Petition circulating to oust superintendent

WINSTED — Town resident Jay Budahazy has launched a petition calling for the resignation of Superintendent of Schools Blaise Salerno, who was asked to quit last month by the Winchester Board of Selectmen.

Budahazy, a former candidate for selectman, said he already has a few signatures and that copies of the petition have been given to interested residents who have told him they will help collect signatures. “It’s just a petition in support of the Board of Selectmen,� he said. “We’re asking the Board of Education to ask Blaise to resign.�

Salerno came under fire from members of the Board of Selectmen toward the end of the 2009-10 school year, as a projected school-budget deficit climbed from approximately $120,000 to more than $340,000. Following the resignation of the school system’s business manager and an audit of the budget, selectmen determined that Salerno had not been providing complete information regarding the overspend, and members voted unanimously to ask for his resignation. In a separate vote, the board also asked for the resignation of Board of Education Chairman Kathleen O’Brien. Salerno and O’Brien responded publicly by saying they would not resign.

Budahazy said he is focusing his petition on Salerno because the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to ask for his resignation, while the O’Brien vote was split. “I didn’t include Kathy O’Brien in the petition because there are some people who want Salerno to resign but not her, and they wouldn’t sign the petition,� he said.

“But there may be one for her in the future. We’ll see how this goes.�

A petition asking for the resignation has no binding effect, Budahazy acknowledged, but he said he hopes it sways the feelings of school-board members.

“I’m going to be out in front of the post office and other places in town,� Budahazy said. “When the petition is complete, I will get a copy to the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education.�

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