The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Superintendent faces hearing on termination
A Connecticut superintendent facing termination over his school district’s vaccine rollout could receive a hearing next month.
The Region 14 school district is looking to fire Superintendent Joseph Olzacki after accusations that teachers were initially passed over for COVID-19 vaccines earlier this year.
The board sent the superintendent and his attorney a letter in late June with the reasons why the board is considering terminating him, said George Bauer, school board chair.
In the winter, the board placed Olzacki on paid administrative leave and launched an investigation into the district’s vaccine rollout.
Teachers had claimed administrators, central office staff, and school board members and their spouses were prioritized over other educators for the COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Southbury in January, before most people were eligible for the vaccine.
Educators from Region 14, which includes Bethlehem and Woodbury, in addition to Region 15 and Oxford schools, were vaccinated at the clinic. Region 15 and Oxford have not faced these accusations.
The board has finished its investigation but declined to say the findings, citing attorney-client privilege. The district’s COVID-19 officer was fired.
Olzacki is allowed a hearing before the board under his contract and requested one through his attorney, Bauer said. The board is trying to schedule the hearing for early August, he said. Most, if not all, of the hearing will be held in public.
The board must decide whether to fire the superintendent within 15 days of the hearing, according to his contract. Olzacki’s attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday morning.
Last month, the board voted unanimously to void Olzacki’s contract that would have taken effect July 1 and run through June 30, 2024. However, a contract in effect from July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2022, remains in effect. It’s under that contract that the board wants to terminate him. Wayne McAllister has been serving as the interim superintendent since February.