Foster Issues FOI Request, Smells A Secret Deal In State Takeover Of Schools

Was this all a grand plan? Were Mayor Bill Finch and Superintendent of Schools John Ramos winking and nodding privately for state control of the city school system? Democratic mayoral candidate Mary-Jane Foster, one day after calling for Ramos’ resignation, has issued a Freedom of Information request seeking correspondence between the city and state regarding state control of city schools. From Foster:

Foster: Secret Deal with State?

FOI Seeks Answers

Bridgeport businesswoman and social action advocate Mary-Jane Foster, who is running for mayor, today issued the following statement:

“Mayor Finch claims he wants to take “politics out of the process” by asking the State to reconstitute the Bridgeport Board of Education,” explained Foster. “Yet everything about the request wreaks of backroom deals, political manipulation, and grandstanding.

“Today I am sending Freedom of Information requests to Mayor Finch, Superintendent Ramos, and State Board of Education Acting Commissioner Coleman to learn more about the negotiations that led to this action, just 10 weeks before the election. Once again, there has been no transparency or input from parents, taxpayers, elected officials, or the community at large.

“It is my hope that this FOI will reveal the following: Did the State of Connecticut inform Bridgeport that not adopting a budget would trigger the State to take over the Bridgeport Board of Education? What exactly would be accomplished by securing State intervention and what was requested and/or promised in exchange for this extraordinary action? The State has made it clear that there is no money available to help ease the financial crisis. The superintendent has a six-vote majority on the Board of Ed, which essentially means that anything he recommends is approved. What are the secret deals that led to this decision?

“All this begs the question: If you change the makeup of the Bridgeport Board of Education but the mayor, the superintendent, and their key staff remain the same, how can anything positive result?

A transcript of the FOI letters follow:

July 5, 2011

Dear Mayor Finch:

Under the State of Connecticut Freedom of Information Act, I am requesting the following:

1) Any written correspondence, e-mails, memorandums to file, written notes from telephone conversations, records of appointments, meeting minutes, in both complete and / or draft form regarding the planning and execution of the request for the State of Connecticut to reconstitute the Bridgeport Board of Education, to take over the Bridgeport School System, to place a special master in charge of the education system in Bridgeport, or any other actions that would strip the city of a Board of Education duly constituted and elected in accordance with the City Charter. This pertains to all documentation created within the past six months.

2) Any correspondence to or from the Commissioner of Education, the State Board of Education, the Bureau of Accountability and Improvement, and Governor Malloy or his office or staff regarding the State takeover of the Bridgeport School System or Board of Education to include any formal notice from the State of a notice to correct any inadequacies, training, or other deficiencies that might lead to a State takeover along with any response from the City of Bridgeport. This pertains as well to all correspondence, notes, documentation, and e-mails that were created within the past six months regarding the adoption of a Bridgeport Board of Education budget and requests or promises of additional state financial assistance.

3) Any other written documentation subject to Freedom of Information enforcement regarding the takeover of the Bridgeport school system or its Board of Education that would include agreement letters, contracts, etc. for consulting services regarding this matter.

4) In an effort to expedite this process, I am requesting that such documents be assembled for review prior to copying and that I be notified as soon as any of these documents are available.

Sincerely,

Mary-Jane Foster

cc: John J. Ramos, Sr. Ed.D., Superintendent

Barbara P. Bellinger, President, Bridgeport Board of Education

Atty. Thomas Mulligan, Bridgeport Board of Education

July 5, 2011

The Honorable Dannel Malloy

State Capitol

210 Capitol Avenue

Hartford, CT 06106

Dear Governor Malloy:

Under the State of Connecticut Freedom of Information Act, I am requesting the following:

1) Any written correspondence, e-mails, memorandums to file, written notes from telephone conversations, records of appointments, meeting minutes, in both complete and / or draft form regarding the planning and execution of the State of Connecticut to reconstitute the Bridgeport Board of Education, to take over the Bridgeport School System, to place a special master in charge of the education system in Bridgeport, or any other actions that would strip the city of a Board of Education duly constituted and elected in accordance with the City Charter. This pertains to all documentation created within the past six months.

2) Any correspondence to or from the Bridgeport Superintendent of Schools, the Superintendent’s Chief of Staff, the Mayor of the City of Bridgeport, the President of the Board of Education, or any members of the Bridgeport Board of Education, the Commissioner of the Connecticut Board of Education, and the Bureau of Accountability and Improvement regarding the State takeover of the Bridgeport school system or Board of Education to include any formal notice from the State of a notice to correct any inadequacies, training, or other deficiencies that might lead to a State takeover along with any response from the City of Bridgeport. This pertains as well to all correspondence, notes, documentation, and e-mails that were created within the past six months regarding the adoption of a Bridgeport Board of Education budget and requests or promises of additional state financial assistance.

Sincerely,

Mary-Jane Foster

cc: Benjamin Barnes, OPM

George Coleman, State Department of Education