Norwich board to extend contracts of acting superintendent, assistant
— The Board of Education Norwich voted unanimously during an online special meeting Tuesday night to extend the contracts of the acting superintendent and acting assistant superintendent through June 30 as an investigation of current school leaders continues.
The board authorized Chairman Mark Kulos to negotiate contract extensions for Acting Superintendent Susan Lessard and Acting Assistant Superintendent Jamie Bender to run through the end of the school year.
The two were appointed last September after Superintendent Kristen Stringfellow and Assistant Superintendent Tamara Gloster were placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into allegations they fostered a toxic work environment through intimidation and retaliation against staff who questioned their actions or voiced complaints.
Kulos said the investigation is winding down.
He hopes to schedule a meeting between the board’s attorney and attorneys for Stringfellow and Gloster sometime in April. He said the board might receive a written report from investigating attorney Kyle McClain of Hartford by the end of April. He added that the schedule could be extended if the report is not ready.
Tuesday’s votes were taken following a 30-minute executive session to discuss the contract extensions and an employee complaint against Lessard filed by Teachers’ Memorial Global Studies Middle School Principal Rayna Northcutt.
After the meeting, Kulos told reporters the complaint against Lessard was found to be without merit. The board voted to provide Northcutt a copy of the report of the board’s investigation.
Kulos said he anticipated no changes to the interim contracts for Lessard and Bender.
Lessard’s acting superintendent’s salary is $204,000, the same as Stringfellow’s, although Stringfellow received additional stipends based on her doctoral degree.
On Wednesday, school officials said Bender, the district’s retired former student services director, has been paid a per diem rate of $700 per day worked in accordance with the initial agreement that ran from her appointment Sept. 28 through Jan. 14. Starting Jan. 15, her pay was raised to $892 per day worked.