BOE officially files lawsuit against town

WINSTED — Two weeks after the Board of Education voted to sue the Board of Selectmen and the town for cutting $2,820,561 from the school budget, a lawsuit was officially filed on Monday, May 2, in Litchfield Judicial District Superior Court.The lawsuit was filed by the law offices of Sullivan, Schoen, Campane and Connon of Hartford, the attorneys representing the Board of Education.According to the state’s judicial website, the defendants listed in the court case are the town of Winchester, the Board of Selectmen and individual Selectmen Lisa Smith, Glenn Albanesius, Ken Fracasso and Karen Beadle, the four selectmen who voted to approve the cut at a meeting in April. Not listed individually as defendants in the lawsuit are the three selectmen who did not vote for the budget cut: Mayor Candy Perez and Selectmen Michael Renzullo and George Closson.According to Superintendent of Schools Blaise Salerno, the next steps in the legal action will be two hearings at which the Board of Education will present evidence to support its claims.Salerno said the hearings are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 31, and Monday, June 13, at the Litchfield court house.