July 19, 2012

Dr. Karen List Superintendent of Schools 50 South Main St West Hartford, CT 06107 Chairman Bruce Putterman and Members West Hartford Board of Education 50 South Main St West Hartford, CT 06107 Dear Dr. List, Chmn. Putterman, and Board of Education Colleagues: As you are aware, in recent days, substantial public attention has been paid to the grievances of many parents of children in the Louise Duffy Elementary School district in regard to the actions, decisions, and relations of Duffy School Principal Kathleen Tracy. We write to you today to impress upon both Dr. List, Superintendent of Schools and our colleagues on the West Hartford Board of Education, the importance of our immediate action to address the concerns of our town’s parents, the petitioning request by parents for Principal Tracy’s resignation, and the policies and mechanisms of the board and administration that govern the Town’s response to these events in the past, present, and future. To that end, we request that Principal Tracy be immediately placed on paid, administrative leave from her duties as Principal of Duffy School or be given a temporary, alternative assignment of responsibilities. We ask that a plan for Duffy School’s administration during her absence be developed and provided to the Board of Education and to the parents of children who attend or will be attending Duffy School without delay. We believe that the vote of no confidence provided in the petition by parents, and the accompanying allegations and diverse opinion of events and that of Ms. Tracy, warrant her removal pending the Town’s judgment of a permanent resolution and satisfaction that appropriate policy and systems are in place for handling situations such as this. Ms. Tracy’s leave of absence will help to alleviate the sense of uncertainty and apprehension our parents and children might feel if they return to school in little more than a month to find Ms. Tracy at the helm with no clear solution to their concerns. In addition, we are asking that a special meeting of the West Hartford Board of Education be called so that our board as well as the public can receive testimony from Dr. List and Principal Tracy regarding how existing policy affected the decisions and courses of action by the board, administration, faculty, and parents in addressing these problems. We must take this opportunity to assess how we got to where we are today, what measures were taken over the years to remedy the concerns of parents in this matter, and how we can improve upon existing policy to ensure as best we can that something like this does not happen in the future. Most importantly, a special meeting will provide transparency to those we serve and work for-parents and the general public, and will facilitate their best recommendations as to how we can improve upon policy set forth by our board. We await the timely response from Chairman Putterman and Superintendant List regarding our request for Ms. Tracy’s leave of absence or reassignment and for a special meeting by the Board of Education. Given that the next regular meeting of the Board of Education is not until September, 2012, we ask that

this special meeting occur by August 3, 2012 to allow for as much time as possible for us to address these problems before the start of the upcoming school year. We urge all of our colleagues to join us in this request so that we may be unified in our goal of implementing the very best policy as a board as well as bringing swift resolution to this issue. The integrity of Duffy Elementary School and that of our school district as a whole depends on our ability to ensure we are putting into practice the best policies not only to avoid situations like this, but to provide the assurance to parents that ample resources are available to them for addressing their grievances and opinions without fear of consequence to their children in our school systems. Thank you for your prompt consideration. Sincerely, Lib Brassil Spinella Member West Hartford Board of Education Ellen Burchill Brassil Member West Hartford Board of Education *signed electronically <<Sent Via Email and Postal Mail>> Cc: Mr. Thomas Moore Assistant Superintendent for Administration