Ridgefield School Board Member Resigns After Threat of Ethics Complaint

RIDGEFIELD, CT — A Ridgefield school board member resigned Thursday after a candidate for a vacant seat notified the Board of Education that she was given the interview questions and answers to be asked of candidates for the vacancy. Karen Sulzinsky, a Democrat, resigned Thursday, Nov. 17.

Kaitlin Hayes said the written notes of her statement were for her personal use in addressing the Board of Education and were not intended for dissemination. In her statement to Board, Hayes says she withdrew her candidacy for the Board of Education because believed Sulzinsky's "actions and alliances" compromised the board's ability to consider her candidacy without bias.

Karen Sulzinsky told Patch that she is "proud of our accomplishments on behalf of Ridgefield’s students and families."

"My service to the town has been rewarding, I leave our BoE in good hands, and I look forward to a bright future for Ridgefield Public Schools. Now I turn my attention to taking care of my family, nurturing my growing business, and to working with the Board as a parent advocate," Sulzinsky said.

In a statement to the Board of Education obtained by Patch, Hayes described how the alleged incident unfolded:

"At 11:30am on Sunday, Nov 13th, I met Karen for coffee at Starbucks as I had some questions about the functions of the Board and sub committees. As I sat down at the table, Karen stood up and pulled some papers to the top of her bag. She stepped away from the table and said to grab one of the papers from her bag and to set it aside and she would explain it when she came back.

When Karen returned she explained that those papers were the interview questions. She said she felt justified in distributing them because she did not like that she was not given a say as to what questions were going to be asked. Later that afternoon, at 1:57 p.m., Karen sent me an email asking me to call her and told me she had papers in her bag and said she was now missing one. She asked if I took anything from her bag. I was shocked. It was Karen who told me to grab one of the papers.

There is no room for corruption on a publicly elected Board that manages the largest percent of our annual taxpayer budget. It is a big responsibility that the Board takes seriously and that the taxpayers expect to be carried out with integrity. Karen is a vulnerability for the Board, its members and the town at large."

Sulzinsky has not confirmed or denied that Hayes' account of the incident took place but did tell Patch that "the Board of Education conducts all its business fairly, openly, and in public."

Hayes said, "what matters is that it is someone with a history of doing good work in the town who wants to join in order to serve and make a difference."