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Parent urges board to reject budget increase for legal fees and fulfill FOIA request
Summary
During public comment at the New Haven School District Board of Education meeting, parent Ashley Stockton asked the board to oppose an amendment increasing funds for legal services and said a city FOIA request for legal-fee accounting remains unanswered after 215 days.
Ashley Stockton, a New Haven resident and parent of two New Haven Public School students, asked the Board of Education to record a public request that city leaders respond to a pending Freedom of Information Act request and urged board members to vote against Amendment 8.01, a budget revision to increase legal-services spending.
Stockton said Amendment 8.01 would raise the district—s allocation for the law firm Shipman & Goodwin to $250,000, a $150,000 increase that she described as a 60% rise. She said that if board members approve the amendment, "$400,000 of the school's operating budget will be spent to cover legal fees to Shipman and Goodwin," and that this firm is one of several counsel firms used by the district.
Stockton told the board she filed a FOIA request with the City of New Haven on May 17, 2024, seeking an itemized accounting of legal fees the city and the school district had spent on retained counsel in a specified time period for matters including labor complaints, human-resources investigations, board-policy violations and federal court defense. "After 215 days and multiple follow-ups, no information has been provided to me," she said, and she cited the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission—s guidance that FOI requests should be prioritized.
Stockton asked the board to "consider voting no to the Amendment 8.01 budget revision request," saying repeated budget revisions undermine public trust and that operating funds should instead prioritize paraprofessionals and food-service providers. She said Finance Committee Chair Wilcox recommended she file a FOIA when her prior requests to the committee for an itemized accounting did not yield results.
The board did not take a formal vote during Stockton's comments; subsequent agenda items proceeded. Stockton's remarks were included in the public-comment record and the board acknowledged receipt.
