Ansonia, school board settle suit over dueling appointments

ANSONIA — After more than two years of legal wrangling, the case of the dueling Board of Education appointments has been settled.

A lawsuit filed a month after police were called to City Hall by the school board’s lawyer over the controversy ended Thursday during a virtual hearing that lasted about 30 seconds.

“Judgment will enter in accordance with the stipulation filed by the parties. Thank you,” Judge Arthur Hiller announced.

The dispute dates back to November 2019, when Democrat Joseph Jeanette Jr. resigned from a seat on the school board after being elected to the city’s Board of Aldermen.

That left a vacancy which both sides rushed to fill during separate meetings that happened within hours of each other, which left two people appointed to the seat.

The Board of Education appointed Phil Tripp, who had run and lost against Mayor David Cassetti in the election. The Board of Aldermen appointed Bobbi Tar, who had lost a run for alderman but currently serves on the board.

When the school board met the next month to elect officers, the mayor presided over the meeting, prompting the Board of Education’s lawyer to call the police, though he didn’t file a complaint and the cops took no action.

A month after the contentious meeting, a compromise candidate, Beth Laberge, was appointed to the vacant post, with the understanding the question would eventually be settled in court. A month later, the city sued the school board seeking a declaratory judgment saying the Ansonia charter gave the aldermen the right to appoint new members.

The school board said the city’s interpretation of the charter and state law “lacked substantial support.”

Jeanette’s original term expired last December, prompting a judge and lawyers to wonder whether the issue was moot at a hearing in January.

However, lawyers representing the two sides filed a stipulation in court last month agreeing that the city was right.

“Specifically, the parties move the Court to enter a Stipulated Judgment in favor of the Plaintiff, City of Ansonia, finding that the Ansonia Board of Aldermen is the proper and exclusive authority responsible for filling vacancies on the Ansonia Board of Education pursuant to the Ansonia City Charter,” the document reads.

The Board of Education voted unanimously to accept the agreement last month, according to meeting minutes.

The lawyer representing the school board declined to comment Thursday.

Ansonia Corporation Counsel John Marini said the settlement was long overdue.

“It’s about time,” he said. “The City Charter is crystal clear that the aldermen fill vacancies on the Board of Education. This was a wasteful, frivolous claim that should have never been made.”

Marini said he would have to research how much the city and school board spent on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit settled Thursday was filed months after the resolution of a separate lawsuit between the city and school board over funding the 2018-19 budget.

The relationship between the aldermen and school board has since improved.

“Fortunately, we have a new Board of Education and school administration that are willing to work with the city,” Marini said. “Mayor Cassetti and his team look forward to a productive relationship with BOE administrators in continued support for Ansonia schools, students, and teachers.”