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Union and staff members urge transparency on closures, transfers and budget; call for audits and staffing for language programs
Summary
Public commenters called on the New Haven Board of Education and district leadership for increased budget transparency, fewer disruptive transfers, expanded language staffing and a forensic audit of district expenditures.
Several public commenters pressed the board and district leadership to provide greater transparency on school closures, personnel transfers and the budget and to prioritize staffing in language programs and supports for families.
Kirsten Holtz McFadden, an attorney and recently retired district teacher, told the board it must “do better,” saying two school closures this year occurred in predominantly Black neighborhoods and criticizing how staff and families were notified. McFadden called for empathy from district leadership and for officials to join teacher and paraeducator rallies in Hartford to press for funding.
Marie Ackerman, a paraeducator at Worthington School, urged the district to reconsider transfers of assistant principals and other moves that she said disrupt neighborhoods and school communities; she asked the board to keep the neighborhood school open so it can continue serving local families.
Leslie Bledo, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers and a parent, raised concerns about the district’s public access to the 2025–26 budget (she said the most recent publicly posted budget on the district website was for 2024–25). Bledo also urged the board to reconsider a 60‑minute cap on public comment, asked the district to plan for increased legal and mental‑health supports for families amid a climate of immigration enforcement, and praised a grant proposal to add part‑time Arabic teachers while urging investment in full‑time positions.
Bledo also criticized a process she said left the district paying an additional $1.4 million this summer on top of a $5.6 million contract to clean and ready schools; she urged earlier planning and greater transparency so dollars might have been negotiated into a single contract and possibly avoided other closures or instructional losses.
Why it matters: Speakers tied district staffing and budgeting decisions to equity and to operational readiness for the coming school year, and they asked the board to make budget details publicly accessible so community members can follow allocations and staffing choices.
Responses and context: Superintendent Doctor Negron later summarized personnel and staffing changes in the personnel report and acknowledged vacancies in central office positions. The board did not take immediate action on public comment requests beyond discussing personnel approvals and procurement items later in the meeting.
