These are my comments I had hoped to make last night at the Special Region One Board Meeting but could not make per order of temporary board chair Jonathan Moore…

Dear Region One board and Administration:

The public now has a full-blown lack of confidence in the leadership of this board, its objectivity, it’s relationship with the ABC ( All Boards Chairmen), and its direction of Superintendent Chamberlain

1) Apparent Lack of honesty by Chair Phil Hart

Prior to going into executive session, Region 1 school board chairman Phil Hart of Cornwall said he had no knowledge of the impending lawsuit before the news broke last week.
Bills submitted to the Board of Education for approval raise questions about that statement, as an entry in the district’s March invoice for attorneys’ fees details two conversations between board attorney Gary Brochu and Ms. Paige’s attorney of the law offices of Leon M. Rosenblatt in West Hartford, in reference to litigation over an employee matter. There follows a conversation between Mr. Brochu and Ms. Chamberlain about “the employee issue” and a fourth call listed was to Mr. Hart and “about the employee matter.”

2) Lack of Board involvement by Mr. Hart. I spoke with three Region One Board Members and all three said they had NO KNOWLEDGE of the suit and had not been advised of one by Board Chair Hart. I ask tonight, did Mrs. Fruend, and Mr. Moore have knowledge of the suit? 1) If so why did they, and not the others. 2) if not, shame on Mr. Hart.

3) How could the ABC have offered a three-year contract if they had knowledge of this suit? I ask any of the Board Chairs of Region One to step forward tonight to inform this board, and the public here if they had knowledge of the suit. If not, shame of Mr. Hart. If so, shame on the ABC for moving forward with a three-year contract recommendation to the Region One Board with the threat of litigation hanging overhead.

4) Disrespectful statements of Region One taxpayers from Board Co-Chair Jonathan Moore. A direct quote from Jonathan Moore, Region One Vice Chair and representative from Kent….
“… It also astounds me that, of the people I have spoken to since the referendum, they all are vastly misinformed about the budget. And there is no difference as to whether they voted yes or no! They all are misinformed. I guess they are all so flush they don’t worry about their tax dollars enough to seek out the facts….”

5) Mrs. Pages attorney has stated their charges are 2 as superintendent and 2 personal against Pat Chamberlain. As I asked last
week. Whom is responsible to pay the personal bill?

6) How in the world did the administration of Housatonic, and the Region One Board allow Mr. Harnett’s statement be to be made to the press and board about Hotchkiss School and Kent School? As we have seen, Hotchkiss responded this weekend, and their response makes Region One look quite foolish, and is a great embarrassment to the region.

After the last budget meeting and the Region One Board not listening to the public comment, the board has seen one of the largest defeats of a region budget in years, possibly the largest. And the answers to the concerns of taxpayers lie in not only in the cutting of teaching positions, but in the addition of administrative positions, the technology budget, the rise in the administration budget and contracts, the concern about grades, and the overall lack of direction this board, the administration and the ABC is giving to the employees, faculty, students, and taxpayers in Region One. As Bob Dylan stated: don’t criticize What you can’t understand Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command Your old road is Rapidly aging’ Please get out of the new one
If you can’t lend your hand For the times they are a-changing

The personal opinion of Marshall Miles, Region One taxpayer