Change Vowed After #MeToo Mishandling

At a holiday party where nearly 60 staff from Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School drank beers and sang Christmas carols, then-Principal Frank Costanzo got wasted.

So wasted that he allegedly lost his phone, said he had the hots for female teachers, draped himself across a counselor’s lap, then had another staffer drive him home. 

What happened next might not have raised many eyebrows at the time — but now in the #MeToo age is costing taxpayers money and prompting a reexamination of how New Haven Public Schools handles sexual harassment cases.

New details about the case, and how the district handled it, are contained in newly released documents.

After receiving an anonymous tip, the school district’s human resources director opened an investigation into the principal’s alleged drunk come-ons, but she did just two interviews about what happened at the party, which took place in December 2014 at Kelly’s Gastropub on Crown Street.

Primarily, she relied on Costanzo’s own version of events. She checked that with Co-Op’s assistant principal, Val-Jean Belton, who said she couldn’t tell who’d been drunk at the party.

Belton, who’s since become Co-Op’s principal, had already failed to report months of complaints about Costanzo’s harassment and would soon collect evidence to discredit his accuser.

So the administration cleared Costanzo of any serious misconduct, concluding ​“there is no evidence based on interviews to suggest he was out of control or broadly inappropriate.”

Within a year of the holiday party, Costanzo would be hired away to one Norwalk’s schools for a promotion to an executive role.

The target of his alleged harassment, meanwhile, Co-Op’s lead school counselor, would be denied a pay raise, involuntarily transferred to another school and demoted.

In 2017, the accuser, whose middle name is Renee, filed suit against New Haven’s Board of Education in federal court for its broken reporting system, also naming Costanzo and Belton as defendants.

This January, in exchange for dropping her case, Renee received a $150,000 payout, along with a commitment that the district will revisit its sexual harassment policies.

The allegations and their fallout are detailed in 15 pages of internal documents that were released to the Independent through the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act, along with dozens more pages of court filings.

Because the investigation was so limited, those files lead to more questions than answers.

In the era of #MeToo, who’s responsible for stopping sexual harassment within the school system? Should administrators report any allegations they hear, even if victims ask them to keep it secret? Should human resources look into all past interactions when harassment’s alleged, even if victims won’t cooperate? And should building supervisors be the point-person for sexual harassment claims, when accusations might put their job on the line?

As a condition of the settlement, administrators throughout the district recently attended a law firm’s course on sexual harassment that was meant to get at those questions.

But as these records show, the overlapping relationships within a workplace — as a boss or a friend; as a coach or a confidant — can make those answers difficult to see clearly.

Just Friends

In August 2014, Renee took a job as Co-Op High School’s lead school counselor. She led an eight-person team and attended weekly administrative meetings.

Right away, Renee alleged in the lawsuit, Principal Costanzo began harassing her with non-stop texts from a variety of phones (including a burner) that she later testified were ​“unwanted.”

According to Renee’s complaint filed in federal court, Costanzo asked why she wasn’t married. He commented on her physical appearance. He called her special and attractive. He said it was hard to keep his feelings for her private.

In several text messages, Costanzo also reminded Renee that he was her boss. In response, Renee texted back that she wasn’t interested in a romantic relationship; she said she wanted to keep things professional.

Renee said that, in October 2014, over the long Columbus Day weekend, Costanzo repeatedly called her, texted her and emailed her inappropriate sexual comments. When classes resumed, Renee went straight to Belton, then the assistant principal, for help, reporting that Costanzo was making ​“inappropriate sexual advances.”

Because Belton was also Co-Op’s Title IX coordinator, she was responsible for carrying out the district policy that any sexual harassment complaints be forwarded to Central Office.

Belton remembered the initial conversation with Renee differently. According to a summary of events that she later sent to human resources in December 2015, Belton remembered Renee saying that the texts ​“indicated that he was interested in a friendly relationship with her.”

In that conversation, Belton said she pressed Renee about why Costanzo had her personal cell phone number, which she couldn’t answer.

Belton’s ultimate advice? ​“Radio silence.”

Belton told Renee to stop texting back and to block his number.

