Region One board affirms nonrenewal of counselor

FALLS VILLAGE — The Region One School District Board of Education upheld its decision not to renew the contract of Stephen Hurley, a guidance counselor at Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS), after two lengthy hearing sessions June 20 and June 26.Hurley had worked for three years as a guidance counselor and had the responsibility for coordinating the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) for the school. The reasons given for not renewing Hurley’s contract were that his communication skills were poor and that he failed to follow district guidelines in regard to the CAPT — in particular, in reporting any irregularities to Region One as well as to the state. Over the two days of the hearing, Hurley’s attorney, Lisa Zaccardelli, elicited positive comments about Hurley from two parents, two teachers and a former high school administrator. Support for HurleyElizabeth Foules, the Title I teacher at HVRHS, said, “I haven’t noticed anything that’s caused me to be concerned about his ability to do his job.”Warren Peck, a science teacher at Housatonic, said in his dealings with Hurley “he’d always get back to me quickly.”Bonnie Donzella said her son was the victim of bullying to the extent that she took him out of school at the time of the CAPT testing. She said Hurley “was very helpful, came up with some suggestions” to help her son.Donzella said she disagreed with the administration’s claims that Hurley exhibited a lack of insight or empathy.But Region One board attorney Gary Brochu countered that the phrase referred to Hurley’s initial reluctance to comply with a request that he make contact with Donzella about her son’s situation.Andrea Downs testified that her two children and two foreign exchange students all had Hurley as a counselor, and she described him as “helpful” and “available.”Former Assistant Principal Mary Anne Buchanan said she found Hurley to be “consistent” and “diligent.” She said he was asked to improve some aspects of his communication skills, such as making eye contact and improving his listening skills. She described his performance as CAPT coordinator as “effective.”Buchanan also said that in a conversation with Region One Assistant Superintendent Diane Goncalves in 2010 the latter said “she did not care for him [Hurley].”Principal’s concernsHVRHS Principal Matt Harnett’s testimony dominated the second day of the hearing. He said the decision not to renew Hurley’s contract was his, and that he did not receive input from Goncalves.He said he was concerned about Hurley not informing him about an irregularity in the CAPT testing before he reported to the state.He also said he had difficulties in preparing his evaluation of Hurley because Hurley “insisted” he had tenure, but could not provide documentation.Harnett said his concerns about Hurley started with his “statements and actions on students and situations.”Harnett said at one staff meeting on attendance Hurley “wanted students punished” for truancy.He described Hurley as “argumentative, defensive and contradictory,” and said that Hurley’s direct supervisor in the guidance department, Karen Prince, was similarly concerned.Harnett said, “I would expect someone with 10 years’ experience to be performing on a much higher level.” He noted that former HVRHS Principal Gretchen Foster had Hurley meeting with her every other week, which he said was a “big red flag.”Harnett also said that in the 2011-12 school year, three students requested a different counselor, and in Hurley’s time at HVRHS seven students made formal requests for a change and four more informally sought out different counselors.Zaccardelli summed up, noting the positive comments from teachers and parents, and said the decision not to renew Hurley’s ontract was arbitrary and capricious. She cited Buchanan’s recollection of Goncalves’ remark; the fact that there was no review in Hurley’s file for the 2010-11 school year; and the lack of an explicit protocol for informing the administration about problems with the CAPT coupled with Hurley doing the job the same way he’d done it in previous years, with no complaint from the high school or regional administration.Brochu, in his summation, said the hearing was not about the board’s evaluation process, or the state’s testing guidelines, or tenure.Rather, he said, the issues were Hurley’s performance, communication skills, ability to work with other staff and Hurley’s “basic credibility.”Brochu said that Hurley in applying to Region One said he had never been fired or refused tenure — “but he was.”He said Hurley’s account of his record was “at best misleading and at worst dishonest.”He described Hurley as “mediocre” and said the nonrenewal was not arbitrary or capricious, but rational.Hurley requested that the board’s deliberations be held in executive session, but before they retired he made a brief statement, promising the board that if they rescinded the nonrenewal decision he would reply promptly to any communication.When the board returned, representative Gale Toensing of Falls Village moved that the nonrenewal be rescinded, but there was no second. The board adjourned, leaving the nonrenewal intact.