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STAMFORD, Conn. (CITC) — A Connecticut school district is removing Veterans Day and Columbus Day from its calendar as holidays, sparking debate within its community.

The Stamford Public Schools school board voted to eliminate the two holidays Tuesday while determining its 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic calendars. Students will not have the day off from school on either day during those years.

Stamford school board members in support of the removal suggested the holidays instead be celebrated through curriculums. One member, Joshua Esses, argued the district's current calendar is too long and that shortening it would be "better educationally" for students.

Esses also previously suggested removing Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and the second day of Rosh Hashanah. However, both will remain as holidays on the upcoming calendars.

Board member Becky Hamman cautioned her colleagues against the move, urging them to table it for another year.

"I have to speak for Columbus Day. It is very much a part of Stamford, Connecticut, and I certainly would be opposed to taking out Columbus Day," Hamman said Tuesday. "Veterans Day, I need to speak up for all the veterans."

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Community members throughout Stamford voiced frustration over the decision. Alfred Fusco, a veteran and member of Italian-American service organization UNICO, told ABC7 New York the move was unfounded.

It was a gut punch," Fusco told the outlet. "It had no inclination."

Multiple surrounding school districts reportedly already remain open on Columbus Day and Veterans Day.

The removal of the holidays follows a similar proposal last year, according to the Stamford Advocate. However, both holidays reportedly remained for another year after significant community pushback from both local veterans and Italian-American residents, the latter of which Connecticut has the nation's largest population of.

READ MORE | Pa. school district asks bus drivers to 'remove' Christmas decor for 'inclusivity,' sparking outrage

Stamford's move comes as districts nationwide debate traditional school holidays. Last month, a Texas school board member called on his district to refer to "winter break" as "Christmas break" prior to adopting its new calendar. He claimed the district is violating students' rights by not doing so currently, pointing to a state law which allows schools to "educate students about the history of traditional winter celebration."

In October, a New Jersey school district banned Halloween costumes and activities, arguing doing so would "instill greater equity."

Crisis in the Classroom (CITC) reached out to Stamford Public Schools for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. This story will be updated if a response is received.

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A Connecticut school district is facing backlash after deciding to strip Veterans and Columbus Days from its official holiday calendar in a controversial vote by the school board last week.

Students at Stamford public schools will no longer get the day off on both holidays for the next two school years after the board voted 5-3 to remove them on Tuesday night, the Stamford Advocate reported.

Board member Joshua Esses made a motion to wipe the holidays from the school calendar at Tuesday’s meeting, arguing that the school year cut too far into the summer — ending in mid-June.

“We should make it shorter because it’s better educationally for our students,” Esses said of the school year — which is required by state law to have at least 180 teaching days for students, according to the local newspaper.

He also suggested cutting the religious holidays Eid al-Fitr and the second day of Rosh Hashanah from the list of official holidays with the same justification — but that motion received no support, the outlet reported.

Esses noted that Veterans Day and Columbus Day would instead be recognized and celebrated with lesson plans about the meaning of each on the day of, a state requirement.

Still, the board’s decision — which was discussed at another meeting earlier this month when brought up by a different member — garnered outrage from veterans and Italian-Americans.

Veteran Alfred Fusco, a founding member of the Stamford chapter of the Italian-American service organization UNICO, told ABC7 that the school district’s announcement was a double whammy.

“It was a gut punch. It was terrible. It had no inclination,” Fusco told the station.

The school district defended its decision when reached by The Post, noting that other districts in the state already keep schools open on the two holidays.

“Stamford Public Schools already hosts many events in recognition of our local veterans, and we look forward to continuing that tradition on Veterans’ Day in 2024 and 2025,” a spokesperson for Stamford Public Schools said in a statement.

“In addition, our Teaching and Learning Department will be working to develop programming about Columbus Day that will be presented to students in recognition of that federal holiday.”

A large part of the debate focused on the particular role of Columbus Day, which has been rejected by some Americans in recent years in favor of Indigenous People’s Day due to the sordid history surrounding Italian explorer Christopher Columbus’ treatment of native peoples.

The other board member Versha Munshi-South said she observed a class lesson titled “Columbus: Hero or Villian?” at Dolan Middle School which made her rethink the holiday.

“The students were using primary sources to investigate the true history of Columbus and I can tell you that based on primary source research, no, they did not conclude that Columbus was a hero,” Munshi-South said, according to the Advocate.

“I don’t think it makes sense to teach students one thing in class and then have Columbus Day off. It’s a mixed message for students,” she said.

Another member of the school board, however, said that she saw Columbus as a hero and thought polarization on the issue should not inform their decision.

“There’s a lot of polarization with curriculums, so to paint Columbus as a villain is because of the polarization and I think we can’t be doing that publicly,” Becky Hamman said, the outlet reported.

