Milford Board Of Ed Awaits Investigation Results

The Milford Board of Education will soon meet much in the same a way a court tribunal meets in the coming months. Their objective, will be fairness, justice, and a resolution to a bitter set of civil and criminal accusations stemming from two Principals and the current Superintendent. The consensus among board members is to wait for the professionals hired to finish their job and present the documents to the board.

Everyone on the board is reserving judgement until the evidence they requested is presented, and all parties involved have had their ability to speak and submit documents in their defence.

The board will be confronted with some hard choices for our school leaders. The best outcome would be a joint resolution of all parties differences, a co-operative agreement on a new code of conduct and no one gets fired, suspended or quits. The big decisions just get deferred at the next contract negotiation and renewal based on the merits of past performance.

The worst possible outcome, would be the buying out of another contract, costly ongoing lawsuits, and the school is left with yet another search for a new Superintendent with the current accusers later exposed (in court) as over-reactive trouble makers.

The decision and work of the attorneys and investigators in the Polanski case certainly have a lot to do. This week marked a second criminal complaint being filed against the now suspended Superintendent and a resurgence of the acrimonious and contentious relationship that exists among Milford's top educational leaders.

No matter what the outcome of this scenario some big career bets have been made, the accusing Principals have gone "all in" against the Superintendent and the focus now has become on who is proven right/wrong. Whoever prevails, may very well have a "doomed career" as a result of either false baseless accusations, or by way of inappropriate behavior.

This is truly a sad situation that will most certainly end up creating a large emotional and financial hole in Milford's schools.

Polansky Attorney Calls Accusations Baseless And False

News over the weekend caused Milford Superintendent Harvey Polansky to become overwhelmed with shock and awe. Polanski retained the services of Fred Dorsey, an attorney from Hartford who spoke on his behalf.

Dorsey claims that the two principals in question have made baseless accusations, that there is no merit to their remarks but stopped short of calling them outright liars. Polanski, instead expects that he will be vindicated and looks forward to coming back to work so he can finish what he started as superintendent.

The Republican dominated board of education will decide Mr. Polanski's fate along with an independent investigation. The new board will be led by Dr. Mark Stapleton (R), who in the past thought the disciplinary actions of the board, regarding the previous Superintendent Firn, were harsh and unwarranted.

Meanwhile the costs to the city regarding this fiasco are dramatically escalating as all sides are hiring lawyers in addition to private investigators. The school district is also paying Polanski to stay home.

The two Principals, who still wish to remain un-named said that they know the scope and severity of their accusations, that these accusations are not something they took lightly. One of the principals broke down and cried shortly after an advance by Polanski. She said she sought advice from a friend, and felt that the best way to deal with the situation was to file a complaint to make it stop.

Polanski's response was in no way a surprise to the two principals, but both assured my sources that they are not "liars," and there was no "mis-understandings" like Polanski is claiming. One of the two principals is considering finding new employment should Polanski return to work.

One thing that all involved agree on is that our schools should remain a healthy and safe place to work outside the pressures of unwanted advances, embraces, or inappropriate touching by any employee especially the boss.

(Above Photo obtained from the internet and does not neceessarily reflect current events see the comments for more info.)

Milfords Schools In A Leadership Crisis

The New Republican dominated board of education is being sworn in today, and their first day on the job will be a nightmare. The crisis in leadership however is nothing new to some legacy board members who expunged the last Milford Superintendent in a similar swarm of controversy.

Harvey Polanski our Current Milford School Superintendent who won high and lavish praises from our mayor Jim Richetelli is now mired in a second wave of controversy. This time the Richetelli favorite is accused of lewd and lascivious acts toward two female Principals who made the allegations against our superintendent.

This is the second time this year that Mr. Polanski found himself in the news, for those who may have forgot last August he was investigated along with Republican Board of Education member Joanne Rhorig.

Rhorig resigned from the Board of Education after a firestorm of controversy occurred surrounding her household and numerous allegations of illegal activity. Charges were made that Polanski attended a party where known sexual predators lived, and underage drinking was ongoing in his presence.

Harvey Polanski is currently put on administrative leave. This occurred after an emergency closed door session of the Board of Education voted on an emergency response to the two principals allegations.

According to local sources an outside investigative agency will be hired at an undisclosed sum of taxpayer money. The investigators are expected to conduct a fact finding inquiry into the allegations made by the two Milford principals.

The Milford School System, will temporarily be under the direction of Michael Cummings the Assistant Superintendent. Larry Schaeffer previously took the post once before after our former Superintendent of Schools Gregory A. Firn "exercised poor judgment" and undermined confidence in his leadership by his handling of a situation involving a coach accused of sexual assault.

The board said "Firn's actions regarding a letter of recommendation for former coach Robert Dulin would be considered in the Superintendent's contract negotiations in June." Firn later Resigned of his own recognisance.

This years case may be much more egregious and prove to be an even poorer choice of a candidate for Milford's top paying job should these allegations be proven true. Aggregate factors already overshadowing our current Superintendents administration has also been the terrible results of the CAPT test scores, a test vital to the graduation of Milford's High School students.

The Republican dominated administration holds a majority on every board in the city of Milford except the Planning and Zoning board of which they hold an even stake. The rebuilding of our schools leadership will be at the helm of the incoming administration.

Most onlookers in the know, however, have been less than impressed with the Richetelli record on education of which now includes the towns second Superintendent being mired in troubles, failing CAPT test scores, standing room protests over 180 teachers having their employment threatened, objections over the Jonathan the Law additions, and controversy over media aides being let go and then rehired.