About a month later, in November 2014, while the school’s administrators were traveling in San Francisco for a conference, Belton asked Costanzo if he’d really been texting Renee on her personal cell phone. ​“He replied that they had communicated on a regular basis by text messaging as a friendship,” Belton later recalled. ​“I then stated to Mr. Constanzo how this type of behavior can be perceived as inappropriate and should not occur.”

Belton said she repeated, ​“Radio silence,” but Costanzo told her it was all over anyway.

A Confidence

At the same time, after her initial sit-down, Belton said that she became a mentor to Renee, giving her advice about leadership skills. They grew close enough that Renee confided to Belton about a mistake she’d made at her previous post — an episode that was so shameful she’d kept it secret even from her family.

Renee had previously worked at Wilbur Cross High School. After her modeling shots ended up on social media, she was dismissed from that position.

Renee said that she felt the district had treated her unfairly, and she said that she never wanted to have an issue with the Board of Ed again, Belton recalled later in her summary of events.

During those mentorship sessions, Renee remembered repeating to Belton the ​“discomfort and fear” she felt around Costanzo. But Belton still didn’t let anyone in Central Office know about the principal’s behavior.

The Holiday Party, Investigated

During the holiday party at Kelly’s in December 2014, Costanzo escalated his unwanted advances, physically touching Renee for the first time, she alleged in the lawsuit.

Renee said she remembered Costanzo draping himself across her lap and repeatedly telling her how attracted he was to her.

Belton, meanwhile, recalled that she’d heard during the party that Costanzo ​“apparently consumed too much to drink.” She remembered that a staffer found Costanzo’s cell phone on the other side of the bar from where he was sitting, that Renee tried to retrieve it for him and that the staffer refused to hand it over.

The next day, Renee asked Belton to organize a meeting about the principal’s behavior, and the three of them sat down to talk it over a few days later.

Renee remembered Costanzo saying ​“that he was drunk during the party and could not remember anything about his behavior.” Belton remembered feeling ​“surprised” during the meeting.

Once again, Belton didn’t let anyone know about what had happened.

Central Office administrators finally started to investigate in January 2015, after a Co-Op employee had made an anonymous phone call complaining about how Costanzo had acted during the holiday party.

According to a confidential memo that former Human Resources Director Donna Aiello sent to former Superintendent Garth Harries, Costanzo admitted that he’d used an inappropriate nickname for a female employee based on an identity she’d used online — likely a reference to Renee’s leaked modeling pics — and said he’d already apologized for making her feel uncomfortable. He said the dig was part of their personal banter.

Costanzo also said he couldn’t remember anything else that had crossed the line that night, and he said Belton would back him up.

In a follow-up interview, Belton said she couldn’t provide many details, because she wasn’t ​“paying attention to the whereabouts of many people at the party.” She also said she ​“could not make a credible judgment” whether anyone had been intoxicated.

After another administrator phoned her up later that day, Belton put the caller on speakerphone and asked Renee whether she felt comfortable at Co-Op. Renee recalled saying ​“did not feel safe or comfortable being left alone with Costanzo at any time,” while Belton recalled her saying ​“on that day … that she felt comfortable in the building.”

Aiello later wrote that Belton couldn’t remember ​“any interactions that were inappropriate in nature” at the party, nor ​“any further complaints or discussions at school following the party.” Aiello also said that the tipster who’d alerted human resources ​“did not want to pursue her own complaint and felt that Mr. Costanzo’s apology was acceptable.”

Take It Downtown

That was the end of the inquiry — at least for a couple months, until Belton started collecting evidence against Renee, even as Costanzo’s harassment continued.

According to the complaint filed in federal court, starting in February 2015, Costanzo would visit Renee in her office, where he quickly steered the conversation to personal matters. One time, Renee remembered Costanzo walking in, saying nothing and staring at her intently until she left.

Belton, too, said she caught them alone together. She said that in April 2015, after she stayed at school late, she unlocked the guidance office door to let a parent inside. She found Costanzo and Renee in the office, and he ​“immediately jumped up” and left.

At the same time, Belton said that Renee was relying on Costanzo to recommend her for a summer program at Columbia University. Costanzo did advocate for her, but she was denied anyway, which Belton said left Renee feeling ​“very upset and angry.”

