Watson suspended, sues BOE

WINSTED — As one of his first acts since taking office, Winchester School District Receiver Robert Travaglini suspended Superintendent of Schools Anne Watson on Monday, Aug. 17.

Travaglini was named as the district’s receiver by the State Department of Education on Aug. 1 and has the powers of the chief executive officer and the Board of Education.

On Aug. 17, Travaglini sent a letter to Watson notifying her that she had been placed on administrative leave, with pay, pending investigation of “alleged performance concerns related to the execution of your duties and responsibilities as superintendent of Winchester Public Schools.”

“As indicated to you during our conversation on today’s date, the administrative leave is effective immediately,” Travaglini wrote in his letter to Watson. “Please be reminded that, while on paid administrative leave, you must remain available by telephone during your regular working hours in the event we need to contact you regarding the investigation or other matters related to your position. Unless I request otherwise, you may not be present at Winchester Public Schools administrative offices or any Winchester Public Schools building or facility. You may not contact or communicate with any staff, students or parents within Winchester Public Schools during the leave period regarding the investigation or other school district business. The only exception to this is that you may respond to any questions regarding the investigation or other matters posed by me or by school district staff at my direction.”

On Wednesday, Aug. 19, Travaglini wrote a letter to school district teachers and staff informing them of Watson’s suspension.

“It’s important not to rush to a particular judgement regarding this matter,” Travaglini wrote in his letter. “Placing the superintendent on administrative leave will provide the time necessary to conduct a thorough and objective review. Please be assured that we are working to ensure a smooth opening for the first day of school. As a former teacher and principal, I know that the first day of school is a mix of excitement and anxiety. I expect that this year, there might be a heightened sense of anxiety of what the year ahead will be like under state oversight, but I hope it is balanced with an equal dose of optimism.”

Watson was hired by a unanimous vote of the Board of Education in June 2014 and took office on July 1, 2014.

Her contract is for three years and, for the 2014-2015 school year, her salary was $149,000, more than previous Superintendent of Schools Thomas Danehy’s salary of $140,800.

At a Board of Education meeting in late May, the board chose not to renew Watson’s contract.

On May 27, Board Chairman Susan Hoffnagle and board member Doug Pfenninger wrote a negative job performance review.

The four-page evaluation lists “significant deficiencies in performance in business matters with regard to budgeting and managing expenses.”

It lists deficiencies in several areas, including putting together the fiscal 2014-2015 budget, public and community relations and leadership skills.

Watson files lawsuit

On Aug. 19 Watson filed a lawsuit against both Hoffnagle and the Board of Education at the Superior Court in Hartford.

Watson is listed as being represented by Hartford attorney Leon Rosenblatt.

The written complaint filed by Rosenblatt on behalf of Watson contains several accusations against Hoffnagle and the school district.

“Shortly after assuming the position of superintendent, the plaintiff learned the Winchester special education program was deficient and, likely, violating federal and state law,” Rosenblatt wrote in the complaint filed with the court. “On or about July 18, 2014, Watson contracted with the Capitol Region Education Council to perform a comprehensive review of the school district’s special education program. In August 2014, Watson took personnel action against the district’s special education director because Watson learned the director was falsely reporting expenditures for the district’s special education program and because the director was creating improper Individual Education Plans (IEP’s) and not complying with the laws and rules governing special education.”

At the time, Ania Czajkowski was the director of pupil services and special education for the district. Czajkowski resigned in September 2014.

“On or about Sept. 14, 2014, [Watson] notified the Connecticut Commissioner of Education that the school district had submitted false claims to the Connecticut Department of Education for reimbursement of special education services,” Rosenblatt wrote in the complaint. “The plaintiff also arranged for a financial audit by the Department of Education.”

A report issued on June 1 by the department’s Office of Internal Audit said the school district failed to use accurate data or failed to support data with documentation, including the lack of inclusion of base tuition, in obtaining the state’s Special Education Excess Cost grant for the fiscal years 2012-2013 and 2013-2014.

The department determined that, for both fiscal years, the district owes the state $720,865.

The complaint goes on to refer to the CREC report issued in November 2014.

“[The report finds] that Winchester’s special education program was seriously deficient,” Rosenblatt wrote in the complaint. “The school district was spending more money than comparable school districts on special education, but the quality of its special education program was poor and out of compliance with federal and state law.”

