Hooker AP Transferred; Meeting Notice Questioned

(Updated) New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) Supt. Madeline Negrón has followed through on plans to transfer Worthington Hooker Assistant Principal Jenny Clarino to another school, despite months of advocacy by some staff and families to keep Clarino in place at the East Rock school.

Clarino’s transfer — along with the shuffling of seven other administrators to different schools across the district — took place at an end-of-year, online-only special Board of Education meeting that appears to have received only 21 hours, rather than the state-mandated minimum of 24 hours, of public notice.

Those eight administrative transfers were included in the Board of Education’s personnel report for its June 13 special meeting, which was held virtually via Zoom. 

The transfers included sending Clarino from Worthington Hooker to L.W. Beecher Magnet School, and then sending Barack Obama Magnet School Assistant Principal Melanie Rodriguez-Thomas to fill Clarino’s spot at Hooker.

All eight transfers, which are listed in full above, are scheduled to take effect Aug. 18. 

The personnel report was an information-only report that did not require a vote by the school board. Board of Education members and Negrón did not discuss the report or the admin transfers during last Friday’s meeting.

The transfers, including of Clarino, came after some members of the Worthington Hooker school community have turned out to Board of Education meetings dating back to last October. They sought answers from the superintendent for why Clarino was going to be transferred, and described the positive impact Clarino had had on the school.

Clarino’s transfer also comes after a federal jury last year awarded former Worthington Hooker teacher Jessica Light $1.1 million in damages after finding that the school’s principal, Margaret-Mary Gethings, defamed and retaliated against that teacher for publicly raising concerns about the safety of returning to in-person learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. (The city is currently appealing that decision.)

The school district’s spokesperson has consistently declined to comment on Clarino’s transfer as it is a personnel matter.

Reached for comment about Clarino’s transfer, Hooker Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) Vice President Sophia Lafargue told the Independent, ​“It is concerning that Superintendent Negrón has chosen to transfer Assistant Principal Clarino without any of the transparency and communication that she committed to providing eight months ago.”

She said that Negrón told the PTA she would notify the school community of her final decision with ample time for the community to say goodbye to Clarino and meet the incoming assistant principal. The transfer was made official on June 13; the last day of the school year was June 17. 

“Instead of transparency and engagement and ample time, school communities — including ours — learned of the final decision after a last minute BOE meeting that unveiled a list that will impact eight schools,” Lafargue said. ​“This decision and its already negative impact runs in stark contrast to what the superintendent says she wants for the success of NHPS students.”

Lafargue went on to criticize the district for its ​“common practice” of making ​“inexplicable transfers.” She said the PTA remains focused on seeking out answers from the school board and the superintendent. ​“We still expect accountability and transparency from the BOE, Superintendent Negrón, and elected officials about this decision even as WHS [Worthington Hooker School] and all the others schools listed for changes contend with the fallout of the transfers. Students deserve nothing less than a full accounting.”

She warned that NHPS may lose teachers and see ​“further enrollment declines” because of decisions like these. ​“At a time when budget cuts are already threatening the stability of schools and student achievement, and a recent study revealed that there is critical shortage of hundreds of teachers in New Haven public schools, it is beyond perplexing that the superintendent and the BOE is moving forward with this transfer.”

Public Notice Problem?

Lafargue also pointed out to the Independent that the public notice for last Friday’s special online meeting of the Board of Education was posted at the city clerk’s office less than 24 hours before the meeting took place, an apparent violation of the school board’s bylaws as well as relevant state law.

Indeed, the Independent confirmed that the notice for the board’s special meeting at 10 a.m. on June 13 was posted at the city clerk’s office on June 12 at 12:56 p.m.

Russell Blair, the director of education and communications at the state’s Freedom of Information Commission, told the Independent Wednesday that the only exception for the 24-hour notice requirement for public meetings is if the meeting is held due to an ​“emergency.” No one at the June 13 meeting noted that the meeting was being held due to an emergency. An emergency meeting, Blair said, ​“would not have to file an agenda 24 hours beforehand, but there would need to be some sort of emergency that required immediate attention.”

Update: On Thursday morning, city school district spokesperson Justin Harmon provided the following comment to the Independent: ​“BOE staff posted the agenda for the June 13th Special Meeting on the BOE website and emailed the agenda to the City/Town Clerk’s office, both on June 11th, two days before the special meeting and well in advance of FOIA requirements. … The Board and staff take the open meeting requirements very seriously and have in fact cancelled meetings when posting deadlines have not been met.” He provided a copy of this June 11 email as proof of the Board of Ed’s sending the notice to the city clerk’s office.

In a separate email to the Independent on Tuesday, Lafargue questioned the board’s apparent ​“lack of transparency and failure to properly notify the public.”

“We believe that these transfers should be immediately paused until the board does a proper job of vetting Dr. Negrón’s plan, and a proper job of engaging concerned communities.”