Termination Hearing For Ellington Teacher Gets Heated, Continued

ELLINGTON, CT — A third hearing on a termination case involving kindergarten teacher Maura Klesczewski Monday included testimony from Ellington Superintendent of Schools Scott Nicol, who said the 20-year veteran of the school system essentially "abandoned her job" by refusing to return to work once she had used up all her accrued sick time.

The hearing concluded when Board of Education attorney Christine Chinni interrupted a heated exchange between Nicol and attorney Andrew Houlding, who is representing Klesczewski.

Klesczewski, 51, who teaches at the Windermere School, has a severe asthma condition, which prompted her last summer to request limited physical contact with others in view of the coronavirus pandemic. She was on paid leave from mid-September through December, then used her paid sick leave through February.

According to documents provided to Patch under the Freedom of Information Act, upon the expiration Klesczewski then requested an unpaid leave of absence through the remainder of the school year, writing, "My hope is that the vaccine will be proven to be safe for me to get. When that happens, I'll be so happy to return to my teaching position for the 2021-2022 school year."

After her request was denied and a termination letter sent, "she agreed to a release and settlement agreement that included her resignation, in consideration for the board providing unpaid leave for the rest of the 2020-2021 school year and stopping the termination process," according to Nicol. She rescinded her signature on March 29, documents indicate.

As Houlding questioned why Nicol asked his client to provide additional doctors' notes after her request for time off under the Family Medical Leave Act was approved, his voice became louder and he and Nicol began drowning each other out, prompting Chinni to call for a halt to the night's proceedings.

Monday's session had gone on for more than three hours, and the parties will reconvene on May 25 at 5 p.m. in the Ellington High School cafeteria.

An earlier version of this story misidentified Board of Education attorney Christine Chinni as Board of Education chair Jennifer Dzen. Patch regrets and has corrected the error.

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