The complaint goes on to make allegations against former school district food service director Art Lehne, who resigned in November 2014. 

“In or about November 2014, the plaintiff [Watson] learned the defendant’s [Hoffnagle] food service director likely was stealing students’ lunch money,” Rosenblatt wrote in the complaint. “She reported this to the police and the Connecticut Department of Education.”

At a meeting with representatives of the state’s Department of Education at The Gilbert School on July 28, State Department of Education Commissioner Dianna Wentzell said that the state was in the process of conducting a review of the school district’s nutrition program.

“That audit will be completed shortly, but we did discover some significant irregularities,” Wentzell said at the meeting.

As of press time on Wednesday, Aug. 26, the state has not issued its audit of the district’s nutrition program.

The rest of the written complaint goes on to make various accusations against Hoffnagle and the Board of Education.

“On or about Dec. 19, 2014, the Connecticut Commissioner of Education and members of his staff met with representatives of the school district, including [Hoffnagle],” Rosenblatt wrote in the complaint. “Watson had initiated the meeting in order to confront and resolve the several serious educational and financial problems in the district. Afterwards, defendant Hoffnagle expressed anger and hostility toward the plaintiff [Watson] because, in the meeting, plaintiff reported on the deficiencies and corruption within the school system, particularly in the area of special education.” 

Rosenblatt does not specifically list in the complaint the “deficiencies and corruption” Watson reported at the meeting.

“On or about Dec. 28, 2014, defendant Hoffnagle called a special meeting of the Board of Education,” Rosenblatt wrote in the complaint. “The meeting was scheduled in a manner and at a time that assured that the plaintiff and the public were not aware of the meeting. On information and belief, the defendants [Board of Education] went into illegal executive session to discuss the plaintiff and the fact that the plaintiff had informed the commissioner and his staff about the many problems within the district.”

The school district’s website at www.winchesterschools.org does not list an agenda or minutes for a meeting on Dec. 28, 2014.

“In the first week of January 2015, defendant Hoffnagle went to the plaintiff and castigated her and screamed at her for having reported the district’s previous fiscal and educational misdeeds to the Connecticut Department of Education and its commissioner, and for advocating intervention by the [department]” Rosenblatt wrote.

Rosenblatt goes on to make accusations concerning Watson’s performance review in May.

“On May 12, the Board of Education met with the plaintiff to discuss the plaintiff’s performance,” Rosenblatt wrote. “When the plaintiff began to explain her accomplishments, Hoffnagle interrupted, saying, “I don’t have to listen to this,” and she left the meeting. On or about May 21, the meeting was reconvened in executive session. The plaintiff attended but was ordered out and the board met privately to discuss the plaintiff’s job performance.”

Rosenblatt goes on to claim that Hoffnagle wrote the job evaluation entirely by herself and claims that Hoffnagle did not follow the proper procedures in formulating the evaluation.

“The evaluation did not have the approval of the board as a whole and some or all of the board members,” Rosenblatt wrote, stating that only Hoffnagle had seen it. “Hoffnagle then released the ‘evaluation’ to the press. The events in the preceding paragraph occurred because the plaintiff had reported the district’s financial wrongdoings to the Connecticut Education Commissioner and the Department of Education and because Watson had asked the state board to intervene in the school district’s financial affairs. The defendants penalized the plaintiff by denying her a scheduled salary increase because she reported defendants’ abuses of authority and unethical and/or illegal conduct to employees of the Connecticut Department of Education.”

Rosenblatt claims that Hoffnagle’s and the board’s actions caused Watson to be removed from her position as superintendent and “the defendants have damaged the plaintiff’s reputation and placed her in a false public light.”

Watson is suing Hoffnagle and the board for financial damages, benefits, compensatory damages, costs and attorney’s fees.

The return date for the court case is listed as Tuesday, Sept. 22.

When reached, Rosenblatt would not comment for this story, nor would he give contact information for Watson.

Both Hoffnagle and Travaglini did not return calls for comment for this story.

A Board of Education meeting scheduled by Travaglini for Tuesday, Aug. 25, was subsequently canceled by him, and the meeting’s agenda was never posted.