Brookfield Public Schools Board of Education (BOE) Chair Wendy Youngblood, who is a Democrat, met with a local union leader to discuss school climate without other members of the negotiations subcommittee—and now some Republicans on the board are trying to remove her from her position.

On Nov. 20, BOE members had a debate on whether they should hear a formal complaint made against Youngblood. The complainant alleged that Youngblood showed poor leadership when she agreed to a meeting with Brookfield teacher and union member Dennis Petrino. She agreed to a meeting before speaking with the BOE’s attorney.

These allegations are based on emails obtained through Freedom of Information requests, which were shared with Inside Investigator by a resident of Brookfield.

The first email, which was sent on the evening of Sept. 25, said: “Hi, this is Dennis Petrino to be a union president and I requesting a meeting with the head of the border bed (sic) to discuss climate issues directly related to actions by the board of Ed.”

Hours after that initial email, Youngblood responded with times she was available to meet. They agreed to meet the next day at Candlewood Lake Elementary School (CLES), where Petrino works. This set off a firestorm of emails starting early the next morning between Youngblood and Republican Board Member Joy Greenstein.

Youngblood and Greenstein are both members of the BOE’s Personnel and Negotiations (P&N) subcommittee, along with Democrat Rosa Fernandes.

Email exchanges show that Youngblood asked Petrino if Fernandez could come to the meeting after a meeting with the BOE attorney. Youngblood did not invite Greenstein.

Two motions were introduced to dismiss the complaint at the Nov. 20 BOE meeting. Youngblood recused herself from both votes. For both of the motions, Fernandes, Democrat Stephanie Sikora and Republican Robert Fischetto voted to dismiss the complaint, while Republicans Sarah Devine, Erin Scalera and Greenstein voted against dismissing the complaint. Both motions failed.

Then, Greenstein introduced a motion to remove Youngblood as the subcommittee chair. Greenstein, Devine and Scalera voted in favor of it, while Fernandes, Sikora and Fischetto voted against it. That motion failed as well. 

Youngblood told Connecticut Hearst Media Group that the attempt to remove her from her position is “a distraction and a waste of our time,” Newstimes reported

The Spring 2024 Brookfield Public Schools Staff Survey found discord between the staff and leadership in the school.

The climate survey had 11 questions about leadership in the school. Staff ranked whether they agreed with certain statements on a scale that went from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree.” 

Staff have positive opinions about the principal of CLES, Dave Pepsoski, with 72% saying they have “good rapport” with him and 52% agreeing that “The principal inspires optimism for the future of this school.” Fifty-three percent of the staff agreed with the claim, “I feel respected by the school leadership team,” 68% “feel respected by the central office leadership team” and 65% think “Teachers have opportunities to participate in goal setting for this school.”

However, CLES staff disagreed with over half of the statements presented to them in the survey. Only 46% of staff believe that “Administrators at this school let staff know what is expected of them;” 48% believe that “Administrators at this school attempt to problem solve when things aren’t working;” 47% believe that they “have an opportunity to participate in leadership roles at the school;” 41% think they “have the opportunity to provide input into developing and implementing a vision for [CLES];” 39% think “building leadership has provided [them] with the opportunity to offer input into decisions made about this school;” and 49% of staff think “the building leadership has made efforts to build a relationship with [them].”

The rest of the survey asked staff questions about professional development, student achievement and school safety. Staff members had largely agreed that the school was doing well in these areas. 

Parents had overwhelmingly positive views of both the staff and administration at CLES schools, according to climate surveys. 

Petrino could not be reached to answer questions about what specific actions she alleges the BOE took that contributed to the climate at CLES. 

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