As the school year came to a close in June 2015, Costanzo once again cornered Renee in her office and didn’t leave until Belton keyed into the suite, the lawsuit alleged.

That month, Renee also asked the basketball coach at Hillhouse High School (where she worked with the girls’ team) to come to Co-Op to confront Costanzo. Belton said Renee told her about the plans. ​“At that point I stated to Ms. [Renee] that I was not interested in hearing about what she was telling me, and I walked away,” Belton later wrote.

By July 2015, as Hillhouse administrators pressed the case, rumors about sexual harassment had gotten back to Central Office, and the Superintendent Harries was asking about Renee’s complaints. Belton said she told Renee that she needed to make a complaint directly to human resources — to ​“take it downtown” — but she remembered Renee saying that she didn’t want to report it because of her past issues with the district.

That afternoon, they exchanged emails on their personal addresses.

“I already feel bad and guilty that you are connected to this but I am not the person you should be UPSET at. I didn’t create this situation or drag you into this,” Renee wrote. ​“I respect you to the highest level possible and I am saddened by all of this. How do you think it makes me feel when you tell me you are being reprimanded or you don’t want to ​‘lose the ranch’? I have chosen not to report it for TWO sole reasons: my modeling and my loyalty to you. And I constantly feel like it is being thrown back in my face.”

An hour later, Belton replied.

“I stated this morning that if you needed to report anything, I will direct you to the right person. … People can be very messy and at this point I have no tolerance for games,” Belton wrote. ​“I mind my business. You are not the first person who has experienced an uncomfortable situation. We all have at some point in our lives, including me.”

In September 2015, Costanzo left for a job as chief of school operations for Norwalk’s public schools. Belton took over as Co-Op’s interim principal.

With Costanzo out of the building, Renee told Belton that she would be meeting up with an attorney to talk about the harassment. She remembered Belton telling her to ​“prepare for them to air your dirty laundry,” which she felt was ​“threatening.”

And after filing two complaints to state boards, Renee said Belton became ​“increasingly hostile.” Belton told Renee she needed to see a ​“mentor” to improve her work performance and started ​“bad mouthing” her to students and staff, the lawsuit alleged.

In December 2015, Belton wrote down her own memories about the past year and a half, and she solicited statements from two others who’d been in the building. One speculated about a ​“private if not intimate relationship” between Renee and Costanzo, pointing to ​“her style of dress and continued communication with him” as proof.

In the report she eventually sent to human resources, Belton faulted Renee for texting Costanzo late at night and for never making a report to higher-ups in Central Office.

“I have mentored and supported Ms. [Renee] during the entire 2014 – 15 school year and have tried to build leadership opportunities and capacity. I and other staff members and colleagues across the district have directed or encouraged her to report any uncomfortable or harassing situations that may have occurred. She has always responded that she did not want the issue about her modeling to come to the surface,” Belton wrote. ​“She continued to refuse to document the harassment.”

A Far-Reaching Settlement

In June 2017, shortly after filing her case in federal court, Renee indicated that she’d be open to settling. Negotiations dragged on for months until the Board of Education agreed, in a January 2019 closed-door meeting, to pay her $150,000.

The agreement states that the allegations in Renee’s lawsuit are ​“disputed,” and that the settlement should not be taken ​“as an acknowledgement or admission of any kind that the Releasees have violated or failed to comply” with federal and state law. It prohibits the parties from making ​“any negative statement” about what occurred.

As part of the deal, the district also agreed to reimburse her for five sick days, remove any mention of her past modeling career and the litigation from her personnel file, make Superintendent Carol Birks available for a one-on-one meeting, and try to make sure Renee never works in the same building as Belton again.

But the settlement also went much farther in mandating district-wide changes.

The district agreed to hire an outside law firm to conduct sexual harassment training for all human resources staff and management and to revise its policies for reporting sexual harassment and improving its training.

Superintendent Birks said that the district is on its way to completing those two tasks.

So far, 122 supervisors showed up for an in-person sexual harassment training by Shipman & Goodwin, and every full-time employee, including certified and non-certified staff, is taking an online course through Safe Schools, she said.

Birks added that these trainings were the first refresher that the district had offered in six years. She said that the district is in the process of ​“doing training and making sure the message is out there about what should happen” when sexual harassment is reported.