In the novel, Alice in Wonderland, The Queen of Hearts is a character known for tyranny, egocentricity, and a disdain for any authority except her own.  While this intimidated other characters in the story, it should be seen as comical in its absurdity, while also serving as a reminder of the dangers of unchecked authority, at any level.

This story comes to mind as I thought of recent happenings on the Hartford School Board.  I don’t often think of fairy tales, but when I do, I think of the Hartford Board of Education.

At the Board’s March Finance & Audit Committee Meeting - where a discussion is needed on removing the comical “Audit” portion of the label - we were introduced to the new Chairperson of that committee, Board Member Kim Oliver.

At some point, in some dark corner of the conspiracy room, between his reelection as Chair of the BOE (what were they thinking?) and this week’s meeting, the Mayoral appointed Board Member (what was he thinking?) Phillip Rigueur, became the Queen of Hearts and removed the head of the Finance & Audit Committee Chair, the locally elected Board Member Tyrone Walker.  Mr. Rigueur unilaterally appointed Member Oliver to replace Mr. Walker as Committee Chair.

The authority on the matter, which Mr. Rigueur routinely ignores at his pleasure, are the Board’s Bylaws.  Bylaw 9121(a), “Chairperson,” lists the duties and responsibilities of a dutiful and responsible Hartford Board of Education Chairperson:

(4)  Appoint board committees, subject to board approval.

Board Bylaw 9321(f), however, contradicts the above:

The Chairperson of the Board of Education shall appoint the committee chairs and members…

When Bylaws do not speak to a specific rule, or when rules are unclear, it is customary to refer to Robert’s Rules of Order to determine parliamentary questions.  Robert’s Rules, Article 9, Chapter 52 states:

A standing committee is either wholly, or partially, elected at each annual meeting in regular organizations, and immediately thereafter it reorganizes by electing a chairman (unless he has been appointed by the assembly) and a secretary.

At a June 2022 Regular Meeting, Mr. Rigueur and 4 other Board Members voted “Aye” to “make explicit,” that Robert’s Rules of Order “shall be parliamentary authority in the Board except as otherwise provided in these bylaws” (Bylaw 9321.3).  This June 2022 redlined addition to the Bylaws, a part of policy work done in 2022 by the Board which Board Member AJ Johnson called “historic,” was approved, yet does not appear in the Bylaws available today.

Mr. Rigueur does not have the sole authority to appoint, therefore he does not have the sole authority to replace.  The reasoning for sanctioning Mr. Walker is unclear, and we’ll never know of course, however, the first barbs from the Board in its new session had clearer targets. 

Appointed members Jim Schmerling and Yvette Bello continue to be apathetic toward the whole school board thing, remaining the most chronically absent members of the Board.  At a minimum, detention is required here, or, as part of the LEAP program, perhaps school staff could make home visits to resolve the attendance issues of these two members.

In the past few years, school boards across the country have become political battlegrounds, and members are suing, removing, censoring, and even fighting fellow board members.  While Hartford’s board hasn’t devolved into this mess, they could stand to show some of that same passion to discipline ineffective and defective members.

Meanwhile, students, teachers and other staff, and the community wait like the White Rabbit with a pocket watch for the arrival of a new rabbit hole and a new Mayor who will see the errors of his predecessor’s appointments and refresh the Hartford Board with committed, trusting members.  If not, “Off with their heads!”