Cardona will likely get job as education commissioner
Nomination of Meriden official comes after Lamont changes mind on first choice
After a flipflop by Gov. Ned Lamont, the state Board of Education is expected Thursday to endorse Miguel Cardona, Meriden’s assistant superintendent of schools, as the next education commissioner.
Lamont switched his choice — which must be endorsed by the state board and the legislature — this week, just days after telling Bloomfield Superintendent of Schools James Thompson he had the job. Lamont’s office said it could not come to a final agreement with Thompson, despite a July 8 letter to him.
“On behalf of Governor Ned Lamont and the State Of Connecticut, I am pleased to offer you employment with the Connecticut Department of Education in the position of Commissioner,” wrote Paul Mounds, Lamont’s chief operating officer, in a letter dated July 8.
“This agreement is valid upon your recommendation for Commissioner by Connecticut State Board of Education. Governor Lamont values your leadership and looks forward to working with you,” Mounds said in the letter.
Allan B. Taylor, chairman of the state Board of Education, did not respond to calls requesting comment Wednesday. The board is scheduled to take up the endorsement vote during a conference
call Thursday morning. The 10-member board currently has three vacancies, and seven members are eligible to vote on a conference call.
Under state law, the legislature still needs to confirm the nomination, said Peter Yazbak, a spokesman for the education department.
The commissioner of education job is the final unfilled position in Gov. Lamont’s administration, which has faced criticism for a disorganized approach.
Struggling to build support for his signature proposal — a plan to add tolls to some highways — Lamont said he would replace top staff members last week. Legislators have complained the governor’s message on tolls has been muddled since he switched from a campaign pledge not to propose tolls on cars. They have also said the administration’s progress was slowed because Lamont has surrounded himself with colleagues who lack long-term government experience.
Thompson first talked with Lamont in January about the commissioner’s job. Lamont selected Thompson after interviewing the top candidates for the job in June, sources close to the process said. Between the July 8 letter and July 16, Lamont changed his preference to Cardona.
Lamont’s office told Thompson on Tuesday that he would not get the job. A spokesperson for Lamont,
when asked why the governor changed his mind, said the two sides were unable to come to an agreement.
“Dr. Thompson was provided an offer letter contingent upon board action and agreed-upon terms,” said Paul Mounds, the chief operating officer in the Lamont administration in a statement provided by Lamont’s press office. “In this instance, however, things did not work out.”
Last week, Lamont offered Thompson a salary of $192,500 and was asked to decide whether he wanted the job by July 11.
On Tuesday, sources said Lamont would instead offer the job to Miguel Cardona, assistant superintendent of schools in Meriden.
Stan Simpson, a spokesman for Thompson, said the Bloomfield superintendent was offered the top education job on two different occasions by Gov. Lamont.
“The first time was in January. The second time, after a lengthy and competitive selection process, the
offer was put in writing last week, Dr. Thompson accepted. The Governor subsequently reneged. In doing so, the Governor publicly and needlessly humiliated one of Connecticut’s most respected education leaders,” Simpson said on Wednesday.
“This process lacked integrity — and now it lacks candor. The Governor and his advisers caved in to external pressure. It’s as simple as that.”
One source said Tuesday that as conversations with Thompson continued, “it became clear that the administration and the State Board of Education and Dr. Thompson were not on the same page with respect to roles and responsibilities.”
Cardona, another source said, “came prepared, he came with a vision. He came with the sense that he wanted the role for the right reasons.”