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Board of Education warns that draft charter language could grant broad city access to school financial systems
Summary
Board of Education representatives and educators told the Charter Revision Commission that proposed language requiring the board to provide 'full access' to school financial records risks conflicting with state law (Conn. Gen. Stat. §10‑222) and with FERPA protections; they urged narrow, specific audit language or replacing 'shall' with 'may'.
Members of Danbury’s Board of Education and local educators told the Charter Revision Commission on June 25 that a proposed clause granting the mayor and finance department access to school financial systems could be overly broad, carry privacy risks and may conflict with Connecticut statutes.
Lauren Dailey, the Board of Education secretary, read a statement approved by the board on June 24 asking the commission to replace the word "shall" with "may" in section 6‑17 and to clarify safeguards for student‑data privacy. "FERPA ... is a federal law that guarantees student privacy," Dailey said, and the draft's first clause, she said, appears to grant sweeping, unfettered access to all financial data.
Educator Christina Sweeney told the commission the board is not a standard city department but an agent of the state, and she warned the draft language is contradictory: one clause appears to subject the school district to municipal accounting procedures while another purports not to impair the board's statutory authority. She said the commission should ensure charter language does not override state statute (citing Conn. Gen. Stat. §10‑222) and should include explicit safeguards for student privacy agreements and limited, audit‑purpose access.
Other commenters — including recent graduates and parents — said they support timely audits but warned that continuous visibility into detailed financial data could allow informal influence over educational decisions. Will Sweeney argued that oversight can be exerted quietly through data access even without written directives.
The Board of Education and other speakers requested clearer, narrower language that permits timely audits while protecting separate state‑granted board authority and student privacy.
Next step: Speakers asked the commission to revise or clarify section language to ensure compliance with state law and to specify the scope, purpose, and safeguards for any financial‑system access.
