BRIDGEPORT, CT — The City Council meets Monday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. to vote on settling three lawsuits against the city and on appointments to five city boards and commissions. An hour earlier, the Board of Education holds a special meeting to approve a "leadership profile" prepared by Zeal Education Group. The board is choosing its next superintendent, according to its Sept. 28 draft minutes.
City Council
The council meets in its chambers at City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace, and streams live on YouTube. Public speaking begins at 6:30 p.m.
The three settlements, each recommended by the Miscellaneous Matters Committee, are on the consent calendar, the items usually approved together in one vote. All three suits were brought by individuals, one in state court and two in federal court. No settlement amounts were published with the agenda.
Also on consent is a Budget and Appropriations Committee report on the municipal suspense tax book, where the city moves unpaid tax bills it considers uncollectible for now. No dollar total was posted.
In roll-call votes, the council takes up the reappointments of Kenya Osborne Gant, a Democrat, to the Library Board and Suzanne Lesko, a Democrat, to the Parks Board, and the appointments of Rosella Criss, unaffiliated, to the Ethics Commission; Chandra Maxwell, a Democrat, to the Commission for People with Disabilities; and Warren Godbolt, a Democrat, to the Fair Rent Commission. The reappointments of Glen I. Pettway, a Democrat, and Stuart Rosenberg, unaffiliated, to the Fire Commission are listed only so they can be sent to the Public Safety and Transportation Committee, which the agenda blames on a clerical error.
Board of Education Special Meeting
The board meets at 6 p.m. Monday in Room 305 at City Hall. After public speaking, its one item is to discuss and approve the leadership profile from Zeal Education Group.
At the board's Sept. 28 meeting, according to draft minutes, Chair Jennifer Perez said a survey on the search was still open and that all nine members will choose the next superintendent. She warned that a member who shows favor toward a candidate could lose a seat on the selection committee or face censure. Three public speakers that night backed Interim Superintendent Royce Avery.
Board of Education Regular Meeting
The board was scheduled to meet Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science and Technology Education Center, 60 St. Stephens Road. Minutes had not been posted as of Friday, Oct. 16.
The biggest money on the agenda was about $3.3 million in grant continuations for 2026-27. Commissioner's Network grants would give Barnum School $667,096 and Columbus School $832,515, mostly for coaches, interventionists, teacher training and attendance and parent outreach. School Improvement Grants of $200,000 each were planned for Bassick, Batalla, Claytor, Columbus, Cross, Dunbar, Edison and Marin, and $88,633.50 each for Bridgeport Military Academy and Harding.
The board was also asked to approve the educational specification, the document that sets a project's scope, for a new roof at Read School, 130 Ezra Street: about 55,000 square feet, dating to 1968 on the original building and 1999 on an addition, with leaks that have damaged ceilings, walls and the gym floor. The work includes asbestos removal, a 20-year rubber membrane roof, new drains and skylights. No cost estimate was given.
The consent agenda listed a contract with Cheapscapes LLC of North Branford for leaf cleanups at 31 schools, two in the fall and one in the spring, at $1,500 per school each time: a $139,500 ceiling plus up to $25,000 in extra work, for one year with two optional renewals. A separate amendment would let the board order up to $75,000 a year in added work by purchase order from Eastern Land Management Inc. of Stamford, which holds the district's mowing contract.
The board was also to accept the 2026-27 food bid results and start bidding for 2027-28. Of 1,434 items in the price comparison, 828 matched an item from 2025-26; 465 of those went up and 344 went down. No total cost was attached.
Two overnight trips were up for approval: Fairchild Wheeler students to Disney Imagination Campus in Orlando, March 10–14, 2027, and debate students from John Winthrop and Interdistrict Discovery Magnet to a Boston Debate League tournament, Nov. 20–22, 2026.
New business also included a proposed settlement agreement with an individual, with no terms posted, the budget calendar, and a change to the board's proposed 2027 resolutions for the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education.
Sources & Documents
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