By Kathy Brown.
There were two Regional School District #17 Board of Education meetings held on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, in the cafeteria at Haddam Killingworth Middle School. The Governor extended the option to hold meetings online/livestreamed as “public” which Region 17 has been utilizing.
The first meeting, held at 6:30 p.m. was to appoint Jeffrey Wihbey as the new RSD #17 Superintendent of Schools. Suzanne Sack, the Chairman of the BOE, said that because we had continuity and stability for the last 11 years (nine years with Howard Thiery and then two years of Dr. Holly Hageman, who had been Asst. Superintendent under Mr. Thiery), they held many interviews, did their due diligence, and made the decision very carefully. Jennifer Favalora, the Board Secretary, read his bio, and then they voted twice – the first time to appoint him as the Superintendent, and the second time to approve a 3-year contract for him. Both were unanimous by the Board members who were present.
Mr. Wihbey spoke to the Board, thanking them first for the opportunity. He said he was very excited for the work, and “I heard loud and clear what was important to the community.” He also promised to fight for the kids, and to be fiscally responsible to the community. He will start in October.
Two members of the public came into the cafeteria during the meeting, both unmasked, to watch the meeting. One of them, Bob Siegrist, former State Representative for Haddam, as well as current candidate for Haddam Town Clerk, said he didn’t realize that masks were required, and “I had no idea it wasn’t open to the public,” he said. “The door to the entrance was unlocked.”
The second meeting was their regularly scheduled meeting. During their recess between the meetings, some people had convened in the Middle School’s courtyard, right outside the cafeteria where they were meeting, to protest masks on students. They put up signs in the windows “This is Tyranny” and “Lock up Lamont” that could be seen by the Livestream camera.
Suzanne Sack called the second meeting to order at 7:30 p.m., then led the Board reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. She then paused, and asked everyone to pause so that she could say a few words about Gianna Vincelett, a student in the school district, who was the victim of a hit and run bicycle accident on July 29, who later passed away from her injuries. While she was trying to pay homage to Gianna, the group of protestors outside started blasting their bullhorn to make themselves heard by the Board.
Ms. Sack asked for, and received, a short adjournment so that she could ask the protestors to respect the moment of silence. She then returned to her seat and continued to speak about the loss of Gianna, with the bullhorn in the background. The video can be seen HERE.
The Board then went on with the agenda, to the Public Comment section, where Ms. Sack and Ms. Favalora, took turns reading letters that had been sent in. Six letters were read:
- Dennis Cogley (Killingworth): no masks for students; it’s “child abuse”
- Rosalyn Reeps (Haddam): in support of students wearing masks
- Salvatore LoGiudice (Higganum): no masks for students
- Theresa Karber (Higganum): no masks for students
- Jamie & Daryl Ritone (Higganum): no masks for students
- Robert & Nicole Harlow (Higganum): in support of everyone wearing masks and they hope that a remote option will be offered again
The rest of the agenda was followed, with the bullhorn going on and off during the remainder of the meeting, as well as someone sporadically running back and forth outside with a Don’t Tread on Me flag.
“I attended the RSD17 BOE meeting last night with my family,” said Christopher Page, who has been endorsed by the HRTC as a candidate for the Board of Ed. “We started on the street waving signs and some of us made our way to the courtyard outside the school cafeteria. As we were not allowed to attend the meeting, we were attempting to make our voices heard by the Board members. This is in line with our 1st Amendment right to Peacefully Assemble and Redress Grievances to an elected Government.”
“The Board of Education should make meetings open to the public in person,” said Steve Wytas. “Parents should have the right to speak in public to the people that are making medical decisions on behalf of their children. Masks are medical devices. Teachers and school staff that force children to wear these medical devices (against the will of the parents) should have proper OSHA 1910-134 training, medical liability insurance, and medical malpractice insurance the same as a pediatrician is required to have. I support parent’s first amendment right to free speech, the right to peacefully assemble, and the right to petition their government for redress or grievances.”
Sarah Herbst-Page said, “We are done defending our right to assemble. If they don’t like it, they can let us up at the podium with a microphone in person to be heard.”
The police did appear on the scene, and the conversation between the officers and the protestors was very cordial. The officers did make sure that the Board of Ed members made it safely to their vehicles after the meeting concluded.
“I just want to make it clear and on record,” said Mr. Siegrist, “that I was not there for the bullhorn incident. I left when the first meeting was done. And that part, in my opinion, got way out of hand.”
The schedule for future meetings of the Board of Education is listed HERE. To submit a public comment to be read aloud by the Board Secretary and/or the Chair, send an email that includes your first and last name as well as the town in which you reside to boepubliccomment@rsd17.org.
Update 8/6/21 10:05 a.m.: Local Trooper responded to our request for information. “As citizens do have the right to assemble and protest, CSP involvement was simply proactive in nature; as a means to ensure that the rally/protest remained peaceful and did not get out of hand,” said Trooper DeAngelo. “There was no formal complaint made by the BOE.”