“On Tuesday, January 23, the Stamford BOE approved the 2024-25 and 2025-26 Stamford Public Schools calendars following passage of a motion to have schools remain open on Columbus Day and Veterans Day,” a spokesperson for Stamford Public Schools said in a statement.

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“Several neighboring districts already keep schools open on Columbus Day and/or Veterans Day, and both Columbus Day and Veterans Day will be acknowledged on the Stamford Public Schools calendar with other holidays and religious observances that occur when school is in session.”

STAMFORD, CT — Stamford resident and Darien firefighter Shane Smith and his son, Blake, had some time to waste Tuesday night while Shane's daughter finished up softball practice at Stamford High School.

Blake, 7, who is just becoming a fan of WWE, routinely asks his father after basketball practice on Tuesday evenings to go see the giant WWE championship belt that's on display outside of the company's new headquarters on Washington Boulevard.

Around 7:30 p.m., the two headed over to the sparkling new HQ building, when all of a sudden, a few dark colored SUVs pulled up.

Out stepped Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

"Being a wrestling fan, I knew exactly who The Rock was," Shane told Patch. Blake had just attended his first wrestling show in Bridgeport a few weeks ago, and he recognized The Rock, too.

Find out what's happening in Stamfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The Rock was walking by and he saw my son, and [The Rock] goes, 'Can I get a picture with you?'" Shane said. "The Rock was so nice. He took the time out of his day to take 30 seconds to make a kid's day. It was amazing."

Shane said The Rock was filming some promotional/interview-type segments, although it was unclear what it was for.

On Tuesday, it was announced that The Rock was joining the board of directors for TKO Group, WWE's parent company. The Rock and officials from TKO Group/WWE rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange that morning.

Also on Tuesday, WWE announced a $5 billion deal to bring its flagship weekly program "Monday Night Raw" to Netflix in 2025.

The Rock left the WWE in 2004 to pursue a full-time acting career, and he has been back here and there with a handful of appearances over the years.

On Jan. 1, The Rock made a surprise return to "Raw" and appeared to call out his cousin and WWE champion, Roman Reigns, potentially setting up a future showdown.

One of the WWE's premium live events, the Royal Rumble, is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 27, in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Blake wants to tune in, according to his father.

STAMFORD – The Board of Representatives has rejected an agreement, brokered by the governor’s office, that set terms for allowing telecommunications carriers to install 5G equipment on city-owned utility poles.

Twenty-one city representatives Wednesday decided against accepting the state’s template for applications by telecoms that seek to place antennas and other equipment on poles in public rights of way.

Representatives said they were persuaded by research presented during an October meeting of the board’s Land Use Committee claiming to show that 5G technology can cause brain damage, headaches, memory loss, damage to reproductive organs and the nervous system, and genetic damage, as well as harm to trees, birds, insects and wildlife.

They rejected the state’s application template despite advice from Gov. Ned Lamont’s mediation panel and city attorneys who said they would lose in court if telecom companies are prevented from using public utility poles and they sue. Federal law prohibits local governments from legislating on the alleged health risks of radiofrequency radiation emitted by 5G antennas, the attorneys said.

City Rep. Sean Boeger said the possibility of losing in court should not be a factor in the deliberations of legislative bodies.

“The threat of whether we’re going to be sued is not a winning argument when a potential health concern is involved,” Boeger said. “We can’t frame our decisions off that.”

Five representatives voted to accept the state’s application template, which would require the telecoms to tell city officials where the antennas would be installed and allow officials to determine the size and appearance of the equipment on the poles.

City Rep. Don Mays, an engineer and retired safety officer for a telecom company, said he questions the findings of the panelists who addressed the board last month. The range of 5G is short, and radiation falls off as you move away from it, Mays said.

“The worst offender is not these small cell towers (atop utility poles) and it’s not 5G,” Mays said. “Most radiation exposure is from cellphones. That’s the way to eliminate radiation exposure, but how many people are willing to give up their cellphones? We’ve become dependent on them. They cause radiation even when we’re not talking on them. We’re exposed from inside our homes.”

Eight representatives abstained from voting, some saying they did not have enough information to decide.

“I have to have both sides,” city Rep. Jonathan Jacobson said. “I’m lost.”

City Rep. Eric Morson said he wanted to hear the conclusions of more studies as he weighed possible health risks against safety risks.

An increasing number of people have no land line or fiber optic connection, Morson said, and “they rely completely on cell service. … There is a growing need for cell service because, for more people, it’s the only option. Maybe the greater risk is not being able to communicate from your home.”

So far Stamford has delivered the only rejection among the five cities targeted in the mediation initiated by Lamont’s office to advance faster, wider-ranging mobile technology for Connecticut residents and businesses.

