Embattled Berlin High Teacher Won't Fight Ouster

Debra Cassidy, the teacher forced out of her job this week, will not contest the Board of Education’s decision to let her go, her husband said today.

But Kevin Cassidy is questioning how the school board could vote 6-0 to not renew Cassidy’s contract when school administrators gave the board no explanation of why the popular world languages teacher should not be kept on staff.

“I was very disappointed that they voted when they didn’t have the facts in front of them,” Cassidy said. “We have six board members who voted to let her go and they don’t have all the facts. This whole thing is absolutely crazy.”

The school board voted Monday to let Cassidy go, and did so after School Superintendent David Erwin said he could not provide the board with the reasons for his recommendation. Erwin today said he could not share his reasons for ousting Cassidy because he did not have the returned receipt of a certified letter he sent her alerting her to the board’s potential vote and giving her the option to allow a public discussion of the matter. 

Kevin Cassidy, however, said the letter was signed for and returned to the school district and that he’s not sure why Erwin told the board differently.  Erwin today said he still has not gotten the returned receipt of that letter.

He also said that even if he had been able to discuss with the board his reasons for not renewing Cassidy’s contract, it would have been brief and perfunctory, as is the case with most non-renewal discussions.  The board only discusses at length the proposed firing of tenured teachers.

Gary R. Brochu, the school board's chairman, said that under Connecticut state law Erwin also could not have divulged to the board details of the administration's reasons for letting Cassidy go because doing so could invalidate the board's decision. The law provides Cassidy a hearing before the board and the board needs to remain impartial in the event of such a hearing, Brochu said. 

"Personnel issues are dealt with by the administration. The board is almost artificially kept out of the loop to protect its impartiality." Brochu recused himself from voting on the issue because his lawfirm works for the district.

Under the process, Cassidy has 20 days to seek a hearing before the board.

“She’s not going to pursue it because she doesn’t want to work for that administration,” Kevin Cassidy said. “She’s already got three different applications in to different schools. She wants to teach, she wants to be around her kids, but Erwin and (high school principal Francis)Kennedy took that away from her.”

Cassidy has been on paid leave since last month after an incident involving her conduct at the high school, Erwin said.  She will continue to be paid through the end of the current school year, he added.

Her removal from the school prompted a sit-in protest several weeks ago by students and spurred a petition campaign by parents and students.