Windsor Board of Education denies administrators' contractual grievance after executive session

The Windsor Board of Education voted 9-0 on Jan. 14 to deny a contractual grievance filed by the Windsor School Administrators' and Supervisors' Association. The board met in a special session at 7:05 p.m. at 601 Matianuck Avenue and entered executive session at 7:08 p.m. to hear the evidentiary portion of the grievance before returning to open session and voting.

Board member Ayana Taylor announced the meeting's purpose and confirmed that the grievant had no objection to conducting the evidentiary portion in executive session. Board member Leonard Lockhart moved and Board member Paul Panos seconded a motion to enter executive session and invite grievant Karen Lawson, union representatives Patti Phelan, Liana Jorgensen and Jennifer Balnis, Acting Superintendent Dr. Noha Abdel-Hady and Shipman & Goodwin attorney Jessica Ritter. The motion to enter executive session passed, recorded as Yes: 8, No: 0, and the board went into closed session at 7:08 p.m. Member Nathan Wolliston arrived at 7:13 p.m. and joined the executive session.

After the executive session concluded and the board returned to open session at 8:41 p.m., Lockhart again moved and Panos seconded that the board deny the grievance on the grounds that there was no contractual violation. The board approved the denial unanimously on a roll-call vote recorded as Yes: 9, No: 0. The roll call list in the minutes records Maxine Davis, Jeremy Halek, Becky Jacobsen, Leonard Lockhart, James Madison, Paul Panos, Ayana Taylor, Nathan Wolliston and Tracey Zotter each voting yes.

There were no public speakers during the meeting and no announcements were made after the vote. Board member Lockhart moved to adjourn at 8:42 p.m.; Panos seconded and the motion to adjourn passed unanimously. The special meeting minutes were recorded and later approved at the board's Jan. 21, 2026 regular meeting.