Al Smith, an attorney with Murtha Cullina who represented the cities in the state mediation, said Thursday that officials in Bridgeport and Hartford have approved the template, and New Haven and Waterbury have not yet acted.

In Stamford, three residents Wednesday called in to urge city representatives to reject the agreement during the public comment portion of the board’s virtual meeting.

Resident Neil Sherman said “the city has an obligation to protect citizens from potentially dangerous modalities.”

City officials should not turn over the rights to publicly owned poles to contractors who can place the equipment “close to homes and schools without limitation to the number of antennas,” Sherman said. “They operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”

A fourth caller was attorney Joseph Sandri, a former Stamford resident and one of the panelists who spoke during the board’s committee meeting last month.

Sandri was among the attorneys in a 2021 case, Environmental Health Trust vs. Federal Communications Commission, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C., Circuit ruled that the federal agency failed to explain how its regulations protect the public against any harmful effects of wireless radiation.

The case challenged the FCC’s 2019 decision to leave in place regulations dating to 1996 which determine how much radiofrequency radiation exposure from cell phones, cell towers, Wi-Fi and wireless networks is safe. The premise of the case is that the dated guidelines do not consider possible harm from radio frequency radiation at lower levels, and effects of the widespread use of wireless devices that exists 27 years later.

“The FCC rules are now under remand in federal court, and the FCC still has not explained why the rules have not been updated,” Sandri told the board. “The city has the right to independently monitor wireless networks for compliance with the FCC’s ancient exposure rules, so the city should be given the opportunity to object” to telecom applications to place 5G antenna on publicly owned utility poles.

City Rep. James Grunberger cited the FCC’s defeat in federal court in making his argument to reject the state’s recommendation for telecom applications.

“The federal government does not have guidelines for long-term exposure, so we need to protect our city ourselves, and not succumb to legal threats,” Grunberger said. “Each of these small cells on these poles contains up to 100 antennas, and they’re close to people’s windows. We should assert our ability to reject these antennas. We have to err on the side of caution.”

Mays said a strong case is to be made for better cellular coverage, given all the dead spots in Stamford.

“It’s not just an inconvenience; it inhibits businesses. You may not be able to make a 911 call from your home, or from your car or when you’re out walking,” Mays said. “Rolling out 5G technology to broaden the communication network is extremely important. I think it’s a higher priority than the risk associated with health and safety and the environmental effects, which are highly debated. I believe the risk is very small.”

Asked Thursday whether Stamford can draw up its own application template for telecoms seeking space on city utility poles, Lamont’s deputy communications director, Julia Bergman, said that’s up to Stamford.

“The contract is between the telecom companies and the cities. We played a role in the mediation, but if Stamford wants to change the terms, they have to go directly to the telecom companies,” Bergman said. “We are not a party to the contracts.”

Under the agreement brokered by Lamont’s office, AT&T and Verizon would have to notify city officials in advance about where they plan to install equipment. It sets deadlines for cities to respond to telecom applications; establishes the fees telecoms must pay for installing equipment on city property; and allows cities to determine the size and appearance of the equipment, construction requirements to ensure safe installation, and how public utility poles will be maintained.

It does not specify the number of antennas that would be installed.

For 36 years prior to joining the Connecticut Examiner, Angela Carella was a beat reporter, investigative reporter, editor and columnist for the Stamford Advocate. Carella reports on Stamford and Fairfield County. T: 203 722 6811.

[email protected]

STAMFORD – The 2022 annual audit report the city owes the state is woefully overdue.

It’s so delinquent that it’s almost time to file the 2023 audit report.

The lateness is considerable enough that Kimberly Kennison, an executive officer with the Connecticut Office of Finance, wrote a letter to Mayor Caroline Simmons on behalf of the Municipal Finance Advisory Commission.

“As a commission charged with working with municipalities to improve upon their fiscal condition and financial practices, the MFAC believes that the lack of timely audit reports is a serious matter and potentially a warning sign of financial challenges,” Kennison wrote. “Audits must be completed in a timely manner for management of the municipality, the governing board, and its citizens to make informed decisions that can be critical to the municipality’s financial plan.”

The letter, written a month ago, lists information the city must provide to avoid being designated for oversight by MFAC, made up of eight government and private finance officials appointed by the governor to guide municipalities toward fiscal health. Kennison requested information on the delinquent 2022 audit and the soon-due 2023 audit, to make sure that isn’t late, too.

By state law, the audit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022 should have been submitted to the state Office of Policy and Management by Dec. 31, 2022, Kennison wrote.

Promises of audit reports

City officials promised to have the final draft before the finance board’s Wednesday night meeting, but it was delayed yet again.

