BREAKING NEWS: Kevin Walston is OUT as School Superintendent
Friday, January 26, 2024 Time: 9:40 PM
BREAKING: Walston is out.
The Board of Education has unanimously approved a separation agreement with School Superintendent Kevin Walston.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kara Casimiro will serve as interim School Superintendent.
Here's video of the school board's vote.
PUBLIC STATEMENT OF THE DANBURY BOARD OF EDUCATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Michael Seelig - seelim@danbury.k12.ct.us
Danbury, CT - January 26, 2024 Mr. Kevin Walston, Superintendent of the Danbury Public Schools, has decided to resign from his position for personal reasons. The Danbury Board of Education supports Mr. Walston’s decision and wishes him well as he takes the time necessary to address his personal issues. Mr. Walston will remain on leave through June 30, 2024, and the Board of Education has accepted Mr. Walston’s resignation, effective that date. The Board thanks Mr. Walston for his leadership of the Danbury Public Schools, and it wishes him every success for the future.
Given Mr. Walston’s decision, the Board has appointed Dr. Kara Casimiro to serve as interim superintendent for the time being. The Board appreciates Dr. Casimiro’s willingness to serve the district in this capacity, and the Board wishes to assure the public that the Board and the Administration will continue their work together on behalf of the Danbury Public Schools community.
School board provide little information regarding Superintendent "personal leave" request"
Time: 7:19 AM
Sorry for the delay, but I've been working on obtaining information regarding the personal leave request from School Superintendent Kevin Walston.
Here's what happened last night.
After a 100-minute Executive Session to discuss School Superintendent Kevin Walston's personal leave request, the school board made the following motion:
"The Danbury Board of Education has been notified of Mr. Walston's decision to take personal leave, and the board recognizes the need for Mr. Walston to take time to address his personal issues.
In the intern, the board of education will be exercising its due diligence to ensure that the interests of the Danbury public schools are safeguarded."
Rumors are circulating about the nature of Walston's leave request, and at this point, for legal reasons, I'm not comfortable going public with any unverified information.
Given the length of the executive session and the motion's language, the public deserves answers regarding the Superintendent's temporary leave from office.
Here's video footage of the reading and acceptance of the motion (courtesy of Hatters TV:
HatCityBLOG VIDEO: National School Choice Press Conference with State Rep. Chaleski and Danbury Charter School
Thursday, January 25, 2024 Time: 4:40 PM
Yesterday, I attended the National School Choice Week press conference with State Rep. Rachel Chaleski's and representatives of the Danbury Charter School.
As the next session of the General Assembly is set to begin soon, State Rep. Chaleski announced that she will push for funding for a charter school in the city.
The state approved the charter school in 2018 but has had its funding denied by the city's Democratic state delegation, led by State Senator Julie Kushner and State Reps. Bob Godfrey and Farley Santos contend that funding for education should be directed towards public schools.
The topic of the charter school has been a contentious issue in the city for several years, and yesterday's press conference clearly indicates that the establishment of a charter school in the seventh-largest city in the state will continue throughout the election year.
Freshman City Councilperson Holly Robinson's line of questioning during last week's continuation of the Board of Education's reserve allocation request is required viewing for members of the public who want to fully understand how the city is currently facing a 30 million-dollar school budget increase.
In the following clip, Councilperson Robinson correctly highlights the school system's use of COVID relief money for operating expenses. The expiration of the funds is now the main driver behind the largest education budget increase in the history of the city (29.8 million).
The following exchange requires viewing for those who really want to understand how the city is now facing a budgetary crisis, which could result in residents receiving a hefty tax increase.
04.25.22 (RADIO): WSHU Latino group call on Connecticut lawmakers to open a Danbury charter school
06.03.22 (OP-ED): KUSHNER: "Career Academy ‘a great deal for Danbury"
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
The amended complaint states that plaintiffs sought to remedy the continued discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against the Latino residents of the City of Danbury by Danbury's mayor and its police department.
Plaintiffs allege that the arrests violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Connecticut Constitution because defendants conducted the arrests without valid warrants, in the absence of exigent circumstances, and without probable cause to believe that plaintiffs were engaged in unlawful activity. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants improperly stopped, detained, investigated, searched and arrested plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also allege that defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights when they intentionally targeted plaintiffs, and arrested and detained them on the basis of their race, ethnicity and perceived national origin. Plaintiffs raise First Amendment, Due Process and tort claims.
Plaintiffs request declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees.
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
