumentInquiry/DocumentInquiry.aspx?DocumentNo=29356155
See also:
BOE Democrats, DTC Respond to Preliminary FOI Commission Ruling on 2024 “BOE Emergency Meeting”
October 14, 2025