A Durham resident is alleging that Regional School District (RSD) 13 is withholding documents related to a lawsuit and ethics complaint against former Board of Education chair Lindsay Dahlheimer.
Durham resident Rhonda Riggott Stevens filed a complaint with the Freedom of Information Commission (FOIC) on January 13, alleging that RSD 13 officials were not responding to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for communication between the school board and their insurance company about a lawsuit against Dahlheimer.
Background
Anthony DeFilio, a football coach at Coginchaug High School, filed a lawsuit against Dahlheimer in August 2025. DeFilio claims Dahlheimer made complaints to the school principal and the Department of Children and Families (DCF), alleging he was engaging in inappropriate conduct with football players in an attempt to cause him to lose his job.
Both the school and DCF investigated the complaints and found the claims were baseless.
DeFilio also filed a FOIC complaint against Dahlheimer and BOE co-chair Robert Moore alleging they violated FOIA by holding an illegal executive session during a July 16 special meeting where members voted on whether to investigate Dahlheimer.
The BOE ultimately voted to indemnify Dahlheimer in connection with DeFilio’s civil suit and voted against conducting an investigation into Dahlheimer’s conduct at an August 13 meeting.
The Durham Ethics Commission later voted to find Dahlheimer’s conduct at both meetings violated the code of ethics. Part of the ethics commission’s discussion prior to their vote finding Dahlheimer had violated the ethics code involved how a vote or recommendations could impact the insurance coverage of the lawsuit.
The Second FOIC Complaint
On December 19, Stevens submitted a FOIA request to RSD 13 superintendent Dr. Sydney Leggett seeking “all documents, records, reports, correspondence and attachments” RSD 13 submitted to any insurance company in relation to DeFilio’s lawsuit against Dahlheimer. She also sought any documents or communications the insurance company had sent in response.
Stevens also asked Leggett to attach a privilege log “indicating the date of the document(s), from whom it was sent, and to whom it was sent” in the event RSD 13 claimed the documents she was seeking are protected by attorney-client privilege.
Leggett acknowledged the request the same day, but according to the complaint, the school district has “refused to provide the requested documents.”
In Leggett’s email acknowledging Stevens’ request, Leggett writes that it “seems to be a repeat of one of your current requests” and that clarification would be helpful.
She also suggested that a review of the documents would take some time.
“For example, in your last request, we ran a search of all electronic communications with your key words, and that produced 394 files, comprising 2,676 pages of information. Since I am the only one who’s allowed to review these, due to confidentiality, this takes time.” Leggett wrote.
Stevens’ request to the FOIC asks the commission to find the school board violated FOIA, issue a $1,000 fine to each member of the school board, and work with an ombudsman for a period of a year to ensure they are following FOIA.
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