Glastonbury fracas a poor example for kids

The idea of anyone throwing a punch at a Board of Education meeting is so absurd that it would beg belief if it had not occurred in Glastonbury in December.

It’s absurd because we are talking about grownups at a public meeting and not kids having a playground tiff. We’re talking about grownups at a meeting of an agency that is working to have the best interest of children in mind.

The best interest of children does not include showing them that adults will turn to pushing and punching when they do not agree on an issue — no matter how fraught with emotion that issue is.

Glastonbury police apparently agree that pushing and punching is a poor choice of action, because they arrested a local school board member and another man on charges connected to that fracas at a Dec. 14 board meeting.

The issue of contention that evening was whether the high school’s original Native American mascot should be brought back. Glastonbury High School’s Tomahawks mascot had been retired in 2020.

Board member Monte Ray McFall and resident Mark Finocchiaro went face-to-face during a break in the Board of Education’s meeting: Video published by NBC Connecticut shows the two men exchanging words.

The video shows McFall pushing Finocchiaro away and Finocchiaro then punching McFall in the face, causing him to fall to the floor. Thankfully no serious injuries were reported.

The incident delayed a decision on the mascot issue, but the school board later in December reaffirmed its decision to drop the Tomahawks mascot. That vote was 7-1.

But now McFall, 57, and Mark Finocchiaro, 53, are charged with second-degree breach of peace; they turned themselves in on arrest warrants, according to police said. Both men were released without having to post bail.

Police did the right thing in taking several weeks to investigate and speak to witnesses who were there at the high school when the now infamous incident took place. The state’s attorney reviewed and revised the warrant application before signing it, according to the police.

The issue of mascots can raise strong emotions, and this has been seen around the state as schools transition away from using Native American imagery for their sports teams.

Glastonbury High School adopted a new mascot, the Glastonbury Guardians, which was designed by a student. School board Chairman Doug Foyle has said the panel received broad public comment and “concluded the Tomahawk mascot was not aligned with our district’s goal to promote understanding and respect for all cultures.”

“Instead of uniting our school community, it was dividing it,” Foyle has noted.

And it is just when such strong emotions well up that adults, who are supposed to be role models for children, should know to step back and take a deep breath before speaking or acting.

Glastonbury Superintendent of School Alan Bookman has pointed out that the school board welcomes public comment but knows “there will always be passionate testimony when controversial issues are considered.”

Given that, “it is critical that we listen to each other with respect and follow meeting rules so that everyone can be heard,” Bookman has said.

The charges brought by police in this case show that there can be serious consequences when disagreements cross that line of respect and become physical.