Updated: Board of Education to Review Unapproved Administrative Position Tonight

*This article has been updated, amending the statement that the position created created by Dr. Perlini is a cabinet position. Whether or not the director of elementary education position is a cabinet position is curently in question, and will be analyzed by the board of education.

 The Board of Education has called a special meeting to review Interim Superintendent Ernest Perlini's creation of a new elementary administrative position without the board's approval.

According to Board of Education Vice President Christopher Watts, the board was notified following its meeting last week that Perlini has promoted the principal of Oliver Ellsworth Elementary School, Patricia Phelan, to director of elementary education, a position that did not previously exist.

There is the question, however, of whether or not Perlini needed to obtain the board's approval for this particular position, said Watts.

If the position is at the level of a district cabinet member or building principal, then it would have to be approved the board of education. If the position, and its job description, are not at that level, the appointment of the position falls under the jurisdication of the superintendent, and would not require the board's approval.

According to Windsor Board of Education Policy, section P-2151, "The Board of Education will appoint qualified persons to all Cabinet positions and building principals in the School System, based on recommendations made by the Superintendent."

Board policy also states that the appointment of cabinet positions and building principals "is valid only when made in such a manner, and the Superintendent will submit his/her recommendations to the Board in writing if so requested."

In the case of the recommendation of a cabinet member or building principal, the board has the ability to approve or reject the superintendent's recommendation.

If the position is found to be under the board's jurisdiction, Perlini's promotion of Phelan may not have followed the board's policy, said Board Secretary Doreen Richardson.

"The board was never consulted," she said. "The board was uninvolved in the decision... [We are holding the meeting] to fully vet the situation and determine the proper course of action."

Another concern, Richardson added, is that during the planning stages of Windsor's restructuring of elementary schools, "the expectations of the board... were that there would be a reduction in overhead, including elementary administrators."

The board will attend the meeting with its lawyer in hopes of coming to understand if it has the ability to approve or reject the new position, according to Watts.

If the board does find that it can take action, it doesn't, however, mean that it will reject Phelan's appointment.

If the position is within the current budget, said Watts, it is likely that the position won't be rejected. The board must also consider whether or not the position is intended to be temporary or not.

Ellsworth's vice principal, Kurt Stanco, has been promoted to acting principal of the elementary school, but a replacement vice principal has not been named, according Watts.

The special meeting will be held tonight, Thurs., Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m. in L.P. Wilson's room 17.