Kelly’s campaign may face legal roadblock
District workers not allowed to serve on school board; GOP checking possible conflict
GREENWICH — Joe Kelly is best known as the successful coach of the Greenwich High School rugby team. But that role could trip up his attempt to join the town’s Board of Education.
Kelly, a Republican, announced plans this week to shift his previous campaign for the Board of Selectmen to the school board instead. That decision would clear the way for Board of Education member Lauren Rabin to pursue the Republican nomination for selectman.
But Kelly’s new candidacy is facing concerns of a possible conflict of interest.
Employees of the school district are not allowed to serve on the Board of Education, according to Town Clerk Carmella Budkins.
But the town Republican leadership is seeking advice on whether Kelly could still serve on the school board even though he is paid for his part-time position as rugby coach.
“We are looking at the statutes to see if this is a conflict,” Republican Town Committee Chairman Richard DiPreta said Tuesday. “Once we determine if there is a conflict of interest here, we will discuss it with Joe and determine what we can do moving forward.”
On Tuesday, Kelly said he was awaiting guidance from the town’s legal department. He said he hoped his position as a coach would not prevent him from also serving the town as a school board member.
“I hope we can get through this,” Kelly said, expressing a strong desire to remain as coach
as well as run for the school board in the fall. “We’re trying to get it clarified.”
Town Attorney Wayne Fox said he was reviewing the issue and hoped to have a determination soon.
Kelly is also the CEO of Uranium Markets, a commodities firm with offices in Manhattan and London and its headquarters in Greenwich.
He has earned high praise for his work as rugby coach, receiving the Greenwich Old Timer’s Athletic Association lifetime achievement award last year for guiding the team to nine championships during his 10-year tenure.
Only one employee — the superintendent of schools — reports directly to the Board of Education. However, all the other school employees, including the Greenwich High athletic director, who oversees all the coaches, report to the superintendent.
Last year in Danbury, Democrat Jane Grandieri was elected to the Board of Education but declined the seat after it was determined that she couldn’t serve on the board and take a job with the school district as a behavioral therapist. That determination was made under state law, which would also govern Greenwich’s statutes.
Kelly said he has previously asked the school district to not pay him at all, or to pay him only $1 and give the budgeted money to the assistant coaches instead. However, district regulations do not allow a volunteer coach.
“As far as I am concerned, I’d love to forgo my pay and be a volunteer,” Kelly said, adding that he donates his salary to the rugby program’s booster club every year. “If I had a choice, that’s obviously what I would do.”
According to the Greenwich school district, Kelly earned $7,527 as coach for the 2019 spring rugby season, under the town’s agreement with the Greenwich Education Association.
DiPreta said Kelly would be an asset to the Board of Education and noted Kelly’s popularity in town with Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters.
“We think he would serve the town well as a member of the Board of Education,” DiPreta said. “We think that of all the candidates that we put forward, otherwise we would not put them forward.”
If it is determined that Kelly can serve on the school board, he would be one of three Republicans vying for two seats among the four that are up for election this year. While Rabin is not be seeking re-election to the Board of Education, Barbara O’Neill, a former board chair, will seek her third four-year term, and town resident Karen Kowalski is looking to run for the first time, DiPreta said.
O’Neill confirmed her re-election plans on Tuesday. Kowalski could not be reached for comment.
In July, the RTC will hold its nominating meeting and can put forward more than two candidates for the two seats. Additionally, any candidate that does not earn a party nomination could gather signatures to petition his way onto the ballot.
For Kelly, he said he hopes for a quick resolution. If it comes down to choosing between remaining as rugby coach or running for the Board of Education, Kelly would not indicate what he would do. But he said he would want to have a conversation with the public about his best path.
“I have made a commitment to this (rugby) program,” he said. “I’ve made a commitment to the parents, and I’ve made a commitment to the youth. I said I would be there for the long run. I told the kids coming in that they would have the same level of commitment that the kids who just graduated got. There would be a lot to discuss because I have made promises.”
When asked what would happen if he had to make a choice, Kelly said, “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”