Board of Finance - Minutes - 03/22/2021

Board of Finance Monday, March 22, 2021
Budget Hearing Zoom Recording
Present:
Absent:
Elected:
Staff:
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Chairman Ronald R. Fedor, John Sheehan, Glenn Patterson, Robert Tuneski,
Kevin Petchark; Tali Maidelis, Mark Geer
Robert Brule, First Selectman ied
Jody Nazarchyk, Selectwoman
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Thomas Giard, Superintendent of Schools; Craig Powers, Assistant
Superintendent; Joseph Mancini, Director of Finance/Operations, Craig —_--.
Merriman, Kimberly Allen, Finance Director; Maryellen McConnell, Secretary
Establishment of a quorum and call to order:
A quorum was established and a call to order was established at 7:00 pm,
March 22, 2021.
Public comment: A letter from Patti Waters was read into the minutes.
Board of Education Budget:
Statement by Chairman Ronald Fedor: In light of the changes to the Waterford
Code of Ethics, | have requested but not yet received an advisory opinion. | will
be abstaining from voting on this budget tonight.
Motion by John Sheehan and seconded by Glenn Patterson to move forward the
Board of Education budget request for discussion in the amount of $51,043,046.
Motion by John Sheehan and seconded by Tali Maidelis to approve the Board of
Education budget request for FY21/22 in the total amount of $51,043,046.
Vote: 5-0-2. Abstain: Ronald Fedor and Mark Geer Motion: Passed
Adjournment:
Motion by John Sheehan and seconded by Tali Maidelis to adjourn the Budget
Meeting of the Board of Finance at 9:32 p.m.
Vote: 7-0 Motion: Passed
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Geer, Jr., Clerk Maryelland McConnell, Secretary

Maryellen McConnell
From: Patti Waters <plwaters@sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Monday, March 22, 2021 2:20 PM
To: Maryellen McConnell
Subject: CORRESPONDENCE TO BOF
Dear Ron and members of the Board of Finance,
On March 10 | attended the Board of Finance budget meeting. Before our budget was to be presented | listened to ‘st
Selectman, Rob Brule, answer questions concerning his budget. He began to speak about a DEI consultant he has
hired. | appreciate very much Bill pressing Rob to tell us what the letters DEI stand for. As | learned that 'D' stands for
diversity, 'E' for equity and 'Il' for Inclusion, alarm bells went off in my head.
After the meeting | did a search to learn more about DEI. It has strong ties and is probably based on Critical Race Theory
(CRT) sometimes known as just Critical Theory. | began looking into CRT this past summer when we were having the
riots throughout our country. | also researched the Black Lives Matter group which also has strong ties to CRT. CRT has
the underpinnings of Marxist ideology. It seeks to view societal issues through the prism of race and gender.
More alarms went off in my head as Rob said he has introduced this DEI to our Human Resources, the superintendent of
schools and other departments throughout the town. There is no place for this in our town. lowa and Florida have already
banned it in their public institutions. Waterford citizen taxpayer money should in no way, shape or form go to fund this.
Thank you.
Patti Waters