Director of Administration Ben Barnes, appointed to the post a month ago, after Sandra Dennies retired, told board members they will have the report by their Nov. 9 meeting.

On Thursday Barnes said his office “provided a near-complete draft” for Wednesday’s meeting. The board, however, declined to discuss it, preferring to wait a month for the complete draft.

Barnes said the final draft is missing analysis, and checklist items “related to complex issues” involving dissolution of the Old Town Hall Redevelopment Agency, accounting for federal grants received under the American Rescue Plan Act, and other items “that require some back-and-forth to resolve.”

There is some good news about the audit report, Barnes told the finance board. Though still a draft, the report indicates a surplus of almost $14 million, slightly higher than was anticipated.

“The audit shows a strong result,” Barnes told the board.

But he is concerned about the 2023 audit, Barnes said. It’s due Dec. 31, only seven weeks after the 2022 audit is to be presented.

Bring in another firm

So Barnes Wednesday asked the finance board for help preparing the 2023 audit. He requested that members approve the transfer of $75,000 to the controller’s budget from sister departments in the Office of Administration to hire an outside firm to analyze and reconcile accounts, and implement procedures to ensure timely, accurate financial reporting from now on.

Board members approved the transfer, which will be used to pay CliftonLarsonAllen to work with the controller’s office and tax department through the end of the year.

CliftonLarsonAllen was contracted in the past to prepare the annual audit, and also was late, though to a lesser extent.

The firm now under contract the prepare the audit, RSM, has said city departments do not regularly reconcile accounts and complete other functions that would allow them to close the books in time to complete the current audit by June 30, and would allow them to tackle the next audit soon after the new fiscal year begins July 1.

Under its contract, RSM is paid $345,000, Barnes said Thursday. RSM has been paid an additional $86,250 because of the additional time city departments needed to complete the financial reporting.

“There may be additional invoices forthcoming, but I am not aware of that now,” Barnes said.

The Board of Finance’s Audit Committee, led by longtime member Mary Lou Rinaldi, who has been pushing for the audit to be completed all year, has said the fault lies with the city, not the outside auditors.

Barnes has agreed, saying Stamford’s financial reporting troubles stem from recent departures of key employees in the controller’s office, who were replaced with people who did not know city procedures. He also cited the switch from old computer software, HTE, to Oracle, and significant mistakes by a subcontractor that set up the work plan under the new computer system.

Barnes told the finance board he is assigning Teresa Viscariello, the city’s internal auditor, to examine the system. Viscariello said during the meeting that she is concerned about tax collection.

“It’s half a billion dollars in revenue,” Viscariello said. “It goes hand in hand with the most critical area of the audit … so I would like it to be my first project.”

Rinaldi agreed.

“The tax department wasn’t reconciling their accounts on a regular basis. Tax money comes in every month, so not doing a weekly or monthly reconciliation – only doing it at the end of the year – is, of course, going to cause problems. It affects everything.”

Five or ten vs. 125

Rinaldi said she spoke with RSM auditors and learned that when most cities present their information for review, they are missing maybe five or 10 data entries.

“Stamford had 125 entries that had to be created or corrected,” Rinaldi said. “It indicates that city departments are not audit-ready when they should be. For years in Stamford we’ve talked about a lack of internal controls. The city always says, ‘We’re working on it.’ But it’s a redundant comment year after year. To say we will do better next year is no longer enough.”

The city has a history of AAA credit ratings, the highest possible, from Standard & Poors and Fitch. Officials are concerned about that now because the city is undertaking a $1.5 billion plan to rebuild and repair schools. The higher the credit rating, the lower the interest on the loans the city will need to fix the schools.

Besides the rating agencies, state officials, banks, underwriters and others are watching what happens with the audit report, Rinaldi said.

According to the state Office of Policy and Management’s Electronic Audit Reporting System, Stamford is the only large city that has failed to file its audit so far.

Waterbury filed Dec. 22. Bridgeport and Hartford filed Dec. 30. Norwalk filed shortly after, on Jan. 3. New Haven was significantly late but filed July 24.

OPM’s website shows that, as of Thursday, Stamford is among 12 of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities that have not fulfilled the mandate to file an annual audit. Danbury also has not filed.

“It doesn’t give our citizens confidence to know that we can’t get our financial reporting in order,” Rinaldi said. “The banks are asking why our audit isn’t done, the rating agencies are asking, the state is asking. We hear that the city is doing well, but we don’t have the reporting to confirm it. It’s important for us to have that.”

For 36 years prior to joining the Connecticut Examiner, Angela Carella was a beat reporter, investigative reporter, editor and columnist for the Stamford Advocate. Carella reports on Stamford and Fairfield County. T: 203 722 6811.

[email protected]